The role of land as the central piece to sustainable food systems:Lessons learned from Portugal national food-related policies

This paper discusses to what extent land is considered in food-related policies from a systemic perspective.Based on existing literature and international agendas priorities,we argue that access to and preservation of land for food along the food chain play a major role in sustainable food systems.To further explore this argument,we address the following question:Where does land stand in sectorial and national food-related policies?The mul-tiple dimensions and implications of food systems and the international agenda’s priorities namely the“Right to adequate Food”,“Food Sovereignty”and the“Right to Land”,were used as our conceptual framework.To work out how land is being considered in food sectorial policies,both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to examine ten Portuguese national food-related policies.Results are showing a lack of consideration for land access and land preservation,needed all along the food chain to build a national sustainable food system.On the other hand,there is a gap between current grassroots priorities international agendas and food-related national policies.Such a situation strongly suggests that building a sustainable food system needs a clear food territorial perspective,still neglected,and shifting from sectorial policies towards a more integrated food system approach,that will include land as a central piece.

The Characteristics of Near-surface Velocity During the Upwelling Season on the Northern Portugal Shelf

Observations made on the northern Portugal mid-shelf between May 13 and June 15,2002 were used to characterise the near-surface velocity during one upwelling season. It was found that in the surface mixed layer,the 'tidal current' was diurnal,but the tidal elevation was semi-diurnal. Both the residual current and the major axes of all tidal constituents were nearly perpendicular to the isobaths and the tidal current ellipses rotated clockwise;the major axis of the major tidal ellipse was about 3 cm s-1. The extremely strong diurnal current in the surface layer was probably due to diurnal heating,cooling,and wind mixing that induced diurnal oscillations,including the diurnal oscillation of wind stress. This is a case different from the results measured in the other layers in this area. The near-inertial spectral peaks occurred with periods ranging from 1 047 min to 1 170 min,the longest periods being observed in deeper layers,and the shortest in the surface layer. Weak inertial events appeared during strong upwelling events,while strong inertial events appeared during downwelling or weak subinertial events. The near-inertial currents were out of phase between 5 m and 35 m layers for almost the entire measurement period,but such relationship was very weak during periods of irregular weak wind. Strong persistent southerly wind blew from May 12 to 17 and forced a significant water transport onshore and established a strong barotropic poleward jet with a surface speed exceeding 20 cm s-1. The subinertial current was related to wind variation,especially in the middle layers of 15 m and 35 m,the maximum correlation between alongshore current and alongshore wind was about 0.5 at the 5 m layer and 0.8 at the 35 m layer. The alongshore current reacted more rapidly than the cross-shore current. The strongest correlation was found at a time lag of 20 h in the upper layer and of 30 h in the deeper layer. The wind-driven surface velocity obtained from the PWP model had maximum amplitude of about 7 cm s-1,corresponding to a wind stress at 0.1 Pa,and the horizontal velocity shear due to thermal wind balance had the order of 3 cm s-1. So the local wind and thermal wind would only explain a part of the strong surface velocity variations.

An Agent-Based Assessment of Land Use and Ecosystem Changes in Traditional Agricultural Landscape of Portugal

This paper presents an assessment of land use changes and their impacts on the ecosystem in the Montado, a traditional agricultural landscape of Portugal in response to global environmental change. The assessment uses an agent-based model (ABM) of the adaptive decisions of farmers to simulate the influence on future land use patterns of socio-economic attributes such as social relationships and farmer reliance on subsidies and biophysical constraints. The application and development of the ABM are supported empirically using three categories of input data: 1) farmer types based on a cluster analysis of socio-economic attributes;2) agricultural suitability based on regression analysis of historical land use maps and biophysical attributes;and 3) future trends in the economic and climatic environments based on the A1fi scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Model sensitivity and uncertainty analyses are carried out prior to the scenario analysis in order to verify the absence of systematic errors in the model structure. The results of the scenario analysis show that the area of Montado declines significantly by 2050, but it remains the dominant land use in the case study area, indicating some resilience to change. An important policy challenge arising from this assessment is how to encourage next generation of innovative farmers to conserve this traditional landscape for social and ecological values.

Evolution of forest cover in Portugal: A review of the 12th–20th centuries

Portugal＇s forests in the 12th century were dominated by the Fagaceae represented by Quercus and Castanea, and several pine species From the 12th century onwards, forests underwent changes in their management starting with protection and ultimately leading to intense exploitation. The massive naval construction during the maritime expansion （mainly in the 15th-16th centuries） involved felling of approximately 5 million trees mainly Quercus suber, Pinus pinea and other Quercus species. Cumulative fuel-wood consumption of 959 Mm3 during 1300-1854 was attributed to demographic expansion while the deforestation rate during 1636-1854 accounted for a minimum of 72.6% and a maximum of 96% of total forest cover. The volume of timber used in railway sleepers from 1856 onwards might have reached 0.5 Mm3. The last quarter of the 20th century increased the forest cover of Portugal through the World Bank program of Eucalyptus globulus reforestation.

The 2018 joint international congress of ILTS,ELITA and LICAGE held in Lisbon,Portugal

The 2018 joint International congress of International Liver Transplantation Society(ILTS),European Liver and Intestine Transplant Association(ELITA)and Liver Intensive Care Group of Europe(LICAGE)was held in Lisbon,the capital of Portugal,from May 23 to 26,2018.Congress program chair is Nancy Kwan Man from University of Hong Kong,China,and ILTS President is Patrizia Burra from Padova

Pleistocene Birds of Gruta Nova da Columbeira(Bombarral-Portugal):A Paleontological and Paleoenvironmental Aproach

Discovered in 1962,the Columbeira cave has a Mousterian sequence dated between 101 and 35 Ka(U-series)and between 28,900 and 18,000 BP 14C.Excavations recovered abundant lithic implements and provided rich assemblage of vertebrates,including mammals,reptiles,birds and a remain of Homo neanderthalensis.In this work,authors present the taxonomy at the level of genus and species of the bird assemblage and its possible relationship with the paleoenvironments in which they lived.Thirteen species of birds have been identified out of 283 bones.Most of these bones are very fragmented and unsuitable for identification down to species or the genus level.Nevertheless,it is possible to say that the species vary through the sequence and that the assemblage is dominated by Pyrrhocorax,Corvus,Columba Turdus and Alectoris.

The Upper Mixed Layer during Coastal Upwelling Events on the Northern Portugal Shelf

The upper mixed layer (UML) depth obtained from temperature is very close to that from density:the maximum is about 15m. This indicates that temperature is a good indicator of mixed layer during measurements. When the surface heat flux is balanced by a cross-shore heat flux, the surface mixed layer depth obtained from the WM model (Weatherly and Martin, 1978),hPRT, is roughly the same as observed. The mixed layer depth calculated from the PWP model (Price, Weller and Pinkel, 1986) is close to the depth obtained from thermistor chain temperature data. The results show that both the WM model and PWP model can provide a good estimate of stratification in the study area during the cruise. The value of log( h/u3) is about 9.5 in the study area, which shows that the study area is strongly stratified in summer. Observations on the northern Portugal shelf reveal high variability in stability, giving rise to semi-diurnal, semi-monthly and diurnal oscillations, and long term variations. The fortnightly oscillations are highlighted by post-springs and post-neaps. The stirring of spring tide is reinforced by strong wind mixing which brings about complete vertical homogeneity everywhere. The semi-diurnal periodic stratification is very pronounced because the major axis of the tidal ellipse is orientated acrossshore, even though the tidal current is weak in this area, the maximum stratification is observed around the middle of ebb, and, the water at this time is much warmer. The diurnal oscillation results from the upper ocean response to heating and wind mixing when solar heating warms and stabilizes the upper ocean. There is a clear relationship between upper mixed layer depth and wind-stress magnitude at subtidal frequencies. Stronger winds result in a deeper surface mixed layer. Typically, the surface mixed layer depth lags the wind stress by 6 -12 h.

Pleistocene Birds of Gruta da Furninha （Peniche-Portugal）： A Paleontological and Paleoenvironmental Aproach

The cave-site of Gruta da Furninha is a coastal karstic cavity. In the late 19th century, excavation of the sedimentary infill of the cave allowed the identification of two lithostratigraphic units： a Holocene one dominated by sands, containing human bones and a Neolithic industry; and a Late Pleistocene one, containing a diverse set of fossils set and Paleolithic artifacts. This study mainly focuses on taphonomic and palaeoenvironmental data concerning the Pleistocene bird bones that were collected from six layers （at 11 m and 6.7 m asl）. A main result of this study was the discovery of a left humerus fragment, with osteological features of the Alcidae family; from comparison with upper arms of distinct species of this family, it was concluded that this fossil belongs to Penguin impennis. The Pleistocene birds of the Furninha cave were also compared with the avifauna that currently occurs in the region of Peniche peninsula and a climate and environmental interpretation of the Pleistocene fossiliferous set is provided.

New Dinosaur Tracks from the Lower Barremian of Portugal (Areia do Mastro Formation, Cape Espichel)

We present a new tracksite with multiple dinosaur tracks from the lowermost Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) of the Cape Espichel (Sesimbra, Portugal). The tracks are localized on three beds on the top carbonate beds of the Areia do Mastro Formation. Those bioclastic, nodular limestones were deposited in a very shallow subtidal-intertidal, restricted lagoon environment. The track surfaces are very dinoturbated, with a substantial number of tracks. Several tracks assign to sauropods, ornithopods and theropods dinosaurs were recorded. Due to heavy bioturbation and the preservation conditions, it is not possible to define trackways;some preliminary work done on the tracks could disclose some behaviours of their producers. Several species of carnivore and herbivore dinosaurs crossed that large area at different times. Herbivores may have used the lagoon margin as passage between feeding spots, while carnivores frequented the area to hunt in groups or individually.

Federalism and Euro-Regions in Europe： What Have We Learned From Twenty-Five Years of Cross-Border Cooperation in the Euro-region of Galicia-North Portugal？

The present paper is focused on the analysis of the European building processes from the historical perspective of federalism （from ethnic federalism to current federalism） applied to the current framework of Europeanization and cross-border cooperation in Europe. With the objective of reviewing some of its processes and impacts, an analysis structure has been set, being the main purpose to extract conclusions on the long Europeanization process undertaken by the EU institutions. One of these recent processes reached the consolidation of Euroregions as cross-border cooperation institutions within the framework of multilevel governance. For the main purpose of the paper, the following questions are raised： How has contributed the perspective of federalism to the building of cross-border institutions, namely Euroregions？ After three decades of implementation of the formal cooperation in Europe through institutions as the Euroregions, can it be confirmed that the Eurnregions are consolidated as an institutional benchmark within the cross-border cooperation in Europe （CBC-E）？ In order to answer these questions, a review of the historic perspective of ethnic federalism applied to the classical models of formal cooperation is undertaken. From this historical revision, the development of the Euroregion within the EU will be analyzed. Finally, the present paper is focused on the case study of the cross-border space that are the Autonomous Region of Galician and the Regiao Norte de Portugal, as well as its most important cooperative institution, the Euro-region Galicia-North Portugal.

Employee Downsizing of the Banking Sector in Portugal： A Case Study

Downsizing as a systematic reduction of employees is frequently utilized in order to increase productivity, efficiency, profitability, and competitiveness of firms. As a strategy of choice for many firms around the world, downsizing produces far-reaching financial, organizational, and social consequences. Despite the large body of literature, there is inconclusive evidence as to whether downsizing is effective and whether it generates the widely anticipated financial benefits. An in-depth review of the literature suggests that most downsized organizations have failed to yield economic benefits. This case study examined whether Portugal＇s eight largest banks realized their financial objectives upon the execution of downsizing activities during their recent 2008-2010 endeavors. Financial performance was measured through employee efficiency, profitability, and asset quality. Six hypotheses were defined using six different financial ratios which were deemed as integral tools for measuring financial performance of deposit-accepting banks. The secondary data were analyzed within a defined framework of two distinct phases： pre- and post-downsizing phases. A key statistical tool, the paired sample t-test, was applied to determine whether there were statistically significant differences in the ratios between the two timeframes. The analysis demonstrated that there were statistically significant differences between the pre- and post-downsizing ratios of loans per employee and deposits per employee. In contrast, no statistically significant difference was found in return on assets （ROA）, return on equity （ROE）, loans to assets, and non-performing loans to loans ratios. On the basis of this analysis, the study has concluded that downsized large Portuguese banks have largely failed to achieve their projected financial objectives.

Portugal and the Curse of Cain:The Birth of the Transatlantic Slave“Trade”,1421-1441

This article investigates the role of Portugal in the birth of the transatlantic slave trade.For a long time,most explanations of this traffic by American historians divorced the so-called“Old World”slave trade from the New World slave trade.This historiography blamed Christopher Columbus for the latter trade,while writing Portugal out of Atlantic history.Recent research,however,has shown that Portugal was the first country to claim the governance of the Atlantic Ocean and to trade in African slaves across the Atlantic.In an attempt to bring a much-needed African perspective to balance this Eurocentric debate,I question the notion of“trade”in the transatlantic slave trade.I suggest that this“trade”originated not in commerce,but in the Portuguese,pioneer role as slave raiders on the coast of Western Africa,a role spuriously justified by an invented Curse of Cain.The Pope confirmed this role with a bull granting Portugal exclusive rights to capture African slaves and trade them in Europe.This neglected original slave-raiding chapter is the precedent without which the transatlantic slave trade is dangerously misunderstood.

ZTE to Build SDR Network for Portugal's Optimus

ZTE Corporation, a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, announced on February 24, 2010 that Optimus will be deploying its software define radio （SDR） multi-mode solution, enabling the operator to upgrade its GSM/UMTS network in Portugal and providing a smooth evolution path to LTE. ZTE＇s SDR network will include SDR RAN, network management system, and operation systems and software （NMS/OSS）, enabling Optimus to optimize current 2G/3G services and smoothly upgrade to LTE.

Immigration in Portugal： An Approach to ＂Lusophone＂ Media System

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the ＂Lusophone＇＇l media system, inside the ＂Lusophone＂ migration system, from the perspective of data collected in an empirical work. For this purpose, we discuss the concept of ＂Lusophone＂ and ＂Lusophone＂ migration system, and we present the context of immigration in Portugal. The empirical work involved 14 in-depth interviews2 and started by presenting, in broad strokes, some important aspects relating to the history of ＂Lusophone＂. The analysis of the interviews was sustained in the theories of economic and political ＂world-system＂ developed by Braudel （1949） and Wallerstein （2004） and extended to the concept of migration systems of Kritz and Zlotnik （1992）. Their proposals were further developed by the Portuguese sociologist Baganha （2009） who defended the particularity of a ＂Lusophone＂ migration system. Based on those concepts, we describe the theoretical and empirical research and methodological procedures, stressing the trajectories of migration, social mobility and consumption of media and Information Communication Technologies （ICT）. We analyze the interviews, highlighting the similarities and differences, regarding the uses and consumptions of media and ICTs, between Brazilians and Finally based on the results, we discuss the characteristics the citizens from Portuguese-speaking African Countries of this ＂Lusophone＂ media system.

A Friendly Visit across Europe,Asia and Africa:Sidelights on the Visit of H.E.Ji Bingxuan to the Republic of Congo,Portugal and Tanzania

The visit to three countries took 10 days and nights via 8 flights. From 11 to 20 December, a fifteen-member delegation led by H.E. Ji Bingxuan, Deputy Chairman, Standing Committee of National People’s Congress and President of the Chinese Association for International Understanding(CAFIU) visited the Republic of Congo,Portugal and Tanzania.

Governmental Support and Internal Control in Tourism Sector in Portugal

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the operational risk of organizations,requiring its management through Internal Control Systems(ICS).The tourism sector in Portugal,one of the largest and most competitive,was also one of the most affected by the pandemic,which emerged in March 2020.The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the perception of tourism managers about the relationship between the existence of internal control and risk mitigation in their companies.We present a quantitative study carried out by questionnaire,sent to 830 managers from tourism companies in the region of Porto,Portugal.Most participants consider crucial the implementation of ICS and a competitive advantage in the current pandemic context.They also consider that the implementation of ICS is not accessible to all companies,but its absence does not necessarily make them more fragile.The study also concludes that besides internal control,the role of the Portuguese Government was crucial to overcome the difficulties caused by the pandemic and to ensure companies’recovery.Financial support from the government allows companies to invest in procedures to overcome the pandemic situation,such as strengthening cleanliness measures,focusing on new technologies,and creating products and/or services more attractive to consumers.This study contributes to the perception of tourism managers about internal control,highlight the need to implement risk analysis routines to manage risks that may threaten the company activities,and highlight the government’s role in business recovery.

Prospects for Science and Technology Cooperation belween the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Portugal under the Belt and Road Initiative

President Xi,focusing on building a new pattern of all-round opening up to the outside world and promoting the common prosperity and progress of all countries,put forward a major proposal for the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the maritime Silk Road in twenty-first Century.The bay area economy as an important coastal economic form,is the highlight of the current international economic map,and is a significant symbol of the world's first-class coastal city.The international first-class bay areas,such as New York Bay area,San Francisco Bay area and Tokyo Bay area,are characterized by openness,innovation,livability and internationalization.The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has four worldclass cities,name Guangzhou,Shenzhen,Hong Kong and Macao,and the Pearl River Delta city cluster.It has an open economic structure,efficient resource allocation ability,strong agglomeration and spillover function and development international communication network plays a core function of leading innovation and gathering radiation.It is an important growth pole for promoting the economic development of the maritime Silk Road and a leader in technological change.With the help of Portugal's geographical position on the maritime Silk Road and market access advantages within the EU system,the Greater Bay Area should further deepen scientific and technological cooperation,improve the ability of scientific and technological innovation of both sides,let the scientific research subjects of the bay area help Portugal's scientific and technological development,and enhance PortugaFs scientific and technological position in the EU.From the perspective of the Belt and Road Initiative,combined with the basic situation and cooperation of China,especially Guangdong,Hong Kong and Macao,and the development of science and technology in Portugal,this article explores the technological fields,policy measures that are suitable for scientific and technological cooperation between the two sides,and puts forward corresponding suggestions to contribute to the technological development of China,Portugal and the global economic and social sustainable development.

Motivations for and barriers to innovation in non-profit organizations: The case of nursing homes in Northern Portugal

To contribute to the empirical literature on innovation in non-profit organizations,this study examines innovation in Private Social Solidarity Institutions with social responses for the elderly in Northern Portugal.It enriches the literature by clarifying the concept of innovation applied to non-profit organizations,which represents a perspective different from the business context.Moreover,it is important to support the innovation decisionmaking process in similar non-profit organizations.For this study,the population was surveyed through questionnaires based on the PUBLIN research project,which has already been applied in different countries,and the targets were employees of organizations with social responses for the elderly.Our sample is small,with 28 respondent institutions and 51 employees,but it is representative,as it includes institutions from all districts in Northern Portugal.The study employed a quantitative approach,particularly factor analysis,multiple linear regression,and correlation analyses,using scales already applied in other dimensions of the social sector,to understand the effect of each innovation dimension/determinant on creativity and innovation in nonprofit organizations.The results show that in these organizations with social responses for the elderly,learning orientation,risk-taking,and job satisfaction have a positive impact on innovation.

Mercury in sediments and vegetation in a moderately contaminated salt marsh (Tagus Estuary, Portugal)

Depth variations of total mercury （Hg） and methylmercury （MeHg） concentrations were studied in cores from non-colonized sediments, sediments colonized by Halimione portulacoides, Sarcocornia fruticosa and Spartina maritima and belowground biomass, in a moderately contaminated salt marsh （Tagus Estuary, Portugal）. Concentrations in belowground biomass exceeded up to 3 （Hg） and 15 （MeHg） times the levels in sediments, and up to 198 （Hg） and 308 （MeHg） times those found in aboveground parts. Methylmercury in colonized sediments reached 3% of the total Hg, 50 times above the maximum values found in non-colonized sediments. The absence of correlations between total Hg concentrations in sediments and the corresponding MeHg levels suggested that methylation was only dependent on the environmental and microbiological factors. The analysis of belowground biomass at high-depth resolution （2 cm） provided evidence that Hg and MeHg were actively absorbed from sediments, with higher enrichment factors at layers where higher microbial activity was probably occurring. The results obtained in this study indicated that the biotransformation of Hg to the toxic MeHg could increase the toxicity of plant-colonized sediments.

Children in Disaster Risk Reduction in Portugal: Policies,Education,and (Non) Participation

International agencies and scientific research have been calling for the inclusion of children in disaster preparedness and risk reduction, to hear their voices in order to address their specific needs and vulnerabilities and harness their capabilities in terms of building community resilience. This article assesses the roles ascribed to children in policy and education for disaster risk reduction in Portugal. The approach is based on a scoping methodology that encompasses document analysis and interviews with national and local stakeholders and policymakers in the disaster risk reduction field. The research is carried out within the scope of a European funded project, CUIDAR Cultures of Disaster Resilience among Children and Young People. More specifically, the article provides an overview of the discourses on the roles ascribed to children in urban disaster risk reduction(DRR). The authors maintain that although children are often taken as a target group in urban disaster prevention and management, they are seldom considered in terms of active participation in disaster risk reduction programs in the Portuguese context. Nevertheless, our analysis shows that there is a growing awareness of the relevance of active participation by children in order to create successful DRR.