Vivências do nascimento: Subjectividades da relação pessoa/espaço ambiental. Um estudo exploratório

A realização desta pesquisa visa, essencialmente, explorar a interacção que as pessoas desenvolvem com os espaços físicos e sociais, ou seja, com o espaço ambiental. Assim, e a partir do ponto de vista da Psicologia Ambiental enquanto disciplina que integra o quadro conceptual da Ecologia Humana, procurámos conhecer a simbologia da vivência do espaço ambiental num serviço de obstetrícia, no contexto do parto, tendo definido como objectivo para a nossa investigação: "Descrever as vivências de parturientes, no decurso do nascimento de seus filhos, em particular no que concerne à interacção da pessoa com o ambiente físico e social". O enquadramento do tema foi traçado a partir de abordagens da Psicologia Ambiental que procuram investigar a interacção entre a pessoa e o ambiente físico e social. Depositámos o nosso interesse na concepção teórica de Roger Barker e partimos para o conhecimento da referida interacção num cenário comportamental, que neste estudo é a sala de partos. Recolhemos a opinião de 12 mulheres, que se disponibilizaram para participar, através de uma entrevista parcialmente estruturada. Os discursos recolhidos foram analisados com vista à construção de categorias que nos permitissem conhecer a experiência das parturientes enquanto utilizadoras temporárias de um espaço institucional com características particulares como é uma sala de partos. A análise dos discursos das participantes acerca da experiência do nascimento dos seus filhos deixou patente a interacção com o espaço ambiental permitindo recolher alguma informação interessante proveniente da sua influência na vivência do nascimento. No final, o que emana do estudo realizado é a convicção de que as relações interpessoais ocupam um papel destacado no panorama de um cenário comportamental, o que nos remete para a importância da promoção duma conduta profissional mais esclarecida e humanizante. Foi também esse o objectivo com que procurámo explorar o fenómeno e deixar algumas pistas nesta área ainda pouco investigada. ABSTRACT; This research looks, essentially, to acknowledge people interaction in a given physical setting, from Human Ecology's point of view. Thus, and from the point of view of environmental psychology as a discipline that integrates the conceptual framework of Human Ecology, we became interested in understanding the environmental space experience symbology in the birth context, in an obstetrics service. We were interested to know the experience of women as protagonists in the birth of their children, and the interaction they developed with the environment during hospitalization in the delivery room. Thus, we define as an objective: "Describe the experiences of the parturients, during the birth of their children, particularly in what concerns to the interaction between person and physical and social environment". The framework of the theme was drawn from environmental psychology approaches that seek to investigate the interaction between the person and the physical and social environment. We have our interest in the theoretical design of Roger Barker and left for the knowledge of that interaction in a behavioral scenario, which, in this study, is the delivery room. We collected the views of 12 informants who agreed to participate, through a partially structured interview. The results analysis was obtained through the dismantling of speech and significance links assignment. Understanding the experience was achieved through the analysis of the categories identified retrospectively, according to the subject that originated the approach. The survey, as we designed it, revealed us, in the context of the environmental space interaction, woman's point of view, as a temporarily user of an institutional space with special characteristics. ln the end, what comes from this study is the belief that interpersonal relationships play a prominent role in the panorama of a behavioral scenario, conducting us to the importance of promoting a more informed and humanizing professional conduct. This was also our objective as we tried to explore the phenomenon, leaving some clues in this area still poorly investigated.

Avaliação do efeito do corte horizontal da copa, com máquina de podar de discos, em pomares de pera “Rocha

Current pear pruning making use of pneumatic shears still is a very labour intensive operation. The Proder project “Avaliação da poda mecânica em pomares de pera” was designed to contribute to solutions that would reduce the present dependence in labour and therefore to promote a reduction in pruning costs. This paper shows the results of a trial made to evaluate the influence of mechanical topping in manual pruning complement field work and pear yield. Topping was performed using a Reynolds 6DT 3.0m cutting bar with six hydraulic-driven circular disc-saws mounted in the three point tractor linkage system. The field trial was performed in a commercial orchard with 20 years, planted in an array of 4m x 2m with tree lines oriented in North-South direction. Trees were trained as the central leader system. In this trial, in a randomised complete block design with four replications, two treatments are being compared leading to 8 plots with one line of 14 trees per plot. The treatments tests were: T1 - manual pruning performed by workers using pneumatic shears, in each year; T2 - Topping the canopy parallel to the ground, using a discs-saw pruning machine mounted in a front loader of an agricultural tractor, followed by manual pruning complement performed by workers with pneumatic shears. Tree height and width was measured, before and after pruning. Work was timed and pear yields evaluated. Mechanical topping seems to be effective in the control of tree height, which can contribute to increase 14% of work rates on manual pruning complement. No significant differences in pear yield were found between treatments.

Creative Practices Around the Production of Cork

Cork, as a natural product provided by the bark of the cork oak tree, is an important staple of the Portuguese economy and important to Portuguese culture. It is a sustainable product with a positive ecological footprint, from harvesting to industrial production, with the advantage of creating a local economic model through regional labour activity and distribution. Within the balance between nature-human-economy to create a sustainable system, cork production in Portugal represents a human and social dimension. By focusing on that dimension and by creating an awareness of the cultural and social impact of the activity and by re-appraising the meaning of the material within the culture, the study reframes a consideration of the actual place of labour and production. The human, geophysical, historical, social, economic, ecological and cultural aspects of the place are observed as regards their relation to work or labour in that physical space. A pilot study is being developed in the village of Azaruja in the district of Évora, Portugal. In this small locality, cork is very important in terms of the relationships between the physical subsistence of their residents and the local natural resources, because it structures the place in its cultural, social and economical dimensions. This paper outlines the theoretical foundations, the process and the outcomes of the participatory ecodesign project titled Creative Practices Around the Production of Cork which was initiated by a Portuguese artist/design researcher and developed further through the collaboration with the other two authors, one a Portuguese visual artist/researcher and the other a Turkish fashion designer/theorist. The investigation focuses on questions that expand the notion of place for artists and designers, filtered through the lenses of manual labourers in order to understand their physical, social, cultural and economic relationship with the environment. To create the process of interaction with the place and the people, a creative collaborative dynamic is developed between the authors with their range of artistic sensibilities and the local population. To adopt a holistic notion of sustainability and cultural identity a process of investigation is designated to: (1) analyse, test and interpret - through the dissemination of life stories, visual representation of the place and the creation of cork objects - the importance of culture related to the labour activity of a local natural resource that determines and structures the region; (2) to give public recognition to those involved, taking into account their sense of belonging to the place and in order to show the value of their sustainable labour activities related to local natural resources; (3) to contribute to the knowledge of the place and to its dynamism through an aesthetic approach to labour activities. With reference to fields of knowledge such as anthropology, the social arts and sustainable design, a practice-based research is conducted with collaborative and participatory design methods to create an open model of interaction which involves local people in the realization of the project. Outcomes of this research will be presented in the paper as a survey analysis with theoretical conclusions.