How Barclaycard Portugal can activate and engage customers

CEMSBarclaycard has experienced a drop in the unblock rates of the two credit cards it introduced in the market in mid-2015. Our analysis identifies the major driver for such decline to be the increase of the relative sales volume of these cards in the least effective acquisition channels, whereby misleading incentives lead to the selection of undesired customers and engagement opportunities are being disregarded. A restructuring of the incentives for both customers and salespeople, and an improved interaction with customers along their life-cycle are hence suggested, aiming at improving unblock rates, as well as card usage

First-year law students’ and teacher’s questioning in class

Classroom questioning can be considered a key factor in the promotion of student engagement. This case study explored classroom questioning practices and perceptions of a group of 47 first-year law students and their teacher. Eight lessons of 90 min were observed and audio-recorded and afterward the students and the teacher answered a questionnaire. The teacher was also interviewed. Researchers examined the number and type of questions asked by the teacher and by the students in the classroom and analyzed the students' and the teacher's perceptions about the importance of classroom questioning. Results indicated that the teacher and most students consider questioning important or very important for student learning. The number of questions posed by students as opposed to by their teacher was not balanced, as the teacher was responsible for 93% of the questions. The analysis of the type of questions posed by the teacher and by the students showed a predominance of low-order questions. Therefore, classroom questioning in this case study did not seem to promote students' autonomous thinking. The current study suggests the importance of examining the teacher and students' patterns of questioning together, analyzing its similarities and discrepancies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Towards a conservation strategy for an endangered rodent, the Cabrera vole (Microtus cabrerae Thomas):insights from ecological data

Tese de doutoramento, Biologia (Ecologia), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2013The Cabrera vole Microtus cabrerae is a Vulnerable species in Portugal and Spain. The lack on the general ecology and the importance of the conservation of this species lead to this thesis, which also has as a goal to contribute to a future conservation plan. It was identified an enlargement of the previously known distribution at a national scale, particularly over the most central region of Portugal, extending its range to the north-eastern side and to the southwest. This vole is not as specialized at a regional scale as it was detected for the national model. The importance of the montado, which was not detected at a national scale, was also highlighted. Contrarily, at the colony scale, open areas with high herbaceous cover determined the occurrence of voles. However, distribution and spacing greatly varied throughout the year. Several demographic and spatial parameters were determined. Although most of them are consistent with previous studies, differences between wet and dry seasons for these parameters had never been reported. The palatability experience revealed a preference of voles for monocotyledons and annual plants, but no relationship with grassland plant communities. The hypothesis that the establishment of a colony is mainly determined by abundance and persistence of plants, rather than by their palatability, was suggested. Post-wildfire recolonisation was studied for the first time. Vegetation structure and composition were closely related to reoccupation. Fire intensity did not influence recolonisation, contrary to distance from unburned areas and the presence of the montado. In this thesis the importance of the montado was reinforced (chapters III and VI) as well as differences detected between seasons (chapters III and IV). Several aspects, such as main distribution areas, habitat characteristics and dietary preferences (chapters II, III and V), are of major importance in the definition of a future national conservation plan for the species.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, SFRH/BD/6841/2001

