O espaço público dos territórios extensamente urbanizados: estratégias para a sua reinvenção

Using as a case study the territory of Santa Maria da Feira, we propose analysis a network that corresponds to its public space and that crosses through the meanders of the territory in a rudimentary way. These are spaces which intervention proposals remain tied to models and practices that are "typical" from other places. In this territory, the public space reveals a long time resistance which is important to decode. We can say, by the way it embraces a multiplicity of actions of transformation can reveal a democratic maturity that is specific of extensively urbanized territories. Some realities that conform this places will be emphasize to share something common and highlighting a different approach that might distinguish the future action in these areas. With a new methodology of looking we intend to review the action in these places and make territory intelligible

Re-thinking borders: the conflict between "generic" and "possible" space of infrastructure

The proposed approach is to critically analyse an urban route in Portugal with an extensive, complex and fragmented matrix, between the “canonical” cities of Porto and Aveiro. The design of infrastructures on the stretch under analysis employs sectorial thinking that is frequently apathetic to the landscape and built-up contexts through which it passes. The relationship between the different infrastructural characteristics as well as their interaction with the contexts loses coherence and the city’s design. The intention is to present and represent the spatial expression of the conflict between the different systems’ design logic, and the manner in which each one of the systems integrates concepts such as the type of route, road profile, the front of built elements, pedestrian pavement, kerb, type of traffic, speed, use, degree of congestion, spacing, parking, among others. A further aim is to discover the moments in time when the thinking traditionally incorporated into the typical, quantitative matrix-based management of the territory was reinvented, when transversalities were established, when they were the subject of a multi-scaled examination and when the “complexification” of their symbolic and spatial meaning began, these being moments in time that represent the input of qualitative and sensorial criteria to the planning system. This shall be achieved through the detailed analysis of spatial structures where a meaning was produced through a matured design or a circumstantial, erudite or vernacular action. The register of these forms, qualities and spatiality will mark the need to use the design as a tool for interrogating the real and it will fuel the work of deconstructing the constructed reality thus allowing an elementary view of the themes corroborating the territory to be reached. The view that is achieved may not interpret oneiric images; its strength will reside in the materialisation of the arguments and strategies thus permitting the diffusion of the thinking to be incorporated by regulatory instruments. The aim is to contribute to the transformation of a law-based system into a prompting system

THE ROLE AND RELEVANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND ITS PRACTICES IN THE PORTUGUESE HOTEL INDUSTRY

Purpose – Validation of the Human Resource Management (HRM) practices used by Portuguese hotels, their degree of importance, and the alignment between their strategic dimension and their operational implementation. Design – The study was developed using quantitative analysis, supported by a questionnaire shared with top managers of hotel companies in the Portuguese Hotels national register. Methodology – The HRM practices integrated in the study were the result of those identified in the literature review, the global HR barometer developed by the Michael Page company, and the HRM practices integrated in the Label Pro HR project, developed by the Mediterranean Federation from Human Resources in association with HRM Associations and European higher education institutions. Findings – In Portugal, HRM in the hotel industry is beginning to be understood as a way to achieve competitive advantage. 92,7% of the top managers in our sample reported that the existence of an HR department grants a competitive advantage. Recruitment and Selection, Training and Development, Performance management and evaluation, and Safety and Hygiene at Work are the most important HRM practices. We conclude that the characteristics of hotels (classification and size) are crucial for HRM, their organizational processes, and the strategic importance assigned to the function. Originality of the research – The study is innovative because it uses a questionnaire specifically designed for the study, and which considers a high number of HRM practices. The sample consists of 124 of the 1.515 registered hotels (8,2%)

Mathematical Modelling and Design for the Scale-up of an AACVD Process

The manufacturing process of photovoltaic devices, such as solar cells, relies on the production of Transparent and Conductive Oxide (TCO) films. One of the techniques for creating these films is based on Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition (AACVD). The AACVD process comprises the atomisation of a precursor solution into aerosol droplets, which are transported to a heated chamber for the synthesis of films such as the TCOs, as well as coatings, powders, composites and nanotubes. At present, AACVD has not been used as an industrial deposition technique. However, it has the potential to be scaled-up due to its versatility and the ease through which effective functional coatings can be deposited at a laboratory-scale. Computational simulations are pivotal to study the feasibility of such a scale-up. This thesis presents, therefore, an integrated model to support the AACVD process scale-up. The model is comprised of four stages: aerosol generation, transport, delivery and chemical deposition. The generation of aerosol is described by a distribution of droplet sizes, which is the input to a transport model that incorporates the impact of aerosol losses. The output distribution provides sufficient information to predict the amount and sizing of aerosol reaching the deposition site. Experimental validation has shown the model to be effective at predicting transport losses and droplet sizes. The delivery stage includes the solvent evaporation, accounting for uncertainties in the temperature profile of the deposition site. This is a key factor for the solvent evaporation, setting the precursors free to react and form the desired products. For the chemical deposition stage, reactions in the solid and gas phases were studied. The model presented is suitable for application on the scale of industrial processes and is also suitable for processes that rely on atomisation and transport of particles, for example, spray drying or cooling and fuel combustion. Lessons learned in modelling uncertainties and their impact on process scale-up motivated the research into formulation, modelling and solution methods for such applications. Therefore, as an additional contribution, this thesis introduces Uncertainty.jl, a modelling framework focused on the treatment of uncertainty

The use of the ITS region in marketable mushrooms authenticity

Edible mushrooms, due to their flavour and nutritional characteristics, are very popular in many dishes. Some species are high valuated and reaching high market values. There are frequent reports of adulteration of these kinds of products due to the presence of fungal species less expensive among others with high-value market. This adulteration occurs especially in products in which the flavour is not prominent and in which the mushrooms are difficult to examine. In this work we utilized the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) for the identification of marketable mushrooms species in order to detected fraudulent addition of cheaper species. The products analysed were labelled as Agaricus bisporus (known as white mushroom), Portobello, Shiitake, Maitake, Enoki, Eringi, Auricularia auricula-judae, Cantharellus cibarius, Craterellus cornucopioides, shimeji and Boletus edulis. Following DNA isolation, the corresponding ITS regions were amplified and sequenced, using the universal primers ITS1FO and ITS4RE. The obtained DNA sequences were analysed and fungal identification was performed by comparison with deposited sequences on NCBI database. The results obtained shown that the ITS region is a suitable method of identifying mushroom species. Furthermore it was verified that the great number of the mushrooms analysed were correctly identified. However, one of the products, the shimeji, is uncorrected labelled. The advantages and disadvantages of the use of the ITS region to detect frauds in marketed mushrooms will be present and discussed

Infrastructure, canning and architecture: the case of Matosinhos

In this article, we seek to reconnect architectural history with social and industrial histories as a strategy for understanding the relationship between infrastructure, fishing, and urbanisation by studying the emblematic case of Matosinhos. This paper traces the formation of the port area and the process of its subsequent transformation with the development of the fishing and canning industries, to understand the relationship between urban planning, the architectures of production (infrastructures, industries, and urbanism) and the architectures of reproduction (housing), and the dynamics of the physical and economic transformations, as well as the key role played by the port in supporting the urbanisation process. In the last decades of the twentieth century, the canneries almost completely disappeared and the gap left by its concentration and modernisation led to the creation of a new urbanisation plan, directed by Álvaro Siza Vieira. Recent works, such as the seaside platform designed by Eduardo Souto de Moura and built at the beginning of the present century, the redevelopment of Leça’s shoreline in 2006 or the conversion of the ruins of a former winery into the new ‘house of architecture,’ are signs of growing functional disputes and symbolic transformations of a particular port cityThe Sea and the Shore, Architecture and Marine Biology: The Impact of Sea Life on the Built Environment PTDC/ART-DAQ/29537/201