Browsing by Author "Rodrigues, Nuno"
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- An artificial reef at the edge of the deep: An interdisciplinary case studyPublication . Ramos, Jorge; Tuaty-Guerra, Miriam; Almeida, Mariana; Raposo, Ana C.; Gaudêncio, Maria J.; Silva, Alexandra D.; Rodrigues, Nuno; Leandro, Sérgio M.; Caetano, MiguelJust nearby the largest submarine canyon in Europe - off the western coast of Portugal - is located the Nazare acute accent artificial reef (NAR) deployed in 2010 and the first of its kind in this coast. NAR aimed to improve social and economic resilience of the local communities, mainly by creating a safer and closer area for fishing and to enhance commercially exploitable marine resources. The innovative part of this research lies on the fact that for the first time was developed a multidisciplinary approach for NAR. Scientific evidence from fieldwork shows that in 2015 the reef was already mature and colonized by abundant and diversified macrobenthic assemblages. No evidence of negative impacts of NAR on the soft bottom macrofauna was observed, as assemblage composition in the NAR area and in the vicinity areas is similar. In relation to the primary producers that support the subsequent food chain, there also seems to be a balance between NAR and the surrounding area since phytoplankton was equally abundant throughout the area. Experimental fisheries and underwater visual census results on ichthyofaunal communities in the reef revealed high abundance and low levels of species richness, pouting, Trisopterus luscus Linnaeus, 1758 being the most common fish species found. Concerning NAR socio-economic impact, results from direct site observations (DSOs) showed that only some small-scale fishing vessels were eligible to operate on the NAR area. Thus, comparatively to non-AR areas nearby reef use by fishing vessels differs according to spatial and temporal strata. In what perception was concerned, the NAR has contributed to fish aggregation, though being populated mostly by small fish. Fishers have stated that some factors seemed to have changed after reef deployment. Notwithstanding, the NAR may have been a valuable contribution to an apparently overall socio-economic positive impact on the local fishing community that can be corroborated by the presence of good biological indicators.
- Cost-benefit analysis of tidal energy production in a coastal lagoon: the case of Ria Formosa – PortugalPublication . Rodrigues, Nuno; Pintassilgo, Pedro; Calhau, Francisco; G-Gorbeña, Eduardo; Pacheco, AndréThe energy that can be extracted from tidal currents is one of the most promising renewable energy sources due to its high density/predictability. Within this paper this energy source is evaluated economically respecting sustainability principles. This evaluation contrasts from previous studies due to the application of a cost-benefit analysis based on a hydro-morphodynamic model, and moving away from the classic proxy of wind energy. It further includes, via the Monte Carlo method, a probabilistic underpinning to the project. The hydro-economic model was applied to a tidal energy project using an Evopod 1:4th scale prototype, based on a real deployment of an Evopod 1:10th scale device in the Ria Formosa, Algarve. The results show that, under the current costs and benefits, the project is not economically viable. However, there are admissible parameter ranges that make the project viable such as significant reduction of investment costs, increased capacity factors and favourable energy prices. This novel methodology has potential to be applied to other tidal energy projects on estuarine systems worldwide, and consists of a comprehensive modelling approach, including the technical, environmental, and socio-economic dimensions of the project, not only in a deterministic setting but also in a probabilistic one.
- A Flexible assessment platform for middle school, supported on students goalsPublication . Cardoso, Pedro; Lam, Roberto; Pereira, Rui Penha; Rodrigues, Nuno; Herdeiro, CláudiaRooted in many education system, assessment by written exams in a live only time evaluation is a traditional way to judge the student learnings. This live only time evaluation method leads to dys- functionalities such as high levels of stress and the assumption, by the students and by some teachers, that exams re ect the educational goals. This paper presents the Assessment Centers in Schools (ACiSs) project which aims to mitigate some of the identi ed problems. The nal goal of the ACiSs system is a web platform which allows students to have an out of class assessment system, reducing factor like stress by granting the possibility to complete more than one examination and consequent approval per module of the studied subjects. The ACiSs system is com- prised by a dataset of questions, properly categorized, which allows the automatic generation of exams wordings for summative and formative as- sessment. In the latter case, exams can be generated in order to mitigate individual weaknesses in the subject's curricular goals.