Responsabilidade social das empresas no Algarve

Dissertação de mest., Gestão Empresarial, Faculdade de Economia, Univ. do Algarve, 2011A responsabilidade social das empresas é um tema em destaque nos dias de hoje, devido a existir um crescente interesse da sociedade relativamente a este tema e uma expectativa cada vez maior em relação ao contributo das empresas para a sociedade onde estão inseridas. O mundo está em constantes mudanças e, se uma empresa não acompanhar a evolução decorrente destas mudanças, corre o risco de ser excluída pelos consumidores, pois estes, cada vez mais, exigem parâmetros de qualidade, aos quais adicionam parâmetros de sustentabilidade. A responsabilidade social de uma empresa avalia-se pelas suas práticas para a sustentabilidade, quer a nível socioeconómico, quer cultural e ambiental. O conceito de lucro a todo o custo tem vindo progressivamente a ser substituído pelo de lucro responsável. A dimensão interna da responsabilidade social tem como principal alvo os trabalhadores e diz respeito às boas práticas relacionadas com o trabalho. A dimensão externa direcciona-se sobretudo em benefício da comunidade. A preservação ambiental constitui igualmente outra preocupação das empresas socialmente responsáveis. A presente dissertação teve como principal objectivo conhecer a percepção dos gestores das empresas algarvias relativamente às práticas de responsabilidade social das empresas onde exercem a sua actividade. O trabalho teve início com uma revisão à literatura que possibilitou o estudo dos conceitos mais importantes relacionados com a temática da responsabilidade social empresarial. Seguiu-se um estudo empírico que consistiu na implementação de um inquérito por questionário a alguns gestores de empresas implantadas na região do Algarve. Os resultados obtidos permitem concluir que os gestores inquiridos têm a percepção de que as empresas algarvias estão cada vez mais sensibilizadas para a adopção de práticas de responsabilidade social, sobretudo ao nível da dimensão interna ou seja práticas de responsabilidade social dirigidas fundamentalmente aos seus colaboradores

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

The corporate social responsibility in the Algarve

Corporate social responsibility is a major topic of our days, because there is a growing interest in society in this issue and a growing expectation that companies contribute to the society where they are located. The world is constantly changing and if a company does not keep up with the developments arising from these changes, it runs the risk of being excluded by consumers as they increasingly seek quality parameters, to which they have added sustainability. Corporate social responsibility can be checked by business practices for sustainability, from a socio-economic point of view, as well as culturally and environmentally. The concept of profit at all cost is gradually being replaced by the concept of responsible profit. This study's main objective is to research the perception of managers about the practice of corporate social responsibility in the Algarve companies where they work. The study began with a literature review that allowed the study of the most important concepts related to the subject of corporate social responsibility. This was followed by an empirical study that involved the administration of a survey to some company managers based in the Algarve region. For data statistical analysis, we used univariate and multivariate techniques. The results showed that managers who participated in the study have the perception that companies in the Algarve are increasingly aware of the need to adopt internal corporate social responsibility practices, that is, socially responsible practices primarily directed at their employees.A Responsabilidade Social das Empresas é um tema em destaque nos nossos dias devido ao crescente interesse da sociedade relativamente a este tema e a uma expectativa cada vez maior em relação ao contributo das empresas para a sociedade onde estão inseridas. O mundo está em constantes mudanças e, se as empresas não acompanham a evolução decorrente destas mudanças, correm o risco de ser excluídas pelos consumidores, pois estes, cada vez mais, exigem parâmetros de qualidade, aos quais adicionam parâmetros de sustentabilidade. A responsabilidade social de uma empresa avalia-se pelas suas práticas para a sustentabilidade, quer a nível socioeconómico, quer cultural e ambiental. O conceito de lucro a todo o custo tem vindo progressivamente a ser substituído pelo de lucro responsável. O presente estudo tem como principal objectivo conhecer a percepção dos gestores das empresas algarvias relativamente às práticas de RSE nas empresas onde exercem a sua actividade. Num primeiro momento apresenta-se uma síntese dos conceitos mais importantes relacionados com a temática da responsabilidade social empresarial, seguindo-se os principais resultados de um estudo empírico que consistiu na implementação de um inquérito por questionário a alguns gestores de empresas algarvias. Para o tratamento dos dados recorreu-se a técnicas de análise univariada e multivariada. Os resultados obtidos permitem concluir que os gestores inquiridos têm a percepção de que as empresas algarvias estão cada vez mais sensibilizadas para a adopção de práticas de responsabilidade social, sobretudo ao nível da dimensão interna ou seja práticas de responsabilidade social dirigidas fundamentalmente aos seus colaboradores

Innovative moments in recovered cases treated with the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders

Objective Innovative moments (IMs) are moments in which the previous problematic pattern of meaning is challenged. Studies have shown that IMs are associated with good psychotherapy outcomes. A three-level hierarchy of IMs was observed in recent studies, with level 1 IMs being more elementary and levels 2 and 3 being more complex and associated with treatment success. However, studies with manualized protocol treatments are thus far lacking. This study analyzed the longitudinal progression of IMs in the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) and explored its associations with changes in psychological distress. Methods Data were collected from a Portuguese university-based outpatient clinic and included 18 cases with positive outcomes. Nine sessions of each case were coded with the IM coding system (N=162). Results Multilevel analyses showed a significant increase in all IM levels across treatments. The decrease in psychological distress predicted an increase in level 2 IMs in the same session. Conclusion The evolution of IMs is similar to what was found previously in other studies. Contrary to what was found in previous studies, IMs did not predict outcomes in the following session, whereas the reduction in psychological distress predicted the emergence of level 2 IMs.This work was supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia: [Grant Number UID/PSI/01662/2019].This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (PSI/01662), School of Psychology, University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (UID/PSI/01662/2019), through national funds (PIDDAC). Dr. Batista, Dr. Braga and Dr. Oliveira were also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technol ogy and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Tech nology and Higher Education, through national funds, within the scope of the Transitory Disposition of Decree No. 57/2016, of 29 August, amended by Law No. 57/2017 of 19 July

Unraveling the genetic background of individuals with a clinical familial hypercholesterolemia phenotype

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a common genetic disorder of lipid metabolism caused by pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in LDLR, APOB, and PCSK9 genes. Variants in FH-phenocopy genes (LDLRAP1, APOE, LIPA, ABCG5, and ABCG8), polygenic hypercholesterolemia, and hyperlipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] can also mimic a clinical FH phenotype. We aim to present a new diagnostic tool to unravel the genetic background of clinical FH phenotype. Biochemical and genetic study was performed in 1,005 individuals with clinical diagnosis of FH, referred to the Portuguese FH Study. A next-generation sequencing panel, covering eight genes and eight SNPs to determine LDL-C polygenic risk score and LPA genetic score, was validated, and used in this study. FH was genetically confirmed in 417 index cases: 408 heterozygotes and 9 homozygotes. Cascade screening increased the identification to 1,000 FH individuals, including 11 homozygotes. FH-negative individuals (phenotype positive and genotype negative) have Lp(a) >50 mg/dl (30%), high polygenic risk score (16%), other monogenic lipid metabolism disorders (1%), and heterozygous pathogenic variants in FH-phenocopy genes (2%). Heterozygous variants of uncertain significance were identified in primary genes (12%) and phenocopy genes (7%). Overall, 42% of our cohort was genetically confirmed with FH. In the remaining individuals, other causes for high LDL-C were identified in 68%. Hyper-Lp(a) or polygenic hypercholesterolemia may be the cause of the clinical FH phenotype in almost half of FH-negative individuals. A small part has pathogenic variants in ABCG5/ABCG8 in heterozygosity that can cause hypercholesterolemia and should be further investigated. This extended next-generation sequencing panel identifies individuals with FH and FH-phenocopies, allowing to personalize each person’s treatment according to the affected pathway

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved