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Influenza affects millions of people worldwide each year and can lead to severe complications, hospitalizations, and even death, especially among vulnerable populations such as older adults and those with chronic medical conditions. Annual vaccination is considered the most effective measure for preventing influenza and its complications. Despite the widespread availability of influenza vaccines, however, vaccination coverage rates remain suboptimal in several countries. Based on the latest scientific evidence and expert opinions on influenza vaccination in older people and patients with chronic disease, the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology (SPP), the Portuguese Society of Diabetology (SPD), the Portuguese Society of Cardiology (SPC), the Portuguese Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (SPGG), the Study Group of Geriatrics of the Portuguese Society of Internal Medicine (NEGERMI-SPMI), and the Portuguese Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SPDIMC) discussed best practices for promoting vaccination uptake and coverage and drew up several recommendations to mitigate the impact of influenza. These recommendations focus on the efficacy and safety of available vaccines; the impact of influenza vaccination on older adults; patients with chronic medical conditions, namely cardiac and respiratory conditions, diabetes, and immunosuppressive diseases; and health care professionals, optimal vaccination timing, and strategies to increase vaccination uptake and coverage. The resulting position paper highlights the critical role that vaccinations play in promoting public health, raising awareness, and encouraging more people to get vaccinated., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest FF received personal fees and non-financial support from Sanofi, MSD, AstraZeneca and GSK. AT has no interests to declare. BA received lecture fees and honoraria from Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, Menarini Diagnostic, Roche Diagnostic, Sanofi and Novonordisk. JFR received personal fees from Sanofi JO received lecture and scientific consultancy fees from Gilead Sciences, Sanofi Portugal, MSD and Viiv HealthCare SD received lecture fees and honoraria from Sanofi, GSK and Pfizer. MC received personal fees from GKS, Ferrer, Sanofi and Tecnimede. AM received personal fees and non-financial support from Boheringer Ingelheim, Sanofi, MSD, AstraZeneca and Bial., (Copyright © 2023 Sociedade Portuguesa de Pneumologia. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Global warming is a result of the increased emission of greenhouse gases. The consequences of this climate change threaten society, biodiversity, food and resource availability. The consequences include an increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease and cardiovascular mortality. In this position paper, we summarize the data from the main studies that assess the risks of a temperature increase or heat waves in CV events (CV mortality, myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, and CV hospitalizations), as well as the data concerning air pollution as an enhancer of temperature-related CV risks. The data currently support global warming/heat waves (extreme temperatures) as cardiovascular threats. Achieving neutrality in emissions to prevent global warming is essential and it is likely to have an effect in the global health, including the cardiovascular health. Simultaneously, urgent steps are required to adapt the society and individuals to this new climatic context that is potentially harmful for cardiovascular health. Multidisciplinary teams should plan and intervene healthcare related to temperature changes and heat waves and advocate for a change in environmental health policy., (Copyright © 2023 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis, among so many social, economic and health problems, also brought new opportunities. The potential of telemedicine to improve health outcomes had already been recognised in the last decades, but the pandemic crisis has accelerated the digital revolution. In 2020, a rapid increase in the use of remote consultations occurred due to the need to reduce attendance and overcrowding in outpatient clinics. However, the benefit of their use extends beyond the pandemic crisis, as an important tool to improve both the efficiency and capacity of future healthcare systems. This article reviews the literature regarding telemedicine and teleconsultation standards and recommendations, collects opinions of Portuguese experts in respiratory medicine and provides guidance in teleconsultation practices for Pulmonologists., (Copyright © 2022 Sociedade Portuguesa de Pneumologia. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Calls from policymakers to assimilate immigrants through English literacy have grown urgent. Yet the 2007 U.S. Census has reported that one in five U.S. residents speaks a language other than English at home. What's more, new immigrants often settle in long-standing immigrant communities in which these non-English languages are the lingua franca. These demographic trends call for a reconceptualization of the problematic relationship of literacy to immigrant assimilation. To whom, precisely, are immigrants assimilating, especially in multi-ethnic communities? And how exactly does literacy, especially biliteracy, shape this process? Through an ethnographic investigation of how two different immigrant groups form biliterate partnerships in the quest for legal immigration papers, this essay examines how literacy and assimilation function in light of the changing writing demands of contemporary immigrant life. (Contains 8 notes.)

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]

Copyright of Géneros: Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies is the property of Generos: Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article reports on the production of cement out of paper pulp waste as discovered by Portuguese researchers. Fernando Castro, lead researcher of the University of Minho in Minho, Portugal, had mentioned that the use of the paper pulp waste can decrease the quantity of toxic waste in the environment. He further explained the process of creating the clinker, the raw material for making cement.

The fact that there are (at least) two different translations of the English preposition for used to describe duration in Portuguese, namely durante and por, shows that duration is an interesting area in the tense and aspect panorama of this language, which deserves close study. In this paper, I present an empirical study based on four different corpora to investigate the matter, looking at the Portuguese varieties from Brazil and Portugal and different text genres (general and specialised newspapers, oral interviews, and fiction). The material spans circa two centuries. This paper identifies some specific uses and preferences of the two adverbials and confirms and challenges other claims in the linguistic literature. It shows that narrative fiction is definitely different from newspaper text due to its need to describe short duration and that planned duration can be expressed using both kinds of adverbials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the self-representations of Portuguese media professionals and their work practices. Utilizing data from a broader empirical study, this paper delves into the dynamics of influence among various actors within newsrooms. Based on journalists' perceptions of the content, the methods they use to assess the quality of the news are also identified. To address these enquiries, a survey was conducted among professionals engaged in the news production process. This sample comprised 72 individuals from various sectors of newsrooms, including photographers, designers, IT professionals, social media managers, and videographers. The main results indicate that seven out of ten respondents acknowledged their reliance on colleagues in newsrooms for success. Furthermore, the data suggest that there are no significant disparities among different professionals, with personal satisfaction emerging as the primary criterion for assessing the work quality. It is notable that almost twice as many women tend to indicate the low impact of the journalist on their work compared to male respondents. Moreover, most respondents stated that there is space for hybrid professionals in newsrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimizing Resource Allocation in Fire Departments (RAFD) is crucial for enhancing Fire Protection Services (FPS) and ultimately saving lives. Efficient RAFD ensures that fire departments have the necessary resources to respond effectively to emergencies. This paper presents a method for optimizing RAFD based on performance assessment results, examining its impact on Fire Department (FD) efficiency in Portugal. Evaluating data from 353 FDs, two RAFD optimization methods were assessed: one adhering to Portuguese regulations and constraints, such as budget allocation limitations, and another without such constraints. Integrating a slack-based data envelopment analysis model and mixed-integer linear programming, the study found that incorporating FD efficiency scores in RAFD improved overall efficiency at national, district, and FD levels. While adherence to Portuguese regulations led to balanced resource allocation and a 4% performance improvement at the national level, relaxing constraints yielded an 8% improvement, albeit with potential performance deterioration in some FDs. The detailed budget and efficiency metric analysis provided in this paper offers actionable insights for fire protection services enhancement. This underscores the importance of diverse optimization strategies to enhance FD efficiency, with implications for decision-makers at the Portuguese National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection and similar organizations globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: Reduction manipulation using self-reduction procedures such as Stimson, Milch, and Boss-Holtzach should be easy and effective and also require less force, pain medication, and outside assistance. This technique should not cause damage to arteries, nerves, or shoulder joint components. Self-reduction is straightforward and can be done in clinics, making it ideal for people who suffer from shoulder joint dislocation frequently. The goal of this study is to compare the effectiveness of supervised self-reduction procedures vs. physician-assisted treatments in the treatment of anterior shoulder dislocations. Method: We conducted a comprehensive search on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane up to March 22, 2023, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. Relevant articles were reviewed, with a focus on studies comparing supervised self-reduction techniques to physician-assisted techniques in cases of anterior shoulder dislocation. Results: Four papers in all were included in the meta-analysis. One prospective trial, one case-control study, one randomized clinical trial, and one retrospective trial made up these studies. The studies involved 283 patients in the physician-assisted group and 180 patients in the supervised self-reduction group. They were carried out in four European countries: Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Spain. The success rate of supervised self-reduction techniques was significantly higher, with an odds ratio of 2.71 (95% CI 1.25–5.58, p-value = 0.01). Based on the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, the physician-assisted group reported significantly higher maximum pain, with a mean difference of 1.98 (95% CI 1.24–2.72, p-value < 0.01). The self-reduction approaches exhibit shorter reduction time in comparison to physician-assisted groups. In addition, the self-reduction groups do not document any complications. Based on the GRADE system, the level of assurance in the evidence was high. Conclusion: Supervised self-reduction techniques outperform in terms of success rate and reduction-related maximum pain. These techniques could be used as an effective first-line treatment for anterior shoulder dislocation, potentially reducing the need for analgesics and emergency room visits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the influence of society satisfaction on the capital structure decisions of small and medium–sized enterprises (SMEs). Applying data from an online questionnaire, we captured the well-being and perceptions that individuals hold about their own quality of life through a latent variable measuring satisfaction with life. In addition, the study used a sample of SMEs from Portugal for the pandemic year of 2020. Using fractional regression models, our findings revealed a statistically significant relationship between society satisfaction and SMEs' leverage. Specifically, we showed that higher levels of satisfaction decrease debt levels among SMEs. However, further investigation, employing a two-part fractional regression model, showed that the overall negative effect is, in fact, only explained by the increasing propensity for firms to remain debt-free in the presence of greater levels of society satisfaction. Consequently, while society satisfaction appears to influence the decision to engage in debt financing, this does not significantly impact the amount of debt taken on by SMEs. In summary, this paper highlights the importance of society satisfaction to SME capital structure decision-making and contributes to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms driving SME financing decisions amidst socio-economic dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the crucial role of the regional dimension for economic, social, and environmental development. Sustainable development may be linked to migration management to strategically disperse international migrants to regions in need of ameliorating rural challenges. This paper explores the features affecting international migrants' intentions to move to rural areas, such as Alentejo, Portugal, based on a set of micro-, mezzo-, and macro-sociological migration theories to support policymakers. This paper addresses the following research question: what motivates immigrants' decisions to move to rural regions, such as Alentejo, Portugal? Practitioners (n = 8) and migrants (n = 15) were interviewed, and then a thematic analysis supported by MaxQDA 2022 was conducted. The results suggest that there is a set of motives for international migrants to move to rural areas and smaller cities based on multilevel factors, both economic and non-economic, such as the following: employment availability and promises of work; lower living costs compared to bigger cities; quality of life; local services support; and echoes of the country of origin. Migrants' networks and seeking greater opportunities were consistent motives. The pull to rural areas, however, is a side effect of the attraction of Portugal and Europe as destinations. The conclusions highlight implications for policy and practice on migration and local development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Portuguese First Republic (1910–1926) was marked by significant instability at the most diverse levels. With a special focus on the financial dimension of this period, the objective of this paper is to test the sustainability of the Portuguese fiscal policy, also referred to as the sustainability of public finances itself. The methodology involves testing the stationarity of public debt and budget balance and also the cointegration between state revenue and expenditure. The results obtained shows that the state's intertemporal budgetary constraint was violated during the First Republic regime, which denotes unsustainability. This conclusion is justified by the existence of a non-stationary budget balance and the absence of cointegration between state revenue and expenditure. These results are manifestly different from those that have already been obtained for other Portuguese regimes, namely for the Estado Novo (1933–1974) and democracy (1974–present), where sustainability existed. This paper is yet another demonstration of how important it is to maintain control of state's accounts. We hope that this paper can be useful to stimulate new research on Portuguese public finances and also on the important issue of fiscal policy sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of Information Systems Project Management (ISPM) practice is fundamental for developing knowledge in this field. Over the past few years, several studies have been conducted in organizations by professionals and academics to identify approaches, processes, tools, and