Coinfeção HIV/SARS-CoV-2: novas opções de tratamento e vacinação

Trabalho Final de Mestrado Integrado, Ciências Farmacêuticas, 2021, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia.A COVID-19, causada pelo SARS-CoV-2, deu origem a uma pandemia a nível mundial. Esta pandemia criou um profundo impacto na saúde pública e inúmeros desafios, inclusive ao nível da prevenção e tratamento da infeção por HIV devido à interrupção da prestação de cuidados nestes doentes, bem como da terapêutica e vacinação em indivíduos coinfetados. Existem cerca de 38 milhões de pessoas infetadas pelo HIV que se encontram em risco de coinfeção pelo SARS-CoV-2. O impacto da coexistência destas duas infeções ainda continua por esclarecer, uma vez que a evidência existente é controversa. Por um lado, existe evidência do aumento de gravidade e mortalidade por COVID-19 em pessoas infetadas pelo HIV. Por outro lado, alguns estudos concluíram que a taxa de morbilidade e mortalidade não difere dos indivíduos infetados apenas com SARS-CoV-2. O papel da terapêutica antirretrovírica mantém-se também incerto na prevenção/tratamento da COVID-19, sabe-se, contudo, que indivíduos com doença estável por HIV poderão ter uma melhor resposta à COVID-19. Existem ainda muitas incertezas nesta temática. É necessário assim realizar mais estudos com um maior número de indivíduos coinfetados com HIV/SARS-CoV-2, de modo a perceber o verdadeiro impacto do HIV e da terapêutica antirretrovírica na evolução da COVID-19, assim como estudos que incluam pessoas com infeção não estável por HIV ou que não façam terapêutica antirretrovírica e sem comorbilidades de modo a eliminar possíveis fatores de confundimento. O desafio da gestão do indivíduo coinfetado passa por averiguar a melhor forma de controlar ambas as patologias. A manutenção da terapêutica antirretrovírica é fundamental para atingir esse objetivo, e ao nível da abordagem de prevenção e tratamento da COVID-19 mantém-se os princípios aplicados à população em geral. É assim crucial fazer mais estudos no que toca à terapêutica e vacinação, não só para descobrir novas opções de tratamento da COVID-19, como também fortalecer a evidência da terapêutica existente em indivíduos com infeção estável por HIV e avaliar o impacto da vacinação em doentes imunossuprimidos.The COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has given rise to a global pandemic. This one has created a profound impact on public health and brought many challenges, including topics of HIV prevention and/ or treatment due to the interruption of health care in these patients, as well as treating and vaccinating coinfected patients. There are currently about 38 Million people infected with HIV who are at risk of being coinfected with SARS-CoV-2. The impact of these two infections coexisting together needs to be clarified, since the published evidence is quite controversial. There is an evidence of an increased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in people infected with HIV. On the other hand, some studies have concluded that the rate of morbidity and mortality did not differ from people only infected with SARS-CoV-2. The role of antiretroviral therapy also remains unclear in the prevention / treatment of COVID-19. It is known, however, that individuals with stable HIV disease may have a better response to COVID-19. There are still many uncertainties on this area. It is therefore necessary to develop further studies with a larger number of patients coinfected with HIV/SARS-CoV-2, in order to understand the real impact of HIV and antiretroviral therapy on the evolution of COVID-19, as well as studies including people who do not take antiretroviral therapy or with an unstable HIV infection and without comorbidities so as to eliminate possible confounding factors. The challenge of managing coinfected patients is based on find out the best way to control both pathologies. The maintenance of antiretroviral therapy is essential to achieve this goal. Looking for the COVID-19 prevention and treatment approach, the principles applied to the general population are maintained. It is therefore crucial to conduct further studies focused on therapy and vaccination, not only to develop new treatment options for COVID-19, but also to strengthen the evidence of existing therapies in people with stable HIV infection and to assess the impact of vaccination on immunosuppressed patients

Laryngopharyngeal reflux & vocal quality in senior population: "Mr./Ms. Gluttony"

Voice is a carrier of emotions and sentiments. It is, moreover, a distinctive element of one’s personality. Voice is generated in the vocal tract from a sound produced in the larynx. When alterations occur in the normal process of voice emission, that dysfunction is called dysphonia. Dysphonia may be caused by Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR). Correlations among the mentioned parameters are scarcely examined in the existing literature, making it pertinent to render information available and throw light on the issue. The current paper focuses on how to make the elderly population (and respective informal caregivers) aware of LPR’s influence on vocal quality through a health education instrument originally designed to tackle this problem. That instrument – “Mr./Ms. Gluttony” – addresses behaviours, specifically dietary behaviours, known to precipitate, aggravate and/or perpetuate LPR.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The phantasmatic mind and the superstitious parts of the tattooed body

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Tattoos have presently become works of art and body accessories, serving as anchors that help to solidify a sense of Self. The present exploratory and qualitative study aimed at understanding the mental representation of the skin in tattooed individuals and the role that tattoos play as a vehicle for the projected identity of the Self. The studied sample consisted of 387 individuals from both genders (146 males and 241 females), aged 16 to 72 years with exposed tattoos, who were invited to produce two self-portraits and a written answer on whether they had experienced any form of discrimination due to their tattooed body. We then proceeded to the content analysis of the 774 collected pictorial drawings, using a grid featuring analytical categories purposely conceived for this study. The results revealed that the self-portraits drawn before the subjects were tattooed showed less body investment than those drawn afterwards. However, the mental representation of the self-portraits drawn after the subjects were tattooed showed a fragmented idea of the body - only the body part that was tattooed was pictorially represented. Additionally, they were associated to a state of happiness (e.g. smile, movement, flexibility, freedom) and to a personal valorization.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

My tooth is ill: about the mental representation of the concept of caries in children (phase I)

Abstract in proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of CiiEM: Health, Well-Being and Ageing in the 21st Century, held at Egas Moniz’ University Campus in Monte de Caparica, Almada, from 3–5 June 2019.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Youth cultures, digital cultures: practices of young Portuguese and Mexicans

São jovens portugueses e mexicanos com algo em comum: têm práticas e consumos digitais intensos. Desde uma perspetiva comparativa, apresentamos as suas atividades na rede.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of hygrothermal and natural aging on the durability of multilayer insulation systems incorporating thermal mortars with EPS and aerogel

This study evaluated the durability of three innovative multilayer insulation systems incorporating thermal mortars with EPS aggregates and silica aerogel granules after hygrothermal accelerated aging and one year of natural aging at an urban site in Portugal. The loss of performance was assessed after the accelerated aging and every three months of natural aging using non-destructive testing. Chemical-morphological analyses were also carried out prior to and after accelerated and natural aging. Results obtained after accelerated and natural aging were compared, thus contributing towards a deeper understanding of possible synergistic effects of several degradation agents and mechanisms on the long-term durability of multilayer insulation systems. The Coffin-Manson equation showed that the accelerated aging procedure (∼13 days of heat/rain cycles and 5 days of heat/cold cycles) adopted herein corresponds to approximately 11 years of natural aging in typical urban conditions. The results show a significant increase in capillary water absorption and drying capacity after aging. Extensive surface microcracking was observed after accelerated aging and after 3 months of natural aging, especially in the systems facing North. Traces of biological growth were detected on both the artificially and naturally aged systems, whereas aesthetic alterations were more pronounced in North-oriented specimens after 3 months of exposure, with significantly lower surface gloss and a darker tone. On the other hand, color change cannot be detected in the artificially aged systems, due to the lack of degradation agents such as pollutants or UV radiation that were not included in the accelerated aging procedure.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Toward the Sustainable and Efficient Use of External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS): A Comprehensive Review of Anomalies, Performance Parameters, Requirements and Durability

The identification of the main degradation agents and knowledge of the degradation mechanisms and long-term performance of ETICSs are of fundamental importance for the sustainable and efficient use of these systems. This review article presents the state of the art related to the durability of ETICSs, defining the required bases for their sustainable and efficient use. The aim is to identify the most common anomalies detected on ETICS façades and their causes, to overview the performance of ETICS, their performance parameters and requirements and to identify the most significant degradation mechanisms and the related failure modes. The results show that ETICS application is a key aspect in the performance and durability of the system, since most of the anomalies can be prevented with proper design, execution and appropriate assembly of the system components. The greatest drawbacks lie in dealing with enhancing the water resistance over time, which leads to extensive cases of anomalies, and improving the mechanical and thermal performance during the life cycle. Further research is needed to evaluate the synergistic effect of several degradation agents and mechanisms toward a development in optimized durability assessment methodologies for ETICSs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio