Original vs Smell-alike : a study of purchase intention drivers in the perfumes category

This study aims to understand which factors influence the purchase intention of perfumes by making a comparative analysis between original and imitation perfume brands. The latter have the exactly same fragrance as the original perfume but they are sold at a much lower price. Therefore, this evidence of a possible threat for original perfume retailers is going to be demystified. The theory of planned behavior was applied in order to understand what drives purchase intention. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that there is a performance and social risk associated with the purchase of perfumes and that could be the factor that differentiates the intention to purchase original perfumes instead of imitations. An online survey was conducted and the main findings were that attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control impact positively the purchase intention of perfumes. Moreover, when a customer believes that there is a price-quality inference relation, they tend to have a negative attitude towards imitation perfumes. Additionally, only performance risk influences negatively the purchase intention of perfumes. Finally, there was no evidence of differences between all the drivers influencing purchase intention regardless the kind of perfume. This study would be helpful for all managers of perfumes to gain insights in a way to increase consumers purchase intention. Improvement of quality perceptions, ensure good guarantees supported by good services, certify easy availability of resources and opportunities and launch marketing campaigns encouraging word-of-mouth communication are some possible strategies presented as main conclusions.Este estudo teve como objetivo compreender quais os fatores que influenciam a intenção de compra de perfumes, realizando uma análise comparativa entre marcas de perfume originais e imitações. Estas últimas, têm uma fragrância equivalente aos originais, mas possuem preços inferiores. Consequentemente, este estudo irá desmistificar esta possível ameaça para os retalhistas de perfumes originais. A teoria do comportamento planeado foi utilizada como base para entender o que impulsiona a intenção de compra de perfumes. Além disso, foi prevista a existência de um risco social e de performance associados à compra, que foram considerados fatores diferenciadores da intenção de compra de perfumes originais ao invés de imitações. Posteriormente, foi realizado um inquérito online que concluiu que a atitude, as normas subjetivas e o controlo comportamental percecionado influenciam positivamente a intenção de compra. Além disso, quando um consumidor acredita na relação preço-qualidade, este tende a ter uma atitude negativa para com as fragrâncias equivalentes. Adicionalmente, existe um risco de performance que afeta negativamente a intenção de compra de perfumes. Concluindo, não foram encontradas diferenças evidentes entre os fatores que influenciam a intenção de compra de perfumes originais versus imitações. Por fim, este estudo será útil para gerentes de perfumes, sendo que podem aplicar estratégias de forma a aumentar a intenção de compra. Melhorar as perceções de qualidade, assegurar boas garantias apoiadas por bons serviços, certificar a disponibilidade de recursos e oportunidades e lançar de campanhas de marketing incentivando a comunicação boca-a-boca são algumas estratégias apresentadas como principais conclusões

Oriental ceramics and Chinese porcelain from a Portuguese Indiaman, the presumable Nossa Senhora dos Mártires (Tagus River, Portugal)

UID/HIS/04666/2013This work, developed under the Master thesis project of the authoress, had as main objective the study of the ceramic assemblage found at the archaeological site of São Julião da Barra, located between Oeiras and Cascais (Lisbon, Portugal), at the mouth of the Tagus River (Fig. 1). This ceramics assemblage and other remains, among which stands out some pepper grains, has frequently been associated to the cargo brought aboard the Nossa Senhora dos Mártires Portuguese Indiaman, that sailed from Cochin, on January 1606, and sank near to the São Julião da Barra Fortress on 14 September 1606 (Castro, 2001).publishersversionpublishe

O portefólio e a aprendizagem no 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

O processo de autorregulação não se desenvolve nos alunos de forma espontânea. Neste sentido, é necessário preparar o trabalho com os alunos, a fim de se conseguir uma autorregulação eficaz e uma apropriação do significado dos objetivos de aprendizagem. No âmbito do Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico realizei um estudo com o objetivo de compreender o contributo do Portefólio, enquanto instrumento (auto) regulador da aprendizagem. Assim as nossas hipóteses de trabalho consistiram em analisar como se negociou com os alunos o processo de construção e como foi dinamizado e utilizado o portefólio, em sala de aula. Com esta análise procurámos perceber também como é que os alunos evoluíram neste percurso em termos da sua apropriação deste instrumento para o desenvolvimento das suas aprendizagens. A metodologia adotada inscreve-se numa abordagem qualitativa com um design próximo da investigação-ação. Os dados foram recolhidos através da observação, inquérito através de entrevistas e questionário e ainda através de análise documental dos portefólios dos alunos. Para a análise de dados utilizou-se a análise de conteúdo, em que as categorias se foram construindo no decurso do trabalho.Os resultados mostram que a apropriação de um trabalho novo é gradual e que a utilização do portefólio, enquanto instrumento de autorregulação, contribui para o desenvolvimento de um conjunto de aprendizagens que se relacionam com as áreas curriculares, mas também com a autonomia. O estudo também mostra que o portefólio assume-se como um instrumento por excelência para a atribuição de feedback, que também possibilita que os alunos melhorem o seu desempenho.Abstract The process of self-regulation does not develop in the students in a spontaneous way. In this sense, it is necessary to prepare students to work in order to achieve effective self-regulation, and ownership of the meaning of the learning objectives. In the context of Masters in Preschool and Primary Teaching Education we conducted a study aimed at understanding the contribution of the Portfolio as an instrument (self) control of learning. So our working hypotheses consisted of examining how students have negotiated with the construction process and how it was used and developed the portfolio in the classroom. With this analysis we also try to understand how students progressed in this path in terms of their appropriation of this tool for the development of their learning. The methodology is part of a qualitative approach with a design close to the action research. Data were collected through observation, investigation through interviews and questionnaire and also through documentary analysis of portfolios of students. For data analysis we used the content analysis, where the categories are gone during the building work. The results show that ownership of a new work is gradual and that the use of the portfolio as a tool for self-regulation contributes to the development of a set of learning that relate to curriculum areas, but also with autonomy. The study also shows that the portfolio is assumed as an instrument par excellence for the assignment feedback, which also enables students to improve their performanc

How sensitive are price sensitive events?

According to the Portuguese law and in line with the regulatory framework of the majority of the European capital markets (namely the UK market), security issuers have the obligation to reveal, in an appropriate way, publishable information, in order to avoid information asymmetry. This information is classified into two categories: the first called "Price Sensitive Events" and the second under the designation "Other Events/Communications" and, as it is expected, it does not necessarily influence share prices in a material way. The Portuguese regulator (CMVM - Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários) defines its website as the appropriate manner to disseminate this publishable information through the market. This study aims to find out how price sensitive these revealed price sensitive events are, and how timely the market reaction to their disclosure is. We applied the traditional event studies methodology, not only concerning stock prices, but also the trading volume (number of traded shares). Thus, we tested the hypothesis of the existence of an abnormal stock price returns and abnormal trading volume around or about the day, on which the price sensitive event was disclosed. Using a database of 1828 events that were considered significant for this purpose by issuers and collected from the regulators' website from 01/1/2000 to 31/12/2002, we found an average abnormal return of 0.23% on the announcement day with a subsequent price stabilization. However, when the sample was split up into good and bad news, we found an average abnormal return of +1.92% and -0.93% respectively. Although the return to equilibrium proved to be slower with regard to the trading volume, we found that, on average, there was an excess of activity around the announcement day. We can therefore conclude that the disclosure of price sensitive events classified as such contain useful market information, and that this information is incorporated in an efficient way in the share price formation process. However, the release of information seems to be done in a delayed way in comparison to what we would expect

Type of entrepreneurial activity and sustainable development goals

In this study, we conduct an exploratory study with the aim to investigate whether the type of entrepreneurial activity contributes to the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in its five dimensions (people, prosperity, planet, peace, and partnership). In addition, we evaluate whether foreign direct investment (FDI) strengthens or reduces these relations. To do so, we apply a multivariate analysis to a sample of 67 countries and find that entrepreneurship contributes negatively to the achievement of SDGs. This eect is mostly due to necessity and non-innovative entrepreneurships, and is evident in the people, prosperity, and partnership dimensions. Nonetheless, FDI helps to diminish this negative eect, as it improves the relation between entrepreneurships, particularly necessity entrepreneurships, and SDG achievement. The main dimension which experiences an improvement due to FDI is peopleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

UVC Dose Mapping by Mobile Robots

As infeções adquiridas em ambientes hospitalares são um problema persistente e crescente e a sua prevenção envolve a desinfeção de áreas e superfícies. A necessidade de métodos de desinfeção eficazes aumentou muito em consequência da pandemia de Covid-19. Um método eficaz é a utilização de exposição UVC porque a radiação UVC é absorvida pelos ácidos nucleicos e, portanto, é capaz de inativar microrganismos. Este método também traz muitas vantagens quando comparado com os métodos tradicionais de desinfeção. A desinfeção UVC pode ser realizada por equipamentos fixos que têm de ser deslocados de um local para outro de modo a desinfetar toda uma área, ou por um equipamento móvel autónomo que requer intervenção humana mínima para desinfetar completamente um ambiente. Esta dissertação foca em robôs móveis que desinfetam um ambiente utilizando radiação UVC. Estes robôs móveis são capazes de se mover autonomamente enquanto mapeiam o ambiente à sua volta e simultaneamente o desinfetam. Os robôs mantêm registo da dose aplicada a cada área do ambiente de modo a construir um mapa da dose e diferenciar as áreas completamente desinfetadas das que não o estão. Esta solução tem a vantagem de o robô realizar a desinfeção UVC sem necessitar de parar em cada área nem ter conhecimentos prévios sobre o ambiente. A validação desta solução foi realizada utilizando o rviz, uma ferramenta do Robot Operating System (ROS), e a LiDAR Camera L515. A câmara foi utilizada para recolher a informação necessária para a criação do mapa do ambiente e o rviz foi utilizado para visualizar o mapa da dose.Hospital-acquired infections are a persistent and increasing problem and their prevention involves disinfecting areas and surfaces. The necessity for effective disinfection methods has highly increased in consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. An effective method is using UVC exposure because UVC radiation is absorbed by nucleic acids and, therefore, is able to inactivate microorganisms. This method also brings many advantages when compared with traditional disinfection methods. UVC disinfection can be performed by fixed equipments that have to be moved from place to place to disinfect an entire area, or by an autonomous mobile equipment that requires minimal human intervention to completely disinfect an environment. This dissertation is focused on mobile robots that disinfect an environment using UVC radiation. These mobile robots are able to move autonomously while mapping the surrounding environment and simultaneously disinfect it. The robots keep track of the dose applied to each area of the environment in order to build a dose map and differentiate areas that are completely disinfected from those that are not. This solution has the advantage of the robot performing UVC disinfection without needing to stop in each area nor having previous knowledge of the environment. The validation of this solution was performed using rviz, a Robot Operating System (ROS) tool, and the LiDAR Camera L515. The camera was used to capture the necessary information for creating the map of the environment and rviz was used to visualize the dose map

Comparison of heart measurements in thoracic radiographs before and after the treatment of pulmonary edema in dogs with degenerative mitral valve disease : a retrospective study of 18 clinical cases

