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Do regulatory mechanisms promote competition and mitigate market power?: evidence from spanish electricity market
No full textThis paper estimates t e relationships between bidding quantities, marginal cost and market power
measures in the Spanish wholesale electricity market for two different regulatory periods: 2002–2005 and 2006–2007. Using panel econometric techniques we find differences in the impacts on bidding strategies for both periods. Hence, the marginal cost and the market power measures affect bid and net quantities. The market power measures also suggest that the coefficient is consistently positive and highly significant for both periods.
Moreover, the market power and marginal costs have mixed effects according to the models proposed for both periods. In addition, our results point to the effectiveness of the different effects of mitigating the market power in the Spanish electricity market. For the 2006–2007 period, the proposed causal relationships are partially validated by the cointegration results, which assumes there is a significant causality between the Lerner Index and the marginal cost.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The role of digital platforms in school management
No full textDissertação de Mestrado em Administração e Gestão Educacional, apresentada à Universidade AbertaEsta investigação procurou perceber como as plataformas digitais estão a influenciar a gestão escolar em Portugal. Enquanto instrumentos de regulação nacional,
são cada vez mais utilizadas num sistema multirregulador, marcado por normas e exigências externas, onde os processos de autonomia das escolas entram em conflito com
normas e políticas transnacionais. São revisitadas algumas teorias clássicas sobre organização, como as propostas por Max Weber e Frederick Taylor, que, apesar da sua
antiguidade, ainda ajudam a explicar certas práticas atuais na administração da educação por via das referidas plataformas. A análise dos dados revelou algumas fragilidades no uso das plataformas digitais nos processos de trabalho da equipa diretiva: repetição de tarefas, fraca interoperabilidade das plataformas e aumento da carga administrativa do trabalho do diretor. Os resultados indicam que, mesmo com o discurso da autonomia, as escolas continuam bastante condicionadas. As plataformas não são neutras, moldam as formas de trabalhar, exigindo tempo e energia das equipas diretivas. Com isso, o papel do diretor mudou bastante, ganhando novas responsabilidades e desafios. A liderança distribuída surge como forma de mitigar a governação digital da educação, exigindo do diretor uma atuação transformacional. Apesar da relevância dos resultados, esta investigação apresenta algumas limitações. O recurso a uma abordagem exclusivamente quantitativa, centrada num inquérito por questionário fechado, condiciona a profundidade da análise e a interpretação de fenómenos mais subtis da gestão escolar com recurso às plataformas digitais. Estas limitações abrem caminho à combinação com metodologias qualitativas, aprofundando certos aspetos da investigação.This research sought to understand how digital platforms are influencing school management in Portugal. As instruments of national regulation, they are increasingly
used within a multi-regulatory system marked by external norms and demands, where the processes of school autonomy come into conflict with transnational norms and
policies. Some classical organizational theories, such as those proposed by Max Weber and Frederick Taylor, are revisited. Despite their age, they still help explain certain current practices in educational administration through digital platforms. Data analysis revealed some weaknesses in the use of digital platforms within the management team’s workflows: task repetition, poor platform interoperability, and an increase in the administrative workload of school principals. The results indicate that, even with the
discourse of autonomy, schools remain highly constrained. Platforms are not neutral — they shape working methods, demanding time and energy from management teams. As a result, the principal’s role has changed significantly, bringing new responsibilities and challenges. Distributed leadership emerges as a way to mitigate digital governance in education, requiring a transformational approach from school leaders. Despite the relevance of the results, this research has certain limitations. The use of an exclusively quantitative approach, centered on a closed-ended questionnaire survey, limits the depth of analysis and the interpretation of more subtle phenomena in school management involving digital platforms. These limitations open the way for combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies, allowing for a deeper exploration of specific aspects of the research
Cárcere seletivo no Brasil: uma história que vai além dos muros
No full textThis article discusses the Brazilian prison system and the challenges posed by social inequality that
affect the prison population, presenting a concise historical context. The work is situated within
the paradoxical context of a country with a Criminal Enforcement Law (LEP) considered modern,
but which maintains a selective, segregating, and punitive model of incarceration. The central
objective of this study is to analyze the contrast between the humanized ideal of the Criminal
Enforcement Law (LEP) and the selective and exclusionary reality of the national prison system. It
seeks to substantiate the social injustices perpetrated in prisons, often through the very
mechanisms of justice. Furthermore, the article aims to discuss the need for transformation of the
prison system, in alignment with the principles of human rights and the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. The methodology of this study is qualitative and reflective in nature,
delineated from a transdisciplinary approach. The narrative construction permeates a theoretical
review of the legal, social, and ideological aspects of the prison system, with a dialogue between
Law, Social Sciences, Public Health, and Education. The analysis included an examination of the
Criminal Enforcement Law and a historical review from the Penal Code of 1830, in addition to a
critical interpretation of official data and empirical studies. The results indicate institutional
ineffectiveness in Brazilian prisons, operating as the last step in a systematic process of denial of
rights that precedes imprisonment. It is demonstrated that overcrowding, low levels of education,
and racial selectivity characterize the discrepancy between the norm and reality. However, the
study highlights the potential of the Criminal Enforcement Law as an instrument for inducing
humanitarian public policies. The analysis in light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
reveals that the effectiveness of the law requires integrated actions in health, education, and work,
transforming the prison into a space for citizen reconstruction
Inward internationalization: important challenges among SMEs
No full textThe existing literature on internationalization and purchasing is vast; however, the inward internationalization perspective is an under-researched topic. In this chapter, the authors review the literature on internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to understand the main reasons behind international purchasing and the role of experience on internationalization. Using a survey and descriptive statistics, the results from 56 respondents show that SMEs source from a small number of countries and hold those relationships for several years. The main reasons underlying international purchases are lower prices and better product quality, regardless of goods availability on the domestic market.
This chapter has some limitations concerning its exploratory nature, pertaining to its sample size. Some future research avenues are presented such as a deeper look on how internationalization processes differ when SMEs begin their activity by inward rather than by outward activities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The role of passion and self-efficacy in entrepreneurial activities in the gig economy: an unsupervised machine learning analysis with topic modeling
No full textThis research examines passion and self-efficacy through experience and knowledge, as motivational factors that support entrepreneurs within the gig economy (GE). It sheds light on entrepreneurs’ sources of passion in the GE literature. The sample is composed of all the 1164 entrepreneurship activities offered worldwide through Airbnb, Tour by Locals, and Withlocals on 5 May 2022. The study is supported by unsupervised machine learning models and seeks to find latent topics emerging from the analysis of the entrepreneurs’ descriptions and exposes the main correlated clustered dimensions. There are six main motivators behind GE platforms as a first step toward entrepreneurship: Experience, Passion for share, Knowledge, Classic traditions, Empowered community and local activities, and Well-being. It also confirms the correlation between passion and self-efficacy through experience, pointing them as main factors behind entrepreneurship in the GE. Five of the six sources of passion previously pointed by theory were found: Passion for growth, for people, for product/service, for innovation and for social mission. This study discloses self-efficacy and the sources of passion and points directions to practitioners involved in entrepreneurial activities in the GE ecosystem. This work used machine learning models to access quantitatively a paradigm that is inductive by nature. The results point to well-being as a significant factor to be
addressed in future research regarding entrepreneurship. This research only studies individuals involved in the GE; as such, further studies should cohort new populations from different fields.This work was financially supported by the Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (UIDB/04058/2020), funded by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The importance of non-financial determinants on public-private partnerships in Europe
No full textIn previous work regarding public–private partnership (PPP) arrangements the theoretical rationales and empirical results have mainly focused on analyzing the importance of quantitative features related to budget constraints deriving from public deficits, the existence of an infrastructure gap and the efficiency hypothesis. Thus, this study aims to identify the underlying determinants behind the proliferation and execution of PPPs, emphasizing the importance that non-financial (such as political, legal and macroeconomic) determinants have in establishing a PPP, as well as the factors that enhance the attractiveness of a country to encourage the private sector through PPPs in the European context.
The results of this study show that the macroeconomic environment – represented by economic freedom, competitiveness and the unemployment rate – is essential for PPPs, as well as the legal system, where regulatory quality and effective rule of law are associated with the effective execution of a PPP. The political environment and previous experience of PPPs are also key factors in making a country more attractive for establishing PPPs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
À margem do cânone: trânsitos apócrifos n'O evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo
No full textIntegra o volume "Perpetuum mobile: trânsitos literários, culturais e linguísticos", editado por Suisse, Abdelilah; Andrade, A. M. L.; Emília M. Rocha de Oliveira; Grácio, Rui Alexandre. Coimbra: Grácio Editores, 2026.Este artigo examina trânsitos literários relacionados com tradições bíblico-apócrifas presentes no romance "O evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo" (1991), um dos mais intertextuais de José Saramago, com um arcabouço referencial sofisticado, que excede em muito a narrativa bíblica canónica. Trata-se de analisar como Saramago recolhe personagens, episódios e detalhes narrativos sobretudo dos evangelhos da natividade e da infância, um diálogo ainda pouco estudado pela crítica saramaguiana. A análise mostra que o romance opera um duplo movimento de aproximação e distanciamento desses textos, revelando tanto a sua força cultural como alguns dos processos de receção que os tornaram parte do imaginário ocidental. Mostra-se ainda que Saramago atua como um autor apócrifo tardio, combinando fontes textuais, tradição iconográfica e objetos de veneração para criar a sua própria iconografia literária, marcada pela insistência no humano e por uma reescrita que desestabiliza leituras dogmáticas.Esta publicação é financiada por fundos nacionais, através da Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., no âmbito do projeto com a referência UID/04188/2025, com o DOI de financiamento https://doi.org/10.54499/UID/04188/2025
Evaluating the strategic supply per power plant: evidence from the spanish wholesale electricity market
No full textThis paper analyses the relationship among marginal costs per power plant, fossil fuel prices and electricity bidding quantities in the Spanish electricity market. The results of the panel cointegration and Granger causality methods clearly indicate a differential impact of fossil fuel prices on power plants marginal costs, with a positive effect for gas power plants. The biggest negative impact on marginal costs is seen for coal technology. As a consequence of the characteristics of different production technologies, the set of marginal costs across the sample is based on coal power plants, although Endesa and Iberdrola’s marginal costs are predominantly based on gas power plants. Operating costs for hydroelectric power plants are very low when Endesa, since this technology is strongly dependent on the volatility of commodity markets and on the supply chain and production costs management.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Augmented reality in retail
No full textRetail practice shows that augmented-reality shopping applications with similar technical
quality can elicit widely different consumer reactions. This study proposes a dual-pathway
Stimulus–Organism–Response model: a technical pathway linking augmented realism, information
richness, and personalization to interaction satisfaction, and an emotion-priming pathway where
anticipated emotions shape immersion, telepresence, and pleasure without technical appraisal. Both
converge at inspiration, the sole System-2 construct converting experience into behavior. Data from
quasi-experimental participants were analyzed using PLS-SEM, SHAP-interpreted gradient boosting,
and K-Means robustness checks. Information richness showed the strongest technical effect, while
anticipated emotions most strongly affected immediate experiences. Inspiration predicted purchase
and cross-buying intentions. Machine-learning diagnostics supported the framework and revealed
non-linear thresholds in key pathways, clarifying inconsistent AR outcomes and positioning inspiration
as the cognitive bridge to purchase.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio