Folk culture and political power: practices and representations of moliceiro culture in Portugal, cultural sociology

This article analyses the painted panels of the moliceiro boat, a traditional working boat of the Ria de Aveiro region of Portugal. The article examines how the painted panels have been invented and reinvented over time. The boat and its panels are contextualized both within the changing socio-economic conditions of the Ria de Aveiro region, and the changing socio-political conditions of Portugal throughout the 20th century and until the present day. The article historically analyses the social significance of ‘moliceiro culture’, examining in particular the power relations it expresses and its ambiguous past and present relationships with the political and the economic powers of the Portuguese state. The article unpacks some of the complexity of the relations that have pertained between public and private, local and national, folk culture and ‘art’, and popular and institutional in the Ria de Aveiro region in particular, and Portugal more generally.

Culture, politics and identity: critical readings on gender in southeast Asia

Indian Journal of Gender Studies October 2012 vol. 19 no. 3 437-467

Supporting leadership development by exposure to role models: two case studies

The idiomatic expression “In Rome be a Roman” can be applied to leadership training and development as well. Leaders who can act as role models inspire other future leaders in their behaviour, attitudes and ways of thinking. Based on two examples of current leaders in the fields of Politics and Public Administration, I support the idea that exposure to role models during their training was decisive for their career paths and current activities as prominent characters in their profession. Issues such as how students should be prepared for community or national leadership as well as cross-cultural engagement are raised here. The hypothesis of transculturalism and cross-cultural commitment as a factor of leadership is presented. Based on current literature on Leadership as well as the presented case studies, I expect to raise a debate focusing on strategies for improving leaders’ training in their cross-cultural awareness.

Inovação no modelo de negócio: o caso do setor grossista alimentar em Portugal

Dissertação apresentada ao Instituto Superior de Contabilidade para a obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Empreendedorismo e Internacionalização Orientada por Professor Doutor José de Freitas Santos

The influence of relationship quality and culture in the relations between exporter and distributor : the case of portuguese exports to Angola

The objective of this research is to investigate the role of the relationship quality, cooperation and culture between Portuguese companies and their export market intermediaries in Angola. In particular, we aim to understand the importance that the quality of the relationship has in cooperation and the role of cultures in export activities. An important aspect of this study is precisely the fact that it includes an African country, where, in terms of the literature, there is a strong lack of studies. In terms of methodology we opted for qualitative analysis; we present the results of two case studies of Portuguese exporting companies and one case study of Angolan intermediate. In general, the results are that the business relationships are characterized by trust, commitment, cooperation, culture, similar values, as in the past, Angola belonged to Portugal there is easy communication because both countries share the same. Such factors will influence the trade relations between Portuguese exporters and their Angolan distributors.

Long-term price range forecast applied to risk management using regression models

Long-term contractual decisions are the basis of an efficient risk management. However those types of decisions have to be supported with a robust price forecast methodology. This paper reports a different approach for long-term price forecast which tries to give answers to that need. Making use of regression models, the proposed methodology has as main objective to find the maximum and a minimum Market Clearing Price (MCP) for a specific programming period, and with a desired confidence level α. Due to the problem complexity, the meta-heuristic Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) was used to find the best regression parameters and the results compared with the obtained by using a Genetic Algorithm (GA). To validate these models, results from realistic data are presented and discussed in detail.

Identity – towards a conceptualization

The development of economical relations increases the interaction between organizations and stakeholders. It is no more acceptable to manage an organization under a transactional perspective where suppliers had a fundamental role. Nowadays organizations are being managed under a relational perspective where relations and relationship management in general have consequences in identity management (Hakansson e Snehota, 1989, 1995). A correct perception and management of identity is necessary to achieve distinctiveness in the competitive environment. This way, identity is influenced by relations with stakeholders in general and particularly with competitors. The ICIG concept states that identity is related with the values of the organization and it helps creating distinctiveness in the competitive environment (Van Riel, Balmer, 1997); Baker and Balmer (1997) state that identity is what the organization is; Suvatjis and de Chernatony (2005) refer that expressing identity is a dynamic process that evolves the use of a management model to face context changes; Kapferer (1991) states that brand identity is the project, the self conception of the brand. After reviewing and confronting literature under the plethora of identities’ concepts and perspectives (He, Balmer, 2007) one can’t find an integrative answer with all the elements that contribute to identity of organizations. The authors are strongly interested to contribute to the elimination of this limitation and to answer to strategic management needs. In a marketing context one can find: - the corporate identity approach that is focused in the distinctive attributes of an organization (Abratt, Balmer, Marwick e Fill, Stuart, Balmer and Gray, Alessandri, Suvatjis and de Chernatony) - the brand identity approach (related with the application of corporate identity studies to brands) - Kapferer, Semprini, Aaker, de Chernatony). Kapferer (1991), one of the most prolific authors in this field was the first author to integrate identity in a brand concept. In his view, identity is an emission concept. This idea is shared also by Aaker (1996). Yet, identity has to be managed in a competitive environment which is constantly changing. After reviewing and confronting literature, authors select concepts that are generally accepted by the investigators in order to design a model to analyze and manage identity: - corporate identity models: personality, image/reputation, culture, philosophy, mission, strategy, structure, communication - some of these concepts derive from identity models and others from identity management models; - brand identity models – Kapferer (1991, 2008) identity prism, witch is basis of literature in this field: culture, physical facet, personality, relationship (between brand and consumer), reflected consumer, consumers` self-concept. After discussion authors decide to include other concept in line with other authors` view: country of origin (Aaker, 1996). A discussion eliminates the twin concepts and the final selection is as follows: personality, image/reputation, culture (including philosophy and mission), strategy, structure, communication, culture, physical facet, relationship (between brand and consumer), reflected consumer, consumers` self-concept and according to authors` reflections “relationships” deriving from competitors` actions in competitive environment. Competitors’ actions and decisions have a stronger influence in the organizations` positioning than any other stakeholder as stated before. This is a work in progress towards a new model in identity analysis and management so an exploratory study will follow inquiring experts on identity in order to evaluate these concepts and correct the theoretical perspectives.

Telling stories of culture through literature

Grounded on Raymond Williams‘s definition of knowable community as a cultural tool to analyse literary texts, the essay reads the texts D.H.Lawrence wrote while travelling in the Mediterranean (Twilight in Italy, Sea and Sardinia and Etruscan Places) as knowable communities, bringing to the discussion the wide importance of literature not only as an object for aesthetic or textual readings, but also as a signifying practice which tells stories of culture. Departing from some considerations regarding the historical development of the relationship between literature and culture, the essay analyses the ways D. H. Lawrence constructed maps of meaning, where the readers, in a dynamic relation with the texts, apprehend experiences, structures and feelings; putting into perspective Williams‘s theory of culture as a whole way of life, it also analyses the ways the author communicates and organizes these experiences, creating a space of communication and operating at different levels of reality: on the one hand, the reality of the whole way of Italian life, and, on the other hand, the reality of the reader who aspires to make sense and to create an interpretative context where all the information is put, and, also, the reality of the writer in the poetic act of writing. To read these travel writings as knowable communities is to understand them as a form that invents a community with no other existence but that of the literary text. The cultural construction we find in these texts is the result of the selection, and interpretation done by D.H.Lawrence, as well as the product of the author‘s enunciative positions, and of his epistemological and ontological filigrees of existence, structured by the conditions of possibility. In the rearticulation of the text, of the writer and of the reader, in a dynamic and shared process of discursive alliances, we understand that Lawrence tells stories of the Mediterranean through his literary art.

Modelling and segmentation of the vocal tract during speech production by using deformable models in magnetic resonance images

The first and second authors would like to thank the support of the PhD grants with references SFRH/BD/28817/2006 and SFRH/PROTEC/49517/2009, respectively, from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnol ogia (FCT). This work was partially done in the scope of the project “Methodologies to Analyze Organs from Complex Medical Images – Applications to Fema le Pelvic Cavity”, wi th reference PTDC/EEA- CRO/103320/2008, financially supported by FCT.

Invisible cities: the table of contents and the labyrinths of reality

In Invisible Cities (1972), Italo Calvino contrasts a rigid outline structure with a flexible textual content. The tension comprised by the numerical structure proposed in the table of contents stands out against the set of polissemic texts which make up the subject matter of the book. The opposition between form and content point to a fruitful dichotomy in the conception of the novel linked to the theories of the open and closed work. This essay will investigate the structural construction of Invisible Cities by looking at its table of contents, seeking to discuss some models of formalistic representation proposed by the criticism and the specific contribution they may, or may not, provide. The objective is to analyse the pertinence of such theories in the light of historical and cultural approaches. Aiming to uncover possible meanings which arise from the debate, this essay will question to what extent structural complexities can be considered literary if they are not ultimately related to the culture in which a text is found.

New insights on integer-programming models for the kidney exchange problem

In recent years several countries have set up policies that allow exchange of kidneys between two or more incompatible patient–donor pairs. These policies lead to what is commonly known as kidney exchange programs. The underlying optimization problems can be formulated as integer programming models. Previously proposed models for kidney exchange programs have exponential numbers of constraints or variables, which makes them fairly difficult to solve when the problem size is large. In this work we propose two compact formulations for the problem, explain how these formulations can be adapted to address some problem variants, and provide results on the dominance of some models over others. Finally we present a systematic comparison between our models and two previously proposed ones via thorough computational analysis. Results show that compact formulations have advantages over non-compact ones when the problem size is large.

Modelling adhesive joints with cohesive zone models: effect of the cohesive law shape of the adhesive layer

Adhesively-bonded joints are extensively used in several fields of engineering. Cohesive Zone Models (CZM) have been used for the strength prediction of adhesive joints, as an add-in to Finite Element (FE) analyses that allows simulation of damage growth, by consideration of energetic principles. A useful feature of CZM is that different shapes can be developed for the cohesive laws, depending on the nature of the material or interface to be simulated, allowing an accurate strength prediction. This work studies the influence of the CZM shape (triangular, exponential or trapezoidal) used to model a thin adhesive layer in single-lap adhesive joints, for an estimation of its influence on the strength prediction under different material conditions. By performing this study, guidelines are provided on the possibility to use a CZM shape that may not be the most suited for a particular adhesive, but that may be more straightforward to use/implement and have less convergence problems (e.g. triangular shaped CZM), thus attaining the solution faster. The overall results showed that joints bonded with ductile adhesives are highly influenced by the CZM shape, and that the trapezoidal shape fits best the experimental data. Moreover, the smaller is the overlap length (LO), the greater is the influence of the CZM shape. On the other hand, the influence of the CZM shape can be neglected when using brittle adhesives, without compromising too much the accuracy of the strength predictions.

Dermic diffusion and stratum corneum: a state of the art review of mathematical models

Transdermal biotechnologies are an ever increasing field of interest, due to the medical and pharmaceutical applications that they underlie. There are several mathematical models at use that permit a more inclusive vision of pure experimental data and even allow practical extrapolation for new dermal diffusion methodologies. However, they grasp a complex variety of theories and assumptions that allocate their use for specific situations. Models based on Fick's First Law found better use in contexts where scaled particle theory Models would be extensive in time-span but the reciprocal is also true, as context of transdermal diffusion of particular active compounds changes. This article reviews extensively the various theoretical methodologies for studying dermic diffusion in the rate limiting dermic barrier, the stratum corneum, and systematizes its characteristics, their proper context of application, advantages and limitations, as well as future perspectives.

Supporting real-time parallel task models with work-stealing

Dynamic parallel scheduling using work-stealing has gained popularity in academia and industry for its good performance, ease of implementation and theoretical bounds on space and time. Cores treat their own double-ended queues (deques) as a stack, pushing and popping threads from the bottom, but treat the deque of another randomly selected busy core as a queue, stealing threads only from the top, whenever they are idle. However, this standard approach cannot be directly applied to real-time systems, where the importance of parallelising tasks is increasing due to the limitations of multiprocessor scheduling theory regarding parallelism. Using one deque per core is obviously a source of priority inversion since high priority tasks may eventually be enqueued after lower priority tasks, possibly leading to deadline misses as in this case the lower priority tasks are the candidates when a stealing operation occurs. Our proposal is to replace the single non-priority deque of work-stealing with ordered per-processor priority deques of ready threads. The scheduling algorithm starts with a single deque per-core, but unlike traditional work-stealing, the total number of deques in the system may now exceed the number of processors. Instead of stealing randomly, cores steal from the highest priority deque.