Governance Control Mechanisms in Portuguese Agricultural Credit Cooperatives

Over the last decade Portuguese Agricultural Credit Cooperatives (ACCs) have increasingly face survival challenges related to their difficulty in gathering equity. The main source of ACCs equity is the net benefit; thus, understanding how ACCs governance can work on correcting bad economic performance is of crucial importance to overcome this constraint. The main objective of this paper is to describe the governance control mechanisms in the ACCs. Five governance mechanisms are identified: board and chairman change (internal mechanisms), central ACC intervention by an agent or by management board replacement and merger. Empirical analysis proved that the internal governance mechanisms activity is not related to the ACC performance. Additionally: (a) ACCs with a central ACC agent and merged ACCs hold a weaker credit management and a heavy administrative costs structure and profitability problems; and (b) ACCs with a management board replacement by the central ACC hold a weaker credit management and present solvency problems.cooperatives, credit, governance, multinomial logit, Agricultural Finance, D23, L29 ,

Differences in portuguese credit institutions' lending and investment behaviour in a time of slump

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of the different property rights models of credit institutions (public, private, cooperative or mutual) in their credit policy and investment behaviour and in response to the current crisis and regulatory framework adjustments. Taking Portuguese credit institutions as the object, it concludes that overall banks' business models are qualitatively identical and their lending and investment behaviours are similar, except for the saver profile of cooperative banks and the deeper focus on loans to customers to the detriment of financial investments of the mutual savings banks. Moreover, the reactions to the crisis were equivalent, except for the state-owned banks, which presented the most favourable reaction, albeit not deep enough to be significant.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Governance control mechanisms in Portuguese agricultural credit cooperatives

Over the last decade Portuguese Agricultural Credit Cooperatives (ACCs) have increasingly face survival challenges related to their difficulty in gathering equity. The main source of ACCs equity is the net benefit; thus, understanding how ACCs governance can work on correcting bad economic performance is of crucial importance to overcome this constraint. The main objective of this paper is to describe the governance control mechanisms in the ACCs. Five governance mechanisms are identified: board and chairman change (internal mechanisms), central ACC intervention by an agent or by management board replacement and merger. Empirical analysis proved that the internal governance mechanisms activity is not related to the ACC performance. Additionally: (a) ACCs with a central ACC agent and merged ACCs hold a weaker credit management and a heavy administrative costs structure and profitability problems; and (b) ACCs with a management board replacement by the central ACC hold a weaker credit management and present solvency problems

Ownership and governance of Portuguese credit co-operatives: the legal framework

Today, financial system enterprises operate in an environment full of global opportunities and threats; and in the sequence of corporate scandals and world financial crisis, the banking activity is constrained by ethical self-restraining as well as innovative regulations enforced by domestic and global governance institutions. The dual nature of credit cooperative is reflected by their formal and institutional solutions. They need to meet both banking and cooperative regulations, especially for those dedicated to relations between the two areas; hence, they result from considering their singularity and consistency. The main aim of this paper is to provide an insight of the Portuguese legal framework of cooperative credit

The Portuguese agricultural credit cooperatives governance model

The Portuguese Agricultural Credit Cooperatives (ACC) play a significant role in the national banking system. At the present, they face the challenge of matching the application of the traditional cooperative rules (which leads to a resulting set of vaguely defined property rights) with being successful in an ever more strong and competitive banking sector. The main objective of this paper is to understand the Portuguese ACC governance model, focusing on the strategies used to ameliorate the decision and investment problems arising from the strict application of traditional cooperative rules. Contrary to most of their pairs, Portuguese ACC choose to focus their efforts on the cooperative activity and performance rather than on the cooperative rules it selves. Although that strategy proved to be financial fruitful, it drives Portuguese ACC to a growing conflict of interests and to an identity crisi

Curriculum reorganization and project based learning: a teaching experiment of geometry in the 6th grade

This study intends to analyze the implications that an unconventional approach of Mathematics, in context of classroom, will have in 6 grade pupils. This approach consists of a reorganization of part of the mathematics curriculum, more concretely of the Thematic Unit - Geometry, through the methodology of Project Based Learning. The curricular reorganization was based on some principles concerning the teaching and learning of Mathematics, namely that: Mathematics must contribute for the development of individuals who can understand and use mathematics; learning is considered a process of active construction of knowledge; and activities of more open character, as Projects, present some potentialities concerning the teaching and learning of Mathematics. In the scope of this problematic the following research questions had been defined: - what kind of task should be presented to pupils, in order to constitute a challenge, and provide the opportunity to construct mathematical knowledge? - How to organize the activity in such a way that the geometry contents from 6th grade relate one another and that it develops pupils’ knowledge of concepts and procedures, mathematical communication and reasoning? - In which way does this approach influence the knowledge of concepts and procedures, the ability of mathematical communication and reasoning

The social performance of credit institutions

This paper analyses the social performance of the different Portuguese credit institutions, namely, their conduct in terms of financial inclusion, job creation and social responsibility. Results show “stakeholders view” banks superior performance in promoting economic and social development. Cooperative banks, in particular, mainly located on low density regions have a crucial function in the territorial and economic financial inclusion of those populations. That role was not affected by the current crisis. Moreover, banks are aware of their social responsibilities and making efforts to become more sustainable. The public bank proved to be the most socially responsible institution. Further, bigger and more internationalized banks adopted international principles regarding sustainable financing and show good environmental protection performances, contrary to the cooperative and mutual savings banks which have a better performance for social conduct.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fictive interaction in blended networks in the daily show with Jon Stewart: conceptualizing politican humor discourse not only for entertaining purpouses

[ES] Esta tesis analiza el discurso de Jon Stewart, el anterior presentador del conocidísimo programa satírico de “soft news” estadounidense The Daily Show. Más concretamente, se analiza un fenómeno conceptual que el presentador utilizaba frecuentemente en sus monólogos, basado en el uso de un marco (“frame”) en el que se da la interacción directa cara a cara como patrón organizativo para estructurar la cognición, la interacción ficticia (“fictive interaction”) (Pascual 2002; 2006; 2008a; 2008b; 2014), no solo para informar a su audiencia pero también para criticar y presentar sus propios puntos de vista y opiniones. El objetivo principal fue analizar las redes de interacción ficticia creadas por Stewart, como estrategias retóricas de su discurso, que implicaban mantener conversaciones ficticias con personas “reales”, que no estaban presentes en el estudio y que en realidad no tomaban parte en cualquiera de estas interacciones, diseñadas tan solo para los espectadores. Aunque estos diálogos imaginarios se realicen en una estructura de interacción abierta, es decir, durante los monólogos del presentador, constituyen una comunicación tridireccional, conocida como triálogo ficticio (“fictive trialogue”) (Pascual 2002; 2008b; 2014). Los triálogos ficticios son estructuras conceptuales prototípicas de programas de televisión como The Daily Show, donde el presentador, Jon Stewart, que es el productor ficticio habla con un receptor ficticio para beneficio de los espectadores, los oyentes participativos (“bystanders”) ficticios que están escuchando las conversaciones irreales. Estas interacciones imposibles son producidas no solo para hacer reír el público, sino también con fines retóricos

Mitologia greco-romana nos azulejos da Casa Museu Verdades Faria

Revista do IHA, N.3 (2007), pp.198-221Construída nos anos 1919-20 por Raul Lino para Jorge O’Neil, a Casa Museu Verdades Faria, situada no Monte Estoril, reúne um interessantíssimo conjunto de azulejos barrocos, formando silhares e ilustrando temas da mitologia greco-romana. Estes azulejos, de origem desconhecida, foram colocados em vários espaços do edifício sem qualquer preocupação de coerência iconográfica. Alguns painéis, provenientes de um mesmo conjunto, foram cortados e adaptados aos vários espaços das paredes. Em parte devido a esta “dispersão”, a temática dos azulejos manteve-se desconhecida até aos nossos dias. O estudo aqui desenvolvido permitiu identificar os vários episódios representados, na sua maioria temas das Metamorfoses de Ovídio, bem como reconstituir um dos conjuntos, totalmente desmembrado e aplicado em duas das salas do edifício

Comunicação para Lares de Infância e Juventude : contributos para uma mudança de paradigma

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ciências da Comunicação, 22 de Maio de 2015, Universidade dos Açores.Pensar a comunicação no contexto das organizações permite conhecer mais aprofundadamente uma organização, desde os seus valores, crenças, imagens até às ações que melhor se enquadrem na sua identidade, diferenciando-a das outras no mercado. Apesar de ser conhecida a importância de uma consciencialização do planeamento das ações que sirva a imagem estratégica das organizações para o exterior, nem todas seguem uma cultura de comunicação. Isto é específico das Instituições Particulares de Solidariedade Social que atuam no concelho de Ponta Delgada. O presente trabalho procurará, assim, oferecer uma resposta a esta lacuna, ocupando-se de três Lares de Infância e Juventude, com o objetivo de colaborar na melhoria das tarefas diárias destas instituições e de planificar atividades que projetem o seu nome e a sua imagem na comunidade onde estão inseridas.ABSTRACT: To plan communication strategies for an organization has the merit of enabling an in-depth knowledge of which values, beliefs, images and even actions are best suited to correspond to its intended identity, in order to distinguish it from its competitors. Though the importance of well-grounded strategic lines of action has been amply stated by reputed authors in the field of Public Relations, it is also known that a significant number of organizations fail to act according to this philosophy. This is particularly true in the case of the Private Social Solidarity Institutions acting within the municipality of Ponta Delgada. The present study aims at improving this scenario. It analyses the historical background and present conditions of three Childhood and Youth Houses, and seeks to assist them in the planning of strategic activities that may improve their external image, the performance of their daily tasks and the bonds with the community they are rooted in