The point of view of firms in Minas Gerais about the contribution of universities and research institutes to R&D activities

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the interactions between firms, universities and research institutes based in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The theoretical standpoint is the innovation system of developing countries. Multivariate cluster analysis is used, more specifically, the Grade of Membership method, to group firms with similar characteristics and evaluate their pattern of interaction with universities and research institutes. The main results show that the highest rates of interaction are found among firms that manufacture chemical products, cellulose, paper and paper products, followed by those engaged in the extraction of metallic and non-metallic minerals.     

Child sex tourism in the context of the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup: the case of the host city of Recife,Brazil

This study aims to analyse the issue of child sex tourism (CST) and its correlation with sporting mega-events, taking into consideration the implementation of preventive public policy in the host city of Recife (located in the north-east of Brazil), during the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup. Through a qualitative approach based on a three-year longitudinal study – using interviews, observation and photographs – the theme will be analysed by considering the involved social issues, and the implications for excluded sectors of society in the organization of so-called mega-events. A total of 36 interviews were conducted with 22 individuals, who were divided into three groups: project managers, local population and children abused. CST does not occur in a vacuum and cannot be disconnected from more general social, economic and cultural concerns, which are often overlooked in analyses. Although this study is based upon a short-term timescale, the results obtained in the analysed projects have been satisfactory, but over the long term, effective social and educational measures must be prioritized in order to improve the situation for the actors involved. As part of a sporting mega-event, the topic of child sex tourism remains marginal, particularly in countries where social inequality persists.     

Positive Aging Beyond “Success”: Towards a More Inclusive Perspective of High Level Functioning in Old Age

Successful aging is the ability to maintain low probability of disease and disability, high cognitive and physical functioning, and active engagement with life (Rowe &; Kahn, 1999 Rowe, J. W. &; Kahn, R. L. (1999). Successful aging. New York, NY: Dell Pub. [Google Scholar]). These criteria allow for a minority of people to be classified as being “successful” and overlook the importance of psychological variables in balancing the weight of disease. A total of 1322 seniors (55 + years) were classified on their overall functioning according to core domains (health, psychological, cognitive, biobehavioural, social, personality). Findings support the idea that a broader perspective of aging outcomes, rather than success criteria, may better reflect reality.     

Snub Publishing: Evidence from the Anthurium Literature

Snub publishing is a new term that was coined in 2013 to describe a range of publishing cases in which the failure of quality control manifested itself through references in such a way that it would cause unintended damage to snubbed scientists whose names or identity were incorrectly represented in the literature. In this paper, real case studies are presented, mostly related to the author as a “victim” of incompetent editorial oversight, inexperienced or biased authors, or as a “victim” of direct professional conflicts of interest. In essence, this paper serves as a prototype showing in concrete terms how a scientist can or may be professionally snubbed (intentionally or unintentionally). Using the Anthurium literature, this paper aims to raise awareness about snub publishing and seeks to encourage other scientists to also quantify how they too may have been professionally snubbed in the literature.     

The Macro and Micro Scale of Open Access Predation

Having found a business opportunity in exploiting the open access publishing model, predatory journals and publishers have been spamming authors with emails, inviting them to submit articles for publication. Authors may be misled by the names of prestigious authors and editors that predatory journals and publishers use to advertise their publishing services, either by claims that those scientists serve on the editorial boards or by sending invitations in their names. Given the fact that detailed knowledge of a journal is required to make an informed decision of whether the inviting journal is predatory or not, junior scientists are not likely to possess the knowledge or skill to make such decisions. In addition, analysis of the details of new suspicious journals and publishers can be a lengthy process or even a waste of time. Therefore, in this paper, we provide an analysis of a likely scenario that many authors are facing nowadays when they take on the difficult task of studying the details of suspicious journals as possible venues for the publication of their research findings. The analysis takes the form of an analysis of the Kenkyu Publishing Group, which is listed on Jeffrey Beall’s list of “predatory” open access publishers.     

