a literature review synthesis in small and medium enterprises

Rodrigues, J., Ruivo, P., & Oliveira, T. (2014). Software as a Service Value and Firm Performance: a literature review synthesis in small and medium enterprises. In J. Varajão, M. Cunha, N. Bjørn-Andersen, R. Turner, D. Wijesekera, R. Martinho, & R. Rijo (Eds.), CENTERIS 2014 - Conference on ENTERprise Information Systems / ProjMAN 2014 - International Conference on Project MANagement / HCIST 2014 - International Conference on Health and Social Care Information Systems and Technologies (Vol. 16, pp. 206-211). (Procedia Technology; Vol. 16). DOI: 10.1016/j.protcy.2014.10.085It is consensual that Software as a Service (SaaS) has significant effects on enterprise costs and return on investment (ROI) in information technologies (IT) and information systems (IS). However, as a distribution model which is still relatively recent and a fraction of all IT invested, even if growing at a faster pace than traditional distribution models, the impact in Firm Performance is still an area of research which is very much under covered especially in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) segment. Literature reviews to support research of SaaS applications impact in SMEs Firm Performance are unknown to the best of our knowledge and this review in selected publications is a starting point to fill this gap and looks at some of the cross-road subjects that might be combined to build on greater knowledge and research work on the subject, such as Firm Performance influenced by (not specified genre of) IT/IS adoption; Cloud Computing and Performance, and, Enterprise Systems Software and Firm Performance. It provides an updated bibliography of the most relevant publications about these subjects, published mainly during the period of 2001 to 2014, for the exception of a seminal article published in 1995. A total of 32 articles from 30 journals and 2 conferences are reviewed. The main focus of this paper is to shed the light on the areas that researchers should consider in the research of the impact of SaaS business applications adoption in SMEs Firm Performance, and which are the major variables that explain SaaS Value influence to these organizations. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.publishersversionpublishe

Characterization of Argonaute-related small RNA pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans

Tese de doutoramento, Biologia (Genética), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2011In Small-RNA-mediated pathways, small RNAs engage a protein of the Argonaute family and utilize base-pairing interactions to identify and regulate complementary genetic information. My research has focused on understanding how diverse classes of small RNAs in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans interact with specific members of the Argonaute protein family to carry out unique biological functions. During RNA interference (RNAi), functionally and structurally distinct Argonaute proteins act sequentially to silence target mRNAs. In the first step, the Argonaute RDE-1 interacts with primary siRNAs, and interaction of this complex with the target mRNA triggers a secondary amplification step. In this second step, RNA dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs) use the targeted mRNA as a template to generate an abundant pool of small RNAs (22G-RNAs), which interact multiple Argonaute proteins to mediate target silencing. Several endogenous small-RNA-mediated pathways are essential for germline development. One of these pathways is required for chromosome segregation and relies exclusively on the Argonaute CSR-1, which utilizes 22G-RNAs generated from proteincoding genes to promote the proper organization of chromatin domains. A distinct 22GRNA germline pathway utilizes ‘aberrant’ RNAs as templates and is essential in maintaining genome stability. Proper germline development also requires the 21U-RNA class of small RNAs. 21U-RNAs specifically interact with the Piwi Argonaute PRG-1, thus establishing 21URNAs as members of the piRNA family, which is important for germline integrity in all metazoans. With only one known exception, 21U-RNAs fail to exhibit sequence complementarity or evidence for direct regulation of other expressed sequences. We now appreciate that the extent and means of small RNA regulation is much greater than we initially expected. My studies have contributed to the emerging theme that small RNA pathways function on a genome-wide scale, to regulate many aspects of cell biology and organismal homeostasis, from chromosome structure to gene expression.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (bolsa de referencia SFRH/BD/11803/2003), NIH grant GM58800 e Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Automatic pre-bended customized prosthesis for pectus excavatum minimal invasive surgery correction

Pectus excavatum is the most common deformity of the thorax. A minimally invasive surgical correction is commonly carried out to remodel the anterior chest wall, by employing an intrathoracic convex prosthesis in substernal position. The process of prosthesis modeling and bending still remains an area of improvement. The authors developed a new system, i3DExcavatum, which can automatically model and bend the bar preoperatively based on a thoracic CT-scan. This paper presents a comparison between automatic and manual bending. The i3DExcavatum was used to personalize prosthesis for 41 patients who underwent pectus excavatum surgical correction between 2007 and 2012. Regarding the anatomic variations, the soft tissue thicknesses external to the ribs show that symmetric or asymmetric patients have always asymmetric variations by comparing both patients’ sides. It highlighted that the prosthesis bar should be modeled according to each patient ribs position and dimension. The average differences between the skin and costal line curvature lengths were 84±4 mm and 96±11mm, for male and female patients, respectively. On the other hand, the i3DExcavatum ensured a smooth curvature of the surgical prosthesis and was capable to predict and simulate a virtual shape and size of the bar for asymmetric or symmetric patients. In conclusion, the i3DExcavatum allows preoperative personalization according to the thoracic morphology of each patient. It reduces surgery time and minimizes the margin error induced by the manual bended bar shape that only uses a template that copies the chest wall curvature

Metodologia básica de ensaios e execução de ensaios acelerados de vida na área de fiabilidade

Os ensaios acelerados de vida são testes que se realizam com o objectivo de estimar determinados parâmetros fiabilísticos, referentes a um dado bem, provocando-lhe a ocorrência de um dado modo de falha específico num espaço de tempo mais curto do que aquele em que normalmente este evento ocorreria. É através dos ensaios acelerados, e de modelos analíticos específicos, que se torna então possível prever as falhas antes de estas ocorrerem, potenciando atempadamente possíveis alterações de projecto ou concepção, antes do bem entrar no mercado. Este tipo de ensaios possibilita, por exemplo ao fabricante, uma economia de tempo na determinação da informação de dados de vida (considerados relevantes) que deverá acompanhar o produto na sua comercialização. Para uma melhor compreensão da temática, abordam-se no trabalho duas áreas essenciais, nomeadamente: O conceito de Fiabilidade e o conceito de Ensaios Acelerados de Vida. Ao longo do documento podem-se analisar os modelos mais utilizados em Ensaios Acelerados, como o Modelo de Arrhenius, o Modelo de Eyring, o Modelo de Potência Inversa e o Modelo de Temperatura e Humidade. Também são apresentadas algumas distribuições importantes relacionadas com esses modelos, como a Distribuição Normal, a Distribuição Lognormal, a Distribuição Exponencial e a Distribuição de Weibull. Para verificação da metodologia, realizou-se uma aplicação experimental, tendo por base a normalização existente e os parâmetros seguidos pelo fabricante do componente estudado. Para tratamento dos dados resultantes dos ensaios acelerados utiliza-se o programa ALTA 7.0 PRO, que de uma forma expedita permite extrapolar das condições de ensaio para uma utilização normal, e assim determinar os parâmetros fiabilísticos correspondentes ao bem. De salientar que este ‘’software’’ pode trabalhar com um ou mais níveis de aceleração, como por exemplo conjugar a influência da temperatura com a humidade. O conhecimento dos modelos usados nesta área permite compreender a metodologia de ensaios acelerados e o comportamento dos componentes. Os dados demonstram uma alta precisão dos resultados, num período de tempo reduzido

Um sistema de controlo de gestão automatizado como forma de obter maior qualidade, eficiência e eficácia na gestão dos recursos financeiros

Trabalho de Projeto para obtenção de grau de Mestre em MPA – Administração PúblicaTrabalho no Gabinete de Gestão Financeira do Ministério da Educação desde 2006, na Direção de Serviços de Sistemas de Informação, desempenhando funções nas áreas do desenvolvimento e gestão de Bases de Dados. Ao longo destes anos, tem-se verificado uma sobrecarga crescente de informação, que tem vindo a originar vários problemas, nomeadamente: a) existência de muita informação para o mesmo facto; b) existência de soluções não integradas que impossibilita a partilha da informação; c) dificuldade em saber que informação está correta; d) dificuldade em saber onde se encontra a informação correta; e) existência de trabalho repetitivo e redundante no tratamento da informação; f) a utilização massiva do suporte papel em detrimento do formato digital; g) enorme esforço de compatibilização das informações que apresentam infraestruturas de base diferentes; h) decisor confronta-se com muita informação sobre o mesmo assunto. O desafio que abraçamos com este trabalho de investigação foi o de apontar e sugerir aspetos que devem ser observados pelo GGF para “adapta-lo” aos modernos conceitos de gestão. Concluímos que a adoção de “políticas” que fomentem a centralização da informação por um lado, a desmaterialização por outro lado, e a racionalização de outros serviços potencializados pelas TIC, corresponderá a uma possível solução.Since 2006 I’ve been working for the Ministry of Education, at the Financial Administration Department at Direção de Serviços de Sistemas de Informação, in development and Database administration. During all these years an overloaded increasing of information has been being recognized, causing some problems, such as: a)the existence of lots of information about the same fact; b)the existence of non-integrated solutions which make it impossible to share information; c)difficulty in recognizing the right information; d)difficulty in recognizing where the right information is; e)the existence of a repeated and redundant work in the information’s treatment; f)a wasteful use of paper support instead of the use of the digital form; g)a hard effort to make compatible information coming from different bases; h)the one who most decide is confronted by too much information at the same time. With this work we intended to focus on aspects that must be carefully observed by GGF in order to adapt it to the modern concepts of management. We inferred that the use of polities that, on the one hand increase the information centralization and, on the other hand provide its dematerialization and, yet, the rationalization of other services empowered by CIT, can be a possible solution

Accounting conservatism : an analysis of the results of listed companies in the chinese stock exchange

Este trabalho tem o objetivo de avaliar o grau de convergência entre as normas contábeis emitidas pela China e as normas internacionais do IASB (International Accounting Standard Board). Para fins dessa proposta, comparamos os padrões locais e os internacionais, com a finalidade de verificar a harmonia dos resultados sob as normas contábeis da China e as internacionais, sendo utilizadas as reconciliações do lucro líquido, em conformidade com os padrões internacionais de contabilidade editados pelo IASB. Assim, utilizou-se um indicador de “conservadorismo”, e um indicador parcial de conservadorismo, que serviram de parâmetros para a comparabilidade dos resultados obtidos pelos padrões locais e internacionais. A análise revelou que as normas chinesas apresentam divergências quando comparadas aos padrões do IASB. Entretanto, para confirmar estas divergências, utilizamos o indicador de “conservadorismo” para ratificar ou não a aderência da convergência às normas internacionais. Este indicador mostrou que a amostra das empresas pesquisadas, quando utilizam as normas chinesas, resulta em um lucro mais conservador em relação ao resultado reconciliado com os padrões internacionais editados pelo IASB. ________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThis research aims to evaluate the degree of convergence between the accounting standards issued by China and international standards of the IASB (International Accounting Standard Board). For this purpose, we compare the local and international standards, in order to check the harmony of the results under the accounting standards of China and the international edited by the IASB. For this comparison, we adopted the reconciliations of net income disclosed by companies that have B-type shares traded on the Stock Exchange of Shenzhen, the reconciliations were obtained in accordance with international accounting standards published by IASB. After that, we used "conservatism" index and conservatism partial index, which served as parameters for the results obtained by local and international standards. As verified in the comparison of standards, the Chinese differ when compared to the standards of the IASB. However, to confirm these differences, the "conservatism" index or not ratified the adhesion of convergence with international standards. This index showed that the sample of surveyed companies, when they use the Chinese standards, resulting in a profit more conservative compared to the results reconciled with the international standards published by IASB

Relative Abundance and Compositional Variation of Silicates, Oxides and Phosphates in the W-Sn-Rich Lodes of the Panasqueira Mine (Portugal): Implications for the Ore-Forming Process

Panasqueira is a world-class W-Sn-Cu lode-type deposit located in Portugal. It consists of a dense swarm of subhorizontal quartz lodes criss-crossed by several ENE–WSW and N–S fault zones, bordering Late Variscan granite and hosted in Late Ediacaran—Early Cambrian metasediments. The relative abundance and compositional variation (assessed with EPMA) of the main silicates, oxides and phosphates forming the quartz lodes and their margins were examined, aiming to explore: (i) mineral and geochemical zonation at the mine scale; and (ii) some conclusions on the chemical nature of prevalent fluid inflows and T-conditions of mineral deposition. Quartz lodes nearby or far from the known greisen-granite cupola display significant differences, reflecting multiple fluid influxes of somewhat distinct composition related to various opening and closing events extending for several My, ranging from an early “oxide–silicate stage” (OSS) to a “main sulfide stage” (MSS), and further on to a post-ore carbonate stage (POCS); however, a rejuvenation event occurred after MSS. The onset of OSS was placed at ca. 299 ± 5 Ma and the rejuvenation event at ca. 292 Ma. The OSS was confined to ≈500 ≤ T ≤ 320 °C, following rutile and tourmaline growth under ≈640 ≤ T ≤ 540 °C (depending on aSiO2). The rejuvenation event (≈440–450 °C) preceded a late chlorite growth (≈250–270 °C) and the progression towards POCS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio