Retention and acquisition of corporate and institutional banking talents in Portugal

This study explores the job satisfaction of employees of an European bank Portuguese branch office. It aims at providing: (i) a relation between job satisfaction and turnover willingness; (ii) an understanding of the differences in satisfaction factors between Millennials and older working generations; and (iii) how to increase person-organization fit during recruitment, increasing the retention rate. Several focus groups were conducted, with the gathered data being displayed through systematic coding. In total this focus groups were comprised of 56 participants, representing 14% of the total population (400). Of these participants, 29 were Millennials, which allowed for a generational comparison when it came to understanding how different satisfaction factors impacted people of different ages. The results of this seem to show that as job satisfaction decreases, turnover willingness increases, illustrating that the reasons for dissatisfaction of employees are connected with the characteristics they look for in other organizations. With employees thinking of other organizations as more attractive their natural tendency will be to want to leave, this willingness having already been proved to be connected to effective turnover rates by several experts. Furthermore, this study, illustrates the differences in satisfaction factor between Millennials and older generations, namely when talking about “Career Development”, “Leadership and immediate responsible”, and “Communication”. Lastly, this study high-lights that Millennials’ characteristics as tech-savviness, and social media awareness directly translate on what they expect in terms of communication from recruiting firms, and on how these can be used to develop a better person-organization fit during the recruitment process

Enhancing Mesh Deformation Realism: Dynamic Mesostructure Detailing and Procedural Microstructure Synthesis

Propomos uma solução para gerar dados de mapas de relevo dinâmicos para simular deformações em superfícies macias, com foco na pele humana. A solução incorpora a simulação de rugas ao nível mesoestrutural e utiliza texturas procedurais para adicionar detalhes de microestrutura estáticos. Oferece flexibilidade além da pele humana, permitindo a geração de padrões que imitam deformações em outros materiais macios, como couro, durante a animação. As soluções existentes para simular rugas e pistas de deformação frequentemente dependem de hardware especializado, que é dispendioso e de difícil acesso. Além disso, depender exclusivamente de dados capturados limita a direção artística e dificulta a adaptação a mudanças. Em contraste, a solução proposta permite a síntese dinâmica de texturas que se adaptam às deformações subjacentes da malha de forma fisicamente plausível. Vários métodos foram explorados para sintetizar rugas diretamente na geometria, mas sofrem de limitações como auto-interseções e maiores requisitos de armazenamento. A intervenção manual de artistas na criação de mapas de rugas e mapas de tensão permite controle, mas pode ser limitada em deformações complexas ou onde maior realismo seja necessário. O nosso trabalho destaca o potencial dos métodos procedimentais para aprimorar a geração de padrões de deformação dinâmica, incluindo rugas, com maior controle criativo e sem depender de dados capturados. A incorporação de padrões procedimentais estáticos melhora o realismo, e a abordagem pode ser estendida além da pele para outros materiais macios.We propose a solution for generating dynamic heightmap data to simulate deformations for soft surfaces, with a focus on human skin. The solution incorporates mesostructure-level wrinkles and utilizes procedural textures to add static microstructure details. It offers flexibility beyond human skin, enabling the generation of patterns mimicking deformations in other soft materials, such as leater, during animation. Existing solutions for simulating wrinkles and deformation cues often rely on specialized hardware, which is costly and not easily accessible. Moreover, relying solely on captured data limits artistic direction and hinders adaptability to changes. In contrast, our proposed solution provides dynamic texture synthesis that adapts to underlying mesh deformations. Various methods have been explored to synthesize wrinkles directly to the geometry, but they suffer from limitations such as self-intersections and increased storage requirements. Manual intervention by artists using wrinkle maps and tension maps provides control but may be limited to the physics-based simulations. Our research presents the potential of procedural methods to enhance the generation of dynamic deformation patterns, including wrinkles, with greater creative control and without reliance on captured data. Incorporating static procedural patterns improves realism, and the approach can be extended to other soft-materials beyond skin

Avaliação e seleção de software open-source para Gestão Integrada de Bibliotecas

Este artigo introduz a metodologia QSOS (Methodology for Qualification and Selection of Open- Source Software) para qualificação e seleção de software open-source e apresenta a sua aplicação no contexto do software de gestão integrada de bibliotecas. Os sistemas Koha, Evergreen e PMB foram avaliados de acordo com os requisitos definidos por 63 bibliotecários portugueses. Este trabalho tem como objetivo auxiliar os responsáveis por uma biblioteca a determinar, com base em factos e critérios bem estabelecidos, qual o software open-source para gestão de bibliotecas mais adequado à sua instituição.This paper presents the Methodology for Qualification and Selection of Open-Source Software (QSOS) methodology for qualification and selection of open source software and applies it in the context of integrated library management software. The management suites Koha, Evergreen and PMB have been evaluated against the set of criteria defined by a group of 63 Portuguese librarians. The results of this study help decision makers in libraries to choose the most appropriate open source solution for their institution.KEEP SOLUTION

“Less is more”: Simplifying point clouds to improve grasping performance

Object grasping is a task that humans do without major concerns. This results from self learning and by observing of other skilled humans doing such task with previous information. However, grasping novel objects in unknown positions for a robot is a complex task which encounters many problems, such as sub-optimal performance rates and the time consumption. In this paper we present a method that complements the state-of-the-art grasping algorithms with two segmentation steps, the first one which removes the largest planar surface in the point cloud of the world before the grasp detector receives them and the second one that complements this segmentation with another segmentation that calculates where the object is located and segments the point cloud by executing a crop around the object. The proposed method significantly improves the grasping success rate (100% improvement over the baseline approach) and simultaneously is able to reduce the time consumption by 23%.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Survey of parasitic diseases in African-lion (Panthera leo) from Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina VeterináriaPanthera leo - The African lion - is an iconic species of the African continent, classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Once believed to be a widespread species throughout Africa, the African lion is now extinct in most of its range in West Africa and is facing considerable population declines in Eastern and Southern Africa. Niassa National Reserve (NNR) is the largest conservation area in Mozambique and it is also one of the most important conservation areas remaining in Africa. It supports the highest densities of wildlife in the country. It has also been identified as one of the few “lion strongholds” where the species has a better chance of long term survival. Infectious diseases are known to negatively impact the survival of lion populations and are considered a main threat that can significantly impair conservation efforts. However, the impact of parasitic infections has been overlooked and poorly documented in wild lions. To the best of the author’s knowledge, no studies addressing this subject have been conducted on this lion population or any other in Mozambique. In order to characterize the parasitological fauna of these animals, a study was carried out in the Niassa National Reserve, with the full support of the Niassa Carnivore Project and in partnership with the Administration of the Niassa Reserve. In total, 44 lion faecal samples were collected in an area of 600 km² (Concession L5-South), and later processed and analyzed at the Laboratory of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Lisbon University. Results show that 65.9 % (29/44) of the samples were infected with parasites, namely 47.7 % for Toxocara sp., 31.8 % for Aelurostrongylus sp., 27.3 % for Taeniidae, 25 % for Spirometra sp.,18.2 % for Paramphistomum sp. and 13.6 % for Linguatula sp. Out of the 29 positive samples, 72 % (21/29) were co-infected, registering double infection in 21 % (6/29), triple in 34 % (10/29), quadruple in 10 % (3/29) and fivefold in 7 % (2/29). These results are consistent with previous studies performed in the African continent, with the exception of Linguatula sp., which had not yet been reported in wild lions. These results highlight the importance of further studies in this subject, not only with this and other animal species but on human populations as well. In order to carry out the identification of the species of parasites found it to would be important to associate classic parasitology techniques with molecular biology techniques. In the future, it would also be important to complement this study with results regarding the presence of other pathogens such as viruses and bacteria.RESUMO - O Panthera leo - o Leão-Africano - é uma espécie emblemática do continente Africano, classificada como Vulnerável pela International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Outrora visto como uma espécie abundante em África, o Leão-Africano encontra-se hoje extinto na grande maioria da sua área de distribuição na África Ocidental, e enfrenta declínios populacionais consideráveis na África Oriental e Austral. A Reserva Nacional do Niassa (RNN) é a maior área de conservação em Moçambique e das mais importantes em África. Esta Reserva concentra as maiores densidades de fauna selvagem no país. Esta área foi identificada como um das poucas “fortalezas do leão-africano”, onde a espécie terá melhores hipóteses de sobreviver a longo prazo. As doenças infeciosas são conhecidas por terem impactos negativos na sobrevivência de populações de leões e são consideradas uma das principais causas que pode condicionar os esforços de conservação na espécie. Contudo, o impacto das infeções de origem parasitária tem sido fracamente documentado em leões selvagens. Anteriormente, não foram realizados quaisquer estudos relativos a este tema nesta população de leões ou em qualquer outra em Moçambique. De modo a caracterizar a fauna parasitológica destes animais, foi realizado um estudo na RNN, com o total apoio do Projecto dos Carnívoros do Niassa (NCP) e a Administração da Reserva do Niassa. No total, foram colhidas 44 amostras fecais numa área de cerca de 600 km² (Concessão L5-Sul), que foram posteriormente processadas no Laboratório de Parasitologia e Doenças Parasitárias da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária da Universidade de Lisboa. Os resultados demostraram que 65.9% (29/44) das amostras continham formas parasitárias, nomeadamente: 47.7% continham ovos de Toxocara sp., 31.8% com larvas L1 de Aelurostrongylus sp., 27.3% continham ovos de Taeniidae, 25% com ovos de Spirometra sp., 18.2% continham ovos de Paramphistomum sp., e 13.6% continham ovos de Linguatula sp. Nas 29 amostras positivas, 72% (21/29) foram observadas coinfecções de dois parasitas em 21% (6/29), três em 34% (10/29), quatro em 10% (3/29) e cinco em 7% (2/29). Estes resultados estão de acordo com estudos anteriormente realizados no continente Africano, com exceção de Linguatula sp., que não tinha sido reportado em leões selvagens. Estes resultados revelam a importância da continuação de estudos nesta área, com esta e outras espécies animais e as populações humanas. Para tal seria importante associar as técnicas de parasitologia clássica a técnicas de biologia molecular para proceder à identificação das espécies de parasitas encontradas. De futuro, seria também importante complementar este estudo com resultados relativos à presença de outras agentes como vírus e bactérias

Research support at University of Porto libraries

This case study describes the research support services provided by the libraries of the University of Porto (U.Porto). The university is composed of 14 teaching units (each with its faculty library), and each faculty has a wide range of research units. U.Porto has a high research activity, which compels libraries to keep pace with the evolving researcher needs, adapting and creating new services that respond to those requirements. From a global perspective, the overall mission of these libraries is to ensure and promote access to information resources made available by U.Porto to the academic and scientific community, both in physical and electronic supports. More specifically, this case will detail the services already provided in the context of research support, ranging from specialized training sessions in scientific publishing, reference management software, or search in bibliographic databases to the creation of thematic guides, support on the publication of scientific journals from within the university, and bibliometric studies. (c) 2021, IGI Global. All rights reserved