techniques, among other relevant aspects of project management practice. The use of these practices can be related to various factors, such as trends in the world of work or even the cultural context. In this way, an insight into the context of a given region can support actions to improve ISPM practice and raise success rates in information systems projects. This paper presents the results of a systematic literature review that seeks to synthesize how project management on information systems is practiced in Portugal and identify opportunities for developing the project management body of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservar Património is the property of Associacao Profissional de Conservadores-Restauradores de Portugal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Research about spirituality has grown widely in the past decades and the interest in health care is also evident in Portugal. This literature review aims to identify and to characterize Portuguese theses, dissertations, and papers about spirituality in health, and to provide a systematic overview of the knowledge concerning this subject. The search was conducted in February 2017 and updated in January 2018. Four independent reviewers screened and analyzed all citations, and a total of 76 results were included. Publications started in 2002 and include master degree dissertations (n = 37), scientific papers (n = 31), and PhD theses (n = 8). Papers were published in 24 national and international journals. Most papers were psychology- and nursing-related and had a quantitative design (n = 55). Samples were mostly composed of patients living with a chronic disease (n = 20) or elderly (n = 11). The Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire (SWBQ) was the most used tool. A multidisciplinary approach is regarded as foundational in implementing spirituality in the provision of health care and the results underline the interest on this topic from other disciplines rather than nursing. Further studies must provide a deeper understanding of spirituality in children, adolescents or families' perspective bringing new insights to advanced health practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to study the use of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP) farmers' networking activities to overcome challenges in the development of their business. MAPs are mostly cultivated in small farms located in rural territories. This presents many challenges in different dimensions of business development through the value-chain, namely in commercialization. That is why networking and collaboration with other actors may have an important role, by providing the scale and critical resources towards business success and value-chain sustainable development. The paper draws on a purposefully collected set of data on a network of Portuguese producers of MAP, organized under the EPAM project. The data was collected through a questionnaire and quantitatively analyzed in order to understand: i) how MAP farmers perceive the importance of networks for the development of their businesses? ii) How are networks enabling farmers with different profiles to develop their businesses? The results confirm the importance of networks for the development of these businesses, namely with other firms. However, it is possible to identify some diversity in the assessment of the role of those networks, both by taking into consideration the location of the farms and their positioning in the value-chain. The study contributes to a better understanding of how networking contributes to overcome barriers in the sustainable development of an agri-food value-chain, by stressing a variety of networking proposes and partners and the existence of differences across types of firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Horizontes de Linguística Aplicada is the property of Revista Horizontes de Linguistica Aplicada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper takes a terminological approach to the concept of high intellectual abilities, highlighting the distinctive aspects of the way it is addressed in the Portuguese educational context. It outlines the existing conceptual differentiation in the field of higher abilities, emphasizing how the main characteristics are described and including the strengths and weaknesses of current teaching and learning processes in Portugal. As we will show, educational work with these students in Portuguese schools is characterized by unequal regulation compared to other educational needs, by an imbalance of educational processes aimed at these gifted students, and by clear underdiagnosis that sometimes leads to them being ignored in the classroom, with the consequent harm that this can cause to their overall development and to their academic and professional careers. The paper emphasizes the importance of teacher training in Portugal as an aspect that could be key to reversing, as far as possible, this gap in educational processes--which currently include educational inclusion for all their students as part of the key action principles in the Portuguese educational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a compartmental model to fit the real data of confirmed active cases with COVID-19 in Portugal, from March 2, 2020 until September 10, 2021 in the Primary Care Cluster in Aveiro region, ACES BV, reported to the Public Health Unit. The model includes a deterministic component based on ordinary differential equations and a stochastic component based on bootstrap methods in regression. The main goal of this work is to take into account the variability underlying the data set and analyse the estimation accuracy of the model using a residual bootstrapped approach in order to compute confidence intervals for the prediction of COVID-19 confirmed active cases. All numerical simulations are performed in R environment (R version. 