As unidades de alojamento de 5 estrelas no concelho de lisboa - a evolução e comparação dos preços on-line em duas épocas distintas

A utilização da internet para efetuar reservas on-line de alojamento no setor hoteleiro, tem um peso cada vez maior no conjunto das reservas efetuadas. É por isso, necessário que sejam elaborados estudos que permitam perceber a evolução dos preços oferecidos ao cliente, ao longo do tempo, nos diversos sites de reserva on-line e no site do próprio hotel, para que quer os clientes quer os gestores possuam informação rigorosa que lhes permita tomar decisões e elaborar estratégias eficazes. Nesta investigação, apresentar-se-á a evolução dos preços médios dos hotéis em estudo, obtida a partir da consulta de um conjunto de sites de reserva on-line que previamente se definiram e do site institucional, consulta efetuada ao longo dos dois períodos de doze dias que antecederam a época festiva da Páscoa e uma época não festiva. A investigação empírica efetuada, neste trabalho, foi realizada com base num estudo de caso exploratório, tendo como objeto de estudo os hotéis de 5 estrelas do concelho de Lisboa, tendo em conta os dados secundários disponíveis. O recurso ao estudo de caso permitiu delimitar de modo preciso o contexto desta investigação. A opção pelo tipo de pesquisa exploratória teve em conta o facto de se conhecer pouca bibliografia científica disponível sobre a temática em estudo. Os resultados obtidos permitiram perceber qual foi a evolução dos preços ao longo do período de consulta para a época festiva da Páscoa e para a época não festiva, possibilitando depois fazer a comparação da evolução dos preços entre as duas épocas. Da análise dos dados pôde ainda perceber-se se havia concertação entre os vários meios de reserva consultados, ou seja, entre os sites de reserve on-line considerados e o site institucional. Tomando por base os hotéis que durante os períodos de consulta foram esgotando pode, ainda, observar-se o comportamento dos preços médios em relação à variação da oferta disponível.

On-line puzzle game based assessment & training for ADHD

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent and impairing neurodevelopmental disorder, with worldwide estimates of 5.29%. ADHD is clinically characterized by hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention, with neuropsychological deficits in executive functions, attention, working memory and inhibition. These cognitive processes rely on prefrontal cortex function; cognitive training programs enhance performance of ADHD participants supporting the idea of neuronal plasticity. Here we propose the development of an on-line puzzle game based assessment and training tool in which participants must deduce the ‘winning symbol’ out of N distracters. To increase ecological validity of assessments strategically triggered Twitter/Facebook notifications will challenge the ability to ignore distracters. In the UK, significant cost for the disorder on health, social and education services, stand at £23m a year. Thus the potential impact of neuropsychological assessment and training to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of ADHD, and hence our treatment interventions and patient outcomes, cannot be overstated.

A facilities maintenance management process based on degradation prediction using sensed data

Energy efficiency and user comfort have recently become priorities in the Facility Management (FM) sector. This has resulted in the use of innovative building components, such as thermal solar panels, heat pumps, etc., as they have potential to provide better performance, energy savings and increased user comfort. However, as the complexity of components increases, the requirement for maintenance management also increases. The standard routine for building maintenance is inspection which results in repairs or replacement when a fault is found. This routine leads to unnecessary inspections which have a cost with respect to downtime of a component and work hours. This research proposes an alternative routine: performing building maintenance at the point in time when the component is degrading and requires maintenance, thus reducing the frequency of unnecessary inspections. This thesis demonstrates that statistical techniques can be used as part of a maintenance management methodology to invoke maintenance before failure occurs. The proposed FM process is presented through a scenario utilising current Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology and innovative contractual and organisational models. This FM scenario supports a Degradation based Maintenance (DbM) scheduling methodology, implemented using two statistical techniques, Particle Filters (PFs) and Gaussian Processes (GPs). DbM consists of extracting and tracking a degradation metric for a component. Limits for the degradation metric are identified based on one of a number of proposed processes. These processes determine the limits based on the maturity of the historical information available. DbM is implemented for three case study components: a heat exchanger; a heat pump; and a set of bearings. The identified degradation points for each case study, from a PF, a GP and a hybrid (PF and GP combined) DbM implementation are assessed against known degradation points. The GP implementations are successful for all components. For the PF implementations, the results presented in this thesis find that the extracted metrics and limits identify degradation occurrences accurately for components which are in continuous operation. For components which have seasonal operational periods, the PF may wrongly identify degradation. The GP performs more robustly than the PF, but the PF, on average, results in fewer false positives. The hybrid implementations, which are a combination of GP and PF results, are successful for 2 of 3 case studies and are not affected by seasonal data. Overall, DbM is effectively applied for the three case study components. The accuracy of the implementations is dependant on the relationships modelled by the PF and GP, and on the type and quantity of data available. This novel maintenance process can improve equipment performance and reduce energy wastage from BSCs operation.

An on-line application for ΔR calculation

A regional offset (ΔR) from the marine radiocarbon calibration curve is widely used in calibration software (eg CALIB, OxCal) but often is not calculated correctly. While relatively straightforward for known age samples, such as mollusks from museum collections or banded corals, it is more difficult to calculate ΔR and the uncertainty in ΔR for 14C dates on paired marine and terrestrial samples. Previous researchers have often utilized classical intercept methods (Reimer et al. 2002; Dewar et al. 2012, Russell et al. 2011) but this does not account for the full calibrated probability density function (PDF). We have developed an on-line application for performing these calculations for known age, paired marine and terrestrial 14C dates, or U-Th dated corals which is available at http://calib.qub.ac.uk/deltar

An Examination of Privacy Policies of Global On-line E-pharmacies

This paper investigates the differences in privacy policy functions among 90 online pharmacy websites in nine countries in Europe, Asia and North America. Results from this study show that the majority of websites do have privacy policies, but the level of functional protection of consumers varies widely. Even in those countries where strong privacy laws exist, the level of privacy protection adherence is often very low. Most studies of privacy policy issues have concentrated on websites from developed nations, with few studies of the pharmacy industry. A better understanding of this industry, as well as understanding the differences in privacy policy implementation among developing and developed countries, provides important lessons for both businesses and consumers.

MOTION - A New On-line Model for Urban Traffic Signal Control.

This paper presents MOTION, a modular on-line model for urban traffic signal control. It consists of a network and a local level and builds on enhanced traffic state estimation. Special consideration is given to the prioritization of public transit. MOTION provides possibilities for the interaction with integrated urban management systems.

The Development of an On-line Submission and Peer Review System

Online submission and peer review is emerging as the next step forward for many journal publishers in an ever increasing drive to take advantage of technological improvements in transferring data electronically over the internet. The Electronic Submission and PEer REview (ESPERE) project was initiated in 1996 as an electronic Libraries (eLib) initiative of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Subsequently the project continued as a self-funding group composed of a consortium of learned society and commercial journal publishers intent on utilising the changes in technology to improve the services they provide to their authors as well as cutting their costs and increasing efficiencies.

Bollettino on-line del progetto Ritmare

Il progetto all’interno del quale si è inserita l' attività "La scienza del Mare nelle scuole" è il Progetto Ritmare (La Ricerca Italiana per il Mare). Il progetto Ritmare è un progetto strategico per la ricerca sul mare in Italia, che vuole coniugare le risorse ambientali del mare con l’uso connesso alle attività produttive e allo sfruttamento energetico delle sue risorse, sviluppando tecnologie ed innovazione e, al tempo stesso, promuovendone la sua conoscenza e il rispetto. In tale contesto il progetto propone di sensibilizzare gli studenti delle scuole di primo e secondo grado alle scienze del mare, sperimentando un approccio multidisciplinare che unisca il mondo scientifico e tecnologico a quello didattico, attraverso l'uso di strumenti di comunicazione che vadano dalle forme artistiche ed espressive a quelle prettamente tecnologiche e multimediali.

Secretaria on-line from ISCAP

Like many other higher educat ion schools, ISCAP`s population has grown at a rate of almost 100% in the end of the twentieth century. Its administrative structures were reinforced, but it was not in the same proportion. Face to face with the inability to resolve the problem, the administration decided to implement a computer based system, available in the Internet. In a first stage, in 1997, the system was implemented as a services support. The next stage, in 1999, proposes to increase student services quality. A project that aims to bring student services available on the Internet begins to be developed.

Transparencia informativa on-line de las empresas más representativas en Brasil

Bogotá (Colombia) : Universidad de La Salle. Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Contables. Programa de Administración de Empresas