Percorrer por autor "Leão, Celina P."
A mostrar 1 - 10 de 20
Resultados por página
Opções de ordenação
- An empirical study about the variables that influence the social acceptability on the biogasPublication . Dias, Telma; Rodrigues, Matilde; Pereira, Ilídio; Leão, Celina P.Due to the excessive use of conventional energy sources, renewable energy technologies have becoming a potential alternative to provide a sustainable development of society. Biogas has been considered as one of the most environmental beneficial source of energy that contributes for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming (Jiang et al., 2011). Furthermore, the production of biogas can be highly important in rural areas, where there are many treatment stations of organic wastes, being a good way to solve problems related to release gases into the atmosphere, as well as related to the bad smells. However, the society opposition, disinterest and lack of knowledge about the advantages of biogas production and its use, can be a barrier to the availability of the implementation of these renewable technologies. In this context, more studies are necessary to clarify the public acceptability of these technologies (Zyadin et al ., 2012), in order to get further information to help into design an intervention strategy.
- Analyzing and Classifying Risks: A Case-Study in the Furniture IndustryPublication . Leão, Celina P.; Rodrigues, Matilde; Brito, IreneIn this work we propose a methodology which permits the risk analysis and classification of occupational accidents in industrial settings. Data used in this study corresponds to accidents that occurred in the furniture industry in Portugal in 2010. A loss random variable is constructed in order to model the number of lost days implied by different contact modes of injuries in industry. The corresponding risk measures, such as Value-at-Risk, expected loss, loss variance and exceedance probabilities are determined in order to analyze and classify the contact modes according to their risk level, allowing the identification of the most problematic and the less problematic accident category in this industry. Contact with cutting, sharp, rough material was the most problematic whereas contact with electrical current, temperature, hazardous substance was the one with lower risk level.
- Avaliação e percepção do conforto térmico em bibliotecas do ensino superiorPublication . Rodrigues, Matilde; Leão, Celina P.; Barroso, Mónica P.As bibliotecas são consideradas um recurso imprescindível ao sucesso no ensino superior, sendo a sua concepção com base em critérios ergonómicos fundamental para potenciar o desempenho dos seus utilizadores. A falta de informações sobre as condições das bibliotecas do ensino superior em Portugal foi uma das razões para a realização do presente estudo. O objectivo principal foi o de caracterizar as condições de trabalho e conforto nestes locais através de uma abordagem objectiva e subjectiva. Neste artigo estão retratados apenas os aspectos referentes ao ambiente térmico, devido à sua importância quer para o conforto dos utilizadores, quer para a conservação dos livros. Foram estudadas duas bibliotecas da Universidade do Minho em três épocas do ano distintas de forma a incluir dias amenos, frios e quentes. Em cada estação do ano analisada, foram realizadas amostragens de campo ao longo de 4 dias. A análise objectiva teve por base a aplicação de uma check-list e a medição dos parâmetros físicos do ambiente térmico. Para a abordagem subjectiva, foi desenvolvido e aplicado um questionário de caracterização das Condições de Trabalho e Conforto em Bibliotecas de ensino superior (CTCB). Foram identificadas temperaturas inadequadas nas duas bibliotecas, nomeadamente no Verão, e níveis de humidade relativa inapropriados em BGUM, no entanto, os índices PPDPMV determinados através da abordagem objectiva, levam a considerar estes ambientes como adequados. No que concerne à percepção do ambiente térmico, esta ocorre de forma distinta de acordo com a estação do ano, existindo uma clara preferência por ambientes mais quentes no Inverno e mais frescos no Verão. Temperaturas entre os 21 e 23ºC são as mais aceitáveis na Primavera e no Inverno. No que respeita à velocidade do ar, quando a temperatura se apresenta reduzida, movimentações de ar consideradas baixas são passíveis de causar desconforto. Em termos gerais, o ambiente térmico nos espaços de leitura estudados não se apresenta apropriado às necessidades de conforto e de conservação dos livros.
- Beyond Scores: Early Findings on TBL's Impact in Engineering EducationPublication . Sena-Esteves, M. Teresa; Ribeiro, Margarida; Morais, Cristina; Brás-Pereira, Isabel; Guedes, Anabela; Soares, Filomena; Leão, Celina P.; Sena-Esteves, Maria Teresa; Ribeiro, Margarida; Morais, Leonilde Cristina; Pereira, Isabel; Guedes, AnabelaThis paper presents the preliminary findings of an ongoing study investigating the influence of Team-Based Learning (TBL) on the academic performance of engineering students, particularly its impact on their grasp of subject matter and ability to solve real-world problems. Quantitative data analysis explored correlations between students' entry-level academic scores and their performance in a course incorporating TBL. The initial results suggest that there is no significant correlation, indicating that entry scores may not predict success in this TBL-integrated course. The analysis coverages multiple academic years, offering a comprehensive perspective on how trends and outcomes evolve over time. This study contributes to the discourse on effective educational practices in engineering education by examining the potential of TBL to enhance learning outcomes. Given the study's ongoing nature, these findings are provisional but pave the way for more detailed future analyses.
- Characterization of OSH hazards in the Portuguese furniture sectorPublication . Rodrigues, Matilde A.; Arezes, Pedro; Leão, Celina P.The furniture sector is one of the most important economic sectors in the north of Portugal, comprising 5 798 companies and employing more than 32 000 workers (Eurostat, 2012). However, this is a sector with several economical and organizational constraints. For example, in these companies most of the workforce is unqualified, the professionalization in terms of their management, marketing and trade policies is reduced and the occupational accidents remain high (EGP, n.d.; Eurostat, 2012). The high number of accidents in this sector is the result of several factors, namely the sector’s risk, stakeholders’ low safety concerns, lack of machine maintenance and the lower qualifications of workers in the sector. Furthermore, the current economical situation in Portugal can also contribute to the small the sector. Furthermore, the current economical situation in Portugal can also contribute to the small Occupational, Safety & Health (OSH) domain (Loureiro et al ., 2014). Considering this scenario, it is important to know and characterize the hazards in this sector in order to identify the key risks of the sector, helping the competent authorities and the companies in the definition of a strategy of intervention in this crisis period.
- Development of a multilevel safety climate measure for furniture industriesPublication . Rodrigues, Matilde; Leão, Celina P.; Arezes, PedroSafety climate is a relevant measure for monitoring safety conditions. However, there is still no consensus about safety climate measures. This study aims to develop and to analyse the suitability of an instrument to measure the safety climate in Portuguese furniture industries, using a multilevel structure, through a pilot survey. A questionnaire, called Safety Climate in Wood Industries, was developed. The first part comprised workers’ demographic questions. The second part included 39 items for measuring safety climate, analysing three different levels: organizational, group and individual levels. The questionnaire was tested on a sample of 29 workers of a Portuguese furniture industry. The company safety conditions were also analysed. The analysis of the questionnaire results shows significant differences on safety climate among sectors, which may be related to differences in safety conditions among sectors. The study shows that the questionnaire allows identifying different safety climates in the same enterprise.
- A Fuzzy Logic Approach in the Definition of Risk Acceptance Boundaries in Occupational Safety and HealthPublication . Rodrigues, Matilde; Leão, Celina P.; Nunes, Eusébio; Sousa, Sérgio; Arezes, PedroOrganizations need to make decisions about risk acceptance, to decide about the need of risk-reducing measures. In this process, the personal judgments of occupational safety and health (OSH) practitioners have great importance. If on one hand, they have the technical knowledge about risk; on the other hand, the decisions can be dependent on their level of risk acceptance. This paper analyzes judgments of OSH practitioners about the level of risk acceptance, using the fuzzy logic approach. A questionnaire to analyze the reported level of risk acceptance was applied. The questionnaire included 79 risk scenarios, each accounting for the frequency of an accident with more lost workdays than a given magnitude. Through the two-step cluster analysis, three groups of OSH practitioners were identified: unacceptable, tolerable, and realistic groups. A further analysis of the realistic group judgments about risk was performed, using the fuzzy logic approach. The fuzzy sets of input and output variables were determined, and the relationship between the variables was mapped through fuzzy rules. After that, the min–max fuzzy inference method was used. The obtained results show that the risk level is acceptable when input variables are at the lowest value and unacceptable when the risk level is high. The obtained results allow us to better understand the modeling of OSH practitioners’ judgments about risk acceptance, noting the uncertainty related to these judgments
- How do students perceive their Learning Assessment?Publication . Leão, Celina P.; Soares, Filomena Baptista; Pereira, Isabel; Ribeiro, Margarida; Sena-Esteves, Maria Teresa; Guedes, Anabela; Meireles, Maria João; Morais, Leonilde Cristina; Silva, Paulo; Pinheiro, M.Nazaré Coelho; Santos, LauraThe present work was developed considering the learning assessment vector and linking it to students’ general satisfaction with the engineering course. The key findings show a positive association between students’ general satisfaction and the learning assessment, specifically with the assessment methodologies effectiveness regarding the different subjects taught. Globally,studentsconsidered the assessment methodologies effective and appropriate to the different subjects taught however, they do not feel encouraged to be part of the process of monitoring his/her performance, and to thetime allocated to the assessment testsas it wasnot considered appropriateto the volume of subjects taught.
- Internship Assessment from Company Supervisor’s viewpoints: a five-year experiencePublication . Pereira, Isabel M. Brás; Silva, Paulo; Esteves, M. Teresa Sena; Ribeiro, Margarida M.; Guedes, Anabela; Leão, Celina P.; Soares, Filomena BaptistaIn this paper, the assessment of curricular internships performed by the chemical engineering students from the last year of first cycle graduation from Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) is analysed considering the company supervisor point of view. The objective of this study is to verify if the students are able to integrate the real working world and if they have the required skills to develop the proposed activities during the internship. The analysis is based in the results of a questionnaire fulfilled by the company supervisor where different types of characteristics and competencies are evaluated in a scale from 1 (very poor) to 6 (excellent) allowing the assessment of the student’s professional performance. A group of 102 students was considered distributed by five academic years (2009 to 2014) and 39 companies were involved. The results show that the assessment of the students’ performance is globally very positive. The items showing better results refer to punctuality, attendance, learning skills during the internship and students’ relationship with peers. The performance is not so good when considering sense of initiative, autonomy or scientific knowledge in specific areas. Overall performance is classified with a mean value very next to Very Good (5) grade and companies show a great availability to accept more internship students from ISEP. Considering the final academic grades obtained, the internship performance is very well classified by the companies’ supervisors (mean of 17.3/20) reflecting the very high commitment of the students in their internships.
- Interpreting students’ perceptions in fluid mechanics learning outcomesPublication . Soares, Filomena Baptista; Leão, Celina P.; Guedes, Anabela; Pereira, Isabel M. Brás; Morais, Cristina; Esteves, M. Teresa SenaThe objective of this study is to analyse the impact of introducing a practical work in the learning process of the Fluid Transport Systems course in Chemical Engineering degree. The students, in groups of two or three elements, were free to choose the application case in order to develop the practical work proposed by the responsible teachers. The students selected a centrifugal pump to supply water to houses or buildings and designed the piping system. The practical work was evaluated through the written report. The students’ perceptions were analysed through a questionnaire. The learning outcomes were also considered in order to understand how the fluid mechanics concepts were acquired. In the teachers’ point of view the teamwork should enable the development of students’ soft skills and competencies, promoting the ability to integrate and work in teams. The students changed their learning processing and perception becoming more reflective and less accommodative, forcing them to think critically and share opinions. Regarding the Fluid Mechanics assessment, the practical work increased, in average, the final grade at least one value.