Towards a Unified Virtual Business Incubator Model: A Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis

Virtual business incubators have been highlighted for their positive impacts in fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in several business areas, contributing to sustainable economic growth and social development. However, despite their crucial roles, previous literature emphasizes that research concerning their business models has been largely ignored, and several important issues are still unaddressed. This article aims to contribute to filling this gap and advancing this field by providing the first bibliometric and systematic literature review, as far as the authors know, concerning virtual business incubator models. The main results reveal the following: that academic production is relatively new, fragmented, and develops under a diversity of research paths; the analyzed models (n = 12) have only some dimensions in common and are proposed based on three different perspectives (business organization and management, information and communication systems, and user experience); there is not a virtual business incubator model more suitable to support digital businesses or startups creation. Based on the results, it is argued that there is a need to further develop a model towards a unified virtual business incubator by actively involving different stakeholders during its design. This research can help managers, academics, and other professionals interested in running virtual business incubator programs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comfortable but Not Brilliant: Exploring the Incubation Experience of Founders of Technology-Based Startups

Business incubators have been highlighted as vital contributors and value-creation organizations to entrepreneurs during their venture developments by offering them multiple resources and specialized support. Notwithstanding, several authors call attention to the significant literature gap concerning research focusing on entrepreneurs’ daily lived incubation experiences to understand their perspectives on incubators. This study aims to explore which aspects are perceived as creating value or limiting the venture development of 16 founders of technology-based startups by interviewing them. Ultimately, it contributes valuable insights about incubation factors that enhance or hinder their overall incubation experience. It suggests that entrepreneurs consider intangible resources and social and relational aspects as the most enriching dimensions of their incubation experiences and concludes with the services they consider to be more important. Moreover, it also reveals negative aspects of the incubation experience, mostly related to the nonregular periodicity of mentoring sessions, training events provided by external entities, and issues while using services provided by external incubators’ partners. Several recommendations for enhancing the incubation experience, managerial implications, and opportunities for further research are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Architecture of a maturity model for information systems in higher education institutions: multiple case study for dimensions identification

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are complex and dynamic organizations in terms of information management, forcing their information systems to respond to enormous challenges and threats. In order to evaluate the HEIs’ information systems, we propose the development of a maturity model capable of supporting the role of HEI’s managers, as well as accreditation agencies, in the assessment of the maturity of these systems, thus, promoting continuous improvement. In this paper, we present and discuss our proposal for an architecture of the maturity model being developed. This one is based on a two-dimensional architecture composed of vertical and horizontal dimensions. We selected a multi-case study approach, based on five Portuguese HEIs, and reviewed the literature to identify the dimensions. This case study was supported by interviews with experts from the selected HEI. The results of this research work were both encouraging and promising amongst the interviewed experts, revealing a high level of acceptance of the general model architecture, as well as positive expectations about its usefulness in the future. The development of our maturity model is carried out by following a formal methodology specially designed to support the construction of this type of model.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Maturity models in the hospital information systems management initial research

Os modelos de maturidade são instrumentos facilitadores da gestão das organizações, incluindo a gestão da sua função sistemas de informação, não sendo exceção as organizações hospitalares. Neste artigo apresenta-se uma investigação inicial que visa o desenvolvimento de um abrangente modelo de maturidade para a gestão dos sistemas de informação hospitalares. O desenvolvimento deste modelo justifica-se porque os modelos de maturidade atuais no domínio da gestão dos sistemas informação hospitalares ainda se encontram numa fase embrionária de desenvolvimento, sobretudo porque são pouco detalhados, não disponibilizam ferramentas para determinação da maturidade e não apresentam as características dos estágios de maturidade estruturadas por diferentes fatores de influência

Celastrol efficacy by oral administration in the adjuvant-induced arthritis model

Copyright © 2020 Cascão, Vidal, Carvalho, Lopes, Romão, Goncalves, Moita and Fonseca. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Background: We previously demonstrated that celastrol has significant anti-inflammatory and bone protective effects when administered via the intraperitoneal route. For further preclinical evaluation, an effective oral administration of celastrol is crucial. Here we aimed to study the therapeutic dose range for its oral administration. Methods: Celastrol (1-25 μg/g/day, N = 5/group) was administrated orally to female adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rats after 8 days of disease induction for a period of 14 days. A group of healthy (N = 8) and arthritic (N = 15) gender- and age-matched Wistar rats was used as controls. During the treatment period, the inflammatory score, ankle perimeter, and body weight were measured. At the end of the treatment, the animals were sacrificed, blood was collected for clinical pathology, necropsy was performed with collection of internal organs for histopathological analysis, and paw samples were used for disease scoring. Results: Doses higher than 2.5 μg/g/day of celastrol reduced the inflammatory score and ankle swelling, preserved joint structure, halted bone destruction, and diminished the number of synovial CD68+ macrophages. Bone resorption and turnover were also reduced at 5 and 7.5 μg/g/day doses. However, the dose of 7.5 μg/g/day was associated with thymic and liver lesions, and higher doses showed severe toxicity. Conclusion: Oral administration of celastrol above 2.5 μg/g/day ameliorates arthritis. This data supports and gives relevant information for the development of a preclinical test of celastrol in the setting of a chronic model of arthritis since rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Collection and organization of information within the scope of a curricular internship

