SAKWeb – Spatial autocorrelation and kriging web, a W3 geocomputation perspective

A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems

The effect of water inorganic matrix in ibuprofen adsorption onto activated carbon for water and wastewater treatment

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Química e Bioquímica

Spatial neighborhood matrix computation: Inverse distance weighted versus binary contiguity

Paper presented at Geo-Spatial Crossroad GI_Forum, Salzburg, Austria.

Ambivalent Islam: the identity construction of Muslims under Portuguese colonial rule

This article wishes to contribute to the study of the historical processes that have been spotting Muslim populations as favourite targets for political analysis and governance. Focusing on the Portuguese archives, civil as well as military, the article tries to uncover the most conspicuous identity representations (mainly negative or ambivalent) that members of Portuguese colonial apparatus built around Muslim communities living in African colonies, particularly in Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique. The paper shows how these culturally and politically constructed images were related to the more general strategies by which Portuguese imagined their own national identity, both as ‘European’ and as ‘coloniser’ or ‘imperial people’. The basic assumption of this article is that policies enforced in a context of inter-ethnic and religious competition are better understood when linked to the identity strategies inherent to them. These are conceived as strategic constructions aimed at the preservation, the protection and the imaginary expansion of the subject, who looks for groups to be included in and out-groups to reject, exclude, aggress or eliminate. We think that most of the inter-ethnic relationships and conflicts, as well as the very experience of ethnicity, are born from this identity matrix.

Ambivalent Islam: the identity construction of Muslims under Portuguese colonial rule

This article wishes to contribute to the study of the historical processes that have been spotting Muslim populations as favourite targets for political analysis and governance. Focusing on the Portuguese archives, civil as well as military, the article tries to uncover the most conspicuous identity representations (mainly negative or ambivalent) that members of Portuguese colonial apparatus built around Muslim communities living in African colonies, particularly in Guinea- Bissau and Mozambique. The paper shows how these culturally and politically constructed images were related to the more general strategies by which Portuguese imagined their own national identity, both as ‘European’ and as ‘coloniser’ or ‘imperial people’. The basic assumption of this article is that policies enforced in a context of interethnic and religious competition are better understood when linked to the identity strategies inherent to them. These are conceived as strategic constructions aimed at the preservation, protection and imaginary expansion of the subject, who looks for groups to be included in and out-groups to reject, exclude, aggress or eliminate. The author argues that most of the inter-ethnic relationships and conflicts, as well as the very experience of ethnicity, are born from this identity matrix.

Development of mixed matrix membranes with metal - organic framework and ionic liquids for biogas upgrading

Dissertation presented to Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa for obtaining the master degree in Membrane Engineering

The additive effects in matrix dispersed liquid crystals

Dissertation presented at Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia from Universidade Nova de Lisboa to obtain the degree of Master in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Are basic schools more effective than secondary schools?

The present essay focuses on the effectiveness of Portuguese public schools’ provision of 7th, 8th and 9th grades, using data from the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science for 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12. At least two school types offer these grades: Basic and Secondary. Based on previous findings, a production function is estimated for 9th grade students in the regular academic track, including a variable that indicates the specific school type attended by each student. After concluding that Basic Schools add more value, some explanations are presented as well as recommendations and possible further research.