Teaching qualitative research in psychology: a look at the Portuguese reality

Qualitative research has been increasingly used in the field of psychology. Consequently, concerns about the development of students’ skills in qualitative research have arisen. The main goal of this paper is to characterize the current state of art of the qualitative research teaching in Portuguese bachelor’s degrees in psychology. A documentary analysis was performed, and the data collection was conducted through an online search: first on the website of the General Directorate of Higher Education, and afterwards on the online sites of each of the Portuguese universities where the first cycle of psychology is taught. A content analysis was made by two coders and a discussion about categories was made until a consensus was reached. The data revealed the existence of 31 undergraduate courses in psychology at 31 Portuguese teaching institutions. There were 12 undergraduate courses at 12 public universities, and 19 undergraduate courses at 19 private universities. Despite the diversity in the study plans in the degree of psychology, most of them included qualitative research methodology teaching. However, the data analysis revealed different designations of the curricular units (CUs) related to qualitative research, as well as a different number of credits (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System—ECTS). In addition, there were variations in the academic year in which the qualitative research CUs were taught and registered in their syllabi. This study indicates that undergraduate Portuguese psychology students generally have some training in qualitative research but the way it is carried out and the training contents are not uniform for all the existing degrees. It is important to reflect on the importance of qualitative research in psychology and further studies on qualitative methods teaching practices are still needed.This research was financially supported by Portuguese national funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) within the framework of the CIEC (Research Center for Child Studies of the University of Minho) projects under the references UIDB/00317/2020 and UIDP/00317/2020

Parenting during the COVID-19 lockdown in Portugal: changes in daily routines, co-parenting relationships, emotional experiences, and support networks

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged parental resources pertinent to coping with lockdowns. The main objective of this work was to study parenting during the COVID-19 lockdown. Specifically at focus were parental behaviors concerning key domains for the family (daily routine, co-parenting, emotional experience, and support network) and changes related to the pandemic and associated with the parents’ employment statuses. An online survey was carried out through an ad hoc questionnaire where participants completed questions about their sociodemographic data and rated how much their family routines, their co-parenting relationship, their emotional experiences, and the support available in the family network varied on a 5-point scale. The participants included 1384 parents, of which 286 responded to open questions regarding impactful experiences during the lockdown. The results showed differences in daily routine, co-parenting, emotional experience, and support network according to the parents’ employment statuses. Between-group comparisons showed that at-home parents caring for children with governmental aids generally revealed more positive parenting behavior changes, while at-home parents who were teleworking reported more difficulties in parent-child activities and co-parenting. Furthermore, the content analysis of the data confirmed how important themes such as family dynamics, professional activities, and the relationship with the school community were throughout the participants’ accounts of gains and losses. Overall, parents’ employment statuses are associated with diverse experiences during lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of family resources and parental resilience, particularly during circumstances jeopardizing the ever-sensitive work-family balance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Immune disease expressed in liver and platelets in an adolescent: a case report

We report a case of a 15-year-old boy with autoimmune hepatitis lacking common serologic markers and normal gammaglobulinemia associated with immune thrombocytopenia and family history of psoriasis. He presented to our department with a 4-year history of a cervical posterior lymphadenopathy and recent petechiae. Previous laboratory results 6 months before already showed hepatocellular injury. After exclusion of other causes, the diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis was made based on clinical grounds, associated immune disorder and histological features of liver biopsy

O papel do/a educador/a de infância na promoção de aprendizagens a partir de atividades centradas no brincar

Relatório de Estágio apresentado para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Educação Pré-EscolarO Presente Relatório Síntese de Prática de Ensino Supervisionada foi elaborado no âmbito do Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar, desenvolvido na Escola Superior de Educação, do Instituto Politécnico de Santarém. Neste relatório síntese, é apresentado o meu percurso da Prática de Ensino Supervisionada em Contexto de Creche e Jardim de Infância, e desenvolvida a componente investigativa, em torno da questão: “O papel do/a educador/a de infância na promoção de aprendizagens, a partir de atividades centradas no brincar.” Na primeira parte deste relatório, inserem-se as caracterizações de cada contexto educativo onde realizei a minha prática, e relato as experiências que considero mais significativas, tanto a nível pessoal como profissional, que me enriqueceram quanto futura Educadora de Infância. Na segunda parte, no que se refere à componente investigativa, é apresentada a metodologia de cariz qualitativo, com recurso a entrevistas semi diretivas a cinco Educadores/ as de Infância em diferentes fases da carreira e com experiência profissional em Creche e Jardim de Infância. Estas entrevistas permitiram-me explorar o papel do/ educador/a de infância na promoção de aprendizagens, a partir de atividades centradas no brincar e as perceções dos/as Educadores/as de Infância acerca do brincar. Por consequência, será apresentado uma análise do diário de bordo que foi realizado em campo. É ainda apresentada a análise dos resultados que culminou numa síntese comparativa dos resultados obtidos. Os resultados permitiram-me perceber que as crianças quando brincam exploram o que as rodeia, desenvolvem-se e aprendem. De forma geral, todos/as os/as Educadores/as acreditam nos benefícios e na centralidade do brincar, enquanto atividade fundamental ao desenvolvimento da aprendizagem.The present Summary Report on the Supervised Teaching Practice was elaborated in the scope of the Master's Degree in Pre-School Education, developed at the Escola Superior de Educação de Santarém, of the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém. This paper presents my course of Supervised Teaching Practice in the Context of Nursery and Kindergarten and the research component developed around the issue: The Role of the Childhood Educator in the Promotion of Learning from the Planning of Activities Centered on Playing. In the first part of this report, the characteristics of each educational context where I performed my practice are inserted: Context of Nursery, Kindergarten and for last Kindergarten, where I report the experiences that I consider most significant, both personally and professionally that have enriched me as future Childhood Educator. In the second part, which concerns the research component, is presented the methodology where semi-directive interviews were carried out to five Childhood Educators in different phases of the career and with professional experience in Nursery and Kindergarten in order to know the Role of the Child Educator in the promotion of learning from the planning of activities centered on the play and perceptions that the Childhood Educators had about playing, the results analysis and finally a comparative synthesis of the obtained results are presented. The results showed that the children when playing, they explore their surroundings, they develop themselves and learn. In general, all the Educators believe in the benefits of playing, one could realize that it is a great promoter of learning.N/

Removal and recovery of gold and platinum from aqueous solutions utilising the non-viable biomass Asolla filiculoides

