Júlia Lourenço

Explicitness of criteria in peer assessment processes for first-year engineering students

This article will outline the motives for the implementation of peer assessment as put into action at the first year of the Civil Engineering course of the University of Minho. The implementation of new assessment methods was a consequence of the successful implementation of peer assessment at other engineering courses. During the semester, three assessment moments took place, in which students assessed the work of their peers. Assessment criteria were defined in a negotiation process between students and teacher. The students subsequently graded the work of their colleagues and had to provide a clear justification for each given grade. The aim of this method is to involve students in the subject, enhance their motivation and deepen their learning. Advantages and disadvantages of peer assessment are discussed. The results that have been obtained so far draw attention to the nature of assessment criteria and the corresponding explicitness.This article will outline the motives for the implementation of peer assessment as put into action at the first year of the Civil Engineering course of the University of Minho. The implementation of new assessment methods was a consequence of the successful implementation of peer assessment at other engineering courses. During the semester, three assessment moments took place, in which students assessed the work of their peers. Assessment criteria were defined in a negotiation process between students and teacher. The students subsequently graded the work of their colleagues and had to provide a clear justification for each given grade. The aim of this method is to involve students in the subject, enhance their motivation and deepen their learning. Advantages and disadvantages of peer assessment are discussed. The results that have been obtained so far draw attention to the nature of assessment criteria and the corresponding explicitness.

Perceptions of Pedestrians and Shopkeepers in European Medium-Sized Cities: Study of Guimarães, Portugal

Planning pedestrian environments requires assumptions about how pedestrians will respond to characteristics of the walking environment in city centers. European city centers, especially medieval ones, have been more and more pedestrianized in the last two decades. Two major groups, shopkeepers and pedestrians profit from this enlargement of public space. The perception of shopkeepers is to attract more buyers from walkways and from adjacent places in the city centers. At the same time, the perception of pedestrians is to walk on pleasant and peaceful way without confronting other pedestrians in a chaotic situation. This paper considers the perceptions of shopkeepers and pedestrians in a medium-sized Portuguese city center using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) model. A field survey was conducted in January 2010 to summarize different perceptions of using sidewalks and to know the responses of shopkeepers and pedestrians. Both were interviewed during the field survey. Results show that there are seve...

Assessment of National Parks affected by naturbanization processes in Southern Europe

This paper assesses land-use changes related to naturbanization processes on three biosphere reserves in Southern Europe. A comparative analysis has been done on the National Parks in Peneda-Gerês in North Portugal, Cévennes in South France and Sierra Nevada in South Spain, using Corine Land Cover data from 1990 until 2006. Results indicate that the process of land-use intensification is taking place in the frame of naturbanization dynamics that could jeopardize the role of Protected Areas. Focusing on the trends faced by National Parks and their surrounding territories, the analysis demonstrates, both in quantitative and spatial terms, the intensification processes of land-use changes and how it is important to know them for coping with increasing threats. The article concludes that in the current context of increasing stresses, a broader focus on nature protection, encompassing the wider countryside, is needed if the initiatives for biodiversity protection are to be effective.

An integrated approach towards transforming an industrial park into an eco-industrial park: the case of Salaise-Sablons

This paper describes an integrated approach to transform an industrial park into an eco-industrial park by combining three interconnected goals, namely, the consolidation of industrial symbiosis, the promotion of sustainable accessibility and the development of multi-functionalities. The result is an interdependent approach where industrial and territorial ecosystems are jointly planned, seeking a more sustainable level of development that considers industrial activity, the transportation of people and goods and the spatial articulation with the neighbouring environment and urban areas. The critical points and challenges for improving the territorial integration of the French industrial park of Salaise-Sablons are discussed, providing lessons for the future. Regardless of the specificities of the case study, this approach has the potential to be adopted in similar industrial parks.

Pedestrian Planning in City Centers: a Study of Guimarães and Braga

People are walking in cities for different reasons. Some walkers walk for going to work, some are walking for shopping and some are for leisure during day and night hours. Medium sized cities like Braga and Guimaraes in Portugal are depending on car for even shorter trips up to 2 kilometers. However, the walkways are allowing people to walk in convenient and safe way including late night environment. The pedestrians feel troublesome to walk on the footpaths because of illegal parking and discontinuation of walkways. Municipality transport plans and master plans do not incorporate pedestrians as a major component. But this egress mode of transportation is very important in medium sized city centers like Guimaraes and Braga for the people to enjoy city centers’ activities. This paper focuses on the types of walkers who use the walkways on a regular basis. Usually, people are feeling comfortable to walk when they go to clubs and bars in a group in these small cities especially after work. This paper again tries to focus the varieties of problems on walkways and to present policies that can improve the situation. Municipal master plan and transportation plan have been studied carefully to see the provisions of pedestrian planning options. Field surveys have been conducted both in form of questionnaire and observation during the end of 2009 and results show different patterns of pedestrian behavior as well as evidence that people get different experiences with problems while walking on the walkways in both surveyed towns. Considering the issues of sustainable mobility, this paper also tries to suggest policies to motivate more people to walk especially in the medium-sized cities of Portugal.