Contributions and challenges of continuous teacher training for building gender equality and citizenship

[PT] A prevenção e eliminação dos estereótipos de género e do sexismo constitui-se como uma problemática de intervenção prioritária (EuropeanCouncil, 2018). O sistema educativo, em particular as práticas pedagógicas, desempenham um papel fundamental na construção dos princípios de cidadania e igualdade de género. É crucial que a formação contínua de docentes integre esta problemática, sensibilizando, fornecendo conhecimentos e desenvolvendo competências de intervenção eficazes. Neste artigo, pretendemos descrever a refletir sobre uma experiência de formação contínua de docentes que possibilitou o desenvolvimento de atividades e projetos de intervenção em contexto real de ensino. Começaremos por apresentar os pressupostos e a metodologia de formação e, em seguida, descreveremos e analisaremos criticamente alguns dos resultados das intervenções realizadas pelos/as docentes.[EN] The prevention and elimination of gender stereotypes and sexism is a problem of priority intervention (European Council, 2018). The educational system, in particular pedagogical practices, play a fundamental role in the construction of the principles of citizenship and gender equality. It is crucial that the continuing teacher training integrate this problem, raising awareness, providing knowledge and developing effective intervention skills. In this article, we intend to describe and to reflect an experience of continuous teacher training that enabled the development of activities and intervention projects in real context of teaching. We will start by presenting the assumptions and the training methodology, then we will describe and critically analyze some of the results of the interventions carried out by the teachers

Application d’un programme d’alimentation de précision chez le porc en croissance alimenté à volonté : effet sur les performances et l’utilisation des nutriments

Within the Horizon 2020 EU program Feed-a-Gene, a decision support system (DSS) was developed to implement precision feeding (PF) in commercial pig farms and to help improve feed efficiency. This study aimed to perform PF with the DSS in practical conditions with growing pigs fed ad libitum and to assess consequences on performance and nutrient use. Sixty-four pigs were reared from 77 to 161 days of age (33.5 to 108.8. kg body weight, BW) in a single pen equipped with an automatic weighing-sorting system and eight automatic feeders that register feed intake and deliver a tailored blend of two diets (A and B, respectively 1.0 and 0.4 g SID Lysine(Lys)/MJ net energy (NE), and 9.7 MJ NE/kg) to individual pigs. The control group received a blend providing 0.9 g Lys/MJ NE until the group weighed 65 kg on average (growing phase) and 0.7 g Lys/MJ NE thereafter (finishing phase). For the PF group, the Lys requirement was assessed individually and on a daily basis, based on up to 20 previous records of BW and feed intake, and diets A and B were blended accordingly. Daily feed intake, average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio did not differ between treatments. During the growing period, Lys and nitrogen (N) intake and N excretion were 11%, 9%, and 14% lower in the PF group than those in the control group, respectively (P 0.66). These results could be explained by the slightly higher feed intake in the PF group (+100 g/d, P = 0.24) and the lower Lys content used during the finishing period of the 2-phase strategy compared to standard diets

Global Patterns and Controls of Nutrient Immobilization On Decomposing Cellulose In Riverine Ecosystems

Microbes play a critical role in plant litter decomposition and influence the fate of carbon in rivers and riparian zones. When decomposing low-nutrient plant litter, microbes acquire nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from the environment (i.e., nutrient immobilization), and this process is potentially sensitive to nutrient loading and changing climate. Nonetheless, environmental controls on immobilization are poorly understood because rates are also influenced by plant litter chemistry, which is coupled to the same environmental factors. Here we used a standardized, low-nutrient organic matter substrate (cotton strips) to quantify nutrient immobilization at 100 paired stream and riparian sites representing 11 biomes worldwide. Immobilization rates varied by three orders of magnitude, were greater in rivers than riparian zones, and were strongly correlated to decomposition rates. In rivers, P immobilization rates were controlled by surface water phosphate concentrations, but N immobilization rates were not related to inorganic N. The N:P of immobilized nutrients was tightly constrained to a molar ratio of 10:1 despite wide variation in surface water N:P. Immobilization rates were temperature-dependent in riparian zones but not related to temperature in rivers. However, in rivers nutrient supply ultimately controlled whether microbes could achieve the maximum expected decomposition rate at a given temperature

