Evaluation of public policies in Portuguese regional development context – a preliminary methodological approach supported in north region

The evaluation of territorial programs and plans has been gaining importance, both in political-institutional speeches and practices and in academic reflections. In Portugal, the structure of planning, operacionalized on a vast number of quite recent instruments, requires an effort of articulation in the guidelines to various scales (from European until the municipal) and of the various fields (some sectoral, others, of more transversal nature). The development of monitoring systems, as well as the generalisation of the evaluation procedures, answer to the need of articulation between policies and support the strategic nature that is planning today. As a part of the Research Project SPOTIA - Sustainable Spatial Policy Orientations and Territorial Impact Assessment - Contribution to Portuguese context' (Centre of Geographical Studies – University of Lisbon to the Ministry of Science and Technologies), this paper aims to present an example of the first outputs of this research on the analysis of coherence between three different instruments planning, such as the National Policy Planning (PNPOT), a guiding document of national level, the Regional Spatial Plan to Northern Territory (PROT-Norte), the regional guidance document, and the Regional Operational Programme (PO-Norte), the regional program associated to a financing plan and program implementation. The analysis of coherence between these documents is not only between their general, strategic and specific objectives, but also by the indicator system assessment of each document. With this analysis we can reach the domains that are constantly, or not, present in these documents. In this context, a first essay of a methodological approach on evaluation of public policies in Portuguese context will be presented.

Trans youth in Portugal: gendered embodiments

The lived gendered experience of trans youth constitutes a relatively overlooked aspect of current research. Addressing this gap, this study reveals how young trans people in Portugal define their identities and legitimate their bodies in daily life. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 12 Portuguese trans young people, this study focuses on how trans youth situate themselves within dominant paradigms for understanding (trans)gender identities and embodiment. In doing so, this study engages with wider discussion regarding transgender embodiment that aims to move beyond binary/non-binary gender divisions, as well as privilege the voices and lived experiences of trans people. As the study demonstrates, trans youth are able to (re)construct authentic and coherent gendered selves through the incorporation of a diverse range of frameworks available in contemporary society. Although these frameworks may sometimes seem incompatible and contradictory, trans youth demonstrate conditional forms of agency in the way they (re)create their gender identity and embodiment. By revealing the diversity of trans participant discourses, practices and embodiments of gender, this study makes a key contribution to research on trans youth in Portugal and beyond, as well as broader debates.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Finance-Growth Nexus: An Empirical Analysis from Brazil

A well-established financial system is very crucial for the economic growth and development of any country. There are many aspects that are studied in relation with financial development such as savings, investments, and technical innovations etc. which affect the growth of economy in a country in one way or the other. In this context, the researcher has designed this study to explore the relationship amid financial development and economic growth of Brazil, which is clear from the title of the study i.e. finance-growth nexus. In continuation of this objective, the researcher has collected data from Brazil and the collected data is time series. The period for which the data has been gathered comprises of 30 years and has been collected from the most authentic sources of data or databases such as World Bank Development. The collected data has been analyzed by applying the techniques such as unit root, bounds test and ARDL estimation. These results indicate that private credit has noteworthy along with positive impact on economic growth. The next result of the study suggests that gross domestic saving does not pose any momentous impact on the economic growth of the country. The impact of trade openness has been found as significant along with negative in Brazil. The inflation has significant but negative impact on economic growth in longer run but this impact is insignificant in shorter run

Information management and exponencial learning in Society 5.0: foundations for an integrated system

Humanity uses the information to reduce discomfort, effort, and errors. With this in mind, headphones were invented, so that the music could be heard without disturbing others; home appliances were created to reduce the effort in washing dishes or clothes, and calculating machines were developed so that human distraction would not cause an accident in calculating the weight that a bridge could support. But the information has hardly changed the certainties and doubts about which university course to take, what the individual's daily life will be like in the academic path, which includes when and what to study, what to eat and what to do in their free time. Is there a hobby that the individual could enjoy, but does not know? There is greater access to information, but many times instead of navigating this information, the individual sinks in the middle of it. In addition, teachers and students remain stuck in the curriculum, with the same menu being provided for carnivores, vegetarians, or lactose intolerants. If before, students were beaten with wood in their hands and were attacked psychologically, having to learn the same as everyone else, nowadays only hands are no longer suffering from wood, at least in theory. Reducing mistakes in choosing a higher education course and the whole life that governs the academic path, can be a dream for many individuals, and software that collects enough information to learn about the individual and guide him/her on the beginning of their academic path could be an extremely useful compass. Knowing which university course to take, which discipline, among the electives, to choose, knowing the right time to get up according to the circadian cycle, what to do throughout the day, what and when to eat, are all informational outputs that utopian software could provide so as to contribute to the individual's success. But would such informational management drastically reduce the hassles, efforts, and mistakes to be made, or would it negatively affect the individual's life due to lack of experience with failure? Is the information learned from failure really necessary for success? This article starts from a brief history about information in education, analyses information management in Society 5.0, in the era of exponential technologies, and the construction of competence matrices. The goal is to start a debate about the delegation and trust in software, the management of personal information for individual success.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Towards guidelines for building a business case and gathering evidence of software reference architectures in industry

Background: Software reference architectures are becoming widely adopted by organizations that need to support the design and maintenance of software applications of a shared domain. For organizations that plan to adopt this architecture-centric approach, it becomes fundamental to know the return on investment and to understand how software reference architectures are designed, maintained, and used. Unfortunately, there is little evidence-based support to help organizations with these challenges. Methods: We have conducted action research in an industry-academia collaboration between the GESSI research group and everis, a multinational IT consulting firm based in Spain. Results: The results from such collaboration are being packaged in order to create guidelines that could be used in similar contexts as the one of everis. The main result of this paper is the construction of empirically-grounded guidelines that support organizations to decide on the adoption of software reference architectures and to gather evidence to improve RA-related practices. Conclusions: The created guidelines could be used by other organizations outside of our industry-academia collaboration. With this goal in mind, we describe the guidelines in detail for their use.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Use of different doses of Hidrogel for sweet pepper seedling production

El pimiento (Capsicum annuum) es una hortaliza de gran importancia socioeconómica en Brasil. Una de las principales etapas del sistema de producción es la producción de plántulas de calidad, y esto requiere de un sustrato con buena porosidad y retención de água. La técnica de adición de hidrogel como acondicionador del suelo tiene como objetivo aumentar la capacidad de retener agua en sustratos para plántulas. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar el desarrollo de las plántulas de pimiento con el uso de cuatro dosis del hidrogel hydroplan-EB añadido al sustrato Bioterra, siendo: 0, 1,0, 1,5 y 2,0 g kg-1 de sustrato. El ensayo ha sido desarrollado entre marzo y abril de 2007 en vivero cerrado con tela en la Universidad de Oeste Paulista (UNOESTE), Presidente Prudente - SP. Se utilizó el pimiento variedad Cascadura Ikeda. Las variables evaluadas fueron altura de planta, longitud de la raíz, número de hojas, masa seca de lo dosel vegetativo y parte de la raíz. El uso de hidrogel no he causado diferencias en el sistema radicular de las plántulas de pimiento. No hubo efecto del hidrogel en la longitud del dosel vegetativo, pero el hidrogel he interferido con la masa de lo dosel, pues con el aumento de la dosis de hidrogel se ha observado como respuesta el desarrollo de las hojas y no el crecimiento en altura, promoviendo un ajuste lineal positivo significativo del peso seco de lo dosel vegetativo con lo aumento de la dosis de hidrogel, proporcionando una plántula de mejor calidad.O pimentão (Capsicum annuum) é uma hortaliça de grande importância socioeconômica no Brasil. Uma das principais etapas do sistema produtivo é a produção de mudas de qualidade e para isso é necessário um substrato com boa retenção de água e porosidade. A técnica da adição de hidrogel como condicionador de solo visa aumentar a capacidade de retenção de água em substratos para mudas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar o desenvolvimento de mudas de pimentão com o uso de quatro doses do hidrogel Hydroplan-EB adicionado ao substrato Bioterra, sendo: 0; 1,0; 1,5 e 2,0 g kg-1 de substrato. O ensaio foi conduzido durante o período de março a abril de 2007, em viveiro telado da Universidade do Oeste Paulista (Unoeste), Presidente Prudente – SP. Utilizou-se pimentão variedade Cascadura Ikeda. As variáveis avaliadas foram altura da planta; comprimento da raiz; número de folhas; massa seca da parte aérea e da parte radicular. O uso do hidrogel não promoveu diferenças no sistema radicular da muda de pimentão. Não houve efeito do hidrogel no comprimento da parte aérea, mas o hidrogel interferiu na massa seca da parte aérea, pois quando se aumentou a dose do hidrogel se observou como resposta o desenvolvimento de folhas e não o crescimento em altura promovendo um ajuste linear positivo significativo da massa seca da parte aérea com aumento da dose de hidrogel proporcionando uma muda de melhor qualidade.Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) is a vegetable of great socioeconomic importance in Brazil. One of the main stages of the production system is the production of quality seedlingsand, for this, it is required a substrate with good water retention and porosity. The technique of adding hydrogel as soil conditioner aims to increase the capacity of water retention on substrates for seedlings. The objective of this study was the analysis of the sweet pepper seedlings development using four doses of hydrogel Hydroplan-EB added to the Bioterra substrate, using 0, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 g kg-1 of substrate. The test was conducted during March-April 2007, at a seedling nursery of Unoeste, Presidente Prudente, São Paulo State, Brazil. It was used sweet pepper variety Cascadura Ikeda. The measured variables were plant height, root length, leaf number, dry mass of aerial part and of roots. The use of hydrogel did not influence the root system of the seedling peppers. There was no effect of hydrogel in the shoot length, but the hidrogel doses affected the aerial part dry weight because when we increased the dose of the hydrogel was observed in response to developing leaves and not the height growth. This fact promoted a significant positive linear adjustment of the aerial part mass dry with increasing dose of hydrogel, providing a change of better quality

