Local sustainable mobility management. Are Portuguese municipalities aware?

Urban mobility has become an international problem and several countries have joined together in different consortia, signing international agreements and developing projects with a view to establishing new standards for current mobility levels and the development of the transport systems of the future. Although such worldwide increasing effort regarding sustainable mobility issue, namely by the most proactive European cities, it is not yet clear why measures towards sustainable mobility are not implemented by the generality of local authorities. The main goal of this paper is to identify the different sustainable mobility strategies and the corresponding perceptions by local public authorities. Such local governance aspects have yet to be dealt with appropriately and in a credible way. This shortcoming is particularly acute in Portugal where sustainable urban mobility management is still highly underdeveloped and very few studies have been dedicated to the matter. We provide new evidence on the perceptions and strategies of the Portuguese local public authorities regarding sustainable urban mobility management. Through a survey to all Portuguese municipalities we provide brand new evidence on their perceptions and strategies regarding sustainable urban mobility management. Estimates based on econometric regressions indicate that the most mobility-conscious municipalities are, on average, those that are richer, more cultural and educated, possess alternative transport parks and routes, have larger and more human capital intensive mobility departments. Results show that more than simply participating in urban regeneration programs it is necessary a more committed attitude, namely that municipalities’ urban plans explicitly mention mobility issues and indicators. All the models estimated clearly evidence a higher awareness of North municipalities towards sustainable mobility issues.Zona Euro; Sustainability; mobility management; regions; human capital

Development of a new biophotocatalytic system for biofuel production

Currently, global energy requirements rely heavily on fossil fuels, the primary contributors to global warming and severe climate changes. It is imperative to decarbonize the energy supply sector, by utilizing an alternative, clean and sustainable energy source, like hydrogen, that can be generated from renewable resources, such as solar energy. The aim of this dissertation was the construction of a new biophotocatalytic system using non-photosynthetic anaerobic bacteria coupled with semiconductor metal sulfide nanoparticles, for light-driven H2 production. In this system, nanoparticles act as light-harvesting material, enabling the microorganism to capture and absorb sunlight energy, using it for H2 generation. In the present work, four bacteria Citrobacter freundii , Clos tridium acetobutylicum , Desulfovibrio vulgaris and Desulfovibrio desulfuricans were used as biocatalysts with self-produced cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles to produce hydrogen. The performance of these biohybrids was further compared with the control system Escherichia coli -CdS. Moreover, new semiconductor combinations were tested, by loading cocatalysts metals tungsten (W), nickel (Ni) and molybdenum (Mo) into CdS. The D. desulfuricans -CdS biohybrid was demonstrated to be the best photocatalytic system for light-driven H2 production from the four biohybrids proposed and E. coli -CdS control system. D. desulfuricans -CdS system presented a remarkable H2 production both in the presence and absence of the electron mediator methyl viologen (MV), with 46.0±4.8 and 31.7±8.1 µmol of H2, respectively, after 45 and 142 h of light irradiation. The D. desulfuricans -CdS performance was improved by adding cocatalysts, especially Mo, that allowed the increase of H2 production rate from 34.0±0.8 to 130.8±9.3 µmol gdcw-1h-1, without MV. Finally, D. desulfuricans -CdS-MoS2 was successfully immobilized in calcium alginate beads and a batch photoreactor for H2 production was constructed. These results show the high potential of D. desulfuricans -CdS-MoS2 biohybrid photosystem for an efficient and clean hydrogen production

Expectations on team performance, collective efficacy and team effectiveness

O objetivo deste estudo é contribuir para a investigação sobre a eficácia de equipas, investigando o impacto das expectativas dos membros sobre o desempenho da equipa a que pertencem, considerando-se o papel mediador da eficácia coletiva, para promover a performance da equipa e satisfação. Existindo já diversa pesquisa empírica sobre a importância da eficácia coletiva como um preditor de eficácia, este estudo pretende contribuir para uma melhor compreensão do seu efeito no papel de mediador, no modelo de de eficácia da equipas, IMOI (Input-mediador-Input-Output), assumindo as expectativas de desempenho como um importante input no processo. Os dados para este estudo correlacional foram obtidos a partir de 175 equipas (799 pessoas) que participaram numa competição de estratégia e gestão, Global Management Challenge. Uma simulação da vida empresarial onde equipas são responsáveis pela gestão de uma empresa fictícia com o objetivo de alcançar o maior valor de ação na simulada bolsa de valores. Os resultados mostram que as expectativas dos membros da equipa sobre o desempenho estão relacionados com a eficácia coletiva, o desempenho da equipa e satisfação, e as regressões múltiplas levadas a cabo e analisadas apoiaram parcialmente o papel mediador da eficácia coletiva entre o input (expectativas) e os outputs (performance e satisfação),considerados no modelo de eficácia da equipa analisado nesta pesquisa.The purpose of this study is to contribute to research on the effectiveness of team, investigating the impact of members’ expectations about the team performance they belong to, considering the mediating role of collective efficacy, to promote team performance and satisfaction. Existing already diverse empirical research on the importance of collective efficacy as a predictor of efficacy, this study aims to contribute to a better understanding of its effect in the role of mediator, in IMOI (Input-Mediator-Output-Input) model of team effectiveness, having performance expectations as an important input in the process. Data to this correlational study was obtained from 175 teams (799 individuals) who participated on a strategy and management competition, Global Management Challenge. A simulation of business life were teams are responsible for running a fictitious company with the aim to achieve the highest share price on the simulated stock exchange. Results show that team members’ expectations on performance are related with collective efficacy, team performance and satisfaction, and the applied multiple regression analyzes partially support collective efficacy mediating role between the input (expectations) and outputs (performance and satisfaction) considered in the effectiveness team model analyzed on this research

Are the self-esteem and the adult attachment affected by previous experiences of youth victimization?

Poster presented at the 4th International Congress of CiiEM – “Health, Well-being and Ageing in the XXI Century.” 2-5 June 2019, Campus Egas Moniz, Monte de Caparica, PortugalN/

Are self-esteem and adult attachment affected by previous experiences of youth victimisation?

Abstract in proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of CiiEM: Health, Well-Being and Ageing in the 21st Century, held at Egas Moniz’ University Campus in Monte de Caparica, Almada, from 3–5 June 2019.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Distribution and diversity of anammox bacteria in NW Portuguese coastal environments

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio