Innovation through virtual communities of practice: motivations and constraints in the knowledge-creation process

This paper appears in International Journal of Projectics. Vol 4(1), pp. 39-49

BIWiki - Using a Business Intelligence Wiki to Form a Virtual Community of Practice for Portuguese Master's Students

Web 2.0 software in general and wikis in particular have been receiving growing attention as they constitute new and powerful tools, capable of supporting information sharing, creation of knowledge and a wide range of collaborative processes and learning activities. This paper introduces briefly some of the new opportunities made possible by Web 2.0 or the social Internet, focusing on those offered by the use of wikis as learning spaces. A wiki allows documents to be created, edited and shared on a group basis; it has a very easy and efficient markup language, using a simple Web browser. One of the most important characteristics of wiki technology is the ease with which pages are created and edited. The facility for wiki content to be edited by its users means that its pages and structure form a dynamic entity, in permanent evolution, where users can insert new ideas, supplement previously existing information and correct errors and typos in a document at any time, up to the agreed final version. This paper explores wikis as a collaborative learning and knowledge-building space and its potential for supporting Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs). In the academic years (2007/8 and 2008/9), students of the Business Intelligence module at the Master's programme of studies on Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence at Instituto Superior de Estatistica e Gestao de Informacao of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, have been actively involved in the creation of BIWiki - a wiki for Business Intelligence in the Portuguese language. Based on usage patterns and feedback from students participating in this experience, some conclusions are drawn regarding the potential of this technology to support the emergence of VCoPs; some provisional suggestions will be made regarding the use of wikis to support information sharing, knowledge creation and transfer and collaborative learning in Higher Education.

Influence of lime type and curing conditions on lime and lime-metakaolin mortars

Durability of Building Materials and Components (Vasco Peixoto de de Freitas, J.M.P.Q. Delgado, eds.), Building Pathology and Rehabilitation, vol. 3, VIII, 105-126. ISBN: 978-3-642-37474-6 (Print) 978-3-642-37475-3 (Online). Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-37475-3_5

Cognitive models for the concept of angle

Tese de doutoramento em Filosofia

The Gap Between Knowledge and Action: Obstacles, Restraints and Deficits During the Execution of Refurbishments

This article outlines the initial draft of a PhD project which investigates refurbishment or rehabilitation projects in two German cities. The study focuses on obstacles, restraints and deficits as well as factors of success, which can be identified during the execution of the refurbishments. Moreover the study examines the process of the refurbishment itself, the general conditions under which the refurbishments are being executed as well as the implementation of sustainability criteria. First the article gives a short summary of the theoretical considerations of the study. In this respect it shortly outlines the global conditions of urban development and conducting challenges for cities in the 21st century, guiding principles of a sustainable urban development as well as goals of sustainable refurbishments. Finally the article shortly describes the case studies and presents the initial results of the empirical work.

In-situ X-ray diffraction studies during growth of Ni-Ti shape memory alloy films and their complementary ex-situ characterization

Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) Ni-Ti films have attracted much interest as functional and smart materials due to their unique properties. However, there are still important issues unresolved like formation of film texture and its control as well as substrate effects. Thus, the main challenge is not only the control of the microstructure, including stoichiometry and precipitates, but also the identification and control of the preferential orientation since it is a crucial factor in determining the shape memory behaviour. The aim of this PhD thesis is to study the optimisation of the deposition conditions of films of Ni-Ti in order to obtain the material fully crystallized at the end of the deposition, and to establish a clear relationship between the substrates and texture development. In order to achieve this objective, a two-magnetron sputter deposition chamber has been used allowing to heat and to apply a bias voltage to the substrate. It can be mounted into the six-circle diffractometer of the Rossendorf Beamline (ROBL) at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble, France, enabling an in-situ characterization by X-ray diffraction(XRD) of the films during their growth and annealing. The in-situ studies enable us to identify the different steps of the structural evolution during deposition with a set of parameters as well as to evaluate the effect of changing parameters on the structural characteristics of the deposited film. Besides the in-situ studies, other complementary ex-situ characterization techniques such as XRD at a laboratory source, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy(RBS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (X-TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrical resistivity (ER) measurements during temperature cycling have been used for a fine structural characterization. In this study, mainly naturally and thermally oxidized Si(100) substrates, TiN buffer layers with different thicknesses (i.e. the TiN topmost layer crystallographic orientation is thickness dependent) and MgO(100) single crystals were used as substrates. The chosen experimental procedure led to a controlled composition and preferential orientation of the films. The type of substrate plays an important role for the texture of the sputtered Ni-Ti films and according to the ER results, the distinct crystallographic orientations of the Ni-Ti films influence their phase transformation characteristics.

