Biblioteca Digital do IPB
Repositório de Publicações do Instituto Politécnico de Bragança
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Information systems and educational technologies to obtain a driving license in Portugal
Publication . Gonçalves, Paulo; Gonçalves, Vítor
Modernizing teaching-learning and administrative processes is crucial to meeting the challenges of contemporary society. Consequently, there is an urgent need to analyze the impact of digital transformation and technological innovation on the process of obtaining a driving license in Portugal, highlighting administrative modernization and adaptation to European directives. The Institute of Mobility and Transport (IMT) strictly regulates the driving license process. Therefore, through a literature review, this study's main objective is to explore the implications of digitalization, technological innovation, and disruptive solutions in the public sector, focusing on the driver licensing system. As a result, the role of the Internet of Things and big data in developing government products and services is explored, and educational technology is discussed, highlighting the use of simulators and e-learning platforms certified by IMT, IP (public institute) to improve candidate success and reduce accidents. Reducing bureaucracy and technologies such as augmented reality and artificial intelligence are highlighted as necessary innovations in driver training in the case study presented.
Similar patterns, different processes: Persistence and change in path-dependent land systems
Publication . Imbrechts, Lien; Azevedo, João C.; Dossche, Rebekka; Bürgi, Matthias; Verburg, Peter H.
Large-scale land use changes can lead to a fundamental reorganisation of the land and corresponding socioecological regime. These regime shifts are notably hard to detect, predict or model, often arising from unprecedented changes in technology, markets or policies. In a remote rural region in Portugal, we tracked the land use history in three parishes between 1899 and 2018, capturing multiple disruptive socioeconomic and political circumstances, to assess whether a regime shift was triggered. We used a causal historical approach that included the spatio-temporal mapping of LULC changes and a socioecological event timeline to track policy changes and other important events or circumstances. We used these, and other available (historic) literature, to contextualise local information provided in oral history interviews (OHI) that revealed land managers’ decision-making during the last 70 years. We found that during the Estado Novo dictatorship, productivism-based policies had a strong influence on the observed land use intensification, yet OHI revealed that the high level of self-sufficiency agriculture made alternative trajectories unlikely if not impossible. After the 1974 revolution, recalibration took place in the form of a rural exodus and associated land reorganisation, including tenure and production systems. Overall, semi-natural areas, which usually depend on grazing or pastoralism, strongly diminished, while natural and plantation forests expanded. Arable land areas remained relatively stable across the entire study period. Our study shows that land systems that have undergone disruptive changes in the past may continue to evolve discontinuously afterwards, without causing a socioecological regime shift or breaking path dependence.
Recomendações para o fortalecimento da educação digital inclusiva nos PALOP: Contributos a partir de um estudo de caso em Moçambique
Publication . Faustino, Florêncio; Samuel, Lino Marques; Gonçalves, Bruno F.
O presente estudo analisa boas práticas e propõe recomendações para o fortalecimento da educação digital inclusiva no ensino superior nos Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa (PALOP), com base nas perceções de docentes da Universidade Católica de Moçambique. Assumindo uma abordagem quantitativa, descritiva e exploratória, a investigação envolveu 51 docentes de diferentes áreas científicas e níveis de ensino, incidindo sobre fatores considerados essenciais para o sucesso da integração de tecnologias digitais, práticas suscetíveis de replicação noutras instituições e disponibilidade para partilha interinstitucional de experiências. Os dados foram recolhidos em formato digital e analisados através de estatística descritiva e análise de conteúdo temática das observações abertas. Os resultados evidenciam a centralidade da formação docente contínua, da existência de infraestruturas tecnológicas adequadas e do reforço do apoio técnico e institucional como pilares da transformação digital no ensino superior. Destacam-se ainda como boas práticas a utilização regular de plataformas de ensino e aprendizagem online, a criação de materiais didáticos digitais próprios, a promoção de dinâmicas de aprendizagem entre pares e o recurso a estratégias de acompanhamento remoto dos estudantes. O estudo conclui que o fortalecimento da educação digital inclusiva nos PALOP exige uma articulação entre políticas institucionais, capacitação docente, condições tecnológicas e cultura de colaboração académica, apresentando recomendações orientadas para contextos institucionais com desafios semelhantes.
Integrating Multicriteria Decision Analysis for Beekeeping Suitability: Insights from a Portuguese Honey PDO Landscape
Publication . Silveira, Carlos; Roque, Natália; Leitão, Bruno; Fernandez, Paulo; Anjos, Ofélia; Vilas-Boas, Miguel
Beekeeping plays a vital role in biodiversity conservation and local economy development, as bees are key pollinators of numerous wild plant species and agricultural crops. Accordingly, understanding the suitability of rural territories is essential to provide an overview on bee activity and support the development of more sustainable beekeeping practices. This study presents an enhanced multicriteria approach for mapping beekeeping suitability, applied to a Portuguese region renowned for its honey with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). The methodology integrates topographic, environmental and climatic criteria closely linked to bee ecology, whose relevance was prioritised in each category following expert perceptions and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). For these criteria, high-quality spatial data were compiled and processed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to evaluate landscape favourable conditions and limiting factors for beekeeping. Results indicate a comparable and significant influence of environmental and climatic criteria (43% each) relative to topographic ones (14%). Within each category, hillside exposure (63%), flora (53%) and rainfall (50%) contributions are particularly remarkable in defining the beekeeping suitability. When crossing the final suitability map with the apiary influence range, most apiaries were found in areas classified as very high suitability. This information provides valuable insights for beekeepers and policymakers, helping to optimize the beekeeping management and enhance the honey quality, particularly in PDO areas. Moreover, the proposed approach offers a scalable and adaptable framework that can be applied to other regions with beekeeping potential.Graphical AbstractThis diagram provides a concise overview of the study's core components and methodologies focused on evaluating land suitability for beekeeping. It presents a multicriteria framework developed using analytical and geoprocessing tools (AHP and GIS) and expert perceptions orientated towards mapping beekeeping suitability in a Portuguese region with PDO-certified honey production. To that end, high-quality spatial datasets covering landscape characteristics (i.e., topographic, environmental and climatic criteria) were selected, compiled and analysed for their relative importance in each category. When assigning weightings to each spatially normalised criterion (common scale with values between 0 and 1), the weighted sum result expresses the relative beekeeping suitability within and across the criteria categories. The final suitability map, which represents the weighted sum of the categories, shows a territory of excellence for the development of beekeeping activity, as it almost entirely falls into the high and very high classes. For this output, environmental and climatic categories had a significant and comparable contribution (43% each), whereas hillside exposure (63%), flora (53%) and rainfall (50%) were individually the most influential criteria. By spatially overlaying the final beekeeping suitability with the apiary influence range, it was found that most apiaries are located in areas classified as very high suitability. This integrated approach is therefore a scalable and adaptable decision-support tool to enhance apiary planning and landscape management, helping stakeholders to align ecological potential with sustainable beekeeping practices.
The Effect of Two Activation Protocols During the Transition Phase: Sprint Swimming Performance
Publication . Paiva, Daniel; Rama, Luís Manuel; Neiva, Henrique P.; Nunes, Célia Pinto; Morais, J.E.; Marinho, D.A.
The transition phase often causes athletes to lose the benefits of warm-up, so this study aimed to assess the effects of two re-warm-up protocols and a control condition without
re-warm-up on 100 m freestyle performance and the kinematic variables (stroke length (SL), stroke rate (SR), and stroke index (SI)), subjective perception of effort (RPE), and physiological variables (heart rate (HR), temperature (T), and blood lactate concentration (La−)). Twenty competitive-level swimmers completed a dryland and water warm-up,
followed by a 30 min transition phase and a 100 m freestyle simulation. Over 30 min, each swimmer randomly performed one of three re-warm-up protocols: control (remaining
seated), dryland (explosive exercises), and water (race-pace series). The three experimental re-warm-up protocols affected 100 m freestyle performance (p = 0.019; η2p = 0.189). Posthoc comparisons showed that dryland was faster than control (−0.68%, p = 0.009), whereas no significant difference was observed between water and control (−0.52%, p = 0.234). No significant differences were observed between conditions for SR, SL, RPE, or La−, whereas peak HR was lower in the control. Although water did not significantly improve performance, swimmers reported more favourable sensations during the trial. In conclusion, the dryland protocol significantly improved 100 m freestyle performance, whereas the water protocol did not produce significant performance benefits under the present conditions.