Padrão CQRS para sistemas distribuídos de larga escala

Esta tese pretende desenvolver o estudo de um padrão que utiliza um modelo de implementação fundamentado na natureza das operações que um sistema pretende executar. Estas operações são distinguidas pelo que realizam, portanto um sistema poderá ser dividido em duas grandes áreas: uma, de leitura de dados, e outra, de manipulação de dados. A maior parte dos sistemas atuais está a progredir, com o objetivo de conseguir suportar muitos utilizadores em simultâneo, e é neste aspeto que este padrão se diferencia porque vai permitir escalar, com muita facilidade e sem sobrecarga. Além disso, este estudo deverá facultar um conjunto de boas práticas e incidir sobre o facto de se pretender desenhar um sistema de raiz e não apenas em “migrar” de um sistema já existente. Ao estudar este padrão é essencial estudar e analisar a evolução da utilização futura dos sistemas, para determinar a utilidade e a aplicação crescente ou não, deste padrão. Interessa também saber, quem implementa atualmente este padrão, em que tipo de produtos, e enaltecer o seu sucesso de implementação, estimulando o desenvolvimento da sua utilização. Finalmente, demonstra-se a aplicabilidade e validade do padrão proposto, através de uma implementação modelo, com a ajuda de uma framework de forma a determinar quais as ferramentas existentes que possam ser úteis e contribuir para a implementação deste padrão. O objetivo final será demonstrar os principais componentes do sistema, como poderá prosseguir a sua evolução e como poderá ser melhorada e simplificada a comunicação entre os seus componentes, para uma utilização mais fácil, frequente e de interesse comum para todos: utilizadores e administradores.

Sharing best practices in introducing and teaching ethics principles to public administration employees : research report

O projeto, financiado pelo Programa Aprendizagem ao Longo da Vida, decorreu entre 1 de agosto de 2011 e 31 de julho de 2013 e foi coordenado pelo Instituto de Administração Pública de Praga, tendo como parceiros a Escola de Economia e Direito de Berlim, a Escola Nacional de Administração Pública da Polónia e o INA, de Portugal. A coordenação portuguesa do estudo esteve a cargo da Prof. Doutora Helena Rato e da Dra. Matilde Gago, com a colaboração do Prof. Doutor César Madureira e da Dra. Margarida Quintela, ex investigadores do INA, atualmente na DGAEP.

Constructing and validating a scale of employee satisfaction with HRM practices in the healthcare context

The concept of HRM perceptions is a growing interest in the literature, as one of the antecedents of HRM outcomes. Regardless, not only the cognitive aspect of perception is interesting in this field (what you think) but also the affective perspective is of interest (how you feel about it). In this study we propose a scale for assessing satisfaction with the perceptions of the HRM practices. A 24 item Likert-type scale was developed considering literature review, to assess subjects’ satisfaction with Human Resources Practices in a healthcare setting. Talked reflections were held and a survey encompassing all workers from a Hospital was conducted later, with a sample of 922 subjects. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were performed; reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha. The scale presents good psychometric properties with alpha values that range from .71 to .91. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated that the scale presents a very good fit with CFI= 0.94, AGFI= 0.88, and RMSEA= 0.07. The present study represents a first approach in the usage of this scale and despite having a large sample, respondents originate from a single institution. This study presents a pertinent scale towards measuring a seldom explored construct of the worker-organization relationship. The scale is parsimonious and results are promising. There seems to be very little research on how subjects feel about the HRM practices. This construct, very much in line with more recent studies concerning worker perceptions can be especially interesting in the context of the worker-organization relationship.

Knowledge and practices of general practitioners of district Peshawar about schizophrenia

ABSTRACT: Schizophrenia with its disabling features has been placed in the top ten of global burden of disease and is associated with long-term decline in functional ability. General Practitioners not only have an important role in treating patients with an established diagnosis of schizophrenia but they can also contribute significantly by identifying people in early stages of psychosis as they are the first hand medical help available and the duration of untreated psychosis is a good indicator of patient’s prognosis. This cross sectional survey, conducted at the clinics of General Practitioners, was designed to assess the knowledge and practices of general practitioners in Peshawar on diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia. A semi structured questionnaire was used to assess their knowledge and practices regarding schizophrenia. The Knowledge/Practice was then categorized as good or poor based on their responses to the questions of the administered questionnaire. Overall, the results showed that the knowledge and practices of general practitioners of district Peshawar were poor regarding schizophrenia and may be responsible for delayed diagnosis, inadequate treatment and poor prognosis.

Popular music exhibitions in Portugal: practices of representation from 2007 to 2013

This thesis focuses on the representation of Popular Music in museums by mapping, analyzing, and characterizing its practices in Portugal at the beginning of the 21st century. Now that museums' ability to shape public discourse is acknowledged, the examination of popular music's discourses in museums is of the utmost importance for Ethnomusicology and Popular Music Studies as well as for Museum Studies. The concept of 'heritage' is at the heart of this processes. The study was designed with the aim of moving the exhibiting of popular music in museums forward through a qualitative inquiry of case studies. Data collection involved surveying pop-rock music exhibitions as a qualitative sampling of popular music exhibitions in Portugal from 2007 to 2013. Two of these exhibitions were selected as case studies: No Tempo do Gira-Discos: Um Percurso pela Produção Fonográfica Portuguesa at the Museu da Música in Lisbon in 2007 (also Faculdade de Letras, 2009), and A Magia do Vinil, a Música que Mudou a Sociedade at the Oficina da Cultura in Almada in 2008 (and several other venues, from 2009 to 2013). Two specific domains were observed: popular music exhibitions as instances of museum practice and museum professionals. The first domain encompasses analyzing the types of objects selected for exhibition; the interactive museum practices fostered by the exhibitions; the concepts and narratives used to address popular music discursively, as well as the interpretative practices they allow. The second domain, focuses museum professionals and curators of popular music exhibitions as members of a group, namely their goals, motivations and perspectives. The theoretical frameworks adopted were drawn from the fields of ethnomusicology, popular music studies, and museum studies. The written materials of the exhibitions were subjected of methods of discourse analysis methods. Semi-structured interviews with curators and museum professional were also conducted and analysed. From the museum studies perspective, the study research suggests that the practice adopted by popular music museums largely matches that of conventional museums. From the ethnomusicological and popular music studies stand point, the two case studies reveal two distinct conceptual worlds: the first exhibition, curated by an academic and an independent researcher, points to a mental configuration where popular music is explained through a framework of genres supported by different musical practices. Moreover, it is industry actors such as decision makers and gatekeepers that govern popular music, which implies that the visitors' romantic conception of the musician is to some extent dismantled; the second exhibition, curated by a record collector and specialist, is based on a more conventional process of the everyday historical speech that encodes a mismatch between “good” and “bad music”. Data generated by a survey shows that only one curator, in fact that of my first case study, has an academic background. The backgrounds of all the others are in some way similar to the curator of the second case study. Therefore, I conclude that the second case study best conveys the current practice of exhibiting Popular Music in Portugal.

Dengue in Brazil and Colombia: a study of knowledge, attitudes, and practices

Introduction This study was conducted in Brazil and Colombia,where dengue is endemic and vector control programs use chemical insecticides. Methods We identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices about dengue and determined the infestation levels of Aedes aegypti in one Brazilian and four Colombian communities. Results The surveys show knowledge of the vector, but little knowledge about diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. Vector infestation indices show Brazil to have good relative control, while Colombia presents a high transmission risk. Conclusions Given the multidimensionality of dengue control, vertical control strategies are inadequate because they deny contextualized methods, alternative solutions, and local empowerment.

Our Duty to Care : the principles of good practice for the protection of children and young people

This document, which has been named Our Duty to Care, is aimed at community and voluntary organisations of any size or type that provide services for children. It offers guidance on the promotion of child welfare and the development of safe practices in work with children. It also gives information on how to recognise signs of child abuse and the correct steps to take within organisations if it is suspected, witnessed or disclosed. The process of reporting suspected or actual child abuse to the health board is described step by step, and guidance is given on how to handle sensitive areas. Download document here

Effects of brood size manipulation and common origin on phenotype and telomere length in nestling collared flycatchers.

