Practical software improve design and performance of a randomly packed air stripping column for removing volatile organic compounds from water

STRIPPING is a software application developed for the automatic design of a randomly packing column where the transfer of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from water to air can be performed and to simulate it’s behaviour in a steady-state. This software completely purges any need of experimental work for the selection of diameter of the column, and allows a choice, a priori, of the most convenient hydraulic regime for this type of operation. It also allows the operator to choose the model used for the calculation of some parameters, namely between the Eckert/Robbins model and the Billet model for estimating the pressure drop of the gaseous phase, and between the Billet and Onda/Djebbar’s models for the mass transfer. Illustrations of the graphical interface offered are presented.

Performance management in a family business: a case study

This research, still at an early stage, and then presented in a poster format, intended to explain the management of organizational performance of a family business in the succession process using the case study method. The scripts for semi-structured interviews that will apply to managers, owners and other workers who are deemed suitable for the investigation, which include relatives of the owners of the company are being developed. For this work the model of organizational performance management developed by David Otley in 1999 [1], consisting of five questions that seek to explain the existing performance management in any organization is utilized.

Estudo prévio para a realização de manual de iniciação ao cravo: relatório de estágio:

Mestrado em Ensino da Música.

A improvisação como ferramenta pedagógica no ensino vocacional de piano

Resumo I - A frequência do Estágio do Ensino Especializado proporcionou uma oportunidade de observar o ensino de piano numa das escolas mais importantes do ensino da música em Portugal, acompanhando alunos do Curso Básico e do Curso Secundário, que frequentaram a Escola de Música do Conservatório Nacional no regime integrado. O processo de observação de aulas que decorreu deste estágio possibilitou-nos assistir às aulas de piano de uma professora experiente, permitindo a observação de metodologias consolidadas e assistir de perto à forma como estas são postas em prática. Por outro lado, através da leccionação de aulas observadas, foi dada a oportunidade de testar e reflectir sobre o próprio desempenho docente, procurando estratégias e ferramentas pedagógicas que possam vir a acrescentar qualidade à prática pedagógica. O ensino especializado da música em Portugal tem experimentado mudanças importantes, o que leva a que haja uma adaptação das escolas às mudanças, continuando a leccionar um ensino de qualidade, que se quer cada vez mais eficaz, inovador, e com professores cada vez melhor fundamentados e preparados.

A diferença evolutiva de alunos do projeto Orquestra Geração e das escolas vocacionais de música: a importância dos agentes de motivação

Resumo I (Prática Pedagógica) - Nesta secção do relatório de estágio pretende-se expor e caracterizar todos os elementos referentes à prática pedagógica, integrada no estágio, que ocorreu em parceria com a Escola de Música do Conservatório Nacional (EMCN) e o Projecto Orquestra Geração realizado no ano letivo de 2014/2015. Este tem por objetivo, a abordagem dos aspetos pedagógicos, as metodologias de ensino, a eficácia do trabalho, a motivação e os agentes motivacionais. Para a elaboração deste relatório, foram observados e devidamente analisados três alunos de forma peculiar. Porém, é de realçar que um dos intervenientes pertencia à EMCN e as aulas apenas eram observadas. Ao longo do ano letivo foram elaborados individualmente para cada aluno, vinte e dois planos de aula e ainda realizadas três gravações de aulas que foram vistas pelo professor orientador. À posteriori serão caraterizadas as duas entidades que fizeram parceria, contribuindo para a possível realização do relatório de estágio. Será abordada a sua contextualização histórica, os parâmetros de ensino, o contexto sociocultural. De seguida, será apresentada a caraterização dos três alunos, abordando nomeadamente, o seu meio envolvente, os métodos de estudo e a evolução motora, expressiva e auditiva. Serão analisadas e descritas algumas das práticas de ensino, desenvolvidas quer ao longo das aulas individuais, quer da observação das gravações e da análise constante dos planos de aulas e das planificações. Para finalizar o relatório de estágio, será elaborada uma reflexão crítica, acerca do desempenho como docente e respetiva prática pedagógica trabalhada com os alunos.