Water treatments in semi-closed cooling circuits and their impact on the quality of effluents discharged by CERN

Dissertação apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente, Gestão de Sistemas Ambientais

Water treatments in semi-closed cooling circuits and their impact on the quality of effluents discharged by CERN

Mestrado integrado em Engenharia do Ambiente, perfil: Gestão de Sistemas Ambientais

Microeukaryoticdiversity in the extreme environments of the Iberian PyriteBelt: a comparison between universal and fungi-specific primer sets, temperature gradient gel electrophoresis and cloning

FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Vol. 57, nº 1

The impact of CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots in cells of Medicago sativa in suspension culture

Abstract Background: Nanotechnology has the potential to provide agriculture with new tools that may be used in the rapid detection and molecular treatment of diseases and enhancement of plant ability to absorb nutrients, among others. Data on nanoparticle toxicity in plants is largely heterogeneous with a diversity of physicochemical parameters reported, which difficult generalizations. Here a cell biology approach was used to evaluate the impact of Quantum Dots (QDs) nanocrystals on plant cells, including their effect on cell growth, cell viability, oxidative stress and ROS accumulation, besides their cytomobility. Results: A plant cell suspension culture of Medicago sativa was settled for the assessment of the impact of the addition of mercaptopropanoic acid coated CdSe/ZnS QDs. Cell growth was significantly reduced when 100 mM of mercaptopropanoic acid -QDs was added during the exponential growth phase, with less than 50% of the cells viable 72 hours after mercaptopropanoic acid -QDs addition. They were up taken by Medicago sativa cells and accumulated in the cytoplasm and nucleus as revealed by optical thin confocal imaging. As part of the cellular response to internalization, Medicago sativa cells were found to increase the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in a dose and time dependent manner. Using the fluorescent dye H2DCFDA it was observable that mercaptopropanoic acid-QDs concentrations between 5-180 nM led to a progressive and linear increase of ROS accumulation. Conclusions: Our results showed that the extent of mercaptopropanoic acid coated CdSe/ZnS QDs cytotoxicity in plant cells is dependent upon a number of factors including QDs properties, dose and the environmental conditions of administration and that, for Medicago sativa cells, a safe range of 1-5 nM should not be exceeded for biological applications.

O doente com patologia múltipla em medicina geral e familiar: comorbilidade de 4 doenças crónicas

