Being ahead of its time the consumer resistance phenomenon: A comparative case study research

Double Degree.

Risk parity: True versus naive approach

This paper studies the performance of two different Risk Parity strategies, one from Maillard (2008) and a “naïve” that was already used by market practitioners, against traditional strategies. The tests will compare different regions (US, UK, Germany and Japan) since 1991 to 2013, and will use different ways of volatility. The main findings are that Risk Parity outperforms any traditional strategy, and the “true” (by Maillard) has considerable better results than the “naïve” when using historical volatility, while using EWMA there are significant differences.

Who uses NHS saúde 24 hotline? Has the user changed over time?

There has been an increase in the use of telephone-based services and internet throughout the years and, therefore, the Saúde 24 Hotline has become an important service in Portugal. This service aims to screen, counsel and refer the patient in order to avoid unnecessary visits to health institutions and also to indicate the most appropriate resource according to the illness. This work has two different questions: the first one examines the determinants of satisfaction that have more influence on the overall satisfaction of the Saúde 24 Hotline users. The second one aims to analyze if the confidence level of the users is increasing over time, measured by following the recommendation. The first study was conducted on a random sample collected from June to October 2014, which was taken from the User Satisfaction Survey. The second approach includes data from January 2008 to December 2014 from the Clinical Data Base of all users who have called the Hotline. Findings suggest that the majority of users are very satisfied with the service and the variables with more impact on the overall satisfaction are commitment and availability from the nurse, adequacy of call duration and quick identification of the problem. The survey indicates that 94% of respondents follow the recommendation and on average people have called the hotline 3 times in the previous year. The results from the Clinical Database show that people who were recommended to go to the emergency room are more likely to follow the advice than the people who were recommended to book routine appointments

Ethical consumption (in)decisons

Consumers’ indecisions about the ethical value of their choices are amongst the highest concerns regarding ethical products’ purchasing. This is especially true for Fair Trade certified products where the ethical attribute information provided by the packaging is often unacknowledged by consumers. While well-informed consumers are likely to generate positive consumer reactions to ethical products and increase its ethical consumption, less knowledgeable buyers show different purchasing patterns. In such circumstances, decisions are often driven by socio-cultural beliefs about the low functional performance of ethical or sustainable attributes. For instance, products more congruent with sustainability (e.g., produce) are considered to be simpler but less tasty than less sustainable products. Less sustainable products instead, are considered to be more sophisticated and to provide consumers with more hedonic pleasures (e.g., chocolate mousse). The extent that ethicality is linked with experiences that provide consumers with more pain than pleasure is also manifested in pro-social social behaviors. More specifically through conspicuous self-sacrificial consumption experiences like running for charity in marathons with wide public exposure. The willingness of consumers to engage in such costly initiatives is moderated by gender differences and further, mediated by the chronic productivity orientation of some individuals to use time in a productive manner. Using experimental design studies, I show that consumers (1) use a set of affective and cognitive associations with on-package elements to interpret ethical attributes, (2) implicitly associate ethicality with simplicity, and that (3) men versus women show different preferences in their forms of contribution to pro-social causes.

Electrohysterogram signal component cataloging with spectral and time-frequency methods

The Electrohysterogram (EHG) is a new instrument for pregnancy monitoring. It measures the uterine muscle electrical signal, which is closely related with uterine contractions. The EHG is described as a viable alternative and a more precise instrument than the currently most widely used method for the description of uterine contractions: the external tocogram. The EHG has also been indicated as a promising tool in the assessment of preterm delivery risk. This work intends to contribute towards the EHG characterization through the inventory of its components which are: • Contractions; • Labor contractions; • Alvarez waves; • Fetal movements; • Long Duration Low Frequency Waves; The instruments used for cataloging were: Spectral Analysis, parametric and non-parametric, energy estimators, time-frequency methods and the tocogram annotated by expert physicians. The EHG and respective tocograms were obtained from the Icelandic 16-electrode Electrohysterogram Database. 288 components were classified. There is not a component database of this type available for consultation. The spectral analysis module and power estimation was added to Uterine Explorer, an EHG analysis software developed in FCT-UNL. The importance of this component database is related to the need to improve the understanding of the EHG which is a relatively complex signal, as well as contributing towards the detection of preterm birth. Preterm birth accounts for 10% of all births and is one of the most relevant obstetric conditions. Despite the technological and scientific advances in perinatal medicine, in developed countries, prematurity is the major cause of neonatal death. Although various risk factors such as previous preterm births, infection, uterine malformations, multiple gestation and short uterine cervix in second trimester, have been associated with this condition, its etiology remains unknown [1][2][3].

Development of an experimental setup for metal cutting research

Analytical, numerical and experimental models have been developed over time to try to characterize and understand the metal cutting process by chip removal. A true knowledge of the cutting process by chip removal is required by the increasing production, by the quality requirements of the product and by the reduced production time, in the industries in which it is employed. In this thesis an experimental setup is developed to evaluate the forces and the temperature distribution in the tool according to the orthogonal cutting model conditions, in order to evaluate its performance and its possible adoption in future works. The experimental setup is developed in a CNC lathe and uses an orthogonal cutting configuration, in which thin discs fixed onto a mandrel are cut by the cutting insert. In this experimental setup, the forces are measured by a piezoelectric dynamometer while temperatures are measured by thermocouples placed juxtaposed to the side face of the cutting insert. Three different solutions are implemented and evaluated for the thermocouples attachment in the cutting insert: thermocouples embedded in thermal paste, thermocouples embedded in copper plate and thermocouples brazed in the cutting insert. From the tests performed in the experimental setup it is concluded that the adopted forces measurement technique shows a good performance. Regarding to the adopted temperatures measurement techniques, only the thermocouples brazed in the cutting insert solution shows a good performance for temperature measurement. The remaining solutions show contact problems between the thermocouple and the side face of the cutting insert, especially when the vibration phenomenon intensifies during the cut. It is concluded that the experimental setup does not present a sufficiently robust and reliable performance, and that it can only be used in future work after making improvements in the assembly of the thermocouples.

O processo sumário e a reforma do Código do Processo Penal de 2013

The present work aims to develop the theme "The summary procedure and the reform of 2013". The purpose of its analysis serves the interest to understand the virtues and disadvantages of the changes introduced by Act n.º 20/2013 to our Code of Criminal Procedure, and the main focus of the present reflection is to further the impact of the measures taken by the legislator to the summary proceedings. The opening of the most serious crimes to summary procedure is a reform measure duly highlighted because it is a true innovation in the Portuguese penal system. Therefore, it urges to analyse not only the consequences of this measure, as well as if the objectives of its introduction in the summary procedure system are met. It should be noted that the legislator intends to promote speedy trial, and at the same time, ensure compliance with the Constitutional rights associated to the accused. At this point it is important to realize if there is a restriction of the accused essential guarantees. On the other hand, it should be noted that the typical characteristics of summary proceedings might have been invariably modified, due to the innovative aspect of the reform. That said, the changes might have fostered a mischaracterization of the typical format of the summary procedure, both in terms of the nature of the proceedings and in terms of its space and objectives within the penal system. Reflecting on the above will provide a deeper understanding of the volatile balance between the Portuguese governing prosecution efficiency and the Constitution, as well as the future of the criminal policy in Portugal.

O estatuto laboral do trabalhador estrangeiro em Portugal

After reading about the current legal regime regarding the foreign workers we realize the high relevance this area has, nevertheless the research about these issues has been lying somewhat stagnant in Portugal, particularly as it refers to non-EU citizens. At a time when we witness a progressive increase of the migratory movements we propose ourselves, in this study, to understand more clearly the current legal system in the matter of foreign worker rights, and, from a pragmatic point of view, to question some choices of the legislator in order to understand if these serves to the best protection of the rights and duties of the foreign workers and the new situations arising from this phenomenon, considering any system weaknesses. However, we realize that much remains to be done in this field, both in terms of true equal rights between nationals and foreigners, and either as what regards to an effort to harmonize these issues by the States, which tend to favor national sovereignty and its economic interests rather than protecting the fundamental rights of workers.

Real convergence in per capita output and growth in Eurozone: A time-series approach

The real convergence hypothesis has spurred a myriad of empirical tests and approaches in the economic literature. This Work Project intends to test for real output and growth convergence in all N(N-1)/2 possible pairs of output and output growth gaps of 14 Eurozone countries. This paper follows a time-series approach, as it tests for the presence of unit roots and persistence changes in the above mentioned pairs of output gaps, as well as for the existence of growth convergence with autoregressive models. Overall, significantly greater evidence has been found to support growth convergence rather than output convergence in our sample.

Has the time for renewables finally arrived? – An event study on EPA’s Clean Power Plan

The recent proposals presented by EPA aimed to reduce the dependency of fossil fuels and to lower current emissions levels, hoping to gradually shift electric generation units to renewable energy sources. Actually, the Final Rule Proposal announcement day exhibited a negative Abnormal Return on Fossil Fuels but the following days had positive Abnormal Returns, mostly due to legislative change perceived by financial markets which eased up implementation periods of the proposed measures in the Final Rule when compared to the Draft Rule. Oppositely, Renewables and Solar Portfolios exhibited negative Cumulative Abnormal Returns over the period surrounding the Final Rule.

Logoplaste: Conquering the world one bottle at a time

The “Logoplaste: Conquering the world one bottle at a time” case is based on the real story of the Botton family and their journey to build the globally known company Logoplaste. Famous for its “hole in the wall” strategy within the plastics industry, Logoplaste is not only one of the major plastic bottles manufacturers in the world, but also a company which has been proving us that a shared leadership system can be successful within a family business. This case intendeds to demonstrate the dynamics of a family business, illustrating the complexity of the decision making process and how they have successfully mastered dual management in a family firm. Moreover, it also aims to demonstrate that a family firm can be managed in such way that sustainable growth, as a key pillar, can be enabled through a strong focus on internationalization and innovation. A teaching note is available at the end of the case in order to guide students and teachers in their readings. Discussions questions, for debate in class environment, are also provided together with suggested answers drawn together to increase the critical sense and theoretical application of the themes studied in class.