An interactive learning approach to accounting classes

This working paper explores the use of interactive learning tools, such as business simulations, to facilitate the active learning process in accounting classes. Although business simulations were firstly introduced in the United States in the 1950s, the vast majority of accounting professors still use traditional teaching methods, based in end-of-chapter exercises and written cases. Moreover, the current students’ generation brings new challenges to the classroom related with their video, game, internet and mobile culture. Thus, a survey and an experimentation were conducted to understand, on one hand, if accounting professors are willing to adjust their teaching methods with the adoption of interactive learning tools and, on the other hand, if the adoption of interactive learning tools in accounting classes yield better academic results and levels of satisfaction among students. Students using more interactive learning approaches scored significantly higher means than others that did not. Accounting professors are clearly willing to try, at least once, the use of an accounting simulator in classes.

The use of information and interactive processes in growth management

Tese de doutoramento em Engenharia do Ambiente, especialidade em Sistemas Sociais

Culturtainment - a new interactive entertainment genre: assessment of Cultural Heritage digital content in leisure software games

European Master in Multimedia and Audiovisual Administration

Interactive whiteboards in Portuguese primary schools: the teachers' view

Focusing on the use of Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs) in primary schools in Oeiras municipality, this article presents primary teachers’ views, from their experience, on the implementation of this innovation as a resource for the teaching and learning processes. IWBs have been recently launched in the framework of a major program aiming the technological modernization of Portuguese schools, in order to promote the use of ICT in teaching and learning, as well as in school management. Findings show that teachers are enthusiastic about Interactive White Boards because they really believe their pupils learn better and in a more joyful way. However, they draw attention to the need of training in order to fully exploit the potential of this resourc

Intention recognition, commitment and their roles in the evolution of cooperation

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Informática

Public Participation geographic information systems in developing countries: lessons from Uganda on the impacts of interactive screens PPGIS and community perceptions of space

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

UsaGame – A new methodology to support user- centered design of touchscreen game applications

Dissertação para Obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial

Gesture based persuasive interfaces for public ambient displays

Dissertação de Mestrado em Engenharia Informática 2º Semestre, 2011/2012

Interactive acquisition of spatial information from images for multimedia applications

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Informática

Collecting data for indoor mapping of the university of Münster via a location based game

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Three essays on game theory and bargaining

A PhD Dissertation, presented as part of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the NOVA - School of Business and Economics

Avatars and the «Imitation Game» – can machines smile?

Considering Alan Turing’s challenge in «Computing Machinery and Intelligence» (1950) – can machines play the «imitation game»? – it is proposed that the requirements of the Turing test are already implicitly being used for checking the credibility of virtual characters and avatars. Like characters, Avatars aim to visually express emotions (the exterior signs of the existence of feeling) and its creators have to resort to emotion codes. Traditional arts have profusely contributed for this field and, together with the science of anatomy, shaped the grounds for current Facial Action Coding System (FACS) and their databases. However, FACS researchers have to improve their «instruction tables» so that the machines will be able, in a near future, to be programmed to carry out the operation of recognizing human expressions (face and body) and classify them adequately. For the moment, the reproductions have to resort to the copy of real life expressions, and the presente smile of avatars comes from mirroring their human users.

InStory – The Making of na Interactive Digital Narrative

Em cooperação com Glorianna Davenport do M.I.T. Media Lab

Game wizard

Hoje em dia, há um aumento evidente dos produtos ou soluções sob medida, com o objectivo de melhor se adaptarem às necessidades dos perfis de clientes. Num outro contexto, existe um largo crescimento da presença da computação informática nas salas de aulas, de maneira a auxiliar o professor a cativar e motivar os alunos, através de jogos educativos. Contudo, nem todos os docentes têm conhecimentos informáticos avançados, então não têm forma de perso-nalizar jogos, o que beneficiaria as crianças com soluções adaptadas às suas necessidades. Com isto, foi idealizado um sistema, que assenta sobre uma framework de criação de jogos, e que possibilite a um utilizador com menos habilidades informáticas a possibilidade de criar um jogo. Apesar de existirem diversos jogos desse tipo, seria vantajoso um professor poder criar um jogo, personalizando-o de acordo com as necessidades do aluno e com as competências que se desejam desenvolver. Este sistema consiste numa interface em que o utilizador segue uma série de passos definidos, do qual resulta um ficheiro com todas as características de jo-go, que será depois importado para uma framework, permitindo assim a criação de diferentes jogos, desde que se enquadrem na mesma mecânica.

Interactive spatial decision support for sustainable agroforestry management: a case study in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Forest managers, stakeholders and investors want to be able to evaluate economic, environmental and social benefits in order to improve the outcomes of their decisions and enhance sustainable forest management. This research developed a spatial decision support system that provides: (1) an approach to identify the most beneficial locations for agroforestry projects based on the biophysical properties and evaluate its economic, social and environmental impact; (2) a tool to inform prospective investors and stakeholders of the potential and opportunities for integrated agroforestry management; (3) a simulation environment that enables evaluation via a dashboard with the opportunity to perform interactive sensitivity analysis for key parameters of the project; (4) a 3D interactive geographic visualization of the economic, environmental and social outcomes, which facilitate understanding and eases planning. Although the tool and methodology presented are generic, a case study was performed in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. For the whole study area, it was simulated the most suitable location for three different plantation schemes: monoculture of timber, a specific recipe (cassava, banana and sugar palm) and different recipes per geographic unit. The results indicate that a mixed cropping plantation scheme, with different recipes applied to the most suitable location returns higher economic, environmental and social benefits.