How do banks choose a certain costing system and why

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsThis work project has the purpose of examining how banks choose a certain costing system and why. A survey addressed to all banks operating in Portugal was used to identify which organizational, contextual and cultural factors influence the banks’ decision to adopt a specific costing system. The importance of cost control, cost information and top management support, which are omitted factors from other studies, as well as nationality and cost structure were found to be statistically significant. No association was detected between the decision of adopting a costing system and the factors product diversity/complexity, level of competition, size of the bank and business segment

Experimental and analytical study of concrete structures reinforced with GFRP bars

The rational use of natural, economic and social resources in order to ensure the sustainability and a long-term balance has become one of the largest global concerns. In the civil engineering field, the limited durability of steel reinforced concrete structures, especially in aggressive environments, and the high costs of the repair and maintenance operations have motivated the search for alternative materials and solutions to steel. One of these alternative reinforcements is the glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars due to their immunity to corrosion, which is an important advantage when comparing to steel. However, several factors such as the novelty in the market, the high fabrication costs, the different design philosophies and the uncertainties of its behaviour with the concrete have been delaying the use of the GFRP bars in a larger scale. This thesis aims to contribute to the scientific knowledge of the GFRP reinforced concrete, as it studies its behaviour and design. The research work is mainly experimental and is based on a campaign with 24 full-scale reinforced concrete (RC) beams 4.30 m long and rectangular crosssection of 0.25 x 0.40 m2, divided into two groups with different purposes: - 18 beams to study the performance of different GFRP bar layouts as shear reinforcement; - 6 beams to assess the behaviour of a rehabilitation solution with GFRP bars to replace the deteriorated flexural steel reinforcement. The specimens of the first group were designed to fail due to shear with four different GFRP shear reinforcement solutions: 1) closed hoop GFRP stirrups, 2) two C shaped GFRP bars forming a stirrup, 3) two double headed GFRP bars and 4) two simple straight GFRP bars. Two shear reinforcement ratios with different spacing were also tested with the closed hoop GFRP stirrups. For each GFRP shear reinforcement layout, three different longitudinal stiffnesses were considered using steel and GFRP bars with different ratios. The beam specimens were tested until failure under a four point loading set-up and both the serviceability and the ultimate performance were analysed. The results were reported in terms of deflections, crack pattern, crack width, strains in the longitudinal and shear reinforcements, ultimate load capacity and failure modes. The different shear layouts were compared regarding their load carrying performance and their field implementation easiness. The design of the beams and their result predictions were made according to the existing guidelines and codes. It was concluded that the closed hoop stirrups and the C-stirrups were the most efficient and that the beams load capacity was highly underestimated by the GFRP codes. To improve the design formulas of these codes, different values for the limit strains and for the strut angle were proposed. The double headed bars as shear reinforcement were also efficient in the cases with higher longitudinal stiffness because it contributed to keep the integrity of the beam by exhibiting low deflections and crack widths. It was observed that a wide crack at the end of these bars highly compromises the anchorage function of the head. The solution of the simple straight bars was not effective because of the lack of anchorage length. The idea for the second group of beams was inspired on the RC structures with deteriorated bottom concrete due to the corrosion of the longitudinal steel reinforcement. Actually, no steel corrosion was considered in these specimens, but they were concreted in two phases to simulate the replacement of the deteriorated concrete, starting at the stage after its complete removal. The rehabilitation procedure consisted on the insertion of the longitudinal GFRP bars and the concreting of a new bottom layer in the beam. Two solutions with different GFRP longitudinal cross-section areas were designed according to the existing guidelines, one to restore the ultimate load capacity of the original beam, and the other to maintain the deflection of the original beam. The ends of the GFRP bars were conic heads to compensate their lower anchorage length. The rehabilitated beam specimens were subjected to 3 point bending tests until failure, and their service and ultimate behaviour were analysed. Results are presented in terms of deflection, crack pattern, mid-span crack width, reinforcement strains, ultimate flexural capacity and failure modes. It was concluded that this technique was effective for both the serviceability and ultimate limit states of the rehabilitated beam, as it was able to restore the deflection and the load capacity of the original beam, and that the existing GFRP design documents can be used. Although this was mainly an experimental research work, a simple but reliable two-dimensional finite element (FE) model was defined using ATENA software to simulate the tests, which helped to better understand some issues regarding the specimens behaviour and enabled to extrapolate some results of non-tested possibilities. The linear and nonlinear behaviour of all materials was adequately modelled by appropriate constitutive laws. Furthermore, numerical results were compared with the experimental results. Results show that, in general there was a good agreement between the overall modelling results and the experimental ones. The constructed models were able to predict the experimental behaviour in terms of ultimate capacity and load-deflection curves. Regarding the first group of beams, two additional stirrups spacing were modelled in order to clarify its influence in the shear capacity. It was simulated different longitudinal reinforcement ratios to assess its influence in the shear capacity. As a final remark, the results of the present work show that the use of GFRP bars is viable in RC structures, which contributes to more durable structures in long-term. This material can be used as longitudinal and shear reinforcement of new structures and as a rehabilitation solution to replace the corroded steel in deteriorated structures

