Angolagate y: a shameful stain on the recent history of Angola

Conta-se que no século 18, um médico Vianés, ganhou fama por ter criado, o que se denominava na altura, por frenologia, um ramo do saber que, em vão, procurava determinar o carácter, as características da personalidade e os níveis de criminalidade de uma pessoa com o simples apalpar da cabeça e através da "leitura" das suas protuberâncias. A sua fama, ao chegar aos ouvidos do imperador, levou a que este o convidasse e lhe pedisse um exame a fim de ver como ele e os seus súbditos estavam nestes aspectos. Franz Joseph Gall, como se chamava o dito médico, assim que ia apalpando a cabeça do soberano e dos seus capangas mais entrava em pânico. Como iria dizer-lhes que as protuberâncias lhe diziam que estava diante dos maiores criminosos da história, e logo a eles os governantes da Áustria? O caso angolagate, talvez também me interesse por isso

Estratégias de Tolerância a Falhas em Computação Móvel na Nuvem

Apesar de os periféricos móveis possuírem cada vez mais capacidade de computação e armazenamento, a ligação da computação móvel com a computação na núvem (cloud) é também, cada vez mais, forte. Aplicações móveis que processem ou partilhem grandes quantidades de dados usam a nuvem para superar a limitação de recursos imposta por smartphones e tablets. Estes sistemas trazem novos desafios em termos de tolerância a falhas. Por um lado funcionam com baterias cuja carga tem duração limitada e por outro lado, a mobilidade do utilizador pode dificultar a obtenção de conectividade contínua e com largura de banda invariável como seria desejável. Neste trabalho propomos e avaliamos mecanismos de tolerância a falhas para dois tipos de falhas comuns em computação móvel na nuvem: Falha da carga da bateria e falhas na ligação à rede.Although mobile peripherals are increasingly capable of computing and storage, the link between mobile computing and cloud computing is also growing stronger. Mobile applications that process or share large amounts of data use the cloud to overcome the resource constraints imposed by mobile devices. These systems bring new challenges in terms of fault tolerance. On the one hand they work with batteries whose charge is of limited duration and on the other hand the mobility of the user may make it difficult to obtain continuous connectivity and with invariable bandwidth as would be desirable. In this work we propose and evaluate fault tolerance mechanisms for two types of common faults in mobile cloud computing: Battery charge failure and network connection failure.Operação Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000019 – C4 – Centro de Competências em Cloud Computing, co-financiada pelo Programa Operacional Regional do Centro (CENTRO 2020), através do Sistema de Apoio a Investigação Científica e Tecnológica – Programas Integrados de IC&DT; • FCT através de fundos nacionais e quando aplicável co-financiado pelo FEDER, no âmbito do Acordo de Parceria PT2020 no âmbito do projeto UID/EEA/50008/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fundamentação das decisões judiciais

A dissertação em questão remete-nos para uma análise sobre a fundamentação da decisão no âmbito do Direito Processual Civil. A atual exigência do dever de fundamentação decorrente, quer da Constituição da República, quer do Código de Processo Civil, consiste no critério da coerência e da completude. O que se espera do juiz é que este na altura de proferir a sentença sobre a decisão tomada, motive tais decisões. Para além da exigência da motivação de facto e de direito, o critério da completude exige que outras questões também sejam motivadas. O nosso contributo sobre estas questões consiste no facto de que o atual modelo de fundamentação não estabelece limites do dever de motivar, razões pela qual propomos um modelo de fundamentar as sentenças. Este consiste na fundamentação resumida ou redação resumida, tendo em vista tornar o processo menos extenso. A presente dissertação está estruturada em sete partes, nomeadamente: na primeira parte consta o dever de motivar no âmbito constitucional; a segunda parte trata sobre a exigência de fundamentar as decisões resultantes da CEDH; na terceira parte encontraremos a fundamentação das decisões judiciais, no âmbito do Direito Processual Civil; em quarto lugar faremos uma análise comparativa do dever de fundamentar em alguns países; em quinto lugar, a consequência da não fundamentação, em sexto lugar o estudo também irá incidir numa nova perspetiva do dever de fundamentar as decisões judiciais e, por ultimo, a conclusão.The dissertation in question refers us to an analysis of the reasoning of the decision in the scope of Civil Procedural Law. The current requirement of the obligation to state reasons arising both from the Constitution of the Republic and from the Code of Civil Procedure, consist of the criterion of consistency and completeness. What is expected of the judge is that this at the time of rendering the judgment on the decision taken must give reasons for such decisions. In addition to the requirement of de facto and de jure motivation, the criterion of completeness requires that other issues be motivated as well. Our contribution to these questions is that the current model of reasoning does not set limits on the duty to state reasons . Reasons why we propose a model to justify sentences. This consists of the summary statement or summary wording, with a view to making the process less extensive. This dissertation is structured in seven parts, namely: in the first part it is the duty to motivate in the constitutional sphere, in the second part it deals with the requirement to justify the decisions resulting from the ECHR, in the third part we will find the grounds of the judicial decisions in the scope of the Civil Procedure Law, fourthly we will make a comparative analysis of the duty to state in some countries, sisthly, the study will also focus on a new perpective on the duty to provide a basis for judicial decisions and, finally, the conclusion

a systematic review

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Empty rituals? A qualitative study of users’ experience of monitoring & evaluation systems in HIV interventions in western India

In global health initiatives, particularly in the context of private philanthropy and its ‘business minded’ approach, detailed programme data plays an increasing role in informing assessments, improvements, evaluations, and ultimately continuation or discontinuation of funds for individual programmes. The HIV/AIDS literature predominantly treats monitoring as unproblematic. However, the social science of audit and indicators emphasises the constitutive power of indicators, noting that their effects at a grassroots level are often at odds with the goals specified in policy. This paper investigates users' experiences of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems in the context of HIV interventions in western India. Six focus groups (totalling 51 participants) were held with employees of 6 different NGOs working for government or philanthropy-funded HIV interventions for sex workers in western India. Ten donor employees were interviewed. Thematic analysis was conducted. NGO employees described a major gap between what they considered their “real work” and the indicators used to monitor it. They could explain the official purposes of M&E systems in terms of programme improvement and financial accountability. More cynically, they valued M&E experience on their CVs and the rhetorical role of data in demonstrating their achievements. They believed that inappropriate and unethical means were being used to meet targets, including incentives and coercion, and criticised indicators for being misleading and inflexible. Donor employees valued the role of M&E in programme improvement, financial accountability, and professionalising NGO-donor relationships. However, they were suspicious that NGOs might be falsifying data, criticised the insensitivity of indicators, and complained that data were under-used. For its users, M& E appears an ‘empty ritual’, enacted because donors require it, but not put to local use. In this context, monitoring is constituted as an instrument of performance management rather than as a means of rational programme improvement

OC 8535 An overview of research ethics committees operating in lusophone african countries

Background: In 2017, a North-South partnership was created, to strengthen Bioethics Committees in African Lusophone African countries (LAC), by joining the forces of National and Institutional Research Ethics Committees (REC) and Universities in Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique and Portugal. This study is part of an EDCTP2-funded project and aims to describe key RECs operating in LAC, its establishment dates and further characteristics. Methods: Document analysis and interviews with REC representatives of five LAC were conducted in April 2018. Legal documents were obtained through official national sources. Results: We identified four National Ethics Committees, created between 2000 and 2008 by ministerial or governmental decree; only S. Tomé e Principe does not have an established REC. In Angola, the National REC was created in 2000, and since 2007, seven Institutional Committees were implemented at faculty level. National REC in Cape Verde and Guinee-Bissau (CNES) are unique and were founded in 2007 and 2009 respectively. In Mozambique, National REC (CNBS) dates to 2002, and since 2011, 8 Institutional Committees were formed; they functioned as a network under the umbrella of CNBS. Most National REC have representatives from health professional associations, lawyers, civil society and religious communities and have regular meetings (usually monthly). The number of members ranges between 6 (CNES) and 13 (CNBS). In 2007, around 200 protocols were reviewed by CNBS and 29 by CNES. Most of the National REC members attended training activities in bioethics but at different levels. Conclusion: Few publications described REC operating in LAC; this study fills this gap by reporting historical and functional characteristics of RECs in five Lusophone African countries. Additional tools based on quantitative and qualitative approaches are being developed to assess more in-depth REC operational characteristics and to identify their needs in order to target training and capacity building initiatives underlying our project.publishersversionpublishe

Caracterização de um coorte de crianças com anemia de células falciformes em Angola

A proposta central deste trabalho consiste no estudo da resposta à terapêutica com Hidroxiureia (HU) em crianças com Anemia de Células Falciformes (ACF), num contexto onde a malária é endémica (Angola), através da análise longitudinal dos fenótipos clínicos, hematológicos e bioquímicos (incluindo o nível de hemoglobina fetal - HbF), da caracterização de factores genéticos modificadores e das suas possíveis interações com a infeção malárica. Encontram-se em seguimento 200 crianças com ACF seguidas no HPDB e no Hospital Geral do Bengo. Dos 200 participantes 83% tiveram episódios de internamento, sendo as principais causas a anemia grave (63%) e as crises dolorosas (45%). Cerca de 50% dos pacientes apresentavam malnutrição crónica (HAZ) Os nossos resultados até ao presente já permitiram observar que o nível de HbF e a presença da deleção alfa-talassémica de 3,7 kb são factores protectores para a gravidade da doença, estando associados a um número mais reduzido de hospitalizações e de transfusões.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) e AgaKhan Development Network (AKDN), Projeto n.º 330842553N/

Capacity of health facilities for diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia

Background: There are dearth of literature on the capacity of the health system to diagnose and treat HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. In this study we evaluated the capacity of health facilities for HIV/AIDS care, its spatial distribution and variations by regions and zones in Ethiopia. Methods: We analyzed the Service Provision Assessment plus (SPA+) survey data that were collected in 2014 in all regions of Ethiopia. We assessed structural, process and overall capacity of the health system based on the Donabedian quality of care model. We included 5 structural and 8 process indicators and overall capacity score was constructed by taking the average of all indicators. Multiple linear regression was done using STATA 14 to assess the association of the location and types of health facilities with overall capacity score. Maps displaying the average capacity score at Zonal level were produced using ArcGIS Desktop v10.3 (Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc., Redlands CA, USA). Results: A total of 873 health facilities were included in the analysis. Less than 5% of the private facilities provided antiretroviral therapy (ART); had national ART guideline, baseline CD4 count or viral load and tuberculosis screening mechanisms. Nearly one-third of the health centers (34.9%) provided ART. Public hospitals have better capacity score (77.1%) than health centers (45.9%) and private health facilities (24.8%). The overall capacity score for urban facilities (57.1%) was higher than that of the rural (38.2%) health facilities (β = 15.4, 95% CI: 11.7, 19.2). Health centers (β = − 21.4, 95% CI: -25.4, − 17.4) and private health facilities (β = − 50.9, 95% CI: -54.8, − 47.1) had lower overall capacity score than hospitals. Facilities in Somali (β = − 13.8, 95% CI: -20.6, − 7.0) and SNNPR (β = − 5.0, 95% CI: -9.8, − 0.1) regions had lower overall capacity score than facilities in the Oromia region. Zones located in emerging regions such as Gambella and Benishangul Gumz and in remote areas of Oromia and SNNPR had lower capacity score in terms of process indicators. Conclusions: There is a significant geographical heterogeneity on the capacity of health facilities for HIV/AIDS care and treatment in Ethiopia. Targeted capacity improvement initiatives are recommended with focus on health centers and private health facilities, and emerging Regions and the rural and remote areas

Strengthening Bioethics Committees from Portuguese Speaking African Countries

In the last decade, in Lusophone African countries, like in other countries from Africa, health research has increased and in response Research Ethics Committees have been established namely in Universities, Research Centers and Ministries of Health. But these committees still face a serious lack of staff trained in research ethics, and the "language divide" is an important barrier faced by them, as the main ethics educational resources are only available in English. The aim the north-south LusoAfro-Bioethics initiative, financed by EDCTP, is to strength capacity for health research ethics review in African portuguese speaking countries. More specifically, the objectives are: to improve institutional and personnel capacities of Angola, Cape-Verde and Mozambique ethics committees; to enhance the efficiency of clinical/ health research applications reviews; to promote collaborative/ networking activities in research ethics in lusophone countries; to share good practices on Standard Operation Procedures, Protocol Review and international regulatory ethical and legal norms and standards and finally to promote the establishment of University of Cape Verde Institutional Review Board. The actions developed under this initiative aimed to develop robust capacities for ethical review of clinical research in Sub-Saharan African portuguese speaking countries.publishe