Effect of remote ischaemic conditioning on clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI): a single-blind randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Remote ischaemic conditioning with transient ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm has been shown to reduce myocardial infarct size in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). We investigated whether remote ischaemic conditioning could reduce the incidence of cardiac death and hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months. METHODS: We did an international investigator-initiated, prospective, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI) at 33 centres across the UK, Denmark, Spain, and Serbia. Patients (age >18 years) with suspected STEMI and who were eligible for PPCI were randomly allocated (1:1, stratified by centre with a permuted block method) to receive standard treatment (including a sham simulated remote ischaemic conditioning intervention at UK sites only) or remote ischaemic conditioning treatment (intermittent ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm through four cycles of 5-min inflation and 5-min deflation of an automated cuff device) before PPCI. Investigators responsible for data collection and outcome assessment were masked to treatment allocation. The primary combined endpoint was cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02342522) and is completed. FINDINGS: Between Nov 6, 2013, and March 31, 2018, 5401 patients were randomly allocated to either the control group (n=2701) or the remote ischaemic conditioning group (n=2700). After exclusion of patients upon hospital arrival or loss to follow-up, 2569 patients in the control group and 2546 in the intervention group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. At 12 months post-PPCI, the Kaplan-Meier-estimated frequencies of cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure (the primary endpoint) were 220 (8·6%) patients in the control group and 239 (9·4%) in the remote ischaemic conditioning group (hazard ratio 1·10 [95% CI 0·91-1·32], p=0·32 for intervention versus control). No important unexpected adverse events or side effects of remote ischaemic conditioning were observed. INTERPRETATION: Remote ischaemic conditioning does not improve clinical outcomes (cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure) at 12 months in patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation, University College London Hospitals/University College London Biomedical Research Centre, Danish Innovation Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, TrygFonden

O género na educação física: percepções de alunos e alunas do 1º e 2º ciclo do ensino básico

O género, enquanto construção social e conteúdo fundamental do currículo oculto, encontra na Educação Física um dos seus terrenos privilegiados de construção e de acção. Esta problemática tem, porém, sido praticamente ignorada no nosso país, a nível investigativo, o que, cremos, tem dificultado a inovação pedagógica e a emergência de respostas adequadas ao desafio da inclusão, da diferenciação e da equidade, nomeadamente da equidade de género. Este trabalho surgiu, precisamente, neste cenário, ainda embrionário, com a pretensão de poder contribuir para o conhecimento e a compreensão do modo como os factores psicossociais medeiam os processos de ensino e de aprendizagem em Educação Física, procurando, nomeadamente, caracterizar as dinâmicas mediadoras que o género e os estereótipos de género podem estabelecer com as percepções e as atitudes dos alunos e alunas perante as actividades de aprendizagem das aulas de Educação Física e os contextos de interacção criados pela forma de organização dos grupos de trabalho dessas actividades. O desenho do estudo foi sustentado em vários referenciais epistemológicos convergentes, com particular destaque para a perspectiva interpretativista, e foi estruturado tendo por base a utilização integrada de procedimentos metodológicos de orientação qualitativa e quantitativa. Assim, foram entrevistados cinquenta e dois alunos do 1° ciclo do ensino básico (vinte e seis rapazes e vinte e seis raparigas) e trinta e dois do 2° ciclo (quinze rapazes e dezassete raparigas), com o objectivo de conhecer e compreender as suas percepções em relação às vivências reais nas aulas de Educação Física, particularmente aquelas que diziam respeito à apropriação ao género e ao desempenho motor de rapazes e raparigas e de si próprio/a, nas actividades que os respectivos professores tinham previamente considerado mais importantes para a concretização dos objectivos dessas aulas. Este estudo estendeu-se também às preferências pelo tipo de constituição, em função do género, dos grupos de trabalho formados para a realização dessas mesmas actividades e à satisfação com as actividades da aula. As entrevistas (semi-estruturadas) foram suportadas na utilização complementar de instrumentos parcelares de recolha de informação, quer de natureza quantitativa quer qualitativa. Com o objectivo de gerir melhor a dinâmica das entrevistas e interpretar mais fielmente as afirmações das crianças, foram observadas as aulas sobre as quais cada entrevista iria incidir, registando a sequência das actividades e as opções estratégicas dos professores, no que diz respeito à formação de grupos de trabalho. Os resultados evidenciaram, de forma genérica, uma grande variabilidade nas percepções e nos fundamentos para elas apresentados pelos alunos e pelas alunas, o que tem como implicação manifesta a necessidade de reflectir sobre o grande desafio pedagógico que passa por procurar acomodar e dar resposta à individualidade no seio da diversidade e da pluralidade. Os conteúdos dos estereótipos de género revelaram-se, por outro lado, um recurso essencial na justificação das percepções da apropriação ao género e do desempenho motor nas várias actividades de aprendizagem das aulas, deixando os/as alunos/as antever, nas suas argumentações, concepções padronizadas, dicotómicas e complementares, perante o que é ser feminino e ser masculino. As variações encontradas nas percepções e seus fundamentos entre os/as alunoslas do 1° e do 2° ciclo repousavam sobretudo na natureza diferenciada das actividades de aprendizagem e nos processos de construção da identidade de género característicos destas idades. Outra inferência que se destacou foi o facto de os jogos colectivos terem sido das actividades de aprendizagem das aulas de Educação Física em que a diferenciação de género foi mais perceptível e onde se fez um uso mais explícito de argumentos estereotipados, focalizando o comportamento e as aptidões de cada género, bem como o relacionamento entre os géneros. Foi também perante estas actividades que as raparigas mais denunciaram e expressaram uma clara consciência das desiguais oportunidades de prática e sucesso provocadas pelas relações de poder assimétricas entre os gêneros, durante a realização dessas actividades. As conclusões deste estudo problematizam, em síntese, a tão recorrente presunção da neutralidade de género na Educação Física e fornecem elementos importantes para a discussão e o diálogo entre todos aqueles que se preocupam com a inclusão, a diferenciação pedagógica e a equidade, mais especificamente a equidade de género. 1,* /SUMMARY- Gender as a social construction and an essential part of the hidden curriculum finds in Physical Education a special place for its construction and action. Research in. Portugal, however, has almost forgotten this theme what we believe hasn't made easier neither the pedagogical innovation nor the appearance of adequate responses to the needs of inclusion, differentiation and equity, namely gender equity. This study emerged precisely in this context and its aims are to contribute to the knowledge and understanding about the way psycho-social factors mediate the teaching and. learning processes in. Physical Education. It tries to characterize the mediating role that gender and gender stereotypes play in students' perceptions and altitudes towards learning activities in the Physical Education class and the contexts of interaction that emerge from the way work groups are organized for those same activities. The study's outline was based in several converging epistemological referentials, specially the interpretive perspective and included quantitative and qualitative research procedures. Therefore, we interviewed 52 students (26 boys and 26 girls) from Basic Education- 1st grade, and 32 students (15 boys and 17 girls) from Basic Education-2nd grade, with the objective of knowing and understanding their perceptions concerning real experiences in the Physical Education class, specially those about gender appropriation and motor competence of boys and girls and of himself/herself, concerning the activities that teachers had previously considered as the most important for the accomplishment of those classes' aims. This study also focused on the students' preferences in forming work groups according to their gender, as well as students' satisfaction with class activities. The semi-structured interviews were supported by other sources or information, both quantitative and qualitative. The study's results revealed, in a general way, a variability in the boys and girls' perceptions and in their justification, which indicates the need to reflect on the pedagogical challenge of trying to accommodate and respond to the individuality among diversity. The content of the gender stereotypes revealed, on the other hand, an important argument in the students' justification of their perceptions of gender appropriation and of motor competence in the several learning activities in class, revealing, at the same time, in P their argumentation, standardized dichotomic and complementary conceptions, concerning what is "to be feminine like" or "to be masculine like". The variations found in the perceptions and in the perceptions' grounds among Ist and 2nd grade students derives, above all, from the differences in the nature of the learning activities and from the process of construction of gender identity in children of this age. We could also infer that, among class activities, the group games were the activity where the gender differentiation was most explicit and where students put into practice in a more explicit way the stereotyped argumenta, when focusing behaviour and the abilities of each gender, as well as the interaction between genders. It was also in these activities that girls showed and expressed a clear awareness of the unequal opportunities of practice and success achievement, caused by an unequal power relationship between genders, during these activities. The study's conclusions question the usual assumption of gender neutrality in Physical Education and disclose important elements for the discussion among all those who are concerned with inclusion, pedagogical differentiation and equity, especially gender equity

Development of a decision support tool for precision feeding of pregnant sows

Nutritional studies indicate that nutrient requirements for pregnancy largely differ among sows and according to the stage of pregnancy, whereas in practice the same diet is generally fed to all sows from a given herd. In this context, the availability of new technologies for high throughput phenotyping of sows and their environment, and of innovative feeders that allow the distribution of different diets, offers opportunities for a renewed and practical implementation of prediction models of nutrient requirements, in the perspective of improving feed efficiency and reducing feeding costs and environmental impacts. The objective of this study was thus to design a decision support tool that could be incorporated in automated feeding equipment. The decision support tool was developed on the basis of InraPorc® model. The optimal supply for a given sow is determined each day according to a factorial approach considering all the information available on the sow: genotype, parity, expected prolificacy, gestation stage, body condition (i.e. weight and backfat thickness), activity and housing (i.e. type of floor and ambient temperature). The approach was tested using data from 2500 pregnancies on 540 sows. Energy supply was calculated for each sow to achieve, at farrowing, a target body weight established based on parity, age at mating and backfat thickness (18 mm). Precision feeding (PF) with the mixing of two diets was then simulated in comparison with conventional (CF) feeding with a single diet. Compared to CF, PF reduced protein and aminoacid intake, N excretion and feeding costs. At the same time, with PF, amino acid requirement was met for a higher proportion of sows, especially in younger sows, and a lower proportion of sows, especially older sows, received excessive supplies. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, grant agreement No 633531. The data used for the simulations were issued from a project conducted within the AgriInnovation Program from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada

Development of a decision support system for precision feeding application in pigs and poultry

Precision feeding is a promising way to improve feed efficiency and thus economic and environmental sustainability of livestock production. A decision support system (DSS) was built to determine in real-time the nutritional requirements of animals and feed characteristics (i.e. composition, amount) for an application of precision feeding in pig and poultry commercial farms. This tool, dedicated to animals managed individually or in groups, is designed with a modular structure for adaptation to different feeder devices, species and production stages. The modules are built to perform specialized tasks in a cooperative way. It includes a data management module with a proper characterization of data by meta-data definition for precision feeding. It ensures standard encoding to allow data interoperability from any platform. Other modules are dedicated to data verificatrion and correction for inclusion in a database, prediction of most probable body weight (BW) gain and feed intake (ad libitum or restricting feeding), and the calculation of nutritional requirements. The BW and feed intake prediction is based on dynamic data analyses. For that, specific methods have been evaluated and selected depending on the number of available data, data type (BW or feed intake), and recording frequency. The calculation of nutritional requirements is performed using nutritional models specific for a species or production stage. These two modules are currently designed for healthy animals and will be refined to extend prediction to a larger range of field situations (e.g. health problems, climatic conditions) with nutritional models in development/refinement in other workpackages of the project. The general specifications of this DSS and dynamic data analyses will be illustrated for growing pigs. This study is part of the Feed-a-Gene project and received funding from the European Union’s H2020 program under grant agreement no. 633531

Application of a precision feeding program in growing pigs: effect on performance and nutrient use

Improvement of feed efficiency in growing pigs is a key issue for the economic and environmental sustainability oflivestock production. This can be achieved with novel techniques such as precision feeding (PF). Within the Horizon 2020 EU Feed-a-Gene program (grant agreement n°633531), a decision support system (DSS) was developed to implement precision feeding in commercial pig farms. This study aimed to test the functioning of the DSS in practical conditions and the consequences on performance and nutrient use of growing pigs fed ad libitum. Sixty-four pigs were reared from 77 to 161 days of age (34 to 109 kg body weight, BW) in a single pen equipped with an automatic weighing-sorting system and eight automatic feeders allowing to register feed intake and deliver a tailored blend of two diets (A and B with respectively 1.0 and 0.4 g SID Lysine (Lys)/MJ NE, and 9.7 MJ NE/kg) to individual pigs. Pigs of the control group received a blend providing 0.9 g SID Lysine (Lys)/MJ NE until the average group BW was 65 kg (growing phase) and 0.7 g SID Lys/MJ NE thereafter (finishing phase). For the PF group, the assessment of the SID Lys requirement was performed individually and on a daily basis, based on up to 20 previous records of BW and feed intake. Feed composition was changed accordingly by blending diets A and B in appropriate proportions. Daily feed intake, average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio did not differ between treatments for the overall period or per period. During the growing period, the SID Lys intake and the nitrogen intake and excretion were respectively 10.8, 8.8, and 14.4% lower in the PF group compared to the control group (P<0.05). During the finishing period, these values were only numerically lower (difference <2%; P>0.68). This could result from a slightly higher feed intake (+100 g/d, P=0.24) in PF group combined with a SID Lys supply already low in control group. A second experiment will be performed in the same conditions to confirm the potential of the PF using the developed DSS