- Civil Engineering and Architecture, Road Pavement Engineering and Design, Transportes, Road Transport, Road safety, Road accident analysis, and 9 moreRoad Pavement, Effects of Routine Maintenance on the Flexible Pavement Condition of Roads, Highway Road Pavement, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Pavement management systems, Asphalt Pavements, Applied Ethics, Railway Transport, and Asset Managementedit
, that biowaste is separated and recycled at source or collected selectively. As this is a responsibility of the municipalities, studies to evaluate the best solutions and to ensure the rationality of the investments to be made to fulfill... more
, that biowaste is separated and recycled at source or collected selectively. As this is a responsibility of the municipalities, studies to evaluate the best solutions and to ensure the rationality of the investments to be made to fulfill these objectives is of particular importance. Bearing in mind the new municipality's responsibility, this article aims to demonstrate the applicability of GIS in supporting planning and decision of a new service provided to the population. The solutions found must be economically sustainable and feasible for small size municipalities, especially for those with no formal biowaste management system implemented and with reduced resources. It is therefore proposed an approach to analyze vehicle route optimization for the selective collection and transportation of biowaste in markedly rural municipalities with a strong forestry component, equating solutions that allow their recovery, as well as the promotion of the management of forest spaces. The Network Analyst extension of the ArcGIS® software was used to answer questions related to travel time route optimization, optimal location selection and definition of service areas. The analysis performed allowed to identify and evaluate the main factors that minimize the costs associated with the undifferentiated and selective collection and transportation of biowaste in the study area (Oleiros-Amieira parish, Portugal). It was determined the need to distribute the service through 3 different routes, as well as optimizing the location of a biomass plant fed by forest remnants deposited in community containers spread across the study area. Developing simpler and cost-effective instruments for reducing waste transport costs for small forest owners and municipalities, such as the proposed one, is essential to ensure a successful implementation of Directive (EU) 2018/851.
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In the beginning of 1999 the City Council of Lisbon, in Portugal, decided to build a Pavement Management System (PMS) for the vast road network under its administration. This paper presents a GIS-based Pavement Management System for... more
In the beginning of 1999 the City Council of Lisbon, in Portugal, decided to build a Pavement Management System (PMS) for the vast road network under its administration. This paper presents a GIS-based Pavement Management System for Lisbon, developed by a team involving staff from the Lisbon City Council and the University of Coimbra. The system consists of three basic modules: a Road Network Database; a Quality Evaluation Tool; and a Decision-Aid Tool. The paper also describes the process leading to the creation of the PMS and the activities developed within the first and second years of its implementation. This period was mainly occupied with the preparation of a Geographic Information System for the road network, preparation of the Quality Evaluation Tool and launching the Decision-Aid Tool implementation. The final part of the paper contains a reflection on the main difficulties encountered so far and presents the developments planned for the near future.
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Innovative, non-invasive, digital, and cost-effective instruments for systematic inventory, monitoring and promotion are a valuable resource for managing tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Due to its powerful and effective... more
Innovative, non-invasive, digital, and cost-effective instruments for systematic inventory, monitoring and promotion are a valuable resource for managing tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Due to its powerful and effective inventory and analysis potential, which allows supporting central and local entities responsible for cultural heritage management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have proven to be an appropriate information technology for developing these kinds of instruments. Given the above, this work aims to introduce a GIS-based instrument to support inventorying, safeguarding, tourism, and cultural promotion of the traditional Portuguese glazed tile (‘azulejo’, in Portuguese) to raise general awareness of the importance of this unique Portuguese heritage. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no other instrument available with inventory and safeguarding management functions that is accessible and affordable, developed to be used at a municipal level an...
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The sustainable development goals “Good health and well-being” and “Sustainable cities and communities” of the United Nations and World Health Organization, alert governments and researchers and raise awareness about road safety problems... more
The sustainable development goals “Good health and well-being” and “Sustainable cities and communities” of the United Nations and World Health Organization, alert governments and researchers and raise awareness about road safety problems and the need to mitigate them. In Portugal, after the economic crisis of 2008–2013, a significant amount of road assets demand investment in maintenance and rehabilitation. The areas where these actions take place are called work zones. Considering the particularities of these areas, the proposed work aims to identify the main factors that impact the occurrence of work zones crashes. It uses the statistical technique of multinomial logistic regression, applied to official data on road crashes occurred in mainland Portugal, during the period of 2010–2015. Usually, multinomial logistic regression models are developed for crash and injury severity. In this work, the feasibility of developing predictive models for crash nature (collision, run off road a...
