Portfolio performance evaluation and gender diversity in Europe

In the recent decade, gender diversity has become an ever-standing subject. Inside this theme, many factors have been mentioned and studied, making headlines in the media, like gender pay gap. Given this, a shift in the companies’ objectives has happened, where they are concerned not only with their financial goals but also with their social impact. Notwithstanding, the financial and social components are not separated and that is exactly what this paper intends to analyze by taking into account the gender diversity and checking whether such factor has an impact in the company’s financial performance and, if so, whether it is positive or negative. In order to do that, we need to first introduce the support for portfolio performance evaluation which can be divided between the conditional and the unconditional performance evaluation. The former takes into account the dynamic economy we live in, although with more complex models (also more prone for misspecification errors), while the latter assumes a static reality, allowing for more practical models, that are easily applicable to a set of data. From these, it is highlighted the models that make a portfolio’s returns to depend on three, four and five factors, which are also the ones applied to the set of data analyzed. Our portfolios were built using a document from EWOB (European Women on Boards) where the companies from Stoxx 600 are given a score, based on the ratio of women that occupy a board position on these companies’ boards. With this document, two types of portfolios were formed: Top 20 (with a high ratio of women on board) and Bottom 20 (with a low ratio of women on board). In the end, we found that both the four and the five-factor model suited the data adequately, with our analysis suggesting that the presence of more women on the companies’ boards is not connected with a better performance.Na década passada, a diversidade de género tornou-se num tema omnipresente. Diversos fatores foram analisados sendo que alguns, como a diferença salarial entre géneros, teve grande impacto mediático. Dado isto, observou-se uma alteração nos objetivos das empresas, verificando-se maior preocupação não só com a performance financeira, mas também com o impacto social. Não obstante, ambas as partes estão interligadas e é exatamente isso que este trabalho de final de mestrado pretende analisar, verificando se a diversidade de género tem impacto na performance financeira da empresa e, caso tenha, se o mesmo é positivo ou negativo. De modo a atingir esse objetivo, é necessário introduzir o suporte teórico para a análise de performance de portefólios, que pode ser dividido em condicional ou incondicional. O primeiro tem em conta a economia dinâmica na qual estamos inseridos, apresentando modelos mais complexos (também mais propícios a erros de especificação), enquanto o último assume uma realidade estática, permitindo modelos mais práticos, facilmente aplicados a um conjunto de dados. Destes últimos, são realçados os modelos que fazem o retorno de um portefólio depender de três, quatro e cinco fatores, sendo os modelos aplicados ao conjunto de dados que analisamos. Construímos o nosso portefólio através do documento da organização EWOB (European Women On Board) onde as empresas que constituem o Stoxx 600 são classificadas de acordo com o rácio de mulheres que ocupam posições nos seus Conselhos de Direção. Assim, foram criados dois tipos de portefólios: Top 20 (com um rácio elevado de mulheres no Conselho de Direção) e o Bottom 20 (com um rácio baixo de mulheres no Conselho de Direção). No final, concluímos que ambos os modelos de quatro e cinco fatores se encontravam bem ajustados aos nossos dados, sugerindo que a presença de mais mulheres nos Conselhos de Direção das empresas não está associado a um incremento de performance

Eletrofiação de compósitos com matriz polimérica de PEDOT:PSS

Electrospinning is a manufacturing polymer technique based on a controlled electrostatic field, producing fibers on nanometric scale with high superficial area and porosity. This technique allows a variety composite or charge deposition on a polymeric matrix, improving its intrinsic properties, such as electric, mechanical, thermal and optical properties. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is a polymeric blend with good electric conductivity, thermal stability, chemical, and oxidant, optical transparency and plasticity, properties that allow the polymeric blend to be used to obtain thin films, as other structures such as nanofibers and nanowires obtained by electrospinning technique. In a nanometric scale, materials based on conjugated polymers present a wide range of properties, allowing different post-treatment, increasing its applications, due intrinsic properties or due association with other materials. Silver nanowires (AgNW) are interesting due its properties such as optical transparency, and thermal and electric conductivity, being used on organic composites to increase those properties on organic matrix for more applications. One of those applications is Polymeric Solar Cells (PSC), lending between two layers of the dispositive, acting as an interface of the anode material and the electron donor material. In this paper, electrospinning and spin-coating techniques are analyzed for thin films production and optimization of electric, optic and morphologic properties of PEDOT:SS/AgNW composites obtain by electrospinning and spin-coating techniques, supported by Design of Experiments (DOE). Thin films produced has 40 nm of thickness, electric conductivity of 150 S/cm, and transparency of 92% for visible light.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)A eletrofiação é uma técnica de processamento de polímeros baseada na utilização de um campo eletrostático controlado, sendo capaz de produzir fibras em dimensões nanométricas com elevada área superficial e porosidade. A técnica permite a possibilidade de deposição de diversos compósitos ou cargas em matrizes poliméricas, visando melhorias de suas propriedades iniciais como por exemplo, a elétrica, mecânica, térmica e óptica. O Poli(3,4-etilenodioxitiofeno):Poli(estireno sulfonato) (PEDOT:PSS) é uma blenda polimérica que apresenta condutividade elétrica, estabilidade térmica, química e oxidativa, transparência óptica e plasticidade que permite a formação de filmes finos e outras estruturas como as nanofibras e nanofios obtidos pela eletrofiação. Em escala nanométrica, materiais baseados em polímeros conjugados, apresentam uma vasta gama de propriedades, podendo serem submetidos a diversos processos de pós-tratamentos para ampliação de suas aplicações, seja por suas características intrínsecas ou por suas associações a outros materiais. Nanofios de prata (AgNW) que se destacam por suas propriedades como transparência óptica, condutividade térmica e elétrica, sendo aplicados em compósitos orgânicos no intuito de acréscimo nos valores relativos destas propriedades na matriz orgânica, diversificando os ramos de aplicações. Umas das aplicações para estes compósitos estão nas Células Solares Poliméricas (PSC) na qual atua entre as camadas destes dispositivos, proporcionado uma interface entre o ânodo e o material doador de elétrons. Neste trabalho a avaliação das técnicas de eletrofiação e spin-coating para a formação e otimização das propriedades elétricas, ópticas e morfológicas de filmes dos compósitos PEDOT:PSS/AgNW obtidos pela técnica de spin-coating e PEDOT:PSS/PVA/AgNW obtidos pela técnica de eletrofiação foram realizadas pelo método de planejamentos experimentais. As produções de filmes dos compósitos apresentaram espessuras em torno de 40 nm, condutividade elétrica de 150 S/cm e transmitância na ordem de 92% para luz visível

Compact beam-steerable lens antenna for 60-GHz wireless communications

WOS:000270723500012 (Nº de Acesso Web of Science)This paper presents a new concept of steerable beam antenna composed by a dielectric lens which pivots in front of a single stationary moderate gain feed. The lens not only allows steering mechanically the beam in elevation and full azimuth, but further increases the gain up to 21 dBi. The solution is broadband, including the entire international unlicensed spectrum from 57 GHz to 66 GHz. A fabricated prototype shows the possibility of tilting the beam from - 45deg to + 45deg for all azimuths with gain scan loss below 1.1 dB and radiation efficiency above 95%. The arrangement is very simple, it does not require rotary joints, it is low cost and compact, lens plus feed volume being of the order of 3 times 3 times 3 cm3 with lens weight less than 10 g

Impact assessment of interregional government transfers in Brazil: an input-output approach

Redistributive policies carried out by the central government through interregional government transfers is a relevant feature of the Brazilian federal fiscal system. Regional shares of the central government revenues in the poorer regions have been recurrently smaller than the shares of central government expenditures in those regions. Appeal to core-periphery outcomes could be made, as São Paulo, the wealthiest state in the country, concentrated, in 2005, over 40% of total Federal tax revenue, receiving less than 35% of Federal expenditures. These figures suggest a redistribution of public funds from the spatial economic core of the economy to the peripheral areas. This paper investigates the role interregional transfers play in the redistribution of activities in the country, using an interregional input-output approach. Counterfactual simulations allow us to estimate some costs and benefits, for the core and periphery respectively, from such fiscal mechanisms.Interregional government transfers, input-output analysis, impact analysis, Brazilian economy

Genomic African and Native American Ancestry and Chagas Disease: The Bambui (Brazil) Epigen Cohort Study of Aging.

