Reclamações ambientais em Aveiro, Portugal: atores, preocupações, padrão territorial e resoluções

This paper presents an environmental diagnosis based on public complaints on environmental issues submitted to the Environmental Department of the Aveiro City Council, Portugal, between 2000 and 2005. It discusses the potential influences of these in local environmental planning and governance. The paper has been organised into five sections. The first of these introduces the study. The second section focuses on the conceptual approaches relating to environmental grassroots movements, the main actors involved in these movements and the role played by local government. It also contains a brief review of the most recent urban environmental quality challenges in the European context together with a description of the main features of the associated political and legal framework in Portugal. The third section describes the case study and the methodology used. The results of the empirical study are detailed in the fourth section. The final section critically analyses these results with emphases on the temporal evolution of the submission of complaints, the actors involved, the local environmental problems and their associated spatial pattern as well as the responses given by the City Council. This information may then be used to provide a useful indicator for the perception of environmental quality as well as a credible instrument for the visualisation and evaluation of local performance in terms of environmental planning and management.AlBan Programme - n. E05M053040B

The third dimension in landscape metrics analysis applied to Central Alentejo-Portugal

Landscape metrics have been widely developed over the last two decades, although the question remains: How does landscape metrics relates with ecological processes? One of the major recent developments in landscape metrics analysis was the third dimension integration. Topography has an extremely important role on ecosystems function and structure, even though the common analysis in landscape ecology only conceives planimetric surface which leads to some erroneous results, particularly in mountain areas. The analytical process tested patch, class and landscape metrics behavior in 11 sample areas of 100 sqkm each in several topographical conditions of Central Alentejo. It is presented the significance analysis of the results achieved in planimetric and 3D environments

Estuary planning and management in Portugal: sharing local boundaries for water resources management

Estuaries concentrate complex and often conflicting sets of natural, economic and social resources and activities bringing multiple challenges to institutional frameworks, planning and management approaches as well as governance practices dedicated to their protection, maintenance and resilience. Portugal has recently adopted a new set of estuary plans of regulatory nature, which combine the perspective of water resources management with that of land-use management. This paper explores the conceptual specificities of estuary planning and management in Portugal and their potential role in contexts of multiple resources, users, instruments and institutions. Given the mentioned complexity and vulnerability to global change, these plans may be crucial for seeking better environmental governance and greater resilience. The paper is structured in three parts. The first one through a literature review summarises some of the main conclusions about the role and specificities of governance in estuaries. The second part presents the legal and procedural features of estuary plans in Portugal and their integration within the water resources and land-use planning systems. The third part concentrates on the specificities of the River Vouga Estuary (Ria de Aveiro), a Natura 2000 area that needs to deal with different, and potentially conflicting, socioeconomic sectors. Departing from a SWOT analysis of the main environmental, socioeconomic and institutional features, the paper argues for the relevance of an innovative planning and management instrument — capable of reducing the tensions inherent to local administrative boundaries and of contributing to a collective vision of the territory through the articulation of values, targets, instruments and means

Learning entrepreneurship in a multicultural context

ABSTRACT Nowadays learning entrepreneurship in higher education became an important issue. International experiences promote the relationship between students from several countries in a multicultural context. In this sense it was developed an entrepreneurial game were tutors have the role to support students during the activities. The objective of entrepreneurial game objective is to create a business idea and develop a small business plan to present to the group. The general aim of this paper is to describe this international experience of Setúbal Business week. The specific goals are:  Understand how students learning in an international environment;  Understand how international multicultural groups function;  Evaluate how this kind of game improve a set of competencies, such as entrepreneurial spirit, capacity to work in an international team, oral communication, creativity, confidence and research skills;  Evaluate business week performance in order to improve future events. The study concludes with some recommendations and remarks about learning in an entrepreneurship in a multicultural environment.Entrepreneurial Game; Multiculturalism; International Environment

Entrepreneurship, methodologies in higher education an experience in a portuguese business school

Today entrepreneurship education is an important issue to improve the process of creating new firm assuming new risks and rewards. The theoretical discussion about around the question: “Entrepreneurs are born or made?” assume that is possible educate to be entrepreneurs. Schools have an important role in this process. Believing in this possibility our Business School developed a set of pedagogical methodologies supported in apprenticeship based on “learning by doing”. This pedagogical methodology was created through a study of best practices. This study aims to propose a set of innovative methodologies and students perceptions about their apprenticeship experience/process. The study concludes with a set of recommendations and a best practices manual useful to appliance in higher education.Innovative methodologies; entrepreneurship education; learning by doing

Development of a large animal model for percutaneous vertebroplasty for in vivo evaluation of a new injectable cement

The present work aimed to test in vivo a new biomaterial for vertebral augmentation. Vertebral compression fractures not healing with conservative management are treated through minimally invasive surgical techniques. Presently, most of the cements used in percutaneous bone interventions are based on a polymeric non-resorbable matrix. However, they can present some complications. Calcium suphate-based cements are effective bone substitutes. Disadvantages include their limited shear and compressive strength. To go beyond the state of the art, a new bioactive calcium sulphate-based cement was developed - Spine-Ghost. To test the suitability of the injectable cement for percutaneous vertebroplasty, a preclinical study was mandatory. A new large animal model for percutaneous vertebroplasty was developed in sheep. In the ex vivo model, bone defects were created in the cranial hemivertebrae through a bilateral modified parapedicular approach, and mechanical tests were performed. The ex vivo model is reproducible, and safe under physiological loads. In the in vivo study, two groups of Merino sheep were defined (n=8): a) the control group, injected with a commercial ceramic cement; and b) the experimental group, injected with Spine-Ghost. Of the first interventioned animals, two presented cardiorespiratory distress during the cement injection, and one had mild neurologic deficits in the hindlimbs. All sheep survived and completed the 6-month implantation period. After sacrifice, the samples were assessed by micro-computed tomography, histological, histomorphometric, and immunohistological studies. There was no evidence of cement leakage into the vertebral foramen. No signs of infection or inflammation were observed. Most importantly, there was cement resorption and new trabecular bone formation in the bone defects of all sheep. The model of percutaneous vertebroplasty is considered suitable for preclinical in vivo studies, mimicking clinical application. Spine-Ghost proved to be an adequate material for percutaneous vertebroplasty, with a biological response identical, if not superior, to the one elicited by the available commercial control; Desenvolvimento de modelo animal superior para vertebroplastia percutânea para avaliação in vivo de um novo cimento injetável. Sumário: O trabalho aqui apresentado teve por objetivo a avaliação in vivo de um novo biomaterial injetável para vertebroplastia a cifoplastia percutâneas. As fraturas de compressão vertebral com indicação cirúrgica são tratadas com recurso a técnicas minimamente invasivas. Presentemente, a maioria dos cimentos utilizados baseiam-se numa matriz polimérica não reabsorvível. Podem, no entanto, causar algumas complicações. Os cimentos à base de sulfato de cálcio são substitutos ósseos eficazes, cujas desvantagens incluem resistência limitada a esforços de corte e compressão. Um novo cimento bioativo de sulfato de cálcio - Spine-Ghost - foi desenvolvido. Para testar a sua aplicabilidade na vertebroplastia percutânea, tornou-se imperativo um estudo pré- clínico. Para o efeito, um novo modelo animal para vertebroplastia percutânea foi desenvolvido em ovinos e sujeito a ensaios mecânicos. No modelo ex vivo, foram criados bilateralmente dois defeitos ósseos interligados, nas hemivértebras craniais, através de uma abordagem parapedicular modificada. O modelo ex vivo é reprodutível e seguro sob cargas fisiológicas. No estudo in vivo, definiram-se dois grupos de ovelhas Merino (n=8): a) grupo controlo, injetado com cimento comercial de base cerâmica; b) grupo experimental, injetado com Spine-Ghost. Nos primeiros animais intervencionados, dois apresentaram alterações cardiorrespiratórias durante a injeção de cimento, e um défices neurológicos ligeiros nos membros pélvicos. Todos os animais sobreviveram e completaram o período de implantação de 6 meses. Após a ocisão, as amostras foram avaliadas por microtomografia computorizada, histologia, histomorfometria e imunohistoquímica. Não se observou derrame de cimento para o canal vertebral, nem sinais de infeção ou inflamação. Ademais, verificou-se a reabsorção do cimento e a neoformação de tecido ósseo trabecular no interior dos defeitos ósseos, em todos os animais. O modelo de vertebroplastia percutânea é considerado adequado para estudos pré- clínicos, mimetizando a aplicação clínica. O Spine-Ghost demonstrou ser um biomaterial adequado para vertebroplastia percutânea, com uma resposta biológica idêntica, se não superior, à elicitada pelo controlo comercial

The travels of the pineapple: a sixteenth-century globe trotter

SFRH/BPD/119899/2016 UIDB/04666/2020 UIDP/04666/2020Originating in South America, the pineapple -Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.- underwent a lengthy domestication process. Since ancient times, the Native Americans had taken it with them on their migrations and valued the sweetness of its pulp, its medicinal properties, and the quality of its fibre. Much later it was described by Spanish chronicles in Central America and observed by European travellers and missionaries along the Brazilian coast. From the 1560s, the fruit was transported by the Portuguese from Brazil to East Africa and the West coast of India, and from here it was later transferred to other parts of Asia. In the 1580s, the Spanish introduced the species into the Philippines from the New World. This work focuses on the importance that pineapple cultivation has attained in the tropics, especially in the Philippines; it highlights the success that fabrics and embroidery made from fibres extracted from the pineapple achieved in the late sixteenth century; it demonstrates how the introduction of a foreign vegetable species into the Philippines has today resulted in an industry that supports local farmers in the sustainable production of raw materials, providing a means of production for artisans in the region and contributing to the success of a circular economy on a global scalepublishersversionpublishe

Water-related citizens' complaints on a coastal wet land area: exploring the influence of local administrative boundaries

This paper explores the water-related citizens’ complaints submitted to the municipalities surrounding ‘Ria de Aveiro’, a natural lagoon located in the center of Portugal close to the Atlantic coast, and is aimed at analyzing how local administrative boundaries might influence the frequency, typologies and territorial pattern of complaints. It also analyzes the frequency of water-related complaints in relation to other environmental problems raised by local population. The proposed analysis assesses how the existence of such a large water territory that ‘Ria de Aveiro’ is, influences the typologies of water-related complaints and the propensity of the population to complain about problems specifically related to the quality of this area. It also analyzes the relationship between the extent of the water body of ‘Ria the Aveiro’ within each municipality and the frequency of water-related complaints. The paper is organized into four sections. The first presents a brief literature review about citizen environmental complaints and their relevance for environmental and water resources governance, highlighting the role played by different sorts of stakeholders involved. The second section describes the case study and the methodology adopted. The results of the empirical study are presented in the third section with emphases given on the actors involved, the typologies of water-related problems referred to in the complaints, as well as, their territorial pattern. The final section critically analyses these results and questions the actual relevance of local administrative boundaries in the perception of water-resources related values as interpreted and communicated by citizens’ complaints

Documenting the tropical natural world in the account of Antonio Pigafetta

SFRH/BPD/119899/2016 UIDB/04666/2020 UIDP/04666/2020In the account of his journey of circumnavigation, Antonio Pigafetta (1492-c.1531) noted the uniqueness of the places that he had visited. In addition to peoples and landscapes, he described trees, fruits and herbs, as well as insects, birds, fish and mammals. He referred to numerous species, some of which were new to, or little known in the West. In this essay, I will analyse Antonio Pigafetta’s references to the plants and animals observed during his overseas travels. The species recorded around the world suggest that he was both a keen observer and well resourced. His observations allowed him to describe a world which, united by the oceans, revealed a surprising continuity. For the Italian, many of the vegetable and animal species that he observed in the Americas, on the islands of Southeast Asia or on the vast oceans were similar to others spotted previously, in other regions, by European voyagers. From the Indies to the African coast and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the globe navigated by Pigafetta demonstrated continuity never before attested to. Crossing boundaries established by political agreements and routes defined by commercial interests, the description of this unified and circumnavigable planet contributed, throughout the 16th century, to the emergence of a new way of understanding nature. In this article, I will seek to identify, in some Early Modern botanical treatises, echoes of this new way of looking at the natural world, as proposed by Antonio Pigafetta.publishersversionpublishe

Economic policy uncertainty and return on financial assets: the G7 case

This dissertation aims at understanding the impact of economic policy uncertainty on the stock and bond market returns of the group of seven. We test the hypothesis that higher uncertainty levels cause decreases on these financial assets returns. We analyse the impact that the economic policy uncertainty index and previous returns have on current returns and if an increase of economic policy uncertainty lead to an increase of conditional volatility. This research relies on the EPU Index, developed by Baker et al. (2016), and employs daily data averaged into monthly time series for G7 stock and bond markets, covering the period from January 2000 to December 2016. Concerning the stock market, we find evidence of a significant impact of EPU on current returns for most of the countries. Canada and Italy are the exceptions. Concerning conditional volatility, we report that the EPU has impact on United States (U.S.), United Kingdom (U.K.), Canada, Germany and Japan. EPU does not show significant results to France and Italy. In the bond market and in contrast with previous returns, EPU does not have a great impact on the current returns for most of the countries. In what concerns conditional volatility, the previous returns have no influence for the entire sample and EPU presents significant results for U.S., Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan.Esta dissertação tem como objetivo compreender o impacto da incerteza económica nos retornos do mercado de ações e obrigações do grupo dos sete. Testamos a hipótese de que um maior nível de incerteza económica conduz à diminuição dos retornos destes ativos. Analisamos o impacto que o índice de incerteza económica e os retornos passados têm nos retornos atuais e se aumentos da incerteza económica se podem traduzir em aumentos da volatilidade condicional. Esta pesquisa recai sobre o índice EPU, desenvolvido por Baker et al. (2016), e compreende dados diários transformados em séries temporais mensais para os mercados de ações e obrigações do G7, entre Janeiro de 2000 e Dezembro de 2016. No que concerne ao mercado de ações, existe evidência de um impacto significativo da EPU nos retornos atuais, para a maioria países. Canadá e Itália são as excepções. Relativamente à volatilidade condicional, informamos que a EPU tem impacto nos Estados Unidos, Reino Unido, Canadá, Alemanha e Japão. A EPU não apresenta resultados significativos para França e Itália. No mercado das obrigações e ao contrário dos retornos passados, a EPU não apresenta impacto nos retornos atuais para a maioria dos países. No que respeita à volatilidade condicional, verifica-se que os retornos passados não têm influência nesta variável, ao contrário da EPU que apresenta valores significativos para os Estados Unidos, Canadá, Alemanha, Itália e Japão