Typologies of post-divorce coparenting and parental well-being, parenting quality and children’s psychological adjustment

First published online: 30 October 2015

The influence of low-frequency noise pollution on the quality of life and place in sustainable cities: a case study from northern Portugal

Discussing urban planning requires rethinking sustainability in cities and building healthy environments. Historically, some aspects of advancing the urban way of life have not been considered important in city planning. This is particularly the case where technological advances have led to conflicting land use, as with the installation of power poles and building electrical substations near residential areas. This research aims to discuss and rethink sustainability in cities, focusing on the environmental impact of low-frequency noise and electromagnetic radiation on human health. It presents data from a case study in an urban space in northern Portugal, and focuses on four guiding questions: Can power poles and power lines cause noise? Do power poles and power lines cause discomfort? Do power poles and power lines cause discomfort due to noise? Can power poles and power lines affect human health? To answer these questions, we undertook research between 2014 and 2015 that was comprised of two approaches. The first approach consisted of evaluating the noise of nine points divided into two groups â near the sourceâ (e.g., up to 50 m from power poles) and â away from the sourceâ (e.g., more than 250 m away from the source). In the second approach, noise levels were measured for 72 h in houses located up to 20 m from the source. The groups consist of residents living within the distance range specified for each group. The measurement values were compared with the proposed criteria for assessing low-frequency noise using the DEFRA Guidance (University of Salford). In the first approach, the noise caused discomfort, regardless of the group. In the second approach, the noise had fluctuating characteristics, which led us to conclude that the noise caused discomfort.

A educação para a saúde em meio escolar como veículo construtor para a mudança de comportamentos alimentares

Relatório de estágio de mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

Using stated preference methods to assess environmental impacts of forest biomass power plants in Portugal

As a renewable energy source, the use of forest biomass for electricity generation is advantageous in comparison with fossil fuels, however the activity of forest biomass power plants causes adverse impacts, affecting particularly neighbouring communities. The main objective of this study is to estimate the effects of the activity of forest biomass power plants on the welfare of two groups of stakeholders, namely local residents and the general population and we apply two stated preference methods: contingent valuation and discrete choice experiments, respectively. The former method was applied to estimate the minimum compensation residents of neighbouring communities of two forest biomass power plants in Portugal would be willing to accept. The latter method was applied among the general population to estimate their willingness to pay to avoid specific environmental impacts. The results show that the presence of the selected facilities affects individuals’ well-being. On the other hand, in the discrete choice experiments conducted among the general population all impacts considered were significant determinants of respondents’ welfare levels. The results of this study stress the importance of performing an equity analysis of the welfare effects on different groups of stakeholders from the installation of forest biomass power plants, as their effects on welfare are location and impact specific. Policy makers should take into account the views of all stakeholders either directly or indirectly involved when deciding crucial issues regarding the sitting of new forest biomass power plants, in order to achieve an efficient and equitable outcome.

Aggregating community resources of care and assistance services for the elderly population

Changes in population age structure are a major concern and represent a priority in the agendas and policies of the developed world, which are demanding for renewed models of social and healthcare as well as assistance services to the elderly population. Studies indicate that as far as possible these types of services should desirably be provided at the user’s home, and that ICT-based solutions can have tremendous impact on the delivery of new services. This paper highlight and discusses some of the main results of a project undertaken in a Portuguese Municipality that demonstrates the potential contribution of an e-Marketplace of care and assistance services to the well-being of elderly people. Studies undertaken allowed identifying the main services that should be provided by such e-Marketplace (termed GuiMarket), the relevance that the population grant to this platform and, conversely, the fact that the Digital Divide phenomena influences the potential utilization of this project (and alike projects). The findings support that there is a strong relation between age and qualifications, and between access to ICT and the intended use of GuiMarket.

The quantified-Self and wearable technologies in the workplace: implications and challenges for their implementations

Introduction of technologies in the workplace have led to a dramatic change. These changes have come with an increased capacity to gather data about one’s working performance (i.e. productivity), as well as the capacity to track one’s personal responses (i.e. emotional, physiological, etc.) to this changing workplace environment. This movement of self-monitoring or self-sensing using diverse types of wearable sensors combined with the use of computing has been identified as the Quantified-Self. Miniaturization of sensors, reduction in cost and a non-stop increase in the computer power capacity has led to a panacea of wearables and sensors to track and analyze all types of information. Utilized in the personal sphere to track information, a looming question remains, should employers use the information from the Quantified-Self to track their employees’ performance or well-being in the workplace and will this benefit employees? The aim of the present work is to layout the implications and challenges associated with the use of Quantified-Self information in the workplace. The Quantified-Self movement has enabled people to understand their personal life better by tracking multiple information and signals; such an approach could allow companies to gather knowledge on what drives productivity for their business and/or well-being of their employees. A discussion about the implications of this approach will cover 1) Monitoring health and well-being, 2) Oversight and safety, and 3) Mentoring and training. Challenges will address the question of 1) Privacy and Acceptability, 2) Scalability and 3) Creativity. Even though many questions remain regarding their use in the workplace, wearable technologies and Quantified-Self data in the workplace represent an exciting opportunity for the industry and health and safety practitioners who will be using them.

Práticas centradas na família: identificação de comportamentos para uma prática de qualidade nos distritos de Braga, Viana do Castelo e Vila Real

Dissertação de mestrado em Educação Especial (área de especialização em Intervenção Precoce)

Educação para a sustentabilidade: O uso de Sistemas de Informação Geográfica Participativos como instrumento de participação de crianças e adolescentes na construção de sociedades mais sustentáveis

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências da Educação (Área de Conhecimento: Educação ambiental e para a Sustentabilidade)

Prontidão escolar: validação de um instrumento Lollipop Test numa amostra portuguesa: crenças de progenitores e educadores de infância

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Psicologia

Escolhas e preferências alimentares: um estudo com estudantes universitários

Dissertação de mestrado em Psicologia Aplicada

Satisfaction with Life Scale among adolescents and young adults in Portugal: extending evidence of construct validity

The paper presents three empirical studies designed to extend the test of the construct validity of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) among Portuguese students. In the first study, the responses of 461 elementary and secondary education students were submitted to a principal component analysis. A solution of one single factor was chosen, accounting for 55.7 % of the total variance, with Cronbach alpha coefficient and inter-item correlation above .70 and .20, respectively. The second study used a sample of 317 undergraduate students and registered a similar factor solution for SWLS (/pq = 0.99), which accounted for 65.6 % of the total variance (Cronbach alpha .89 and inter-item correlation above .20). A test–retest analysis registered coefficients of .70 (T2) and .77 (T3) and no significant statistically differences between T2, T3 and T1. The third study used a sample of 107 foster care youths from elementary and secondary education. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicate adequate fit indexes for the one-factor solution (v2/df = 2.70, GFI = .96, CFI = .96), which showed convergent validity, reliability and homogeneity. In conclusion, there is psychometric evidence for the one-factor structure of the SWLS in Portugal.

Confluências e divergências conceituais em educação em saúde

A educação em saúde conheceu, no último século, profundas mudanças, tanto no plano conceitual como no das práticas dele decorrentes, fruto das transformações por que passou a humanidade em termos políticos, económicos e sociais. O conceito de educação desviou-se da perspectiva instruidora e escolarizadora de crianças e jovens, centrada na transmissão-assimilação de conhecimentos, para uma perspectiva mais abrangente e integradora, centrada na criação de condições que permitem aos indivíduos desenvolverem-se holisticamente na sua multidimensionalidade, em permanente interação com os outros. Por sua vez, o conceito de saúde perdeu o seu pendor negativo de ausência de doença, passando a ser entendido positivamente como um estado de completo bem-estar físico, mental, social e espiritual, em constante mutação ao longo da vida. Nesse sentido, a educação em saúde deixou também de ser vista como a transmissão de informação de caráter higienisto-sanitário, orientada para a prevenção ou o tratamento da doença, efetuada em contextos formais, para passar a ser entendida como a capacitação dos indivíduos para controlarem os seus próprios determinantes de saúde, através da criação ou do desenvolvimento de competências de ação. A educação e a saúde passam, pois, a apresentar-se como duas faces de um mesmo processo. Neste trabalho pretendemos, pois, analisar a evolução conceptual em torno da saúde e da educação no séc. XX, tentando perceber até que ponto essas mudanças conceptuais se têm refletido ao nível das práticas.

Processos de melhoria social: a requalificação do Bairro Social de Santa Tecla

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Arquitectura

Influence of river ecological condition on changes in physico-chemical water parameters along rivers

Dissertação de mestrado em Ecology

Questões de género nas revistas generalistas de informação em Portugal: cruzamentos temáticos na Sábado e Visão

As revistas de informação generalista configuram uma interseção entre as representações socioeconómicas, políticas e culturais e os quotidianos da população. Neste artigo apresentamos uma análise temática das revistas de informação generalista Sábado e Visão, as mais lidas do segmento em Portugal. O corpus de análise foi composto por 440 peças jornalísticas de 104 edições que correspondem a todos os números editados em 2011 por estas duas publicações. O estudo empírico, realizado com recurso ao software NVivo 10, revela uma transversalidade da abordagem aos temas político-económicos, espelho da conjuntura nacional e internacional no ano de 2011. As diferenças mais visíveis entre as duas revistas revelam uma maior opção pelos temas Sexualidades e Relações de Intimidade e Jet set na Sábado e Saúde, Lazer e bem-estar na Visão. Além disso, no que concerne às representações de género, presentes em vários temas, surgem na generalidade assentes num binarismo que transpõe o olhar da dimensão de género para o sexo biológico e que opõe as representações tradicionais da feminilidade e masculinidade, condicionando o surgimento de representações alternativas.