Human capital differentials across municipalities and states in Brazil

In this paper, we investigate the distribution of more educated and skilled people in Brazilian municipalities and states. Previous evidence shows a high concentration of college educated and high skilled workers in some areas of the country. We investigate whether the increase in the number of high skill workers is faster in municipalities with high initial levels of human capital than in municipalities with lower initial levels. We develop a theoretical model to explain the convergence/divergence of regional skill levels In Brazil. We estimate OLS models based on the theoretical model to explain empirically wage differentials in Brazil. Last, we compute standard segregation and isolation measures to show the trends in the distribution of skilled workers across states and cities in Brazil. We find that educated and qualified workers are concentrated in some areas of the country and recent decades show a higher concentration of them across states and cities.human capital, segregation, regional differences, Brazil

Hybrid System of Distributed Automation

One of the most important tendencies in the development of the industrial automation is the application of intelligent control systems within factories, which focuses heavily on networked architectures. Following this line of thinking, the goal of this dissertation resumes itself in the implementation of a distributed system that controls two physical processes, where the system components not only trade information between each other, but also have that same information be accessible remotely and within HMI equipment. The controllers were conceptualized to offer different functional modes with high customization available. This system also takes resource of an OPC server, so it allows, not only the communication between different manufacturer PLC controllers but also the connection with remotes clients The implemented remote clients hold the intent of demonstrating the versatility of this architecture and are, namely, an operational historian that registers information and a data viewer, which allows the use of more advanced methods of monitoring

Political Institutions, Policymaking Processes and Policy Outcomes in Brazil

We found that the driving force behind policies in Brazil is the strong set of powers given to the President by the Constitution of 1988. To have strong powers does not mean unbridled powers. Several institutions constrain and check the power of the President, in particular the legislature, the judiciary, the public prosecutors, the auditing office, state governors and the Constitution itself. The electorate of Brazil holds the President accountable for economic growth, inflation and unemployment. Because of the electoral connection, and perhaps reputational effects, presidents in Brazil have a strong incentive to pursue stable fiscal and monetary policies as their first priority. At least for the past ten years, and particularly in the new administration of Lula, executive power has been aimed at pushing policy towards macro orthodoxy. Although orthodoxy may not lead to short-term growth, international financial markets provide additional incentives for discipline, as deviations are instantly punished, with unfavorable consequences that are readily recognized by the electorate. Achieving stable macro policies required constitutional amendments as well as considerable legislation. To attain their goals, the past administrations (Cardoso and Lula in particular) used their property rights over pork to trade for policy changes. The rationale for members of Congress to exchange votes on policy for pork is that the electorates reward or punish members of Congress based on the degree to which pork lands in their district. With the exception of the devaluation of 1999, macro policy has become more stable over time. We categorize macro policies in Brazil as `stable but adaptable. `

Lean project management: application of lean principles to project management

In today’s challenging business environments, competitive advantage is of utmost importance for organizations and there is a raising demand for profitable solutions that allow organizations to gain competitive advantage. Two of such profitable solutions are Project Management (PM) and Lean Thinking, recognized methodologies for management and production processes. This dissertation proposes a framework to accelerate the performance of projects through PM practices and lean principles. To develop the framework, Project Management Officers (PMOs) of renowned Portuguese companies are interviewed. In the first Stage, interviews are conducted aiming to identify key pain points in PM. Resulting from the first set of interviews, lean principles are applied to PM to remedy the identified pain points and develop a Lean Project Management Framework. The interviews identify the most critical knowledge areas in terms of pain points as Human Resources, Scope, and Procurement Management. In the second stage, experts’ feedback is used to validate the developed framework on four pillars: degree of understanding, alignment towards the major pain points, practical applicability, and orientation towards the final result. All the respondents conceded that the newly developed framework considered the major pain points and was oriented towards the final result, projects success. Nevertheless, some respondents considered that up-front lean knowledge is needed and suggested the development of a framework dictionary to improve understanding and practical applicability. The findings show that the use of traditional lean tools adapted to the PM context can aid in the continuous improvement of processes and practices by conferring role clarity, transparency, and reducing bottlenecks. The Lean Project Management Framework provides a viable approach to overcome the shortcomings of traditional PM practices.Nos desafiantes ambientes de negócio atuais, a vantagem competitiva é essencial para as organizações, havendo uma constante necessidade de encontrar soluções que permitam às organizações obter vantagem competitiva. A Gestão de Projetos e o pensamento Lean são duas destas soluções, reconhecidas nas vertentes de gestão e de ambiente de produção. Esta dissertação propõe um modelo para alavancar o desempenho dos projetos através de práticas de Gestão de Projetos e princípios Lean. Para desenvolver o modelo, são entrevistados PMOs ("Project Management Officers") de empresas portuguesas reconhecidas. Numa primeira fase, as entrevistas visam identificar as principais dificuldades na gestão de projetos. Como resultado destas entrevistas, os princípios lean são aplicados à gestão de projetos para mitigar as dificuldades identificadas e desenvolver um modelo lean de gestão de projetos. As entrevistas identificaram as áreas de conhecimento de Recursos Humanos, Âmbito e Contratação, como as mais criticas em termos de dificuldades. Na segunda fase, a opinião de peritos é utilizada para validar o modelo em quatro pilares: nível de compreensão, principais dificuldades, aplicação prática e orientação ao resultado final. Todos os entrevistados concordaram que o modelo considera as principais dificuldades de gestão de projetos e tem orientação ao resultado final, o sucesso dos projetos. Contudo, alguns entrevistados consideram necessário haver conhecimentos prévios de princípios lean e sugerem o desenvolvimento de um dicionário para o modelo, para melhorar a sua compreensão e aplicação prática. Este estudo demonstra que o uso das ferramentas lean tradicionais adaptadas ao contexto de projetos pode auxiliar na melhoria continua de processos e práticas, conferindo clareza, transparência e reduzindo constrangimentos. O modelo lean de gestão de projetos - "Lean Project Management Framework" - fornece uma abordagem viável para superar as deficiências das práticas tradicionais de gestão de projetos

Change management simulation: the electrification process in the automotive sector. Review of simulation results and self-reflective journey into team dynamics

For more than a century, the automotive industry was dominated by internal combustion engines, but the paradigm is changing. Sustainability became a top priority for people and governments due to the visible consequences of climate change, which puts pressure on automotive firms to innovate their mobility solutions and underlying technologies. This complex transformation process is influenced by a multitude of factors, constraints, and impacts of all kinds. This paper outlines the learnings and results of a 3-week change management program, covering a self-reflective journal on team dynamics, leadership development, and debriefing of the Einstein Motors’ performance after 26 simulation rounds

Entre a vida e a morte: uma reflexão sobre biopolítica, distopia e morte em José Saramago

Tese de mestrado, Estudos Comparatistas, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2012Esta tese de mestrado analisa as temáticas da distopia, biopolítica, direito, economia e morte em três romances de José Saramago. A proposta estabelecida foi partir de uma conceptualização de argumentos biopolíticos como estrutura teórica do trabalho e estabelecer uma relação desses argumentos com outro tipo de argumentos de índole distópica, formando estes dois grupos um todo para a problematização das obras de Saramago. As obras analisadas foram Ensaio sobre a Lucidez (2004), A Caverna (2000) e As Intermitências da Morte (2005). Respectivamente, as problemáticas analisadas nos romances foram o direito, a economia e a morte. O argumento central da tese defende que a literatura distópica apresenta pontos de contacto fundamentais com a problemática biopolítica, e que, por essa razão, uma leitura “dialéctica” entre as duas áreas apresenta-se como uma proposta coerente. Foi essa proposta que tentámos por em prática na abordagem das referidas obras de Saramago.Abstract: This master thesis examines the themes of dystopia, biopolitics, law, economics and death in three novels of José Saramago. The established proposal was drawn from a conceptualization of biopolitical arguments as the theoretical structure of the work and to set a relationship between these arguments with other arguments of dystopian nature, these two groups forming a whole for the problematical approach of Saramago's works. The works analyzed were Seeing (2004), The Cave (2000) and Death with Interruptions (2005). Respectively, the issues analyzed in the novels were the law, economics and death. The central argument of the thesis argues that dystopian literature has fundamental points of contact with the biopolitical problematic, and that, therefore, one "dialectical" reading between the two areas is presented as a coherent proposal. It was this proposal that we tried to put into practice in the approach of the mentioned works of Saramago

Recomendação de Pontos de Interesse para Grupos - Uma Abordagem baseada em Sistemas Multi-Agente e no Feedback dos Turistas

O protótipo de Sistema de Recomendação para Grupos no setor do turismo que se encontra em desenvolvimento pelo GECAD utiliza num dos seus microserviços um Sistema MultiAgente. No entanto, a interação e partilha de conhecimento entre os agentes do sistema carece de melhorias que permitam a apresentação de recomendações cada vez mais coerentes, precisas e personalizadas. Os dados sociodemográficos, personalidade e preferências turísticas de cada turista são modelados num agente inteligente que o representa, com o objetivo de tornar cada agente o mais similar possível ao turista que representa. Com isto, os agentes devem ter a capacidade de aprender com o conhecimento e ações dos outros agentes, assim como de partilhar dados de interação e perfil dos turistas, de forma a melhorar e a tornar mais precisas as recomendações enviadas pelo sistema de recomendações do GRS, melhorando a satisfação e experiência dos turistas. Este documento apresenta uma análise de valor e inclui um estudo sobre o estado da arte em tecnologia relevante e sobre conceitos e trabalhos relacionados com o projeto em desenvolvimento. Apresenta ainda uma análise do domínio do problema, o desenho arquitetural e detalhes sobre a implementação e testagem do protótipo desenvolvido. A solução final respondeu essencialmente a todas as necessidades que se tinham proposto resolver e possibilita o crescimento do GRS sem comprometer o trabalho já efetuado. Os utilizadores passaram a ser associados a clusters com base na sua personalidade e os respetivos agentes foram melhorados para utilizar ratings e rules que lhes diziam respeito de forma a priorizar e penalizar pontos de interesse turísticos nas recomendações obtidas.The prototype of the Recommendation System for Groups (GRS) in the tourism sector that is being developed by GECAD uses a Multi-Agent System in one of its microservices. However, the interaction and knowledge sharing between the agents of the system needs improvements to allow the presentation of increasingly coherent, accurate and personalized recommendations. The socio-demographic data, personality and tourist preferences of each tourist are modeled in an intelligent agent, with the goal of making each agent as similar as possible to the tourist it represents. With this, the agents should have the ability to learn from the knowledge and actions of the other agents, as well as to share interaction data and tourist profiles, in order to improve and make more accurate the recommendations sent by the GRS recommendation system, improving tourists' satisfaction and experience. This paper presents a value analysis and includes a study of the state of the art in relevant technology and of concepts and work related to the project under development. It also presents an analysis of the problem domain, the architectural design, and details about the implementation and testing of the developed prototype. The final solution essentially met all the needs that had been proposed to solve and allows for the growth of the GRS without compromising the work already done. Users are now associated to clusters based on their personality and the respective agents were improved to use ratings and rules related to them in order to prioritize and penalize tourist points of interest in the recommendations obtained