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Publications

2018

Enhancing supply chain performance through supplier social sustainability: An emerging economy perspective

Authors
Mani, V; Gunasekaran, A; Delgado, C;

Publication
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION ECONOMICS

Abstract
Sustainability is gaining interest among academics and practitioners due to increased stakeholder awareness of environmental and social issues. However, relatively little research has been conducted on the extent to which firms have integrated social sustainability aspects into the management of their supply chains in emerging economies. The purpose of this article is to explore the social issues pertinent to suppliers and to identify measures and dimensions related to social sustainability in emerging economies. Further, it explores the benefits suppliers and buyers gain by effectively managing such social issues. For this purpose, first, in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 supply chain managers. Further, a survey was conducted in Indian manufacturing industries and co-variance-based structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. The findings reveal that there are 18 validated supplier social sustainability measures underlying five social dimensions: labor rights, safety and health, societal responsibility, diversity, and product responsibility. The results also suggest a positive relationship between supplier social sustainability practices and supply chain performance mediated by supplier performance. In addition, the role of the buyer's commitment and investment moderates both suppliers and supply chain performance. These results are relevant because they not only identify the social issues plaguing supply chains in emerging economies, but also have practical implications for organizations trying to build socially sustainable supply chains for competitive advantage.

2018

Psychopathological correlates of eating behavior among Portuguese undergraduate students

Authors
Poinhos, R; Oliveira, BMPM; Correia, F;

Publication
NUTRITION

Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between eating behavior dimensions and psychopathological symptoms among Portuguese undergraduate students. Methods: We studied 258 participants (62.4% women) regarding eating behavior dimensions (emotional, external and binge eating, flexible and rigid control of eating behavior, and eating self-efficacy), psychopathological distress (as assessed by the Brief Symptom Inventory), and body mass index. In addition to studying bivariate associations between eating behavior dimensions and psychopathological subscales and indexes, what we believe to be a novel analytical approach, considering simultaneously the effects of the overall level of psychopathological distress and the relevance of specific symptoms on the eating behavior dimensions. Results: Emotional, external, and binge eating had positive correlations with psychopathological symptomatology, whereas eating self-efficacy was negatively associated. Conclusions: Multivariate analysis showed that the overall level of psychopathological distress (combined with body mass index, among women) had a larger effect on eating behavior than the relevance of specific symptoms.

2018

Wearable Health Devices-Vital Sign Monitoring, Systems and Technologies

Authors
Dias, D; Cunha, JPS;

Publication
SENSORS

Abstract
Wearable Health Devices (WHDs) are increasingly helping people to better monitor their health status both at an activity/fitness level for self-health tracking and at a medical level providing more data to clinicians with a potential for earlier diagnostic and guidance of treatment. The technology revolution in the miniaturization of electronic devices is enabling to design more reliable and adaptable wearables, contributing for a world-wide change in the health monitoring approach. In this paper we review important aspects in the WHDs area, listing the state-of-the-art of wearable vital signs sensing technologies plus their system architectures and specifications. A focus on vital signs acquired by WHDs is made: first a discussion about the most important vital signs for health assessment using WHDs is presented and then for each vital sign a description is made concerning its origin and effect on heath, monitoring needs, acquisition methods and WHDs and recent scientific developments on the area (electrocardiogram, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, blood oxygen saturation, blood glucose, skin perspiration, capnography, body temperature, motion evaluation, cardiac implantable devices and ambient parameters). A general WHDs system architecture is presented based on the state-of-the-art. After a global review of WHDs, we zoom in into cardiovascular WHDs, analysing commercial devices and their applicability versus quality, extending this subject to smart t-shirts for medical purposes. Furthermore we present a resumed evolution of these devices based on the prototypes developed along the years. Finally we discuss likely market trends and future challenges for the emerging WHDs area.

2018

Data-Based Cluster-Tree Formation Scheme for Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks

Authors
Andrade, ATC; Siedersberger, D; Montez, C; Moraes, R; Leao, E; Vasques, F;

Publication
2018 IEEE 16TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INDUSTRIAL INFORMATICS (INDIN)

Abstract
Topology formation in wireless sensor networks is usually done assuming just either the geographical proximity between nodes or the signal strength of communication. In this paper, a heuristic called DbCTF is proposed to guide the formation of cluster-tree networks, which also considers data clustering techniques. The use of DbCTF allows the setup of a data-based topology in the cluster-tree, and also the prioritisation of monitored regions in which relevant events may be occurring. The performance of DbCTF has been compared with a state-of-the-art algorithm, for the specific case of a classical WSN laboratory experiment. The simulation assessment revealed that the cluster-tree formed by DbCTF was able to reduce by more than 20% the average communication delay of message streams conveying critical data, and was also able to increase by more than 35% the average lifetime of the network.

2018

LearnJS - A JavaScript Learning Playground (Short Paper)

Authors
Queirós, R;

Publication
7th Symposium on Languages, Applications and Technologies, SLATE 2018, June 21-22, 2018, Guimaraes, Portugal

Abstract
The JavaScript ecosystem is evolving dramatically. Nowadays, the language is no longer confined to the boundaries of the browser and is now running in both sides of the Web stack. At the same time, JavaScript it’s starting to play also an important role in desktop and mobile applications development. These facts are leading companies to massively adopt JavaScript in their Web/mobile projects and schools to augment the language spectrum among their courses curricula. Several platforms appeared in recent years aiming to foster the learning of the JavaScript language. Those platforms are mainly characterized with sophisticated UI which allow users to learn JavaScript in a playful and interactive way. Despite its apparent success, these environments are not suitable to be integrated in existent educational platforms. Beyond these interoperability issues, most of these platforms are rigid not allowing teachers to contribute with new exercises, organize the existent exercises in more suitable and modular activities to be deployed in their courses, neither keep track of student’s progress. This paper presents LearnJS as a simple and flexible platform to teach and learn JavaScript. In this platform, instructors can contribute with new exercises and combine them with expositive resources (e.g videos) to define specific course activities. These activities can be gamified with the injection of dynamic attributes to reward the most successful attempts. Finally, instructors can deploy activities in their educational platforms. On the other hand, learners can solve exercises and receive immediate feedback on their solutions through static and dynamic analyzers. Since we are in the early stages of implementation, the paper focus on the presentation of the LearnJS architecture, their main components and their data and integration models. Nevertheless, a prototype of the platform is available in a GitHub repository. © Ricardo Queirós

2018

Framework for Software Code Reviews and Inspections in a Classroom Environment

Authors
Almeida, F; Faculty of Engineering of Oporto University, INESC TEC, Porto, Portugal,;

Publication
International Journal of Modern Education and Computer Science

Abstract

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