Social representations of feeding people with diabetes mellitus

The aim of this study was to analyze the social representations of the diets 34 patients of the Brazilian public primary care service diagnosed with type 2 diabetes with DM2, according to how they represent their identity. Free association of words was used with responses to questions to survey social representations of food. Representations of identity were adopted from a previous study with the same participants. Normal participants eat healthily, eat little, eat greens and vegetables, avoid sweets, have positive attitudes, and maintain healthy eating habits and regular blood glucose levels. Participants who accept having the disease do not eat a lot, do not eat everything, avoid sweets, have an attitude of acceptance, and maintain inadequate eating habits and uncontrolled blood glucose. Participants with difficulties do not eat everything, do not eat a lot, do not follow the diet and eat vegetables and fruits, and have negative attitudes and altered blood glucose.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Social representations of feeding people with type-2 diabetes mellitus

The aim of this study was to analyze the social representations of the diets 34 patients of the Brazilian public primary care service diagnosed with type- 2 diabetes mellitus, according to how they represent their identity. Free association of words was used with responses to questions to survey social representations of food. Representations of identity were adopted from a previous study with the same participants. Normal participants eat healthily, eat little, eat greens and vegetables, avoid sweets, have positive attitudes, and maintain healthy eating habits and regular blood glucose levels. Participants who accept having the disease do not eat a lot, do not eat everything, avoid sweets, have an attitude of acceptance, and maintain inadequate eating habits and uncontrolled blood glucose. Participants with difficulties do not eat everything, do not eat a lot, do not follow the diet and eat vegetables and fruits, and have negative attitudes and altered blood glucose.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exosome Biogenesis, Regulation, and Function in Viral Infection

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles released upon fusion of multivesicular bodies(MVBs) with the cellular plasma membrane. They originate as intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) duringthe process of MVB formation. Exosomes were shown to contain selectively sorted functionalproteins, lipids, and RNAs, mediating cell-to-cell communications and hence playing a role in thephysiology of the healthy and diseased organism. Challenges in the field include the identificationof mechanisms sustaining packaging of membrane-bound and soluble material to these vesicles andthe understanding of the underlying processes directing MVBs for degradation or fusion with theplasma membrane. The investigation into the formation and roles of exosomes in viral infection is inits early years. Although still controversial, exosomes can, in principle, incorporate any functionalfactor, provided they have an appropriate sorting signal, and thus are prone to viral exploitation.This review initially focuses on the composition and biogenesis of exosomes. It then explores theregulatory mechanisms underlying their biogenesis. Exosomes are part of the endocytic system,which is tightly regulated and able to respond to several stimuli that lead to alterations in thecomposition of its sub-compartments. We discuss the current knowledge of how these changesaffect exosomal release. We then summarize how different viruses exploit specific proteins ofendocytic sub-compartments and speculate that it could interfere with exosome function, althoughno direct link between viral usage of the endocytic system and exosome release has yet beenreported. Many recent reports have ascribed functions to exosomes released from cells infectedwith a variety of animal viruses, including viral spread, host immunity, and manipulation of themicroenvironment, which are discussed. Given the ever-growing roles and importance of exosomesin viral infections, understanding what regulates their composition and levels, and defining theirfunctions will ultimately provide additional insights into the virulence and persistence of infections.FCT postdoctoral fellowship: (SFRH/BPD/62982/2009), FCT investigator fellowship of the Principal Investigator: (IF/00899/2013)

Hedonic and utilitarian attitudes towards technology and innovation : purchase Intentions of Audio Devices : the AirPods Case

The substantial technological growth that defines the era we are living in, involves not only improvement of current electronics features, but also launches of innovative products in the market, and both situations from the consumer electronics segment hold an uncertainty regarding the new product acceptance. As to minimize this uncertainty, brands must be aware of preferences and characteristics which drive consumers to their products, addressing properly the potential key target groups. This dissertation relies on identifying relevant dissimilarities across hedonic and utilitarian behaviour profiles concerning the smartphone consumption, the attributes most valued in electronics, and assess whether these profiles influence the consumers’ attitudes towards technology and innovation in general. On a further analysis, the research is applied to the practical case of AirPods, the new wireless earbuds from Apple, limited to the Portuguese market. From the outcomes of the study it was possible to properly differentiate two groups of smartphone users related to hedonic and utilitarian behaviours. The main findings suggest that these consumer profiles do not constitute the main driver in influencing attitudes towards technology and innovation, although they disclose a relative impact on purchase intentions of the innovative audio device from Apple. Nonetheless, demographic aspects, such as age and gender, are also highlighted due to the relatively influence they have in these attitudes. The collected analyzed data might also contribute for brand managers to better communicate to their target groups, enhancing in their products the ‘emotional side’ for the hedonics and the ‘feature side’ for the utilitarians.O crescimento tecnológico substancial que define a era em que vivemos, envolve não só uma melhoria das atuais características eletrónicas, mas também lançamentos de produtos inovadores no mercado, tendo em conta que ambas as situações no segmento de produtos de eletrónica detêm uma incerteza associada à aceitação do novo produto. Para minimizar esta incerteza, as marcas devem estar atentas às preferências e características que levam os consumidores até aos seus produtos, de forma a atrair os potenciais grupos target desejados. Esta dissertação centra-se em identificar diferenças significativas entre os perfis de comportamento hedónico e utilitário relativamente a smartphones, os atributos mais valorizados em eletrónica, e verificar se estes perfis influenciam as atitudes dos consumidores perante tecnologia e inovação em geral. Numa análise mais profunda, o estudo é aplicado ao caso prático dos AirPods, os novos phones wireless da Apple, limitado ao mercado português. Dos resultados foi possível diferenciar dois grupos de utilizadores de smartphone relacionados com comportamentos hedónicos e utilitários. As principais conclusões sugerem que estes perfis comportamentais não constituem o fator principal em determinar atitudes perante tecnologia e inovação, apesar de revelarem um relativo impacto em intenções de compra do inovador acessório de áudio da Apple. No entanto, aspetos demográficos, como idade e género, destacam-se também devido ao seu relativo impacto nas atitudes em questão. A informação analisada poderá fornecer dados aos gestores de marca para comunicarem efetivamente aos seus grupos target, evidenciando nos seus produtos o ‘lado emocional’ para os hedónicos e o ‘lado técnico’ para os utilitários

Smart cities digital transformation in Câmara Municipal de Cascais

Global urbanization trends around sustainability present great challenges for the cities. A Smart City concept has been developed as a strategy to understand and solve the needs of the citizens. The present study aspires to understand and explore the concept of Smart City in Cascais, as a municipality, in the interest of a potential urban construct that can answer to the social and ecological sustainability challenges that a society faces. A smart city is an urban construction by integrating information and communication technology that aims to create a sustainable economic development and a higher quality of life by outdoing in key areas, such as economy, mobility, environment, people, living and government. By surveying employees of Câmara Municipal de Cascais and using Digital Maturity Framework, we aim to understand the strengths and limitations of the smart city concept. Based on the insights from the survey, and the benchmark in the literature, we propose a Strategic Development for the Municipality to identify and organize different strategies aiming to maximize the benefits of the Smart City concept

Representações sociais das pessoas com diabetes mellitus: implicações no controle glicêmico

Pesquisas qualitativas envolvendo a relação entre representações sociais da alimentação, identidade e controle glicêmico não foram encontradas na literatura científica sobre o assunto. O objetivo desse estudo é analisar as representações sociais da alimentação das pessoas com diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2) conforme representam a sua identidade e suas implicações no controle glicêmico. Participaram 34 usuários com DM2 de uma unidade básica de saúde de Belo Horizonte, Brasil. Utilizou-se a associação livre de palavras com justificativas de questões para identificar as representações sociais da identidade e da alimentação. As categorias das representações identitárias foram obtidas de um estudo anterior realizado com os mesmos participantes: aqueles que se consideram “normais”; os que aceitam a doença; os inconformados e os que levam a vida com dificuldades. As categorias das representações sociais da alimentação são: comer saudável, comer verduras e frutas, comer pouco, evitar doces, não comer de tudo, não comer muito e não seguir a dieta. É necessário desenvolver estudos que aumentem o conhecimento sobre as dificuldades e as necessidades das pessoas com diabetes e que promovam o seu envolvimento e o autocuidado.Qualitative research involving the relationship between social representations of diet, identity and glycemic control was not found in the scientific literature on the subject. The objective of this study is to analyze the social representations of the diet of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) as they represent their identity and its implications for glycemic control. A total of 34 DM2 users from a basic health unit in Belo Horizonte, Brazil participated. We used the free association of words with justifications of questions to identify the social representations of identity and diet. The categories of identity representations were obtained from an earlier study conducted with the same participants: those who considered themselves "normal"; those who accept the disease; the nonconformists and those who lead a difficult life. The categories of social representations of diet are: eating healthy, eating vegetables and fruits, eating little, avoiding sweets, not eating at all, not eating too much and not following the diet. It is necessary to develop studies that increase awareness of the difficulties and needs of people with diabetes and promote their involvement and self-care.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Identity representation of users with diabetes Mellitus in primary care

As pessoas com diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2) ao descobrirem a doença experimentam rupturas na identidade e nos comportamentos. Uma das formas de se aprofundar o conhecimento da visão subjetiva da pessoa com DM 2 é buscar suas representações identitárias, fenômeno dinâmico composto pelas representações de si-mesmo e representações intergrupo. Investigar a construção das representações identitárias dos usuários com DM2 da atenção primária à saúde e sua relação com as ações de autocuidado requeridas. Utilizou-se a associação livre de palavras, solicitando aos usuários com diabetes melittus tipo 2 de uma unidade básica de saúde (n=34) que sugerissem uma palavra ou expressão, com justificativa, após a questão indutora: quando se fala em eu sou diabético, o que vem à sua mente? Os discursos foram gravados, transcritos, categorizados e interpretados pela técnica da análise do conteúdo temático-categorial e as teorias da representação social e identidade social. As interações mediadas pelos processos identitários – comparação social, atribuição social e categorização no grupo estudado, proporcionaram a construção social das representações identitárias “normal”, “aceitar a doença”, “ser inconformado”, “ter dificuldades” dos participantes com DM2. Os profissionais da saúde devem compreender o contexto permeado pelo sentido subjetivo das pessoas com DM2 alterado pela doença, além do ponto de vista biomédico.People with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) to discover the disease experience disruptions in identity and behavior. One of the ways to deepen the knowledge of the subjective view of the person with diabetes 2 is to seek their identity representations, dynamic phenomenon composed of representations of self and intergroup representations. To investigate the construction of the identity representations of users with DM2 of primary health care and its relationship with self-care actions required. We used the free word association, prompting users with diabetes mellitus type 2 in a basic health unit (n = 34) to suggest a word or phrase, with justification, after inducing question: when it comes to “I am diabetic, what comes to your mind?”. The speeches were recorded, transcribed, categorized and interpreted by analyzing the technique of thematic-categorical content and theories of social representation and social identity. The interactions mediated by identity processes – social comparison, social attribution and categorization in the study group, provided the social construction of identity representations “ normal”, “accepting the disease”, “being unaccepting, and “leading a difficult life”. Health professionals must understand the context permeated by subjective sense of people with DM2 changed by the disease, beyond the biomedical viewpoint.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cultura organizacional na escola desafio

O presente artigo apresenta os resultados do estágio-pesquisa desenvolvido na Escola Desafio, em Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, instituição especializada no atendimento a deficientes auditivos e portadores de dificuldades de aprendizagem. O objetivo do estudo foi analisar a cultura organizacional da escola e sua construção identitária. A investigação foi efetuada por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e de campo, envolvendo alunos, seus pais e profissionais da instituição. Por meio da pesquisa, verificou-se que a prática pedagógica vivida no dia-a-dia da Escola Desafio está permeada por contradições, próprias do ato educativo, no atual contexto educacional brasileiro. Verificou-se que a cultura organizacional predominante na instituição corresponde à tendência afiliativa

Intervenção educativa na diabetes mellitus

O objetivo do estudo foi propor um modelo de intervenção educativa pautado na mudança comportamental, que dialogue com as representações sociais para 34 utentes com diabetes mellitus tipo 2 da atenção primária à saúde de Belo Horizonte/Brasil. Coletaram-se os dados sócio-demográficos, clínicos e antropométricos e, através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, fez-se um levantamento das opiniões dos participantes em relação à identidade e à alimentação. Os discursos foram categorizados e analisados pela análise de conteúdo. Para ilustrar o modelo proposto da abordagem no processo de acção em saúde, utilizou-se o estudo de caso. Esse modelo inclui, na fase motivacional, a intenção, como um processo decisório pelo qual um indivíduo poderá adotar uma ação preventiva, e as representações sociais apreendidas dos participantes sobre os resultados esperados e a perceção de risco. Na fase volitiva, incluiu-se a resolução de problemas. As representações sociais levantadas e a autoeficácia influenciam a construção cognitiva dos planos de acção.The aim of this study was to propose an educational intervention based on social representations from a review of models of behavioral change. To illustrate the model we used part of the empirical representations of identity and feeding of 34 users with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a primary care unit in Belo Horizonte/Brazil. We selected to adopt the health approach process action, because this model considers the motivational stage the social representations about the contingencies that influence health behavior desired, expected outcomes, risk perception and intention as a decision-making process by which an individual may adopt a preventive measure or change risk behavior for others. In the volitional phase we included the resolution of problems. Social representations of acceptance to be diabetic and those related to feeding and self-efficacy influence the cognitive construction of action plans

A alimentação retratada no cinema: contributo das representações sociais

O objetivo desse estudo é levantar e analisar as representações sociais dos espectadores de cinema referente à alimentação retratada em filmes. Utilizou-se o Google Forms para levantar no Facebook o depoimento das pessoas que gostam de cinema sobre a alimentação retratada nesse meio comunicacional e artístico. As respostas sobre o filme mais citado foram interpretadas pela análise de conteúdo, utilizando-se a teoria das representações sociais como referencial teórico. A amostra constitui-se por 35 participantes, sendo 89,9% mulheres e 11,1% homens. Os filmes que vieram à mente dessas pessoas foram 16 e o mais citado foi Festa de Babette (26,47%). Duas categorias foram levantadas: preparar o alimento e servir o alimento. Na Festa de Babette o alimento entra primeiramente com restrição, adequado à pequena aldeia, refletindo os parâmetros conservadores e religiosos das duas irmãs, sendo somente uma fonte de alimentação. O uso da teoria das representações sociais permitiu estudar no filme A Festa de Babette as realidades sociais, os fenômenos que envolvem algumas características fundamentais da vida diária e daqueles fenômenos que incomodam as rotinas das pessoas. As representações sociais sobre alimentação das pessoas que gostam do cinema emergem quando o alimento é transformado em comida saborosa, compartilhada entre as pessoas. O sabor inovador e antes inatingível retratado no filme Festa de Babete traz a importância da alimentação, da refeição como um ato cultural e social de integração, memória, inovação, partilha, sociabilidade, subjetividade e transformação individual e social através das preparações e degustações de alimentos.The aim of this study is to survey and analyze the social representations of cinema viewers regarding the food portrayed in films. Google Forms was used to raise on Facebook the testimony of people who like cinema about the food portrayed in this communicational and artistic medium. The answers about the most cited film were interpreted by content analysis, using the theory of social representations as a theoretical framework. The sample consists of 35 participants, 89.9% women and 11.1% men. There were 16 films that came to mind and the most mentioned was Babette's Feast (26.47%). Two categories were raised: preparing the food and serving the food. At the Babette’s Feast, food first enters restrictions, suitable for the small village, reflecting the conservative and religious parameters of the two sisters, being only a source of food. The use of the theory of social representations allowed us to study in the film Babette's Feast the social realities, the phenomena that involve some fundamental characteristics of daily life and those phenomena that disturb people's routines. The social representations about food for people who like cinema emerge when the food is transformed into tasty food, shared between people. The innovative and previously unattainable flavor portrayed at the Babette’s Feast brings the importance of food, meals as a cultural and social act of integration, memory, innovation, sharing, sociability, subjectivity and individual and social transformation through food preparations and tastings.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio