Comunicação organizacional - efeitos da adopção de um sistema de informação

Num contexto de rápidas mudanças, a informação e o conhecimento desempenham um papel cada vez mais importante e decisivo na competitividade e sucesso das organizações. Para responder aos desafios e oportunidades do meio envolvente, adoptam-se novos modelos de organização social, cada vez mais flexíveis e dinâmicos, voltados para o trabalho em equipa, bem como tecnologias de informação que permitam, precisamente, responder, com qualidade e precisão, a estes desafios

Impacto dos sistemas colaborativos nas organizações : estudo de casos de adopção e utilização de sistemas workflow

A importância, e o grau de adopção dos Sistemas Workflow nas organizações, têm vindo a aumentar progressivamente nos últimos anos, um pouco por todo o mundo. Apesar de já existirem alguns estudos no que concerne aos aspectos tecnológicos e computacionais sobre estes sistemas, são raros, ainda, os estudos sobre o seu impacto nas organizações. Também se desconhece o grau de utilização destes sistemas nas organizações portuguesas. A presente dissertação procura contribuir para o preenchimento destas lacunas. Para isso, procedeu-se, numa primeira fase, a uma sondagem que permitiu obter conhecimento sobre o grau de penetração de algumas Tecnologias de Informação, incluindo os sistemas Workflow, em algumas grandes empresas portuguesas. Numa segunda fase, e para estudar o impacto dos sistemas Workflow nas organizações, desenvolveu-se uma estrutura de análise que integrou os domínios onde as mudanças provocadas podem ser mais visíveis. Analisaramse, também, os factores organizacionais que influenciaram o uso desse sistema. Considera-se a organização como um sistema composto por subsistemas e onde as mudanças são resultado de um processo que ocorre ao longo de um dado período de tempo, fruto, não só dos factores organizacionais, mas também das relações de inter-influência que se estabelecem entre eles. A estrutura de análise foi aplicada junto de duas empresas, que constituíram os casos do estudo. A recolha de dados foi efectuada através de entrevista, observação e análise documental, ao que se seguiu uma análise qualitativa de conteúdo. A aplicação desta estrutura de análise revelou que os sistemas Workflow levam a alterações a nível da produtividade, com a redução de tempos globais e eliminação de papel; a nível da comunicação, colaboração e coordenação de tarefas, com a eliminação de barreiras temporais e geográficas, com a uniformização dos processos, a redução das incertezas e ambiguidade dos comportamentos dos utilizadores, entre outros; e a nível do conhecimento e da aprendizagem organizacional, devido à necessidade de se explicitarem informações, anteriormente detidas pelos utilizadores, proceder ao registo dos eventos, contribuindo, assim, para a constituição de parte da memória organizacional, para só citar as mais relevantes. Foi, também, possível observar a importância relativa dos vários factores organizacionais, nomeadamente dos estruturais, tecnológicos, políticos, humanos e culturais, na compreensão das alterações que possam resultar da implementação de um sistema Workflow.The importance and the degree of penetration of Workflow Systems in markets and organisations have developed progressively in the last years, all over the world. Although there are a few studies concerning the computational and technological aspects of these systems, research about their organisational impact is rare. In particular, studies about the degree of penetration of these systems in the portuguese organizations are lacking. This thesis attempts to fill these gaps. The study was developed in two phases. In the first phase a survey about the degree of penetration of Information Technology, and in particular about Workflow Systems, in large portuguese enterprises was carried out. In the second phase, and in order to study the impact of Workflow Systems in organizations, I developed a framework of analysis that integrates the identification of the domains where changes can be observed. I have also analysed the organisational factors that influenced the use of the system. I considered the organisation as a system, composed by sub systems, where changes are the result of a process evolving in a period of time. Changes are the result, not only of the characteristics of organisational factors, but also of the relations that are established among them. The framework of analysis was applied to two enterprises that constituted the cases of the study. Data was gathered through interviews, observations and document analysis and later analysed qualitatively. The application of this framework of analysis revealed that the use of Workflow Systems leads to changes in productivity with the reduction of cycle accomplishment time and elimination of paper; in communication, collaboration and coordination of tasks, with the elimination of obstacles of time and space, standardisation of processes, reduction of behaviour uncertainty, among others; in knowledge and organisational learning, due to the need of explicit information detained by users, to register events, to contribute to the building of an organisational memory, to mention the most important ones. I also could observe the relevance of the several organisational factors, namely the structure, the technology, the politics, the humans and the relationships established among them, and finally the culture, to understand changes that happened after the implementation of the Workflow System. L’importance et le degré de pénétration des systèmes Workflow dans le marché et dans les organisations, a subi un développement progressif dans les dernières années, un peu partout dans le monde. Malgré l’existence de quelques études concernant les aspects technologiques et computationnels de ses systèmes, les études concernant leurs impacts dans l’organisation sont rares. Aussi, méconnaît-on le degré de pénétration des ces systèmes dans les organisations portugaises. Cette thèse essaye de combler ces lacunes. L’étude a été développée en deux phases. Dans la première phase, j’ai fait un sondage qui a permit de mieux connaître le degré de pénétration des technologies d’information, et en particulier des systèmes Workflow, dans les grandes entreprises portugaises. Dans la seconde phase, pour étudier l’impact des systèmes Workflow dans les organisations, j’ai développé une structure d’analyse qu’intègre l’identification des domaines où on peut observer les changements. Aussi ai-je analysé les facteurs organisationnels qui ont influencé l’utilisation du système. On considère l’organisation comme un système, composé de sub-systèmes, où les changements sont le résultat, non seulement d’un processus qui survient tout au long d’une période de temps, mais aussi des relations d’influence qui s’établirent entre eux. Cette structure d’analyse a été appliquée en deux entreprises qui ont constitué les cas de l’étude. La récolte des donnés a été effectuée par interviews, observations et analyse documentaire. Les données ont été analysées qualitativement. L’application de cette structure d’analyse a révélé que les systèmes Workflow peuvent provoquer des changements au niveau de la productivité, avec la réduction des temps de réalisation des tâches et l’élimination du papier; au niveau de la communication, collaboration et coordination des procédures, avec l’élimination des obstacles de temps et d’espace, l’uniformisation des processus, la réduction des ambiguïtés de comportements des utilisateurs, entre autres; et au niveau de la connaissance et de l’apprentissage organisationnel, due à la nécessité d’expliciter des informations détenues par les employés, procéder à l’enregistrement des événements, en contribuant ainsi pour la construction d’une part de la mémoire organisationnelle, pour citer les plus importants. On a aussi pu observer l’importance des plusieurs facteurs organisationnels, nommément les facteurs structurels, technologiques, politiques, humains et sociaux et culturels, dans la compréhension des changements dus à l’adoption d’un système Workflow.Fundação Luso-Americana; Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian; PRODEP

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons May Contibute for Prostate Cancer Progression

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer affecting men in the Western world. Risk factors include ageing, genetics, recurrent inflammation, lifestyle and diet intake, related to an increase of oxidative stress. Prostate cancer risk is also associated with exposure to carcinogen such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), originated from the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels like tobacco, wood, diesel, or charbroiled meat. Although numerous studies have associated the effect of PAHs to tumour development, few investigations have associated its effects to cancer progression. Considering that prostate cancer patients don’t die from localized prostate cancer but from advanced disease, we are interested in investigating whether PAHs may potentially influence prostate cancer progression and how this could be related to an increase in oxidative stress. Likewise we evaluated the effect of PAHs (pyrene, benzo(a) pyrene, chrysene and benzo(k)fluoranthene) on cell growth and in the expression of molecules involved in cancer me- tastization such as the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) using prostate- derived cell lines from localized adenocarcinoma (HPV10), bone metastasis (PC3) and in non-neoplastic prostate epi- thelium cells. Moreover, we evaluated oxidative stress parameters, assessing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and reduced glutathione content. Our data clearly demonstrates that PAHs can stimulate cell growth, particularly in lo- calized cancer cells and induce an increase of VEGF and HIF expression. These results are concomitant with an increase of ROS production, suggesting that PAHs exposure may participate in prostate cancer progression, in part, due to an increase of ROS. Therefore this study suggests that PAHs exposure should be avoided to prevent prostate cancer progression

Building a knowledge and learning society in Portugal - Adult students in technological schools and higher education institutions

Chapter in Merrill, Barbara (ed.) (2009) Learning to Change? The Role of Identity and Learning Careers in Adult Education. Hamburg: Peter Lang Publishers. URL: http://www.peterlang.com/ index.cfm?vID=58279&vLang=E&vHR=1&vUR=2&vUUR=1This chapter introduces a case study of adult students in Portugal. It was developed by the Portuguese partner of the PRILHE (Promoting Reflective Independent Learning in HE) project consortium. This was a project funded by the European Commission Socrates Adult Education Programme (113869-CP-1-2004-1-UK- GRUNDTVIG-G1PP). In Portugal, adults may choose Higher Education Institutions[1] (HEI) or Technological Schools (TS) to pursue their education. The case study shows that there are similarities and differences between students from TS and Universities, mostly related with the approaches students have to learning and the way teachers take into consideration these approaches. It seems that TS have “best practices” that could usefully be implemented by other institutions. The chapter is organised as follows: first, we contextualize LLL development as an element within the political objective of creation of a knowledge economy, especially in the context of the European Union's Lisbon Agenda, linking education with employment. The different access routes non-traditional adult students can take to access Universities in the Portuguese higher education (HE) system are then briefly described. The PRILHE project, its main objectives, the participant institutions in the consortium, and the methodology used to gather and analyse data are briefly explained. Finally, the results of the Portuguese case within this project are presented and discu

Essential internal control: evidence from the executive branch of the State of Ceará

Purpose: This article aims to identify management practices that evidence how internal control have been considered essential, from the edition of the State Constitutional Amendment n. 75 of 2012, within the Public Administration of the Executive Branch of the State of Ceará, in the period 2012-2021.   Design: The study relates the identified management practices to COSO (The Comitee of Sponsoring Organizations) Methodology "Internal Environment" component categories. The Research is classified as basic, exploratory, bibliographic, on the theme of Internal Control in scientific articles published between 2015 and 2021, and documental, carried out through official documents, including the 27 Brazil constitutions.   Findings: Existence of management practices that corroborate the essentiality of internal control in Ceará.   Limitations: The study is limited to evidencing the control practices implemented in Ceará, not evaluating them as to their quality.   Practical implications: Contributions on Control on constitutional-legal bases for other Brazilian Federation States.   Social implications: Possibility of introducing the research theme into various branches of scientific knowledge, such as Political Science and contributing to public organizations to implement policies with the proper application of resources for the benefit of society.                                                                                                          Originality: The originality of the research is in demonstrating the essentiality of internal control in the state of Ceará, from the edition of management acts performed by the Executive Branch, based on Constitutional Amendment 75 of 2012, which did not become a dead letter of the law, enabling other states of the federation to do the same

Serological and Molecular Survey of Leishmania infantum in a Population of Iberian Lynxes (Lynx pardinus)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Leishmania Research: From Basic Parasite Biology to Disease Control.Leishmania infantum, the sand fly-transmitted protozoan parasite responsible for leishmaniasis in humans, dogs, and cats, is endemic in the Iberian Peninsula. However, the impact of L. infantum infection on the conservation of the endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is unknown. Herein, we describe for the first time the occurrence of L. infantum infection among a population of reintroduced and wild-born L. pardinus living in the Portuguese Guadiana Valley Park. The presence of infection was addressed by molecular detection of Leishmania kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) in 35 lynxes, with further confirmation of L. infantum species performed by an internally transcribed spacer (ITS)-1 sequencing. Eight blood samples were positive for kDNA, and ITS-1 sequencing confirmed the presence of L. infantum in two of those samples. Exposure to Leishmania was screened in a group of 36 lynxes using an immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and a multi-antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), using SPLA, rK39, and CPX as Leishmania-specific antigens. Four animals presented a positive IFAT at a dilution of 1:40. Eight samples were considered seropositive to all ELISA Leishmania-specific antigens. Agreement between PCR, IFAT, and all ELISA antigens was found for 1 in 27 samples. These results highlight the susceptibility of autochthonous L. pardinus to L. infantum infection. Further investigation is required to assess the impact of L. infantum infection on this wild species conservation.This research was funded by the Parasite Disease Group at i3S, Porto, Portugal, and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the PhD scholarship number 2020.07306.BD and the project PTDC/CVT-CVT/6798/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Glycoengineered nanoparticles enhance the delivery of 5-fluoroucil and paclitaxel to gastric cancer cells of high metastatic potential

Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, with half of patients developing metastasis within 5 years after curative treatment. Moreover, many patients cannot tolerate or complete systemic treatment due severe side-effects, reducing their effectiveness. Thus, targeted therapeutics are warranted to improve treatment outcomes and reduce toxicity. Herein, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles loaded with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and paclitaxel were surface-functionalized with a monoclonal antibody targeting sialyl-Lewis A (sLeA), a known glycan mediating hematogenous metastasis. Nanoparticles, ranging from 137 to 330 nm, enabled the controlled release of cytotoxic drugs at neutral and acid pH, supporting potential for intravenous and oral administration. Nanoencapsulation also reduced the initial toxicity of the drugs against gastric cells, suggesting it may constitute a safer administration vehicle. Furthermore, nanoparticle functionalization significantly enhanced targeting to sLeA cells in vitro and ex vivo (over 40% in comparison to non-targeted nanoparticles). In summary, a glycoengineered nano-vehicle was successfully developed to deliver 5-FU and paclitaxel therapeutic agents to metastatic gastric cancer cells. We anticipate that this may constitute an important milestone to establish improved targeted therapeutics against gastric cancer. Given the pancarcinomic nature of the sLeA antigen, the translation of this solution to other models may be also envisaged.publishe

Linguateca: um centro de recursos distribuí­do para o processamento computacional da lí­ngua portuguesa

Neste artigo apresentamos uma panorâmica da actividade da Linguateca na criação e disponibilização de recursos e ferramentas para a língua portuguesa. Começamos por uma descrição dos objectivos e pressupostos da Linguateca e uma breve história da sua intervenção, e finalizamos com algumas considerações sobre a melhor forma de prosseguir na organização da área