Evaluating the Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture (ECOC): a Tourist Perception Approach

Guimarães has hosted, during the year of 2012, one of the European Capital of Culture (ECOC). The evaluation of the event is needed as public, private and community funds are involved. The approach considers the tourists (domestic and international) as external and independent stakeholders who assessed the cultural activities developed during the event and the attributes of the city. The results of the survey show that hosting the 2012 ECOC was a major contribution for attracting new visitors to the city, although many of them just for a short period of time. The main source of general information collected by tourists was the Internet, and the traditional media. Only a small amount of respondents demonstrated a specialized knowledge of the cultural program. The most cited and appreciated performances came from the areas of music, exhibitions, and theatre. According to the perceptions of tourists, the tangible assets were clearly detached from the set of attributes of Guimarães, including buildings, churches and chapels, whereas intangible assets were less noted. Overall, Guimarães received a very positive evaluation related to city image and stay and is highly recommended by tourists to friends and relatives.

The Knowledge and Use of the Balanced Scorecard in Portugal: Empirical Evidence of the 250 Largest Companies

Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is recognized, both in the academic and business world, as one of the most powerful strategic management accounting tools. Thus, we launched in October 2004 a questionnaire survey applied to the 250 largest Portuguese companies aiming at observing the knowledge, use, and companies’ characteristics which are adopting this management instrument. Despite the majority of the companies inquired recognize BSC more as a strategic management tool than a performance valuation system, the results show that there is still a reduced and recent utilization of BSC in Portugal. Similarly to other countries Portugal is still in the initial state of BSC utilization. Our work has shown that the companies that use more BSC belong mainly to the secondary sector of industry. Nevertheless, unlike other studies, we did not get empirical evidence on the influence of variables such as geographical localization, dimension and internationalization, in the use and knowledge of BSC in Portugal.

Linking strategy and the knowledge of the firm

Discovering the ways through which firms develop and maintain competitive advantage is a central research stream in management theory. The objective of this paper is to present a contribution to the discussion of the knowledge of the firm as a source of competitive advantage. The paper states that a firm's success is a consequence of its ability in the continuous development of core competencies that will sustain its competitiveness over time. Core competencies are understood as the sets of knowledge that differentiate a company strategically. The firm must discover, develop, share and update the knowledge that sustains the present and future core competencies. Knowledge management, through processes of knowledge creation and integration, is one way of doing this.

Knowledge and policy action in urban development: if we know so much, why is the urban condition not improving?

In spite of the wealth generation potential of the world's large metropolitan cities, poor living conditions for much of the world's urban population persist. Although the city has been widely studied, urban policy often remains ineffective. The paper adopts a policy process approach to analyze the relationship between knowledge and governmental action. Impediments to improving urban policy are found in the inadequate capacity of government to act and in the politics of democratic decision-making. The paper recommends that a pragmatic view of knowledge generation be adopted.

Knowledge cities: a taxonomy for analyzing software and information service clusters

Software and information services (SIS) have become a field of increasing opportunities for international trade due to the worldwide diffusion of a combination of technological and organizational innovations. In several regions, the software industry is organized in clusters, usually referred to as "knowledge cities" because of the growing importance of knowledge-intensive services in their economy. This paper has two primary objectives. First, it raises three major questions related to the attractiveness of different cities in Argentina and Brazil for hosting software companies and to their impact on local development. Second, a new taxonomy is proposed for grouping clusters according to their dominant business segment, ownership pattern and scope of operations. The purpose of this taxonomy is to encourage further studies and provide an exploratory analytical tool for analyzing software clusters.

Network dynamics in scientific knowledge acquisition: an analysis in three public universities in the state of Bahia

This paper aims to cast some light on the dynamics of knowledge networks in developing countries by analyzing the scientific production of the largest university in the Northeast of Brazil and its influence on some of the remaining regional research institutions in the state of Bahia. Using a methodology test to be employed in a larger project, the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA) (Federal University of Bahia), the Universidade do Estado da Bahia (Uneb) (State of Bahia University) and the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (Uesc)'s (Santa Cruz State University) scientific productions are discussed in one of their most traditionally expressive sectors in academic production - namely, the field of chemistry, using social network analysis of co-authorship networks to investigate the existence of small world phenomena and the importance of these phenomena in research performance in these three universities. The results already obtained through this research bring to light data of considerable interest concerning the scientific production in unconsolidated research universities. It shows the important participation of the UFBA network in the composition of the other two public universities research networks, indicating a possible occurrence of small world phenomena in the UFBA and Uesc networks, as well as the importance of individual researchers in consolidating research networks in peripheral universities. The article also hints that the methodology employed appears to be adequate insofar as scientific production may be used as a proxy for scientific knowledge.

As formas de participação na construção do projecto político pedagógico : diferentes realidades escolares

RESUMO: Na sociedade da comunicação e da informação, as escolas ainda não conseguiram compreender o seu papel de facilitadoras do conhecimento que o mundo está promovendo entre a realidade da escola e o interesse do educando. Um dos fatores para isso é o crescimento das escolas ao longo dos séculos e a necessidade de superação decorrente do alargamento da educação, que têm gerado um conhecimento complexo que descreve as reflexões e conscientizações sobre o nosso próprio desenvolvimento humano e sobre a nossa participação no mundo em que estamos vivendo. Essas complexidades possibilitam mudanças, principalmente nas questões epistemológicas e paradigmáticas, que proporcionaram outra forma de conceber o conhecimento e os saberes, chamado de “ecologia dos saberes”. Nesse contexto, existe a necessidade de se fazer uma leitura crítica na e da escola e de sua participação junto à comunidade escolar, objetivando minimizar as relações de dominação, de normatizações, de disciplinamento, de concentração de poder, para direcionar a educação num processo emancipatório, democrático, consciente das mudanças, de forma a incluir todos os saberes possíveis para acompanhar e valorizar a realidade escolar, através da participação de alta intensidade na construção e reconstrução do seu projeto político pedagógico. Para tanto, iremos discorrer sobre três escolas, a partir da análise de cada uma dentro da realidade construída por elas, buscando demonstrar que as escolas, dentro dos seus contextos educacionais, possuem diferentes realidades que não podem ser generalizadas, mas que devem ser compreendidas no sentido de que sejam promovidas a autonomia escolar e o fortalecimento da democracia educacional, objetivando a superação das condições atuais da educação para se adequar à sociedade e ao mundo atual. ABSTRACT: In the present society of communication and information, schools have not yet been able to understand their roles as facilitators of the knowledge that the world is promoting between the reality of school and the interest of the learner. One of the reasons for that is the growth of schools along the centuries as well as their constant need for getting over old problems, due to the expansion of education. These questions lead to a complex knowledge which describes reflections on our own human development and on our participation in the world we live in. These complexities lead to changes, especially in epistemological and paradigmatic questions, making it possible for new ways of conceiving knowledge, known as “ecology of knowledge”. In this context, there is a need for making a critical reading about school and its participation in the school community, with the objective to minimize the relations of domination, power concentration and discipline and to direct education towards a process of emancipation and democracy, in which there is conscience of the necessary changes to include all possible knowledge as a way to value the reality of school through a high intensity participation in the construction and reconstruction of its political and pedagogical project. Thus, this study will discuss three schools, basing this discussion on the analysis of each school within the reality built by them, trying to demonstrate that, within their educational contexts, each one possesses different realities that cannot be generalized. These differences must, however, be understood, in order to allow the promotion of school autonomy and the strengthening of educational democracy with the objective to get over education`s present conditions and adjust them to society and to the present world.

Filicídio e matricídio : quando a relação entre mãe e filho se torna fatal

RESUMO: A morte de um filho às mãos da sua mãe ou de uma mãe às mãos do seu filho, é uma realidade rara que provoca uma reacção colectiva de choque e repulsa. Por seu turno, a comunidade cientifica procura explicações, classificações e formas de prever e evitar novas tragédias. No presente estudo foram objecto de análise cinco casos de filicídio e seis casos de matricídio, tendo-se procedido à avaliação de características de personalidade e enquadramento social e familiar, através da realização de uma entrevista e a aplicação de dois testes de personalidade, um teste de inteligência geral e um teste de impulsividade. Com excepção de 4 casos de matricidas, os restantes sujeitos não apresentaram problemas mentais graves nem marcada perturbação anti-social de personalidade, sendo os factores determinantes mais comuns de natureza social e familiar, que, associados às respectivas características de personalidade e nível de inteligência, conduziram os sujeitos ao acto, levando a concluir pela necessidade do reforço das políticas sociais e de saúde mental, bem como, da necessidade de um maior conhecimento do sujeito que pratica o crime por parte de quem tem a responsabilidade de o julgar e de quem tem o encargo de o reabilitar. ABSTRACT: The death of a child at the hands of its mother or of a mother at the hands of her child is a rare reality that causes a collective reaction of shock and disgust. In turn, the scientific community seeks explanations, classifications and ways of predicting and preventing further tragedies. The current study examined five cases of filicide and six cases of matricide, and personality characteristics and social and family frameworks were assessed, through the application of an interview, two personality tests, a general intelligence test and an impulsivity test. With the exception of 4 cases of matricide, the remaining subjects did not show any serious mental problems or severe anti-social personality disturbance, the most common factors being of social and family nature. These factors, combined with their personality characteristics and intelligence level, led the subjects to the act, thus showing the need to strengthen social and mental health policies, as well as the need for a greater knowledge on the subject who commits the offence, from the part of those who are responsible for judging him and of those who are in charge of rehabilitating him.

A gestão do conhecimento na administração pública municipal em Curitiba com a aplicação do método OKA - Organizational Knowledge Assessment

O presente artigo objetiva analisar como a gestão do conhecimento se manifesta na administração pública da Prefeitura Municipal de Curitiba; para tanto, buscou-se a aplicação do método Organizational Knowledge Assessment (OKA), criado pelo Banco Mundial e organizado pela Escola Nacional de Administração Pública (Enap). No que tange aos procedimentos metodológicos, utilizou-se o estudo de caso como instrumento de pesquisa e coleta dos dados. Como resultado, identificaram-se o processo de avaliação organizacional, indicando as similaridades e distinções do desenvolvimento do método de cada área-fim, e a importância de implantar sistematicamente um processo de avaliação aliado ao planejamento da organização pública com estratégias para disseminar, compartilhar e aplicar o conhecimento produzido.

Health knowledge of prostitutes in Saigon, Vietnam: a study of health attitudes and habits relating to venereal diseases taken from a group of prostitutes

A study of health knowledge and practices of prostitutes is presented here. The study took place at the V. D. Center in Saigon, Vietnam. It was designed with the objective of obtaining information to be used in preparing an educational program to be offered to the prostitutes at the Center, and for using, in preparing educational materials with focus on V. D. prevention. The outline of a course is also presented.

Health education: the role and functions of the specialist and the generalist

Education for health is a process in which all public health and medical care personnel are involved. People learn both formally (planned learning experiences) and informally (unplanned learning experiences). Since the patient, the client, the consummer and the community expect public health and medical care personnel to assist them with health and disease issues and problems, the response of the professional "educates" the customer whether the professional intends to educate or not. Therefore, it is incumbent on all public health and medical care professionals to understand their educational functions and their role in health education. It is also important that the role of the specialist in education be clear. The specialist, as to all other specialists, has an in-depth knowledge of his area of expertise, i.e., the teaching/learning process; s/he may function as a consultant to others to enhance the educational potential of their role or s/he may work with a team or with communities or groups of patients. Specific competencies and knowledge are required of the health education specialist; and there is a body of learning and social change theory which provides a frame of reference for planning, implementing and evaluating educational programs. Working with others to enhance their potential to learn and to make informed decisions about health/disease issues is the hallmark of the health education specialist.

Kuailous ou Po tau ya : imagens no feminino sobre os portugueses em Macau

Tendo Macau por contexto, quinze anos após a transferência da sua administração para a República Popular da China e cinco séculos de presença portuguesa, o estudo efetua uma abordagem às representações e estereótipos sociais dos portugueses, a partir de um inquérito a cento e setenta e cinco mulheres chinesas desta Região Administrativa Especial (RAEM). Tendo como marcos conceptuais a Teoria das Representações Sociais, de Moscovici, e a Teoria da Identidade Social, de Tajfel, o estudo procura explicitar os saberes sociais construídos por esse grupo de referência, determinantes na forma como se processa a comunicação e a interação grupal com portugueses e âncora para a construção de estereótipos com os quais esses processos são simplificados, mas também enviesados. Antevendo-se, num horizonte não muito longínquo, decisões quanto à manutenção do princípio “um país, dois sistemas”, que viabiliza a preservação de marcas portuguesas (como a língua) e uma abertura especial à presença de portugueses em Macau, a compreensão das imagens e metáforas sobre esta comunidade constitui estratégia relevante para a perspetivação, no presente como no futuro, das relações intergrupais que a envolvem. O estudo conclui que as representações sobre os portugueses são, no essencial, de pendor positivo e exibem uma abertura à proximidade social e à participação desta comunidade nas dinâmicas sociais da RAEM. Mas assinala também áreas de potencial maior conflitualidade na defesa, pelo endogrupo, de áreas vitais de afirmação dessa nova ordem social pós- transferência.