ICT in higher education in Portugal. Call computer assisted language learning

Este artículo pretende explorar el Aprendizaje de Lenguas Asistido por Ordenador (CALL, Computer-Assisted Language Learning) en Portugal. Para ello, se centrará en el nivel de educación superior. La escasa explotación del CALL en Portugal ha sido ampliamente estudiado en varios informes, por ejemplo, el informe encargado por la UE titulado The Impact of Information and Communications Technologies on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and on the Role of Teachers of Foreign Languages (2002: 5): "The use and employment of ICT in FLT and FLL is far from satisfactory, as ICT resources are traditionally reserved for '(computer) science' subjects, and rarely assigned to art subjects. A general lack of appropriate training of language teachers in meaningful uses of ICT tends to strengthen this trend". Este artículo abordará dichas necesidades centrándose en los resultados de proyectos europeos como POOLS. Analizaremos cuestiones relativas a los materiales en línea que pueden utilizarse para desarrollar contenidos de clases de lengua, hacienda uso de las ventajas del e-Learning.G.I. HUM 767 (ayudas a Grupos de Investigación de la Junta de Andalucía) / Editorial Comares (colección interlingua

Exploring the paths between dysfunctional attitudes towards motherhood and postpartum depressive symptoms: The moderating role of self-compassion.

Better understanding how cognitive processes operate to influence women’s depressive symptoms during the postpartum period is crucial for informing preventive and treatment approaches. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between women’s dysfunctional attitudes towards motherhood and depressive symptoms, considering the mediating role of negative automatic thoughts and the moderating role of self-compassion. A sample of 387 women in the postpartum period cross-sectionally answered a set of questionnaires to assess dysfunctional attitudes towards motherhood, negative automatic thoughts (general and postpartum-specific), depressive symptoms and self-compassion. Women with clinically significant depressive symptoms presented more dysfunctional attitudes towards motherhood, more frequent negative thoughts and lower self-compassion. More dysfunctional beliefs about others’ judgments and about maternal responsibility were associated with higher depressive symptoms, and this effect occurred through both general and postpartum-specific thoughts related to the metacognitive appraisal of the thought content. Moreover, these relationships occurred only when women presented low or moderate levels of self-compassion. These results highlight the need to comprehensively assess women’s cognitive variables during the postpartum period with appropriate measures, for the early identification of women with more dysfunctional beliefs about motherhood, who may be at higher risk of depression. Moreover, preventive/treatment approaches should aim not only to challenge women’s pre-existing dysfunctional beliefs but also to promote a more self-compassionate attitude towards themselves

Depressão Pós-Parto

A Depressão Pós-Parto caracteriza-se pela ocorrência de um episódio depressivo maior no período pós-parto. Esta condição clínica é prevalente - afeta cerca de 10 a 15% das mulheres – e tem consequências graves não só para a mãe, mas para todo o sistema familiar. Neste capítulo, é abordada a sintomatologia característica da Depressão Pós-Parto, bem como as suas principais características distintivas, que permitem estabelecer o diagnóstico diferencial com a melancolia pós-parto e com a psicose puerperal. A literatura tem identificado um conjunto de fatores de risco para a ocorrência de Depressão Pós-Parto, que são abordados neste capítulo; contudo, é necessária mais investigação que permita o estabelecimento de modelos conceptuais sólidos para esta condição clínica. Por fim, tem sido feitos avanços importantes no que diz respeito à eficácia da prevenção e tratamento da Depressão Pós-Parto, nomeadamente no que diz respeito às abordagens terapêuticas da Terapia Cognitivo-Comportamental e da Terapia Interpessoal

Corpus Gramatical do Português Língua Estrangeira (PLE) - www.corpusgramaticalple.uevora.pt

The “Corpus Gramatical do Português Língua Estrangeira (PLE)” – www.corpusgramaticalple. uevora.pt is a research project at the University of Évora which is dedicated to studying and valuing the grammatical tradition of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PLE). It focuses in particular on digital applications that make such heritage accessible to those who work in related fields, such as foreign language teaching, translation and interpretation

Syntactic Derivations of Samoan Predicates

This thesis gives a formal syntactic account of Samoan verbal classes. Samoan verbs may be divided into classes based on their observable syntactic behaviour (for example, case assignment, incorporation) or on their semantic properties (event structure, theta role assignment). The analysis aims to characterise these differences in terms of simple, lexically specified parameters. My objectives here are primarily theoretical, as opposed to descriptive. I intend to test the validity of certain linguistic assumptions using Samoan examples. My argument is informed by research conducted with Samoan speakers living in both Australia and Samoa

School curriculum practices: what is the research impact?

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to address basic questions about the relationship between the School curriculum theory and practice and the specific educational research that has been developed in it. In recent years the number of Masters and other post-graduate courses has increased in Portugal and has justified the growth of research studies. On the other hand, since 1996 the political agenda has been defined by Projects that intend to promote participant reflection about what to teach in elementary and in secondary schools (Reflexões participadas sobre o currículo do Ensino Básico, Projecto de Gestão Flexível do Currículo, Reorganização Curricular da Educação Básica, Revisão Curricular do Ensino Secundário). We intend to address the ways in which curriculum practices have been seen as research subjects. We will focus our work on a School that has frequently been a research subject. Our purpose is to problematize the relationship between research findings and the School attitude when it faces those findings.RESUMO O recente aumento de pós graduações (Mestrados e outros) e de Cursos de Complemento de Formação para obtenção do grau de licenciatura tem motivado o aparecimento em Portugal de uma razoável quantidade de pequenos estudos de investigação no âmbito da Educação. Cruzado com este facto, as Reflexões participadas sobre o currículo do Ensino Básico e Secundário (iniciadas em 1996 e 1997, respectivamente) e os sequentes Projecto de Gestão Flexível do Currículo, Reorganização Curricular da Educação Básica e Revisão Curricular do Ensino Secundário têm constituído, a par da implementação do Modelo de Gestão Autonómica das Escolas, oportunidades únicas para a investigação, nomeadamente no âmbito conceptual do currículo. Embora muitos destes estudos tenham motivações decorrentes de objectivos académicos que o enquadramento institucional em que foram realizados exige, não deixa de ser pertinente querer conhecer o seu impacto na vida e na prática curricular das Escolas, nomeadamente averiguar da sua capacidade de estímulo à mudança conceptual sobre o currículo praticado

Parental psychological distress and confidence after an infant’s birth: The role of attachment representations in parents of infants with congenital anomalies and parents of healthy infants.

The present study aimed to examine parental psychological distress and confidence after the infant’s birth, when parenting an infant with a diagnosis of a congenital anomaly, and to understand the role of attachment representations on parental adjustment. Parents of infants with a congenital anomaly (44 couples) and parents of healthy infants (46 couples) completed measures of adult attachment representations and of psychological distress and parental confidence (one month after the infant’s birth). Results showed no group differences in psychological distress. Mothers in the clinical group presented lower confidence than mothers in the comparison group, while for fathers the inverse pattern was found, showing their involvement in the caretaking of the infant. Insecure attachment representations predicted parental psychological distress, and a moderator role of group was found only for fathers; these results highlight the role of secure attachment representations as an individual resource in stress-inducing situations

Avaliação da ligação parental ao bebé após o nascimento: Análise fatorial confirmatória da versão portuguesa do Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ)

A existência de perturbações na relação mãe/pai-bebé pode ter implicações prejudiciais para ambos os membros da díade. O Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ, designado por nós como Questionário de Ligação ao Bebé após o Nascimento) foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de avaliar a existência de perturbações na relação que mães e pais estabelecem com o seu bebé. No entanto, entre os diversos estudos já realizados com este instrumento, verificam-se resultados inconsistentes relativamente à sua estrutura fatorial. No presente trabalho, conduzimos os estudos psicométricos da versão portuguesa do PBQ, um instrumento de autorresposta composto por 25 itens e com uma escala de resposta de seis pontos (de 0 – Nunca e 5 – Sempre). Uma amostra comunitária de 229 casais, cujos bebés tinham aproximadamente 6 meses, respondeu a uma bateria de questionários. A realização de análises fatoriais confirmatórias permitiu comparar seis modelos definidos com base nos estudos já realizados com este instrumento. Foi identificada como mais adequada aos nossos dados uma estrutura de um só fator, que difere da versão original do instrumento. A versão final do PBQ é constituída por 12 itens, tendo sido necessário alterar a tradução de um deles, de maneira a favorecer a sua compreensibilidade. O questionário apresentou bons índices de consistência interna e temporal, bem como valores adequados de validade convergente e discriminante. Verificou-se que os homens tendem a apresentar pontuações significativamente superiores no questionário. O PBQ constitui um instrumento de avaliação fiável e válido, passível de ser utilizado em contexto clínico e de investigação

The role of satisfaction with social support in perceived burden and stress of parents of six-month-old infants with a congenital anomaly: Actor and partner effects.

This exploratory study examined the role of satisfaction with support from family and friends on the burden and stress of parents of infants with a congenital anomaly (CA). The effects of social support were examined within the couple (actor and partner effects). Thirty-six couples whose six-month-old infant has a CA participated in this study. The parents completed questionnaires regarding satisfaction with support, burden (Impact on Family Scale–Revised) and parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index). The results showed that fathers directly benefited from the support they received from friends in reducing their burden, while mothers only indirectly benefited from it through the father’s adjustment. The pattern was different for stress: mothers directly benefited from the support they received from their family in reducing their stress levels, while fathers benefited both directly from the support they received from friends and indirectly from the support that their partners received from family. These results highlight that: 1) the different support needs of mothers and fathers (due to their different roles during transition to parenthood) and 2) the diffusion of benefits of social support within the couple should be taken into account when developing strategies to promote support to families of six-month-old infants with a CA

Depression literacy and awareness of psychopathological symptoms during the perinatal period.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize women's depression literacy during the perinatal period, including their ability to recognize clinically significant symptoms of depression. DESIGN: A quantitative, cross-sectional, survey design. SETTING: Internet communities and Web sites focused on the topics of pregnancy and motherhood. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 194 women during the perinatal period (32.5% pregnant, 67.5% postnatal) completed the survey; 34.0% had clinically significant psychopathological symptoms. Most women were married/cohabiting (82.0%) and employed (71.8%). METHODS: Women answered self-report questionnaires to assess depression literacy, symptoms of depression, emotional competence, and awareness/recognition of psychopathological symptoms. RESULTS: Women had moderate levels of depression literacy during the perinatal period, with higher literacy levels concerning depression-related characteristics than depression-related treatments. Lower education and lower income were associated with poor depression literacy, whereas prior history of psychiatric problems or treatments was associated with higher levels of depression literacy. An indirect effect through emotional competence in the relationship between depression literacy and awareness/recognition of symptoms was found: women with poor depression literacy tended to have a greater lack of emotional clarity, which negatively affected their symptom awareness and recognition. CONCLUSION: Our results support the need to improve women's mental health literacy during the perinatal period. Education on mental health topics in the context of a trusting relationship with health professionals may contribute to the promotion of women's depression literacy and emotional competence