Vilegiatura balnear – Imagem ideal / Imagem real

Revista do IHA, N.3 (2007), pp.254-267

O passado é uma cidade ideal: um olhar sobre a patrimonização de Évora

Revista do IHA, N.4 (2007), pp.270-296

Mobile image processing to support educational geometry games

The mobile IT era is here, it is still growing and expanding at a steady rate and, most of all, it is entertaining. Mobile devices are used for entertainment, whether social through the so-called social networks, or private through web browsing, video watching or gaming. Youngsters make heavy use of these devices, and even small children show impressive adaptability and skill. However not much attention is directed towards education, especially in the case of young children. Too much time is usually spent in games which only purpose is to keep children entertained, time that could be put to better use such as developing elementary geometric notions. Taking advantage of this pocket computer scenario, it is proposed an application geared towards small children in the 6 – 9 age group that allows them to consolidate knowledge regarding geometric shapes, forming a stepping stone that leads to some fundamental mathematical knowledge to be exercised later on. To achieve this goal, the application will detect simple geometric shapes like squares, circles and triangles using the device’s camera. The novelty of this application will be a core real-time detection system designed and developed from the ground up for mobile devices, taking into account their characteristic limitations such as reduced processing power, memory and battery. User feedback was be gathered, aggregated and studied to assess the educational factor of the application.

Visual politics of the estado novo realized on the Alameda Dom Afonso Henriques in Lisbon – the construction of ideal citizenship?

The stylistic categorization of the Estado Novo has been intensely discussed by Portuguese art historians. The square Alameda Dom Afonso Henriques in Lisbon (Alameda) can be seen as paradigmatic for the architecture of power of the Estado Novo. The Alameda forms a gardened valley between two hills. There you find two prominent and highly propagandist buildings: The Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) and the Fonte Luminosa are dedicated to modern sciences and respectively to the harmonious contribution of nature to the city. The iconography of the Alameda as well as its incorporation into the propagandist use of urban planning in the 1930s and 1940s exemplify the visual politics during Salazarism. Urban planning programs intended to create cities that would preserve the character of a traditional catholic society and at the same time answer to the need to modernize the country and evoke the image of a progressive state. Thus, public buildings and urban squares such as the Alameda contributed to design a corporate image and to the ‘spirit’ of the regime.

A construção de um currículo de project-based learning: o currículo ideal e o currículo formal

O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar os resultados da análise das concepções de dois protagonistas de uma reforma curricular que está sendo implementada numa escola de engenharia. A principal característica do novo currículo é o uso de projetos e oficinas como atividades complementares a serem realizadas pelos estudantes. As atividades complementares acontecerão em paralelo ao trabalho realizado nas disciplinas sem que haja uma relação de interdisciplinaridade. O novo currículo está sendo implantado desde fevereiro de 2015. Segundo Pacheco (2005) há dois momentos, dentre outros, no processo de mudança curricular, o currículo “ideal”, determinado por dimensões epistemológica, política, econômica, ideológica, técnica, estética, e histórica e, que recebe influência direta daquele que idealiza e cria o novo currículo e, o currículo “formal” que se traduz na prática implementada na escola. São essas duas etapas estudadas nesta pesquisa. Para isso serão considerados como fontes de dados dois protagonistas, um mais ligado à concepção do currículo e outro da sua implementação, a partir dos quais se busca compreender as motivações, crenças e percepções que, por sua vez, determinam a reforma curricular. Entrevistas semiestruturadas foram utilizadas como técnica de pesquisa, com o propósito de se entender a gênese da proposta e as mudanças entre essas duas etapas. Os dados revelam que mudanças aconteceram desde a idealização até a formalização do currículo, motivadas por demandas do processo de implementação, revela ainda diferenças na visão de currículo e a motivação para romper com padrões na formação de engenheiros no Brasil.

Perceções de docentes do ensino básico e secundário sobre o papel da supervisão pedagógica enquanto contexto de desenvolvimento profissional: um estudo com professores de geografia

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências da Educação (área de especialização em Supervisão Pedagógica)

An alternative educational indicator for classifying secondary schools in Portugal

The purpose of this paper aims at carrying out a study in the area of Statistics for classifying Portuguese Secondary Schools (both mainland and islands: “Azores” and “Madeira”), taking into account the results achieved by their students in both national examinations and internal assessment. The main according consists of identifying groups of schools with different performance levels by considering the sub-national public and private education systems’ as well as their respective geographic location. For this, we developed an alternative educational indicator for the so-called Secondary Education indicator rankings released since 2001 by the Portuguese media.

Impact of an educational hands-on project on the antimicrobial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties of plants on Portuguese students' awareness, knowledge, and competences

Promoting environmental and health education is crucial to allow students to make conscious decisions based on scientific criteria. The study is based on the outcomes of an Educational Project implemented with Portuguese students and consisted of several activities, exploring pre-existent Scientific Gardens at the School, aiming to investigate the antibacterial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties of plant extracts, with posterior incorporation in soaps and creams. A logo and a webpage were also created. The effectiveness of the project was assessed via the application of a questionnaire (pre- and post-test) and observations of the participants in terms of engagement and interaction with all individuals involved in the project. This project increased the knowledge about autochthonous plants and the potential medical properties of the corresponding plant extracts and increased the awareness about the correct design of scientific experiments and the importance of the use of experimental models of disease. The students regarded their experiences as exciting and valuable and believed that the project helped to improve their understanding and increase their interest in these subjects and in science in general. This study emphasizes the importance of raising students’ awareness on the valorization of autochthonous plants and exploitation of their medicinal properties.

The Portuguese programme one laptop per child: political, educational and social impact

In 2008, the XVII Portuguese Constitutional Government launched the ‘e.escolinha’ programme, within the Technological Plan for Education, which set out the distribution of a computer, called ‘Magalhães’, designed for chil-dren attending the 1st cycle of basic education. Suspended in 2011 by the XIX Government, this programme has allowed, however, almost 500 000 children to have access to a personal computer. It was expected that this political measure would “revolutionise” the national education system by bringing changes to the pedagogical practices of teachers and the learning processes of children and by achieving educational success, in general. Based on documental analysis and on a set of interviews with key decision-makers in conceiving, implementing and monitoring this governmental initiative, the fi rst part of this chapter presents and analyses the ‘e.escolinha’ initiative and the policies be-hind that governmental programme, seeking to disassemble those objectives and provide some insights into the relationship between discourses, rhetoric, and reality. After that, the chapter focuses on children’s uses and practices with the ‘Magalhães’ laptop, at school and at home. Based on the results of questionnaires fi lled in by approximately 1500 children from 32 First Cycle public schools of the municipality of Braga (north of Portugal) and also from questionnaires applied to their parents and teachers, this chapter intends to analyse the real impact of this initiative for children, family and school. It also seeks to discuss the contribution of this educational policy to children’s digital literacy and also to their own and their families’ social and digital inclusion. To understand if it represented an added value to teachers’ pedagogical practice is another of its aims. The fi ndings point out a major focus on technology and access rather than on uses and competences or even on social, educational and cultural change. In fact, a major conclusion is the existence of a strong gap between the policy and the practices, typical of a top-down policy design. This study is an integrant part of a research project titled “Navigating with ‘Magalhães’: Study on the Impact of Digital Media in Schoolchildren” conducted at the University of Minho, Portugal, financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [PTDC/CCI-COM/101381/2008] and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund [COMPETE: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-009056].

Reliability of the information about the history of diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. Differences in regard to sex, age, and educational level. The pró-saúde study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the intraobserver reliability of the information about the history of diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. METHODS: A multidimensional health questionnaire, which was filled out by the interviewees, was applied twice with an interval of 2 weeks, in July '99, to 192 employees of the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), stratified by sex, age, and educational level. The intraobserver reliability of the answers provided was estimated by the kappa statistic and by the coefficient of intraclass correlation (CICC). RESULTS: The general kappa (k) statistic was 0.75 (95% CI=0.73-0.77). Reliability was higher among females (k=0.88, 95% CI=0.85-0.91) than among males (k=0.62, 95% CI=0.59-0.65).The reliability was higher among individuals 40 years of age or older (k=0.79; 95% CI=0.73-0.84) than those from 18 to 39 years (k=0.52; 95% CI=0.45-0.57). Finally, the kappa statistic was higher among individuals with a university educational level (k=0.86; 95% CI=0.81-0.91) than among those with high school educational level (k=0.61; 95% CI=0.53-0.70) or those with middle school educational level (k=0.68; 95% CI=0.64-0.72). The coefficient of intraclass correlation estimated by the intraobserver agreement in regard to age at the time of the diagnosis of hypertension was 0.74. A perfect agreement between the 2 answers (k=1.00) was observed for 22 interviewees who reported prior prescription of antihypertensive medication. CONCLUSION: In the population studied, estimates of the reliability of the history of medical diagnosis of hypertension and its treatment ranged from substantial to almost perfect reliability.

Useful clinical features for the selection of ideal patients with strial fibrillation for mapping and catheter ablation

OBJECTIVE: To identify useful clinical characteristics for selecting patients eligible for mapping and ablation of atrial fibrillation. METHODS: We studied 9 patients with atrial fibrillation, without structural heart disease, associated with: 1) antiarrhythmic drugs, 2) symptoms of low cardiac output, and 3) intention to treat. Seven patients had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and 2 had recurrent atrial fibrillation. RESULTS: In the 6 patients who underwent mapping (all had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation), catheter ablation was successfully carried out in superior pulmonary veins in 5 patients (the first 3 in the left superior pulmonary vein and the last 2 in the right superior pulmonary vein). One patient experienced a recurrence of atrial fibrillation after 10 days. We observed that patients who had short episodes of atrial fibrillation on 24-hour Holter monitoring before the procedure were those in whom mapping the focus of tachycardia was possible. Tachycardia was successfully suppressed in 4 of 6 patients. The cause of failure was due to the impossibility of maintaining sinus rhythm long enough for efficient mapping. CONCLUSION: Patients experiencing short episodes of atrial fibrillation during 24-hour Holter monitoring were the most eligible for mapping and ablation, with a final success rate of 66%, versus the global success rate of 44%. Patients with persistent atrial fibrillation were not good candidates for focal ablation.

