Resilience of logistic service providers facing a port strike: a case study

The purpose of this thesis is to study the impact of a port strike on companies that perform as logistic service providers in a supply chain (SC), here denominated 3PL (third-party logistic providers). These companies are highly dependent on ports to perform their activity, since they provide international services. Consequently, a disruption in a port can seriously impair their business. A stevedores’ strike is one of the possible disruptions that can affect ports. This study aims to analyze the negative effects caused by this disruption, and what strategies 3PLs may implement in order to keep their performance levels stable and have a quick recovery time. Within this objective, the first step will be to establish a theoretical context about the maritime port’s sector and 3PLs in a SC context, to then expand the concept of a resilient SC, and finally to develop a theoretical framework in order to better contextualize the case study. Subsequently, the impact of a port strike will be quantified by using a case study comprising three companies, covering the areas of land and sea distribution and port operations. Information from primary sources was assembled in two phases: first via e-mail and, in a second phase, through a personal interview. The information from secondary sources was obtained through television news, internet and conferences, enabling its cross-analysis. Finally, by analyzing the collected data, it will be possible to draw conclusions about the measures carried out by each company to minimize the negative effects of the strike, thus contributing to a more resilient SC. As a conclusion, a stevedores’ strike will create a snow-ball of negative effects in the SC, degrading all relevant KPIs (key performance indicators) of the 3PLs under study. No mitigation and contingency strategies available proved really effective to reduce the negative effects of a port strike disruption.

Process Engineering of Stem Cells for Clinical Application

Over the last decade, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have garnered a lot of attention owing to their inherent self-renewal ability and pluripotency. These characteristics have opened opportunities for potential stem cell-based regenerative medicines, for development of drug discovery platforms and as unique in vitro models for the study of early human development.(...)

Hydroxyapatite porous structures for bone tissue engineering

Esta dissertação teve como objetivo o desenvolvimento de espumas porosas de hidroxiapatite (HA) baseadas em réplicas invertidas de cristais coloidais (ICC) para substituição óssea. Um ICC é uma estrutura tridimensional de elevada porosidade que apresenta uma rede interconectada de poros com elevada uniformidade de tamanhos. Este tipo de arquitetura possibilita uma proliferação celular homogénea e superiores propriedades mecânicas quando comparada com espumas de geometria não uniforme. O cristal coloidal (CC) - o molde da espuma - foi criado por empacotamento de microesferas de poliestireno (270 μm) produzidas por microfluídica e posterior tratamento térmico. O molde foi impregnado com um gel de hidroxiapatite produzido via sol-gel utilizando pentóxido de fósforo e nitrato de cálcio tetrahidratado como percursores de fósforo e cálcio, respectivamente. A espuma cerâmica foi obtida num único passo depois de um tratamento térmico a 1100oC que permitiu a solidificação do gel e a remoção do CC. A análise por espetroscopia de infravermelho por transformada de Fourier (FTIR) e difração de raios-X (XRD) revelou uma hidroxiapatite carbonatada tipo A com presença de fosfatos tricálcicos. As propriedades mecânicas foram avaliadas por testes de compressão. A biocompatibilidade in vitro foi demonstrada através de testes de adesão e proliferação celular de osteoblastos.

Resilience in organizations: The perspective of managers in Portugal and Germany

The concept of organizational resilience has become popular in Organizational Studies during the last decades - yet researchers have not been able to find one commonly accepted definition for what exactly it is. What are the drivers of resilience in organizations? Are there certain cultural factors and national differences regarding the perception of the concept? This paper aims to answer these questions from a perspective of within institutions. A group of managers from different corporations in Portugal and Germany has been interviewed in order to understand how managers experience and characterize organizational resilience. Based on qualitative inductive research the results show that organizational resilience is built on four main drivers: a sense of proximity, a sense of openness, a sense of challenge and a sense for structure.

Functional characterization and directed engineering of redox proteins for a rational improvement of Bioelectrochemical systems

In recent years, new methods of clean and environmentally friendly energy production have been the focus of intense research efforts. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are devices that utilize naturally occurring microorganisms that feed on organic matter, like waste water, while producing electrical energy. The natural habitats of bacteria thriving in microbial fuel cells are usually marine and freshwater sediments. These microorganisms are called dissimilatory metal reducing bacteria (DMRB), but in addition to metals like iron and manganese, they can use organic compounds like DMSO or TMAO, radionuclides and electrodes as terminal electron acceptors in their metabolic pathways.(...)

Engineering of metal oxide nanoparticles for application in electrochemical devices

The growing demand for materials and devices with new functionalities led to the increased inter-est in the field of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies. Nanoparticles, not only present a reduced size as well as high reactivity, which allows the development of electronic and electrochemical devices with exclusive properties, when compared with thin films. This dissertation aims to explore the development of several nanostructured metal oxides by sol-vothermal synthesis and its application in different electrochemical devices. Within this broad theme, this study has a specific number of objectives: a) research of the influence of the synthesis parameters to the structure and morphology of the nanoparticles; b) improvement of the perfor-mance of the electrochromic devices with the application of the nanoparticles as electrode; c) application of the nanoparticles as probes to sensing devices; and d) production of solution-pro-cessed transistors with a nanostructured metal oxide semiconductor. Regarding the results, several conclusions can be exposed. Solvothermal synthesis shows to be a very versatile method to control the growth and morphology of the nanoparticles. The electrochromic device performance is influenced by the different structures and morphologies of WO3 nanoparticles, mainly due to the surface area and conductivity of the materials. The dep-osition of the electrochromic layer by inkjet printing allows the patterning of the electrodes without wasting material and without any additional steps. Nanostructured WO3 probes were produced by electrodeposition and drop casting and applied as pH sensor and biosensor, respectively. The good performance and sensitivity of the devices is explained by the high number of electrochemical reactions occurring at the surface of the na-noparticles. GIZO nanoparticles were deposited by spin coating and used in electrolyte-gated transistors, which promotes a good interface between the semiconductor and the dielectric. The produced transistors work at low potential and with improved ON-OFF current ratio, up to 6 orders of mag-nitude. To summarize, the low temperatures used in the production of the devices are compatible with flexible substrates and additionally, the low cost of the techniques involved can be adapted for disposable devices.

