Engaging students by moodleing a course? Case studies at the Polytechnic of Porto–School of Engineering

This work presents a comparative study covering four different courses lectured at the Polytechnic of Porto - School of Engineering, regarding the usage of a particular Learning Management System, i.e. Moodle, and its impact on students' results. This study addresses teachers who used this platform as a complement to their courses (b-learning) and identifies some particular issues in order to potentiate students' engagement and learning. Even though positive correlation factors exist, e.g. between the number of Moodle accesses versus the final exam grade obtained by each student, the explanation behind it may not be straightforward. Mapping this particular factor to course numbers reveals that the quality of the resources might be preponderant and not only their quantity. These results point to the fact that some dynamic resources might enlarge students' engagement.

Evaluation of the potential of translocated common cockle for ecological risk assessment studies: bioaccumulation and biomarkers test

Thesis submitted to the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia to obtain the Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, profile in Ecological Engineering

An environmental atlas of Albania

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

Environmental and international tariffs in a mixed duopoly

In this paper, we study the effects of environmental and trade policies in an international mixed duopoly serving two markets, in which the public firm maximizes the sum of consumer surplus and its profit. We also analyse the effects of privatization. The model has two stages. In the first stage, governments choose environmental taxes and import tariffs, simultaneously. Then, the firms engage in a Cournot competition, choosing output levels for the domestic market and to export. We compare the results obtained in the three different ways of moving on the decision make of the firms.

Environmental taxes in a public Stackelberg leader duopoly

We study whether privatization of a public firm improves (or deteriorates) the environment in a mixed Stackelberg duopoly with the public firm as the leader. We assume that each firm can prevent pollution by undertaking abatement measures. We get that, since in the mixed market the industry output is higher than in the private market, the abatement levels are also higher in the mixed market, and, thus, environmental tax rate in the mixed duopoly is higher than that in the privatized duopoly. Furthermore, the environment is more damaged in the mixed than in the private market. The overall effect on the social welfare is that it will becomes higher in the private than in the mixed market.

Privatization in a mixed duopoly with environmental taxes

In this paper, we study the effects of environmental and privatization in a mixed duopoly, in which the public firm aims to maximize the social welfare. The model has two stages. In the first stage, the government sets the environmental tax. Then, the firms engage in a Cournot competition, choosing output and pollution abatement levels.

O papel da engenharia na gestão de ativos de uma unidade industrial

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia de Manutenção

Porto Polytechnical Engineering School sustainable development action plan

Porto Polytechnical Engineering School (ISEP), a Global Reporting Initiative training partner in Portugal, has just presented its Sustainable Development Action Plan (PASUS), which main objective is the formation of a new kind of engineers, with a Sustainable Development (SD) philosophy in the core of their academic curricula courses.

Experiments on new polymer based mortars filled with FRP waste recyclates - a quantitative analysis

Glass fibre-reinforced plastics (GFRP) have been considered inherently difficult to recycle due to both: cross-linked nature of thermoset resins, which cannot be remolded, and complex composition of the composite itself. Presently, most of the GFRP waste is landfilled leading to negative environmental impacts and supplementary added costs. With an increasing awareness of environmental matters and the subsequent desire to save resources, recycling would convert an expensive waste disposal into a profitable reusable material. In this study, efforts were made in order to recycle grinded GFRP waste, proceeding from pultrusion production scrap, into new and sustainable composite materials. For this purpose, GFRP waste recyclates, were incorporated into polyester based mortars as fine aggregate and filler replacements at different load contents and particle size distributions. Potential recycling solution was assessed by mechanical behaviour of resultant GFRP waste modified polymer mortars. Results revealed that GFRP waste filled polymer mortars present improved flexural and compressive behaviour over unmodified polyester based mortars, thus indicating the feasibility of the waste reuse in polymer mortars and concrete. © 2011, Advanced Engineering Solutions.

Assessment of the environmental radiation by in situ gamma ray spectrometry

Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) under certain conditions can reach hazardous radiological levels contributing to an additional exposure dose to ionizing radiation. Most environmental concerns are associated with uranium mining and milling sites, but the same concerns should be addressed to natural near surface occurrences of uranium as well as man-made sources such as technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) resulting from phosphates industry, ceramic industry and energy production activities, in particular from coal-fired power plants which is one of the major sources of increased exposure to man from enhanced naturally occurring materials. This work describes the methodology developed to assess the environmental radiation by in situ gamma spectrometry in the vicinity of a Portuguese coal fired power plant. The current investigation is part of a research project that is undergoing in the vicinity of Sines Coal-Fired Power Plant (south of Portugal) until the end of 2013.

Measurements of environmental background radiation in the surrounding area of a coal-fired power plant

Certain materials used and produced in a wide range of non-nuclear industries contain enhanced activity concentrations of natural radionuclides. In particular, electricity production from coal is one of the major sources of increased exposure to man from enhanced naturally occurring materials. Over the past decades there has been some discussion about the elevated natural background radiation in the area near coal-fired power plants due to high uranium and thorium content present in coal. This work describes the methodology developed to assess the radiological impact due to natural radiation background increasing levels, potentially originated by a coal-fired power plant’s operation. Gamma radiation measurements have been done with two different instruments: a scintillometer (SPP2 NF, Saphymo) and a gamma ray spectrometer with energy discrimination (Falcon 5000, Canberra). A total of 40 relevant sampling points were established at locations within 20 km from the power plant: 15 urban and 25 suburban measured stations. The highest values were measured at the sampling points near to the power plant and those located in the area within the 6 and 20 km from the stacks. This may be explained by the presence of a huge coal pile (1.3 million tons) located near the stacks contributing to the dispersion of unburned coal and, on the other hand, the height of the stacks (225 m) which may influence ash’s dispersion up to a distance of 20 km. In situ gamma radiation measurements with energy discrimination identified natural emitting nuclides as well as their decay products (212Pb, 214Pb, 226Ra 232Th, 228Ac, 234Th 234Pa, 235U, etc.). This work has been primarily done to in order to assess the impact of a coal-fired power plant operation on the background radiation level in the surrounding area. According to the results, an increase or at least an influence has been identified both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Experimental study on polyester based concretes filled with glass fibre reinforced plastic recyclates – a contribution to composite materials sustainability

The development and applications of thermoset polymeric composites, namely fibre reinforced plastics (FRP), have shifted in the last decades more and more into the mass market [1]. Despite of all advantages associated to FRP based products, the increasing production and consume also lead to an increasing amount of FRP wastes, either end-of-lifecycle products, or scrap and by-products generated by the manufacturing process itself. Whereas thermoplastic FRPs can be easily recycled, by remelting and remoulding, recyclability of thermosetting FRPs constitutes a more difficult task due to cross-linked nature of resin matrix. To date, most of the thermoset based FRP waste is being incinerated or landfilled, leading to negative environmental impacts and supplementary added costs to FRP producers and suppliers. This actual framework is putting increasing pressure on the industry to address the options available for FRP waste management, being an important driver for applied research undertaken cost efficient recycling methods. [1-2]. In spite of this, research on recycling solutions for thermoset composites is still at an elementary stage. Thermal and/or chemical recycling processes, with partial fibre recovering, have been investigated mostly for carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) due to inherent value of carbon fibre reinforcement; whereas for glass fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP), mechanical recycling, by means of milling and grinding processes, has been considered a more viable recycling method [1-2]. Though, at the moment, few solutions in the reuse of mechanically-recycled GFRP composites into valueadded products are being explored. Aiming filling this gap, in this study, a new waste management solution for thermoset GFRP based products was assessed. The mechanical recycling approach, with reduction of GFRP waste to powdered and fibrous materials was applied, and the potential added value of obtained recyclates was experimentally investigated as raw material for polyester based mortars. The use of a cementless concrete as host material for GFRP recyclates, instead of a conventional Portland cement based concrete, presents an important asset in avoiding the eventual incompatibility problems arisen from alkalis silica reaction between glass fibres and cementious binder matrix. Additionally, due to hermetic nature of resin binder, polymer based concretes present greater ability for incorporating recycled waste products [3]. Under this scope, different GFRP waste admixed polymer mortar (PM) formulations were analyzed varying the size grading and content of GFRP powder and fibre mix waste. Added value of potential recycling solution was assessed by means of flexural and compressive loading capacities of modified mortars with regard to waste-free polymer mortars.

Acqusition and data analysis of the eco-efficiency for the establishment of indicators parameters for industrial environmental sustainability

The industrial activity is inevitably associated with a certain degradation of the environmental quality, because is not possible to guarantee that a manufacturing process can be totally innocuous. The eco-efficiency concept is globally accepted as a philosophy of entreprise management, that encourages the companies to become more competitive, innovative and environmentally responsible by promoting the link between its companies objectives for excellence and its objectives of environmental excellence issues. This link imposes the creation of an organizational methodology where the performance of the company is concordant with the sustainable development. The main propose of this project is to apply the concept of eco-efficiency to the particular case of the metallurgical and metal workshop industries through the development of the particular indicators needed and to produce a manual of procedures for implementation of the accurate solution.

Sustainable Development Action Plan at ISEP - From Concept to Engineering Practice

Some of the main challenges in Incorporating Sustainable Development practices into Engineering Education reside in establishing the bridge between concept and application. In particular the relation between value creation and the knowledge economy, innovation and entrepreneurship, as the main vehicles to a relevant application of the sustainable development concept, is not yet part of the majority of the engineering curricula in schools. Porto Polytechnical Engineering School (ISEP), a Global Reporting Initiative training partner in Portugal, as just presented its Sustainable Development Action Plan, with the main objective of creating a new kind of engineers, with Sustainable Development at the core of their degrees. The plan has several issues like publish an annual sustainability report, sustainable buildings, minimization of energy consumption and water policy, waste management, sustainable mobility, green procurement, EMAS certification, research and postgraduate activity and promotion of lectures and seminars in Sustainable Development.

The European Project Semester at ISEP: Learning to Learn Engineering

The European Project Semester at ISEP (EPS@ISEP) is a one semester project-based learning programme addressed to engineering students from diverse scientific backgrounds and nationalities. The students, organized in multicultural teams, are challenged to solve real world multidisciplinary problems, accounting for 30 ECTU. The EPS package, although focused on project development (20 ECTU), includes a series of complementary seminars aimed at fostering soft, project-related and engineering transversal skills (10 ECTU). This paper presents the study plan, resources, operation and results of the EPS@ISEP that was created in 2011 to apply the best engineering education practices and promote the internationalization of ISEP. The results show that the EPS@ISEP students acquire during one semester the scientific, technical and soft competences necessary to propose, design and implement a solution for a multidisciplinary problem.