Impact of corporate governance on firm’s performance The case of the Portuguese Listed Firms

Purpose: Corporate governance issues have been particular important in the last years because of diverse international scandals (e.g. Enron e a WorldCom in the US, Parmalt in Italy, and Banco Português de Negócios in Portugal, among others). This calls for the need for a reformulation of governance mechanisms to minimize agency conflicts and restore confidence in capital markets as well as transparency of the company's economic and financial situation. The choice of some corporate governance issues may have impact in the company’s performance, as it may influence agency costs between the principal and managers and between type of investors and may impact the firm’s financial decision. In this sense, this paper aims to analyze the impact of corporate governance’ characteristics on the financial performance of Portuguese listed firms. Design/methodology/approach: A panel data of listed companies on Euronext Lisbon, between 2012 and 2016, and the multiple linear regression model, was used. Findings: We find that results depend on the performance ratio used. The main results suggest that the size and independence of the board of directors have impact on the company’s performance. Moreover, we find that financial investors give relevance to best corporate governance practices. Originality: Most studies analyzing this thematic focus on major countries. This work focuses on a small-size country, where corporate governance mechanisms were questioned due to diverse bankruptcies and financial scandals. Moreover, accounting and market-based performance are addressed to see the main differences and similarities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fault Tolerant Reconfigurable Control of a Water Delivery Canal - Actuators Faults

This work addresses the problem of designing fault tolerant controllers for a water delivery canal that tackle actuators faults. The type of faults considered consists of blocking of one of the gates. The detection of the fault is made by comparing the gate position command with the actual (measured) gate position. Both centralized and distributed controllers are made for local upstream water level control. Centralized controllers are multivariable LQG-LTR controllers that use a model of the system with all the available manipulated inputs (gate positions) and all the available outputs (pool levels). Initially, three gates and three pools are controlled. After the fault detection, the controller is reconfigured to use the only two still operating gates and the corresponding two pool water levels. Distributed control uses local (SISO) LQG-LTR controllers that negotiate with their neighbors in order to be coordinated. When a fault occurs, this negotiation takes place only among the controllers connected to the actuators that are not in a fault state. Experimental results obtained in a pilot canal are presented

Relation between job crafting and work engagement: The mediating role of psychological well-being among nurses

This dissertation aims to provide insights into how participation in job crafting processes among professionals in the healthcare sector can contribute to their psychological well-being and the subsequent impact on their work engagement. Data was collected through an online questionnaire, having nurses working in the health sector in Portugal as a reference. To investigate the relationships that are established between the variables, several statistical procedures were performed, including a linear regression model and a mediation analysis. The results obtained allow us to identify, on the one hand, significant correlations between job crafting and psychological well-being, between psychological well-being and work engagement, and, finally, between job crafting and work engagement and, in a slightly different approach, a significant, partial effect of mediation of psychological well-being on the relationship that is established between job crafting and work engagement. These results show how important it is for healthcare organizations to recognize the unique needs of their employees and provide support and resources to enable crafting inherent strategies.A presente dissertação tem como objetivo entender de que modo a participação em processos de job crafting entre os profissionais do setor da saúde, poderá contribuir para o seu bem-estar psicológico e o impacte subsequente no seu work engagement. Procedeu-se à recolha de dados através de um questionário online, tendo por referência enfermeiros a exercer no setor da saúde em Portugal. De modo a investigar as relações que se estabelecem entre as três variáveis mencionadas acima, foram realizados vários procedimentos estatísticos, entre os quais um modelo de regressão linear e uma análise de mediação. Os resultados obtidos permitem identificar, por um lado, correlações significativas entre o job crafting e o bem-estar psicológico, entre o bem-estar psicológico e o work engagement e, por fim, entre o job crafting e o work engagement e, numa abordagem um pouco diferente um efeito significativo, parcial de mediação do bem-estar psicológico na relação que se estabelece entre o job crafting e o work engagement. Os resultados obtidos realçam a importância de as organizações de saúde reconhecerem e atuarem ao nível das necessidades da sua força de trabalho, fornecendo suporte e recursos para permitir a participação em processos estratégicos de job crafting

Filamentos metropolitanos: a emergência de formações urbanísticas especializadas no território metropolitano de Lisboa

As alterações do contexto físico e económico dos últimos anos vieram potenciar as transformações no território metropolitano de Lisboa e a consequente formação de eixos urbanos especializados a nível funcional. Estes eixos, produto de processos de infra-estruturação e densificação metropolitana, resultam num sistema urbano polinucleado, com a existência de áreas de grande concentração de actividades económicas ligadas ao sector terciário e, consequentemente, com o abandono e a reestruturação das vastas áreas industriais periféricas. O tema centra-se na emergência de morfologias urbanas associadas à especialização programática ligada às diferentes actividades económicas. De forma a contextualizar e identificar o processo subjacente ao seu aparecimento e consolidação, exploram-se as transformações que se verificaram na estrutura metropolitana durante os últimos 50 anos e identificam-se os principais motores e consequências da especialização territorial. De seguida, recorre-se ao caso de estudo (o filamento metropolitano entre Lisboa e Vila Franca de Xira) com o objectivo de identificar as tendências contemporâneas, de que forma as mudanças se materializaram e qual o seu impacte territorial.The changes in the physical and economic context of the recent years have potentiated the transformations in Lisbon’s metropolitan territory and the consequent formation of functionally specialized urban axis. These are product of metropolitan infrastructuration and densification, resulting in a polynuclear urban system with areas of great concentration of economic activities related to the tertiary sector and, hence, the abandonment and restructuring of the vast peripheral industrial areas. The theme focuses the emergence of urban morphologies associated to a programmatic specialization related to the different economic activities. In order to contextualise and identify the process underlying its emergence and consolidation, the article explores the transformations that have occurred in the metropolitan structure over the past 50 years and identifies the main drivers and consequences of the territorial specialization. Then, the contemporary trends and the materialization of the changes and their territorial impact are analysed, by resorting to the case study (the metropolitan filament between Lisbon and Vila Franca de Xira).Peer Reviewe

Filamentos metropolitanos: a emergência de formações urbanísticas especializadas no território metropolitano de Lisboa

As alterações do contexto físico e económico dos últimos anos vieram potenciar as transformações no território metropolitano de Lisboa e a consequente formação de eixos urbanos especializados a nível funcional. Estes eixos, produto de processos de infra-estruturação e densificação metropolitana, resultam num sistema urbano polinucleado, com a existência de áreas de grande concentração de actividades económicas ligadas ao sector terciário e, consequentemente, com o abandono e a reestruturação das vastas áreas industriais periféricas. O tema centra-se na emergência de morfologias urbanas associadas à especialização programática ligada às diferentes actividades económicas. De forma a contextualizar e identificar o processo subjacente ao seu aparecimento e consolidação, exploram-se as transformações que se verificaram na estrutura metropolitana durante os últimos 50 anos e identificam-se os principais motores e consequências da especialização territorial. De seguida, recorre-se ao caso de estudo (o filamento metropolitano entre Lisboa e Vila Franca de Xira) com o objectivo de identificar as tendências contemporâneas, de que forma as mudanças se materializaram e qual o seu impacto territorial.The changes in the physical and economic context of the recent years have potentiated the transformations in Lisbon’s metropolitan territory and the consequent formation of functionally specialized urban axis. These are product of metropolitan infrastructuration and densification, resulting in a polynuclear urban system with areas of great concentration of economic activities related to the tertiary sector and, hence, the abandonment and restructuring of the vast peripheral industrial areas. The theme focuses on the emergence of urban morphologies associated to a programmatic specialization related to the different economic activities. In order to contextualise and identify the process underlying its emergence and consolidation, the article explores the transformations that have occurred in the metropolitan structure over the past 50 years and identifies the main drivers and consequences of the territorial specialization. Then, the contemporary trends and the materialization of the changes and their territorial impact are analysed, by resorting to the case study (the metropolitan filament between Lisbon and Vila Franca de Xira).Peer Reviewe

Are state-owned firms less profitable than non-state-owned firms? European evidence

Prior research suggests that state-owned enterprises (SOE) have lower performance levels than non-state-owned enterprises (NSOE). The main goal of this study is to analyse the impact of State ownership on profitability, using two major measures of performance: Return on Equity and Return on Assets, and a broader sample of about 11,000 firms, from 37 countries, between 2003 and 2011. Our main results suggest that SOE are less profitable than NSOE for both performance measures. This finding remains equal in the crisis periods and for Western and Eastern Europe countries. We also find a negative relationship between State control and SOE´s profitability levels. Additional results indicate that, in general, SOE from Western Europe are more profitable than SOE from Eastern Europe.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Predictors of outcome and immunological markers in patients with Systemic lupus erythematosus

Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the prototypic multisystem autoimmune disease, with a broad spectrum of clinical presentations encompassing almost all organs and a chronic course, which can vary from mild to life-threatening. There is a major unmet need for outcome prediction enabling tailoring management and therapeutic interventions for SLE patients. Objectives To improve outcome prediction in SLE, the specific aims of this thesis were: (1) to evaluate the performance of the ACR and the SLICC classification criteria sets for SLE; (2) to evaluate the effect of the classification criteria fulfilled at time of SLE diagnosis and other predictors on long-term outcomes of damage and mortality; (3) to identify clinical predictors for SLE flares of disease activity; (4) to increase knowledge about the relationships between immunological markers and SLE disease activity. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional observational study of 2055 patients with a clinical diagnosis of SLE followed at 17 centers and registered in the Portuguese and Spanish national registries; the sensitivity of the ACR and SLICC classification criteria was compared using the McNemar’s test; the sensitivity of the two classification sets was further examined in five subgroups defined according to disease duration. We conducted a prospective inception cohort study of 192 SLE patients from time of diagnosis and followed up to 10 years at the CHUC Lupus Clinic; we assessed with multivariate Cox models the 10-year outcomes of damage and mortality, according to SLE classification status (fulfilling the ACR or only the SLICC criteria) at inception, and adjusting for potential baseline confounders. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 202 SLE patients followed up to 24 months at the CHUC Lupus Clinic over 1083 visits; we evaluated potential clinical predictors for disease activity flares with multivariate Cox regression models adjusting for potential confounders factors and estimating hazard ratios. We conducted cross-sectional studies of two groups of SLE patients, one with clinically active and another with inactive disease recruited at the CHUC Lupus Clinic and a group of healthy subjects enrolled at the same site; one peripheral blood sample was collected from each participant and analyzed with flow cytometry multiparametric immunophenotyping protocols to define relationships between immunological markers in B cells, Th17 cells and NK cells and SLE classification and disease activity status. Results The cross-sectional study on performance of classification criteria showed that the sensitivity for SLE clinical diagnosis was higher with the SLICC than with the ACR classification criteria (93.2% versus 85.6%, p<0.0001). From patients not fulfilling the ACR criteria, 62.8% could be classified with the SLICC. Patients within 5 years since disease onset presented the largest difference in sensitivity between the SLICC and the ACR criteria (respectively 89.3% and 76.0%, p<0.0001). In the 10-year prospective inception cohort study, patients meeting the ACR criteria compared to those with only the SLICC criteria at inception presented during follow-up with more cases of lupus nephritis (35.1% versus 13.8%, p<0.01), but less thrombotic antiphospholipid syndrome (4.5% versus 17.2%, p<0.01). The Cox models showed no significant differences in risk for damage or death between groups. In the 24-month prospective cohort study, the multivariate Cox models demonstrated that the risk of flare was more than two-fold, four-fold and three-fold higher for patients with SLE diagnosis up to 25 years, previous lupus nephritis or baseline immunosuppressant treatment, respectively. In the cross-sectional immunophenotyping studies, analysis of B cell subsets showed that differential expression of BAFFR, CD81 and CD38 in the transitional B cells allowed identifying two major clusters: the cluster 1 integrated all healthy subjects and 79% of SLE patients with clinically inactive disease, while in the cluster 2 there was only patients with SLE and 82% of those with clinically active disease. The analysis of Th17 cells showed no significant differences in the frequency of Th17 among healthy subjects and SLE patients, as well as among patients with clinically inactive and active disease. The analysis of NK cells showed a lower number and frequency of NK cells in SLE patients as compared to healthy subjects, regardless of disease activity status, and a lower frequency of CD56dim NK cells expressing CXCR3 was a marker of clinically active SLE (12.5% versus 24.1% in the active and inactive SLE group, respectively, p<0.01). Conclusions The SLICC classification criteria are more sensitive and may allow a SLE classification earlier in the disease course than the previous ACR criteria. Patients fulfilling at inception either of the classification criteria present no differences in the major long-term outcomes of organ damage and mortality. Patients with a SLE diagnosis before age 25, lupus nephritis or immunosuppressant treatment/severe SLE present higher risk for flares of disease activity; patients fulfilling at inception only the SLICC classification criteria may present higher risk of thrombotic antiphospholipid syndrome: these clinical predictors thus provide a basis for tailoring management strategies of SLE patients. Immunophenotyping studies suggested that SLE patients present: an upregulation of B cells, with subset clusters able to differentiate SLE patients from healthy subjects and clinically active from inactive SLE; a downregulation of NK cells, and less clear changes of Th17 cells. We provide proof-of-concept that a panel of immunological markers may provide a basis for biologic validation of clinical definitions for SLE disease activity states.Introdução O Lúpus Eritematoso sistémico (LES) representa o paradigma das doenças autoimunes multissistémicas, apresentando um largo espectro de manifestações clínicas que potencialmente envolvem quase todos os órgãos e sistemas, com um curso clínico crónico e gravidade clínica variada, entre ligeira a severa e com risco de vida. Existe uma necessidade fundamental por cumprir de identificar preditores de prognóstico que permitam a individualização da monitorização e intervenções terapêuticas para os doentes com LES. Objetivos Identificar preditores de prognóstico em doentes com LES, através dos objetivos específicos desta tese: (1) avaliar o desempenho dos critérios de classificação ACR e SLICC para a identificação de doentes com LES; (2) avaliar o efeito dos critérios de classificação preenchidos à data de diagnóstico de LES e outros preditores no prognóstico a longo prazo em termos de dano irreversível e mortalidade; (3) identificar preditores clínicos para agudizações da atividade clínica do LES; (4) contribuir para o conhecimento das relações entre marcadores imunológicos e a atividade clínica do LES. Métodos Efetuámos um estudo observacional transversal de 2055 doentes com diagnóstico clínico de LES, seguidos em 17 centros e integrados nos registos nacionais de Portugal e Espanha; a sensibilidade dos critérios de classificação ACR e SLICC foi comparada através do teste de McNemar; a sensibilidade dos dois sistemas de classificação foi ainda analisada em 5 subgrupos definidos de acordo com a duração da doença. Realizámos um estudo prospetivo de coorte, incluindo 192 doentes com LES avaliados desde a data de diagnóstico e seguidos até 10 anos na CHUC Lupus Clinic; analisámos através de regressão multivariada de Cox o prognóstico a 10 anos, em termos de dano irreversível e mortalidade, em grupos definidos de acordo com os critérios de classificação cumpridos à data de diagnóstico (critérios ACR ou apenas os critérios SLICC) e ajustando para potenciais confundidores definidos à data de diagnóstico. Conduzimos um estudo prospetivo de coorte incluindo 202 doentes com LES seguidos até 24 meses na CHUC Lupus Clinic ao longo de 1083 consultas; analisámos potenciais preditores clínicos de agudizações da atividade do LES, aplicando regressão multivariada de Cox ajustada a potenciais confundidores e com estimativa dos hazard ratios dos preditores. Efetuámos estudos transversais incluindo dois grupos de doentes com LES, um com doença clinicamente ativa e outro com doença inativa, recrutados na CHUC Lupus Clinic e um grupo de indivíduos saudáveis recrutados no mesmo local; colhemos uma amostra de sangue periférico de cada participante, que foi processada através de protocolos de imunofenotipagem e analisada com citometria de fluxo multiparamétrica, para identificar relações entre marcadores imunológicos em células B, Th17 e NK e a classificação de LES e seus estados de atividade clínica. Resultados O estudo transversal do desempenho dos critérios de classificação demonstrou que a sensibilidade para o diagnóstico clínico de LES é mais elevado com o sistema de classificação SLICC do que com o ACR (93,2% e 85,6%, respetivamente, p<0,0001). Entre os doentes que não cumpriam os critérios ACR, 62,8% preencheram os critérios SLICC. Os pacientes com duração de doença até 5 anos apresentaram a maior diferença em sensibilidade entre o sistema SLICC e ACR de classificação (respetivamente 89,3% e 76,0%, p<0001). O estudo prospetivo de coorte de LES inicial e seguimento até 10 anos, mostrou que os doentes que preenchiam à data de diagnóstico os critérios ACR de classificação apresentaram ao longo do seguimento mais casos de nefrite lúpica do que aqueles cumprindo apenas critérios SLICC (35,1% e 13,8%, respetivamente, p<0,01), mas menos casos de síndrome antifosfolípido trombótico (4,5% e 17,2%, respetivamente, p<0,01). Os modelos multivariados de Cox não mostraram diferenças entre grupos no risco de dano irreversível nem de mortalidade. No estudo prospetivo de coorte com seguimento a 24 meses, os modelos multivariados de Cox demonstraram que o risco de agudizações clínicas do LES é mais de 2 vezes, 4 vezes e três vezes mais elevado para os doentes com diagnóstico de LES até aos 25 anos, com nefrite lúpica prévia ou sob terapêutica com imunossupressores à data de inclusão, respetivamente. Nos estudos transversais de imunofenotipagem, a análise da linhagem de células B demonstrou que a expressão diferencial de BAFFR, CD81 e CD38 nas células B de transição permite a identificação de dois principais clusters: o cluster 1, que integrou todos os indivíduos saudáveis e 79% dos doentes com LES clinicamente inativo, enquanto o cluster 2 incluiu apenas doentes com LES e 82% daqueles com doença clinicamente ativa. A análise das células Th17 mão mostrou diferenças significativas na frequência de Th17 entre o grupo de controlos e o de doentes com LES, nem entre pacientes com doença clinicamente inativa ou ativa. A análise das células NK revelou menor número e frequência de células NK em doentes com LES comparativamente aos controlos, independentemente da atividade clínica da doença; uma frequência mais baixa de células NK CD56dim expressando CXCR3 revelou ser um marcador de LES clinicamente ativo (12,5% e 24,1% no grupo com doença ativa e inativa, respetivamente, p<0,01). Conclusões Os critérios de classificação SLICC apresentam maior sensibilidade e podem permitir estabelecer a classificação como LES mais precocemente no curso da doença do que o prévio sistema de classificação ACR. Os doentes preenchendo à data de diagnóstico qualquer dos dois sistemas de classificação não apresentam diferenças no prognóstico a longo prazo em termos de dano irreversível nem de mortalidade. Os doentes com diagnóstico de LES até aos 25 anos, com nefrite lúpica ou necessitando terapêutica imunossupressora, apresentam risco mais elevado de sofrer agudizações clínicas do LES; pacientes preenchendo à data de diagnóstico apenas os critérios de classificação SLICC podem apresentar maior risco de síndrome anti-fosfolípido trombótico: estes preditores clínicos fornecem uma base para individualizar estratégias de monitorização e tratamento de doentes com LES. Os estudos de imunofenotipagem sugerem que os doentes com LES apresentam: hiperatividade de células B, com clusters de marcadores imunológicos em subtipos de células B que permitem diferenciar doentes com LES de indivíduos saudáveis e LES clinicamente ativo de inativo; hipoatividade das células NK e anomalias menos consistentes das células Th17. Fizemos prova do conceito que um painel de marcadores imunológicos pode providenciar uma base de validação biológica para definições clínicas de estados de atividade do LES

Modelling environmental monitoring data coming from different surveys

With this work we propose a spatio-temporal model for Gaussian data collected in a small number of surveys. We assume the spatial correlation structure to be the same in all surveys. In the application concerning heavy metal concentrations in mosses, the data set is dense in the spatial dimension but sparse in the temporal one, thus our model-based approach corresponds to a correlation model depending on survey orders. One advantage of this approach is its computational simplicity. An interpretation for the space-time covariance function, decomposing the overall variance of the process as the product of the spatial component variance by the temporal component variance, is introduced. A simulation study, aiming to validate the model, provided better results in terms of accuracy with the novel covariance function. Maps of predicted heavy metal concentrations and of interpolation error, for the most recent survey, are presented.Data of this kind is recurrent in environmental sciences, which is why we argue that this will be a practical tool to be used very often

Portugal Mineral Resources Cluster: Collective Strategy for Sectoral Recognition and Sustainable Development

The proposal as a strategic economic cluster and subsequent recognition of the Portugal Mineral Resources Cluster, by the Portuguese Government, constitutes a milestone and an important step for its rational management. It was clear that the economic growth of companies associated with the cluster of mineral resources grew comparatively more in the same period than those that are not part of the cluster. It has also been demonstrated that the learning capacity of making alliances increases the performance of companies. As an evolution of the Portuguese Stone Cluster, where the clustering strategy demonstrated positive results during the Portuguese economic crisis, the main goal, partly already achieved, of the “Associação Cluster Portugal Mineral Resources” is to spread the experience acquired in the stone sector to the Mineral Resources Economic Sector