20,052 research outputs found
Small worlds and board interlocking in Brazil: a longitudinal study of corporate networks, 1997-2007
Social Network Analysis (SNA) is an emerging research field in finance, above all in Brazil. This work is pioneering in that it is supported by reference to different areas of knowledge: social network analysis and corporate governance, for dealing with a similarly emerging topic in finance; interlocking boards, the purpose being to check the validity of the small-world model in the Brazilian capital market, and the existence of associations between the positioning of the firm in the network of corporate relationships and its worth. To do so official data relating to more than 400 companies listed in Brazil between 1997 and 2007 were used. The main results obtained suggest that the configuration of the networks of relationships between board members and companies reflects the small-world model. Furthermore, there seems to be a significant relationship between the firm’s centrality and its worth, described according to an “inverted U” curve, which suggests the existence of optimum values of social prominence in the corporate network.Board Interlocking; Social Network Analysis in Finance; Company Boards
PRHOLO: 360º Interactive Public Relations
In the globalized world, possessing good products may not be enough to reach potential clients unless
creative marketing strategies are well delineated. In this context, public relations are also important
when it comes to capture the client’s attention, making the first contact between the clients and the company’s products, while being persuasive enough to make them confident that the company has the right
products to fit their needs. Three virtual public relations installations were purposed in this chapter,
combining technology with a human like public relations ability, capable of interacting with potential
clients located in front of the installation, at angles of up to 57º (degrees), 180º and 360º, respectively.
From one to several Microsoft Kinects were used to develop the three interaction models, which allows
tracking and recognition of users’ gestures and positions (heat map), sound sources, voice commands
and face and body extraction of the user interacting with the installation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Cartoon planet: Micro-reflection through digital cartoons - a case study on teaching and learning with young people
The young learners of today tend to show little enthusiasm for formal schooling. This does not
necessarily mean pupils are not interested in learning or developing new skills and competences. In
fact, the opposite often happens in the informal settings they belong to. Finding ways of transferring
pupil’s informal learning to the school setting is therefore important. This paper gives a brief overview
on the development of informal learning activities to encourage young people’s active reflection on
their informally acquired competencies through the use of web technologies. The researchers also
explore the role of the teacher, and the need of a participatory learning environment in a less formal
classroom. Reflections on the experiences and recommendations are also provided
Symbolic Sequences and Tsallis Entropy
We address this work to investigate symbolic sequences with long-range
correlations by using computational simulation. We analyze sequences with two,
three and four symbols that could be repeated times, with the probability
distribution . For these sequences, we verified that
the usual entropy increases more slowly when the symbols are correlated and the
Tsallis entropy exhibits, for a suitable choice of , a linear behavior. We
also study the chain as a random walk-like process and observe a nonusual
diffusive behavior depending on the values of the parameter .Comment: Published in the Brazilian Journal of Physic
Dialectical Polyptych: an interactive movie installation
Most of the known video games developed by important software companies usually establish an
approach to the cinematic language in an attempt to create a perfect combination of narrative,
visual technique and interaction. Unlike most video games, interactive film narratives normally
involve an interruption in time whenever the spectator has to make choices. “Dialectical
Polyptych” is an interactive movie included in a project called “Characters looking for a spectactor”, which aims to give the spectator on-the-fly control over film editing, thus exploiting the
role of the spectator as an active subject in the presented narrative. This paper presents an
installation based on a mobile device, which allows seamless real-time interactivity with the
movie. Different finger touches in the screen allow the spectator to alternate between two
parallel narratives, both producing a complementary narrative, and change the angle or shot
within each narrative.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Intra-group Light in Hickson Compact Groups
We have analyzed the intra-group light component of 3 Hickson Compact Groups
(HCG 79, HCG 88 and HCG 95) with detections in two of them: HCG 79, with
of the total band luminosity and HCG 95 with . HCG 88
had no component detected. This component is presumably due to tidally stripped
stellar material trapped in the group potential and represents an efficient
tool to determine the stage of dynamical evolution and to map its gravitational
potential. To detect this low surface brightness structure we have applied the
wavelet technique OV\_WAV, which separates the different components of the
image according to their spatial characteristic sizes.Comment: Small update on the associated institutions lis
Strategies for building pathology reports in an urban rehabilitation process: Project of the Old City Centre of Coimbra
The increasing interest on architectural heritage associated to the recognised building value, at economic, social and cultural levels have stimulated, in the recent decades, the urban rehabilitation and renovation o several cities in Europe.
Despite the strategy or method adopted in a city renovation process, its efficiency depends mainly on: type of buildings (structural systems, construction techniques and materials); intervention level (singular buildings, groups of buildings, urban zones, etc.); and, project objective (risk assessment, decision making to support future rehabilitation projects, definition of council maintenance policies, etc.).
In what concerns large renovation programs of old city centres, choosing the most adequate approach for inspection, appraisal and diagnosis is a complex task that can determine the success or failure of the project purpose.
This paper describes the preparation phase of the inspection of 700 buildings located in the old city centre of Coimbra (Portugal), where a global renovation process is planned for the forthcoming years.
In the scope of the renovation and rehabilitation process, the city council contract a complete identification and inspection survey of the buildings, directed on three different domains: (a) architectural typologies, (b) constructive and pathological condition of buildings, and (c) socio-demographic characterisation, of this part of the city. It will be present the check-lists developed and some of the obtained results on point (b), related to roofing systems, and exterior façades.
This diagnosis procedure shows that the inspection results quality is quite dependent on the items surveyed for each construction element (roof, façade, internal members, installation efficiency), as well as on the possibility of their correlation for a single building. The adopted method has been applied on 70% of the buildings inspected within the project perimeter.
Further treatment of the inspection and appraisal data will allow the developing pathology reports and list repair actions, and estimating rehabilitation costs. It will also help to produce defect level diagrams and seismic building risk maps, but, most important, to improve and guide a renewal strategy and intervention methodology for old buildings
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