To what extent do aspects of sustainability impact established firms' resilience

An organizations´ level of sustainability has so far been primarily been analyzed within the context of economic performance. This study changes that dependent variable to “resilience”, namely a company’s ability to recover from potential lethal shocks or disruptive events. The research questions aims to investigate whether sustainability and resilience are related. This study utilizes the financial crisis from 2007/08 as disruptive event, as it encompassed market phase-out but also survival by established firms. Two Swiss luxury watchmaking companies have been chosen as industry sample and the study’s investigation is based on a comparative case study approach. The latter applies both quantitative data, in the form of the respective annual company reports, and qualitative data, in the form of semi-structured interviews with three stakeholder groups. Findings indicate that the investigated measures of sustainability are related the investigated companies’ level of resilience. These findings contribute to the building of new theory towards resilience as this study outlines specifically which measures have been proven to be of relevance for companies’ resilience. Moreover, the results are of high relevance for companies that are operating in constant evolving markets and struggling adapting to any disruptive environment as it is outlined why and how comparative companies have to be sustainable in order to become more resilient towards future shocks.

The effect of social and environmental sustainability on firm resilience

Double degree

Engineering bio-based polymers using alternative solvents and processes

The work presented in this thesis explores novel routes for the processing of bio-based polymers, developing a sustainable approach based on the use of alternative solvents such as supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2), ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DES). The feasibility to produce polymeric foams via supercritical fluid (SCF) foaming, combined with these solvents was assessed, in order to replace conventional foaming techniques that use toxic and harmful solvents. A polymer processing methodology is presented, based on SCF foaming and using scCO2 as a foaming agent. The SCF foaming of different starch based polymeric blends was performed, namely starch/poly(lactic acid) (SPLA) and starch/poly(ε-caprolactone) (SPCL). The foaming process is based on the fact that CO2 molecules can dissolve in the polymer, changing their mechanical properties and after suitable depressurization, are able to create a foamed (porous) material. In these polymer blends, CO2 presents limited solubility and in order to enhance the foaming effect, two different imidazolium based ILs (IBILs) were combined with this process, by doping the blends with IL. The use of ILs proved useful and improved the foaming effect in these starch-based polymer blends. Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) proved the existence of interactions between the polymer blend SPLA and ILs, which in turn diminish the forces that hold the polymeric structure. This is directly related with the ability of ILs to dissolve more CO2. This is also clear from the sorption experiments results, where the obtained apparent sorption coefficients in presence of IL are higher compared to the ones of the blend SPLA without IL. The doping of SPCL with ILs was also performed. The foaming of the blend was achieved and resulted in porous materials with conductivity values close to the ones of pure ILs. This can open doors to applications as self-supported conductive materials. A different type of solvents were also used in the previously presented processing method. If different applications of the bio-based polymers are envisaged, replacing ILs must be considered, especially due to the poor sustainability of some ILs and the fact that there is not a well-established toxicity profile. In this work natural DES – NADES – were the solvents of choice. They present some advantages relatively to ILs since they are easy to produce, cheaper, biodegradable and often biocompatible, mainly due to the fact that they are composed of primary metabolites such as sugars, carboxylic acids and amino-acids. NADES were prepared and their physicochemical properties were assessed, namely the thermal behavior, conductivity, density, viscosity and polarity. With this study, it became clear that these properties can vary with the composition of NADES, as well as with their initial water content. The use of NADES in the SCF foaming of SPCL, acting as foaming agent, was also performed and proved successful. The SPCL structure obtained after SCF foaming presented enhanced characteristics (such as porosity) when compared with the ones obtained using ILs as foaming enhancers. DES constituted by therapeutic compounds (THEDES) were also prepared. The combination of choline chloride-mandelic acid, and menthol-ibuprofen, resulted in THEDES with thermal behavior very distinct from the one of their components. The foaming of SPCL with THEDES was successful, and the impregnation of THEDES in SPCL matrices via SCF foaming was successful, and a controlled release system was obtained in the case of menthol-ibuprofen THEDES.

The value creation radar applied to the space engineering sector

This case study illustrates the application of the Value Creation Radar (VCR) to SenSyF, an Earth Observation (EO) system which was developed by Deimos Engenharia S.A. (DME), the Portuguese affiliate of Elecnor Deimos. It describes how a team of consultants adopted the VCR in order to find new market applications for SenSyF, selected the one with the highest potential, and defined a path to guarantee a sustainable market launch. This case study highlights the main challenges of bringing a technology-driven company closer to the market in the pursuit of long-term sustainability, while not compromising its technological capabilities

What creates resilience among the unemployed? Evidence in Portugal

Resilience is the intrinsic capacity which allows individuals to adapt to adverse situations. Among unemployed, resilience obtains a particular importance as a must-required skill to face unemployment and make it possible to return to the labour market. The present work aims at discover which social and individual aspects are most responsible to increase resilience levels among the unemployed. In order to find those aspects, a questionnaire was applied to a sample of Portuguese unemployed. The results were then analysed and interpreted, and some of the possible solutions able to increase resilience levels among the Portuguese unemployed were listed and justified.