O impacto do PISA em Portugal através dos media

O PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) tem constituído um instrumento de ação da OCDE com impacto público e influência nas políticas de educação de diversos países. Este artigo analisa a forma como o PISA e a divulgação dos resultados dos alunos portugueses foram tratados em três meios nacionais de referência de comunicação escrita entre 2001 e 2012: o jornal Diário de Notícias, o jornal semanário Expresso e a revista semanal Visão. Concluiu-se que cada vez mais os media nacionais têm vindo a desempenhar um importante papel na divulgação dos resultados do PISA, com um aumento significativo do número de peças jornalísticas, contribuindo para moldar a política de educação nacional, ao estabelecerem frequentemente relação entre o PISA e medidas de política concretas em que este programa aparece como elemento legitimador da decisão.Abstract: PISA has been an instrument of action of the OECD with public impact and influence on education policies in several countries. This article looks at how PISA and dissemination of results from Portuguese students were treated in three media of national reference between 2001 and 2012: the daily newspaper Diário de Notícias, the weekly newspaper Expresso and the weekly Visão. It was concluded that the national media have been playing an important role in disseminating the PISA results, with a significant increase in the number of news stories, helping to shape the national education policy often when establishing relationship between PISA and concrete policy measures where this program seems to appear as legitimizing element of political decision.Résumé: Le PISA a été un instrument d’action de l’OCDE avec impact sur le public et de l’influence sur les politiques éducatives dans plusieurs pays. Cet article porte sur la façon dont le PISA et la diffusion des résultats des étudiants portugais ont été traités dans trois médias de référence nationale de 2001 à 2012: le quotidien Diário de Notícias, l’hebdomadaire Expresso et l’hebdomadaire Visão. Il a été conclu que les médias nationaux ont joué un rôle important dans la diffusion des résultats du PISA, avec une augmentation significative du nombre de nouvelles, contribuant à façonner souvent la politique de l’éducation nationale, en établissant une relation entre le PISA et des mesures politiques concrètes, alors que ce programme apparaît comme élément de légitimation de la décision politique.Resumen: El PISA ha constituído un instrumento de acción de la OCDE con impacto público e influencia en las políticas de educación de diversos países. Este artículo analiza la forma como el PISA y la divulgación de los resultados de los alumnos portugueses fueron abordados en tres medios de comunicación escrita de referencia nacionales entre 2001 y 2012: el periódico diario Diário de Notícias, el periódico semanal Expresso y la revista semanal Visão. Se concluye que cada vez más los medios de comunicación nacionales han desempeñado un papel importante en la divulgación de los resultados PISA, con un aumento significativo del número de artículos periodísticos, ayudando a moldear la política de educación nacional al establecerse frecuentemente una relación entre el PISA y las medidas de política concretas en que este programa aparece como elemento legitimador de decisión política

Criação de recursos educativos digitais em contexto de "pandemia covid 19": intervenção no 1.º CEB para o desenvolvimento de competências em português

