Repositório RCAAP

Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of diseases characterised by the loss of neurons and tend to be fatal. The most researched being Parkinson’s disease, some connections have been established between this disease and the use of text-entry towards its diagnosis and monitoring. With such scattered information regarding neurodegenerative diseases and text-entry, a systematic review was carried out to show which diseases have been researched in that direction, being mainly PD but also MCI and MS. The main metrics collected were flight time, hold time and pressure. As previous research did not include clinicians participation towards the design of diagnosing and monitoring tools, this dissertation went a step further and worked together with clinicians to understand their expectations on data and its visualisations. Clinicians believe that text-entry does have potential towards the diagnosis and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases. Clinicians also provided concepts of interest against recently suggested metrics, such as apraxia, bradykinesia and dyskinesia. Finally, it was possible to understand how clinicians would deem to be the best way to view the data for the patients’ assessments.

The manifestation of a hazardous process in a given location is clear evidence of a threat to individuals and communities. Without hazard, there is no risk. Vulnerability, however, plays a less evident role in explaining the losses that are observed in databases, whether global or local. Social vulnerability, in particular, represents the underneath conditions that turn individuals and communities more or less able to endure the impacts of hazardous events. A detailed-level analysis of social vulnerability was performed in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, considering the dimension of the individuals’ characteristics—that we define as criticality—and the characteristics of the surrounding territories in the ability to provide support during and timely recovery after the event—that we define as support capability. The study area is highly contrasting in terms of this later dimension, with urban areas concentrating most of the services and equipment that reduce vulnerability. Regarding criticality, the methodology allowed to identify very-localized hotspots laid out to high propensity to losses from two drivers: employment and education (first principal component of criticality) and age, gender, and old urban fabric (second principal component). Analysed separately or combined in a single social vulnerability index, this information is useful in the planning of short-term actions in the strict field of civil protection operations and in mid- to long-term actions considering a wider perspective of risk governance, bringing to the table public policies in the areas of social care, mobility, urban planning, education, and health services, that address the very deep roots of vulnerability.

Flood processes are one of the most challenging to risk assessment and management. In many situations, peak flows are generated kilometers away from the places where inundation is observed. Scale in flood risk assessments is a fundamental factor when estimating hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. Municipal, civil parish, and building-level information are used to construct flood risk indexes and profiles. It is observed that, depending on the scale at which it is represented, the same root information provides distinct insights into flood risk expression in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. When compared with the Flood Directive critical areas, the results show they are mostly consistent with the results at the different scales, identifying the same hotspots of flood risk (in the Loures, V. F. Xira, and Setúbal municipalities) as those selected during the Directive’s implementation. Flood loss reduction implies the involvement of distinct risk practitioners and decision-makers, acting at distinct scales and sectors related to risk governance. Interconnections between flood risk components and between flood processes and other potential cascading processes are still insufficiently known and require the priority of society.

Urban fires are one the major threats to the security of the urban population. Given their spatial context, they have a direct impact on the economy, inhabitants, and destruction of property and heritage in the community. In the Lisbon metropolitan area (LMA), almost 75% of the urban fires occurred in residential buildings between 2006 and 2020 and were recorded with 150 deaths and 275 severely injured victims. Despite the damages caused by urban fires in LMA, there is a lack of studies on the predisposing factors of residential fire susceptibility and susceptibility zonation at the parish and building levels. This study constructed a residential fire susceptibility model using the information value method, a dataset of socio-economic and building predisposing factors, and an urban fires database for the period 2006–2020. The results suggest that the nearest suburban municipalities from Lisbon record the highest susceptibility to residential fires. Allied with geographic information techniques, these detailed studies are crucial for suited risk reduction strategies and proper urban planning in metropolitan areas.

The current TileCal hadronic calorimeter high voltage distribution system (HVDS) of the ATLAS experience was developed in the 1990s. A large part of its components is already obsolete and since it is expected to have performance degraded in the near future due to continuous exposure to very high levels of radiation, it is necessary to update the HVDS. The new remote HVDS will be placed outside of the detector, in a region that will not be affected by the radiation, that maximizes the reliability and robustness of the system. The remote high voltage distribution system is based on a pair of boards, the HV Remote board that individually regulates and monitors the high voltage for 48 outputs and the HV Supplies board that generates the primary high voltages and supplies the low voltages necessary for the HV Remote to work. Each output will supply a photomultiplier tube (PMT). It is a complicated task to test the 48 high voltage outputs manually, so the need arose to have a board that automatically monitors the outputs individually. Therefore, the present work consists of the development of a board that automatically monitors the high voltage and low voltage outputs, that is called HV Test. This was developed to monitor 96 high voltage outputs, which corresponds to two pairs of HV Remote cards, and 4 low voltages supplied by the crate. The crate is a bin that houses 16 pairs of cards that are connected to an intermediate card, which connects them to the FPGA digital control card. The HV Test board allows for internal monitoring using an ADC and/or external monitoring using a voltmeter. This was developed on the synchronous serial communication protocol, called Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI). The user interface for communication with the HV Test was developed, and the communication code between the interface and the card was developed both for the 1st and the 2nd prototypes, and the respective classes for operation and communication with the ADCs. To control the card, only a device based on the system on chip system is needed, which allows implementing the SPI communication protocol and communication with the ATLAS digital control system. In this work, the Raspberry Pi is used. Finally, a set of stability tests was carried out HV distribution system in the Test Beam Module at CERN.

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This study assesses the physical vulnerability of buildings (PVB) in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA) exposed to landslides triggered by both rainfall and earthquakes. Firstly, a statistical model (Information Value), validated with a ROC curve, was adopted to assess susceptibility to landslides caused by rainfall. Secondly, an Analytic Hierarchy Process was adopted to assess the susceptibility to landslides caused by earthquakes. In this case, the model was validated with an inventory of historical landslides in the LMA. The vulnerability assessment included all residential buildings surveyed in the 2011 Census, considering a set of vulnerability parameters, namely: the presence of reinforced structure, number of floors, conservation status, and need for repairs in the structure and finishes. These parameters, and their respective weights, were based on expert opinion and literature. Through this analysis, it was possible to identify meaningful regional interactions between the earthquake and rainfall-triggered landslides, leading to complex damage scenarios for residential buildings. It was also possible to identify risk hotspots and potential risk adaptation and mitigation measures.

The Lisbon Metropolitan Area is a risk hotspot in Portugal due to excessive exposure to natural and environmental hazards. In this work, a multi-hazard susceptibility assessment is performed for the 118 parishes that constitute the study area, considering the spatial incidence of seven hazardous processes: earthquakes, tsunami, beach erosion and coastal flooding, coastal erosion and cliff retreat, landslides, floods, and forest fires. The relative importance of hazardous processes was established through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), based on the frequency-magnitude relationship of each process and its damage capacity. All the parishes exhibiting very high multi-hazard susceptibility have high earthquake susceptibility and most are located in riverine or coastal zones, thus subjected to floods and/or coastal erosion (affecting beaches and/or cliffs).

Landslide inventories are essential for developing an accurate susceptibility assessment. However, the complete and systematic updating of these inventories is a time-consuming and challenging task. Therefore, we aimed to verify if the temporal updating of historical inventories improves the susceptibility models and if the size of the study area plays a relevant role in the decision to update or not landslide inventories. To answer these questions, the work was carried out in two study areas with different sizes but with a similar geomorphological context. The landslide susceptibility modelling, developed using the Information Value method, was performed for distinct types of landslides and using three landslide inventories: one with landslides that occurred before 2012; a second with landslides that occurred during the event of 2010; and a third with landslides that occurred up to 2019. The results indicate no improvement or only a residual enhancement in the susceptibility models’ predictive capacity, regardless of the type of landslide or the study area’s size.

