O combate ao branqueamento de capitais em Portugal

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao Instituto de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Auditoria, sob orientação de Mestre Gabriela Maria Azevedo Pinheiro

L'exigence de coopération dans les contrats internationaux de franchise

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

La régulation internationale du travail de 1998 à 2008 : un Eldorado normatif ou un désert interprétatif ?

Les principes et droits fondamentaux au travail, reconnus au sein de la communauté internationale depuis l'adoption de la Déclaration relative aux principes et droits fondamentaux au travail de 1998 par l'Organisation internationale du Travail (OIT), ont connu un succès inespéré dans la dernière décennie. Ils ont essaimé dans des instruments de régulation de diverses organisations internationales et d'acteurs clés de la société civile internationale. Il est maintenant possible de les trouver mentionnés dans des accords commerciaux de libre-échange entre États, ou dans les initiatives unilatérales des entreprises transnationales, comme les codes de conduite, et bilatérales, comme dans les accords-cadres passés avec les Fédérations syndicales internationales. Si ce phénomène d'appropriation  et de diffusion des principes et des droits fondamentaux au travail est louable, du moins en théorie, il soulève par ailleurs des problèmes systémiques au plan pratique. Les acteurs internationaux ont nettement privilégié des instruments de régulation non contraignants, dits de soft law, à côté des méthodes plus traditionnelles de réglementation du travail, comme celles découlant des obligations juridiques conventionnelles ou coutumières ayant pour destinataires les États souverains. Tant dans la forme que dans le fond, qu'elles soient d'origine publique ou privée, assorties ou non de mécanisme de suivi, les trajectoires normatives mises de l'avant par les acteurs internationaux embrassent souvent désormais une philosophie de la souplesse. Cette tendance conforte-t-elle le respect des droits des travailleurs sur le terrain ? En outre, la pluralité des mécanismes de contrôle ou de suivi, ainsi que la diversité des acteurs chargés d'appliquer les principes et droits fondamentaux au travail, concourent à la production d'interprétations parfois contradictoires entre elles. Laquelle aura préséance et qui en jugera dans un contexte décentralisé de mise en œuvre ? N'y a-t-il pas là un danger d'implosion du droit international du travail ? Dans ce contexte, l'adoption d'un nouvel instrument souple de régulation par l'OIT, la Déclaration de l'OIT sur la justice sociale pour une mondialisation équitable de 2008, peut-elle octroyer pour l'avenir à cette organisation internationale un certain leadership dans l'interprétation des principes et droits fondamentaux des travailleurs qui, pour lors, demeure le fait d'une pluralité d'acteurs internationaux comme nationaux ? 

La relación del Polo Democrático Alternativo y el movimiento cafetero de la última década

El propósito de este trabajo consistió en analizar las razones por las que un sector gobiernista, consentido en la vida nacional como el cafetero, se vuelve atractivo para la izquierda, y aparentemente, receptivo hacia sus tesis y organizaciones. La pregunta que se propuso investigar fue ¿Hasta qué punto el trabajo de los miembros del PDA ante el sector cafetero repercutió en apoyo político? Para dar con su respuesta se expuso la dinámica económica del café, las organizaciones e instituciones cafeteras y finalmente los vínculos con la política. Dando así como resultado un examen de la táctica del Polo Democrático Alternativo para ganar respaldo en el sector.

Panorama comparativo de las politicas de vivienda en: Argentina, Brasil, Chile y Colombia

This article presents a comparative analysis of housing policies in four Latin American countries with different political environments. The aim is to contrast and compare policies between the countries under study here and to place them in a more encompassing international framework of housing policies from around the globe.

