Science (Universidade Europeia)
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The hard life: A pedagogical experience in Industrial Design
No full textThis paper seeks to analyze and discuss a redesign project developed by students of master’s degree in industrial design. Based on the book The Hard Life, from English designer Jasper Morrison, the briefing proposed the development of concepts for new products inspired by the selection of objects in the book, and respective written interpretations. It seeks to explore the dialogue between the original objects – their use, Morrison’s interpretation - and the reinterpretation made by the students considering the current material culture. Accompanied and coordinated with Bisarro, contemporary studio dedicated to the artisan production of small series in Bisalhães black clay, UNESCO Immaterial Cultural Heritage, the project seeks to explore the boundaries and common ground between memory and contemporary times. More than the results, it is intended to discuss proposals and approaches, from functional interpretations, formal inspiration, to the appropriation of affordance and gesture
The importance of user-generated photos in restaurant selection
No full textPurpose – User-generated content and online reviews are highly relevant in purchase decision in the
hospitality sector, including restaurants, but there is a lack of knowledge about the effect of sharing pictures
in this context. This study aims to focus on the relevance of user-generated photos in online platforms for
restaurants’ selection.
Design/methodology/approach – A research was conducted with a sample of 319 residents of Porto
region, who had at least one meal in a restaurant over the 30 days before the answer of the survey and had
searched online to select the restaurant.
Findings – The results show that while doing online research about restaurants, it is important for potential
consumers to find pictures of food and physical evidences of restaurants generated by other users. Findings
also show that consumers find user-generated photos especially at websites of reviews, although the
importance of restaurant owned platforms, such as official social media pages and websites.
Practical implications – The research results appeal restaurant managers to understand the importance
of user-generated photos in online platforms by promoting photo sharing in their restaurants with
appropriate marketing activities for that purpose.
Originality/value – This paper expands the state-of-the-art about the importance of user-generated
content, focusing on the importance of photos from restaurants shared by consumers in online
platforms
Strategic alignment IT-Business: Towards a proactive e-public sector
No full textThe problem discussed in this paper is the paradox associated with hundreds of contributions of the scientific community over three decades, mainly leveraged by the Strategic Alignment Model (SAM) and its perspectives, but whose benefits arising from its applicability to the real world are scarce. The context of public sector organizations, which does not fit into any of the four perspectives presented by Henderson and Venkatraman (1993), led to the intertwining of the theme with Data Science. The hypothesis formulation involves interconnecting convergent concepts, namely through the adoption of a replicable framework in any world-wide public services, to potentiate the change of perspective, allowing to achieve the desired strategic alignment (IT-Business). It is hoped that the suggestions and recommendations can contribute to leverage significant changes in the Public Sector context in order to optimize the services provided, anticipating the citizen’s needs
Transition to higher education as a life upgrade
No full textThe transition from high school to higher education assumes a major role in high adolescence and it is
presumed as a very pleasant life experience to students. Nevertheless, the impact of such transition
cannot be predicted with accuracy, as it is mediated, not only by students’ psychosocial variables but
also by their expectations. In fact, the quality of the transition experience is deeply influenced by the
clash between what freshmen expect from and what they actually find in higher education. Literature
draws attention to the relationships between the initial experiences of students as they begin their
higher education and how they perform subsequently. This research focused on the transition to
higher education, approaching freshmen’s personal and developmental variables. In Portugal, the new
student’s reception is ritualized by tradition and involves the organisation of an entire integration
ceremony (known as praxe) proposed by peers. This paper argues that initiation practices in
Portuguese higher education can be regarded as a transition ritual, a group of symbolic activities that
brand the shift from secondary to tertiary education. For that, a qualitative methodological approach
was adopted, using content analysis as a privileged tool. The target population for this study is
composed of 43 first-year students enrolled in Engineering, who had been attending higher education
for six months. The sample was composed of 30 students. The chosen method for data collection was
a semi-structured interview, which presented topics and questions to the interviewee, without leading
him/her toward preconceived choices. Thus, students were questioned about their perceptions
concerning the way they experienced the transition to higher education. Data analysis was performed
through content analysis, privileging the semantic approach over the syntactic one. Transcripts were
coded according to themes and analysed using a constant comparison approach [1]. The data were
coded by paragraph and sentence as proposed by Strauss and Corbin [2]. Participants’ own
categories were tabulated as suggested by Silverman [3]. Results confirm that transition to higher
education is actually perceived by students as a true-life transition. However, this life transition is
experienced differently according to students’ sociocultural background, which influences both the
symbolic impact of enrolment in higher education and their expectations about it. The
conceptualization of higher education enrolment as a true-life transition and the methodological study
design are the features that highlight the present paper in the higher education scientific arena
Haptic MIDI controller interface on touchscreen devices
