Reshaping higher education systems in the MENA region: the contribution of remote and virtual labs

Learning is not only happening in school or university; it is also an important aspect of the daily life that allows students to remain in their biological and physical environment helping to reshape it, by applying what they have learnt. Today, the higher education sector is a part of important strategies used by countries in order to foster their development. Despite its geographical location, i.e. its closeness to Europe and Asia, the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region still needs an integrated strategy for the advancement, reform, and update of its higher educational landscape. Although some solutions have been experimented in the region in the field of higher education, they have not been able to raise the quality of education to the level comparable that observed in developed countries. In other words, many MENA higher education systems are facing problems, for which solution ought to be sought. We analyse the situation of higher education systems in the MENA countries and the factors that affect the delay in achieving the level of education existing in other world regions, e.g. Europe, especially in the higher education sector. During the discussion, the impact of new technology-enhanced tools, such as remote laboratories, in the process of development and consolidation of MENA universities, is particularly stressed.

ERICA: smoking prevalence in Brazilian adolescents

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalences of tobacco use, tobacco experimentation, and frequent smoking among Brazilian adolescents. METHODS We evaluated participants of the cross-sectional, nation-wide, school-based Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents (ERICA), which included 12- to 17-year-old adolescents from municipalities of over 100 thousand inhabitants. The study sample had a clustered, stratified design and was representative of the whole country, its geographical regions, and all 27 state capitals. The information was obtained with self-administered questionnaires. Tobacco experimentation was defined as having tried cigarettes at least once in life. Adolescents who had smoked on at least one day over the previous 30 days were considered current cigarette smokers. Having smoked cigarettes for at least seven consecutive days was an indicator for regular consumption of tobacco. Considering the complex sampling design, prevalences and 95% confidence intervals were estimated according to sociodemographic and socio-environmental characteristics. RESULTS We evaluated 74,589 adolescents. Among these, 18.5% (95%CI 17.7-19.4) had smoked at least once in life, 5.7% (95%CI 5.3-6.2) smoked at the time of the research, and 2.5% (95%CI 2.2-2.8) smoked often. Adolescents aged 15 to 17 years had higher prevalences for all indicators than those aged 12 to 14 years. The prevalences did not differ significantly between sexes. The highest prevalences were found in the South region and the lowest ones, in the Northeast region. Regardless of sex, the prevalences were found to be higher for adolescents who had had paid jobs, who lived with only one parent, and who reported having been in contact with smokers either inside or outside their homes. Female public school adolescents were found to smoke more than the ones from private schools. CONCLUSIONS Tobacco use among adolescents is still a challenge. Intending to reduce the prevalence of tobacco use among young people, especially the ones under socioeconomic vulnerability conditions, Brazil must consolidate and increase effective public health care measures.

A Geografia e o Direito: a informação geográfica ao serviço da justiça

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciência e Sistemas de Informação Geográfica

Sistemas de informação geográfica nos municípios: o caso da Câmara Municipal de São Brás de Alportel

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciência e Sistemas de Informação Geográfica

VISIR: experiences and challenges

It is of crucial importance the integration of practical sessions in engineering curricula owing to their significant role in understanding engineering concepts and scientific phenomena. However, the lack of practical sessions due to the high costs of the equipment and the unavailability of instructors has caused a significant declination in experimentation in engineering education. Remote laboratories have tackled this issues providing online reusable and shared workbenches unconstrained by neither geographical nor time considerations. Thereby, they have extremely proliferated among universities and integrated into engineering curricula over the last decade. This contribution compiles diverse experiences based on the deployment of the remote laboratory, Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality (VISIR), on the practices of undergraduate engineering grades at various universities within the VISIR community. It aims to show the impact of its usage on engineering education concerning the assessments of students and teachers as well. In addition, the paper address the next challenges and future works carried out at several universities within the VISIR community.

Caracterização de estruturas tectónicas activas da região sul de Portugal com recurso a ferramentas SIG: o caso da falha de São Marcos - Quarteira

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciência e Sistemas de Informação Geográfica

Patterns of Associational Life in Western Europe, 1800-2000

Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of Political and Social Science of the European University Institute

Discovery and retrieval of Geographic data using Google

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

Implementação da filosofia Lean na gestão dos serviços de saúde: o caso português

Dissertação apresentada ao Instituto Politécnico do Porto para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Gestão das Organizações, Ramo de Gestão de Empresas. Orientada por Prof. Dra. Maria Rosário Moreira e Prof. Dr. Paulo Sousa

Aplicações de sistemas de informação geográfica em arqueologia

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciência e Sistemas de Informação Geográfica

Formação de alunos histórica e geograficamente competentes no ensino básico - contributo das imagens e dos mapas mentais

Relatório de investigação apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Ensino de 1º e 2º ciclo do Ensino Básico

Utilização de imagem LISS III para análise de espaços verdes em Lisboa

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciência e Sistemas de Informação Geográfica

Aplicação de SIG no processamento do inventário florestal nacional – Cabo Verde

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciência e Sistemas de Informação Geográfica

Integração num plano municipal de segurança rodoviária: Cidade da Amadora: Freguesia da Venteira

Trabalho de Projeto para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia na Área de Especialização em Vias de Comunicação e Transportes

Turismo sustentável nas margens do Tejo - Estudo de aptidão por um sistema de informação geográfica

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciência e Sistemas de Informação Geográfica