University of Madeira

About: University of Madeira is a education organization based out in Funchal, Portugal. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Dendrimer. The organization has 1014 authors who have published 2759 publications receiving 59457 citations.

Representing User-Interface Patterns in UML

Abstract: Software patterns played a major role in object-oriented development, enabling and promoting reuse at higher levels of abstraction. Patterns provided an excellent way to increase the productivity and control in object-oriented information systems’ development. The user-interface is well known to be responsible for a considerable part of the development effort in interactive systems. Yet, we still lack a standard, or at least commonly accepted, notation to express technical representations of UI patterns that convey the solution in an abstract way that can be applied in many different design situations. In this paper we argue that one of the problems preventing the identification and dissemination of UI patterns is the lack of such a modeling notation. We discuss this problem and present an approach based on set of UML extensions specifically adapted for UI design.

M-dimensions: a framework for evaluating and comparing interactive installations in museums

Abstract: Designing and evaluating digital interactive experiences for museums requires scrupulous attention to every aspect that contributes to an engaging and rich learning experience. The evaluation of interactive installations in museums is a very demanding endeavor due to the intersection of multiple research fields, such as human computer interaction, design and multimedia, museum studies, audience research, etc.In this paper we introduce a novel framework with ten dimensions for guiding the design and evaluation of interactive installations, specifically tailored to museums. The conception of the framework was based on current usability evaluation methods and principles as well as museology literature. It was then iteratively refined and finally validated with and a long-term study about interactivity in all the interactive museums of a specific geographic region.The results obtained emphasize the importance of adopting the proposed framework for future research on interactive museums evaluation.

Cognitive abilities, sociocultural background and academic achievement

Abstract: The infl uence of students’ sociocultural background on academic achievement is a well established fact. Research also points out that sociocultural background is related to students’ cognitive abilities and these have an effect on their academic achievement. However, the mediator role of cognitive abilities on the relationship between sociocultural background and academic achievement is less well known. A structural equation model that represents these relationships was tested in a sample (N= 728) of Portuguese junior high school students. Multigroup analysis of the model showed the importance of the cognitive ability mediation effect between sociocultural background and academic achievement in the 7th and 9th grades, but not in the 8th grade. This difference may be the result of the academic transition experienced in the 7th and 9th grades in the Portuguese educational system, which requires parents’ higher involvement in school. Variables cognitivas, nivel sociocultural y rendimiento academico. La infl uencia del nivel sociocultural del alumno en su rendimiento academico esta bien establecida en la investigacion. De la misma forma, los estudios muestran que el nivel sociocultural esta relacionado con las habilidades cognitivas y que estas tienen un efecto en el rendimiento academico. Con todo, esta poco estudiado el papel de la mediacion de las habilidades cognitivas en la relacion entre el nivel sociocultural y el rendimiento academico. En base a estas relaciones, se ha probado un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales en una muestra (N= 728) de alumnos portugueses entre el 7o y el 9o ano de escolaridad basica. El analisis multigrupo del modelo mostro la importancia del efecto de la mediacion de las habilidades cognitivas en la relacion entre el nivel sociocultural y el rendimiento academico de los alumnos de 7o y 9o ano, pero no para los alumnos de 8o ano. Esa diferencia puede producirse debido a una mayor inversion escolar de los padres de alumnos de 7o y 9o ano, ya que en el sistema educativo portugues son anos de transicion academica.

Evaluation of Volatilomic Fingerprint from Apple Fruits to Ciders: A Useful Tool to Find Putative Biomarkers for Each Apple Variety.

Abstract: Aroma is a crucial criterion to assess the quality of apple fruits, juices, and ciders. The aim of this study was to explore similarities and differences in volatile profiles among apple fruits, juices, and ciders from different apple varieties (Festa, Branco, and Domingos) by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (HS–SPME/GC–MS). A total of 142 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified, but only 9 were common in all analysed matrices and apple-tested varieties. Esters, alcohols, and aldehydes presented a higher concentration in apple fruits and juices, whereas esters, alcohols, and acids were dominant in ciders. Moreover, there were unique VOCs for each matrix and for each variety, highlighting the importance of the selection of apple varieties as an important factor to obtain good sensory and quality ciders, multiple benefits, and legal protection against the misuse of local products.

The Madeiran plants collected by Sir Hans Sloane in 1687, and his descriptions

Abstract: The Macaronesian Islands comprise the Atlantic archipelagos of Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canaries and Cape Verde. These islands were a major focus for plant exploration during the 17th and 18th centuries. Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753), one of the most important patrons and sponsors of natural sciences and botanical research, visited Madeira on his way to Jamaica in 1687. Although he stayed in Madeira for only three days, he collected plant specimens of 38 taxa (including one brown alga) and made important observations concerning the flora and fauna of Madeira from near Funchal. Sixty-six polynomial names of plants from the island are recorded in Sloane's published work along with 18 copperplate engravings, ostensibly from Madeira, although our study shows that only thirteen of them are of taxa occurring on the island. Fourteen of the sixty-six polynomials reported by Sloane relate to Macaronesian endemic taxa, six of them restricted to Madeira. Our study shows that nine of the fifteen polynomials that he putatively recorded for Madeira and/or the Antilles or for which he was unsure of their origin are from the West Indies and do not occur on this Macaronesian island. Two of the taxa that are listed for Madeira and the Caribbean Islands were likely to be present in both insular systems. Although there is evidence of earlier botanical explorations in Macaronesia, the herbarium collections made by Sloane in Madeira represent the earliest documented plant hunting expedition to Macaronesia, and Sir Hans Sloane can be considered as one of the pioneers of botanical exploration in these Atlantic Islands. Sloane's records provide an early floristic study of a diverse island flora.