The contribution of the new technologies to the 21st - Century Design

In the past the market economy was dominated by the local and regional design,characterized for strong links to the customs, traditions and natural resources from eachregion.As the consequence of the technological advances and the growing needs of consumption,at present, products are manufactured based on economical, functional and marketingcriterions, which means that their design is very offset from the regional and local signs.Between the challenges that characterize the actual economy, one highlights the existenceof more market niches, product variations and shorter life cycles. To survive in this economy,marked by the competition and the globalisation, one search to imply in product developingprocess, the design, engineering, marketing and production department, that composes aknown industrial methodology called concurrent or simultaneous engineering.In this article, one intends to exhibit the applications and advantages of the newtechnologies, like Rapid Prototyping (RP), that are valuable tools of the concurrentengineering and to analyse the specific implications in the design history and teaching.RP is a family of modern technologies that generate three-dimensional solid objects undercomputer control. Besides its designation be reported to the first major application that isindustrial prototyping, the RP equipments also allow the rapid tooling and the directmanufacture of small series or single products.Nowadays, the commercialisation of RP equipments, termed concept modellers or 3Dprintersis in great expansion. Although these machines use a very reduced class of cheapmaterials with poor mechanical characteristics, they allow the designers to verify and quicklytest the ideas that they are developing during the creative process. The designer can realize inplenitude the iterative process of creation without the traditional economical and materialslimitations, being enough to send the CAD file directly to the RP equipment placed in aoffice, like an usual inkjet printer. So it is possible to test new ideas with better accuracybefore its concretisation, avoiding misunderstandings and delays and inciting the positivecriticism through the involvement of the technical staff from all the related departments.Particularity, faced to the challenges due to the globalisation, the traditional and regionalindustries will find in these technologies the means that they need to ensure its own futuresurviving.This presentation is divided in the following sections:- Innovation loop in the past and in the present. The iterative process.- New technologies available to the design and the designers: Rapid Prototyping andInternet.- Design Pedagogy: new challenges in the formation of future generations of designers.- Conclusions and future trends

The Incidence of Marine Toxins and the Associated Seafood Poisoning Episodes in the African Countries of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea

The occurrence of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and bacteria can be one of the great threats to public health due to their ability to produce marine toxins (MTs). The most reported MTs include paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), amnesic shellfish toxins (ASTs), diarrheic shellfish toxins (DSTs), cyclic imines (CIs), ciguatoxins (CTXs), azaspiracids (AZTs), palytoxin (PlTXs), tetrodotoxins (TTXs) and their analogs, some of them leading to fatal outcomes. MTs have been reported in several marine organisms causing human poisoning incidents since these organisms constitute the food basis of coastal human populations. In African countries of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, to date, only South Africa has a specific monitoring program for MTs and some other countries count only with respect to centers of seafood poisoning control. Therefore, the aim of this review is to evaluate the occurrence of MTs and associated poisoning episodes as a contribution to public health and monitoring programs as an MT risk assessment tool for this geographic region.This research was supported by the project Alertox-Net [EAPA-317-2016] of the Interreg Atlantic Area Program funded by the European Regional Development Fund and by the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology [FCT] project UID/Multi/04423/2013. Acknowledgments: Acknowledgement to project EMERTOX [grant 734748], funded by H2020-MSCA-RISE 2016

Ride-hailing applications in Vancouver, Canada: Representation, local empowerment and resistance

Technological applications have caused a revolution in the way individual transportation rides are offered and taken in cities all over the world. The adoption and regulation of ride-hailing has been the subject of heated discussion involving elected officials, bureaucrats, industry proponents, the traditional taxicab industry, and civil society. To implement ride-hailing, proponents and platform operators confront an intricate web of decision-making processes and institutional politics. In this way, existing normative processes shape the emergent regulation of such transportation network companies. This article analyzes the case of Vancouver, Canada, one of the largest cities in North America where ride-hailing companies belatedly secured authorization to operate from the provincial government in 2019. Focusing on the policy debate since 2012, the research identifies the interactions and processes of interest representation among various actors regarding this new transportation technology. The analysis shows how a variety of political, economic and regulatory strategies contributed to the delayed adoption.Les applications technologiques ont révolutionné la manière dont les trajets de transports individuels sont proposés et empruntés dans les villes du monde entier. L’adoption et la réglementation du covoiturage a fait l’objet de discussions animées impliquant des élues, des bureaucrates, des promoteurs de l’industrie, l’industrie traditionnelle des taxis et la société civile. Pour mettre en oeuvre le covoiturage, les promoteurs et les opérateurs de plateformes sont confrontés à un réseau complexe de processus décisionnels et de politiques institutionnelles. Cela faisant, les processus normatifs existants façonnent la réglementation émergente de ces sociétés de réseau de transport. Cet article analyse le cas de Vancouver, au Canada, l’une des plus grandes villes d’Amérique du Nord où les entreprises de covoiturage ont tardivement obtenu l’autorisation d’opérer du gouvernement provincial en 2019. En se concentrant sur le débat politique depuis 2012, la recherche identifie les interactions et les processus de représentation des intérêts entre les différents acteurs concernant cette nouvelle technologie de transport. L’analyse montre comment diverses stratégies politiques, économiques et réglementaires ont contribué au retard de l’adoption

Numerical solution of linear models in economics: The SP-DG model revisited

In general, complex and large dimensional models are needed to solve real economic problems. Due to these characteristics, there is either no analytical solution for them or they are not attainable. As a result, solutions can be only obtained through numerical methods. Thus, the growing importance of computers in Economics is not surprising. This paper focuses on an implementation of the SP-DG model, using Matlab,developed by the students as part of the Computational Economics course. We also discuss some of our teaching/learning experience within the course, given for the first time in the FEP Doctoral Programme in Economics.SP-DG Model, Output, Inflation, Numerical Simulation, Teaching of Economics