Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2024-06-11"
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- Impact evaluation with process tracing: explaining causal processes in an EU-interreg sustainable tourism interventionPublication . Montano, Luigina Jessica; Elsenbroich, Corina; Font, Xavier; Ribeiro, Manuel AlectorDrawing from the field of complex evaluations we discuss a novel application of process tracing for the evaluation of complex tourism interventions. We argue that to better evidence impact of tourism interventions and facilitate policy transfer we ought to adopt approaches to evaluation that allow us to deepen our understanding of causal mechanisms at play in an intervention. We adopt process tracing as a qualitative, theory-based evaluation method to make within-case causal inferences about impact. To showcase the method, we apply it to evaluate the outcomes of a real-world EU-Interreg sustainable tourism intervention called "EXPERIENCE," implemented across six pilot regions across France and England. We argue that deepening our understanding of how interventions work in a local context is necessary for the design and transferability of future interventions across similar contexts.
- Unforeseen cascading effects of an inlet openingPublication . Ferreira, ÓscarThe opening of the Cacela Inlet (southern Portugal) in 2010 led to unforeseen effects observed after 2017, including an extreme acceleration of the retreat of the inland lagoon margin from about 0.2 to 2 m/year. This was a consequence of the development of a large flood delta in an area of limited accommodation space, forcing the main tidal channel to move inland. The coastal retreat currently affects a flat sandy area that separates the old and inactive Cacela cliff from the lagoon. Between 2025 and 2030, the currently inactive Cacela cliff is likely to become active again, posing a potential risk of damage to a medieval fortress and the existing settlement of Cacela Velha, an unforeseen cascading effect of the opening of the inlet. In order to prevent instability and damage to this legally protected area of national and public interest, several coastal management measures will be required.
- Induction of high value metabolites in industrial microalgal strains using artificially flashing lightPublication . Lourenço, Maria João Santos; Varela, João Carlos Serafim; Schulze, Peter Simon ClausAlgae are promising organisms with many applications as they can metabolise various (high-value) compounds, including pigments and fatty acids that present great potential as supplements in the human diet. As a result, algal biomass with an enhanced nutritional/biochemical profile regarding these target compounds has a high value on the market. A common strategy to improve microalgal biocompounds production is exposing the culture to stress conditions. However, these conditions often lead to biomass losses due to the long time needed (e.g., days or weeks). To overcome this problem, the time required for such stress conditions should be diminished. Thus, in this thesis, Nannochloropsis oceanica and Phaeodactylum tricornutum were exposed to stress conditions (flashing light - FL) for four days, under a two-stage outdoor cultivation approach, to accumulate higher protein, lipids, carbohydrates, fatty acids or pigments content. In the first stage, cultures were exposed to sunlight until they reached the desired concentration (~2 and 1 g DW L -1 for N. oceanica and P. tricornutum, respectively). The second stage started when cultures were exposed to sunlight combined with low frequency FL (f = 0.5 (FL0.5), 5 (FL5) Hz; DC=0.05), continuous light (CL) or without additional light (SUN). Additionally, the effects of FL were benchmarked against different covariates (“trial”, “harvesting timepoint”, “induction time”, “biomass concentration” and “biomass productivity”). Generally, there were no significant differences between treatments (FL0.5, FL5, SUN and CL) in either species, with some exceptions. In P. tricornutum, protein and carbohydrate contents were significantly higher in cells exposed to FL5 compared to SUN and in cells exposed to CL and SUN compared to FL0.5, corresponding to 0.16 and 1.5-fold increases, respectively. In N. oceanica, pigment productivity had significant differences. Cells exposed to SUN conditions presented a 10.5-fold increase in violaxanthin productivity compared to those under FL0.5 and CL, whereas zeaxanthin productivity increased 2-fold under SUN conditions when compared to FL0.5. Regarding covariates, “trial” was the one with the highest effect on treatments. In conclusion, FL only affected protein and carbohydrate content, and violaxanthin and zeaxanthin productivities in P. tricornutum and N. oceanica¸ respectively, when considering the studied covariates.
- O Impacto da aliança terapêutica e da relação real no resultado do processo terapêuticoPublication . Traves, André Luiz; Janeiro, Luís de BritoA exploração da relação entre dois dos componentes da relação terapêutica, a Aliança Terapêutica (AT) e a Relação Real (RR) contribui para o aumento do conhecimento da sua influência na redução da sintomatologia dos clientes durante o processo psicoterapêutico. Tendo por base o Modelo Tripartido da Relação Terapêutica de Gelso (1994), o presente estudo visa avaliar a contribuição específica da AT e da RR para os resultados e investigar se existe interação entre eles ao longo do tempo. Estudos anteriores sugerem que tanto a AT quanto a RR desempenha papéis críticos na eficácia da terapia, com dados indicando uma correlação moderada a forte entre esses fatores e os resultados terapêuticos. A amostra do estudo foi constituída por 33 clientes adultos, de ambos os sexos, e com idades compreendidas entre os 20 e os 57 anos, a realizar psicoterapia psicodinâmica e os respetivos terapeutas. Utilizou-se um delineamento longitudinal para analisar a evolução da experiência emocional e da sintomatologia ao longo das sessões, com recurso a instrumentos de autorrelato como o WAI-SR e WAI-SRT, OQ-10, RRI-C e RRI-T e o EE-SR e EE-TR, no final de cada sessão. Os resultados indicam uma diminuição significativa na sintomatologia e um aumento na experiência emocional dos clientes ao longo do tratamento. No entanto, os resultados mostraram padrões inconsistentes entre as dimensões da AT e da RR, sugerindo a possibilidade de relações não lineares entre as variáveis. A investigação contribui para a compreensão do papel das dimensões relacionais na eficácia da psicoterapia e aponta para a necessidade de mais estudos que analisem conjuntamente os efeitos da AT e da RR nos resultados terapêuticos.
- Abundance and distribution of coral fluorescent proteins along an artificial light gradientPublication . Coelho, David Fernando Amado; Frade, Pedro R.; Bouderlique, ThibaultCorals in nearshore marine environments are exposed to a depth-light gradient imposed by the attenuation of light with depth. To a certain extent, corals are adapted to a broad range of available irradiances by producing changes in their physiology. One solution that coral organisms have, to cope with this different light condition, is through fluorescent proteins (FPs). FPs produced by corals have many roles including photoprotection and thermal stress resilience thus being one of the mechanisms by which corals can adapt to different conditions. In this study, I investigate the existence of inter- and intra-specific variation in tissue location, emission intensity, and spectral curve of FPs. These differences suggest potential differential roles and expression of FPs inside a colony at tissue level, among colonies, light habitats and even amongst different species.