Towards a benchmarking paradigm in European water utilities
In: Public money & management: integrating theory and practice in public management, Band 30, Heft 1, S. 42-48
ISSN: 1467-9302
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In: Public money & management: integrating theory and practice in public management, Band 30, Heft 1, S. 42-48
ISSN: 1467-9302
An official website is a key component for tourist's decision-making processes. Official websites transmit confidence to the user, since they are managed by government entities. It is important that they are of quality with regard to the contents available, but also with respect to other aspects such as efficiency, functionality and usability. Although, it is difficult to make a systematic and complete evaluation on websites, they are of quality due to their diversity of functionalities, which make them complex to analyses. Many studies have proposed new website evaluation frameworks and criteria. The main objective of this paper is to analyse Portugal and Spain tourism official websites, using one model to evaluate tourism websites and a qualitative method approach in order to assess the quality of the respective websites and to identify possible improvements. ; UNIAG, R&D unit funded by the FCT – Portuguese Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. UID/GES/4752/2019. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
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Cultural heritage is an extremely valuable set of materiality, traditions and knowledge from the Past that should be used to better understand the Past itself. However, even nowadays, there are still some difficulties to manage, preserve and disseminate cultural heritage. In this sense, the first step that we should take after preserving the heritage is to develop solutions that enable effective and democratic ways to promote it. This promotion starts with the ability of those who visit this heritage to be able to know and enjoy it. Information and Communication Technologies and specifically Pervasive and Mobile Computing ones represent nowadays a big opportunity to develop innovative solutions capable to inform tourists about heritage and even enable them to experience past realities related to immaterial heritage like ancestral legends and past events even with no longer existing physical patrimony. This paper starts to make a reflection of the evolution, the Information and Communication Technologies role on tourism and present a technological architecture to respond to the challenge of promoting heritage and informing tourists in their travel experiences. After that, the paper presents also a developed prototype created to the Portuguese City of Mirandela which was capable to promote its historical and gastronomic heritage and also support the tours of the tourists through its territory. Finally, some remarks about the future growing and directions for technology applied to tourism are made. ; UNIAG, R&D unit funded by the FCT – Portuguese Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. UID/GES/4752/2016. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
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Five chrysopetalid species are reported from samples collected at bathyal depths in three NE Atlantic regions: the Bay of Biscay, the Horseshoe Abyssal Plain and the Gulf of Cadiz. Arichlidon reyssi (Katzmann et al., 1974), Dysponetus caecus (Langerhans, 1880) and D. profundus Böggemann, 2009 are free-living forms found mainly on biogenic substrates (e.g., coral and sunken wood). A brief description and taxonomical remarks are given for each of these species and their geographical distributions and habitat records were updated accordingly. Natsushima bifurcata Miura & Laubier, 1990 and Craseoschema thyasiricola gen. et sp. nov. are symbionts inhabiting the mantle cavity of chemosynthesis-based bivalves known from four mud volcanoes from the Gulf of Cadiz. Craseoschema thyasiricola gen. et sp. nov. was found inside a thyasirid bivalve and presents mixed morphological characteristics of free-living and symbiotic forms within Calamyzinae Hartmann-Schröder, 1971. A full description of the new species is given together with DNA sequences of the genes COI, 16S and H3 that were used in a phylogenetic analysis to indicate the position of the new genus within the family ; Financial support was provided by CESAM (UID/AMB/50017/2019) and by FCT/MCTES (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia /Ministério de Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior) through national funds. AR was supported by a postdoctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/112408/2015) from FCT co-financed by ESF (European Science Foundation) and MEC (Ministério da Fundação e Ciência). CR and LG were supported by postdoctoral grants, SFRH/BPD/107805/2015 and SFRH/ BPD/96142/2013, respectively. This study is a contribution of the "Macroevolutionary Transitions in Syllidae" Project (CGL2015-63593-P), supported by MINECO/FEDER (Ministério de Economia y Competitividad/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional) and European Union funds (PI: MTA)
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This is a study of institutional change and continuity, comparing the trajectories followed by Mozambique and its formal colonial power Portugal in HRM, based on two surveys of firm level practices. The colonial power sought to extend the institutions of the metropole in the closing years of its rule, and despite all the adjustments and shocks that have accompanied Mozambique's post-independence years, the country continues to retain institutional features and associated practices from the past. This suggests that there is a post-colonial impact on human resource management. The implications for HRM theory are that ambitious attempts at institutional substitution may have less dramatic effects than is commonly assumed. Indeed, we encountered remarkable similarities between the two countries in HRM practices, implying that features of supposedly fluid or less mature institutional frameworks (whether in Africa or the Mediterranean world) may be sustained for protracted periods of time, pressures to reform notwithstanding. This highlights the complexities of continuities which transcend formal rules; as post-colonial theories alert us, informal conventions and embedded discourse may result in the persistence of informal power and subordination, despite political and legal changes.
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In: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Band 95, S. 19-30
In: Computers and electronics in agriculture: COMPAG online ; an international journal, Band 78, Heft 2, S. 176-187
In: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Band 73, Heft 2, S. 154-164
In: Semina: revista cultural e científica da Universidade Estadual de Londrina. Ciências agrárias, Band 34, Heft 1, S. 445-454
ISSN: 1679-0359
In: IESE Business School Working Paper No. WP-1113-E
SSRN
Working paper
In: Environmental science and pollution research: ESPR, Band 27, Heft 17, S. 21442-21454
ISSN: 1614-7499
In: Environmental science and pollution research: ESPR, Band 25, Heft 23, S. 23315-23327
ISSN: 1614-7499
In: AGWAT-D-22-00211
SSRN
Background: Surgery is the main modality of cure for solid cancers and was prioritised to continue during COVID-19 outbreaks. This study aimed to identify immediate areas for system strengthening by comparing the delivery of elective cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic in periods of lockdown versus light restriction. Methods: This international, prospective, cohort study enrolled 20 006 adult (≥18 years) patients from 466 hospitals in 61 countries with 15 cancer types, who had a decision for curative surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic and were followed up until the point of surgery or cessation of follow-up (Aug 31, 2020). Average national Oxford COVID-19 Stringency Index scores were calculated to define the government response to COVID-19 for each patient for the period they awaited surgery, and classified into light restrictions (index 60). The primary outcome was the non-operation rate (defined as the proportion of patients who did not undergo planned surgery). Cox proportional-hazards regression models were used to explore the associations between lockdowns and non-operation. Intervals from diagnosis to surgery were compared across COVID-19 government response index groups. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04384926. Findings: Of eligible patients awaiting surgery, 2003 (10·0%) of 20 006 did not receive surgery after a median follow-up of 23 weeks (IQR 16-30), all of whom had a COVID-19-related reason given for non-operation. Light restrictions were associated with a 0·6% non-operation rate (26 of 4521), moderate lockdowns with a 5·5% rate (201 of 3646; adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·77-0·84; p<0·0001), and full lockdowns with a 15·0% rate (1775 of 11 827; HR 0·51, 0·50-0·53; p<0·0001). In sensitivity analyses, including adjustment for SARS-CoV-2 case notification rates, moderate lockdowns (HR 0·84, 95% CI 0·80-0·88; p<0·001), and full lockdowns (0·57, 0·54-0·60; p<0·001), remained independently associated with non-operation. Surgery beyond 12 weeks from diagnosis in patients without neoadjuvant therapy increased during lockdowns (374 [9·1%] of 4521 in light restrictions, 317 [10·4%] of 3646 in moderate lockdowns, 2001 [23·8%] of 11 827 in full lockdowns), although there were no differences in resectability rates observed with longer delays. Interpretation: Cancer surgery systems worldwide were fragile to lockdowns, with one in seven patients who were in regions with full lockdowns not undergoing planned surgery and experiencing longer preoperative delays. Although short-term oncological outcomes were not compromised in those selected for surgery, delays and non-operations might lead to long-term reductions in survival. During current and future periods of societal restriction, the resilience of elective surgery systems requires strengthening, which might include protected elective surgical pathways and long-term investment in surge capacity for acute care during public health emergencies to protect elective staff and services.
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Background Surgery is the main modality of cure for solid cancers and was prioritised to continue during COVID-19 outbreaks. This study aimed to identify immediate areas for system strengthening by comparing the delivery of elective cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic in periods of lockdown versus light restriction. Methods This international, prospective, cohort study enrolled 20 006 adult (≥18 years) patients from 466 hospitals in 61 countries with 15 cancer types, who had a decision for curative surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic and were followed up until the point of surgery or cessation of follow-up (Aug 31, 2020). Average national Oxford COVID-19 Stringency Index scores were calculated to define the government response to COVID-19 for each patient for the period they awaited surgery, and classified into light restrictions (index 60). The primary outcome was the non-operation rate (defined as the proportion of patients who did not undergo planned surgery). Cox proportional-hazards regression models were used to explore the associations between lockdowns and non-operation. Intervals from diagnosis to surgery were compared across COVID-19 government response index groups. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04384926. Findings Of eligible patients awaiting surgery, 2003 (10·0%) of 20 006 did not receive surgery after a median follow-up of 23 weeks (IQR 16–30), all of whom had a COVID-19-related reason given for non-operation. Light restrictions were associated with a 0·6% non-operation rate (26 of 4521), moderate lockdowns with a 5·5% rate (201 of 3646; adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·77–0·84; p<0·0001), and full lockdowns with a 15·0% rate (1775 of 11 827; HR 0·51, 0·50–0·53; p<0·0001). In sensitivity analyses, including adjustment for SARS-CoV-2 case notification rates, moderate lockdowns (HR 0·84, 95% CI 0·80–0·88; p<0·001), and full lockdowns (0·57, 0·54–0·60; p<0·001), remained independently associated with non-operation. Surgery beyond 12 weeks from diagnosis in patients without neoadjuvant therapy increased during lockdowns (374 [9·1%] of 4521 in light restrictions, 317 [10·4%] of 3646 in moderate lockdowns, 2001 [23·8%] of 11 827 in full lockdowns), although there were no differences in resectability rates observed with longer delays. Interpretation Cancer surgery systems worldwide were fragile to lockdowns, with one in seven patients who were in regions with full lockdowns not undergoing planned surgery and experiencing longer preoperative delays. Although short-term oncological outcomes were not compromised in those selected for surgery, delays and non-operations might lead to long-term reductions in survival. During current and future periods of societal restriction, the resilience of elective surgery systems requires strengthening, which might include protected elective surgical pathways and long-term investment in surge capacity for acute care during public health emergencies to protect elective staff and services. Funding National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit, Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, Medtronic, Sarcoma UK, The Urology Foundation, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research.
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