Challenges of performing socio-environmental interdisciplinary research: the experience of the Brazilian Research Network on Climate Change (Rede CLIMA)

How can you move a team of scholars of the most varied academic backgrounds out of their multidisciplinary comfort zone and towards genuine interdisciplinarity (integration and collaboration) in the climate change research field? This was the challenge that a project faced concerning the climate change perceptions of smallholder farmers from four Brazilian biomes (Amazonia, Cerrado, Pantanal, and Semiarid region), coordinated by the Brazilian Research Network on Climate Change (Rede CLIMA). Interdisciplinary clashes among scientists went well beyond semantics and reached the core of concepts such as perception, resilience, vulnerability, adaptive capacity and even climate change. Challenges included thinking collectively about a problem with so much ambiguous and contradictory knowledge, conflicting interests, and diverging epistemologies. This case study - which focused on the internal debate about climatic change apparent “misperceptions” by family farmers - confirmed that there is no blueprint for interdisciplinary climate change research projects, as well as the clear need for project-specific and context-sensitive research strategies. Critical factors going into successful interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration included early involvement of different groups (such as researchers, decision-makers, and local actors and stakeholders) as essential for finding common objectives and priorities. The experience of Rede CLIMA confirmed that the barriers to successful climate change adaptation (such as the mutual incomprehension or distrust between scientists themselves, and between scientist and end-users) could be overcome by creating collaborative enterprises. The co-creation of science, which included switching roles between knowledge producers and end-users, facilitated horizontal work and the identification of climate-related risks among family farmers. 

Avaliação da Segurança Alimentar nas cozinhas das escolas do concelho de Celorico de Basto

Dissertação de Mestrado em Gestão Integrada da Qualidade, ambiente e SegurançaA Segurança Alimentar é um amplo conceito que cada vez mais se assume como uma preocupação para todos aqueles que direta ou indiretamente estão envolvidos no sector alimentar. Em ambiente escolar, o objetivo inicial de disponibilizar alimentos e refeições às crianças é hoje largamente ultrapassado, dado que importa garantir o equilíbrio nutricional e, de igual modo, assegurar que todos os comportamentos são seguros e minimizam o risco de intoxicação alimentar. Realizar um estudo sobre a avaliação da segurança alimentar em cozinhas de escolas do Concelho de Celorico de Basto representou o alicerce deste trabalho. Seguindo uma abordagem metodológica baseada num estudo de caso, foi realizada uma análise comparativa a duas escolas do Concelho, onde o principal objeto era a deteção do cumprimento ou incumprimento do programa dos pré-requisitos e da implementação do sistema HACCP. Através da aplicabilidade de um inquérito, foi possível avaliar atitudes, comportamento, práticas e opiniões das colaboradoras relativamente à segurança alimentar. Os resultados obtidos permitiram identificar claramente oportunidades de melhoria para os estabelecimentos em questão, o que será certamente uma mais-valia futura.Food security is a broad concept that increasingly sees itself as a concern for all those who are directly or indirectly involved in the food sector. In the school environment, the initial goal of providing food and meals to children today is largely overcome, given the importance of ensuring nutritional balance and, likewise, ensure that all behaviors are safe and minimize the risk of food poisoning. Conduct a study on the assessment of food safety in kitchens County schools Celorico de Basto represented the foundation of this work. Following an approach based on a case study, we performed a comparative analysis of two schools of the county, where the main object was the detection of compliance or non-compliance of the pre - requisites and implementation of HACCP. Through the applicability of an investigation, it was possible to ascertain attitudes, behavior, practices and opinions of workers about food security. The results allowed to provide opportunities for improving the establishments in question, which will surely be an asset in the future