Projeto de intervenção apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Didática da Língua Portuguesa no 1.º e 2.º Ciclo do Ensino BásicoA “Pandemia Covid 19” chega a Portugal fechando as escolas em 16 de março de 2020 decretando-se o Ensino a Distância (E@D). São difundidas aulas (#Estudoemcasa) para todos os anos do Ensino Básico, através da RTP Memória. Os agrupamentos de escolas empenham-se no ensino remoto de emergência, recorrendo a plataformas como o Teams e o Classroom. Nas aulas síncronas, em sistema on-line, há dificuldades em manter os(as) alunos(as) concentrados(as) e atentos(as), sendo evidente as crescentes disparidades entre estes(as), dado que nem todos(as) dispõem de meios materiais e humanos para aderir a este tipo de ensino. Neste contexto, inicia-se o presente projeto de intervenção cujo objetivo geral é contribuir para a implementação de práticas digitais no 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico que visem o desenvolvimento de competências em Português. Em termos mais específicos, pretende-se: criar recursos educativos digitais para o ensino e a aprendizagem do Português no 1.º CEB, em situação de ensino remoto de emergência; avaliar a perceção dos docentes que utilizaram os recursos relativamente: (i) ao seu conteúdo; (ii) usabilidade; (iii) integração no contexto de ensino e aprendizagem; (iv) impacto no desenvolvimento de competências dos alunos. O paradigma de investigação é de natureza qualitativa e interpretativa, recorrendo-se, pontualmente, a dados quantitativos. Os instrumentos de recolha de dados foram a análise documental (Blogue: “Desafios do 1.º CEB- Juntos aprendemos mais” e 14 recursos educativos digitais) e o inquérito por questionário aos docentes utilizadores dos recursos criados. Dos resultados, conclui-se que o corpo docente inquirido supera os 30 anos de serviço mas tal não foi impeditivo para o uso dos recursos. Pelos testes realizados, provou-se a utilidade destes, em aulas síncronas e assíncronas. Os inquiridos salientam o desenvolvimento de outras competências, para além das de Português (e.g. TIC e Expressões). O feedback recebido dos alunos foi genericamente muito positivo.ABSTRACT The “Covid 19 Pandemic” arrives in Portugal closing the schools in 16-03-2020, leading to the decree of Remote Teaching (E@D). By means of the national TV Channel RTP Memória, classes (#Estudoemcasa) for all Primary Education years were diffused. The school groupings committed to remote emergency teaching, using platforms as the likes of Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom. In the online synchronous classes, there was difficulty in maintaining the students focused, with the growing disparities between them getting clearer, as not all of them had the material and human means to join this type of schooling. In this context, the present investigation project is initiated, with the final objective of contributing to the implementation of digital practices in the 1st Cycle of Primary Education (1.º CEB) for the development of skills in the Portuguese language. In more specific terms, the objectives are: to create digital educational resources for the teaching and learning of Portuguese in the 1st Cycle of Primary Education, in situations of emergency remote teaching; to assess the perception of the teachers that used the resources relatively to: (i) their content, (ii) usability; (iii) integration in the context of teaching and learning; (iv) impact in the development of student skills. The investigation paradigm is of qualitative and interpretative nature, punctually taking usage of quantitative data. The instruments of data gathering were the documental analysis (Blog: “Desafios do 1.º CEB - Juntos aprendemos mais“ and 14 digital educational resources) and the survey answered by the teachers who used the created resources. Of the results, it was possible to conclude that the inquired teachers have more that 30 years of service but that did not impede the usage of the resources. From the conducted tests the utility of these, both in synchronous and asynchronous classes, was proven. The inquired also highlighted the development of other skills beyond Portuguese (as: ICT and Expressions). The students’ feedback was generically very positive.N/

The effects of chemical and mechanical stresses on Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas fluorescens single- and dual-species biofilm removal

Biofilm control is mainly based on chemical disinfection, without a clear understanding of the role of the biocides and process conditions on biofilm removal. This study aims to understand the effects of a biocide (benzyldimethyldodecyl ammonium chlorideBDMDAC) and mechanical treatment (an increase of shear stress -w) on single- and dual-species biofilms formed by Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas fluorescens on high-density polyethene (HDPE). BDMDAC effects were initially assessed on bacterial physicochemical properties and initial adhesion ability. Then, mature biofilms were formed on a rotating cylinder reactor (RCR) for 7 days to assess the effects of chemical and mechanical treatments, and the combination of both on biofilm removal. The results demonstrated that the initial adhesion does not predict the formation of mature biofilms. It was observed that the dual-species biofilms were the most susceptible to BDMDAC exposure. The exposure to increasing w emphasised the mechanical stability of biofilms, as lower values of w (1.66 Pa) caused high biofilm erosion and higher w values (17.7 Pa) seem to compress the remaining biofilm. In general, the combination of BDMDAC and the mechanical treatment was synergic in increasing biofilm removal. However, these were insufficient to cause total biofilm removal (100%; an average standard deviation of 11% for the method accuracy should be considered) from HDPE.This work was financially supported by: Base Funding—UIDB/00511/2020 of LEP-ABE funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); Project Biocide_for_Biofilm—TDC/BII-BTI/30219/2017—POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030219; Germirrad—POCI-01-0247-FEDER-072237; pBio4.0—POCI-01-0247-FEDER-033298, funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and by national funds (PIDDAC) through FCT/MCTES. This study was further supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The C677T polymorphism in MTHFR is not associated with migraine in Portugal

Migraine is a debilitating disorder affecting a large proportion of the population. The effect of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (GeneID: 4524) polymorphisms in migraine etiology and development has been a theme of great interest. Several populations were evaluated with contradictory results. In this case-control study, we investigated the effect of the C677T polymorphism in MTHFR, as a genetic risk factor for migraine, in the Portuguese population. We observed that, overall, there was no significant difference in the frequencies of MTHFR C677T genotypes or of the T-allele among the Portuguese migraineurs when compared to controls. There was also no association of migraine with aura with MTHFR genotypes or with the T-allele, in contrast with previous studies. Regarding the risk of the T-allele homozygote carriers, there was an equal probability to develop migraine with aura over migraine without aura in our patients. Thus, we conclude that the C677T MTHFR polymorphism, responsible for a reduction of the MTHFR activity in folate metabolism, is not a major genetic susceptibility factor for migraine in the Portuguese population.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (POCTI-034390/99/FCT) and A.F. (SFRH/BD/ 1288/2000), M.-J.C. (POCTI-034390-PR332009-BTI), M.S. (SFRH/BD/9111/2002), C.L. (SFRH/BD/17761/ 2004

Fear of falling contributing to cautious gait pattern in women exposed to a fictional disturbing factor : a non-randomized clinical trial

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the gait pattern of elderly women with and without fall-history, with high and low fear of falling, when exposed to a disturbing factor. Materials and Methods: Forty-nine elderly women without cognitive impairment agreed to participate. Participants were divided into four groups, considering the history of falls and fear of falling. Three-dimensional gait analysis was performed to assess gait kinematics before and after exposure to the fictional disturbing factor (psychological and non-motor agent). Results: After being exposed to the perturbation, all showed shorter step length, stride length and slower walking speed. Those without fall-history and with high fear of falling showed greater changes and lower Gait Profile Score. Conclusion: The gait changes shown in the presence of a fear-of-falling causing agent led to a cautious gait pattern in an attempt to increase protection. However, those changes increased fall-risk, boosted by fear of falling

Memória a curto-prazo em idosos em lar e em centro de dia

O processo de envelhecimento caracteriza-se por alterações, incluindo a degradação em diferentes funções cognitivas entre elas a memória. Aliás, a centralidade do prejuízo/declínio da memória com o envelhecimento é rapidamente verificada se considerarmos que entre os défices cognitivos referidos num dos critérios de diagnóstico de demência do Manual Diagnóstico e Estatístico das Perturbações Mentais (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994) é precisamente o défice/prejuízo da memória o primeiro a ser referenciado, “podendo ser acompanhado por pelo menos uma das seguintes perturbações cognitivas: afasia, apraxia, agnosia ou perturbação/prejuízo nas funções executivas” (DSM-IV-TR, p. 135)

The C677T polymorphism in MTHFR is not associated with migraine

Abstract. Migraine is a debilitating disorder affecting a large proportion of the population. The effect of methylenetrathydrofolate reductase (GeneID: 4524) polymorphisms in migraine etiology and development has been a theme of great interest. Several populations were evaluated with contradictory results. In this case-control study, we investigated the effect of the C677T polymorphism in MTHFR, as a genetic risk factor for migraine, in the Portuguese population. We observed that, overall, there was no significant difference in the frequencies of MTHFR C677T genotypes or of the T-allele among the Portuguese migraineurs when compared to controls. There was also no association of migraine with aura with MTHFR genotypes or with the T-allele, in contrast with previous studies. Regarding the risk of the T-allele homozygote carriers, there was an equal probability to develop migraine with aura over migraine without aura in our patients. Thus, we conclude that the C677T MTHFR polymorphism, responsible for a reduction of the MTHFR activity in folate metabolism, is not a major genetic susceptibility factor for migraine in the Portuguese population

Fear of Falling Contributing to Cautious Gait Pattern in Women Exposed to a Fictional Disturbing Factor: A Non-randomized Clinical Trial

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the gait pattern of elderly women with and without fall-history, with high and low fear of falling, when exposed to a disturbing factor.Materials and Methods: Forty-nine elderly women without cognitive impairment agreed to participate. Participants were divided into four groups, considering the history of falls and fear of falling. Three-dimensional gait analysis was performed to assess gait kinematics before and after exposure to the fictional disturbing factor (psychological and non-motor agent).Results: After being exposed to the perturbation, all showed shorter step length, stride length and slower walking speed. Those without fall-history and with high fear of falling showed greater changes and lower Gait Profile Score.Conclusion: The gait changes shown in the presence of a fear-of-falling causing agent led to a cautious gait pattern in an attempt to increase protection. However, those changes increased fall-risk, boosted by fear of falling.Clinical Trial Registration:www.residentialclinics.gov.br, identifier: RBR-35xhj5

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio