Abstract
In the literature, the most widely referred approaches regarding forest harvesting scheduling problems involving environmental concerns have typically addressed constraints on the maximum clear-cut area. Nevertheless, the solutions arising from those approaches in general display a loss of habitat availability. Such loss endangers the survival of many wild species. This study presents a branch-and-bound procedure designed to find good feasible solutions, in a reasonable time, to forest harvest scheduling problems with constraints on the clear-cut area and habitat availability. Two measures are applied for the habitat availability constraints: the area of all habitats and the connectivity between them. In each branch of the branch-and-bound tree, a partial solution leads to two children nodes, corresponding to the cases of harvesting or not harvesting a given stand in a given period. Pruning is based on constraint violations or unreachable objective values. Computational results are reported.

Abstract
Health information systems are becoming ubiquitous throughout healthcare delivery processes. Governments, enticed by the potential for improved patient care and cost reduction, are pushing for more integrated IT systems in healthcare. However, the successful adoption of these systems depends on the value they create as a service for healthcare professionals and how they support their activities. Following a call for more multidisciplinary research in health information systems and increased end-user participation in HIS development, this study presents a service perspective that considers users of health information systems (HIS) as active partners and co-creators of value, instead of passive recipients of the functionalities brought by these IT systems. From a service perspective we frame healthcare professionals as customers of HIS, and analyze how they can better support healthcare provision. We present an in-depth study of primary care professionals experience with the HIS of the Portuguese National Health Service. Experience was systematized using Customer Experience Modeling, a method that takes into account the holistic nature of experience. Results portray and evaluate HIS according to professionals' experience requirements. They also show a fragmented reality where HIS usefulness is being hampered by integration and performance issues. HIS design guidelines are also posited. © 2013 IEEE.

Abstract
The development and widespread market acceptance of recent technological devices, such as smart phones and tablets, poses new challenges and great opportunities for innovative service designs. In fact these devices no longer merely replicate the same functionalities in different contexts, they can also dynamically interact among themselves when in close proximity. Thus, this is a two-fold challenge for service designers, they must handle the additional points of contact between service providers and their customers independently, and also in combinations. In this paper we present the relevant concepts for designing multi-interface services, and also introduce the concept of dynamic service interfaces. We illustrate these dynamic service interfaces by presenting an application to the design of a new multimedia service. This service makes use of dynamic service interfaces to deliver an improved and innovative customer experience. © 2013 IEEE.

Abstract
A good representation of a simple polygon, with a desired degree of approximation and complexity, is critical in many applications. This paper presents a method to achieve a complete Circle Covering Representation of a simple polygon, through a topological skeleton, the Medial Axis. The aim is to produce an efficient circle representation of irregular pieces, while considering the approximation error and the resulting complexity, i.e. the number of circles. This will help to address limitations of current approaches to some problems, such as Irregular Placement problems, which will, in turn, provide a positive economic and environmental impact where similar problems arise. © 2013 IFAC.

Abstract
Managing perishability may represent a remarkable problem in supply chain management of a varied set of industries. In fact, perishability can influence, for example, productivity or customer service and it may happen to occur in one or more processes throughout the supply chain. In this paper a review on planning models that handle perishability issues in production and distribution is conducted. The contribution of this paper is three-fold. First, a new framework for classifying perishability models based on multiple process features is presented. Second, it draws the community attention to the importance of managing perishability in many different industries' supply chains by showing its relevance and by reviewing the literature related to production and distribution planning. Finally, it points towards research opportunities so far not addressed by the research community in this challenging field.

Abstract
The operating theater is the biggest hospital budget expenditure. The usage of surgery related resources and its intrinsic planning must be carefully devised in order to achieve better operational performance. However, from long to short term planning, the decision processes inherent to the operating theater are often the subject of empiricism. Moreover, the current hospital information systems available in Portuguese public hospitals lack a decision support system component, which could assist in achieving better planning solutions. This work reports the development of a centralized system for the operating theater planning to support decision-making tasks of surgeons, chief specialty managers, and hospital administration. Its main components concern surgery scheduling, operating theater's resource allocation and performance measurement. The enhancement of the planning processes, the increase of policy compliance, and the overall performance of the operating theater compared to the former methodologies are also discussed. © 2013, IGI Global.