A importância do processo ensino: aprendizagem do trompete entre a música erudita e o jazz, tendo como objetivo a versatilidade na performance: relatório de estágio

Resumo I (Prática Pedagógica) - O Relatório de estágio foi concebido no âmbito da Unidade Curricular de Estágio do Ensino Especializado, Mestrado em Ensino da Música pela Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa. Assim, este documento assenta sobre a prática pedagógica desenvolvida no Conservatório de Música David de Sousa – Polo Pombal no ano letivo 2014-2015, abrangendo três alunos de diferentes graus de ensino. Neste Relatório será caracterizado o estabelecimento de ensino onde decorreu o estágio, assim como o desempenho que cada aluno teve durante o ano letivo, salientando os aspetos de competência motora, auditiva e expressiva. Este trabalho consistiu na avaliação do meu desempenho enquanto docente de trompete, permitindo-me refletir sobre os pontos bons e menos bons do meu trabalho, para que no futuro me seja possível atingir um nível mais elevado na minha atividade docente.

ISO 9001 and business performance: a quantitative study in portuguese organizations

The effects of ISO 9001 quality certification process inside an organization may be considered on a wide range. This article places this phenomenon under a theoretical perspective and aims to analyze the impact of ISO 9001 quality standard on business performance according to the financial information data. More specifically, the impact of ISO 9001on productivity, business value and increase on sales is viewed through an econometric model of analysis concerning a panel data of Portuguese companies from the agro-food and to the construction sector. This analysis has presented interesting different results and in brief revealed that it may not be deterministically ascertained a direct connection between ISO 9001 certification and the improvement on business performance. Many other variables are committed to its success.

Mechanical performance of concrete made with aggregates from construction and demolition waste recycling plants

This research aims at analysing the mechanical performance of concrete with recycled aggregates (RA) from construction and demolition waste (CDW) from various locations in Portugal. First the characteristics of the various aggregates (natural and recycled) used in the production of concrete were thoroughly analysed. The composition of the RA was determined and several physical and chemical tests of the aggregates were performed. In order to evaluate the mechanical performance of concrete, compressive strength (in cubes and cylinders), splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and abrasion resistance tests were performed. Concrete mixes with RA from CDW from several recycling plants were evaluated, in order to understand the influence that the RA's collection point, and consequently their composition, has on the characteristics of the mixes produced. The analysis of the mechanical performance allowed concluding that the use of RA worsens most of the properties tested, especially when fine RA are used. On the other hand, there was an increase in abrasion resistance when coarse RA were used. In global terms, the use of this type of aggregates, in limited contents, is viable from a mechanical viewpoint. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance of concrete made with aggregates recycled from precasting industry waste: influence of the crushing process

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the influence of the crushing process used to obtain recycled concrete aggregates on the performance of concrete made with those aggregates. Two crushing methods were considered: primary crushing, using a jaw crusher, and primary plus secondary crushing (PSC), using a jaw crusher followed by a hammer mill. Besides natural aggregates (NA), these two processes were also used to crush three types of concrete made in laboratory (L20, L45 e L65) and three more others from the precast industry (P20, P45 e P65). The coarse natural aggregates were totally replaced by coarse recycled concrete aggregates. The recycled aggregates concrete mixes were compared with reference concrete mixes made using only NA, and the following properties related to the mechanical and durability performance were tested: compressive strength; splitting tensile strength; modulus of elasticity; carbonation resistance; chloride penetration resistance; water absorption by capillarity; water absorption by immersion; and shrinkage. The results show that the PSC process leads to better performances, especially in the durability properties.

Performance assessment of a wind energy conversion system using a hierarchical controller structure

This paper deals with a hierarchical structure composed by an event-based supervisor in a higher level and two distinct proportional integral (PI) controllers in a lower level. The controllers are applied to a variable speed wind energy conversion system with doubly-fed induction generator, namely, the fuzzy PI control and the fractional-order PI control. The event-based supervisor analyses the operation state of the wind energy conversion system among four possible operational states: park, start-up, generating or brake and sends the operation state to the controllers in the lower level. In start-up state, the controllers only act on electric torque while pitch angle is equal to zero. In generating state, the controllers must act on the pitch angle of the blades in order to maintain the electric power around the nominal value, thus ensuring that the safety conditions required for integration in the electric grid are met. Comparisons between fuzzy PI and fractional-order PI pitch controllers applied to a wind turbine benchmark model are given and simulation results by Matlab/Simulink are shown. From the results regarding the closed loop point of view, fuzzy PI controller allows a smoother response at the expense of larger number of variations of the pitch angle, implying frequent switches between operational states. On the other hand fractional-order PI controller allows an oscillatory response with less control effort, reducing switches between operational states. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Projecto Bragança: uma criação em teatro e comunidade: trabalho de projecto

