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Emotion-Aware Speech Synthesis using Multimodal Deep Learning with Visual and Textual Cues
No full textContemporary Text-to-Speech (TTS) technologies have reached incredible levels of precision in producing proper speech. However, the output is often emotionless and robotic because synthesizing emotions remains a challenge. This problem is particularly important for applications like virtual assistants, healthcare aides, and immersive voice technologies, which are centered around a person and where emotionally intelligent dialogue improves the experience. The goal of the research presented here is to design a deep learning, multimodal, emotion-aware speech synthesis framework that would generate expressive speech. This study utilizes the RAVDESS emotional speech dataset and incorporates two advanced models: Tacotron 2, which is a sequence-to-sequence model for spectrogram generation, and a Prosody-Guided Conditional GAN (cGAN) which improves emotional prosody by refining pitch and energy. The experimental evaluation provided by Mean Opinion Score (MOS), Mel Cepstral Distortion (MCD), and F0 RMSE proved that the system is capable of generating speech that is both extremely natural (MOS: 4.32) and emotionally aligned (Emotion MOS: 4.15). The results support the hypothesis that combining prosodic conditioning and synthesis of spectrograms is effective and opens new possibilities for next generation AI communication systems by significantly enhancing the generation of emotion-laden speech
Skeletal age assessed by Greulich-Pyle: Intra-observer and inter-observer agreement among male pubertal tennis players
Full text linkThe assessment of biological maturation is a central topic in pediatric exercise sciences. Skeletal age (SA) reflects changes in each bone of the hand and wrist from initial ossification to the adult state. This study examined intra-observer and inter-examiner agreement is Greulich-Pyle (GP) assessments of SA in 97 male tennis players 8.6–16.8 years of age. Two observers independently examined all films on two occasions using the GP method. The SA of each bone was evaluated. The mean and median of SAs assigned for each bone was the individual SA for each participant. The calculation was exclusively based on the bones that were not skeletally mature. Intra-observer mean differences were significant for several bones with better results by the experienced examiner (observer B). Comparisons between SA values of the two independent observers indicated significant differences for the ulna, metacarpals II and III, and distal phalanx V. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the bone-specific differences was small, perhaps trivial. Differences in individual SA values of the tennis players based on the non-mature bones of the hand-wrist were negligible based on the mean (0.04±0.39, t = 0.321, p = 0.749) or the median (0.05±0.58, t = 0.007, p = 0.994). Nevertheless, the current study confirmed examiners as a source of error in the estimation of SA using the Greulich-Pyle method and highlighted the importance of calculating SAs based on non-mature bones among adolescent players
Impactful creativity: The role of entrepreneurship Education in driving sustainable development in the cultural and creative industries
Full text linkContemplado no SAD 2023/2024The cultural and creative sector is one of the most dynamic sectors of the Portuguese economy, contributing to job creation, innovation, social development, preservation of cultural heritage, and the promotion of the country’s image across the globe. Entrepreneurship in the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) plays a crucial role in creating new opportunities for employment and revenue generation. Therefore, entrepreneurship education is receiving increasing attention as a means to contribute to the sustainable development of the cultural and creative sector. Underpinned on an Erasmus+ Project, FENICE ‘Fostering Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Cultural and Creative Industries through Interdisciplinary Education’, the present research contributes to the discussion on the main challenges of entrepreneurship education for the CCIs. Using a qualitative research design, this exploratory study employs a focus group with purposeful sampling as the research method. An online focus group was conducted in February 2023, with 11 participants identified as renowned professionals and experts in various cultural, artistic, and creative fields in Portugal. Preliminary results suggest that creatives are perceived, by nature, as entrepreneurial-oriented and often motivated by passion and a sense of mission. However, they also face a generalized lack of perspective on how products/services from the CCIs should be capitalized or how different monetization models may apply to them, especially when culture is perceived more as a symbolic than a capitalizable good. For many cultural and creative entrepreneurs, difficulties arise when understanding how business or project management tools can contribute to their professional growth within the CCIs
The effect of psychosocial working conditions on work engagement and burnout in European communication industry
No full textPurpose
Responding to the lack of research on work engagement and burnout of professionals in the communication industries, this work’s main objective is to evaluate the effect of psychosocial working conditions (meaningful work, trust and recognition) on work engagement and burnout. Additionally, the mediating role of employee voice is tested.
Design/methodology/approach
The study takes a quantitative approach. A sample of 3,386 European workers in the communication industries was taken from the 2021 European Working Conditions Survey. The measurement of the main concepts is based on the variables available in the database above. The hypotheses were tested using the partial least squares method.
Findings
The results reveal that all psychosocial working conditions (meaningful work, trust and recognition) contribute to promoting work engagement and reducing burnout. Furthermore, employee voice is a mediator of the relationship between psychosocial working conditions, work engagement and burnout, although the presence of employee voice reduces the robustness of those relationships.
Practical implications
These results present relevant practical implications for managing workers in the communication industries, namely some clues to promote positive employee outcomes through the management of psychosocial working conditions.
Originality/value
This study examines the underexplored topic of work engagement and burnout in professionals in the communication industries as well as the relevance of psychological working conditions and employee voice to those outcomes. Furthermore, this study provides insightful information that is particularly useful to the European setting, where cultural aspects and working conditions may vary greatly from those in other parts of the world
Driving regional advancement: Exploring the impact of science and technology parks in the outermost regions of Europe
No full textPurpose – Europe’s outermost regions are often geographically isolated, and they face challenges when it comes to fostering innovation. This study aims to evaluate the impact of Science and Technology Parks (STPs) on the stimulation of innovation performance and the regional development of innovation in the outermost European regions. This study contributes to the development and interpretation of STP literature, which is especially relevant for policymakers operating within these regions.
Design/methodology/approach – We collected the data from six Regional Innovation Scoreboard reports (RIS, 2012; RIS, 2014; RIS, 2016; RIS, 2017; RIS, 2019; and RIS 2021), available at https://ec.europa.eu, for the following outermost regions of Europe: the Autonomous Regions of Azores and Madeira (Portugal), the Canary Islands (Spain) and the Outermost Regions of France, which encompass Martinique, Mayotte, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Saint-Martin and Reunion Island.
Findings – The results demonstrate that, for STPs to positively impact regional policies for innovation and regional development, policymakers must make significant investments into research and development (R&D). The outermost European regions display characteristics that negatively affect innovation performance and regional development. Furthermore, we found that innovative products and services are negatively affected by these regions, as they deploy only a limited number of resources. We also conclude that the impact of STPs on the outermost European regions depends on the policies of regional governments. STPs represent important inputs to formulating and implementing innovation strategies for regional development.
Research limitations/implications – This study has some limitations. This research only analyses the European Union’s (EU’s) outermost regions, and we have only included data extracted from the Regional Innovation Scoreboard from 2007 to 2021. Disaggregated data for the five outermost regions in France was not available. This would have increased the sample and made the results even more robust, had the information been available. Practical implications – The results propose that regional actors in the outermost regions (industry–government–academia) better articulate their resources (which are more scarce) and their priorities with regard to Science, Technology and Innovation, thus accelerating innovation and development of their regions. Originality/value – In this panel data study, we adopt a methodology that enables the evaluation of STP performance under different levels of intensity of gross domestic expenditure on research and development activities in the context of the RIS. In this study, the RIS refers to the peripheral regions of the EU. This study therefore aims to evaluate the impact of STPs in stimulating innovation performance and regional development in the outermost regions of Europe
A garantia do procedimento justo de asilo pelo Tribunal de Justiça da União Europeia
No full textA proteção internacional é de suma importância para o acolhimento de estrangeiros que possuem seus direitos violados ou ameaçados em seu país de origem, ou de residência. Nesse contexto, o asilo, que percorre o histórico em tempos imemoráveis, visa assegurar que os indivíduos tenham seus direitos resguardados nos países terceiros. Desse modo, a presente investigação analisará o direito de asilo na União Europeia, delimitando a temática na observância do procedimento justo no requerimento do instituto como um direito. Sendo assim, constitui como objetivo principal a verificação do entendimento do Tribunal de Justiça da União Europeia em reconhecer o procedimento justo como um direito. Para alcançar as respostas, torna-se necessário transitar por objetivos secundários como, definir o conceito de asilo, bem como o contexto histórico do instituto e verificar as normas da União Europeia que consagraram o asilo ou fortalecem sua proteção. A metodologia aplicada para desenvolver o trabalho será a qualitativa, com o suporte teórico e legal de doutrinas, teses, dissertações e artigos científicos na área do direito de asilo, de normas jurídicas que estão envoltos da temática e de jurisprudência que fundamenta o entendimento do tribunal. Como resultado da pesquisa, constatou que o Tribunal de Justiça da União Europeia reconhece o procedimento justo como um direito e assegura a aplicação destes nos casos concretos. Portanto, o principal contributo da pesquisa é demonstrar as respostas efetivas da União Europeia para que os indivíduos possam encontrar, em seus territórios, a devida proteção internacional que respeite e garanta a aplicação dos direitos na obtenção de um procedimento justo, principalmente, na atualidade, em que há diversos conflitos e instabilidades políticas em torno da União Europeia
Acesso Aberto e Repositório Institucional UPT: Boas práticas, requisitos e auto depósito
No full textApresentação de apoio à formação "Acesso Aberto e Repositório Institucional UPT: boas práticas, requisitos e auto depósito", realizada em quatro sessões (6, 11, 17 e 30 de junho), promovida pelo Serviço de Gestão de Publicações Científicas e Apoio à Avaliação da Ciência da Biblioteca Geral, com a dinamização de Sofia Mota e Filipa Marinho
The role of leadership and strategic alliances in innovation and digital transformation for sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems: A comprehensive analysis of the existing literature
No full textIn the context of accelerating digital transformation and growing sustainability imperatives, entrepreneurial ecosystems increasingly rely on open innovation and strategic collaboration to foster resilient, knowledge-driven growth. This study aims to examine how leadership behaviors and strategic alliances interact as enablers of sustainable innovation across macro (systemic), meso (organizational), and micro (individual) levels. To achieve this, this study employs a literature review, supported by bibliometric analysis, as its core methodological approach. Drawing on 86 influential publications from 1992 to 2024, two major thematic streams emerge: leadership dynamics in entrepreneurial settings and the formation and governance of strategic alliances as vehicles for innovation. The findings underscore the pivotal role of transformational and ethical leadership in cultivating trust-based inter-organizational relationships, facilitating digital knowledge sharing, and catalyzing sustainable value creation. Simultaneously, strategic alliances enhance organizational agility and innovation capacity through co-creation mechanisms, digital platforms, and crowdsourcing, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper highlights a mutually reinforcing relationship: effective leadership strategies empower alliances, while alliance participation enhances leadership capabilities through experiential learning in diverse, digitalized environments. By bridging leadership theory, open innovation practices, and digital transformation, this study offers critical insights for entrepreneurs, managers, and policymakers seeking to drive inclusive and sustainable innovation within interconnected global markets. Therefore, this study provides practical guidance for business leaders aiming to strengthen alliance performance through adaptive leadership and for policymakers seeking to foster innovation ecosystems through supportive regulatory and institutional frameworks
What inspires young Europeans to be agents of change through social entrepreneurship? A youth social entrepreneurship model proposal
No full textBy creating innovative solutions that help solve social problems, young social entrepreneurs constitute a driving force for sustainable development. However, previous research has given scant attention to these stakeholders. This paper aims to explore how social motivations to become self-employed, social entrepreneur image and the social impacts expected from a job can affect youth intention to create a social enterprise