International Tourism and Economic Growth: a Panel Data Approach

On average, tourism-specialized countries grow more than others. This fact is inconsistent with economic theory as, in particular, endogenous growth theory suggests that economic growth is linked with: (1) sectors with high intensity in R&D and thus high productivity; (2) large scale. In this paper, we use panel data methods to go further in treating the endogeneity problem. In general and contrary to previous works, we conclude that tourism, on its own, cannot explain the higher growth rates of these countries.Tourism, Economic growth, Panel data

Relação entre os défices cognitivos e a qualidade de vida em indivíduos com a doença de Parkinson

Projeto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciado em FisioterapiaA Doença de Parkinson é uma doença neurodegenerativa muito comum, caracterizada por tremor em repouso, bradicinesia e rigidez muscular. O objectivo deste estudo é relacionar de que forma os défices cognitivos influenciam a qualidade de vida dos indivíduos portadores de Doença de Parkinson Idiopática. Neste estudo participaram 20 indivíduos portadores de Doença de Parkinson Idiopática, tendo-lhes sido aplicado três escalas: o Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), o Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) e a Modified Hoehn and Yahr Staging Scale. Os indivíduos com défices cognitivos apresentaram scores mais elevados no PDQ-39 do que os indivíduos sem comprometimento cognitivo. As dimensões mais associadas ao comprometimento cognitivo foram a mobilidade, as actividades de vida diária, as emoções, o estigma, a comunicação e o score final do PDQ-39. Por fim, concluiu-se que o impacto da Doença de Parkinson na qualidade de vida é superior nos indivíduos com défices cognitivos, comparativamente aos indivíduos sem comprometimento cognitivo. Parkinson's Disease is a very common neurodegenerative disease characterized by resting tremor, bradykinesia and muscle rigidity. The aim of this study is to relate how the cognitive impairments influence the quality of life of individuals with Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease. This study has involved 20 individuals with idiopathic Parkinson's disease, having been applied to them three scales: the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) and Modified Hoehn and Yahr Staging Scale. Individuals with cognitive impairments showed higher scores on the PDQ-39 than individuals without cognitive impairment. The dimensions most associated with cognitive impairment were mobility, activities of daily living, emotions, stigma, communication and final score of the PDQ-39. Finally, it was found that the impact of Parkinson's Disease in life quality is higher in subjects with cognitive impairments compared to individuals without cognitive impairment

Store-and-forward CDC packet transmission in digital systems

Data transmission across clock domains is a major point of interest by ASIC designers as a limited bandwidth can be responsible for a processing power bottleneck that affects the entire system. Clock domain crossing is inherently expensive in terms of area and latency as it requires overcoming issues related to the physical nature of integrated circuit latches, in particular metastability. These issues are dangerous as they do not manifest in RTL simulation. Due to this, designers often opt for generic data synchronisation solutions that are not fully suited to the nature of the data being transferred.This dissertation presents a clock domain crossing mechanism that allows two clock domains to share a common memory to transfer packet-based data. The mechanism consists in a memory controller that coordinates commands from a push (write) domain and a pop (read) domain.The main objective of the memory controller project consists in the implementation of efficient synchronisation methods in order to eliminate the need for separate synchronisation and storage memories. In essence, the controller is an extension of an asynchronous FIFO controller with added functionality, supporting multiple virtual FIFOs and variable length data packets

Design and evaluation of a smart library using the APEX framework

User experience is a key point for successful ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) environments. The envisaged design should be explored as soon as possible to anticipate potential user problems, thus reducing re-design costs. The development of ubicomp environments' prototypes might help, providing feedback on the users' reaction to the environments. This paper describes the design and evaluation of ubicomp environments using APEX, a rapid prototyping framework providing user experience via a 3D application server and connected physical devices. APEX prototypes allow users to explore and experience many characteristics of a proposed design, in a virtual world. The paper focus in particular the design and evaluation of a smart library in the APEX framework.(undefined

Avaliação de ambientes ubíquos na plataforma APEX

Este artigo descreve a avaliação de um ambiente ubíquo utilizando a APEX, uma plataforma de prototipagem rápida de ambientes ubíquos que permite que os utilizadores naveguem num mundo virtual, podendo experimentar muitas das funcionalidades da solução e do design proposto.Este trabalho é financiado por Fundos FEDER através do Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade – COMPETE e por Fundos Nacionais através da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia no âmbito do projecto FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-015095

Reduced Frequency of Knowledge of Results Enhances Learning in Persons with Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder, known to cause a large number of motor and non-motor limitations. Research related to factors that affect motor control and learning in people with PD is still relatively limited. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of different frequencies (100 versus 66%) of knowledge of results (KR) on the learning of a motor skill with spatial demands in participants with PD. Twenty individuals with PD were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The 100% group received KR after each trial, while the 66% group received KR on two thirds of the trials. A linear positioning task with a spatial target was used. Participants carried out the task with the dominant hand while blindfolded. In the acquisition and retention phases, the goal was to position the cursor at a distance of 60 cm from the starting point. The hypothesis was that participants with PD, who practiced with a reduced KR frequency, would demonstrate more effective learning than those who practiced with a 100% KR frequency, similar to previous findings with adults without neurological disorders. The results showed differences between the groups in the retention phase (without KR): The 66% KR group was more accurate and less variable in their performance than the 100% KR group. Thus, reducing KR frequency can enhance motor learning in persons with PD, similar to what has previously been found for unimpaired participants

Desenvolvimento de Jogos Educativos na plataforma APEX : O Jogo da Asma

National audienceA plataforma APEX foi desenvolvida para a prototipagem de ambientes de computação ubíqua. Neste artigo exploramos a sua aplicabilidade ao desenvolvimento de Jogos Sérios. Ou seja, jogos que para além de uma componente lúdica, possuem uma componente instrutiva e formativa. Em concreto, descrevemos o Jogo da Asma. Um jogo que pretende chamar a atenção das crianças para os factores causadores de ataques de asma, bem como transmitir conhecimento sobre como os evitar. Para além de se descrever o jogo, descrevem-se os resultados de um estudo em que se procurou avaliar quer a viabilidade da utilização da plataforma na criação de jogos sérios, quer a usabilidade do próprio jogo

Rapid development of first person serious games using the APEX platform: the asthma game

Serious games combine a ludic component with instructive and formative goals. They aim to educate and train through play. This paper explores the use of a development framework for dynamic virtual environments to develop serious games. The framework (APEX) was originally developed to prototype ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) environments. Here it is used to develop a first person serious game: the Asthma Game. This game aims to teach children with asthma how to act to prevent attacks by drawing attention to asthma triggers in the home, and by providing information about how to avoid them. Besides the description of the game, results about the viability and utility of the approach are also discussed.This work is funded by ERDF - European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE Programme (operational programme for competitiveness) and by National Funds through the FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) within project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-015095. Tiago Gomes and Tiago Abade are funded by grants with references BI2-2013 PTDC/EIA-EIA/116069/2009 UMINHO and BI1-2013 PTDC/EIA-EIA/116069/2009 UMINHO, respectively. The authors also thank the Taipas Group of Schools, and in particular Julia Correia and her students, for their collaboration in the user study