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Social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) is a tool to address social impacts from a life cycle perspective. This work presents the first S-LCA of the Portuguese pulp and paper sector. It presents the social risks and the positive social impacts of the sector, which have not been extensively covered in the scientific literature. Two different approaches were used to compile the social life cycle inventory based on input-output analysis. Approach 1 was based on impact analysis of changes in added value. Approach 2 was based on structural path analysis, supporting the disaggregation by production levels (or tiers). The functional unit was the production of 1 United States Dollar in the Portuguese pulp and paper sector. In the social life cycle impact assessment, the social risk assessment was conducted using the Social Hotspots Database. The positive impacts were addressed considering indicators of employment and remuneration, namely total employment, number of employees, labor compensation, and compensation of employees. Based on Approach 1, the results of the social risks showed the Portuguese pulp and paper industry, commerce and forestry sectors, and the Spanish forestry sector as the critical sectors. Based on Approach 2, Portugal and Spain continued to be the countries having the greatest social risks. Other contributions of countries were identified at different production levels, particularly China in tier 3. In both approaches, the stakeholder category 'worker' was the most critical. Regarding the positive social impacts, Approach 1 showed that Portugal and Spain contribute to the highest employment level linked to the pulp and paper, commerce, and forestry sectors. Approach 2 supported the differentiation of employment and remuneration at different production levels. Tier 2 (direct suppliers) presented the highest employment level and persons engaged and the lowest remuneration level. The results showed that Approach 1 provides a faster and more aggregated assessment of social risks and positive social impacts. Furthermore, Approach 2 allowed a more detailed evaluation, providing a better understanding of the social risks and positive social impacts on the supply chain. Thus, Approach 2 is encouraged for different applications since it produces a better understanding of where social risks and positive social impacts occur, providing better guidance for corrective measures and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has become one of the critical health issues globally, which surfaced first in latter part of the year 2019. It is the topmost concern for many nations’ governments as the contagious virus started mushrooming over adjacent regions of infected areas. In 1980, a vaccine called Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) was introduced for preventing tuberculosis and lung cancer. Countries that have made the BCG vaccine mandatory have witnessed a lesser COVID-19 fatality rate than the countries that have not made it compulsory. This paper’s initial research shows that the countries with a longtermcompulsory BCGvaccination system are less affected by COVID-19 than those without a BCG vaccination system. This paper discusses analytical data patterns for medical applications regarding COVID-19 impact on countries with mandatory BCG status on fatality rates. The paper has tackled numerous analytical challenges to realize the full potential of heterogeneous data. An analogy is drawn to demonstrate how other factors can affect fatality and infection rates other than BCG vaccination only, such as age groups affected, other diseases, and stringency index. The data of Spain, Portugal, and Germany have been taken for a case study of BCG impact analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spain and Portugal, two countries located in southern Europe, share a significant export specialization in agricultural and agri-food products compared to the EU-27 as a whole. Based on arguments drawn from the literature and information provided by Eurostat, this paper first identifies the characteristics of the dynamics of sales of agri-food products in the international market for the two Iberian Peninsula economies between 2008 and 2022, a period marked by the introduction of restrictions on foreign trade flows worldwide. Secondly, using panel data methodology, it examines how imports by EU-27 partners influence this trajectory. The results confirm the strengthening of export specialization in these two countries, which sell a wide variety of agri-food products in international markets. Additionally, in the case of Spain, the estimated concentration indices show a spatial diversification process towards new destinations. In both economies, however, the EU-27 market, characterized by strong competition and low development expectations, continues to influence export trends in the short and medium terms. Consequently, institutions and companies in the sector must adopt a more dynamic approach and implement actions aimed at facilitating access to new export destinations and consolidating business there. Thus, an increasing share of their exports should be reoriented towards markets with higher demand growth, helping to reinforce the global competitiveness of the national agri-food sector. This research contributes to the scientific literature on the medium- and long-term effects of economic integration processes on the exports of agri-food products of member countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the transmission system operators (TSOs) from Portugal and Spain do not procure a frequency containment reserve (FCR) through market mechanisms. In this context, a virtual power plant (VPP) that aggregates sources, such as wind and solar power and hydrogen electrolyzers (HEs), would benefit from future participation in this ancillary service market. The methodology proposed in this paper allows for quantifying the revenues of a VPP that aggregates wind and solar power and HEs, considering the opportunity costs of these units when reserving power for FCR participation. The results were produced using real data from past FCR market sessions. Using market data from 2022, a VPP that aggregates half of the HEs and is expected to be connected in the country by 2025 will have revenues over EUR 800k, of which EUR 90k will be HEs revenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the effectiveness of cross-border cooperation programmes between Spain and Portugal, focusing on their impact and outcomes in Portuguese regions. Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of the programmes, the study examines the socio-economic dynamics in border regions, including job creation, population trends, and investment patterns. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data analysis. We argue that the cross-border territorial cooperation between Spain and Portugal has played a significant role in fostering regional development and addressing common challenges. While the concerted efforts have shown positive results in terms of economic growth and employment, they have not been sufficient to reverse the regressive demographic trends. Thus, it is essential to strengthen cooperation mechanisms, invest in human capital, and foster innovation so that the two countries can work together to create sustainable and inclusive development across their shared border regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, Iberian horse breeds were considered the height of perfection, but with the development of the Thoroughbred (the embodiment of enlightened modernity), they increasingly were aligned with Spanish obsolescence. However, this dichotomy is too simple and often incorrect. As this paper illustrates, the Spanish Pure Breed itself is the outcome of a major modernization effort in the sixteenth century, linked to the Spanish colonial empire’s own early modernity. Furthermore, “modernizing” attempts continue to shape the breed as breeders and breed organizations attempt to meet the demands of the sport horse market, emulating the success of the modern sport horse breeds. Thus, as this paper argues, within complex temporal interactions between older and newer forms of modernity, the resurgence of older, presumably superseded, projects presents a kind of queer subversion of the temporal narratives of progress, modernity, and modernization. This subversion is instantiated in the present moment by the traditional Iberian horse (as the product and icon of an older form of modernity). As a natureculture, this older modernity reverberates not only as a cultural investment but also as a “natural” resurgence of genetic diversity and multiplicity. This article theorizes the marginalized early modernities of Spain and Portugal in their baroque colonial multiplicities, and thereby rewrites the way European modernity has been understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Portugal and Spain have reformed their national standards to adapt them to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). This paper explains the process of implementing the IPSAS for consolidated reporting in the two countries and the advantages and disadvantages which have emerged. The results highlight the role of the IPSAS in improving the quality and use of consolidated financial statements (CFS) and will be of interest to other countries that are intending to implement the IPSAS. This paper will be of value to academics and practitioners with an interest in IPSAS and in the use of consolidated financial statements (CFS). The authors describe the experiences of two European continental countries in the implementation of accrual basis providing important lessons for countries that are considering implementing accrual accounting and/or IPSAS. Findings from this study will help managers and policy-makers to decide about the use of CFS taking IPSAS as a reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are characterized by resource restrictions, this paper aims to explore consumer segment profiles by considering demographic, personality and creativity traits to determine whether consumers with different profiles exhibit distinct affective reactions to different logo design types (organic, cultural and abstract). Design/methodology/approach: This exploratory study incorporates recent methodological developments, such as the novel response style correction method, to account for response style effects in evaluations of affect toward logo design. In separate analyses, respondents are segmented according to response style–corrected logo affect and personality and creativity items. The segmentation analysis relies on reduced k-means, a joint dimension and cluster analysis method, which accounts for dependencies between items while maximizing between-cluster variability. A total of 866 respondents from the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal: n = 543; Spain: n = 323) participated. Findings: Based on a study using unknown logos (proxy for lower levels of budget communication, characteristics of SMEs), results reveal that there are three segments of consumers based on their affective response toward logo design: logo design insensitives, cultural logo dislikers and organic logo lovers. These segments are associated with different personality traits, creativity and biological sex (although biological sex is not a discriminant variable). Research limitations/implications: The decision not to control logos by color, to increase external validity, could limit the study's internal validity if this aspect interacts with relevant study variables. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence can be used to further test associations between consumer profiles and responses to logo design. Practical implications: Findings highlight the relevance of considering complex profile segments, combining demographics, psychographics and creativity to predict affective consumer responses to brand logo design. This research provides guidelines for SMEs when choosing or modifying their logo design to appeal to different consumer segments. Originality/value: This study provides managers of SMEs (less present nowadays in empirical studies) with evidence suggesting that complex customer profiles help to understand differences in affective responses to natural logo designs. Furthermore, it relies on the use of a novel methodological development that improves the accuracy of the exploratory study developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to describe and discuss the significance of the social policy measures implemented in Southern European countries—Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain—in response to the first wave of COVID‐19. Our analysis covers interventions from 1 March to June 30, 2020. Despite significant differences in how the COVID‐19 pandemic spread—with Italy and Spain experiencing much higher rates of infection and lethality—Southern European economies are among the most hard‐hit—and are likely to find themselves in the eye of the storm, once more. The paper shows that despite differences in how countries have countered the spread of COVID‐19, there are important commonalities in the actions governments took to counteract the economic impact of the pandemic. Foremost efforts were directed at wage subsidy schemes to contain mass job destruction, additional temporary benefits to compensate self‐employed and other non‐standard workers for the loss of earnings; the expansion of unemployment insurance; and finally, the introduction and/or strengthening of schemes to provide support to families with care responsibilities. The scale of the social policy and employment protection response has nevertheless been constrained by the fiscal position of each individual country in the post‐Euro crisis context. We argue that, in the long run, the response capacity of these governments and the social and economic consequences of this crisis will need to be contextualised against the backdrop of the deep and prolonged impact of austerity‐driven measures on public budgets, production and welfare regimes over the last decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of new global approaches in the field of energy democratization requires inquiring into how people act to shape the energy system. This is where the concept of energy citizenship (ENCI) appears as a constellation of actors that enable and/or support citizens to became active participants in the debates and energy systems both in private and public sphere, or as a collective citizen that contributes to change (Pel et al., 2021). The aim of this paper is to explore the concept of ENCI in Southern Europe. Using a mixed approach, an extensive mapping of 43 ENCI initiatives in Spain (n = 29) and Portugal (n = 14) was conducted through desktop research, and a stakeholder consultation workshop (n = 7) was carried out through a focus group. Results revealed the major presence of collective ENCI types, with the citizen-based/hybrid one standing out (e.g., energy cooperatives). Most of them were motivated by the interest to contribute to energy transition or to produce and/or use renewable energy, and aimed at promoting energy saving, energy justice and reducing the carbon footprint. The general tendency is towards active participation (in Spain) and transformative forms (in Portugal). The possibilities for citizen control in the initiatives analysed is still limited. These results were confirmed by stakeholders who, additionally, pointed out the major political, social, economic, and geographical factors related to ENCI forms. In short, various types of ENCI could be validated in the Spanish and Portuguese context, showing a commitment to sustainability, democracy, and energy justice. Other non-evidenced forms may be raised as a challenge to further in-depth research on latent forms of ENCI in Southern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hardwoods commonly have high mechanical properties, which makes them interesting for structural use, but softwoods dominate the structural timber market in Europe. Tensile strength classes are recommended for engineered wood products. However, current European standards do not provide tensile strength classes for hardwoods and the declaration of tensile properties from machine grading in the industry is not yet possible. The present paper aims to contribute to the revision of European standards through the technical group CEN/TC124/WG2/TG2: Tensile strength classes for hardwoods, of the European Standardisation Committee. An experimental campaign which involved machine grading and tensile testing of over 569 boards of Southern blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus Labill.) from Spain and Portugal was made. Six new tensile strength classes were defined, from ET24 (ft,0,k = 24 N/mm2, Et,0,m = 18 kN/mm2 and ρk = 590 kg/m3) to ET42 (ft,0,k = 42 N/mm2, Et,0,m = 23 kN/mm2 and ρk = 640 kg/m3). Machine grading made possible the definition of six strength class combinations. Four combinations resulted in 40% of the sample being assigned to the higher strength class, with low percentages of rejection (varying between 1% and 14%). This demonstrates the high mechanical properties of the species and the performance improvement of machine grading with respect to current visual grading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings: This case study paper concentrates on the managerial perceptions that determine where to establish a subsidiary and which strategies to follow in doing so. Cultural and economic distances have the biggest impacts on such strategy formation, followed by secondary administrative and geographic distance factors. Most managers preferred to adapt their marketing approach to the foreign market, to give high autonomy to acquired subsidiaries to manage their market, and to set up a subsidiary in a neighboring country. The interviewed Portuguese companies therefore predominantly opened a foreign subsidiary in Spain. Originality/value: The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This work presents a study on the female involvement in patent applications in all 23 Ibero-American countries that are WIPO members, in order to measure gender inequalities in institutional collaborations and technological fields, across time. Design/methodology/approach: The data used in this paper come from EPO Worldwide Patent Statistical Database (PATSTAT). PATSTAT contains bibliographical data relating to more than 100 million patent documents from leading industrialized and developing countries, as well as legal event data from more than 40 patent authorities contained in the EPO worldwide legal event data (INPADOC). The extracted subset is composed of 150,863 patent applications with priority years between 2007 and 2016. Findings: Our observations indicate that even in more dynamic economies such as Portugal and Spain, the participation of women per patent applications does not exceed 30%. Additionally, the distribution of female participation among institutional sectors and technological fields is consistent with previous studies in other regions and indicate a socio-cultural divide. Research limitations: Unisex names were not considered and were counted as gender unknown, and patent applications for which no inventor information was available were discarded, but further effort of data analysis may provide more information about gender inequalities. Practical implications: While patents are imperfect variables of inventive step and therefore should be considered as a variable proxy of innovation, our findings may help to guide the implementation of policies for balancing gender participation in innovative activities, as well as instigating research into the issues causing divisive participation along gender lines. Originality/value: While there is a widespread effort into evaluating and improving the participation of groups recognized as minorities within state-of-the-art activities, research about women participation in the innovation sector is fragmented due to differing regional characteristics: industrial and academic segmentation, socio-economic disparities, and cultural factors. Thus, localized studies present an opportunity of filling the gaps of knowledge on societal participation in innovation activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is one of the most important industries in the Mediterranean countries, which strongly contributes to the economic activity, capital investment and job creation. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants influencing profitability of hotel companies in selected Mediterranean countries. Thereby, dynamic panel data models are estimated on an extensive dataset for the period from 2007 to 2015. The paper provides evidence on differences among internal profitability determinants of hotel companies operating in tourism competitive countries. The results indicate that the cash flow to operating revenue has a statistically significant and positive impact on profitability in all observed countries. The total asset turnover ratio is significant for all countries except Portugal, while labour productivity is significant only for Spain, which is also the country with the highest turnover per employee. The solvency ratio is positively related to profitability, except for Greece as the most indebted country. Size proved to be significant for hotels in Spain and Portugal, while age is the variable by which the countries mostly differ, as findings show a different impact of underlying variable on hotel profitability. Findings provide information to shareholders that would ensure profitability of hotel companies operating in different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights about the process of adaptation of countries' accounting standards to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). Using a comparative international perspective involving Portugal and Spain, the paper relies on the concept of "translation", developed under the actor-network theory, to understand how the IPSAS became an obligatory passage point and how its implementation became a public policy introduced in the public sector accounting reforms in these countries, and what have been the main drivers and actors in the process. It contributes to showing how, in practice, countries are mobilized and enrol in the adoption of IPSAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationship between household employment insecurity and the risk of children's exposure to household material deprivation in Spain and Portugal. Specifically, using EU-SILC microdata for 2012, 2016 and 2020, it examines how this relationship evolved during the Post-Great Recession period. Although in both countries there was an improvement in the employment situation of individuals and families after the Great Recession, the main findings reflect an increase in the risk of children's exposure to material deprivation in households where no adults have a secure job. However, there are some differences between the two countries. In the case of Spain, the results seem to indicate that the incidence of household employment insecurity on material deprivation was higher in 2016 and 2020 than in 2012. In Portugal, the increase in the effect of employment insecurity on deprivation seems to have occurred only in 2020, the year the Covid-19 pandemic began. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, 'place-based' interventions have become influential in shaping economic development policy, especially at the European level. From the 2007 to 2013 programming period onwards, EU Cohesion policy, adopted a 'place-based' approach to encourage the competitiveness of all regions. Rather than spatially-blind interventions, the focus is on tackling territorial inequalities via a more sophisticated spatially-sensitive approach to stimulate economic change, at the local level. The challenge is that place-based policies are complex, risky and the performance indicators used to capture the achievements from EU Cohesion policy focus on direct results rather than expected policy change, making it hard to prove effectiveness and value for money. This paper contributes to ongoing academic and policy debates about how to capture the achievements of EU Cohesion policy, through an in-depth case study of 'place-based' interventions made via Interreg funding, to encourage cross-border cooperation between Spain and Portugal. The evidence illustrates that there is a need for novel approaches, which are conceptually informed and spatially sensitive to be able to capture not only the quantitative but also the qualitative achievements generated through EU 'place-based' interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having a proper understanding of the impact of influenza is a fundamental step towards improved preventive action. This paper reviews findings from the Burden of Acute Respiratory Infections study on the burden of influenza in Iberia, and its potential underestimation, and proposes specific measures to lessen influenza's impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual dimorphism is the basis for sex estimation research in skeletal remains, helping the positive identification of individuals in forensic backgrounds. In this regard, it has been proved that the metrical analysis of the costal neck of the first four ribs in Spanish contemporary adult skeletons shows high sexual dimorphism, especially in the first rib. However, the validation of any method developed in identified skeletal collections must be compulsorily reproduced in other skeletonized sets to verify either its potential application in individuals from other locations, or the existence of possible biases associated with inter-population variation. Due to the geographical and socioeconomic proximity between Spain and Portugal, this paper aims to check the utility of the discriminant functions designed by Partido-Navadijo et al. (2021) in the two skeletal collections of the University of Coimbra (Portugal). Results show the utility of these discriminant functions in Portuguese population, with frequencies of cases correctly assigned reaching up to 93.6% in the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection (CISC); and up to 92.6% in the 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection (CEI/XXI). However, two particularities between the Spanish and Portuguese osteological assemblages can be highlighted: the possible existence of secular changes in relation to the CISC collection (1904–1938); and a reversal in the degree of costal dimorphism, being the third and fourth ribs of the CEI/XXI collection more dimorphic than the first ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: In the last few decades, the constant and exponential changes in the society's consumption of information have increased the awareness of practitioners from the education and training field, on the need for training programs for the enhancement of critical thinking skills and media literacy among students from Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET) who are less exposed to intellectual trainings than their peers in traditional education pathways. Approach: With this impetus, the present paper reports the results of a mixed methods study evaluating a training program for such competences. Based on a cognitive psychology theoretical framework, the training program consisted in three main techniques through which trainers can work with students in the classroom. N= 35 trainers from five different countries (i.e., Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands) were instructed about the training techniques and implemented them in their training centres. Then, a total of N= 288 students among these countries were involved in the testing of the training, which took place on a duration average of 5 months. Mixed methods approach was used to evaluate the effectiveness and quality of the training. Notably, prospective statistical analysis evaluated the training's impact of the participating students and compared with a control group. Qualitative interviews examined the training's lived experience with a group of students and trainers. Findings: The quantitative and qualitative analysis of pre/post- measures of critical thinking skills and media literacy of the experimental group, and the comparison with the control group, indicate an increase in these competences and confirm the efficacy of the training intervention. Conclusion: These results inform about the usefulness of the training program cross-culturally and the feasibility of training strategies based on cognitive psychology. Moreover, the paper offers a methodological contribution thanks to the proposition of the mixed methods approach for training programs assessment.

Purpose: This paper aims to analyse how constitutional law and corporate income tax (CIT) law, in the Iberian Peninsula, addresses the tax justice principle of generality. Also, it has as an intention to understand the dimension of tax exemptions predicted in the CIT law of both countries. Design/methodology/approach: It analyses several data sources from Spain and Portugal, between them constitutions laws, CIT laws, general tax laws and some constitutional court cases. Furthermore, it uses the content analysis method to identify the level of exemptions and tax benefits present in the CIT law. Findings: The results show that constitutional laws reserve a section to regulate tax issues, that it can present major or minor development. The Spanish article 31 explains the tax system and the Portuguese articles of 103 and 104 explain not only the tax system but also gives instructions about how must occur income, property and consumption taxation. Both jurisdictions, do not refer expressly to the generality principle, nevertheless, it has an implicit presence in the Supreme law and the same happen in the CIT law. They predict that all legal entities, public and private ones, have to contribute to financing the public expenditure. Furthermore, the respect to generality principle implies that tax income exemptions have to be justified, otherwise it can configure a break of the researched fundamental. In researched cases, the Spanish CIT have present more tax exemptions than Portugal, which can lead to consider a relation between the level of corporate contribution to income tax revenues collection and the tax exemptions predicted in the CIT law. Originality/value: It allows understanding the difference between tax jurisdictions in the tax principles domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the geopolitical imagination of the Catholic Church, particularly in relation to the former colonies of Portugal and Spain during the late imperial period (1930–1975). At that time, authoritarian dictators with strong Catholic ideology ruled both countries. However, the relationship between the Catholic missionaries and the colonial authorities of the Iberian imperial states was not always in harmony. There were sometimes contradictions between them. The geopolitics of the Catholic Church and the colonial geopolitics of the Iberian states were convergent but not always coincident. This paper describes and analyses the Spanish and Portuguese states' policies towards the missions. It also studies the missionary discourse in the metropolis, and its impact and reflection in the colonies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigrant minority (IM) languages have a significant presence in certain European regions. Nonetheless, these languages are not usually included in the school curriculum. This paper aims to analyse the studies published between 2010 and 2020 considering IM languages in multilingual European education contexts. The method included a search of academic papers published in the databases ERIC, Web of Science and Scopus, which yielded 42 studies. The studies were analysed by considering: (1) the demographic characteristics of the countries where the studies were conducted, (2) the sociolinguistic or psycholinguistic focus of the papers in relation to the European country, and (3) the characteristics of the bi-multilingual education programme including IM languages. The results indicate that: (1) the demographic characteristics of the country are not strictly related to the number of studies published, (2) most studies have a sociolinguistic approach even though many studies analyse both sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic factors, and (3) only seven multilingual education programmes including IM languages were described in these papers. We conclude that there is a lack of research focusing on IM languages in educational settings and discuss how addressing these gaps could create opportunities for building equitable multilingual communities in Europe.

Classical statistical methods prove advantageous for small datasets, whereas machine learning algorithms can excel with larger datasets. Our paper challenges this conventional wisdom by addressing a highly significant problem: the identification of burned areas through satellite imagery, that is a clear example of imbalanced data. The methods are illustrated in the North-Central Portugal and the North-West of Spain in October 2017 within a multi-temporal setting of satellite imagery. Daily satellite images are taken from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products. Our analysis shows that a classical Logistic regression (LR) model competes on par, if not surpasses, a widely employed machine learning algorithm called the extreme gradient boosting algorithm (XGBoost) within this particular domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bat conservation is one of the top global concerns for research today; however, conservation efforts may still be limited and impotent due to inadequacy and scarcity of data. Hence, identifying research trends, threatening factors, species status, and geographical priorities is an essential tool for future conservation, protection and prioritization. Here we conduct a comprehensive systematic review to identify current research priorities, trends, general patterns and gaps regarding Mediterranean bat researches. A total of 97 studies were found in the years spanning between 2000 and 2021. There were 18 studies with sufficient data for qualitative statistical analysis to investigate the impact of different habitat and land managements on bat activity and species richness. A yearly average of 4.6 articles were published, with a slight increase post-2010. Out of 61 identified species, 21% of species are threatened. Approximately, 65% of studieswere conducted in the Mediterranean European region, primarily in Spain (29%), Italy (15.5%), and Portugal (10.3%), largely focusing on forest habitats (38%). We found that Mediterranean bat species received uneven research attention, with only 15% of research allocated to threatened bats. Around half of the studies focused on the following bat species: Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Miniopterus schreibersii, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Myotis myotis, and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum. Our statistical analysis showed that riparian areas had higher bat activity than forest and agriculture areas. Bat population responded positively to forest management and organic agriculture practices. To reduce future research misalignment between current local research status and future global conservation priorities, we strongly advocate for urgent and additional collaborative efforts to target under-researched species and areas. Finally, our review will provide a general overview and an objective synthesis on the current status of bats in the Mediterranean and serve as a baseline for further effective research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to measure ‘overall’ success of a public private partnership (PPP) transport projects using four case studies. All four case studies are PPP toll roads from four different EU countries (UK, Spain, Portugal and Greece). The case studies have been analysed using a manual Qualitative Comparative Analysis approach. According to the paper, three different perspectives have been used to measure the success of a project, that is, project management perspective, stakeholder perspective and contract management perspective. The ‘overall’ success has then been deduced by bringing these three perspectives together as a holistic approach. The findings are presented in the form of a matrix and the final outcome of the paper shows a simple methodological approach that can be used to measure success of a PPP transport project. Since the study takes more of a qualitative approach, researcher bias and perceptions have a major role to play in the final outcome. However, to reduce ‘biasness’, quantitative measures have also been used to quantify the Key Performance Indicators and performance measures in the case studies. It is hoped that the study makes a valid contribution to the areas of transport PPPs and performance measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we analyze the temporal dependence in energy prices and demand using daily data of Portugal and Spain over the period 2007–2017. The methodology used is based on a stochastic Hidden Markov Model and the results indicate first that all significant relationships between energy prices and demands were found to be positive; second, spot prices are only time dependent on future prices and spot energy, while future energy is solely time dependent on spot energy behavior; third, future prices are not only autocorrelated but also time-dependent with spot energy and future energy demands level; and finally, spot energy is autocorrelated and time-dependent with future prices and future energy. Policy implications of the results obtained are presented at the end of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Maximising real efficiency benefit (REB) is currently being replaced with access to private finance as core public–private partnership (PPP) adoption motive. This later choice focusses on short-term performance, compromising REB and the procurement of infrastructure that meets the need of the present and future generations, which the former accomplishes. The paper aims to review these observed changes to understand the rationales and significance behind such switch. Design/methodology/approach: Secondary data powered exploratory study. Deployed X-inefficiency theory to triangulate and reduce bias and select country cases to provide the proper foundation for the descriptive "what happened?" question, such as "what was the failure concerns with a particular adoption choice?" Findings: The shift to accessing private finance adoption motive against REB failed to improve PPP project performance or meet efficiency and sustainability. Instead, it allows the private sector to assume financial risk without synergistic monitoring from the government to determine their contractual and commitment trust level, which would help achieve the five-dimensional sustainable performance measurement system for PPP. This led to the struggles of PPP projects in Portugal and Spain, where cost overruns and high demand forecast led to project failures. A recommendation, blended finance with its technical assistance additionality, is considered pivotal to addressing access to private finance motive shortcomings. Originality/value: This study improves best practices for new and existing adopters by systematically establishing that adoption ideology is a cardinal variable that influences PPP project success. When not correctly adopted, it can make the most successful structured projects face complexities and uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to understand the foremost challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopts the PRISMA approach to screening the selection of journal articles and review papers according to the research aims and the inclusion criteria. The journal articles and review papers were extracted and stored in Microsoft Excel and Google Scholar, Academic. Microsoft, Semantic Scholar, Elsevier, and Emerald Insight databases searched relevant documents using formulated keywords. A statistical technique was applied using the M.S. Excel analysis tool (PivotTable and an independent t-Test) to analyze data and determine the differences between teachers and students. The review revealed the evidence that the majority of the studies were primarily focused on the individual developing countries and results from other developing countries were not considered. In addition, the foremost challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic were inadequate skills and training, inadequate Internet/Infrastructure, lack of supporting resources and lack of online student engagement and feedback. Finally, the independent t-test reveals there is no statistically significant difference in challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both teachers and students encounter similar challenges. The systematic review raised concerns that higher learning needs to effectively implement long term strategies and support teachers and students in getting into online teaching and learning.

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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the functioning of the main Spanish and Portuguese containers ports to observe if they are operating below their production capabilities. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the above-mentioned objective, one possible method is to calculate the data envelopment analysis (DEA) efficiency, and the scale efficiency (SE) of targets, and in order to consider the variability across different samples, a bootstrap scheme has been applied. Findings: The results showed that the DEA bootstrap-based approach can not only select a suitable unit which accords with a port's actual input capabilities, but also provides a more accurate result. The bootstrapped results indicate that all ports do not need to develop future investments to expand port infrastructure. Practical implications: The proposed DEA bootstrap-based approach provides useful implications in the robust measurement of port efficiency considering different samples. The study proves the usefulness of this approach as a decision-making tool in port efficiency. Originality/value: This study is one of the first studies to apply bootstrap to measure port efficiency under the background of the Spain and Portugal case. In the first stage, two models of DEA have been used to obtain the pure technical, and the technical and SE, and both the input-oriented options: constant return scale and variable return scale. In the second stage, the bootstrap method has been applied in order to determine efficiency rankings of Iberian Peninsula container ports taking into consideration different samples. Confidence interval estimates of efficiency for each port are reported. This paper provides useful insights into the application of a DEA bootstrap-based approach as a modeling tool to aid decision making in measuring port efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]