The telegraph as an omen of the future in James W. Carey's vision

In the history of modern communication, after the development of the printing press, the telegraph unleashed a revolution in communications. Today, Internet is in many ways its heir. Reflections on the telegraph may open up perspectives concerning tendencies, possibilities and pitfalls of the Internet. The telegraph has been well explored in important literature on communication and media which tends to emphasize the history of this technology, its social context and institutional meaning [e.g. Robert L. Thompson, 1947, Tom Standage, 2007 [1998]. James W. Carey, the North- American critical cultural studies' mentor, in his essay "Technology and Ideology. The Case of the Telegraph" (2009 [1983]), suggests a distinctive approach. In the telegraph, Carey sees the prototype of many subsequent commercial empires based on science and technology, a pioneer model for complex business management; an example of interest struggle for the patents control; an inductor of changes both in language and in structures of knowledge; and a promoter of a futurist and utopian thought of information technologies. Having in mind a revolution in communications promoted by the Internet, this paper revisits this seminal essay to explore its great attainment, as well as the problems of this kind of approach which conceives the innovation of the telegraph as a metaphor for all the innovations announcing the modern stage of history and determining still today the major lines of development in modern communication systems.

A neutralidade fiscal no caso da fusão inversa

Mestrado em Fiscalidade

Nutritional value and influence of the thermal processing on a traditional Portuguese fermented sausage (alheira)

Alheiras are a traditional, smoked, fermented meat sausage, produced in Portugal, with an undeniable cultural and gastronomic legacy. In this study, we assessed the nutritional value of this product, as well as the influence of different types of thermal processing. Alheiras from Mirandela were submitted to six different procedures: microwave, skillet, oven, charcoal grill, electric fryer and electric grill. Protein, fat, carbohydrate, minerals, NaCl, and cholesterol contents, as well as fatty acid profile were evaluated. The results show that alheiras are not hypercaloric but an unbalanced foodstuff (high levels of proteins and lipids) and the type of processing has a major impact on their nutritional value. Charcoal grill is the healthiest option: less fat (12.5 g/100 g) and cholesterol (29.3 mg/100 g), corresponding to a lower caloric intake (231.8 kcal, less 13% than the raw ones). Inversely, fried alheiras presented the worst nutritional profile, with the highest levels of fat (18.1 g/100 g) and cholesterol (76.0 g/100 g).

Adding value [valorization] to tannery fleshings: part II – effect of protein hydrolysates on leather dyeing

The tanning industry generates a high quantity of solid wastes. Therefore, there is a need to create valorization [added value] options for these wastes. The main objective of the present work was to study the effect of protein hydrolysates (HP) prepared from fleshings on leather dyeing. During previous studies it was found that the application of HP products, obtained from fleshings, in leather retannage intensified the colour of crust leather. In this work the CIELAB colour system was used to evaluate the effect of HP on retannage processes. The main conclusions of this study were: (i) HP can be used instead of a dicyanodiamide resin (Fortan DC) if the colour parameters of the standard procedure are to be maintained, and (ii) the replacement of an acrylic resin (Fortan A40) by glutaraldehyde-modified HP (GHP) results in a darker skin, and can therefore be interesting for the reduction of the quantity of dye used.

Criação de valor - O Cash Value Added como métrica de avaliação da Performance empresarial

Mestrado em Contabilidade e Gestão das Instituições Financeiras

O contributo do Value For Money na análise da atividade do transporte não urgente de doentes

Mestrado em Auditoria

Legal and political regulation of higher education in Portugal: an evolutionary perspective on the current policy issues and the problem of order

The higher education system in Europe is currently under stress and the debates over its reform and future are gaining momentum. Now that, for most countries, we are in a time for change, in the overall society and the whole education system, the legal and political dimensions have gained prominence, which has not been followed by a more integrative approach of the problem of order, its reform and the issue of regulation, beyond the typical static and classical cost-benefit analyses. The two classical approaches for studying (and for designing the policy measures of) the problem of the reform of the higher education system - the cost-benefit analysis and the legal scholarship description - have to be integrated. This is the argument of our paper that the very integration of economic and legal approaches, what Warren Samuels called the legal-economic nexus, is meaningful and necessary, especially if we want to address the problem of order (as formulated by Joseph Spengler) and the overall regulation of the system. On the one hand, and without neglecting the interest and insights gained from the cost-benefit analysis, or other approaches of value for money assessment, we will focus our study on the legal, social and political aspects of the regulation of the higher education system and its reform in Portugal. On the other hand, the economic and financial problems have to be taken into account, but in a more inclusive way with regard to the indirect and other socio-economic costs not contemplated in traditional or standard assessments of policies for the tertiary education sector. In the first section of the paper, we will discuss the theoretical and conceptual underpinning of our analysis, focusing on the evolutionary approach, the role of critical institutions, the legal-economic nexus and the problem of order. All these elements are related to the institutional tradition, from Veblen and Commons to Spengler and Samuels. The second section states the problem of regulation in the higher education system and the issue of policy formulation for tackling the problem. The current situation is clearly one of crisis with the expansion of the cohorts of young students coming to an end and the recurrent scandals in private institutions. In the last decade, after a protracted period of extension or expansion of the system, i. e., the continuous growth of students, universities and other institutions are competing harder to gain students and have seen their financial situation at risk. It seems that we are entering a period of radical uncertainty, higher competition and a new configuration that is slowly building up is the growth in intensity, which means upgrading the quality of the higher learning and getting more involvement in vocational training and life-long learning. With this change, and along with other deep ones in the Portuguese society and economy, the current regulation has shown signs of maladjustment. The third section consists of our conclusions on the current issue of regulation and policy challenge. First, we underline the importance of an evolutionary approach to a process of change that is essentially dynamic. A special attention will be given to the issues related to an evolutionary construe of policy analysis and formulation. Second, the integration of law and economics, through the notion of legal economic nexus, allows us to better define the issues of regulation and the concrete problems that the universities are facing. One aspect is the instability of the political measures regarding the public administration and on which the higher education system depends financially, legally and institutionally, to say the least. A corollary is the lack of clear strategy in the policy reforms. Third, our research criticizes several studies, such as the one made by the OECD in late 2006 for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, for being too static and neglecting fundamental aspects of regulation such as the logic of actors, groups and organizations who are major players in the system. Finally, simply changing the legal rules will not necessary per se change the behaviors that the authorities want to change. By this, we mean that it is not only remiss of the policy maker to ignore some of the critical issues of regulation, namely the continuous non-respect by academic management and administrative bodies of universities of the legal rules that were once promulgated. Changing the rules does not change the problem, especially without the necessary debates form the different relevant quarters that make up the higher education system. The issues of social interaction remain as intact. Our treatment of the matter will be organized in the following way. In the first section, the theoretical principles are developed in order to be able to study more adequately the higher education transformation with a modest evolutionary theory and a legal and economic nexus of the interactions of the system and the policy challenges. After describing, in the second section, the recent evolution and current working of the higher education in Portugal, we will analyze the legal framework and the current regulatory practices and problems in light of the theoretical framework adopted. We will end with some conclusions on the current problems of regulation and the policy measures that are discusses in recent years.

Short-term Value for the Water Stored in Headsensitivity Power System Reservoirs

As it is well known, competitive electricity markets require new computing tools for generation companies to enhance the management of its resources. The economic value of the water stored in a power system reservoir is crucial information for enhancing the management of the reservoirs. This paper proposes a practical deterministic approach for computing the short-term economic value of the water stored in a power system reservoir, emphasizing the need to considerer water stored as a scarce resource with a short-term economic value. The paper addresses a problem concerning reservoirs with small storage capacities, i.e., the reservoirs considered as head-sensitivity. More precisely, the respective hydro plant is head-dependent and a pure linear approach is unable to capture such consideration. The paper presents a case study supported by the proposed practical deterministic approach and applied on a real multi-reservoir power system with three cascaded reservoirs, considering as input data forecasts for the electric energy price and for the natural inflow into the reservoirs over the schedule time horizon. The paper presents various water schedules due to different final stored water volume conditions on the reservoirs. Also, it presents the respective economic value of the water for the reservoirs at different stored water volume conditions.

Desafios e potencialidades da metodologia SROI : um estudo de caso

Mestrado em Controlo e Gestão dos Negócios

Quality-of-service in wireless sensor networks: state-of-the-art and future directions

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are one of today’s most prominent instantiations of the ubiquituous computing paradigm. In order to achieve high levels of integration, WSNs need to be conceived considering requirements beyond the mere system’s functionality. While Quality-of-Service (QoS) is traditionally associated with bit/data rate, network throughput, message delay and bit/packet error rate, we believe that this concept is too strict, in the sense that these properties alone do not reflect the overall quality-ofservice provided to the user/application. Other non-functional properties such as scalability, security or energy sustainability must also be considered in the system design. This paper identifies the most important non-functional properties that affect the overall quality of the service provided to the users, outlining their relevance, state-of-the-art and future research directions.

Value of a lower limb immobilization device for SPECT/CT image fusion optimization

The foot and the ankle are small structures commonly affected by disorders, and their complex anatomy represent significant diagnostic challenges. SPECT/CT Image fusion can provide missing anatomical and bone structure information to functional imaging, which is particularly useful to increase diagnosis certainty of bone pathology. However, due to SPECT acquisition duration, patient’s involuntary movements may lead to misalignment between SPECT and CT images. Patient motion can be reduced using a dedicated patient support. We aimed at designing an ankle and foot immobilizing device and measuring its efficacy at improving image fusion. Methods: We enrolled 20 patients undergoing distal lower-limb SPECT/CT of the ankle and the foot with and without a foot holder. The misalignment between SPECT and CT images was computed by manually measuring 14 fiducial markers chosen among anatomical landmarks also visible on bone scintigraphy. Analysis of variance was performed for statistical analysis. Results: The obtained absolute average difference without and with support was 5.1±5.2 mm (mean±SD) and 3.1±2.7 mm, respectively, which is significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: The introduction of the foot holder significantly decreases misalignment between SPECT and CT images, which may have clinical influence in the precise localization of foot and ankle pathology.

Assessing scenarios on the future of work

In this paper will be discussed different types of scenarios and the aims for using scenarios. Normaly they are being used by organisations due to the need to anticipate processes, to support policy-making and to understand the complexities of relations. Such organisations can be private companies, R&D organisations and networks of organisations, or even by some public administration institutions. Some cases will be discussed as the methods for ongoing scenario-building process (Shell Internacional). Scenarios should anticipate possible relations among social actors as in the Triple Helix Model, and is possible to develop strategic intelligence in the innovation process that would enable the construction of scenarios. Such processes can be assessed. The focus will be made in relation to the steps chosen for the WORKS scenarios. In this case is there a model of work changes that can be used for foresight? Differences according to sectors were found, as well on other dimensions. Problems of assessment are analysed with specific application to the scenario construction methods.

Future gender relations in global restructuring processes case study evidence from knowledge-intensive, manufacturing and service occupations

Global restructuring processes have not only strong implications for European working and living realities, but also have specific outcomes with regard to gender relations. The following contribution analyses in which way global restructuring shapes current gender relations in order to identify important trends and developments for future gender (in)equalities at the workplace. On the basis of a large qualitative study on global restructuring and impacts on different occupational groups it argues that occupational belonging in line with skill and qualification levels are crucial factors to assess the further development of gender relations at work. Whereas global restructuring in knowledge-based occupations may provide new opportunities for female employees, current restructuring is going to deteriorate female labour participation in service occupations. In contrast, manufacturing occupations can be characterised by persistent gender relations, which do not change in spite of major restructuring processes at the work place. Taking the institutional perspective into account, it seems to be crucial to integrate the occupational perspective in order to apply adequate policy regulations to prevent the reinforcement of gender related working patterns in the near future.

Fragmentation? The future of work in Europe in a global economy: the WORKS final International Conference debate

WORKS final conference report

Development of a platform for lean manufacturing simulation games

More than ever, the economic globalization is creating the need to increase business competitiveness. Lean manufacturing is a management philosophy oriented to the elimination of activities that do not create any type of value and are thus considered a waste. One of the main differences from other management philosophies is the shop-floor focus and the operators' involvement. Therefore, the training of all organization levels is crucial for the success of lean manufacturing. Universities should also participate actively in this process by developing students' lean management skills and promoting a better and faster integration of students into their future organizations. This paper proposes a single realistic manufacturing platform, involving production and assembly operations, to learn by playing many of the lean tools such as VSM, 5S, SMED, poke-yoke, line balance, TPM, Mizusumashi, plant layout, and JIT/kanban. This simulation game was built in tight cooperation with experienced lean companies under the international program “Lean Learning Academy,”http://www.leanlearningacademy.eu/ and its main aim is to make bachelor and master courses in applied sciences more attractive by integrating classic lectures with a simulated production environment that could result in more motivated students and higher study yields. The simulation game results show that our approach is efficient in providing a realistic platform for the effective learning of lean principles, tools, and mindset, which can be easily included in course classes of less than two hours.