Maximum-revenue tariff under Bertrand duopoly with unknown costs

This paper considers an international trade under Bertrand model with differentiated products and with unknown production costs. The home government imposes a specific import tariff per unit of imports from the foreign firm. We prove that this tariff is decreasing in the expected production costs of the foreign firm and increasing in the production costs of the home firm. Furthermore, it is increasing in the degree of product substitutability. We also show that an increase in the tariff results in both firms increasing their prices, an increase in both expected sales and expected profits for the home firm, and a decrease in both expected sales and expected profits for the foreign firm.

Quantity-setting competition with differentiated goods under uncertain demand

We consider a quantity-setting duopoly model, and we study the decision to move first or second, by assuming that the firms produce differentiated goods and that there is some demand uncertainty. The competitive phase consists of two periods, and in either period, the firms can make a production decision that is irreversible. As far as the firms are allowed to choose (non-cooperatively) the period they make the decision, we study the circumstances that favour sequential rather than simultaneous decisions.

Privatization and entry of a foreign firm with demand uncertainty

We investigate the effects of trade with a foreign firm and privatization of the domestic pubUc firm on an incentive for the domestic firm to reduce costs by undertaking R&D investment, under demand uncertainty. We suppose that the domestic firm is less efficient than the foreign firm. However, the domestic firm can lower its marginal costs by conducting cost-reducing R&D investment. We examine the impacts of entry of a foreign firm, and the effects of demand uncertainty, on decisions upon cost-reducing R&D investment by the domestic firm and how these affect the domestic welfare.

Planning the medical workforce - an analysis of the third repport of the Medical Workforce Standing Advisory Committee

Arquivos de Medicina 1998; 12(4): 246-248

O futuro da liderança de topo na administração pública portuguesa. Forças motrizes e cenários possíveis.

Dissertação de mestrado em Administração Pública, orientada pelo Professor Doutor J. A. Oliveira Rocha apresentada na Escola de Economia e Gestão da Universidade do Minho, em 2006.

Quantity-setting competition under uncertain demand

We consider a quantity-setting duopoly model, and we study the decision to move first or second, by assuming that. the firms produce homogeneous goods and that. there is some demand uncertainty. The competitive phase consists of two periods, and in either period, the firms can make a production decision that is irreversible. As far as the firms are allowed to choose (non-cooperatively) the period they make the decision, we study the circumstances that favour sequential rather than simultaneous decisions.

Profissionalidade docente: fonte de possibilidades e de (in)certezas

O longo percurso de formação, iniciado com a Licenciatura em Educação Básica, termina agora com a conclusão do Mestrado em Ensino do 1º e 2º Ciclos do Ensino Básico surgindo, por isso, o presente relatório de estágio no âmbito da unidade curricular de Integração Curricular: Prática Educativa Supervisionada e Relatório de Estágio. Este caminho foi trilhado tomando opções fundamentadas e intencionais, conciliando saberes teóricos e práticos, construídos e desenvolvidos nos contextos educativos onde decorreu a Prática Educativa Supervisionada (PES). Ancorada numa perspetiva de investigação, onde se reconhecem características da metodologia de investigação-ação, a supervisão pedagógica desenrolou-se por etapas que promoveram o crescimento pessoal e profissional da futura professora. Todo o percurso espelhado no decorrer das próximas páginas foi solidamente cimentado graças à experiência partilhada dos orientadores cooperantes, dos supervisores institucionais e do par pedagógico, permitindo desenvolver e consolidar competências heurísticas, bem como a transformação e o melhoramento das práticas. Atribuiu-se, neste processo, um especial significado à relação com o par pedagógico por ter constituído um apoio fundamental, valorizando-se a colaboração, enquanto agente potenciador da tomada de decisão em contextos de incerteza e de complexidade da prática docente. Este relatório de estágio configura-se como mais uma oportunidade de autoconsciência e de reflexão relativamente ao processo de construção da identidade profissional. O constante progresso do mundo atual, as dificuldades sentidas e os obstáculos ultrapassados reforçam a ideia de que o processo de formação será sempre ávido de uma permanente atualização.

Relatório de estágio em Ensino do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

Relatório EPE - Relatório de estágio em Educação Pré-Escolar: O presente relatório foi realizado no âmbito da unidade curricular Prática Pedagógica Supervisionada, inserida no Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico, da Escola Superior de Educação do Porto, durante o ano letivo 2013/2014, atribuindo qualificação profissional no contexto de pré-escolar. Este documento pretende descrever e analisar o percurso formativo desenvolvido pela mestranda ao longo da sua prática pedagógica supervisionada, numa perspetiva reflexiva sobre a construção dos saberes profissionais para a Educação. Este percurso formativo comprometeu uma atitude investigativa, bem como a mobilização de saberes científicos e legais por forma a articular as vertentes de teoria e prática, perspetivando uma construção integrada dos saberes. A prática pedagógica foi sustentada numa perspetiva construtivista, atribuindo um papel ativo à criança na construção das suas aprendizagens. Esta baseou-se num trabalho de equipa cooperativo, o qual se concretiza através do debate e da partilha de ideias, entre os vários intervenientes da ação, como meio para a transformação da realidade educativa. Ao longo da prática foi, ainda, atribuído um papel fundamental à observação do contexto, sendo esta essencial para a compreensão e conhecimento pleno da criança. Em suma, todo o percurso formativo no qual está englobado a prática pedagógica, levou a uma problematização das questões emergentes da prática, desenvolvendo uma atitude indagadora e reflexiva. Apesar da significante contribuição para a aquisição de competências pessoais e profissionais, o percurso formativo deve ser assumido como uma construção contínua, fundamentado num princípio da aprendizagem ao longo da vida.

The design and use of annual budgets to cope with uncertainty

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Finance from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Energy-efficient diversity combining for different access schemes in a multi-path dispersive channel

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Engenharia Electrotécnica e Computadores

Planning and verification of multipath routing protocols

Conventionally the problem of the best path in a network refers to the shortest path problem. However, for the vast majority of networks present nowadays this solution has some limitations which directly affect their proper functioning, as well as an inefficient use of their potentialities. Problems at the level of large networks where graphs of high complexity are commonly present as well as the appearing of new services and their respective requirements, are intrinsically related to the inability of this solution. In order to overcome the needs present in these networks, a new approach to the problem of the best path must be explored. One solution that has aroused more interest in the scientific community considers the use of multiple paths between two network nodes, where they can all now be considered as the best path between those nodes. Therefore, the routing will be discontinued only by minimizing one metric, where only one path between nodes is chosen, and shall be made by the selection of one of many paths, thereby allowing the use of a greater diversity of the present paths (obviously, if the network consents). The establishment of multi-path routing in a given network has several advantages for its operation. Its use may well improve the distribution of network traffic, improve recovery time to failure, or it can still offer a greater control of the network by its administrator. These factors still have greater relevance when networks have large dimensions, as well as when their constitution is of high complexity, such as the Internet, where multiple networks managed by different entities are interconnected. A large part of the growing need to use multipath protocols is associated to the routing made based on policies. Therefore, paths with different characteristics can be considered with equal level of preference, and thus be part of the solution for the best way problem. To perform multi-path routing using protocols based only on the destination address has some limitations but it is possible. Concepts of graph theory of algebraic structures can be used to describe how the routes are calculated and classified, enabling to model the routing problem. This thesis studies and analyzes multi-path routing protocols from the known literature and derives a new algebraic condition which allows the correct operation of these protocols without any network restriction. It also develops a range of software tools that allows the planning and the respective verification/validation of new protocols models according to the study made.

Dynamic delta hedging of autocallables under a discrete rebalancing context

This work tests different delta hedging strategies for two products issued by Banco de Investimento Global in 2012. The work studies the behaviour of the delta and gamma of autocallables and their impact on the results when delta hedging with different rebalancing periods. Given its discontinuous payoff and path dependency, it is suggested the hedging portfolio is rebalanced on a daily basis to better follow market changes. Moreover, a mixed strategy is analysed where time to maturity is used as a criterion to change the rebalancing frequency.

Project scheduling and cost minimization with multiple availability constrained resources under stochastic conditions

The authors propose a mathematical model to minimize the project total cost where there are multiple resources constrained by maximum availability. They assume the resources as renewable and the activities can use any subset of resources requiring any quantity from a limited real interval. The stochastic nature is inferred by means of a stochastic work content defined per resource within an activity and following a known distribution and the total cost is the sum of the resource allocation cost with the tardiness cost or earliness bonus in case the project finishes after or before the due date, respectively. The model was computationally implemented relying upon an interchange of two global optimization metaheuristics – the electromagnetism-like mechanism and the evolutionary strategies. Two experiments were conducted testing the implementation to projects with single and multiple resources, and with or without maximum availability constraints. The set of collected results shows good behavior in general and provide a tool to further assist project manager decision making in the planning phase.

Stress-triggered synaptic malfunction: a gate along the path from depressionto dementia

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências da Saúde.

Estimation of the Spatial Weights Matrix under Structural Constraints

While estimates of models with spatial interaction are very sensitive to the choice of spatial weights, considerable uncertainty surrounds de nition of spatial weights in most studies with cross-section dependence. We show that, in the spatial error model the spatial weights matrix is only partially identi ed, and is fully identifi ed under the structural constraint of symmetry. For the spatial error model, we propose a new methodology for estimation of spatial weights under the assumption of symmetric spatial weights, with extensions to other important spatial models. The methodology is applied to regional housing markets in the UK, providing an estimated spatial weights matrix that generates several new hypotheses about the economic and socio-cultural drivers of spatial di¤usion in housing demand.