ASPICO: Advanced Scientific Portal for International Cooperation on Digital Cultural Conten

* This research is partially supported by a grant (bourse Lavoisier) from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministère des Affaires Etrangères).

One Approach to Knowledge Mapping for International Student Portal

* The work is partly supported by RFFI grant 08-07-00062-a

Specifics in Applying Agile Software Methodologies in Portal Solutions

Agile methodologies are becoming more popular in the software development process nowadays. The iterative development lifecycle, openness to frequent changes, tight cooperation with the client and among the software engineers are turning into more and more effective practices and respond to a higher extend to the current business needs. It is natural to raise the question which methodology is the most suitable for use when starting and managing a project. This depends on many factors—product characteristics, technologies used, client’s and developer’s experience, project type. A systematic analysis of the most common problems appearing when developing a particular type of projects—public portal solutions, is proposed. In the case at hand a very close interaction with various types of end users is observed. This is a prerequisite for permanent changes during the development and support cycles, which makes them ideal candidates for using an agile methodology. We will compare the ways in which each methodology addresses the specific problems arising and will finish with ranking them according to their relevance. This might help the project manager in choosing one or a combination of the methodologies.

Share.TEC Portal: How the Metadata Repositories of Educational Resources Meet the Users’ Expectations

This is an extended version of an article presented at the Second International Conference on Software, Services and Semantic Technologies, Sofia, Bulgaria, 11–12 September 2010.

One-year outcome of bevacizumab therapy for chronic macular edema in central and branch retinal vein occlusions in real-world clinical practice in the UK

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the 12-month outcome of macular edema secondary to both chronic and new central and branch retinal vein occlusions treated with intravitreal bevacizumab in the real-life clinical setting in the UK. Methods: Retrospective case notes analysis of consecutive patients with retinal vein occlusions treated with bevacizumab in 2010 to 2012. Outcome measures were visual acuity (measured with Snellen, converted into logMAR [logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution] for statistical calculation) and central retinal thickness at baseline, 4 weeks post-loading phase, and at 1 year. Results: There were 56 and 100 patients with central and branch retinal vein occlusions, respectively, of whom 62% had chronic edema and received prior therapies and another 32% required additional laser treatments post-baseline bevacizumab. Baseline median visual acuity was 0.78 (interquartile range [IQR] 0.48–1.22) in the central group and 0.6 (IQR 0.3–0.78) in the branch group. In both groups, visual improvement was statistically significant from baseline compared to post-loading (P,0.001 and P=0.03, respectively), but was not significant by month 12 (P=0.058 and P=0.166, respectively); 30% improved by at least three lines and 44% improved by at least one line by month 12. Baseline median central retinal thickness was 449 μm (IQR 388–553) in the central group and 441 µm (IQR 357–501) in the branch group. However, the mean reduction in thickness was statistically significant at post-loading (P,0.001) and at the 12-month time point (P,0.001) for both groups. The average number of injections in 1 year was 4.2 in the central group and 3.3 in the branch group. Conclusion: Our large real-world cohort results indicate that bevacizumab introduced to patients with either new or chronic edema due to retinal vein occlusion can result in resolution of edema and stabilization of vision in the first year.

Análise do uso do Portal de Periódicos da CAPES na perspectiva de mestres e doutores formados pelo Programa de Pós-graduação em Administração da UFRN

The Brazilian CAPES Journal Portal aims to provide Information in Science and Technology (IST) for academic users. Thus, it is considered a relevant instrument for post-graduation dynamics and the country´s Science and Technology (S&T) development. Despite its importance, there are still few studies that focus on the policy analysis and efficiency of these resources. This research aims to fill in this gap once it proposes an analysis of the use of the CAPES Journal Portal done on behalf of the master´s and doctoral alumni of the Post Graduate Program in Management (PPGA) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). The operationalization of the research´s main objective was possible through the specific objectives: characterize graduate profile as CAPES Journal Portal users b) identify motivation for the use of CAPES Journal Portal c) detect graduate satisfaction degree in information seeking done at CAPES Journal Portal d) verify graduate satisfaction regarding the use of the CAPES Journal Portal e) verify the use of the information that is obtained by graduates in the development of their academic activities. The research is of descriptive nature employing a mixed methodological strategy in which quantitative approach predominates. Data collection was done through a web survey questionnaire. Quantitative data analysis was made possible through the use of a statistical method. As for qualitative analysis, there was use of the Brenda Dervin´s sense-making approach as well as content analysis in open ended questions. The research samples were composed by 90 graduate students who had defended their dissertation/thesis in the PPGA program at UFRN in the time span of 2010-2013. This represented by 88% of this population. As for user profile, the analysis has made evident that there are no quantitative differences related to gender. There is predominance of male graduates that were aged 26 to 30 years old. As for female graduates, the great majority were 31 o 35 years old. Most graduates had Master´s degree scholarship in order to support their study. It was also seen that the great majority claim to use the Portal during their post graduation studies. The main reasons responsible for non use was: preference for the use of other data bases and lack of knowledge regarding the Portal. It was observed that the most used information resources were theses and dissertations. Data also indicate preference for complete text. Those who have used the Portal also claimed to have used other electronic information fonts in order to fulfill their information needs. The information fonts that were researched outside in the Portal were monographs, dissertations and thesis. Scielo was the most used information font. Results reveal that access and use of the Portal has been done in a regular manner during post graduation studies. But on the other hand, graduates also make use of other electronic information fonts in order to meet their information needs. The study also confirmed the important mission performed by the Portal regarding Brazilian scientific communication production. This was seen even though users have reported the need for improvement in some aspects such as: periodic training in order to promote, encourage and teach more effective use of the portal; investment aiming the expansion of Social Sciences Collection in the Portal as well as the need to implement continuous evaluation process related to user satisfaction in regarding the services provided.

Estudo da usabilidade do portal do aluno do SIGAA Mobile Android da UFRN: identificando diretrizes de interface a serem utilizadas como recomendações no processo de desenvolvimento das funcionalidades deste sistema

Avaliação de usabilidade é um processo importante durante o desenvolvimento de um software, seja ele para um sistema web ou mobile. No caso de um sistema mobile, o custo é bastante oneroso, tanto no que se refere à mão de obra especializada, como de recursos tecnológicos utilizados, tornando essa avaliação de usabilidade ainda mais importante. Além disso, as versões webdos sistemas SIG da UFRN já estão consolidadas e com uma grande aceitação, fazendo com que suas versões mobile tenham, ainda mais, a preocupação de lançar um produto de boa qualidade para manter essa credibilidade dos sistemas SIG , tanto na UFRN, como nas demais instituições que utilizam esses sistemas. Com este trabalho, buscou-se identificar algumas diretrizes de interface que possam ser utilizadas no processo de desenvolvimento dos sistemas SIG Mobile, mais especificamente o SIGAA Mobile, de modo a facilitar o desenvolvimento de novas funcionalidades voltadas para estes sistemas. Para isso, foi realizada uma avaliação de usabilidade no Portal do Aluno do SIGAA Mobile Android, tomando como base padrões de interface já existentes na literatura. Posteriormente, foi aplicado um questionário com os usuários do sistema para coletar as opiniões e sugestões dos mesmos. De posse de todos esses dados coletados, foi possível definir algumas diretrizes de interface a serem seguidas como recomendações no processo de desenvolvimento dos sistemas SIG Mobile.

WEBJORNALISMO COLABORATIVO - A PRESENÇA DOS USUÁRIOS NO CONTEÚDO INFORMATIVO DO PORTAL R7

Este estudo procura verificar como ocorre a colaboração dos usuários no conteúdo informativo do Portal R7, a partir da nova configuração da internet, a web 2.0, criada em 2004. O termo web 2.0 surgiu para qualificar uma segunda geração de comunidades e serviços, em um ambiente de interação e participação que engloba diversas linguagens. Com o crescimento da adesão à tecnologia digital, algumas barreiras que limitavam a colaboração nos conteúdos informativos foram superadas e o ambiente comunicacional tornou-se um espaço de intercâmbio para experiências e práticas do cotidiano. Nesse cenário, os internautas passam a ter uma relação mais aproximativa nos processos midiáticos presentes no suporte digital, no qual o cidadão pode se expressar, ter maior visibilidade e se relacionar a partir do momento em que ele produz, publica e compartilha qualquer tipo de conteúdo, seja de caráter informativo ou de entretenimento. A revisão bibliográfica abrangeu autores como Ciro Marcondes Filho, José Marques de Melo, Nelson Traquina, Alex Primo, Ana Brambilla, Marcelo Träsel, Raquel Recuero, Polyana Ferrari, Squirra, entre outros. O método de investigação utilizado é o qualitativo, por meio de uma pesquisa exploratória descritiva, do tipo estudo de caso. Os instrumentos para a investigação foram a observação direta assistemática e a entrevista semiestruturada (ou semiaberta). O principal resultado obtido é que o webjornalismo colaborativo no Portal R7 é prioritariamente induzido pelas redes sociais, especialmente o Facebook e o Twitter, inspirado no “call for action”, como estratégia para chamar à colaboração. As práticas jornalísticas estão intrinsicamente dependentes da ação do usuário, sendo que o jornalista agrega às práticas de checagem uma nova etapa, a de relacionamento com o usuário do Portal, para agregar e fidelizar a audiência, valorizando a colaboração em todas as etapas de produção.

Architecture and health care: a place for sociology.

Sociologists of health and illness have tended to overlook the architecture and buildings used in health care. This contrasts with medical geographers who have yielded a body of work on the significance of places and spaces in the experience of health and illness. A review of sociological studies of the role of the built environment in the performance of medical practice uncovers an important vein of work, worthy of further study. Through the historically situated example of hospital architecture, this article seeks to tease out substantive and methodological issues that can inform a distinctive sociology of healthcare architecture. Contemporary healthcare buildings manifest design models developed for hotels, shopping malls and homes. These design features are congruent with neoliberal forms of subjectivity in which patients are constituted as consumers and responsibilised citizens. We conclude that an adequate sociology of healthcare architecture necessitates an appreciation of both the construction and experience of buildings, exploring the briefs and plans of their designers, and observing their everyday uses. Combining approaches and methods from the sociology of health and illness and science and technology studies offers potential for a novel research agenda that takes healthcare buildings as its substantive focus.

Is there really "nothing you can do"? Pathways to enhanced flood-risk preparedness

Whilst policy makers have tended to adopt an ‘information-deficit model’ to bolster levels of flood-risk preparedness primarily though communication strategies promoting awareness, the assumed causal relation between awareness and preparedness is empirically weak. As such, there is a growing interest amongst scholars and policy makers alike to better understand why at-risk individuals are underprepared. In this vein, empirical studies, typically employing quantitative methods, have tended to focus on exploring the extent to which flood-risk preparedness levels vary depending not only on socio-demographic variables, but also (and increasingly so) the perceptual factors that influence flood risk preparedness. This study builds upon and extends this body of research by offering a more solution-focused approach that seeks to identify how pathways to flood-risk preparedness can be opened up. Specifically, through application of a qualitative methodology, we seek to explore how the factors that negatively influence flood-risk preparedness can be addressed to foster a shift towards greater levels of mitigation behaviour. In doing so, we focus our analysis on an urban community in Ireland that is identified as ‘at risk’ of flash flooding and is currently undergoing significant flood relief works. In this regard, the case study offers an interesting laboratory to explore how attitudes towards flood-risk preparedness at the individual level are being influenced within the context of a flood relief scheme that is only partially constructed. In order to redress the dearth of theoretically informed qualitative studies in this field, we draw on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to help guide our analysis and make sense of our results. Our findings demonstrate that flood-risk preparedness can be undermined by low levels of efficacy amongst individuals in terms of the preparedness measures available to them and their own personal capacity to implement them. We also elucidate that the ‘levee effect’ can occur before engineered flood defences are fully constructed as the flood relief works within our case study are beginning to affect people’s perception of flood risk in the case study area. We conclude by arguing that 1) individuals’ coping appraisals need to be enhanced through communication strategies and other interventions which highlight that future floods may not replicate past events; and 2) the concept of residual risk needs to be communicated at all stages of a flood relief scheme, not just upon completion.

Relatório de Projeto de Licanciatura. O portal da ADECO

A gestão das organizações não governamentais (ONG’s) apresenta dificuldades peculiares devido a falta de financiamento, o que dificulta a contratação de recursos humanos qualificados e a aquisição de ferramentas de gestão adequadas. Mesmo sem prosseguirem fins lucrativos, estas instituições procuram novas formas de gerir sua estrutura organizacional procurando atingir a missão e os objetivos definidos no seu planeamento. A ADECO - Associação para Defesa do Consumidor - é uma ONG de intervenção cívica e de solidariedade social na defesa dos legítimos interesses de todos os consumidores, e em particular, dos seus associados. Este trabalho propõe o desenvolvimento de um Sistema de Informação Web para a ADECO, que permita automatizar, simplificar e agilizar a informação através de duas vertentes: a pública e a privada. A vertente privada trata da gestão dos seus sócios e suas reclamações e a vertente pública do desenvolvimento de um Site para apresentação de informações, de notícias, e de áudios e vídeos dos programas transmitidos nos órgãos de comunicação social locais. O sistema foi desenvolvido na linguagem PHP, com o auxílio dos Framewoks Codeigniter e Bootstrap e a base de dados criada em MySql, utilizando o sistema de gestão de base de dados (SGBD), Phpmyadmin.