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina VeterináriaThe Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease (DMVD) has the highest prevalence of all canine heart diseases accounting for 75-80% of the cases of dogs with cardiac disease. DMVD is characterized by having an evolutive nature. As the disease progresses the microscopic and macroscopic alterations of the mitral valve’s apparatus become more severe and gradually start preventing the valve’s normal function. One of the complications that may occur is the development of pulmonary edema. Overt pulmonary edema occurs when the capacity of the pulmonary lymphatic system is exceeded, leading to an increase in the extravascular water content of the lungs. The etiology and consequently the cure for DMVD are not currently known, hence the importance of understanding and developing tools that allow the monitoring of the disease. Even though the best way to assess and confirm the diagnosis of DMVD is through echocardiography, this exam requires additional expertise to be performed and interpreted, as well as substantial financial costs to the owner. Simultaneously, radiography of the thorax is widely available and cost-effective, which justifies the interest in studying the evolution of the radiographic measures Vertebral Heart Score (VHS) and Vertebral Left Atrium Size (VLAS) in dogs with DMVD. This retrospective study aims to compare heart measurements in thoracic radiographs before and after the treatment of pulmonary edema in 18 dogs with DMVD that were submitted to consultation in a french veterinary referral center. The main conclusion of this study is that the size of the left atrium and the cardiac silhouette decreases after the resolution of cardiogenic pulmonary edema when compared to the dimensions during its occurrence. Furthermore, this decrease in the left atrium’s size is detectable using the VLAS method, which confirms its value in monitoring the progression of the disease. Consequently, it is possible for those who do not have access to an echocardiographic exam, to use the VLAS method to follow the evolution of the left atrium’s size throughout the progression of DMVD. It was also verified that VLAS measurements have a positive correlation with echocardiographic measures of the left atrium, implying that when one increases the other does so as well, and vice-versa.RESUMO - Comparação de medições cardíacas em radiografias torácicas antes e depois do tratamento de edema pulmonar em animais com Doença Degenerativa da Válvula Mitral: um estudo retrospetivo de 18 casos clínicos - A Doença Degenerativa da Válvula Mitral (DDVM) tem a prevalência mais alta de todas as doenças cardíacas caninas, representando 75-80% dos casos destes doentes. A DDVM é caracterizada pela sua natureza evolutiva. Assim à medida que a doença progride, as alterações microscópicas e macroscópicas da válvula mitral tornam-se mais graves e começam gradualmente a impedir o seu normal funcionamento. Uma das complicações que pode ocorrer é o desenvolvimento de edema pulmonar que sucede quando a capacidade do sistema linfático do pulmão é excedida, levando, por isso, à acumulação de conteúdo aquoso no compartimento extravascular dos mesmos. A etiologia e consequentemente a cura da DDVM não são atualmente conhecidas, dai a importância em perceber e desenvolver ferramentas que permitam a monitorização da doença. Embora a melhor maneira de determinar e confirmar o diagnóstico de DDVM seja através de uma ecocardiografia, este exame de diagnóstico representa um investimento para o proprietário, necessita de material caro e exige um nível de competência mais elevado para o realizar e interpretar. Simultaneamente, a realização de radiografias do tórax é uma técnica amplamente disponível e económica, o que justifica o interesse em estudar a evolução das medidas radiográficas Vertebral Heart Score (VHS) e Vertebral Left Atrium Size (VLAS) em cães com DDVM. O objetivo deste estudo retrospetivo prende-se com a comparação de medidas cardíacas, em radiografias da cavidade torácica, antes e depois do tratamento de edema pulmonar em 18 cães com DDVM que foram apresentados em consulta num centro hospitalar veterinário de referência francês. A principal conclusão deste estudo indica que o tamanho do átrio esquerdo e da silhueta cardíaca diminui depois da resolução do edema pulmonar de origem cardíaca, quando comparado com as dimensões durante a sua ocorrência. Adicionalmente, esta diminuição de tamanho do átrio esquerdo é detetável utilizando o método VLAS, o que confirma o seu valor na monitorização da progressão da doença. Consequentemente, é possível para aqueles que não têm acesso a um exame ecocardiográfico, utilizarem o método VLAS para seguir a evolução do tamanho do átrio esquerdo durante a progressão da DDVM. Também se verificou que as medições VLAS têm uma correlação positiva com as medidas ecocardiográficas do átrio esquerdo, o que implica que quando uma medida aumenta a outra aumenta também, e vice-versa.N/

Pension plans assumptions: the case of discount rate

Purpose In 2009, the International Accounting Standards Board started revising International Accounting Standard (IAS) 19 to improve the requirements for managing the annual expense of a pension plan. The revised standard became effective in 2013. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what effect this revision had on managerial discretion. The paper also examines the implications of the revision on the value relevance of accounting information. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a sample of 72 firms listed on the FTSE 100 that have defined benefit plans for the period between 2009 and 2015. The authors use a regression discontinuity design to analyse the effect from the revision of IAS 19 on the choice of managers regarding the expected rate of return-on-plan assets. The paper also investigates whether firms with higher pension sensitivity are more likely to manage earnings upward before the revision of IAS 19. Further, the paper studies the value relevance of earnings after the revision of the accounting standard. Findings Consistent with predictions, the results show that the adoption of the revised IAS 19 limits the use of the expected rate of return on assets to manage the annual expense of defined benefit plans. This finding shows a sharp increase in the value relevance of earnings. Practical implications This finding is useful for users and preparers of financial statements and regulatory bodies as it identifies not only the influence of a change in the accounting standard for earnings management but also provides evidence on the consequences of managers’ discretion. Originality/value This paper provides direct evidence on the relationship between regulation and financial reporting discretion. It also provides evidence to accounting standard setters that the revision of IAS 19 improves the value relevance of financial information, which gives additional justification to the changes introduced by regulatorsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio