Isometrias: uma abordagem interdisciplinar no 8º ano de escolaridade

A sociedade atual requer indivíduos preparados para apresentar soluções inovadoras aos problemas encontrados nas mais variadas situações, sendo a criatividade considerada, na última década, uma competência essencial para o progresso. Neste contexto, emerge a necessidade da escola fomentar o seu desenvolvimento em qualquer área, e em particular, na Matemática. Por outro lado, não será alheio a este facto a promoção de um ensino, também ele, criativo. Tal ensino exige desde logo uma original, fluente e flexível gestão curricular envolvendo uma adequada seleção e ou (re) criação de tarefas relevantes, criteriosamente sequenciadas e autonomamente resolvidas pelos alunos, numa lógica de interdisciplinaridade e com recurso a tecnologia. No caso especifico das transformações geométricas isométricas, uma abordagem interdisciplinar reforçada com o recurso a ambientes de geometria dinâmica poderá constituir uma mais-valia nesse processo. Assim, desenvolveu-se este estudo, com o objetivo de avaliar o impacto de uma abordagem interdisciplinar, potenciada com o GeoGebra, no desenvolvimento de competências geométricas relacionadas com as isometrias, frisos e rosáceas, e em simultâneo, no desenvolvimento da criatividade e representações da mesma, de alunos do oitavo ano de escolaridade. Para isso desenvolveu-se um estudo de caso, centrado em três pares de alunos, que resolveram um conjunto de tarefas de natureza exploratória, com recurso ao GeoGebra e envolvendo a disciplina de Educação Visual. A análise dos dados recolhidos foi, essencialmente, de natureza qualitativa, tendo sido a observação, a inquirição e a análise documental,as principais técnicas de recolha de dados. A análise de conteúdo a que foram submetidos os dados, permitiu concluir que a implementação de uma abordagem interdisciplinar, centrada numa sequência de tarefas e aliada ao GeoGebra, potenciou a apropriação dos conhecimentos geométricos em causa e a sua aplicação. Contribuiu, também, para o desenvolvimento de atitudes favoráveis em relação à matemática e à geometria em particular. Por outro lado, os dados sugerem que tal abordagem permite obter indícios do desenvolvimento da criatividade nos alunos e de alterações a algumas das suas representações.

Representações de professores de educação especial acerca do sucesso educativo de alunos com necessidades educativas especiais

Dissertação de mest., Psicologia da Educação, Especialidade: Necessidades Educativas Especiais, Universidade do Algarve, 2006

Methods to improve creativity and innovation: the effectiveness of creative problem solving

This chapter focuses on the development of organizational creativity, using the CPS methodology, aiming at demonstrating its effectiveness in using the individual and team divergent thinking improvement in identifying organizational problems. A study was undertaken using problem solving teams in seven companies, in which each individual was submitted to a pre-post test in attitudes towards divergent thinking and asked to express the evaluation of the method. All the information reported in the sessions was recorded. The results indicate a change in attitude favourable to divergent thinking, the provision of a professional, efficient method of organizing knowledge in such a way that can help individuals to find original solutions to problems, and an important way to lead teams to creativity and innovation, according with companies different orientations.

Predicting intention to work with social robots

The growing number of robotic solutions geared to interact socially with humans, social robots, urge the study of the factors that will facilitate or hinder future human robot collaboration. Hence the research question: what are the factors that predict intention to work with a social robot in the near future. To answer this question the following socio-cognitive models were studied, the theory of reasoned action, the theory of planned behavior and the model of goal directed behavior. These models purport that all the other variables will only have an indirect effect on behavior. That is, through the variables of the model. Based on the research on robotics and social perception/ cognition, social robot appearance, belief in human nature uniqueness, perceived warmth, perceived competence, anthropomorphism, negative attitude towards robots with human traits and negative attitudes towards interactions with robots were studied for their effects on attitude towards working with a social robot, perceived behavioral control, positive anticipated emotions and negative anticipated emotions. Study 1 identified the social representation of robot. Studies 2 to 5 investigated the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the negative attitude towards robots scale. Study 6 investigated the psychometric properties of the belief in human nature uniqueness scale. Study 7 tested the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior. Study 8 tested the model of goal directed behavior. Studies 7 and 8 also tested the role of the external variables. Study 9 tested and compared the predictive power of the three socio-cognitive models. Finally conclusion are drawn from the research results, and future research suggestions are offered.

Hannoversche Korruptionsskala (HKS 38)

Mit der Hannoverschen Korruptionsskala (HKS 38) kann die Einstellung gegenüber Korruption gemessen werden. Die HKS 38 besteht aus 38 Items, die den Subskalen kognitiv, affektiv und konativ zugeordnet werden können. Die 38 Items der Endversion wurden anhand studentischer Stichproben (n=709) per Itemanalyse nach den Regeln der klassischen Testtheorie aus 130 Items selektiert. Für die Gesamtskala sowie die drei Subskalen stehen einheitliche Normen zur Verfügung. Die Daten für die Normierung wurden in einer repräsentativen Telefonumfrage innerhalb der deutschsprachigen Wohnbevölkerung erhoben (n=1.391). Der Einsatzbereich der Skala ist ab 18 Jahre.

O ensino da biologia e geologia com recursos às tecnologias da informação e comunicação:implicações para a aprendizagem

Tese de doutoramento, Educação (Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação na Educação), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2014

Approaching Models of Nursing from a Postmodernist Perspective

This paper explores some questions about the use of models of nursing. These questions make various assumptions about the nature of models of nursing, in general and in particular. Underlying these assumptions are various philosophical positions which are explored through an introduction to postmodernist approaches in philosophical criticism. To illustrate these approaches, a critique of the Roper et al. model is developed, and more general attitudes towards models of nursing are examined. It is suggested that postmodernism offers a challenge to many of the assumptions implicit in models of nursing, and that a greater awareness of these assumptions should lead to nursing care being better informed where such models are in use.

Um estudo longitudinal sobre o efeito da formação no índice de autoeficácia e nos níveis de utilização das TIC dos professores

Tese de doutoramento, Educação (Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação na Educação), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2015

Reform, Standards and Teacher Identity: Challenges of Sustaining Commitment

Teacher commitment has been found to be a critical predictor of teachers’ work performance, absenteeism, retention, burnout and turnover, as well as having an important influence on students’ motivation, achievement, attitudes towards learning and being at school (Firestone (1996). Educational Administration Quarterly, 32(2), 209–235; Graham (1996). Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 67(1), 45–47; Louis (1998). School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 9(1), 1–27; Tsui & Cheng (1999). Educational Research and Evaluation, 5(3), 249–268). It is also a necessary ingredient to the successful implementation, adaptation or resistance reform agendas. Surprisingly, however, the relationship between teachers’ motivation, efficacy, job satisfaction and commitment, and between commitment and the quality of their work has not been the subject of extensive research. Some literature presents commitment as a feature of being and behaving as a professional (Helsby, Knight, McCulloch, Saunders, & Warburton (1997). A report to participants on the professional cultures of Teachers Research Project, Lancaster University, January). Others suggest that it fluctuates according to personal, institutional and policy contexts (Louis (1998). School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 9(1), 1–27) and identify different dimensions of commitment which interact and fluctuate (Tyree (1996). Journal of Educational Research, 89(5), 295–304). Others claim that teachers’ commitment tends to decrease progressively over the course of the teaching career (Fraser, Draper, & Taylor (1998). Evaluation and Research in Education, 12 (2), 61–71; Huberman (1993). The lives of teachers. London: Cassell). In this research, experienced teachers in England and Australia were interviewed about their understandings of commitment. The data suggest that commitment may be better understood as a nested phenomena at the centre of which is a set of core, relatively permanent values based upon personal beliefs, images of self, role and identity which are subject to challenge by change which is socio-politically constructed.

Marriage and gender inequality: work–family arrangements of Portuguese and British highly qualified women

This article examines work–family reconciliation processes in order to understand if, over the course of marital life, women become socially closer or further away from their partner. Drawing on work–life interviews with highly qualified women in Portugal and Britain, we compare these processes in two societies with different historical and social backgrounds. Findings reveal three main configurations of social (in)equality which emerge during married life: growing inequality in favour of the man, in favour of the woman or equality between spouses. With due attention to the importance of national specific factors, we present three main conclusions. First, (in) equality is built up over the course of marital life and female strategies for reconciling family and work are at the core of this process. Second, the national specificities can mould the effects of cross-national gender mechanisms. Third, the intersection between cross-cultural phenomena such as conservative attitudes towards domestic work and national specificities (such as the availability of part-time options) is a rather complex process which needs further research.

Why are we Waiting? Research, Policy and Practice in Recruiting and Supporting Same Gender Couples in Child Adoption

