Validation of a measurement scale for the relationship between the orientation to corporate social responsibility and other business strategic variables

The importance of Social Responsibility (SR) is higher if this business variable is related with other ones of strategic nature in business activity (competitive success that the company achieved, performance that the firms develop and innovations that they carries out). The hypothesis is that organizations that focus on SR are those who get higher outputs and innovate more, achieving greater competitive success. A scale for measuring the orientation to SR has defined in order to determine the degree of relationship between above elements. This instrument is original because previous scales do not exist in the literature which could measure, on the one hand, the three classics sub-constructs theoretically accepted that SR is made up and, on the other hand, the relationship between SR and the other variables. As a result of causal relationships analysis we conclude with a scale of 21 indicators, validated scale with a sample of firms belonging to the Autonomous Community of Extremadura and it is the first empirical validation of these dimensions we know so far, in this context.

Influence of reconstruction parameters during filtered backprojection and ordered-subset expectation maximization in the measurement of the left-ventricular volumes and function during gated SPECT

A crucial method for investigating patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is the calculation of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). It is, consequently, imperative to precisely estimate the value of LVEF--a process that can be done with myocardial perfusion scintigraphy. Therefore, the present study aimed to establish and compare the estimation performance of the quantitative parameters of the reconstruction methods filtered backprojection (FBP) and ordered-subset expectation maximization (OSEM). Methods: A beating-heart phantom with known values of end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, and LVEF was used. Quantitative gated SPECT/quantitative perfusion SPECT software was used to obtain these quantitative parameters in a semiautomatic mode. The Butterworth filter was used in FBP, with the cutoff frequencies between 0.2 and 0.8 cycles per pixel combined with the orders of 5, 10, 15, and 20. Sixty-three reconstructions were performed using 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16 OSEM subsets, combined with several iterations: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 32, and 64. Results: With FBP, the values of end-diastolic, end-systolic, and the stroke volumes rise as the cutoff frequency increases, whereas the value of LVEF diminishes. This same pattern is verified with the OSEM reconstruction. However, with OSEM there is a more precise estimation of the quantitative parameters, especially with the combinations 2 iterations × 10 subsets and 2 iterations × 12 subsets. Conclusion: The OSEM reconstruction presents better estimations of the quantitative parameters than does FBP. This study recommends the use of 2 iterations with 10 or 12 subsets for OSEM and a cutoff frequency of 0.5 cycles per pixel with the orders 5, 10, or 15 for FBP as the best estimations for the left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction quantification in myocardial perfusion scintigraphy.

Measurement of Photo Capacitance in Amorphous Silicon Photodiodes

This paper discusses the photodiode capacitance dependence on imposed light and applied voltage using different devices. The first device is a double amorphous silicon pin-pin photodiode; the second one a crystalline pin diode and the last one a single pin amorphous silicon diode. Double amorphous silicon diodes can be used as (de)multiplexer devices for optical communications. For short range applications, using plastic optical fibres, the WDM (wavelength-division multiplexing) technique can be used in the visible light range to encode multiple signals. Experimental results consist on measurements of the photodiode capacitance under different conditions of imposed light and applied voltage. The relation between the capacitive effects of the double diode and the quality of the semiconductor internal junction will be analysed. The dynamics of charge accumulations will be measured when the photodiode is illuminated by a pulsed monochromatic light.

A importância da informação contabilística multidimensional face às necessidades dos múltiplos stakeholders: estudo de caso da entidade BETA, SROC, Lda.

Mestrado em Contabilidade

The impact of financial disclosures in the measurement of notional interest rate swaps in the period of 2007-2012

Mestrado em Contabilidade

The hospital survey on patient safety culture in Portuguese hospitals: instrument validity and reliability

Purpose – Quantitative instruments to assess patient safety culture have been developed recently and a few review articles have been published. Measuring safety culture enables healthcare managers and staff to improve safety behaviours and outcomes for patients and staff. The study aims to determine the AHRQ Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSPSC) Portuguese version's validity and reliability. Design/methodology/approach – A missing-value analysis and item analysis was performed to identify problematic items. Reliability analysis, inter-item correlations and inter-scale correlations were done to check internal consistency, composite scores. Inter-correlations were examined to assess construct validity. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to investigate the observed data's fit to the dimensional structure proposed in the AHRQ HSPSC Portuguese version. To analyse differences between hospitals concerning composites scores, an ANOVA analysis and multiple comparisons were done. Findings – Eight of 12 dimensions had Cronbach's alphas higher than 0.7. The instrument as a whole achieved a high Cronbach's alpha (0.91). Inter-correlations showed that there is no dimension with redundant items, however dimension 10 increased its internal consistency when one item is removed. Originality/value – This study is the first to evaluate an American patient safety culture survey using Portuguese data. The survey has satisfactory reliability and construct validity.

Uma análise das diferenças em termos da cultura e dos interesses profissionais a partir do projeto de substituiçao das IAS 39: Financial Instruments - Recognition and Measurement

Mestrado em Contabilidade

Impacto da síncope na qualidade de vida: validação duma escala de avaliação em doentes submetidos a teste de inclinação em mesa basculante

Introdução e objetivos: A síncope recorrente tem um impacto significativo na qualidade de vida. O desenvolvimento de escalas de medida de fácil aplicabilidade clínica para avaliar este impacto é fundamental. O objetivo do presente estudo é a validação preliminar da escala Impact of Syncope on Quality of Life, para a população portuguesa. Métodos: O instrumento foi submetido a um processo de tradução, validação, adequação cultural e cognitive debriefing. Participaram 39 doentes com história de síncopes recorrentes (>1 ano de evolução), submetidos a teste de inclinação em mesa basculante (teste de tilt), que constitui uma amostra de conveniência, com idade de 52,1±16,4 anos (21-83; 43,5% do sexo masculino), a maioria com uma situação profissional ativa (n=18) ou reformados (n=13). A versão portuguesa resultou numa versão semelhante unidimensional à original com 12 itens agregados num único somatório, tendo passado por validação estatística, com avaliação da fidelidade, validade e estabilidade no tempo. Resultados: Em relação à fidelidade, a consistência interna da escala é de 0,9. Avaliámos a validade convergente, tendo obtido resultados estatisticamente significativos (p<0,01). Avaliámos a validade divergente tendo obtido resultados estatisticamente significativos. Relativamente à estabilidade no tempo foi efetuado um teste-reteste do instrumento aos seis meses após o teste de inclinação com 22 doentes desta amostra não submetidos a intervenção clínica, que não mostrou alterações estatisticamente significativas da qualidade de vida. Conclusões: Os resultados obtidos indicam a pertinência da utilização deste instrumento em contexto português na avaliação da qualidade de vida de doentes com síncope recorrente.

Tris(2-Ethylhexyl) trimellitate (TOTM) a potential reference fluid for high viscosity. Part I: viscosity measurements at temperatures from (303 to 373)K and pressures up to 65MPa, using a novel vibrating-wire instrument

No literature data above atmospheric pressure could be found for the viscosity of TOTIVI. As a consequence, the present viscosity results could only be compared upon extrapolation of the vibrating wire data to 0.1 MPa. Independent viscosity measurements were performed, at atmospheric pressure, using an Ubbelohde capillary in order to compare with the vibrating wire results, extrapolated by means of the above mentioned correlation. The two data sets agree within +/- 1%, which is commensurate with the mutual uncertainty of the experimental methods. Comparisons of the literature data obtained at atmospheric pressure with the present extrapolated vibrating-wire viscosity measurements have shown an agreement within +/- 2% for temperatures up to 339 K and within +/- 3.3% for temperatures up to 368 K. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

18F-FDG measurement in primary lung cancer: SUV normalization to different distribution volumes

Introduction: Standard Uptake Value (SUV) is a measurement of the uptake in a tumour normalized on the basis of a distribution volume and is used to quantify 18F-Fluorodeoxiglucose (FDG) uptake in tumors, such as primary lung tumor. Several sources of error can affect its accuracy. Normalization can be based on body weight, body surface area (BSA) and lean body mass (LBM). The aim of this study is to compare the influence of 3 normalization volumes in the calculation of SUV: body weight (SUVW), BSA (SUVBSA) and LBM (SUVLBM), with and without glucose correction, in patients with known primary lung tumor. The correlation between SUV and weight, height, blood glucose level, injected activity and time between injection and image acquisition is evaluated. Methods: Sample included 30 subjects (8 female and 22 male) with primary lung tumor, with clinical indication for 18F-FDG Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Images were acquired on a Siemens Biography according to the department’s protocol. Maximum pixel SUVW was obtained for abnormal uptake focus through semiautomatic VOI with Quantification 3D isocontour (threshold 2.5). The concentration of radioactivity (kBq/ml) was obtained from SUVW, SUVBSA, SUVLBM and the glucose corrected SUV were mathematically obtained. Results: Statistically significant differences between SUVW, SUVBSA and SUVLBM and between SUVWgluc, SUVBSAgluc and SUVLBMgluc were observed (p=0.000<0.05). The blood glucose level showed significant positive correlations with SUVW (r=0.371; p=0.043) and SUVLBM (r=0.389; p=0.034). SUVBSA showed independence of variations with the blood glucose level. Conclusion: The measurement of a radiopharmaceutical tumor uptake normalized on the basis of different distribution volumes is still variable. Further investigation on this subject is recommended.