O Algarve e a inovação: o perfil regional

A região do Algarve apresenta uma diminuta interacção entre produção e consumo de novo conhecimento, não se traduzindo a investigação gerada em ambiente universitário em novos (as)produtos/tecnologias/processos. A fraca relação existente entre estas duas vertentes não tem criado os mecanismos favoráveis à existência de uma articulação entre procura e oferta de I&D. O artigo apresenta o diagnóstico da região no que se refere aos processos de criação e transferência de conhecimento, tendo como referência um determinado modelo desenvolvimento regional, onde tem predominado uma ausência quase total de ligação, entre meio empresarial e meio universitário. O objectivo é contribuir para uma reflexão mais largada sobre a internalização da inovação na região, para que, com base na experiência do passado, possam surgir as condições necessárias à alteração do modelo vigente, privilegiando-se as relações de interface entre os diversos agentes económicos: públicos e privados. Visando propiciar as condições de base para uma superior assimilação da inovação por parte dos agentes económicos regionais, os processos de produção e de transferência de conhecimento deverão estar ajustados às necessidades do meio empresarial, ao mesmo tempo que capitalizam os recursos humanos altamente qualificados disponíveis em determinadas áreas do saber, em particular, nas ciências do mar, na biotecnologia, nas ciências agro-alimentares e no turismo.

Sources of local knowledge spillover within the Algarve tourism region: evidence to identify a regional innovation system

Tourism sector in Algarve region is the main engine of regional economy. Although frequently, tourism is considered as a low – moderate innovative sector, tourism competitiveness is still highly dependent on specific features of a Regional Innovation Platform, highlighting the crucial importance of knowledge creation and diffusion, learning, cooperative and collaborative interaction that may evolve to a Regional Innovation System (RIS). Studies of Local Knowledge Spillovers have been frequently focused on empirical evidence provided by regions highly related with manufacturing sectors. Considering a case study in Tourism Algarve Region, emphasizing a theoretical character on the analysis of these areas and using a qualitative methodology, the goal of this study was to provide preliminary evidence of the main sources and vehicles of regional knowledge spillovers used by tourism enterprises. Main information has been obtained using primary information collected from 20 interviews over main stakeholders regarding regional private and public sector. Primary information was complemented with secondary information, a deeply and extensive bibliography revision and also statistical information. Results show that, on the one hand, main sources of knowledge used by micro and small tourism enterprises are human resources and formal and informal networks. On the other hand, large tourism companies are weakly related with regional sources using mainly internal company and economic group resources to generate innovation activities. Regional innovation platform shows clear weaknesses on linkages and coordinated initiatives to promote and support innovation performance of firms hampering to increase tourism competitiveness and regional development.

A gestão praticada nos campos de golfe do barlavento algarvio e a sua adaptação à estratégia de desenvolvimento regional

A presente dissertação objetiva, essencialmente, estudar quais as tendências de gestão nos campos de golfe do barlavento algarvio. Sendo as perspetivas de gestão tão variadas, mesmo quando são introduzidas e aplicadas by the book, ainda mais desconcertante, e interessante, quando a gestão é efetuada segundo valores, convicções e diferentes personalidades. Esta pesquisa assume maior oportunismo porque é efetuada em período de crise. Segundo alguns autores “ (…) a mais grave intempérie económica desde os anos 1930 (…)”, em que as receitas baixaram (F&B, green fees, pro-shop, etc.) e as despesas tenderam a aumentar (água, energia, IVA, etc.). Para encontrarmos respostas às nossas questões estudámos de forma exploratória e qualitativa alguns procedimentos e opções que sustentam, ou que sustentavam, um negócio de sucesso… e para o qual não havia formação específica (diretor de campo de golfe). Desenvolvemos o estudo com recurso a dados secundários e a entrevistas semiestruturadas a cinco Diretores de campos de golfe, em representação de doze campos do barlavento algarvio. Os resultados permitem fazer uma caracterização de situações associadas à região em que os campos se inserem, aos recursos humanos que dinamizam o negócio, aos clientes que consomem este produto, e às estratégias adotadas, considerando as opiniões dos Diretores. Os factos identificados na investigação indicam que as dificuldades são não só de natureza externa, tais como a crescente concorrência por parte de destinos de golfe emergentes, mas também interna, como a ausência de uma verdadeira cooperação entre campos e as opções governamentais (aumento do IVA e acessibilidades) … mas também há oportunidades! As conclusões apuradas levaram à apresentação de uma caracterização nos domínios inicialmente estudados, tendo como base a gestão, tal como era objetivo do trabalho.

A comunicação do programa de valorização turística "Allgarve", da responsabilidade da Entidade Regional de Turismo do Algarve

A valorização e diferenciação de um destino turístico passa pela capacidade em se distinguir dos destinos concorrentes através da oferta diversificada de experiências relevantes que marquem quem o visita. Foi precisamente sob este mote: “experiências que marcam” que surgiu em 2007 o programa de eventos ALLGARVE, cujo principal objetivo foi a criação de um conjunto de eventos culturais, desportivos e de animação que atraíssem turistas e visitantes em busca de experiências mais enriquecedoras, abrangentes, dinâmicas e sofisticadas no seu período de férias. Este programa foi uma iniciativa do Ministério da Economia e Inovação (MEI), desenvolvido através do Turismo de Portugal (TP), em estreita articulação com a Entidade Regional de Turismo (ERTA), que assumiu um papel fundamental de parceira e interlocutora na prossecução do mesmo, tendo a Divisão de Marketing (posteriormente Equipa Multidisciplinar de Comunicação e Imagem – EMCI) desta entidade assumido um papel de enorme relevância durante esse período. Uma das principais áreas de intervenção do programa ALLGARVE foi ao nível da comunicação, uma vez que se pretendia, acima de tudo, criar uma marca, dar-lhe notoriedade e credibilidade e fazer com que turistas, visitantes e residentes se identificassem com a mesma. Para tal foi necessário o estabelecimento de um plano de comunicação vasto que abrangesse meios variados, de forma a atingir os públicos-alvo em larga escala. Nesta perspetiva, uma grande fatia do orçamento global do programa foi canalizada para vagas de comunicação através de publicidade em imprensa escrita, outdoors, rádio, televisão, internet e outros meios alternativos, ações de relações públicas (RP) junto dos mercados-alvo e do trade, e a produção de todas as peças de comunicação necessárias ao acompanhamento dos eventos (catálogos, faixas, brindes, entre outros). O presente relatório de atividade profissional pretende assim dar a conhecer o plano de comunicação do programa ALLGARVE, a sua caracterização e contributo para a valorização turística do destino Algarve, devidamente enquadrado na importância da comunicação e dos eventos no Marketing de Áreas Destino.

Reseña: Elvira Narvaja de Arnoux y Susana Nothstein (eds.) (2014), Temas de glotopolítica: integración regional sudamericana y panhispanismo, Buenos Aires, Biblos, coll. “Investigaciones y ensayos”, 376 p. [ISBN: 978-9-876-91257-0]

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O impacte da política comum de pescas na gestão de um recurso natural a nível regional: a actividade pesqueira no Algarve

Dissertação de mestrado, Ciências Económicas e Empresariais, Unidade de Ciências Económicas e Empresariais, Universidade do Algarve. Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, 1995

Regional Knowledge Maps - Potential and Challenges

Regional knowledge map is a tool recently demanded by some actors in an institutional level to help regional policy and innovation in a territory. Besides, knowledge maps facilitate the interaction between the actors of a territory and the collective learning. This paper reports the work in progress of a research project which objective is to define a methodology to efficiently design territorial knowledge maps, by extracting information of big volumes of data contained in diverse sources of information related to a region. Knowledge maps facilitate management of the intellectual capital in organisations. This paper investigates the value to apply this tool to a territorial region to manage the structures, infrastructures and the resources to enable regional innovation and regional development. Their design involves the identification of information sources that are required to find which knowledge is located in a territory, which actors are involved in innovation, and which is the context to develop this innovation (structures, infrastructures, resources and social capital). This paper summarizes the theoretical background and framework for the design of a methodology for the construction of knowledge maps, and gives an overview of the main challenges for the design of regional knowledge maps.

Challenges and Potentials for Keyword Extraction from Company Websites for the Development of Regional Knowledge Maps

Regional Innovation Systems describe the relations between actors, structures and infrastructures in a region in order to stimulate innovation and regional development. For these systems the collection and organization of information is crucial. In the present paper we investigate the possibilities to extract information from websites of companies. First we describe regional innovation systems and the information types that are necessary to create them. Then we discuss the possibilities of text mining and keyword extraction techniques to extract this information from company websites. Finally, we describe a small scale experiment in which keywords related to economic sectors and commodities are extracted from the websites of over 200 companies. This experiment shows what the main challenges are for information extraction from websites for regional innovation systems.

