Abortion, Criminal Law and the Ten Thousand Women: Portraits of the Inquisition in Contemporary Brazil

The deleterious effects of the criminal law, which deals with abortion in Brazil, the restriction of reproductive rights and their impact on women’s health will be the subject discussed in this chapter from an analysis of the “case of the ten thousand,” as it became known the emblematic reproductive rights violation of a universe of almost ten thousand, women, occurred in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), in 2007, when a doctor’s office was invaded by the police after a television report denouncing the establishment for abortion practices. This chapter discusses this paradigmatic case of violation of privacy and disrespect to reproductive health by making critical considerations about the implications of the criminalization of abortion on the physical and emotional integrity of women, highlighting the discursive contradictions between the Brazilian law and the United Nations Documents that deal with the consequences of unsafe abortion in the female population worldwide

Contributos ciganos para o povoamento do Brasil (séculos XVI-XIX)

[...]. O povo que é comum ser denominado cigano (se bem que hoje em dia seja designado, em geral, como Povo Rom) migrou em vagas distintas, em épocas diversas e por motivos ainda pouco explicados, desde a Índia até à Europa e terá alcançado o extremo ocidental europeu, com bastante probabilidade, por finais do século XV. E, dele bem se pode afirmar que a viagem continua a correr-lhe nas veias até aos nossos dias e, por certo, assim será no futuro. Os grupos de nómadas que chegavam eram constituídos por gente ligada entre si por laços sociais e culturais bastante fortes. Dominando uma língua desconhecida da população já instalada, trajavam de maneira característica, logo distinta, e tinham comportamentos peculiares, diferentes dos demais, não passando tais diferenças despercebidas. Acresce que também os ciganos nada faziam para disfarçar, ou mesmo mitigar, essa diversidade. [...

A planície alentejana : um destino migratório de famílias açorianas em finais do século XVIII

Se bem que num outro contexto e referindo-se a um espaço geográfico distinto do que constitui o nosso escopo, Braudel, “um mestre da história mediterrânea” na feliz asserção do saudoso professor Orlando Ribeiro, escreveu há alguns anos que “o processo mais comum de relacionação das ilhas com o mundo é o da emigração”. Aqui, migrar no sentido de mudar de uma região para outra ou, numa das definições possíveis, como traduzindo “«a passagem de um espaço de vida para outro espaço de vida», cujas características evoluem com o tempo”. A mobilidade transoceânica dos açorenses vem sendo estudada por diversos investigadores e, com o correr do tempo, novas informações vão surgindo. Porém, outro tanto não pode ser afirmado, sem que se incorra em erro grosseiro, no que diz respeito à transmigração que nos interessa, realizada no último quartel de Setecentos. Tal não é estranhável dado que, por um lado o século XVIII português permanece pouco investigado, pese embora alguns esforços que visam inverter a situação e, por outro lado, a maior parte das fontes respeitantes a este assunto específico continuam inéditas. Estamos a referir-nos à deslocação, na época da governação de D. Maria I (mais precisamente nos anos oitenta), do arquipélago para a metrópole e com incidência especial na província trastagana, de alguns contingentes de pessoas para servirem de povoadores, podendo mesmo falar-se num tipo de colonização familiar. [...

Startup founders in Portugal: exploring predictive characteristics for success

This Master's thesis explores the dynamics of the Portuguese start-up ecosystem, focusing on key elements that drive its growth and sustainability. Through in-depth research and analysis, we examine the role of founder, investors, and management practices in fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and success. The study draws upon insights from industry experts, survey data from start-up founders, and an in-depth literature review. By shedding light on these factors, this thesis has the objective at providing valuable insights for policymakers, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders seeking to understand and enhance the Portuguese start-up ecosystem

Valorisation of lignocellulosic biomass with ionic liquids in the frame of green chemistry and biorefinery concepts

The current need to move from a fossil-derived economy to sustainable bio-based and circular economy is highly demanding. The utilisation of lignocellulosic biomass, as a renewable carbon source, for the production of fuels, chemicals and materials is a promising solution that has been widely explored in recent years. In this framework, the present thesis discloses the development of novel technologies using ionic liquids (ILs) for biomass valorisation following the green chemistry and biorefinery concepts. Two different approaches, on the basis of the chemical character of examined ILs, i.e. acidity and basicity, paved the way for a fractionation of wheat straw into main components, namely cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, either in their polymeric or hydrolysed forms. A first strategy relied on the development of a three-step fractionation process using alkaline 1-ethyl-3-methyimidazolim acetate ([emim][OAc]) allowing selective separation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin as high purity fractions. The recovered IL demonstrated the presence of soluble phenolic compounds, which were extracted and purified by means of polymeric resin and supercritical CO2 extraction methods. The second strategy integrated a pre-treatment, hydrolysis and conversion of biomass in a single step process through the employment of acidic imidazolium ILs containing HSO4 anion. These ILs revealed the ability to selectively hydrolyse and convert the hemicellulosic fraction of wheat straw into pentoses and/or furfural, in which the formation of pentoses are favoured in presence of water. The resulting solid composed mainly of cellulose and lignin was fractionated and processed towards the production of glucose, highly pure lignin and also phenolic compounds. Both types of ILs were recovered and reused without losing their performances in biomass valorisation, showcasing efficient and sustainable processes for implementation in biorefineries

Predicting Account Receivables Outcomes with Machine-Learning

Project Work presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceThe Account Receivables (AR) of a company are considered an important determinant of a company’s Cash Flow – the backbone of a company’s financial performance or health. It has been proved that by efficiently managing the money owed by customers for goods and services (AR), a company can avoid financial difficulties and even stabilize results in moments of extreme volatility. The aim of this project is to use machine-learning and data visualization techniques to predict invoice outcomes and provide useful information and a solution using analytics to the collection management team. Specifically, this project demonstrates how supervised learning models can classify with high accuracy whether a newly created invoice will be paid earlier, on-time or later than the contracted due date. It is also studied how to predict the magnitude of the delayed payments by classifying them into interesting, delayed categories for the business: up to 1 month late, from 1 to 3 months late and delayed for more than 3 months. The developed models use real-life data from a multinational company in the manufacturing and automation industries and can predict payments with higher accuracy than the baseline achieved by the business

DEA investment strategy in the Brazilian stock market

This paper presents a multi-period investment strategy using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in the Brazilian stock market. Results show that the returns based on the DEA strategy were superior to the returns of a Brazilian stock index in most of the 22 quarters analyzed, presenting a significant Jensen's alpha.

John Dewey: the search for a rhetoric pedagogy

The starting point of this paper is a controversy that has involved the philosopher and educator John Dewey (1859-1952) since the last century: both authors contrary and favorable to his theses consider his educational conceptions associated with skepticism, a philosophical movement created by Pirro de Élis (360-270 BC). This controversy is investigated in this paper through the rhetorical analysis proposed by Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, comparing Dewey’s discourse with the pyrrhonic formulations. This investigation results in the discovery of some similarities and an important difference between the discourses examined. This difference, in turn, leads to the examination of a philosophical movement prior to Pyrrhonism, the sophistry, with Protagoras of Abdera (490-421 B.C.) as its main representative. Sophistry is analyzed in this work according to contemporary authors who diverge from the traditional characterization instituted by Plato. The conclusions identify important coincidences between the Deweyan discourse and the Sophistic discourse, which allows Dewey to be associated with the rhetorical discursive tradition and to position his educational proposals within the scope of rhetorical pedagogy. This pedagogy proposes to lead students to compose and express their personal inclinations, not in the narrow space of individual life, but in the broader horizon of the community, through methods that aim to project the student in the public space of deliberation and action.O ponto de partida deste artigo é uma polêmica que envolve o filósofo e educador John Dewey (1859-1952) desde século passado: tanto autores contrários quanto autores favoráveis às suas teses consideram as suas concepções educacionais associadas ao ceticismo, corrente filosófica criada por Pirro de Élis (360-270 a.C.). Essa polêmica é investigada neste artigo por meio da análise retórica proposta por Perelman e Olbrechts-Tyteca, comparando o discurso de Dewey com as formulações pirrônicas. Dessa investigação resulta a descoberta de algumas semelhanças e uma importante diferença entre os discursos examinados. Essa diferença, por sua vez, conduz ao exame de uma corrente filosófica anterior ao pirronismo, a sofística, cujo principal representante é Protágoras de Abdera (490-421 a.C.). A sofística é analisada neste trabalho segundo autores contemporâneos que divergem da caracterização tradicional instituída por Platão. As conclusões identificam importantes coincidências entre o discurso deweyano e o discurso sofístico, o que permite associar Dewey à tradição discursiva retórica e posicionar as suas propostas educacionais no âmbito da pedagogia retórica. Essa pedagogia propõe levar os estudantes a compor e expressar as suas inclinações pessoais, não no estreito espaço da vida individual, mas no horizonte mais amplo da coletividade, por meio de métodos que visam projetar o aluno no espaço público da deliberação e da ação

Restructuring Biotecnol

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 EconomicsThis paper is a case-based essay on a biotechnology company – Biotecnol – which is undergoing a period of crucial decisions regarding its activity: to maintain its business as it is, meaning it will continue to provide services together with the development of proprietary products; or to decide to focus on only one area giving up on the other. In order to perform this project, I had several meetings at Biotecnol’s headquarters with both the CEO and the CFO. During these encounters we had long conversations where I had the opportunity to discuss and place all the questions and doubts regarding the history of the company in order to fully understand its background and business