An Analysis of Actual and Potential Trade between the EU Countries and the Eastern European Countries

The Eastern Enlargement represents an opportunity for trade growth for all the European Union (EU) countries. In fact, trade between the EU and the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) has increased considerably in the nineties. However, both benefits and losses from trade expansion do not equally affect all countries and regions inside the EU. This paper focus on the analysis of the potential bilateral trade flows between the EU and the CEEC and in special between the CEEC and the Southern European countries. The analysis is based on the gravity model approach using panel data from 1993 to 1999. It is possible to conclude that there is still scope for further expansion of the trade flows between some CEEC and some of the EU countries, in particular of some Southern countries

Zootecnia: Conceito, definição

Texto de apoio para a Unidade Curricular de Bases Gerais de Zootecni

Efficiency tests in the Iberian stock markets

This paper investigates the efficiency of the two major stock indexes of the Iberian Peninsula, the Portuguese Stock Index (PSI-20) and the Spanish Stock Index (IBEX-35). We used daily data from January 1993 to September 2001 for the Portuguese stock index and daily data from October 1990 to September 2001 for the Spanish stock index. Serial correlations, unit root tests and variance ratio tests are used to test the efficiency of these two stock indexes. Although the complementary of these tests, we used all of them to get a higher robustness of the conclusions. We examined serial correlation coefficients for successive stock index changes to test whether they are statistically equal to zero to establish the random walk nature of stock indexes. The augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test are used to test the null hypothesis that the series has a unit root and the variance ratio tests are used to examine the random walk hypothesis for the series of these two stock indexes. The results of the serial correlations, unit root tests and variance ratio tests provide ambiguous evidence for the random walk hypothesis. The empirical evidence from the unit root tests do not reject the efficient market hypothesis for the two stock indexes, while the results from the variance ratio tests and serial correlations do.stock indexes, market efficiency, unit roots

Flipped classrooms: from concept to reality using Google Apps

Flipped classrooms use in-class time to work onlearning materials that were previously explored by thestudents on their own (e.g. pre-recorded presentations,instructional videos, etc.). Any e-learning platform can beused to flip a classroom / course, but they suffer from anoriginal sin -- they can just as well be used to supporttraditional teacher-centred models, where the course siteworks as a repository of slides used during plenary classesdelivered in lecture halls. Besides this historical handicap,most e-learning platforms offer relatively poor collaborativeenvironments, particularly if we consider the standardsharing facilities of social platforms like Facebook, Google+(G+), etc. The portfolio of resources included in the GoogleApps for Education program, on the other hand, offers apowerful toolbox that can be used to build rich collaborativeenvironments. Ending up with teacher-centred models ismuch harder in the Google Apps world, where a pervasivecollaborative strategy can be made to spread across ateaching and learning framework built as a Google site. Thispaper presents the essential Google Apps that can be used inthis context, proposes a pedagogical model that ensurescollaborative, student-centred learning, and describes how ateaching and learning framework can be built using thetools comprised in the Google Apps for Education portfolio.The reusable template offered as a result of this work isavailable online at http://goo.gl/wllUk

Restoring Reliability in Fault Tolerant Reconfigurable Systems

The new generations of SRAM-based FPGAdevices, built on nanometer technology, are thepreferred choice for the implementation ofreconfigurable computing platforms. However,smaller technological scales increase theirvulnerability to manufacturing imperfections andhence to the occurrence of electromigration.Moreover, the large internal RAM (for configurationpurposes or as embedded memory blocks) makesthem more prone to soft errors.The incorporation of self-reconfigurationcapabilities in recent FPGAs, allied to the use of softand hard microprocessor cores, facilitates the offsetof these vulnerabilities by enabling the developmentof self-restoring fault tolerant reconfigurablesystems. In the methodology presented in this paper,the embedded microprocessor is also responsible forthe implementation of online self-test-and-repairstrategies, based on modular redundancy and onself-reconfiguration. The detection of faults, causedby soft or hard errors, may be followed by repairingactions, depending on the fault type. This approachleads to smoother system degradation, extending itslifetime and improving its reliability

Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment:What kind of relationship is there?

