Towards e-learning 2.0: case study of an e-learning environment

In these days the learning experience is no longer confined within the four walls of a classroom. Computers and primarily the internet have broadened this horizon by creating a way of delivering education that is known as e-learning. In the meantime, the internet, or more precisely, the Web is heading towards a new paradigm where the user is no longer just a consumer of information and becomes an active part in the communication. This two-way channel where the user takes the role of the producer of content triggered the appearance of new types of services such as Social Networks, Blogs and Wikis. To seize this second generation of communities and services, educational vendors are willing to develop e-learning systems focused on the new and emergent users needs. This paper describes the analysis and specification of an e-learning environment at our School (ESEIG) towards this new Web generation, called PEACE ��� Project for ESEIG Academic Environment. This new model relies on the integration of several services controlled by teachers and students such as social networks, repositories libraries, e-portfolios and e-conference sytems, intelligent tutors, recommendation systems, automatic evaluators, virtual classrooms and 3D avatars.

A MAP approach to evidence accumulation clustering

The Evidence Accumulation Clustering (EAC) paradigm is a clustering ensemble method which derives a consensus partition from a collection of base clusterings obtained using different algorithms. It collects from the partitions in the ensemble a set of pairwise observations about the co-occurrence of objects in a same cluster and it uses these co-occurrence statistics to derive a similarity matrix, referred to as co-association matrix. The Probabilistic Evidence Accumulation for Clustering Ensembles (PEACE) algorithm is a principled approach for the extraction of a consensus clustering from the observations encoded in the co-association matrix based on a probabilistic model for the co-association matrix parameterized by the unknown assignments of objects to clusters. In this paper we extend the PEACE algorithm by deriving a consensus solution according to a MAP approach with Dirichlet priors defined for the unknown probabilistic cluster assignments. In particular, we study the positive regularization effect of Dirichlet priors on the final consensus solution with both synthetic and real benchmark data.

O alisamento dos resultados numa empresa: o caso do Grupo SONANGOL

Disserta����o de Mestrado apresentada ao Instituto de Contabilidade e Administra����o do Porto para a obten����o do grau de Mestre em Contabilidade e Finan��as sob orienta����o de Professor Doutor Adalmiro Alvaro Malheiro de Castro Andrade Pereira

Cystoscopy in the diagnosis and follow-up of urinary schistosomiasis in Brazilian soldiers returning from Mozambique, Africa

The assessment of urinary schistosomiasis in individuals coming from endemic areas often requires diagnostic resources not used in areas of exposure in order to determine complications or to establish more precise criteria of cure. Cystoscopy and 24-hour urine examination were performed, after treatments with praziquantel 40 mg/kg body weight, single dose, on 25 Brazilian military men who were part of a United Nations peace mission to Mozambique in 1994. The median age of the individuals was 29 years and all presented a positive urine parasitological exam. The alterations detected by cystoscopy were hyperemia and granulomas in the vesical submucosa in 59.1% of the individuals and only granulomas in 40.9%. A vesical biopsy revealed granulomas in all patients and viable eggs in 77.3% even after a period during which the patients no longer excreted eggs in urine. Cystoscopy after treatment, followed by biopsy and histopathological evaluation, performed in areas where the evolution of the disease can be better monitored, was found to be a safe criterion of parasitological cure.

Les Boeufs de Paix. Douglas H. Johnson et la violence Nuer (Soudan)

This article seeks to restore (anthropologically speaking) the warrior status of the Nuer during the colonial period. It challenges the negative conclusions of Douglas H. Johnson about the cultural dimension of fighting. In 1839, when the Nuer sacrificed an ox before a fleet from the North, the Egyptians thought it was an act of aggression and shot at them. But did this mistake inaugurate a series of misunderstandings on the offensive provision of this people? If that is Johnson's assertion, a return to the sources allows an alternative interpretation. The article puts in symmetry this episode and another, ninety years later, which also involved an "ox peace". The British killed this animal in 1929 during the repression of the Nuer prophetic movement. But if Johnson seeks to contradict the importance of the prophets as leaders of revolt, this article points out that their pacifism was embedded in the ideology of war.

Clinical and laboratorial evaluation of urinary schistosomiasis in Brazilians after staying in Mozambique

We examined 87 Brazilian individuals of a group of 132 that, on July and November 1994, participated in a peace mission in Mozambique. They served in an endemic area for haematobic schistosomiasis, where they swum in Licungo river during leisure time. Their arithmetic mean age was 31 year and all of them were male. Their urine test showed that 30 (34.5%) eliminated S. haematobium eggs and 55 (63.2%) presented positive serology by the enzime-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot test with purified microsomal antigen of S. haematobium adult worms. Eosinophilia was found in 30 (34.5%), haematuria in 26 (29.9%), dysuria in 32 (36.8%) and lombar pain in 36 (41.4%). All of those that eliminated eggs through urine had positive serology. Among the 25 patients with positive serology and without S. haematobium eggs in the urine test, 13 were symptomatic and 12 assymptomatic. The treatment with praziquantel for the 30 patients, with urine positive to S. haematobium eggs, presented 70% of parasitological cure.

O emprego de uma for��a de seguran��a de natureza militar nas miss��es de paz

The conflicts currently taking place around the world demand that the international intervention fits the intensity and extent of the threat. This is particularly important in post-conflict scenarios, leading to a greater participation of the Security Forces in those scenarios, in order to foster lasting peace, enforce the order and improve law enforcement services in those regions. The transition from armed conflict to peacekeeping may entail high risk situations and greater instability periods, so-called ���intermediate situations���. Accordingly, in the face of persisting high volatility, a robust response is still required post-conflict. Therefore, it is appropriate to deploy Security Forces with military nature and status, the gendarmeries, which have training and response capabilities similar to Armed Forces in peacekeeping operations. Their double facet as police and military forces enables them to perform police duties in high risk and unsafe environments. In light of these features, the Portuguese gendarmerie, Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR), is able to carry out tasks in these scenarios, which it has been doing through individual operatives or larger units. This dissertation focuses on the use of Security Forces of military nature in peacekeeping missions, in particular the Portuguese GNR, relying mostly on the inductive approach and using literature research, document analysis, interviews and statistics. After a brief description of international peacekeeping missions, we describe the contribution of Security Forces of a military nature in such operations. Then we introduce and analyse the GNR, focusing on its deployment in different kinds of peacekeeping operations, from its first participation in 1995 until today. We also report some reactions to the performance of GNR. Finally, we discuss whether there is indeed a unique role for this type of forces in international peacekeeping missions.

O espa��o das informa����es no combate ao terrorismo

The management of terrorism presents an added importance because of the ignorance and uncertainty that this threat to peace launches in societies. From the globalization process has resulted a capacity of mobility and communication which allowed the spread of terrorism globally and hence the ability to be in the international agenda. Thus it became necessary a synergy between the main international organizations and states, in the common interest of managing terrorism to acceptable levels. This thesis aims to assess how much space is reserved for intelligence on combating terrorism. To this end, it carried out a literature review related to intelligence, security and terrorism, such as legislation and official documents, national and international. These allowed realize the strategies for combating terrorism of major international organizations and the Portuguese, the institutions that are in charge of fighting terrorism and related crimes, highlighting the intelligence institutions within the European Union and Portugal. Intelligence should enter on this panel by the need to meet the threat and its contours. On the one hand lies to understand the framework which establishes terrorism, tracing relevant scenarios to reduce uncertainty in decision-making and, on the other hand, also be responsible for disseminating information to other stakeholders on security, allowing its commands to use the means efficiently.

As for��as de tipo gendarmerie e as opera����es/miss��es de gest��o de crises da Uni��o Europeia

The European Union has taken in recent years an increasingly important role in ensuring peace and stability in the international community, and the security and defence policy of the Union has become synonymous with crisis management. The Union has addressed the issue of crisis management through two sources: the military side and the civilian side, which consists in carrying out numerous crisis management operations and missions. This study discusses the role of the European Union in conducting crisis management operations and missions and how the gendarmerie forces contribute to the success of the same. It will discuss the evolution of the European Union's security policy and the concept of crisis management, and seek to demonstrate the added value of the commitment of gendarmerie forces in operations and missions of crisis management, particularly with regard to employment of the European Gendarmerie Force. On the other hand, it will study the planning process for crisis management of the European Union, featuring the entities and agencies involved in it, and presenting the products that result from this same process. The use of Gendarmerie forces in crisis management operations and missions has significant advantages. Its use is recommended to post - conflict scenarios, in complementarity with the armed forces, in order to overcome the "security gap" that mediates the transition from the state of conflict for the period of peace and reconstruction. Gendarmerie forces can also be engaged both in military crisis management operations and civilian crisis management missions.

Sistema de seguran��a interna : a unifica����o do sistema em Portugal

A acelera����o do ritmo de mudan��a verificado nas sociedades atuais, tem sido impulsionado pela globaliza����o, fen��meno decorrente da evolu����o das tecnologias da informa����o, das telecomunica����es, das comunica����es e transportes e do desaparecimento de fronteiras. Viver na ���aldeia global��� ou �� escala global como o previu Marshall McLuhan (1964) no livro Understanding Media, �� hoje uma realidade inquestion��vel. As consequ��ncias desta transforma����o foram m��ltiplas quer do ponto de vista dos benef��cios, quer do ponto de vista dos problemas gerados. No plano da seguran��a, face ao multiculturalismo envolvido e ao aumento crescente do crime transfronteiri��o, tornou-se essencial a partilha de informa����o a n��vel internacional tendo em vista o seu combate n��o s�� olhando a situa����o dos cidad��os como a defesa dos princ��pios democr��ticos. Real��a-se que os progressos tecnol��gicos e as facilidades que criam aos seus utilizadores, neste caso os criminosos, fazem com que as a����es por estes praticadas sejam cada vez mais meticulosas, imprevis��veis, sofisticadas e complexas o que imp��e uma resposta correspondente e adequada. Por essa raz��o, as pol��ticas de seguran��a existentes mostraram-se insuficientes e esgotadas requerendo novas respostas capazes de produzir os efeitos desej��veis para uma efetiva preven����o da criminalidade. Pelas dimens��es que tem vindo a tomar, a criminalidade tornou-se uma preocupa����o que ultrapassou o dom��nio da seguran��a interna de cada pa��s para ser encarada a n��vel internacional ou mesmo mundial. Para o efeito urge concertar processos e procedimentos securit��rios agregando vontades que convirjam e defendam a unifica����o dos sistemas dos pa��ses a n��vel mundial. A verificar-se tal intento, da�� resultariam significativas melhorias da seguran��a a todos os n��veis (nacional, internacional e mundial). Al��m disso tamb��m resultariam ganhos em termos de tempo, redu����o de custos, impacto na qualidade dos servi��os prestados, na gest��o das pessoas e na efici��ncia das organiza����es. Real��a-se que a democracia ao promover a dignidade do homem densificando os seus direitos, liberdades e garantias, criou indiretamente condi����es para que fosse gerada instabilidade e o desenvolvimento de comportamentos criminosos. Importa, portanto, face �� situa����o existente e �� previs��vel complexidade do crime no futuro, estudar profundamente a nova realidade neste dom��nio, para tomar as medidas preventivas tendentes a reporem a estabilidade e a promoverem a paz social. Foi neste contexto que a presente investiga����o, desenvolvida no ��mbito acad��mico, mas tamb��m suportado na realidade profissional, pretendeu refletir sobre o estado da seguran��a global e dar o seu contributo nesta mat��ria.

Continuidade e mudan��a. O sistema internacional no post���Guerra Fria

O fim da Guerra Fria �� um caso in��dito de mudan��a pac��fica da estrutura internacional, em que os Estados Unidos e a Uni��o Sovi��tica transcendem a divis��o bipolar para decidir os termos da paz no quadro das institui����es que definem o modelo de ordenamento multilateral, consolidando a sua legitimidade. Nesse contexto, ao contr��rio dos casos precedentes de reconstru����o internacional no fim de uma guerra hegem��nica, o novo sistema do post-Guerra Fria, caracterizado pela unipolaridade, pela regionaliza����o e pela homogeneiza����o, forma-se num quadro de continuidade institucional. A ordem pol��tica do post-Guerra Fria �� um sistema misto em que as tens��es entre a hierarquia unipolar e a anarquia multipolar, a integra����o global e a fragmenta����o regional e a homogeneidade e a heterogeneidade pol��tica, ideol��gica e cultural condicionam as estrat��gias das pot��ncias. As crises internacionais v��o p��r �� prova a estabilidade da nova ordem e a sua capacidade para garantir mudan��as pac��ficas. A primeira d��cada do post-Guerra Fria mostra a preponder��ncia dos Estados Unidos e a sua confian��a crescente, patente nas Guerras do Golfo P��rsico e dos Balc��s, bem como na crise dos Estreitos da Formosa. A reac����o aos atentados do "11 de Setembro" revela uma tenta����o imperial da pot��ncia unipolar, nomeadamente com a invas��o do Iraque, que provoca uma crise profunda da comunidade de seguran��a ocidental. A vulnerabilidade do centro da ordem internacional �� confirmada pela crise constitucional europeia e pela crise financeira global. Essas crises n��o alteram a estrutura de poder mas aceleram a eros��o da ordem multilateral e criam um novo quadro de possibilidades para a evolu����o internacional, que inclui uma escalada dos conflitos num quadro de multipolaridade regional, uma nova polariza����o entre as pot��ncias democr��ticas conservadoras e uma coliga����o revisionista autorit��ria, bem como a restaura����o de um concerto entre as principais pot��ncias internacionais.

Portugal no conselho de seguran��a das Na����es Unidas

The United Nations is an international organization that was created after World War II, whose main objective is to promote cooperation, social and economic development, as well as to ensure international peace and security. The Member States are key actors in the international political system. For that reason they have strategic interests in what regards taking part in the international organizations. They see it as an opportunity to achieve those goals. The United Nations Security Council has a very important role in preserving international peace and security. It is the organ of the United Nations in which fifteen member states are represented: five permanently and ten non-permanently, being that the latter are elected for two years. Participating in the Security Council is a unique opportunity for middle powers like Portugal to promote their national interests and to increase their international visibility. In addition, they can contribute to the world���s destiny during their mandate period. Portugal has exercised his third term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 2011-2012 biennium, defeating Canada after a successful campaign carried out by the Portuguese diplomacy. This study analyses the participation of Portugal in the Security Council��s 2011-2012 biennium. It will focus the application process and election and the role of Portugal in the Security Council, especially in its the presidency and its intervention in the presidency of the Sanctions Committee on Libya. Its aim is to show the impact of Portuguese participation in the Security Council for international peace and security, as well as the geopolitical importance for the country of being part of the Security Council.

Aplica����o da teoria das op����es reais em an��lise de projetos estrat��gicos: um estudo de caso sobre o valor da op����o de prosseguir com os investimentos no programa de desenvolvimento de submarinos da Marinha do Brasil

Disserta����o de mestrado em Estudos de Gest��o

Educa����o para a sustentabilidade: O uso de Sistemas de Informa����o Geogr��fica Participativos como instrumento de participa����o de crian��as e adolescentes na constru����o de sociedades mais sustent��veis

Tese de Doutoramento em Ci��ncias da Educa����o (��rea de Conhecimento: Educa����o ambiental e para a Sustentabilidade)

Literatura russa em Portugal: das vias de difus��o aos sentidos de rece����o: o caso de Le��o Tolst��i

Tese de Doutoramento em Ci��ncias da Literatura (��rea de especializa����o em Literatura Comparada).