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Publications

2020

Energy Refactorings for Android in the Large and in the Wild

Authors
Couto, M; Saraiva, J; Fernandes, JP;

Publication
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2020 IEEE 27TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOFTWARE ANALYSIS, EVOLUTION, AND REENGINEERING (SANER '20)

Abstract
Improving the energy efficiency of mobile applications is a timely goal, as it can contribute to increase a device's usage time, which most often is powered by batteries. Recent studies have provided empirical evidence that refactoring energy-greedy code patterns can in fact reduce the energy consumed by an application. These studies, however, tested the impact of refactoring patterns individually, often locally (e.g., by measuring method-level gains) and using a small set of applications. We studied the application-level impact of refactorings, comparing individual refactorings, among themselves and against the combinations on which they appear. We use scenarios that simulate realistic application usage on a large-scale repository of Android applications. To fully automate the detection and refactoring procedure, as well as the execution of test cases, we developed a publicly available tool called Chimera. Our findings include statistical evidence that i) individual refactorings produce consistent gains, but with different impacts, ii) combining as much refactorings as possible most often, but not always, increases energy savings when compared to individual refactorings, and iii) a few combinations are harmful to energy savings, as they can actually produce more losses than gains. We prepared a set of guidelines for developers to follow, aiding them on deciding how to refactor and consistently reduce energy.

2020

An Industry 4.0 Approach for the Robot@Factory Lite Competition

Authors
Lima, J; Oliveira, V; Brito, T; Goncalves, J; Pinto, VH; Costan, P; Torrico, C;

Publication
2020 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AUTONOMOUS ROBOT SYSTEMS AND COMPETITIONS (ICARSC 2020)

Abstract
The Robot@Factory Lite (R@FL) is a competition held at the Portuguese Robotics Open that aims to present a problem inspired by the deployment of autonomous mobile robots on a factory shop floor. This paper proposes an approach to transform this competition according to the Industry 4.0 concept using the Wi-Fi to attribute orders to the mobile robot. The main contribution of this paper is to address a Supply Chain Management (SPM) of the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) that will inform the tasks to the robot so that it can schedule. It is presented a new hardware architecture that should be able to read the information of the parts through Wi-Fi in a client-server methodology. It also includes encoders that allow to feedback the wheels rotation and can be used to estimate the odometry.

2020

Fostering soft and hard skills for innovation among informatics engineering students – An emancipatory approach

Authors
Torres, MF; Flores, N; Torres, RT;

Publication
Journal of Innovation Management

Abstract
Informatics engineers are currently in the spotlight of innovation. It is, therefore, relevant to analyse and reflect on how higher education can, and should, prepare future engineers to innovate as expected in this ever-changing world. This paper aims to further research and foster scholarly debate regarding the requirements and implications of teaching innovation. For that purpose, we examine an exploratory case study on interdisciplinary cooperation between two higher education courses, designed to promote students’ active learning of innovation through the progressive development of their soft and hard skills. Both courses engaged in an emancipatory pedagogical approach, mostly grounded in project-based work, active learning, and formative assessment. To obtain feedback on this interdisciplinary cooperation, questionnaires were devised to ascertain the students’ perceptions about this pedagogical approach. Individual responses were collected from both courses and data was analysed through simple statistical procedures. Articulating a priori soft skills development with a posteriori hard skills learning process is perceived by students as beneficial in gradually, yet successfully, understanding the subject of innovation. Also, there were even some external success indicators which showed the recognition of successful innovation skills development in informatics engineering students. Thus, according to students’ perceptions of their experience with an emancipatory pedagogy that connected soft with hard skills development, we conclude that such approach encouraged students to create new knowledge and allowed them to develop the necessary skills to innovate.

2020

Behavior of Listeria monocytogenes in beef Sous vide cooking with Salvia officinalis L. essential oil, during storage at different temperatures

Authors
Moura Alves, M; Gouveia, AR; de Almeida, JMMM; Monteiro Silva, F; Silva, JA; Saraiva, C;

Publication
LWT-FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Abstract
This study aims to evaluate the effect of Salvia officinalis L. (sage) essential oil (EO) on behavior of L. monocytogenes ATCC679 inoculated in beef processed by Sous-vide cook-chill (SVCC) and stored at 2 or 8 degrees C during 28 days. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of L. monocytogenes was obtained with 31.3 mu L/mL of EO. D values were determined for samples with EO (21'39 '') and without EO (21'17 ''). Beef samples were inoculated with L. monocytogenes at a concentration of 1 x 108 CFU/mL and vacuum-packed after EO addition at MIC value. Three heat treatments (F) were applied to reduce 1-log10 (F1), 2-log10 (F2) and 3-log10 (F3). EO composition was identified by gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry analysis. The main compounds identified were beta-pinene (11.70%), camphor (8.21%), beta-thujene (7.82%), 1.8-cineole (5.19%), alpha-humulene (6.07%) and endoborneol (4.87%).A reduction of approximately 1 log (CFU/g) of L. monocytogenes was observed in EO samples, compared to control samples at 2 degrees C. At 8 degrees C, despite exponential development from day 14, lower L. monocytogenes counts were observed in EO samples. Data showed that sage EO can help to control L. monocytogenes growth. However a possibility of using sage as a natural preservative, must be combined with other agents to control microbial growth more effectively.

2020

Academic entrepreneurship intentions: a systematic literature review

Authors
Neves, S; Brito, C;

Publication
JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT

Abstract
Purpose The objective of this research is to have an up-to-date and comprehensive assessment of the current knowledge regarding the variables that encourage the individuals, within the academic community, to get involved in knowledge exploitation activities. It is influenced by the observation that there is a need for more systematic scrutiny of micro-level processes to deepen our understanding of academic entrepreneurship (Balven et al., 2018; Wright and Phan, 2018). The study proposes to answer to 'What are the drivers of academic entrepreneurial intentions?' and 'What are the emerging topics for future research?' Design/methodology/approach The paper follows a Systematic Literature Review process (Tranfield et al., 2003) and adopts a four-step process format from previous literature reviews within the entrepreneurship context (Miller et al., 2018). From the results within Scopus and Web of Science databases, this research selected, evaluated, summarised and synthesised 66 relevant papers. Findings This study provides a factor-listed representation of the individual, organisational and institutional variables that should be considered in the strategies defined by the university. Moreover, the study concludes that the push factors behind the intentions are multiple, context-dependent, hierarchy-dependent, heterogeneous and, at the same time, dependent on each other and against each other. Lastly, the study contributes to academic entrepreneurship literature, especially entrepreneurial intention literature, which has recently received more researchers' attention. Originality/value The study corroborates that the individual factors, directly and indirectly via Theory of Planned Behaviour, strongly impact the academics' intentions. While the focus of the papers under review was an in-depth analysis of a selected group of factors, this SLR sought to compile the factors that were identified and provide a broader picture of all those factors to be considered by the university management. It contributes to the identification and clustering of the drivers that encourage academics to engage in knowledge valorisation activities, differentiating them by activity. For the practitioners, this list can be used by university managers, TTOs and department managers, and policymakers to guide questionnaires or interviews to analyse their academics' intentions and adequately support its academic engagement strategy. Lastly, this study also suggests worthwhile avenues for future research.

2020

Anthropometric data for wheelchair users: a systematic literature review

Authors
Braganca, S; Castellucci, I; Costa, E; Arezes, P; Carvalho, M;

Publication
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND ERGONOMICS

Abstract
The wheelchair user population has special requirements that should be met. However, existing anthropometric data for this specific population are limited. This article characterizes and compares the available literature on anthropometric data of wheelchair users to allow for better understandings and use of data in future studies. A systematic literature review was conducted, where inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined. Forty-one articles were selected to be included in this review. The results show that there is limited information available on wheelchair users' anthropometrics. There is a lack of consistency between studies, regarding the measurements collected, samples used and methods applied. These methodological issues and differences between studies make it difficult to ensure good comparisons of databases and populations and proper designs of spaces and equipment. This study provides valuable information for future studies that need to use anthropometric data, for research and development of new products targeting wheelchair users.

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