DSpace Collection:
https://hdl.handle.net/10316/27711
2024-03-28T12:13:21ZThematic Comparison between ESA WorldCover 2020 Land Cover Product and a National Land Use Land Cover Map
https://hdl.handle.net/10316/114030
Title: Thematic Comparison between ESA WorldCover 2020 Land Cover Product and a National Land Use Land Cover Map
Authors: Duarte, Diogo; Fonte, Cidália; Costa, Hugo; Caetano, Mário
Abstract: This work presents a comparison between a global and a national land cover map, namely
the ESA WorldCover 2020 (WC20) and the Portuguese use/land cover map (Carta de Uso e Ocupação
do Solo 2018) (COS18). Such a comparison is relevant given the current amount of publicly
available LULC products (either national or global) where such comparative studies enable a better
understanding regarding different sets of LULC information and their production, focus and characteristics,
especially when comparing authoritative maps built by national mapping agencies and
global land cover focused products. Moreover, this comparison is also aimed at complementing the
global validation report released with the WC20 product, which focused on global and continental
level accuracy assessments, with no additional information for specific countries. The maps were
compared by following a framework composed by four steps: (1) class nomenclature harmonization,
(2) computing cross-tabulation matrices between WC20 and the Portuguese map, (3) determining the
area occupied by each harmonized class in each data source, and (4) visual comparison between the
maps to illustrate their differences focusing on Portuguese landscape details. Some of the differences
were due to the different minimum mapping unit ofCOS18 and WC20, different nomenclatures and
focuses on either land use or land cover. Overall, the results show that whileWC20 detail is able to
distinguish small occurrences of artificial surfaces and grasslands within an urban environment,WC20
is often not able to distinguish sparse/individual trees from the neighboring cover, which is a common
occurrence in the Portuguese landscape. While selecting a map, users should be aware that differences
between maps can have a range of causes, such as scale, temporal reference, nomenclature and errors.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZThe Potential Impact of Cycling on Urban Transport Energy and Modal Share: A GIS-Based Methodology
https://hdl.handle.net/10316/114017
Title: The Potential Impact of Cycling on Urban Transport Energy and Modal Share: A GIS-Based Methodology
Authors: Monteiro, João; Sousa, Nuno; Natividade-Jesus, Eduardo; Coutinho-Rodrigues, João
Abstract: This article presents a methodology to estimate the maximum potential impact of a wellbuilt
and conserved cycling infrastructure, measured as modal share for accessibility trips, as well as
the associated transport energy that can be saved in those trips. The methodology uses Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) to estimate active trip probabilities, from which the output variables can
be obtained. It was applied to a case study of a mid-sized city in Southern Europe, and results show
that an adequate cycling infrastructure can achieve cycling mode share in that city on par with the
world’s most cycling-friendly cities. Concerning transport energy, a full-cycling scenario is estimated
to reduce fossil energy intensity by approximately 20%, mainly by inducing a mode change for
residents on the closest outskirts. It is also argued that cycling investment in commuting routes will
have the most impact on reducing fossil transport energy.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZPerformance of US and European Exchange Traded Funds: A Base Point-Slack-Based Measure Approach
https://hdl.handle.net/10316/113946
Title: Performance of US and European Exchange Traded Funds: A Base Point-Slack-Based Measure Approach
Authors: Henriques, Carla; Neves, Maria E.; Conceição, Jeremias A.; Vieira, Elisabete S.
Abstract: This study evaluates the performance of United States (US) and European Exchange Traded
Funds (ETFs) using the non-oriented version of the base point-slack-based measure (BP-SBM) Data
Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model, which allows for handling negative data that can arise in some
of the metrics traditionally used in this type of analysis. Our findings show that US efficient ETFs are
considered benchmarks more often than European efficient ETFs. Nonetheless, it was possible to
conclude that European inefficient ETFs were generally less inefficient than US ETFs. Our findings
also show that ETFs’ efficiency (particularly for US ETFs) in the short run is more related to risk than
to profitability factors. This implies that as the time horizon lengthens, the importance of profitability
factors for the ETFs’ financial performance grows.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZA Survey of Approaches to Unobtrusive Sensing of Humans
https://hdl.handle.net/10316/113934
Title: A Survey of Approaches to Unobtrusive Sensing of Humans
Authors: Fernandes, José Marcelo; Silva, Jorge Sá; Rodrigues, André; Boavida, Fernando
Abstract: The increasing amount of human-related and/or human-originated data in current systems is both an opportunity
and a challenge. Nevertheless, despite relying on the processing of large amounts of data, most of the
so-called smart systems that we have nowadays merely consider humans as sources of data, not as system
beneficiaries or even active “components.” For truly smart systems, we need to create systems that are able
to understand human actions and emotions, and take them into account when deciding on the system behavior.
Naturally, in order to achieve this, we first have to empower systems with human sensing capabilities,
possibly in ways that are as inconspicuous as possible. In this context, in this article we survey existing approaches
to unobtrusive monitorization of human beings, namely, of their activity, vital signs, and emotional
states. After setting a taxonomy for human sensing, we proceed to present and analyze existing solutions for
unobtrusive sensing. Subsequently, we identify and discuss open issues and challenges in this area. Although
there are surveys that address some of the concerned fields of research, such as healthcare, human monitorization,
or even the use-specific techniques like channel state information or image recognition, as far as we
know this is the first comprehensive survey on unobtrusive sensing of human beings.2022-01-01T00:00:00Z