Modeling Epistemological Principles for Bias Mitigation in AI Systems: An Illustration in Hiring Decisions

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been used extensively in automatic decision making in a broad variety of scenarios, ranging from credit ratings for loans to recommendations of movies. Traditional design guidelines for AI models focus essentially on accuracy maximization, but recent work has shown that economically irrational and socially unacceptable scenarios of discrimination and unfairness are likely to arise unless these issues are explicitly addressed. This undesirable behavior has several possible sources, such as biased datasets used for training that may not be detected in black-box models. After pointing out connections between such bias of AI and the problem of induction, we focus on Popper's contributions after Hume's, which offer a logical theory of preferences. An AI model can be preferred over others on purely rational grounds after one or more attempts at refutation based on accuracy and fairness. Inspired by such epistemological principles, this paper proposes a structured approach to mitigate discrimination and unfairness caused by bias in AI systems. In the proposed computational framework, models are selected and enhanced after attempts at refutation. To illustrate our discussion, we focus on hiring decision scenarios where an AI system filters in which job applicants should go to the interview phase

Cross-listings de empresas europeias do sistema francês no mercado norte-americano : desempenho a longo prazo

Dissertações de mestrado em FinançasA globalização dos mercados e a internacionalização das empresas conduziu a um aumento do número de empresas que fazem cross-listings. No entanto, enquanto a teoria sugere que o cross-listing é benéfico para a empresa, e consequentemente é uma boa notícia para os acionistas, a evidência empírica tem mostrado que no longo prazo isto não ocorre. Esta dissertação tem como objetivo investigar esta questão através da aplicação da metodologia do buy-and-hold abnormal returns e do calendar-time portfolio approach para uma amostra de 109 empresas europeias do sistema francês que fizeram cross-listing no mercado norte-americano entre Janeiro de 1983 e Setembro de 2008. Os resultados obtidos são consistentes com os de outros autores que se focam em amostras semelhantes. Concluindo que o cross-listing não beneficia os acionistas no longo prazo, pois não permite obter rendibilidade anormais positivas. No entanto o facto de não se obterem rendibilidades anormais negativas e estatisticamente significativas (como acontece noutros mercados domésticos – Austrália/Canadá) sugere que possam existir benefícios decorrentes da ligação a mercados mais desenvolvidos, exigentes e protetores do acionista.The globalization of markets and the internationalization of companies have led to an increase in the number of companies that cross-list. While theoretical arguments suggest that cross-listing is beneficial for the companies, and therefore represents good news for shareholders, empirical evidence has shown that in the long-term this does not happen. This dissertation aims to investigate this issue through the application of the methodology of buy-andhold abnormal returns and calendar-time portfolio approach in a sample of 109 European companies in the French system that cross-listed in the US market between January 1983 and September 2008. The results are consistent with other studies with the similar samples. In the sense that the cross-listing does not benefit shareholders in the long-term, because doesn’t allow positive abnormal returns. However, the fact that abnormal returns are not negative and statistically significant (as in other domestic markets – Australia/Canada) suggests that there is benefit associated with the connection to more developed, stringent and protective of shareholder markets

Understanding the Trends of European Startup Ecosystems

The world faces numerous crises, being the economic and financial crisis, the more worrying crisis and which people become more aware, to find solutions to various problems, namely unemployment, especially youth unemployment. Throughout the evolution of the world, entrepreneurship phenomenon went hand in hand with economic and technological development, providing new businesses with innovative concepts, responding to people's needs. Today, entrepreneurship continues to be important to the economies, as it adds new companies with value by presenting people with talent, with creative sense and innovative products and services. With technological development and financial assistance from investors or government, we have witnessed an exponential growth of startups over the past few years. Entrepreneurial education also encouraged this development, presenting conferences and workshops, calling students to innovation, creating your own startup. In reply to the growth and development of European ecosystems, this research work was developed to analyze the reality of European ecosystems. The aim is to understand whether there are trends in choosing economic sectors, business models and pricing models. This investigation is composed by an extensive literature review to startups and startup ecosystem and by an empirical study to startups’ perception concerning to this subject. To acquire empirical data it was conducted an online questionnaire directed to a sample of startups registered on online platform. This study confirmed the existence of trends by information gathered from online platform and the online questionnaire. It is proposed a recommendation, which will help to continue the investigations concerning to this subject