Educating for sociability and learning for citizenship: developing communicational skills and mediation in educational contexts

This text concerns a program about the Promotion of Social and Communicational Skills and Mediation (PSCSM) developed with children aged between 10 and 13 years in a non-formal educational institution. The program of intervention had, as its purpose, the promotion of social and communicational competencies and mediation, thus enabling the children involved to have a healthy and responsible sociability in the different contexts in which they find themselves: family, school, peer group, amongst others. It was developed over 13 sessions with objectives and activities intentionally planned with the view of promoting competencies of communication, co-operation, responsibility, a critical spirit, solidarity, autonomy, respect, integration, inclusion and the recognition of rights and duties. This work was carried out with an action-research methodology that resorted to various techniques and instruments to gather and record information. The results obtained showed the impact and benefits of the program and they also revealed the necessity of educational institutions investing in the promotion of an ethical literacy and the empowerment of the children and young people for healthy sociability and active citizenship.

A teoria ideal da justiça num mundo não ideal

Dissertação de mestrado em Filosofia (área de especialização em Filosofia Política)

Atividades de campo no ensino da Geologia: opiniões de professores portugueses sobre formas ideais de as usar

Devido à elevada dimensão espacial e temporal da maior parte dos fenómenos geológicos, não é possível reproduzir no laboratório os fenómenos a estudar, pelo que, se o professor de Geologia pretender colocar os alunos em contato com esses fenómenos, terá que organizar uma saída de campo para que as necessárias e adequadas atividades sejam realizadas no lugar onde esses fenómenos ocorrem. Contudo, e apesar de professores e alunos reconhecerem diversas potencialidades didáticas das saídas de campo, os professores raramente as organizam e justificam isso com base em diversos impedimentos. Neste artigo relatam-se os resultados de um estudo em que 233 professores portugueses de Biologia e Geologia foram inquiridos acerca de formas ideais de integrar as atividades de campo na componente de Geologia, no 3º ciclo do Ensino Básico (n=102) e no Ensino Secundário (n=131). Os resultados sugerem que as práticas que os professores gostariam de implementar, caso não houvesse constrangimentos à realização de atividades de campo, não seriam, na maior parte dos casos, muito diferentes das práticas implementadas que são relatadas na literatura. Esta falta de exigência e de ousadia por parte dos professores, no que concerne ao modo como as atividades de campo deveriam ser utilizadas, sugere a necessidade de a formação inicial e contínua de professores contemplar uma abordagem adequada das saídas de campo e de as escolas se reorganizarem para facilitarem a organização, fundamentada, das mesmas.

Insuficiência cardíaca grave em unidade de terapia intensiva: existe um índice prognóstico ideal?

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a aplicabilidade de três índices prognósticos - APACHE II, SAPS II e Unicamp II, em um subgrupo de pacientes críticos, portadores de insuficiência cardíaca (IC). MÉTODOS: Foram estudados 90 pacientes, sendo 12 do sexo feminino e 78, do sexo masculino, com idade média de 56 (18-83) anos. Os pacientes encontravam-se em classe funcional IV (NYHA) ou choque cardiogênico secundário às cardiomiopatias: dilatada (44%), chagásica (25,5%), isquêmica (18%), hipertensiva (1,1%), hipertrófica (1,1%), alcoólica (1,1%), e secundário às valvopatias já submetidas à correção cirúrgica (7,7%). Para descrever o perfil da amostra, segundo as diversas variáveis em estudo, foram feitas tabelas de freqüência das variáveis categóricas e estatísticas descritivas das variáveis contínuas. Para analisar a relação entre os valores dos índices prognósticos e a evolução para o óbito, foi realizada a análise da curva ROC, calculadas as estatísticas de bondade do ajuste de Hosmer e Lemeshow, assim como a SMR (Standardized Mortality Ratio). RESULTADOS: A análise estatística mostrou baixa sensibilidade, especificidade e acurácia dos três índices prognósticos para os pacientes com IC, tendo sido subestimada a mortalidade nesse grupo. Na IC refratária, a ocorrência de tromboembolismo pulmonar (TEP) foi um fator importante em relação à mortalidade. CONCLUSÃO: Os três índices prognósticos estudados não foram adequados para avaliação dos cardiopatas internados na Unidades de Terapia Intensiva (UTI). Nos pacientes com IC, o fator TEP foi importante para a descompensação aguda da IC e para a alta mortalidade do grupo. Índices prognósticos para cardiopatas com IC refratária deverão ser propostos, e a discussão sobre anticoagulação nestes pacientes deve ser ampliada.