Education for sustainable development in higher education: evaluating coherence between theory and praxis

Universities are an important part of the process of change taking place in society. However, this is often overshadowed by these institutions giving priority to technocratic models in the relationship between science and society. In this context, according to Habermas, theories can serve to clarify practical questions and guide praxis into the right actions (social emancipation and rational autonomy). Habermas introduces the need to evaluate the particular contexts in which scientific arguments are made and assessed. The aim of this study was to develop a set of assessment criteria for education for sustainable development in higher education curricula. These were developed in line with Habermas by introducing further adaptions within the context of education for sustainable development. These criteria were tested in a blended learning master’s programme in Environmental Citizenship and Participation at the Universidade Aberta, Portugal. The following research tools were used as follows: (i) a questionnaire survey to the graduates; (ii) content analysis applied to the information guide and to the abstracts of the dissertations that were produced. The case study revealed that an absence of theoretical frameworks could lead to inconsistencies between theory and praxis. Improvements to curricula are then drawn from this study

Assessing student perceptions and comprehension of climate change in portuguese higher education institutions

The higher education system has a critical role to play in educating environmentally aware and participant citizens about global climate change. Yet, few studies have focused on higher education students’ knowledge and attitudes about this issue. This study aims to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of views and attitudes about climate change issues, across the postgraduate student population in three universities—the on Campus University of Porto and University of Coimbra, and the distance learning Universidade Aberta, Portugal. We surveyed university students and graduates from three master programs in environmental sciences targeting their knowledge, attitudes and behaviour on climate change issues, and their views of the role that their master degree had on it. A majority of the respondents believed that climate change is factual, and is largely human-induced; and a majority expressed concerns about climate change. Still, the surveyed students hold some misconceptions about basic causes and consequences of climate change. Further research is necessary to comprehend the university postgraduate students’ population, so that curricula programs can be adapted to grant consensus on scientific knowledge about climate change, and an active engagement of the graduate citizens, as part of the solution for climate change problems

Revisiting crude and standardized mortality ratios : which ones to assess health systems performance?

© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.Background: Standardized Mortality Ratios-SMR are often used to assess performance of health systems. Age adjusted SMR are rates one would expect to observe in the study population if it had the same age distribution as the standard year itself. SRM are thus artificial data, appropriate to compare groups (countries, for example) or time trends, isolating this analysis from age effects and its variability over time. Each main health data source (WHO, OECD, Eurostat) adopts a different year as population standard. But are mortality SMR better than crude ratios– CMR, to monitor the evolution of diseases, to infer on the performance of health systems or to compare countries?info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Helping decision-makers visualize inequities in health impact assessment : linked electronic records, mortality and regional disparities in Portugal

Copyright © 2016 Published by Elsevier IncObjectives: Show how multivariate methods outputs visualization may help decision-makers identify inequities through health impact assessment (HIA). Show how a policy promoting quality of linked Electronic Health Records (EHR) regarding Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) patients may be associated to mortality and regional inequities. Methods: Data: Adults (>=20 years) admitted in Portuguese NHS Hospitals with AMI diagnosis during the 2nd semester 2012, followed regularly in NHS Primary Care (PC) during 2013. Variables: Mortality outcome at December 31 2013, 4 PC registered indicators- Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Waist Circumference, Body Mass Index (BMI); 5 regions Norte, Centro, LVT, Alentejo, Algarve; adjustment variables sex, age, AMI hospital readmissions during the 2nd semester 2012, surgery during hospital admission, mean admission duration>6 days, hospital diagnosis>=6. Statistical Procedures: X2 and Fisher exact tests; logistic regressions, simple and stratified by region, estimating crude and adjusted ORs (and 95%CI); multivariate correspondence analysis (MCA). Results: Regions Algarve and LVT present the highest no-registration percentages for every indicator. Norte, usually followed by Algarve and then Centro, has the lowest percentage of no-registration. Patients without registered information for all health indicators are more than twice as likely to be deceased, than patients with information registered (OR>2.0). Norte presents higher OR for Cholesterol and Triglycerides (OR>13.0) and Blood pressure (OR>3) and Alentejo for BMI (OR near7). Centro presents high values especially regarding Cholesterol and Triglycerides (3.173 and 4.409). MCA summarizes previous findings with a very clear, visual graphical aid. Conclusions: HIA assesses health impacts (here, mortality) of policies (EHR policy to promote PC uniform information registration), identifying groups where effects are worse (regional equity concerns). Disparities between regions are found regarding registering information, but also concerning association patterns of mortality and registration of these health indicators. Complex multivariate methodologies may generate visual outputs easily interpreted by decision-makers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Investigating benefits from the implementation of environmental management systems in a Greek university

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can contribute significantly to the achievement of environmental sustainability through teaching and research activities, and also through improvements in the environmental management of University estates. This article explores the results of implementing Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) in a HEI in Greece. Specifically, the results of two surveys, focusing on students’ perceptions in the University of the Aegean, are presented and analysed. The surveys were conducted prior and after the implementation of an EMS in the University. The survey results demonstrate several positive consequences from the implementation of EMS across the University campus. In particular, there is a positive influence on students’ environmental awareness and behaviour, accompanied by greater preference among them for more participatory environmental management initiatives

Estudo comparativo entre a colangiopancreatografia por ressonância magnética e a colangiopancreatografia endoscópica no diagnóstico das obstruções biliopancreáticas Comparative study between magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in the diagnosis of the pancreatic and biliary obstruction

Racional &#151; A colangiopancreatografia endoscópica e a colangiopancreatografia por ressonância magnética são métodos de diagnóstico das doenças que envolvem o sistema biliopancreático. Objetivo - Comparar a concordância diagnóstica, analisando sensibilidade, especificidade, valores preditivos positivos, negativos e acurácia de ambos. Casuística e Método - Compreendeu 41 pacientes divididos em dois grupos: I &#151; sem obstrução em canais biliares ou pancreáticos e II &#151; com obstrução. O grupo II foi subdividido em A &#151; obstrução por cálculo e B &#151; obstrução por outras causas. Resultados - A concordância entre os dois métodos foi de 67% no grupo I e 82% no grupo II. A sensibilidade da colangiopancreatografia endoscópica foi de 94% e da colangiopancreatografia por ressonância magnética de 89%. A especificidade da colangiopancreatografia endoscópica foi de 100% e da colangiopancreatografia por ressonância magnética de 67%. A colangiopancreatografia por ressonância magnética mostrou valor preditivo positivo de 93%, valor preditivo negativo de 50% e acurácia de 85%. Conclusão - Os dois métodos mostraram a mesma sensibilidade.<br>Background &#151; The endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography were methods used for diagnosis of the diseases in the biliary and pancreatic ducts. Aim - Compare the diagnostic concordance among, analyzing sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy. Patients/Methods - There were 41 patients in the studied group, divided in two groups: I &#151; without biliary or pancreatic tract obstruction, and II &#151; with obstruction. Group II was further divided in A &#151; obstruction due to lithiasis, and B &#151; due to other causes. Results - Concordance between the two methods was found in 67% in group I and 82% in group II. Sensitivity of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was 94% and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography was 89%. Specificity of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was 100% and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography was 67%. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography positive predictive value was 93%, the negative predictive value was 50% and the accuracy was 85%. Conclusion - Both methods showed the same sensitivity