There are many reasons to perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV). This study analyzes the attributions and perceptions of Portuguese men who perpetrate IPV to understand their justifications for violence against their female partners. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven male perpetrators. Through thematic analysis, three main categories emerged: self, partner, and situational factors. Perpetrators identified self attributes as justifications to abuse, such as individual characteristics, emotional disturbances, and jealousy; partner attributes, such as partners' characteristics and the use of violence against them; and situational factors, such as alcohol abuse and relational stressors. Perpetrators' narratives evidenced a tendency to conceive violence as an unintentional and unplanned action, attributing violence to uncontrollable factors, and an attitude of non-accountability for their behaviors/actions. A deeper understanding of perpetrators' perceptions and attributions for IPV will help to develop more effective intervention programs with offenders or to improve the existent ones, for example, in terms of dropout prevention, to reduce violence against women.

Dowel-type timber joints made of wood are of particular interest for interventions on built heritage because such heritage buildings often involve timber structures. Wooden dowels offer a lower cost when compared with other connectors and conform to the tendency for using wood-based solutions to retrofit timber structures. However, there is a significant lack of information regarding the modelling of these wooden connectors’ responses, in terms of analytical expressions as numerical models. Therefore, this paper presents the results of an extensive experimental campaign of timber-to-timber joints using wooden dowels. Two wood species were considered: chestnut as a hardwood and spruce as a softwood. The wooden dowels were always made of massaranduba, a Brazilian hardwood. The aim of the experimental campaign was to obtain and analyse the response of this type of connection, and then to compare it with the load-carrying capacity accessed through the available analytical expressions to verify its accuracy. The test results highlighted the advantages of using wooden dowels in timber joints. Moreover, it became clear that further analysis and research studies are needed to suggest new expressions that are in accordance with the behaviour of the connection.

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