Abstract

Abstract
This paper, referring to a work in progress, describes functional elements of the user interface of a Virtual World that may provide an important contribution to the process by which primary teachers and pupils collaborate in negotiating spatial configurations of educational spaces (classroom, playground, set for a theatre play, etc.). We have observed this process and some of its inherent difficulties and identified requirements or the functional elements of the interface. Finally, we reflect about factors impacting children's feelings of lack of authorship and ownership of spatial configurations resulting from collaboration and how a computer system may help in this regard. This Virtual World is therefore configured to be applied in educational contexts where curricular models reflect the new childhood culture where children have an active role in the spaces where they spend most of their time, as schools that adopt the Portuguese Modern School Movement pedagogical model.

Abstract
The final goal of this work is to automatically extract the contour of an object represented in an image after manually defining an initial contour for it. This rough initial contour will then evolve until it equals the border of the desired object. The contour is modelled by a physical formulation, using the Finite Element Method, and its evolution to the desired final contour of the object to segment is governed by several forces: internal forces, defined by intrinsic physical characteristics selected for the model; and external forces, defined in function of image features that best represent the desired object. To physically model the considered contour we adopt Sclaroff's isoparametric finite element, and to obtain the evolution of the model towards the object border we use Nastar's methodology that consists in solving the dynamic equilibrium equation.

Abstract
Customers gain their own experiences and knowledge through using products or services. This knowledge is recognized as one of the most important competitive resources for the companies in recent years. However the models were introduced in the literature for customer knowledge management (CKM) focused on the human based interaction with customers to exchange the knowledge. The aim of this paper is to propose the applicability of agents in knowledge exchange between customers and companies. Autonomy, reactivity and pro activity of agents aid CKM to response the customers as quickly as possible and to customize their services for individuals. The abilities of agents cover the requirements of CKM models. An introductory model is proposed to show the abilities of agents in CKM system. A comparison between agents' abilities and CKM is provided as final goal of this paper. Copyright © (2008) by Computers & Industrial Engineering.

Abstract
In this paper, it is presented a study concerning about the use of the three-dimensional virtual world Second Life (SL) to visualize and contextualize the learning of computer programming. SL allows students to use avatars to create 3D objects and program their behaviours, process data, and interact with external servers, using Linden Scripting Language (LSL), a language with C-like syntax and a state machine. Scripts can execute concurrently, and several students can simultaneously work over the same object and/or script. Through action research, we explore and analyse the potential of SL for teaching-learning introductory computer programming in computer science undergraduate courses. We believe this virtual environment has potential to help students, since it presents an immediately visual feedback of the program execution.

Abstract
The goals of the present work are to automatically extract the contour of an object and to simulate its deformation using a physical approach. Thus, to segment an object represented in an image, an initial contour is manually defined for it that will then automatically evolve until it equals the border of the desired object. The contour is modelled by a physical formulation, and its evolution to the desired final contour is driven by internal and external forces. To build the physical model of the contour used in the segmentation process, we adopted the isoparametric finite element proposed by Sclaroff, and to obtain its evolution towards the object border we used the methodology presented by Nastar that consists in solving the dynamic equilibrium equation between two consecutive instants. As for the simulation of the deformation between two different instances of an object, or between two objects, after their contours have been properly modelled, modal analysis, complemented with global optimization techniques, is employed to establish the correspondence between their nodes (data points). After the matching phase, the displacements field between the two contours is simulated using the dynamic equilibrium equation. The proposed approach will be here considered in dynamic pedobarography images.