Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2016-05-20"
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- O efeito protetor da reserva cognitiva na memória prospetiva no envelhecimento normalPublication . Bártolo, Tânia Sofia Bernardes; Nunes, Maria Vânia Rocha da Silva; Ribeiro, Filipa Delgado Neiva CorreiaEnquadramento Teórico: A Memória Prospetiva (MP) refere-se à memória para atividades futuras. A avaliação deste tipo de memória é considerada útil na deteção precoce de formas subtis de demência, uma vez que o seu declínio é mais notório em indivíduos idosos, estando associada a capacidades cognitivas que deterioram com o processo de senescência (comportamento auto-iniciado), e por conseguinte capaz de prejudicar a autonomia dos indivíduos na execução das suas atividades de vida diária. A Reserva Cognitiva (RC), por outro lado, é considerada protetora de incidência de demência e de declínio cognitivo presente no envelhecimento normal, visto que esta refere-se à otimização do desempenho de tarefas através do uso de estratégias cognitivas e ao recrutamento de redes neuronais alternativas, resultantes da acumulação de experiências e de desafios intelectuais que os indivíduos têm ao longo da sua vida. Por conseguinte, neste estudo pretende-se avaliar o efeito protetor da RC na MP, e possivelmente abranger mais este efeito. Na mesma linha de pensamento, pretendeu-se também verificar se existe uma relação entre a MP e o número de Relações Sociais nos participantes, uma vez que o contacto social está associado à baixa mortalidade e baixa deterioração mental e física. Método: O processo de amostragem resultou numa amostra de conveniência, composta por 46 sujeitos saudáveis com idades compreendidas entre os 65 e os 84 anos. O protocolo consistiu na aplicação do Memory for Intentions Test (MIST), Cognitive Reserve Index Questionnaire (CRIq) e Lubben Social Network Scale (LNSN-6). Resultados: Os resultados sustentaram a ideia de que existe uma relação positiva entre o CRIq, tanto no desempenho do MIST como nas tarefas baseadas no tempo. A partir de uma regressão linear múltipla, verificou-se que das três componentes do CRIq, o trabalho é aquele que melhor explica o bom desempenho no MIST. Verificou-se uma relação entre o número de relações sociais e o CRIq, ao contrário do que foi observado no MIST. Discussão: A ausência de um efeito das Relações Sociais e o desempenho no MIST, poderá dever-se ao tipo de metodologia utilizada neste estudo, podendo ser possível a observação deste em estudos naturalísticos. No entanto, os resultados obtidos neste estudo, reforçam a ideia de que a RC não tem só um efeito protetor de patologias eminentes no envelhecimento, mas também no declínio cognitivo resultante do processo de senescência, ajudando a manter níveis de funcionalidade maiores, nomeadamente a manutenção da MP e comportamentos auto-iniciados (tarefas time-based). Através da análise dos diferentes proxies do CRIq, é possível sustentar que a RC é uma capacidade que se ganha com a acumulação de experiências e o seu efeito protetor está relacionado com os anos de ocupação profissional e o seu nível de exigência, comparativamente à escolaridade e à participação de atividades sociais.
- Event marketing : an innovative promotional tool and its impact on consumerPublication . Ribeiro, Catarina Peres; Andrade, Eduardo BittencourtEvent Marketing represents a common promotional strategy that involves direct contact between brands and consumers at special events, namely concerts, festivals, sporting events and fairs. Brands have been investing in sponsorship as a means of associating themselves with particular events, essentially with the goal to enhance brand image and brand awareness. Interestingly, the response of consumers to event marketing has not yet been fully understood. This dissertation fills this gap. More specifically, it intends to determine the extent to which sponsoring brands at events favors brand awareness (recall and recognition) and how it relates to brand attitude. Based on three Portuguese music festivals, two studies were conducted to ascertain event sponsorship’s impact on consumer memory, notably Brand Recall and Brand Recognition, and correlation with attitudes towards the brands such as familiarity and liking. The key findings of these studies show that recognition is much higher for those respondents who attended the festivals, presenting a score of 73,9%, in comparison with recall, presenting a much lower score of 37,5%. Further, and surprisingly, it suggests that the ability to recall and recognize sponsoring brands is not associated to consumer attitudes towards the brands. Instead, it relates to the time consumers dedicated to these particular events, that is, the number of music festivals attended.
- Is T-mobile U.S. a good target for ComcastPublication . Simões, Miguel Bruno Loureiro; Assunção, António Luís Traça Borges deThroughout 2015 there was a rumor in the market that the U.S.-based cable company, Comcast, could be expanding its segments to wireless. Despite offering cable TV, broadband and voice or even by operating theme parks, the company may be after T-Mobile U.S., a Deutsche Telekom subsidiary. Despite its failed attempt to buy Time-Warner Cable, it is expected that such a deal would occur for Comcast in a near future. Therefore, following the company strategic objectives, this thesis stresses the effects of acquiring T-Mobile U.S. in both, financial and strategic terms. With total synergies expected to achieve $5,130M and a total premium of $4,429M, such a deal would bring Comcast a net benefit of $5,632M. With a final price offer of $41.61 per share, the deal is recommended and should occur as soon as possible for the sake of the companies in the process.
- Oral health and physical and mental limitations among the elderlyPublication . Veiga, Nelio Jorge; Castro, Ana; Mendes, Joana; Marques, Marina; Domingues, Marlene; Maravilha, Tânia; Coelho, CarinaAging corresponds to a stage with its own biological, psychological and social characteristics. During this phase pathophysiological changes appear that may affect the whole body, and, more specifically, the oral cavity. The physical and cognitive limitations are those that most affect the oral health, especially among the elderly. This study aims to conduct a literature review about oral health among the elderly with physical and mental limitations, in particular with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. To carry out this review article the search strategies included electronic databases, reference lists of articles, and selected textbooks. Articles and textbooks used in this study were mainly reached by using the following keywords: “oral health”, “elderly”, and “stroke”, “Parkinson’s disease”, “Alzheimer’s disease”, “musculoskeletal disorders. By the end of the research, 16 scientific articles were selected. The prevalence of oral health diseases increase with age and is highly associated with neurological disease development. Therefore, the maintenance of the quality of life among the elderly should have in consideration the risk of neurological disease development and the influence that theses outcomes may have in the oral health of the elderly. Dental health professionals must be highly aware of the limitations that these patients present in undergoing their own daily oral hygiene and tha higher risk of oral disease development.
- Marketing case study : "How to build strong brands in emerging countries”Publication . Sequeira, Margarida Alves Cardoso Luiz de; Marcos, Paulo Alexandre GonçalvesThis thesis explores the issues around the process of brand building, brand positioning, and brand management in emerging countries. Despite these topics being largely debated, some important multinationals still have been showing an inconsistency in its emerging markets strategies. The purpose of this thesis is to give a real and practical example of a brand which was built from scratch adopting its marketing strategy to Angola and to Angolans' needs and which faced some problems related to consumers' brand knowledge. Quantitative and qualitative studies were run in order to understand the main habits and attitudes of the Angolan middle-class segment when buying Furniture and Decoration products, as well as their relationship to the home, the different rooms in the home, and decoration. The empirical findings indicate that the branding policies and marketing strategies in emerging countries are highly influenced by the following factors: Complexity on segmentation, differences on communication channels, on consumers’ needs and desires, on frames of reference being significant the traditional commerce, a lack of trust in brands promises and fear regarding modern distribution. In conclusion, based on the research done, I came up some executable rules and policies for brand management and brand building on Furniture and decoration retail industry in emerging markets.
- EDP case study : the emergence of a low cost companyPublication . Malpique, João Maria Louro Gaminha; Marcos, Paulo GonçalvesThe energy market used to be heavily dominated by conventional energy trading processes, with a high level of Government control, and characterized by a lack of competition in the sector. However, the European Union has been striving to counter this trend, by progressively deregulating the market, attempting to make the energy sector cost efficient through the introduction of competition among the players. EDP, the largest producer, distributor and supplier of electricity in Portugal, and one of the largest gas distributors in the Iberian Peninsula, has been facing new challenges after the liberalization of the energy market, as it used to be a monopoly in the energy sector. The opening for new rivals led EDP to adjust its positioning strategy in order to maintain its leadership. However, EDP Comercial, the EDP Group’s company which is competing in the retail energy market, is still the market leader despite the competitiveness in the sector. A new energy rival with new approaches unexpectedly came to Portugal in order to beat the market leader by offering extremely low prices. The low cost competitor presents a great challenge, since it could potentially ‘steal’ much of EDP’s market share. To face the new opponent, EDP has two options: either by beneficiating EDP’s brand name, and offering a line extension, or by launching an independent brand. This case study provides a strategy analysis for each option, studying the consumer behavior and competitive environment, and thereby helping students to recommend the best approach for EDP.