Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2018-03"
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- Oral health-related quality of life of Portuguese adults with mild intellectual disabilitiesPublication . Couto, Patrícia; Pereira, Paulo Almeida; Nunes, Manuel; Mendes, Rui AmaralIndividuals with disabilities are regarded as a highly vulnerable population group, particularly as far as oral health is concern. However, few studies have assessed the impact of the oral condition on the quality of life of these individuals. Therefore, the aim of this study is to expand knowledge on the oral health status of the Portuguese adults with mild intellectual disability, and to assess how the patient’s oral health is related to their quality of life. A sample of 240 adults with mild intellectual disabilities linked to the Portuguese Federation for Intellectual Disability, were interviewed using a previously validated version of the Oral Health Impact Profile. An oral health examination was also conducted using three oral health indexes: Clinical Oral Health Index (COHI); Clinical Oral Care Needs Index (COCNI) and the Clinical Oral Prevention Index (COPI). Sociodemographic characteristics and dental health factors were also collected, following statistical analysis. More than half of the individuals (54,9%) presented one or more problems of major to severe impact on health (COHI level 2); only 4,6% of the individuals do not need treatment or examination (COCNI level 0) and 85% of the study sample needs measures of educational or preventive action (COPI level 1). In 76,9% of the participants, oral health had impact on the quality of life. The most affected dimensions of life were physical pain with 61,9%, followed by psychological discomfort and psychological disability with 45,1% and 45%, respectively. With relation to oral health factors and sociodemographic variables it was verified that fewer teeth and higher self-perception of need for dental treatment had a negative impact on the quality of life. On the other hand, institutionalization and an increase in at least one category in the self-perception of the oral health status had a positive impact on the quality of life. Given the high burden of oral disease and the considerable impact on quality of life found in this study, the establishment of guidelines to improve the oral health and quality of life of these individuals should be regarded as imperative.
- The impact of task decomposability in hypothesis testing within the psychotherapy sessionPublication . Jacinto, Sofia; Ferreira, Marina; Braga, João Niza; Collins, ElizabethIn a psychotherapy session it is very difficult to decompose the flux of information in its parts, which favors holistic intuitive judgments (Hammond et al., 1987), and constrains the interpretation of subsequent information according to the initially activated scheme (Eyal et al., 2011). Thus, we hypothesize the clinical session leads to confirmatory hypothesis testing and favors primacy effects (Jacinto et al., 2016). In two studies, we manipulated the decomposability of a clinical judgment to elicit either end-ofsequence (EoS) or step-by-step (SbS) response modes (Hogarth & Einhorn, 1992). In study 1, participants listened to audio excerpts of fictional clients describing, in random order, depression symptoms and non-depression behaviors. The excerpts were presented uninterruptedly followed by a global judgment (EoS) or broken into six shorter segments (SbS). Hypothesis testing strategy was measured through participants’ likelihood ratings of three possible diagnoses. Study 2 followed a similar paradigm, additionally testing for the scheme activation by manipulating the order of depression symptoms (beginning vs. end of the excerpt). Results show that understanding the case in a non-decomposable way (EoS mode) leads to more confirmatory hypothesis testing strategy, but only when a scheme is activated (depression symptoms presented in the beginning). Implications to therapy session are discussed.
- Polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) as an alternative for on-line solid phase extraction (SPE) in flow analysisPublication . Ribas, Tânia C. F.; Croft, Charles F.; Mesquita, Raquel B. R.; Almeida, M. Inês G. S.; Kolev, Spas D.; Rangel, António O. S. S.
- A sunny future: expert elicitation of China's solar photovoltaic technologiesPublication . Lam, Long T.; Branstetter, Lee; Azevedo, Ins L.China has emerged as the global manufacturing center for solar photovoltaic (PV) products. Chinese firms have entered all stages of the supply chain, producing most of the installed solar modules around the world. Meanwhile, production costs are at record lows. The decisions that Chinese solar producers make today will influence the path for the solar industry and its role towards de-carbonization of global energy systems in the years to come. However, to date, there have been no assessments of the future costs and efficiency of solar PV systems produced by the Chinese PV industry. We perform an expert elicitation to assess the technological and non-technological factors that led to the success of China's silicon PV industry as well as likely future costs and performance. Experts evaluated key metrics such as efficiency, costs, and commercial viability of 17 silicon and non-silicon solar PV technologies by 2030. Silicon-based technologies will continue to be the mainstream product for large-scale electricity generation application in the near future, with module efficiency reaching as high as 23% and production cost as low as $0.24/W. The levelized cost of electricity for solar will be around $34/MWh, allowing solar PV to be competitive with traditional energy resources like coal. The industry's future developments may be affected by overinvestment, overcapacity, and singular short-term focus.
- What goes up must.keep going up? Cultural differences in cognitive styles influence evaluations of dynamic performancePublication . Ferris, D. Lance; Reb, Jochen; Lian, Huiwen; Sim, Samantha; Ang, DionysiusPast research on dynamic workplace performance evaluation has taken as axiomatic that temporal performance trends produce naïve extrapolation effects on performance ratings. That is, we naïvely assume that an individual whose performance has trended upward over time will continue to improve, and rate that individual more positively than an individual whose performance has trended downward over time-even if, on average, the 2 individuals have performed at an equivalent level. However, we argue that such naïve extrapolation effects are more pronounced in Western countries than Eastern countries, owing to Eastern countries having a more holistic cognitive style. To test our hypotheses, we examined the effect of performance trend on expectations of future performance and ratings of past performance across 2 studies: Study 1 compares the magnitude of naïve extrapolation effects among Singaporeans primed with either a more or less holistic cognitive style, and Study 2 examines holistic cognitive style as a mediating mechanism accounting for differences in the magnitude of naïve extrapolation effects between American and Chinese raters. Across both studies, we found support for our predictions that dynamic performance trends have less impact on the ratings of more holistic thinkers. Implications for the dynamic performance and naïve extrapolation literatures are discussed.
- Microfluidic paper-based devices as disposable, easy-to-use, real time quantification methodsPublication . Mesquita, Raquel B. R.; Rangel, António O. S. S.
- The shift of paradigm when religious art works become heritage: the dilemma of material vs immaterial significance. An overview of portuguese reliquaries and mural paintingsPublication . Palmeirão, Joana; Marco, Alexandra; Carvalho, Salomé de; Vieira, EduardaThe 21st century introduced new perspectives on the contents and meaning of “cultural heritage”. By shifting the focus of conservation heritage from material to intangible aspects, the theoretical debate carried new approaches and challenges on its conservation. The 1989 CCI Code of Ethics defined “cultural property” as those objects having “cultural or religious significance” assuming their communicative function, as does the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). In this sense, “objects” (according to Barbara Applebaum’s interpretation) do not matter for what they are (materiality - historical or artistic truths), but for their meaning, their usefulness and communicative functions. This clearly refers to the immaterial or intangible aspects of heritage (Muñoz Viñas, 2003) and as immaterial values matter they should be incorporated in conservation issues. But how do we maintain the intangible issues of an object that, during its lifetime, lost their original function and significance?
- A colisão entre o princípio da realização e o justo valor : confronto entre a contabilidade e o direito fiscalPublication . Faro, Henrique Francisco de Noronha e Mexia de Brito e; Tavares, Tomás Maria Cantista de CastroO objeto de estudo desta dissertação assenta no confronto entre a Contabilidade e o Direito Fiscal. A colisão entre ambos, hoje novamente presente devido à criação do Sistema de Normalização Contabilística, cria tensões que afetam a fiscalidade das empresas e a Administração Fiscal nas relações jurídico-tributárias entre estas. Numa tentativa de melhor compreender o surgimento destas tensões, bem como as resoluções encontradas pelo legislador fiscal e pelos tribunais, recorremos a alguns acórdãos arbitrais referentes à colisão entre o recente artigo 18º nº 9 al. a) do CIRC e o revogado artigo 45º nº 3 do CIRC, que incidindo essencialmente sobre o mesmo objeto, o Justo Valor, contemplavam estatuições assimétricas, que prejudicam as empresas enquanto contribuintes. A análise destes confrontos é feita com recurso à legislação tributária e ao normativo contabilístico, ambos enquadrados à luz dos Princípios Gerais do Direito Fiscal, com especial foco no Princípio da Realização, fazendo também recurso à interpretação da lei fiscal e às necessidades subjacentes à criação de cada norma. Sem nunca perder de vista a linha que guia toda a estrutura desta dissertação – o confronto entre a contabilidade e o Direito Fiscal – procuramos desconstruir esta tensão com recurso a exemplos específicos, de forma que para rendimentos contabilísticos idênticos ou análogos, o mesmo processo de enquadramento com a lei fiscal possa ser utilizado.
- The effect of anchoring in product bundlesPublication . Gomes, Marta Teixeira Frazão; Fernandes, Daniel Von Der HeydeThe anchoring effect can be defined as the first piece of information decision makers have access to, which will influence the future choices they make. Despite the extensive literature on this issue covering a wide range of fields, little research has been done regarding the effect of anchoring in product bundles’ evaluation. Given so, the aim of this research is focused on investigating if the order of presentation of the most expensive item results in different perceptions of the overall bundle evaluation. As an extra analysis, it is intended to know if demographic variables namely age, gender and level of education have an impact on the previously stated relation. According to the results, the anchoring effect, predicted in most literature, could not be replicated in this study. However, studies show that individuals with high levels of product familiarity are less influenced by anchors. Given the high levels of product familiarity of the sample of this study, the author believes that was the reason for the lack of effect of the anchoring phenomenon. Indeed there are features that can weaken the some presumably vigorous anchoring effect which is why it is crucial for sales’ people and organizations in general to have a clear understanding of how the anchoring effect plays in consumers’ decision making process and the way individuals evaluate their offers.
- Prospective memory : defining tasks under time constraintsPublication . Lopes, Ana Rita Amoroso Pinto Duarte; Fernandes, Daniel Von Der HeydeThis dissertation aims to study to what extent time affects consumer’s prospective memory. Prospective memory is remembering to carry out intended actions at an appropriate point in the future (Einstein & McDaniel, 2007). For this, a study was conducted where the sample was selected at random as the only variables the researcher was interested in was time, age and consumption tasks. Participants were asked to initially state five tasks, making these their intended actions. These tasks (intended actions) were then stated again after two periods of time; 1-minute and 3-days. Time and age have both been tested by other researchers; however, this thesis details different periods of time in order to obtain the most specific results. The results revealed that prospective memory does indeed worsen with time; nonetheless, they also revealed that age does not affect prospective memory. This result was surprising as research states otherwise. Having consumption or non-consumption tasks also revealed to have no affect, emphasizing that people indeed have poor memory regardless of what their day-to-day prospective memory tasks are. The key take-a-way from this dissertation is that companies should take into consideration that prospective memory affects all their customers. Also, that people are better at predicting an eventual recall after a small pause in time (Dunlosky & Nelson, 1992). In specific, previsions for the 3-day time period were made after the previsions for the 1-minute period. Thus, because there was a pause in time before the 3-day prevision, this caused the latter to be more precise.