Human Rights, Persons with Disabilities, ICF and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - Training Toolkit

No abstract available

Educação matemática crítica na escola

Este artigo fundamenta e discute o campo de possibilidades de integração da educação matemática crítica (no sentido de Ole Skovsmose) na aula de matemática estabelecendo um quadro que desafia o professor a reflectir sobre as potencialidades e os constrangimentos que a escola coloca

Tailoring PMI and OGC frameworks for IT project portfolio management

Tese de Doutoramento - Programa Doutoral em Tecnologias e Sistemas de InformaçãoPrivate non-profit organizations that are dedicated to developing research and development (R&D) projects with the University, through a context of interface between Universities and companies, are currently recognized in Portugal as Technological Interface Centres. These organizations develop applied research projects between TRL 4 and 8 for companies in close collaboration with the research units of the Universities. As with any organization with no budget coming from the state, its main strategy is to efficiently and effectively manage the project portfolio to ensure control of execution costs as well as the expected quality of projects delivered to customers and partners. The currently available project portfolio management frameworks are not sufficiently clear as to how processes or practices suggested to practitioners should effectively be applied. In the specific field of Information Technology (IT), there is at least one framework for supporting portfolios management, but the level of detail in the adoption of the practices is (insufficiently) generic. This thesis intends to configure an IT project portfolios management framework, based on the coordinated (extended subsets) adaptation of the two main frameworks currently in the area: PMI and OGC. This configuration required the alignment between PMI and OGC frameworks, through a map of dependencies between processes, as well as the mapping between artefacts and processes. As a case study to test this framework, a Portuguese organization was chosen, formally recognized as a Technological Interface Centre, where two portfolios of IT projects in R&D contexts were characterized and analysed in light of the framework's techniques.As organizações privadas sem fins lucrativos que se dedicam a desenvolver projetos de investigação e desenvolvimento junto das Universidades, através de um contexto de interface entre Universidades e empresas, são atualmente reconhecidas em Portugal, como Centros de Interface Tecnológicos. Estas organizações desenvolvem projetos de investigação aplicada entre TRL 4 e 8 para as empresas, em colaboração estreita com as Unidades de Investigação das Universidades. Como em qualquer organização, sem orçamento proveniente do Estado, a sua estratégia principal é gerir com eficiência e eficácia o portfólio de projetos, de modo a garantir o controlo dos custos de execução, bem como a expetativa de qualidade dos projetos entregues aos clientes e parceiros. As frameworks de gestão de portfólio de projetos atualmente disponíveis não são suficientemente claras em relação à forma como processos ou práticas sugeridas aos profissionais devem efetivamente ser aplicados. No domínio específico das Tecnologias da Informação (TI) existe, pelo menos, uma framework de suporte à gestão de portfólios, mas o nível de detalhe na adoção das práticas é (insuficientemente) genérico. Com esta tese pretende-se configurar uma framework de gestão de portfólios de projetos de TI, a partir da adaptação coordenada (extended subsets) das duas principais frameworks atualmente existentes na área: a do PMI e a do OGC. A referida configuração exigiu o alinhamento entre frameworks do PMI e OGC através dum mapa de dependências entre processos, bem como o mapeamento entre artefactos e processos. Como estudo de caso para experimentar a referida framework, foi selecionada uma organização portuguesa, formalmente reconhecida como Centro de Interface Tecnológico, onde dois portfólios de projetos de TI em contextos de I&D foram caracterizados e analisados à luz das técnicas da referida framework.Este trabalho foi desenvolvido com o apoio financeiro da Associação CCG/ZGDV – Centro de Computação Gráfica

Lost customers: determinants and process of relationship dissolution

Relationship dynamics and relationship ending have received increased attention by marketing researchers over the last years. The success of businesses depends not only on the acquisition and retention of customers, but also on avoiding their defection. Furthermore, there is a lack of research in the services literature focusing on the decline and ending of customer relationships. By knowing more about the nature, elements, stages and factors involved in the dissolution process it will be easier to prevent churn or regain lost customers. This research presents a literature review about what contributes to and influences this process (switching determinants) suggesting the most and less relevant determinants, according to ample and updated research. This review also provides some preliminary ideas about the process of relationship dissolution that is proposed on the end of the paper

Customer relationship reactivation in the telecommunications sector

Overall there has been a scarce focus on why customers come back after the relationship ended, when customer regain and win-back are an important part of a customer relationship management strategy. Determinants of customer relationship reactivation are addressed. A theoretical framework is proposed based on ending literature and equity theory. A case study, of a telecommunications company delivering a mix of goods and services, is described in order to illustrate the value of the framework. It includes interviews in the marketing and customer service departments and with customers. Telecommunications explore reactivation possibilities mostly on the relationship’s rupture phase and with a retention focus. The most relevant reactivation determinants are considered to be customer characteristics (as age, involvement and variety seeking), cognitive factors (as offer’s value, procedures and satisfaction), reasons to switch and alternatives. The contribution of this empirical study is to advance knowledge about antecedents (as inertia, emotional factors and relationship characteristics) of successful reactivation

Open educational resources : higher education students’ knowledge and use

Information and communication technologies represent one of the main innovation factors within the teaching and learning process, especially in Higher Education. In this context, the search for building useful and grounded knowledge using strategies which meet students’ needs and interests requires the use of innovative resources, among which we highlight digital educational resources, particularly open educational resources (OER). The open educational resources issue has deserved the attention of teachers, students and institutions. Considering the present situation as well as the importance given to OER and to the role these may play in supporting learning, the aims of this paper are as follows: assess the digital educational resources features most valued by higher education students; verify the extent to which students’ IT knowledge influences their assessment of digital educational resources; identify the knowledge that higher education students have of OER; assess the knowledge that higher education students have of open educational resources platforms. In order to achieve the proposed aims, we focus our attention on open educational resources, starting by assessing digital educational resources’ features as well as the connection between students’ IT knowledge and that same assessment. We also assess the knowledge that higher education students have of OER as well as of their corresponding platforms. The data was obtained through a questionnaire conducted within a sample of 315 students at a Portuguese higher education institution. Among the results obtained, we highlight that the most valued features of digital educational resources are: free access; any time access; allows reuse; and free and open. The results show that there is a positive, low, or very low correlation between students’ IT knowledge and the features associated with digital educational resources. In addition to this, the results show an almost inexistent knowledge of the OER concept and of their uses as well as of the existing OER platforms. The data indicates that there is still a long way to go so that OER may be part of the resources used by students to improve their learning.CIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, UM (FCT R&D 317

Why do customer relationships come to an end?

The phenomenon of relationship ending has received, recently, an increased attention of marketing researchers, but is still in its initial stage. Marketing managers know that success depends not only on acquiring and maintaining customers, but also on reducing their defection rate. By knowing more about nature, elements, stages and factors involved in this process, it will be easier to predict customer defection at an early stage and to regain lost customers. This is a theoretical paper that presents and discusses a literature search carried out in order to find and analyse empirical studies that propose factors, reasons, antecedents, or others, that influence ending in consumer services. A categorization is presented with three types of reasons connected with ending processes

Human Rights, Persons with Disabilities, ICF and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - Training Toolkit

No abstract available

Third generation biohydrogen pProduction by Clostridium butyricum and adapted mixed cultures from Scenedesmus obliquus microalga biomass

Scenedesmus obliquus biomass was used as a feedstock for comparing the biological production of hydrogen by two different types of anaerobic cultures: a heat-treated mixed culture from a wastewater treatment plant and Clostridium butyricum DSM 10702. The influence of the incubation temperature and the carbon source composition were evaluated in order to select the best production profile according to the characteristics of the microalgal biomass. C. butyricum showed a clear preference for monomeric sugars and starch, the latter being the major storage compound in microalgae. The highest H2 production reached by this strain from starch was 468 mL/g, whereas the mixed culture incubated at 37 C (LE37) produced 241 mL/g. When the mixed culture was incubated at 58 C (LE58), a significant increase in the H2 production occurred when xylose and xylan were used as carbon and energy source. The highest H2 yield reached by the LE37 culture or in co-culture with C. butyricum was 1.52 and 2.01 mol/mol of glucose equivalents, respectively. However, the ratio H2/CO2 (v/v) of the biogas produced in both cases was always lower than the one produced by the pure strain. In kinetic assays, C. butyricum attained 153.9 mL H2/L h from S. obliquus biomass within the first 24 h of incubation, with a H2 yield of 2.74 mol/mol of glucose equivalents. H2 production was accompanied mainly by acetate and butyrate as coproducts. In summary, C. butyricum demonstrated a clear supremacy for third generation bioH2 production from S. obliquus biomass