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In Portugal, a colorectal cancer screening program based on faecal immunochemical test followed by colonoscopy was shown to be cost-effective for individuals between 50 and 74 years old. We report the first findings of the implementation of a population-based program In Northern Portugal.In the pilot phase, eligible subjects were allocated either to a direct mailing invitation or to primary care centers. In the first year of program implementation, we assessed the uptake rate, the faecal immunochemical test -positivity rate, the diagnostic yield of advanced neoplasia, and the quality parameters for post-faecal immunochemical test + colonoscopy.We invited 100 501 eligible subjects (49% male with a median age of 55 years). Of these, 5228 participated in the pilot phase and 95 273 participated in the first year of the program. In the first year of the program, the adherence was 29%, with a positivity rate of 5% and a 60% compliance to colonoscopy. The faecal immunochemical test-detection rate of advanced neoplasia was 0.35/1000 subjects, and the positive predictive value at post- faecal immunochemical test + colonoscopy was 44% and 2% for advanced adenoma and invasive cancer, respectively. No major adverse events were reported after colonoscopy.The suboptimal adherence to faecal immunochemical test and post-faecal immunochemical test + colonoscopy remains the most urgent step to be addressed.A centralized invitation system based on direct mailing was feasible and both colonoscopy quality and diagnostic yield were adequate antecipating the success of the programme.Introdução: Em Portugal, foi demonstrado que o rastreio do cancro colo-rectal, baseado no teste imunoquímico fecal seguido de colonoscopia, seria custo-efetivo para indivíduos entre os 50 e 74 anos. Neste artigo reportamos os primeiros resultados da implementação do programa de base populacional na região Norte de Portugal. Material e Métodos: Na fase piloto, os sujeitos elegíveis foram alocados a dois métodos, por convite através do correio ou por meio de entrega direta nos centros de saúde. No primeiro ano de implementação do programa avaliámos a taxa de adesão, a taxa de positividade de teste imunoquímico fecal, o rendimento diagnóstico de neoplasia avançada e os parâmetros de qualidade da colonoscopia pós- teste imunoquímico fecal positivo. Resultados: Foram convidados 100 501 indivíduos elegíveis (49% do sexo masculino com idade mediana de 55 anos). Destes, 5228 participaram na fase piloto e 95 273 participaram no primeiro ano do programa. No primeiro ano do programa, a adesão foi de 29%, com taxa de positividade de 5% e adesão de 60% às colonoscopias. A taxa de deteção de teste imunoquímico fecal de neoplasia avançada foi de 0,35/1000 indivíduos, e o valor preditivo positivo na colonoscopia pós-teste imunoquímico fecal positivo foi de 44% e 2% para adenoma avançado e cancro invasivo, respetivamente. Não foi relatado nenhum evento adverso após colonoscopia. Discussão: A adesão subótima a teste imunoquímico fecal e colonoscopia pós-teste imunoquímico fecal continua a ser a etapa mais problemática. Conclusão: Um sistema de convite centralizado foi viável, a qualidade das colonoscopias realizadas e o rendimento diagnóstico adequados antecipando o sucesso do programa.

Purpose This article offers a novel approach that brings together management, engineering and organizational behavior. It focuses on the understanding of organizational dynamics in an era of technological change, upholding the importance of organizational agility and of the cultural paradigm in the management of organizations. Design/methodology/approach In this work, the authors present the conclusions from a set of studies carried out in organizations operating in technical and technological industries. The authors assessed the capabilities of these organizations in terms of operational excellence maturity and its impact on the organizational culture and organizational agility. Findings Results show the importance of operational excellence either in developing or expanding organizational agility capabilities while reinforcing the cruciality of an excellence-oriented culture to sustain these efforts over time. Originality/value Increasingly unstable business environments have led to a growing interest in how to develop and maintain operational excellence in the face of continued and disruptive change. However, this interest has, so far, been advanced with little empirical evidence to support the corresponding predictions. This work offers the first practical evidence that continued focus and optimization of operations, with the right cultural alignment, helps organizations survive and thrive in increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments., This work has been supported by funds of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology through PhD grant PD/BD/114149/2016.

One of the most significant recent technological developments concerns the development and implementation of ‘intelligent machines’ that draw on recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. However, there are growing tensions between human freedoms and machine controls. This article reports the findings of a workshop that investigated the application of the principles of human freedom throughout intelligent machine development and use. Forty IS researchers from ten different countries discussed four contemporary AI and humanity issues and the most relevant IS domain challenges. This article summarizes their experiences and opinions regarding four AI and humanity themes: Crime & conflict, Jobs, Attention, and Wellbeing. The outcomes of the workshop discussions identify three attributes of humanity that need preservation: a critique of the design and application of AI, and the intelligent machines it can create; human involvement in the loop of intelligent machine decision-making processes; and the ability to interpret and explain intelligent machine decision-making processes. The article provides an agenda for future AI and humanity research.

Chapter 28, Information technology (IT) professionals were surveyed in organizations across several industry sectors in Portugal to capture their concerns regarding organizational, technological and individual issues. Reliability and efficiency in IT, alignment between IT and the business, attracting and retaining IT professionals, and IT project planning were found to be the four most important organizational IT-related issues. Among technologies, the most important were business intelligence/analytics, enterprise application integration, ERP systems and business process management systems. Regarding individual issues, IT professionals seem quite satisfied with their jobs and their contribution to business goals, seem to have reasonable workloads, and have little or no intent of getting a job outside the IT sector., (undefined)

The use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) for the production of architectural components has more and more examples attesting the possibilities and the advantages of its application. At the same time we seen a fast grow of the usage of ceramic materials to produce fully customised architectural components using Layer Deposition Modelling (LDM) techniques. However, the use of this material, as paste, leads to a series of constraints relative to its behaviour when in the viscous state, but also in the drying and firing stages. Thus, when ceramic dries, the retraction effects may be a barrier to the regular use of this material to build future architectural systems. In this sense, it is important to study the material behaviour and know how to control and use it as a primary construction material. To do that we present the challenges and outcomes of project Hexashade, a ceramic vault shading system prototype whose geometry and internal structure is defined according to the solar incidence. This paper explain how we expect to build a real scale self-supporting prototype., This work has the financial support of the Project Lab2PT - Landscapes, Heritage and Territory laboratory - AUR/04509 and FCT through national founds and when applicable of the FEDER cofinancing, in the aim of the new partnership agreement PT2020 and COMPETE2020 - POCI 01 0145FEDER 007528.