Rcl - environmental impact

Since the cruise industry is accountable to pollute the oceans, marine wildlife and port cities, an environmental analysis was conducted of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd (RCL) through “RCL –Environmental Impact”. Cruise ships release very harmful gases which are responsible for damaging the ozone layer, increasing the risk of human diseases and greenhouse gases. The shift to LNG powered vessels started in 2019 with prospects to proliferate to the entire cruise industry fleet in the long-run. The environmental issues are a risk factor that can impact negatively the industry if cruise lines don’t take sustainable measures

The importance of employer branding on the millennials' generation

M12 Personnel Management, M32 Marketing.Num mundo empresarial cada vez mais global e competitivo, as empresas têm de implementar estratégias que lhes tragam valor acrescentado permitindo assim que se posicionem como “empregador de escolha”. No entanto, devido às especificidades da geração que está atualmente no mercado de trabalho, a Geração dos Millennials, esta tarefa torna-se mais difícil pelo que se torna fulcral que as organizações desenvolvam boas estratégias de Employer Branding com o intuito de adquirir e reter talento que lhes traga vantagens competitivas. Este estudo aborda as várias fases do desenvolvimento da Marca do Empregador, assim como as caracteristicas que definem os Millennials e respetivos comportamentos aquando da escolha de novas oportunidades profissionais. Analisámos a realidade de diferentes empresas através de entrevistas ao responsáveis de Employer Branding com o intuito de perceber quais as práticas e estratégias utilizadas nas empresas em Portugal para atrair e reter talento. Relativamente aos Millennials, desenvolvemos um inquérito de forma a perceber de que forma esta geração escolhe um novo emprego, quais as suas reais motivações e principais aspetos valorizados no contexto empresarial. Concluímos que existem diferenças evidentes entre a Geração Y e as suas Gerações passadas, nomeadamente no que concerne ao mercado laboral. Descobrimos ainda que o Employer Branding é cada vez mais um tema que faz parte do quotidiano empresarial e que apesar de ainda estar numa fase embrionária em Portugal, as empresas já lhe dão a devida importância e percebem que esta é uma tendência real que existe quer elas a desenvolvam voluntariamente ou não.In today’s global and competitive business world, organizations need to implement strategies that can give them added value, so they can become “top employers”. However, thinking about the specific characteristics of a new generation in the labour market - the Millennials - this task is increasingly difficult, making it vital for the organizations to develop good strategies of Employer Branding in order to attract and retain talent, giving the organization a competitive advantage. This study addresses the several stages for developing an Employer Brand and also the characteristics that define Millennials and their behaviours when evaluating a new professional opportunity. We have analysed the reality of the business environment in several companies, doing interviews to the managers of Employer Branding Departments in order to understand the main practices and strategies used in Portugal to attract and retain talent. Regarding Millennials, a survey was conducted to understand their decision-making process when evaluating a new professional opportunity and their real motivations and valued aspects in the workplace. The results have proven that there are differences between Generation Y and the previous generations as far as labour market is concerned. It was also proven that Employer Branding is a growing topic on day-to-day business activities - despite it is still is in a very premature stage in Portugal, companies are paying more attention to it and starting to realize that this is a real trend, whether these organizations decide to invest on it voluntarily or not

Zoetis inc. equity research paper:business resilience: organic growth - lessons from the past

The presented report consists of a full and comprehensive analysis of Zoetis Incorporated (ZTS:NYSE), and the animal health industry. This Equity Research was developed as part of the requirements for the Awards of a Master Degree in Finance from NOVASBE. The choice of Zoetis Inc. resulted from curiosity to know how the global animal health leader would be affected by the recent economic events, and consequently what holds for its Livestock unit. Through an exhaustive study, it was possible to develop a complete overview of Zoetis’ and the animal health industry as well as insights on the company’s past financial performance

Digital health and cardiovascular healthcare professionals in Portugal: current status, expectations and barriers to implementation

Introdução e objetivos A saúde digital é um conceito amplo, que junta a tecnologia aos cuidados de saúde, desempenhando um papel cada vez mais importante na prática clínica diária dos profissionais de saúde e promissor na prevenção e tratamento de doenças cardiovasculares. Não existem dados consistentes que avaliem a posição dos profissionais de saúde portugueses em relação à implementação da saúde digital na medicina cardiovascular. Por conseguinte, este estudo nacional transversal visa compreender o panorama geral da implementação da saúde digital na rotina diária dos profissionais de saúde cardiovascular em Portugal e identificar tanto as expectativas como os obstáculos à sua adoção. Métodos Um inquérito de 18 perguntas foi construído para as necessidades específicas deste estudo e distribuído a 1174 potenciais respondedores da mailing list da Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Resultados Foram obtidas 117 respostas válidas (taxa de resposta ao inquérito de 10%). Quase todos os respondedores tinham um smartphone e um computador portátil e dois terços tinham um tablet. Os sistemas eletrónicos de informação médica foram a ferramenta mais utilizada (84% dos inquiridos) e considerada a mais relevante para melhorar os cuidados de saúde cardiovasculares. Mais de 2 em 3 dos inquiridos relataram utilizar tecnologias implantáveis (sensores ou dispositivos), telemedicina e as redes sociais e todas estas ferramentas foram consideradas "muito relevantes" ou "totalmente relevantes" pela maioria. A maior parte dos respondedores demonstrou expectativas positivas relativamente ao impacto da saúde digital na medicina cardiovascular: 78% concordaram que esta pode melhorar os outcomes em saúde, 64% que promove a literacia em saúde e 63% que pode diminuir os custos dos cuidados de saúde. A incapacidade dos pacientes em utilizar smartphones, o acesso limitado a dispositivos eletrónicos e a falta de regulamentação legal da saúde digital foram as barreiras mais cotadas. Conclusão Globalmente, a maioria dos profissionais de saúde cardiovascular em Portugal tinham pelo menos três dispositivos eletrónicos (principalmente smartphones, computadores portáteis e tablet) e mostraram expectativas positivas relativamente ao impacto atual e futuro da saúde digital na medicina cardiovascular. A literacia e a adoção de tecnologia relacionada com a saúde digital pelos pacientes, bem como a falta regulamentação jurídica, foram identificados como os obstáculos mais importantes para aumentar a adoção de ferramentas de saúde digital na medicina cardiovascular.Introduction and objectives: Digital health (DH) is a broad concept, bringing together technology and healthcare, that is playing an increasingly important role in the daily routine of healthcare professionals and promising to contribute to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. There is no solid data evaluating the position of Portuguese healthcare professionals (HCP) towards the implementation of DH in cardiovascular medicine. Therefore, this national cross-sectional study aims to provide a snapshot of DH's implementation in the Portuguese cardiovascular HCP routine and identify both expectations and barriers to its adoption. Methods: An 18-question survey was created for the specific needs of this study and distributed to 1174 potential receivers of the Portuguese Society of Cardiology mailing list. Results: We collected 117 valid responses (survey response rate of 10%). Almost all participants had smartphones and laptops, and two-thirds had tablets. Electronic medical information systems were the most used DH tool (84% of respondents) and were considered the most relevant in improving cardiovascular care. Implantable technologies (sensors or devices), telemedicine and social media were also used by more than 2 out of 3 respondents and considered "very relevant" or "totally relevant" by most of them. Most participants showed positive expectations regarding the impact of DH in cardiovascular medicine: 78% agreed that DH might improve health outcomes, 64% that it promotes health literacy and 63% that it may decrease healthcare costs. The top-rated barriers were patients' inability to use smartphones, limited access to electronic devices, and lack of legal regulation of DH. Conclusion: Most Portuguese cardiovascular HCP had at least three electronic devices (primarily smartphones, laptops and tablets) and showed positive expectations regarding DH's current and future impact on cardiovascular medicine. Patient DH literacy, technology adoption, and DH regulation were identified as the most important blockers to increasing the adoption of DH tools in cardiovascular medicine

Estudo do comportamento de passagens superiores de peões com tabuleiro misto aço-betão

Como resposta às exigências do mundo actual, a projecção e construção de estruturas sofreram grandes alterações, assistindo-se à construção de estruturas cada vez mais esbeltas, integradas no ambiente circundante, transparentes, ousadas. Consequentemente a sua concepção constituí um desafio que é suportado por avanços na arte da engenharia, novos materiais e pela sensibilidade dos projectistas. Neste sentido as passagens superiores de peões não constituem excepção. São construídas desde os tempos remotos porém, hoje, querem-se mais ousadas, esbeltas, transparentes, integradas no ambiente circundante, económicas e eficientes, como forma de responder às exigências do mundo actual. Inicialmente forma de vencer obstáculos naturais, são hoje em dia, um meio para vencer a forte obstáculos inerentes as modificações da rede viária e à forte ocupação do espaço, fruto da crescente urbanização. Estas estruturas têm carregamentos baixos, o que possibilita a construção de vãos longos com esbeltas secções transversais, tornando-se estruturas muito flexíveis, com reduzida massa e rigidez, de que resultam frequências próprias de vibração baixas conduzindo a uma maior sensibilidade às vibrações. Com a construção das novas Vias Rápidas na ilha da Madeira, houve a necessidade de repor acessos pedonais por meio destas pontes. Apesar de existirem várias destas pontes, são essencialmente de dois tipos: de tabuleiro em treliça espacial mista ou tabuleiro do tipo “bi-viga” mista. Assim, no âmbito de um estágio na empresa Estradas da Madeira (RAMEDM, S.A.), procurou-se estudar uma ponte de cada um dos tipos mencionados, com intuito de compreender a acção pedonal, as suas características e formas de simular verificando a eficiência de ambos os modelos, os níveis de conforto que oferecem, e a segurança face aos valores limites apresentados nalguns regulamentos. Construíram-se modelos computacionais usando o programa SAP2000, nos quais se simulou quatro movimentos característicos da acção pedonal (andamento normal, andamento acelerado, jogging e corrida), através das respectivas funções de carga. Por já se encontrar construído, o tabuleiro em treliça mista foi ensaiado, de forma a validar o modelo computacional. Verificou-se que as frequências obtidas no modelo são próximas das reais. Verificou-se que ambos os modelos, apresentam um bom comportamento no que concerne às vibrações na direcção transversal, já que têm frequências de vibração suficientemente afastadas da gama excitável pela acção humana. Quanto às vibrações na direcção vertical, uma vez que ambos os tabuleiros têm frequências fundamentais coincidentes com as frequências de alguns dos movimentos simulados, verificaram-se acelerações acentuadas. O estudo destas estruturas mostrou em traços genéricos, que além das vantagens construtivas, ambos os modelos apresentam bom comportamento à acção pedonal.As an answer to today’s world demands, the projection and construction of structures has suffered great changes, so that we have been watching the build of structures increasingly slim, integrated in the surrounding environment, transparent and bold. Thus their conception constitutes a challenge that is supported by advances in the art of engineering and new materials. In this regard pedestrian bridges are no exception. Built since ancient times to overcome natural obstacles, today they have to be bolder, slender, and transparent, integrated into the surrounding environment, economic and efficient, as a way to respond to the societies requirements. They are a way to overcome obstacles inherent to the strong development of road net and the heavy use of space as the result of the growing urbanization. Their low level of loading allows the construction of long spans with slender cross-sections, reduced mass and stiffness, leading to low vibration frequencies and greater sensitivity to vibrations. With the construction of news expressways in Madeira, it was necessary to restore some pedestrian access through these bridges. Although there are several of these bridges, they have essentially two deck configurations: composite space truss and composite “two-beam”. In the context of a traineeship in the company Estradas da Madeira (RAMEDM, S.A.), it was looked to study a bridge of each of the mentioned types, to understand the pedestrian action, their characteristics and ways of verifying the efficiency of both models , the comfort levels they offer and the security face to the limits presented in some regulations. To carry out this study, it had been constructed two numeric models using the computational program SAP 2000, in each it was simulated four characteristic movements of pedestrian action, by their load functions. Once that the space truss deck was already built some tests have been performed, in order to validate the numeric model. It was found that the frequencies obtained in the model are very close to the real ones. Both models have shown a good behavior to vibrations in the transverse direction, since the transverse frequencies are far enough from the range of human action. The vibration in vertical direction is very pronounced, since both decks have fundamental frequencies close to the frequency of some of the simulated movements

Noncommunicable diseases 2030 : assessing Portugal’s progress towards the noncommunicable disease-related target of the sustainable developmental goals

© 2018 World Health OrganizationBackground: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the biggest killers worldwide. One of the targets for the United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goal (SDG) 3, SDG target 3.4, is to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by one third by 2030. The object of this study was to determine whether Portugal will be able to achieve this target. Methods: Data were obtained from the Statistics Portugal online database. Linear and quadratic projections were performed using weighted and nonweighted linear and exponential regression models and confidence intervals. Results: Projections show that, for premature mortality due to diabetes, Portugal will reach the desired level of reduction a few years ahead of schedule. For premature mortality due to respiratory diseases, there is a 50% probability that the desired level of reduction will be achieved. However, premature mortality due to cardiovascular diseases is not decreasing at a rate fast enough to be reduced by one third by 2030. Similarly, premature mortality due to malignant tumours is not decreasing fast enough to reach the desired reduction in time. Conclusions: The trends analysed in this study indicate that Portugal is on track to reach target 3.4 by 2030, but further actions are needed to guarantee that the goal is accomplished.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Eleições autárquicas 2.0: análise das estratégias de comunicação online de candidatos, partidos e movimentos independentes

As redes sociais são uma ferramenta indispensável na comunicação política em período de campanha eleitoral. Este artigo pretende contribuir para o debate teórico sobre se as campanhas online contribuem para uma mudança de paradigma comunicacional entre candidatos e eleitores ou, ao invés, reproduzem os estilos e formatos preconizados pelos mass media. O estudo parte da análise de conteúdo das páginas de Facebook de partidos políticos e movimentos independentes relativas às eleições autárquicas de setembro de 2013. Após a análise descritiva é apresentado um modelo explicativo exploratório sobre as variações na interatividade entre páginas.The social networks are an indispensable tool for political communication during election campaigns. This article seeks to contribute to the theoretical on whether online campaigns are helping change the paradigm for communication between candidates and voters, or whether on the contrary they are reproducing the styles and formats put forward by the mass media. The study begins by analysing the content of the Facebook pages of political parties and independent movements regarding the September 2013 local elections. The authors then present an exploratory model that seeks to explain the variations in interactivity from one page to another.Les réseaux sociaux sont un outil de communication politique indispensable en période de campagne électorale. Cet article vise à contribuer au débat théorique sur la question de savoir si les campagnes sur internet contribuent à un changement de paradigme communicationnel entre candidats et électeurs ou si, au contraire, elles reproduisent les styles et les formats préconisés par les médias. L’étude part de l’analyse de contenu des pages Facebook de partis politiques et de mouvements indépendants à l’occasion des élections locales de septembre 2013. Après une analyse descriptive, l’article présente un modèle explicatif exploratoire sur les variations dans l’interactivité entre pages.Las redes sociales son una herramienta indispensable en la comunicación política en periodo de campaña electoral. Este articulo pretende contribuir para el debate teórico sobre si las campañas online contribuyen para un cambio de paradigma comunicacional entre candidatos y electores, o, al contrario, reproducen los estilos y formatos preconizados por los medios de comunicación. El estudio parte del análisis de contenido de las páginas de Facebook de partidos políticos y movimientos independientes relativos a las elecciones locales de septiembre 2013. Tras el análisis descriptivo es presentado un modelo explicativo exploratorio sobre las variaciones en la interactividad entre páginas