A standing ovation for Nigel: An informal study

This article analyses a series of emails thanking Nigel for his stewardship of JASSS and the characteristics of their authors. It identifies a correlation between two measures of author activity in social simulation research, but no pattern between these activity measures and the email timing. Instead, the sequence suggests a classic standing ovation effect.

The daily life of informal caregivers of elderly

Objectives: To identify the reasons why the informal caregivers to take care of the elderly; to identify enjoyed support and the problems/needs senses. Methods: A descriptive, exploratory and cross study. The sample was 366 informal caregivers of the elderly residents in the District of Évora (Alentejo). Applied a questionnaire, which identified the reasons that led to cohabitation, the difficulties experienced by caregivers, experienced changes in their health and support they receive. Results: Most caregivers are women, with a mean age of 54 years. The main reason of care was elderly disease. These caregivers have changed in relaxation and leisure activities, on the organization of day-to-day and on economic aspects. They receive support from health institutions, social security and firemen’s. Conclusions: Family is the support in the disease, despite the difficulties, particularly in relaxation and leisure activities, organization of day-to-day and economic matters. They requested support in healthcare, transportation and economic aid.

Educação informal intergeracional: o caso da transmissão dos usos e costumes da medicina tradicional

Dissertação de mest., Ciências da Educação, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Universidade do Algarve, 2010

O que é para ti um tubarão? percepções das crianças sobre os tubarões em contexto (educação) informal de ciências

Dissertação de mest., Didáctica e Inovação no Ensino das Ciências (Biologia/Geologia), Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Univ. do Algarve, 2011

Caminhos para a aprendizagem : o entrelaçar do formal, não formal e informal

Trabalho de projeto de mestrado, Ciências da Educação (Formação de Adultos), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2013

Designing personalized video-based crossmedia informal learning environments beyond iTV

Tese de doutoramento, Informática (Engenharia Informática), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2014

Territories of scarcity and creativity: a critical view of informal settlements and emerging tactics under conditions of scarcity in Nairobi, Kenya and Quito, Ecuador

This thesis explores the processes through which scarcity is constructed in informal settlements and how conditions emerging within its limits gives way to particular socio-spatial phenomena and influence the emergence of self-organisation and creative strategies from a non-expert perspective. At the same time, this thesis deconstructs these emerging tactics (reactive and transformative) in a diagrammatic way to generate a critical study of their potential for socio-spatial change that goes beyond the everyday survival. Most people associate scarcity with “not having enough” of something, most usually of a material nature. In contrast, this paper is based on the premise that scarcity is a constructed condition, therefore exploring it beyond its immediate manifestation and illustrating its discursive, distributive and socio-material components. In this line, the research uses Assemblage Theory as both an approach and a tool for analysis. This approach allows the research to depart from everyday narratives of the residents, and gradually evolve into a multi-scalar, non-linear reading of scarcity, by following leads into different realms and unpacking a series of routine events to uncover their connections to wider processes and particular elements affecting the settlement and the city as a whole. For this purpose, the research is based on a qualitative, flexible and multi-sited methodology, using different case studies as testing grounds. Collected data stems from a 11-months ethnographic fieldwork in informal settlements in Ecuador and Kenya, analysing the socio-spatial practices and strategies deployed by the different actors producing the built environment and arising from everyday and latent experiences of scarcity. The thesis examines the multi-scalar nature of these strategies, including self-building and management tactics, the mobilisation of grassroots organisations, the innovative ways of collaborating deployed by different coalitions and the reformulation of urban development policies. As outcomes of the research, the thesis will show illustrative diagrams that allow a better understanding of, firstly, the construction of scarcity in the built environment beyond its immediate manifestation and secondly, the way that emerging tactics a) improve existing conditions of scarcity, b) reinforce the status quo or c) contribute to the worsening of the original condition. Therefore, this thesis aims to offer lessons with both practical and theoretical considerations, by firstly, giving an insight into the complexity and transcalar nature of the construction of scarcity in informal settlements; secondly, by illustrating how acute conditions related to scarcity gives birth to a plethora of particular phenomena shaping the territory, social relationships and processes; and thirdly, by identifying specific characteristics within the informal that might allow for new readings of the city and possibilities for socio-spatial change under conditions of scarcity.

How Formal and Informal Institutions of Middle Eastern Countries Influence Managerial Discretion: An Empirical Investigation

Managerial discretion is the focal theme bridging the clash between two schools of thoughts; whether executives have greater influence on their firms’ outcomes or other factors restrain their actions (Hambrick & Finkelstein, 1987). It is argued that constraints come from inertial, normative and environmental forces (e.g. DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). Of these restraints is the institutional environment in which a firm is headquartered. Our paper falls within this research stream and provides an extension for Crossland and Hambrick (2007, 2011) work. We investigate the national level of discretion in new cross-cultural contexts, provide deeper understanding of its concept, and shed the light on undiscovered discretion’s antecedents and consequences. We adopt a quantitative approach in which questionnaires represent our data collection instrument. We anticipate that in high discretion countries firms tend to follow what Miles & Snow (1978) labeled ‘Prospector’ strategy as opposed to low discretion countries in which firms incline to implement a ‘Defender’ strategy.

