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A conceptual model for assessing the level of development of pilgrimage routes
Get PDFThis paper proposes an innovative conceptual model based on a hierarchical structure for the assessment of pilgrimage routes, establishing and weighting the different associated elements. Based on a holistic approach, a Diagnostic Matrix was created which structures the surveying of predefined variables and enables the evaluation of pilgrimage routes. This tool allows an understanding of both, material and immaterial elements that comprise part of pilgrimage experiences, and of the respective routes as tourism products. Based on the case of the Portuguese Camino de Santiago, the proposed matrix enables the diagnosis of the entire route, as well as partial analysis, which can be sector specific (e.g. accommodation), or region / locality specific (e.g. municipality level). From the diagnosis, intervention plans can emerge, identifying the needs and actions to be implemented. The Conceptual Model and subsequent Diagnostic Matrix allows the public, private and voluntary sectors, such as local authorities, associations and economic agents, to better comprehend what role to play in the overall
improvement and development of the Route based on existing good practices. Although this study is based on a specific route, it is expected that the same methodology can be applied to other pilgrimage routes, after proceeding with necessary adjustments to the specificities of the respective context.8014-1B5A-933A | Goretti SilvaN/
Carbohydrate counting : how accurate should it be to achieve glycemic control in patients on intensive insulin regimens?
Get PDFCarbohydrate counting is an important meal-planning tool for patients on intensive insulin regimens. Preprandial insulin bolus is adjusted taking into account the carbohydrate content of each meal and the insulin-to-carb ratio of each patient throughout the day. Evidence suggests that accurate carbohydrate counting may have positive effects not only on reducing glycosylated hemoglobin concentration but also on decreasing the incidence of hypoglycemic episodes. Nevertheless, despite its benefits, the efficacy of carbohydrate counting depends on the ability of each patient, or its caregiver, to accurately estimate the carbohydrate content of each meal. Therefore, it is of great importance to understand how accurate should carbohydrate counting be, and the impact of inaccurate carbohydrate counting on the glycemic control of each patient. Within this work, we propose an analytic method that uses the insulin-to-carb ratio and the insulin sensitivity factor, along with the glycemic targets of each patient to calculate the limits of accurate carbohydrate counting, in order to achieve better glycemic control and to reduce hypoglycemic episodes.511F-603F-4B30 | Francisco MirandaN/
Accessibility analysis of higher education institution websites of Portugal
Get PDFThe higher education institutions across the globe are steadily increasing their usage of the web platforms to disseminate information to its stakeholders. In this background, it becomes important to make these resources inclusive. An inclusive website of a higher education institution will facilitate seamless access to its resources for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). This paper presents an accessibility analysis of 59 higher education websites of Portugal. Both Polytechnic (19) and University (40) websites were incorporated into the study.The accessibility analysis is carried out with three major
tools: AChecker, WAVE, and aXe. With respect to the AChecker tool, the average of known problems was observed almost doubled in Universities than Polytechnic Institution websites of Portugal under all levels of conformance. With respect to WAVE tool, we found that the average of alerts, structural elements, and HTML5 & ARIA in terms of web accessibility status of websites of Polytechnic Institutes are less than the Universities, but contrast errors are found with more frequency in Polytechnic Institutes than in universities, and the average of errors and features are almost the same in both of the cases.
Also, we found that the average number of violations and needs of review guidelines as per aXe tool are 50.84 and 21.47 in Polytechnic Institutes’ websites and 30.75 and 27.83 in Universities websites belonging to Portugal, respectively. Based on scores obtained by these accessibility analysis tools, the outliers of accessibility violations are calculated with respect to websites of Polytechnic Institutes and Universities of Portugal. Moreover, we also suggested and discussed the important clues to solve the accessibility violations of websites along with their issue descriptions among the selected websites in this study. Hence, this analysis report provides the feedback to website administrator and web developers to improve the accessibility evaluation status of these websites.5311-8814-F0ED | Sara Maria da Cruz Maia de Oliveira PaivaN/
The construction of long-lasting relationships based on alternative structures provided by the knowledge of “Organizational Communication”
Get PDFDissertação de Mestrado em Marketing apresentada na Escola Superior de Ciências Empresariais do Instituto Politécnico de Viana do CasteloO clima competitivo no mundo organizacional tem vindo a crescer de forma exponencial, acompanhando assim o crescimento da tecnologia. Estas mudanças originam novos desafios. É necessário manter o ritmo de aprendizagem, entender novas competências, trabalhar em equipa e cumprir objetivos. Posto isto, não será possível este avanço em nenhum clima organizacional sem comunicação e estruturas que proporcionem melhores condições aos colaboradores.
O propósito deste estudo passa pela evidenciação e consequente exploração de estruturas alternativas que melhorem as relações entre os indivíduos envolvidos no processo de comunicação organizacional, aperfeiçoando também a performance da empresa e a qualidade de vida desses mesmos indivíduos, num processo síncrono.
Desta feita, optou-se por uma abordagem metodológica de natureza qualitativa, recorrendo-se a entrevistas exploratórias. Com base no ranking de 2021 da Great Place to Work, procurou-se entrevistar as melhores empresas para se trabalhar em Portugal, identificadas a partir de duas ferramentas, trust index – questionário dirigido aos colaboradores e o culture audit – questionário dirigido à empresa. As entrevistas baseiam-se em cinco dimensões, as quais pensamos serem essenciais para este reconhecimento, sendo elas: Condições salariais e outros benefícios; Progressão na Carreira; Segurança do posto de trabalho; Balanço positivo entre trabalho e vida pessoal; e Atmosfera positiva no trabalho.
Os resultados apontam para a existência de uma ligação entre as estruturas alternativas concebidas para melhorar o clima organizacional e a satisfação do colaborador. Motivação é a palavra de ordem quando estratégias e técnicas focadas em endomarketing, employer branding e na procura do clima organizacional e dos fatores motivacionais certos são aplicadas. Consequentemente, a produtividade e os resultados dela provenientes são benéficos tanto para a empresa como para o trabalhador, fazendo com que este se sinta essencial para todos os processos.
De destacar, que em todos os conceitos estudados e todas as dimensões exploradas em conjunto com as organizações, o uso de uma comunicação estruturada e focada na transparência esteve sempre em evidência.The competitive environment in the organizational world has been rising in an exponential way, walking side to side with the technological development. These changes bring new challenges. It is necessary to maintain a learning rhythm, understand new skills, work as a team and achieve goals. That said, these developments won’t be possible in any organizational environment without communication and structures that provide better working conditions to the employees.
This study’s purpose is the disclosure and consequential exploration of alternative structures that improve the relations between the individuals involved in the organizational communication process, also perfecting the company’s performance and the quality of life of these same individuals, synchronously.
This time, a qualitative methodological approach was chosen, using exploratory interviews. Based on the 2021’s Great Place to Work ranking, an effort was made to interview the best “workplaces” in Portugal, identified through two tools, trust index – questionnaire directed to the workers and culture audit – questionnaire directed to the organization. The developed interview is based on five dimensions that we understand as essential to this recognition, being them: Salary conditions and other benefits; Career development; Safety regarding their work situation; Positive balance between work and personal life; and Positive work atmosphere.
The results point to the existence of a connection between the alternative structures conceived to improve the organizational climate and the employee’s satisfaction. Motivation is the watchword when strategies and techniques focused on endomarketing, employer branding and the search for the right organization climate and motivational factors are applied. Consequently, the productivity and results from this are beneficial for both the company and the employee, making them feel essential to all the processes.
It should be noted that in all the concepts studied and all the dimensions explored in conjunction with the organizations, the use of structured communication focused on transparency was always in evidence
Perfil de satisfação do utilizador de um serviço de fisioterapia em ambulatório
Get PDFDissertação de mestrado em Gestão das Organizações: Ramo de Gestão de Unidades de Saúde (parceria com a APNOR) apresentada na Escola Superior de Saúde do Instituto Politécnico de Viana do CasteloA fisioterapia caracteriza-se por ser um processo de saúde com interações longas entre o profissional e o utilizador, envolvendo contato físico muito próximo, exigindo a participação ativa do utilizador e visitas frequentes ao serviço. A satisfação do utilizador é um objetivo e uma consequência da fisioterapia que afeta a adesão e resultado do tratamento como, também, condiciona uma posterior referenciação do serviço. A avaliação da satisfação do utilizador é uma prioridade para a gestão da qualidade dos serviços de saúde, sendo um bom índice de avaliação da eficácia clínica. Conseguir estabelecer o perfil do utilizador satisfeito com o serviço é extremamente importante para a gestão organizacional em unidades de saúde.
O presente trabalho tem como objetivos: analisar o nível de satisfação atual dos utentes de um serviço de fisioterapia em ambulatório; traçar o perfil do utilizador satisfeito em função das suas características sociodemográficas e clínicas; identificar o conjunto de boas práticas e aspetos de melhoria; propor medidas de melhoria de satisfação. Conforma-se, assim, um estudo quantitativo, observacional, analítico correlacional e transversal. Em alinhamento com os objetivos utilizaram-se um questionário de caraterização sociodemográfica e um instrumento de avaliação da satisfação com a fisioterapia, o Questionário de Satisfação do Doente Ambulatório de Fisioterapia (PTOPS) (Cavalheiro et al., 2017). A aplicação do instrumento e questionário de caracterização da amostra permite a criação de uma base de dados microeconómica que possibilita a aplicação da metodologia econométrica de regressão linear.
Através dos dados analisados conseguiu-se identificar variáveis que elevam a satisfação, tais como o local, a situação profissional, o tempo de deslocação, a patologia e o intervalo remuneratório e variáveis que diminuem a satisfação, como o local de residência, habilitações académicas, sistema de saúde, referenciação, situação profissional e idade. Com base na evidência produzida são propostas medidas de melhoria do serviço de fisioterapia.Physiotherapy is characterized by being a health process with long interactions between the professional and the user, involving very close physical contact, requiring the active participation of the user and frequent visits to the service. User satisfaction is an objective and a consequence of physiotherapy that affects adherence and treatment outcome, as well as conditions a subsequent referral of the service. The evaluation of user satisfaction is a priority for the management of the quality of health services, being a good index of evaluation of clinical effectiveness. Being able to establish the profile of the user who is satisfied with the service is extremely important for organizational management in health units.
The present work aims to: analyze the current level of satisfaction of users of an outpatient physiotherapy service; to trace the profile of the satisfied user according to their sociodemographic and clinical characteristics; identify the set of best practices and aspects for improvement and propose measures to improve satisfaction. Thus, a quantitative, observational, analyticalcorrelational and cross-sectional study was carried out.
In line with the objectives, a sociodemographic questionnaire and a physical therapy satisfaction assessment instrument, the Physical Therapy Outpatient Satisfaction Survey (PTOPS) (Cavalheiro et al., 2017) were used. The application of the sample characterization instrument and questionnaire allows the creation of a microeconomic database that allows the application of the econometric methodology of linear regression. Through the analyzed data, it was possible to identify variables that increase satisfaction, such as location, professional situation, travel time, pathology and salary range and variables that decrease satisfaction such as place of residence, academic qualifications, system of health, referral, professional status and age. Based on the evidence produced, measures to improve the physiotherapy service are proposed
Theoretical simulation of the influence of cathode formulation on lithium-ion battery performance.
Get PDFOptimizing cathode electrode formulation is essential in the development and performance of lithium-ion
batteries, as the cathode affects the capacity of the battery. Cathode electrode formulation is based on different materials and relative contents. In this work, the cathode performance for the LiMn2O4, LMO, active material has been obtained by theoretical simulations for different materials formulations and at various discharge rates. Further, the simulations were compared with experimental results. It is demonstrated that the optimization of the electrode formulation strongly depends on the percentage of conductive material, existing a minimum conductive filler content that optimizes the delivered capacity of the battery and being that delivery capacity independent of the conductive filler content for higher
concentrations.511F-603F-4B30 | Francisco MirandaN/
Proposal of an extended taxonomy of serious games for health rehabilitation
No full textObjective: Serious Games is a field of research that has evolved substantially with valuable contributions to many application domains and areas. Patients often consider traditional rehabilitation approaches to be repetitive and boring, making it difficult for them to maintain their ongoing interest and assure the completion of the treatment program. Since the publication of our first taxonomy of Serious Games for Health Rehabilitation (SGHR), many studies have been published with game prototypes in this area. Based on literature review, our goal is to propose an updated taxonomy taking into account the works, updates, and innovations in game criteria that have been researched since our first publication in 2010. In addition, we aim to present the validation mechanism used for the proposed extended taxonomy.
Materials and Methods: Based on a literature review in the area and on the analysis of the contributions made by other researchers, we propose an extended taxonomy for SGHR. For validating the taxonomy proposal, a questionnaire was designed to use on a survey among experts in the area.
Results: An extended taxonomy for SGHR was proposed. As we have identified that, in general, and besides the mechanisms associated with the adoption of a given taxonomy, there were no reported validation mechanisms for the proposals, we designed a mechanism to validate our proposal. The mechanism uses a questionnaire addressed to a sample of researchers and professionals with experience and expertise in domains of knowledge interrelated with SGHR, such as Computer Graphics, Game Design, Interaction Design, Computer Programming, and Health Rehabilitation.
Conclusion: The extended taxonomy proposal for health rehabilitation serious games provides the research community with a tool to fully characterize serious games. The mechanism designed for validating the taxonomy proposal is another contribution of this work.2411-78B2-7CDB | Pedro Miguel MoreiraN/
Rethinking safety issues within the context of pilgrimage routes
No full text8014-1B5A-933A | Goretti Silvainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Erasmus mobility as a culture-led experience : opportunities for sensitizing young travellers
No full textThe Erasmus programme and the underlying experiences have a huge potential to generate long-term travels of young people, with significant impacts both on the travellers and hosting communities. The international experience gained through studying, volunteering, or working abroad is widely acknowledged as positive, giving students a huge boost to self-confidence and curriculum enrichment, broadening their horizons and social links. A major benefit of study abroad is the development of intercultural competence, to learn the culture of Self and Other and to communicate across differences.
On the other hand, as long-term travellers, these young people can be agents of positive interaction with the hosting communities, and be the best advocates, as key informants to other travellers about local culture and traditions, particularly if they have lived and experienced those traditions. What determines the Erasmus students’ positive perceptions and willingness to spread the word and positively influence others? and How can hosting communities take advantage of the Erasmus mobility programmes to promote the territories as tourism destinations? The case study describes the Erasmus mobility programme at Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (Portugal), with a particular focus on the perception and experiences of students taking part in the programme over the last 5 years. Results put in evidence that to seize the opportunities mobility represents, local authorities and destination management organizations need to understand that Erasmus students are potentially the best promoters and influencers of the country/region at an international level; whilst they are also bringing their knowledge, habits and own culture to Viana do Castelo, enriching mutual cultural understanding, exchanges and richness.8014-1B5A-933A | Goretti SilvaN/
Robotic process automation and artificial intelligence in industry 4.0 : a literature review
Get PDFaking into account the technological evolution of the last decades and the proliferation of information systems in society, today we see the vast majority of services provided by companies and institutions as digital services. Industry 4.0 is the fourth industrial revolution where technologies and automation are asserting themselves as major changes. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has numerous advantages in terms of automating organizational and business processes. Allied to these advantages, the complementary use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms and techniques allows to improve the accuracy and execution of RPA processes in the extraction of information, in the recognition, classification, forecasting and optimization of processes. In this context, this paper aims to present a study of the RPA tools associated with AI that can contribute to the improvement of the organizational processes associated with Industry 4.0. It appears that the RPA tools enhance their functionality with the objectives of AI being extended with the use of Artificial Neural Network algorithms, Text Mining techniques and Natural Language Processing techniques for the extraction of information and consequent process of optimization and of forecasting scenarios in improving the operational and business processes of organizations.5311-8814-F0ED | Sara Maria da Cruz Maia de Oliveira PaivaN/