Banco Central e a administração de crises bancárias

Crises bancárias podem implicar uma alta redistribuição de recursos em uma sociedade. O interesse público em manter os bancos em funcionamento demanda o desenho de regimes eficazes de resolução, pois a falência desordenada desses intermediários pode ser uma fonte de risco sistêmico. O Banco Central, autoridade responsável por zelar pela higidez do sistema financeiro, pode se valer de diversos instrumentos para reestruturar ou liquidar um banco em dificuldade financeira. De modo a prevenir a propagação do risco sistêmico, as regras jurídicas conferem ao Banco Central uma ampla margem de discricionariedade no julgamento de quais bancos merecem receber assistência financeira e na escolha dos métodos de resolução bancária. O caráter globalizado das finanças exige uma maior coordenação entre autoridades domésticas na resolução de bancos que operam em múltiplas jurisdições. Algumas iniciativas de órgãos internacionais no período pós-crise de 2007-2008 têm buscado instituir, em nível global, um marco normativo para gerenciamento de crises bancárias, através da harmonização de regimes domésticos de resolução. O histórico de crises do sistema financeiro brasileiro levou ao desenvolvimento de uma rede de proteção bancária em momentos anteriores à crise financeira global de 2007-2008. Assim, o sistema financeiro brasileiro apresentou bom funcionamento mesmo nas fases mais agudas. Não tendo experimentado uma crise sistêmica no período recente, o Brasil não está passando por reformas profundas na estrutura institucional do seu sistema financeiro, a exemplo de países como Estados Unidos e Reino Unido. No entanto, desafios impostos pela crescente globalização das finanças e peculiaridades locais motivam reformas e mudanças discretas nos padrões de governança da rede de proteção brasileira. Através da reconstituição da atuação do Banco Central em três momentos de crise no Brasil, o presente trabalho busca analisar criticamente a rede de proteção bancária brasileira e os mecanismos jurídicos de accountability da autoridade financeira no exercício da supervisão e administração de crises bancárias.

Estoque de carborno em solos sob plantios de eucalipto e fragmento em Cerrado

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Diversity and local democracy. The case of Republic of Macedonia - implications of ethnic diversity on municipal decision making and organizational performance

This research seeks to review the level of knowledge achieved in interpreting the relationship between the ethnic diversity at the workplace in the public sector and the organizational performance; as well as seeks to contribute in understanding the implications of this relationship. The study commenced with investigating the academic research in the relevant area addressing the following research questions: (a) How are diversity management and organizational performance conceptualized? (b) What are the existing findings of research concerning diversity at the workplace in the public organizations and organizational performance? (c) What factors intervene the relationship between the diversity and organizational performance? Based on the findings from the review of the academic research, this study seeks to contribute in understanding the ethnic diversity – performance relationship and its mplications at the local level in the Macedonian context. The reform process in Macedonia as a multicultural society, where for many years, inter-ethnic relations have been one of the most sensitive political issues, affecting both the stability of the country and the progress, focused mainly on the implementation of the decentralization and inclusion of ethnic minorities in the decision making process. With the implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement workforce at the units of local self-government in Republic of Macedonia is becoming more balanced with respect to ethnic minorities, with more workforce participation than ever by Albanians, Turks, Roma and other minorities. As public organizations at local level become more diverse along ethnic lines, it makes sense to pay more attention to how different ethnic groups interact with one another at work. Thus it gives additional importance on the research question addressed in the study and gives significance of the research in a broader scope.

Pratiche istituzionali di reclutamento di interpreti in ambito giuridico-giudiziario: Il caso del regno unito.

Il percorso del riconoscimento legislativo del diritto all’equo processo affonda le sue radici nel 1215, anno di promulgazione della Magna Charta Libertatum, e culmina, in ambito europeo, nel 1950, con la firma della Convenzione europea per la salvaguardia dei Diritti dell’Uomo e delle Libertà fondamentali (CEDU). In questo documento viene sancito che un prerequisito essenziale per garantire a tutti gli individui il diritto al fair trial è il servizio di assistenza linguistica gratuita, le cui specificità vengono descritte nella direttiva 2010/64/EU.Nel Regno Unito, già nei primi anni ’90 furono introdotte le prime misure per garantire la qualità e la competenza degli interpreti e dei traduttori in ambito giuridico-giudiziario: nel 1994 fu istituito il National Register for Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI), il registro nazionale a cui erano iscritti tutti gli interpreti per i servizi pubblici che erano in possesso di determinate qualifiche. Per assicurare che solo gli interpreti del NRPSI fossero impiegati in ambito penale, nel 1997 fu introdotto il National Agreement, un accordo non vincolante che regolava l’uso dei servizi linguisti nel Criminal Justice System. La prima versione fu modificata nel 2002 e nel 2007. In seguito ad alcune revisioni per conto del Ministero della Giustizia, nel 2010 fu avviato il processo di esternalizzazione dei servizi linguistici, che si concluse nel 2011 con la stipula del National Framework Agreement tra il Ministero della Giustizia e l’azienda Applied Language Solutions (ALS), che poco prima dell’avvio fu acquisita da un’azienda più grande, CAPITA TI. La scarsa esperienza del Ministero in questo settore, unita alle promesse poco realistiche e alla mancanza di trasparenza di ALS furono le cause principali dei numerosi problemi all’avvio del nuovo contratto che si ripercossero notevolmente sul funzionamento del sistema di giustizia. Dopo l’avvio di un piano di emergenza e un monitoraggio del Ministero, la situazione ha iniziato a ristabilirsi, senza raggiungere però i livelli pre-riforma. A Novembre 2015 è stata indetta la nuova gara di appalto: le minacce di nuovi tagli ai tariffari degli interpreti da una parte, e la partecipazione del NRPSI alla gara d’appalto come candidato al ruolo di ente supervisore della qualità dei servizi linguistici dall’altra, ci pongono di fronte a due scenari futuri molto diversi. L’elaborato è strutturato in quattro capitoli: il primo tratterà del percorso storico che ha portato al riconoscimento del diritto al processo equo, e degli strumenti comunitari a garanzia dell’assistenza linguistica gratuita. Nel secondo capitolo parleremo della situazione inglese, quindi la nascita del NRPSI e del National Agreement e le varie revisioni. Nel terzo prenderemo in esame la riforma del 2011 del Ministero della Giustizia britannico, analizzando diversi documenti: il rapporto della Commissione giustizia della Camera dei comuni 2013, quello del National Audit Office 2012, il sondaggio Involvis 2013, il rapporto indipendente OPTIMITY-MATRIX 2014.

Background and approach to a definition of smart buildings

There is no doubt that there is no possibility of finding a single reference about domotics in the first half of the 20th century. The best known authors and those who have documented this discipline, set its origin in the 1970’s, when the x-10 technology began to be used, but it was not until 1988 when Larousse Encyclopedia decided to include the definition of "Smart Building". Furthermore, even nowadays, there is not a single definition widely accepted, and for that reason, many other expressions, namely "Intelligent Buildings" "Domotics" "Digital Home" or "Home Automation" have appeared to describe the automated buildings and homes. The lack of a clear definition for "Smart Buildings" causes difficulty not only in the development of a common international framework to develop research in this field, but it also causes insecurity in the potential user of these buildings. That is to say, the user does not know what is offered by this kind of buildings, hindering the dissemination of the culture of building automation in society. Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to propose a definition of the expression “Smart Buildings” that satisfactorily describes the meaning of this discipline. To achieve this aim, a thorough review of the origin of the term itself and the historical background before the emergence of the phenomenon of domotics was conducted, followed by a critical discussion of existing definitions of the term "Smart Buildings" and other similar terms. The extent of each definition has been analyzed, inaccuracies have been discarded and commonalities have been compared. Throughout the discussion, definitions that bring the term "Smart Buildings" near to disciplines such as computer science, robotics and also telecommunications have been found. However, there are also many other definitions that emphasize in a more abstract way the role of these new buildings in the society and the future of mankind.

THE DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF SILOXANE PRECURSORS FOR CHIRAL PERIODIC MESOPOROUS ORGANOSILICA MATERIALS

The development of cost-effective and reliable methods for the synthesis and separation of asymmetric compounds is paramount in helping to meet society’s ever-growing demand for chiral small molecules. Of these methods, chiral heterogeneous supports are particularly appealing as they allow for the reuse of the chiral source. One such support, based on the synergy between chiral organic units and structurally stable inorganic silicon scaffolds are periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs). In the work described herein, I examine some of the factors governing the transmission of chirality between chiral dopants and prochiral bulk phases in chiral PMO materials. In particular, the exploration of 1,1’-binaphthalene-bridged chiral dopants with a focus on the point of attachment into the materials. Moreover, the effects of ordering in the materials are examined and reveal that chirality transfer is more facile in materials with molecular-scale order then those containing amorphous walls. Secondly, the issues surrounding the synthesis and purification of aryl-triethoxysilanes as siloxane precursors are addressed. Both the introduction of a two-carbon linker and the direct attachment of allyl and mixed allyldiethoxysilane species are explored. This work demonstrates that allyldiethoxysilanes are ideal, in that they are stable enough to permit facile synthesis, while still being able to hydrolyze completely to produce well-ordered materials. Lastly, the production of new bulk phases for chiral PMO materials is examined by introducing new prochiral nitrogen-containing siloxane precursors. Biphenyldiamine and bipyridine-bridged siloxane precursors are readily synthesized on reasonable scales. Their use as the bulk siloxane precursor in the production of PMO materials however, is precluded by insufficient gelation and additional siloxane precursors are necessary for the production of ordered materials. In addition to the research detailed above that forms the body of this thesis, two short works are appended. The first details the production of polythiophene assemblies mediated through coordination nanospaces, while the second explores the production of N-heterocyclic carbene functionalized gold nanoparticles through ligand exchange.

ROCK OUTCROPS IN THE CANADIAN SHIELD: AN INVESTIGATION OF CONTAMINANT TRANSPORT FROM SURFACE SOURCES IN FRACTURED ROCK AQUIFERS

Flow, recharge and transport dynamics in fractured rock aquifers with low lying rock outcrops is a largely unexplored area of study in hydrogeology. The purpose of this thesis is to examine these topics in an agricultural area in Eastern Ontario. The study consists of a regional scale groundwater quality study, an infiltration experiment that considers bacteria transport from the ground surface to a well, and a numerical modelling study that tests the parameters that affect surface infiltration of a tracer from a rock outcrop to a deeper horizontal fracture. In the water quality study, approximately 65% of the samples contained total coliform, 16% contained E. coli, and 1% contained nitrate-N at greater than 5 mg/L. Occurrence of E. coli increased when considering seasonality, where wells were drilled on rock outcrops, and for shallow well intervals. Nitrate-N did not occur above the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality (Health Canada, 2012) of 10 mg/L. Rapid arrival times were observed in the infiltration study for both the microspheres (30 minutes) and a dye tracer (45 minutes) in a well approximately 6.0 m in horizontal and 2.8 m in vertical distance from the tracer source. Transport velocities were approximately 38.9 m/day for the dye tracer and 115.2 m/day for the colloidal tracer. Results of the model runs indicate that overburden can provide an effective protective layer to transport in fractures, that high groundwater velocities occur in larger fracture apertures and higher gradients dilute tracer concentrations, and that lower groundwater velocities occur with smaller fracture apertures and lower gradients result in elevated tracer concentrations. Lower rainfall rates, larger fracture apertures, early tracer time, larger gradients, and lower water levels maintained unsaturated conditions for longer time periods such that tracer transport was delayed until saturated conditions were attained. The overall heterogeneity of this aquifer environment creates a source water protection conundrum where the water quality is generally good, while transport can occur very quickly in proximity to rock outcrops and in areas with limited overburden.

"Fit Cradle of the Reviving Art": An inquiry into the the Evolving Material Reality of the Murals in the Camposanto of Pisa from the Perspective of their British Reception from the 17th to the 19th century

The Camposanto of Pisa is an extraordinarily complex and evocative monument, which has captured the imagination of pilgrims, both religious and secular, for centuries. The late Medieval and early Renaissance wall paintings that line the perimeter of the portico surrounding a vast inner courtyard, are unparalleled in early Italian art, not only for their striking variety of composition and narrative complexity, but also for the sheer grandeur of their proportion. However, the passage of time has scarred the structure of the Camposanto and inflicted terrible damage on its wall paintings. This thesis explores the material reality of the Camposanto as experienced over three centuries through the eyes of British travelers. In order to situate the Camposanto mural cycle within an historical and cultural context, the first chapter provides an overview of the construction and decoration of the monument. Notably, Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), the Italian Humanist often recognized as the father of art history, included numerous descriptions of the Camposanto murals in his highly influential text Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori. Accordingly, the second chapter provides an analysis of Vasari’s descriptions and reflects upon the influence that the Renaissance author may have had upon the subsequent British reception of the Camposanto murals. The third chapter utilizes three centuries of travel writing in order to investigate the aesthetic impact of the Camposanto mural cycle upon British tourists from the seventeenth through to the nineteenth century.

Identification of YAP as sperm-PAWP’s predominant binding partner in MII-arrested oocytes and the relevance of this WWI domain modular interaction to oocyte activation

PAWP, a candidate sperm-borne oocyte activating factor, induces oocyte activation and acts upstream of the calcium signalling pathway, however, PAWP’s downstream signalling pathway in oocyte cytoplasm remains to be uncovered. Data from our lab suggested that the interacting partner of PAWP, at least in the frog (Xenopus laevis) model may be YAP, a highly expressed protein in amphibian and mammalian oocytes. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to confirm that PAWP’s predominant binding partner in Xenopus laevis oocyte is YAP; to determine if mammalian oocyte activation is also dependent on PAWP-YAP interaction; and to verify that the PAWP-YAP interaction during oocyte activation is dependent on the WWI domain module. By immunohistochemistry, YAP was localized predominantly in the cytosol of metaphase II-arrested Xenopus laevis oocytes, where presumably the PAWP-YAP interaction occurs. Utilizing Far Western blotting, YAP was identified as the predominant binding partner of PAWP, in metaphase II-arrested frog (Xenopus laevis), swine (Sus scrofa) and mouse (mus musculus) oocytes. The specificity of this interaction was then tested on Far Western blotting of mouse ovarian and oocyte cytosolic extracts, by competition with both wild-type and point-mutated recombinant WWI domains derived from YAP. The removal of GST from the wild-type WWI-GST fusion protein was a requirement for effective blockage of WWI module interaction between PAWP and YAP. As expected, the mutated WWI domain was ineffective in inhibiting the PAWP-YAP interaction. To conclude, this study identified YAP as the predominant binding partner of PAWP in both amphibian and mammalian oocytes, and showed this interaction is dependent on the WWI modular interaction. The results allow us to test the functional relevance of this WWI modular interaction during oocyte activation in vivo, in the future.

Investigating the Role of cAMP-Signaling in the Regulation of Vascular Endothelial Cell Adaptive Responses to Fluid Shear Stress

The circulating blood exerts a force on the vascular endothelium, termed fluid shear stress (FSS), which directly impacts numerous vascular endothelial cell (VEC) functions. For example, high rates of linear and undisturbed (i.e. laminar) blood flow maintains a protective and quiescent VEC phenotype. Meanwhile, deviations in blood flow, which can occur at vascular branchpoints and large curvatures, create areas of low, and/or oscillatory FSS, and promote a pro-inflammatory, pro-thrombotic and hyperpermeable phenotype. Indeed, it is known that these areas are prone to the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Herein, we show that cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4D (PDE4D) activity is increased by FSS in human arterial endothelial cells (HAECs) and that this activation regulates the activity of cAMP-effector protein, Exchange Protein-activated by cAMP-1 (EPAC1), in these cells. Importantly, we also show that these events directly and critically impact HAEC responses to FSS, especially when FSS levels are low. Both morphological events induced by FSS, as measured by changes in cell alignment and elongation in the direction of FSS, and the expression of critical FSS-regulated genes, including Krüppel-like factor 2 (KLF2), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and thrombomodlin (TM), are mediated by EPAC1/PDE4D signaling. At a mechanistic level, we show that EPAC1/PDE4D acts through the vascular endothelial-cadherin (VECAD)/ platelet-cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM1)/vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) mechanosensor to activate downstream signaling though Akt. Given the critical role of PDE4D in mediating these effects, we also investigated the impact of various patterns of FSS on the expression of individual PDE genes in HAECs. Notably, PDE2A was significantly upregulated in response to high, laminar FSS, while PDE3A was upregulated under low, oscillatory FSS conditions only. These data may provide novel therapeutic targets to limit FSS-dependent endothelial cell dysfunction (ECD) and atherosclerotic development.