Globalization and technological innovations create investment opportunities for firms worldwide. In fact, while firms pursue foreign direct investment (FDI) opportunities on a global basis, countries compete to attract these flows. Investment decisions by firms depend on complex and distinct factors. In particular, in the case of foreign investment one of these factors relates to the perception that investors have about the level of risk and/or corruption (or transparency) that characterises countries. Recent studies suggest that corruption negatively impacts on FDI and may act as a disincentive to investment. By using information for 97 countries, concerning inward FDI performance and perceived level of corruption, this paper intends to analyse how corruption influences on the FDI. Given that a certain level of perceived corruption can, in fact, be subject to different subjective evaluations by investors, the paper uses a fuzzy logic approach in order to determine conceivable clusters in the FDI-corruption space. The use of fuzzy clustering techniques reveals the existence of two well-defined clusters: one is formed by high-level corruption countries, where, indeed, corruption is negatively correlated, in a significant way, with FDI; the other is formed by low-level corruption countries, where the influence of corruption on FDI is not so evident

Palácio de Monserrate: reabilitação estrutural dos torreões e criação da telha cerâmica romana monserrate

Esta dissertação baseia-se na compreensão de que se está perante um Monumento, património de Sintra e do País, indissociável da magia e do romantismo de uma região que se tornou símbolo de um país singular, de acordo com as cartas e convenções internacionais. O objectivo deste trabalho é elaborar um documento que possa ser utilizado no futuro como base de estudo para a resolução de casos práticos de reabilitação semelhantes ao que se apresenta e também promover uma aprendizagem sobre as técnicas de restauro e reforço de estruturas de madeira. Pretende-se contribuir também com conjunto de experiências profissionais sobre uma matéria que para o nosso País deverá ser cada vez mais tomada em consideração e conhecida. Tentou-se com este trabalho, e a partir da experiência profissional vivida como técnico responsável e colaborador da LNRibeiro Construções Lda. desenvolver a temática do reforço das estruturas de madeira em construções antigas, por se tratar de um material nobre e com propriedades comprovadas, ainda que pouco explorado e actualmente sujeito a preconceitos de utilização. No desenvolvimento da minha actividade regi-me sempre pelo profundo respeito ao Monumento, sua autenticidade e humildade na aprendizagem que este me ia transmitido

Botrytis Cinerea mating types distribution and NEP1 protein sequence analysis

Mestrado em Engenharia Agronómica - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaBotrytis cinerea [teleomorph: Botryotinia fuckeliana] is a heterothallic filamentous plant pathogenic Ascomycete with over two hundred different hosts, and its control at the crop level is still very difficult to achieve. Sexual reproduction as an active part in the fungus dispersal and variability has been underestimated until recent years. Research leading to more insight into the MAT locus and the fundamental principles of the mating process can prompt new strategies for B. cinerea control. During the B. cinerea infection process, phytotoxic proteins such as NEP1 are produced. Their function is yet to be unraveled, but it was postulated that they might play a role in speciation in the genus Botrytis. This report describes a mating type screening of a population of 80 field isolates of B. cinerea. Findings indicate a typical 1:1 Mendelian distribution of the MAT loci, and one strain with both MAT genes is reported. A scan of the MAT locus suggests the absence of the MAT1-1 locus in dual mating strains. Furthermore, Southern blotting demonstrates for the first time the possible presence of a complete MAT1-1 locus in a dual mating strain, instead of the predicted incomplete MAT1-1 locus (dMAT1). Besides the MAT loci, genomic sequences of the BcNEP1 gene in 16 different B. cinerea strains are analyzed, and results demonstrate the existence of three haplotypes and two alleles. Purifying selection is accounted for evolutionary changes within the gene.Finally, four uORF independent knockout mutants were created. This predicted gene is located within the MAT1-1 locus, but its function is yet to be described