For over ten years, I have been conducting research across (and about) several agro-industrial enclaves in Italy, with a special focus on Tavoliere (coinciding roughly with the flatlands in the province of Foggia, northern Apulia) and the plain of Gioia Tauro (in the province of Reggio Calabria, the southernmost tip of the Italian peninsula). These are among the top production districts for made-in- Italy agri-food — one of the country’s leading exports and a source of international renown. But their claim to fame derives not so much from the role these enclaves play in quality farming, as from less flattering, if related reasons. They are mostly known for what have been defined as “zones of social abandonment” (Biehl 2013; cf. Povinelli 2011): here as elsewhere, from Sicily to Piedmont, large slums, official labor camps, and a range of hybrid in-between spaces have developed since the late 1980s, inhabited today mainly by West African (and in some cases Roma) migrants. Many of them are employed as day laborers in the harvest of different crops — from citrus fruit, grapes, and olives to tomatoes and other horticultural produce.

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O presente relatório final intitulado O uso da literatura na disciplina de História da Cultura e das Artes, 11º ano foi realizado no âmbito da conclusão do Mestrado em Ensino de História no 3º Ciclo do Ensino Básico e no Ensino Secundário, orientado pelo Professor Doutor Miguel Monteiro. Uma das maiores dificuldades no ensino é a arte de despertar o interesse dos alunos, de lhes transmitir a informação que achámos necessária e, por último, a ajudá-los a compreendê-la, a criticá-la e a retê-la. Para o fazer recorri a uma velha fórmula que, acredito, ainda possui as virtudes de surpreender, de emocionar, de prender a atenção e aumentar capacidade de retenção, ou seja, a literatura. Ao longo deste relatório tentei mostrar que através da literatura conseguimos promover a compreensão de conceitos históricos a aprender pelos alunos. Com a força de uma narrativa imbuída de densidade simbólica e imaginária os alunos vão construindo e reestruturando progressivamente os seus esquemas mentais, aprofundando-os e tornando-os seus. Ou seja, abandona-se a mimesis e promove-se a poiesis, ou seja, ultrapassámos a superficialidade e promovemos a profundidade e, com isso, a capacidade de atenção e retenção. Ao levantar um pouco o véu da experiência humana esperamos desencadear no mais íntimo dos nossos alunos, novos desejos, novas perguntas e perene curiosidade. Nas aulas lecionadas ao longo do ano letivo de 2021/22 procurou-se estabelecer relações entre excertos de obras contemporâneas com a matéria a lecionar. Os textos escolhidos foram vários e a sua apresentação aos alunos teve como principal objetivo dar vida, profundidade e emoção aos conceitos enumerados nos manuais.

Este trabalho trata uma tentativa de conjugar os métodos pedagógicos do professor Paulo Freire, pensados primariamente para a alfabetização de adultos, com as necessidades educativas de alunos do ensino secundário e terceiro ciclo do ensino primário. Pretendemos não a simples busca pelo método mais eficiente de fazer os alunos decorar a matéria, mas sim uma forma de ensino que estimula o pensamento critico, que encoraje os alunos a pensar sobre a História, a perceber como os eventos passados se conjugam para a criar. Mantemos ao longo do trabalho uma postura critica em relação á aplicação pratica das nossas planificações, como o próprio pedagogo aconselha a manter. Surgiu também a oportunidade para um trabalho à parte, estudando momentos de criação de esquemas com a colaboração dos alunos.

Este relatório insere-se no âmbito do Mestrado em Ensino de Informática, realizado no Instituto da Educação da Universidade de Lisboa, como trabalho final da unidade curricular de Iniciação à Prática Profissional IV, no decurso do ano letivo 2021/22. Sob a temática “A Produção Audiovisual e o seu Ensino Básico com recurso a Metodologias Ativas de Aprendizagem”, procura-se, neste documento e na sequência da Prática Supervisionada de Ensino realizada à luz da unidade curricular, retratar todo o trabalho desenvolvido durante o ano letivo (desde a fase de pré-ação [observação, planeamento], à ação [implementação] e pós-ação [análise e reflexão]). A intervenção pedagógica teve lugar na Escola Básica Soeiro Pereira Gomes (2.º e 3.º Ciclo), do Agrupamento de Escolas de Alhandra, Sobralinho e São João dos Montes, na disciplina de Arte e Tecnologia Digital do 8.º ano de escolaridade, mais especificamente, no subdomínio de Vídeo: edição de imagem e som. Em razão dos conteúdos a lecionar, utilizaram-se estratégias de trabalho em grupo beneficiando de metodologias ativas aprendizagem, tais como, a Abordagem de Projeto (inspirada no método Project Based Learning – PjBL, i.e., Aprendizagem Baseada em Projetos) e a Aprendizagem Colaborativa. O projeto foi implementado ao longo de 1080 minutos (24 tempos de 45 minutos em 12 aulas semanais). A componente investigativa deste projeto de intervenção pedagógica, teve como interesse específico recolher evidências para responder à seguinte questão de investigação: Que impacto terão as metodologias ativas de aprendizagem (tais como a abordagem de projeto e a aprendizagem colaborativa) na autopercepção da literacia mediática e informacional, em alunos do ensino básico? Procedeu-se à análise quantitativa com recurso à Escala de Literacia Mediática e Informacional (ELMI) e uma análise qualitativa ao trabalho desenvolvido. Os alunos revelaram evolução significativa na dimensão da subescala interação, sustentada numa autoperceção de maior satisfação quando participam em trabalho colaborativo, i.e. desenvolvido em grupo e de carácter prático; maior dificuldade na criação e edição de conteúdos multimédia com vídeo digital, mais especificamente, a gestão do tempo e o cumprimento de prazos, parecem ser aspetos problemáticos para alguns alunos.

A ciência é considerada por muitos como a fonte de conhecimento mais correta e válida. O que é “cientificamente comprovado” é, geralmente, assumido como incontestável, algo que é mais do que uma crença ou uma mera opinião. É um tipo especial de crença. É a que pode resistir ao crivo do teste de validade. Assim, o problema da natureza da ciência centra-se não só na questão dos critérios de validade do conhecimento mas, também, na questão dos elementos que funcionam como fronteira entre o conhecimento científico e outras formas de conhecimento, das quais são exemplos a religião, a metafísica e o pensamento de senso comum. O que justifica a presunção (se é realmente justificada) de que a ciência representa uma fonte mais segura e válida de conhecimento?

Ao vincular os valores às necessidades ou às motivações individuais, a maioria das definições aqui apresentadas parecem distanciar os valores do seu aspecto mais central – a sua natureza social, ainda que a importância de fatores sociais para os valores tenha sido realçada nessas abordagens. Uma definição menos individualizante foi proposta por Pereira, Camino e Costa (2005), em que os valores são estruturas de conhecimento socialmente elaboradas sobre como a sociedade deve ser organizada. Para esses autores, os valores expressam os conflitos ideológicos, orientam os comportamentos e estão ancorados nas identidades dos grupos sociais e nos posicionamentos ideológicos derivados dessas identidades (ver Capítulo 10 sobre Identidade Social). Essa abordagem, embora concorde com Schwartz (1992) relativamente a ideia de estudar tipos de valores, distancia-se dele quanto ao pressuposto de que os valores são representantes cognitivos de necessidades individuais. Ao contrário, como afirmam Deschamps e Devos (1993), os valores representam identidades ideológicas dos grupos sociais.

A partir da publicação da Resolução do Conselho de Ministros nº 44/2010, de 14 de Junho, implementaram-se no território português um número alargado de novas organizações educativas que agruparam escolas com ensino secundário, com agrupamentos de escolas pré-existentes. O nosso estudo acompanha o período de implementação de um destes Agrupamentos de Escolas (AE), popularmente designados como ‗mega-agrupamentos‘, inserido na Direcção Regional de Educação de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo – o AE Margem (designação fictícia). O estudo centra-se, especificamente, ao nível do órgão a que compete a definição dos instrumentos de direcção e gestão do futuro AE, o Conselho Geral Transitório (CGT), procurando identificar e descrever as representações subjectivas dos membros que integram este órgão. A pesquisa desenvolve-se, assim, em dois eixos orientados para a descrição e análise (i) do processo de constituição do CGT, ao nível da escolha dos diversos corpos representados e (ii) das expectativas diferenciadas quanto à acção deste órgão no procedimento concursal e eleição do director e na definição de escola. O referencial teórico adopta uma definição interpretativa e relacional da organização escolar, pela qual procuramos a sua compreensão enquanto sistema de acção, ultrapassando a rigidez que opõe a estrutura formal e informal e na perspectiva micropolítica de análise do quotidiano escolar e compreensão das dinâmicas de mudança. O estudo permite-nos identificar o advento de um novo centralismo, protagonizado pela escola-sede, que Lima vem identificando como um novo escalão da administração desconcentrada (Lima, 2004; 2011:40); trata-se, porém, de um centralismo funcional e executivo e não de um reforço de autonomia. Pela parte dos actores envolvidos, a concretização desta nova realidade organizacional, implementada durante o ano lectivo de 2010/11, no caso do nosso objecto de estudo, demonstra-se pouco entusiasta, com laivos de rejeição e mero cumprimento burocrático. A recolha de dados realizou-se através de catorze entrevistas (não estruturadas) aplicadas aos protagonistas desta mudança organizacional – doze membros do CGT, a presidente da Comissão Administrativa Provisória (CAP) e a presidente do Conselho Geral (CG) cessante da escola-sede – complementadas com análise documental. As conclusões resultaram de uma ‗triangulação analítica‘ na qual se procedeu à análise das narrativas desenvolvidas pelos membros do CGT de acordo com a metodologia de análise sócio-linguística e análise temática, primeiro no contexto de categoria a posteriori, extraídas do conteúdo da totalidade das entrevistas e, segundo, através da projecção de categorias a priori, oriundas do referencial teórico da nossa pesquisa.

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Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) are characterized by their multifactorial etiology and pathogenesis. A 3-year prospective study was conducted in a Portuguese TMDs department to study the prevalence of different TMDs signs and symptoms and their association with risk factors and comorbidities. Five hundred ninety-five patients were included using an online database: EUROTMJ. Most patients were female (80.50%), with a mean age of 38.20 ± 15.73 years. The main complaints were: (1) temporomandibular joint (TMJ) clicking (13.26%); (2) TMJ pain (12.49%); (3) masticatory muscle tension (12.15%). The main clinical findings were myalgia (74%), TMJ clicking (60–62%), and TMJ arthralgia (31–36%). Risk factors such as clenching (60%) and bruxism (30%) were positively associated with TMJ pain and myalgia. Orthodontic treatment (20%) and wisdom tooth removal (19%) were positively associated with TMJ clicking, while jaw trauma (6%), tracheal intubation (4%) and orthognathic surgery (1%) were positively associated with TMJ crepitus, limited mandibular range of motion, and TMJ pain, respectively. In total, 42.88% of TMDs patients had other associated chronic diseases, most of them were mental behavioral or neurodevelopmental disorders (33.76%), namely, anxiety (20%) and depression (13%). The authors also observed a positive association of mental disorders with the degree of TMJ pain and myalgia. The online database seems to be a relevant scientific instrument for healthcare providers who treat TMDs. The authors expect that the EUROTMJ database can serve as a milestone for other TMDs departments.

Democratic transitions of Southern Europe in the 1970s have been revisited by the social sciences with some regularity, especially by national studies and more rarely from a comparative perspective. Ceci etant dit, Southern Europe as a region or unity of analysis has survived very well in recent years and is nowadays a consolidated field of studies in the social sciences. In certain areas of research there were changes in the disciplines involved, with history breaking out and offering studies with great and solid empirical evidence. In recent decades, with the consolidation of democratic regimes “Southern Europe” as a unit of analysis of the three countries dissolved a bit, with History prevailing in national studies. However, a note of caution: comparative analysis since democratic transitions has continued to be the subject of many studies from disciplines such as sociology, economics, anthropology and others.