Environment and Human Health

http://sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/2334-3397/The living environment role in the health of individuals evolves. The world changes and it is important to analyse the relevance of the environment to health at the light of different factors. Increasing evidence exists that human health is influenced by our way of living and dealing with the environment. In a society where inequalities exist, it becomes clear that a positive relation exists between a good living environment and people’s well-being. From the way we interact with each other through social contacts until the way we treat environment, with its consequences, all accounts to our well-being and mental and physical health. Social relationships are directly connected to a healthy environment and are a beneficial part of this equation, allowing persons to be healthier and to live longer. Clearly, a person’s individual characteristics plays a crucial role in these connections, since these relations do not constitute an exact science. It is essential to pay attention to the way emerging economies conduct their development, because it carries important responsibilities for the future of the next generation with adverse impacts caused by pollution and representing a threat to human health and well-being. The associations between environment as a whole and human health are very complex. However, some clues may enlighten us regarding some connections between both study areas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Mediating Effect of Parental Involvement on School Climate and Behavior Problems: School Personnel Perceptions

As a reflection of the culture and norms of the school community, the school climate (SC) is a potential factor connected to students’ major behavior problems (BP). Parental involvement (PI) is considered as an essential factor for SC, contributing to promote good students’ educational results, as well as better social functioning. The present study aimed to analyze the mediating effect of PI on the relationship between SC and BP, taking into consideration the school personnel perceptions. A total of 329 school personnel (teachers versus no teachers) aged between 29 and 66 (M = 50.78, SD = 7.56), mainly female (79%), were integrated in the sample. Based on the perception of the school personnel, the results indicate moderate level of PI and SC, as well as the existence of different BP in the school context. The mediating effect of PI in the relationship between the SC and BP has been demonstrated. These results suggest that, if the SC and PI are improved, it could be an effective strategy to enhance the social functioning of students in the school context. This study thus contributes to a comprehensive empirical analysis of how PI can improve the relationship between the SC and the BP of Portuguese students.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Female crime, criminal justice practice and gender roles: judicial professionals’ perspectives

Introduction: Gender has been identified as an important and consistent variable that differentiates crime behaviour in which men have traditionally been associated with the offense and the exercise of authority, and women suffering victimization. Criminal statistics in recent years contradict this assumption and document an increase in female crime around the world and the greater involvement of women in the criminal justice system. In turn, the influence that gender role has on attitudes about female and male crime may also impact the way in which judicial professionals operate on female involvement in crime and the type of risk assessment performed, also affecting policies prevention and intervention. Method: Using a qualitative methodology, the present study aimed to analyse and characterize the practices of the criminal justice system in cases involving female crime, based on the perceptions of judicial professionals. More specifically, it was intended to: i) analyse the perception of judicial professionals about female crime; ii) analyse how socially established gender roles are used to explain the female crime; iii) analyse the factors that may contribute to possible gender differences in the decision-making of judicial professionals. Ten judicial professionals, mostly male (70%), with an average age of 46 years and with an average professional experience of approximately 20 years, were interviewed. Results: Participants pointed to a growing criminal parity between men and women, as a result of social progress and new opportunities. However, they also identified differences between female and male criminal activity (e.g., less serious female criminal conduct, less female recidivism, less female criminal agency). The results also revealed an ambivalent position regarding the performance of the criminal justice system in relation to crime in women. Discussion and conclusions: The perception conveyed by the judicial professionals about the absence of female identity in crime and an existing ideology about the role of women in society, promotes not only a certain benevolence in judicial decisions, but also ignore certain risk behaviours. This could compromise the risk assessment of female criminal conduct, and subsequent judicial intervention, so it is important to promote greater awareness of crime in women, deconstructing stereotypes around the role of women in society.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Qualidade de Vida Urbana: o Papel das NUT's III nos Indicadores de Desenvolvimento Sustentável

Actualmente, a dimensão urbana é reconhecida como fundamental para a compreensão dos padrões de desenvolvimento socio-económico, desempenhando um papel igualmente importante na compreensão dos níveis de qualidade de vida e das condições gerais de sustentabilidade do ambiente. O presente artigo aborda o conceito de Qualidade de Vida Urbana, através da operacionalização dum conjunto de indicadores quantitativos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável seleccionados, fornecendo, assim, elementos para uma leitura das tendências de evolução recentes registadas no âmbito dos três grandes domínios: Condições Ambientais, Condições Sociais e Condições Económicas, nas NUT’s III do Território Português

Court decisions, gender role and female crime: Judicial (dis)parities

Introduction: For years, crime investigation did not consider female, given the reduced involvement in the practice of criminal behaviour. However, official data from the past few years has been challenging this impression, documenting an increase in crime perpetrated by women, all over the world. Social perceptions about women continue to be imbued with gender stereotypes (e.g., fragile, weak, more credible, maternal) that make female incompatible with the role of offender. Women are commonly perceived as playing the role of the victim and the man is usually considered the offender. This under-representation or even relativization of female criminal conduct tends to interfere with the performance of law professionals and the criminal justice system itself, also influencing the design of prevention/intervention policies. Method: Using a qualitative methodology, the present study sought to identify the factors that are considered by the judicial professionals in the analysis of female criminal conduct, seeking to understand how gender stereotypes may influence the attribution of judicial sentences. To this end, a total of ten court sentences involving women with criminal conduct, aged between 18 and 42 years old (M = 30.5; SD = 12.26) were collected and analysed. Results: In terms of results, previous criminal experience, modus operandi, perception of criminal responsibility, degree of illegality, as well as the sociodemographic characteristics of the victims, were identified as important variables in the judicial decision-making process. Discussion and conclusions: The criminal justice system doesn't seem to be oblivious of the influence of some gender stereotypes, which, under certain circumstances, appear to promote unequal treatment practices in situations involving women as a criminal agent. It is expected that this study may contribute to the deconstruction of some prescriptions, historically attributed to women (e.g., the greatest female vulnerability, the pathologization of the offending woman, among others) and may contribute to promote changes in the way judicial professionals face and judge the offender female, encouraging a greater judicial equity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Co-composting: a brief review

A further and stronger effort has to be made in terms of allowing composting to reveal its benefits. Increasing technological experiments have been done with composting of biodegradable wastes and even some considered hazardous. Treated sewage sludge mixed with biodegradable wastes provides a rich source of bacteria and nutrients. But we have gone further and today co-composting is done with a diversity of wastes and not only. There is no turning back in our throwaway society and co-composting plays, thus, an increasingly serious role. É necessário um esforço superior para permitir que a compostagem possa revelar os seus benefícios. Têm sido efectuadas crescentes experiências tecnológicas com a compostagem de resíduos biodegradáveis e mesmo alguns considerados perigosos. A mistura de lamas tratadas com resíduos biodegradáveis constitui uma fonte rica em bactérias e nutrientes. Já avançamos e a co-compostagem é actualmente realizada com uma diversidade de resíduos e não só. Não existe forma de voltar atrás na nossa sociedade do desperdício e a co-compostagem desempenha, assim, um papel crescentemente importante

Phenomenological reflections of Edmund Husserl and Edith Stein: establishing dialogues with the bioethical paradigm and the teachers health promotion: Reflexões fenomenológicas de Edmund Husserl e Edith Stein: estabelecendo diálogos com o paradigma bioético da promoção da saúde docente

http://sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/search.php?issn=2595-6825Background: The Edmund Husserl and Edith Stein perspective phenomenology seek to describe the human being through an analysis that examines his consciousness and his lived experiences, concluding that the human subject is formed by body, psyche and spirit. The health promotion (HP) and bioethics, in turn, are built on this same perspective since they interpret the human person as a being in constant development and must be respected in their integrity and their lived experiences. Objective: To present and identify the interface between the phenomenological approach proposed by Edmund Husserl and Edith Stein as a substrate for the development of bioethical perspectives in HP of professors in higher education (HE). The main argument of this research is to highlight the intimate relationship between this theoretical framework and the HP, under the justification that, when adopting an eco-salutogenic concept of health, individuals are encouraged to understand their own experiences, reflecting and perpetrating the bioethical principles in their everyday situations. Materials and Methods: PhD research with exploratory-descriptive methodology and quantitative-qualitative approach. Sample: University professors from the Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, random sample, probabilistic for convenience, CI = 95%, n = 1400 persons. The research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Hospital de Clínicas of Porto Alegre (HCPA), Brazil, Ethics Committee of the University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), Porto, Portugal, receiving the CAAE approval number 55066616.8.0000.5327, Plataforma Brasil, Brazil. Results: Production of 6 principal components through factorial analysis categorized and interpreted by qualitative content analysis and MAXQDA® software. Conclusions: Universities function as research and learning venues to strengthen HP's activities. The Husserlian phenomenology paradigm, bioethical principles and HP models, aim to build qualified actions in health, to stimulate and promote well-being, quality of life, equity, inclusion, sustainability and social justice, with outstanding conceptual clarity that distinguishes them.Introdução: A perspectiva fenomenológica de Edmund Husserl e Edith Stein procura descrever o ser humano através de uma análise que examina a sua consciência e as suas experiências vivenciadas, concluindo que o sujeito humano é formado por corpo, psique e espírito. A promoção da saúde (PS) e a bioética, por sua vez, são alicerçadas nessa mesma perspectiva, uma vez que interpretam a pessoa humana como um ser em constante desenvolvimento, devendo ser respeitada em sua integridade e em suas experiências de vida. Objetivo: Apresentar e identificar a interface existente entre a abordagem fenomenológica proposta por Edmund Husserl e Edith Stein e a perspectiva bioética, como substrato para o desenvolvimento de ações em PS direcionadas aos docentes da educação superior (ES). O principal objetivo desta pesquisa é evidenciar a íntima relação entre esse referencial teórico e a PS, sob a justificativa de que, ao adotar um conceito eco-salutogênico de saúde, os indivíduos são estimulados a compreender suas próprias experiências, refletindo e aplicando os princípios bioéticos em suas situações cotidianas. Materiais e Métodos: Pesquisa de Doutoramento, metodologia exploratório-descritiva e abordagem quanti-qualitativa. Amostra: Professores universitários do Rio Grande do Sul, amostragem aleatória, não-probabilística por conveniência, IC = 95%, n = 1400 pessoas. A pesquisa foi aprovada pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Brasil, Comitê de Ética da Universidade Fernando Pessoa (UFP), Porto, Portugal, recebendo o número de aprovação CAAE 55066616.8.0000.5327, Plataforma Brasil, Brasil. Resultados: Produção de 6 componentes principais através de análise fatorial categorizados e interpretados por análise qualitativa de conteúdo e software MAXQDA®. Conclusões: As universidades atuam como locais de pesquisa e aprendizado para fortalecimento das ações em PS. O paradigma fenomenológico husserliano, os princípios bioéticos e os modelos de PS, visam construir ações qualificadas em saúde, estimular e promover o bem-estar, qualidade de vida, equidade, inclusão, sustentabilidade e justiça social, com notável clareza conceitual que os distingue.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Indicadores interdisciplinares de sustentabilidade na gestão de resíduos

Lição apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do título de agregado em Ecologia e Saúde AmbientalN/

Relatório da unidade curricular “Metodologias de investigação aplicadas ao ambiente e saúde”

Relatório apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do título de agregado em Ecologia e Saúde AmbientalN/

Vantagens do ciclo combinado a gás natural face a outras tecnologias de produção de energia - estudo de caso: a Central da Tapada do Outeiro, Portugal

Seria impensável concebermos os nossos dias sem a utilização de energia eléctrica. Esta forma de energia é responsável pelo desenvolvimento económico e a sua disponibilidade é indicadora da qualidade de vida dos povos. A procura de formas de obtenção desta energia que minimizem os impactes para o ambiente tem levado à adopção de energias renováveis mas também ao desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias que permitam aumentar a eficiência de conversão de energia entre as suas várias formas. Neste sentido procedeu-se à análise de um estudo de caso da central termoeléctrica a gás natural com tecnologia de ciclo combinado da Tapada do Outeiro, Portugal. Living without electricity is nowadays unconceived. The economic growth and quality of life is strongly dependent on this source of energy. The search for new forms of producing electricity in order to minimise environmental impacts has lead to the adoption of renewable energies and to the improvement of new technologies which allow at the same time to reach high efficiency in the process of energy conversion from the chemical form to the electrical one. This article is about a case study of a natural gas turbine power plant with combined cycle, at “Tapada do Outeiro”, Portugal