Adaptive evolution and divergence of SERPINB3: a young duplicate in great Apes

A series of duplication events led to an expansion of clade B Serine Protease Inhibitors (SERPIN), currently displaying a large repertoire of functions in vertebrates. Accordingly, the recent duplicates SERPINB3 and B4 located in human 18q21.3 SERPIN cluster control the activity of different cysteine and serine proteases, respectively. Here, we aim to assess SERPINB3 and B4 coevolution with their target proteases in order to understand the evolutionary forces shaping the accelerated divergence of these duplicates. Phylogenetic analysis of primate sequences placed the duplication event in a Hominoidae ancestor (∼30 Mya) and the emergence of SERPINB3 in Homininae (∼9 Mya). We detected evidence of strong positive selection throughout SERPINB4/B3 primate tree and target proteases, cathepsin L2 (CTSL2) and G (CTSG) and chymase (CMA1). Specifically, in the Homininae clade a perfect match was observed between the adaptive evolution of SERPINB3 and cathepsin S (CTSS) and most of sites under positive selection were located at the inhibitor/protease interface. Altogether our results seem to favour a coevolution hypothesis for SERPINB3, CTSS and CTSL2 and for SERPINB4 and CTSG and CMA1. A scenario of an accelerated evolution driven by host-pathogen interactions is also possible since SERPINB3/B4 are potent inhibitors of exogenous proteases, released by infectious agents. Finally, similar patterns of expression and the sharing of many regulatory motifs suggest neofunctionalization as the best fitted model of the functional divergence of SERPINB3 and B4 duplicates

Application of low cost technology for the management of irrigation in organic orchards

Throughout history, humans have cyclically return to their old traditions such as the organic orchards. Nowadays, these have been integrated into the modern cities and could supply fresh vegetables to the daily food improving human health. Organic orchards grow crops without pesticides and artificial fertilizers thus, they are respectful with the environment and guarantee the food's safety . In modern society, the application of new technology is a must, in this case to obtain an efficient irrigation. In order to monitor a proper irrigation and save water and energy, soil water content probes are used to measure soil water content. Among them, capacitive probes ,monitored with a specific data logger, are typically used. Most of them, specially the data loggers, are expensive and in many cases are not used. In this work, we have applied the open hardware Arduino to build and program a low cost datalogger for the programming of irrigation in an experimental organic orchard. Results showed that the application of such as low cost technology, which is easily available in the market and easy to understand, everyone can built and program its own device helping in managing water resources in organic orchards

Thermo-physiological behavior of single use scrub suits using a thermal manikin

Publicação em forma de e-book. ISBN 978 605 338 084 9In operationg room, the health professionals are exposed to stress situations that can influence their physical and psychological performance. The thermal properties are an important requirement for the best performance of OR medical clothing, that plays a crucial role in thermal comfort of the user, that involve the regulation of heat and mass transfer between a clothed body and the environment. This study evaluates thermal comfort of medical clothing under specified conditions. Twelve types of non-woven single-use scrub suits were tested. The experiments were conducted on a thermal dry manikin that simulates human body to measure the heat loss from manikin surface and determine clothing thermal insulation The total clothing insulation, IT (m2.°C/W), is used to define the insulation from the skin surface to the environment. Thermal insulation of scrub suits show statisticaly significant differences between them. SS7 and SS9 have the the lower and higuer values of total isolation of 0.23 m2.°C/W and 0.14 m2.°C/W, respectively.The financial funding from QREN, POFC, Vale Inovação Project Nº 2012/24228 is also gratefully acknowledged