Leveraging new knowledge with relational capabilities: an investigation of rural school libraries in southern Portugal

Purpose: This paper aims to identify and conceptualize a set of relational capabilities that school libraries in the Alentejo region of Portugal develop for acquiring new knowledge that exists externally in the wider community. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research design operationalized via case studies was followed for the empirical analysis. Empirical findings are based on the analysis of the 84 narrative reports submitted by school libraries as part of a national performance evaluation exercise that took place between 2010 and 2012. Data analysis followed the techniques of inductive data categorization, within case-analysis, and cross-case analysis. Findings: The exploration of the relational capabilities that school libraries in the Alentejo region of Portugal develop for acquiring new knowledge that exists externally in the community resulted in the identification of relationships that school libraries in the region have established to acquire new knowledge: connecting with and supporting organizations committed to civic engagement; facilitating discussions about challenging issues through strategic partnerships; convening community conversations to identify shared concerns and solutions; and embracing local culture to foster endogenous development. Originality/value: The ability to seek and recognize the value of new and external knowledge, assimilate it and apply it to organizational ends has been traditionally linked to the concept of absorptive capacity. While absorptive capacity literature in business settings is prolific, literature that focuses on school libraries’ ability to identify and explore external knowledge and applying it to improve their performance is scarce. Focusing on the specific context of the Alentejo region of Portugal as an archetypical rural area, this paper identifies how knowledge existing externally in the community is absorbed by rural school libraries through specific relational capabilities that reflect school libraries’ community orientation and engagement in participatory processes that develop social resilience

Solar resource assessment through long-term statistical analysis and typical data generation with different time resolutions using GHI measurements

This work addresses the solar resource assessment through long-term statistical analysis and typical weather data generation with different time resolutions, using measurements of Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) and other relevant meteorological variables from eight ground-based weather stations covering the south and north coasts and the central mountains of Madeira Island, Portugal. Typical data are generated based on the selection and concatenation of hourly data considering three different time periods (month, five-day and typical days) through a modified Sandia method. This analysis was carried out by computing the Root Mean Square Difference (RMSD) and the Normalized RMSD (NRMSD) for each time slot of the typical years taking the long-term average as reference. It was found that the datasets generated with typical days present a lower value of overall NRMSD. A comparison between the hourly values of the generated typical data and the long-term averages was also carried out using various statistical indicators. To simplify this analysis, those statistical indicators were combined into a single Global Performance Index (GPI). It was found that datasets based on typical days have the highest value of GPI, followed by the datasets based on typical five-day periods and then those based on typical months

DNA markers to study genetic diversity and fingerprinting in Arbutus unedo L. (strawberry tree)

Strawberry tree (Ericaceae) is a species of Mediterranean climates growing in several countries of the Mediterranean basin as well as in Portugal and Ireland. The edible fruits have been used in different ways yet the production of a popular spirit is still the main application. The species is also interesting from an ecological perspective since it is drought tolerant and fire resistant. In spite of its large distribution in Portugal little is known about the genetic diversity of the species and no efforts have been carried out to select the most interesting trees. Material from selected trees (based on fruit production) in a total of 27 was collected all around the country covering the distribution area of the species. In order to find out DNA markers to characterise genetic diversity and to fingerprint Arbutus unedo, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and microsatellite markers (SSR) were used. The set of 20 RAPD primers used generated 124 bands, from which 71 (57.3%) were polymorphic and the expected heterozygosity was 0.27±0.014. The cluster analysis (UPGMA) based on the Jaccard similarity index showed a similarity of 71% among the trees of different origins. Only four genotypes could be grouped according to their geographical distribution. Eleven SSR primers designed for Vaccinium (an Ericaceae as A. unedo) were selected according to their polymorphism, number of alleles per locus, cross-amplification, allele scoring quality and the repeat motif, and were tested in A. unedo. Six loci showed to be polymorphic, with 71% mean expected diversity, 10.5 mean number of alleles, and 67% of average polymorphic information content. A mean homozygote excess was found (11%) although not significant. Estimation of null allele frequency was about 9% on average. The linkage disequilibrium test showed that all the loci were independent. The UPGMA clustering based on the Lynch and Ritland coefficient showed that only two genotypes shared about 50% of the alleles, but without a consistent geographic pattern, similarly to the results obtained by RAPD analysis. The Mantel test confirmed that there is no correlation between the genetic and the geographical distance matrices, for both makers. Reduced gene flow, due to fragmentary distribution, together with the type of mating system of this species (pollination by small insects), are plausible explanations for these results. As far as we know our work is the first detailed study to evaluate A. unedo diversity by molecular markers opening new perspectives for fingerprinting analysis and for conservation and improvement purposes

Robustness of corroded reinforced concrete structures. A structural performance approach

Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, 1-17The aim of this work is to provide new contributions in order to define more accurately the structural robustness concept, particularly when applied to corroded reinforced concrete (RC) structures. To fulfill such task, several robustness indicators are analyzed and discussed with special emphasis on structural performance based measures. A new robustness definition and a framework to assess it are then proposed, based on the structural performance lost after damage occurrence. The competence of the proposed methodology is then tested comparing the robustness of two reinforced concrete foot bridges under corrosion. The damage considered is the longitudinal reinforcement corrosion level and load carrying capacity is the structural performance evaluated. In order to analyze corrosion effects, a finite element based on a two step analysis is adopted. In the first step a cross section analysis is performed to capture phenomenons such as expansion of the reinforcement due to the corrosion products accumulation; damage and cracking in the reinforcement surrounding concrete; steel-concrete bond strength degradation; and effective reinforcement area reduction. The results obtained are then used to build a 2D structural model, in order to assess the maximum load carrying capacity of the corroded structure. For each foot bridge, robustness is assessed using the proposed methodology

Fragility analysis of a mass-timber frame structure with ring-doweled moment-resisting connections

© WCTE 2018 Committee. The nonlinear behaviour of connections between structural elements is critical to the performance of mass-timber structures under seismic loads. However, limited work has been developed in nonlinear modelling and fragility assessment of mass-timber structures. To improve the accuracy of this approach, in particular when considering structures with ring-doweled moment-resisting connections, a nonlinear modelling approach and fragility assessment are proposed and a prototype example of a three-story building is analysed herein as a case study. For the case study, connections and members were designed following the prescriptions in Eurocode 5 and Eurocode 8, considering a high ductility structure. The mechanical properties of the structure are modelled as random variables to evaluate the impact of uncertainty on the prediction of the structural performance, in particular, on the probability of occurrence of ductile and brittle failure modes. The structure is studied under both nonlinear static analysis and multi-record incremental dynamic analysis. From these, fragility curves for different damage levels are computed and a q-factor is proposed. Results indicate that the requirements of Eurocode 5 and Eurocode 8 are sufficient to guarantee adequate performance for this type of structure, albeit these may be overconservative. Moreover, it is shown that uncertainties in material properties have a significant impact on the collapse capacity of these structures.This work had financial support of the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT), through PhD grant PD/BD/113679/2015 included in InfraRisk-PhD program. The results regarding the numerical model for the connections were developed during a Short-term Scientific Mission (STSM) within scope of COST Action FP1101: Assessment, Reinforcement and Monitoring of Timber Structures. Thus, the insightful discussions with Professor Roberto Tomasi and Doctor Andrea Polastri are gratefully acknowledged. The first author would also like to acknowledge the support of Oregon State University during the period in which he was a visiting Ph.D. student, at this institutio

The Arena: An indoor mixed reality space

ln this paper, we introduce the Arena, an indoor space for mobile mixed reality interaction. The Arena includes a new user tracking system appropriate for AR/MR applications and a new Too/kit oriented to the augmented and mixed reality applications developer, the MX Too/kit. This too/kit is defined at a somewhat higher abstraction levei, by hiding from the programmer low-level implementation details and facilitating ARJMR object-oriented programming. The system handles, uniformly, video input, video output (for headsets and monitors), sound aurelisation and Multimodal Human-Computer Interaction in ARJMR, including, tangible interfaces, speech recognition and gesture recognition.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The pandemic-induced personal data explosion

Background Government and private responses to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the generation and dissemination of personal data not previously available in the public sphere. Focus of the Article This “Notes from the Field” paper reflects on the implications of this surge of new data for the study and practice of social marketing. The paper examines how this phenomenon impacts on the following aspects of social marketing: (1) Setting of explicit social goals; (2) citizen orientation and focus; (3) value proposition delivery via the social marketing intervention mix; (4) theory-, insight-, data-, and evidence-informed audience segmentation; (5) competition/barrier and asset analysis; and (6) critical thinking, reflexivity, and being ethical. Research Question How are the government and private responses to the pandemic shaping the generation and use of personal data, and what are the implications of this eruption of data for the social marketing scholarly community? Approach The paper highlights how the pandemic resulted in significant changes in behavior of government and citizens alike, and how these changes, in turn, spurred the generation and dissemination of new personal data. Subsequently, we draw on the Core Social Marketing Concepts framework to explore how the aforementioned data explosion impacts on the six dimensions of this central framework. Importance to the Social Marketing Field The COVID-19 pandemic is more than a temporary public health event. Therefore, it is important to consider the lasting consequences that may stem from the pandemic-induced personal data explosion, for both consumers and social marketing scholars and practitioners. Methods This paper comments on a topical matter, and discusses its implications for the social marketing community. Results We find that the data explosion creates conflicting social marketing goals, and that inequalities in access to digital technology are increasingly impacting what voices are heard, and which concerns are prioritized. Moreover, new innovations may be enabled or needed, leading to the improvement of firms' ability to create value for individual citizens; the creation of new datasets—particularly among demographics that previously had a limited digital footprint—enhances the ability to segment markets and target social marketing activities. Furthermore, the pandemic-induced data explosion may lead to the identification of additional barriers to positive social behaviors that have emerged, diminished, or even disappeared during the pandemic; but researchers need to critically examine the consequences of the government and private behaviors at the macro, meso, and micro levels. Recommendations for Research or Practice We propose a research agenda for the social marketing community, consisting of 21 research questions. Limitations Our analysis focuses on the behavior of government and citizens in North America and Western Europe

Bayesian assessment of an existing bridge - a case study

This article presents a case study involving the assessment of an existing bridge, starting with simple methods and ending with a probabilistic analysis, the latter emphasising Bayesian methods. When assessing an existing bridge, it is common practice to collect information from the bridge in the form of samples. These samples are in general of small size, raising the question of how the corresponding statistical uncertainty can be taken into account on reliability estimates. The case study illustrates how Bayesian methods are especially suitable to deal with that source of uncertainty. Another strong point of the Bayesian methods is their ability to combine the information contained in the samples collected from the bridge with prior information, if any. This aspect will also be illustrated through the case study

Design of a high power production target for the Beam Dump Facility at CERN

The Beam Dump Facility (BDF) project is a proposed general-purpose facility at CERN, dedicated to beam dump and fixed target experiments. In its initial phase, the facility is foreseen to be exploited by the Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) experiment. Physics requirements call for a pulsed 400 GeV/c proton beam as well as the highest possible number of protons on target (POT) each year of operation, in order to search for feebly interacting particles. The target/dump assembly lies at the heart of the facility, with the aim of safely absorbing the full high intensity Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) beam, while maximizing the production of charmed and beauty mesons. High-Z materials are required for the target/dump, in order to have the shortest possible absorber and reduce muon background for the downstream experiment. The high average power deposited on target (305 kW) creates a challenge for heat removal. During the BDF facility Comprehensive Design Study (CDS), launched by CERN in 2016, extensive studies have been carried out in order to define and assess the target assembly design. These studies are described in the present contribution, which details the proposed design of the BDF production target, as well as the material selection process and the optimization of the target configuration and beam dilution. One of the specific challenges and novelty of this work is the need to consider new target materials, such as a molybdenum alloy (TZM) as core absorbing material and Ta2.5W as cladding. Thermo-structural and fluid dynamics calculations have been performed to evaluate the reliability of the target and its cooling system under beam operation. In the framework of the target comprehensive design, a preliminary mechanical design of the full target assembly has also been carried out, assessing the feasibility of the whole target system.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figure

Terapêutica intravesical com bacilo de Calmette-Guérin no tratamento do carcinoma da bexiga / o que sabemos até agora

AbstractIntroductionThe use of intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin is a valid option in the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder tumors, making it the main subject of a lot of publications. The aim of the present study is to review and consolidate the data available about this subject.MethodsA review of the data available was made on PubMed with the keywords: “intravesical BCG” and “non-muscle invasive bladder cancer”. Original and review articles written in English or Portuguese were selected. We present the discussion alongside the results for structural purposes.Results and discussionScientific evidence strongly advises in favor of BCG use on intermediate and high risk tumors, due to its impact on the recurrence and possibly on the progression rates. It is important to be watchful for possible local and systemic side effects, that when detected call for a rightful therapeutically decision alongside the recommended schemes.ConclusionThe use of intravesical BCG with therapeutically purposes has strong evidence on the non-muscle invasive bladder tumors. More studies are needed in order to better understand the best administration scheme and its mechanism of action