Vodafone Portugal : subscription TV facing emerging technologies

The case study in question aims to understand the potential danger that telecommunication operators are facing with the emergence of new technologies that replace their existing services and even provide added benefits. In order for the reader to understand the current status quo, the case study provides insight on Vodafone’s position in the Portuguese market but also enlighten the reader on emerging technologies. Given all this information, the teaching note looks into whether Vodafone should in fact step ahead of the competitors and be the first one to innovate in the Portuguese market, looking into the pros and cons of such enterprise, or if the company should hold for the time being. It will be concluded that Vodafone has noticeable advantage in this market by assuming a leadership position when it comes to innovation. Another question that will be answered throughout this thesis is what future functionalities will be more valued by consumers especially millennials. These often value mobility, creativity, adaptability and the option to be connected through technology; these dynamics are already successfully met by newer technologies that cater to their needs. Incorporating functionalities in the current TV subscription model is no easy task but it is necessary that Vodafone leverages on providing mobility and quality content to their viewers. The case focuses on the importance of innovation for Vodafone but also other telecom firms.O caso aqui apresentado procura perceber o perigo potencial que as empreses de telecomunicações enfrentam devido à emergência de novas tecnologias que procuram substituir os serviços existentes e ainda fornecem benefícios extra aos consumidores. De modo a que o leitor possa compreender o status quo atual, o caso fornece informação relativa à posição atual da Vodafone no mercado Português de telecomunicações e ainda procura dar a conhecer novos serviços existentes, também conhecidos como over the top. Dada toda esta informação, as notas de aprendizagem vão se debruçar em compreender se a Vodafone deveria de facto adiantar se à competição e ser a primeira empresa a inovar no mercado Português, ou se deveria esperar e seguir atrás de outras empresas. Concluí se que a Vodafone tem vantagem considerável neste tipo de mercado se agir primeiro. Outra questão que é respondida ao longo da tese é a seguinte, quais as funcionalidades futuras que são mais valorizadas pelos consumidores, especialmente os Millenials. Estes valorizam funcionalidades como a mobilidade, criatividade, adaptabilidade e a opção de se conectarem através do uso da tecnologia. Estas dinâmicas já são abordados com sucesso por novas tecnologias que diretamente procuram satisfazer as necessidades dos Millenials. Incorporar estas funcionalidades não é uma tarefa simples mas é necessário que a Vodafone consiga tornar os seus serviços mais móveis e melhorar a qualidade. Por último, o caso centra se na noção que inovação é mandatória numa indústria tão ligada à tecnologia

As Especificidades do ensino precoce de língua estrangeira: um estudo de caso

p. 57-71A aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras no 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico promove uma exposição à língua e cultura diferentes, nomeadamente de diversos países europeus falantes dessas mesmas línguas. Este mesmo contexto de ensino-aprendizagem tem especificidades próprias que vamos procurar enunciar neste artigo. Começaremos por nos referirmos à complexidade do processo de ensino- -aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras e à importância de aquisição duma Competência Comunicativa Intercultural ao longo da vida. De seguida, teceremos algumas considerações respeitantes às características do ensino precoce de línguas estrangeiras, no que se refere a objectivos a cumprir e tipologia de actividades mais indicadas, analisando- -o ainda tendo em conta Orientações Programáticas do Ministério da Educação. De forma a ilustrar melhor o nosso estudo, faremos um estudo de caso no qual analisaremos uma aula de inglês no 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico com o intuito de percebermos quais são as estratégias mais adequadas no ensino de línguas estrangeiras e de que forma se poderá implementar a interdisciplinaridade entre as diferentes áreas curriculares e o Inglês

O pensamento estratégico estruturado, na sua fundamentação ôntica e epistemológica do planeamento de Forças Terrestres

As sociedades modernas, sobretudo as pertencentes à Europa Ocidental, tendem a questionar a utilidade da Defesa Nacional e das Forças Armadas, devido à perceção de que o grau das ameaças e riscos a que estão sujeitas é reduzido. Os planeadores estratégicos militares são confrontados com o desafio de terem de fundamentar o investimento em capacidades militares credíveis, para dar cabal cumprimento a um conjunto diversificado de missões atribuídas. O objeto desta investigação é a relação entre o pensamento estratégico estruturado e o planeamento de forças terrestres. O objetivo geral deste estudo foi avaliar a influência do pensamento estratégico estruturado no planeamento de forças terrestres, para o que foi efetuada uma caracterização do pensamento estratégico estruturado, na sua fundamentação ôntica e epistemológica; e foi analisado o atual processo de planeamento de forças terrestres. Em termos metodológicos, quanto ao tipo de raciocínio, foi seguido o pensamento crítico, articulado com uma estratégia qualitativa, sustentada numa análise documental, tendo o desenho de pesquisa sido transversal. Concluiu-se que o planeamento de forças terrestres é influenciado pelo pensamento estratégico estruturado, tendo a presente investigação confirmado que o planeamento de forças terrestres beneficia do pensamento estratégico estruturado, na sua fundamentação ôntica e epistemológica, enquanto base conceptual.Modern societies, especially those in Western Europe, tend to question the usefulness of National Defense and the Armed Forces, due to the perception that the degree of threats and risks to which they are subjected is low. Military strategic planners are faced with the challenge of having to justify investment in credible military capabilities, in order to fulfill a diverse set of assigned missions. The object of this research is the relationship between structured strategic thinking and ground forces planning. The overall objective of this study was to assess the influence of structured strategic thinking on ground forces planning, for which a characterization of structured strategic thinking was carried out, in its ontic and epistemological foundation; and the current process of ground forces planning was analyzed. In methodological terms, as to the type of reasoning, critical thinking was followed, articulated with a qualitative strategy, sustained by a documentary analysis, and the research design was cross-sectional. It was concluded that land forces planning is influenced by structured strategic thinking and this research confirmed that land forces planning benefits from structured strategic thinking in its ontic and epistemological foundation, as a conceptual basis.N/

Myosin V passing over Arp2/3 junctions: branching ratio calculated from the elastic lever arm model

Myosin V is a two-headed processive motor protein that walks in a hand-over-hand fashion along actin filaments. When it encounters a filament branch, formed by the Arp2/3 complex, it can either stay on the straight mother filament, or switch to the daughter filament. We study both probabilities using the elastic lever arm model for myosin V. We calculate the shapes and bending energies of all relevant configurations in which the trail head is bound to the actin filament before Arp2/3 and the lead head is bound either to the mother or to the daughter filament. Based on the assumption that the probability for a head to bind to a certain actin subunit is proportional to the Boltzmann factor obtained from the elastic energy, we calculate the mother/daughter filament branching ratio. Our model predicts a value of 27% for the daughter and 73% for the mother filament. This result is in good agreement with recent experimental data.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Biophysical Journa

A Simple Kinetic Model Describes the Processivity of Myosin-V

Myosin-V is a motor protein responsible for organelle and vesicle transport in cells. Recent single-molecule experiments have shown that it is an efficient processive motor that walks along actin filaments taking steps of mean size close to 36 nm. A theoretical study of myosin-V motility is presented following an approach used successfully to analyze the dynamics of conventional kinesin but also taking some account of step-size variations. Much of the present experimental data for myosin-V can be well described by a two-state chemical kinetic model with three load-dependent rates. In addition, the analysis predicts the variation of the mean velocity and of the randomness -- a quantitative measure of the stochastic deviations from uniform, constant-speed motion -- with ATP concentration under both resisting and assisting loads, and indicates a {\it sub}step of size $d_{0} \simeq$ 13-14 nm (from the ATP-binding site) that appears to accord with independent observations.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, to be published in Biophys. J. in 200

O Património Artístico da Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Monchique Inventário, Estudo e Preservação

The Santas Casas da Misericórdia possess a rich cultural heritage, illustrative of more than 500 years of history. The Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Monchique (SCMM) is also the owner of a varied movable patrimony that had not yet been studied, neither by the institution nor by the União das Misericórdias Portuguesas - Gabinete do Património Cultural. The purpose of this dissertation is to make the inventory of the collection of the SCMM, allowing us to know it in its fullness and, consequently, to lay the foundations for its management, safeguard, and diffusion. Studying in accordance with normative and good museological practices, the inventoried cultural heritage encompasses goods of various categories of art, such as painting, sculpture, photography, goldsmithing, metals, textiles, furniture, epigraphy, equipment and utensils, as well as medical and health, within the supercategory of Science and Technology. These objects can be dated between the XVIII and XXI centuries. Being the XVIII century predominantly constituted by the combined patrimony of the SCMM. In this context, 299 objects were inventoried, which, rather than the intrinsic artistic value, are relevant in their immaterial component to the Institution and to the populations served by it, as testimonies of the past associated with religious worship and the "works of mercy" practiced by the Santa Casa. In addition to describing the process of inventorying this heritage, and laying the foundations for the future development of preventive conservation policy, based on the recognition of the main risk factors. In this dissertation we are, also, going to know the Santa Casa Misericordia de Monchique in its whole, while explaining, at the same time, as a framework, the origins of the Santas Casas and their importance to the communitie

Elastic lever arm model for myosin V

We present a mechanochemical model for myosin V, a two-headed processive motor protein. We derive the properties of a dimer from those of an individual head, which we model both with a 4-state cycle (detached, attached with ADP.Pi, attached with ADP and attached without nucleotide) and alternatively with a 5-state cycle (where the power stroke is not tightly coupled to the phosphate release). In each state the lever arm leaves the head at a different, but fixed, angle. The lever arm itself is described as an elastic rod. The chemical cycles of both heads are coordinated exclusively by the mechanical connection between the two lever arms. The model explains head coordination by showing that the lead head only binds to actin after the power stroke in the trail head and that it only undergoes its power stroke after the trail head unbinds from actin. Both models (4- and 5-state) reproduce the observed hand-over-hand motion and fit the measured force-velocity relations. The main difference between the two models concerns the load dependence of the run length, which is much weaker in the 5-state model. We show how systematic processivity measurement under varying conditions could be used to distinguish between both models and to determine the kinetic parameters.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, to appear in Biophys.

Salivary Fluoride Levels after Use of High-Fluoride Dentifrice

The aim of the study was to evaluate salivary fluoride (F) availability after toothbrushing with a high-F dentifrice. Twelve adult volunteers took part in this crossover and blind study. F concentration in saliva was determined after brushing with a high-F dentifrice (5000 µg F/g) or with a conventional F concentration dentifrice (1100 µg F/g) followed by a 15 mL distilled water rinse. Samples of nonstimulated saliva were collected on the following times: before (baseline), and immediately after spit (time = 0) and after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min. F analysis was performed with a fluoride-sensitive electrode and the area under curve of F salivary concentration × time (µg F/mL × min−1) was calculated. At baseline, no significant difference was found among dentifrices (P > 0.05). After brushing, both dentifrices caused an elevated fluoride level in saliva; however salivary F concentration was significantly higher at all times, when high-F dentifrice was used (P < 0.01). Even after 120 min, salivary F concentration was still higher than the baseline values for both dentifrices (P < 0.001). High-F dentifrice enhanced the bioavailability of salivary F, being an option for caries management in patients with high caries risk

Contributos da comunicação na promoção da saúde oral e na adesão de profissionais de saúde a um programa de saúde oral

Dissertação de Mestrado em Comunicação em Saúde apresentada à Universidade AbertaEste estudo pretende ser um contributo no âmbito da comunicação e na promoção da saúde, em particular da saúde oral. As estratégias e os processos de comunicação, de informação e de educação em saúde, constituem áreas de vital importância para o planeamento, implementação, desenvolvimento, monitorização e avaliação de projectos e acções promotoras da saúde. Deste modo, esta investigação visa também, adquirir e aprofundar conhecimentos sobre estas temáticas. Os objectivos preconizados para esta investigação: investigar sobre a percepção dos profissionais de saúde face aos processos de comunicação afectos ao Programa de Saúde Oral (PSO) do Serviço de Saúde Ocupacional do Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central EPE – Hospital de S. José; conhecer e caracterizar a avaliação que os profissionais de saúde fazem sobre as dimensões constituintes deste Programa, incluindo a qualidade dos cuidados de saúde prestados e os processos e métodos comunicacionais usados no Programa de Saúde Oral; analisar através de uma perspectiva histórica/documental algumas dimensões e evolução deste Programa. Uma amostra de 75 profissionais de saúde com idades compreendidas entre 23 e os 63 anos, completou um questionário que incluiu medidas de avaliação demográfica, medidas de avaliação cognitiva (percepções sobre a comunicação, sobre o benefício, importância, relevância e impacto). Os resultados sugerem que existem relações positivas moderadas entre várias dimensões do PSO (importância do PSO para a saúde oral e geral, acessibilidade, o contributo para a aquisição de hábitos favoráveis, o beneficio do PSO para a saúde, o impacto dos cuidados para a saúde e para o bem-estar, e ainda, com a avaliação global da qualidade dos cuidados de saúde oral). Verificou-se ainda que a comunicação pode constituir um mediador da avaliação da qualidade de cuidados prestados, na qual implicitamente as capacidades comunicativas dos técnicos de saúde são também avaliadas. Adicionalmente, a comunicação constitui também, um preditor na adesão a acções de promoção da saúde e a recomendações terapêuticas. Os resultados enfatizam a importância do acesso a programas promoção de saúde oral no local de trabalho, bem como a disponibilização de cuidados de saúde em contexto ocupacional de forma equitativa, tendo em conta os determinantes sociais, a aproximação aos factores de risco comum. Não obstante, os dados obtidos sugerem a melhoria de alguns aspectos do PSO, nomeadamente na metodologia de divulgação e de informação, que podem ser determinantes para que a transmissão de informação influencie a aquisição de conhecimentos e a adopção de comportamentos favoráveis à saúde oral. Pretende-se também, que a adesão dos profissionais a esta intervenção proporcione a aquisição de novas concepções de saúde, nomeadamente sobre a importância da saúde oral enquanto parte integrante e indissociável da saúde geral, da qual depende o bem-estar e a qualidade de vida dos indivíduos nos vários contextos onde estão inseridosThis study intends to be a contribute in communication and health promotion, particularly in oral health. The strategies and the communication processes, information and health education, constitute crucial important areas for implementation, development, assessment, projects evaluation, action in health promotion, also this investigation intent to acquire thoughtful knowledge on these subjects. The aims of this study is to investigate about the health professionals perception of communication processes in Oral Health Program (OHP); to know and to characterize health professionals evaluation of the OHP dimensions: access, adherence, importance and benefits, quality of the health cares, communication and information processes used in this program. A sample of 75 health professionals, with ages between 23 and 63 years old, completed a questionnaire, which included measures of demographic evaluation, of cognitive evaluation (perceptions about the communication, benefit, importance, relevance and impact). The results suggest that moderate positive relations exist between the PSO dimensions. It was still verified, that communication can be a mediator in the evaluation of the quality of health care, in which the communications skills of the health technicians are also evaluated. Additionally, communication may also be a forecaster in adherence to health promotion actions and therapeutic recommendations. The discussion of the results emphasizes the importance of the access to oral health programs at work, as well as the access to health care in an equal way, taking in account the social determinant of health, the approach to the factors of common risk. The results founds suggest the improvement of some aspects of PSO, in the popularization methodology and information, that can be decisive for the transmission of information to influence the knowledge acquisition and the favorable behaviors adoption to the oral health. It is also intended, that the professionals adhesion to this intervention, provides the acquisition of new health conceptions, specifically about oral health importance while it leaves integral and intrinsic on general health, which depends the well-being and individuals' quality of life in the several context

Development of Neurogenic Detrusor Overactivity after Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury Is Accompanied by Time-Dependent Changes in Lumbosacral Expression of Axonal Growth Regulators

Thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI) results in urinary dysfunction, which majorly affects the quality of life of SCI patients. Abnormal sprouting of lumbosacral bladder afferents plays a crucial role in this condition. Underlying mechanisms may include changes in expression of regulators of axonal growth, including chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans (CSPGs), myelin-associated inhibitors (MAIs) and repulsive guidance molecules, known to be upregulated at the injury site post SCI. Here, we confirmed lumbosacral upregulation of the growth-associated protein GAP43 in SCI animals with bladder dysfunction, indicating the occurrence of axonal sprouting. Neurocan and Phosphacan (CSPGs), as well as Nogo-A (MAI), at the same spinal segments were upregulated 7 days post injury (dpi) but returned to baseline values 28 dpi. In turn, qPCR analysis of the mRNA levels for receptors of those repulsive molecules in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons showed a time-dependent decrease in receptor expression. In vitro assays with DRG neurons from SCI rats demonstrated that exposure to high levels of NGF downregulated the expression of some, but not all, receptors for those regulators of axonal growth. The present results, therefore, show significant molecular changes at the lumbosacral cord and DRGs after thoracic lesion, likely critically involved in neuroplastic events leading to urinary impairment