Abstract
The bivalve dredge fleet, considered as one of the most important artisanal fleets due to the high value of the catches, is by far the most extensively studied among the Portuguese artisanal segment. Acknowledging the growing presence of marine phycotoxins in the waters, the present study explores their impact on the revenue of the fleet that operates along the coast of mainland Portugal. The results obtained using stochastic frontier analysis models enlighten the harmful impact of algae blooms on the activity of the artisanal dredge fleets. In particular, it was observed that in the Algarve region, where the frequency and the intensity of these episodes is higher, the sustainability of the dredge fishing activity is seriously compromised by the phycotoxins.

Abstract
Among the Portuguese artisanal fishing fleets, the bivalve dredge fleet is one of the most profitable. In the last decade, after the implementation of a quotas system, the management of this fishery has been largely focused on adjusting catch to the conservation status of the resources exploited. The present work aims to understand how changes in the amount of quota attributed to each vessel each year and shifts in the quota regime affected vessel productivity. Boostrapped Malmquist indices, complemented with an efficiency assessment using a directional distance function, were used to quantify productivity changes between 1999 and 2011 for the fleets operating in two areas along the Portuguese coast (northwest and southwest). The results showed that the implementation of a weekly quota, as opposed to a daily quota, led to a significant improvement in productivity. This was mainly due to the decrease in fishing days and fuel consumption. It is predicted that the implementation of weekly quotas in the south area would lead to an overall reduction of about 12% in fishing days and fuel consumption, even though the variation in fuel consumption may be affected by the status of the resources. The results achieved provide important insights for future management actions and showed the potential advantages of applying this type of management to other fisheries worldwide, mainly those using active gear.

Abstract
This paper aims to provide an assessment of urban quality of life (QoL) of European cities from the perspective of qualified human resources. The competitiveness of cities relies increasingly in their capacity to attract highly educated workers, as they are important assets for firms when choosing a location. Qualified human resources, on the other hand, tend to value QoL over other urban features. This is why policymakers and urban planners need to evaluate QoL of cities and be provided with tools that can guide action to improvements in this area. We assess urban QoL by means of a composite indicator constructed using data envelopment analysis, based on Urban Audit data and Mercer's framework of analysis, to give account of 246 European cities. Besides presenting a ranking of the best and the worst scores of QoL, this methodology allows benchmarking strategies.

Abstract
Entry-only Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) systems are widely used in urban transports. Its main advantages include easy usability by passengers, improvement of the efficiency of revenue management, adequacy to integrate inter-modality approaches, easy cooperation between operators, systematic data collection and gathering tools, contributing to improve the planning process. This work starts with the literature review on applications of the Trip-Chaining Method (TCM) to the estimation of Origin-Destination (OD) matrices using entry-only AFC data. The main contribution of this study is to provide an OD matrix for the city of Porto, allowing to improve the quality of its public transport system. The paper reports the implementation of the TCM to estimate the alighting locations at the disaggregated level in the case study of Porto. The main assumptions adopted are: passengers start the next journey stage at or near the alighting location of their previous trip, passengers end the last trip of the day at the boarding location of the first trip of the day, passengers can only alight in the sequence of stops not yet traveled by the route / direction they boarded, passengers have a maximum interchange distance, above which the destination of that journey stage is not inferred. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Abstract
This paper describes the assessment of performance of educational services recurring to benchmarking. We adopted two perspectives for the evaluation of secondary schools, aligned with the objectives of different stakeholders. In the society perspective schools are viewed as promoting students achievement ( ideally including not only academic results but also interpersonal capacities) given the students characteristics in terms of academic abilities and socio-economic backgrounds. In the educational authorities perspective schools are viewed as transforming a set of resources ( including students with given characteristics in terms of academic abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds and also school resources, such as teachers) into students achievement. The relative performance assessment was carried out using Data Envelopment Analysis models, followed by an exploratory analysis of contextual indicators that potentially affect schools' performance, in order to understand their impact on the educational process.

Abstract
This paper presents a management model developed to promote the sustainability of artisanal fisheries, considering socioeconomic and environmental dimensions. The management of artisanal fisheries faces many challenges, including the lack of appropriate tools to support policy makers and stakeholders in the decision-making process. The model presented in this study is based on system dynamics and allows the simulation of the behavior of the artisanal dredge fishery on the south coast of Portugal, including four main species and two fleets. Two scenarios were simulated to assess the impact of regulatory measures on the system sustainability: scenario 1 simulated a permanent reduction of fishing effort, returning an improvement of biologic and economic sustainability; scenario 2 simulated the closure of one species for a period of one year to allow its recovery. It was found that although the revenue of fisheries decreases in that year, the system is able to return to the average levels of revenue three years after the closure. The study aimed to guide decision makers in the selection of the most appropriate measures toward the preservation of marine ecosystems and socioeconomic stability of fishing communities. The developed system dynamics model, combining available data with knowledge of fisheries experts, proved to be a useful scientific tool to identify management policies and organizational structures leading to greater success. This technique can be applied to the study of other fishery systems worldwide.