4.0.5). The proposed algorithm can be used, after a suitable adaptation, in other communicable diseases and outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BRIDGE (bridging science and local communities for wildfire risk reduction) is an action–research project developing a community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) process which is being fostered through a collaborative innovation laboratory (InnoLab). BRIDGE integrates different forms of knowledge and action, linking science and local communities to reduce their vulnerability and to enhance strategies for forest fire risk reduction. Applied in Monchique, a forest-fire-prone municipality in Portugal, the InnoLab creates a space for dialogue and knowledge sharing between multiple actors that, directly or indirectly, manage forest territories. BRIDGE attempts to facilitate social learning about forest fire risks, strengthen collaborative networks and enhance adaptive capacities (socially and institutionally) for forest fire prevention. This paper shares results of the InnoLab activities, which include (i) school community activities on wildfire risk perception; (ii) participatory mapping of Monchique's vulnerabilities and risks; (iii) participatory sessions to create the community visioning for Monchique's territory, to define priorities and capacities to be improved, and to identify functions and responsibilities to act upon; and (iv) workshop on CBDRR strategies for action. Lessons are shared on how InnoLab can represent an innovative participatory approach to promote CBDRR processes in forest-fire-prone territories by both contributing to the recognition of local knowledge systems and encouraging the active role of forest communities through strengthened local networks for a more lasting commitment to forest fire risk reduction policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which aimed to develop an adaptation strategy for the Portuguese water supply company EPAL to lessen its activities' vulnerabilities to climate change. The study used the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) special report emissions scenarios (SRES) to produce water use local scenarios. It says that all scenarios demonstrated an increase in urban place and decrease in agricultural area.

Background: Teleworking (TW) has recently shifted from a marginal into a common practice. Yet, concerns have been raised regarding potential work-health negative effects, related to the reduced socialization, and extended working hours with computers at home, possibly offset by reduced commuting time or better individual work-life balance. This paper aims at describing the influence of TW on health, well-being, and productivity perceptions, and how this is shaped by TW conditions. Methods: We collected data from workers of 25 companies that exert their activity in Portugal. Data were completed with a representative sample of workers who regularly participate in surveys (total N = 1,069). We applied an on-line questionnaire from September the 1st 2022 to December the 1st 2022. We performed a simple descriptive analysis of each variable. Then, we analyzed the relationship between TW conditions and self-reported health, and between TW conditions at home and productivity, using logistic regression models. Results: We observed a high prevalence of self-perceived health worsening (15.9%), mostly among those with poor TW conditions. Most teleworkers enjoyed favorable TW conditions, despite limited company support. Relevant changes were observed in lifestyle factors, towards more smoking (5.5%), alcohol drinking (4.5%), and worse diet (10.1%). Two thirds reported enhanced productivity. A statistically significant relationship was observed between inadequate TW conditions, health deterioration, and lower productivity. A 6.0% point (pp) increased risk of productivity worsening was observed when employees faced at least one inadequate condition at home (no private working place at home, inadequate heating, artificial light, or absence of well-being at home). The risk of health deterioration increased by 12.9 pp when facing at least one of these inadequate conditions, and by 6.3 under hybrid TW, compared to one or two days of TW. Conclusions: Most teleworkers highlighted a positive perspective about teleworking. Yet, TW conditions are not favorable for all workers, with consequences on health, well-being, and productivity, suggesting that further support is needed for teleworkers to protect their health at home, and reach its maximum benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the underrepresentation of radon gas within the media discourse, particularly in Portugal. Employing a comprehensive mixed-methods approach, this paper examines how major Portuguese digital newspapers have covered radon gas, aiming to deepen our understanding of this critical issue. The findings reveal a significant lack of coverage on radon gas over 24 years in the selected newspapers. Surprisingly, only a few articles were identified, failing to convey its importance effectively. Despite identifying some risk communication strategies, their impact was statistically insignificant, indicating a clear discrepancy in attention. This study emphasizes the urgent need for balanced reporting on public health risks like radon gas and offers insights into enhancing risk communication strategies. Ultimately, it contributes to advocating for more comprehensive coverage of critical public health issues in the media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research dimension of higher education programmes is usually discussed in association with doctoral studies. Against a background of scarce literature investigating research in a Master's degree, this article aims to analyse the place of research in Master's qualifications, first, as envisaged by official European and national documents acting as reference frameworks for degree design (i.e. qualification frameworks) and, second, in its practical manifestations in Master of Science (MSc) degrees in Physics in three national contexts (England, Portugal and Denmark). It highlights different understandings of the importance and roles assigned to research in Master's degrees by national policy actors in the three countries. Simultaneously, it argues that research is an essential component of MSc degrees in Physics, perceived as a gateway to a Physics research profession on account of disciplinary specificity. Research translates into a number of concrete practices, of which the Master's thesis is the main manifestation, with, however, variation in the purpose of research (instrumental or an end in itself). The article discusses implications of these different understandings and expressions of research in Master's programmes for the comparability of higher education degrees and ensuing recognition and student mobility in the European Higher Education Area, as envisaged by the Bologna process reforms. It is suggested that similar studies could be performed in other disciplines to make up for the gap in evidence and scholarship on the research dimension of Master's programmes and their degree of convergence. (Contains 1 note.)

During the launch era of the European Union, there were unsuccessful attempts to make spatial planning part of the European project. This paper identifies three subsequent phases of integration. During the doldrums era, initiatives were channelled through the Council of Europe. Since the start of the boom era, spatial planning has been related to EU cohesion policy. As we move into the fourth phase, characterised by doubts about integration, what does the future bring? The Lisbon Treaty settles the issue of a lack of competence, but uncertainty continues because the future of cohesion policy as such is unsettled. While the journey continues, will it be retained, and if so, what will the role of territorial cohesion policy be? Will territorial cohesion policy be barely tolerated, or will it become a mainstay of cohesion policy? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe faces many problems connected to ageing infrastructure which was built in the second half of the 20th century. Bridges are one of the crucial elements of these infrastructures. In recent years, European countries have witnessed many failures of bridges across the continent. For example, the collapse of Viadotto Polcevera in Genoa caught the attention of society regarding its tragic consequences. Therefore, engineers must deal with the assessment of existing bridges which is essential for proper decision-making. Condition rating systems for bridges vary from country to country. Consequently, these differences in the methodology can lead to different conclusions related to the future service of assessed structures. For these reasons, this paper briefly describes condition rating systems for road bridges in Italy, Slovakia, and Portugal and defines the differences in the methodology. Subsequently, the obtained conclusions are compared and discussed. The aim of the paper is to encourage standardization in the assessment of bridge health conditions within European countries, highlighting the differences in the current systems adopted by various countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth–air heat exchangers (EAHX) use the soil thermal capacity to dampen the amplitude of outdoor air temperature oscillations. This effect can be used in hot and dry climates for room cooling, and depending on the EAHX design, this cooling can be achieved with very few resources other than those used during EAHX construction. This is an obvious advantage compared to the significant energy consumption and operational costs of refrigeration machines traditionally used in room cooling. Despite the large number of papers on EAHXs available in the scientific literature, very few deal with large-diameter EAHXs (with pipe diameters larger than 0.30 m), and even fewer present monitoring data gathered from a built and functional large-diameter EAHX. The present paper uses monitoring data and provides a detailed quantitative analysis of the performance of a large-diameter EAHX built for standalone cooling of an existing office building. The field monitoring was carried out during a characteristic hot and dry summer period of the south of Portugal. Results show that outdoor air to EAHX exit air temperature gradients reach 9 K and cooling capacities exceed 27 kW. Moreover, the studied EAHX is capable of standalone cooling for outdoor air temperatures up to 33 °C and meets more than 50% of the room design cooling demand for outdoor air temperatures as high as 37 °C. This evidences that large-diameter EAHXs have the potential to achieve significant reductions in CO 2 emissions and in energy consumption associated with building cooling in hot and dry climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial Kitchens are very energy-intensive businesses, consuming between five and seven times more energy per square meter than other commercial spaces like office spaces and retail stores. Still, very little research has been carried out on improving the energy efficiency of this industry. This paper presents the FIKElectricity dataset, a collection of electricity data from three Portuguese restaurant kitchens during their daily operation. The duration of the datasets spans three to four weeks in each industrial kitchen and comprises aggregated and individual appliance consumption, collected at 1 Hz and 1 5 Hz, respectively. The public release of FIKElectricity is expected to draw more attention from the research community to this overlooked industrial sector. The data collection and post-processing methods are thoroughly described in this paper, as well as the dataset organization. Examples showing the dataset's quality and instructions for its reuse are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In view of the complexity of supply chain management (SCM) in the insurance industry, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper was the first to use symmetrical and asymmetrical methos to examine how the insurer's service quality and SCM can be configurated to explain the relationships between the insurance companies and brokers as the intermediaries. This study positions insurance brokers as the insurance companies' customers and supply chain partners, aims to examine the relationships between service quality, SCM and relationship quality. Design/methodology/approach: This paper undertook two studies and used two methods to examine how the insurer's service quality and SCM can be configurated to explain the relationships between the insurance companies and brokers as the intermediaries. Both symmetrical and asymmetrical analyses were performed including regression and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Findings: The results from symmetrical analyses and fsQCA from two countries show substantial differences in how service quality and SCM affect relationship quality. In particular, fsQCA show that all service quality dimensions are important antecedent conditions of relationship quality for Portuguese brokers. Interestingly for Irish brokers, the combination of assurance, responsiveness and the insurer' empathy conjunctively accounted for their satisfaction, whereas none of these quality factors are related to their commitment and trust. All SCM factors are important to explain the brokers' relationship quality with their chosen insurers for both countries. Research limitations/implications: This study contributes to three areas of research: service quality, SCM and relationship marketing. Firstly, this study used an asymmetrical approach to providing insights into the effect of service quality dimensions by showcasing how these dimensions were configurated to explain the outcome of interest, rather than examining their symmetrical path coefficients. Secondly, this study identified the key factors of SCM in the insurance industry and how these factors can be configurated through Boolean algebra to explain relationship quality between supply chain partners. Finally, this study has implications for relationship marketing research. Practical implications: As the study was conducted with the insurance brokers in Portugal and Ireland, the findings have implications for the insurance companies for the two countries. As different service quality factors and SCM exert different effects on relationship quality, the insurance companies should look into these factors to modify their current practice to improve relationship quality with their brokers. Originality/value: Theoretically, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to approach from intermediaries to address effectiveness of SCM. Methodologically, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to use fsQCA – a case-based approach to understand SCM and relationship quality between stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 1880s, Portugal began the construction of railways in its colonies. The main goals were to reinforce Portuguese presence and increase colonial revenue. This paper aims to analyse the transnational railways built in Mozambique, between the 1880s and the 1930s, as critical infrastructure (or critical systems). I argue that the lack of railways in Mozambique was the cause for deep concern and fostered a "sense of urgency" among the Portuguese authorities, as this could potentially jeopardise the Portuguese imperial project. Railways were considered critical to bolstering Portugal's sovereignty, as well as to exploit local resources and attract traffic from neighbouring territories. Once built, the railways revealed two major vulnerabilities: competition from South African ports and dependence on British capital. A few episodes involving Portuguese and British agents highlighted these vulnerabilities and motivated Portuguese policymakers to find solutions. This paper explores these topics based on a comprehensive literature review and the use of primary sources, intended to provide a novel approach to Portuguese colonial railways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]