Waste water from the mining industry is generally extremely complex and contains numerous species which influence the adsorption of the metals to any biomass. A variety of factors need to be addressed before treatment is considered viable. It is also beneficial to establish the binding characteristics of the metal of interest to maximise its interaction with the biomass to be utilised. Azalia filiculaides was investigated in the adsorption of gold(III), lead(II), iron(ID), copper(II) and platinum (IV). In batch studies, the optimum biomass and initial gold(III) concentrations were found to be 5 gIL and 8 mgIL respectively. The adsorption of gold(ID) is principally pH-dependent with optimal removal at pH 2. Lead(II), iron(III) and copper(II) did not compete with gold(III) adsorption under equimolar and simulated effluent conditions. Halides, with increasing affinity for gold (chloride < bromide < iodide), can affect gold uptake with the soft base, iodide, exhibiting the most inhibition (25%) and the hard base, chloride, O%. Mercaptoethanol (soft base) showed no interference in gold(III) adsorption while the presence of sulphate (hard base) and sulphite (borderline base) showed that concentrations in excess of 1 0 mM may adversely affect gold(ill) uptake, most likely due to competition for cationic sites on the biomass. Column studies, better suited to high volume treatment, indicated that a flow-rate of 5 mL/min and an initial gold(ill) concentration of 5 mgIL was optimal. Competitive effects between lead, iron, copper and gold again showed little or no interference. The halides, chloride, bromide and iodide, affect gold(ill) uptake similarly to the batch studies, while the bases mercaptoethanol and sulphate minimally affect gold(III) binding with sulphite severely hampering adsorption (70% inhibition). To optimise gold desorption, preliminary batch studies indicated that a ratio of 1:1 of adsorbentdesorbent was optimal, whilst gas purging of thiourea with oxygen, air and nitrogen decreased gold elution in proportion to decreased amounts of oxygen. A series of desorbents were utilised, in column studies, to optimise and determine the speciation of bound gold. The presence of an oxidant with thiourea enhanced desorption greater than 3 fold when compared with thiourea alone. Thiourea desorption studies, aided by the oxidant, suggest that gold is present in the + I and 0 oxidation states. Ultimately thiourea, perchloric acid and hydrochloric acid was found to be the most optimal elutant for gold (J 00% recovery). For selective metal recovery oflead and copper, pre-washing the plant material with water, utilising an acid (0.3 M nitric acid), pumping in an up-flow mode, and recycling the desorbent six times was found to be optimal elutant for gold (J 00% recovery). Cost analysis of utilising elutant versus incinerating the biomass for gold recovery indicated the latter as the most economical. Over a 5 cycle adsorption and desorption series, acid desorption before each adsorption cycle was found to result in greater than 92% desorption for lead and 96% for copper. Gold recovery was 97% with incineration. A preliminary study with gold effluent (Mine C) indicated that nickel and sulphate was removed in batch and column studies. Gold removal was found to be 100% and 4% in batch and column studies respectively. Adsorption of gold in the effluent study was accompanied by the release ofHt. Modifying the plant material with various reagents failed to identify the primary binding sites and the role of polysaccharides, proteins and lipids in gold(ill) uptake. The mode of gold binding is suggested as being initially ionic, this is very rapid, with the interaction of the anionic complex, [AuCI₄]". with the cationic biomass (PH 2). This eventually leads to the displacement of the chloride ligand(s) initiating covalent binding. Spectral studies of the chemical interaction between gold and the representative tannins indicated the protonated hydroxy groups to be responsible. All evidence suggests that the binding mechanisms of gold are not simple. Preliminary adsorption studies of platinum by Azalia filiculaides were conducted. Batch studies indicated that J gIL biomass concentration, initial platinum concentration of 20 mgIL and pH 2 are optimal, while the column studies indicated a flow-rate of! 0 rnL/min and initial platinum concentration of 20 mgIL as optimal. In the platinum effluent study, platinum showed a removal of 23 % and 2 J % for the batch and column studies respectively. Again adsorption was accompanied by //' release. Azalia filiculaides demonstrated its feasibility in the removal of gold and platinum from simulated as well as waste water solutions. Its potential viability as a biosorbent was demonstrated by the high recovery from synthetic solutions of greater than 99% for gold (2-10 mgIL), and greater than 89% for platinum (20 mgIL)

Corporificação e visões de mundo da política feminista e de mulheres na contemporaneidade : diálogos, imagens e discursos sobre marchas de mulheres (2012 – 2017)

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Departamento de Sociologia, 2018.Diversas e numerosas manifestações públicas de mulheres, nomeadas como marchas, compõem o cenário da política brasileira contemporânea, ensejando reflexões sobre formas de participação social e de afirmação de direitos na atualidade. Esta tese de doutorado busca compreender as formas contemporâneas de produção de sujeitos e demandas a partir de um conjunto de diálogos sobre feminismos contemporâneos, de imagens e de discursos produzidos no contexto das marchas. Por meio do método documentário de interpretação, são analisadas as mais expressivas marchas do período compreendido entre 2012 e 2017. A pesquisa estabelece como objeto as marchas/manifestações/protestos públicos mais numerosos ocorridos na capital do Brasil e protagonizados por mulheres, o que inclui a Marcha das Vadias (Brasília, 2012), a Marcha das Mulheres Negras (Brasília, 2015), a Marcha das Margaridas (Brasília, 2015) e a Greve Internacional de Mulheres 8M (Brasília, 2017). Pretende-se, com isso, compreender as diferentes expressividades da ação política feminista e de mulheres na contemporaneidade a partir dos conceitos de corporificação e visões de mundo, ou seja, pensar as políticas do corpo nos novos movimentos sociais e as demandas resultantes desse processo. Pretende-se, com isso, contribuir para o aprimoramento de metodologias de inteligibilidade das marchas que considerem sua legitimidade no processo de formação de agenda das políticas públicas para as mulheres.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).Various and numerous public manifestations of women, named as marches, compound the contemporary Brazilian politics scenery, providing opportunities for reflections concerning ways for the social participation and affirmation for rights nowadays. This doctoral thesis aims to comprehend the contemporary ways of production of human subjects and demands stemming from the compendium of dialogues concerning the presently feminism, the images, and speeches yield during these marches. Through the documentary method of interpretation, it is analyzed the most expressive marches during the period from 2012 to 2017. The research establishes as object the marches/manifestations/public protests which had the most significant number of people that occurred in the capital of Brazil and were led by women, which includes the “Marcha das Vadias” (Brasília, 2012), the “Marcha das Mulheres Negras” (Brasília, 2015), the “Marcha das Margaridas” (Brasília, 2015) and the International Women's Strike 8M (Brasília, 2017). The intent is to comprehend the different expressiveness of the feminist political action and women in the contemporaneity from the concepts of embodiment and worldviews. This means thinking about the body's policies in the new social movements and the demands resulting from that process. It is intended, therefore, to contribute to the improvement of methodologies of intelligibility of the marches that consider their legitimacy in the process of forming a public policy agenda for women.Plusieurs et nombreuses manifestations publiques de femmes, nommées comme marches, constituent le scénario de la politique brésilienne contemporaine, provoquant des réflexions sur les formes de participation sociale et l'affirmation des droits actuellement. Cette thèse de doctorat vise à comprendre les formes contemporaines de production de sujets et les demandes d'un ensemble de dialogues sur les féminismes contemporains, les images et les discours produits dans le contexte des marches. Au travers de la méthode documentaire d'interprétation, sont analysées les marches les plus significatives de la période entre 2012 et 2017. La recherche établit comme objet les marches/manifestations publiques les plus nombreuses dans la capitale du Brésil et menées par des femmes, parmi lesquelles les « Marcha das Vadias » (Brasília, 2012), la « Marcha das Mulheres Negras » (Brasilia, 2015), la « Marcha das Margaridas » (Brasilia, 2015) et la Grève Internationale des Femmes 8M (Brasilia, 2017). Il se prétend, avec cela, comprendre les différentes expressions de l'action politique féministe et des femmes dans le monde contemporain à partir des concepts d'incarnation et de visions du monde. Cela signifie penser aux politiques du corps dans les nouveaux mouvements sociaux et les demandes qui sont résultats de ce processus. Il se prétend, avec cela, contribuer à l'amélioration des méthodologies d'intelligibilité des marches qui considèrent leur légitimité dans le processus de formation d'un agenda de politique publique pour les femmes

Análise dos impactos das condições do transporte escolar rural no rendimento escolar dos alunos

Dissertação (mestrado)-Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Civil e Ambiental, 2010.O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em analisar os impactos das condições do transporte escolar rural (TER) no rendimento escolar dos alunos através de 2 critérios de avaliação, quais sejam: (i) variáveis do TER; e (ii) médias escolares dos alunos. As variáveis são levantadas a partir da revisão bibliográfica, que enfatiza, principalmente, os longos tempos de viagem, as distâncias percorridas, aspectos físicos do transporte e as condições das vias. Considerando tais informações, instrumentos de avaliação são desenvolvidos – 2 formulários e 2 questionários – e aplicados a alunos, professores e condutores de transporte com o ensejo de levantar os dados que caracterizem o deslocamento dos alunos até a escola, bem como o comportamento deles em sala de aula após viagem no transporte escolar. O questionário referente aos alunos aborda os seguintes aspectos: (i) avaliação das condições de deslocamento, tanto no trajeto até o ponto de embarque, quanto no deslocamento até a escola e (ii) identificação de possíveis indisposições devido ao deslocamento até a escola. Já o questionário referente aos educadores aborda assuntos como: (i) freqüência escolar; (ii) pontualidade; (iii) assiduidade; indisposições geradas pela viagem no TE; (iv) tempo de viagem; e (v) disponibilidade para estudarem em casa. Por conseguinte, os formulários fazem o levantamento das informações referentes à caracterização do veículo escolar e da rota realizada por ele. Para aplicação dos instrumentos de avaliação e análise dos impactos, propõe-se uma metodologia, cuja aplicação se deu através de um estudo de caso realizado no município de Anápolis (GO), composta por 4 etapas de procedimentos: (i) definição da área de estudo; (ii) definição da amostra; (iii) coleta de dados; e (iv) análise dos dados coletados. A análise de dados é dividida em 3 etapas: (i) caracterização do TER da área de estudo; (ii) análise das informações de deslocamento dos alunos de casa até a escola; e (iii) avaliação do rendimento escolar em função das características de deslocamento dos alunos. Por fim, realiza-se uma regressão múltipla entre os critérios mencionados anteriormente para saber se o rendimento escolar dos alunos sofre influência de suas características de deslocamento. O resultado mostra não haver associação significativa entre esses elementos. _________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe aim of this study is to analyze the impacts of rural school transport (RST) conditions in the performance of pupils through two evaluation criteria, namely: (i) RST variables, and (ii) students' average grades. Variables are raised based on the literature review, which mainly emphasizes the long travel times, travel distances, physical aspects of transportation and road conditions. Considering these data, assessment tools are developed – two forms and two questionnaires - and applied to students, teachers and the bus drivers. The purpose is to collect data which can be used to characterize the students' displacement towards school, as well as their behavior in classrooms after school bus travel. The questionnaire concerning students refers to the following aspects: (i) assessing displacement conditions, both on their way to the bus stop and in reaching school, and (ii) identification of possible ailments due to bus journey until school. On the other hand, the questionnaire relating to educators addresses issues such as: (i) school attendance, (ii) punctuality, (iii) diligence, ailments caused by the bus travel, (iv) travel time, and (v) willingness to study at home. Forms collect information relating to characterization of the school vehicle and its held route. In order to make use of assessment instruments and analysis of impacts, it is proposed a methodology, whose application is made through a case study in Anápolis (GO), and it consists of 4 procedure stages: (i) defining the area to be studied, (ii) defining the sample, (iii) data collection, and (iv) analysis of collected data. Data analysis is divided into 3 stages: (i) RST characterization of the studied area, (ii) analysis of students' displacement information from home to school, and (iii) evaluation of the academic performance considering students' displacement characteristics. Finally, it is performed a multiple consideration among the previously mentioned criteria to determine whether the pupils' performances suffer any influence regarding their displacement characteristics. As a result, there is no significant association among these elements

An investigation into the antioxidative potential and regulatory aspects of liver tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase by tryptophan and related analogues

The amino acid, tryptophan, obtained through dietary means, is metabolised by the enzymes tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO), indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and tryptophan hydroxylase. All the enzymes have an effect on circulating tryptophan levels, especially TDO, since it is the major site of tryptophan catabolism in the liver and results in the production of kynurenine metabolites, viz. kynurenine, kynurenic acid, 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid and quinolinic acid. Extrahepatically, IDO is responsible for the synthesis of the kynurenine metabolites. Tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase and IDO activity is increased by hormones or substrates such as tryptophan, and inflammation, in the case of IDO. Tryptophan availability for serotonin (5-HT) synthesis by the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase is primarily dependent on TDO activity. A study was attempted in order to ascertain whether any of the endogenous metabolites of the kynurenine and serotonergic pathways would be able to inhibit TDO activity. Results showed that although the kynurenines had no effect, the indoleamines, except for the indoleacetic acids, were able to reduce TDO activity. 6-Methoxy-2-benzoxazolinone (6-MBOA), a structural analogue to melatonin, was the most potent inhibitor with a reduction in activity of 55 % compared with the control. The pineal gland in the rat brain has been shown to have the highest IDO activity. With induction, the kynurenine metabolite concentrations of kynurenic acid and quinolinic acid are increased. The effects of both compounds were determined on the serotonergic pathway. Although kynurenic acid produced no significant effect, quinolinic acid significantly reduced N-acetylserotonin and melatonin synthesis at concentrations of lOJLM and 100 JLM respectively. Many authors have implicated oxygen derived species as causative agents in the important neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. Increased radical generation and lipid peroxidation have been suggested to be responsible for the toxic destruction of neurons, especially in the brain because of its high lipid content and oxygen demand. The brain is therefore vulnerable to oxidative attack. During inflammatory diseases, IDO is induced with a resultant increase in kynurenines. This study was also an attempt at determining the effect of kynurenines on lipid peroxidation. All metabolites of the kynurenine pathway were able to induce lipid peroxidation significantly. The antioxidative potential of various tryptophan analogues, viz. serotonin, melatonin and 6-methoxy-2-benzoxazolinone, was determined using quinolinic acid-induced lipid peroxidation. Serotonin, melatonin and 6-MBOA were able to significantly reduce quinolinic acid-induced lipid peroxidation

Rendimento académico elevado e caraterísticas psicológicas associadas: diferenciação dos alunos de mérito académico no ensino superior

O talento académico, reconhecido algumas vezes pela atribuição de prémios de mérito aos alunos com desempenhos escolares excelentes, representa um potencial importante disponível em cada país, sendo que a transformação da excelência académica em sucesso profissional tem estimulado algum investimento da comunidade científica. Neste projeto, pretende-se validar um questionário de autorrelato (Scaeger et al, 2012), construído a partir das três componentes base do comportamento sobredotado e criativo segundo Renzulli (2005): habilidades, criatividade e motivação, o qual na versão portuguesa aparece com a denominação de Inventário de Caraterísticas Psicológicas Associadas ao Desempenho Académico (ICPADA). A amostra é constituída por 1366 alunos, do 1º ciclo do ensino superior português, e distribuídos por 3 áreas de saber: Ciências e Tecnologias; Ciências Sociais e Humanas; Artes e Humanidades. Apresentam-se os resultados da análise fatorial exploratória, bem como os valores de alfa de Cronbach, os quais se revelam adequados. Os resultados nas 6 dimensões do ICPADA - Cognitivo-criativa, Motivação e Estratégias de Aprendizagem, Persistência, Interação Social, Procura de Excelência e Interesse Cultural - apontam para uma diferenciação dos alunos do grupo de mérito escolar, em relação aos colegas, em todas as dimensões analisadas, exceto na dimensão Interação Social. Discutem-se algumas formas de intervenção com os alunos de excelência académica neste nível de ensino, bem como futuras investigações sobre a temátic

Intradermal testing and immunodot may be useful in diagnosing dog allergy to meat

Background: Food allergy diagnosis in dogs usually runs through exclusion diets with provocation tests. Aims: To evaluate the diagnostic value of Intradermal Tests (IDT) and Immunodots in dogs with allergy to meat. Methods: From an allergy outpatient consultation 11 dogs suspected of food allergy were subjected to intradermal testing (IDT) for the most common dust and storage mites, grass pollens, beef, pork, lamb and chicken. Specific IgEs were commercially assessed for mites and pollens, and in immunodots to beef, pork, lamb and chicken. Results: Mean sIgE in ELISA -Absorbance -Units (EAU) was especially high to Dermatophagoides farinae (1665) Acarus siro (2063) and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (1644). IDT revealed positivity mostly for D. farinae (5 patients), D. pteronyssinus (6), beef (10), chicken (6) and pork and lamb (5). Immunodots revealed positive in all patients to beef, pork and lamb, and in 8 to chicken. Positive correlation was found between IDT and immunodot to beef and chicken. Conclusions: Avoidance of beef, pork, lamb or chicken in IDT positive dogs revealed clinical improvement. sIgE -based tests revealed quick reasonably predictive diagnosis tools in meat allergy. Molecular studies will be needed to clarify possible cross -reactions and assessment of cell immunity to identify non -IgE -mediated food allergy