One of the advantages of following a MDA-based approach in the development of interactive applications is the possibility of generating multiple platform-specific user interfaces (UI) from the same platform independent UI model. However, the effort required to create the UI model may be significant. In the case of data-intensive applications, a large part of the UI structure and functionality is closely related with the structure and functionality of the domain entities described in the domain model, and the access rules specified in the use case model. This paper presents an approach to reduce the effort required to create platform independent UI models for data intensive applications, by automatically generating an initial UI model from domain and use case models. For that purpose, UML-aligned metamodels for domain and use case models are defined, together with a MOF-based metamodel for user interface models. The transformation rules that drive the UI model generation are introduced. It is also proposed a MDA-based process for the development of data intensive interactive applications based on the proposed model architecture and transformations.

In recent decades there has been an increasing concern about climate change. Every person is increasingly concerned about global warming and, as a consumer, with their own individual contribute to that issue, wich may be measured by each one’s carbon footprint. In this sense, it is only natural that each person wants to consume products with a lower carbon footprint, meaning with a lower environmental impact. For this, however, consumers need to be able to know the carbon footprint of the products they are buying. This is only possible by having every company tracking and sharing their own products carbon footprint. The blockchain is a distributed technology that allows for registering and sharing information between those companies and the final consumers. The blockchain is being used in many areas as a distributed database, and has some strong points like trust, transparency, security, immutability, durability, disintermediation and others. In this paper the blockchain technology is being used to track and trace back the carbon footprint of products and organizations. More exactly, this paper proposes a smart contract-based platform for the traceability of the carbon footprint of products and organizations.

NetworkX is a free Python library for graphs and networks and is used in many applications and projects to find the shortest path in path planning scenarios. For dense graphs, the library provides the Floyd–Warshall algorithm for shortest paths and the A* (“A-Star”) algorithm for shortest paths and path lengths. However, several extensions have been proposed to improve the A*, but they are not included in the library. In this context, this paper presents a set of implementations improving the A*, such as the IDA*, D* Lite, SMA*, Bidirectional A* and RTA*. The goal or challenge is to address the limitations of the A* in specific scenarios, such as searching for an optimal path repeatedly or when confronted with memory limitations, as exemplified by the NetworkX library. To do this, we first review the literature of the usage and general application of NetworkX in different domains of applicability and then explore their usage in a shortest path context. By reviewing and validating the usage of A* and extensions in Python using the NetworkX framework, the implementations were submitted to the network environment validation and passed the tests. We have also done the benchmarking of the A*, comparing it with the new ones, and concluded the better efficiency of the A* extensions in tri-objective scenario parameters (length, cost and toll). Despite the extensive utilisation of A* and its notable efficacy in identifying optimal paths, its performance is suboptimal in specific scenarios, such as when confronted with memory constraints and dynamic environments. Almost every algorithm outperformed or matched the A* in the fields that were developed to have an advantage, demonstrating the quality and robustness of the implemented algorithms. As a contribution and to foster further research in this shortest path specific context field, the dataset and Python code of the algorithms are available in a GitHub opensource repository.

Among the three pillars of sustainability (environmental, social and economic), modern society begins to give greater attention to the environmental and social ones at the expense of the economic. Consumers are beginning to be prepared to pay more for products that are socially and environmentally responsible, but, for taking that decision, they need to be sure that the products they choose are really socially and environmentally friendly. For that, it is necessary to have transparency about what happens in each stage of the products’ supply chain and this information must be available to the consumer. Thus, it is necessary to know the entire supply chain, from the creation of raw materials to the arrival of the final products at the consumer. Storing information (where, who, how, when, etc.) on each of the steps of the supply chain is essential, enabling the traceability of products to become more transparent and even allowing them to be withdrawn from the market if necessary, for health reasons (for example: use of a toxic paint in a clothes’ factory). This position paper proposes the use of the blockchain technology to implement traceability in the supply chain.

This paper addresses objectification, a formal specification technique which inspects the potential for object-orientation of a declarative model and brings the ’implicit objects’ explicit. Criteria for such objectification are formalized and implemented in a runnable prototype tool which embeds Vdm-sl into Vdm++. The paper also includes a quick presentation of a (coinductive) calculus of such generated objects, framed as generalised Moore machines.

This paper presents an approach for deriving default user interfaces from contracts of the domain model. The derived UI is intended to interact with the application's business logic (domain) model prototype, which is represented in the form of UML class diagrams complemented with contracts in VDM++.

A escassez de recursos, o aumento do seu custo e o facto da exploração de alguns materiais ser prejudicial para o meio ambiente, aumentou a procura de novos materiais que possam substituir os já existentes, apresentando, no entanto, benefícios a nível ambiental e económico e a mesma ou melhor produtividade na construção. A construção civil tem desempenhado, em prol da sustentabilidade, um papel importante no aproveitamento de resíduos de outras indústrias. Neste segmento, com a adição de resíduos e de materiais naturais é possível a obtenção de compósitos inovadores, sustentáveis e rentáveis, com melhor desempenho que os tradicionais. Neste estudo, com cariz experimental, foi desenvolvido um compósito à base de gesso, com adição de granulado de cortiça e fibras de celulose (subproduto resultante da indústria do papel), com várias percentagens e preparações diferentes. Pode concluir-se que, apesar das resistências do compósito terem diminuído com a introdução de fibras, se obteve uma maior ductilidade e resistência térmica (importante para uma maior inércia térmica). Além disso, verifica-se que é possível obter as caraterísticas mecânicas necessárias, para além de ganhar uma leveza considerável face às placas de gesso convencionais. Por fim, testou-se uma solução de aplicação em obra inovadora com a possibilidade de substituição fácil e não destrutiva. Este aspeto é interessante, sobretudo para edifícios com necessidade de mudanças decorativas mais frequentes como por exemplo edifícios comerciais.

O tema central da dissertação é a reabilitação do património arquitectónico, nomeadamente aferir a evolução do conceito de reabilitação ao longo dos tempos. O objectivo é analisar as várias intervenções e transformações arquitectónicas que foram sendo efectuadas ao longo dos anos ao Castelo de S. Jorge, desde o „Estado Novo‟ até à actualidade, verificando se foram aplicados os conceitos de restauro em vigor. Num mundo cada vez mais global que vai perdendo a sua individualidade e identidade, a reabilitação e conservação do património é de extrema importância pois intervém directamente na manutenção e fixação de aspectos memoriais e identitários, não só de uma civilização mas de toda a Humanidade. Se este património cultural não for preservado como é que as gerações futuras o podem apreender como sendo delas? Daí que as políticas urbanísticas e arquitectónicas vão no sentido de intervir nos espaços arquitectónicos, conservando e valorizando o património aí existente de modo a torná-los espaços requalificados e funcionais, numa constante adaptação aos tempos, assegurando a sua relação com o meio envolvente e a sua consequente subsistência enquanto valor patrimonial. Mas que metodologia/conceito se deve utilizar na reabilitação/requalificação de um objecto arquitectónico histórico? 

The way each person dresses has been considered a cultural manifestation and a portrait of societies, where each one expresses their habits, customs and values. The improvement in living standards, especially in developed countries, accompanied by the emergence of Fast fashion, has led to an exaggerated increase in the consumption of clothing products. This increase has a growing impact on the environment, not only in soil erosion and water consumption, due to the production of fibers such as cotton, linen, and others, but also due to the use of chemical products in the manufacturing processes of these products. The increase in consumption and the reduction in the useful lifetime of garments has led to a large increase in textile waste, which often ends up in undifferentiated garbage. One of the ways to mitigate the problem is to embark on the circular economy. This requires the involvement of all actors in the value chain, including especially the end-consumer, as this is the main responsible for closing the cycle of the economy, by sending end-of-life textile products for recycling. In this article, a systematic review on digital solutions for involving the end-consumer in the circular economy of the Textile and Clothing value chain is made, not only in closing the cycle, sending end-of-life textile products for recycling, but also in extending the useful lifetime of their garments, and in the implementation of good practices in use, maintenance and disposal of their garments.