Children's access to urban gardens in Norway, India and the United Kingdom

Background: This study investigates access to gardens for children in Norway, India and the United Kingdom and their respective potentials for sustainability learning. The focus is set upon the significant variations concerning garden access within these three countries, within the specific context of urban gardening at a city scale. The article explores three case study cities: Stavanger, Norway; Mumbai, India; and Cardiff, UK. Previous research has shown that nature and garden experiences can provide play opportunities, skills and sensuous perceptions that may lead to the permanent retention of knowledge, and may awaken and unfold the child’s interests. Material and methods: Conceptualized in theories of situated learning and place-based learning, each researcher - native and/or living in Norway, UK and India, respectively - has gathered qualitative data and focused on the phenomena she found to be appropriate for the study of each respective city. The findings, based on literature studies and the author’s own experiences and observations, are presented in form of narratives. A phenomenological and hermeneutical framework and critical inquiry is used to give relevance to the complex interrelations between the three researcher’s different backgrounds and perspectives. Results: The narratives elucidate rather different characteristics, practices, activities and values related to gardens in the three cities, where children interact in multiple ways with various kinds of garden spaces. Children are typically close to nature in Stavanger, while very small ‘windowsills’ characterize the many childhood interactions with gardens in Mumbai and in Cardiff, children may have access to both private and public gardens, depending upon their circumstances. Conclusions: The three perspectives give inspirations for promoting children’s ecology, sustainability, and intergenerational learning in urban garden spaces

Estándares territoriales de innovación : análisis de las regiones de Portugal

Competitiveness among regions and innovation dynamics are intimately related and depend on a solid and effective innovation system. This study aims to measure innovativeness in different Portuguese regions and to evaluate the nature of the innovation process and the relationship between innovativeness and its region of origin. To characterize the territorial innovation processes and to identify innovation patterns by regions, it analyzes their main distinctive factors, based on the Community Innovation Survey results for each region. Thus, it compares the Portuguese regions by verifying the existence of subjacent clusters and finding out the characteristics that distinguish the different groups of regions. The results point to the existence of four groups of regions, and the factors identified are related to the innovation process, namely objectives of innovation, sources of innovation, collaborative networks, triple helix performance, and obstacles to innovation.RESUMEN: La competitividad entre las regiones y la dinámica de la innovación están íntimamente relacionadas y dependen de un sistema de innovación sólida y eficaz. Este estudio tiene como objetivo medir la capacidad de innovación en diferentes regiones portuguesas y evaluar la naturaleza del proceso de innovación y la relación entre la capacidad de innovación y su región de origen. Para la caracterización de los procesos de innovación territoriales y identificar estándares de innovación en las regiones, este artículo analiza sus factores distintivos principales, con base en los resultados de las encuestas comunitarias sobre innovación para cada región. Por lo tanto, se comparan las regiones portuguesas mediante la verificación de la existencia de agrupaciones subyacentes y descubrir las características que distinguen a los diferentes grupos de regiones. Los resultados apuntan a la existencia de cuatro grupos de regiones, y los factores identificados están relacionados con el proceso de innovación, es decir, los objetivos de la innovación, las fuentes de innovación, redes de colaboración, el funcionamiento de la triple hélice, y los obstáculos a la innovación.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Knowledge management : critical perspectives on e-business activities

This article is both a review and an agenda-setting piece. It argues that knowledge management suffers from conceptual and definitional ambiguity, oversimplification of its development processes, and methodological limitations. Nevertheless, there is a consensus in business and academia that knowledge is a key component of success and allows firms to achieve and sustains competitive advantages. In a digital era, these advantages arise from the potential of data and information that can be gathered, processed, shared, and used to improve e-business activities. Thus, this research bridges the gap in the assessment of knowledge management and e-business relationship, by applying an SEM to a large database sample of KM activities performed by European firms.N/

O desenvolvimento da literacia na criança surda: uma abordagem centrada na família para uma intervenção precoce

Os pais de uma criança surda devem estar conscientes da importância de oferecer ao seu filho ou filha surdos um ambiente favorável que lhes garanta um total desenvolvimento cognitivo, linguístico, social e emocional. Os pais devem ter um bom acesso a informação e aconselhamento que os prepare para o desafio que constitui educar uma criança surda. A comunicação é essencial para qualquer ser humano e a base do desenvolvimento linguístico e cognitivo. Usar a língua gestual à volta da criança surda e com ela, sem o intuito de a ensinar, mas usando-a como estratégia de comunicação, irá proporcionar à criança surda um instrumento de acesso à linguagem e ao conhecimento que lhe permitirão desenvolver a sua literacia.A deaf child’s literacy development: early intervention approach within the family. Parents of a deaf child must be made aware of the importance of providing their child an optimal environment in order to guarantee a full cognitive, linguistic, social and emotional development. Parents need good access to information and advice that will prepare them for the challenge that educating a deaf child means. Communication is essential for every human being, and it is the root of linguistic and cognitive development. Using sign language around the deaf child and with the child, without the strict intent of making it a learning task, but rather a communication strategy, will give the deaf child the tool to develop and access a language and knowledge that will lead to the achievement of literacy

O universo feminino na obra de Matilde Rosa Araújo

Livro de homenagem à professora Maria Emília Ricardo Marque

Plantas exóticas e invasoras na Ilha do Pico (Açores).

VI Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia - Pico 1991.As ilhas são lugares ideais para a instalasão e desenvolvimento de plantas invasoras, quer sejam trazidas por meios naturais ou pelo Homem. As plantas invasoras são bastante agressivas, e como ao chegarem a uma ilha raramente encontram os seus inimigos naturais, elas espalham-se muito rapidamente e desalojam as plantas nativas. Por um lado com a sua presença elas parecem aumentar a Biodiversidade total da Ilha, no entanto com a sua agressividade elas são responsáveis pela diminuição da Biodiversidade natural primária. As plantas exóticas, normalmente trazidas pelo Homem, com fins económicos e/ou ornamentais, podem também tornar-se plantas invasoras. É, de qualquer maneira, elas constituem uma alteração da paisagem natural. Dado que as fronteiras das ilhas são o mar e o ar é relativamente fácil, e absolutamente indispensável, que se controle a entrada de plantas exóticas, isto é, não nativas. Por outro lado deve-se fazer o controle e irradicação de todas aquelas plantas exóticas e invasoras que existam, ou sejam detectadas, nas ilhas. Segue-se uma lista de Plantas Exóticas e Invasoras detectadas na Ilha do Pico durante a Expedição Científica PICO/91, organizada pelo Departamento de Biologia da Universidade dos Açores

Ser filha de surdos: uma aventura, um privilégio

1ª parte do artigo; a 2ª parte (conclusão) foi publicada no Nº 7 (jun. 2011), p. 16-1

The 1853-1856 cholera morbus epidemic in Portugal as seen by the press

This research is part of a larger project focused on producing a History of the Popularization of Science and Technology in Portugal. The goal is to find out how scientific knowledge reached the common people in the nineteenth century, using newspapers as the main source of information. Keeping in mind the population’s limited access to written material, nevertheless each newspaper could be read daily by an estimate 30.000 people in Lisbon, which places this source as probably the most widespread vehicle to divulge the latest scientific news at the time to an unspecialised audience. With a cholera morbus epidemic which affected the second largest Portuguese town and all the northern regions, as well as the Algarve, news and reports on its evolution were considered essential. A large database was built in order to analyse the news concerning this disease in 1855 and 1856, especially the ones about prevention and treatment. These are important historical sources that give us real information on the scientific knowledge of the time and the way it was used by society

Drugs in ads and news: educating people in the nineteenth century press

This research aims at finding out how scientific knowledge reached the common people in nineteenth century Portugal, using newspapers as the main source of information. Collecting news on science and technology is part of a larger research project focused on producing a History of the Popularization of Science and Technology in Portugal, following a model already developed in the UK and the USA (Bauer 2007). This source was probably the most widespread vehicle to divulge the latest scientific news at the time to an unspecialised audience. The following themes are approached: Drug advertisements in the nineteenth century. How did scientific knowledge on diseases and treatments reach the consumer? How did newspapers deal with epidemics? What were the prevention measures and the known treatments at the time? And what was the role of newspapers as educators? Ads show us the interest on divulging new products and the role of publicity as moulder of minds. All these questions introduce us to the role of the media on the subject of social perception of science and technology and the way scientific knowledge reached the common citizen