Higher education institutions and, particularly, polytechnic institutes in Portugal are, generally speaking, recognised as key stakeholders in regional development.However, due to the economic recession of recent years and the consequent budget constraints, higher education institutions, now more than ever, need to demonstrate the social and cultural impact of their activities within their communities and, also, their contribution to its economic development. Thus, the aim of this paper is to estimate the economic impact of a group of polytechnic institutes located in regions with diverse socioeconomic realities, by using a common methodology. This common framework enables a comparative study and a better identification of the variables that differentiate the realities of the different regions, the respective polytechnics and their impacts.

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The Item Response Theory (IRT) has become one of the most popular scoring frameworks for measurement data, frequently used in computerized adaptive testing, cognitively diagnostic assessment and test equating. According to Andrade et al. (2000), IRT can be defined as a set of mathematical models (Item Response Models-IRM) constructed to represent the probability of an individual giving the right answer to an item of a particular test. The number of Item Responsible Models available to measurement analysis has increased considerably in the last fifteen years due to increasing computer power and due to a demand for accuracy and more meaningful inferences grounded in complex data. The developments in modeling with Item Response Theory were related with developments in estimation theory, most remarkably Bayesian estimation with Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms (Patz & Junker, 1999). The popularity of Item Response Theory has also implied numerous overviews in books and journals, and many connections between IRT and other statistical estimation procedures, such as factor analysis and structural equation modeling, have been made repeatedly (Van der Lindem & Hambleton, 1997).As stated before the Item Response Theory covers a variety of measurement models, ranging from basic one-dimensional models for dichotomously and polytomously scored items and their multidimensional analogues to models that incorporate information about cognitive sub-processes which influence the overall item response process. The aim of this work is to introduce the main concepts associated with onedimensional models of Item Response Theory, to specify the logistic models with one, two and three parameters, to discuss some properties of these models and to present the main estimation procedures.

Abstract.Teaching is a complex mission that requires not only the theoretical knowledge transmission, but furthermore requires to provide the students the necessary skills for solving real problems in their respective professional activities where complex issues and problems must be frequently faced. Over more than twenty years we have been experiencing an increase in scholar failure in the scientific area of mathematics, which means that Teaching Mathematics and related areas can be even a more complex and hard task. Scholar failure is a complex phenomenon that depends on various factors as social factors, scholar factors or biophysical factors. After numerous attempts made in order to reduce scholar failure our goal in this paper is to understand the role of "Problem Based Learning" and how this methodology can contribute to the solution of both: increasing mathematical courses success and increasing skills in the near future professionals in Portugal. Before designing a proposal for applying this technique in our institutions, we decided to conduct a survey to provide us with the necessary information about and the respective advantages and disadvantages of this methodology, so this is the brief review aim.

Tourism shows a significant transformation. Therefore, knowing the perception of residents regarding its impacts can conduce to more adequate public policies, strategies, decisions and actions, more adapted to residents’ expectations, involving these stakeholders and deepening their engagement in tourism development. This study is a work in progress1. Its main objective is to identify the perceptions of residents of the Lisbon region regarding the impacts of tourism. A quantitative methodology was used to analyse respondents’ perceptions based on descriptive statistical techniques and non-parametric tests. The results of this research indicate that residents have a positive attitude concerning economic, as well as cultural, social and environmental impacts. The study also reveals differences in attitude depending on age, gender and professional activity.

The main objective of this study is to analyze scientific production from 2010 to 2021 using bibliometric analysis based on articles on social networks, stakeholders, and sea tourism published in scientific journals. In the first phase, the search criteria were chosen. In the second phase, the search was done on WoS and Scopus databases. In the third phase, papers unrelated to our study’s subject were excluded. The resulting data from the selection and exclusion criteria were compiled in the fourth phase. In the fifth phase, the data was coded using the NVIVO software, and finally, in the sixth phase, the results were analyzed. The study’s results suggest that the research related to social networks, stakeholders, and governance in tourism, particularly in sea tourism, remains an underdeveloped field. Notwithstanding, results suggest that social networks and stakeholder cooperation contribute to local sea tourism development. Considering that STEs are closely linked to local communities, this study’s findings can provide clues on future research on tourism development, public policies to support STEs, cooperation for co-creation, and information and tourism resource sharing.