Central Government Transfers and Regional Convergence in Portugal

Over the last decades, the Portuguese economy exhibited an outstanding growth performance. This period of fast economic growth allowed the country to consistently reduce its income gap with respect to the EU average. In spite of this, regions in Portugal exhibited large differences between each other in terms of GDP per capita. Yet, the Portuguese government did make attempts at regional intervention by means of some policy instruments, namely public transfers to local (and regional) government. How successful these policies have been in terms of achieving their goal is still an open question, especially as far as Portuguese Central Government transfers are concerned. The main purpose of the paper is to evaluate if the system of Central Government transfers has affected the intra-regional Portuguese convergence. We haven’t found unquestionable evidence that these policies have been effective at stimulating convergence among Portuguese regions and at improving the overall economies of the poorer regions. Keywords: Regional convergence, Central Government transfers, Regional policy JEL Classification: H71; O18; R58

Iberian Electricity Market spot and futures prices: comovement and lead-lag relationship analysis

Traditionally, the literature on energy prices relied on cointegration methods to study the long-run relation between spot and futures prices and correlation analysis or causality tests to observe lead-lag relationships between them. In this paper we examine the comovements and lead-lag relationships within the Iberian electricity market using the continuous wavelet transform which operates in the time-frequency domain. This analysis may allow to distinguish relations at given frequencies and given time horizons. Empirical evidence for the period from July 2007 to February 2017 suggest that correlation between spot and futures markets is positive. Moreover, this result seems to be consistent across all maturities

Women vs Men: Who performs better on Energy Literacy?

Energy literacy is seen as one of the most powerful tools, available to ordinary people, to contribute to a more sustainable world. Since women tend to be considered the main caregivers, due to their maternal instinct, being generally more attentive, more altruistic, and more concerned with the future of their children, are women more involved in the transition to a more sustainable future? To answer this question, we seek to assess the literacy levels of Portuguese university members and explore the differences between men and women. Using the Heteroskedastic Ordered Probit, we found that women tend to have lower levels of knowledge about energy, but a more positive and sustainable attitude and behavior

As histórias infantis como recurso pedagógico para a compreensão da diversidade das crianças

O presente relatório realizado no âmbito do Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar tem como principal objetivo perceber de que modo as histórias infantis podem ser mobilizadas como um recurso pedagógico para a compreensão, acolhimento e valorização da diversidade das crianças. A metodologia utilizada alicerça-se na investigação qualitativa e é orientada pelos princípios da investigação-ação. A investigação foi realizada em dois contextos educativos de estágio, creche e de jardim de infância. Para que este estudo fosse possível contou com a participação das educadoras e das crianças, destas últimas através das atividades que realizei com elas. Para a recolha de informação recorri a várias técnicas e instrumentos, nomeadamente observações participantes, entrevistas semiestruturadas, pesquisa documental, conversas informais, reflexões cooperadas, registos multimédia e notas de campo. Com base nas experiências dos estágios procurei evidenciar o que vivi e aprendi junto das crianças e das equipas pedagógicas, bem como as dificuldades sentidas e a forma como as mesmas foram ultrapassadas. A análise e interpretação de todas as informações recolhidas, bem como as intervenções realizadas, permitiu compreender que o educador tem um papel crucial no que diz respeito ao acolhimento, compreensão e à valorização da diversidade das crianças, mas para tal, necessita de conhecer verdadeiramente o grupo de crianças e a história de vida de cada uma. Neste sentido, é primordial escutá-las e valorizá- las, de forma a permitir a construção de ambientes educativos inclusivos. Através das intervenções realizadas, constatei que as histórias são um bom recurso pedagógico para se explorar a diversidade das crianças no que respeita às diferentes formas de ser e de aprender das crianças, uma vez que através delas se pode evidenciar a individualidade de cada criança, compreendê-la, respeitá-la e proporcionar-lhes espaços de participação em todos os processos de aprendizagem e desenvolvimento.The main objective of this report, which is part of the Master's in Preschool Education, is to understand how children's stories can be used as a pedagogical resource for understanding, welcoming and valuing children's diversity. The methodology used is based on qualitative research and is guided by the principles of action research. The research was carried out in two educational internship contexts, daycare, and kindergarten. For this study to be possible, the educators and the children participated, the latter through the activities I carried out with them. To collect information, I used several techniques and instruments, namely participant observation, semi-structured interviews, documentary research, informal conversations, cooperative reflections, multimedia records and field notes. Based on the experiences of the internships I tried to highlight what I lived and learned with the children and the pedagogical teams, as well as the difficulties experienced and how they were overcome. The analysis and interpretation of all the information collected, as well as the interventions made, allowed me to understand that the educator has a crucial role in welcoming, understanding and valuing the diversity of children, but for that, he/she needs to really know the group of children and the life story of each one. In this sense, it is essential to listen to them and value them, in order to allow the construction of inclusive educational environments. Through the interventions carried out, I found that stories are a good pedagogical resource to explore the diversity of children in terms of the different ways of being and learning, since through them it is possible to highlight the individuality of each child, understand and respect them and provide them with spaces to participate in all learning and development processes

Residual Biomass: A Comprehensive Review on the Importance, Uses and Potential in a Circular Bioeconomy Approach

ReviewThe paradigm shift towards sustainable growth is urgent, and biomass, which is the oldest energy source that humans have used since the discovery of fire, might play an important role. Biomass waste from forestry and agriculture is expected to fuel part of the increasing demand for biomass, and its valorization allows for more the efficient use of nutrients and resources. In this study, we carried out an extensive literature review on the valorization of residual agroforestry biomass since the 1970s to understand the leading research focuses on the subject over the last few decades, identify the most recent trends, and establish a possible solution path for the future of biomass. It was observed that most studies focused on biomass as being capable of replacing fossil energy sources. According to the literature, biomass has the most significant potential to meet requirements and ensure fuel supplies in the future. The developments of the last decades have significantly improved the conversion processes, leading to greener solutions, but there is still much to be studied and put into practice. Closing the loop into biomass waste recovery will be essential for a genuinely circular bioeconomyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Passive discomfort index as an alternative to predicted mean vote and predicted percentage of dissatisfied to assess occupant’s thermal discomfort in dwellings

Besides energy poverty, a certain tolerance to discomfort justifies Portugal's low heating energy consumption. Once Portuguese buildings stock, previous to 1990, has a weak energy performance, it is crucial to reflect on how to make renovations with more assertive benefits (besides energy), such as those related to the health and comfort of occupants. Hence, we have studied a single house in the TRNSYS dynamic simulation tool. We performed a sensitivity analysis by simulating the same building in three locations based on Portuguese climatic winter zones: I1 – Santarém, I2 – Santa Maria da Feira, and I3 – Guarda, for two ranges of wall insulation thickness, in free float. Considering Fanger's Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) as the Passive Discomfort Index IDP, results suggest that lowering 20 mm on the insulation thickness does not substantially impact occupants' discomfort in winter. As the variations between scenarios considering PPD > 15%, PMV < -1, or IDP (Tair < 18 ºC) are very similar, IDP could be an alternative to PMV/PPD for assessing thermal discomfort in dwellings.publishe

Assessment of Woody Residual Biomass Generation Capacity in the Central Region of Portugal: Analysis of the Power Production Potential

Biomass is an alternative energy source with high potential to contribute to the global energy mix and to countries’ energetic independence. The case of Portugal is particularly relevant, given its biomass availability. Thus, the quantification of woody residual biomass is assumed to be urgent. To achieve the objective of quantifying residual woody biomass, various available data were used, namely the Land Cover and Soil Use Map (COS 2018), from which areas occupied by different categories were selected as being the most relevant. Then, based on coefficients previously established, the amounts of residual woody biomass were determined, namely for maritime pine forests, eucalyptus forests, scrubland, vineyards, olive groves, and orchards. Then, the potential for generating electricity was estimated. It was found that for the hypothetical scenario of the total conversion of the recently closed Pêgo coal power plant to biomass, the available amounts of residual woody biomass in the country would not be sufficient to ensure the operation. On the other hand, if the power plant only worked as a backup unit, the available quantities could ensure its operation and contribute to creating a value chain for residual woody biomass of forest and agricultural origin within a circular economy and sustainable development approachinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Embedding Social Innovation in Latin America Academic Curriculum

[EN] Recently we have witnessed the growth of social innovation initiative as a viable approach to address many challenges of contemporary societies across the social, cultural, economic, educational and environmental domains. Social innovation stes up to develop alternative, and sustainable solutions to social issues by means of organizational models that rely on strong civic engagement and participation across private and public sectors. As such, social innovation holds a strong potential for the transformation of societies and has attracted a growing interest from researchers, practitioners and policy makers around the world. A key domain of concern is the need for developing adequate models and methodologies for the qualification of indivduals for social innovation. In this vein the Students4Change project aims to develop and implement an integrative methodology to embed social innovation and entrepreneurship in the academic experience of students in Latin America. This paper offers a preliminary description of the advancements led by 10 universities in 5 Latin America countries engaged in the project, in order to develop competences for social innovation and social entrepreneurship through innovations in academic curricula.http://ocs.editorial.upv.es/index.php/HEAD/HEAD18Galego, D.; Soto, W.; Carrasco, G.; Amorim, M.; Ferreira Dias, M. (2018). Embedding Social Innovation in Latin America Academic Curriculum. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1239-1247. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD18.2018.8184OCS1239124

Market power and integrated regional markets of electricity: a simulation of the mibel

We consider a partial equilibrium model where we study the integration of two oligopolistic markets that are not symmetric (in number of firms, in demand or market dimension). We present a simulation for the integration of the Iberian wholesale electricity market (MIBEL) and show how the exercise of market power will evolve with regional full integration. The simulation results show that, as expected, market power is lower after full integration. However, even after full integration, market power is still a feature of the market. There fore, the full benefits of liberalisation and integration are not seized by the consumers since wholesale prices persist to be higher than marginal costs.publishe

Enrichment of sunflower oil with ultrasound-assisted extracted bioactive compounds from Crithmum maritimum L.

Crithmum maritimum L., or sea fennel, is an edible halophyte plant, rich in phenolic compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, that naturally grows in Mediterranean coasts. This study aims to incorporate bioactive compounds extracted from lyophilized Crithmum maritimum to sunflower oil assisted by ultrasounds (UAE), to improve its biological value and oxidative stability. UAE conditions were optimized as a function of time (5–20 min) and lyophilized plant concentration (5–20% m/v). The experiments were dictated by a central composite rotatable matrix. Oxidation products were not influenced by UAE conditions. Acidity, chlorophyll, and carotenoid contents were affected by both factors, while total phenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity (FRAP method) only increased with plant concentration. Response surfaces were fitted to these experimental results. Flavonoids were highly related with oil antioxidant activity. No sensory defects were detected in supplemented oil (12.5% m/v plant/5 min UAE). The oxidative stability of this oil was evaluated at 60 °C/12 days. Chlorophylls, phenols, radical scavenging (DPPH), and antioxidant activities decreased over time but were always higher than the values in nonsupplemented oil (8.6 and 7‐fold with FRAP and DPPH, respectively). C. maritimum presented high amounts of bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity, adequate for sunflower oil supplementation by UAE.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio