Atitudes de crianças em relação aos grupos nacionais

In the present study we are going to analyze the development of the ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation in relation to national groups (Portuguese as ingroup and Cape-Verdeans, Brazilian and Chinese as outgroups) in Portuguese children with ages between 6 and 10 years (60 participants with 6/7 years and 60 participants with 9/10 years). The first aim of this research was to examine whether the ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation changes according to the age groups. We started from the idea that the age groups would show ingroup preference. However in relation to negativity outgroup it was expected to be less evident. The second aim of this study was to examine if the ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation would be relatively independent, or if they would be related to each other, so that positive perceptions of national ingroup were associated with negative perceptions of national outgroups (in particular, Cape-Verde, Brazilian and Chinese). In a nut Shell, the results confirmed the hypotheses, and in both age groups, the children showed ingroup preference, the negativism of the outgroup was less obvious in the Brazilian group but not in the others (Cape-Verdeans and Chinese). Regarding the relation between the preference for the ingroup and the negativity of the outgroup we realized that these are relatively independent. As a result, we found that the ingroup favoritism is not related with outgroup derogation, it means that, positive perceptions of the ingroup are not related with negative perceptions of the outgroups.

Sistemas da qualidade no ensino superior : contributos para modelos de melhoria da qualidade e responsabilidade social

The management of Higher Education Institutions is being rethought, with the mission and culture of the institutions changing due to globalization, resulting in new models of management and governance. The quality of Higher Education and its obligations to society are of current importance. The structural changes that the society has gone through requires a response in higher education that matches the changing needs of the society. Higher Education Institutions require new perspectives and a new strategic vision to cope with the uncertainty arising at a global scale, and this plays a role in their quality and whether they are leading institutions. Thus the following question arises: Which forms of management and governance contribute to the improvement of quality in higher education? The methodology for this study was designed with five stages: preparation of a plan of work within the thesis, the gradual progression to understanding the up-to-date understanding of Higher Education Research, generating research hypotheses and creating further understanding, writing the thesis with critical analysis and reflection. In addition to other relevant issues in higher education, different models were studied: Models of excellence, Models for implementation of Quality Management Systems, Environmental Management, Occupational Health and Safety Management, Risk Management, among others. Several indicators of Social Responsibility were created in this context and a pilot study was conducted in the area of Social Responsibility in Higher Education Institutions. Finally the conclusions resulting from the pilot study are presented and questions arising from the theoretical research are discussed. For example, the pilot study showed that there are indicators of a lack of understanding within the institutions to issues related to ethical and environmental education. Moreover, a large proportion of respondents said individuals have no opinion when confronted with questions on Responsible Social Involvement and Social Research and Social Management of Useful Knowledge. It is concluded that people have a vague awareness of these issues, so these concepts are new to them.

Sistemas da qualidade no ensino superior : contributos para modelos de melhoria da qualidade e responsabilidade social

The management of Higher Education Institutions is being rethought, with the mission and culture of the institutions changing due to globalization, resulting in new models of management and governance. The quality of Higher Education and its obligations to society are of current importance. The structural changes that the society has gone through requires a response in higher education that matches the changing needs of the society. Higher Education Institutions require new perspectives and a new strategic vision to cope with the uncertainty arising at a global scale, and this plays a role in their quality and whether they are leading institutions. Thus the following question arises: Which forms of management and governance contribute to the improvement of quality in higher education? The methodology for this study was designed with five stages: preparation of a plan of work within the thesis, the gradual progression to understanding the up-to-date understanding of Higher Education Research, generating research hypotheses and creating further understanding, writing the thesis with critical analysis and reflection. In addition to other relevant issues in higher education, different models were studied: Models of excellence, Models for implementation of Quality Management Systems, Environmental Management, Occupational Health and Safety Management, Risk Management, among others. Several indicators of Social Responsibility were created in this context and a pilot study was conducted in the area of Social Responsibility in Higher Education Institutions. Finally the conclusions resulting from the pilot study are presented and questions arising from the theoretical research are discussed. For example, the pilot study showed that there are indicators of a lack of understanding within the institutions to issues related to ethical and environmental education. Moreover, a large proportion of respondents said individuals have no opinion when confronted with questions on Responsible Social Involvement and Social Research and Social Management of Useful Knowledge. It is concluded that people have a vague awareness of these issues, so these concepts are new to them.

