ePortfolios in translators’ training and assessment

Translator’s training and assessment has used more and more tools and innovative strategies over the years. The goals and results to achieve haven’t changed much, however: translation quality. In order to accomplish it, the translator and all the tasks and processes he develops appear as crucial, being pre-translation and post-translation processes equally important as the translation itself, namely as far as autonomy, reflexive and critical skills are concerned. Finally, the need and relevance of collaborative tasks and networks amongst virtual translation communities, led us to the decision of implementing ePortfolios as a tool to develop the requested skills and extend the use of Internet in translation. In this paper we describe a case-study of a pilot experiment on the using of e-portfolios as a translation training tool and discuss their role in the definition of a clear set of objectives and phases for the completion of each task, by helping students in the management of the projects deadlines, improving their knowledge on the construction and management of translation resources and deepening their awareness about the concepts related to the development of eportfolios.

Exploring the long-term associations between adolescents’ music training and academic achievement

There is a positive relationship between learning music and academic achievement, although doubts remain regarding the mechanisms underlying this association. This research analyses the academic performance of music and non-music students from seventh to ninth grade. The study controls for socioeconomic status, intelligence, motivation and prior academic achievement. Data were collected from 110 adolescents at two time points, once when the students were between 11 and 14 years old in the seventh grade, and again 3 years later. Our results show that music students perform better academically than non-music students in the seventh grade (Cohen’s d = 0.88) and in the ninth grade (Cohen’s d = 1.05). This difference is particularly evident in their scores in Portuguese language and natural science; the difference is somewhat weaker in history and geography scores, and is least pronounced in mathematics and English scores (η2 p from .09 to .21). A longitudinal analysis also revealed better academic performance by music students after controlling for prior academic achievement (η2 p = .07). Furthermore, controlling for intelligence, socioeconomic status and motivation did not eliminate the positive association between music learning from the seventh to the ninth grade and students’ academic achievement (η2 p = .06). During the period, music students maintained better and more consistent academic standing. We conclude that, after controlling for intelligence, socioeconomic status and motivation, music training is positively associated with academic achievement.

Effects of dual-task training on balance and executive functions in Parkinson's disease: A pilot study

The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of cognitive-motor dual-task training compared with single-task training on balance and executive functions in individuals with Parkinson's disease. Fifteen subjects, aged between 39 and 75 years old, were randomly assigned to the dual-task training group (n = 8) and single-task training group (n = 7). The training was run twice a week for 6 weeks. The single-task group received balance training and the dual-task group performed cognitive tasks simultaneously with the balance training. There were no significant differences between the two groups at baseline. After the intervention, the results for mediolateral sway with eyes closed were significantly better for the dual-task group and anteroposterior sway with eyes closed was significantly better for the single-task group. The results suggest superior outcomes for the dual-task training compared to the single-task training for static postural control, except in anteroposterior sway with eyes closed.

An intelligent tutoring approach to support students and technicians in electrical installation design

Designing electric installation projects, demands not only academic knowledge, but also other types of knowledge not easily acquired through traditional instructional methodologies. A lot of additional empirical knowledge is missing and so the academic instruction must be completed with different kinds of knowledge, such as real-life practical examples and simulations. On the other hand, the practical knowledge detained by the most experienced designers is not formalized in such a way that is easily transmitted. In order to overcome these difficulties present in the engineers formation, we are developing an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS), for training and support concerning the development of electrical installation projects to be used by electrical engineers, technicians and students.

Motivations and management factors of volunteer work in nonprofit organisations: a literature review

The objective of this paper is to review and discuss the literature about volunteers’ motivations to donate their time to NPOs and the management factors that can influence volunteer work. Firstly, the paper illustrates and compares the different types of motivation followed by a presentation of a typology that organises the volunteers’ motivations into four types: (i) altruism, (ii) belonging, (iii) ego and social recognition and (iv) development and learning. Secondly we discuss the key management factors in volunteering: recruitment, training and rewarding. Finally, we present four gaps in the literature that justify the scope for further research: (i) omission of differences between motivations related to volunteers’ "Attraction" versus "Retention"; (ii) focus of the research on the USA, UK and Australia context; (iii) absence of comparative analyses that relate motivations by NPO types and (iv) comprehension of how management factors (recruitment, training and rewarding) influence volunteers’ satisfaction and retention.

Volunteers and management factors in nonprofit organisations: a brief literature review

The objective of this paper is to review and discuss the literature about the management factors that can influence volunteer work. First we present the different management factors. This discussion is followed by the identification of the key management factors in volunteering: recruitment, training and rewarding. Finally, we present two main gaps in the literature that justify the scope for further research: (i) how management factors (recruitment, training and rewarding) influence volunteers’ satisfaction and retention; and (ii) predominance of the investigations in the North American context, followed by English and Australian context.

Organisational influence on volunteer satisfaction and attitudes towards HRM practices: the case of hospital volunteers

We examine volunteer satisfaction with HRM practices, namely recruitment, training and reward in NPOs and attitudes regarding the appropriateness of these practices. The participants in this study are 76 volunteers affiliated with four different NPOs, who work in hospitals and have direct contact with patients and their families. Analysing aggregate results we show that volunteers are more satisfied with training, and consider the training strategies to be very appropriate. After identifying differences between organisations we discover that in some organisations volunteers are satisfied with rewards but they have negative attitudes regarding the appropriateness of the recognition strategies. We also identify the volunteers who are the most and the least satisfied.

