The use of learning management platforms in school context - a national study

This report results from a national study carried out under the Project “Educational application of learning management platforms”, supported and funded by the Computers, Networks, and Internet in Schools department of the Portuguese Ministry of Education- General Directorate for Innovation and Educational Development. This report has been developed by the ICT Competence Centre of the Faculty of Sciences- University of Lisbon, during the school year 2007/2008

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): methodologies for assessment

Marine Protected Areas are an effective way of protecting biodiversity, with potential socio-economic benefits including the enhancement of local fisheries and maintenance of ecosystem services. However, local fishing communities often fear short-term revenue losses and thus may oppose marine protected areas creation. This work includes a review of the need of having management effectiveness evaluation and its importance in providing useful information for stakeholders. Therefore, evaluation methodologies are presented and assessed in order to suggest possible approaches to the Berlengas MPA. In this case, an indicator-based approach can be relevant as a starting point, providing already some insights about the management effectiveness of Berlengas MPA. It also supports the development of a more ambitious approach such as a bio-economic model.NSBE - UN

Country-of-origin, consumer ethnocentrism and national identification: an empirical investigation of portuguese consumers´ home-country bias

This dissertation aims to investigate Portuguese consumers’ home-country bias,which isa poorly understoodphenomenon.This research project was based on a review of the relevant literature and on the collection of empirical data through an online questionnaire. The findings underline that Portuguese consumers show a positive bias towards domestic products, but this is not paired with a negative distortion in the perception of foreign products. Additionally, it is shown that consumerethnocentrism has a weak or no impact on the country-of-origin effect. The main conclusion is that the nationalist sentiment helps to understand Portuguese consumers’ home-country bias

Postoperative Recommendations for Single level Lumbar disc Herniation: A cross-section survey

Background e Objetivos: A doença discal degenerativa lombar é uma das principais causas de dor lombar. O tratamento conservador é uma abordagem de primeira linha, sendo a intervenção cirúrgica útil na minoria de doentes que não responde a esta abordagem, ou que apresenta défices neurológicos. A literatura relativa a recomendações sobre o retorno do paciente ao trabalho e reinício das atividades de vida diária após a cirurgia é escassa. Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste estudo é avaliar o consenso dos cirurgiões portugueses no que se refere às recomendações pós-operatórias sobre retorno ao trabalho e reinício das atividades domésticas e da vida diária. Métodos: Foi produzido e disseminado, através de correio eletrónico, um questionário online, utilizando os meios de divulgação da Sociedade Portuguesa de Patologia da Coluna Vertebral e da Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurocirurgia. A população-alvo consistiu em cirurgiões descritos como especialistas em cirurgia de coluna. Os participantes (n=59) descreviam prática clínica predominantemente híbrida na área de Neurocirurgia. Resultados: Quase 68% dos participantes aconselharam os pacientes a retornar ao trabalho profissional sedentário até a 4ª semana de pós-operatório. Profissões de maior stress mecânico requerem mais tempo até o início da atividade laboral. Apenas numa minoria de casos (1,7%) nenhuma recomendação foi dada aos pacientes. Atividades de baixo impacto mecânico são predominantemente iniciadas até 4 semanas, e atividades de maior stress devem ser adiadas até 4-12 semanas após a cirurgia. Metade dos cirurgiões avaliados estima referenciar para reabilitação 10% ou mais pacientes. Parâmetros neurológicos e fisiológicos suportam a indicação para reabilitação. Não foram encontradas diferenças ao comparar as recomendações dadas por cirurgiões mais e menos experientes - conforme definido pelo número de anos de prática e a carga de cirurgias anuais - para a maioria das atividades. O mesmo é válido para a comparação entre cirurgiões ortopédicos e neurocirurgiões. Não foram identificadas diferenças significativas para volume de cirurgias anuais (p=0,466), número de anos de prática (p=0,105), especialidade (p=0,833) ou tipo de prática (p=0,397) em termos de percentagem de pacientes encaminhados para reabilitação. Conclusão: Apesar de não haver diretrizes claras para orientar o período pós-operatório de pacientes tratados cirurgicamente, a prática clínica portuguesa está de acordo com a experiência e literatura internacionais.Background and Aim: Lumbar degenerative disc disease is one of the leading causes of low back and leg pain. Conservative treatment is the mainstay treatment. For some patients it is not enough, and surgical approach is needed. The literature concerning recommendations on patients' return to work and restart of daily-living activities after surgery is sparse. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess surgeons' consensus concerning the time periods until return to work and restart of housework and daily living activities. Methods: An online GoogleForms based survey was sent, via electronic mail, during January 2022, to 243 surgeons described as having expertise in spine surgery, using the dissemination means of Sociedade Portuguesa de Patologia da Coluna Vertebral and Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurocirurgia. Participants (n=59) had predominantly hybrid clinical practice in Neurosurgery field. Results: Nearly 68 % of participants advised patients to return to sedentary professional work up until the 4th postoperative week. Light and heavy workload workers were advised to wait longer until initiating work activity. Only in a minority of cases (1.7%) no recommendation was given to patients. Low mechanical impact activities are predominantly started up to 4 weeks, and higher stress activities should be further postponed (4-12 weeks after surgery). Half of the surveyed surgeons estimates to refer to rehabilitation 10% or more patients. Neurological and physiological parameters support the indication for rehabilitation. No differences were found when comparing recommendations given by more and less experienced surgeons - as defined by the number of years in practice and the burden of annual surgeries- for most activities. The same is true for the comparison between orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons. No significant differences were identified for annual surgical volume (p=0.466), number of years in practice (p=0.105), specialty (p=0.833) or practice type (p=0.397) in terms of percentage of patients referred to rehabilitation. Conclusion: Despite not having clear guidelines in postoperative management of surgically treated patients, Portuguese clinical practice is in line with international experience and literature

The B corp certification : the case of the decertified B corps in Portugal

Mestrado Bolonha em ManagementB Corps are socially responsible corporations which have had voluntarily submitted to a third-party assessment in order to be certified. To obtain the B Corp certification, companies must meet a specific set of requirements demonstrating their positive contribution to the environment and the society. The B Corp movement is seen as a global movement that aims to transform the global economy by redefining success in business. As companies participating on the movement, compete not just to be the best in the world, but also the best for the world, using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems and shifting from profiting the few to benefiting all. However, even though the B Corp movement has been growing over the years, a quarter of the companies that were once certified have given up on certification. Thence, the present study focusses on the B Corp universe in Portugal and tries to understand why the Portuguese decertified B Corps have given up on being part of the movement. The methodology chosen for this research was a mixed-method approach using as a quantitative method an online survey that was shared with the certified and decertified companies in Portugal, and as a qualitative method, interviews which were made to the two groups of companies and to the B Lab’s Country Partner. It was found that Portuguese companies withdraw from the B certification due to benefits overestimation and costs underestimation as well as the capacity of achieving a social and environmental mission without the certification.As B Corps são empresas socialmente responsáveis que se submeteram voluntariamente a uma avaliação de terceiros a fim de serem certificadas. Para obterem a certificação B Corp, as empresas devem cumprir um conjunto específico de requisitos que demonstrem a sua contribuição positiva para o ambiente e para a sociedade. O movimento B Corp é visto como um movimento global que visa transformar a economia global através da redefinição do sucesso nos negócios. Visto que as empresas participantes do movimento competem, não só para serem as melhores do mundo, mas também as melhores para o mundo, utilizando o seu poder para resolver problemas sociais e ambientais e focandose no bem comum. Contudo, embora o movimento B Corp tenha vindo a crescer ao longo dos anos, um quarto das empresas que uma vez foram certificadas desistiram da certificação. Deste modo, este estudo centra-se no universo B Corp em Portugal e tenta compreender pelo qual as empresas portuguesas que já foram B, deixaram de o ser. A metodologia escolhida para esta investigação foi uma abordagem de método misto, utilizando como método quantitativo um questionário online partilhado com as empresas certificadas e as empresas que desistiram da certificação em Portugal, e como método qualitativo, entrevistas que foram feitas aos dois grupos de empresas e ao Country Partner do B Lab. Verificou-se que as razões que levaram as empresas portuguesas a deixarem a certificação foram a sobreavaliação dos benefícios, a subavaliação dos custos e a capacidade de alcançar uma missão social e ambiental sem a certificação.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Survey of the metazoan ectoparasites of the European flounder Platichthys flesus (Linnaeus, 1758) along the north-central Portuguese coast

A survey was undertaken to identify rnetazoan ectoparasite species on the European flounder, Platichthys flexus (Linnaeus, 1758), in 4 different locations off the north-central Portuguese coast. Parasites of 7 different taxa were found: Caligus diaphanus, Caligus sp.. and Lepeophtheirus pectoralis (Copepoda: Caligidae); Acanthochondria cornuta (Copepoda: Chondracanthidae) Holobomolochus confusus (Copepoda: Bomolochidae): Nerocila orbignyi (Isopoda: Cymothoidae): and praniza larvae (Isopoda: Gnathiidae). Lernaeocera branchialis, a common European flounder parasite in the North and Baltic Seas, was not observed among the surveyed fish. Caligus diaphanus, Caligus sp., and Nerocila orbignyi are new host records. The high prevalence and intensity values recorded for L. pectoralis and A. cornuta suggest that both parasite species are common to the European flounder along the north-central Portuguese coast. In contrast, infection levels with respect to the other parasite taxa were, in most cases, comparatively lower, thereby indicating that they only occur occasionally among flounders in the surveyed area

Playgrounds going wrong: study of the adult style and children's rights during recess in an early childhood and primary education center

Recent perspectives on Pedagogy for Early Childhood Education emphasize children's participation in line with the Children's Rights Convention. The study aimed to analyse how children's rights are dealt with during recess in a school (Early Childhood and Primary Education) in Portugal. The aims were: to characterize the style of the adult (teaching assistants) and the interactions that are established with the children at the playground/recess, and analyse them in terms of children's rights. The qualitative approach was based on the observation during the recess for three weeks. The Adult Style Observation Schedule for Early Childhood Education (ASOS-ECE) was used to register and code the dynamics of six teaching assistants (3 ECE and 3 PE). Critical incidents were also registered. Statistical analysis of the ASOS-ECE levels were complemented with the content analysis of the notes. The playground space was quite limited and affected children's play and well-being. The outdoor playground was never used for the Early Childhood classes, only for Primary Education students but with little supervision. Children were often deprived of playground time by decision of the teaching assistants, as punishment. The results obtained through the Adult Style Observation Schedule for Early Childhood Education (ASOS-ECE) are not satisfactory and are below what would meet the minimum quality value (3,5). For Early Childhood Education, sensibility is the most valued dimension but with very low levels (<2,5). For Primary Education it was autonomy that scored highest (<2,5). The analysis of the notes/critical incidents highlighted articles 12 (expression of own views), 13 (freedom of expression), 19 (protection against violence), 29 (development of personality) and 31 (rest and leisure, play and recreational activities) as being put into question by actions of the adults responsible for the children. Children's rights and well-being need to be put forward in the knowledge base for all adults working with children so that Pedagogy can fulfil its purpose fully