RESUMO: A tese de doutoramento visa demonstrar duas proposições: a comorbilidade de 4 situações de doença prevalentes, hipertensão arterial (HTA), diabetes (DM), doença cardíaca isquémica (DCI) e asma é um assunto importante em Medicina Geral e Familiar e o seu estudo tem diversas implicações na forma como os cuidados de saúde são prestados, na sua organização e no ensino-aprendizagem da disciplina. O documento encontra-se dividido em 4 partes: 1) justificação do interesse do tema e finalidades da dissertação; 2) revisão sistemática de literatura publicada entre 1992 e 2002; 3) apresentação de dois trabalhos de investigação, descritivos e exploratórios que se debruçam sobre a mesma população de estudo, o primeiro intitulado “Comorbilidade de quatro doenças crónicas e sua relação com factores sócio demográficos” e o segundo, “Diferenças entre doentes, por médico e por sub-região, na comorbilidade de 4 doenças crónicas”; 4) conclusões e implicações dos resultados dos estudos na gestão da prática clínica, nos serviços, no ensino da disciplina da MGF e no desenvolvimento posterior de uma linha de investigação nesta área. O primeiro estudo tem como objectivos: descrever a prevalência da comorbilidade entre as 4 doenças-índice; verificar se existe relação entre o tempo da primeira doença e o tempo decorrido até ao aparecimento da 2ª e da 3ª doença, nas 4 doenças; determinar a comorbilidade associada às 4 doenças; identificar eventuais agrupamentos de doenças e verificar se existe relação entre comorbilidade e factores sociais e demográficos. O segundo estudo pretende verificar se existem diferenças na comorbilidade a nível local, por médico, e por Sub-Região de Saúde. O trabalho empírico é descritivo e exploratório. A população é constituída pelos doentes, com pelo menos uma das 4 doenças crónicas índice, das listas de utentes de 12 Médicos de Família a trabalharem em Centros de Saúde urbanos, suburbanos e rurais dos distritos de Lisboa e Beja. Os dados foram colhidos durante um ano através dos registos médicos. As variáveis sócio demográficas estudadas são: sexo, idade, etnia/raça, escolaridade, situação profissional, estado civil, tipo de família, funcionalidade familiar, condições de habitação. A comorbilidade é definida pela presença de duas ou mais doenças e estudada pelo número de doenças coexistentes. O tempo de duração da doença é definido como o número de anos decorridos entre o ano de diagnóstico e 2003. Os problemas de saúde crónicos são classificados pela ICPC2. Nas comparações efectuadas aplicaram-se os testes de Mann-Whitney e de Friedman, de homogeneidade e de análise de resíduos. A Análise Classificatória Hierárquica foi utilizada para determinar o agrupamento de doenças e a Análise de Regressão Categórica e Análise de Correspondências na relação entre as características sócio demográficas e a comorbilidade. Identificaram-se 3998 doentes. A idade média é de 64,3 anos (DP=15,70). Há uma correlação positiva significativa (r =0,350 r=0) entre “anos com a primeira doença”e “idade dos doentes” em todos os indivíduos (homens r=0,129 mulheres r=0,231). A comorbilidade entre as quatro doenças crónicas índice está presente em 1/3 da população. As associações mais prevalentes são HTA+DM (14,3%) e HTA+DCI (6,25%). Existe correlação positiva, expressiva, entre a duração da primeira doença, quando esta é a HTA ou a DM, e o intervalo de tempo até ao aparecimento da 2ª e da 3ª doenças. Identificaram-se 18 655 problemas crónicos de saúde que se traduziram em 244 códigos da ICPC2. O número médio de problemas foi de 5,94 (DP=3,04). A idade, a actividade profissional, a funcionalidade familiar e a escolaridade foram as variáveis que mais contribuíram para diferenciar os indivíduos quanto à comorbilidade. Foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre médicos(c2=1165,368 r=0) e entre os agrupamentos de doentes por Sub-Região de Saúde (c2= 157,108 r=0) no respeitante à comorbilidade. Na partição por Lisboa o número médio de problemas é de 6,45 e em Beja de 5,35. Deste trabalho ressaltam várias consequências para os profissionais, para os serviços, para o ensino e para a procura de mais saber nesta área. Os médicos, numa gestão eficiente de cuidados são chamados a desempenhar um papel de gestores da complexidade e de coordenadores assim como a trabalhar num modelo organizativo apoiado numa colaboração em equipa. Por sua vez os serviços de saúde têm que desenvolver medidas de avaliação de cuidados que integrem a comorbilidade como medida de risco. O contexto social da cronicidade e da comorbilidade deverá ser incluído como área de ensino. A concluir analisa-se o impacto do estudo nos colaboradores e o possível desenvolvimento da investigação nesta área.----------------------------------------ABSTRACT: The PhD Thesis has two propositions, co-morbidity of four chronic conditions (hypertension, asthma, diabetes, cardiac ischaemic disease) is a prevalent and complex issue and its study has several implications in the way care is provided and organised as well as in the learning and teaching of the discipline of General Practice. In the first part of the document arguments of different nature are given in order to sustain the dissertation aims; the second part describes a systematic study of literature review from 1992 to 2002; the third presents two research studies "Comorbidity of four chronic diseases and its relation with socio demographic factors” and “Differences between patients among GPs at local and regional level”; implications of study results for practice management, teaching and research are presented in the last part. The prevalence of the four chronic diseases co-morbidity, the relation of the first disease duration with the time of diagnose of the next index condition, the burden of co-morbidity in the four chronic diseases, the clustering of those diseases, the relation between demographic and social characteristics and co-morbidity, are the objectives of the first study. The second intends to verify differences in comorbidity between patients at local and regional level of practice. Research studies were descriptive and exploratory. The population under study were patients enlisted in 12 GPs working in urban and rural health centres, in Lisbon and Beja districts, with at least one of the four mentioned diseases. Data were collected through medical records during one year (2003) and 3998 patients were identified. The social demographic variables were: sex, age, ethnicity/race, education, profession, marriage status, family status, family functionality, home living conditions. Co-morbidity is defined by the presence of two or more diseases, and studied by the number of co-existing diseases. The time duration of the disease is defined by the number of years between the diagnostic year and 2003. The chronic disease problems are classified in accord with ICPC2. The characterization of population is descriptive. The effected comparisons applied the Mann-Whitney, Friedman, homogeneity and analysis of residuals tests. The Classificatory Hierarchy Analysis was utilized to determine the grouping of diseases and the Regression Categorization and Correspondences Analysis was used to study the relation of socio-demographic and co-morbidity. The median age of the population under study is 64,3 (SD= 15,70). There is a significant positive correlation (r =0,350 r=0)between “years with the first disease” and “patient age” for all individuals (men r=0,129 women r=0,231). Co-morbidity of the four index diseases is present in 1/3 of the studied population. The most prevalent associations for the four diseases are HTA+DM (14,03%) and HTA+IHD (6,25%). Expressive positive correlation between the duration of the first disease and the second and the third index disease interval is found. For the 3988 patients, 18 655 chronic health problems, translated in 244 ICPC2 codes, were identified. The mean number of problems is 5,94 (SD=3,04). Age, professional activity, family functionality and education level are the socio demographic characteristics that most contribute to differentiate individuals concerning the overall co-morbidity. Significant differences in co-morbidity between GP patients at local (c2=1165,368 r=0) and regional level (c2= 157,108 r=0) are found. This study has several consequences for professionals, for services, for the teaching and learning of General Practice and for the pursuit of knowledge in this area. New competences and performances have to be implemented. General Practitioners, assuming a role of co-ordination, have to perform the role of complexity managers in patient's care, working in practices supported by a strong team in collaboration with other specialists. In order to assess provided care, services have to develop tools where co-morbidity is included as a risk measure. The social context of comorbidity and chronicity has to be included in the curricula of General Practice learning and teaching areas. The dissertation ends describing the added value to participant's performance for their participation in the research and an agenda for further research, in this area, based on a community of practice.--------RÉSUMÉ:Cette thèse de doctorat prétend démontrer deux postulats : le premier, que la comorbidité de quatre maladies fréquentes, hypertension artérielle (HTA), diabète (DM), maladie cardiaque ischémique (DCI) et asthme, est un thème important en Médecine Générale et Familiale et que son étude a plusieurs implications au niveau de l'approche pour dispenser les soins, de leur organisation et de l'enseignement/apprentissage de la discipline. Le document comprend quatre parties distinctes : 1) justification de l'intérêt du sujet et objectifs de la dissertation ; 2) étude systématique de publications éditées entre 1992 et 2002 ; 3) présentation de deux travaux de recherche, descriptifs et exploratoires, un premier intitulée « Comorbidité de quatre maladies chroniques et leur relation avec des facteurs sociodémographiques » et un deuxième « Différences entre malades, selon le médecin et la sous région, dans la comorbilité de quatre maladies chroniques» ; 4) conclusions et conséquences des résultats des études dans la gestion de la pratique clinique, dans les services, dans l'enseignement de la discipline de MGF et dans le développement postérieur de la recherche dans ce domaine. Les objectifs de la première étude sont les suivants : décrire la prévalence de la comorbidité entre les quatre maladies chroniques, vérifier s'il existe une relation entre temps de durée de la première maladie et l'espace de temps jusqu'à le diagnostic de la 2ème ou 3ème maladie; déterminer la comorbidité entre les 4 maladies ; identifier d'éventuelles groupements de maladies et vérifier s'il existe une relation entre comorbidité et facteurs sociodémographiques. La deuxième étude prétend vérifier s'il existe des différences de comorbidité entre médecins et par groupement régional. Le travail empirique est descriptif et exploratoire. La population est composée des malades ayant au moins une des quatre maladies chroniques parmi les listes de malades de douze Médecins de Famille qui travaillent dans des Centres de Santé urbains, suburbains et ruraux (Districts de Lisbonne et Beja). Les données ont été extraites pendant l'année 2003 des registres des médecins. Les variables sociodémographiques étudiées sont : le sexe, l'âge, l'ethnie/race, la scolarité, la situation professionnelle, l'état civil, le type de famille, sa fonctionnalité, les conditions de logement. La comorbidité est définie lorsqu'il existe deux ou plusieurs maladies et est étudiée d'après le nombre de maladies coexistantes. La durée de la maladie est établie en comptant le nombre d'années écoulées entre le diagnostique et 2003. Les problèmes de santé chroniques sont classés par l'ICPC 2. Pour les comparaisons les tests de Mann-Whitney et Friedman, de homogénéité et analyse de résidues ont été appliqués. L'Analyse de Classification Hiérarchique a été utilisée pour procéder au regroupement des maladies et l'Analyse de Régression Catégorique et l'Analyse de Correspondances pour étudier la relation entre les caractéristiques sociodémographiques et la comorbilité. Les principaux résultats sont les suivants : les 3998 malades identifiés ont 64,3 ans d'âge moyen (DP=15,70). Il existe une corrélation positive significative (r =0,350 r=0) entre « les années avec la première maladie » et « l'âge des malades », chez tous les individus (hommes r=0,129 femmes r=0,231). La comorbidité entre les quatre maladies chroniques est une réalité chez 1/3 des patients. Les associations les plus fréquentes sont HTA+DM (14%) et HTA+DCI (6,25%). Il existe une corrélation positive significative entre la durée de la première maladie, HTA ou DM, et l'écart jusqu'à l'apparition de la deuxième et de la troisième maladie. Chez les malades, 18.655 problèmes chroniques de santé ont été identifiés et traduits en 244 codes de l'ICPC2. La moyenne des problèmes a été de 5,94 (DP=3,04). L'âge, l'activité professionnelle, la fonctionnalité familiale et la scolarité sont les variables qui ont le plus contribué à différencier les individus face à la comorbilité. Des différences notoires ont été trouvées entre médecins (c2=1165,368 r=0) et entre les groupements régionaux (c2=157,108 r=0) en ce qui concerne la comorbidité. Dans le groupe de patients de Lisbonne, le chiffre moyen de problèmes est de 6,45 et à Beja il est de 5,35. Cette étude met en évidence plusieurs conséquences pour les professionnels, les services, l'enseignement et l'élargissement du savoir dans ce domaine. Les médecins, soucieux de gérer efficacement les soins sont appelés à jouer un rôle de gestionnaires de la complexité et de coordinateurs, de même qu'à travailler dans un modèle d'organisation soutenus par un travail d'équipe. D'autre part, les services de santé doivent eux aussi développer des mesures d'évaluation des soins qui intègrent la comorbidité comme mesure de risque. Le contexte social de la chronicité et de la comorbidité devra être inclus comme domaines à étudier. La fin de cette thèse décrit l'impact de cette étude sur les collaborateurs et le développement futur de la recherche dans ce domaine.

