The electric vehicles as a mean to reduce Co2 emissions and energy costs in isolated regions: the São Miguel (Azores) case study

Most of small islands around the world today, are dependent on imported fossil fuels for the majority of their energy needs especially for transport activities and electricity production. The use of locally renewable energy resources and the implementation of energy efficiency measures could make a significant contribution to their economic development by reducing fossil fuel imports. An electrification of vehicles has been suggested as a way to both reduce pollutant emissions and increase security of supply of the transportation sector by reducing the dependence on oil products imports and facilitate the accommodation of renewable electricity generation, such as wind and, in the case of volcanic islands like Sao Miguel (Azores) of the geothermal energy whose penetration has been limited by the valley electricity consumption level. In this research, three scenarios of EV penetration were studied and it was verified that, for a 15% LD fleet replacement by EVs with 90% of all energy needs occurring during the night, the accommodation of 10 MW of new geothermal capacity becomes viable. Under this scenario, reductions of 8% in electricity costs, 14% in energy, 23% in fossil fuels use and CO2 emissions for the transportation and electricity production sectors could be expected.

PBL in healthcare sciences: a case study on curriculum innovation

Students of a Cardiopulmonary Sciences curriculum in a Portuguese higher education institution have shown poor learning outcomes and low satisfaction on a course about lung function tests. A transmissive pedagogical approach, mainly based on lectures, was the common teaching practice. Aiming for a change, PBL was considered as a powerful alternative and also as a contribution for progressively innovating the curriculum. Purpose: to create PBL activities in a lung function tests course. to describe their implementation, to analyse the effects of PBL integration in students’ performance and attitudes, to characterize the generated learning environment.