O papel da propriedade intelectual na integração económica regional : lições para a SADC

Tese de doutoramento, Direito (Ciências Jurídico-Económicas), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Direito, 2014

Landslide susceptibility evaluation and validation at a regional scale

Tese de doutoramento, Geografia (Geografia Física), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território, 2014

Regional Importance of Alnus Pollen as an Aeroallergen: A Comparative Study of Alnus Pollen Counts from Worcester (UK) and Poznań (Poland)

Daily average Alnus pollen counts (1996-2005) from Worcester (UK) and Poznań (Poland) were examined with the aim of assessing the regional importance of Alnus pollen as an aeroallergen. The average number of Alnus pollen grains recorded annually at Poznań was more than 2.5 times that of Worcester. Furthermore, daily average Alnus pollen counts exceeded the thresholds of 100, 500 and 1,000 grains/m3 more times at Poznań than Worcester. Skin prick test results (1996-2005) and allergen-specific IgE(asIgE) measurements using the CAP (Pharmacia) system (2002-2005), were supplied by the Allergic Diseases Diagnostic Centre in Poznań. The annual number of positive skin prick tests to Alnus pollen allergens was significantly related (p<0.05) to seasonal variations in the magnitude of the Alnus pollen catch recorded at Poznań (r=0.70). The symptoms of patients with positive skin prick tests to Alnus pollen allergens were: 51% pollinosis, 43% atopic dermatitis, 4% asthma, 1% chronic urticaria and 1% eczema. On a scale of 0-6, 20.5% of patients examined for serum asIgE in relation to Alnus pollen allergens had asIgE measurements in classes 5 and 6. Alnus pollen is generally considered to be mildly allergenic. However, the amount of Alnus pollen released into the atmosphere in places such as Poznań may increase its impact on the population and make it one of the more important aeroallergens present.

Can the European low-cost airline boom continue? Implications for regional airports

At a time when the traditional major airlines have struggled to remain viable, the low-cost carriers have become the major success story of the European airline industry. This paper looks behind the headlines to show that although low-cost airlines have achieved much, they too have potential weaknesses and face a number of challenges in the years ahead. The secondary and regional airports that have benefited from low-cost carrier expansion are shown to be vulnerable to future changes in airline economics, government policy and patterns of air service. An analysis of routes from London demonstrates that the low-cost airlines have been more successful in some markets than others. To attractive and historically under-served leisure destinations in Southern Europe they have stimulated dramatic growth and achieved a dominant position. To major hub cities however they typically remain marginal players and to secondary points in Northern Europe their traffic has been largely diverted from existing operators. There is also evidence that the UK market is becoming saturated and new low-cost services are poaching traffic from other low-cost routes. Passenger compensation legislation and possible environmental taxes will hit the low-cost airline industry disproportionately hard. The high elasticities of demand to price in certain markets that these airlines have exploited will operate in reverse. One of the major elements of the low-cost business model involves the use of smaller uncongested airports. These offer faster turn-arounds and lower airport charges. In many cases, local and regional government has been willing to subsidise expansion of air services to assist with economic development or tourism objectives. However, recent court cases against Ryanair now threaten these financial arrangements. The paper also examines the catchment areas for airports with low-cost service. It is shown that as well as stimulating local demand, much traffic is captured from larger markets nearby through the differential in fare levels. This has implications for surface transport, as access to these regional airports often involves long journeys by private car. Consideration is then given to the feasibility of low-cost airlines expanding into the long-haul market or to regional operations with small aircraft. Many of the cost advantages are more muted on intercontinental services.

Neotectonics of the southwest Portugal mainland : implications on the regional seismic hazard

Tese de doutoramento, Geologia (Geodinâmica Interna), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2015

The First Year Experience of Occupational Therapy Students at an Australian Regional University: Promoting Student Retention and Developing a Regional and Remote Workforce

Abstract Objective: Student retention at regional universities is important in addressing regional and remote workforce shortages. Students attending regional universities are more likely to work in regional areas. First year experience at university plays a key role in student retention. This study aimed to explore factors influencing the first year experience of occupational therapy students at a regional Australian university. Design: Surveys were administered to 58 second year occupational therapy students in the first week of second year. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, inferential statistics (Pearson χ2; Spearman rho) and summarising descriptive responses. Setting: An Australian regional university. Participants: Second year undergraduate occupational therapy students. Main outcome measures: Factors influencing students’ decisions to study and continue studying occupational therapy; factors enhancing first year experience of university. Results: Fifty-four students completed the survey (93.1%). A quarter (25.9%) of students considered leaving the course during the first year. The primary influence for continuing was the teaching and learning experience. Most valued supports were orientation week (36.7%) and the first year coordinator (36.7%). Conclusion: The importance of the first year experience in retaining occupational therapy students is highlighted. Engagement with other students and staff and academic support are important factors in facilitating student retention. It is important to understand the unique factors influencing students’ decisions, particularly those from regional and remote areas, to enter and continue in tertiary education to assist in implementing supports and strategies to improve student retention.