A sustentabilidade na indústria da moda

As alterações climáticas, aumento da poluição, escassez de recursos básicos em alguns países e aumento do interesse da população por questões relacionadas ao meio ambiente, fizeram com que muitas indústrias mudassem seus padrões de produção e consumo de matérias-primas extraídos do meio ambiente. Outra questão que tornou-se uma preocupação para as indústrias, é relativamente sobre como eliminar ou minimizar de maneira mais sustentável os resíduos que produzem. Além das preocupações com as questões ambientais, a indústria da moda enfrenta problemas relacionados à dimensão económica e social, visto que a maior parte de fábricas e fornecedores dessa indústria estão instalados em países em desenvolvimento, onde as questões sociais e económicas são negligenciadas. Numa perspetiva teórica e analítica, a presente investigação buscou analisar se a indústria da moda adota práticas sustentáveis nas três dimensões da sustentabilidade, nomeadamente, ambiental, social e económica. Para isso, foram levantadas proposições de investigação que foram sustentadas por meio da revisão de literatura e um estudo de caso da empresa que explora a marca de moda H&M. Os resultados encontrados indicaram que a H&M desempenha uma conduta sustentável com base nas três dimensões da sustentabilidade. A adoção de práticas sustentáveis proporciona benefícios como, ganhos de mercado, melhor gestão de recursos e diminuição dos custos de produção. Além desses benefícios, as práticas sustentáveis fortalecem a imagem da empresa no mercado tornando-a competitiva e agrega valor para as partes interessadas.Climate change, increased pollution, shortages of basic resources in some countries and increased interest of the population for reasons related to the environment, they caused many industries to change their patterns of production and consumption of raw materials extracted from the environment. Another issue that has become a concern for the industry, is relatively on how to minimize or eliminate in a more sustainably way the waste they produce. In addition to the concerns about environmental issues, the fashion industry is facing problems related to economic and social dimension, as most of factories and suppliers of this industry are installed in developing countries where social and economic issues are neglected. In a theoretical and analytical perspective, this study aimed to analyze whether the fashion industry adopts sustainable practices in the three dimensions of sustainability, namely, environmental, social and economic. For this, research proposals were raised that were sustained through the literature review and a company case study that explores the fashion brand H & M. The results indicated that H & M plays a sustainable conduct based on the three dimensions of sustainability. The adoption of sustainable practices provides benefits as market share gains, better management of resources and reduction of production costs. In addition to these benefits, sustainable practices strengthen the company's image in the market making it competitive and add value for stakeholders

How structured and unstructured sport activities aid the development of expertise in volleyball players

This study sought to analyse self-reported perceptions of how the nature of sport activities undertaken by volleyball players aided their development. Thirty highly skilled and thirty less skilled players participated in retrospective interviews to identify the nature of activities undertaken in their developmental pathways. All players reported having an early-diversified sport involvement with participation in both structured and unstructured activities. Highly skilled players differed from less skilled players by having accumulated more hours of structured sport activities, some of which were undertaken with older peers. Furthermore, highly skilled players specifically highlighted the value of their involvement in particular unstructured activities with older peers and recognized their importance for expertise achievement. These findings illustrate the importance of considering the role of unstructured (in addition to structured) sport activities in the development of expertise in volleyball. Further work is needed to verify the generality of the findings to other sports

COVID-19 management in clinical dental care part III: patients and the dental office

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic dramatically changed all aspects of life. In the context of clinical dental care, a significant number of new recommendations have been implemented to comply with public health policies, ensuring the safety of dental care professionals, staff, and patients and preventing further spread of the virus. This article is the third in a series of 3 on the management of COVID-19 in clinical dental care and presents a set of recommendations and standards to be implemented in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. These include remote contact with all patients for triage and guidance before scheduling a clinical visit to know if they have COVID symptoms or are positive for COVID, if they belong to a risk group, and if there is a suggestion that aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) will be required during their visit. It also reviews additional precautionary measures in the waiting room and reception area, where the environment is reorganised to protect patients and clinical staff, avoiding situations that could result in cross contamination. The dental office operates under a strict set of guidelines, namely, use of personal protective equipment by professionals, contact with patients, a strategy to avoid aerosol-generating procedures, as well as disinfection procedures for the dental office before, during, and after each patient visit. The implementation of these protocols to mitigate cross infection and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the dental office will help improve safety and restore the confidence required to provide dental care to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Food and climate change: perceptions and the potential of behavioral changes towards mitigation

Urban areas are responsible for environmental problems at the global scale and are also vulnerable to local and global environmental impacts. In addition to the impacts of deficient urban planning on the environment, climate change will have environmental, socioeconomic and cultural impacts in urban areas. In the food sector, climate change will possibly cause impacts in the whole food chain, altering dietary practices and food security. On the other hand, dietary behavior patterns should also be taken into consideration, since those have an important role in the emission of greenhouse gases. From this perspective, climate and food system perceptions, as possible drivers for behavioral changes, are of great importance in the search of solutions for contemporary socioeconomic issues. Therefore, an investigation with graduate students (N=1526) from various study areas of the University of Brasilia, Brazil, was developed, aiming to understand the perceptions regarding climate change and the food sector. The researchers found that, in addition to the perception of climate change and the impacts in urban areas, various impacts are perceived on the food sector. The observed patters are discussed as a means to indicate a role for dietary education in behavioral changes towards food usage and choices more compatible to a sustainable diet, with positive impact for the environment, individuals and communities.As áreas urbanas apresentam uma junção de características que as tornam responsáveis por problemas ambientais em escala global e vulneráveis aos impactos ambientais locais e globais.  Além dos impactos de baixos níveis de planejamento das cidades sobre o meio ambiente, estima-se que as mudanças climáticas causarão uma diversidade de modificações ambientais, sociais, econômicas e mesmo culturais nas áreas urbanas. No setor alimentar, as mudanças climáticas poderão causar impactos em toda a cadeia de alimentos, levando a transformações nas práticas alimentares e na segurança alimentar. Por outro lado, os padrões de comportamento alimentar da sociedade também devem ser considerados, uma vez que têm um papel importante no setor de emissões de gases de efeito estufa. Nesse contexto, a percepção da população sobre a temática climática e alimentar, como possível indutora de mudanças de comportamento, insere-se como de grande importância na busca de soluções aos novos enfrentamentos socioambientais. Logo, com o objetivo de compreender as percepções sobre as possíveis mudanças do clima e seus impactos no setor alimentar, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa com estudantes de graduação de diversas áreas de estudo na Universidade de Brasília (N=1526). Como resultados, além da percepção de mudanças climáticas e seus impactos no meio urbano, foram observadas percepções de impactos no setor de alimentos. São discutidos como os padrões encontrados podem indicar uma abertura para a educação alimentar, visando mudanças comportamentais em favor do menor desperdício de alimentos e de escolhas alimentares, visando uma dieta sustentável com efeitos positivos individuas para a coletividade e o meio ambiente

Undergraduates’ views of assessment in higher education: a study carried out in Portugal

This paper looks at how undergraduates look at assessment in Higher Education. It focuses on their views about assessment practices in five Portuguese public universities. The main purpose is to look at the students’ perceptions of assessment in higher education taking into account the assessment methods used, the influence of assessment in their motivation to learn as well as self-regulation of the learning process. Data were collected through questionnaires in five Portuguese Public Universities in different fields of knowledge. An intervention project focused on Assessment for Learning (AfL), with students enrolled at an Engineering programme, in one public university in Portugal, in one course with student-centred methodologies and AfL practices was also carried out and evaluated. Preliminary findings are presented according the categories emerging from the data. Issues of assessment methods, the connection between teaching, learning and assessment as well as the impact of AfL environments on students’ perceptions are analysed. Implications of the findings for assessment, teaching and learning process are discussed.This work is funded by FEDER Funds through the COMPETE Programme and by National Funds through the FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (National Foundation for Science and Technology) within the context of the project "Assessment in Higher Education: the potential of alternative methods" (PTDC/MHCCED/2703/2014)

A reabilitação de pacientes com Insuficiência Cardíaca em domicílio é tão eficiente quanto em centros especializados? – Uma revisão de escopo

Objetivo: Verificar se há evidências que suportem a reabilitação de idosos com insuficiência cardíaca em programas domiciliares. Métodos: Realizou-se uma revisão de escopo a partir de uma pesquisa na base de dados PUBMED com os seguintes descritores associados ao operador booleano AND, organizados da seguinte forma: home-based cardiac rehabilitation AND Heart Failure AND Elderly. Foram incluídos artigos do tipo ensaio clínico, meta-análise e ensaio controlado randomizado, publicados entre 2017 e 2022. Foram excluídos artigos que não versavam sobre o tema proposto pelo objetivo, estudos retrospectivos e os que não incluíram idosos (pessoas com 60 anos ou mais) na amostra. Foram examinadas as referências dos artigos selecionados e aquelas que preenchiam os critérios de inclusão foram analisadas e adicionadas nos resultados e discussão. Resultados: Ao final a busca retornou cinco artigos que confirmam a eficiência e aplicabilidade de reabilitação cardíaca domiciliar. CONSIDERAÇÕES FINAIS: A reabilitação cardíaca em domicílio para idosos precisa ser mais estudada, mas as evidências disponíveis indicam que é eficaz e factível quanto a sua aplicabilidade, desde que premissas de segurança sejam seguidas. Além da melhora clínica os resultados indicam melhora da autopercepção de saúde