Sistemas da qualidade no ensino superior : contributos para modelos de melhoria da qualidade e responsabilidade social

The management of Higher Education Institutions is being rethought, with the mission and culture of the institutions changing due to globalization, resulting in new models of management and governance. The quality of Higher Education and its obligations to society are of current importance. The structural changes that the society has gone through requires a response in higher education that matches the changing needs of the society. Higher Education Institutions require new perspectives and a new strategic vision to cope with the uncertainty arising at a global scale, and this plays a role in their quality and whether they are leading institutions. Thus the following question arises: Which forms of management and governance contribute to the improvement of quality in higher education? The methodology for this study was designed with five stages: preparation of a plan of work within the thesis, the gradual progression to understanding the up-to-date understanding of Higher Education Research, generating research hypotheses and creating further understanding, writing the thesis with critical analysis and reflection. In addition to other relevant issues in higher education, different models were studied: Models of excellence, Models for implementation of Quality Management Systems, Environmental Management, Occupational Health and Safety Management, Risk Management, among others. Several indicators of Social Responsibility were created in this context and a pilot study was conducted in the area of Social Responsibility in Higher Education Institutions. Finally the conclusions resulting from the pilot study are presented and questions arising from the theoretical research are discussed. For example, the pilot study showed that there are indicators of a lack of understanding within the institutions to issues related to ethical and environmental education. Moreover, a large proportion of respondents said individuals have no opinion when confronted with questions on Responsible Social Involvement and Social Research and Social Management of Useful Knowledge. It is concluded that people have a vague awareness of these issues, so these concepts are new to them.

A estação arqueológica de Salamansa (ilha de São Vicente, República de Cabo Verde)

Apresentam‑se os principais resultados obtidos nas duas missões arqueológicas patrocinadas pelo Centro Português de Actividades Subaquáticas (CPAS) à ilha de São Vicente (República de Cabo Verde), em 1998 e em 2005. Em 1998, confirmou‑se o efectivo interesse arqueológico do sítio, localizado sobre o mar, em local abrigado da vasta baía de Salamansa, situada na parte setentrional da ilha, tendo‑se registado a respectiva extensão e estratigrafia e procedido à colheita de amostras para datação. Embora os resultados dessa campanha tivessem sido publicados, indicando estação de carácter habitacional, revelada pela notável acumulação de conchas, acompanhada de abundantes fragmentos de cerâmicas manuais, de produção africana, mantinha‑se indefinida a sua verdadeira natureza. Impunha‑se, assim, proceder à escavação integral da área que ainda subsistia da estação — sujeita de forma contínua a forte erosão marinha — bem como à colheita de novos materiais para datação, de forma a confirmar as conclusões preliminares anteriormente obtidas, objectivos que se concretizaram em 2005. Deste modo, foi possível concluir que, contrariando a hipótese, de início considerada, de poder corresponder a um testemunho da ocupação da ilha em época anterior à chegada dos Portugueses — hipótese que já as primeiras datas de radiocarbono contradiziam — se trata de um sítio onde uma unidade habitacional construída por muros de pedra seca, de planta ortogonal, revela inspiração europeia, aliás sublinhada pelos materiais exumados, onde estão representados produtos com tal origem, como cachimbos de caulino, vidros, faianças portuguesas, e projécteis de armas de fogo, a par de objectos oriundos do Extremo Oriente, num quadro dominado pelas produções cerâmicas africanas. Esta situação evidencia um estabelecimento cuja ocupação se centrou no século XVII, conforme indicam os materiais recolhidos e os resultados das datações obtidas, francamente aberto aos contactos de longa distância, apesar do isolamento do local escolhido. Os restos faunísticos recolhidos, com a presença deburro e de boi, sugerem um estacionamento sedentário, sendo a alimentação assegurada essencialmente pela captura de tartarugas, pela pesca e pela recolecção de moluscos marinhos (especialmente grandes lapas) e complementada pelo consumo de cabra, que poderia ser doméstica ou caçada, dado o estado selvagem a que retornou ali esta espécie. na última parte do trabalho, discutem‑se as diversas hipóteses susceptíveis de explicar esta estação — desde um entreposto comercial relacionado com a exploração agro‑pecuária da ilha de Santo Antão, passando por pequeno estabelecimento especializado de apoio à navegação, com a produção de carne salgada de tartaruga, até ter constituído refúgio relacionado com a intensa pirataria vigente à época no arquipélago, tendo presente os elementos históricos conhecidos, que, aliás, indicam que o início da ocupação permanente de São Vicente só se produziu a partir da segunda década do século XIX. Seja como for, a forte componente cultural africana revelada pelo espólio destes primeiros ocupantes da ilha expressa‑se também pelos rituais que terão envolvido o abandono do estabelecimento, com o enterramento de dois vasos emborcados sob o chão da habitação explorada, e a deposição de uma pequena taça, nas mesmas circunstâncias, junto à parede da mesma, do lado externo.

The so-called 'external partners' in the groups of corporations: A model of presentation in the consolidated statements

This paper studies, on the one hand, theories set out around theconsideration of the external partners in the consolidated informationand on the other hand, financial models that discuss the convenience ofthe separation or not of the different elements that form part of theliabilities of the balance sheet of the companies. A Model is proposed,the External Partners Model, which financially argues a certain presentationand processing of such and that, in our opinion, facilitates the analysisof the consolidated financial statements. This model is based on twohypotheses: (1) the economic and financial variables are not independentand (2) the value of the company depends, among other factors, of thetype of sources that constitute their capital. These two hypotheses willimply that a separation should be included in the consolidated balance sheet between equity and liabilities as they are different sources ofcapital and then its separation will give relevant information to itsusers.

Female labour supply in Spain: The importance of behavioural assumptions and unobserved heterogeneity specification

We estimate four models of female labour supply using a Spanish sampleof married women from 1994, taking into account the complete form of theindividual s budget set. The models differ in the hypotheses relating tothe presence of optimisation errors and/or the way non-workers contributeto the likelihood function. According to the results, the effects of wagesand non-labour income on the labour supply of Spanish married women dependon the specification used. The model which has both preference andoptimisation errors and allows for both voluntarily and involuntarilyunemployed females desiring to participate seems to better fit the evidencefor Spanish married women.

Rational reasoning or adaptive behavior? Evidence from two-person beauty contest games

Many experiments have shown that human subjects do not necessarily behave in line with game theoretic assumptions and solution concepts. The reasons for this non-conformity are multiple. In this paper we study the argument whether a deviation from game theory is because subjects are rational, but doubt that others are rational as well, compared to the argument that subjects, in general, are boundedly rational themselves. To distinguish these two hypotheses, we study behavior in repeated 2-person and many-person Beauty-Contest-Games which are strategically different from one another. We analyze four different treatments and observe that convergence toward equilibrium is driven by learning through the information about the other player s choice and adaptation rather than self-initiated rational reasoning.

Measuring ecological niche overlap from occurrence and spatial environmental data

1. Aim - Concerns over how global change will influence species distributions, in conjunction with increased emphasis on understanding niche dynamics in evolutionary and community contexts, highlight the growing need for robust methods to quantify niche differences between or within taxa. We propose a statistical framework to describe and compare environmental niches from occurrence and spatial environmental data.¦2. Location - Europe, North America, South America¦3. Methods - The framework applies kernel smoothers to densities of species occurrence in gridded environmental space to calculate metrics of niche overlap and test hypotheses regarding niche conservatism. We use this framework and simulated species with predefined distributions and amounts of niche overlap to evaluate several ordination and species distribution modeling techniques for quantifying niche overlap. We illustrate the approach with data on two well-studied invasive species.¦4. Results - We show that niche overlap can be accurately detected with the framework when variables driving the distributions are known. The method is robust to known and previously undocumented biases related to the dependence of species occurrences on the frequency of environmental conditions that occur across geographic space. The use of a kernel smoother makes the process of moving from geographical space to multivariate environmental space independent of both sampling effort and arbitrary choice of resolution in environmental space. However, the use of ordination and species distribution model techniques for selecting, combining and weighting variables on which niche overlap is calculated provide contrasting results.¦5. Main conclusions - The framework meets the increasing need for robust methods to quantify niche differences. It is appropriate to study niche differences between species, subspecies or intraspecific lineages that differ in their geographical distributions. Alternatively, it can be used to measure the degree to which the environmental niche of a species or intraspecific lineage has changed over time.

A measure of rationality and welfare

There is evidence showing that individual behavior often deviates fromthe classical principle of maximization. This evidence raises at least two importantquestions: (i) how severe the deviations are and (ii) which method is the best forextracting relevant information from choice behavior for the purposes of welfare analysis.In this paper we address these two questions by identifying from a foundationalanalysis a new measure of the rationality of individuals that enables the analysis ofindividual welfare in potentially inconsistent subjects, all based on standard revealedpreference data. We call such measure minimal index.

A note on robust detection

We introduce a simple new hypothesis testing procedure, which,based on an independent sample drawn from a certain density, detects which of $k$ nominal densities is the true density is closest to, under the total variation (L_{1}) distance. Weobtain a density-free uniform exponential bound for the probability of false detection.

Labour market in the Catalan cotton textile sector: Employment and fertility (1850-1913)

This paper deals whit the dynamics of the Catalan textile labour market (theSpanish region that concentrated most of the industrial and factory activity duringthe 19 Century) and offers hypotheses and results on the impact it had on livingstandards and fertility levels. We observe the formation of an uneven labourmarket in which male supply for labour (excluding women and children) grewmuch faster than the demand. We stress the fact that labour supply is verydependant on institutional factors liked to the transmition of household propertybetween generations. Instead the slow path of growth of adult males demand forlabour is witnessing the limits of this industry to expand and to compete ininternational markets. The strategy of working class families to adapt to scarceopportunities of employment we document here is the diminution of legitimatefertility levels. Fertility control is the direct instrument we think workers have tocontrol their number in a situation that was likely to create labour surpluses in theshort and mid run.

Atitudes de crianças em relação aos grupos nacionais

No presente estudo vamos analisar o desenvolvimento do favoritismo endogrupal e do “derogation” (desvalorização) exogrupal em relação a grupos nacionais (portugueses como endogrupo e cabo-verdianos, brasileiros e chineses como exogrupos) em crianças portuguesas com idades compreendidas entre os 6 e os 10 anos (60 participantes com 6/7 anos e 60 participantes com 9/10 anos). O primeiro objectivo desta investigação consistiu em examinar se o favoritismo endogrupal e o “derogation” exogrupal variam em função de grupos etários. Partimos da ideia de que os grupos etários evidenciariam preferência endogrupal. Já em relação à negatividade exogrupal era esperado que fosse menos evidente. O segundo objectivo deste estudo foi examinar se o favoritismo endogrupal e o “derogation” exogrupal seriam relativamente independentes, ou se estariam reciprocamente relacionados, de modo que percepções positivas do endogrupo nacional estivessem associadas com percepções negativas dos exogrupos nacionais (em particular, cabo-verdianos, brasileiros e chineses). Os resultados confirmaram as hipóteses, assim em ambos os grupos etários as crianças evidenciaram preferência endogrupal, a negatividade do exogrupo, foi apenas menos evidente para o exogrupo brasileiros e não para os restantes (cabo-verdianos e chineses). Relativamente à relação entre a preferência pelo endogrupo e a negatividade do exogrupo verificou-se que estas são relativamente independentes. Assim verificou-se que o favoritismo endogrupal não está relacionado com a desvalorização exogrupal, ou seja, percepções positivas do endogrupo não estão relacionadas com percepções negativas dos exogrupos.

A influência do e-learning no capital humano

Na Europa e nas últimas décadas do Século XX, a emergência da Sociedade de Informação veio impor às organizações a necessidade de que, para além das inovações tecnológicas, haja uma preocupação relativamente aos bens intangíveis como a informação, as novas metodologias de trabalho e o know how (Batista, 2002). Paralelamente a estas inovações, as Instituições de Ensino Superior têm contribuído para a evolução do Capital Humano, como ativo intangível intrínseco ao Homem. Em Portugal e no contexto do Ensino/Formação a Distância parecem continuar a existir, ainda, em algumas instituições, problemas de identificação, e de descriminação das vantagens no que concerne à estrutura aberta e flexível, com o estudante/formando a ter algumas dificuldades em adaptar o seu perfil e interesses profissionais ao tipo de aprendizagem que mais se lhe adequa. O e-learning surge como um método de Ensino/Formação a Distância, só possível com a especificidade dos processos pedagógicos e em complementaridade com as Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), uma vez que são estas que lhe dão o suporte necessário à sua concretização. O e-learning ao proporcionar novas formas de comunicação, de interação e de confronto de ideias, permite uma aprendizagem baseada na partilha de saberes, tendo em consideração as experiências e os objetivos profissionais dos formandos. Dentro destes pressupostos, achámos importante fazer uma investigação a partir de Instituições de Ensino Superior Portuguesas, de modo a percebermos qual o papel e a influência que o e-learning desempenha nos objetivos das organizações académicas em geral e no Capital Humano dos seus Estudantes/Formandos em particular. A partir da questão da investigação foram definidos os objetivos e hipóteses de investigação de modo a que ao ser enunciada uma metodologia esta englobe fatores que foquem os elementos necessários à confirmação, ou não, dos pressupostos enunciados. Foi analisada documentação diversa, criado um questionário e conduzidas entrevistas, de modo a obter e potenciar a informação necessária e suficiente para o efeito. A recolha de dados para posterior análise e os resultados depois de interpretados, permitirão responder aos propósitos expressos desde o início da investigação.

When Preference Is Not Satisfied but the Individual Is: How Power Distance Affects Person-Job Fit

One aspect of person-job fit reflects congruence between personal preferences and job design; as congruence increases so should satisfaction. We hypothesized that power distance would moderate whether fit is related to satisfaction with degree of job formalization. We obtained measures of job-formalization, fit and satisfaction, as well as organizational commitment from employees (n = 772) in a multinational firm with subsidiaries in six countries. Confirming previous findings, individuals from low power-distance cultures were most satisfied with increasing fit. However, the extent to which individuals from high power-distance cultures were satisfied did not necessarily depend on increasing fit, but mostly on whether the degree of formalization received was congruent to cultural norms. Irrespective of culture, satisfaction with formalization predicted a broad measure of organizational commitment. Apart from our novel extension of fit theory, we show how moderation can be tested in the context of polynomial response surface regression and how specific hypotheses can be tested regarding different points on the response surface.