The adoption process is renowned for its difficulties, however gay and lesbian couples face unique, additional challenges when choosing parenthood through adoption. The Adoption and Children’s Act (2002), Equality Act (2006) and the Sexual Orientation Regulations act (2007) are some of the recent policy changes aimed at ‘smoothing out’ the adoption process for same-gender couples (Cosis-Brown & Kershaw, 2008). Resultantly, there appear to be more cases of gay adoption than ever before (Equality Britain, 2005), however, anecdotal evidence suggests that across the UK the practice of recruiting and supporting gay and lesbian adopters is inconsistent. Whilst some local authorities encourage and emphasise the importance of stability and high quality care for vulnerable looked after children regardless of parental sexuality (Mallon, 2007); yet case studies of gay and lesbian couples seeking adoption demonstrate the unique challenges they encounter in the adoption process because of religious views (Hicks, 2005) or the attitudes towards same gender parenting of adoption panels and social workers within an unspoken hierarchy (Ahmed, 2008; Dennis, 2006). Government’s drive towards adoption (Unwin and Misca, 2013) of children in care as a favoured alternative should lead to recognition of same-gender couples as an under-utilised resource of potential adopters to be used in the best interest of the children who are looked after. The poster will present the results of research undertaken by the authors during 2012-13 highlighting how research on same-gender parenthood over the past decades has influenced the recent developments in the adoption policy and practice in the UK and worldwide. The poster will identify areas of potential barriers encountered in translating these policy changes in the current practice of adoption with a particular focus on professionals’ attitudes towards same-gender couples as potential adopters.

Risk under performance-based contracting in the UK construction sector

As a method of procuring the services of the built environment, performance-based contracting (PBC) seeks to link the building supplier to longer term commitments than has traditionally been the case in the construction sector. By rewarding the building producer according to the way that building or structure delivers the users' requirements, rather than according to a list of assembled parts, a number of additional risks are taken by contractors, including fitness for purpose, costs and briefing. The extent to which contractors recognize these risks and their methods of dealing with them vary considerably and are influenced by their attitudes towards risk. As the risks associated with PBC are seen as large, uninsurable, and vulnerable to changing client requirements, the majority of respondents would reject the use of PBC as a method of contracting. Nevertheless, PBC may be used under particular conditions, where rewards are deemed sufficient to compensate for the additional risk to the contractor of undertaking work on the basis of a stream of payments paid over the life of a structure depending on the satisfactory performance of the building or as part of a private finance initiative.

A psychosocial approach to understanding pilot and controller acceptance of change in ATM, based on three CDA case studies

Next generation ATM systems cannot be implemented in a technological vacuum. The further ahead we look, the greater the likely impact of societal factors on such changes, and how they are prioritised and promoted. The equitable sustainability of travel behaviour is rising on the political agenda in Europe in an unprecedented manner. This paper examines pilot and controller attitudes towards Continuous Descent Approaches (CDAs). It aims to promote a better understanding of acceptance of change in ATM. The focus is on the psychosocial context and the relationships between perceived societal and system benefits. Behavioural change appeared more correlated with such benefit perceptions in the case of the pilots. For the first time in the study of ATM implementation, and acceptance of change, this paper incorporates the Seven Stages of Change model, based on the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. It employs a principal components (factor) analysis, and further explores the intercorrelations of benefit perceptions, known in psychology as the ‘halo effect’. Disbenefit perceptions may break down this effect, it appears. For implementers of change, this evidence suggests an approach in terms of reinforcing the dominant benefit(s) perceived, for sub-groups within which a halo effect is evident. In the absence of such an effect, perceived disbenefits, such as with respect to workload and capacity, should be off-set against specific, perceived benefits of the change, as far as possible. This methodology could be equally applied to other stakeholders, from strategic planners to the public. The set of three case studies will be extended beyond CDA trials. A set of concise guidelines will be published with a strong focus on practical advice, in addition to continued work enabling a better understanding of the expected, increasing psychosocial contributions to successful and unsuccessful efforts at ATM innovation and change.

Intergroup Relations and Fundamental Dimensions of Social Judgment

The goal of this paper is to review the literature on the fundamental dimensions of social judgment and reflect on how these can help to boost our understanding of attitudes towards immigrants. We start by reviewing the work on the “fundamental dimensions” along which these judgments are organized, describing the different conceptions that have been put forward, identifying the regularities found in the content of these dimensions and the distinctions between them. Next, we propose a new way of looking at these fundamental dimensions by situating them within the specific field of intergroup relations in an immigration context, and explain how all the different examples of dimensions map onto this “new perspective”. We conclude by discussing how these two dimensions mirror the two fundamental topics that organize the discourse and the opinions about immigrants and immigration in society, and how attitudes towards immigrants can be differentially shaped by these two fundamental dimensions.

Morality and politics: the free churches and the Labour Party between the wars

The inter-war period saw the decline of the Liberal party, the traditional political ally of the free churches, and the rise of the Labour party. This article traces the responses of the free churches to these developments. The relationship of the free churches with the Labour party in this period is examined at three different levels; that of the free church leadership, that of the chapels and the ordinary people in the pews and that of the nonconformists who became active in the Labour party. Whilst attitudes towards the Labour party changed within free church institutions during the inter-war years they did not become important supporters of the party, or greatly influence it. The number and proportion of individual nonconformists who were active and influential in the party in this period was however considerable. In the process not only did Labour M.P.s become the main carriers of the nonconformist conscience on issues such as drink and gambling. They also made a distinctive and important contribution to the development and ideals of the Labour party.