Influence of network effects on the diffusion of information systems: the case of open source

Doutoramento em Gestão

O conhecimento e inovação como factor de sucesso de uma organização : o caso Sport Lisboa e Benfica

Mestrado em Gestão e Empreendedorismo

Análise e gestão de risco de actividades em outsourcing : estudo de caso

Mestrado em Auditoria

Inovação pedagógica no Ensino Superior – o ensino a distância no ISCAP

O ensino a distância evoluiu muito desde o tempo em que o formando recebia os materiais por correspondência. Já nessa altura os formandos trabalhavam ao seu ritmo e concluíam a formação de acordo com o seu trabalho e agenda pessoal. Hoje, apesar dos cursos por correspondência ainda existirem, estão rapidamente a ser substituídos pela formação a distância. E este sucesso da educação a distância tem levado ao surgimento de ofertas diferentes e novos modelos de negócio. Existem diversas soluções de organização dos cursos a distância. O formato depende essencialmente dos objectivos do curso. A escolha do tipo de solução para a oferta a distância depende, também, dos objectivos e experiência da instituição. Nesta comunicação propomo-nos apresentar o caso do ISCAP, a evolução da oferta formativa a distância nesta escola, os tipos de oferta actuais e algumas preocupações para o futuro. Pretende-se, ainda levantar algumas questões que necessitam de estudo e resposta, apontando caminhos para investigação futura.

Decision Support Concerning Demand Response Programs Design and Use – A Conceptual Framework and Simulation Tool

Demand response can play a very relevant role in the context of power systems with an intensive use of distributed energy resources, from which renewable intermittent sources are a significant part. More active consumers participation can help improving the system reliability and decrease or defer the required investments. Demand response adequate use and management is even more important in competitive electricity markets. However, experience shows difficulties to make demand response be adequately used in this context, showing the need of research work in this area. The most important difficulties seem to be caused by inadequate business models and by inadequate demand response programs management. This paper contributes to developing methodologies and a computational infrastructure able to provide the involved players with adequate decision support on demand response programs and contracts design and use. The presented work uses DemSi, a demand response simulator that has been developed by the authors to simulate demand response actions and programs, which includes realistic power system simulation. It includes an optimization module for the application of demand response programs and contracts using deterministic and metaheuristic approaches. The proposed methodology is an important improvement in the simulator while providing adequate tools for demand response programs adoption by the involved players. A machine learning method based on clustering and classification techniques, resulting in a rule base concerning DR programs and contracts use, is also used. A case study concerning the use of demand response in an incident situation is presented.

Proposal for shared services performance management model applied to portugueses public administration

Comunicação apresentada no 8º Congresso Nacional de Administração Pública - Desafios e Soluções, em Carcavelos de 21 a 22 de Novembro de 2011.

Using Baseline Methods to Identify Non-technical Losses in the Context of Smart Grids

Demand response has gained increasing importance in the context of competitive electricity markets and smart grid environments. In addition to the importance that has been given to the development of business models for integrating demand response, several methods have been developed to evaluate the consumers’ performance after the participation in a demand response event. The present paper uses those performance evaluation methods, namely customer baseline load calculation methods, to determine the expected consumption in each period of the consumer historic data. In the cases in which there is a certain difference between the actual consumption and the estimated consumption, the consumer is identified as a potential cause of non-technical losses. A case study demonstrates the application of the proposed method to real consumption data.

Dispatch of distributed Energy Resources to Provide Energy and Reserve in Smart Grids using a Particle Swarm Optimization Approach

The smart grid concept is a key issue in the future power systems, namely at the distribution level, with deep concerns in the operation and planning of these systems. Several advantages and benefits for both technical and economic operation of the power system and of the electricity markets are recognized. The increasing integration of demand response and distributed generation resources, all of them mostly with small scale distributed characteristics, leads to the need of aggregating entities such as Virtual Power Players. The operation business models become more complex in the context of smart grid operation. Computational intelligence methods can be used to give a suitable solution for the resources scheduling problem considering the time constraints. This paper proposes a methodology for a joint dispatch of demand response and distributed generation to provide energy and reserve by a virtual power player that operates a distribution network. The optimal schedule minimizes the operation costs and it is obtained using a particle swarm optimization approach, which is compared with a deterministic approach used as reference methodology. The proposed method is applied to a 33-bus distribution network with 32 medium voltage consumers and 66 distributed generation units.

Consumers Performance Evaluation of the Participation in Demand Response Programs Using Baseline Methods

Demand response has gain increasing importance in the context of competitive electricity markets environment. The use of demand resources is also advantageous in the context of smart grid operation. In addition to the need of new business models for integrating demand response, adequate methods are necessary for an accurate determination of the consumers’ performance evaluation after the participation in a demand response event. The present paper makes a comparison between some of the existing baseline methods related to the consumers’ performance evaluation, comparing the results obtained with these methods and also with a method proposed by the authors of the paper. A case study demonstrates the application of the referred methods to real consumption data belonging to a consumer connected to a distribution network.

Intelligent Remuneration and Tariffs for Virtual Power Players

Power systems have been through deep changes in recent years, namely due to the operation of competitive electricity markets in the scope the increasingly intensive use of renewable energy sources and distributed generation. This requires new business models able to cope with the new opportunities that have emerged. Virtual Power Players (VPPs) are a new type of player that allows aggregating a diversity of players (Distributed Generation (DG), Storage Agents (SA), Electrical Vehicles (V2G) and consumers) to facilitate their participation in the electricity markets and to provide a set of new services promoting generation and consumption efficiency, while improving players’ benefits. A major task of VPPs is the remuneration of generation and services (maintenance, market operation costs and energy reserves), as well as charging energy consumption. This paper proposes a model to implement fair and strategic remuneration and tariff methodologies, able to allow efficient VPP operation and VPP goals accomplishment in the scope of electricity markets.

Determining the Adjustment Baseline Parameters to Define an Accurate Customer Baseline Load

Demand response is an energy resource that has gained increasing importance in the context of competitive electricity markets and of smart grids. New business models and methods designed to integrate demand response in electricity markets and of smart grids have been published, reporting the need of additional work in this field. In order to adequately remunerate the participation of the consumers in demand response programs, improved consumers’ performance evaluation methods are needed. The methodology proposed in the present paper determines the characterization of the baseline approach that better fits the consumer historic consumption, in order to determine the expected consumption in absent of participation in a demand response event and then determine the actual consumption reduction. The defined baseline can then be used to better determine the remuneration of the consumer. The paper includes a case study with real data to illustrate the application of the proposed methodology.

Estrutura de financiamento das empresas start-up

Atualmente, o contexto de atuação das empresas tem sido cada vez mais desafiante dado o binómio de competitividade e crise financeira. Desta forma, a exploração de novas soluções e identificação de lacunas ou desequilíbrios no mercado torna-se imperial para o desenvolvimento das novas entidades. É com base nesta premissa que emerge o conceito de Start-Up, sendo o seu propósito o desenvolvimento de novos produtos e modelos de negócios inovadores. Como resultado, estas empresas tornam-se num elemento revitalizador do tecido económico dos países em que estão inseridas. De forma a possibilitar a potenciação das atividades desenvolvidas por estas entidades é crucial a identificação das diversas fontes de recursos financeiros e as consequentes contrapartidas exigidas. No entanto, dado o seu caráter inovador obviamente que vários são os riscos lhes estão associados, pelo que estas empresas deparam-se com mais dificuldades no momento de acesso aos recursos financeiros que pretendem. Desta forma, a presente dissertação analisa as tendências de financiamento das Start-Up tendo como motivação o facto desta temática ainda não se encontrar devidamente explorada e dado o desconhecimento desta realidade em Portugal. Neste sentido, e aliando a problemática existente com a motivação para a concretização da presente dissertação foram realizados um conjunto de inquéritos os quais foram aliados com o desenvolvimento de modelos empíricos multivariados aplicados aos dados seccionais e em painel. Os resultados alcançados com a investigação empírica permitiram concluir a influência de um conjunto de variáveis bem como justificar a orientação e estrutura de financiamento das Start-Up portuguesas. Das variáveis investigadas de ressalvar a influência significativa da Dimensão da Empresa, Estrutura de Ativos e Forma Legal no financiamento das Start-Up nacionais.

Internationalization strategy: HOLOS Mobile - Angola

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Key success factors of replicated social businesses

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Mozambikes – The challenges of growth

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics