The Portuguese Version of the Placental Paradigm Questionnaire at the Third Trimester of Pregnancy

The purpose of this article is to present the adaptation and factorial validation of the Placental Paradigm Questionnaire (PPQ) for the Portuguese population. Method: The original PPQ was translated into Portuguese (designated as ‘Questionário do Paradigma Placentário’, QPP) and then back-translated into English; the Portuguese and the back-translated versions were evaluated by a panel of experts. The participants were 189 pregnant Portuguese women, interviewed twice while waiting for sonogram examinations. At first, between 20 and 24 weeks of gestation, an Informed Consent was obtained as well as sociodemographic information. Between 28 and 36 weeks of gestation, participants answered the QPP. Results: The principal components analysis showed items to load mainly on two factors: in factor one, loads ranged between .778 and .522, while in factor 2, loads ranged between .658 and .421. Accordingly, two subscales of prenatal maternal orientation to motherhood were considered: (1) Facilitator Factor (α = .815) and Regulator Factor (α = .770). Conclusion: Overall, these data suggest that the Portuguese version of the QPP is a reliable and valid measure for the assessment of prenatal orientation for motherhood. In the future, QPP measurements will allow to relate maternal orientation to motherhood with other variables of psychic organisation in pregnancy and after birth.

Bike and cycle polo's terminology translation issues from a cognitive linguistics perspective

The purpose of this dissertation is to give a contribution to the translation of the terminology of Cycle and Bike Polo into European Portuguese and hence call the attention of a wide Portuguese public to this fairly new sport, whose roots go back to Elephant and Horse Polo in India and in other parts of the world. Sequencing a characterization of technical translation, translation issues of Bike and Cycle Polo´s terminological units have been dealt with in the light of the Cognitive Linguistics framework and hence intimately associated both with physical experiences and historical facts. In fact, sports terminology coinage in this field is highly motivated by metaphorical and metonymical conceptualization mapped from physical reality dimensions, as well as from already existing sports terminology from other sports modalities. In order to render this research unique, a glossary of technical terms from Bike and Cycle Polo has been gathered, since most of them had not yet undergone translation from English into European Portuguese. For validation of my translations I have resorted to Portuguese bike polo players, with special reference to Catarina Almeida, who introduced me to Bike Polo’s terminology.

The Impact of Spain’s Economic and Political Crisis on the European Elections. EPIN Commentaries No. 17, 2 April 2014

Despite the emergence of a critical debate against the EU-imposed austerity measures both at the level of the political elites and on the street, this EPIN Commentary by two Spanish political scientists based in Barcelona finds no sign that the upcoming European elections will have a more European focus than any of the previous ones. While there is no anti-European discourse among the Spanish mainstream political parties, they report that public trust in the European institutions is plummeting and Spanish turnout in European elections has been dropping in the last few years. In the authors’ view, the main reason for this is the low level of awareness of the functioning of the European Parliament but some responsibility also lies with the Spanish political parties and the way they deal with the electoral campaign to mobilise the discontented voters, who consider unemployment and the economic situation as the two most important issues that the country is facing at the moment.

The Penetration of Financial Instability in Agricultural Credit and Leveraging. Factor Markets Working Paper No. 2, September 2011

This paper describes the aggregate rural capital markets of the EU and the main differences between the markets of its member countries. The results of our study suggest that the agricultural credit markets are still quite segmented and the segments are country- rather than currency- or region specific. Financial instability in Europe is also penetrating the agricultural sector and the variation of interest rates for agricultural credit is increasing across countries. Perhaps the most dramatic signal of growing financial instability is that the financial leverage (gearing rate) of European farms rose in 2008 by almost 4 percentage points, from 14 to 18%. The 4 percentage-point annual rise was twice the 2 percentage-point rise observed during the economic recession in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The distribution of the financial leverage of agriculture across countries does not, however, reflect the distribution of country-specific risk premiums in the manner that they are observed in government bond yields. Therefore, in those countries that have the weakest financial situation in the public sector and in which the bond markets are encumbered with high country-specific risk premiums, the agricultural sector is not directly exposed to a very large risk of increasing interest rates, since it is not so highly leveraged. For example in Greek and Spanish agriculture, the financial leverage (gearing) rate is only 0.6% and 2.2% respectively, while the highest gearing rates are found elsewhere (in Denmark), reaching 50%.

Eurozone Crisis and Social Models: What We Can Learn from Italy and Spain. CES Papers - Open Forum #20, 2013-2014

This paper considers the role of social model features in the economic performance of Italy and Spain during the run-up to the Eurozone crisis, as well as the consequences of that crisis, in turn, for the two countries social models. It takes issue with the prevailing view - what I refer to as the “competitiveness thesis” - which attributes the debtor status of the two countries to a lack of competitive capacity rooted in social model features. This competitiveness thesis has been key in justifying the “liberalization plus austerity” measures that European institutions have demanded in return for financial support for Italy and Spain at critical points during the crisis. The paper challenges this prevailing wisdom. First, it reviews the characteristics of the Italian and Spanish social models and their evolution in the period prior to the crisis, revealing a far more complex, dynamic and differentiated picture than is given in the political economy literature. Second, the paper considers various ways in which social model characteristics are said to have contributed to the Eurozone crisis, finding such explanations wanting. Italy and Spain ́s debtor status was primarily the result of much broader dynamics in the Euro- zone, including capital flows from richer to poorer countries that affected economic demand, with social model features playing, at most, an ancillary role. More aggressive reforms responding to EU demands in Spain may have increased the long term social and economic costs of the crisis, whereas the political stalemate that slowed such reforms in Italy may have paradoxically mitigated these costs. The comparison of the two countries thus suggests that, in the absence of broader macro-institutional reform of the Eurozone, compliance with EU dictates may have had perverse effects.

Can the new refugee relocation system work? Perils in the Dublin logic and flawed reception conditions in the EU. CEPS Policy Brief No. 332, October 2015 Thursday, 1 October 2015

This Policy Brief argues that the newly adopted EU temporary relocation (quota) system constitutes a welcome yet timid step forward in addressing a number of central controversies of the current refugee debate in Europe. Two main challenges affect the effective operability of the new EU relocation model. First, EU member states’ asylum systems show profound (on-the-ground) weaknesses in reception conditions and judicial/administrative capacities. These prevent a fair and humane processing of asylum applications. EU states are not implementing the common standards enshrined in the EU reception conditions Directive 2013/33. Second, the new relocation system constitutes a move away from the much-criticised Dublin system, but it is still anchored to its premises. The Dublin system is driven by an unfair and unsustainable rule according to which the first EU state of entry is responsible for assessing asylum applications. It does not properly consider the personal, private and family circumstances or the preferences of asylum-seekers. Policy Recommendations In order to respond to these challenges, the Policy Brief offers the following policy recommendations: The EU should strengthen and better enforce member states’ reception capacities, abolish the current Dublin system rule of allocation of responsibility and expand the new relocation distribution criteria to include in the assessment (as far as possible) asylum-seekers’ preferences and personal/family links to EU member states. EU member countries should give priority to boosting their current and forward-looking administrative and judicial capacities to deal and welcome asylum applications. The EU should establish a permanent common European border and asylum service focused on ensuring the highest standards through stable operational support, institutional solidarity across all EU external borders and the practical implementation of new distribution relocation criteria.

Father, Mother, Child? Eight Trends in Family Life for Policymakers to Keep in Mind. Summary

The family is the first context for a child’s development, and the most important. This is where children begin to develop their own identities and first experience a sense of closeness, community and security. Family is a domain where learning takes place – for all generations. In their daily interactions, children, mothers and fathers learn from and with one another. They develop empathy and a sense of responsibility, and learn to deal with conflict. Values, beliefs and norms, passed on from parents to children, evolve in the course of everyday life. Thus parents exert an enormous influence on their children’s educational opportunities and overall life chances – as research in Germany and other countries has clearly shown.

Preferences and consumer habits related to bread in the centre of Portugal

Purpose – Bread is one of the most consumed foods in the world, and its main function is to provide nutrients and energy for the body. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to raise awareness about the consumption habits of bread and consumer preferences in the region of Viseu (centre of Portugal), assessing the extent to which the preferences and consumption habits differ based on individual variables. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted by means of a questionnaire by direct interviewing. The questionnaire included sections aimed at gathering information about demographics, consumption habits and preferences related to bread. The sample consisted of 500 consented respondents. Findings – The results showed significant differences between genders regarding the type of bread eaten: women consumed less wheat bread (52 per cent against 62 per cent; p 0.029) and less unsalted bread (0.3 per cent against 3 per cent; p 0.023), but more whole bread (25 per cent against 11 per cent; p 0.001) and more bread with cereal grains (23 per cent against 11 per cent; p 0.001), thus revealing a trend for a nutritionally more adequate choice. Accordingly, women valued more the composition of the bread when purchasing it (p 0.001). It was also observed a trend for a lower consumption of wheat bread among classes with more advanced studies (47 per cent on university graduates against 60 per cent on nongraduates; p 0.004). Originality/value – This work is innovative because it was the first time the preferences and consuming habits of a sample of Portuguese population regarding bread were accessed, altogether. The results hereby obtained may be of importance both to understand the nutritional importance of bread in the diet of the Portuguese and also for the industry and manufacturers to better correspond to the buying preferences.

Dificuldades de aprendizagem em alunos do 3º ano duma escola pública do Estado de Alagoas, Brasil : uma visão da psicoeducação.

