Abstract
This article is a case study, based on Participant Observation, which focuses on a digital platform which manages assets. This platform is for sale in different countries, including Portugal and Mozambique. As national cultures and institutions differ from country to country and as this is all the more the case when different continents are at stake, we herein discuss the adaptation of products and services to the cultures and institutions of each environment, for the optimization of sales and product positioning. The data of the case study comes mainly from the experience of one of the authors, who lived in Mozambique for close to two years, linked to the selling there of the digital platform. A review of the existing literature was also performed. The strategic notion of positioning is central to the success of organizations and should differ from context to context, where necessary. Namely, different economic and education conditions lead to distinct behaviours, which have a repercussion on the posture to be adopted for the selling of products.

Abstract
The use of Decision Support Systems (DSS) in the field of Electricity Markets (EM) is essential to provide strategic support to its players. EM are constantly changing, dynamic environments, with many entities which give them a particularly complex nature. There are several simulators for this purpose, including Bilateral Contracting. However, a gap is noticeable in the pre-negotiation phase of energy transactions, particularly in gathering information on opposing negotiators. This paper presents an overview of existing tools for decision support to the Bilateral Contracting in EM, and proposes a new tool that addresses the identified gap, using concepts related to automated negotiation, game theory and data mining.

Abstract
This paper introduces a management model for optimal scheduling of a multi-carrier energy hub. In the proposed hub, three types of assets are considered: dispersed generating systems (DGs) such as micro-combined heat and power (mCHP) units, storage devices such as battery-based electrical storage systems (ESSs), and heating/cooling devices such as electrical heater, heat-pumps and absorption chillers. The optimal scheduling and management of the examined energy hub assets in line with electrical transactions with distribution network is modeled as a mixed-integer non-linear optimization problem. In this regard, optimal operating points of DG units as well as ESSs are calculated based on a cost-effective strategy. Degradation cost of ESSs is also taken into consideration for short-term scheduling. Simulation results demonstrate that including well-planned energy storage options together with optimal scheduling of generating units can improve the economic operation of the multi-carrier energy hub while meeting the system's constraints. © 2017 IEEE.

Abstract
New times demand new teaching and learning methodologies. A partial flipped classroom methodology was tested in a modelling and feedback control course for undergraduate biomedical engineering. A semester course was divided in two parts: the first half using a flipped approach and the second one using a classical approach. The experience results are reported, presenting the methodology ups and downs. The use of videos as student's primer study supporting element to prepare classes in advance was explored. Using part of the class time to perform quiz group activities proved to be a major enabler to actively involve students in the learning process. The results achieved in the flipped part strongly confirm a much higher engagement and participation level from students in theoretical classes. Moreover, the flipping approach promotes students to continuously study along the semester.

Abstract
It is estimated that Europe alone will need to add over 250,000 km of transmission capacity by 2050, if it is to meet renewable energy production goals while maintaining security of supply. Estimating the cost of new transmission infrastructure is difficult, but it is crucial to predict these costs as accurately as possible, given their importance to the energy transition. Transmission capacity expansion plans are often founded on optimistic projections of expansion costs. We present probabilistic predictive models of the cost of submarine power cables, which can be used by policymakers, industry, and academia to better approximate the true cost of transmission expansion plans. The models are both generalizable and well specified for a variety of submarine applications, across a variety of regions. The best performing statistical learning model has slightly more predictive power than a simpler, linear econometric model. The specific decision context will determine whether the extra data gathering effort for the statistical learning model is worth the additional precision. A case study illustrates that incorporating the uncertainty associated with the cost prediction to calculate risk metrics - value-at-risk and conditional-value-at-risk provides useful information to the decision-maker about cost variability and extremes.

Abstract
The provisioning of a growing number of services depends on the proper interoperation of multiple products, forming a new distributed system, often subject to timing requirements. To ensure the interoperability and timely behavior of this new distributed system, it is important to conduct integration tests that verify the interactions with the environment and between the system components. Integration test scenarios for that purpose may be conveniently specified by means of UML sequence diagrams (SDs) enriched with time constraints. The automation of such integration tests requires that test components are also distributed, with a local tester deployed close to each system component, coordinated by a central tester. The distributed observation of execution events, combined with the impossibility to ensure clock synchronization in a distributed system, poses special challenges for checking the conformance of the observed execution traces against the specification, possibly yielding inconclusive verdicts. Hence, in this paper we investigate decision procedures and criteria to check the conformance of observed execution traces against a specification set by a UML SD enriched with time constraints. The procedures and criteria are specified in a formal language that allows executing and validating the specification. Examples are presented to illustrate the approach. Copyright