Suchergebnisse

O presente artigo tem por objetivo discutir o espaço de atuação do assistente social no contexto das empresas, sobretudo o que decorre das transformações societais mais recentes (não apenas as que resultam das profundas mudanças no mercado de trabalho e da flexibilização das relações laborais, mas também da redução do Estado de Bem-Estar na proteção aos cidadãos e, consequentemente, aos trabalhadores). Para tal, começamos por fazer um breve enquadramento socio-histórico sobre o Serviço Social de Empresa, salientando os principais momentos que marcam a intervenção do assistente social ao longo das últimas décadas neste campo, as principais causas (externas e internas) associadas a estas alterações, e ainda as suas implicações no desenvolvimento de uma verdadeira política social empresarial. Já num segundo momento debruçamo-nos sobre a atualidade (sobretudo a resultante da crise económica registada na última década) para refletir sobre as possibilidades que as diversas transformações registadas ao longo deste período colocam ao Serviço Social neste campo específico, nomeadamente em termos da apropriação de novos espaços de intervenção e de reforço da presença da profissão no campo das relações laborais.

This paper addresses the effect of the increasing wind penetration on the operating performance of a diversified electricity system comprising wind, thermal, hydro and other renewable power plants. A short term optimization model is used to run the exploration planning under different wind power scenarios. The seasonality of the hydro and wind regimes and the hourly variations of supply and demand are acknowledged in the model. Simulations for the Portuguese electricity system are presented in order to establish the use of the proposed model on supporting more informed decision making for future energy strategies. The cost savings and CO2 abatement potential of wind power are estimated along with the effects on the operating performance and costs of thermal power plants. ; This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-011377 and Project ...

The literature is vast in what regards the relationship between climate change (CC) and energy, especially in the sense of pointing this sector as an inducer of greenhouse gases (GHG) and demonstrating the importance of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in mitigating these impacts. The relationships in the opposite direction, i.e. the way how CC could affect energy systems, are now being recognized as increasingly important by some international organizations and authors. This is precisely the focus of this paper, aiming to demonstrate how CC can affect RES and future electricity scenarios. The work addresses the particular case of Portugal and departed from the assessment of the impact of CC upon parameters of interest to hydro, wind and solar power production, according to international studies. This information was used as input of an optimization model for a long term power planning, resulting in the proposal of trajectories of the Portuguese electricity system under different CC assumptions. ; This research was supported by a Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme Fellowship within the 7th European Union Framework Programme, under project NETEP- European Brazilian Network on Energy Planning ...

Esse artigo pretende discutir como as transformações tecnológicas vêm influenciando a ciência geográfica, especificamente com o advento das geotecnologias. Diante de inúmeras potencialidades e aplicações na análise e gestão territorial, nós devemos refletir sobre seu real significado, que certamente ultrapassa o caráter meramente técnico. É necessário compreender a vasta dimensão social, política e econômica que abrangem. Atualmente as técnicas são cada vez mais utilizadas, aceitas e menos compreendidas, o que pode implicar riscos para a sociedade em função de interpretações equivocadas e muitas vezes desprovidas de princípios éticos. Vinte anos após a "unificação" do mundo com a queda do Muro de Berlim, o cenário sociocultural e político se redefine em um paradigma de contradições. As inovações tecnológicas funcionam como um instrumento emblemático subordinado ao mercado financeiro e a globalização marca a atual fase do capitalismo, que segue seu curso encontrando as limitações inerentes à tecnologia em que se sustenta. This paper intends to discuss how the technological changes have affected the geographical science, specifically with the advent of geotechnologies. Up against with great potential and applications in analysis and land management, we must to reflect on its real meaning, which certainly goes beyond the merely technical. It's necessary to understand the broad social, political and economic dimension wich inclued. Currently, the techniques are increasingly used, accepted and least understood, which may to implicate a risk to society due to misinterpretation and often devoid of ethical principles. Twenty years after the "unification" of the world with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the cultural and political landscape was altered in a paradigm of contradictions. Technological innovations work as a emblematic instrument subordinate to financial markets and globalization marks the current phase of capitalism, which runs its course finding the limitations inherent in the technology which supports.

Portugal has been demonstrating over the years a high dependence of imported fossil fuels, especially with regard to the transportation and electricity production sectors. The urgent need to balance supply and demand as well as the growing concern about environmental issues and reduction of external energy dependency justified an increasing interest in the exploitation of renewable energy sources (RES) looking for more efficient strategies in terms of economic and social or environmental dimensions. The electricity sector represented a clear example of this RES trend with European and Portuguese policies focused on strategies promoting renewable resources and energy efficiency. Following different studies already conducted in other countries, this paper presents an approach to a possible 100% renewable electricity scenario in Portugal, supported by the application of the model EnergyPLAN. The importance of the interconnection as stabilization measure for a system highly dependent on renewable energy sources of variable output is put in evidence. The results also established that the cost structure of each scenario is mainly driven by the low marginal cost of renewable technologies along with their high investment costs. ; This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-011377 and Project ...

Due to the increasing concern with sustainable development, renewable energy sources (RES) emerge as an important alternative for electricity production. In this context, for countries like Portugal, hydropower plants assume an important role and several incentives have been granted by the government to promote hydroelectric production. However, due to the deep economic and financial crisis of the last years, a change in the energy paradigm is taking place increasing the perceived risk factors for RES electricity producers. Therefore, this paper focus on identifying and assessing the impact of those risks associated with an investment in a small hydropower (SHP). Although the independent analysis of each risk variable showed that the project is worthwhile, the possibility of having a negative outcome was evident for the investment costs, discount rate and feed-in-tariffs variables. On the other hand, the results of the combined analysis are much less optimistic demonstrating that even under regulated tariffs the probability of having a negative NPV largely surpasses the probability of obtaining a positive ...

Biomass based power plants are one of the few renewable energy sources (RES) units that may be used as base load technologies, contributing also to the reduction of external energy dependency and of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The availability, heterogeneity and cost of the resource are however important barriers to the effective development and spread of these technologies. This paper aims to make a contribution to the evaluation of biomass power plants based on dedicated energy crops. The particular case of Portugal is analyzed and the strategic, environmental and economic interest of the project is evaluated under the present RES support schemes. The results suggest that the value of the assumed Feed-in Tariff (FIT) may not be enough to attract private investors' interest for these projects. The need for the creation of a specific FIT for this kind of biomass is highlighted and may be justified both by the perceived project risk and by the expected strategic and environmental value of these investments. ; This workwas financed by: the QREN e Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union e European Regional Development Fund and National Funds- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01- 0124-FEDER-011377 and Project ...

Biomass is a renewable energy source attracting increasing attention. At the EU level in the last years a set of activities and programs were implemented in order to support and promote the use of this source of energy. This study addresses the issue of biomass costs for electricity production and the importance of incentives schemes such as feed-in tariff for the economic development of the sector. An economic evaluation of the electricity production from biomass is presented, based on a survey of both financial and social costs applied to the Portuguese case. Economic assessment was carried out by taking into account three types of biomass: energy crops (miscanthus), forestry residues and municipal solid waste. Four set of costs were considered and included: cost of capital, cost of maintenance and operation, fuel costs and external costs. ; This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01- 0124-FEDER-011377 and Project ...

The need for the inclusion of sustainable development issues in regulatory decision making highlights the importance to expand or modify traditional regulation models frequently used in some segments of the energy sector. These models have indeed been criticised on grounds of their emphasis on cost and financial efficiency. Aspects like the security of supply and climate change are major concerns of policy makers and must be properly assessed and integrated in the regulatory environment. The European Energy Regulators are already aware of the need to expand traditional regulation, beyond pure financial analysis. However, the sustainability concept is still strongly related to the environmental dimension alone and with the internalization of these externalities on the cost functions to be used. This paper presents a comparative study of different regulatory models in three European countries (UK, Portugal and Spain), focusing on the inclusion of sustainable development concerns on these models. This review indicates that regulatory authorities recognize the importance of the integration of the social and environmental dimension along with the economic one, but the formal design of such an integrated model is still emerging. ; This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-011377 and Project ...

Housing quality is a well-established determinant for health and its relevance has been increasing in the context of sustainable development. Prior research has emphasized the importance of adequate housing for the health and comfort of householders. However, this link is still poorly characterized and understood regarding the vulnerable segments of the population. In this study, a mediation analysis is proposed to test and identify the role of energy affordability in the relationship between poor housing and health status. It resorts to microdata from the European Union-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) database, focusing on the analysis of Portugal as the case study. Research findings confirm the role of energy affordability as a mediator. The research findings supported the energy efficiency as a direct pathway with protective and preventive effect for poor health, followed by energy affordability as a mediated or indirect pathway. A complementary approach that addresses energy efficiency and energy poverty should be pursued to maximize health risk reduction.

Shaping a secure and sustainable energy future may require a set of transformations in the global energy sector. Although several studies have recognized the importance of Electric Vehicles (EVs) for power systems, no large-scale studies have been performed to assess the impact of this technology in energy systems combining a diverse set of renewable energies for electricity production and biofuels in the transportation sector such as the case of Brazil. This research makes several noteworthy contributions to the current literature, including not only the evaluation of the main impacts of EVs' penetration in a renewable electricity system but also a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) that estimates the overall level of CO 2 emissions resulted from the EVs integration. Findings of this study indicated a clear positive effect of increasing the share of EVs on reducing the overall level of CO 2 emissions. This is, however, highly dependent on the share of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in the power system and the use of biofuels in the transport sector but also on the credits resulting from the battery recycling materials credit and battery reuse credit. Our conclusions underline the importance of such studies in providing support for the governmental discussions regarding potential synergies in the use of bioresources between transport and electricity sectors. ; The researchers further like to acknowledge the financial support by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Brazil. This work has been also supported by FCT e Fundaçao para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: ...

Esse artigo pretende discutir como as transformações tecnológicas vêm influenciando a ciência geográfica, especificamente com o advento das geotecnologias. Diante de inúmeras potencialidades e aplicações na análise e gestão territorial, nós devemos refletir sobre seu real significado, que certamente ultrapassa o caráter meramente técnico. É necessário compreender a vasta dimensão social, política e econômica que abrangem. Atualmente as técnicas são cada vez mais utilizadas, aceitas e menos compreendidas, o que pode implicar riscos para a sociedade em função de interpretações equivocadas e muitas vezes desprovidas de princípios éticos. Vinte anos após a "unificação" do mundo com a queda do Muro de Berlim, o cenário sociocultural e político se redefine em um paradigma de contradições. As inovações tecnológicas funcionam como um instrumento emblemático subordinado ao mercado financeiro e a globalização marca a atual fase do capitalismo, que segue seu curso encontrando as limitações inerentes à tecnologia em que se sustenta. This paper intends to discuss how the technological changes have affected the geographical science, specifically with the advent of geotechnologies. Up against with great potential and applications in analysis and land management, we must to reflect on its real meaning, which certainly goes beyond the merely technical. It's necessary to understand the broad social, political and economic dimension wich inclued. Currently, the techniques are increasingly used, accepted and least understood, which may to implicate a risk to society due to misinterpretation and often devoid of ethical principles. Twenty years after the "unification" of the world with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the cultural and political landscape was altered in a paradigm of contradictions. Technological innovations work as a emblematic instrument subordinate to financial markets and globalization marks the current phase of capitalism, which runs its course finding the limitations inherent in the technology which supports.

Wrong investment decisions today can lead to situations in the future that will be unsustainable and lead eventually to the bankruptcy of enterprises. Therefore, good financial management combined with good capital investment decision-making are critical to survival and long-term success of the firms. Traditionally, the net present value (NPV) and discounted cash flow (DCF) methods are worldwide used to evaluate project investments. These techniques have been classified in two major groups: sophisticated and non-sophisticated. In the former group, techniques like the DCF methods (e.g. NPV and IRR) can be found. In the latter group, techniques like the Payback Period and the Accounting Rate of Return have been included. However given that, today investments are characterized by high risks and uncertainty, DCF methodologies are inadequate to deal with these issues. Some authors argue that only the techniques that can appropriately address the problem of uncertainty (like the Real Options theory) should be applied. In this paper, the major differences between DCF methods and Real Options (RO) theory will be analyzed. Using an example, the advantages of the RO theory, compared with other methods, such as the DCF methods, in the search of better decisions will be shown. This work is expected to contribute to an increase of application of the RO Theory, by showing this technique potential. ; This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01- 0124-FEDER-011377 and Project ...

Renewable energy sources (RES) emerge as a necessary condition to achieve sustainable development. Traditional evaluation models relying mainly on discounted cash-flows fail to assess the strategic dimension of the investments in RES and do not allow for properly dealing with the risk and uncertainty of these particular projects. The diffusion of the renewable energy technologies are also affected by this features, so, the way investors evaluate their investments call for the use of more sophisticated evaluation techniques. Real options theory (ROT), gives the investor the ability to account for the value inherent in the flexibility to delay an irreversible investment into the future. This paper presents an application of the ROT to a photovoltaic investment project for the particular case of the Portuguese electricity market conditions. Special attention is given to the combination of learning curves and ROT aiming to provide a new approach to the sustainable development and diffusion possibilities of renewable energy technologies. ; This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-011377 and Project ...