The impact of standalone restaurants in hotels : the case of Tivoli Hotels & Resorts

Once considered as a minor component of the hotel’s business, hotel restaurants are regaining momentum, and gradually overcoming the widespread negative stigma associated with them. Through the development of popular standalone hotel restaurants, hotels aim at improving their attractiveness, and at drawing not only hotel guests, but also external visitors. Still, the creation of popular restaurants internally detracts the hotel from its core business of selling rooms, and requires certain competences that not all hotels possess. Therefore, many hotels resort to contractual arrangements with specialized external restaurant operators. With an emphasis on Tivoli group, this dissertation aims at comprehending the impact of independent restaurants in hotels, and to understand what the critical factors for its success are. The research is mainly qualitative in nature, with interviews, market research and internal financial reports used to reach conclusions. The findings suggest that the role of the hotel restaurant is evolving, and that the integration of standalone restaurants in hotels engenders benefits that go well beyond simple financial gains, as it also leverages the hotel’s image and value. However, the development and maintenance of an independent hotel restaurant is more costly than a conventional hotel restaurant, and it’s only rational when a set of critical factors is met. The conclusions underline that while the implementation of independent hotel restaurants may be considered as a solution to turnaround underperforming units and as a source of competitive advantage, each case is unique, and a complete cost-benefit analysis is necessary before taking the decision to invest.Considerados no passado como parte irrelevante do negócio hoteleiro, os restaurantes de hotel estão a reconquistar ímpeto, superando gradualmente o estigma negativo a eles associado. Através do desenvolvimento de restaurantes independentes, os hotéis ambicionam aumentar a sua popularidade, e atrair não apenas hóspedes do hotel, mas também visitantes externos. Contudo, a criação de restaurantes internamente pode divertir os hotéis do seu principal negócio da venda de quartos, e requer certas competências que nem todos possuem. Assim, muitos hotéis recorrem a acordos contratuais com operadores de restaurantes externos. Com enfoque no grupo Tivoli, esta dissertação tem como objectivo compreender o impacto dos restaurantes independentes em hotéis, e determinar que factores são críticos para o seu sucesso. A investigação é sobretudo de natureza qualitativa, baseando-se em entrevistas, pesquisa de mercado, e relatórios financeiros para a chegada a conclusões. Os resultados sugerem que o papel do restaurante de hotel está a evoluir, e que a integração de restaurantes independentes populares em hotéis gera benefícios que vão para além de ganhos financeiros, já que também melhoram a imagem do hotel e valorizam-no. No entanto, o desenvolvimento e manutenção de restaurantes independentes é mais dispendioso do que em restaurantes de hotel convencionais, justificando-se somente quando certos factores críticos são assegurados. As conclusões destacam que embora a implementação de restaurantes independentes possa ser considerada uma fonte de vantagem competitiva e solução para recuperar unidades com mau desempenho, cada caso é único, e uma análise custo-benefício é necessária antes de ser tomada a decisão de investir

Lightly synchronized Multipacket Reception in Machine-Type Communications Networks

Machine Type Communication (MTC) applications were designed to monitor and control elements of our surroundings and environment. MTC applications have a different set of requirements compared to the traditional communication devices, with Machine to Machine (M2M) data being mostly short, asynchronous, bursty and sometimes requiring end-to-end delays below 1ms. With the growth of MTC, the new generation of mobile communications has to be able to present different types of services with very different requirements, i.e. the same network has to be capable of "supplying" connection to the user that just wants to download a video or use social media, allowing at the same time MTC that has completely different requirements, without deteriorating both experiences. The challenges associated to the implementation of MTC require disruptive changes at the Physical (PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers, that lead to a better use of the spectrum available. The orthogonality and synchronization requirements of the PHY layer of current Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) radio access network (based on glsofdm and Single Carrier Frequency Domain Equalization (SC-FDE)) are obstacles for this new 5th Generation (5G) architecture. Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing (GFDM) and other modulation techniques were proposed as candidates for the 5G PHY layer, however they also suffer from visible degradation when the transmitter and receiver are not synchronized, leading to a poor performance when collisions occur in an asynchronous MAC layer. This dissertation addresses the requirements of M2M traffic at the MAC layer applying multipacket reception (MPR) techniques to handle the bursty nature of the traffic and synchronization tones and optimized back-off approaches to reduce the delay. It proposes a new MAC protocol and analyses its performance analytically considering an SC-FDE modulation. The models are validated using a system level cross-layer simulator developed in MATLAB, which implements the MAC protocol and applies PHY layer performance models. The results show that the MAC’s latency depends mainly on the number of users and the load of each user, and can be controlled using these two parameters

Customisable e-training programmes based on trainees profiles

Dissertation presented at Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia of Universidade Nova de Lisboa to obtain the Master degree in Electrical and Computer EngineeringOnline training (e-training) is a major driver to promote the development of competencies and knowledge in enterprises. A lack of customizable e-training programmes based on trainees‟ profiles and of continuous maintenance of the training materials prevents the sustainability of industrial training deployment. This dissertation presents a training strategy and a methodology for building training courses with the purpose to provide a trainee oriented industrial training development. The training strategy intends to facilitate the management of all the training components and tasks to be able to build a training structure focused in a specific planned objective. The methodology for building e-training courses proposes to create customizable training materials in an easier way, enabling various organizations to participate actively on its production. Additionally a customisable training programme framework is presented. It is supported by a compliant ontology-based model able to support adaptable training contents, orchestration service, facilitating the efficiency and acceptance of the e-training programmes delivery

Design of adaptive analog filters for magnetic front-end read channels

Esta tese estuda o projecto e o comportamento de filtros em tempo contínuo de muito-alta-frequência. A motivação deste trabalho foi a investigação de soluções de filtragem para canais de leitura em sistemas de gravação e reprodução de dados em suporte magnético, com custos e consumo (tamanho total inferior a 1 mm2 e consumo inferior a 1mW/polo), inferiores aos circuitos existentes. Nesse sentido, tal como foi feito neste trabalho, o rápido desenvolvimento das tecnologias de microelectrónica suscitou esforços muito significativos a nível mundial com o objectivo de se investigarem novas técnicas de realização de filtros em circuito integrado monolítico, especialmente em tecnologia CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). Apresenta-se um estudo comparativo a diversos níveis hierárquicos do projecto, que conduziu à realização e caracterização de soluções com as características desejadas. Num primeiro nível, este estudo aborda a questão conceptual da gravação e transmissão de sinal bem como a escolha de bons modelos matemáticos para o tratamento da informação e a minimização de erro inerente às aproximações na conformidade aos princípios físicos dos dispositivos caracterizados. O trabalho principal da tese é focado nos níveis hierárquicos da arquitectura do canal de leitura e da realização em circuito integrado do seu bloco principal – o bloco de filtragem. Ao nível da arquitectura do canal de leitura, apresenta-se um estudo alargado sobre as metodologias existentes de adaptação de sinal e recuperação de dados em suporte magnético. Este desígnio aparece no âmbito da proposta de uma solução de baixo custo, baixo consumo, baixa tensão de alimentação e baixa complexidade, alicerçada em tecnologia digital CMOS, para a realização de um sistema DFE (Decision Feedback Equalization) com base na igualização de sinal utilizando filtros integrados analógicos em tempo contínuo. Ao nível do projecto de realização do bloco de filtragem e das técnicas de implementação de filtros e dos seus blocos constituintes em circuito integrado, concluiu-se que a técnica baseada em circuitos de transcondutância e condensadores, também conhecida como filtros gm-C (ou transcondutância-C), é a mais adequada para a realização de filtros adaptativos em muito-alta-frequência. Definiram-se neste nível hierárquico mais baixo, dois subníveis de aprofundamento do estudo no âmbito desta tese, nomeadamente: a pesquisa e análise de estruturas ideais no projecto de filtros recorrendo a representações no espaço de estados; e, o estudo de técnicas de realização em tecnologia digital CMOS de circuitos de transcondutância para a implementação de filtros integrados analógicos em tempo contínuo. Na sequência deste estudo, apresentam-se e comparam-se duas estruturas de filtros no espaço de estados, correspondentes a duas soluções alternativas para a realização de um igualador adaptativo realizado por um filtro contínuo passa-tudo de terceira ordem, para utilização num canal de leitura de dados em suporte magnético. Como parte constituinte destes filtros, apresenta-se uma técnica de realização de circuitos de transcondutância, e de realização de condensadores lineares usando matrizes de transístores MOSFET para processamento de sinal em muito-alta-frequência realizada em circuito integrado usando tecnologia digital CMOS submicrométrica. Apresentam-se métodos de adaptação automática capazes de compensar os erros face aos valores nominais dos componentes, devidos às tolerâncias inerentes ao processo de fabrico, para os quais apresentamos os resultados de simulação e de medição experimental obtidos. Na sequência deste estudo, resultou igualmente a apresentação de um circuito passível de constituir uma solução para o controlo de posicionamento da cabeça de leitura em sistemas de gravação/reprodução de dados em suporte magnético. O bloco proposto é um filtro adaptativo de primeira ordem, com base nos mesmos circuitos de transcondutância e técnicas de igualação propostos e utilizados na implementação do filtro adaptativo de igualação do canal de leitura. Este bloco de filtragem foi projectado e incluído num circuito integrado (Jaguar) de controlo de posicionamento da cabeça de leitura realizado para a empresa ATMEL em Colorado Springs, e incluído num produto comercial em parceria com uma empresa escocesa utilizado em discos rígidos amovíveis.This thesis studies the design and behavior of continuous-time very-high-frequency filters. The motivation of this work was the search for filtering solutions for the readchannel in recording and reproduction of data on magnetic media systems, with costs and consumption (total size less than 1 mm2 and consumption under 1mW/pole), lower than the available circuits. Accordingly, as was done in this work, the rapid development of microelectronics technology raised very significant efforts worldwide in order to investigate new techniques for implementing such filters in monolithic integrated circuit, especially in CMOS technology (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). We present a comparative study on different hierarchical levels of the project, which led to the realization and characterization of solutions with the desired characteristics. In the first level, this study addresses the conceptual question of recording and transmission of signal and the choice of good mathematical models for the processing of information and minimization of error inherent in the approaches and in accordance with the principles of the characterized physical devices. The main work of this thesis is focused on the hierarchical levels of the architecture of the read channel and the integrated circuit implementation of its main block - the filtering block. At the architecture level of the read channel this work presents a comprehensive study on existing methodologies of adaptation and signal recovery of data on magnetic media. This project appears in the sequence of the proposed solution for a lowcost, low consumption, low voltage, low complexity, using CMOS digital technology for the performance of a DFE (Decision Feedback Equalization) based on the equalization of the signal using integrated analog filters in continuous time. At the project level of implementation of the filtering block and techniques for implementing filters and its building components, it was concluded that the technique based on transconductance circuits and capacitors, also known as gm-C filters is the most appropriate for the implementation of very-high-frequency adaptive filters. We defined in this lower level, two sub-levels of depth study for this thesis, namely: research and analysis of optimal structures for the design of state-space filters, and the study of techniques for the design of transconductance cells in digital CMOS circuits for the implementation of continuous time integrated analog filters. Following this study, we present and compare two filtering structures operating in the space of states, corresponding to two alternatives for achieving a realization of an adaptive equalizer by the use of a continuous-time third order allpass filter, as part of a read-channel for magnetic media devices. As a constituent part of these filters, we present a technique for the realization of transconductance circuits and for the implementation of linear capacitors using arrays of MOSFET transistors for signal processing in very-high-frequency integrated circuits using sub-micrometric CMOS technology. We present methods capable of automatic adjustment and compensation for deviation errors in respect to the nominal values of the components inherent to the tolerances of the fabrication process, for which we present the simulation and experimental measurement results obtained. Also as a result of this study, is the presentation of a circuit that provides a solution for the control of the head positioning on recording/playback systems of data on magnetic media. The proposed block is an adaptive first-order filter, based on the same transconductance circuits and equalization techniques proposed and used in the implementation of the adaptive filter for the equalization of the read channel. This filter was designed and included in an integrated circuit (Jaguar) used to control the positioning of the read-head done for ATMEL company in Colorado Springs, and part of a commercial product used in removable hard drives fabricated in partnership with a Scottish company

Pretrial Disparity and the Consequences of Money Bail

Catalyzed by the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, support for criminal justice reform in the United States has become a groundswell, with reformers demanding an end to racial and socioeconomic disparities in all aspects of policing, prosecution, adjudication, and incarceration. While high-profile cases of police misconduct during arrest remain in the limelight, a growing and politically diverse chorus of voices is calling for change at the first point of contact between a defendant and the court system: the bail hearing. Bail decisions are highly consequential in terms of their scale and impact on the lives of defendants, their families, and the community. Yet, to date we only have incomplete evidence of disparities in bail decisions and their consequences. Without an adequate empirical picture of how bail decisions are actually made-and how state and local regimes dffer in structure and constituency-even sincere efforts at change will likely be short-lived and unsuccessful. Critically, we do not know enough about how judges evaluate whether to release a defendant prior to trial, and we have little reliable information about how the decisions made regarding pretrial release affect case outcomes and the long-term behavior of the defendants. The little data we have is either taken exclusively from or skewed heavily toward large urban areas. Without more comprehensive accounts to undergird reform, even sincere efforts at change are unlikely to yield lasting success. This Article helps to fill this gap through an empirical analysis of more than 23,000 misdemeanor bail decisions from a mixed rural and suburban county in Arizona. Compared to the results of recent studies in large metropolitan cities, our findings are striking. We show that despite having virtually identical caseloads, the most lenient judges assign money bail in only 20% of their cases with average bail amounts of only $200, whereas the strictest judges assign money bail in nearly 60$2,500 per bail assignment (three and thirteen times higher, respectively).This variability has a racial component as well, with some judges as much as 12 percentage points more likely to assign money bail to Black defendants in comparison to their white counterparts. And the impacts of these disparities are not limited to the outcome of bail hearings: Downstream analysis shows that these judicial disparities have effects on the future behavior of defendants. Taken together, our findings suggest that for bail reform to be something more than merely cosmetic, reformers must take aim at high levels of judicial disparity. At the same time, reformers should be wary of one-size fits-all policy prescriptions that purport to provide unilateral remedies to all of the country\u27s multifarious bail problems, instead recognizing that the specific relationships between courts and institutions, criminal defendants, and the broader community likely depend on the underlying characteristics of those systems and communities

Ties between business model innovation and entrepreneurial finance: A case in the employer branding industry

CEMSThis report describes a business project conducted by a team of CEMS students at Nova SBE, where they were tasked with redefining an employer branding consultant’s product portfolio as part of a larger strategic change. The company is benchmarked against other B2B business models and a study is conducted into customer needs and ideal segmentation. The final recommendation of a modular offering built on a subscription-based online platform is derived from the identified customer needs and sector best practices. Finally, ties are found between the project and entrepreneurial finance theory, and future research ideas are presented