The role of cost accounting in the university performance measurement in Portugal

Cost accounting is aimed at emphasising those elements of costs and profits of original importance to the management board of an organizational unit. Therefore, cost accounting was initially understood as mere collector of costs and profits, using the traditional system of costing everything, a budget with a limited base. Originally, it was designed to calculate real costs with the aim to determine the results. In public organizations, the aim of cost accounting, costs or management, can be summarized as follows: o Obtain information of how costs are found, both the ones corresponding to the internal activities as well as those for external services rendered and the cost realized investments; o Obtain information for cost and control management, with efficiency indicators of how the planned objectives were achieved and the efficient use of available resources. This paper aims at knowing the role of cost accounting in the public sector of higher education, and checks its contribution for the establishment of the management indicators in public institutions of higher education.Cost Accounting, management, indicators, education

Rural-Urban Economic Disparities among China’s Elderly

Some of the most controversial effects of China's post-1978 economic reforms have been on regional income disparities and on the divide between urban and rural development. How important are those income disparities? And how do they affect the elderly, who are perhaps the most vulnerable to the changes brought by China’s transition? What is the government’s role in providing income support? This paper examines the rural-urban disparities in income, expenditures, and government support among the elderly in China. We test for significant differences in levels and sources of income and in types of expenditures using a nationwide survey on rural and urban elderly conducted by China’s Elderly Scientific Research Center in 1992. This survey consists of two separate sets of responses, one for urban areas (9,889 respondents) and the other for rural areas (10,194 respondents), and provides demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics of the elderly. In addition, we propose to investigate the type and level of government income support programs at the local and state level. The findings are evaluated and policy implications discussed in the context of China’s transition to a market economy and choice of development strategies.

Statistical Mechanics Characterization of Neuronal Mosaics

The spatial distribution of neuronal cells is an important requirement for achieving proper neuronal function in several parts of the nervous system of most animals. For instance, specific distribution of photoreceptors and related neuronal cells, particularly the ganglion cells, in mammal's retina is required in order to properly sample the projected scene. This work presents how two concepts from the areas of statistical mechanics and complex systems, namely the \emph{lacunarity} and the \emph{multiscale entropy} (i.e. the entropy calculated over progressively diffused representations of the cell mosaic), have allowed effective characterization of the spatial distribution of retinal cells.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, The following article has been submitted to Applied Physics Letters. If it is published, it will be found online at http://apl.aip.org

O capital intelectual no sector público

Com a denominação de Capital Intelectual pretende-se reconhecer o conjunto de activos intangíveis de que dispõe uma organização. Os administradores das entidades públicas gerem activos intangíveis, tanto ou mais que os seus colegas das empresas privadas, o que justifica o seu crescente interesse nos progressos do Capital Intelectual. É, de qualquer modo, um tanto difícil aplicar ao sector público modelos desenhados para as empresas, tanto mais que os objectivos das administrações públicas diferem das empresas privadas, como a maximização do resultado ou a criação de valor para o accionista. Os recursos humanos, com os seus conhecimentos, habilidades e atitudes são fundamentais para que a entidade atinja os seus objectivos. A determinação do Capital Intelectual permite o estabelecimento de objectivos realistas assim como a pronta resolução dos problemas. Este trabalho é de duplo objectivo: analisar os distintos critérios propostos na literatura para diferenciar entre tipos de Capital Intelectual e propor um modelo de Capital Intelectual adaptado às características especiais do sector público. Apresentam-se também alguns indicadores de gestão do Capital Intelectual destinados ao sector público, agrupados em várias categorias

The joint Africa-Europe partnership strategy: from Cairo to Lisbon: from an EU strategy for Africa to a joint Africa-EU strategy

Tese de mestrado, Políticas Europeias, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2009The scope of this thesis is to study the evolution of the EU's Africa policy in a timeframe of seven years between 2000 and 2007 - from the first to the second EUAfrica Summit. The study aims to identify dominant EU motives and forces in shaping a Joint Strategic Partnership between the two continents and its importance for the EU's positioning in the world. On the one hand, the study will investigate documents relating to the EU-Africa dialogue, and considered key to determine which interests, actors, and discourse have been dominant; on the other hand, it will investigate documents linked to parallel EU strategies over the same period likewise considered key to the evolution of the EU's Africa policy. The thesis is that EU Africa policies must be seen in a wider political context in which the EU aims to project itself in the world as a significant international actor with the power to actively influence world politics through a more integrated approach by integrating, mainstreaming and coordinating external policies and instruments including strategies leading to a greater visibility in the world. The study concludes that Africa represents an important field of interest for the EU. Motives and interests are mixed and include political, economic, military, security, social, environmental and moral aspects. Africa's geographical proximity, its historical relations with EU Member States and low political sensitivity as a region compared to for example the Middle East are important factors that have allowed for a high degree of Member State consensus on coordinating different policy instruments as a means to establish a coherent and effective foreign policy through initiatives ranging from development aid, over humanitarian assistance to military action with initiatives covering conflict prevention, conflict management and peacekeeping missions.O objectivo desta dissertação é estudar a evolução da política da UE para a África num período de sete anos entre 2000 e 2007 desde a primeira à segunda Cimeira EuropaÁfrica. A investigação pretende identificar que motivos e forças foram dominantes na UE em formar a Parceria Estratégica Conjunta entre os dois continentes e a sua importância para o posicionamento da UE no mundo. Por um lado, a investigação pretende estudar documentos relativos ao diálogo UE-África, e considerados cruciais para determinar que interesses, ideias e discursos foram dominantes; por outro lado, vai investigar documentos relacionados a estratégias paralelas durante o mesmo período igualmente considerados determinantes para a evolução da política da UE para a África. A tese é que as políticas para a África da UE devem ser vistas num contexto politico mais amplo em que a UE ambiciona projectar-se no mundo como um actor global de peso com o poder para activamente influenciar a política mundial através duma abordagem mais elaborada que passa por integrar, alinhar e coordenar diversos instrumentos de acção externa com estratégias que a conferem uma maior visibilidade no mundo. A investigação conclui que a África representa um núcleo importante de interesses para a UE. Motivos e interesses são mistos e englobam aspectos políticos, económicos, militares, de segurança, sociais, ambientais e morais. A proximidade geográfica da África, as suas relações históricas com Estados Membros da UE e baixo sensibilidade político como região em comparação por exemplo com o Médio Oriente são factores importantes que têm contribuído para um alto nível de consenso entre os Estados Membros sobre a coordenação de diferentes instrumentos políticos como maneira de estabelecer uma política externa coerente e eficaz através de iniciativas que vão desde ajuda para o desenvolvimento e ajuda humanitária a acção militar incluindo iniciativas que abrangem prevenção de conflitos, gestão de conflitos, e missões de paz

Transparency and Accountability in Portuguese Public Universities

Universities are one of the most important institutions in our society. They are knowledge-creating organizations that contribute to the social and economic development of society through new concepts, ideas, applications, and inventions. They play a key role in social criticism, identifying key issues and contributing to informed public debates. Governance is a relatively new concept in the approach to the literature on public management. It is related to the way in which a society or organization is governed or to the creation of conditions for the existence of a social order, triggered by collective actions. In this article we will study the models of university governance and analyze the problem of accountability in its context, with a view to assessing the transparency with which financial information is currently disseminated in Portugal, by public Higher Education Institutions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Incentives for on-the-job greening : an experimental approach to test portuguese small and medium enterprises responsiveness

Mestrado Bolonha em ManagementCom a urgência da ação climática e a relevância dos empregos verdes, tendo como referência o quadro de apoios à Investigação e Desenvolvimento e o cenário nacional, esta dissertação produziu aprendizagens sobre o que poderá constituir um esquema de apoio à formação no trabalho para empregos verdes, com base nas preferências do público-alvo, as Pequenas e Médias Empresas Portuguesas. Através de um processo de investigação inovador, que combinou um Discrete Choice Experiment e perguntas qualitativas, são medidas as preferências entre uma dedução fiscal e uma subvenção, com os resultados a sugerir que a presença de uma dedução fiscal pode ser um pouco mais relevante para os empresários quando comparada com uma subvenção, num cenário em que as empresas não rentáveis seriam elegíveis para o incentivo fiscal. As empresas também valorizaram muito a presença de uma Certificação de empregos verdes e de um Selo de Excelência, mas as componentes de apoio à candidatura foram consideradas as características mais relevantes, especialmente para as empresas mais pequenas e mais experientes. Por sua vez, a burocracia da candidatura influencia fortemente a decisão de candidatura a um esquema de apoio, independentemente da dimensão da empresa ou da experiência com financiamento público de I&D. Os resultados também corroboram a relevância dos apoios não financeiros para impulsionar as PME portuguesas a cumprirem as metas ambientais, nomeadamente através da Consultoria para a criação de um ‘Plano de Empregos Verdes’, apesar de muitas empresas já estarem a fazer esforços significativos para tornar as suas operações e a sua força de trabalho mais ‘verdes’With the urgency of climate action and the relevance of green jobs, using the framework of R&D support schemes and the national scenario as a reference, this dissertation provides insights on what could make up a support scheme for ‘on-the-job greening’, based on the preferences of the target public, Portuguese Small and Medium Enterprises. Through an innovative survey that combined a Discrete Choice Experiment and qualitative questions, preferences towards a tax deduction and a grant are measured, with results suggesting the presence of a tax deduction might be slightly more relevant for subjects when compared to a grant, in a scenario in which not profitable firms were not excluded from the fiscal incentive. Firms also highly valued the presence of a green jobs Certification and of a Seal of Excellence, but the application support components were deemed the most relevant scheme features, especially for the smaller and more experienced firms. In its turn, application paperwork strongly influences the decision to apply to a support scheme, regardless of firm size or experience with R&D public funding. Results also support the relevance of non-financial aid to propel Portuguese SME to meet environmental targets, namely through Consultancy for creating a ‘Green Jobs Plan’, even though many firms are already making solid efforts towards ‘greening’ their operations and their workforce.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Corporate Governance and Internatial Audit in Public Higher Education Institutions in Portugal

Governance covers a comprehensive analysis of how higher education is governed. Governance comprises a complex set of aspects such as the legal framework, the features of the institutions, the form of relationship with the whole system, the funding model, as they are being held accountable on how money is spent and the less formal structures and relationships that affect behavior.The radical changes in the university environment, has imposed changes within the higher education institutions (HEIs). The massification of education and the reduction of the company's willingness to fund the decrease in government funding and increasing institutional autonomy have forced universities to adopt new forms of manageme In Portugal, the Legal Regime of Higher Education Institutions (RJIES) sought to promote meaningful change and a paradigm shift in the governance of these institutions in Portugal. The main objective of this article is to understand the consequences that the new regulations had in the governance of HEI and in the adaptation of processes, in a context of reduction of higher education funding