Super-Nernstian Shifts of Interfacial Proton-Coupled Electron Transfers: Origin and Effect of Noncovalent Interactions

Peer reviewed

Super-Nernstian Shifts of Interfacial Proton-Coupled Electron Transfers: Origin and Effect of Noncovalent Interactions

Peer reviewed

Modeling the impact of large-scale solid mass transfers on the gravity field

The focus of this thesis is to explore and quantify the response of large-scale solid mass transfer events on satellite-based gravity observations. The gravity signature of large-scale solid mass transfers has not been deeply explored yet; mainly due to the lack of significant events during dedicated satellite gravity missions‘ lifespans. In light of the next generation of gravity missions, the feasibility of employing satellite gravity observations to detect submarine and surface mass transfers is of importance for geoscience (improves the understanding of geodynamic processes) and for geodesy (improves the understanding of the dynamic gravity field). The aim of this thesis is twofold and focuses on assessing the feasibility of using satellite gravity observations for detecting large-scale solid mass transfers and on modeling the impact on the gravity field caused by these events. A methodology that employs 3D forward modeling simulations and 2D wavelet multiresolution analysis is suggested to estimate the impact of solid mass transfers on satellite gravity observations. The gravity signature of various submarine and subaerial events that occurred in the past was estimated. Case studies were conducted to assess the sensitivity and resolvability required in order to observe gravity differences caused by solid mass transfers. Simulation studies were also employed in order to assess the expected contribution of the Next Generation of Gravity Missions for this application.

A Formação nas Organizações: motivação para transferir os conteúdos formativos para o local de trabalho

A presente investigação pretendeu avaliar a motivação para transferir os conteúdos adquiridos em formação para o local de trabalho. A formação nas empresas assume atualmente uma especial importância, cumprindo o duplo objetivo de contribuir para o desenvolvimento pessoal e profissional dos colaboradores e, consequentemente, contribuir para a melhoria do desempenho organizacional. Partindo da escolha de uma empresa nacional do setor privado, ligada ao ramo metalúrgico, e de uma amostra de 83 colaboradores, utilizou-se como instrumento um questionário de auto-resposta. O questionário aplicado permitiu avaliar a perceção de utilidade da formação, as crenças de auto eficácia dos colaboradores, a vinculação afetiva à empresa, e a motivação para transferir os conteúdos formativos. Os principais resultados indicaram que a motivação para transferir está relacionada com a perceção de utilidade e com a vinculação afetiva. Por outro lado, os resultados não permitem afirmar com convicção que uma das condições essenciais para se sentir motivado a transferir a formação, resida nas crenças de auto eficácia. A perceção de utilidade da formação surgiu como variável que mediou a relação entre a motivação para transferir e as crenças de auto eficácia, não se tendo verificado de forma clara, o mesmo resultado para a vinculação afetiva. Os resultados obtidos nesta investigação permitem desenvolver estratégias relevantes para os responsáveis da formação nas empresas que pretendam aumentar o grau de motivação para transferir a formação para o local de trabalho. / The present research was intended to evaluate the motivation to transfer the knowledge acquired in training to the workplace. The training in the companies takes nowadays a special importance, fulfilling the double goal of contributing to the collaborators personal and professional development and, consequently, of contributing to the improvement of the organizational performance. Starting from the choice of a national private company, from the metallurgic sector, and from a sample of 83 collaborators, a self-answer quiz was used. The applied quiz allowed to evaluate the perceived usefulness of the training, the beliefs of self-efficacy of the collaborators, the affective commitment with the company, and the motivation to transfer the training knowledge. The main results indicated that the motivation to transfer is related with the perceived usefulness and with the affective commitment. On the other side, the results do not allow to declare convincingly that one of the essential conditions to feel motivated to transfer the training is founded on the beliefs of self-efficacy. The perceived usefulness of the training surged as a variable that mediated the relation between motivation to transfer and the beliefs of self-efficacy, situation that was not verified in a clear way in the case of affective commitment. The results obtained on this research allow the development of relevant strategies for the responsible for the training on the companies that want to increase the motivation degree to transfer the training to the workplace.

Intergenerational Transfers over the Life Course: Addressing Temporal and Gendered Complexities via a Human Well-being Approach

Research on intergenerational transmissions of poverty and inequality has tended to focus on material transfers. This paper refocuses attention on the intersection of material and psychosocial transfers, which reveals temporal and gendered complexities. It examines three key ideas emerging from the life course literature (relationality, intersectionality and intergenerationality) to shed light on how these complexities might be addressed. It is argued that a human wellbeing lens is potentially useful as a unifying framework to integrate these ideas as it interrogates what living well means over the life course and how it is constructed relationally.

