Rumo aos desafios da economia circular : ferramentas de apoio a uma nova estratégia na prática de design

ABSTRACT : The circular economy is a new strategic concept to meet society's needs in a more efficient and sustainable manner based in decoupling the economic growth and welfare from the increase in the consumption of natural resources. It implies the transition from the traditional linear model to a more innovative and circular approach in the development of the economy by designing new products, new services, and new systems, supported, in most cases, by the re-thinking and creation of new business models. Designers and product developers have an important and crucial role to achieve a successful and wide implementation of the concept which has to be accepted and applied in practice by businesses along the whole value chain and meet the current and future needs of consumers and the society. Currently, several methods, principles, practices, tools, training initiatives, and many resources are being developed globally as a result of the wide exploitation of the concept, but there is still a large gap between what is available to companies and designers, and what is applied in practice on product and service development. This paper reflects part of the PhD research project under development by the authors which is based on the promotion of the design practice within Circular Economy. It explores the results of the review of circularity tools available that can be used by design professionals to systematize and guide their development process. The analysis will support the development of a toolkit and guidelines oriented for the practical implementation of the circular economy in the development of innovative and efficient products and services. (Camocho, Ferreira, & Vicente, 2018).A economia circular é um novo conceito estratégico que visa responder às necessidades da sociedade de uma forma mais eficiente e sustentável que se baseia na dissociação entre crescimento económico e bem-estar do aumento do consumo de recursos naturais. Esta transição, do modelo linear tradicional para uma abordagem mais inovadora e circular no desenvolvimento da economia implica o desenvolvimento de novos produtos, novos serviços e novos sistemas, apoiados, na maioria dos casos, no repensar e na criação de novos modelos de negócio. Os designers e os responsáveis pelo desenvolvimento de produtos têm um papel importante e crucial para alcançar uma implementação ampla e bem-sucedida do conceito. Este deve ser aceite e aplicado na prática pelas empresas ao longo de toda a cadeia de valor atendendo às necessidades atuais e futuras dos consumidores e da sociedade. Atualmente, vários métodos, princípios, práticas, ferramentas, iniciativas de formação e outros recursos têm sido desenvolvidos globalmente como resultado da ampla exploração do conceito, no entanto, ainda existe uma grande lacuna entre o que está disponível para empresas e designers e o que é aplicado na prática no desenvolvimento de produtos e serviços. Este artigo reflete parte do projeto de investigação de doutoramento em desenvolvimento pelos autores, o qual se baseia na promoção da prática de design no âmbito da Economia Circular. Explora os resultados da revisão de ferramentas de circularidade disponíveis que podem ser aplicadas pelos profissionais de design na sistematização e orientação do processo de desenvolvimento. Esta análise irá apoiar o desenvolvimento de um conjunto de ferramentas e orientações para a implementação prática da economia circular no desenvolvimento de produtos e serviços mais inovadores e mais eficientes. (Camocho, Ferreira & Vicente, 2018).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Why economics must be an evolutionary science

This paper addresses the evolution of evolutionary thought in economics as an alternative to the dominant static view of the economy. A short history of the earlier institutional approach, announced by Thorstein Veblen’s 1898 paper ‘Why is economics not an evolutionary science?’, is presented alongside a discussion of its key methodological and philosophical aspects. Veblen’s critiques of neoclassical economics are also discussed. Then the role of evolutionary concepts in economics throughout the twentieth century is analysed, from later institutionalists to recent complexity and chaos theories. It is argued complexity approaches are developed in line with Veblen’s institutional theory, and may be incorporated in an evolutionary theoretical framework which constitutes a necessary alternative to the neoclassical paradigm, as it better describes and studies real-world socio-economic phenomena.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Potentials and limits to generate employment and income by the National Programme for Production and Use of Biodiesel

This study analyses the National Programme for Production and Use of Biodiesel launched by the Brazil Federal Government in 2005 as a public policy to generate sustainable employment and income within the context of development of new alternative sources of energy. It also verifies the impact of PNPB on occupation and income rate of farmers participating in the projects of production of biodiesel through field research carried out on 93 family farms participating in projects already implemented in the State of Goiás. The choice of producers was made at random from a list of all producers who had already gone through a complete cycle of production and stretched across 33 municipalities in the second half of 2007. The survey data was obtained through a closed-ended questionnaire which was designed to ascertain: 1) the increase of occupation and income regarding producers participating in the projects, 2) ways of including these farmers into the programme, 3) technical assistance offered to them (according to the guidelines of the programme) and 4) the evaluation of the programme by participating farmers. The SPSS software was used for processing and data analysis. The results show that most of the objectives of the programme, such as generation of occupation and income by family farming, are being achieved.biofuels, biodiesel, family farm, public policy, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Industrial Organization,

A Critical Analysis of Biased Representations of Women in South Korean Rap Competitions

Esta tese teve como objetivo desvendar a representação e caracterização das mulheres em competições de rap sul-coreanas e como se transformou ao longo dos anos. Portanto, as três competições, de 2023 a 2023, foram revistas e analisadas a fim de compreender como as mulheres eram geralmente representadas e compreendidas durante a participação. Estes programas combinavam televisão e música com a opinião do público através de diferentes sistemas de votação; se bem recebida pelo público, a carreira de uma concorrente feminina pode ser elevada com apenas uma aparição. Quer o programa estivesse a decorrer ou depois de ter terminado, alguns dos concorrentes masculinos recebiam geralmente mais oportunidades que ajudaram a expandir as suas carreiras para o vasto espaço multimédia, desde convites a podcasts, a aparições noutros programas ou mesmo no cinema. Através da pesquisa, o mesmo só pôde ser visto em um pequeno grupo de mulheres, especialmente aquelas que já tinham uma carreira, um contrato ou conexões com outros rappers, por norma rappers masculinos. Mas estar nesses programas nem sempre abria uma porta, às vezes fechava todas as portas; este foi o caso de muitas das concorrentes de Unpretty Rapstar, que depois de aparecerem no programa não fizeram mais nada na indústria do entretenimento. Através da análise de conteúdo, esta pesquisa também descreveu todos os casos de concorrentes do sexo feminino participantes, neles foramencontrados casos de padões duplos, tokenismo e obstáculos sistêmicos que impediram sucesso e reconhecimento. Além disso, este papel examinou os media e dos concorrentes masculinos na perpetuação e amplificação dos preconceitos de género no contexto dos programas. No Hip-Hop Coreano, assim como nas suas origens americanas, as mulheres não são apenas rappers, mas também um dos principais temas para os rappers masculinos explorarem, moldado pela cultura que as rodeia, o que pode ser visto nas músicas desses shows. Ao analisar cada uma das canções, tanto as suas letras como os rappers por trás delas, esta pesquisa determinou que, embora existam algumas canções que representam negativamente as mulheres, também havia muitas no lado oposto do espectro, que representavam as mulheres positivamente, especialmente aquelas que mencionam figuras maternas.This thesis aimed to unpack the representation and characterization of women in South Korean rap competition shows and how it transformed itself throughout the years. So, the three competitions, from 2013 to 2023, were reviewed and analyzed in order to understand how women were generally represented and perceived while participating. These shows combined television and music with the public's opinion through different voting systems; if well-liked, the career of a female contestant could be jumpstarted with just one appearance. Whether the show was running or after it had finished, some of the male contestants were usually offered more opportunities that assisted in expanding their careers into the vast space of multimedia, from invitations to podcasts to appearances at other shows or even in the cinema. Through the research, the same could only be seen from a handful of women, especially those who already had a career, a contract, or connections to other rappers, especially male rappers. But being on these shows didn't always open a door, sometimes it closed all doors. This was the case for quite a few of the contestants in Unpretty Rapstar, who after appearing on the show did nothing else in the entertainment industry. Through content analysis, this research also described all instances of female contestants participating, in them there were faced double standards, tokenism, and systemic obstacles that impeded their success and recognition. Moreover, it examined the role of the media and the male contestants in perpetuating and amplifying gender biases within the context of the shows. In Korean Hip-Hop, much like in its American origins, women are not only rappers but also one of the main topics for male rappers to explore, shaped by the culture that surrounds them, which can be seen in the songs from these shows. By analyzing each one of the songs, both their lyrics and the rappers behind them, this research has determined that while there are quite a few songs that negatively represent women, there were also a lot on the opposite side of the spectrum, that represented women positively, especially those that mentioned motherly figures

Out-of-plane seismic response of stone masonry walls: experimental and analytical study of real piers

This paper presents the application of an existing simplified displacement-based procedure to the characterization of the nonlinear force-displacement relationship for the out-of-plane behaviour of unreinforced traditional masonry walls. According to this procedure, tri-linear models based on three different energy based criteria were constructed and confronted with three experimental tests on existing stone masonry constructions. Moreover, a brief introduction is presented regarding the main characteristics of the in situ cyclic testing recently carried out using distributed loads, as well as results obtained during the experimental campaigns performed. The comparison between the experimental and the analytical results are presented and discussed

Segmented and bundled solution for mass market insurance consumers: becoming a lifelong partner - an approach to strategy

The project was developed in partnership with Q Insurer Mass Market Marketing Department with the purpose of helping Q Insurer to become a lifelong partner for Portuguese consumers. In order to reach this goal, an extensive research and analysis’ methodology was followed, focused on studying the external environment, internal resources and Portuguese consumers. A main recommendation was constructed following a request for one actionable and implementable strategy. This recommendation aims to fulfil the overarching goal, integrating several ongoing initiatives while contributing to a differentiated and customer-centric position in the mass market. Additional recommendations to increase success potential were also constructed

What influences the engagement on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok

The exponential growth of the entertainment and media industry has revolutionized the social media landscape. Increasingly more people use social media platforms in their daily lives for different reasons. The goal of this research is what influences its engagement, closer insight on the reasons why people use social media, perceptual map’s associations with two dimensions, and on a conjoint analysis’s preferences. Althoughall three social media platforms do not need to readjust their positioning strategy to occupy a specific position in the market, there is still room for attributes improvement, to engage with potential Portuguese valuable consumers, considering the different needs, preferences, and behaviors. The most important feature and counterpart for the usage of social media is linked with privacy concerns

The actual and potential aroma of winemaking grapes

This review intends to rationalize the knowledge related to the aroma of grapes and to the aroma of wine with specific origin in molecules formed in grapes. The actual flavor of grapes is formed by the few free aroma molecules already found in the pulp and in the skin, plus by those aroma molecules quickly formed by enzymatic/catalytic reactions. The review covers key aroma components of aromatic grapes, raisins and raisinized grapes, and the aroma components responsible from green and vegetal notes. This knowledge is used to explain the flavor properties of neutral grapes. The aroma potential of grape is the consequence of five different systems/pools of specific aroma precursors that during fermentation and/or aging, release wine varietal aroma. In total, 27 relevant wine aroma compounds can be considered that proceed from grape specific precursors. Some of them are immediately formed during fermentation, while some others require long aging time to accumulate. Precursors are glycosides, glutathionyl and cysteinyl conjugates, and other non-volatile molecules

Pastagens de altitude. Caracterização e melhoramento. Pastagens semeadas na região da Guarda

Mestrado em Engenharia Agronómica - Agro-Pecuária - Instituto Superior de Agronomia - ULEste trabalho pretende dar um contributo para a caracterização geral e melhoramento das pastagens de altitude nacionais e em particular da região da Guarda, tendo presente o reconhecido valor ecológico e estratégico e a baixa produtividade geral dos sistemas agro-silvopastoris de montanha. A componente experimental desta dissertação tem por base o projecto PA 40490 – Melhoramento de Pastagens Permanentes de Altitude e compreende levantamentos florísticos e ensaios com pastagens semeadas no distrito da Guarda, tendo-se procedido ao estudo comparativo da composição química e valor nutricional de pastagens naturais e semeadas. O reduzido horizonte temporal em que decorreu o projecto não permitiu que daí se tirassem resultados conclusivos acerca da adaptabilidade das misturas ensaiadas nas condições da Guarda e das suas potenciais mais-valias em termos de produtividade e qualidade nutricional em relação às pastagens naturais. Torna-se necessária a recolha de uma maior quantidade de dados, considerando a totalidade do ciclo produtivo das pastagens, durante vários anos, de forma a obter uma caracterização mais realista da flora local e qualidade nutricional e produtividade das pastagens naturais e semeadas de altitude da região.N/