About the relations between Management Accounting Systems, Intellectual Capital and Performance

The present study is focused on the contribution of management accounting systems (MAS) in the development of intellectual capital (IC). Based on empirical evidence that supports the proposition that the value creation process is strongly associated to the level of IC, the study also examines the mediating effect of MAS on performance through their positive direct effect on IC. These relationships were consolidated into a model and empirically tested with data from 281 Portuguese firms using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings show that six out of nine hypothesized relationships were supported by data with positive and significant causal links between MAS and the human and structural dimensions of IC. Results confirmed the conceptual validity of the circular model for the interactions among the three IC dimensions. Results also showed a positive and significant direct effect of structural capital on performance. Overall, the results confirmed the validity of the proposed model and contributed to the literature on the role of MAS in supporting the development of the I

Governo das sociedades e custos de financiamento

De acordo com Asquith et al. (2004), as pesquisas em contabilidade argumentam que a informação contabilística tem um papel importante nos contratos de dívida por afectarem indirectamente as taxas de juro. Por sua vez, Jensen e Mackling (1976) sugerem que várias características dos contratos têm um papel fundamental na redução dos custos de financiamento ou taxas de juro, sendo que algumas dessas características se referem à forma de governo das sociedades. Assim, pensamos que os mecanismos de governação das sociedades e a manipulação dos resultados têm uma grande influência na determinação dos custos de financiamento das empresas

O orçamento como limitação do controlo de gestão

Tal como um automóvel, também as organizações necessitam de ser conduzidas/controladas para que se tenha a certeza que caminham na direcção pretendida pelos seus gestores. Assim, é necessário desenvolver e por em prática um conjunto de instrumentos e mecanismos que permitam, em princípio, assegurar que esses objectivos definidos venham a ser atingidos. Daqui, surge a necessidade de as empresas/organizações implementarem sistemas de controlo de gestão, os quais foram evoluindo ao longo dos anos e que podem e devem variar em função do tipo de organização e da sua envolvente

Experimental assessment of RRM techniques in 5 GHz dense WiFi networks using REMs

“© 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.”The increasing acceptance of WiFi has created unprecedented levels of congestion in the unlicensed frequency bands, especially in densely populated areas. This results mainly because of the unmanaged interference and uncoordinated op- eration between WiFi access points. Radio Environment Maps (REM) have been suggested as a support for coordination strategies that optimize the overall WiFi network performance. In this context, the main objective of this experiment is to assess the benefit of a coordinated management of radio resources in dense WiFi networks at 5 GHz band, using REMs for indoor scenarios. It was shown that REMs can detect the presence of interfering links on the network or coverage holes, and a suitable coordination strategy can use this information to reconfigure Access Points (AP) channel assignment and re-establish the client connection, at a cost of diminishing the aggregate throughput of the network. The technique of AP hand-off was tested to balance the load from one AP to another. Using REMs, the Radio Resource Management (RRM) strategy could reconfigure the network to optimize the client distribution among available APs. Although the aggregate throughput is lower after load balancing, the RRM could increase the throughput of the overloaded AP.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Valuation of local government assets in Portugal

The questions regarding the elaboration of a register of the State assets, comprising both public and private domain goods, has been a major concern from national official bodies. Indeed, an updated register of State goods allows the possibility of producing, inter alia, a comprehensive national balance sheet of public assets and liabilities. After some failed attempts throughout the last decades, a profound reform in the public financial administration has been recently implemented in Portugal. The publication of the Official Plan for Public Accounting (POCP), from which stems one for the local government level, and the Cadastre and Register of State Goods (CIBE) constitutes a fundamental step for drawing up a register and valuation of public sector assets. The main objective of this study is to critically analyse the methodology used in the valuation of the State assets in Portugal, with a particular focus on the local government level. This is done through a review of the national legislation and the relevant international literature on this issue. In addition, a survey conducted on specific local authorities to ascertain the way they produce the balance sheet is also used in the analysis. The results of the study show that there are measurement problems in the elaboration of the financial statements, and there is a need for a clarification in definitions, particularly in what concerns the distinction between public and private domain of State assets. The study also suggests that a better account on the State assets, particularly on construction stock, has great implications for the management, repair and maintenance of the existing physical infrastructures

Portugal and latin american studies : (1980-2000)

The studies on Latin America developed in Portugal in the last 20 years have basically focused on the traditional geographical area of Brazil as a consequence of the strong historical ties between the two countries which have strong cultural and economic relations and share Portuguese as their official language. As a result, the number of studies produced on the other Latin American countries is much less in spite of the fact that Portugal has important emigrant communities in countries such as Argentina and Venezuela, or that many of the situations experienced in other Latin American countries constitute important case studies in several domains. Although history is my disciplinary background, I believe that the area of humanities studies has been quantitatively more significant in Latin America research produced in Portugal last twenty years

C. Portuguese and Spanish Sources (compiled & translated by Jorge Santos Alves with the collaboration of Kevin Rose)

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A. Patani and the Luso-Asian networks (1516-1642)

Ever since the late fifteenth century, the port of Patani has featured on the maps of Asian maritime trade. This position steadily advanced under the protective benevolence of Siam to become a commercial pole in the multiple connections between Southeast Asia and the Chinese markets. Its strategic position, a sheltered port halfway between Java and China, attracted Asian investors and traders from various backgrounds (Chinese, Javanese, Malay, Thai, among others). Patani competed with the other ports on the Malay Peninsula (such as Pahang), but above all with those in the Straits of Malacca, such as Malacca itself, for the trade in Chinese products (like porcelains, silks or lacquers) exchanged for clove and nutmeg from Maluku, sandalwood from Timor, and especially pepper from the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Java.1 Gradually, over the early years of the sixteenth century, Patani became home to an expanding community of overseas Chinese, many of whom first installed their vessels there before following with their own residences and livelihoods. On occasion dedicated to illegal trading activities with China, on others, they became privateers or pirates. The commercial and financial development of Patani would nevertheless seem to have gone relatively unnoticed by the new players and the first Europeans in the region - the Portuguese.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Role of Networking in Innovation Promotion and Cluster Modernization: “House of the Future” Case

This paper stresses the potential of innovative business cooperation networks in promoting regional competitiveness. It is based on the case study of a cooperation network, named “House of the Future”, carried out in the framework of a project where the University of Aveiro has an important role. It suggests success factors in the development of co-operation networks between firms from various sectors and a university. The aim of the “House of the Future” initiative is to promote an innovative approach to inter-organizational cooperation joining together firms from a number of different industrial activities related with the habitat meta-sector. This collaborative effort can function as an experiment for the design of regional innovation policies.