Trabalho de Projecto submetido à Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Teatro - especialização em Teatro e Comunidade.

Detect and pointing algorithm's performance for a planar smart antenna array: a review

An adaptive antenna array combines the signal of each element, using some constraints to produce the radiation pattern of the antenna, while maximizing the performance of the system. Direction of arrival (DOA) algorithms are applied to determine the directions of impinging signals, whereas beamforming techniques are employed to determine the appropriate weights for the array elements, to create the desired pattern. In this paper, a detailed analysis of both categories of algorithms is made, when a planar antenna array is used. Several simulation results show that it is possible to point an antenna array in a desired direction based on the DOA estimation and on the beamforming algorithms. A comparison of the performance in terms of runtime and accuracy of the used algorithms is made. These characteristics are dependent on the SNR of the incoming signal.

Performance indexes of a dot-enzime-linked immunosorbent assay (dot-ELISA) and an ezyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IgG-ELISA) for field surveys of new world leishmaniasis

Diagnostic performance indexes of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and efficiency were determined for dot-ELISA and IgG-ELISA tests in 340 leishmaniasis sera. Sensitivity of the dot-ELISA was significantly lower than IgG-ELISA's; the two tests had indexes of specificity and positive predictive value of the same magnitude. Seventy-eight sera gave a negative dot-ELISA test result and a positive IgG-ELISA test result. When sera were classified according to different criteria as how to interpret this diversity, the kappa statistic did not corroborate the classification indicating that the two tests display a substantial strength of agreement. The results presented indicate that performance indexes accrued in a survey where variables arc well known may be extrapolated to other population studies if the disease presents itself as highly prevalent (due to a selection bias or not) and may be expected to discriminate a disease status among test positives.

On performance of distributed model predictive control in power system frequency regulation

This paper describes the implementation of a distributed model predictive approach for automatic generation control. Performance results are discussed by comparing classical techniques (based on integral control) with model predictive control solutions (centralized and distributed) for different operational scenarios with two interconnected networks. These scenarios include variable load levels (ranging from a small to a large unbalance generated power to power consumption ratio) and simultaneously variable distance between the interconnected networks systems. For the two networks the paper also examines the impact of load variation in an island context (a network isolated from each other).

Lighting conditions and optical filters effects on visual performance of speleologists exposed to cave environments

The aim of this study is to evaluate lighting conditions and speleologists’ visual performance using optical filters when exposed to the lighting conditions of cave environments. A crosssectional study was conducted. Twenty-three speleologists were submitted to an evaluation of visual function in a clinical lab. An examination of visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, stereoacuity and flashlight illuminance levels was also performed in 16 of the 23 speleologists at two caves deprived of natural lightning. Two organic filters (450 nm and 550 nm) were used to compare visual function with and without filters. The mean age of the speleologists was 40.65 (± 10.93) years. We detected 26.1% participants with visual impairment of which refractive error (17.4%) was the major cause. In the cave environment the majority of the speleologists used a head flashlight with a mean illuminance of 451.0 ± 305.7 lux. Binocular visual acuity (BVA) was -0.05 ± 0.15 LogMAR (20/18). BVA for distance without filter was not statistically different from BVA with 550 nm or 450 nm filters (p = 0.093). Significant improved contrast sensitivity was observed with 450 nm filters for 6 cpd (p = 0.034) and 18 cpd (p = 0.026) spatial frequencies. There were no signs and symptoms of visual pathologies related to cave exposure. Illuminance levels were adequate to the majority of the activities performed. The enhancement in contrast sensitivity with filters could potentially improve tasks related with the activities performed in the cave.