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Destination management organisations should be able to reach all those who intend to visit the region they manage in the digital environment, directing their actions towards the development of consolidated strategies, promoting the creation of awareness through extremely informative content, disseminating the notion that the most reliable means for collecting information will be through the organisation that manages the destination. This research aims to understand if the main digital marketing channel of destination management organisations in the Center of Portugal (website) is optimised in terms of usability and content to provide a relevant experience to the tourist. To this end, a qualitative evaluation was used. The qualitative assessment, which relates to the most technical part of the usability, was analysed through interviews with professionals relevant to the study area. The analysis allowed to perceive the evaluation and the usability of the websites of the Center of Portugal.

There is an increasing concern for public stakeholders to develop sustainable tourism strategies, in order to satisfy the needs of today's society, without compromising future generations. Considering the key dimensions of sustainable tourism, this chapter aims to analyse the well-being of a destination's local community and its relationship with tourist events. This exploratory research used a qualitative approach by employing a semi-structured interview with the most relevant stakeholders of the destination. It is possible to conclude that local events can have different positive impacts on the quality of life of the residents. Greater support for local political strategies, better feedback, and word-of-mouth, translating into a positive and sustainable promotion of the destination by the local community are results that can be expected from organising events also designed for the residents of the destination, as a sustainable and inclusive experience.

The economic, social, and political significance of the tourism sector is unquestionable. Its expression and ability to induce economic development, are increasingly important. However, the tourism sector faces a number of structural problems to be solved. Cases of excessive spatial concentration in certain areas of the territory present different dynamics of tourism growth and development. This chapter analyzes how the investment dynamics of small and micro-sized enterprises in the tourism sector contribute to the qualification, diversification, and improvement of destinations, and reduce the spatial concentration of the investment in major tourist destinations. It is not enough for the tourism sector to create wealth in terms of investment, income, and employment. It is also crucial the sector plays a central role in qualifying, diversifying, and improving the quality of supply.

Tourism is a phenomenon of contemporary society, being one of the economic sectors where information has an essential function and where the impact of social media had more evidence. Digital technologies are increasingly present in life and have radically changed the way people think, make decisions and interact. Consumers are more demanding and informed, supporting their buying decisions in the online world. These changes also have implications in the tourism sector and in the promotion of tourist destinations. Given this new paradigm, the local accommodation units, as the most recent accommodation modality, have registered a remarkable growth and due to the characteristics of the activity itself, have to accompany and adapt to this new reality. The present work intends to analyze how Local Accommodation units in Aveiro use the Internet, and in particular the applications of social media in their communication strategies, as well as the importance they give to this reality of the digital world.

Women are increasingly taking part in the business market, especially in the case of tourism. However, studies reveal that entrepreneurial women, besides the business, have other tasks, such as domestic and family obligations, being the majority responsible for the family management. The main purpose of this chapter is to investigate the contribution of entrepreneurial women in tourism companies in rural areas. A survey was applied, through a semi-structured interview, to a total of 13 tourism companies located in the municipality of Sever do Vouga (Portugal). The results indicate that although women are fewer and working together with their husbands, they are already retired, which facilitates dedication and commitment to the business on a full-time basis. Younger women with children may encounter barriers that make it harder for them to dedicate themselves to the enterprise. This research contributes to a better definition of the profile and behaviour of entrepreneurial women in rural areas, as well as identifying the motivations and barriers to invest in rural tourism.

Online comments are increasingly mentioned as an important source of information, simplifying consumers' buying decisions. Online user-generated content has become one of the main sources of information for tourists, who themselves become creators of their own online content. This chapter focuses on sentiment analysis of comments made on TripAdvisor regarding one resort located in the Algarve region, in Portugal. The resort has good reviews, which means that the eWOM is positive. The highest scores relate to the resort's cleanliness, location and quality of sleep, and those that were less relevant were the value for money, the rooms and the service. The most dominant emotion is joy, followed by an analytical response. Negative emotions, such as sadness and anger, were not found very often in the online reviews. These results could be explained by the quality of the service, the kindness of the staff, the facilities for children, the entertainment, and the location, attributes that were often highlighted in the comments.

This chapter aims to analyze, from the perspective of tax inspectors, what appreciation these tax auditors have to the collaboration between external and internal auditors for the prevention and detection of fraud in organizations. The investigation, based on the opinion of 142 Portuguese tax inspectors, reveals that tax inspectors attach a greater importance to the absence of barriers of communication between external and internal auditors, to the indications of the external to the internal auditors, on situations enhancing risk, and to the fact that, in dubious situations, the internal auditors must listen the opinion of the external auditors. In turn, tax inspectors value less the consideration of the external auditors in the work developed by the internal auditors, the frequency of meetings between the external and internal auditors, and the confidence of the external auditors in the technical work quality of the internal auditors. Despite the consistency of these results, the present study has allowed us to detect some differences between the tax inspectors surveyed.

Laboratory animals provide important models for studying human diseases, including many types of cancer. Mice are among the most commonly used laboratory animals, allowing for the study of carcinogenic agents, cancer development and for testing innovative preventive and therapeutic strategies. Thus, monitoring angiogenesis in animal models is a major goal for cancer research. Among the currently available imaging techniques, thermography is a useful approach for studying the superficial vascularization of cancer, based on their heat emissions. At this chapter emphasis is placed on thermography and its applications on laboratory animals, in comparison with other available and applicable imaging techniques. In conclusion, thermography may be usefully applied to the study of cancer vascularization in animal models, particularly when using laboratory rodents such as mice. Care is needed in adapting existing approaches to the specificities of each animal species.

The world’s population is getting older with the percentage of people over 60 increasing more rapidly than any other age group. Telerehabilitation may help minimise the pressure this puts on the traditional healthcare system, but recent studies showed ease of use, usability, and accessibility as unsolved problems, especially for older people who may have little experience or confidence in using technology. Current migration towards multimodal interaction has benefits for seniors, allowing hearing and vision problems to be addressed by exploring redundancy and complementarity of modalities. This chapter presents and contextualizes work in progress in a new telerehabilitation service targeting the combined needs of the elderly to have professionally monitored exercises without leaving their homes with their need regarding interaction, directly related to age-related effects on, for example, vision, hearing, and cognitive capabilities. After a brief general overview of the service, additional information on its two supporting applications are presented, including information on user interfaces. First results from a preliminary evaluation are also included.

Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) have been steadily growing in interest over the past decade. Their economic value turns them into one of the main targets of malware and cheating in Internet. This chapter presents and discusses security issues in MMOG environments. The study starts with a preliminary characterization of MMOGs, highlighting their main features. Afterwards, the authors present the security approaches that are applicable to MMOGs, exposing the implications of security breaches and the need for better protection mechanisms. Next, the chapter presents current safety measures and solutions to tackle specific security issues. Finally, security trends that can be relevant in the future are described.

Unlike mobile computing, in which hardware moves, mobile code moves from nodes to other nodes and can change the machines where it is executed. A paradigmatic example of such mobile code are Java applets that can be downloaded from a distant machine and executed by a virtual machine embedded in a browser. Multi-application smart cards (like Javacards) are an example of an execution environment that allows the loading and the execution of (mobile) programs into a card after its issuance. Code mobility allows the software reconfiguration without delivering a physical support, as done by Sun initially with Java to reprogram cable TV boxes, or nowadays, by Microsoft to promptly distribute software patches. PostScript files are another type of mobile programs which execute in printers to produce graphic images. Mobile code may also be used in distributed systems to adapt autonomously in order to balance loads or compensate for hardware failures (Brooks, 2004). Mobile code has received a great deal of interest as a promising solution to increase system flexibility, scalability, and reliability. However, to reach such objectives, some issues need to be matured, namely security issues. This article addresses security issues in mobile code paradigms.

In order to guarantee a global security solution in network environments, it is necessary to take into account several issues such as security mechanisms for exchange and access to remote information; mechanisms for protection of networked systems and administrative domains; detection of new vulnerabilities and exposures; and monitoring and periodic audit of the implemented security mechanisms and disaster recovery plans.

Over the last years, an evolution of museum function has occurred. Museums are no longer considered just a treasure house but a place that matches cultural and commercial needs. Recently, the literature sheds light on their relevance to customers' experiences. The chapter aims to explore a specific category of museums, highlighting their many functions. More specifically, the chapter analyses the relevance of corporate museums in the enogastronomic industry. Two Italian corporate museums in the pasta industry are explored, highlighting their relevance for visitor experience needs.