Engineering courses usually have a low success rate, and students that take them often consider them difficult and show little motivation towards them. In this context, it is essential to obtain information about the profile of the students so that the teaching can be adapted to their perceived needs and motivations as well to provide support to them. This descriptive-exploratory research study was carried out to determine the learning profile of engineering project students through their motivational profile based on five grouping variables (gender, type of high school of origin, access studies, specialty, repeater). The instrument used was a consolidated motivational assessment questionnaire consisting of items in a series of seven basic scales aligned and grouped together into three motivational dimensions (MAPE-3). As a result, a student profile was observed that was dominated by the dimension of motivation towards the task and characterized by a mixed reflective-practical learning profile based on analytical and predominantly practical individuals.
Currently the optimization of raw materials, energetic efficiency and the reduction of environmental impact are aspects of such importance at the time of choosing a product, process or system. The healthcare buildings are a kind of building composed by a whole group of systems, products and processes. This means a great margin for improvement in energy efficiency and environmental impact caused during the construction as well. The main goal of this project is to verify the viability of applying a case of study of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) in a healthcare building. After the analysis of the results obtained in previous studies, a series of advantages and drawbacks have appeared as a result of applying this tool in healthcare buildings. The result has been beyond satisfactory, since clear conclusions have been obtained from an exhaustive analysis. Among the most important conclusions, it should be noted that the LCA technique is a great asset to evaluate environmental impacts. The application of LCA methodology helps to reduce the total environmental impact generated during the construction of a healthcare building, having a great impact on social benefit as well as an economic benefit. This last is usually associated to the reduction of waste and operative costs and in the energy savings. Also, it has been proposed some solutions to the main drawbacks. These can be the draw of a guide for the application of the LCA technique or the implementation of educational courses.
The design, modelling and construction of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) facilities in healthcare buildings must aim for the users’ maximum comfort and meet sanitary criteria for indoor air quality. The environmental impact of 12 HVAC duct types was subjected to life cycle assessment, with a single-score damage category analysis carried out for the midpoint and endpoint levels. The two most favourable duct types for the different impact categories were aluminium with helical steel wire reinforcement and fibreglass insulation, and also copper sheeting with rock wool and polyurethane insulation. However, although the former presented the best environmental impact values, this type is inadvisable for healthcare buildings. This is due to its nature and the subsequent tendency of the system to lose pressure and efficiency, as well as the difficulty of cleaning this type of ductwork and its predisposition to bacterial proliferation. Thus, the copper duct type with rock wool insulation is the most suitable type for healthcare buildings. This came second overall environmentally (1.06 pt/m2), with values 2.83 times more favourable than the polyisocyanurate solution. Finally, the application of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to HVAC ductwork was demonstrated to reduce the impact by up to 39.88%.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.