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Associating robot manipulators with industrial welding operations is common and maybe one of the most successful applications of industrial robots. Nevertheless, it is far from being a solved technological process, mainly because the welding process is not fully understood but also because robots are still at an early satge of development, being difficult to use and program by regular operators. This is also true for Human Machine Interfaces (HMI), which are not intuitive to use and are therefore unsatisfactory. In this paper we discuss these problems and present a system designed with the double objective of serving our R&D efforts on welding applications, but also our need to assist industrial partners working with welding setups. Frequently industrial partners are not happy with available commercial systems, requiring tailored solutions that could be adapted to several robots and robot controllers. The developed system is explained in some detail, and demonstrated using two test cases which reproduce two situations very common in industry: multi‐layer butt welding (used on big structures requiring very strong welds) and multi‐point fillet welding (used for example on structural pieces for the construction industry).

To outline the experiential nature of hidden mental illnesses (or “invisible disabilities”) in sport and physical cultures. A sociological account is given of how people living with a hidden mental illness or disorder manage their identities in physical culture.

The chapter begins by addressing the role of social stigma as a barrier to sport and exercise participation for young people living with hidden mental illnesses. From there, and venturing beyond typical sociological tropes about social stigma, the chapter presents ethnographic findings from a study of people living with epilepsy and their tactical uses of a range of physical cultures to craft their selves in innovative ways.

People living with so-called simple or nonmajor “hidden/invisible” disabilities are often overlooked as a differential needs population with sport and health zones. The people in this study identify how the desire to be mobile, self-expressive, and authentic through the physical activity pursuits is important yet unavailable to them in a wide range of sport, leisure, and health fields because of the ways in which these places privilege particular types of brain and bodies. Through their own self-styled physical cultural involvements, however, these people challenge the dominance of sport-based model of health promotion in broader culture and disrupt dominant ideological frames that privilege the normative, rational, calculating, and predictable brain in athletic zones.

The importance of identifying persons who may not participate in sport and physical culture due to perceived and felt stigma is highlighted. In addition, developing creative strategies and programs for these populations is underscored.

The aim of this study is to obtain a broader knowledge of innovative pedagogical practices in higher education, by analysing the particular case of the Higher Institute of Administration and Languages (ISAL). The literature review reveals a gap in this scientific field, and filling this gap is as imperative as the need to articulate higher education with the Students' Profile by the End of Compulsory Schooling.

This research adopts a qualitative methodological approach, in order to analyse the students and teachers' perceptions of the active learning methodologies implemented at ISAL. Data were collected from a closed-ended questionnaire, aimed at a population composed of students and teachers.

The literature review reveals a gap in this scientific field, particularly in Portugal. Filling this gap is as imperative as the need to articulate higher education with the Students' Profile by the End of Compulsory Schooling.

With the adoption of this methodological approach, this research intends to verify not only whether the innovative pedagogical practices addressed in the literature review are implemented in this institution, but also to identify obstacles to their implementation. With regard to the results, several pedagogical innovation practices are already implemented, even though some limitations to their implementation are identified.

This research allows identifying indicators that are essential to outline an intervention plan in the pedagogical practices implemented at ISAL or other higher education institutions and contributes to assessing the current state of pedagogical practices in higher education.

The aim of this chapter is twofold: first, it will discuss the roots and the aims of the curriculum reform launched in Portugal in 2017, suggesting that it shows the influence of international policy borrowing. Secondly, it aims to present and to discuss the trends that this reform is putting in place, highlighting some successful practices as well some misconceptions and controversial practices. To accomplish such aims, it follows the analytical framework that inspires this book, namely the approach that understands curriculum making as a dynamic process of interactions between different layers of the system, emphasizing the meso and the micro layers of curriculum decision-making. The focus on the experimental period that this chapter narrates is also an opportunity to analyse dynamics among the layers of curriculum making.

Global focus on reforming teachers has resulted in the inclusion of multiple survey questions about teachers’ professional learning activities in large-scale international studies. A cross-national analysis of these survey data will likely enhance our understanding and inform the future direction regarding teacher professional development policy and practice. Yet we do not know whether these surveys measure the key features and their contextual factors of teachers’ professional learning activities to allow a systematic cross-national analysis. Based on international and U.S. literature, I develop a conceptual model of teachers’ professional learning activities in global context and analyze relevant survey items used in three major international studies – TIMSS, PIRLS, and TALIS. I conclude the chapter with a discussion of the coverage of these survey items and a direction for improving data collections of teachers’ professional learning activities in large-scale international studies.

The purpose of the paper is to analyse different post-stall models, originally developed for use in wind turbine codes, and extend their use to the propeller performance prediction.

Different post-stall methods available in the literature were implemented in JBLADE software. JBLADE contains an improved version of Blade Element Momentum theory, and it is appropriate for the design and analysis of different propellers in off-design conditions.

The preliminary analysis of the results shows that the propeller performance prediction can be improved using these implemented post-stall models. However, there is a lack of accuracy in the performance prediction of some propellers. Further comparisons including distribution of forces along the blade may help to better understand this inaccuracy of the models, and it will be studied in future work.

The work has extended the use of the post-stall models to the propeller performance prediction codes. It is shown that these models can be used to obtain an improved prediction of the propeller’s performance.

The purpose of this study is to minimize cost and minimize building condition. Weibull distribution approach was employed to generate deterioration curves over time. The third floor of Concordia University’s Engineering And Visual Arts (EV) Complex in Montreal, Canada, served as a case study to test the maintenance model and determine the optimal maintenance activities to be performed.

This research has demonstrated that there is insufficient fund allocation for the maintenance of non-residential buildings. Therefore, this research focused on designing and developing a maintenance optimization model that provides the type of spaces (architectural system) in a building. Sensitivity analysis was used to calculate weights to validate the model. Particle swarm optimization, based explicitly on multiple objectives, was applied for the optimization problem using MATLAB.

Following 100 iterations, 13 non-dominant solutions were generated. Not only was the overall maintenance cost minimized, but the condition of the building was also maximized. Moreover, the condition prediction model demonstrated that the window system type has the most rapid deterioration in educational buildings.

The model is flexible and can be modified by facility managers to align with the required codes or standards.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

This paper presents the results of an investigation on the balcony effect of the fire spread, via external windows, into upper floors. Several natural fire tests were carried out in a compartment that intended to represent a small office and the fire development inside and its spread to the upper floors was analysed. They were tested three configurations of balcony above the exterior window of the compartment; no balcony, a balcony of the same width of the window and a balcony one meter wider for each side of the window. These natural fire tests were also numerically simulated with the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) software and analytically simulated with the simplified calculation methods of annex A and B of EN1991-1.2. The results of the experimental, numerical and analytical tests were compared with each other. The constructive solution for limiting fire spread into upper floors that proved to be more effective was the one with the balcony one meter wider than the window.

Our aim is to analyze the type of lender and the debt maturity of Chilean firms as a function of their ownership structure and their growth opportunities. We perform the empirical analysis using an unbalanced panel data of 169 firms from 1990 to 2001. Our results show that Chilean firms with growth opportunities, ownership concentration, and a need for external funds issue short‐term bank debt to finance their new investments. This financing source is an efficient mechanism in Chile to alleviate agency and asymmetric information problems. The Chilean institutional environment influences firms’ decisions on banking debt.