The Second Order Traffic Fine: Temporal Reasoning in European Transport Regulations

We argue that European transport regulations can be formalized within the Sigma^1_1 fragment of monadic second order logic, and possibly weaker fragments including linear temporal logic. We consider several articles in the regulation to verify these claims

Using Cost Observation to Regulate Bureaucratic Firms

We study regulation of a bureaucratic provider of a public good in the presence of moral hazard and adverse selection. By bureaucratic we mean that it values output in itself, and not only profit. Three different financing systems are studied - cost reimbursement, prospective payment, and the optimal contract. In all cases, the output level increases with the bureaucratic bias. We find that the optimal contract is linear in cost (fixed payment plus partial cost-reimbursement). A stronger preference for high output reduces the tendency of the firm to announce a high cost (adverse selection), allowing a more powered incentive scheme (a lower fraction of the costs is reimbursed), which alleviates the problem of moral hazard.Procurement, Regulation, Adverse selection, Moral hazard, Bureaucracy

Chemical and physical pretreatments of microalgal biomass

Non-axenic microalga Chlorella sorokiniana was cultivated in batch cultures, and its total sugar composition was determined. The microalga under study showed a total sugar concentration of 21.44 ± 0.46% (w/w). The effects of freeze-drying, oven-drying, freezing and thawing, chemical and the combination of hydrothermal and chemical pretreatments were evaluated. In the combined pretreatment different concentrations of H2SO4 and reaction times were also optimized. It was possible to determine that the sugar extraction yields more significant were 59.5% for the lyophilization, 6.2% with 6 cycles of freeze and thawing and around 100% for 2 and 4% (v/v) of H2SO4 at 121 °C for 30 min. Some of the methods that were described in this study are interesting to facilitate cost-efficient conversion of microalgal biomass into biofuels.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Regulating a monopolist with unknown bureaucratic tendencies

We determine the optimal contract for the regulation of a bureaucratic firm in the case in which the bureaucratic bias is firm's private information. We find that output is distorted upward when the bureaucratic bias is low, downward when it is high, and equals a reference output when it is intermediate (in this case, the participation constraint is binding). We also determine an endogenous reference output (equal to the expected output, which depends on the reference output), and find that the response of output to cost is null in the short-run (in which the reference output is fixed) whenever the managers' types are in the intermediate range and negative in the long-run (after the adjustment of the reference output to equal expected output).Procurement, Regulation, Adverse selection, Bureaucracy, Reservation utility

Experiências precoces e comportamento agressivo em adolescentes com problemas de comportamento: o papel mediador da vergonha e do coping com a vergonha

Dissertação de mestrado em Psicologia Clinica e da Saúde (Intervenções Cognitivo-Comportamentais nas Perturbações Psicológicas e da Saúde), apresentada à Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de CoimbraEstudos anteriores destacam o forte impacto das experiências precoces na vergonha e no comportamento agressivo, bem como em outras psicopatologias. Apesar de a literatura suportar o papel crucial da vergonha na saúde mental, o seu efeito preditivo não é totalmente claro em algumas perturbações, como nas Perturbações Disruptivas. Estudos recentes têm também apontado a importância das estratégias utilizadas pelos indivíduos para lidar com a vergonha. Este estudo transversal explora o efeito mediador da vergonha e das estratégias de coping com a vergonha na relação entre as experiências precoces e o comportamento agressivo em 283 adolescentes diagnosticados com Perturbações Disruptivas ou Perturbação da Personalidade Antissocial. A análise de mediação mostra que a vergonha e as estratégias de coping com a vergonha medeiam a associação entre as experiências precoces (vergonha e calor/ segurança) e as diferentes dimensões do comportamento agressivo. As memórias precoces predizem significativamente os níveis atuais de vergonha. A vergonha prediz o comportamento agressivo, direta e indiretamente (através do coping com a vergonha). As estratégias de Ataque ao Outro e de Ataque ao Self predizem positivamente o comportamento agressivo, enquanto o Evitamento e a Fuga têm um efeito preditivo negativo. Estes resultados sugerem que indivíduos com comportamento agressivo podem envolver-se em estratégias de coping com a vergonha externalizantes ou internalizantes, embora pareçam recorrer principalmente às externalizantes, especialmente o Ataque ao Outro, a fim de lidar com a vergonha.Previous studies highlight the strong impact of early experiences on shame and aggressive behavior, and on other psychopathologies. Even though supporting the crucial role of shame on mental health by growing evidence, the predictor impact of shame is not entirely clear in some disorders, like Disruptive Disorders. Recent studies have also pointed out the importance of strategies used by individuals to cope with shame. This cross-sectional study explores the potential mediator effect of shame and shame coping styles in the relationship between early experiences and aggressive behavior in 283 adolescents with Disruptive Disorders or Antisocial Personality Disorder. Moderator analysis results showed that shame and shame coping strategies mediate the association between early experiences (shame and warmth/safeness) and different dimensions of aggressive behavior (physical/verbal aggression, anger and hostility). Both types of early memories significantly predicted current levels of shame. Shame predicted the dimensions of aggressive behavior both directly and indirectly (through shame coping). Attack Other and Attack Self strategies positively predicted aggressive behavior, while Avoidance and Withdrawal had a negative predictor effect. These findings suggest that individuals with aggressive behavior may engage in externalized and internalized shame coping strategies, although they mainly seem to take on externalized ones, especially Attack Other, in order to cope with shame

Community philanthropy: the missing link between local communities and international development

This paper is based on the premise that local populations? engagement in development processes is a key factor to increase chances of sustainable economic and social development. In this context, we present collaboration with community philanthropy organizations as a viable strategy for international development organizations to engage civil society in the advancement and sustainability of development goals. This is done by presenting an overview of the development sector, as well as the added-value of community philanthropy. Then practical lessons and challenges are drawn from stories of different community philanthropy and international development organizations that have experience working together

Catastrophic health care expenditures in Portugal between 2000-2010: Assessing impoverishment, determinants and policy implications

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Economics from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsObjectives: This work assesses the extent and evolution of catastrophic health care expenditures (CHE) in Portugal in the years of 2000, 2005 and 2010, to reveal household factors predicting this outcome, and simulates changes in 2010 CHE levels’ following recent reforms in user charges and prices of pharmaceutical products. Methods: The main contribution of this paper is the calculus and analysis of statistical measures to capture CHE incidence, intensity, income distribution and impoverishment effects on households using INE Household Budget Surveys. A logistic model to determine statistical significance and economic effects of 38 variables on the incidence of CHE is also estimated. Finally, a scenario analysis is presented to analyse reforms concerning user charges and prices of pharmaceuticals. Results: Incidence and intensity of CHE decreased between 2000 and 2010, from 5,005% to 2,439% and 4,693% to 0,334%, respectively. During the period, CHE were concentrated amongst the poorer income quintiles. Statistical significance in CHE prediction for all analysed years was observed for households’ income, smoking and drinking habits, area of the house and secondary education of the household head. Scenario analysis shows that the new levels of user charges in 2012, even if mitigated by the new and enlarged economic exemptions, would increase CHE incidence of 2010 to 3,529%. On the other hand, the reduction in the price of ambulatory pharmaceuticals in 2011 and 2012 is effective in reducing CHE incidence, for price demand elasticities equal or smaller (in absolute value) than 0,4. When the two effects are combined, CHE incidence increases, meaning that reductions in the price of pharmaceuticals are not sufficient to countervail the changes in user charges, even with enlarged economic exemptions

Spectral and coherence estimates on electroencephalogram recordings during arithmetical tasks

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Biomédic