Legal and political regulation of higher education in Portugal: an evolutionary perspective on the current policy issues and the problem of order

The higher education system in Europe is currently under stress and the debates over its reform and future are gaining momentum. Now that, for most countries, we are in a time for change, in the overall society and the whole education system, the legal and political dimensions have gained prominence, which has not been followed by a more integrative approach of the problem of order, its reform and the issue of regulation, beyond the typical static and classical cost-benefit analyses. The two classical approaches for studying (and for designing the policy measures of) the problem of the reform of the higher education system - the cost-benefit analysis and the legal scholarship description - have to be integrated. This is the argument of our paper that the very integration of economic and legal approaches, what Warren Samuels called the legal-economic nexus, is meaningful and necessary, especially if we want to address the problem of order (as formulated by Joseph Spengler) and the overall regulation of the system. On the one hand, and without neglecting the interest and insights gained from the cost-benefit analysis, or other approaches of value for money assessment, we will focus our study on the legal, social and political aspects of the regulation of the higher education system and its reform in Portugal. On the other hand, the economic and financial problems have to be taken into account, but in a more inclusive way with regard to the indirect and other socio-economic costs not contemplated in traditional or standard assessments of policies for the tertiary education sector. In the first section of the paper, we will discuss the theoretical and conceptual underpinning of our analysis, focusing on the evolutionary approach, the role of critical institutions, the legal-economic nexus and the problem of order. All these elements are related to the institutional tradition, from Veblen and Commons to Spengler and Samuels. The second section states the problem of regulation in the higher education system and the issue of policy formulation for tackling the problem. The current situation is clearly one of crisis with the expansion of the cohorts of young students coming to an end and the recurrent scandals in private institutions. In the last decade, after a protracted period of extension or expansion of the system, i. e., the continuous growth of students, universities and other institutions are competing harder to gain students and have seen their financial situation at risk. It seems that we are entering a period of radical uncertainty, higher competition and a new configuration that is slowly building up is the growth in intensity, which means upgrading the quality of the higher learning and getting more involvement in vocational training and life-long learning. With this change, and along with other deep ones in the Portuguese society and economy, the current regulation has shown signs of maladjustment. The third section consists of our conclusions on the current issue of regulation and policy challenge. First, we underline the importance of an evolutionary approach to a process of change that is essentially dynamic. A special attention will be given to the issues related to an evolutionary construe of policy analysis and formulation. Second, the integration of law and economics, through the notion of legal economic nexus, allows us to better define the issues of regulation and the concrete problems that the universities are facing. One aspect is the instability of the political measures regarding the public administration and on which the higher education system depends financially, legally and institutionally, to say the least. A corollary is the lack of clear strategy in the policy reforms. Third, our research criticizes several studies, such as the one made by the OECD in late 2006 for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, for being too static and neglecting fundamental aspects of regulation such as the logic of actors, groups and organizations who are major players in the system. Finally, simply changing the legal rules will not necessary per se change the behaviors that the authorities want to change. By this, we mean that it is not only remiss of the policy maker to ignore some of the critical issues of regulation, namely the continuous non-respect by academic management and administrative bodies of universities of the legal rules that were once promulgated. Changing the rules does not change the problem, especially without the necessary debates form the different relevant quarters that make up the higher education system. The issues of social interaction remain as intact. Our treatment of the matter will be organized in the following way. In the first section, the theoretical principles are developed in order to be able to study more adequately the higher education transformation with a modest evolutionary theory and a legal and economic nexus of the interactions of the system and the policy challenges. After describing, in the second section, the recent evolution and current working of the higher education in Portugal, we will analyze the legal framework and the current regulatory practices and problems in light of the theoretical framework adopted. We will end with some conclusions on the current problems of regulation and the policy measures that are discusses in recent years.

Towards high-available and energy-efficient virtual computing environments in the cloud

Empowered by virtualisation technology, cloud infrastructures enable the construction of flexi- ble and elastic computing environments, providing an opportunity for energy and resource cost optimisation while enhancing system availability and achieving high performance. A crucial re- quirement for effective consolidation is the ability to efficiently utilise system resources for high- availability computing and energy-efficiency optimisation to reduce operational costs and carbon footprints in the environment. Additionally, failures in highly networked computing systems can negatively impact system performance substantially, prohibiting the system from achieving its initial objectives. In this paper, we propose algorithms to dynamically construct and readjust vir- tual clusters to enable the execution of users’ jobs. Allied with an energy optimising mechanism to detect and mitigate energy inefficiencies, our decision-making algorithms leverage virtuali- sation tools to provide proactive fault-tolerance and energy-efficiency to virtual clusters. We conducted simulations by injecting random synthetic jobs and jobs using the latest version of the Google cloud tracelogs. The results indicate that our strategy improves the work per Joule ratio by approximately 12.9% and the working efficiency by almost 15.9% compared with other state-of-the-art algorithms.

Six sigma methodologies: implementation and impacts on Portuguese small and medium companies (SMES)

Artigo elaborador no âmbito dos trabalhos decorrentes à dissertação de Mestrado do Aluno David Leite, no Mestrado em Gestão Integrada Qualidade, Ambiente e Segurança, ESTGF-IPP, Oreintados pelos Professores Luís Fonseca (ISEP-IPP) e Vanda Lima (ESTGF-IPP).