BACKGROUND: Evidence is accumulating that telomere length is a good predictor of life expectancy, especially early in life, thus calling for determining the factors that affect telomere length at this stage. Here, we investigated the relative influence of early growth conditions and origin (genetics and early maternal effects) on telomere length of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) at fledging. We experimentally transferred hatchlings among brood triplets to create reduced, control (i.e. unchanged final nestling number) and enlarged broods. RESULTS: Although our treatment significantly affected body mass at fledging, we found no evidence that increased sibling competition affected nestling tarsus length and telomere length. However, mixed models showed that brood triplets explained a significant part of the variance in body mass (18%) and telomere length (19%), but not tarsus length (13%), emphasizing that unmanipulated early environmental factors influenced telomere length. These models also revealed low, but significant, heritability of telomere length (h(2) = 0.09). For comparison, the heritability of nestling body mass and tarsus length was 0.36 and 0.39, respectively, which was in the range of previously published estimates for those two traits in this species. CONCLUSION: Those findings in a wild bird population demonstrate that telomere length at the end of the growth period is weakly, but significantly, determined by genetic and/or maternal factors taking place before hatching. However, we found no evidence that the brood size manipulation experiment, and by extension the early growth conditions, influenced nestling telomere length. The weak heritability of telomere length suggests a close association with fitness in natural populations.

Changes in the Structure of a Nigerian Soil under Different Land Management Practices

Quantification of soil physical quality (SPQ) and pore size distribution (PSD) can assist understanding of how changes in land management practices influence dynamics of soil structure, and this understanding could greatly improve the predictability of soil physical behavior and crop yield. The objectives of this study were to measure the SPQ index under two different land management practices (the continuous arable cropping system and natural bush fallow system), and contrast the effects of these practices on the structure of PSD using soil water retention data. Soil water retention curves obtained from a pressure chamber were fitted to van Genuchten’s equation, setting m (= 1-1/n). Although values for soil bulk density were high, soils under the continuous arable cropping system had good SPQ, and maintained the capacity to support root development. However, soils under the natural bush fallow system had a worse structure than the continuous arable system, with restrictions in available water capacity. These two management systems had different PSDs. Results showed the inferiority of the natural bush fallow system with no traffic restriction (which is the common practice) in relation to the continuous arable cropping system in regard to physical quality and structure.

Good practice for dialogue and communication as strategic principle for policing political manifestations in Europe (GODIAC):field study handbook

This handbook describes the peer review methodology that was applied at the GODIAC project fi eld studies1. The peer review evaluation method as initiated by Otto Adang in the Netherlands and further developed in a European football context (Adang & Brown, 2008) involves experienced police offi cers cooperating with researchers to perform observational fi eld studies to identify good practices and learning points for public order management. The handbook builds on the GODIAC seminars and workshops, for the fi eld study members, which took place in September 2010, January 2012 and January 2013. The handbook has been discussed in the project group and in the steering committee. It is primarily written for the GODIAC fi eld study members as background material for understanding the fi eld study process and for clarifying the different responsibilities that enable active participation in the fi eld study. The handbook has been developed during the project period and incorporates learning points and developments of the peer review method. The handbook aims at promoting the use of fi eld studies for evaluation of policing major events.

The Challenges Of Implementing High Performance Work Practices In The Nonprofit Sector

The last economic crisis raised huge challenges for nonprofit organizations. It is now critical for nonprofit organizations to show not only their social legitimacy but also their efficiency and competency to claim for grants (Kearns, Bell, Deem, & McShane, 2012). High Performance Work Practices (HPWP) are a way to foster performance and thus to answer challenges nonprofit organizations are currently facing. However, such practices have until then only been considered for the corporate world. The entire philosophy behind nonprofit organizations contrasts radically from the for-profit sector. Human resources management in particular may differ as well. The aim of this article is precisely to analyze the challenges of implementing HPWP in nonprofit organizations. In order to explore those challenges, we study the HR practices of a nonprofit organization based in UK that struggles against poverty. Discussion of results highlights good practices that should be applied along the nonprofit sector.

The relationship between a virtual leader’s communication practices and a virtual team’s performance

A lot of research has been carried out into virtual teams and virtual leadership, yet there is hardly any research available on the communication behaviour of virtual leaders within a real business context. This research assessed the communication practices of virtual leaders and analysed the relationship between these practices and the performance of virtual teams. The objective of this research was to examine the distinctions of virtual teams, to study the leader’s role in a virtual team and its performance, and to examine the leader’s communication practices within virtual teams. The research involves a case study in which interviews have been carried out within an international technology company headquartered in Finland. Qualitative research methods were applied in the research. Based on the results of the study it can be said that there is a strong relationship between a virtual leader’s communication practices and a virtual team member’s job satisfaction. Through their communication practices, activities and message contents, leaders can affect the job satisfaction of virtual team members. In virtual leadership the focus is not in virtual but in leadership. It does not matter if the context is virtual or face-to-face; similar communication practices are good in both cases. As the global economic crisis strongly affected the sales results of the between a leader’s communication practices and a virtual team’s objective performance cannot be made.

Indicent reporting in shipping. Experiences and best practices for the Baltic Sea

Incident and near miss reporting is one of the proactive tools of safety management. By analyzing incidents and near misses and by corrective actions, severe accidents can potentially be avoided. Near miss and incident reporting is widely used in many riskprone industries such as aviation or chemical industry. In shipping incident and near miss reporting is required by the mandatory safety management system International Safety Management Code (ISM Code). However, in several studies the conclusion has been that incidents are reported poorly in the shipping industry. The aim of this report is to highlight the best practices for incident reporting in shipping and to support the shipping industry in the better utilization of incident reporting information. The study consists of three parts: 1) voluntary, shared reporting systems in shipping (international experiences), 2) interview study at four shipping companies in Sweden and in Finland (best practices), 3) expert workshop on incident reporting (problems and solutions). Preconditions for a functional reporting system are an existing no blame culture, commitment of the top management, feedback, good communication, training and an easy-to-use system. Although preconditions are met, problems can still appear, for example due to psychological, interpersonal or nationality-related reasons. In order to keep the reporting system functioning, the shipping company must be committed to maintain and develop the system and to tackle the problems. The whole reporting process from compiling, handling and analyzing a report, creating corrective actions and implementing them has to be handled properly in order to gain benefits from the reporting system. In addition to avoiding accidents, the functional reporting system can also offer other benefits by increasing safety awareness, by improving the overall safety and working conditions onboard, by enhancing team work and communication onboard and between ships and the land-based organization of shipping companies. Voluntary shared reporting systems are supported in the shipping industry in principle, but their development in the Baltic Sea is still in its infancy and the potential benefits of sharing the reports have not been realized. On the basis of this study we recommend that a common reporting system be developed for the Baltic Sea area which all the ships operating in the area could use regardless of their flag. Such a wider system could prevent some of the problems related to the current national systems. There would be more incident cases available in the database and this would support anonymity and thus encourage shipping companies to report to a shared database more frequently. A shared reporting system would contribute to the sharing of experiences and to the wider use of incident information in the shipping industry.

Management practices to control gastrointestinal parasites in sheep farms in Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

Parasite related problems are considered one of the major health problems for sheep breeding, causing considerable economic losses to commercial husbandry. The aim of this study was to determine the technological level and the level of knowledge of farmers regarding management practices to control gastrointestinal parasites in sheep in Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil. The analysis was based on 213 questionnaires applied by official veterinarians of the State Government Agency for Animal Health (Instituto Mineiro de Agropecuária, IMA), covering 16.6% of all counties. From two hundred and thirteen sheep farms sampled, 117 farms had their technological level determined. From the samples, 0.9% were characterized as high level, 45.3% as medium, and 53.0% as low technological level. The flock size ranged from 2 to 1843 with an average of 80.5 sheep per farm. The majority of the sheep production systems was extensive/semi-extensive (74.5%). The management practices adopted by the farmers to reduce parasitism were: split young and adult animals (5.6%), change pasture after deworm the animals (5.2%), use quarantine for incoming animals (2.3%), deworm newly arrived sheep (1.5%), and have regular technical assistance (31.9%). Although 76.5% of the farmers medicate the animals, treatments were performed without any major technical criteria, with an average interval of 4.6 months. The most commonly used drug families were macrocyclic lactones (38.5%) and benzimidazoles (24.9%). The management practices adopted in Minas Gerais are based on old recommendations and may not return in a good set of strategies to prevent parasite infections. Field observations reinforce the finding where farmers have obtained unsatisfactory results in maintaining the health and productivity level of their enterprises.

Best Practices of International Double Master's Degree Programmes: Comparative Study on Finnish and Russian Universities

The purpose of this report is to disseminate the best practices of double degree programmes’ organization, implementation and development between Russian and European universities. The findings reveal good developments in the field of double degree cooperation between Russian and European universities and a high motivation from both parties. The report depicts different models of building a joint curriculum and organizing academic mobility. Foreign language skills improvement for students and university staff, involvement of international companies, and joint strategy and actions in marketing and quality assurance are some redevelopments points recommended in the report.