Details of
proposed projects
Supervisor
Current
position
Ana Isabel
Senior
Canhoto
Lecturer
University
Title of proposed
Field of
project
expertise
Oxford
Monitoring and reacting to
Brookes
social media
University
conversations
Marketing
Research on social media has emphasized the effect of consumer-to-consumer interactions on the buying
decision making process. Yet, with more and more companies establishing a presence on social media, it is
important to investigate how companies need to adapt their communication practices when using social
media to engage with their customers.
This study examines how customers form images of brands when they have access to information provided
by the company, information provided by peers and information provided by third parties. The student will
collect evidence of social media conversations about selected brands, collecting data for company
generated conversations (e.g., social network updates), consumer to consumer interactions and exchanges
initiated by third parties.
Supervisor
Current
position
Ana Isabel
Senior
Canhoto
Lecturer
University
Oxford
Brookes
University
Title of proposed
Field of
project
expertise
The future of customer
engagement
Marketing
The current technical, economic and social environments raise important questions regarding the role and
nature of relationships between a firm and its customers. In this study we investigate how the management
of customer relationships is likely to evolve, as a practice, a technique and a technology.
This study will provide insights into practitioners’ CRM needs and priorities, identify the characteristics of
effective and robust future CRM systems, and delineate a research agenda. The student will conduct a
comprehensive review of current research on the factors that shape the management of customer
relationships. This review will inform the development of a guide for qualitative discussions with marketing
practitioners.
Supervisor
Catarina Correia
Veloso da Veiga
Current
position
PhD student
Title of proposed
Field of
project
expertise
University
Optimization of medical
Medical Physics
College
images for advanced
and
London
cancer care techniques
Bioengineering
University
The student will have the opportunity to spend 4 weeks working at University College London
(UCL), a world-class recognized university and University College London Hospital (UCLH), the
largest cancer center in UK.
UCL and UCLH research in cancer care is notable. The building of a highly advanced clinical
proton therapy facility on its campus is ongoing, which will be operational in 2017. In the lead up to
this a large amount of research needs to be done to provide a world leading clinical proton service.
The proposed project will be in the field of image guided, adaptive proton therapy and will form part
of a large effort across various research groups.
Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiotherapy capable of providing a dose map which
conforms much better to the shape of the tumour and gives a lower dose to surrounding healthy
tissue than conventional radiotherapy. It is of particular benefit when treating a tumour close to a
critical organ, or for paediatric cancers where it is important to minimize radiation dose to
surrounding, developing tissues.
For this 4-week internship the following project tasks will be performed:
1.
Become familiar with image guided and adaptive cancer treatment techniques, such as
IMRT and proton therapy
2.
Become familiar with medical images, such as CT, MRI and PET. Real patient data from
UCLH will be provided, and unique image processing software developed at UCL will be used.
3.
Optimize a medical image processing technique to be used as part of a clinical workflow to
improve head and neck cancer patient care.
Supervisor
Sara Moutinho
Barbosa de Melo
Current
position
University
Queen's
Lecturer
University
Belfast
Title of proposed
Field of
project
expertise
The influence of new
public management on
Management of
the Portuguese health
Health Care
system
(Soon available in English) Em Portugal a adoção dos princípios da Nova Gestão Pública (NGP)
teve início em meados dos anos 90. Este projeto visa contribuir para uma revisão da literatura
sobre a influência do modelo da NGP no setor da saúde em Portugal. A finalidade deste projeto é
a escrita em conjunto por parte do aluno(a) e da investigadora de um artigo a ser submetido para
uma revista académica internacional. Uma parte significativa das quatro semanas de duração do
projeto será dedicada à pesquisa de informação sobre os projetos levados a cabo pelo Serviço
Nacional de Saúde Português que têm como base os princípios da NGP. Exemplos de fontes de
informação a usar: artigos científicos disponíveis em bases de dados, informação disponível na
página do Ministério da Saúde, artigos publicados em jornais e revistas, etc. Esta informação será
usada posteriormente para escrever o artigo mencionado acima.
A NGP surgiu nos anos oitenta num grupo restrito de países, dos quais vale a pena ressaltar o
Reino Unido, Austrália, e os Estados Unidos da América. A NGP defende a adoção por parte do
setor público de sistemas de gestão baseados nos modelos do setor privado. De acordo com a
NGP a utilização de princípios de gestão assentes na lógica de mercado aumenta a eficiência e a
qualidade dos serviços prestados, reduz a burocracia e permite uma melhor governação do sector
público.
Contudo, críticos da NGP defendem que a adoção de políticas baseadas na NGP por parte dos
governos, levam a uma focalização excessiva nos resultados de curto prazo que são medidos
pelos sistemas de gestão e na implementação das actividades que permitem atingir esses
resultados; em detrimento de iniciativas (por exemplo inovação) que apenas se refletem em
benefícios a longo prazo.
Supervisor
Current
position
University
Title of proposed
Field of
project
expertise
Teresa Maria
Postdoctoral
John Innes
Calcium oscillations in
Vaz Martins
training fellow
Centre
plants
Computational
and Systems
Biology
This project aims to develop a computer program for image processing of calcium oscillations
observed during symbioses in plants. It will be an interdisciplinary project at the interface between
plant biology, image processing and Bayesian statistics, which is a niche with high potential
growth.
Plant symbioses for nutrient fixation have an important role in agriculture sustainability, by
minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers. Calcium oscillations are responsible for signaling in all
different types of symbiosis, and an outstanding question is how can the same ion - calcium - give
rise to specific responses. An appealing hypothesis is that specificity may be encoded in different
oscillation patterns, and their precise characterization resorts to in vivo imaging, model plants, or
the development of mathematical models.
The John Innes Centre is a natural home for this project, being a world-leading institute for plant
research, with a wide range of facilities and research groups with diverse expertise.
The project will allow the acquisition of a unique set of skills in
• Computational Biology
• Biology of plant symbiosis and calcium oscillations
• Processing of confocal images
•Statistical inference
• Learning of a programming language (R, C + + or Fortran).