Ditopic molecular architectures for the recognition of anionic species

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Chemistry

Exploring profitability diversity through financial statement analysis

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Avatars and the «Imitation Game» – can machines smile?

Considering Alan Turing’s challenge in «Computing Machinery and Intelligence» (1950) – can machines play the «imitation game»? – it is proposed that the requirements of the Turing test are already implicitly being used for checking the credibility of virtual characters and avatars. Like characters, Avatars aim to visually express emotions (the exterior signs of the existence of feeling) and its creators have to resort to emotion codes. Traditional arts have profusely contributed for this field and, together with the science of anatomy, shaped the grounds for current Facial Action Coding System (FACS) and their databases. However, FACS researchers have to improve their «instruction tables» so that the machines will be able, in a near future, to be programmed to carry out the operation of recognizing human expressions (face and body) and classify them adequately. For the moment, the reproductions have to resort to the copy of real life expressions, and the presente smile of avatars comes from mirroring their human users.

Use of multi-sensory marketing techniques and its influence on brand experience in retail and HORECA sector

Double degree. A Work Project presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA- School of Business and Economics and Warsaw School of Economics

As práticas comerciais desleais

The following study aims to examine a controversial and relatively unexplored subject within our system: the legal framework on unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices. Given the fact that this subject is based on the Directive 2005/29/EC, we considered to be appropriate to explore, firstly, the background and origin of such normative instrument. Nevertheless, we have centered our analysis on the interpretation of the set rules established by the Portuguese legal system (Law nr 57/2008, March 26th). For this dissertation, we have proposed a model of tripartite approach. Chapter V seeks to shed light on the general clause by analyzing a set of open concepts such as professional diligence, honest market practice, good faith or material distortion of the consumer’s economic behavior. In chapter VI, we will focus on two common types of unfair commercial practices: misleading and aggressive practices. Finally, due to the fact that chapter VII deals with the black list, we have illustrated the listed practices by giving real life examples. Taking into account the indefinite concepts used in the general prohibition and in the misleading and aggressive clauses, it is particularly difficult to demonstrate the unfairness of the professional’s behavior. In the light of this information, we have concluded that the regime fails on achieving its main goal: it does not protect proper and effectively the consumer’s interests.

Trust, alliance management capability and the alliance management function: A comparative analysis of Portuguese SMEs

Strategic alliances represent a key driver for internationalization and growth, being the purpose of this work project to better understand the intertwined relationship between trust and the existence of an alliance management position. Previous research supports the positive impact of such position in stock market returns. However, little attention has been given to the impact of such position on the level of trust in the collaborative arrangement, which is deemed to be a key driver for alliance success. A qualitative comparative case-study of three Portuguese SMEs is used to draw conclusions from the literature to real life business cases and it demonstrates the positive impact of an alliance management position on trust.

Escalation of conflict in FMCG industry: A negotiation case

This work project develops a case-study to be used in Negotiation courses, both in Masters programs and in executive education workshops. The case-study is based on a real-life negotiating situation in Belgium between Unilever, the second largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company in the world, and Delhaize, one of the most important Belgium’s retailers, with a significant international presence. We also present an analysis of the negotiation based on relevant literature. First, a brief literature review is presented about how to deal with multiple-issue negotiations and how to deal with processes of escalation of conflict. These concepts are then applied to the analysis of the case-study.

Management consulting lab- Galp social media

This study consists of the reflection on a consultancy project developed by four students and one project manager from NOVA SBE. In attempting to assist Galp Energia structure the operationalization of an entry into Social Media, we were confronted with first-time challenges in real-life highly demanding workplace situations. The following considerations attempt to defuse the problem-solving mindset of the practical experience from the methodological development and learning experience extracted from the consulting line of work

Predicting market movement with Artificial Neural Networks

This paper presents an application of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to the prediction of stock market direction in the US. Using a multilayer perceptron neural network and a backpropagation algorithm for the training process, the model aims at learning the hidden patterns in the daily movement of the S&P500 to correctly identify if the market will be in a Trend Following or Mean Reversion behavior. The ANN is able to produce a successful investment strategy which outperforms the buy and hold strategy, but presents instability in its overall results which compromises its practical application in real life investment decisions.

An effective on-the-job training model-to facilitate strategy execution

Strategy execution has been a heated topic in the management world in recent years. However, according to a survey done by the Conference Board (2014), the chief executives are so concerned about the execution in their companies and have rated it as the No.1 or No.2 most challenging issue. Many of them choose to invest in training with a purpose to harvest the most for strategy execution. Therefore, this research is trying to find out a model to design training programs that can at most contribute to the success of strategy execution with three real-life training cases done by BTS Consulting Service. It was found that strategy execution could be greatly supported by training programs that take into consideration the four factors, namely Alignment, Mindset to Change, Capability and Organization Support. Main implications of the findings are presented and discussed. Key