Repository logo

Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2021-10-22"

Filter results by year or month
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Evaluating Intelligent Methods for Decision Making Support in Dermoscopy Based on Information Gain and Ensemble
    Publication . Spolaôr, Newton; Fonseca-Pinto, Rui; Mendes, Ana I.; Ensina, Leandro A.; Takaki, Weber S. R.; Parmezan, Antonio R. S.; Nogueira, Conceição V.; Coy, Claudio S. R.; Wu, Feng C.; Lee, Huei D.
    Melanoma, the most dangerous skin cancer, is sometimes associated with a nevus, a relatively common skin lesion. To find early melanoma, nevus, and other lesions, dermoscopy is often used. In this context, intelligent methods have been applied in dermoscopic images to support decision making. A typical computer-aided diagnosis method comprises three steps: (1) extraction of features that describe image properties, (2) selection of important features previously extracted, (3) classification of images based on the selected features. In this work, traditional data mining approaches underexploited in dermoscopy were applied: information gain for feature selection and an ensemble classification method based on gradient boosting. The former technique ranks image features according to data entropy, while the latter combines the outputs of single classifiers to predict the image class. After evaluating these approaches in a public dataset, we can observe that the results obtained are competitive with the state-of-the-art. Moreover, the presented approach allows a reduction of the total number of features and types of features to produce similar classification scores.
    2021-10-22Book part Open access Show more
  • Economic Sustainability in Wastewater Treatment Companies: A Regional Analysis for the Iberian Peninsula
    Publication . Santos, Eleonora; Lisboa, Inês; Eugénio, Teresa
    An important part of environmental degradation is caused by the discharge of untreated or mistreated wastewater. The reuse of water is paramount to the National Strategic Plan for the Water Supply and Wastewater Sanitation Sector in Portugal and Spain. Since centralized treatment systems have proved to be inefficient, tackling environmental issues requires a regional approach. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) mitigate environmental impacts and contribute to the financial savings of other firms. However, the literature evaluating WWTPs’ financial performance and economic sustainability is scarce. The implementation of a resource recovery technology depends heavily on economic viability. Thus, this paper analyses the financial sustainability of 222 WWTPs in the Iberian Peninsula by NUTS II regions in 2016–2019 to assess the region with the best performance and financial stability and provide regional policy implications. Using the SABI database, this research encompasses a numerical and narrative analysis of key financial ratios. Results show that firms in Algarve and La Rioja exhibit higher financial sustainability when compared to other regions. Results can foster enhancements in the governance of regulated utilities
    2021-10-22Journal article Open access Show more
  • The Dos and Don’ts of Doing Business in the Middle East: GCC / United Arab Emirates
    Publication . Neto, Fátima Maria Neves Barbeiro de Abreu; Rodrigues, Susana Cristina Serrano Fernandes
    The Middle East, namely the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC), has been a key fast-moving economic region for the past decades. The impact of the Covid pandemic is still being felt by many businesses all over the world, and the GCC is no exception. More particularly, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to double its economy by the end of 2031, emphasizing the retail and tourism business and other major non-oil sectors. These economic recovery signs indicate that the UAE will continue to offer opportunities and be a key market for international business expansion in the retail area in a post-pandemic era. Most literature about the Middle Eastern countries includes North African countries and sometimes Turkey that, although, in most cases, share the same language and Muslim teachings, have suffered different cultural influences. Literature is scant on the GCC culture, even less in GCC retail. Our research fills this gap through in-depth semi-structured interviews of European international business managers and European expat workers in the UAE. Although most Arab businesses continue to be held by local Arabs or Arab groups, there is considerable assimilation of international staff (expats) that reflects population diversity. This cultural diversity naturally influences business dealings and negotiations; however, the business subculture continues to be heavily influenced by its Arab owners. In the UAE, there is a younger, bolder generation of Emiratis that have been influenced by western education but continue to highly value their ancestral values of family, religion, respect, trust, cordiality, and relationships. This fast-moving economy is not an “El Dorado,” To do business, you have to have the right partner, be financially sound, respect, and be respected personally and within the business relationship because the GCC business is personal. Understanding these cultural aspects can facilitate or hinder a business venture.
    2021-10-22Master thesis Open access Show more