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The shift to low-emission mobility, embedded in a growing need for sustainable development, makes soft modes a highly promoted transport alternative in national and international mobility policies. Soft mobility modes, especially cycling,... more
The shift to low-emission mobility, embedded in a growing need for sustainable development, makes soft modes a highly promoted transport alternative in national and international mobility policies. Soft mobility modes, especially cycling, is an alternative capable of reversing the trend of private car use in urban areas, being one of the main strategies of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP). Several factors can influence travel mode choice, between them, demographic, economic, land use, travel distance and time, and climatic and physical factors are the most reported in the literature. This study presents a framework of the main European cycling strategies and focuses on the development of a methodological approach to assess the cycling suitability of existing road networks. The approach is based on a spatial multi-criteria analysis that combines population density, trip generation points service areas and road characteristics (hierarchy and slope). Consideration of the topogra...
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The shift to low-emission mobility, embedded in a growing need for sustainable development, makes soft modes a highly promoted transport alternative in national and international mobility policies. Soft mobility modes, especially cycling,... more
The shift to low-emission mobility, embedded in a growing need for sustainable development, makes soft modes a highly promoted transport alternative in national and international mobility policies. Soft mobility modes, especially cycling, is an alternative capable of reversing the trend of private car use in urban areas, being one of the main strategies of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP). Several factors can influence travel mode choice, between them, demographic, economic, land use, travel distance and time, and climatic and physical factors are the most reported in the literature. This study presents a framework of the main European cycling strategies and focuses on the development of a methodological approach to assess the cycling suitability of existing road networks. The approach is based on a spatial multi-criteria analysis that combines population density, trip generation points service areas and road characteristics (hierarchy and slope). Consideration of the topography was particularly relevant in the cycling suitability model definition. The model was tested in the hillside city of Covilhã (Portugal) and compared with the recently planned and implemented city cycling network. The main conclusions point to the adequacy, flexibility, and applicability of the proposed model by municipalities, contributing to a more sustainable urban environment and healthier communities. Results obtained in the Covilhã case study also denote the possibility of implementing cycling mobility in hillside cities, especially using e-bikes. For future works, an expansion of the approach is proposed to include a detailed and sustained cycling network definition model and a process to assess cycling routes hierarchy/solutions.
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The mission of a national railway administration is to provide conditions for the efficiency, competitiveness, and sustainability of rail transport. In this context, this study aims to fill a gap in rail infrastructure management through... more
The mission of a national railway administration is to provide conditions for the efficiency, competitiveness, and sustainability of rail transport. In this context, this study aims to fill a gap in rail infrastructure management through the adoption of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and quadrant analysis to obtain a priority evaluation matrix for railway proximity interventions (small-scale, medium/short-term interventions close to the customer). In order to achieve the network manager's general goals, an extensive collection of railway activities and an iterative procedure, which combines the strategic vision of different operational units, were adopted. Moreover, a multi-criteria and hierarchy process based on quadrant analysis to select the interventions with greater potential to achieve a set of objectives over five years, was defined. The proposed methodology was applied in a real case within the Infrastructures of Portugal, SA competencies and needs (Portuguese railway network manager). The identification of a set of fundamental interventions from a technical and non-technical point of view was performed and allowed a more efficient resource allocation. This allowed listing the most relevant interventions in both technical and non-technical perspectives (19-25% of total interventions) and also from an essentially technical point of view (27-31% of total interventions). These correspond to the interventions located in the two most relevant quadrants (Q1-develop and Q2-validate) and to more than 70% of the total investment. The presented approach and results constitute the first three iterations to be monitored and evaluated in the revision of future plans in order to increase reliability levels, safety conditions and service quality. The methodology has the potential to be adapted to different scenarios (in particular budgetary) and future proximity intervention plans, thus being an essential decision support tool for an efficient allocation of the company's resources.
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Geographical Information Systems (GISs) in architecture were initially limited to regional and urban development applications. Over recent years its potential has been recognized and its use has evolved to address urban planning and... more
Geographical Information Systems (GISs) in architecture were initially limited to regional and urban development applications. Over recent years its potential has been recognized and its use has evolved to address urban planning and architectural heritage management subjects. Nevertheless, evidence shows that its use in architecture teaching is scarce and uneven. Directive 2007/2/EC, establishing the infrastructure for spatial information in the European Community (EU), is, in this way, an opportunity to develop a greater knowledge and application of GIS in the framework of higher education. In architecture, this can be achieved by problem solving based on real case scenarios, which can benefit from GIS-based techniques and analysis capabilities. In this paper, the authors aim to present a review of the use of GIS in teaching and research in architecture to assess its level in different European programmes. Experiences from three European universities (University of Seville, Spain, ...
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In order to ensure safe and efficient operation of aircrafts, airport operators are faced with the need to maintain airport runway, taxiway and apron pavements in good condition, within a given budget. In this context, this paper... more
In order to ensure safe and efficient operation of aircrafts, airport operators are faced with the need to maintain airport runway, taxiway and apron pavements in good condition, within a given budget. In this context, this paper describes the first developments and the methodological approach of a doctoral work with the following objectives: to improve and validate in-vehicle technique for pavement inspection using GNSS, video image capture and Geographic Information System, increasing the degree of automation of pavement distress identification; to develop a procedure for the definition of preventive maintenance strategies for airport pavements, adapted to Cape Verde airport system, using modelling techniques to predict pavement performance and definition of service and trigger levels; and also to develop or calibrate an existing computer application that can be used as a decision support tool.
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Traffic congestion and environmental pollution in cities have stimulated the rise of policies to encourage practices of less polluting, and more economic and healthier modes of transportation, such as cycling. Several factors influence... more
Traffic congestion and environmental pollution in cities have stimulated the rise of policies to encourage practices of less polluting, and more economic and healthier modes of transportation, such as cycling. Several factors influence bicycle use, including the steep gradients which can limit it use, but do not completely prevent it. In this context, urban planning and transport engineering play a key role in promoting cycling, with particular emphasis on the definition and design of cycling networks at hilly cities, according to the citizens’ needs on their daily commutes. To address this challenge, this paper describes the starting developments and the methodological approach of a doctoral research having the following goals: to define the data to be considered in feasibility studies of designing cycling mode in hilly cities; to develop a bicycle suitability model based on demographic, travel-generating poles, type of bicycles (regular vs. electric) and road network criteria; to ...
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Traffic loads, along with the environment, damage pavement over time. The degradation of pavement quality is reflected in the development of a diversity of pavement distresses, such as cracking, deformation or deterioration. These... more
Traffic loads, along with the environment, damage pavement over time. The degradation of pavement quality is reflected in the development of a diversity of pavement distresses, such as cracking, deformation or deterioration. These distresses may occur on the surface and/or in the pavement structure, having a determinant role in pavement’s quality. Aiming to increase the degree of reliability of the pavement distress data and reduce pavement observation time and visual inspection operations cost, this work presents the main steps proposed for a methodology to observe, record and evaluate flexible road pavement distresses to assess the quality of road pavements. This methodology is based on an in-vehicle inspection using GNSS and video image capture devices and in the use of Geographic Information System (GIS). Validation of the proposed methodology was made through a case study by comparing the results obtained on the in-vehicle inspection to those from a traditional visual inspectio...
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Portuguese road traffic accidents statistics show that the number of accidents with fatalities and serious injuries has in general decreased in recent years. However, the number of accidents involving pedestrians is still high when... more
Portuguese road traffic accidents statistics show that the number of accidents with fatalities and serious injuries has in general decreased in recent years. However, the number of accidents involving pedestrians is still high when compared with those observed in other countries of the European Union. In order to assess this problem, an index of pedestrian road traffic accidents for municipalities that could be used in decision-making about pedestrian safety measures is proposed. The use of absolute values of accidents involving pedestrians (running over) does not allow itself a reliable comparison of pedestrian safety level between municipalities. In this sense, the approach proposed uses the information available in the Portuguese database PORDATA to calculate a municipal index that takes into account the degree of exposure of pedestrians to accident, based on national and municipal resident population annual growth rates and number of pedestrian’s casualties. This index allows to...
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3D interpretation of 2D drawing is not easy for most of the Civil Engineering first-year students. Some do it naturally but most need to be trained to master this skill. In this paper, the implemented teaching methodologies aiming to... more
3D interpretation of 2D drawing is not easy for most of the Civil Engineering first-year students. Some do it naturally but most need to be trained to master this skill. In this paper, the implemented teaching methodologies aiming to facilitate the acquisition of three-dimensional project visualization skills are presented. These methodologies were developed during the last two years targeting first-year Civil Engineering students at the University of Beira Interior (Portugal). After a first contact with 2D project representation through manual drawing, students progressively elaborate computer-aided design (CAD) project starting with simple 2D drawings and culminating with a 3D project of a pre-existing building. Students are also motivated to improve their 3D graphic representation skills through a classroom contest where the winning project is printed in 3D. The training in 2D and 3D graphic representation is complemented during the second year with several in situ surveys and co...
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Two Portuguese universities (University of Beira Interior and University of Coimbra) researched and developed a simplified road-user costs model for inclusion in a pavement management system, as well as input data for Portuguese trunk... more
Two Portuguese universities (University of Beira Interior and University of Coimbra) researched and developed a simplified road-user costs model for inclusion in a pavement management system, as well as input data for Portuguese trunk road networks, between 2004 and 2007. The model can be used to calculate the average road-user costs in relation to vehicle operating, accident, time and toll costs. This paper describes the main activities that led to the model formulation and the input data, and presents a new development to simplify user costs estimation considering changes in pavement condition and the influence of road work zones. These scenarios can then be easily and reliably utilised within the process of road maintenance and rehabilitation, evaluating the needs and consequences of road intervention actions for consideration in the cost–benefit and life-cycle cost analysis. This paper also confirms the importance of these additional costs through a model application to a Portug...
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Several studies have shown that European police crash reports provide different detail degrees of work zone crash-related data. In this sense, the present study aims to verify the possibility of identifying significant risk factors... more
Several studies have shown that European police crash reports provide different detail degrees of work zone crash-related data. In this sense, the present study aims to verify the possibility of identifying significant risk factors involved in the occurrence of road work zone crashes with casualties, based on the official data usually available, through a descriptive, binary logistic, and probit regression statistical analysis. To accomplish the analysis, a total of 2597 police-reports related to 1767 Portuguese work zone crashes that occurred during the 2013–2015 period were considered and binary logistic and probit regression models were estimated by the main type of crash, contributing factor, and driver age group. Fifteen explanatory variables, selected based on the literature review and crash data provided in police crash reports, were considered in the analysis. The results obtained for the estimated coefficients and goodness-of-fit test values were found very similar for both...
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The mission of a national railway administration is to provide conditions for the efficiency, competitiveness, and sustainability of rail transport. In this context, this study aims to fill a gap in rail infrastructure management through... more
The mission of a national railway administration is to provide conditions for the efficiency, competitiveness, and sustainability of rail transport. In this context, this study aims to fill a gap in rail infrastructure management through the adoption of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and quadrant analysis to obtain a priority evaluation matrix for railway proximity interventions (small-scale, medium/short-term interventions close to the customer). In order to achieve the network manager's general goals, an extensive collection of railway activities and an iterative procedure, which combines the strategic vision of different operational units, were adopted. Moreover, a multi-criteria and hierarchy process based on quadrant analysis to select the interventions with greater potential to achieve a set of objectives over five years, was defined. The proposed methodology was applied in a real case within the Infrastructures of Portugal, SA competencies and needs (Portuguese railway network manager). The identification of a set of fundamental interventions from a technical and non-technical point of view was performed and allowed a more efficient resource allocation. This allowed listing the most relevant interventions in both technical and non-technical perspectives (19-25% of total interventions) and also from an essentially technical point of view (27-31% of total interventions). These correspond to the interventions located in the two most relevant quadrants (Q1-develop and Q2-validate) and to more than 70% of the total investment. The presented approach and results constitute the first three iterations to be monitored and evaluated in the revision of future plans in order to increase reliability levels, safety conditions and service quality. The methodology has the potential to be adapted to different scenarios (in particular budgetary) and future proximity intervention plans, thus being an essential decision support tool for an efficient allocation of the company's resources.
Research Interests:
This article aims to present some of the teaching methodologies applied in the Integrated Master degree in Architecture at the University of Beira Interior, Covilhã (Portugal). The discussion focuses on the collaborative and... more
This article aims to present some of the teaching methodologies applied in the Integrated Master degree in Architecture at the University of Beira Interior, Covilhã (Portugal). The discussion focuses on the collaborative and interdisciplinary approach adopted for the teaching/learning process, particularly
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Nowadays universities are rethinking their teaching methodologies not only in order to adapt to the use of new technologies, such as the ICT (information and communication technologies) or the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) but also... more
Nowadays universities are rethinking their teaching methodologies not only in order to adapt to the use of new technologies, such as the ICT (information and communication technologies) or the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) but also in order to advance the international students towards a multidisciplinary approach. Thus, this article is the result of a multidisciplinary approach gathering scholars from Portugal and Romania, presenting a set of several teaching methodologies used on the domains of civil engineering. It is based on the experience of the University of Beira Interior (UBI) in Portugal and the Faculty of Constructions, Cadastre and Architecture of the University of Oradea (UO) in Romania. Among other descriptions, the conclusions show that there are several different and common aspects in between the Portuguese and the Romanian experiences. Regarding the common aspects there is the need of finding new teaching methodologies in order to consider the different backg...
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This text is supported in an international bibliographical survey on quality indices of the pedestrian environment. It discusses the definition of a methodology for the collection and analysis of the different components of the pedestrian... more
This text is supported in an international bibliographical survey on quality indices of the pedestrian environment. It discusses the definition of a methodology for the collection and analysis of the different components of the pedestrian environment (vehicle traffic, tours, occupation of soil and aesthetic and security aspects) to determine an index that can support the definition of proposals for the improvement of the pedestrian system. The text is based on a survey provided by a pilot field data which was used for the calibration and validation of the proposed methodology, as well as for the definition of a geographical information system for georeferenced graphic presentation of the obtained evaluation.
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An attempt to identify key factors impacting trip generation in different size cities is presented in this paper. Mobility is the fundamental factor in transport demand models, both for the present state and those for forecast scenarios.... more
An attempt to identify key factors impacting trip generation in different size cities is presented in this paper. Mobility is the fundamental factor in transport demand models, both for the present state and those for forecast scenarios. Moreover, research on inhabitants' mobility plays an important role in the process of urban and rural traffic modelling. It comes from the fact, regular transport surveys make it easier to determine factors impacting the number of trips taken by inhabitants in any selected study area, and to determine trends in these factors. Presentation of example results of mobility rate based on transportation surveys taken in various areas of Poland is the main goal of this paper. Results of analyses of selected macro-economic factors in transportation systems shaping are presented either. The trends in the number of inhabitants and their age composition, and motorization rates are those factors. They impact mobility ratios in the study area. Values of mobi...
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The current climate and environmental emergency, together with the growing traffic congestion and pollution in urban areas, make mobility and its sustainability a priority in current transport policies. It is essential to change citizen’s... more
The current climate and environmental emergency, together with the growing traffic congestion and pollution in urban areas, make mobility and its sustainability a priority in current transport policies. It is essential to change citizen’s behaviour in order to increase the use of less pollutant, economic and egalitarian transport modes, such as walking, combining it with other public transport modes. For this change to happen, it is necessary to provide feasible alternatives to private cars, namely through the offer of high-quality pedestrian infrastructures, adapted to the cities’ specific characteristics and their citizen’s needs. These aspects are particularly important in hilly cities, where traveling by foot requires an additional effort. The present study aims to contribute to the promotion of soft mobility in hilly cities by creating a support instrument to assess the potential of existing pedestrian infrastructures. Three variables are considered in the analysis: trip genera...
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The aim of the paper is to compare the existing transport service solutions in the city centers of Bydgoszcz (Poland) and Hasselt (Belgium) that use the widely understood idea of calming the movement. The method of elaboration consisted... more
The aim of the paper is to compare the existing transport service solutions in the city centers of Bydgoszcz (Poland) and Hasselt (Belgium) that use the widely understood idea of calming the movement. The method of elaboration consisted of analyzes of the literature on the subject of the article, analyzes of available documents and local visits. The solution has been operating in Hasselt since September 2018, and in Bydgoszcz also since September, but 2019. Analyzed solutions in terms of traffic calming goals in these areas, implemented principles, methods used and traffic calming measures that are to lead to a consensus between traffic and the accessibility of the area and making centers living areas. The analyzes carried out confirm that the primary effect of leading to obtain areas centers as areas of “livable city" is to eliminate traffic not associated with a given area, the implementation of restrictions on the availability of cars while maintaining accessibility to publi...
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For consolidated road networks, the identification, programming, and implementation of maintenance actions enables addressing the deficiencies identified in the infrastructure, ensuring the provision of an adequate service to users. The... more
For consolidated road networks, the identification, programming, and implementation of maintenance actions enables addressing the deficiencies identified in the infrastructure, ensuring the provision of an adequate service to users. The performance of such actions along the infrastructure lifetime makes it necessary to study the impact that road work zones may have on road crashes since these areas change locally and temporarily the traffic conditions offered to users (lower speeds, the presence of work equipment and workers, narrow lanes, changes in vertical and horizontal signs, etc.). This study aims to analyze the Portuguese official road work zones crash data from 2013-2015 period by using binary logistic regression models to identify the most significant factors influencing work zone crashes. Official data was processed in order to be used in a statistical analysis software and the binary logistic regressions were performed for the analysis of Portuguese work zone crashes by t...
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A preliminary statistical approach to the academic conduct of a group of students at the University of Beira Interior (Portugal) was performed using data from voluntary participated surveys. Inquiries were made before and after attending... more
A preliminary statistical approach to the academic conduct of a group of students at the University of Beira Interior (Portugal) was performed using data from voluntary participated surveys. Inquiries were made before and after attending training on the meaning and types of plagiarism, citation rules for academic writing and bibliography preparation. The adopted methodology includes the development and application of stated preference inquiries and the statistical analysis of the collected data. A descriptive analysis was performed and a logistic regression model was developed from the data collected before the training to quantify the student's behaviours and establish potential associations relevant to the characterization and future monitoring of academic misconducts. The study found that 90% of the students surveyed had never attended a lecture on plagiarism and academic misconduct and that about 50% of the total were aware of a case of plagiarism committed by colleagues. Results revealed that 80% of the students had committed fraud at least once in a test and/or assignment and 83% of those were never detected. The logistic regression model revealed that students aged 18 to 20 and working students have a statistically significant effect on the Logit of the probability of committing fraud in a test and/or assignment. The results suggest that academic misconduct among students is widespread and that measures must be taken to reduce its prevalence and to ensure a merit-based education system.
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ABSTRACT In order to assess the knowledge and perception of higher education students about the concept of plagiarism and its implications, two sets of online surveys were performed on a group of students of the Civil Engineering and... more
ABSTRACT In order to assess the knowledge and perception of higher education students about the concept of plagiarism and its implications, two sets of online surveys were performed on a group of students of the Civil Engineering and Architecture Department at the University of Beira Interior. The surveys were conducted at two different moments using two distinct approaches and along two academic semesters. In the first semester, a presentation on plagiarism and good practices of quotation and bibliographic referencing were held during lessons classes of curricular units from different academic years, while in the second semester the choice was a workshop presentation extended to all students. In both cases, online surveys were conducted on students before and after attending the presentation/workshop aiming to evaluate the change in their perception about the concept of plagiarism. The paper presents the main conclusions drawn from the surveys as well as the main guidelines resulting from their analysis, in order to promote a firmer institutional policy, enhance the dissemination of relevant information for a clear definition of the problem and to allow an effective accountability when detected.
All cities share a similar challenge: "How to rehabilitate the historic centre without denigrating its identity and at the same time encourage private investment in built cultural heritage in order to avoid its degradation?" The... more
All cities share a similar challenge: "How to rehabilitate the historic centre without denigrating its identity and at the same time encourage private investment in built cultural heritage in order to avoid its degradation?" The historic centres are the oldest and most central areas of the cities, defining their identity, but have fallen into economic, social and residential decay, in part by the abandonment and aging of their most outstanding buildings. The presented paper intends to study the projects promoted by the Portuguese Municipality of Viseu, namely through the Urban Rehabilitation Society Viseu Novo, in short URS Viseu Novo. This revitalization strategy of the Historic Centre of Viseu aims to identify the buildings’ most relevant problems, the rehabilitation’s proposed objectives and the feasible solutions to renovate them promoting youth housing, cultural events and others. A contextualization analysis of the URS's work in the historic area of Viseu is pres...
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All cities share a similar challenge: "How to rehabilitate the historic centre without denigrating its identity and at the same time encourage private investment in built cultural heritage in order to avoid its degradation?" The... more
All cities share a similar challenge: "How to rehabilitate the historic centre without denigrating its identity and at the same time encourage private investment in built cultural heritage in order to avoid its degradation?" The historic centres are the oldest and most central areas of the cities, defining their identity, but have fallen into economic, social and residential decay, in part by the abandonment and aging of their most outstanding buildings. The presented paper intends to study the projects promoted by the Portuguese Municipality of Viseu, namely through the Urban Rehabilitation Society Viseu Novo, in short URS Viseu Novo. This revitalization strategy of the Historic Centre of Viseu aims to identify the buildings' most relevant problems, the rehabilitation's proposed objectives and the feasible solutions to renovate them promoting youth housing, cultural events and others. A contextualization analysis of the URS's work in the historic area of Viseu...
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A preliminary statistical approach to the academic conduct of a group of students at the University of Beira Interior (Portugal) was performed using data from voluntary participated surveys. Inquiries were made before and after attending... more
A preliminary statistical approach to the academic conduct of a group of students at the University of Beira Interior (Portugal) was performed using data from voluntary participated surveys. Inquiries were made before and after attending training on the meaning and types of plagiarism, citation rules for academic writing and bibliography preparation. The adopted methodology includes the development and application of stated preference inquiries and the statistical analysis of the collected data. A descriptive analysis was performed and a logistic regression model was developed from the data collected before the training to quantify the student's behaviours and establish potential associations relevant to the characterization and future monitoring of academic misconducts. The study found that 90% of the students surveyed had never attended a lecture on plagiarism and academic misconduct and that about 50% of the total were aware of a case of plagiarism committed by colleagues. Re...
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This article aims to present some of the teaching methodologies applied in the Integrated Master degree in Architecture at the University of Beira Interior, Covilhã (Portugal). The discussion focuses on the collaborative and... more
This article aims to present some of the teaching methodologies applied in the Integrated Master degree in Architecture at the University of Beira Interior, Covilhã (Portugal). The discussion focuses on the collaborative and interdisciplinary approach adopted for the teaching/learning process, particularly
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This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
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In order to assess the knowledge and perception of higher education students about the concept of plagiarism and its implications, two sets of online surveys were performed on a group of students of the Civil Engineering and Architecture... more
In order to assess the knowledge and perception of higher education students about the concept of plagiarism and its implications, two sets of online surveys were performed on a group of students of the Civil Engineering and Architecture Department at the University of Beira Interior. The surveys were conducted at two different moments using two distinct approaches and along two academic semesters. In the first semester, a presentation on plagiarism and good practices of quotation and bibliographic referencing were held during lessons classes of curricular units from different academic years, while in the second semester the choice was a workshop presentation extended to all students. In both cases, online surveys were conducted on students before and after attending the presentation/workshop aiming to evaluate the change in their perception about the concept of plagiarism. The paper presents the main conclusions drawn from the surveys as well as the main guidelines resulting from t...
Citation: Santos, B.; Trindade, V.; Polónia, C.; Picado-Santos, L. Detecting Risk Factors of Road Work Zone Crashes from the Information Provided in Police Crash Reports: The Case Study of Portugal. Safety 2021, 7, 12. https://doi.
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This article aims to present a comparative analysis of the practices of the University of Beira Interior in Covilhã (Portugal) and the Coventry University in the United Kingdom in terms of learning and teaching methodologies in a... more
This article aims to present a comparative analysis of the practices of the University of Beira Interior in Covilhã (Portugal) and the Coventry University in the United Kingdom in terms of learning and teaching methodologies in a multicultural environment (including teachers' international experiences and students' backgrounds). The research is focused on the spatial planning and transportation engineering approaches, on the behalf of the Master Degree in Civil Engineering. A pivotal attention will be put at the use of information and communication technologies aiming to improve the students' digital literacy and their required level of internationalization. Regarding the experience of the University of Beira Interior the conclusions show that its multicultural environment is essential a result of the presence of students from the Portuguese speaking countries (African countries, Brazil or East Timor). However, they are the basis of one of the main challenges in terms of teaching methodologies related to their lack of skills in English language. Coventry University has been experiencing the similar multicultural diversity enrolling postgraduate students at its MSc in Highways and Transportation Engineering course. Unalike to University of Beira Interior, Coventry University admitting students from Africa, Asia, Middle East and Europe with multilingual students. Among the common aspects in between both universities there are the organization of talks and seminars inviting experts in Civil Engineering domains and the public dissemination of research findings by students. These teaching methodologies allow the students to contact with other scientific, technical and cultural realities, preparing them for an international context.
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3D interpretation of 2D drawing is not easy for most of the Civil Engineering first-year students. Some do it naturally but most need to be trained to master this skill. In this paper, the implemented teaching methodologies aiming to... more
3D interpretation of 2D drawing is not easy for most of the Civil Engineering first-year students. Some do it naturally but most need to be trained to master this skill. In this paper, the implemented teaching methodologies aiming to facilitate the acquisition of three-dimensional project visualization skills are presented. These methodologies were developed during the last two years targeting first-year Civil Engineering students at the University of Beira Interior (Portugal). After a first contact with 2D project representation through manual drawing, students progressively elaborate computer-aided design (CAD) project starting with simple 2D drawings and culminating with a 3D project of a pre-existing building. Students are also motivated to improve their 3D graphic representation skills through a classroom contest where the winning project is printed in 3D. The training in 2D and 3D graphic representation is complemented during the second year with several in situ surveys and computer-aided drawing of topographic data. This approach proved to be very interesting for competence acquisition, qualifying students for a better 3D representation and interpretation. Students also found this methodology to be motivating. 1. Introduction Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are generally the least popular fields in most countries, with an average of only 24% of university graduates across OECD countries in 2016 [1]. Recent studies suggest that the number of STEM graduates at EU has remained generally stable in relation to the total number of university graduates, with a slight variation from 22.3% to 22.8% between 2006 and 2012 [2]. In this context, Shirazi A. and Behzadan A. [3] state that retaining and engaging students into the STEM fields is a major concern in the learning process. Outdated and poor teaching methods, disconnection between students and classroom technology, and lack of hands-on experiments are important reasons that keep some students away from pursuing STEM disciplines. Integrating technology into secondary and higher education, such as 3D design, can enhance student engagement and the quality of learning [4] [5]. Portugal presents a particular situation, since Engineering is the most popular field among tertiary graduates, presenting 21% of graduates in 2016 for the field of study Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction, against a European average of 15% [6]. Over the last two decades there have been significant changes in Civil Engineering curricula in response to student, societal and industrial needs as well as professional bodies and government organisations. Some of the main factors contributing to this scenario are the easy access and the wide range of digital technology with application to project and engineering management (design and computational analysis). University curricula have responded to the growing professional appreciation of skills such as the domain of the available digital technologies and tools through a student-centred learning and teaching approach, grounded in critical thinking and problem-based learning.
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The features of pedestrian spaces contribute to sustainable urban mobility and consequently to improve the quality of the built environment. A pedestrian space free of obstacles, with slight slopes, continuous, agreeable, attractive and... more
The features of pedestrian spaces contribute to sustainable urban mobility and consequently to improve the quality of the built environment. A pedestrian space free of obstacles, with slight slopes, continuous, agreeable, attractive and safe, is definitely a space that invites to enjoyment and socialization. With the aim of improving the pedestrian circulation conditions, the present paper describes a set of approaches for assessing the quality of pedestrian environment and presents an adapted approach that can be used in medium-sized cities. Land use, pedestrian facilities and road/traffic attributes are the most common topics addressed in the pedestrian environment evaluation. These attributes can be expressed in scores and their spatial distribution can be represented using Geographical Information Systems (GIS), supporting the decision making process of pedestrian system improvement. For Portuguese medium-sized cities, the Pedestrian Environmental Quality Index (PEQI) was adapted and tested through a case study in Covilhã city. The main steps of the methodology include the definition of relevant data, preparation of survey forms, training of data collection teams, data collection, database organization, PEQI calculation and GIS data visualization, management and maps production. The case study focused on the areas that have a significant pedestrian flow, either because of commercial, services and recreation activities, or because they are important links of the public transport system. As main findings, it was possible to conclude that the selected approach allows a great flexibility in the incorporation of new attributes and weights according to specific technical goals and scenarios (calibration).
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Transport accessibility is an important issue for the sustainable development of cities. This work presents a GIS-based accessibility analysis approach that can be applied to assess accessibility to community facilities in medium-sized... more
Transport accessibility is an important issue for the sustainable development of cities. This work presents a GIS-based accessibility analysis approach that can be applied to assess accessibility to community facilities in medium-sized cities using publicly available data. For that purpose, a case study was developed using the road network and public transport data from Covilhã municipality, in Portugal. Data collected on websites were treated and organized to build the network dataset and perform network analyses with the aid of the ArcGis® Network Analyst extension (creation of service areas and Origin-Destiny (OD) cost matrices). Four accessibility evaluation analyses were performed for two transport modes: accessibility to the municipality main community facilities by private and urban public transport (isochronous and OD matrices), by inter-urban public transport (time); and accessibility by private transport between civil parishes (isochronous and OD matrices). The population and the territory covered by different travel times were also determined. The case study results showed that the accessibility in Covilhã is quite reasonable, either using private transport inside the municipality (maximum 30 minutes for covering nearly 95% of the resident population and 83% of the territory), or urban public transport inside the urban perimeter (maximum 50 minutes). However, the periphery civil parishes of the municipality have lower levels of accessibility for inter-urban public transport (reaching 115 minutes). The utility of the approach was validated through the results obtained in the case study, where it was possible to observe patterns of accessibility across the municipality for the considered modes, making it possible to improve the overall accessibility through the identification of priority areas of intervention.
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For consolidated road networks, the identification, programming, and implementation of maintenance actions enables addressing the deficiencies identified in the infrastructure, ensuring the provision of an adequate service to users. The... more
For consolidated road networks, the identification, programming, and implementation of maintenance actions enables addressing the deficiencies identified in the infrastructure, ensuring the provision of an adequate service to users. The performance of such actions along the infrastructure lifetime makes it necessary to study the impact that road work zones may have on road crashes since these areas change locally and temporarily the traffic conditions offered to users (lower speeds, the presence of work equipment and workers, narrow lanes, changes in vertical and horizontal signs, etc.). This study aims to analyze the Portuguese official road work zones crash data from 2013-2015 period by using binary logistic regression models to identify the most significant factors influencing work zone crashes. Official data was processed in order to be used in a statistical analysis software and the binary logistic regressions were performed for the analysis of Portuguese work zone crashes by the type of crash (pedestrian, angle, rear-end and runoff road), driver age groups (under 25 years, 25 to 64 and over 65 years) and a predominant contributing factor as speeding, unexpected obstacle on the road and the disregard for vertical road signs and safety distance (main contributing factors identified in this study). Results obtained shows that factors as "urban environment", "one driver involved is running straightly", "clean and dry pavement" and "daylight" have positive impact in a large number of models. The identification of these factors allows supporting the definition of strategies aimed at the reduction of the number and severity of crashes in road work areas.