Abstract
Providing gerontological cares represents an increased challenge when applied to rural scenarios. This paper discusses the role of technology in gerontology and specifically how technology-based solutions can be developed to assist the elderly population in rural areas. We also characterize the Northeast Portuguese region exposing its rural characteristics and presented some demographic numbers. Finally, a conceptual model and a prototype supported by mobile devices are presented to assist and monitor the elderly and enhance business opportunities. The developed prototype allows not only to assist the elderly in a set of typical elderly population routines - such as those related to health - but also to improve the interaction between the elderly and their relatives and / or caregivers. This work is part of a more extensive effort that has been made in the search for effective solutions to assist the elderly population in rural areas, typically distant from the main health and / or support services; contributing to relieve these deficits. Copyright © 2020. Carlos R. CUNHA, Vítor MENDONÇA, Elisabete Paulo MORAIS, Joana FERNANDES And Isaías LETRA. Distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International CC-BY 4.0

Abstract

Abstract
Services are the backbone of modern economies and are increasingly supported by technology. Meanwhile, there is an accelerated growth of new technologies that are able to learn from themselves, providing more and more relevant results, i.e. Artificial Intelligence (AI). While there have been significant advances on the capabilities of AI, the impacts of this technology on service provision are still unknown. Conceptual research claims that AI offers a way to augment human capabilities or position it as a threat to human jobs. The objective of this study is to better understand the impact of AI on service, namely by understanding current trends in AI, and how they are, and will, impact service provision. To achieve this, a qualitative study, following Grounded Theory methodology was performed, with ten Artificial Intelligence experts selected from industry and academia.

Abstract
Typical analogue-to-digital conversion (ADC) architectures, at Nyquist rate, tend to occupy a big portion of the integrated circuit die area and to consume more power than desired. Recently, with the rise of Interet-of-Things (IoT), there is a high demand for architectures that can have both reduced area and power consumption. Time encoding machines (TEM) might be a promising alternative. These types of encoders result in very simple and low-power analogue circuits, shifting most of its complexity to the decoding stage, typically stationed in a place with access to more resources. This paper focuses on a particular TEM, the integrate-and-fire neuron (IFN). The IFN modulation is based on a simplified first-order model of neural operation and it encodes the signal in a very power efficient manner. In the end, a novel hardware architecture for the reconstruction of the IFN encoded signal based on a spiking model will be presented. The method is demonstrated and implemented on FPGA, reaching an ENOB as high as 8.23.

Abstract
Addressing sustainable development and societal challenges have been placed at the heart of all government priorities, detachedly of country stage of development, as a mean to achieve prosperity through social cohesion and equality. In this setting, entrepreneurship appears to be a powerful tool to encompass economic, social, and environmental goals, particularly when sustainability oriented. Sustainability oriented entrepreneurs (henceforth SEO) are still focused in profit maximization strategies combined with environmental respect and social inclusion and rely on a firm-based entrepreneurship initiative integrating the triple bottom line. The chapter aims to understand the role of culture (culture and social norms) on SEO activity among several countries, along with gender heterogeneity. Specifically, the study determines the moderating effect of (national) culture on SEO. The study uses a logistic regression and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) database from 2015, with information of 60 countries. © 2020, IGI Global.

Abstract
This paper reports on the development of a formal model for the Hybrid ERTMS/ETCS Level 3 concept in Electrum, a lightweight formal specification language that extends Alloy with mutable relations and temporal logic operators. We show how Electrum and its Analyzer can be used to perform scenario exploration to validate this model, namely to check that all the operational scenarios described in the reference document are admissible, and to reason about expected safety properties, which can be easily specified and model checked for arbitrary track configurations. We also show how the Analyzer can be used to depict scenarios (and counter-examples) in a graphical notation that is logic-agnostic, making them understandable by stakeholders without expertise in formal specification.