Maternal breastfeeding in Portugal: factors associated with the duration and premature cessation

Tese de mestrado em Bioestatística, apresentada à Universidade de Lisboa, através da Faculdade de Ciências, 2013

Philosophies, traditional pedagogy, and new technologies: a report on a case study of EAP teachers' integration of technology into traditional practice

This chapter reports on a study of teachers in transition, developing their practice and their cognitions regarding the integration of learning technologies with traditional approaches to the teaching of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Taking a case study approach, it examines developments in the practice of three teachers during and after a teacher education programme on the use of technology in the EAP classroom. This is a study of cognition, teaching philosophy, and the relationship between pedagogy, technology, and content, and how teachers situate these within their own practice. The setting is the rapidly changing UK higher education environment, where the speed of change is such that today's latest fashions and gadgets may well be yesterday's news tomorrow. Thus, this is not a tale of individual technologies or tools to make teachers' lives better. This is a story of people, of pedagogy's traditional values intersecting with technology, and the issues arising from this, alongside the evolution of strategies for dealing with these issues.

Visual Approaches to Property Law Pedagogy

Purpose - To consider a more visual approach to property law teaching practices. This will be achieved by exploring the existence of ‘visual learners’ as a student body, evaluating the use of more visual teaching techniques in academic practice, recognising the historic dominance of text in legal education, and examining the potential for heightening visual teaching practices in the teaching of property law. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews and analyses some of the available literature on visual pedagogy, and visual approaches to legal education, but also introduces an amount of academic practitioner analysis. Findings – This paper evidences that, rather than focusing on the categorisation of ‘visual learner’, the modern academic practitioner should employ the customary use of more visual stimuli; consequently becoming a more ‘visual teacher’. This paper demonstrates that these practices, if performed effectively, can impact upon the information literacy of the whole student body: It also proffers a number of suggestions as to how this could be achieved within property law teaching practices. Practical implications – The paper will provide support for early-career academic practitioners, who are entering a teaching profession in a period of accelerated and continual change, by presenting an overview of pedagogic practices in the area. It will also provide a stimulus for those currently teaching on property law modules and support their transition to a more visual form of teaching practice. Originality/value – This paper provides a comprehensive overview of visual pedagogy in legal education, and specifically within that of property law, which has not been conducted elsewhere.

Discipline-specific writing for business students: Research, practice and pedagogy

In the past few years strong arguments have been made for locating academic writing in higher education within the students’ disciplinary contexts in the belief that a full understanding of the role and dynamic of writing can only be achieved if it is examined as a social practice in its context of production. This chapter reports on a study that examined the conceptualisations of writing for business by a group of undergraduate and postgraduate lecturers and students at the business school of a British university. Based on a critical analysis of the literature reviewed for the study, and the data collected, the chapter contributes to existing writing pedagogy with a number of research-informed transformative pedagogical applications for teaching discipline-specific writing for business. Such applications which combine context-oriented practices (e.g. raising awareness of the role of disciplinary values in shaping writing) and text-oriented activities (e.g. discipline-specific referencing) aim at influencing the pedagogic agenda for teaching writing in higher education. The chapter concludes with questions for reflection and discussion that provide an opportunity for readers to reflect upon their own teaching environment.

Unraveling maternal and fetal genetic factors protecting from Pregnancy Associated Malaria in the mouse

Malaria is one of the most devastating diseases in the world. In Plasmodium endemic regions, pregnant women are among the most vulnerable groups. Pregnancy Associated Malaria (PAM) threatens both maternal and foetal lives. Despite differences between human and mouse placentas PAM mouse models recapitulate key pathological features of human PAM. Here we describe new PAM models of mid gestation infection in the C57BL/6 mouse.(...)

Food availability affects the maternal transfer of androgens and antibodies into eggs of a colonial seabird.

Mothers can improve the quality of their offspring by increasing the level of certain components in their eggs. To examine whether or not mothers increase deposition of such components in eggs as a function of food availability, we food-supplemented black-legged kittiwake females (Rissa tridactyla) before and during egg laying and compared deposition of androgens and antibodies into eggs of first and experimentally induced replacement clutches. Food-supplemented females transferred lower amounts of androgens and antibodies into eggs of induced replacement clutches than did non-food-supplemented mothers, whereas first clutches presented no differences between treatments. Our results suggest that when females are in lower condition, they transfer more androgens and antibodies into eggs to facilitate chick development despite potential long-term costs for juveniles. Females in prime condition may avoid these potential long-term costs because they can provide their chicks with more and higher quality resources.

Maternal coping, appraisals and adjustment following diagnosis of fetal anomaly.

OBJECTIVE: So far, associations between appraisals, maternal adjustment and coping following diagnosis of fetal anomaly have not been investigated in women who continue with their pregnancy. METHOD: This study measured maternal coping and adjustment after and appraisal of a diagnosis of fetal anomaly in 40 mothers who had continued with their pregnancy using a cross-sectional questionnaire design. RESULTS: Based on retrospective reporting, 35% of participants met full diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder after having received the diagnosis. Women were significantly more depressed (p < 0.001) and anxious (p < 0.001) and reported significantly less positive affect (p < 0.05) after having received the diagnosis in comparison to the time after childbirth. There were no significant differences between emotion-focused and problem-focused coping. Stressful life events, women's age, number of people providing support and problem-focused coping explained 57.6% of variance in anxiety and depression after childbirth. Satisfaction with social support, emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping significantly explained 40.6% of variance in positive affect after childbirth. CONCLUSION: Following a prenatal diagnosis and for the remainder of their pregnancy, particular attention should be paid to older mothers, those experiencing additional stressful life events and those who are socially isolated, as these women may experience greater distress after childbirth.

Congenital heart disease in pregnancies complicated by maternal diabetes mellitus. An international clinical collaboration, literature review, and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Investigation of the incidence and distribution of congenital structural cardiac malformations among the offspring of mothers with diabetes type 1 and of the influence of periconceptional glycemic control. METHODS: Multicenter retrospective clinical study, literature review, and meta-analysis. The incidence and pattern of congenital heart disease in the own study population and in the literature on the offspring of type 1 diabetic mothers were compared with the incidence and spectrum of the various cardiovascular defects in the offspring of nondiabetic mothers as registered by EUROCAT Northern Netherlands. Medical records were, in addition, reviewed for HbA(1c) during the 1st trimester. RESULTS: The distribution of congenital heart anomalies in the own diabetic study population was in accordance with the distribution encountered in the literature. This distribution differed considerably from that in the nondiabetic population. Approximately half the cardiovascular defects were conotruncal anomalies. The authors' study demonstrated a remarkable increase in the likelihood of visceral heterotaxia and variants of single ventricle among these patients. As expected, elevated HbA(1c) values during the 1st trimester were associated with offspring fetal cardiovascular defects. CONCLUSION: This study shows an increased likelihood of specific heart anomalies, namely transposition of the great arteries, persistent truncus arteriosus, visceral heterotaxia and single ventricle, among offspring of diabetic mothers. This suggests a profound teratogenic effect at a very early stage in cardiogenesis. The study emphasizes the frequency with which the offspring of diabetes-complicated pregnancies suffer from complex forms of congenital heart disease. Pregnancies with poor 1st-trimester glycemic control are more prone to the presence of fetal heart disease.

Learning and healing: a wellness pedagogy for Aboriginal teacher education /

During the last 30 years Aboriginal peoples in Canada have made steady progress in reclaiming the responsibility for the education of their young people, especially in primary and secondary school. In comparison the education and or training of adult populations has not kept pace and many socioeconomic and sociocultural indicators demonstrate a ' , continued confinement of those populations to the margins of the dominant society of Canada. It is the adults, the mothers and the fathers, the grandmothers and grandfathers, the aunties and uncles that are the first teachers of the next generation and the nature of these relationships replicates the culture of unwellness in each subsequent generation through those teachers. There are few examples in the Aboriginal adult education literatures that give voice to the educational experience of the Learner. This study addresses that gap by exploring the perspectives embedded in the stories of a Circle of Learners who are, or were enrolled in the Bachelor of Education in Aboriginal Adult Education program at Brock University. That Circle of 1 participants included 9 women and 1 man, 6 of whom were from various i Anishinabek nations while 4 represented the Hotinonshd:ni nations in southern Ontario. They are an eclectic group, representing many professions, age groups, spiritual traditions, and backgrounds. This then is their story, the story of the heaming and Healing pedagogy and an expanded vision of Aboriginal education and research at Brock University.

The Clemente Course in the Humanities and critical pedagogy : a comparative analysis of Earl Shorris and bell hooks on poverty, racism, imperialism and patriarchy

The Clemente Course in the Humanities is an anti-poverty intervention for adults who self-identity as "poor" and humanities instructors. The course was created in 1995 by journalist Earl Shorris, who based the curriculum on a Socratic method of pedagogy and the "great books" canon of Robert Hutchins. It began as a community-based initiative in urban US settings, but since 1997 Mayan, Yup'ik and Cherokee iterations have been created, as well as on-campus bridge courses for non-traditional students to explore college-level education in Canada and the USA. The course potentially conflicts with critical pedagogy because the critical theories of Paulo Freire and contemporary cultural studies reject traditional notions of both the canon and teaching. However, a comparison between Shorris' and bell hooks' theories of oppression reveals significant similarities between his "surround of force" and her "capitalist imperialist white supremacist patriarchy," with implications for liberal studies and critical pedagogy.

The formation of conscience : pedagogy of the sacred

This qualitative study explores Thomas Green's (1999) treatise, Voices: The Educational Formation of Conscience; for the purpose of reconstruing the transformative usefulness of conscience in moral education. Conscience is "reflexive judgment about things that matter" (Green, 1999, p. 21). Paul Lehmann (1963) suggested that we must "do the conscience over or do the conscience in" (p. 327). Thomas Green "does the conscience over", arguing that a philosophy of moral education, and not a moral philosophy, provides the only framework from which governance of moral behaviour can be understood. Narratives from four one-to-one interviews and a focus group are analysed and interpreted in search of: (a) awareness and understanding of conscience, (b) voices of conscience, (c) normation, (d) reflexive emotions, and (e) the idea of the sacred. Participants in this study (ages 16-21) demonstrated an active awareness of their conscience and a willingness to engage in a reflective process of their moral behaviour. They understood their conscience to be a process of self-judgment about what is right and wrong, and that its authority comes from within themselves. Narrative accounts from childhood indicated that conscience is there "from the beginning" with evidence of selfcorrecting behaviour. A maturing conscience is accompanied by an increased cognitive capacity, more complicated life experiences, and individualization. Moral motivation was grounded in " a desire to connect with things that are most important." A model for conscience formation is proposed, which visualizes a critical path of reflexive emotions. It is argued that schools, striving to shape good citizens, can promote conscience formation through a "curriculum of moral skills"; a curriculum that embraces complexity, diversity, social criticism, and selfhood.

Finding the Open Spaces in Closed Systems: An Exploration of Critical Pedagogy with a Social Justice Directive in an Ontario Secondary School Classroom

This study examines the first experience of students, teachers, and an administrator in implementing a teacher-designed Leadership in Social Justice Program at a large urban Ontario secondary school. The program aimed to infuse a Freirean concept of critical pedagogical praxis (Freire, 1970/1993) in a grade 12 integrated educational experience with a social justice directive. Data were collected through two questionnaires and eight in-depth interviews. The data identified three areas of awareness that described ways in which student participants were impacted most profoundly (a) developing self-awareness, (b) understanding a new educational paradigm, and (c) finding a place in the world. The study found that the program was successful in highlighting the possibility for more meaningful education and engaged many students deeply; however, its success was limited by the lead teacher’s failure to fully grasp and implement tenets of Freirean critical pedagogy that involved the role of the teacher in pedagogical processes.

Improving English as a Second Language (ESL) Pedagogy in One University in Ontario

In this paper, theoretical pedagogical approaches and practical pedagogical approaches are investigated by drawing on English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers’ pedagogical principles and practices, and ESL Chinese students’ second language acquisition and learning needs as they related to improving ESL pedagogy in one university ELP in Ontario. Three experienced ESL teachers were inquired by interviews and 30 ESL Chinese students were surveyed by questionnaires. Based on the mix-method exploratory research design, communicative, task-based, and content-based language teaching approaches are identified and discussed in the light of the interview and questionnaire data.

The Kids Need Hip-Hop: Reengaging Students through Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

My thesis advocates for critically-conscious hip-hop in classrooms to promote student engagement and culturally relevant pedagogical practices. This proposed approach to educating youth offsets the harmful effects of a normalized curriculum that limits students’ creativity and discounts their experiences as lifelong learners. My thesis gathers data from research literature on hip-hop and education, critically-conscious hip-hop lyrics, and also includes my own hip-hop muse to illustrate the positive tenets of critically-conscious hip-hop. The research literature in my thesis is gathered from multiple studies within North American high schools. My hip-hop muse interrelates with critically-conscious hip-hop lyrics because they both address contemporary issues through social commentary and critical awareness. The element of social commentary in my hip-hop muse is displayed through short poems and verses that outline my experiences in a normalized schooling environment. Throughout my thesis, I uncover the causes of student disengagement in classrooms, the ways in which critically-conscious hip-hop music serves as a tool for reengaging youth, and the approaches that must be taken in order to adequately integrate hip-hop into today’s classrooms. My thesis is important within the context of Canadian classrooms because it acts as an agent for social change and cultural relevance through a critical lens. The purpose of this approach, then, is to demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of our society and schooling system through social critique and proposals for change. More importantly, my thesis is grounded in equity; in which critically-conscious hip-hop serves as a bridge for students’ experiences, interests, and independent identities.