Resilience of logistic service providers facing a port strike: a case study

The purpose of this thesis is to study the impact of a port strike on companies that perform as logistic service providers in a supply chain (SC), here denominated 3PL (third-party logistic providers). These companies are highly dependent on ports to perform their activity, since they provide international services. Consequently, a disruption in a port can seriously impair their business. A stevedores’ strike is one of the possible disruptions that can affect ports. This study aims to analyze the negative effects caused by this disruption, and what strategies 3PLs may implement in order to keep their performance levels stable and have a quick recovery time. Within this objective, the first step will be to establish a theoretical context about the maritime port’s sector and 3PLs in a SC context, to then expand the concept of a resilient SC, and finally to develop a theoretical framework in order to better contextualize the case study. Subsequently, the impact of a port strike will be quantified by using a case study comprising three companies, covering the areas of land and sea distribution and port operations. Information from primary sources was assembled in two phases: first via e-mail and, in a second phase, through a personal interview. The information from secondary sources was obtained through television news, internet and conferences, enabling its cross-analysis. Finally, by analyzing the collected data, it will be possible to draw conclusions about the measures carried out by each company to minimize the negative effects of the strike, thus contributing to a more resilient SC. As a conclusion, a stevedores’ strike will create a snow-ball of negative effects in the SC, degrading all relevant KPIs (key performance indicators) of the 3PLs under study. No mitigation and contingency strategies available proved really effective to reduce the negative effects of a port strike disruption.

Three essays on the term structure of interest rates

A PhD Dissertation, presented as part of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the NOVA - School of Business and Economics

Uncovering the role of IFNAR1 in Experimental Cerebral malaria

Dissertation presented the Ph.D degree in Biology

Upgrade of an experimental volumetric unit for gas adsorption equilibrium studies

In this work, a volumetric unit previously assembled by the research group was upgraded. This unit revamping was necessary due to the malfunction of the solenoid valves employed in the original experimental setup, which were not sealing the gas properly leading to erroneous adsorption equilibrium measurements. Therefore, the solenoid valves were substituted by manual ball valves. After the volumetric unit improvement its operation was validated. For this purpose, the adsorption equilibrium of carbon dioxide (CO2) at 323K and 0 - 20 bar was measured on two different activated carbon samples, in the of extrudates (ANG6) and of a honeycomb monolith (ACHM). The adsorption equilibrium results were compared with data previously measured by the research group, using a high-pressure microbalance from Rubotherm GmbH (Germany) – gravimetric. The results obtained using both apparatuses are coincident thus validating the good operation of the volumetric unit upgraded in this work. Furthermore, the adsorption equilibrium of CO2 at 303K and 0 - 10 bar on Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) Cu-BTC and Fe-BTC was also studied. The CO2 adsorption equilibrium results for both MOFs were compared with the literature results showing good agreement, which confirms the good quality of the experimental results obtained in the new volumetric unit. Cu-BTC sample showed significantly higher CO2 adsorption capacity when compared with the Fe-BTC sample. The revamping of the volumetric unit included a new valve configuration in order to allow testing an alternative method for the measurement of adsorption equilibrium. This new method was employed to measure the adsorption equilibrium of CO2 on ANG6 and ACHM at 303, 323 and 353K within 0-10 bar. The good quality of the obtained experimental data was testified by comparison with data previously obtained by the research group in a gravimetric apparatus.