PRHOLO: 360º Interactive Public Relations

In the globalized world, possessing good products may not be enough to reach potential clients unless creative marketing strategies are well delineated. In this context, public relations are also important when it comes to capture the client’s attention, making the first contact between the clients and the company’s products, while being persuasive enough to make them confident that the company has the right products to fit their needs. Three virtual public relations installations were purposed in this chapter, combining technology with a human like public relations ability, capable of interacting with potential clients located in front of the installation, at angles of up to 57º (degrees), 180º and 360º, respectively. From one to several Microsoft Kinects were used to develop the three interaction models, which allows tracking and recognition of users’ gestures and positions (heat map), sound sources, voice commands and face and body extraction of the user interacting with the installation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An Investment Strategy for Prediction of Takeover Targets using High Frequency Data

Abstract The ability to identify likely takeover targets at an early stage should provide an investor with valuable information to profit from investing in potential target firms. Based on the hypothesis that agents with asymmetric information operate in the securities market, the objective of this study is to develop an investment strategy able to achieve high portfolio returns and reduce risks by investing in takeover targets. The analysis conducted on tick-by-tick data from shares traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) uses a range of models from the logistic, neural network, forecast combination, Autoregressive Conditional Duration (ACD), along with associated market timing rules. The first part of this thesis contributes to the takeover prediction literature by showing that the combination of probability forecasts as an alternative approach improves forecast accuracy in takeover prediction with improved economic return from portfolios made up of predicted targets. The second part investigates the joint impact of market microstructure variables on return volatility in the months prior to the public release of the takeover announcement. The last part introduces an innovative market timing approach to capture information from the intraday trading and to guide portfolio investments. The information content of each trade is analysed in the search for trading behaviour consistent with the use of privileged information before the takeover announcement. Three general conclusions come from the results. First, an investment in a portfolio comprising predicted targets is capable of achieving significant abnormal returns. Second, traders who may hold private information before the event affect the intraday trading behaviour in takeover targets. Finally, the proposed Forecast Range Strategy is shown to be successful in predicting market trends and providing an alternative method for reducing risk without sacrificing return

Dialectical Polyptych: an interactive movie installation

Most of the known video games developed by important software companies usually establish an approach to the cinematic language in an attempt to create a perfect combination of narrative, visual technique and interaction. Unlike most video games, interactive film narratives normally involve an interruption in time whenever the spectator has to make choices. “Dialectical Polyptych” is an interactive movie included in a project called “Characters looking for a spectactor”, which aims to give the spectator on-the-fly control over film editing, thus exploiting the role of the spectator as an active subject in the presented narrative. This paper presents an installation based on a mobile device, which allows seamless real-time interactivity with the movie. Different finger touches in the screen allow the spectator to alternate between two parallel narratives, both producing a complementary narrative, and change the angle or shot within each narrative.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Complications in Monochorionic Pregnancies

Monochorionic (MC) pregnancies have higher rates of fetal morbidity and mortality when compared to dichorionic (DC) ones. Therefore, the early diagnostic of chorionicity is of great importance. Monochorionic pregnancies have specific complications such as twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), selective fetal growth restriction (sFGR), twin anemia polycythemia sequence (TAPS), and twin reversed arterial perfusion sequence (TRAPS). MC pregnancies have several unique and serious complications that contribute to a perinatal mortality rate of 11%. The pathophysiology of most of these complications is related to the placental angio-architecture, and it results from an unbalanced perfusion between the fetuses. The screening of TTTS starts in 16 weeks with a sonographic follow-up every 2 weeks. In the last decade, there was an improvement in the treatment of TTTS. With the advent of the fetoscopic laser photocoagulation (FLPC), there was a drastic increase in the survival rate of the fetuses with TTTS when compared with serial amnioreduction. Besides that, in TRAPS, fetoscopic procedures such as cord occlusion improve the outcome of the normal fetus. We will also discuss sFGR and its classification and management. The aim of this chapter is to review the most important complications in MC pregnancies

Comparison of home vs gym-based delivery exercise modes of two 8-week supervised aerobic training regimes on cardiorespiratory fitness and arterial stiffness in adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disability

As doenças cardiovasculares (DCV) são uma das principais causas de morte em pessoas com dificuldade intelectual e de desenvolvimento (DID). Fatores de risco tradicionais e emergentes estão associados ao desenvolvimento de DCV. A atividade física é considerada uma estratégia universal para a redução do risco de DCV. No entanto, o confinamento domiciliário apenas permite aplicar intervenções domiciliárias e até ao momento, a eficácia deste tipo de intervenção na redução de fatores de risco em pessoas com DID permanece esclarecer. O objetivo do estudo foi comparar contextos de exercício, domiciliário vs presencial, durante 8 semanas de dois regimes de treino aeróbio supervisionados na rigidez arterial e na aptidão cardiorrespiratória em adultos com DID. A intervenção incluí-o 17 adultos com DID que foram divididos em dois regimes: treino intervalado em sprints (SIT) e treino contínuo (CAET). Os treinos foram realizados 3 vezes por semana durante 60 minutos. A intervenção presencial melhorou a aptidão cardiorrespiratória e ambos os contextos resultaram em melhorias semelhantes na rigidez arterial. Concluindo, uma intervenção domiciliária consegue minimizar alguns efeitos fisiológicos deletérios de um confinamento obrigatório em vários fatores de risco, no entanto não corresponde aos benefícios de uma intervenção presencial, independentemente do regime de treino aeróbio.Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading cause of death in people with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD). Traditional and emergent risk factors such as cardiorespiratory fitness and arterial stiffness are associated with the development of CVD. Physical activity has been appointed as an essential universal strategy for reducing the risk of CVD. However, during the mandatory lockdown home-based interventions are the only alternative to reduce risk factors, and the efficacy of these interventions needs to be confirmed in people with IDD. The present study aims to compare home vs gym-based delivery exercise modes of two 8- week supervised aerobic training regimes on cardiorespiratory fitness and arterial stiffness in adults with IDD. The intervention included 17 adults with IDD and participants were divided into two regimes: sprint interval training (SIT) and continuous aerobic exercise training (CAET). Training for both regimes was performed 3 times a week for 60 minutes. Only the gym-based intervention improved cardiorespiratory fitness and both contexts had similar results on arterial stiffness. In conclusion, a home-based intervention may minimize the deleterious physiological effects of a mandatory lockdown on several risk factors but does not match the benefits of a gym-based intervention, regardless of exercise regim

Internet gambling : the effects of colours and sounds on decision making

Internet gambling is a very popular way of gambling. People can gamble anytime and everywhere, at home, at their job, in a public library and 24 hours a day, with only a device connected to the internet. With this new type of gambling some questions emerge. How different is gambling online and gambling in the traditional houses? How different are the structural characteristics frames of those two distinct forms of gambling? Having that in mind, we investigate the effects of two structural characteristics – colour and sound – on gamblers behavior. We found that the colour effect seems to increase the psychological salience of losses in online gambling and this triggers in the gambler an attempt to recover previous losses

Business plan: hermit, the brand with ecologic identity

This thesis is a business plan of a brand that will approach the market in an innovative manner, by prioritizing sustainability over profits. Hermit is a casual and outwear clothing and accessories brand that wants to raise awareness to conscious consumption, by offering products that truly contribute for environmental protection, through a give-back policy. Its research problematic decomposes itself in two branches. On a micro level it investigates the business’ viability. On macro level it assesses the possibility of incentivizing other companies to adopt similar strategies. The business plan and its strategy are based upon a vast theoretical literature and a rigorous research methodology. The data analysis indicates a significant potential for market growth and highlights the willingness of consumers to become more conscious when they purchase. The external and internal analysis identifies the socio-cultural conjecture and the brand identity as the main opportunities and resources, respectively. On the other hand, it shows potential threats such as second-hand clothes. Hermit’s strategy lies on three pillars that must work in harmony: maximum sustainability of products, mitigation of trade-off between economy and ecology, and strong brand identity built around its core values. To increase the probability of success, the strategy must be coordinated with a threephased marketing strategy: creation of a community who knows the brand, promotion and sale of products, and marketing of the environmental investments’ results. Under realistic assumptions, the free cashflow forecast showed a positive NPV of 55 104,39 € for a seven years’ time horizon. The break-even point for sales level is 4573 units and the payback period is 6,17 years. The overall conclusion for the research problematic is that Hermit is a viable sustainable business, even though it’s sensible to the sales level. On the other hand, it’s not possible to conclude the project could become a benchmark for other companies, as viability is not the only relevant variable to answer that question. What one may infer from this work is that companies could do much better to attenuate the trade-off between economy and ecology.A presente tese é um plano de negócios de uma marca que irá entrar no mercado de uma forma inovadora, priorizando a sustentabilidade em detrimento dos lucros. Hermit é uma marca de roupa casual e outdoor que quer incentivar o consumerismo, oferecendo produtos que contribuam verdadeiramente para a proteção do ambiente, através de uma política de devolução. O seu objeto de estudo decompõe-se em dois ramos. A nível micro, investiga a viabilidade do negócio. A nível macro, considera a possibilidade de incentivar outras empresas a adotar estratégias similares. O plano de negócios e a sua estratégia baseiam-se numa vasta literatura teórica e numa rigorosa metodologia de pesquisa. A análise de dados indica um potencial de crescimento do mercado significativo e destaca a intenção dos consumidores de se tornarem cada vez mais conscientes ao adquirir algo. A análise externa e interna identifica a conjuntura sociocultural e a identidade da marca como a principal oportunidade e recurso, respetivamente. Por outro lado, mostra potenciais ameaças como a roupa em segunda mão. A estratégia da Hermit é sustentada por três pilares que têm de funcionar em harmonia: máxima sustentabilidade dos produtos, mitigação do trade-off entre ecologia e economia; e forte identidade da marca construída ao redor dos valores principais. Para aumentar a probabilidade de sucesso, a estratégia tem de ser coordenada com uma estratégia de marketing trifásica: criação de uma comunidade que conhece a marca; promoção e venda de produtos; e marketing dos resultados dos investimentos ambientais. Considerando assunções realistas, a previsão de free cash-flows mostrou uma Valor Atual positivo de 55 104,39 € para um horizonte temporal de sete anos. O ponto de equilíbrio para o nível de vendas é 4573 unidades e o período de retorno é 6,17 anos. A conclusão global para o objeto de estudo é que a Hermit é um negócio sustentável viável, ainda que seja sensível ao nível de vendas. Por outro lado, não é possível concluir que o projeto pode tornarse uma referência para outras empresas, uma vez que a viabilidade não é a única variável relevante para responder a essa questão. O que se pode concluir deste trabalho é que as empresas poderiam fazer muito melhor para atenuar o trade-off entre economia e ecologia