Understanding the process of CRM adoption stages: a conceptual model based on toe framework

Dissertation presented as partial requirement for obtaining the Master’s degree in Statistics and Information Management, with specialization in Market research and CRMCustomer relationship management (CRM) is the technique presented in this study that enables organizations, to know and to better understand their customers’ needs, treating each them differently. CRM improves the organization’s ability to interact with their customers and to build a competitive advantage, which is continuing to receive considerable attention from scholars and business context. However, a review of Literature indicates that there is a lack of research related to CRM adoption stages. To fill this gap, this study presents a conceptual model to examine the antecedents, at the firm level, in technology-organization-environment contexts (TOE) framework, which affects CRM adoption stages (i.e. intention, adoption, and routinization). Data collected from 277 companies, are used to test the conceptual model. “Partial least squares” (PLS) is the technique used to examine the related hypotheses. The findings and contributions of the study are presented.O CRM é a técnica presente neste estudo, que permite às empresas conhecer e compreender melhor as necessidades dos clientes, abordando cada um deles de forma diferente. O CRM vai melhorar a capacidade de interação das empresas com os seus clientes, e desenvolver vantagem competitiva. É uma ferramenta que continua a ter influência para os estudantes e organizações. No entanto, tendo em conta a revisão da literatura há uma carência de estudos sobre os estágios de adoção do CRM. Para colmatar esta falha, o nosso estudo apresenta um modelo conceptual, em que relaciona fatores do contexto tecnológico, organizacional e do meio envolvente (TOE), com os estágios de adoção do CRM - iniciação, adoção e implementação, nas organizações. Foi recolhida informação proveniente de 277 empresas para testar o modelo conceptual. A técnica estatística Partial Least Square (PLS) é o método utilizado para testar as hipóteses. Os resultados e contributos do estudo serão apresentados

Projeto INTEGRA: pedagogia e educação na exploração de novos desafios

O projeto que aqui se apresenta insere-se no âmbito do projeto "INTEGRA" a decorrer entre outubro de 2016 e dezembro de 2018, numa parceria entre o Centro de Ciência Viva e o Instituto Politécnico de Bragança. O objetivo central deste projeto consiste no envolvimento de uma comunidade de estudantes provenientes dos PALOPs e residentes em Bragança através do cruzamento de três ilhas fundamentais do conhecimento: ciência e tecnologia, multiculturalidade e diversidade cultural, pedagogia e educação na exploração de novos desafios. Assim, partilha-se, no contexto desta comunicação, o trabalho desenvolvido no âmbito da ilha Pedagogia e educação na exploração de novos desafios". Os principais objetivos desta ilha do conhecimento são: estimular o diálogo em torno dos aspetos socioculturais dos países de origem dos participantes e do país de acolhimento dos participantes (Portugal); estimular a criatividade, a inovação e o espírito empreendedor dos participantes. Para concretizar estes objetivos realizaram-se sete sessões de caráter prático, com a duração de duas horas cada, tendo participado de forma assídua uma média de 15 alunos de diversos cursos do IPB, com uma média de idades de 27 anos e provenientes de Angola, Cabo-Verde, Moçambique ou São Tomé e Príncipe. Para agilizar o contacto e participação dos formandos nesta ilha, foi criada uma página e um grupo no facebook, bem como uma área de trabalho na drive Google, onde os formandos tinham acesso a documentação diversa. Pretendeu-se que os formandos adquirissem as competências essenciais para o planeamento de um modelo de negócio através do Business Model Canvas e que, posteriormente, o desenvolvessem por um dia nas "Bancas na Praça do Município de Bragança" para avaliarem a sua ideia de micronegócio. Em termos metodológicos, este trabalho recorre à metodologia de projeto, utilizando técnicas quantitativas e qualitativas de recolha e análise de dados inerentes ao estudo de caso.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Medir o agenda-setting nos comentários dos leitores às eleições legislativas de 2015

O presente estudo propõe o uso dos comentários dos leitores como objeto para medir os fenómenos de agenda-setting. A análise de frequência de palavras é o método escolhido para operacionalizar a avaliação do agenda-setting. O método proposto foi testado numa amostra de 741 artigos e 52.064 comentários do jornal Expresso, que englobam um período de cinco semanas entre 4 de setembro e 10 de outubro de 2015. A análise de frequência de palavras permitiu não só avaliar quais os temas abordados pelo jornal que mais ecoaram nos comentários, mas também estudar o processo inverso, ou seja, quais os temas abordados pelos comentadores que foram sub-representados nas notícias.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mini Review

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a rising global health problem that affects approximately 6% of pregnant women. Lifestyle interventions, particularly diet, and exercise are the first-line treatment, followed by pharmacotherapy, but with associated side effects to both mother and offspring. Modulation of gut microbiota may help prevent or manage GDM. Some gut bacterial groups associated with GDM are also associated with inflammatory biomarkers and gut dysbiosis. Available literature reports that low-glycaemic index diet reduces maternal fasting and 2-hour postprandial glucose and maintains a beneficial gut bacterial composition. Pre- and probiotics can aid GDM therapy by modulating gut microbiota to eubiotic status and improving glucose metabolism. Probiotics as adjuvant GDM therapy should consider bacterial strains, dosage, and treatment duration. Limitations in their use require further studies to develop specific probioticbased GDM supplement therapy that impacts glycaemic control and inflammatory status by reducing fasting plasma glucose, insulin resistance, and improving lipid profiles of pregnant women.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O impacto do poder de mercado e das relações bancárias nos custos de financiamento, performance e estrutura de capital das empresas portuguesas

A tomada de decisão por parte da gestão das empresas para recorrerem a financiamentos bancários necessita de ser bem avaliada, uma vez que trará oscilações nas demonstrações financeiras. Desta forma é crucial compreender de que maneira a relação com os bancos e as condições do mercado bancário poderão afetar a empresa económica e financeiramente. Os objetivos desta dissertação passam por avaliar de que forma o poder do mercado bancário e o poder relativo dos bancos condicionou as empresas portuguesas, nas várias dimensões empresariais (micro, pequena, média e grande empresa), entre o período de 2006 a 2018, considerando os períodos de crise, nomeadamente nos custos de financiamento suportados, na rentabilidade empresarial e na estrutura de capital das empresas. Esta investigação foi elaborada em parceria com o Banco de Portugal que cedeu o programa de estatística STATA, onde foram trabalhados os dados em painel, e que remeteu posteriormente os resultados originais apenas com as informações autorizadas. A metodologia utilizada para o tratamento dos dados foi através de painéis estáticos com efeitos fixos, Pooled OLS e com erros padrão Driscoll-Kraay. Relativamente aos resultados obtidos, revelou-se que quando o poder bancário de mercado aumenta, os encargos financeiros suportados pelas empresas também aumentam, sendo que o poder relativo dos bancos não tem qualquer influência nos mesmos. Tal conclusão também se verificou nos anos de crise. Relativamente ao desempenho empresarial, este aumenta nas PME quando recorre ao crédito bancário em mercados concentrados e diminui quando um banco tem um maior poder relativo. Nos anos de crise, as duas variáveis independentes aumentam a rentabilidade das empresas. Por fim, a estrutura de capital das empresas melhorou quando se verificou um maior poder de mercado, o que também aconteceu nos anos de crise. Mas perante um banco com maior quota, esta variável piorou nas grandes empresas e melhorou nas PME, tal como nos períodos de crise. Pretende-se com esta dissertação auxiliar a gestão das empresas na tomada de decisões bancárias, tendo presente o impacto que terão. Em investigações futuras sugere-se que seja feita uma análise onde sejam incluídos outros indicadores e variáveis, de modo a complementar a informação, tal como as condições de crédito e outros espaços geográficos e temporais.ABSTRACT The decision making by a company´s management board in order to access bank financing needs to be thoroughly evaluated since it will bring financial demonstrations oscillation. Thus, it’s crucial to understand in what way can the relationship with banks and the market conditions affect the company economically and financially. The objective of this dissertation is to evaluate in what way the power of the banking market and the bank related power has conditioned portuguese companies, in various dimensions (micro, small, medium and large enterprises), between the years of 2006 and 2018, considering periods of economic crisis, namely in the financing costs, firm performance and in the firm capital structure. This investigation was done in collaboration with Banco de Portugal that gave away the STATA statistics program, where the data was processed, and later sent the original data containing only authorized information. The methodology used to process the raw data was using static panels with fixed effects, Pooled OLS and with standard errors Driscoll-Kraay. Relative to the results obtained, it was revealed that when the bank market power increases, the financial charge also increases and the relative power of banks has no influence on this. This conclusion was also verified on the years of economic crisis. Relative to the firm performance, it increases on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) when they resort to credit in concentrate's bank markets and diminishes when the bank has higher relative power. During the years of economic crisis both independent variables increased companies' profitability. Lastly, the enterprises’ capital structure has improved when a greater market power was noticeable, which also was the case during economic crisis years. But when facing a bank with a larger quota, the firm capital structure was worse for bigger enterprises and better for SMEs as seen on the economic crisis period. The intention of this dissertation is to be a management aid for companies when undertaking banking decisions by elucidating the impact these decisions can have. In future investigations it’s suggested a more comprehensive analysis of the data and that other indicators and variables are taken into account to have a more complete information set, such as contractual credit conditions and other geographic and temporal spaces

Impactos setoriais e regionais do mercado de carbono em Portugal : segunda fase

O Sistema Europeu de Comércio de Emissões é um dos mecanismos do Protocolo de Quioto, tendo o objetivo de reduzir os Gases com Efeito de Estufa de forma a combater as alterações climáticas. As licenças de emissão são atribuídas às empresas europeias, estipulando o máximo que a empresa pode emitir. O comércio de licenças permite que as empresas comprem ou vendam licenças no mercado, caso emitam mais, ou menos, que as licenças que lhes foram atribuídas. Dado que este comércio implica perdas ou ganhos económicos potenciais, importa analisar os impactos económicos que este sistema possa ter quer em termos setoriais quer em termos regionais em Portugal. Neste trabalho serão analisados potenciais efeitos distributivos entre setores ou regiões decorrentes deste sistema, em Portugal, na Fase II (2008- 2012). O país como um todo obteve saldo positivo, ou seja, recebeu mais licenças de emissão do que o total de emissões verificadas pelas indústrias. Contudo, a distribuição entre setores e regiões foi desigual, tal como aconteceu na Fase I. Há uma concentração elevada das emissões reguladas num pequeno número de empresas. O único setor que apresenta saldo negativo é o das Centrais Termoelétricas. Tal como na primeira fase existe uma alta concentração de emissões reguladas num número limitado de empresas e regiões, sendo que as regiões portuguesas onde existe um maior excedente de licenças atribuídas, são as regiões mais ricas e onde os setores não abrangidos pelo EU ETS são predominantes e responsáveis pela riqueza produzida. Neste trabalho são ainda discutidas opções de política que possam completar o EU ETS na prossecução dos seus objetivos de redução de emissões, e na mais “justa” responsabilização de agentes, setores ou regiões, pela sua contribuição em termos de emissões. Os resultados que provêm deste estudo podem ser relevantes para a formulação de políticas ambientais e energéticas, dado que podem contribuir com instrumentos para colmatar a lacuna do excedente de licenças atribuídas, de forma a melhorar as responsabilidades dos vários setores e regiões no impacto da poluição.The European Emissions Trading System is one of the mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol that aims to reduce greenhouse gases in order to combat climate change. Emission licenses are assigned to European companies and stipulate the maximum amount that each company can emit. License trading allows companies to buy or sell licenses in the market in case they emit more or less than the licenses that have been given. Assumed that this trade implies potential economic losses or gains, it is important to analyze the economic impacts that this system may have in both sectoral and regional terms in Portugal. This thesis will analyze potential distributive effects between sectors and regions subsequent of this system, in Portugal, in Phase II (2008-2012). The country, as a whole, had a positive balance. It received more emission licenses than the total emissions verified by the industries. However, the distribution between sectors and regions was uneven, as in Phase I. There is a high concentration of regulated emissions in a small number of companies. The only negative balance is the sector of Thermoelectric Plants. As in the first phase, there is a high concentration of regulated emissions in a limited number of regions and sectors. The Portuguese regions where there is a greater surplus of allocated licenses are the richer regions. The sectors that are not covered by the EU ETS are predominant and responsible for wealth produced. This thesis also discusses policy options that can complement EU ETS in pursuit of its emission reduction objectives and the "fairest" accountability of actors, sectors or regions for their emissions contribution. The results from this study may be relevant to the formulation of environmental and energy policies since it may contribute with tools to fill the gap in the excess of allocated licenses, in order to improve the responsibilities of various sectors and regions for the impact of pollution.Mestrado em Economi

Assessment of skills to facilitate the learning of reading and writing: a study in the 1st year of schooling in the context of the covid-19 pandemic

This paper presents the results of a quantitative study based on the assessment of competencies to facilitate the learning of reading and writing at the beginning of the 1st year of schooling. This study is part of the "Promoting Reading and Writing" project, which has been underway since 2018 in 11 school clusters of the Intermunicipal Community of Terras de Trás-os-Montes - Portugal. This project's main goals are to conduct screenings in the first four years of schooling to detect risks in the learning of reading and writing skills of the children involved, at an early stage of the school year and to train the respective teachers in the teaching of reading and writing to improve their classroom practices, in order to contribute to the success of all their students in these skills. In the screening carried out in the school year 2020/2021 (in the context of the Covid-19 Pandemic and after months of distance learning), 544 students from the eleven school clusters involved participated. The data collection tool used for this screening was the Know, Act and Change (Conhecer, Atuar e Mudar (CAM)) tests - Version 3 (2020) which, for the 1st year of schooling: (i) assesses knowledge of letters, (ii) identification of the final syllable, (iii) cultural knowledge of the printed word, (iv) identification of the initial phoneme and, consequently, (v) provides information on phonological awareness (identification of the final syllable plus identification of the initial phoneme). After the analysis of results, using descriptive statistics, it was possible to verify (based on data presented throughout the text) that regarding letter knowledge, most students were at the highest level of performance, and the data collected is in line with others that the team collected in previous years. As regards the identification of the final syllable, the results are not as good as in the previous item, with almost 40% (39.34%) of the scores obtained being in the two lowest levels ("very fragile" and "fragile. Regarding cultural knowledge of the printed word, 91.91% have no relevant difficulties in this competence, as they get between 7 and 12 answers right (12 being the maximum result). With regard to the identification of the initial phoneme, where more than half (51.47%) of the scores were placed in the two lowest levels, and phonological awareness, where 41% of the scores were placed in the same two levels, the greatest weakness in the area of these competences is evident. These results highlight that, on the one hand, no negative effect is visible from the changes forcibly introduced because of the Covid-19 Pandemic about letter knowledge and cultural knowledge of print. On the other hand, there is an added need for great attention and particular and intentional action in the development of phonological competence, remembering that this development is crucial for learning to read and write. The reflection and training with the teachers involved also included sessions whose objective was to work with different digital technologies (namely Storyjumper and vizia.com), from which they could develop reading and writing activities that promoted learning, in person or remotely. We would highlight yet the importance of professionals keeping a close eye on those students who are not in the majority group and who present a risk in one or more of the skills assessed. It is mainly to these students that our work with these teachers was directed.This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UIDB/05777/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio