Understanding undergraduate sports coaching students’ development and learning: the necessity of uncertainty

Despite recent attention, research is yet to adequately focus on sports coaches’ intellectual development as a consequence of their formal learning experiences. Drawing on the work of Perry, the aim of this article was to explore how the intellectual development of undergraduate sports coaching students was affected by the social pedagogical setting exposed to. Twenty-seven students from two different universities were selected through network and convenience sampling, and ‘tracked’ over their three year course(s) of study. Data were gathered through focus groups, video diaries and reflective written logs. Findings revealed that over the course of their study students generally progressed from a dualist to a more relativist view of the world. Such a movement, however, was far from unproblematic and uniform. Rather, it was subject to the vagaries of assessment, course structure, the epistemic range of modules experienced, and in particular the relationships established with staff members.     

Competition and diversity in higher education: an empirical approach to specialization patterns of Portuguese institutions

The expansion of higher education systems has often been associated with the need for increasing diversification, namely at the program level, based on the pressures to adapt more general programmes to a more diverse student population and multiple regional, social, and economic needs. This paper explores empirically the question of programme diversity by drawing on the Portuguese higher education’ experience, which presented massive expansion during the last decades and significant institutional competition in recent years. The study provides a longitudinal approach and analyzes in detail the evolution of diversification and specialization of the public and private sectors, as well as the university and polytechnic subsectors. The analysis aims at helping to illustrate the relevance of analysing diversity from an empirical point of view and its contribution to our understanding of the complex relationships between competition and diversity in contemporary higher education.     

Sexualities,teenage pregnancy and educational life histories in Portugal: experiencing sexual citizenship?

This article focuses on Portuguese working-class teenage girls’ voices and experiences concerning sexuality and pregnancy. Within a sociological, feminist and educational framework, it explores the girls’ perspective on sexual and intimate citizenship as evidence of fairer forms of regulation of teenage sexualities. Through building life histories of three pregnant and teenage mothers, this article aims to understand how girls rehearse and live out their sexualities and pregnancies as well as listen to their voices and recognise their demand for inclusion and respect. Gender power relations emerge as central in configuring girls’ pathways and shed light on youth pregnancy.     

Guava extract （Psidium guajava） alters the labelling of blood constituents with technetium-99m

Psidium guajava （guava） leaf is a phytotherapic used in folk medicine to treat gastrointestinal and respiratory disturbances and is used as anti-inflammatory medicine. In nuclear medicine, blood constituents （BC） are labelled with technetium-99m （^99mTc） and used to image procedures. However, data have demonstrated that synthetic or natural drugs could modify the labelling of BC with ^99mTC. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of aqueous extract of guava leaves on the labelling of BC with ^99mTc. Blood samples of Wistar rats were incubated with different concentrations of guava extract and labelled with ^99mTc after the percentage of incorporated radioactivity （%ATI） in BC was determined. The results suggest that aqueous guava extract could present antioxidant action and/or alters the membrane structures involved in ion transport into cells, thus decreasing the radiolabelling of BC with ^99mTc. The data showed significant （P〈0.05） alteration of ATI in BC from blood incubated with guava extract.     

Reflexiones sobre el desarrollo psicobiológico del niño

RESUMEN

En este artículo se analiza cómo el desarrollo psíquico va unido al desarrollo motriz. La progresiva autonomía motora del bebé es el medio crucial de exploración del entorno e imprescindible para su concienciación progresiva. La explicación parcial de la motricidad en términos biológicos (o neurobiológicos) es simplificadora, pues no puede disociarse de la socialización. El acto motor en el niño depende del medio social, es la mediación del adulto a través de la comunicación quien le guía. Hasta adquirir la motricidad ideacional el niño debe integrar dialécticamente muchos otros factores del desarrollo. La ontogénesis de la motricidad no puede entenderse si no es dentro de las experiencias conservadas de generaciones precedentes, nuestra herencia social. La adquisición social del lenguaje está en estrecha dependencia con la motricidad, en especial con el juego y la imitación. Es a partir de fenómenos externos que le proporcionan los demás como el niño evoluciona hacia una experiencia individual propia que le permite su desarrollo cognitivo. De esta forma percepción y acción no se excluyen entre sí, sino que entre ambas existe una retroacción indispensable para el aprendizaje y el comportamiento.     

Work and family conflict in academic science: patterns and predictors among women and men in research universities

This article addresses work-family conflict as reported among women and men academic scientists in data systematically collected across fields of study in nine US research universities. Arguing that academic science is a particularly revealing case for studying work-family conflict, the article addresses: (1) the bi-directional conflict of work with family, and family with work, reported among the scientists; (2) the ways that higher, compared with lower, conflict, is predicted by key features of family, academic rank, and departments/institutions; and (3) patterns and predictors of work-family conflict that vary, as well as converge, by gender. Results point to notable differences, and commonalties, by gender, in factors affecting interference in both directions of work-family conflict reported by scientists. These findings have implications for understandings of how marriage and children, senior compared with junior academic rank, and departmental climates shape work-family conflict among women and men in US academic science.     

Capoeira – a Brazilian Immaterial Heritage: Safeguarding Plans and Their Effectiveness as Public Policies

This paper aims to analyse the actions promoted by the Brazilian federal government for the promotion of Capoeira, which is a mix of dance, fight and play, practised with musical instruments. It is commonly called an Afro-Brazilian martial art. So, in this paper, we analyse the effectiveness of the proposed Safeguarding Plan to Capoeira, assuming the suggested orientations from the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute concerning its elaboration and execution. The elaboration of safeguarding plans aims to define and organise a group of actions willing to enhance social/environmental production, as well as reproduction and transmission conditions of the registered cultural immaterial heritage. It is important to mention that Capoeira is also much related to representations about Brazil.