Waiting for the Tide to Change? Strategies for Survival of Portuguese Private HEIs

The topic of declining private higher education (PHE) has become a timely one, especially for many countries that had previously experienced a rapid and massive expansion of their systems of higher education, and of PHE in particular. In the case of Portugal this was very likely due to the stabilisation and then the slight decline in the number of applicants and the steady expansion of the public system Thus, the Portuguese system has become an interesting case study of the several types of strategies that may be adopted by PHE institutions when facing a declining student demand.     

Teachers' and students' views and attitudes towards a new mathematics curriculum: A case study

The education system in Portugal is in the midst of a period of intensive reform. This paper describes the findings of a qualitative case study focusing on the views and attitudes of teachers and students participating in a pilot curriculum development programme stressing active methodologies and group work, conducted by the Ministry of Education. In particular it discusses their views and attitudes about mathematics, mathematics teaching and curriculum innovation. The teachers were found to struggle with a contradiction: whilst they approved the new orientations, which were seen as adequate and innovative, they complained strongly about the design and implementation of the programme — Students had a generally positive attitude towards mathematics, although there were differences among them. The 7th graders were satisfied with their mathematics classes and with the new curriculum. The 10th graders did not consider the changes as significant in themselves, but expressed concern for their academic progress.     

High-volume resistance training reduces postprandial lipaemia in postmenopausal women

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 11 weeks of low-volume resistance training (LVRT) and high-volume resistance training (HVRT) on muscle strength, muscle thickness (MT), and postprandial lipaemia (PPL) in postmenopausal women. Thirty-six healthy and untrained postmenopausal women (age, 58.9 ± 5.8 years; 68.6 ± 10.3 kg; and BMI, 26.9 ± 4.8 kg · m^?2) participated in resistance training 3× per week for 11 weeks (HVRT = 12; LVRT = 13; and control group = 11). Biochemical variables, both pretraining and post-training, were evaluated 16 h after the administration of an oral fat tolerance test (OFTT) and metabolic variable during [energy expenditure (EE)] and after training session [excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC)]. Muscle strength (1 RM) and MT were also calculated, and no significant differences were observed between the groups for PPL (mmol · L^?1 per 5 h) as measured by glucose, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and total cholesterol. EE total (EE + EPOC; 6.12 ± 1.21 MJ vs. 2.26 ± 0.85 MJ), resting fat oxidation (5.52 ± 1.69 g · h^?1 vs. 4.11 ± 1.12 g · h^?1); MT (vastus medialis, 21.4 ± 1.8 mm vs. 18.4 ± 1.2 mm and vastus lateralis 22.3 ± 1.2 mm vs. 20.8 ± 1.3 mm); triacylglycerol (TAG) 0, 1, 2, 4; and 5 h after OFTT, TAG area under the curve (AUC) (5.79 ± 0.42 vs. 7.78 ± 0.68), and incremental AUC (?46.21 ± 14.42% vs. 7.78 ± 4.68%) were all significantly different post-training for HVRT versus LVRT, respectively (P < 0.05). The results of this investigation suggest that HVRT reduces PPL in postmenopausal women.     

Nutritional intake of elite football referees

Abstract

There is a paucity of dietary data in football referees. In this study, 23 elite main and assistant referees (34.4 ± 5.6 years) completed a 7-day dietary record during the competitive season. No nutritional intake differences were observed between main and assistant referees. Referees’ mean daily energy intake (DEI) was 2819 ± 279 kcal. The intake of proteins (1.7 ± 0.2 g · kg^?1), carbohydrates (4.1 ± 0.8 g · kg^?1) and fats (1.4 ± 0.2 g · kg^?1) represented, respectively, 18.4 ± 1.5%, 44.4 ± 4.4% and 34.6 ± 4.1% of the DEI. Carbohydrate intakes before, during and after exercise were 66 ± 42, 7 ± 15 and 120 ± 62 g. Daily carbohydrate, fibre, polyunsaturated fat and water intakes were below recommendations, while fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium intakes were above recommended values. The prevalence of inadequate intake was high for vitamin E (96%), folate (74%), vitamin A (61%), vitamin C (39%), magnesium (26%) and calcium (22%). Carbohydrate intake before, during and after exercise were far from achieving the minimum recommended values. Most referees demonstrated a negligent behaviour of hydration during exercise. Referees would benefit from dietary education in order to optimise performance and health.