Informal learning recognition through a cloud ecosystem

Learning and teaching processes, like all human activities, can be mediated through the use of tools. Information and communication technologies are now widespread within education. Their use in the daily life of teachers and learners affords engagement with educational activities at any place and time and not necessarily linked to an institution or a certificate. In the absence of formal certification, learning under these circumstances is known as informal learning. Despite the lack of certification, learning with technology in this way presents opportunities to gather information about and present new ways of exploiting an individual’s learning. Cloud technologies provide ways to achieve this through new architectures, methodologies, and workflows that facilitate semantic tagging, recognition, and acknowledgment of informal learning activities. The transparency and accessibility of cloud services mean that institutions and learners can exploit existing knowledge to their mutual benefit. The TRAILER project facilitates this aim by providing a technological framework using cloud services, a workflow, and a methodology. The services facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge associated with informal learning activities ranging from the use of social software through widgets, computer gaming, and remote laboratory experiments. Data from these activities are shared among institutions, learners, and workers. The project demonstrates the possibility of gathering information related to informal learning activities independently of the context or tools used to carry them out.

Managing informal learning in engineering contexts: the learners' perspective

According to recent studies, informal learning accounts for more than 75% of our continuous learning through life. However, the awareness of this learning, its benefits and its potential is still not very clear. In engineering contexts, informal learning could play an invaluable role helping students or employees to engage with peers and also with more experience colleagues, exchanging ideas and discussing problems. This work presents an initial set of results of the piloting phase of a project (TRAILER) where an innovative service based on Information & Communication Technologies was developed in order to aid the collection and visibility of informal learning. This set of results concerns engineering contexts (academic and business), from the learners' perspective. The major idea that emerged from these piloting trials was that it represented a good way of collecting, recording and sharing informal learning that otherwise could easily be forgotten. Several benefits were reported between the two communities such as being helpful in managing competences and human resources within an institution.

TRAILER project overview: tagging, recognition and acknowledgment of informal learning experiences

The evolution of new technology and its increasing use, have for some years been making the existence of informal learning more and more transparent, especially among young and older adults in both Higher Education and workplace contexts. However, the nature of formal and non-formal, course-based, approaches to learning has made it hard to accommodate these informal processes satisfactorily, and although technology bring us near to the solution, it has not yet achieved. TRAILER project aims to address this problem by developing a tool for the management of competences and skills acquired through informal learning experiences, both from the perspective of the user and the institution or company. This paper describes the research and development main lines of this project.

Kixikila - um contrato de financiamento informal

The purpose of the present work is to analyse and provide kixikila legal framework under Angolan law. Kixikila, despite being a legally atypical agreement, is a socially typical contract, governed essentially by the practices and customs in Angola and concluded throughout the country. With the above purpose in mind, this thesis is structured in five chapters: the first one aims at better understanding its features and, therefore, it describes the kixikila in accordance with oral research, direct observation and the contributions of scholars that have examined this matter. The second chapter aims at qualifying the kixikila as a legal transaction. For this purpose, we have analysed its requirements, formation stages, content and form, characteristics, rights and obligations of the parties, effects and compliance. We have also covered the reasons that explain why this type of agreement shall be legally protected in line with the protection conferred upon other legal agreements, taking into account its economic and social function. The third chapter covers the vicissitudes which may occur during the term of the kixikila agreement, as well as the enforcement mechanisms in face of breach and its termination. The fourth chapter aims at qualifying this agreement by comparing its most relevant characteristics with those of typical agreements, with a view to determining its legal nature based upon the similarity with other contractual types. This chapter further makes a comparative synthesis between the contracts in analysis. The fifth chapter analyses the legal nature and legal framework applicable to kixikila taking into account mixed-purpose contracts and sui generis contracts. We conclude that practices and customs in Angola take precedence as regards kixikila. Lastly, we attach additional information, such as excerpts of interviews with some individuals intervening in kixikila, the functional structure of kixikila and examples of kixikila, as well as demonstrative lists of countries where this type of agreement takes place and the obligations arising therefrom.

The effectiveness of interpretive methods in informal educational facilities : an experimental study with reference to marine parks

Interpretation has been used in many tourism sectors as a technique in achieving building hannony between resources and human needs. The objectives of this study are to identify the types of the interpretive methods used, and to evaluate their effectiveness, in marine parks. This study reviews the design principles of an effective interpretation for marine wildlife tourism, and adopts Drams' five design principles (1997) into a conceptual framework. Enjoyment increase, knowledge gain, attitude and intention change, and behaviour modification were used as key indicators in the assessment of the interpretive effectiveness of the Vancouver Aquarium (VA) and Marineland Canada (MC). Since on-site research is unavailable, a virtual tour is created to represent the interpretive experiences in the two study sites. Self-administered questionnaires are used to measure responses. Through comparing responses to the questionnaires (pre-, post-virtual tours and follow-up), this study found that interpretation increased enjoyment and added to respondents' knowledge. Although the changes in attitudes and intentions are not significant, the findings indicate that attitude and intention changes did occur as a result of interpretation, but only to a limited extent. Overall results suggest that more techniques should be added to enhance the effectiveness of the interpretation in marine parks or self-guiding tours, and with careful design, virtual tours are the innovative interpretation techniques for marine parks or informal educational facilities.