Enquadramento: A par da não alfabetização e do abandono escolar, as taxas de insucesso no ensino fundamental no Brasil atingem indicadores preocupantes. A aprendizagem é um processo complexo e são múltiplos os fatores que contribuem tanto positivamente quanto negativamente na aprendizagem dos alunos e os seus efeitos irão refletir-se no futuro dos educandos. Se há crianças com distúrbios fisiopatológicos que prejudicam a sua aprendizagem, noutras, porém, as dificuldades surgem por influência da escola/professores e da relação destes com a família Objetivos: Identificar as áreas de dificuldades de aprendizagem na componente curricular de português e matemática; identificar as dificuldades nos domínios de aprendizagem de cada área e analisar a relação das variáveis sociodemográficas e escolares com as dificuldades de aprendizagem. Material e métodos: Estudo exploratório-descritivo, quantitativo e correlacional numa amostra de 178 alunos, do 3º ano, numa escola pública de Taquarana, Alagoas, Brasil. Utilizamos um questionário para a caraterização socio demográfica e escolar dos alunos e uma escala utilizada na escola para a avaliação formal da aprendizagem. Resultados: Os participantes são na maioria do sexo masculino (55,6%) com uma média de idades de 8,53 anos, distribuídos em 6 turmas (3 manhã e 3 tarde) em que a menor tem 25 alunos e a maior tem 35. Demoram em média 20 minutos na deslocação para a escola. Verificamos que 34,3% vivem com pais solteiros, separados divorciados ou viúvos. 31,5% dos alunos referem ter muito mau, ou mau ambiente familiar e há turmas onde isso é mais evidente. Os pais dos alunos em 37,1% não têm instrução e em 53,4% não ajudam nos estudos ou trabalhos de casa. Os alunos que já reprovaram são 26,4% e destes, 36,2% já reprovaram 3 ou mais vezes. As dificuldades de aprendizagem em língua portuguesa e matemática são maiores nos alunos mais velhos, do sexo masculino e que já reprovaram mais de uma vez. Um ambiente familiar mau/muito mau e a situação familiar dos pais a falta de instrução dos pais e o não ajudarem nas tarefas de casa contribui com as dificuldades. Na língua portuguesa há maior dificuldade no respeitar o momento de escuta e fala, na leitura e interpretação, produção textos e uso das regras ortográficas. Em matemática globalmente têm maiores dificuldades sobressaindo os parâmetros de identificação das operações nas situações-problemas e elaboração de tabelas e gráficos. Conclusões: Encontramos no nosso estudo alunos com grandes taxas de reprovações e com dificuldades evidentes tanto na língua portuguesa como em matemática. Constatamos que diversos são os fatores que contribuem para o aparecimento das dificuldades na aprendizagem de alguns alunos mas não podemos deixar de refletir sobre a influência da família. A destruturação familiar, mau ambiente e o fato de não terem instrução e não ajudarem os filhos nos estudos mostraram-se influenciadores no insucesso dos alunos PALAVRAS-CHAVE – Aprendizagem, Dificuldades de aprendizagem, Família, Educação.

The Impact of Relationship Conflict on subjective Family Firm Valuation

The present paper empirically investigates the impact of family relationship conflict on subjective firm valuation by family firm owner managers. Drawing on the emerging socioemotional wealth perspective of corporate ownership, we find a U-shaped relationship between relationship conflict inside the family firm and subjective family firm valuation. This finding suggests that negatively valenced emotions induced by the conflict, at low levels of conflict, lead to emotion congruent withdrawal behavior and hence lower valuation. With conflicts gaining in fervor and severity, owner-managers start endowing and pricing sunk costs related to the conflict. This finding suggests that emotions do indeed have spill-over effects on monetary value perceptions and that negatively valenced emotions induced by relationship conflict are not linearly appraised. Rather, to understand the impact of negative emotions on corporate ownership appraisal and attachment it is required to reconcile the emotion congruency with the prospect theory perspective.

How Do Second-Generation Immigrant Students Access Higher Education? The Importance of Vocational Routes to Higher Education in Switzerland, France, and Germany

We analyse the access to different institutional pathways to higher education for second-generation students, focusing on youths that hold a higher-education entrance certificate. The alternative vocational pathway appears to compensate to some degree, compared to the traditional academic one, for North-African and Southern-European youths in France, those from Turkey in Germany, and to a lesser degree those from Portugal, Turkey, Ex-Yugoslavia, Albania/Kosovo in Switzerland. This is not the case in Switzerland for Western-European, Italian, and Spanish youths who indeed access higher education via the academic pathway more often than Swiss youths. Using youth panel and survey data, multinomial models are applied to analyse these pathway choices.

How to write criterion-referenced tests for Spanish-English bilingual programs /

"The project reported herein was performed pursuant to a grant from the U.S. Office of Education, Department of Health, Education and Welfare."

Fourth International conference of American states. Message from the President of the United States transmitting a letter from the secretary of state inclosing a report, with accompanying papers, relative to the fourth International conference of American states, held at Buenos Aires from July 12 to August 30, 1910 ...

Henry White, chairman of the delegation.

Arne and the Christmas star : a story of Norway /

At home in his village, Arne and his family prayed for the return of the freighter Stjerne, which was fighting against storms at sea in order to get back to the village. It was Christmas season and the Stjerne was the Christmas ship this year. It's mission was to bring gifts to the village. But more important to Arne, his brother Gustave was first mate on that ship and he and his family prayed for his safe return. This is the story of how Arne does his part to help bring the Christmas ship back safely to port.

[Culinary ephemera : gelatin and tapioca].

Corporate contributors include: Genesee Pure Food Company; Jell-O-Co. Inc.