Low-Cost Broadband Connections: A Key Factor for SME Virtual Organizations

In an open global market, SMEs are facing new challenges while trying to compete with large worldwide corporations. The forming of innovative alliances, known as virtual organizations (VO), is one of the most interesting proposals to achieve competitiveness and exploit strategic advantages. However, besides the obvious positive potential of innovative actions like VOs, there are several drawbacks, especially when SMEs are involved in such projects. VOs have very high needs for IT and communications; in fact they rely so much on them that the forming of a VO is only possible with the development of an extensive information and communication infrastructure. A lot of innovating management, re-forming and re-structuring is involved in joining several independent companies into a new virtual schema and several cultural, economical and legislative problems must also be overcome. In this paper we focus on the technological needs, and in particular, the need for an organization-wide data sharing and communication network. The high cost involved with the investments necessary in IT and communications technology make the effort harder for SMEs, even if it was to be assumed that they could manage the other important aspects of forming a VO. Along with the cost of computer equipment and specialized software, networking cost has until recently been a particularly prohibiting factor for SMEs even on the most advanced business sectors. A new term, the “virtual organization technology threshold†is introduced, defined as the minimum of IT and communication technologies necessary to form a “true†virtual organization, in its pure and functional form described and widely adopted by the scientific community. The investments needed for IT and communications to form a VO are analyzed and compared to the related investments of conventional SMEs in EU. The evolution in the cost, focused around the networking tools, is then examined to extract useful information about the feasibility of such specialized investments compared to the overall investment and turnovers of typical SMEs. We then argue that a recent development, the price drop and wide spread of broadband connections can act as a “key factor†that could make the difference in lowering the “threshold†and increasing the possibilities for SMEs to compete successfully by utilizing technological advantages and innovations that have until now considered to be more suitable for larger enterprises.

Transinterpret II: Transnational Quality Management in Heritage Interpretation Within the Framework of C. I. Leader+. The Case of Greece

Natural und cultural heritage is commonly recognized as the major capital for sustainable tourism development. Many rural regions throughout Europe (UK, Germany, Switzerland, Italy), recognised the necessity to investigate widespread shortcomings and factors of success for the valorisation of local and regional heritage. Transinterpret I has been a successfully implemented transnational cooperation within the framework of C.I. Leader II that has established standards and recommendations concerning the quality of heritage presentation in a recreational learning environment. Transinterpret managed to improve practical applications in the field of heritage interpretation, especially in a visitor-friendly heritage presentation field with cognitive tools, validated by praxis and data. Projects and applications within Transinterpret are planned according to the standards and recommendations of a dynamically evolving database and are subjected to professional evaluation offered by checklists of the partner database and highly specialized human resources. The development of an international quality label for a visitor-centric Heritage Interpretation and further development of topics and planning issues related with interpretation as a sub-discipline of heritage management has been also a significant aim of the Transinterpret. In 2006 Greece has entered the second phase of Transinterpret - Transinterpret II. Priorities regarding tourism planning at local and regional level were -a novel form of managing heritage resources in order to create high added value tourism products, a wiser distribution of tourism expenditure, the creation of a distinct heritage tourism identity, which would not be conceived as an exchangeable commodity at global level. Creating and "exporting" place identity and place attachment was also a significant motive for Greek partners (Ipiros, Aitoloakarnania, Olympia, Drama, Xanthi, Rodopi, Kozani and Kastoria) to enter the cooperation. Being sustained by a Competence Centre operating nationwide, Greek partners will dynamically contribute to an innovative heritage management in their areas as well as in the partner areas. Through cognitive processing of information with tourism value and leisure time management in recreational learning environments for non captive audiences the partners aim to create attractive interpretive products and services, which would guarantee them visitor satisfaction, multipliers at local and regional level and a distinctive image confirmed by the Transinterpret II logo

Low-Cost Broadband Connections: A Key Factor for SME Virtual Organizations

In an open global market, SMEs are facing new challenges while trying to compete with large worldwide corporations. The forming of innovative alliances, known as virtual organizations (VO), is one of the most interesting proposals to achieve competitiveness and exploit strategic advantages. However, besides the obvious positive potential of innovative actions like VOs, there are several drawbacks, especially when SMEs are involved in such projects. VOs have very high needs for IT and communications; in fact they rely so much on them that the forming of a VO is only possible with the development of an extensive information and communication infrastructure. A lot of innovating management, re-forming and re-structuring is involved in joining several independent companies into a new virtual schema and several cultural, economical and legislative problems must also be overcome. In this paper we focus on the technological needs, and in particular, the need for an organization-wide data sharing and communication network. The high cost involved with the investments necessary in IT and communications technology make the effort harder for SMEs, even if it was to be assumed that they could manage the other important aspects of forming a VO. Along with the cost of computer equipment and specialized software, networking cost has until recently been a particularly prohibiting factor for SMEs even on the most advanced business sectors. A new term, the "virtual organization technology threshold" is introduced, defined as the minimum of IT and communication technologies necessary to form a "true" virtual organization, in its pure and functional form described and widely adopted by the scientific community. The investments needed for IT and communications to form a VO are analyzed and compared to the related investments of conventional SMEs in EU. The evolution in the cost, focused around the networking tools, is then examined to extract useful information about the feasibility of such specialized investments compared to the overall investment and turnovers of typical SMEs. We then argue that a recent development, the price drop and wide spread of broadband connections can act as a "key factor" that could make the difference in lowering the "threshold" and increasing the possibilities for SMEs to compete successfully by utilizing technological advantages and innovations that have until now considered to be more suitable for larger enterprises

An exploration of modal, serial, stochastic, electroacoustic and computer aided compositional techniques and their application into a series of original compositions

The text is divided into two parts preceded by an introduction. The introduction focuses on some general issues that relate to musical composition: More specifically, it discusses the motivation of a composer and the goals he tries to achieve. The first section of part I focuses on small-scale technical aspects in relation to the music submitted. More specifically, it deals with aspects relating to melody and harmony, counterpoint, timbre, tempo, rhythm and meter. The second section of the first part focuses on large-scale construction elements like the juxtaposition and development of ideas, the role of numbers and proportions on the submitted music as well as on certain aesthetic issues. In this first part, an overview is given of the techniques that were used in order to create the pieces that are included in this PhD. The goal is not to give a detailed analysis of the techniques but to emphasize the ideas that might interest other composers and facilitate them in then: search for their own organisational tools. Consequently, the creation of a 'system' of musical composition is out of the scope of this research. It is also true that there are many aspects of contemporary composition that are not discussed in this text, mainly because of the fact that they were not used in these particular pieces that were submitted with the theoretical part. Part II focuses on the main subject of the PhD, the submitted pieces themselves. It contains information that relates to the program notes as well as the actual scores of the pieces that can be studied together with the available recordings found on the CD. The opening commentaries of the second part include key structural points of the music as well as issues regarding their aesthetic approach. Each submitted piece is an 'amalgamation' of a series of techniques and thoughts on music so that the reader will be able to trace the evolution of thoughts among the different pieces. The works, however, are presented at random rather than in chronological order. This is because they were not written one after the other, but have undergone changes affecting one another up the last completion of the entire project. In this sense they do form a larger 'circle' of musical pieces while the last one, Engraving, which was composed separately at the very end of this 'circle', functions as a 'coda' to the whole project. The Epilogue of the theoretical part deals with personal thoughts regarding future 'musical quests'. The music and the ideas take composers into certain directions regarding future works and professional decisions that relate to the compositional activity as well as to decisions regarding technical and aesthetic issues. These are presented at the end of the text

applying health promotion principles to a pandemic threat

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Health in Europe and in Portugal – A Commentary on the ‘Health at a Glance: Europe 2018’ Report

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Os Cuidados de Saúde Face aos Desafios do Nosso Tempo: Contributos para a Gestão da Mudança

Os tempos que vivemos estão carregados de sinais que, se devidamente interpretados, indiciam profundas alterações que exigem mudança. Não são a emblemática e redonda data dos 40 anos do Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS), ou o fim da legislatura e a preparação de uma outra ou sequer a discussão da Lei de Bases da Saúde que estão em causa. Estes não passam de meros pretextos que, se bem aproveitados, podem constituir-se como parte da resposta aos desafios atrás referidos

COVID-19 and Seasonal Flu During the Autumn-Winter of 2020/2021 and the Challenges Lying Ahead for Hospitals

The possibility of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic coexisting with a simultaneous epidemic of influenza and the co-circulation of other seasonal respiratory viruses sets the stage for a perfect storm. Preparing for the Autumn-Winter of 2020/2021 is complex, requiring centralized guidance but local and regional solutions, with strong leadership and a high level of coordination. It is essential to act upstream of hospitals in order to reduce demand on emergency departments, minimizing the risk of transmission that occurs there and the team overload, as well as downstream to ensure capacity for hospitalization and in the hospital itself to optimize resources and organization. The failure of this plan will create unbearable pressure on hospital care. The authors describe the challenges lying ahead for hospitals and the most important measures that should be included in this plan to prepare the Autumn-Winter of 2020/2021 in Portugal.publishersversionpublishe