Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2012-11"
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- Feasibility of focal transcranial DC polarization with simultaneous EEG recording: preliminary assessment in healthy subjects and human epilepsyPublication . Faria, Paula; Fregni, Felipe; Sebastião, Fernando; Dias, Ana I.; Leal, AlbertoWe aimed to investigate the feasibility of an experimental system for simultaneous transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS) and EEG recording in human epilepsy. We report tolerability of this system in a cross-over controlled trial with 15 healthy subjects and preliminary effects of its use, testing repeated tDCS sessions, in two patients with drug-refractory Continuous Spike-Wave Discharges During Slow Sleep (CSWS). Our system combining continuous recording of the EEG with tDCS allows detailed evaluation of the interictal activity during the entire process. Stimulation with 1mA was well-tolerated in both healthy volunteers and patients with refractory epilepsy. The large reduction in interictal epileptiform EEG discharges in the two subjects with epilepsy supports further investigation of tDCS using this combined method of stimulation and monitoring in epilepsy. Continuous monitoring of epileptic activity throughout tDCS improves safety and allows detailed evaluation of epileptic activity changes induced by tDCS in patients.
- À procura de um lugar na Europa: o território e o património nos discursos sobre Leiria e as suas regiõesPublication . Magalhães, Fernando Paulo Oliveira
- Comunicação de marketing online – avaliação dos websites de empresas de animação turística em PortugalPublication . Rafael, Célia Maria da Conceição Salmim; Ferraz, Francisco António Vaz Guedes DelgadoA necessidade de interação das organizações empresariais com os seus stakeholders no desenvolvimento de estratégias aplicadas ao negócio, leva a uma procura de processos inovadores de comunicação com recurso às Novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (NTIC). O uso massificado e a popularização da Internet, permite a utilização desta ferramenta como meio de comunicação de excelência, nos processos de comunicação organizacional, nomeadamente através dos seus websites. A ausência de estudos sobre esta linha de investigação, tendo como objeto de estudo o setor dos agentes de animação turística, conduziu à escolha deste subsetor económico do turismo - as Empresas de Animação Turística (EAT) em Portugal inscritas no Registo Nacional de Agentes de Animação Turística1. Este estudo tem como objetivo a avaliação da eficácia da comunicação de marketing online, através dos websites corporativos. Assim, no desenvolvimento da pesquisa procurou-se examinar como os empresários responsáveis pela gestão das EAT estão a utilizar as NTIC em geral, e a web em particular, para a comunicação e interação com os seus públicos de interesse (stakeholders). A metodologia procurou incorporar elementos parciais de vários instrumentos de análise perscrutados na revisão de literatura e que possibilitam uma análise descritiva dos conteúdos dos websites analisados, bem como, o grau de intensidade com que as EAT utilizam as NTIC para difundir informação e estabelecer interação com os seus públicos. Os resultados evidenciam uma fraca presença de alguns itens, revelando a ausência de definição de estratégias de comunicação de marketing online, concluindo-se ainda que existe um fraco interesse em estabelecer mecanismos de interação das EAT com os seus stakeholders, através do website.
- Predictive effect of self-concept in social competence in career: study with 8th grade portuguese studentsPublication . Nogueira, Marta; Faria, L.; Taveira, M. C.; Veiga, F. H.Social competencies have been identified by the European Commission as one of the most important precursors of prosperity and well-being in its Member States (EU 2005). In fact, social competence is a multidimensional construct, with emotional, cognitive and contextual dimensions (Lemos & Meneses, 2002). It includes interactions between individual characteristics, social demands, and contextual characteristics. Social competencies reflect adjustment in family, school, work, and in society in general, in life span (Schoon, 2009). According to Savickas (2005), it is within social relationships that individuals develop their work projects and, in this context, acquire knowledge about their efforts and commitment. However, despite the growing recognition of the importance of social competencies in adaptive functioning within a variety of contexts across life span, few scientific researches combine social competence with the concerns of career education (Pinto et al., 2012). Career social competence is understood to be the ability to deal, wisely and in a social adapted way, with educational career situations or informal career learning situations (Candeias & Almeida, 2005; Candeias, Araújo, & Taveira, 2009). In fact it comprehends taking into account that self concept refers to a self evaluation or a self perception, and it regards the personal beliefs about his or her own attributes (Hadley, Hair, & Moore, 2008). Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze how self concept influences their social competence in career education situations. Participants are 306 adolescents; 163 are young girls (53.3%) and 143 are young boys (46.7%), aged between 12 and 16 years old (µ=13.28±.590), attending three Portuguese public schools. Instruments were the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (PHCSCS-2 - Piers & Herzberg, 2002; adapted for the Portuguese population by Veiga in 2006) and the Social Competency Assessment in Career Scale (PACS-Car; adapted for the Portuguese population by Candeias, Araújo, & Taveira, 2009). The PHCSCS-2 was used to measure self-concept and PACS-Car was used to evaluate the perceived career social competence. The PHCSCS-2 is intended for young people self-assessment of behavioral, intellectual and school status, physical attributes and appearance, anxiety, popularity, satisfaction and happiness. The PACS-Car measures the level of perceived competence and its relative facility or difficulty in dealing with different interpersonal situations with peers and significant adults, in career education and informal career learning situations. Regression analysis results indicate a significant relationship between self concept and social competence in career dimensions. Implications are drawn to the development of future career interventions that promote social competence.
- A comunicação online da responsabilidade social nas empresas de animação turística em PortugalPublication . Ferraz, Francisco António Vaz Guedes Delgado; Rafael, Célia Maria da Conceição SalmimAtualmente, as organizações confrontam-se com um conjunto de novos problemas e desafios em que a temática da sustentabilidade organizacional se encontra no centro de todas as atenções. Num ambiente diversificado de problemas ambientais, económicos e sociais, a procura de práticas organizativas diferenciadoras e integradas numa lógica de longo prazo influenciam o desenvolvimento de novos comportamentos empresariais dando lugar a uma responsabilidade social corporativa. O desenvolvimento de estratégias com o envolvimento dos stakeholders e com recurso às novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação, nomeadamente com o uso da internet assume relevo na construção da identidade corporativa e uma importância crescente num ambiente cada vez mais competitivo e global. O presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar como algumas das empresas de animação turística portuguesas, procedem à comunicação e divulgação das suas práticas e desenvolvimento de projetos de responsabilidade social na Internet, através dos seus websites corporativos. Atendendo a um conjunto de indicadores de divulgação online de Responsabilidade Social, previamente definidos e baseados em revisão de literatura, a investigação permitiu observar que apenas uma pequena minoria destes agentes de animação turística o divulga. De forma geral, a divulgação é realizada de forma deficiente revelando um reduzido desempenho na Comunicação da Responsabilidade Social nos seus websites.
- On-road performance comparison of two identical cars consuming petrodiesel and biodieselPublication . Serrano, L.; Carreira, V.; Câmara, R.; Gameiro da Silva, M.The present work studies the impact on vehicle performance and fuel consumption when using 100% diesel with petroleum origin (fossil diesel), compared to a mixture of 20% biodiesel in 80% of fossil diesel fuel (B20). For the accomplishment of this work an assessment was made using some primary tests on a chassis dynamometer, measuring vehicle performance and consumption. Subsequently a methodology was developed to conduct road tests. These considered the simultaneous circulation of two identical vehicles, fed with the two different fuels, but running on the same traffic and road conditions. Both vehicles were equippedwith geo-referencing systems (GPS) and datameasured by the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) were acquired. A precision balance was used in fuel consumption measurements of an auxiliary reservoir. The results demonstrate that the use of biodiesel has a penalizing effect on themass fuel consumption and on vehicle's performance, but this is largely dependent on the type of circuit used. One can also conclude that the methodology implemented on the study of fuel alternatives is extremely important. It is noticeable that for different route needs, different energetic solutions are more suitable than others, which can only be properly assessed by conducting road tests.
- TAMENESS OF JOINS INVOLVING THE PSEUDOVARIETY OF LOCAL SEMILATTICESPublication . Costa, José Carlos; Nogueira, ConceiçãoIn this paper we prove that, if V is a κ-tame pseudovariety which satisfies the pseudoidentity xyω+1z = xyz, then the pseudovariety join LSl ∨ V is also κ-tame. Here, LSl denotes the pseudovariety of local semilattices and κ denotes the implicit signature consisting of the multiplication and the (ω – 1)-power. As a consequence, we deduce that LSl ∨ V is decidable. In particular the joins LSl ∨ Ab, LSl ∨ G, LSl ∨ OCR and LSl ∨ CR are decidable.
- Curriculum Meeting Points: A transcultural and transformative initiative in nursing educationPublication . Cook, Sarah Sheets; Sheerin, Fintan; Bancel, Suzanne; Gomes, José Carlos RodriguesFollowing the Bologna initiative in the 1990s, schools of nursing across Europe began considering ways in which they might collaborate with each other in educating nurses in advanced/post-bachelor programs. There were various levels of success which led the writers to explore if such collaboration was possible with similar programs in the United States.Spearheaded by the Institute of Nursing at the Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (HiOA), a consortium was established in 2010 to explore the possibilities of international collaborations in this area. In the process, recognition of subtle and more obvious barriers to such collaborations emerged. Consortium members agreed that there was a need to explore the origins and effects of these barriers and the assumptions which seemed to underpin them.The identified barriers were often caused by assumptions about the content of educational programs and about individual and collective approaches to teaching and learning. Several participants experienced a shift in consciousness about nursing education following the consortium's initial meeting in Oslo. For some, there was a feeling of finding 'like-minded thinkers' and for others it was like viewing a new landscape.This article details the evolution of the consortium and the philosophic underpinnings which guide its continued deliberations.
- Surf tourism: segmentation by motivation and destination choicePublication . Reis, Patrícia; Jorge, João PauloThe choice of touristic destinations depends on a number of factors, whether they’re personal, sociological or economical. The tourist demand is, thus, closely related to the decision that people make when planning their leisure activities. The following analysis seeks to provide information that will provide guidance to public authorities and companies planning in the strategy of sustainable tourism development within a specific segment, in this case surf tourism. This is a new business opportunity, currently having an assuming an important role in the development of regions. Motivation involves a selection process based also on the attributes of the destination. The main goal of this study, trying to make the characterization and profile of surf tourists, is the identification of factors implied on their motivation and the resulting segmentation of this market. The understanding of these issues constitutes is an important contribution for the promotion of a destination’s better performance and competitiveness. The study was based supported in a collection of data from a questionnaire to surf tourists. The market was segmented using multivariate analysis: factor and cluster analysis. The main results of this study have identified that surf tourists value certain attributes when choosing a destination for surfing, which can be synthesized in the factors "Destination", "Entertainment and Recreation" and " Surf Quality”, as well as and the existence of two opposing segments, that value different attributes, when choosing a surfing destination.
- O marketing relacional no consumo infantilPublication . Pinho, Ana Regina Rodrigues; Marques, Alzira Maria AscensãoAs crianças são hoje um mercado muito valioso e são elas os futuros consumidores adultos de amanhã. As empresas devem estar atentas às necessidades, aos desejos e às aquisições realizadas pelas crianças ou por elas influenciadas para poderem estabelecer relações comerciais fortes, baseadas numa dinâmica relacional e assentes na lealdade às marcas. Para o efeito, e partindo do princípio que o processo de consumo das crianças resulta do processo de socialização, importa conhecer a influência dos fatores de socialização, na formação de valores materialistas, na consciência da marca e na lealdade à marca por parte das crianças durante o seu processo de consumo, assim como a relação existente entre estas variáveis. Assim, com base na informação recolhida através de questionário numa amostra de 242 crianças com idades entre os 8 e os 12 anos, estudantes que frequentam entre o 3º e o 6º ano de escolaridade do concelho de Leiria, efetuou-se o estudo quantitativo, transversal e de natureza exploratória. Os resultados evidenciaram que os fatores de socialização, pais, pares e media têm poder explicativo face às variáveis materialismo, consciência da marca e lealdade à marca, no entanto essa relação nem sempre é significativa para as 3 dimensões em simultâneo. Verificou-se ainda que o materialismo explica, em parte, a consciência da marca e esta ajuda a explicar a lealdade à marca. Os resultados obtidos contribuem para o melhor entendimento do consumo infantil e para o desenvolvimento do marketing relacional aplicado ao segmento das crianças. As empresas, particularmente os profissionais de marketing, que queiram “ganhar” as crianças desde cedo e desenvolver com elas uma relação duradoura devem adotar estratégias de marketing que tenham como alvos não só as crianças, mas também os pares e os pais, usando para o efeito os media, sobretudo a internet para promoverem interações com as crianças.