University-industry collaboration: a case study of a research programme

University–industry collaborations are widely seen as an important mode of institutional interaction and technology transfer. Although there is now a considerable amount of research concerning this phenomena, there are surprisingly few inner studies of collaboration programmes between a university and a firm. The present work presents the results of a study of a large research programme that involved the collaboration of a university and a local branch of a large multinational firm that manufactures electronic components for the automotive sector. The research strategy is based on a qualitative case study approach. Data collection was made through secondary sources and through extended interviews with people at three hierarchy levels of the collaboration. The interview questions and themes were based on selected factors that the literature referred as affecting positively or negatively the research collaborations between university and industry. The aim was to confirm the hypothesis advanced by the literature and/or identify additional factors that could be important determinants of the relationship. The results seem to show that factors like communication, team spirit, researchers’ recognition, institutional bureaucracy and organizational issues may be elements which can alter or improve the collaboration.FCT -Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia(undefined

A process centred perspective of the creative industries : an analytical model for management

This dissertation adopts a process-centred perspective of understanding the economic model of the creative industries, so as to explore how can one build an analytical model that can be useful for improving management practices in those industries. The point of departure to address the research question was to review the debate around the definition of creative industries; then followed a discussion on the development of a framework for the understanding of the creative industries process-centred perspective; finally an assessment of the creative industries’ economic model from the management perspective was done via a value-chain analysis, in order to discuss the implications of the process-centred perspective for management and for public policy design. The research developed allowed the proposal of an analytical model that revealed the importance of operationalizing the understanding of value-creation through creativity in management practices. It also emphasized the challenge in balancing open-ended processes with the firm’s commercial purposes, by managing intangible aspects of the creative process and the engagement of the creative workers into the creative process. The analytical model developed may be helpful for managers insofar as it offers a disaggregation of the companies’ activities by focusing on the assessment of how the creative process can recursively occur in the company as a production process. Moreover it may help on the identification of the core-activities and the assessment of the main components of those activities. The research done intends to contribute to the understanding of how the creative industries work and to the development of good management practices in the sector. Thus, it also suggests that it would be interesting to develop research on a theoretical revision of the components of the creative industries’ economic model and on a proper comparative analysis of the model delivered at an inter-sector, an inter-temporal and at a subsector level. By advancing an analytical model for creative industries that is focused on its usefulness for management, it indicates areas of interest for empirical research

The structural and size evolution of star-forming galaxies over the last 11 Gyrs

We present new results on the evolution of rest-frame blue/UV sizes and Sersic indices of H$\alpha$-selected star-forming galaxies over the last 11 Gyrs. We investigate how the perceived evolution can be affected by a range of biases and systematics such as cosmological dimming and resolution effects. We use GALFIT and an artificial redshifting technique, which includes the luminosity evolution of H$\alpha$-selected galaxies, to quantify the change on the measured structural parameters with redshift. We find typical sizes of 2 to 3 kpc and Sersic indices of n~1.2, close to pure exponential disks all the way from z=2.23 to z=0.4. At z=0 we find typical sizes of 4-5 kpc. Our results show that, when using GALFIT, cosmological dimming has a negligible impact on the derived effective radius for galaxies with

Organising innovation between multinational companies and innovation systems: the Brazilian ICT sector in the late 1990s and early 2000s

This thesis is concerned with the organisation of innovation in the interaction between multinational companies and host-country innovation systems. It proposes a framework for characterising the decentralised governance of innovation projects in sectors and identifying emerging organisational configurations in this specific context. The general characteristics of the project-based knowledge networks are examined in terms of (i) the shifting boundaries between subsidiaries and technological partners, (ii) the specialisation of actors in types of activities and (iii) the speed of change in the collaborations between multinational companies and technological institutes. The emerging configurations are classified in terms of (i) the knowledge and resources flows in different innovation projects and (ii) the common aims of the different groups of stakeholders. This framework is applied on the decentralised networks of innovation projects in the Brazilian ICT sector promoted by tax incentives to innovation activities (―Brazilian ICT Law‖). The empirical analysis combines the data of more than 10,000 innovation projects and in-depth case studies on the organisation of innovative activities in 11 R&D laboratories in subsidiaries of multinational companies and 11 of their main technological partners. The analysis of the project-based knowledge networks and emerging configurations is recognised as a useful tool for examining the dynamics promoted by the sectoral policy. This research provides insights on how the institutional framework such as the Brazilian ICT Law provided the space for the decentralised interaction between different organisations with very different interests. The analysis also shows that the regulation may support higher investments in R&D, but it does not necessarily enforce a project portfolio that promotes a sustainable knowledge flow between multinational companies and the sectoral innovation system. Finally, the thesis includes specific recommendations for addressing key challenges such as the organisational development of the subsidiaries, the emergence of private research institutes and the coordination of sectoral policies. Keywords: sectoral innovation systems, knowledge network, organisation of innovation, economic sociology, R&D policy, innovation projects, project-based learning, interorganisational networks

Adenocarcinoma of the Endometrium — The Art of Its Diagnosis

The diagnostic process begins at the first meeting with the patient, where we must relate the symptoms and signs associated with endometrial disease. Communication skills are fundamental for excellence in medical care. Even with the development and improvement of new technologies in recent decades, be it endoscopy, ultrasound, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, the communication is also essential. We must have skills to recognize and elucidate a wide variety of signs and symptoms when we take a history and do a physical examination of the patient, where abnormal uterine bleeding is the first main sign that can lead to an early diagnosis of endometrial cancer. The endometrium, as every target organ of steroid hormones, shows involutional changes during ovarian failure. In peri-menopause, however, tissue hyperactivity stages occur with some frequency, showing a marked endometrial sensitivity to hormonal fluctuations, whether on an absolute or relative level. Irregular blood loss occurs in many women during this period, and although being most times of functional origin, it requires investigation. It is noteworthy that the most frequent cause of abnormal bleeding of organic origin in menopause is endometrial. Endometrial pathologies appear with advancing age. Therefore an appropriate workup should diagnose or rule out disease at this site. Thus, preventive measures should be adopted, such as screening and early diagnosis, and the best treatment for the patient should be established

Detection of Emerging Words in Portuguese Tweets

This paper tackles the problem of detecting emerging words on a language, based on social networks content. It proposes an approach for detecting new words on Twitter, and reports the achieved results for a collection of 8 million Portuguese tweets. This study uses geolocated tweets, collected between January 2018 and June 2019, and written in the Portuguese territory. The first six months of the data were used to define an initial vocabulary on known words, and the following 12 months were used for identifying new words, thus testing our approach. The set of resulting words were manually analyzed, revealing a number of distinct events, and suggesting that Twitter may be a valuable resource for researching neology, and the dynamics of a language

Cancer of the Vulva — A Review

Cancer of the Vulva: a review In reporting on cancer of the vulva, we should keep in mind some important aspects of its epidemiology and its early detection. Most of the papers on the subject refer to vulvar cancer as a rare disease, accounting for 4 to 5% of all malignant neoplasms of the female genital tract and less than 1% of women\u27s cancers. The incidence varies from 1 to 3.6 cases per 100,000 women, with peak incidence at ages 70-79 years. Even though the incidence increases with age, the proportion of young patients with vulvar cancer has greatly increased due to its association with infection with human papillomavirus (HPV). The risk of developing cancer of the vulva is related to behavioral, reproductive, hormonal and genetic aspects. Factors that increase risk include other genital cancers, chronic inflammatory diseases of the vulva, smoking, history of genital warts and vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN). We can consider that, given the epidemiological evidence, there are two etiologic pathways for vulvar cancer: one related to older patients, in the seventh or eighth decades of life, associated with mutations in TP53 and non-neoplastic epithelial disorders such as chronic inflammation or vulvar lichen, shows precursor lesions of differentiated VIN; the other is more common in young patients, accounts for approximately 43-60% of squamous carcinoma of the vulva, is associated with HPV infection, and is a common precursor lesion of VIN. Eighty-five to ninety percent of vulvar cancers are squamous in origin (squamous cell carcinoma); however, when considering the embryological origin of the vulva - the three germ layers - different histologic types can compose neoplasms affecting the region

Uma análise crítica e comparativa de experiências de ensino do empreendedorismo baseadas na abordagem de aprendizagem por projeto

Este artigo debruça-se sobre a aplicação da abordagem de aprendizagem por projeto no ensino do empreendedorismo ou da formação empresarial em cursos de engenharia. A literatura sobre o tema é ainda escassa e persiste um debate que se tem mostrado inconclusivo sobre determinadas questões fundamentais. Neste projeto de investigação estudaram-se diversas experiências educacionais que permitem tirar ilações sobre a abordagem da aprendizagem baseada em projeto utilizada em 6 unidades curriculares de diferentes cursos de engenharia da Universidade do Minho. O período de análise compreende os últimos 10 anos, remontando a 2006 quando estas experiências foram iniciadas. A estratégia de pesquisa foi essencialmente qualitativa, de natureza descritiva e exploratória, tendo-se seguido uma metodologia iminentemente etnográfica. O artigo descreve e explora a utilização desta abordagem educacional no ensino universitário e na área da gestão empresarial ou do empreendedorismo através de um conjunto de casos que se traduzem numa diversidade de situações muito interessante. É feita uma breve descrição de cada experiência, referindo particularmente o seu contexto e a sua evolução, assim como os resultados diretos e indiretos que lhe estão subjacentes. É importante compreender a motivação que esteve na origem da implementação e na adoção da abordagem da aprendizagem baseada em projetos, as dificuldades encontradas e as alterações realizadas.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, PEst- OE/EME/UI0252/2011Algoritmi (PEst2015-2020) UID/CEC/00319/201

Histopathologic lesions in bivalve mollusks found in Portugal : etiology and risk factors

Research Areas: Engineering ; Oceanography: Bivalve mollusks are an important resource due to their socioeconomic value and to the historical and genetic value of some species. Two nationally important oyster species-Portuguese oyster (Crassostrea angulata) and Japanese oyster (Crassostrea gigas) from distinctive areas in Portugal were studied to evaluate their sanitary status. Oysters were sampled from four different sites in Portugal. Oysters collected from Japanese oyster populations were cultivated in a strong oceaninfluenced environment and Portuguese oyster populations were cultivated in wild-beds. The histopathological examination of both oyster species revealed the presence of parasites in gills, mantle epithelium, digestive gland tubules and connective tissue, with a moderate prevalence. In both populations was observed hemocytosis in the connective tissue, edema and metaplasia in the digestive gland and tissues necrosis. In wild populations from Sado and Mira estuaries the prevalence of mud blisters and gill lesions were higher than from populations produced on 0.50 m tables from mudflats. Biosecurity measures and diagnostic techniques are fundamental to control pathogenic agents, including the identification of pathogens at an early stage in their life cycles. This will prevent diseases and improve pathogen reduction on transport of animals from different countries and regions to new production areas to avoid the transmission of diseasesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio