Browsing by Author "Lopes, Sofia"
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Discovering the Dynamics and Impact of Motorcycle Tourism: Insights into Rural Events, Cultural Interaction, and SustainabilityPublication . Monteiro, Anabela; Lopes, Sofia; Carmo, Manuel DoThis study explores the dynamics of motorcycle tourism in rural areas and its potential contribution to sustainable and regenerative development. A bibliometric analysis of management-related publications was conducted using the Web of Science Core Collection, focusing on topics such as tourism, motivation, rurality, and motorcycling. VOSviewer software (version 1.6.20) was employed to support this analysis. Based on the literature, a theoretical framework was developed, leading to four research hypotheses that aimed to empirically examine the relationships between cultural motivation, community interaction, type of accommodation, event location, and tourist behaviour. To test these hypotheses, structured questionnaires were distributed in person during rural motorcycling events in Portugal, yielding a valid sample of 233 respondents. The data were analysed using SPSS 28 software via statistical methods to reduce dimensionality and identify latent structures, chi-square tests, and logistic regression. The results confirmed all four hypotheses, highlighting the importance of cultural motivation for return intentions, community interaction for perceived authenticity, accommodation type for destination recommendations, and event location for overall satisfaction. The study also identifies gender-related differences and reinforces the value of immersive, co-created experiences in enhancing the competitiveness of rural destinations. This theoretical contribution supports the advancement of motorcycle tourism as a sustainable niche while offering practical guidance for inclusive and regenerative tourism planning.
- As expectativas de carreira dos estudantes de hospitalidade e turismo: explorando diferenças de géneroPublication . Gomes, Conceição; Ferradosa, Ana Sofia; Lopes, SofiaThe recent growth in Portuguese tourism has been reflected by the increase in the hospitality and tourist industry, emphasizing the importance of competent professional training in this sector. The high rotation rates of personnel in this sector has been acknowledged in previous studies. Several authors have questioned whether students applying for tourism related degrees recognize the characteristics of a career in this sector. Previous studies concluded that there were barriers to gender equality. In general, men received higher wages and held higher hierarchical positions compared to women. In contrast, women were typically higher academic achievers than men. Women were also distinguished as being more concerned with social and environmental issues, while men were more entrepreneurial with a greater interest in starting their own business. This study aimed to understand undergraduate students’ expectations regarding the hospitality industry, analyzing the relative differences between gender. A survey questionnaire was conducted on students of a Portuguese higher education institution with 1st-cycle degrees related to hospitality and tourism (n=329). According to the majority of career expectations considered, there were no differences between male and female students. However, gender differences were apparent with respect to “mobility – finding job anywhere” and the ambition to “become a supervisor/manager/director”, with men revealing higher levels compared to women.
- Is integrated multitrophic aquaculture the solution to the sectors’ major challenges? – a reviewPublication . Granada, Luana; Sousa, Nádia; Lopes, Sofia; Lemos, Marco F. L.The growing demand for fish products and the dwindling productivity of marine fish stocks due to the overexploitation of fisheries place the aquaculture industry as a key contributor to the global fish supply. The intensive development of aquaculture has raised a range of environmental concerns such as effluent discharge, excessive use of resources and dependence on commercial feed. In this context, the development of sustainable aquaculture systems is becoming the cornerstone for long-term aquaculture expansion, and to achieve environmental sustainability. Integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) is regarded as a suitable approach to limit aquaculture nutrients and organic matter outputs through biomitigation. The cocultured species are used as biofilters, and each level has its own independent commercial value, providing both economic and environmental sustainability. Here, environmental issues of aquaculture and the current status of IMTA are reviewed and its future prospects discussed. Also, the opportunities to expand this systems’ complexity with increased added-value and trophic levels are introduced.
- Is integrated multitrophic aquaculture the solution to the sectors’ major challenges? – a reviewPublication . Almeida, Luana; Sousa, Nádia; Lopes, Sofia; Lemos, MarcoThe growing demand for fish products and the dwindling productivity of marine fish stocks due to the overexploitation of fisheries place the aquaculture industry as a key contributor to the global fish supply. The intensive development of aquaculture has raised a range of environmental concerns such as effluent discharge, excessive use of resources and dependence on commercial feed. In this context, the development of sustainable aquaculture systems is becoming the cornerstone for long-term aquaculture expansion, and to achieve environmental sustainability. Integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) is regarded as a suitable approach to limit aquaculture nutrients and organic matter outputs through biomitigation. The cocultured species are used as biofilters, and each level has its own independent commercial value, providing both economic and environmental sustainabil ity. Here, environmental issues of aquaculture and the current status of IMTA are reviewed and its future prospects discussed. Also, the opportunities to expand this systems’ complexity with increased added-value and trophic levels are introduced.
- Modelling integrated multi-trophic aquaculture: Optimizing a three trophic level systemPublication . Granada, Luana; Lopes, Sofia; Novais, Sara C.; Lemos, Marco F. L.As a fast-growing food production industry, aquaculture is dealing with the need for intensification due to the global increasing demand for fish products. However, this also implies the use of more sustainable practices to reduce negative environmental impacts currently associated with this industry, including the use of wild resources, destruction of natural ecosystems, eutrophication of effluent receiving bodies, impacts due to inadequate medication practices, among others. Using multi-species systems, such as integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, allows to produce economically important species while reducing some of these aquaculture concerns, through biomitigation of aquaculture wastes and reduction of diseases outbreaks, for example. Applying mathematical models to these systems is crucial to control and understand the interactions between species, maximizing productivity, with important environmental and economic benefits. Here, the application of some equations and models available in the literature, regarding basic parameters, is discussed – population dynamics, growth, waste production, and filtering rate – when considering the description and optimization of a theoretical integrated multi-trophic aquaculture operation composed by three trophic levels.