Hybrid Prototypes to Assist Modeling Automotive Seats

The development of new modular seats is an important issue in the automotive industry. However, is very time consuming and costly. Virtual models and hybrid prototypes could accelerate the car seats development process. The hybrid prototypes are mainly manufactured by rapid prototyping with multi materials. The objective of this paper is to establish a methodology to develop innovative lightweight multi-functional, modular car seats to be used in Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPV), by means of FEA simulation and rapid prototyping additive/subtractive technologies utilizing multi materials. A case study is presented to validate the developed methodology. The manufactured hybrid prototype’s reproduces the main functionalities of the MPV modular seat, namely its three key positions: normal, stored and table.Mechanical Engineerin

The evolution of civil servants’ and managers’ recruitment and performance evaluation processes in Portuguese public administration

At the beginning of the 21st Century, new legal regulations have dictated deep changes in recruitment/selection and evaluation processes, both for employees and managers in Portuguese public administration. This paper addresses the application of these new legal documents as well as a new selection and evaluation philosophy that the Portuguese public administration seeks to instil into human resources management

Teleworking in Portuguese public administration during the COVID-19 pandemic: Advantages, disadvantages, work-life balance and motivation

This article seeks to characterise teleworking in public administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. It draws on a study that aimed to collect the perceptions of Portuguese public servants about this phenomenon. Findings show that, in general, perceptions of workers and managers about teleworking are more positive than negative. It seems that teleworking in public administration has succeeded despite perceptions of insufficient equipment supply and some stigmatisation of teleworkers. The article also sought to investigate whether the perception of the potential advantages and disadvantages of teleworking, with special emphasis on work-life balance, varies according to the workers' gender and number of dependents. The study found that this was indeed the case. However, there were also differences relating to workers' motivation. The study found that a significant proportion of Portuguese public servants felt more motivated when performing their activities as teleworkers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Public Administration Performance Appraisal Integrated System (SIADAP) and the Portuguese civil servants perceptions

As part of managerial reform process, in 2004 the Public Administration Performance Appraisal Integrated System (SIADAP) was set up in Portugal. This study aimed to analyze the perceptions of Portuguese civil servants on this appraisal system. A second drive was to understand how those perceptions change depending on what extent the model is perceived as fair or not. A survey was carried out and data were collected from 2066 civil servants, including managers. The results show very negative perceptions, in particular regarding SIADAP’s objectivity, transparency and fairness. Also, Kruskal-Wallis tests and post-hoc paired comparisons reveal that civil servants who see the system as “unfair” tend to have more negative perceptions on it than those who see it as “fair” or those who are not sure about the fairness of the system.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Reforma de la Administración Pública General en el Portugal democrático: del período post-revolucionario hasta la intervención de la Troika

Ultrapassado o período-pós revolucionário, ao longo das últimas décadas, as tendências de reforma administrativa em Portugal acompanharam aquilo que se passava no resto da Europa. Independentemente das idiossincrasias e das incoerências observadas, ao longo dos últimos 20 anos, o processo reformista foi marcado pela introdução das privatizações, da empresarialização da lógica administrativa, das tentativas de desburocratização e transparência na relação entre a administração e os cidadãos, da convergência de regimes laborais e da restruturação da Administração Pública Central. A partir de 2011, na sequência da assinatura do Memorando de Entendimento entre o governo português e a troika, a reforma restringiu-se essencialmente à aplicação de medidas avulsas que visaram sobretudo a redução dos custos da despesa pública. Não existindo para já referências teóricas científicas analíticas sobre a matéria tratada, o artigo apresenta uma abordagem descritiva e exploratória.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Data-driven disaster management in a smart city

Disasters, both natural and man-made, are extreme and complex events with consequences that translate into a loss of life and/or destruction of properties. The advances in IT and Big Data analysis represent an opportunity for the development of resilient environments once the application of analytical methods allows extracting information from a significant amount of data, optimizing the decision-making processes. This research aims to apply the CRISP-DM methodology to extract information about incidents that occurred in the city of Lisbon with emphasis on occurrences that affected buildings, constituting a tool to assist in the management of the city. Through this research, it was verified that there are temporal and spatial patterns of occurrences that affected the city of Lisbon, with some types of occurrences having a higher incidence in certain periods of the year, such as floods and collapses that occur when there are high levels of precipitation. On the other hand, it was verified that the downtown area of the city is the area most affected by occurrences. Finally, machine learning models were applied to the data and the predictive model Random Forest obtained the best result with an accuracy of 58%.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Redução e envelhecimento do emprego público em Portugal no início do século XXI: que consequências esperar?

O artigo pretende refletir sobre a evolução do emprego público em Portugal ao longo da primeira década e meia do século XXI, dando relevo ao período em que se cumpriu o Memorando de Entendimento com a Troika. Para além da reflexão teórica, o estudo socorreu-se de dados estatísticos tendo em vista ilustrar a tendência de redução dos trabalhadores públicos. Conclui-se que, fruto do paradigma managerialista e dos constrangimentos orçamentais, a diminuição do emprego público foi muito expressiva, verificando-se, a par disto, um envelhecimento acentuado dos trabalhadores. Estes fatores podem concorrer para pôr em perigo o Estado Social assim como os seus alicerces.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sistema integrado de avaliação de desempenho na Administração Pública Portuguesa (SIADAP): balanço de uma década

No âmbito do processo de reforma da Administração Pública, foi criado em 2004 o Sistema Integrado de Avaliação do Desempenho na Administração Pública (SIADAP), que viria a ser revisto pela Lei 66-B/2007, de 28 de dezembro e, mais tarde, pela Lei 66-B/2012, de 31 de dezembro. Este Sistema viria a ser determinante para uma mudança de paradigma na Administração Pública em Portugal que via, pela primeira vez, ser introduzida uma lógica de gestão por objetivos, obrigando à avaliação do desempenho de trabalhadores, dirigentes e serviços. O presente artigo propõe-se descrever a evolução conceptual da avaliação de desempenho, esclarecer as especificidades e constrangimentos que decorrem da sua aplicação no setor público e por fim, realizar uma análise crítica do SIADAP ao longo dos últimos dez anos, assim como das suas consequências na progressão de carreira dos trabalhadores em funções públicas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

PG.SGA (cotada) como indicador de prognóstico em oncologia

[Resumo][Abstract

Remote Monitor System for Alzheimer disease

Health Remote Monitoring Systems (HRMS) offer the ability to address health-care human resource concerns. In developing nations, where pervasive mobile networks and device access are linking people like never before, HRMS are of special relevance. A fundamental aim of this research work is the realization of technological-based solution to triage and follow-up people living with dementias so as to reduce pressure on busy staff while doing this from home so as to avoid all unnecessary visits to hospital facilities, increasingly perceived as dangerous due to COVID-19 but also raising nosocomial infections, raising alerts for abnormal values. Sensing approaches are complemented by advanced predictive models based on Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), thus being able to explore novel ways of demonstrating patient-centered predictive measures. Low-cost IoT devices composing a network of sensors and actuators aggregated to create a digital experience that will be used and exposure to people to simultaneously conduct several tests and obtain health data that can allow screening of early onset dementia and to aid in the follow-up of selected cases. The best ML for predicting AD was logistic regression with an accuracy of 86.9%. This application as demonstrated to be essential for caregivers once they can monitor multiple patients in real-time and actuate when abnormal values occur.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio