Abstract
Learning computer programming is a complex activity and requires a lot of practice. The viral pandemic that we are facing has intensified these difficulties. In this context, programming learning platforms play a crucial role. Most of them are characterized by providing a wide range of exercises with progressive complexity, multi-language support, sophisticated interfaces and automatic evaluation and gamification services. Nevertheless, despite the various features provided, others features, which influence user experience, are not emphasized, such as performance and usability. This article presents an user experience evaluation of the LearnJS playground, a JavaScript learning platform which aims to foster the practice of coding. The evaluation highlights two facets of the code playground: performance and a usability. In the former, lab and field data were collected based on Google Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights reports. In the later, an inquiry was distributed among students from a Web Technologies course with a set of questions based on flexibility, usability and consistency heuristics. Both evaluation studies have a twofold goal: to improve the learning environment in order to be officially used in the next school year and to foster the awareness of user experience in all phases of the software development life-cycle as a key facet in Web applications engagement and loyalty.

Abstract
To remain competitive, companies must continuously improve the processes at hand, be they administrative, production, or logistics. The objective of the study described in this paper was to develop a decision-making tool based on a simulation model to support the production of knits and damask fabrics. The tool was used to test different control strategies for material flow, from the raw material warehouse to the finished product warehouse, and thus can also be used to evaluate the impacts of these strategies on the productivity. The data upon which the decision support tool was built were collected from five sectors of the plant: the raw material warehouse, knit production, damask production, finishing work, and the finished product warehouse. The decision support tool met the objectives of the project, with all five strategies developed showing positive results. Knit and damask production rates increased by up to 8% and 44%, respectively, and a reduction of 75% was observed in the waiting time on the point of entry to the finishing work area, compared to the company's existing system.

Abstract
Association football has been the subject of many research studies. In this work we present a study on player similarity using passing sequences extracted from games from the top-5 European football leagues during the 2017/2018 season. We present two different approaches: first, we only count the motifs a player is involved in; then we also take into consideration the specific position a player occupies in each motif. We also present a new way to objectively judge the quality of the generated models in football analytics. Our results show that the study of passing sequences can be used to study player similarity with relative success.

Abstract
Este estudo desenvolveu-se numa Unidade Curricular da Licenciatura em Engenharia Informática, no contexto de ensino superior português a distância, com alunos maiores de 23 anos, na qual se adotou a abordagem pedagógica e-SimProgramming. Esta abordagem situada em ambiente empresarial simulado recorre a narrativas imersivas desenvolvidas através da técnica OC2-RD2, contemplando o argumento, as personagens e os espaços. Os nomes das personagens têm significados que remetem para arquétipos. Para operacionalizar esta técnica adaptaram-se os nomes dados às personagens ao contexto cultural de Portugal, origem da maioria dos alunos, já que os originais tinham sido concebidos para o contexto cultural do Brasil. Adotou-se uma metodologia de investigação quantitativa e qualitativa, numa perspetiva de estudo de tendência, baseada na análise de respostas a um questionário online. O objetivo visa compreender as perceções dos estudantes sobre os nomes das personagens, em relação à sua adequabilidade na abordagem aos arquétipos da técnica OC2-RD2 no ambiente de simulação. O questionário é composto por questões relativas à perceção dos estudantes quanto ao nome de cada personagem, e caso considerassem o nome desadequado poderiam sugerir alternativas. Realizou-se a análise de dados quantitativa e qualitativa, sendo que em 99 alunos inscritos, 40 responderam ao questionário (40%). Os resultados demonstram que os nomes selecionados para as personagens foram aceites pela maioria dos estudantes (valores iguais ou superiores a 70%). Quanto às sugestões de nomes alternativos, surgiram três grupos distintos: 1- personalidades da área do desenvolvimento de software (e.g. Lovelace, remetendo para Ada Lovelace) e referências técnicas (e.g. Python, uma linguagem de programação); 2- nomes próprios portugueses (e.g. Manuel, Íris); 3- expressões figurativas (e.g. Quasenada, MaisouMenos). Conclui-se que a adaptação dos nomes originais das personagens para o contexto cultural de Portugal foi considerada adequada pelos estudantes, podendo contribuir para a aprendizagem situada com imersão em simulação de ambiente empresarial. Em trabalhos futuros recomenda-se a análise da interpretação dos nomes sugeridos pelos alunos às personagens, para aferir se correspondem aos arquétipos originais ou se induziram alguma alteração, para melhor compreensão da perceção das narrativas face ao contexto cultural e às várias áreas de conhecimentos.;This study was developed in a course of the undergraduate program in Informatics Engineering, in the context of online higher education in Portugal, with students over 23 years of age, in which the eSimProgramming pedagogical approach was adopted. This approach employs situated learning with immersive narratives to simulate a business environment. The narratives were developed through the OC2-RD2 technique, contemplating the script, the characters, and the spaces. The names of the characters have meanings that refer to archetypes. To deploy this technique, the names given to the characters were adapted to the cultural context of Portugal, the origin of most students, since the original names had been designed for the cultural context of Brazil. A quantitative and qualitative research methodology was adopted, in a trend study perspective, based on the analysis of answers from an online questionnaire. The objective is to understand perceptions of character names in relation to their suitability in addressing the archetypes of the OC2-RD2 technique in the simulation environment. The questionnaire is composed of questions regarding the perception of the name of each character, and if they considered the name inappropriate, they could suggest alternatives. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis was performed, and out of 99 students enrolled, 40 answered the questionnaire (40%). The results show that the names selected for the characters were accepted by most students (values equal to or greater than 70%). As for suggestions for alternative names, three distinct groups emerged: 1- personalities from the area of software development (e.g. Lovelace, referring to Ada Lovelace) and technical references (e.g. Python, a programming language); 2- Portuguese given names (e.g. Manuel, Íris); 3- figurative expressions (e.g. Quasenada, MaisouMenos meaning , We conclude that the adaptation of the original names of the characters to the Portuguese cultural context was considered adequate by the students, potentially contributing to the immersion in the simulation of the business environment. In future work we recommend the analysis of the interpretation of the names suggested by the students to the characters, to check if they match the original archetypes or if they induced some change, for a better understanding of the perception of the narratives vis-à-vis the cultural context and the various areas of knowledge.

Abstract
In this paper it is presented an educational experiment, that consists of a mechatronic system applied to demonstrate concepts such as prototyping and control. The described mechatronic system is based on a conveyor belt, that was integrated with a manipulator, being physical devices commonly used in the industry. The conveyor Belt was prototyped from scratch, using 3d print technology. Its movement is based on the closed loop control of a DC Motor, based on a PID. The Conveyor Belt was integrated with a Braccio Manipulator from Arduino, using the ZMQ communication library, which is a high-performance asynchronous messaging library. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.

Abstract
Industry 4.0 confronts companies, in particular SMEs, with various technological, organizational and cultural challenges with great impact on traditional business models. This paradigmatic socio-technical shift, implies the redefinition of the role of people in the organisation, the integration of all organisational decision layers (from the factory floor to the decision support structures) and the digital connection of the entire value chain, including processes, people and machines. However, the lack of qualified resources and the lack of an holistic understanding of industry 4.0 derail SMES’ digital transformation journey. This research work discusses the need for industry 4.0 re-conceptualisation, tailored to SMES’ needs. A lightweight ontology is presented and discussed how it contributes to the organisation and structuring a Community Of Practice, to share knowledge in the context of SMES’ industry 4.0 initiatives. Despite of the discussed use case, the developed artefact might be used to assess SME’s digital readiness. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.