School to Work Transition, Employment Attainment and VET. Theories Guide for Policy Makers

The employment attainment after a vocational training course, in a lifelong learning perspective is due to several factors, those inherent to the individual and those through exogenous scopes. In this theoretical revue we identify the most and the least notorious theories that can support policy maker’s decisions. This paper is a result of a subchapter of the author’s PhD thesis. The usefulness of the theories briefly described is under the reader’s verdict and judgment. The objective is barely to share a structured way to compare eleven “big groups” of theories, underneath ten different elements, that are commonly the aim of public and private policies.employment attainment, vocational training, job search methods, constraints factors, employment, unemployment

From Training to Labour Market. Holocletic Model.

The desired professional insertion (placement) after training is under the influence of personal and exogenous variables. In the present paper we identify the constraints and devices that, in an interactive way, can shape and affect the professional insertion. This paper is a result of a subchapter of the author’s PhD dissertation. The helpfulness of the meanings and definitions is clearly reliant on the study framework. We aim to provide to the reader a set of elements that help to distinguish, to compare and turn out accessible the eclectic dominant mainstream, in order to standardized, to clarify and to apply concepts in future research works and studies. We also suggest a study model with a different point of view.employment attainment, vocational training, job search methods, constraints factors, devices, employment, unemployment.

The Role of Overseas Chinese in Europe in Making China Global: The Case of Portugal

This paper aims at analysing the characteristics and dynamics of the Chinese business community in Portugal in the context of the growing phenomenon of Chinese migration flows to Portugal and to Europe. By means of original research based on primary data obtained through questionnaires and interviews applied to Chinese entrepreneurs and business associations the paper provides an in-depth analysis of the role that this community plays both as a facilitator of China’s integration in the world economy and a potential bridge between the European Union (EU) and China. The study concludes that the Chinese business community in Portugal is rather heterogeneous, dominated by immigrants from Zhejiang province, who operate predominantly in the service sector (retail and wholesale trade), taking advantage of the guanxi network within Europe so as to make use of the advantages of the European single market in order to consolidate competitive advantages. Moreover, this community plays a pro-active role in fostering China’s integration in the global economy by acting as windows for the penetration of Chinese exports on the one hand and by capturing and channelling foreign direct investment to China on the other hand.Chinese business community in Portugal; Overseas Chinese network (guanxi); EU Single Market; EU-China trade and investment relations

On Scale: Ontological Variations in Photography

The concept of scale refers to complex phenomena that vary within space, time, or other dimensions in the real world. Scale underlines the connection between a representation and its referent while using finite and discrete measurements to render infinite narratives and meanings. The concept of scale can be as familiar as undefined, having a vari- ety of meanings depending on its operational context and disciplinary perspective. (Wells, 2013) In the specific context of lens-based arts, i.e., photography, the various approaches and implications of scale remain largely unanswered. The photograph of a landscape or a bacterium is unlikely to be material- ized in their real scale, its size would be, either, too big or too small for standardized observation. Scale anthropomorphises size, compressing physical and cultural geographies to pocket size, bringing distant percep- tions to arm’s length. As a concept, scale places humans at the centre of their own discourses while reinforcing human-centred taxonomies. None- theless, scalar variations are ontological to the photographic medium (Crowther, 2009), and have significant implications in the formation of individual narratives and political discourses, which are often made invisible or ignored. (Grau, 2003; Klein, 2004) This presentation attempts to uncover some of its problematics and its overall impact in the interpretation and formation of the work of art. Its primary focus is on photography while considering other artistic practices in a nondisciplinary convergent approach to scalar variations of size. References Crowther, P. (2009), Phenomenology of the Visual Arts (even the frame), Stanford, CA; Stanford University Press. Grau, O. (2003), Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion, Cambridge, MA: London: MIT Press. Klein, N. (2004), The Vatican to Vegas: A History of Special Effects, New York; London: The New Press. Mandelbrot, B. (1982), The Fractal Geometry of Nature, San Francisco, CA ; W.H.Freeman & Co. Wells, R. (2013), Scale in Contemporary Sculpture: Enlargement, Miniatu- rization, and the Life-Size, Farnham; Burlington: Ashgate.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Museos y Content Marketing. Hacia un nuevo modelo de generación de contenidos culturales

Los museos vienen aplicando, desde hace ya bastantes décadas, la teoría y práctica de la difusión cultural para generar contenidos culturales que faciliten la accesibilidad cognitiva y emocional de los visitantes a sus colecciones. Últimamente están apareciendo campañas y acciones de comunicación comercial que, lideradas desde los departamentos de comunicación de los museos, están creando unos contenidos cuyo objetivo final es publicitario, sirviéndose para ello de la técnica del Content Marketing. Este artículo presenta este nuevo modelo de generación de contenidos, mediante el análisis de algunos casos internacionales en los que se ha aplicado de forma exitosa.Since few decades ago, museums have been applying the theory and practice of Cultural Dissemination so as to generate cultural contents in order to provide visitors cognitive and emotional accessibility to collections. Recently, it have appeared campaigns and actions of commercial communication that, leaded by the museums’ communication departments, generate contents whose main aim is to create advertisement through the technique called Content Marketing. This article presents this new model of contents generation and analyses some international case studies where it has been applied successfully

Synthesis of bio-functional nanomaterials in reactive plasma discharges

Plasma processing technologies have been extensively used as surface modification platforms in many biomedical applications. Particularly, plasma polymerization (PP) is a versatile deposition technology which has the potential to deliver biocompatible interfaces for a myriad of medical devices. To successfully translate new materials for specific clinical applications, the plasma process needs to be scalable and incorporate appropriate control feedback strategies. However, the plasma medium in PP is exceptionally complex and identifying the main physical quantities that allow a suitable formulation and description of the interface growth mechanisms is challenging. The first part of the thesis reports the design and optimization of a single step ion assisted PP process to create plasma-activated coatings (PAC) that meet the extreme mechanical demands for cardiovascular implants and in particular stents. An ideal working window in the parameter space is identified, and found suitable for the synthesis of PAC interfaces that are mechanically robust, hemocompatibility and allow one step covalent protein immobilization without the need for chemical processes. This window is identified by combining plasma optical emission spectroscopy (OES) with a comprehensive macroscopic process description that isolates key coating growth mechanisms. During process scalability, OES diagnostics revealed the formation of plasma polymer nanoparticles (nanoP3), usually known as plasma dust, in parallel with the deposition of PAC coatings. The second part of the thesis reports the demonstration of carbonaceous plasma nanoparticles for nanomedicine applications. By controlling nanoparticle formation and collection, nanoP3 were engineered with unique immobilization capabilities facilitating multifunctional nanocarriers. The unique surface chemistry of nanoP3, allowing a robust immobilization of the cargo without the need for intermediate functionalization strategies, has great potential to overcome major limitations of currently proposed platforms. As many of the favorable characteristics of nanoP3 are inherent to the fabrication process, this work proposes PP as a nanoparticle synthesis route with valuable potential for broad clinical and commercial applications