No full textO presente estudo surge no âmbito do aprofundamento do tema Musical Interactions e consiste num projeto focado em interações com dispositivos touchscreen, nomeadamente através da utilização de interfaces híbridas, a partir do uso de tecnologia multi-touch e objetos TUI (Tangible User Interface) modulares para performance e controlo musical. O seu objetivo principal é criar uma solução de interação a partir de interfaces híbridas que permitam combinar as vantagens dos controladores tradicionais com as novas possibilidades dos dispositivos touchscreen, relevando uma característica indispensável na interação musical: o feedback háptico. Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) e Action Research (AR) foram, pelas suas características iterativas e complementares, as metodologias escolhidas para o desenvolvimento da solução de design deste projeto
Consumer perception of corporate social responsibility: Points of view from Portuguese undergraduate students
No full textOne of the main purposes of this paper is analysing the perception of
Portuguese consumers – namely undergraduate students in Oporto – regarding
corporate social responsibility (CSR). Considering consumer perceptions on
CSR dimensions are limited to a national contingency, this research provides
some results that bridge the research gap on the subject in Portugal. For this
purpose, exploratory interviews have been conducted and such interviews have
allowed the elaboration of a questionnaire directed to a sample of 824 students
in 22 higher education institutions. Due to the analysis of the main results, it
has been concluded that students had some knowledge and a multidimensional
vision of CSR. After an exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis, it has
been found that the CSR concept is based on four dimensions: economic,
environmental, employees and community. Concerning consumer support of
CSR, such consumers prefer avoiding products from socially irresponsible
companies to actually be willing to pay more for products from socially
responsible ones
PUBLIC-PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION CHOICE: QUALITY OR CONVENIENCE?
No full textThe creation of different types of higher education institutions, namely those that offer more
professionally-oriented programmes, as well as the increasing number of private institutions has
complexified student choices when applying to higher education. Apart from choosing a programme
and an institution, students may have to choose the type of institution, and whether they will attend a
public or a private institution.
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it represents an attempt to complement the existing
analysis of HEI choice by explicitly modelling two choices together: university versus polytechnic
institute, and public versus private institutions. It aims at characterizing the student profile in each
higher education sector (public or private), as well as provide some insights into the degree to which
some types of students select themselves to private higher education institutions.
Second, it aims at providing an updated look of the effect of the spatial distribution of HEI on the
choice of prospective students. Depending on the spatial distribution and accessibility of higher
education institutions, students may decide to attend higher education in their home region, or instead
move to another region. Price differentiation may also have an influence on student decisions on
whether to move or not.
We pursue these objectives using the example of Portuguese higher education students. We explicitly
model student choices of HEI type (university versus polytechnic institute and private versus public
institution) based on socioeconomic background, spatial distribution of higher education institutions
and student geographic mobility. We estimate a bivariate probit model using a comprehensive data set
on all first time/first year students entering higher education in a specific academic year.
Results suggest that higher income students prefer university over polytechnic institutes, but they
favour private institutions. The value students put on institutional attributes like prestige, location,
employability and leisure offer at the institution location play an effective role in the institution choice.
Geographic accessibility to each type of institution favors the choice of that type of institution
IT-business strategic alignment in social era
No full textThe problem discussed in this paper is the paradox associated with the hundreds of contributions of the scientific community over three decades, mainly leveraged by the Strategic Alignment Model (SAM) and its perspectives, but whose benefits arising from its applicability to the real world are scarce. The context of public sector organizations, which does not fit into any of the four perspectives presented by Henderson and Venkatraman (1993), led to the intertwining of the theme with the Social Era, predominantly people-driven or relationship-driven. The hypothesis formulation involves interconnecting convergent concepts, such as Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and e-participation, to potentiate the change of perspective, allowing to achieve the desired strategic alignment (IT-Business)
Special issue on economic policy in Portugal: Innovation, competitiveness, and internationalisation. Editors’ introduction
No full textMotivations for tourism shopping in department stores: An exploratory research about tourists’ profiles visiting El Corte Inglés Gaia
No full textShopping forms a part of tourism activity. It can
be the main motivation to travel (shopping tourism), or
a parallel tourist action (tourism shopping). Existing literature
explores the attributes of products that tourists
look for, as souvenirs. However, department stores are
increasingly prominent on tour itineraries and promoted
by tour guides, exploring the trend of purchasing luxury
goods in tourism experience. This study identifies the
profile and motivations of tourists to shop in department
stores, whose main products refer to global luxury brands
and do not show the authenticity of the destination.
The research was developed in the department store El
Corte Inglés Gaia, the only department store in the Porto
destination. A survey was applied in the store during four
days to 210 tourists who contacted the tourism office of
the store. The results show that purchasing is not the
main motivation for travelling, but it is an important
activity. The department store is chosen for tourism
shopping because of the quality and variety of products
and services, personal selling and the advantages of tax
refund for non-residents in the European Union. The
paper contributes with the idea that shopping should
be seen as an important activity in tourism and retailers
should enhance the provision of differentiated services
and experiences rather than just the authenticity of local
products