Report of the Working Group on Introductions and Transfers of Marine Organisms (WGITMO). 16-18 March 2016 Olbia, Italy

The 42th meeting of the ICES Working Group on Introductions and Transfers of Marine Organisms (WGITMO) was held in Olbia, Italy, 16–18 March 2016, with Anna Occhipinti-Ambrogi as host and Henn Ojaveer as chairperson. Representatives from 19 countries participated in the meeting. Attendants were from Belgium, Canada, Dennark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States. Sweden contributed by cor-respondence. The objectives of the meeting were to update information and discuss several aspects related to the introductions and transfers of non-indigenous aquatic species. Data and information management were two of the discussion topics of the meeting, with special focus on the better exploitation of the ‘Information system on aquatic non-indigenous and cryptogenic species’ (AquaNIS). The WGITMO also dedicated time for addressing the MSFD D2 issues: indicator on new non-indigenous species introduced by human activities, and opportunities and problems related to cross-regional comparison of non-indigenous species indicators. Preparation of the manuscript of the alert report on sea squirt Didemnum vexillum, which is to be published in ICES CRR series, was discussed and the steps to be taken to finalise the report were agreed. As usual, adequate time was devoted to discuss national reports, to exchange of information on the management of NIS and to review ongoing and planned research activities. The approach taken during the meeting facilitated presentations and discussions on the issues of relevance related to the Terms of References as well as on a few generic and strategically-important issues of general relevance to bioinvasions. The meeting began with a full-day joint meeting with the Working Group on Ballast and Other Ship Vectors (WGBOSV), which provided an opportunity to discuss and address issues of common interest, such as shipping and biofouling as introduction vectors. The proposed ICES demonstration advice on ‘Risk management of non-indigenous species associated with shipping in the Arctic’ was discussed, and edits were suggested for both the orientation of the demonstration advice as well as for the exact questions to be asked. Both working groups agreed that the practice of conducting back-to-back meetings with one joint day is useful and will continue in 2017. All Terms of References to be addressed for 2016 were discussed. For some Terms of Ref-erence, more detailed presentations were given, and a short overview of the information and subsequent discussion is provided herein at the end of each section. This report is structured so that each Term of Reference is dealt with in sequential order. The main body of the report contains summaries of the presentations and discussions with the more detailed documents being contained in the Annexes. WGITMO progressed each of the Terms of Reference by either completing the task or clearly identifying and agreeing on the inter-sessional activities required to still finalise the work in 2016. From 2017, WGITMO will be shifted to multi-annual management.

The ways behind the railways: Algarve's railway line. Technique transfers and transport development in Southern Portugal

Esta dissertação pretende contribuir para um melhor conhecimento da complexidade das redes de transferência de conhecimentos e técnicas, no domínio da engenharia civil e mais concretamente através dos caminhos-de-ferro, nos séculos XIX e XX. Em Portugal, os caminhos-de-ferro estiveram no cerne de um vasto debate, sobretudo político, concomitante com uma instabilidade crescente no cenário político e uma fase de fragilidade económica. É neste contexto que a Linha do Sul e Sueste vai ser construída (seguida pela sua extensão até Vila Real de Santo António e pela construção do ramal de Portimão, que chegará a Lagos). Este empreendimento é uma clara ilustração da realidade portuguesa de então, no que concerne ao desenvolvimento desta rede de transportes, que nos permite, igualmente, conhecer e compreender quem interveio no processo de construção da linha (os engenheiros, as empresas, entre outros aspectos) e assim determinar quais as influências e transferências técnicas que tiveram lugar; RESUMEE: Cette mémoire attire à la contribution pour une meilleure connaissance de la complexité des réseaux de transfert de techniques et connaissances qui ont eu lieu dans le domaine de l’ingénierie civile, surtout dans les chemins de fer, au XIXème et XXème siècles. Au Portugal, les chemins de fer sont été le cerne d’un très vaste débat, coïncidant avec une croissante instabilité dans le scenario politique et aussi une phase économique fragile. C’est dans ce contexte que la Ligne du Sud et Sud-est va être bâti (suivi par l’extension jusqu’à Vila Real de Santo António et la construction de l’embranchement ferroviaire Portimão). Cette entreprise c’est une illustration claire de la réalité portugaise, en concernant l’implémentation de cette réseau de transport, que nous permettre de comprendre et également bien connaitre qui a intervenu dans le processus de construction de la ligne (les ingénieurs, entreprises, etcetera), ainsi que déterminer les influences et les transferts techniques qui ont eu lieu; ABSTRACT: With this master’s thesis, the aim is to be able to contribute to a better understanding of the complex network of technique’s and knowledge transfers, that took place within the field of civil engineering, in the 19th and 20th centuries, namely on the railways. In Portugal, railways take-up was a wide and ample debate, coinciding with an uprising turmoil on the Portuguese political outskirt and a phase of economic frailty. It’s in this context that the construction of the South and Southeast Line took place (followed, later on, by its extension until Vila Real de Santo António and by the construction of the Portimão’s branch). This enterprise is, as we pretend to prove in this master’s thesis, a clear example of the Portuguese reality, enabling us to understand and to get to know those who intervened in the construction’s process (the engineers and the companies) as well as determining influences and technique transfers that have taken place.

New insights into rebound effects : theory and empirical evidence

The main objective of the thesis is to seek insights into the theory, and provide empirical evidence of rebound effects. Rebound effects reduce the environmental benefits of environmental policies and household behaviour changes. In particular, win-win demand side measures, in the form of energy efficiency and household consumption pattern changes, are seen as ways for households and businesses to save money and the environment. However, these savings have environmental impacts when spent, which are known as rebound effects. This is an area that has been widely neglected by policy makers. This work extends the rebound effect literature in three important ways, (1) it incorporates the potential for variation of rebound effects with household income level, (2) it enables the isolation of direct and indirect effects for cases of energy efficient technology adoption, and examines the relationship between these two component effects, and (3) it expands the scope of rebound effect analysis to include government taxes and subsidies. MACROBUTTON HTMLDirect Using a case study approach it is found that the rebound effect from household consumption pattern changes targeted at electricity is between 5 and 10%. For consumption pattern changes with reduced vehicle fuel use, the rebound effect is in the order of 20 to 30%. Higher income households in general are found to have a lower total rebound effect; however the indirect effect becomes relatively more significant at higher household income levels. In the win-lose case of domestic photovoltaic electricity generation, it is demonstrated that negative rebound effects can occur, which can potentially amplify the environmental benefits of this action. The rebound effect from a carbon tax, which occurs due to the re-spending of raised revenues, was found to be in the range of 11-32%. Taxes and transfers between households of different income levels also have environmental implications. For example, a more progressive tax structure, with increased low income welfare payments is likely to increase greenhouse gas emissions. Subsidies aimed at encouraging environmentally friendly consumption habits are also subject to rebound effects, as they constitute a substitution of government expenditure for household expenditure. For policy makers, these findings point to the need to incorporate rebound effects in the environmental policy evaluation process.’

Evidence-based decision making to strengthen local governance : nutritional health interventions in Bantul and Gunungkidul

Since 2001, district governments have had the main responsibility for providing public health care in Indonesia. One of the main public health challenges facing many district governments is improving nutritional standards, particularly among poorer segments of the population. Developing effective policies and strategies for improving nutrition requires a multi-sectoral approach encompassing agricultural development policy, access to markets, food security (storage) programs, provision of public health facilities, and promotion of public awareness of nutritional health. This implies a strong need for a coordinated approach involving multiple government agencies at the district level. Due to diverse economic, agricultural, and infrastructure conditions across the country, district governments’ ought to be better placed than central government both to identify areas of greatest need for public nutrition interventions, and devise policies that reflect local characteristics. However, in the two districts observed in this study—Bantul and Gunungkidul—it was clear that local government capacity to generate, obtain and integrate evidence about local conditions into the policy-making process was still limited. In both districts, decision-makers tended to rely more on intuition,anecdote, and precedent in formulating policy. The potential for evidence-based decision making was also severely constrained by a lack of coordination and communication between agencies, and current arrangements related to central government fiscal transfers, which compel local governments to allocate funding to centrally determined programs and priorities.

Evidence based decision making to strenghten local governance : nutritional health interventions

Since 2001, district governments have had the main responsibility for providing public health care in Indonesia. One of the main public health challenges facing many district governments is improving nutritional standards, particularly among poorer segments of the population. Developing effective policies and strategies for improving nutrition requires a multi-sectoral approach encompassing agricultural development policy, access to markets, food security (storage) programs, provision of public health facilities, and promotion of public awareness of nutritional health. This implies a strong need for a coordinated approach involving multiple government agencies at the district level. Due to diverse economic, agricultural,and infrastructure conditions across the country, district governments’ ought to be better placed than central government both to identify areas of greatest need for public nutrition interventions, and devise policies that reflect local characteristics. However, in the two districts observed in this study—Bantul and Gunungkidul—it was clear that local government capacity to generate, obtain and integrate evidence about local conditions into the policy-making process was still limited. In both districts, decision-makers tended to rely more on intuition,anecdote, and precedent in formulating policy. The potential for evidence-based decision making was also severely constrained by a lack of coordination and communication between agencies, and current arrangements related to central government fiscal transfers, which compel local governments to allocate funding to centrally determined programs and priorities.

Planning for smart urban ecosystems : information technology applications for capacity building in environmental decision making

Since the industrial revolution, our world has experienced rapid and unplanned industrialization and urbanization. As a result, we have had to cope with serious environmental challenges. In this context, an explanation of how smart urban ecosystems can emerge, gains a crucial importance. Capacity building and community involvement have always been key issues in achieving sustainable development and enhancing urban ecosystems. By considering these, this paper looks at new approaches to increase public awareness of environmental decision making. This paper will discuss the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), particularly Webbased Geographic Information Systems (Web-based GIS) as spatial decision support systems to aid public participatory environmental decision making. The paper also explores the potential and constraints of these webbased tools for collaborative decision making.