Lean construction and sustainability - complementary paradigms - a case study

Proceedings IGLC-19, July 2011, Lima, Perú

BIM-lean synergies in the management on MEP works in public facilities of intensive use – a case study

21st Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction – IGLC 21 – Fortaleza, Brazil

Can the complex mixture of sediment contaminants cause endocrine disruption on a benthic fish? A case study with Solea senegalensis

Pollution in coastal ecosystems is a serious threat to the biota and human populations there residing. Anthropogenic activities in these ecosystems are the main cause of contamination by endocrine disruption compounds (EDCs), which can interfere with hormonal regulation and cause adverse effects to growth, stress response and reproduction. Although the chemical nature of many EDCs is unknown, it is believed that most are organic contaminants. Under an environmental risk assessment for a contaminated estuary (the Sado, SW Portugal), the present work intended to detect endocrine disruption in a flatsfish, Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858, and its potential relationship to organic toxicants. Animals were collected from two areas in the estuary with distinct influences (industrial and rural) and from an external reference area. To evaluate endocrine disruption, hepatic vitellogenin (VTG) concentrations in males and gonad histology were analysed. As biomarkers of exposure to organic contaminants, cytochrome P450 (CYP1A) induction and the ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity were determined. The results were contrasted to sediment contamination levels, which are overall considered low, although the area presents a complex mixture of toxicants. Either males or females were found sexually immature and showed no significant evidence of degenerative pathologies. However, hepatic VTG concentrations in males from the industrial area in estuary were superior than those from the Reference, even reaching levels comparable to those in females, which may indicate an oestrogenic effect resulting from the complex contaminant mixture. These individuals also presented higher levels of CYP1A induction and EROD activity, which is consistent with contamination by organic substances. The combination of the results suggest that the exposure of flatfish to an environment contaminated by mixed toxicants, even at low levels, may cause endocrine disruption, therefore affecting populations, which implies the need for further research in identification of potential EDCs, their sources and risks at ecosystem scale.

Fluvial system restoration – case study: river Tua

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente, Perfil de Engenharia de Sistemas Ambientais

Adjusting to external imbalances within the EMU, the case of Portugal

From 1995 to 2010 Portugal has accumulated a negative international asset position of 110 percent of GDP. In a developed and aging economy the number is astonishing and any argument to consider it sustainable must rely on extremely favorable forecasts on growth. Portuguese policy options are reduced in number: no autonomous monetary policy, no currency to devaluate, and limited discretion in changing fiscal deficits and government debt. To start the necessary deleveraging a remaining possible policy is a budget-neutral change of the tax structure that increases private saving and net exports. An increase in the VAT and a decrease in the employer’s social security contribution tax can achieve the desired outcome in the short run if they are complemented with wage moderation. To obtain a substantial improvement in competitiveness and a large decrease in consumption, the changes in the tax rates have to be large. While a precise quantitative assessment is difficult, the initial increase in the effective VAT rate needed to allow the social security tax to decrease by 16 percentage points (pp) is approximately 10 pp. Such a large increase in the effective VAT rate could be obtained by raising most of the reduced VAT rates to the new general VAT rate of 23 percent. The empirical analysis shows that over time the suggested tax swap could generate surpluses and improve the trade balance. A temporary version of the suggested tax-swap has the attractiveness to achieve a sharper increase in the private saving rate maintaining the short run gains in competitiveness. Finally, the temporary version of the fiscal devaluation could be the basis for an automatic stabilizer to external imbalances within a monetary union.Portugal has been running large current account deficits every year since 1995. These deficits have accumulated to an astonishing 110 percent of GDP negative external asset position. The sustainability of such a large external position is questionable and must rely on fantastic productivity growth expectations. The recent global financial crisis appears to have anticipated the international investors reality check on those future expectations with the result of a large increase in the cost of external financing. Today the rebalancing of the current account through an increase in national savings and an improvement in competitiveness must be at the top of the Portuguese authorities “to do” list as the cost of a pull out from international investors is of the order of 10% of GDP. The external rebalancing is difficult as the degrees of freedom of the Portuguese authorities are limited in number: they have no autonomous monetary policy, no currency to devaluate, and little discretion in fiscal policy as deficit limits and debt targets are set by the Stability Growth Pact and the postcrisis consensus on medium-term fiscal consolidation. One possibility that remains is to change the fiscal policy mix for a given budget deficit. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of a “fiscal devaluation”1 obtained through a tax swap between employers’ social security contributions and taxes on consumption2. The paper begins by illustrating Portugal’s current account evolution during the euro period. The second section section lays out a model to offer a qualitative assessment of the dynamic outcomes of the the tax swap. I show that the suggested tax swap can in theory achieve the desired outcomes in terms of competitiveness and consumption if complemented with moderation (stickiness) in wages. I also study the effects of a temporary version of the tax swap and show that it achieves a sharper improvement in the current account that accelerate the rebalancing. The third section moves to the empirical analysis and estimates the likely effects of the tax swap for the Portuguese economy. The fourth section concludes.

Safe reuse of treated urban wastewater in Praia, Cape Verde: a case study

Dissertação para a obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia e Gestão da Água

Policies to improve the lives of Slum Dwellers – from international agreements to local contexts. The Brazilian case-study

Last decades economic development induced massive international and regional migration flows directed to the urban spaces. The magnitude and swiftness of these processes determined that several cities’ authorities would fail to respond to the increasing demands of many social services. The right to an “adequate housing” emerged as a political concern, leading governments and institutions to develop housing programmes directed to improve the lives of slum dwellers. This paper presents a diachronic evolution of these specific housing policies in the paradigmatic case-study of Brazil, critically analysing the evolving roles played by the multiple levels of decision (from international institutions to local communities) in the development and implementation of such measures.

The Edges of Areal Units: a case study in the heterogeneous effects of assessment district edges

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies

Analysis of urban land use and land cover changes: a case of study in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies

Improvisation in tightly controlled work environments: The case of medical practice

We present a qualitative analysis of organizational improvisation and provide a preliminary insight into the following question: how is improvisation present in tightly controlled work environments? We conducted in situ observations of, and interviews with, several emergency medical teams and complemented this information with statistical and media data. Using grounded theory, we developed four propositions that were arranged into a model that allowed the identification of two use levels of established routines: (1) the visible side that accommodates contextual requirements, and (2) the improvisational side that provides a response to activity characteristics. This dual process is related to the existence of pressures that operate at the institutional level with practical needs emerging from the operational domain. In contrast with most of the literature, this study reveals that the presence of a broad procedural organizational memory does not restrict improvisation but enables a bureaucratic system to produce flexible improvised performance.

Cost efficiency in the Portuguese water sector: The case of multimunicipal systems operating at the bulk level

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

Bond fund runs: The financial crisis case

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

How reporting and controlling systems can be effectively designed to support the decision-making process: The case of a Software SME

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

The crisis and the firm: The case of h3

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

The Internationalization of a Portuguese small and medium enterprise: The case of Vale da Rosa

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