Legal form and risk exposure in Spanish firms

It is well-known that the legal form adopted by a firm determines the type of legal responsibility borne by its owners in case of bankruptcy. In this paper we argue that a firm under a limited liability status should be characterized by a higher than average bankruptcy probability, which ultimately captures their risk exposure when output is affected by exogenous shocks. To test this prediction we extend Lee’s (1976) switching regressions model to a panel dataset of 1313 Spanish firms from 1990–1994, separating them into corporate and entrepreneurial forms (with/without limited liability, respectively). We consider both random effects and fixed effects panel data models, taking into account the potential endogeneity between risk exposure and the legal form choice. Our results confirm the hypothesis that firms under limited liability have significant higher risk exposure than firms under unlimited liability.Data and financial support provided by the Fundación Empresa Pública (Madrid)Publicad

Self-Criticism, Neediness, and Distress Among Women Undergoing Treatment for Breast Cancer: A Preliminary Test of the Moderating Role of Adjustment to Illness

A diagnosis of cancer can be extremely stressful, and for that reason, cancer patients’ adjustment has been widely studied. Little is known, however, about how patients’ personality vulnerabilities affect their adjustment to cancer. The present study examined the moderating role of several psychological strategies of adjustment to cancer in the associations between the personality predispositions of self-criticism and neediness and distress among women diagnosed with breast cancer. Portuguese women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time (n _ 50) completed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale questionnaires. Both self-criticism and neediness were found to be associated with increased levels of distress, with a stronger association observed for neediness. Hierarchical regressions indicated that more adaptive adjustment to cancer (i.e., low levels of helplessness/hopelessness, low levels of anxious preoccupation, high levels of fatalism, and high levels of fighting spirit) moderates the association between neediness and distress. There was no evidence that any of the adjustment variables had any mediating effect on the relationship between the personality variables (self-criticism and neediness) and distress. Results are discussed in the context of personality vulnerability and maladaptive psychological response to the disease as a stressful life event. Implications for treatment are discussed. Though promising, the results are preliminary and more research on larger samples is warranted

(In)admissibilidade de provas ilícitas : dissemelhança na produção de prova no direito processual?

Dissertação de Mestrado em Direito, na área de especialização de Ciências Jurídico-Forenses, apresentada à Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Coimbr

Where healthcare takes place: A route to patients well-being

Tem-se acumulado evidência de que as características objectivas do ambiente físico hospitalar têm impacto sobre o bem-estar dos doentes. Argumentamos que o conhecimento acerca do papel do ambiente físico hospitalar está incompleto se não se considerarem os mecanismos psicológicos subjacentes, e se não se determinar a sua contribuição específica. O Estudo 1 apresenta a adaptação e validação de uma medida da percepção da qualidade do ambiente hospitalar. O Estudo 2 mostra que a relação entre a qualidade objectiva do ambiente físico e o bem-estar dos doentes é mediada através das suas percepções acerca do ambiente físico e social, estando estas altamente correlacionadas; e que este processo é moderado pela condição do doente. Embora não se tenham encontrado diferenças na relação entre a qualidade objectiva do ambiente físico e as percepções do ambiente físico e social; a satisfação dos doentes internados é explicada pela percepção do ambiente social, enquanto a dos doentes na consulta é explicada pela percepção do ambiente físico. O Estudo 3 revela que as pessoas associam a qualidade do ambiente físico à do social e que ambas comunicam uma mensagem sobre o bem-estar que pode ser esperado. Finalmente, o Estudo 4 mostra que, controlando o efeito do ambiente social, o ambiente físico tem um efeito independente sobre o bem-estar, mas apenas quando é inadequado. Globalmente, estes resultados demonstram a relevância do ambiente físico para a experiência dos doentes e sugerem a necessidade de uma abordagem mais abrangente na compreensão da influência do ambiente físico hospitalar.Evidence has been accumulated showing that the objective features of hospital physical environment have an impact on patients’ well-being. We argue that our understanding the role of the hospital physical environment is incomplete without an account for the underlying psychological mechanisms involved, and without determining its specific contribution. Four studies are presented. Study 1 presents the adaptation and validation of a measure of hospital environmental quality. Study 2 showed that the link between the objective physical environment and patients’ well-being is mediated through perceptions of hospital physical and social environments, highly correlated; and that this process is moderated by patients’ status. For both inpatients and outpatients, objective environmental quality predicts the perceptions of the hospital physical and social environments. However, it is the perceived quality of the physical environment that predicts outpatients’ satisfaction, whereas inpatients’ satisfaction predicted by the quality of the social environment. Study 3 revealed that the quality of the hospital physical and social environments are associated in people’s minds, and communicate a message about the well-being that can be expected. Finally, Study 4 showed that the physical environment has a significant effect on expected well-being, regardless of, and over and above, the quality of the social environment, but only when it is inadequate. This set of results substantiates the relevance of the physical environment to patients’ experience. All together, our work suggests the need of a more comprehensive approach to improve the understanding of the influence of hospital physical environment

Insensibilidade androgênica completa e hérnia inguinal: relato de 3 casos.

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Departamento de Pediatria, Curso de Medicina, Florianópolis, 199

Quantifying the universalism of welfare states: the case of East Asian democracies

This study conducts a comparative analysis of welfare state universalism in three East Asian democracies - Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan - using the novel Quality of Welfare State Index proposed by Luciano Amaral and Kleoniki Alexopoulou. The literature posits various welfare state regime models for East Asian nations, prompting an exploration of unique characteristics within this group. Japan emerges as the most universal, followed by Taiwan, whereas South Korea shows markedly lower values. The divergence in their universalism trajectories challenges proposals for a single welfare state regime to characterize these countries

Preliminary results of an anthropometric data collection of portuguese children with overweight and obesity

[Excerpt] In the 21st century, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Worldwide, it is estimated that around 200 million children of school age have high Body Mass Index (BMI), of which 40-50 million are considered obese. [...]This work is financed by Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and FEDER funds through the Competitive Factors Operational Program (COMPETE) POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136 and by national funds through FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/CTM/000264