Cristina Amaro da Costa

Brewery and winery wastewater treatment : some focal points of design and operation

Environmental issues are a critical factor for the today industry competitiveness. Indeed, the society and the individual consumers could set a common framework for companies’ commitment and engagement regarding environment protection. Redesign the process, recover by-products or reuse effluents are some of the possible actions towards an eco-efficient strategy. Nevertheless, a point remains crucial in such mission: the ability to defend natural ecosystems from polluted wastewaters. For such purpose, a wastewater treatment plant that maximizes removal efficiency and minimizes investment and operation costs is a key factor. Brewery and winery are traditional industries with an important economic value in the agro-food sector. In 2003, the total beer production in the European Union (18 countries) was 344 x 10 m, being recorded around 1800 breweries with 110 thousand employees. If Norway, Switzerland and Turkey are also included, those numbers rise up to 358 x 10 m, 1839 units and 117 thousand, respectively. The excise revenue from beer industry in all these countries reaches over 8800 x 10 € (The Brewers of Europe, 2004). The worldwide wine production is 261 x 10 m (data from 2002), of which 69 % from Europe, 18 % from America, 5 % from Asia, 4 % from Africa and 4 % from Oceania. The worldwide wine consumption (2002) is 228 x 10 m, distributed by Europe (68 %), America (20 %), Asia (7 %), Africa (3 %) and Oceania (2 %) (OIV, 2002). This chapter intends to present some key points on design and operation in wastewater treatment of brewery and winery industries. Therefore, an introduction of the industrial processes is first presented and then wastewater characteristics and treatment processes are discussed. Finally, the experience of a collaborative effort between

Socio-constructivist teaching powered by ICT in the STEM areas for primary school

This paper aims to demonstrate the potential of using the socio-constructivism approach and Information and Communication Technologies (ITC) to engage elementary school children in STEM learning. This study is based on a group of elementary school children, who have had the opportunity to learn scientific concepts through the use of prototypes, the construction of games including the themes in question and the inclusion of ITC. Data analysis, after participant observation and semi-structured interviews, leads to the conclusion that this is an efficient method to engage children in STEM-based learning activities.

Professional training in organic food production: a cross-country experience

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to characterize the agricultural activities and past experiences in professional training in the context of mobile learning in different countries (Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Hungary, UK, Italy and Turkey). Design/methodology/approach For the survey, a questionnaire was prepared in English and Portuguese and then translated into the languages of the participating countries. It was delivered electronically for answering online by adults only. The participation was voluntary and in the end 133 consented valid questionnaires were obtained. For the treatment of the data, SPSS was used and basic descriptive statistics tools were applied, together with tests, namely, crosstabs and χ2 tests, considering a level of significance of 5 percent. Findings The results showed that the majority of the participants presently have some agricultural activity and one-third is thinking about starting one in the future. Most of the participants want to produce food organically, with significant differences among the countries studied in this paper. Most of the participants were enrolled in training activities in agriculture, especially those with higher education. This participation showed significant differences between countries as well as according to the dimension of the farms owned by the participants. A significant association was found between being a teacher in forming activities related to agriculture and being a farmer. When compared to distance learning, the training activities in classroom were the most frequent, with significant differences among the countries. Practical implications This study allowed characterizing the learning activities in the field of organic agriculture and established vision for planning of future training programs, in different countries, with maybe different social, educational and cultural realities. Originality/value Because the study included the participation of people from several countries all around Europe, the results obtained enrich the scientific area of training in organic farming, in view of distance learning vs classroom learning on a more global basis.

Integrated Pest Management in Portugal: from Policies to Practices

Integrated pest management is an ecosystem approach to crop protection that combines different control methods to reduce pesticide use and to obtain safe food products with lower environmental impact. It has increased in Europe and since 2014, it is mandatory for farmers as a basis for their crop protection strategy. Using the Portuguese context as a case study, the evolution of integrated pest management adoption is analyzed. Country statistics and survey-based data are used to highlight technical differences among farmers, their motivations and attitudes that give rise to environmental benefits and food safety. A survey was applied to vineyards and apple and pear orchards in integrated pest management and in organic and conventional farming. The collected data were related with farmer profile, farm description, farmers’ motivations towards sustainable farming practices, technical itinerary and practices related to pesticide use. A total of 177 questionnaires were applied. Integrated pest management farmers are motivated to adopt biological, biotechnical and cultural solution, even if more expensive, and to give up toxic pesticides, to reduce agricultural impacts, while producing healthier and safer products. Practices that affect crop protection and soil conservation varied between agricultural systems, and can be used as lessons to improve their quality.

Designing training in organic farming on a multinational basis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to obtain information to characterize potential trainees seeking training programs about organic farming in the form of mobile learning. This information is expected to allow for establishing a set of guidelines to design mobile training opportunities that could match the potential clients’ wishes. Design/methodology/approach – For this survey an on-line questionnaire was used, translated into the languages of the participating countries (Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Hungary, UK, Italy and Turkey), and in the end 133 consented valid questionnaires were obtained. The data analysis was made with SPSS and included basic descriptive statistics, crosstabs and χ2 tests, considering a level of significance of 5 per cent. Findings – The results obtained in the present study indicate that designing training programs in organic farming for a wide target population should attend to the differences between countries, which showed to significantly influence the preferences of the p...