Attitudes,knowledge and relationship behaviour relating to HIV and AIDS in contact sport.

Student Number : 9801839H - MA research report - School of Human and Community Development - Faculty of HumanitiesThe Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic has spread throughout the world and its prevalence in sport has received increasing attention. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the knowledge, attitudes and relationship behaviour with respect to HIV and AIDS among athletes participating in contact sport. In addition, this study included a preliminary investigation into whether sport participation facilitates the development of life skills which would act as a buffer against the risky behaviours that increases vulnerability to infection. A self-report questionnaire was specifically constructed to address the aims of the study. The sample comprised of 38 male athletes between the ages of 18 and 30, from the following codes of contact sport: boxing, rugby, and taekwondo in Gauteng. Content analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the participants’ responses. The findings indicated that the athletes had a good level of knowledge, but some misconceptions still remain. Attitudes of the athletes appeared to be in favour of mandatory testing and disclosure of one’s status. Positions on the participation of HIV-positive athletes in sport alternated between exclusion on the basis of safety and inclusion so as not to facilitate the proliferation of stigma. Few athletes reported continued involvement in high-risk behaviour, but it was encouraging that the largest part of participants declared exhibiting preventative behaviour. Sport participation was found to have some biopsychosocial impact on participants, which may extend to enhance health-seeking behaviour. Research findings may be fundamental in directing future AIDS prevention efforts within and beyond the sports arena

A possível interface entre Educação formal e não-formal : a escola como instrumentalizadora no processo de emancipação da comunidade e a intervenção na realidade social

O texto faz uma discussão sobre a relação entre a ampliação do acesso à escola e o caráter da escola enquanto instrumentalizadora do interesse emancipatório das camadas populares. Historicamente, a ampliação da consciência do direito à escola nas últimas décadas está totalmente associada à luta pela melhoria das condições básicas de sobrevivência, ou seja, as condições sociais, econômicas e políticas. O que queremos ressaltar é que não se pode isolar a escola do contexto histórico e dos movimentos sociais, sob pena de proceder a uma análise parcial e fragmentada do processo educacional. O fortalecimento da escola enquanto um ente a serviço dos interesses populares passa justamente pela luta para abertura dos muros da escola à comunidade. Propomos pensar nos indivíduos na sua integralidade levando em consideração os processos de humanização. Para tanto, parcerias entre a educação formal e educação não-formal representam um caminho fértil para promover o desenvolvimento humano. Assim é necessário que se faça da escola um espaço de transformação e que as escolas funcionem como centros de referência nas suas regiões de influência.The text presents a discussion of the relationship between the expansion of access to education and the nature of the school as knowledge support to the emancipator interest of the working classes. Historically, the increased awareness of the right to schooling in recent decades is fully associated with the struggle for the improvement of the basic survival, in their social, economic and political aspects. What we want to emphasize is that one can not isolate the school from the historical context and social movements, failing to carry out a partial and fragmented analysis of the educational process. The strengthening of the school as an entity to serve the interests of the people depends on the struggle to open the walls of the school to community. We propose to think individuals as a whole taking into account the processes of humanization. Therefore, partnerships between formal and nonformal education represents a fertile way to promote human development. So it is necessary to make the school a place of transformation and that schools function as referral centers in their regions of influence

Energy harvesting from the vibrations of a passing train: effect of speed variability

This paper builds on a previous study which investigated the amount of energy that could be harvested from the vibration induced by a passing train using a trackside energy harvester. In that study, the optimum parameters of the device were determined for a train passing at a particular speed. However, the effect of the train speed variability on the amount of energy harvested was not explored. In this paper a study is thus undertaken to determine this effect using experimental data from train passages at a site in the UK. Furthermore, a model is developed to investigate the optimum design parameters of the energy harvester when trains pass by at slightly different speeds. This is then validated using the experimental data. It is found that, provided the variability in the train speed is less than about 1% from the nominal speed, then a harvester tuned so that its natural frequency matches one of the trainload dominant frequencies at the line speed is a reasonable design condition

Intracellular uptake of macromolecules by brain lymphatic endothelial cells during zebrafish embryonic development

The lymphatic system controls fluid homeostasis and the clearance of macromolecules from interstitial compartments. In mammals brain lymphatics were only recently discovered, with significant implications for physiology and disease. We examined zebrafish for the presence of brain lymphatics and found loosely connected endothelial cells with lymphatic molecular signature covering parts of the brain without forming endothelial tubular structures. These brain lymphatic endothelial cells (BLECs) derive from venous endothelium, are distinct from macrophages, and are sensitive to loss of Vegfc. BLECs endocytose macromolecules in a selective manner, which can be blocked by injection of mannose receptor ligands. This first report on brain lymphatic endothelial cells in a vertebrate embryo identifies cells with unique features, including the uptake of macromolecules at a single cell level. Future studies will address whether this represents an uptake mechanism that is conserved in mammals and how these cells affect functions of the embryonic and adult brain

Imagem e território como ponto de partida para uma Educação Ambiental dialógico-problematizadora

Este artigo discute o uso da imagem em uma abordagem dialógicoproblematizadora de ensino, com base em Paulo Freire, e como esta estratégia foi aplicada no desenvolvimento do material didático Probio-Educação Ambiental (Probio-EA). Probio- EA foi produzido durante 2005 e entregue em janeiro de 2006 ao Probio/MMA. Este material consiste de dois conjuntos de portifólios contendo 45 lâminas com fotos na frente e texto no verso, além de um livro de professor e um jogo de tabuleiro. Os doisconjuntos de portifólios atuam de forma pareada, o primeiro conjunto referindo-se aos conflitos socioambientais, e o segundo se referindo às ações positivas, que estão em curso como resolução concreta de cada um dos conflitos apresentados no portifólio anterior. A abordagem dialógico- problematizadora foi implementada pela codificação dos conflitos socioambientais. A codificação foi realizada mediante a apresentação de situações reais de conflito e suas soluções, a partir de uma ou mais imagens, associadas a um pequeno texto descritivo. Assim, a codificação tem por objetivo articular os aspectos denotativos e conotativos da imagem. O processo de descodificação leva os indivíduos a interpretar a realidade codificada, revelando o que está escondido nas imagens do cotidiano e permitindo a compreensão dos conflitos socioambientais apoiados por conhecimentos científicos e tecnológicos. O processo de descodificação na abordagem dialógico-problematizadora estimula a interpretação e compreensão das situações apresentadas, aumentando a racionalidade das práticas sociais na esfera pública. O uso de pintura artística para compor um elemento educativo funcional de jogo de tabuleiro integrante do Probio-EA é analisado. Igualmente, o papel dos mapas e os conceitos científicos, tais como biomas e bacias de drenagem associados aos mapas, também são comentados. Finalmente, a estratégia conjunta de codificação-descodificação no Probio- EA vai ao encontro dos desafios contemporâneos para a Política Nacional de Educação Ambiental, especialmente na busca por justiça social e o fortalecimento da democracia.This paper discusses the use of the image in a dialogical problem-posing educational approach, based on Paulo Freire, and how this was applied in the development of the didactic material Probio-Environmental Education (Probio-EA). Probio-EA was produced during 2005 and delivered in January 2006 to Probio/MMA. This material consists of two sets of portfolios containing 45 slides with pictures on the front and text on the back, plus a teacher book and a board game. The two sets of portfolios act as a matched material; the first set refers to the socio-environmental conflicts and the second one refers to the positive actions which are in motion as concrete resolution of each conflicts presented in the former portfolio. The dialogical problem-posing educational approach was implemented by the codification of the socio-environmental conflicts. The codification was held by the presentation of real situations of conflict an their solutions, from one or more images, linked to a small descriptive text. So, the codification aims to articulate denotative and connotative aspects of signs. The decoding process leads individuals to interpret the encoded reality, once it helps revealing what is hidden in their daily images and it promotes a better understanding of the socio-environmental conflicts supported by scientific and technological literacy. The decoding process by dialogical problem-posing approach stimulates the interpretation and understanding of the conflicts situations, increasing rationality of the social practices in public sphere. The use of artistic painting to compose a functional educational element of the board game part of Probio-EA is also analyzed. Also, the role of maps and the scientific concepts such as biomes and drainage basin associated to maps are commented. Finally, this joint coding-decoding strategy in Probio-EA can meet the contemporary challenges to the Brazilian National Environmental Education Policy, especially in the search for social justice and the strengthening of the democracy

Editorial

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Editorial Team of the 1th Volume

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Editorial Team of the 1th Volume

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