BackgroundThe influence of genetic ancestry on Trypanosoma cruzi infection and Chagas disease outcomes is unknown.Methodology/principal findingsWe used 370,539 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) to examine the association between individual proportions of African, European and Native American genomic ancestry with T. cruzi infection and related outcomes in 1,341 participants (aged ≥ 60 years) of the Bambui (Brazil) population-based cohort study of aging. Potential confounding variables included sociodemographic characteristics and an array of health measures. The prevalence of T. cruzi infection was 37.5% and 56.3% of those infected had a major ECG abnormality. Baseline T. cruzi infection was correlated with higher levels of African and Native American ancestry, which in turn were strongly associated with poor socioeconomic circumstances. Cardiomyopathy in infected persons was not significantly associated with African or Native American ancestry levels. Infected persons with a major ECG abnormality were at increased risk of 15-year mortality relative to their counterparts with no such abnormalities (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.80; 95% 1.41, 2.32). African and Native American ancestry levels had no significant effect modifying this association.Conclusions/significanceOur findings indicate that African and Native American ancestry have no influence on the presence of major ECG abnormalities and had no influence on the ability of an ECG abnormality to predict mortality in older people infected with T. cruzi. In contrast, our results revealed a strong and independent association between prevalent T. cruzi infection and higher levels of African and Native American ancestry. Whether this association is a consequence of genetic background or differential exposure to infection remains to be determined

A cable-driven robot for architectural constructions: a visual-guided approach for motion control and path-planning

Cable-driven robots have received some attention by the scientific community and, recently, by the industry because they can transport hazardous materials with a high level of safeness which is often required by construction sites. In this context, this research presents an extension of a cable-driven robot called SPIDERobot, that was developed for automated construction of architectural projects. The proposed robot is formed by a rotating claw and a set of four cables, enabling four degrees of freedom. In addition, this paper proposes a new Vision-Guided Path-Planning System (V-GPP) that provides a visual interpretation of the scene: the position of the robot, the target and obstacles location; and optimizes the trajectory of the robot. Moreover, it determines a collision-free trajectory in 3D that takes into account the obstacles and the interaction of the cables with the scene. A set of experiments make possible to validate the contribution of V-GPP to the SPIDERobot while operating in realistic working conditions, as well as, to evaluate the interaction between the V-GPP and the motion controlling system. The results demonstrated that the proposed robot is able to construct architectural structures and to avoid collisions with obstacles in their working environment. The V-GPP system localizes the robot with a precision of 0.006 m, detects the targets and successfully generates a path that takes into account the displacement of cables. Therefore, the results demonstrate that the SPIDERobot can be scaled up to real working conditions.This work is partly funded by the project PTDC/ ATP-AQI/5124/2012 - Robotic Technologies for Non-Standard Design and Construction in Architecture. This work is also financed by the ERDF European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE Programme (operational programme for competitiveness) and by National Funds through the FCT Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology within project “FCOMP - 01-0124-FEDER-022701”.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

QUANDO OS PASSISTAS SÃO O SHOW: CULTURA, ARTE E RESISTÊNCIA MUITO ALÉM DE ESTEREÓTIPOS

Abordamos neste trabalho questões relativas à arte da dança do e da passista de escola de samba e à construção social dessa figura, considerando a sua atuação durante todo o ano, também fora do período do carnaval. Levantamos aspectos como o mercado de trabalho e a (des)valorização desse artista como profissional, os estereótipos que cercam o universo do passista e questões sociais relacionadas ao preconceito racial e de gênero. O estudo utiliza como opções metodológicas a pesquisa bibliográfica, partindo da análise de artigos, dissertações de mestrado e matérias publicadas na imprensa. Conta ainda com depoimento pessoal de um passista, pesquisador e autor deste trabalho que, por meio da pesquisa-ação vem refletindo sobre o que é ser passista e como o próprio se percebe nesse universo, constituindo a sua identidade enquanto sujeito e enquanto membro de um grupo social. Concluímos destacando a importância do passista para a valorização da cultura brasileira, especialmente da cultura negra, e que a emergência de uma nova consciência sobre o trabalho de passistas e o fortalecimento do lugar de fala dos negros na sociedade são fundamentais para a valorização desses e dessas artistas e profissionais dedicados à dança do samba