Sustaining Success Week 4 Task: Reflection and Action - elaborate

link to the documents which describe the personal reflection task. One of the tasks you may choose to submit

Self-medication and related terms: a conceptual reflection

Introduction: self-medication has become a growing practice in the world population. This phenomenon has been promoted as a form of self-care, with a positive impact on reducing spending in health systems, however there is concern about the potential negative effects related to inadequate diagnosis and treatment, which can affect health of individuals. This dual perception of the phenomenon is partly related to a variety of terms and concepts used, that make difficult its theoretical and empirical approach. Harmonization of the definitions involved is required in order to make adequate epidemiological comparisons. Objectives: analyze the concept of self medication and related terms from the definitions in the literature of the subject. Conclusions: in the last four decades it has been an evolution of both the wording and the definitions related to self-medication, from a very simple concept that implies the absence of prescription, to more complex ones that encompass very diverse behaviors, even those mediated by an act of prescription but not followed or not completed by the patient. Additionally the conceptual proliferation seen, justify the ordering of the terms related to self-medication. This paper presents a proposal for classification in four groups: a. self-medication, b. self care, c. pharmaceutical preparations and medicines, and d. prescription. This proposal should facilitate the exploration and analysis of the phenomenon and allow future theoretical approaches.

Al – Qaeda and the international politics: a teorical Reflection

Through the study of the relationship between non-state actors and states, is pretended to analyze the role of Al-Qaeda in international politics. It is argued that Al-Qaeda tries or has the ability to promote or accelerate changes in the power  structure, where stands the American hegemony and the pursuit of balance by  various actors, implementing asymmetric strategies as counter-hegemonic responses.

Accountability de los profesores y las escuelas, y precisión de los tests de instrucción para medir los logros instructivos de los alumnos : el índice de efectividad como criterio.

Resumen basado en el de la publicación

Acounting before accountability. 'Contabilizar antes de rendir cuentas'.

Resumen tomado del autor

Building Professional Capacity Aiming to Improve the Educational Position of Migrant Children : a reflection on the Sirius network activities

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

Mercado, performance, accountability. Duas décadas de retórica reaccionária na educação

A performance e a eficácia instituíram-se como prioridade das actuais políticas de educação. Quais os motivos que levaram à sua afirmação como paradigma dos sistemas educativos em detrimento da escola compreensiva? O presente artigo visa reconstituir e questionar a construção das teses fundamentais que contribuíram para a denúncia da crise generalizada da escola compreensiva e o aparecimento do modelo de escola eficaz, capaz de se integrar num mercado concorrencial e globalizado, no quadro de uma retórica reaccionária, instalada nos últimos vinte anos nos EUA e no Reino Unido e que se vem alargando à escala global. Pretende-se, desta forma, suscitar a reflexão sobre o papel dos sociólogos da educação na compreensão da interacção dos vários agentes educativos a uma escala globalizada e das novas implicações do capitalismo nas políticas educativas.

Nem tudo o que conta em educação é mensurável ou comparável. Crítica à accountability baseada em testes estandardizados e rankings escolares

O conceito de accountability é, em geral, polissémico e denso. Contudo, eu pretendo, neste texto, mencionar apenas alguns dos aspectos da sua contextualização ampla em termos teórico-conceptuais. Associo o conceito de accountability a três dimensões articuláveis: avaliação, prestação de contas e responsabilização. Depois, analiso algumas das relações entre avaliação e accountability tendo como pretexto os testes estandardizados, os exames nacionais e os rankings. Finalmente, concluo que a accountability baseada apenas nestes procedimentos é uma forma parcelar, incompleta e redutora face à complexidade e pluralidade dos objectivos, missões e funções da educação escolar.

Evolving definition of sociomuseology : proposal for reflection

Sociomuseology expresses a considerable amount of the effort made to suit museological facilities to the conditions of contemporary society. The process of opening up the museum, as well as its organic relation with the social context that infuses it with life, has resulted in the need to structure and clarify the relations, notions and concepts that may define this process. Sociomuseology is thus a scientific field of teaching, research and performance which emphasizes the articulation of museology, in particular, with the areas of knowledge covered by Human Sciences, Development Studies, Services Science, and Urban and Rural Planning. The multidisciplinary approach of Sociomuseology aims to strengthen the acknowledgement of museology as a resource for the sustainable development of Humanity, based on equal opportunities as well as social and economic inclusion. Sociomuseology bases its social intervention on mankind’s cultural and natural heritage, both tangible and intangible. What characterizes Sociomuseology is not so much the nature of its premises and its goals, as is the case with other areas of knowledge, but the interdisciplinary focus which makes it draw on perfectly consolidated areas of knowledge and relate them with Museology itself.