Synthesis of biodiesel from wastes of food industry via direct transesterification with methanol/carbon dioxide mixtures

Dissertation presented at Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia from Universidade Nova de Lisboa to obtain the degree of Master in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Synthesis about a collaborative project on “Technology Assessment of Autonomous System

The project started in 2009 with the support of DAAD in Germany and CRUP in Portugal under the “Collaborative German-Portuguese University Actions” programme. One central goal is the further development of a theory of technology assessment applied to robotics and autonomous systems in general that reflects in its methodology the changing conditions of knowledge production in modern societies and the emergence of new robotic technologies and of associated disruptive changes. Relevant topics here are handling broadened future horizons and new clusters of science and technology (medicine, engineering, interfaces, industrial automation, micro-devices, security and safety), as well as new governance structures in policy decision making concerning research and development (R

Design of New Materials for Passive Vibration Control

The aim of this contribution is to extend the techniques of composite materials design to non-linear material behaviour and apply it for design of new materials for passive vibration control. As a first step a computational tool allowing determination of macroscopic optimized one-dimensional isolator behaviour was developed. Voigt, Maxwell, standard and more complex material models can be implemented. Objective function considers minimization of the initial reaction and/or displacement peak as well as minimization of the steady-state amplitude of reaction and/or displacement. The complex stiffness approach is used to formulate the governing equations in an efficient way. Material stiffness parameters are assumed as non-linear functions of the displacement. The numerical solution is performed in the complex space. The steady-state solution in the complex space is obtained by an iterative process based on the shooting method which imposes the conditions of periodicity with respect to the known value of the period. Extension of the shooting method to the complex space is presented and verified. Non-linear behaviour of material parameters is then optimized by generic probabilistic meta-algorithm, simulated annealing. Dependence of the global optimum on several combinations of leading parameters of the simulated annealing procedure, like neighbourhood definition and annealing schedule, is also studied and analyzed. Procedure is programmed in MATLAB environment.

Continuous catalyst free production of biodiesel from agro industrial waste with green solvents

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Química e Bioquímica