Equestrian tourism: an opportunity for portuguese

Portugal provides a large number of factors that boost the development of the national equestrian tourism. It represents an opportunity for the qualification and differentiation of the national tourism, to stimulate rural economies, to combat seasonality and asymmetries.This study want to understand the importance, for the equestrian tourist, of the critical success factors such as the Lusitano horse, the national equestrian culture, the landscape diversity, among others. Also, how they can contribute to the differentiation of the national equestrian tourism for international destinations that are already deployed in the market.For this study is crucial to know the perspective of those involved in the various equestrian tourism activities. In this sense, a group of companies were selected and exploratory interviews were conducted that contributed to important outputs in the construction of the questionnaire.The research was attended by 110 individuals, with different profiles, motivations and types of involvement. From the analysis, it is concluded that the critical success factors are significant in motivating equestrian tourists, namely the quality of equestrian infrastructures, the Lusitano horse, the hospitality, among others. It is also possible to analyze that the equestrian tourist demonstrates a strong commitment: they are knowledgeable, read a lot about riding and belong to equestrian clubs.Finally, the factor analysis highlight the agreement between participants and a significant number of statements made in the questionnaire related to motivation and involvement. It is possible to conclude that equestrian tourists look for relaxing moments and opportunities to expand their equestrian knowledge.

A new inhight on the Portuguese traditional sweets as cultural identity: a scientific approach towards evaluation of texture in Castanhas de Ovos de Viseu

The importance of the gastronomic heritage of any people is unquestionable and Portugal is particularly rich when it comes to sweets. Hence, the objective of this work was to give a contribution colour and texture, due to their importance for consumer acceptance. The samples were bought from a pastry in Viseu and produced according to the traditional recipe. Colour evaluation was made by a colorimeter and textural analysis by a texturometer. The results obtained allowed concluding that there were differences between the top burned area and the non-burned areas, as well as when comparing the ruffled with unruffled samples either regarding colour and also texture. The burned area was darker, with a more intense red and less yellow. As to texture, the ruffles samples were harder than the unruffled samples.

Feeding students’ creativity with language arts: a project developed at ESEV (2013-15)

Children live at a time when the rapid turnover of information and the ongoing changes in the technological, social, cultural, political and economic spheres make it more difficult for teachers to prepare lessons that enhance students’ interest and motivation. There is so much to be learnt outside of the classroom’s four walls that traditional methods of teaching may not be the most effective way to teach today’s learners. When it comes to classes of Portuguese language, teachers are faced with the challenge of teaching culture, literature, grammar and skills such as reading, writing and speaking in a way that involves students as active participants, that is, in a way that engages while also instructing. It means that several strategies need to be adopted, from games to the use of new technologies or, among others, an interdisciplinary approach with maths, (social) sciences and arts, for instance. In an attempt to motivate gifted and talented children that were attending elementary school in a small town near Viseu, in Portugal, The School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu was asked to be part of a project in 2013, in a collaborative partnership that proved successful and that was re-enacted in 2015. It is in light of the above that, in this paper, we aim to: a) describe the support that the School of Education provided to these participants, children who were between six and fourteen, by presenting Portuguese language activities that intended to stimulate creative thinking and artistic production; and b) discuss the results of the project, by analysing the students’ productions across verbal and visual modes (ie. script writing and dubbing an excerpt of an animation film, interviews, news reports, drawings, the creation and recitation of poems…). Future activities are on the table, meaning that the School of Education’s commitment to feeding the students’ creativity has shown promising results. Creativity in Portuguese classes is not a guarantee of success but it certainly is food for thought.