Biblioteca Digital

The developments occurring in recent years in the Information and Communication Technologies led inevitably to a great effect on the operation, structure and strategy of organizations around the world, and obviously also in the tourist sector organizations. With the rapid expansion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) throughout almost all aspects of tourism and hospitality industries, the task of integrating technology into education curriculum will be a need. Information and Communication Technologies appear one of the most critical area to the success of tourism in the future and the way it will promote the tourist destinations. This paper aims to analyze the relevance given by the various Portuguese and Spanish institutions of higher education to Information and Communication Technologies in their degrees. The analysis carried out was done in degree courses operating in this school year, 2012/2013, in Portuguese and Spanish universities and polytechnics, public and private.

Esta pesquisa tem como tema de estudo as relações interpessoais no cotidiano e o uso das tecnologias de informação e comunicação no fomento de experiências. Seu objetivo é desenvolver um quadro teórico em torno de uma área do design intitulada de design para a experiência. Para tal, a metodologia da pesquisa fundamenta-se na seleção de propostas de design que exploram questões ligadas ao comportamento no espaço doméstico e às tecnologias de informação e comunicação. Em seguida é realizada uma análise qualitativa dessas propostas a partir de alguns critérios também desenvolvidos pela pesquisa.; This research studies the daily interpersonal relations and the information and communication technologies usage to stimulate experiences. The goal is to develop the theoretical references around a design area identified as experience design. In order to achieve that the research methodology is based on the analysis of some design proposals, which explores issues related to the peoples behavior inside the domestic environment and to the information and communication technologies. These proposals are investigated according to principles also developed during the research.

The applicability of the information and communication technologies, especially mobile devices, to augmentative and alternative communication is relatively recent in Portugal. Their characteristics of universality and portability allow to access information, communicate through voice, image and writing, working, perform recreational activities and multiple others activities almost anywhere and any place. It also promotes skills development in people with special educational needs, like physical, cognitive and social skills, when using the appropriate adaptations and digital augmentative and alternative communication software or other applications adapted to their physical or sensory disabilities. The aim of this work is to reveal the state of the art about the use of information and communication technologies in the context of special educational and more specifically in augmentative and alternative communication in Portugal, supported on the literature review. We selected the Portal B-on – Online Knowledge Library, since it allows us to have a perspective of several databases repositories of scientific research. This literature review aim to analyze, summarize and interpret some studies carried out in Portugal that focus on the binomial: Information and Communications Technologies and children with Special Education Needs.

This dissertation aims to understand the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Kindergartens and Pre-schools. In this thesis is tested if with the implementation of such technologies it is possible to create value for parents with children under 6 years-old and if it can became a sustainable competitive advantage. Thus, a value creation model is developed based on four different ICT with distinct functionalities and purposes: GPS Bracelet, Communication Platform, Homework Software and Online Didactic Game. Four interviews and 113 online surveys is conducted to evaluate which of those technologies are more valuable to parents with kids under 6 years old and the characteristics of those who support each technology. Afterwards, a sustainability analysis according to RBV model is done for those technologies that have proven to create value for this population. After this study, it is concluded that, in fact, some Information and Communication Technologies can create value to parents and they can also became a sustainable competitive advantage.; Esta dissertação tem como objectivo principal compreender o impacto das tecnologias de informação e comunicação nas creches e jardins-de-infância. Assim...

This paper presents partial results from a research project about the use Portuguese Public Higher Education Institutions are doing of Communication Technologies to support education. The paper describes the project rationale and the methodology used. Some results are also presented concerning the strategic dimension of the use of Communication Technologies to support learning, and their respect to teachers and to staff with institutional responsibilities. Finally, some conclusions are also discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impacts of the use of new information and communication technologies to the democratic process in the light of democratic and constitutional theory verify that the policies of digital inclusion in rural Federal Government are democratic and constitutional. For this, the thesis will use the line-critical methodology, and research the type-legal and historical literature. The way to exercise citizenship in the public sphere is extremely important for the conduct of relations between human beings and their fellow citizens, and can contribute to reducing social inequalities and social exclusion. And during each historical period, techniques or technologies of information and communication were not only support for the spread of knowledge, but to bring together groups that had converging interests, be they articulated for the realization of the public, private or common interest. The concentration of these techniques or technologies by a small group of society causes imbalance in the social life, since it is the latent power of manipulation that accompanies the use of these means of transmission of the language.; O objetivo da presente dissertação é analisar os impactos da utilização das novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação para o processo democrático...

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a potentially revolutionary means of empowering the poor. Realizing this potential will require investments that increase access to ICTs in remote low productivity areas and the development of innovative applications that cater to the needs of the poor and small firms. The costs of these kinds of investment have been decreasing rapidly, but still yield low short term private returns. The private sector cannot alone be expected to underwrite the costs of these developments. If Government does not support these public investments, economic disparities will rise, undermining social stability and future growth. Effective public sector action is required, to establish a regulatory and legal framework that enables the rise of a vibrant innovative competitive private telecommunications and ICT services sector, and to institute selective efficient and transparent public subsidies with high social payoff but low financial returns. This is needed most urgently precisely in developing country contexts where public institutions are often ineffective, corrupt and unaccountable. The challenge takes added significance in Indonesia, a country still recovering from severe economic and political crisis...

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a potentially revolutionary means of empowering the poor. Realizing this potential will require investments that increase access to ICTs in remote low productivity areas and the development of innovative applications that cater to the needs of the poor and small firms. The costs of these kinds of investment have been decreasing rapidly, but still yield low short term private returns. The private sector cannot alone be expected to underwrite the costs of these developments. If Government does not support these public investments, economic disparities will rise, undermining social stability and future growth. Effective public sector action is required, to establish a regulatory and legal framework that enables the rise of a vibrant innovative competitive private telecommunications and ICT services sector, and to institute selective efficient and transparent public subsidies with high social payoff but low financial returns. This is needed most urgently precisely in developing country contexts where public institutions are often ineffective, corrupt and unaccountable. The challenge takes added significance in Indonesia, a country still recovering from severe economic and political crisis...

Raising the productivity of smallholders is a necessary condition for increasing incomes and improving livelihoods among the rural poor in most developing countries. This increased productivity is essential to both household food security and to agriculture-based growth and poverty reduction in the larger economy. Smallholder productivity is limited by a variety of constraints including poor soils, unpredictable rainfall, and imperfect markets, as well as lack of access to productive resources, financial services, or infrastructure. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are also vitally important to commercial and large-scale agriculture, and to agriculture-related services and infrastructure such as weather monitoring and irrigation. This note focuses on the sometimes less-obvious importance of ICT in improving the information, communication, transaction, and networking elements of smallholder agriculture in developing countries.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are increasingly seen as integral to the development process. This paper reviews some of the evidence for the link between telecommunications and the Internet and economic growth, the likely impact of the new ICTs on income inequality and anecdotal evidence regarding the role of the Internet in improving government services and governance. It looks at methods to maximize access to the new ICTs, and improve their development impact both in promoting income generation and the provision of quality services.

The rapid pace of information communication technologies (ICT) in the last ten years have transformed developed countries into "information societies". Consequently, new technologies are at the center of debate in developing countries, who also aim at profiting from its advantages. Technology transfer is unprecedented, where electronic commerce, largely due to modern semi-conductors, now allows substantial price, and operational cost reductions. Similarly, the emerging industrial enterprises, mainly small and medium scale, are competitively grouped along complementary activities. In parallel to this ICT penetration in all sectors of the economy, the information content of industrial activity, and productivity is enhanced. This paper looks at the crucial elements to develop ICTs in Algeria, suggesting its transition towards an information economy, requires an economic diversification, and competitiveness strength vis-e-vis international markets. This in turn requires the development of new sources of economic growth. To this end...

Information and communication technologies (ICT) for health or eHealth solutions hold great potential for generating systemic efficiencies by strengthening five critical pillars of a health system: human resources for health, supply chain management, health care financing, governance and service delivery, and infrastructure. This report describes the changing landscape of eHealth initiatives through these five pillars, with a geographic focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. This report further details seven criteria, or prerequisites, that must be considered and addressed in order to effectively establish and scale up ICT-based solutions in the health sector. These criteria include infrastructure, data and interoperability standards, local capacity, policy and regulatory environments, an appropriate business model, alignment of partnerships and priorities, and monitoring and evaluation. In order to bring specific examples of these criteria to light, this report concludes with 12 specific case studies of potentially scalable ICT-based health care solutions currently being implemented across the globe at community...

The main aim of this study is to contribute knowledge about the impact of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) on the self-concept, mood, and quality of life of institutionalized older adults in retirement homes and day care centers (Portuguese institutions). It also studies the influence of independent variables such as age; education; referral to the institution (own initiative, indicated by friends, indicated by family, indicated by social security); attendance schedule; and visits from family and friends. The study comprised 41 participants organized into two groups: 22 older adults in the ICT Group and 19 older adults in the Passive Control Group. There were three evaluation periods: before the onset of intervention and 11 and 22 months after intervention began. The results demonstrate that involvement with information and communication technologies produced positive effects on older adults’ social behavior and their self-perception of physical and environment facets of quality of life. Moreover, they suggest that there is a relationship between psychosocial variables and independent variables.

Information and communication technologies provide the basis for increasing and applying knowledge in the private and public sectors. Countries with strong information infrastructures that employ innovative information technology applications, have many advantages for sustained economic growth and social development. This book is, primarily, a business strategy which explains the World Bank's role in the development of information infrastructure. It details a plan for expanding the institutional development capacity within the World Bank and in the regions in order to successfully implement this strategy. This book also discusses issues relating to information technology quality assurance and improving the World Bank's capacity to ensure such quality.

Technological innovation drives economic progress. Information and communication technologies (ICT) can be leveraged for development, but harnessing this potential depends on an enabling environment for their production, diffusion, and use. Otherwise, technology can widen rather than narrow existing inequalities. Over the past decade developing countries have seen rapid but uneven growth in ICT access and use. The unprecedented spread of mobile technologies, driven by private sector investment and supported by reforms to promote competition, enabled the growth of phone services for the underserved and poor to levels unseen before. But outside mobile telephony, large gaps exist in high-speed Internet access and broadband connectivity and in the diffusion and use of ICT in business, services, and government the areas where ICT can deliver the largest developmental impacts. The World Bank Group's strategy has sought development results in ICT by promoting (i) sector reform, (ii) access to information infrastructure...

Technological innovation drives economic progress. Information and communication technologies (ICT) can be leveraged for development, but harnessing this potential depends on an enabling environment for their production, diffusion, and use. Otherwise, technology can widen rather than narrow existing inequalities. Over the past decade developing countries have seen rapid but uneven growth in ICT access and use. The unprecedented spread of mobile technologies, driven by private sector investment and supported by reforms to promote competition, enabled the growth of phone services for the underserved and poor to levels unseen before. But outside mobile telephony, large gaps exist in high-speed Internet access and broadband connectivity and in the diffusion and use of ICT in business, services, and government the areas where ICT can deliver the largest developmental impacts. The World Bank Group's strategy has sought development results in ICT by promoting (i) sector reform, (ii) access to information infrastructure...

The main goal of the research project presented in this paper is to contribute towards a wider understanding about the use of Communication Technologies in Portuguese Public Higher Education Institutions, with a special focus on gender related issues regarding the students' perception and evaluation of the use of these technologies in supporting learning activities. Within this project this paper focuses on the results obtained about gender related differences in the activities that students prefer to carry out in learning contexts. The project already mentioned is an descriptive and exploratory study and the data was collected using an online questionnaire made available to students of all Portuguese Public Higher Education Institutions. A validated sample of 2207 students (865 boys and 1342 girls) from 36 Higher Education Institutions participated in this study. The findings indicate gender differences in student preferences using Communication Technologies in learning contexts. Female students seem to prefer learning using text-based conversation over e-mail more than male students do, and boys prefer to use programs they can control, such as video games. Significant differences between males and females are found in activities such as: contributing to websites...

Intelligent electrical grids can be considered as the next generation of electrical energy transportation. The enormous potential leads to worldwide focus of research on the technology of smart grids. This paper aims to present a review of the Brazilian electricity sector in context with the integration of communication technologies for smart grids. The work gives an overview of the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical energy in the Brazil and a brief summary of the current electricity market. Smart grid technologies are introduced and the requirements for the Brazilian power system are pointed out. Various technologies for communication within an intelligent network are presented and their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages are compared to the Brazilian conditions. In addition, a summary is given of current pilot projects for Smart Grid technologies within Brazil, as well as a presentation of individual selected projects.

We live in a socio-cultural, informational and technological context that poses new educational challenges for society in general but above all for children. In this paper, we present a proposal that should help to maximise the capacity of children to face the challenges presented by today's society. We draw attention to the fact that in an age of information technology such as ours, children as a group risk marginalization. The children's bill of rights in the XXI century needs to build on those drawn up in the XX century and should be extended to include those rights that safeguard life styles and living conditions and a child's right to play and learn, in keeping with the specific conditions of the XXI century. To this end, we frame a proposal concerning the rights of children in a society increasingly dominated by information and communication technologies. Throughout Europe, there is much current debate about children's rights linked with mass media and information and communication technologies. We describe several projects that offer hope for the promotion of greater responsibility on the part of the mass media given their pervasive ability to shape thinking, projects that may help to mitigate the influence of the media, including information and communication technologies on children.

The introduction of Information and Communication Technologies has brought about a change in company behaviour. This change has proved to be of particular importance in the tourism sector, due to its own peculiarities. This work examines how the development of new technologies has affected the way in which tourism enterprises compete and develop their tasks. In addition our work tests empirically the impact that the development of information technologies inside the enterprise has on the explanation of firm performance. In order to achieve this aim we use a questionnaire addressed to hospitality managers, and Structural Equations Modelling methodology. The study highlights the benefits associated with the use of IT, together with possible formulae to improve the managerial task.; La introducción de las Tecnologías de Información y Comunicaciones ha supuesto un cambio de las reglas de juego para las empresas. Este impacto es especialmente importante en el sector turístico, por las propias peculiaridades del sector. Con el presente trabajo queremos investigar cómo el desarrollo de las nuevas tecnologías ha afectado el modo en el cual las empresas turísticas compiten y desarrollan sus tareas. A su vez, analizamos empíricamente el peso directo que tiene en los resultados empresariales el uso y desarrollo de las tecnologías de información y las comunicaciones. Para ello vamos a utilizar un cuestionario dirigido a directivos hoteleros y la metodología de ecuaciones estructurales. El estudio plantea los beneficios asociados al uso de las Tecnologías de Información y Comunicaciones y su impacto en la mejora de la acción empresarial.