Residents’ perceptions on impacts of hosting the “Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture”: comparisons of the pre-and post-2012 ECOC

The nomination of Guimarães, a small city located in the northwest of Portugal, as European capital of culture (ECOC) in 2012 raised great expectations in the local community towards its socio-economic and cultural benefits. As noted by various authors, namely Kim and Petrick (2005), Kim, Gursoy and Lee (2006) and Gursoy, Chi, Ai and Chen (2011), residents tend to have high expectations about the benefits of hosting a mega-event, although they tend to recognize that some costs will result from it. Therefore, the present research was designed to examine the Guimarães residents’ perceptions on the impacts of the 2012 European capital of culture (2012 ECOC) on the city and the municipality of Guimarães before and after the mega-event and the differences found between the two time periods.

Survival Analysis Employed in Predicting Corporate Failure: A Forecasting Model Proposal

In face of the current economic and financial environment, predicting corporate bankruptcy is arguably a phenomenon of increasing interest to investors, creditors, borrowing firms, and governments alike. Within the strand of literature focused on bankruptcy forecasting we can find diverse types of research employing a wide variety of techniques, but only a few researchers have used survival analysis for the examination of this issue. We propose a model for the prediction of corporate bankruptcy based on survival analysis, a technique which stands on its own merits. In this research, the hazard rate is the probability of ‘‘bankruptcy’’ as of time t, conditional upon having survived until time t. Many hazard models are applied in a context where the running of time naturally affects the hazard rate. The model employed in this paper uses the time of survival or the hazard risk as dependent variable, considering the unsuccessful companies as censured observations.

La perspectiva de los profesionales de la salud acerca de la información contable en un hospital-empresa en Portugal. Estudio de caso

Aunque en el contexto internacional sea muy estudiada, en Portugal la utilización de la información económico-financiera en el hospital público es un tema de investigación reciente. Nuestro trabajo está basado en un estudio de caso y tiene como objetivo aclarar si los profesionales que tienen poder de decisión sobre los recursos dentro del hospital, en particular los médicos y los cargos de jefe, usan la información económico-financiera disponible y cuáles son los factores que condicionan su utilización de esta información. Los resultados indican que la consulta de la información económico-financiera no es una práctica común para la generalidad de los médicos y jefes dentro del hospital, aunque un porcentaje importante de profesionales ya la integró en su rutina. El análisis estadístico confirmó solo dos de nuestras hipótesis. Por consiguiente, creemos que además de las variables explicativas identificadas en nuestro estudio, hay espacio para que futuras investigaciones identifiquen otros factores que explican la utilización de la información contable por parte de los profesionales de la salud.

DO POCAL ÀS NICSP DO IPSASB: O RECONHECIMENTO DOS BENS DE DOMÍNIO PÚBLICO DOS MUNICÍPIOS PORTUGUESES

Este trabalho tem por objetivos analisar o disposto no POCAL (1999) e nas NICSP do IPSASB quanto ao reconhecimento dos bens de domínio público (BDP), bem como verificar se poderão existir problemas inerentes ao reconhecimento dos BDP em Portugal, ultrapassáveis com a adoção das NICSP em Portugal. Do estudo efetuado, concluímos que o POCAL (1999) não apresenta os requisitos para o reconhecimento dos ativos, e mais especificamente dos bens de domínio público, o que afeta a comparabilidade da informação financeira entre diferentes entidades. A NICSP nº 17 (IPSASB, 2006b), por sua vez, refere que, se a entidade reconhecer este tipo de ativos, deve observar os requisitos para o reconhecimento dos ativos fixos tangíveis mencionados nessa norma. Portanto, adotar um novo Sistema de Normalização Contabilística aplicável à Administração Pública (SNC-AP), assente nas NICSP, poderá ser a solução para garantir comparabilidade da informação, no que respeita ao reconhecimento dos BDP.

On universal central extensions of Hom-Leibniz algebras

In the category of Hom-Leibniz algebras we introduce the notion of Hom-corepresentation as adequate coefficients to construct the chain complex from which we compute the Leibniz homology of Hom-Leibniz algebras. We study universal central extensions of Hom-Leibniz algebras and generalize some classical results, nevertheless it is necessary to introduce new notions of α-central extension, universal α-central extension and α-perfect Hom-Leibniz algebra due to the fact that the composition of two central extensions of Hom-Leibniz algebras is not central. We also provide the recognition criteria for these kind of universal central extensions. We prove that an α-perfect Hom-Lie algebra admits a universal α-central extension in the categories of Hom-Lie and Hom-Leibniz algebras and we obtain the relationships between both of them. In case α = Id we recover the corresponding results on universal central extensions of Leibniz algebras.

Um olhar sobre...as principais alterações ao regime do processo de inventário

Com a Lei n.º 23/2013, de 5 de março foram introduzidas importantes alterações ao regime jurídico do processo de inventário, tal como o conhecíamos. Na verdade, e em termos rigorosos, tratou-se da implementação de um novo regime do processo de inventário, aprovado pela referida lei, e não de uma remodelação do já existente. Dessas alterações, a transferência de competência para efetuar o processamento dos atos e termos do processo de inventário, que se verificou dos Juízes para os Notários é, do nosso ponto de vista, a principal. Não obstante, outras alterações se sobressaem e caracterizam o novo regime. O legislador manteve intacto o regime do patrocínio judiciário até então vigente, continuando a ser obrigatória a constituição de advogado para se suscitar ou discutir questões de direito. A análise dessa obrigatoriedade permite-nos analisar o papel do solicitador nesta espécie de processos.

O Pinguim Pingalim e o Leão Tião - estudo e construção de narrativas visuais no álbum infantil ilustrado

A ilustração infantil está na base deste nosso projecto. Sendo esta uma área em crescimento na actualidade, e que muito nos motiva, foi fundamental estudar alguns aspectos sobre a história da ilustração infantil em Portugal e também abordar o processo de concepção, criação e publicação de um álbum infantil ilustrado. No âmbito deste projecto desenvolvemos assim uma parte teórica e também uma parte prática, que consistiu na criação de um livro infantil ilustrado: O Pinguim Pingalim e o Leão Tião, com texto de Lurdes Breda e música de João Conde. O álbum foi concebido tendo por base o estudo das possibilidades da narrativa visual e sua articulação com a narrativa escrita e sonora. O álbum ilustrado, destinado a uma faixa etária dos 6 aos 10 anos, foi apresentado e trabalhado junto das crianças, efectuando-se a análise da recepção da obra junto do público.

Ecodesign e usabilidade no redesign de produtos de usos quotidiano

A crescente saturação dos mercados com produtos similares aos já existentes ou cuja adaptação ao utilizador se revelou ineficiente, torna pertinente a elaboração de projectos que se traduzam em produtos que, efectivamente, tragam vantagem competitiva e, consequentemente, contribuam para o desenvolvimento e bem estar tanto da sociedade como do ecossistema. Como tal, a actividade do design deve assumir uma posição estratégica por forma a conseguir conceber soluções que preservem tanto quanto possível, os recursos naturais ao mesmo tempo que melhoram os contextos físicos e sociais dos seus utilizadores. Assim, com este trabalho pretende-se elaborar uma estratégia para conseguir um processo de desenvolvimento de produto optimizado que englobe, de igual forma, as preocupações ambientais e o utilizador. Portanto, numa primeira fase são revistos os princípios de ecodesign, segue-se o estudo das áreas vocacionadas para o utilizador, que dizem respeito a ergonomia e, consequentemente, a usabilidade. E por fim é formulada uma metodologia projectual adaptada dos estudos revistos, que pretende dar resposta a este sistema de projecto optimizado. A metodologia é depois validada, com a sua implementação num projecto real, de redesign de um aspirador de uso quotidiano. Esta metodologia foi dividida em duas fases principais de pesquisa: (i) o reconhecimento das necessidades reais dos utilizadores, bem como problemas associados ao produto, por meio de pesquisas e testes de usabilidade (N=120), e (ii) a quantificação do impacto ambiental do produto (através do método do eco-indicador 99). Os dados globais permitem definir os requisitos do produto e delinear os critérios a serem incorporados no redesign do produto e também as medidas para melhorar a usabilidade que foram consistentes com as soluções de concepção ecológica.

Residents’ perspectives on tourism impacts of portuguese world heritage historic centers: Angra do Heroísmo and Évora

The aim of this study is twofold. First, the study analyzes local community perspectives of the importance of the World Heritage Site (WHS) classification of the historic centers of Angra do Heroísmo and Évora. Second, the study analyzes local residents’ perceived tourism impacts on the municipalities of Angra do Heroísmo and Évora. The methodology comprises quantitative research based on a self-administered survey applied to convenience samples of local residents of the two Portuguese municipalities in 2014. The main results reveal that local residents have a strongly positive perception of the WHS designation in both municipalities. With regard to the perceived tourism impacts, residents from Angra do Heroísmo have a stronger agreement about the impacts of tourism on their city than the residents of Évora, except for the negative social and cultural impacts. The comparison of the mean scores of these impacts across residents that live near and far from the historic centers reveals that the most valued and least valued impacts in the three categories of impacts (economic, social and cultural, and environmental) are common to all groups of residents. Nevertheless, residents living in or near the historic center of Angra do Heroísmo have higher means in the majority of tourism impacts (in all categories), with only one negative impact to concern the majority of respondents. Among the residents from Évora, residents living in or near the historic center have higher means in the majority of economic impacts but lower means in almost social and cultural impacts. With regard to the environmental impacts, residents living in or near the historic center have higher means scores in the positive impacts and lower means scores in the negative environmental impacts.

Application of Gage R&R methodology for improving the training and evaluation of automatic optical inspection machine operators

The current level of demand by customers in the electronics industry requires the production of parts with an extremely high level of reliability and quality to ensure complete confidence on the end customer. Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI) machines have an important role in the monitoring and detection of errors during the manufacturing process for printed circuit boards. These machines present images of products with probable assembly mistakes to an operator and him decide whether the product has a real defect or if in turn this was an automated false detection. Operator training is an important aspect for obtaining a lower rate of evaluation failure by the operator and consequently a lower rate of actual defects that slip through to the following processes. The Gage R&R methodology for attributes is part of a Six Sigma strategy to examine the repeatability and reproducibility of an evaluation system, thus giving important feedback on the suitability of each operator in classifying defects. This methodology was already applied in several industry sectors and services at different processes, with excellent results in the evaluation of subjective parameters. An application for training operators of AOI machines was developed, in order to be able to check their fitness and improve future evaluation performance. This application will provide a better understanding of the specific training needs for each operator, and also to accompany the evolution of the training program for new components which in turn present additional new difficulties for the operator evaluation. The use of this application will contribute to reduce the number of defects misclassified by the operators that are passed on to the following steps in the productive process. This defect reduction will also contribute to the continuous improvement of the operator evaluation performance, which is seen as a quality management goal.

Economic analysis of occupational risk prevention: a case study in a textile company

Work accidents affect business and society as a whole. Fewer accidents mean fewer sick leaves, which results in lower costs and less disruption in the production process, with clear advantages for the employer. But workers and their households bear also a significant burden following a work accident, only partially compen-sated by insurance systems. Furthermore, the consequences of work accidents to the State and Society need also to be considered. When an organization performs an integrated risk analysis in evaluating its Occupational Health and Safety Management System, several steps are suggested to address the identified risk situations. Namely, to avoid risks, a series of preventive measures are identified. The organization should make a detailed analysis of the monetary impact (positive or negative) for the organization of each of the measures considered. Particularly, it is also important to consider the impact of each measure on society, involving an adequate eco-nomic cost-benefit analysis. In the present paper, a case study in a textile finishing company is presented. The study concentrates on the dyeing and printing sections. For each of the potential risks, several preventive measures have been identified and the corresponding costs and benefits have been estimated. Subsequently, the Benefit/Cost ratio (B/C) of these measures has been calculated, both in financial terms (from the organisa-tion’s perspective) and in economic terms (including the benefits for the worker and for the Society). Results show that, while the financial analysis in terms of the company does not justify the preventive measures, when the externalities are taken into account, the B/C ratio increases significantly and investments are fully justified.

Developments regarding the integration of the occupational safety and health with quality and environment management systems

Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on na almost atomic scale to produce new structures, materials, and devices. As potential occupational exposure to nanomaterials (NMs) becomes more prevalente, it is importante that the principles of medical surveillance and risk management be considered for workers in the nanotechnology industry.However, much information about health risk is beyond our current knowledge. Thus, NMs presente new challenges to understanding, predicting, andmanageing potential health risks. First, we briefly describe some general features of NMs and list the most importante types of NMs. This review discusses the toxicological potential of NMs by comparing possible injury mechanism and know, or potentially adverse, health effects. We review the limited research to date for occupational exposure to these particles and how a worker might be exposed to NMs. The principles of medical surveillance are reviewed to further the discussion of occupational health surveillance are reviewed to further the discussion of occupational health surveillance for workers exposed to NMs. We outlinehow occupational health professionals could contribute to a better knowledge of health effects by the utilization of a health surveillance program and by minimizing exposure. Finally, we discuss the early steps towards regulation and the difficulties facing regulators in controlling potentially harmful exposures in the absence of suficiente scientific evidence.

Integration of risk management in occupational health and safety systems

Risk management can be considered as part of the Occupational Health and Safety System (OHS) of an organization and can be used to develop and implement the OHS policy and manage the associated risks. The success of the integration of risk management in OHS depends on both technical and human aspects. Thus, this paper presents and discusses the case of a company working in the area of solid waste treatment. This company was certified in 2009 with an Integrated Management Systems for Quality, Environment, Occupational Health and Safety. The evolution of accidents before and after the implementation of the integrated system was analysed and a questionnaire was used to capture the perceptions of the technicians on the risk management system. The analysis of the findings showed that the frequency of accidents increased since 2009 but the severity has been reduced. Several interrelated causes and consequences were analysed and discussed. Furthermore, the analysis of the opinions of the company’s technicians permitted to highlight some important aspects on the integration of risk management in the OHS system of the company. In line with this discussion some hypothesis have been formulated.

Financial and economic analysis of prevention of needlesticks in the hospital sector

This paper discusses the financial and economic analysis of prevention of needlestick accidents related to Occupational Health and Safety projects and presents the application to a case study involving a Hospital.

O skate como estímulo para a criação artística

O presente trabalho de projecto pretende, em primeira instância, a análise da cultura do Skate enquanto estímulo de novas atitudes ou movimentos num contexto artístico que engloba diversas disciplinas. Esta escolha possibilitou um estudo singular a par da produção criativa bem como pela dinamização e exploração de novos conceitos. É relevante a apresentação deste percurso, reflectindo o que foi concebido pela ambição de evidenciar este projecto enquanto tributo a uma cultura que está em contínua expressão. Deste trabalho de projecto faz parte um segundo volume que documenta conteúdos desenvolvidos no âmbito do projecto Deka.