Maria Madalena Teixeira de Araújo

Learning through virtual reality: a preliminary investigation

Abstract Our understanding of learning through the use of Virtual Reality (VR) is still in its infancy but a small core of work is emerging that is of growing importance. The literature is utilised to derive three design principles that are pertinent to VR systems used for learning. These principles form the basis for the design of a small VR world which was used for teaching a managment technique to students in Higher Education (HE). Thus, this project naturally divided into two stages: first, software was developed for Portuguese HE students to learn the basic concept of apportioning resources subject to constraints, while Stage 2 comprised a formative experiment to test for differences in the learning of the technique. The conclusion was that overall the traditionally taught group faired better, but not statistically significantly better, than the software based group. Issues of enjoyment and learning were also raised. More studies are needed before any generalities can be drawn.

The path to excellence of the Portuguese organisations recognised by the EFQM model

This paper presents research carried out in seven Portuguese organisations recognised by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Model between January 2009 and August 2011. Using a qualitative methodology, based on case studies, we conducted semi-structured interviews to find out the motivations behind the adoption of the EFQM Excellence Model of self-assessment, as well the companys current state of maturity, their route to improvement for a greater maturity level, their desirable future state of maturity, and finally, the definition of a methodology for using self-assessment based on the EFQM Model with all the inputs achieved in earlier stages. The main findings of this study are in accordance with other studies carried out across Europe, namely the fact that the internal motivations are the key factor for the implementation of the EFQM Excellence Model, the prevalence of Public organisations due the investment of National Authorities, the key role of CEOs and Top Managers and the ISO 9001 standard role in the successful implementation of several criteria of the model. A new methodology has been designed where the self-assessment team, Benchlearning and Benchmarking have a remarkable mission in the implementation process of the EFQM Excellence Model.

How wastewater processes can be optimized using LOQO

This paper describes the optimization of an activated sludge system which comprises an aeration tank and a secondary settler. This system is by far the most widely used biological process in wastewater treatment plants. The optimization process is represented as a smooth nonlinear problem with highly nonlinear equality constraints, some linear equality constraints, one inequality constraint and simple bounds, in which the objective is to minimize the total cost associated with the installation and operation of the biological process. We use the software LOQO to solve the problem. Several computational results show that the quality of the effluent, especially in terms of carbonaceous matter, influences directly the cost and the main contribution to the total cost is the air flow, due to the acquirement of the electromechanical equipment and spent energy.

The Integration of Social Concerns into Electricity Power Planning: A Combined Delphi and AHP Approach

The increasing acceptance of the principle of sustainable development has been a major driving force towards new approaches to energy planning. This is a complex process involving multiple and conflicting objectives, in which many agents were able to influence decisions. The integration of environmental, social and economic issues in decision making, although fundamental, is not an easy task, and tradeoffs must be made. The increasing importance of social aspects adds additional complexity to the traditional models that must now deal with variables recognizably difficult to measure in a quantitative scale. This study explores the issue of the social impact, as a fundamental aspect of the electricity planning process, aiming to give a measurable interpretation of the expected social impact of future electricity scenarios. A structured methodology, based on a combination of the Analytic Hierarchy Process and Delphi process, is proposed. The methodology is applied for the social evaluation of future electricity scenarios in Portugal, resulting in the elicitation and assignment of average social impact values for these scenarios. The proposed tool offers guidance to decision makers and presents a clear path to explicitly recognise and integrate the social preferences into electricity planning models.

Least-cost 100% renewable electricity scenarios

Renewable energy sources (RES) are becoming the main players for the sustainability of the planet and achieving a 100% RES energy system has been attested as a good strategy to go forward in many countries. This target however defies the system to integrate highly variable RES in a system that does not allow for shortage on the energy supply. This work presents a possible 100% RES scenario for an electricity system close to the Portuguese estimating and analysing the economic and technical impacts. The sensitivity of the results to aspects related to RES availability, electricity demand, peak load and interconnection capacity for electricity trading were also analysed. The results highlighted the excess of electricity produced in 100% RES systems and the importance of including interconnection capacity to contribute to overcome this problem.

NEOS server usage in wastewater treatment cost minimization

This paper describes the optimal design and operation of an activated sludge system in wastewater treatment plants. The optimization problem is represented as a smooth programming problem with linear and nonlinear equality and inequality constraints, in which the objective is to minimize the total cost required to design and operate the activated sludge system under imposed effluent quality laws. We analyze four real world plants in the Tras-os-Montes region (Portugal) and report the numerical results obtained with the FILTER, IPOPT, SNOPT and LOQO optimizers.

Analysis of the influence of the production sequence in an automobile assembly line, modeled as a network of closed-loops

Simulation is a technique which allows for the transfer of reality into the computer, through the creation of a model that reliably mirrors the behavior of a process (already existent or in its project phase). The work presented in this paper consists of the development of a decision-making support system, based on a real problem, with the purpose of optimizing the operation of an automobile assembly line with a four closed-loop network configuration. This layout system reflects one of the most common configurations of automobile assembly and preassembly lines formed by conveyors. A simulation model in an Arena environment was developed, which allowed for an analysis of the important aspects not yet studied in specialized literature, namely the assessment of the impact of the production sequence on the automobile assembly line. Various sequence rules were analyzed and the performance of each of the corresponding simulation models was registered. An experiment technique design was used in order to obtain t...

Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management—Insights from Industrial Managers

There is an increasing recognition that the competitive advantage of firms depends on their ability to create, transfer, utilize, develop and protect the Organizational knowledge assets. Therefore, the projects context should be wisely used for properly foster the learning collection through the lessons learned gathered during project life cycle. However, organizations do not seem to learn from their mistakes, rarely exploring the reasons for their projects’ success or failure, and very rarely applying those lessons learned to the business management. In fact, there is little or no point in learning unless management adapts its behavior accordingly. Usually top management does not give sufficient resources for activities such as reflecting and learning. This research is focused on assessing the organizational environment in order to properly explore the factors and dependencies amongst the social demographic variables. The questions addressed intent to highlight the key determinants that might foresee a proper learning and knowledge management environment.

Energy and environment: bringing together engineering and economics

This special issue includes extended and reviewed versions of high-quality papers submitted to the ‘‘2nd International Conference on Energy and Environment: bringing together Engineering and Economics (ICEE 2015)’’ held in Guimarães, Portugal, on June 18–19, 2015. Twenty-two papers were selected and the authors invited to submit an extended version for regular journal review, in order to be included into this special issue. After the journal’s review process, 10 papers were accepted for publication. The topics of the selected papers address multidisciplinary issues aligned with the multidisciplinary scope of the journal and cover a large spectrum of themes including sustainable development and economic growth, energy polices, clean energy and mobility technologies, waste management and social well-being. Research papers and case studies in different geographic regions are included providing a broad range of insights and opening avenues for further research. Rolewicz-Kalińska et al. (2016) focus on the location of facilities designed to treat the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) in Poland. The authors analyze case studies from several European countries considering organizational, economic, technical, spatial and social issues and conclude that the key factors for determining the choice of technology are the legal framework and the investment economics. The results show that further development of the anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities in Poland requires a coherent policy and commitment on the site of the local and central authorities. Miranda et al. (2016) present an innovative approach to characterize the metabolic pattern of informal urban settlements or slums. The case of Vidigal, a slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was addressed using the system of accounting Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM). Results show relatively low exosomatic metabolic rates for both the household and paid work sector in Vidigal, as well as high levels of human activity dedicated to economic activities and put in evidence

Multicriteria scenario analysis on electricity production

Energy planning is a complex process involving multiple and conflicting objectives with many agents able to influence decisions. This complexity is frequently addressed with the use of multicriteria tools, relying on a set of criteria and different methods to aggregate all the information in a final ranking of the available alternatives. This paper describes the application of a multicriteria decision tool for the analysis of Portuguese electricity scenarios. A set of criteria is proposed aiming to include social, economic, environmental and technical aspects. Criteria weighting was directly addressed considering 5 approaches: equitable weights, financial, technological, social and environmental perspectives. Results indicate that close to 100% RES scenario is the best option under a social perspective, base scenario represents the best option on a technical approach and scenarios relying on natural gas and wind power units are the best options for the electricity system under equitable weights, economic and environmental approaches.