A ligação do Ensino Superior com o mercado de trabalho é algo muito importante e progressivamente mais reconhecido pela academia e pelo mundo do trabalho, mostrando-se fundamental um diálogo cada vez mais regular entre ambos, para que possa haver um alinhamento de atuação e vantagens para ambas as partes. Na presente investigação pretende-se demonstrar como uma licenciatura portuguesa da área da Ciência da Informação atribuindo papel de destaque aos estudantes, como motores das suas aprendizagens, enquanto os professores passaram a ser mediadores do conhecimento, integrando no seu plano de estudos uma unidade curricular obrigatória de Estágio, devendo os seus estudantes finalistas de 3.º ano desenvolverem um estágio numa instituição, durante um período de 192 horas. O processo de orientação conta com um orientador da instituição (e coorientador, caso necessário) bem como com o tutor da instituição acolhedora de estágio, os quais fixam um plano de atuação, o qual envolve conhecimentos e a aplicação de competências desenvolvidas na parte curricular da licenciatura. Para além da introdução, esta investigação integra a revisão da literatura onde é apresentada uma perspetiva geral do problema abordado, com base na literatura publicada sobre a área em estudo, tendo como tópicos a Ciência da Informação, Gestão da Informação, Gestão do Conhecimento, Relação da Gestão da Informação com a Gestão do Conhecimento, Bases de Dados, Sistemas de Gestão de Bases de Dados e Modelação de dados. No capítulo relativo à metodologia é feita uma descrição detalhada de todas as atividades desenvolvidas durante a realização do estágio e o capítulo relativo aos resultados apresenta os artefactos produzidos, encerrando-se o trabalho com a respetiva conclusão.The connection between higher education and the job market is something of great importance and increasingly recognized by academia and the world of work. It is crucial to have a more regular dialogue between both in order to achieve alignment of actions and benefits for both parties. In this research, we aim to demonstrate how a Portuguese bachelor’s degree in information science assigns a prominent role to students as drivers of their own learning, while teachers become knowledge mediators. As part of their curriculum, students in their final year are required to undertake an internship in an institution for a period of 192 hours. The orientation process involves an advisor from the institution (and a co-advisor if necessary), as well as a mentor from the hosting institution, who together establish an action plan that involves the application of knowledge and skills acquired during the academic part of the degree. In addition to the introduction, this research includes a literature review that provides a general overview of the problem being addressed, based on published literature in the field of study. The topics covered include Information Science, Information Management, Knowledge Management, the Relationship between Information Management and Knowledge Management, Databases, Database Management Systems, and Data Modeling. The methodology chapter provides a detailed description of all activities carried out during the internship, while the results chapter presents the produced artifacts. The research concludes with a corresponding conclusion.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Subacute Cognitive Impairment in Individuals With Mild and Moderate COVID-19: A Case Series

Background: Previous reported neurologic sequelae associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection have mainly been confined to hospital-based patients in which viral detection was restricted to nasal/throat swabs or to IgM/IgG peripheral blood serology. Here we describe seven cases from Brazil of outpatients with previous mild or moderate COVID-19 who developed subacute cognitive disturbances. Methods: From June 1 to August 15, 2020, seven individuals 18 to 60 years old, with confirmed mild/moderate COVID-19 and findings consistent with encephalopathy who were observed >7 days after respiratory symptom initiation, were screened for cognitive dysfunction. Paired sera and CSF were tested for SARS-CoV-2 (IgA, IgG ELISA, and RT-PCR). Serum and intrathecal antibody dynamics were evaluated with oligoclonal bands and IgG index. Cognitive dysfunction was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the Clock Drawing Test (CDT). Results: All but one of our patients were female, and the mean age was 42.6 years. Neurologic symptoms were first reported a median of 16 days (IQR 15–33) after initial COVID-19 symptoms. All patients had headache and altered behavior. Cognitive dysfunction was observed mainly in phonemic verbal fluency (MoCA) with a median of six words/min (IQR 5.25–10.75) and altered visuospatial construction with a median of four points (IQR 4–9) (CDT). CSF pleocytosis was not detected, and only one patient was positive for SARS-Co Conclusions: A subacute cognitive syndrome suggestive of SARS-CoV-2-initiated damage to cortico-subcortical associative pathways that could not be attributed solely to inflammation and hypoxia was present in seven individuals with mild/moderate COVID-19

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good