The Challenges of Strategic Human Resources Management in Southeast Asian Universities

Nowadays the Higher Education Institutions face major challenges in its development. Demanding from different actors and the orientation of the research, more oriented to innovation and value creation, request news capacities to answer to that. Southeast Asia shows a strong economic growth with a large increase in GDP and a growing improvement in the position of The Human Development Index promoted by United Nations. This reality creates a different pressure on the higher education institutions in southeast Asia that requires a change in the universities, in the way they implement the mission and in the requested capacities, specially the human resources capacities. In this way, a new paradigm and model of human resources management for southeast higher education institutions need be developed to create the conditions to answer to this new reality, where the main analysis variables will be talent, performance, motivation and retention, coaching, cross cultural, integrity and permanent adaptability and flexibility. The main objective of this communication is to reflect and contextualize in terms of theoretical models where we find the assumptions for the implementation of strategic human resources management for southeast Asian universities. What kind of profile is request for the staff in this new reality? What we need to change in human resources management? How can this change be implemented? What HRM tools are most relevant to this reality? These are the main issues on which we will reflect with a critical thinking approach in order to present a set of clues to southeast Asian universities according to our analysis and interpretation, as Portuguese and European

The Sustainable Development Goal 4 and the Impact Ranking: Quality education in Portuguese higher education institutions

Sustainability based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is currently a relevant dimension for the competitiveness of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Portuguese HEIs will have, therefore, to adapt to the demands of the times and follow the Sustainable Development practices. Therefore, Quality Education is, then, a factor that allows HEIs to have competitive advantages, given that Education is a critical success factor for these institutions. Through a qualitative analysis of articles on the theme of Sustainability in Higher Education and the THE Impact Ranking platform, we tried to understand the impact that SDG 4 - Quality of Education has on Portuguese Higher Education Institutions, registered on this platform from 2019 to 2022. The main conclusion is that SDG 4 does not seem to be considered yet by Portuguese HEIs as a distinctive factor to obtain competitive advantage in the universe of HEIs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Quality and satisfaction: The case of nautical tourist services in the Region of Alto Douro Vinhateiro – Portugal

Purpose – Organizations of tourist services, in the context of económica and financial crisis, seeking to combine the concept of quality to the satisfaction of internal customers (employees) and external customers (tourists), so as to ensure the provision of a personalized service excellence. This paper aims to provide an overview of the quality of the tourist services effected in the nautical Alto Douro Vinhateiro (ADV) – Portugal. Design/methodology/approach – This project work was applied to 117 internal customers (employees), through the application of a survey of various nautical tourist services organizations in the ADV. Findings – The results obtained demonstrate that there are aspects to be improved in these organizations, so that employees feel satisfied, namely: concern for employees; specific training; working conditions; greater dialogue between supervisors and employees; allocation of workload and time off. Originality/value – The employees´ satisfaction (internal customers) hasn´t been studied in nautical tourist services, due to the fact that the main approach has been to analys the external customers satisfaction.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of Plum Procyanidins by Thiolytic Depolymerization

The phenolic compounds of ?Green Gage? (GG) plums (Prunus domestica L.), ?Rainha Cla?udia Verde?, from a ?protected designation of origin? (PDO), in Portugal, were quantified in both flesh and skin tissues of plums collected in two different orchards (GG-V and GG-C). Analyzes of phenolic compounds were also performed on another GG European plum obtained in France (GG-F) and two other French plums, ?Mirabelle? (M) and ?Golden Japan? (GJ). Thiolysis was used for the first time in the analysis of plum phenolic compounds. This methodology showed that the flesh and skin contain a large proportion of flavan-3-ols, which account, respectively, for 92 and 85% in GJ, 61 and 44% in GG-V, 62 and 48% in GG-C, 54 and 27% in M, and 45 and 37% in GG-F. Terminal units of procyanidins observed in plums are mainly (+)-catechin (54?77% of all terminal units in flesh and 57?81% in skin). The GJ plums showed a phenolic composition different from all of the others, with a lower content of chlorogenic acid isomers and the presence of A-type procyanidins as dimers and terminal residues of polymerized forms. The average degree of polymerization (DPn) of plum procyanidins was higher in the flesh (5?9 units) than in the skin (4?6 units). Procyanidin B7 was observed in the flesh of all GG plums and in the skin of the Portuguese ones. Principal component analysis of the phenolic composition of the flesh and skin of these plums obtained after thiolysis allowed their distinction according to the variety and origin, opening the possibility of the use of phenolic composition for variety/origin identification

Students´ Representations of education Quality in Different School Levels: an Exploratory Study with Portuguese Students

Quality may be studied from different perspectives. Research shows that many variables may be envolved when the target is the educational system. One may analyse the motivation of students and teachers, the methodologies of teaching, the processes of evaluation, the resources available, the educational facilities, the course organization or the academic success. Recent research results show a strong positive correlation between students’ academic success and the quality of education available to them. However, the way students perceive the quality indicators has been a less explored area. We present the results of an academic longitudinal research project that aims to study the students’ representations of quality along the school system in order to contribute to an improvement of teaching and learning processes. The sampling of this exploratory study focused on compulsory education, secondary education and higher education. In this paper the authors analyse data collected in three institutions of higher education in Portugal, through a questionnaire survey

Bioactive compounds, pigments, antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity of yellow prickly pear peels

The main goal of this research was to study the effects of pressure, extraction time and ethanol concentration on antioxidant activity, total phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanins, carotenoids and betalains compounds extraction from yellow prickly pear peels. A Box-Behnken design and Response Surface Methodology were used to evaluate the effects and estimate the optimum extraction conditions. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua. Ethanol concentration was the variable that showed the highest effect on extraction yields but high-pressure increased extraction yields between 6% and 17%. Models showed good fitting and adequacy to the experimental data and the high correlation of models indicated that it can be employed to optimise extraction conditions. The experimental and predicted values differed <10% and the extracts inhibited the growth of both bacteria. High-pressure could be a promising extraction process to improve extraction of bioactives from prickly pear peels.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An explanation for another familial case of Rett syndrome: maternal germline mosaicism

Rett syndrome (RTT; OMIM#312750) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder that affects mainly girls. It has an estimated incidence of 1:10,000-15,000 females. Mutations in the X-linked gene methyl CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2) have been found in most patients. The most accepted explanation for the sex bias is that the Rett mutation in sporadic cases has its origin in the paternal germline X chromosome and can thus only be transmitted to females. The majority of cases are sporadic (99.5%) but some familial cases have been described. These cases can either be explained by germline mosaicism or by asymptomatic carrier mothers with skewing of X-inactivation towards the wild-type MECP2 allele. We describe one of the few familial cases of RTT in which a maternal germline mosaicism is the most likely explanation. The mutation p.Arg270fs (c.808delC) was identified in both a girl with classical RTT and her brother who had the severe neurological phenotype usually described in males. The mutation was absent in DNA extracted from blood of both parents. These type of events must be taken into consideration in the genetic counselling of families after the diagnosis of a first case of RTT in a female or a MECP2 mutation in a male

Enhancement of Bioactivity of Natural Extracts by Non-Thermal High Hydrostatic Pressure Extraction

Natural extracts, likethose obtained from medicinal herbs, dietary plantsand fruitsare being recognized as important sources of bioactive compounds with several functionalities including antioxidant, anticancer, and antimicrobial activities. Plant extracts rich in phenolic antioxidants are currently being successfully used for several pharmaceutical applications and in the development of new foods(i.e.,functional foods),in order to enhance the bioactivity of the products and to replace synthetic antioxidants.The extraction method applied in the recovery of the bioactive compounds from natural materials is a key factor to enhance the bioactivity of the extracts. However, most of the extraction techniques have to employ heat, which can easily lead to heat sensitive compounds losing their biological activity, due to changes caused by temperature. Presently, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP)is being increasingly explored as a cold extraction method of bioactive compounds from natural sources.This non-thermal high hydrostatic pressure extraction (HHPE) technique allows one to reduce the extraction time and increase the extraction of natural beneficial ingredients, in terms of nutritional value and biological activities and thus enhance the bioactivity of the extracts.This review provides an updated and comprehensive overview on the extraction efficiency of HHPE for the production of natural extracts with enhanced bioactivity,based on the extraction yield,total content and individual composition of bioactive compounds, extraction selectivity, and biological activities of the different plant extracts, so far studied by extraction with this technique.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) of Portugal for the PhD grants attributed to H. Scepankova (SFRH/BD/88133/2012) and M. Martins (SFRH/BD/ 122220/2016) and to FCT/MEC for the financial support to the QOPNA research Unit (FCT UID/QUI/00062/2013), through national funds and where applicable co-financed by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Optimization of raw ewes’ milk high-pressure pre-treatment for improved production of raw milk cheese

Serra da Estrela protected designation of origin (PDO) cheese is manufactured with raw milk from Bordaleira and/or Churra Mondegueira da Serra da Estrela sheep breeds. Several socioenvironmental shortcomings have reduced production capacity; hence, treatments that may contribute to its efficient transformation into cheese are welcome. High-pressure processing (HPP) milk pre-treatment may contribute to a cheese yield increment, yet optimization of processing conditions is warranted. An initial wide-scope screening experiment allowed for pinpointing pressure intensity, holding time under pressure and time after HPP as the most important factors influencing curd yield. Based on this, a more targeted screening experiment allowed for selecting the range of experimental conditions to be used for an experimental design study that revealed an HPP treatment at 121 MPa for 30 min as the optimum for milk processing to improve curd yield (>9%) and effectively maintain the beneficial cheese microbiota; the optimum was validated in a final experimental framework.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effect of high pressure processing on a functional acorn beverage

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio