Sistema de recomendação para alívio de stress

Stress is considered to be a normal part of our lives, especially when taken into account that people are constantly trying to push their limits and the limits of others around them. Whether at home or at their jobs, the idea that to be successful one must work harder is deeply rooted within society because such behavior has shown positive results in the past. Stressful events can work as a reactor for people to feel the necessary motivation to move on with their tasks. However, if uncontrolled, may lead to health-related consequences, such as cardiovascular diseases, sleep deprivation, and anxiety. Therefore, it is important to not only recognize that stress has serious negative impacts in the lives of people but also to find mechanisms to cope with it. This document presents a solution in the form of a web application capable of providing stresseasing and health improving recommendations that adapt to the users of the application by considering their ratings from past recommendation, as well as their profiles. Through an engaging and interactive graphical user interface, users can receive personalized recommendations via system notifications. These notifications are composed of a demonstrative card and a description, as well as a collection of documents with insightful information regarding the recommendations being provided. This web application is supported by three major components, designed to operate both synchronously and asynchronously in a microservices-oriented architecture, promoting the flexibility and scalability of the solution. Furthermore, for the solution to provide recommendations, it was necessary to implement a filtering technique. Among the most common ones, the content-based filtering is the most advantageous, meaning that a content-based recommender system was developed as part of the solution. Lastly, it was concluded that the web application satisfactorily meets the established requirements. However, due to lack of user-generated data, the randomly generated data used to demonstrate how a proper evaluation would be conducted cannot be subject for interpretation.O stress é considerado parte integrante nas nossas vidas, especialmente quando consideramos que as pessoas estão constantemente a tentar superar os seus limites, muitas vezes delegando essas mesmas expectativas àqueles que as rodeiam. Tanto em casa, com os seus parceiros e familiares, como no seu local de trabalho, a ideia de que para se obter sucesso tem de se trabalhar mais está enraizada na sociedade, sendo que comportamentos semelhantes no passado comprovaram resultados positivos nesse sentido. Os eventos de stress podem funcionar como um sentimento de motivação para que as pessoas consigam desempenhar as suas funções diariamente. Contudo, caso não sejam controlados, poderão trazer consequências graves relacionadas com a saúde, tais como doenças cardiovasculares, privação do sono, e problemas de ansiedade. Assim, é importante não apenas reconhecer que o stress tem diversos impactos sérios na vida das pessoas, mas também encontrar formas de o gerir apropriadamente. Este documento apresenta uma solução na forma de uma aplicação web capaz de fornecer recomendações para redução do stress e melhoria de saúde, que se adaptam aos utilizadores da aplicação considerando as suas avaliações a recomendações no passado. Através de uma interface gráfica envolvente e interativa, os utilizadores podem receber recomendações personalizadas por meio de notificações do sistema. Essas notificações são compostas por um cartão demonstrativo e uma descrição, assim como de um conjunto de documentos com informações detalhadas acerca das recomendações fornecidas. Esta aplicação é composta por três componentes principais, desenhados para interagirem entre si tanto de forma síncrona como assíncrona numa arquitetura orientada a microserviços, promovendo a flexibilidade e escalabilidade da solução. Para além disso, para que a solução seja capaz de fornecer recomendações, foi preciso implementar uma técnica de filtragem. Entre as mais comuns, a filtragem baseada em conteúdo demonstrou ser a mais vantajosa, significando que foi desenvolvido um sistema de recomendação baseado em conteúdo como parte da solução. Finalmente, concluiu-se que a aplicação web vai satisfatoriamente de encontro aos requisitos estabelecidos. Contudo, devido à falta de dados gerados pelos utilizadores da aplicação, os dados gerados aleatoriamente para demonstrar de que forma uma avaliação adequada seria realizada, não estão sujeitos a interpretação

Charisma and democracy: Max Weber on the riddle of political change in modern societies

The elite theory of Max Weber has recently been rediscovered by political scientists and political theorists who have sought to explore both the heuristic and the normative potential of plebiscitary leader democracy. Notwithstanding the merits of this wave of studies, this paper argues that attention should be shifted from Weber's context-specific defence of plebiscitary leadership in post-WWI Germany to his broader conception of charisma as an attempt to grasp the enigma of significant social and political change. Contemporary democratic theory, this paper contends, can fruitfully draw on Weber to sink into the antinomies and ambiguities of a transformative democratic politics.This article was funded by Academy of Finland (Grand No. 312430)

Beyond the reactionary sea change: antimodern thought, American politics and political science

This article examines the migration of reactionary antimodern thought from Europe to the United States of America. It assesses the impact that the work of two antimodern thinkers, Leo Strauss and Eric Voegelin, had on two distinct domains of American thought, namely, conservative political ideology and academic political science. The paper argues that the antimodern perspective, eagerly absorbed by many intellectuals, has pushed American conservatism not only in an anti-liberal, but also in an antidemocratic direction. On the other hand, in academic political science, Strauss's and Voegelin's critiques of modernity, though certainly audible and noted, were neither taken seriously nor confronted in depth by the mainstream of the discipline. This neglect should be corrected, I contend, for contemporary political science is in need of a mature and nuanced theory of modernity that is capable of rising up to the radical challenge of the antimoderns

Der Eine und die Vielen: Eine kritische Reflexion über die Grundlagen der Demokratietheorie von Hans Kelsen

This paper offers a critical examination of the foundations of Hans Kelsen’s democratic theory in neo-Kantian epistemology. It argues that, while such an epistemological framework provides coherence to his intellectual endeavor by reconciling his monistic legal theory with a pluralist democratic theory, it weakens the theoretical fertility and analytic edge of his political thought. Furthermore, I also claim that the Kelsenian epistemological turn, in its understanding of both law and politics, remains very much entangled in the dilemmas and modes of thought of a philosophical tradition that Kelsen himself believed to have entirely surpassed. His nevertheless insightful analysis of modern democratic institutions would therefore benefit from being read through different philosophical spectacles.Dieser Aufsatz ist eine kritische Untersuchung der Grundlagen von Hans Kelsens Demokratietheorie in der neo-kantianischen Erkenntnistheorie. Es wird argumentiert, dass ein solcher erkenntnistheoretischer Rahmen seinen intellektuellen Bestrebungen zwar Kohärenz verleiht, indem er seine monistische Rechtstheorie mit einer pluralistischen Demokratietheorie in Einklang bringt, dass er aber die theoretische Fruchtbarkeit und analytische Schärfe seines politischen Denkens schwächt. Darüber hinaus behaupte ich, dass die Kelsen’sche erkenntnistheoretische Wende in ihrem Verständnis sowohl des Rechts als auch der Politik sehr stark in die Dilemmata und Denkweisen einer philosophischen Tradition verstrickt bleibt, die Kelsen selbst glaubte, vollständig überwunden zu haben. Seine nichtsdestotrotz aufschlussreiche Analyse der modernen demokratischen Institutionen würde daher davon profitieren, durch eine andere philosophische Brille gelesen zu werde

Do PE-Backed firms underperform in the long-run? : evidence on the post-exit operating performance of PE-Backed French firms

Este estudo explora a performance de longo prazo de empresas intervencionadas por fundos de Private Equity utilizando uma amostra manualmente compilada de 90 empresas francesas que saíram do portefólio do fundo de Private Equity via trade sale ou IPO. Deste modo, procuramos contribuir para a compreensão dos efeitos de longo prazo dos investimentos de Private Equity nas empresas. Nos três anos posteriores à saída do fundo de Private Equity da estrutura acionista da empresa, a performance operacional da nossa amostra, em termos de EBITDA Margin, ROIC e ROA, é comparável ou ligeiramente inferior a um grupo de controlo, constituído por empresas da mesma indústria e com dimensão semelhantes. Adicionalmente, foi encontrada evidência de um maior declínio na performance no caso de saídas via trade sale, de Secondary Buy-outs e para empresas mais pequenas. Este desempenho negativo face ao grupo de controlo parece resultar de uma deterioração na gestão do fundo de maneio e na subida do peso dos custos com materiais nas vendas. Além disso, os resultados não parecem estar correlacionados com a crítica comum de que as empresas de Private Equity aumentam os seus retornos em detrimentos da rentabilidade de longo prazo das empresas que adquirem, facto evidenciado por uma evolução comparável nas vendas entre os dois grupos. Pelo contrário, os resultados são consistentes com uma erosão progressiva dos mecanismos de gestão e corporate governance introduzidos pelas empresas de Private Equity durante o período de buy-out.Cette étude concerne la performance à long terme des entreprises acquises par des fonds de Private Equity. Avec un nouvel échantillon de 90 entreprises Françaises qui ont sortie le portefeuille des fonds de Private Equity entre 2001 et 2010, nous essayons d’améliorer la compréhension de cette problématique. Nous constatons qu’après la sortie des fonds de Private Equity, les entreprises de notre échantillon ont une évolution comparable ou légèrement plus faible en termes d’EBITDA Margin, ROIC et ROA par rapport à un groupe de control d’entreprises dans la même industrie et avec taille comparable qui n’avaient jamais été acquises par un fond Private Equity. La réduction de performance est la plus grande pour les investissements sortis par trade sale, les entreprises qui ont été rachetées par des fonds de Private Equity plus qu’une fois et aussi les plus petites entreprises. De plus, nous avons trouvé évidence que la baisse de performance est causée par une plus faible gestion des fonds de roulement et par l’augmentation des coûts de matériaux. Pour conclure, nous fournissons évidence que la réduction de performance est mieux expliquée par l’érosion des mécanismes supérieures introduits par des entreprises de Private Equity pendant la période de « buy-out » que par une exploitation opportuniste des entreprises de son portefeuille.We study the post-exit performance of formerly PE-Backed firms using a novel hand collected sample of 90 French firms with exits either through trade sale or IPO in the period between 2001 and 2010. This study represents an attempt to improve the understanding of the long-term impact of Private Equity investments in portfolio companies. Our main finding is of a comparable to slightly worse operating performance measured by EBITDA Margin, ROIC and ROA relative to an industry and size matched control group of firms never PE-Backed in the three years post-exit. We find evidence suggesting that the decline in performance is higher for trade sales, for secondary buy-outs and for smaller firms. The relative poor performance seems to be driven by a deteriorating working capital management and rising material costs in percentage of sales. In addition, we find little support for previous criticism that Private Equity firms increase their returns at the expenses of the long-term value of portfolio companies as illustrated by the lack of significant change in sales growth adjusted by our control group. Our findings are more consistent with an erosion of Private-Equity mechanisms of improved governance, monitoring and operational efficiency

Corporate governance failure at PT

The following case study depicts the bitter transfiguration of Portugal Telecom, SGPS (PT), a multinational telecommunications company that was once an honourable flag of innovation, corporate governance standards in Portugal and overseas. It scrutinises the controversial episodes that paved the way for the pitiful condition in which PT is nowadays: a company that carries the weight of a ruinous €897 million investment in a defaulted company and no more than a 25.6% stake in a heavily indebted Brazilian carrier. The free-fall is made, ironically, of a complete disregard for best corporate governance practices, allowing for PT’s major shareholders to take over the helm of the company, using it selfishly as a cash cow

How do you ‘market-ing’?: Exploring marketing practice in commercial organizations

Marketing practice has to do with how practitioners carry out marketing activities, mostly in the context of business. Currently, the marketing discipline faces a gap between practice and theory, which has generated confusion amongst practitioners on the role and functions of marketing. Additionally, marketing has been disproportionately practised at a tactical level, which contributes to the field losing its place in strategic planning and decision-making. Considering these problems and given the lack of studies that address how marketing is being practised by commercial organizations, the main purpose of this study has been to develop an understanding of the role that marketing plays in organizations, the way it is structured and what functions are attributed to it. This research builds on empirical data collected mainly through interviews to marketing decision-makers in commercial organizations. Three main findings were revealed by this research: market orientation is the unifying idea of the role of marketing, the marketing structure goes beyond a department, and marketing functions skew towards communication. At a theoretical level, this study adds to the current literature by presenting the relevance of market orientation, expanding the notion of structural marketing, and confirming that currently marketing skews towards communication, raising relevant questions of its’ impact. At a practical and managerial level, this research contributes to the understanding of how marketing is practised. It may help marketing practitioners and decision-makers to reflect on the role, structure, and functions of marketing in their organizations

Biochemical scores comparison with TE (fibroscan) in HCV cirrhotic patients treated with DAA

Introdução: A infeção pelo Vírus da Hepatite C (HCV) é uma das principais causas de doença hepática crónica no mundo. Com elevado risco de cirrose e carcinoma hepatocelular. A terapêutica antivírica direta (DAA) estendeu o alcance terapêutico a praticamente todos os indivíduos infetados, com resposta virológica sustentada (SVR) em mais de 90% dos tratados, proporcionando melhoria da sobrevida e da fibrose hepática. Métodos: Neste estudo retrospetivo foram incluídos 64 doentes monoinfetados com HCV e com fibrose avançada que alcançaram SVR após tratamento com DAA iniciada entre janeiro de 2015 e junho de 2016. Antes do inicio do tratamento e 24 semanas pós-tratamento foram testadas a sensibilidade e especificidade dos scores ALT/AST ratio (AAR), Aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) e FIB-4, comparando com o FibroScan. Resultados: Na comparação antes do tratamento, os scores tiveram desempenhos semelhantes: FIB-4 com AUC 0.784, 79% sensibilidade e 82 % especificidade. Na comparação pós-tratamento: FIB-4 com AUC 0.809, 82% sensibilidade e 70% especificidade; APRI com AUC 0.841, 64% sensibilidade e 90% especificidade; AAR não apresentou resultados estatisticamente significativos. Discussão: No inicio, todos os scores mostraram boa capacidade diagnóstica para cirrose, especialmente o FIB-4. No pós-tratamento, principal objetivo do estudo, o FIB-4 e o APRI apresentaram bom desempenho, comparativamente com o FibroScan, na avaliação das alterações na extensão da fibrose hepática. O AAR falhou, possivelmente devido a confundidores. Conclusão: O FIB-4 e o APRI demonstraram ser boas alternativas ao FibroScan na avaliação das alterações na extensão da fibrose hepática. Apesar de serem necessários estudos maiores para confirmação desta hipótese.Backround: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the main causes of chronic liver disease worldwide. With elevated risk for development of cirrhosis and Hepatocellular carcinoma. The Direct Acting Antiviral (DAA) therapy extended the treatment reach to practically every patient, achieving Sustained Virological Responses (SVR) in over 90% of patients, providing improvement of clinical outcomes and liver fibrosis. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study were enrolled 64 monoinfected HCV patients with advanced fibrosis who achieved SVR after treatment with DAA therapy beginning from January 2015 to June 2016. At baseline and 24 weeks post-treatment were tested the sensibility and specificity of the ALT/AST ratio (AAR), Aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) and the FIB-4 score against TE (FibroScan). Results: At the baseline checkpoint, all scores were similar, with FIB-4 accomplishing AUC 0.784, 79% sensitivity and 82 % specificity. At the post-treatment checkpoint: FIB-4 had AUC 0.809, 82% sensitivity and 70% specificity; APRI had AUC 0.841, 64% sensitivity and 90% specificity; AAR did not show statistically significative results. Discussion: At baseline, all scores had a good diagnostic accuracy for cirrhosis, specially FIB-4. At the post-treatment, the main endpoint, the FIB-4 and APRI scores performed well compared with FibroScan to evaluate the changes in the extension of liver fibrosis. The AAR failed possible due to confounding. Conclusion: The FIB-4 and APRI scores proved to be acceptable alternatives for the FibroScan to evaluate the changes in the extension of liver fibrosis. Though bigger studies are needed for confirming this hypothesis

Report of the "Comissão Geológica do Reino" on the scientific voyage to several European countries by its Member Carlos Ribeiro in 1858

Relatório original, datado de 31 de Janeiro de 1859, do espólio do "Arquivo Histórico do LNEG"Apresentação do Relatório da viagem de Carlos Ribeiro, da Comissão Geológica do Reino, a diversos países da Europa (França, Áustria, Hungria, Itália e Espanha) de 4 de julho a 14 de dezembro de 1858. A viagem teve por objetivos adquirir coleções e livros científicos, classificar os fósseis das bacias terciárias marinhas do Tejo e do Guadiana e estabelecer contactos com os cientistas das instituições europeias congéneres