VERB TENSE AND ASPECT: Translating English Perfect Tenses to Portuguese

This article displays a comprehensive reading of aspectual theory, followed byan attempt to correlate different verb systems. Based on Yule (1998) in English and on Bechara (2004) in Portuguese, the way from theoretical to contextualized analysis was discovered. Finally, a comparative reading of Orwell’s Animal Farm translations has shown how a translator can make inadequate choices if he/she is not aware of semantics

Improving and embedding project management practice: generic or context dependent?

Taking into account the contingency theory, this paper explores the extent to which key project management improvement initiatives and key embedding factors, identified in a previously developed conceptual framework, are dependent on organizational context, namely sector of activity, organization size, geographic area and project types. Therefore, aiming to guide professionals on making use of such framework in their organizations. Statistically significant contextual correlations were looked for in a worldwide sample of 793 questionnaire responses from project management professionals, using Principal Component Analysis, ANOVA test and post-hoc Tukey test. Context related differences found were limited, suggesting that the framework for improving and embedding project management practice is substantially generic. Therefore, the paper shows the explanatory power of the framework, which can be used by any organization independent of its sector of activity, dimension, geographic area and project types, however indicating the existence of slight differences. For example, Information Technology companies might give more relevance to initiatives such as corporate standardization and tailoring of project management processes tools and techniques than Engineering and Construction companies

Sistema de isolamento térmico pelo exterior (ETICS): reabilitação térmica em edifícios de habitação

As preocupações crescentes com a redução do elevado consumo energético associadas à actual conjuntura económica, tornam premente a alteração do rumo seguido pelo sector da construção nas últimas décadas em Portugal, que se tornou dependente da procura de construção nova. A aposta na reabilitação térmica além de ser uma alternativa viável para combater a queda acentuada neste sector, permite a melhoria da eficiência energética dos edifícios. Sendo o sector residencial responsável por uma parte significativa do consumo de energia em Portugal, resultante de uma construção cuja rápida expansão prejudicou a sua qualidade e também devido ao aumento das exigências no que respeita ao conforto e à qualidade, surge a aplicação de isolamento térmico como uma das principais formas de intervenção. Existe uma grande diversidade de soluções para o reforço da protecção térmica da envolvente de edifícios de habitação, incidindo este estudo sobre a reabilitação térmica das paredes exteriores, dando especial destaque a um dos sistemas de isolamento térmico pelo exterior – ETICS (Sistema Compósito de Isolamento Térmico pelo Exterior). Além de existirem diferentes técnicas construtivas, a informação existente encontra-se dispersa, pelo que a presente dissertação pretende contribuir para um conhecimento mais aprofundado deste sistema e consequentemente auxiliar o seu crescimento no sector da construção. Nesse contexto, após enquadramento do tema no contexto da reabilitação térmica e energética, são apresentadas numa fase inicial as diferentes soluções de isolamento térmico de fachadas. Após a caracterização das opções existentes e em desenvolvimento, o estudo recai na apresentação dos diferentes constituintes do sistema ETICS e na sua aplicação, de modo a tornar perceptível o seu correcto funcionamento, essencial para a compreensão das suas vantagens e desvantagens. A análise do Guia de Aprovação Técnica Europeia de ETICS (ETAG 004) permite apreender as exigências que guiam a comprovação da sua qualidade. A identificação das principais patologias que afectam este sistema, as respectivas causas e tratamentos possíveis, antecedem a apresentação das conclusões e recomendações para desenvolvimentos futuros

Project portfolio risk management: a structured literature review with future directions for research

Project Portfolio Risk Management (PPRM) has been identified as a relevant area regarding project portfolio success. This paper reports on a structured literature review of PPRM. A structured search and selection process was carried out and conventional content analysis was conducted in the literature analysis of 62 papers published in international journals. PPRM has its theoretical and practical bases in the modern theory of portfolios, decision theory and risk management (RM). The content analysis reveals four main recurrent topics in PPRM: (1) The influence of RM on project portfolio success, based on project portfolio impact level, moderators or contingency factors between RM and project portfolio success, and PPRM dimensions; (2) risk and project interdependencies, highlighting resources, technology, outcome, value, and accomplishment project interdependencies; (3) project portfolio risk (PPR) identification, where four main risk source categories are identified; and (4) PPR assessment, composed of risk measures and the main methods used for risk assessment. Therefore, this study provides an overview of PPRM as a research field, while it also promotes four future research directions: (1) PPRM as part of organizational RM; (2) RM, success dimensions and strategic impact; (3) mechanisms for PPR assessment, and (4) PPRM as a complex and dynamic system

The digital presence of emerging visual artists and its impact on career growth

The main objective of the present work is to understand how the digital presence of visual artists impacts their career growth, more specifically in a framework of four key areas: branding, engagement, networking, and conversion. To understand what the impact is, it is fundamental to understand how it works at a first stage. To collect data from people working in the area with the knowledge and experience to explore these topics and answer to the research questions, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted. All the artists interviewed have a career focused on illustration and are at an entry/emerging career level. Results show that within the interviewees the most impacted area is branding. This happens as gaining brand visibility and showing the work they do and who they are behind it happens in a direct and simple way through their digital channels, mainly their Instagram profile. The study starts with a bibliographic review to contextualize it. Its view is in agreement with the perspective of the artist as a brand manager, one that to succeed needs to manage their own brand – a human brand. Taking this necessity of managing a brand and a business to the current year we live in, it made sense to explore their digital presence. Digital presence can be defined as the sum of their online activities, as well as the activities taken by their audiences and stakeholders in a digital environment.O principal objetivo do presente estudo é perceber como é que a presença digital de artistas visuais impacta a sua carreira, mais especificamente num modelo de quatro áreas principais: marca, envolvimento digital, rede de contactos e conversão (vendas). Para perceber qual é que é o impacto da sua presença, é fundamental perceber primeiro como é que esta presença funciona. Para recolher dados através de pessoas que trabalham na área, com o conhecimento e experiência para explorar estes tópicos e responder às questões de investigação, foram realizadas oito entrevistas semiestruturadas. Todos os artistas entrevistados têm uma carreira focada em ilustração e estão num nível inicial/emergente de carreira. Os resultados demonstram que entre os entrevistados a vertente mais impactada é a da marca. Isto acontece porque o aumento de visibilidade da marca do artista, o facto de este conseguir mostrar quem é e o trabalho que faz acontece de forma simples e direta, através dos seus canais digitais e sobretudo do seu perfil de Instagram. O estudo inicia com uma revisão bibliográfica que o contextualiza. Encontra-se dentro da visão do artista enquanto gestor de marca, que para ter sucesso na sua carreira tem que gerir a sua própria marca – uma marca humana. Passando esta necessidade para o ano em que vivemos, fez sentido explorar a sua presença digital. Presença digital pode ser descrita como a soma de todas as suas atividades online, bem como as atividades realizadas pela sua audiência e partes interessadas num ambiente digital

Identifying useful project management practices: A mixed methodology approach

This paper describes a mixed methodological research approach for identifying practitioner perceptions of the most useful project management (PM) practices to improve project management performance. By identifying the perceived most useful tools and techniques, as having the most potential for increased contribution to project management performance, practitioners and organizations can select their priorities when improving PM practices. The research involved a programme of thirty interviews with Project Management professionals in Portugal, followed by a global survey. Completed questionnaires were received from 793 practitioners worldwide, covering 75 different countries. The results showed that the top twenty of the list of the most useful tools and techniques is composed of very well-known and widely used tools, such as: progress report; requirements analysis; progress meetings; risk identification; and project scope statement. PM practices in the top of list cover the overall PM life cycle from initiation to project closing, but particular relevance is given to tools and techniques from planning. The areas of knowledge, scope, time, risk, communication and integration, assume a high relevance, each with at least three PM practices on the top of the list

Requirements for a project evaluation and selection methodology

The evaluation and selection of projects is usually referred as critical for the sustainability of the competiveness of organizations, but also as a complex process. If, on one hand, a formal and structured selection process may contribute to the clear communication of objectives and transparency, on the other hand, it may be shrouded with incomplete information and uncertainty about the real potential contribution of projects. The design and development of project selection methodologies should inevitably take into consideration organizational characteristics and constraints. Literature has provided various contributions to this topic, however, their emphasis have been on one or few requirements. This paper presents a review of the requirements for developing and implementing a project evaluation and selection methodology in organizations. This overview can support managers in fine tuning project selection practices in organizations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An integrated framework to support sustainable electricity planning

The changes in the electricity sector along with the need for sustainable development required traditional electricity planning to expand beyond pure financial analysis and even beyond direct environmental impact analysis. The electricity planner has now the task of designing electricity strategies for the future with the view of enhancing the financial performance of the sector while simultaneously addressing environmental and social concerns. However, the integration of the relevant dimensions of sustainable electricity planning poses important challenges to researchers. In addition, to properly deal with the increasing use of renewable energy sources of variable output, traditional optimisation models must be able to integrate the short term operational planning and dispatching process with the long range planning models. This paper proposes a new framework to sustainable electricity planning, based on optimisation models for electricity power planning combined with participatory methodologies for addressing the social dimension of the problem. The effective implementation of this framework is demonstrated for a real case study based on the Portuguese electricity system. The research started from the presentation of electricity generation scenarios for 2020 drawn from a mixed integer linear optimization model. These scenarios were then characterized under different social, economic and environmental impacts, and evaluated according to a multicriteria procedure based on experts’ inputs.This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors –the EU – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds – Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-011377 and Project Pest- OE/EME/UI0252/2011

A methodology to incorporate risk and uncertainty in electricity power planning

Deterministic models based on most likely forecasts can bring simplicity to the electricity power planning but do not explicitly consider uncertainties and risks which are always present on the electricity systems. Stochastic models can account for uncertain parameters that are critical to obtain a robust solution, requiring however higher modelling and computational effort. The aim of this work was to propose a methodology to identify major uncertainties presented in the electricity system and demonstrate their impact in the long-term electricity production mix, through scenario analysis. The case of an electricity system with high renewable contribution was used to demonstrate how renewables uncertainty can be included in long term planning, combining Monte Carlo Simulation with a deterministic optimization model. This case showed that the problem of including risk in electricity planning could be explored in short running time even for large real systems. The results indicate that high growth demand rate combined with climate uncertainty represent major sources of risk for the definition of robust optimal technology mixes for the future. This is particularly important for the case of electricity systems with high share of renewables as climate change can have a major role on the expected power output.COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043University of Minho. ALGORITM

Photodynamic therapy in endodontics: literature review.

Endodontic therapy seeks to prevent and when necessary to eliminate endodontic infections. The persistence of microorganisms to the mechanical chemical preparation or the intracanal medication is considered the main cause of the failures of the endodontic treatment. In these cases Enterococcus faecalis is the most commonly found microorganism. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) emerges as a promising adjuvant therapy to conventional endodontic treatment to eliminate these persistent microorganisms. This therapy consists in the association of a specific light source with a photosensitizer in the presence of oxygen, producing cytotoxic species to the microorganisms. Thus, the present article aims at a review of the literature on the use of photodynamic therapy in endodontics, a test that is shown to assist in the preparation of the root canal.Endodontic therapy seeks to prevent and when necessary to eliminate endodontic infections. The persistence of microorganisms to the mechanical chemical preparation or the intracanal medication is considered the main cause of the failures of the endodontic treatment. In these cases Enterococcus faecalis is the most commonly found microorganism. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) emerges as a promising adjuvant therapy to conventional endodontic treatment to eliminate these persistent microorganisms. This therapy consists in the association of a specific light source with a photosensitizer in the presence of oxygen, producing cytotoxic species to the microorganisms. Thus, the present article aims at a review of the literature on the use of photodynamic therapy in endodontics, a test that is shown to assist in the preparation of the root canal