Modelling Noise and Imprecision in Individual Decisions

When individuals take part in decision experiments, their answers are typically subject to some degree of noise / error / imprecision. There are different ways of modelling this stochastic element in the data, and the interpretation of the data can be altered radically, depending on the assumptions made about the stochastic specification. This paper presents the results of an experiment which gathered data of a kind that has until now been in short supply. These data strongly suggest that the 'usual' (Fechnerian) assumptions about errors are inappropriate for individual decision experiments. Moreover, they provide striking evidence that core preferences display systematic departures from transitivity which cannot be attributed to any 'error' story.Error Imprecision Preferences Transitivity

Development of a metric of aquatic invertebrates for volunteers (MAIV): a simple and friendly biotic metric to assess ecological quality of streams

Citizen science activities, involving local people in volunteer-supported and sustainable monitoring programs, are common. In this context, the objective of the present work was to develop a simple Metric of Aquatic Invertebrates for Volunteers (MAIV), including a user-friendly tool that can be easily accessed by volunteers, and to evaluate the e ciency of a volunteer monitoring program following an audit procedure. To obtain MAIV values, macroinvertebrate communities were reduced to 18 surrogate taxa, which represented an acceptable compromise between simplicity, e ciency, and reproducibility of the data, compared to the regular Water Framework Directive monitoring. When compared to results obtained with the National Classification System of Portugal, MAIV accurately detected moderate, poor, and bad ecological status. Thus, MAIV can be used by volunteers as a complement to the o cial monitoring program, as well as a prospective early warning tool for local problems related to ecological quality. Volunteers were students supervised by their teachers. Results obtained by volunteers were compared to results obtained by experts on macroinvertebrate identification to measure the e ciency of the procedure, by counting gains and losses on sorting, and identification. Characteristics of groups of volunteers (age and school level) did not influence significantly the e ciency of the procedure, and generally results of volunteers and experts matched.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

See Now, Buy Now Model: A Passport to Fashion Brand Equity

In a market accentuated by globalization and digital consolidation, high fashion brands start to rethink the way of producing, communicating and distributing their supply, adopting the See Now, Buy Now (SNBN) model to guarantee the possibility of instant gratification. Literature has been scarce concerning SNBN as a new paradigm of contemporary fashion, more particularly, in what concerns its relationship with brand equity. This study seeks to identify the critical variables of SNBN and analyze its feasibility in production and consumption of fashion. It has applied a mixed and sequential methodology. The Portuguese case is worth analysing because of its similarities with countries where the fashion and creative industries' role is still uncertain, but still often mentioned and talked about. The results suggested that there is a positive relation between its adoption and brand equity – in particular a more hybrid strategy of adoption, considering its risks and investments.JEL Codes - M11; M30; M31; O14; 02

A evolução da população ao longo do séculoXIX. Uma perspectiva global

pp. 245-284A produção historiográfica portuguesa tem nos últimos anos alargado a temática e as perspectivas de abordagem a determinados aspectos tiadicionalmente votados para segundo plano. Referimo-nos, entre outros, aos ligados à história da população e seus comportamentos demográficos, capítulo introdutório necessário (e quantas vezes tomado fastidioso) a estudos com objectivos diversos. Neste vazio alguns tiabalhos se destacam, nomeadamente a tentativa de síntese sobre a evolução dos efectivos populacionais levada a cabo por João Evangefista, em 1971, ou o livro de Joel Serrão sobre as fontes da demografia portuguesa, vindo a lume em 1973. Apesar destes contributos, são incompletas e confusas as sínteses disponíveis, sobretudo para períodos anteriores à realização do primeiro recenseamento geral em 1864

Oligella urethralis isolated in hemoculture from patient interned in HSP-UNIFESP complex

First time isolation of Oligella urethralis in two samples of peripheral blood detected by continuous metabolism monitoring methodology (Bactec 61650 system) and identified by the automatized Phoenix 61650 system (BD System) in patient with retro-peritoneal lymphoma with metastasis in the central nervous system at São Paulo hospital of Federal University of São Paulo (HSP/UNIFESP).Primeiro isolado de Oligella urethralis em duas amostras de sangue periférico detectado por metodologia de monitoração contínua de metabolismo (sistema Bactec®) e identificado pelo sistema automatizado Phoenix® (BD System) em paciente com linfoma retroperitoneal com metástase em sistema nervoso central (SNC) no Hospital São Paulo da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) (HSP/UNIFESP).UNIFESP Hospital São Paulo Medicina LaboratorialUNIFESP Hospital São PauloUNIFESP Hospital São Paulo Laboratório CentralUNIFESP, Hospital São Paulo Medicina LaboratorialUNIFESP, Hospital São PauloUNIFESP, Hospital São Paulo Laboratório CentralSciEL

Fertility, full-time and part-time female employment in Europe

This paper aims to analyse the relation between women’s employment patterns, more specifically part-time employment, and fertility trends in European countries, using Eurostat data. It is argued that this approach sheds an innovative light on the debate. The issue of part-time employment is put into perspective in the context of family policies and gender relations. The fertility/employment relationship shows that the overall positive association between fertility and female employment is a consequence of the importance of part-time employment and is not related with full-time employment. Therefore, the change in sign of the fertility employment association after the 1980s could result from the increasing diversification of the labour market

Early years teacher's conceptions and practices to assess and document children's conceptions

This text examines early childhood education in Portugal, which is divided into two categories: Day Care for children aged 0-3 years and Preschool Education in Kindergartens for children aged 3-6 years. The study focuses on Preschool Education, which is part of the Portuguese educational system and emphasizes educational preparation for children. The Framework Law for Preschool Education sets goals for socio-emotional and intellectual development, education for citizenship, correcting social asymmetries, and equalizing opportunities. The study aims to understand kindergarten teacher knowledge beliefs and practices regarding children's assessment and pedagogical documentation. Data were collected using an online questionnaire, distributed through social networks, and made available on the website of the APEI. The data were processed and analyzed with the aid of the Pandas tool, revealing that most kindergarten teachers engage in weekly reflections with children regarding the collected learning evidence and believe that a digital application could facilitate the documentation process. The most common use of digital applications is to share photos and/or videos and exchange messages with families. Kindergarten teachers use various methods to collect data on children's activities, such as direct observation and conversation with children, photographic records, and analysis of children's work. Overall, the study sheds light on how kindergarten teachers perceive pedagogical documentation, its importance, and the challenges associated with assessing children. It also highlights how digital applications can facilitate the documentation process, making it easier to share learning evidence with parents and track children's development.This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UIDB/05777/2020 This study was developed within the scope of the Early Year Digital Portfolio Project, a KA2 Erasmus+ project with the Number: 2022-1-PT01-KA220-SCH-000086979, funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Adaptive potential of hybridization among malaria vectors: Introgression at the immune locus TEP1 between Anopheles coluzzii and A. gambiae in 'Far-West' Africa

“Far-West” Africa is known to be a secondary contact zone between the two major malaria vectors Anopheles coluzzii and A. gambiae.We investigated gene-flow and potentially adaptive introgression between these species along a west-to-east transect in Guinea Bissau, the putative core of this hybrid zone. To evaluate the extent and direction of gene flow, we genotyped site 702 in Intron-1 of the para Voltage-Gated SodiumChannel gene, a species-diagnostic nucleotide position throughout most of A. coluzzii and A. gambiae sympatric range. We also analyzed polymorphismin the thioester-binding domain (TED) of the innate immunity-linked thioester-containing protein 1 (TEP1) to investigate whether elevated hybridization might facilitate the exchange of variants linked to adaptive immunity and Plasmodium refractoriness. Our results confirm asymmetric introgression of genetic material from A. coluzzii to A. gambiae and disruption of linkage between the centromeric "genomic islands" of inter-specific divergence. We report that A. gambiae from the Guinean hybrid zone possesses an introgressed TEP1 resistant allelic class, found exclusively in A. coluzzii elsewhere and apparently swept to fixation inWest Africa (i.e. Mali and Burkina Faso). However, no detectable fixation of this allele was found in Guinea Bissau, which may suggest that ecological pressures driving segregation between the two species in larval habitats in this region may be different from those experienced in northern and more arid parts of the species’ range. Finally, our results also suggest a genetic subdivision between coastal and inland A. gambiae Guinean populations and provide clues on the importance of ecological factors in intra-specific differentiation processes