Business Model Generation: A handbook for visionaries, game changers and challengers

The book entitled “Business Model Generation: A Handbook for visionaries, game changers and challengers” though written by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) was also co-created by 470 practitioners from 45 countries. The book is thus a good example of how a global creative collaboration effort can contribute positively to the business and management literature and subsequently to the advancement of society. The book "Business Model Generation" has both narrative and visual detail. Before proceeding to do an in-depth review of “Business Model Generation” we first looked at other publications by the authors which led up to the book

Producing innovation: Comments on Lee and Yu (2010)

The purpose of the article being reviewed (Lee and Yu, 2010), a survey by questionnaire with 182 valid responses, is to analyze “how different relationship styles of employees in the hi-tech industry influence innovation performance” and indeed its conclusions are that “the relationship style of an organization has a significant positive effect on innovation performance”. We see Lee and Yu (2010) as being similar to another highly cited article by Morgan and Hunt in so far as both articles are about relationships, cooperation and trust

Facilitating qualitative research in business studies - Using the business narrative to model value creation

This is a conceptual paper supported by empirical research giving details of a new Business Narrative Modelling Language (BNML). The need for BNML arose given a growing dissatisfaction with qualitative research approaches and also due to the need to bring entrepreneurs, especially those with little training in management theory, closer to the academic (as well as practitioner) discussion of innovation and strategy for value creation. We aim primarily for an improved communication process of events which can be described using the narrative, in the discussion of the value creation process. Our findings, illustrated through a case study, should be of interest to both researchers and practitioners alike

Development of pre-service mathematics teachers’ professional knowledge and identity in working with information and communication technology

This paper describes the work undertaken in a course in communication and information technology in a pre-service program for secondary school mathematics teachers. This course aimed to help pre-service teachers develop a positive attitude regarding ICT and use it confidently. It focused on the exploration of educational software and of the Internet’s potential as a means of research and production of web sites. We discuss how the pre-service mathematics teachers evaluate their work concerning their commitment, difficulties they found, learning they identified, and personal relationship. We also analyse the effects of the course on the development of their professional knowledge and identity

Firefighter of the future

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201

Using ICT to support reflection in pre-service mathematics teacher education

This paper analyses a virtual supervision setting (e-mail and forum) during the practicum in a pre-service secondary school mathematics teacher education program. It is a study of the authors’ own professional practice using a qualitative-interpretative approach and case studies of student teachers. The results show that the setting was significant for pre-service teachers who had a more reflective attitude, but was seen as a burden by the others. The forum enabled fruitful reflections and discussions and e-mail was mostly used for organizational matters. In the future, attention must be paid to the role of the educational supervisor in fostering participation in the forum and use of e-mail.Este artigo analisa um dispositivo de supervisão virtual (e-mail e fórum) durante o estágio num curso de formação inicial de professores de Matemática do ensino secundário. É um estudo dos autores sobre a sua própria prática profissional usando uma abordagem qualitativa e interpretativa e estudos de casos de futuros professores. Os resultados mostram que o dispositivo foi significativo para os futuros professores que tinham uma atitude mais reflexiva mas foi visto como um “peso” pelos outros futuros professores. O fórum permitiu reflexões frutuosas e discussões e o e-mail foi principalmente usado para matérias organizacionais. No futuro, deve ser dada atenção ao papel do supervisor educacional em promover a participação no fórum e o uso do e-mail

Receiver design for nonlinearly distorted OFDM : signals applications in radio-over-fiber systems

Tese de doutoramento. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores. Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Engenharia. 201

Portuguese Diplomatic Correspondence and Information Channels during the War of the Spanish Succession

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Portugal joined the Grand Alliance in 1703. It made it involved, from that year on, in the conflict that included most of the major European Powers in a dispute for the Spanish throne, which, ultimately, represented a contest for dominance in Europe. Under these circumstances, several diplomats were in charge of representing Portugal at the main European courts, protecting its interests and communicating regularly with the court of Lisbon.This paper addresses an understudied set of the correspondence written in this period by Francisco de Sousa Pacheco, the Portuguese envoy to The Hague, to João de Almeida Portugal, Portuguese ambassador to the court of Archduke Charles of Habsburg, one of the pretenders to the Spanish throne, in Barcelona. The main objective of this article is to study the information network established in Europe, mainly in the Grand Alliance side, and the different routes letters followed from The Hague to Barcelona, either using the existing postal system or known intermediaries. Letters were not the only means diplomats had to convey information to their addressees. They also sent other sources of information, like periodicals, accounts of events and pieces of information gathered from different sources, including propaganda in its various forms. It also analyses the developments of the war, the structure and evolution of these letters and the struggle of these diplomats with the other states to make sure their commitments to send military and financial support to the troops were fulfilled. He also wrote about the espionage within the various courts, and the interception diplomatic letters suffered from the opposite side.Ultimately, we’ll see the efforts of these ambassadors as a means for Portugal to gain recognition within Europe, although it ended up with an increasing dependency on foreign states support

Modulation of fear by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

Trabalho Final de Mestrado Integrado, Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, 2019Contexto: Embora a psicoterapia de exposição seja promissora no tratamento de doenças do foro nervoso e transtornos de medo como a perturbação de stress pós-traumático (PTSD), a maioria dos doentes não adquire total remissão da doença. Vários estudos sugerem a estimulação por corrente direta transcraniana (tDCS) como uma terapia capaz de facilitar o processo de extinção do medo, tendo este procedimento interesse como adjuvante para o aumento de eficácia da psicoterapia. Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi explorar o efeito de tDCS repetitivo na aquisição e consolidação da extinção do medo, usando o paradigma do condicionamento e extinção do medo em ratinhos. Numa segunda experiência, teve-se como objetivo o estudo do mecanismo de ação do tDCS no córtex pré-frontal (PFC), através do uso de um procedimento de microdiálise em ratinhos, de modo a analisar o efeito do tDCS na libertação de neurotransmissores no PFC. Métodos: Uma semana pós-cirurgia, ratinhos C57BL/6J machos (N=31) foram sujeitos a um procedimento de condicionamento do medo por via auditiva, seguido de tDCS anodal a 0.2 mA, 2 x 20 min/dia, durante cinco dias. Posteriormente, um protocolo de extinção foi executado, avaliando a memória de extinção 1 e 21 dias após a extinção. Num outro procedimento, ratinhos (N=6) foram submetidos a microdiálise através de perfusão com fluído cerebrospinal artificial por uma sonda microdialítica, colocada no PFC, sendo recolhidas amostras antes, durante, e após estimulação. Resultados: Os resultados demonstraram diferença significativa entre os grupos experimentais na aquisição da memória de extinção. Aquisição acelerada da extinção foi observada em ratinhos sujeitos a tDCS, no entanto, não foram observados resultados significativos na retenção da extinção. Foram também observados uma redução do medo contextual nos ratinhos sujeitos a tDCS, assim como uma correlação entre o efeito de extinção e o patamar de base de medo em ratinhos. Os resultados da microdiálise não foram conclusivos. Conclusão: Estes resultados demonstram potencial para o uso de tDCS como adjuvante na extinção do medo. No entanto, serão necessários mais estudos para clarificar o seu mecanismo de ação, os seus efeitos na retenção da extinção em modelos patológicos, e o seu efeito a longo prazo.Background: Although there is promise for exposure-based psychotherapy in the treatment of anxiety and trauma-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), most patients fail to achieve full remission. Several studies suggest that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a safe and non-invasive technique, can be used to facilitate the fear extinction process. Therefore, this procedure seems to be of interest to potentiate the efficacy of exposure-based therapy. Aim: The aim of this master thesis was to explore the effect of repeated tDCS on the acquisition and consolidation of fear extinction, using the fear conditioning and extinction paradigm in mice. In a second experiment, we aimed to help unravel the mechanism of action of tDCS in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) by exploring the effects of tDCS on the release of dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline in this brain region, using a microdialysis procedure in mice. Methods: Following one week of recovery from surgery, male C57BL/6J (N=31) were subjected to auditory fear conditioning, followed by 2 x 20 min/day anodal tDCS at 0.2 mA for five consecutive days. Extinction training was then performed, and retention of fear extinction was evaluated 1 day and 21 days afterwards. Microdialysis experiment was performed in mice (N=6) by perfusing a microdialysis probe, placed during surgery in the PFC, with artificial cerebrospinal fluid. Samples were collected before, during, and after tDCS stimulation. Results: The results demonstrated a significant difference between the experimental groups in the acquisition of extinction. Accelerated acquisition of extinction was observed in mice subjected to tDCS, whereas, no significant effects on the retention of extinction were observed. Also, a reduction in contextual fear levels in tDCS mice could be observed, as well as a significant correlation between extinction effect and baseline level of fear in mice. Microdialysis results were not conclusive. Conclusion: These results show potential for the use of tDCS as an adjuvant to extinction training. However, further studies are necessary to clarify its mechanism of action and the effects on extinction retention in a model of PTSD, and long-term effect on retention of extinction memory.Vrije Universiteit Brusse