Does harvesting affect the relative growth in Patella aspera Röding, 1798?

Length–weight relationships (LWRs) provide valuable information about growth and individual fitness on the population. LWRs are commonly used in studies on life history, population dynamics, ecosystem modelling and stock assessment. A comparative study on the effect of harvesting in the relative growth of Patella aspera between Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and exploited areas was conducted in the archipelago of Madeira (NE Atlantic Ocean). The results showed that populations from the exploited areas exhibited a negative allometric growth whilst the populations from the MPAs showed predominantly isometric and positive allometric growth. The effects of protection from MPAs on the populations of P. aspera were not only restricted to an increase in mean size but also in a more balanced growth. This study highlight the importance of MPAs in the preservation of P. aspera populations in Madeira archipelago. Hence, these results should be used to corroborate the positive effects of MPAs in safeguarding the exploited resources, especially in oceanic islands were species are more prone to over-exploitation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Towards robotic process automation implementation: an end-to-end perspective

Purpose: Robotic process automation (RPA) seeks to automate business processes, using software robots that interact with systems through their user interface, improving efficiency and reducing costs. However, some critical steps, such as identifying processes suitable for RPA automation, can have a tremendous impact in organizations if a wrong process is selected. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide an approach for analyzing RPA development in business organizations. Design/methodology/approach: This research presents a cohesive literature review about RPA, in order to identify RPA main concepts, which should be reported and considered in all RPA case studies. A model connecting the main elicited RPA concepts is presented as well as its evaluation and applicability grounded of past RPA case study (CS) analysis, using design science research. Findings: The results from this research show that most of the RPA main concepts gathered in the literature review are not reported in the selected RPA CSs. Originality/value: As RPA is a recent topic, literature lacks a synthetization of RPA main topics. This research aims to fill the gap on that, by identifying and synthesize the main topics related to RPA and proposing a model that connects the main RPA concepts, which can be used by researchers as a schema for conducting and writing RPA case studies.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

An overlapless incident management maturity model for multi-framework assessment (ITIL, COBIT, CMMI-SVC)

Aim/Purpose: This research aims to develop an information technology (IT) maturity model for incident management (IM) process that merges the most known IT frameworks’ practices. Our proposal intends to help organizations overcome the current limitations of multiframework implementation by informing organizations about frameworks’ overlap before their implementation. Background: By previously identifying frameworks’ overlaps it will assist organizations during the multi-framework implementation in order to save resources (human and/or financial). Methodology: The research methodology used is design science research (DSR). Plus, the authors applied semi-structured interviews in seven different organizations to demonstrate and evaluate the proposal. Contribution: This research adds a new and innovative artefact to the body of knowledge. Findings: The proposed maturity model is seen by the practitioners as complete and useful. Plus, this research also reinforces the frameworks’ overlap issue and concludes that some organizations are unaware of their actual IM maturity level; some organizations are unaware that they have implemented practices of other frameworks besides the one that was officially adopted. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners may use this maturity model to assess their IM maturity level before multi-framework implementation. Moreover, practitioners are also incentivized to communicate further requirements to academics regarding multi-framework assessment maturity models. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers may explore and develop multi-frameworks maturity models for the remaining processes of the main IT frameworks. Impact on Society: This research findings and outcomes are a step forward in the development of a unique overlapless maturity model covering the most known IT frameworks in the market thus helping organizations dealing with the increasing frameworks’ complexity and overlap. Future Research: Overlapless maturity models for the remaining IT framework processes should be explored.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Can cold weather be a cardiovascular determinant in warm countries?

In almost every temperate region of the world, the number of cardiovascular mortality increases significantly during winter months. This phenomenon has been considered as a public health issue in several countries as many of these deaths are considered to be avoidable. The cause for the excess of winter deaths can be attributed to a number of factors, such as diet, exercise and exposure to cold weather. Curiously, southern European countries, such as Portugal, seem to have the highest excess winter deaths that seem to be related to exposure of cold. However, very few studies have addressed this relationship in Portugal and no quantification of the role of cold weather on cardiovascular diseases has been published. The main goal of this study is to quantify the short effect of cold weather on the cardiovascular morbidity in Portugal Generalized additive Poisson regression models were used in order to obtain the influence of a thermal comfort index (PET) on daily hospitalizations for acute myocardial Infarction in the two most developed metropolitan areas of Portugal: Lisbon and Oporto. All models were adjusted for time and other environmental variables. Influenza was also considered as a confounder. The main results reveal an increase up to 2.2% (95% CI = 0,9%; 3,3%) of daily hospital admissions in winter per degree fall in PET. The increase in daily hospitalizations was greater for the entire population than when only the elderly (>65 years) were considered. View publicationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio