The Need to Develop a Corporate Culture of Innovation in a Globalization Context

In recent years, the globalization of markets combined with the Industry 4.0 revolution has brought increasing competition among enterprises. Nowadays, organizational success is measured by leadership in the market share, revenue growth, level of competitiveness supported by customer satisfaction, and innovation capacity. Therefore, companies need to develop new products and/or services faster and better than their competitors to stay “alive.” In order to respond quickly to market needs, enterprises should operate more efficiently reducing and/or eliminating activities that make up the actual processes that do not add value but also they need to develop a “healthy” cultural environment within the organization that allows the implementation of new ways of work. In this context, the innovation capacity assumes a decisive importance in the level of competitiveness of an organization, and the entrepreneur plays an important role in launching new business. Based on this perspective, the innovation processes within an organization are obtained through entrepreneurial initiatives that have their origin in the existence of an organizational culture that promotes an entrepreneurial behavior

Business Incubator and Economic Development

This chapter aims to (i) understand the functioning and importance of incubators in supporting the creation of new business and local economic development, as they help locally engage young entrepreneurs and thus retain expertise, for example, in regions farthest from large urban centers, (ii) realize the importance of incubators and science parks in the development of start-ups, (iii) understand the role of education in promoting entrepreneurship, and (iv) understand the competitive environment as it becomes more complex and dynamic, as there are opportunities to serve customers who are dissatisfied; thus the threats that large companies experience offer small business opportunities

A Fuzzy Logic Model to Enhance Quality Management on R&D Units

Nowadays, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), are becoming even more competitive, with the public ones, facing at the same time a greater restriction on public funding. Therefore, HEIs, have to be more effective and more efficient as well, on pursuing their own goals, which includes Research and Development (R&D) units as well. Such demands can be achieved, by enhancing R&D’s global performance. Therefore, the use of a framework such as European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), can bring value to an organization with the characteristics of a R&D unit. This work presents a new integrated method based on EFQM model, by using Fuzzy Logic, to enhance the organizations’ overall performance. The applicability of the proposed approach is demonstrated by a case study in a R&D unit, where an initial performance evaluation takes place, by using RADAR’s Logic approach. The proposed method, based on Fuzzy Logic, is then applied, followed by the identification of the strength points as well as the improvement areas, according to the EFQM framework. Then, the improvement actions with high priority are determined, followed by the correspondent action measures. Keywords: Quality management, Fuzzy logic, EFQ

A soft computing framework to support consumers in obtaining sustainable appliances from the market

Currently, sustainability is considered a priority by society, with the household appliances being one of the economic sectors involved in achieving sustainability. However, the existence of several issues (e.g., energy and water consumption, reliability, initial cost, and illuminance, among others) together with the diversity of brands and models on the market, make the consumer’s decisions regarding sustainable options difficult, according to their concerns and related to each sustainability dimension (economic, environmental, and social). By combining evolutionary algorithms (EA) with multicriteria techniques, it is possible to achieve sustainable solutions for the consumer based on their requirements. In this paper, a method is presented to support the consumer by obtaining a set of sustainable household appliances on the market that suit their preferences, concerns, and needs. By using a case study to apply the approach developed here, a set of sustainable appliances from the market is obtained, where several benefits are achieved (e.g., energy and water consumption savings, avoidance of CO2 emissions) during the lifecycle of each appliance, chosen from the appliance’s industry.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sistema de Orientação para o Interior de Edifícios -Solução Visual de Localização

Neste artigo apresentamos um sistema para computação móvel em cenários interiores, baseado em PDA, que consegue resolver com técnicas de visão por computador, a localização do utilizador e possibilita a sua orientação dentro de um edifício através de marcas dispostas em locais estratégicos, previamente identificados. As marcas, capturadas com a câmara de vídeo integrada no PDA, são conhecidas pelo sistema, que tendo identificado o local, faz aparecer no ecrã uma seta virtual com a direcção do caminho que se deve seguir, para chegar da forma mais rápida ao destino inicialmente seleccionado. É utilizada a biblioteca de Realidade Aumentada 'ARToolkit' adaptada à plataforma PocketPC, para as operações de reconhecimento de marcas e cálculo da pose da câmara real relativamente à marca. Para o desenho 3D é usada a biblioteca opensource ‘Klimt’. O sistema é apresentado nos seus componentes principais, com ênfase no algoritmo de descoberta do caminho mais curto de Dijkstra e na disponibilização de Realidade Aumentada em ambiente de computação móvel com escassos recursos computacionais e com reutilização de marcas de visuais.ADETTI, Edifício ISCTE, Av. Das Forças Armadas, 1600-082 Lisbon, Portugal

Management of innovation ecosystems based on six sigma business scorecard

In the present context, companies to be competitive must develop high-performance innovation capabilities that enable them to respond quickly to market needs. However, the lack of tools and methodologies to assess the performance of innovation projects in an integrated way remains an obstacle. The paper begins by discussing the principles of Six Sigma and the Balanced Scorecard for performance evaluation. Next, the advantages of the Six Sigma Business Scorecard are discussed as a tool to support the evaluation of performance in innovation projects. Finally, the advantages of their application in the context of a collaborative ecosystem are discussed. It is illustrated that the BSC ensures that top management pays attention at any time to the specific elements of the Six Sigma implementation that are not working as planned, providing a link between strategy and quality initiatives assuring customers satisfaction in innovation projects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Area Estimation of Deep-Sea Surfaces from Oblique Still Images

Estimating the area of seabed surfaces from pictures or videos is an important problem in seafloor surveys. This task is complex to achieve with moving platforms such as submersibles, towed or remotely operated vehicles (ROV), where the recording camera is typically not static and provides an oblique view of the seafloor. A new method for obtaining seabed surface area estimates is presented here, using the classical set up of two laser devices fixed to the ROV frame projecting two parallel lines over the seabed. By combining lengths measured directly from the image containing the laser lines, the area of seabed surfaces is estimated, as well as the camera’s distance to the seabed, pan and tilt angles. The only parameters required are the distance between the parallel laser lines and the camera’s horizontal and vertical angles of view. The method was validated with a controlled in situ experiment using a deep-sea ROV, yielding an area estimate error of 1.5%. Further applications and generalizations of the method are discussed, with emphasis on deep-sea applications

An annotated checklist of ladybeetle species (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) of Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira Archipelagos

Research ArticleA comprehensive annotated checklist of the ladybeetle species of Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira archipelagos, is presented. The Coccinellidae fauna comprises a total of 101 species: 83 from the Mainland, 39 from Madeira, and 32 from the Azores. The listed species are distributed among 2 sub-families and 13 tribes: within the subfamily Microweiseinae, Madeirodulini (1 species), Serangiini (2 species), and within the subfamily Coccinellinae, Azyini (1 species), Chilocorini (4 species), Coccidulini (7 species), Coccinellini (30 species), Epilachnini (4 species), Hyperaspidini (7 species), Noviini (2 species), Platynaspini (1 species), Scymnini (37 species), Stethorini (3 species), and Sticholotidini (2 species). The Portuguese fauna comprises 10 exotic species: 5 present in the Mainland, 7 in Madeira, and 6 in the Azores. Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) from Madeira, Propylea quatuordecimpunctata (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Azores, Delphastus catalinae (Horn, 1895) from the Azores and Madeira, Nephus (Geminosipho) reunioni (Fürsch, 1974) and Nephus (Nephus) voeltzkowi Weise, 1910 from Madeira and Microserangium sp. from the Mainland, are reported for the first time. Some species are considered doubtful records, as explained in the text. These results were obtained by compiling information on the available literature regarding ladybeetle species on the Portuguese mainland and insular territories, and original datainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Numerical and Experimental Analysis of Vibrations in a Three-Phase Linear Switched Reluctance Actuator

This chapter focuses on the analysis and characterization of the vibrations produced by switched reluctance actuators. The emphasis stands on the linear configuration of this type of machine. The complexity of the mechanical system and the materials is used to define the modal frequencies. Moreover, the power controller topology, the excitation regimes, and the switching frequency used for the actuator operation can excite the natural modes and put restrictions on its usage. The analysis considers both numerical and experimental methodologies. The numerical technique relies on the finite element method (FEM) using the 3D model of the actuator to find its natural frequencies up to ∼1.3 kHz. The experimental characterization counts on the operational modal responses and the acoustic noise emitted. We identify the regions of interest to measure the local accelerations and collect data for post-processing and record the audible noise emitted for signal analysis. The popular discrete Fourier transform and the joint wavelet-Fourier analysis are used for signal analysis. The reliability and the suitability of this approach are verified comparing both the numerical and the experimental outcomes and support the identification of the switching frequencies with high potential to excite the natural modes under the regular operation of the machine and to choose the proper control strategy

SIX SIGMA BUSINESS SCORECARD APPROACH TO SUPPORT MAINTENANCE PROJECTS IN A COLLABORATIVE CONTEXT

According to the traditional perspective the maintenance function is counted as a secondary activity consuming human and financial resources, which is why many companies, use as maintenance strategy for several years, the subcontracting of maintenance services to specialized companies. However, the need to perform maintenance operations on increasingly complex systems requires access to several distinct types of skills that small and medium-sized firms specialized in maintenance services generally do not have. This paper aims to illustrate the role of the Six Sigma Scorecard approach as a management tool for improving quality in service provided in a collaborative context. The article begins by discussing the principles of the Six Sigma and the Balanced Scorecard backgrounds. It is then discussed how the two methodologies can be combined as a management tool of maintenance activities. Finally, it is discussed how this approach can be applied in the assessment of maintenance activities in the context of a collaborative ecosystem