Mediating the Economic Pulses: The International Connection in Portuguese Higher Education

Portugal, as a small and increasingly integrated European economy, has been influenced by some of the major trends that defined the agenda of higher education policy in recent decades. Its backwardness – notably in terms of skills, education, and training – has frequently prompted a focus of attention on its international counterparts, particularly those in Europe, in search of affinities, solutions and errors to avoid. The search for guidance has also created an opportunity for the intervention of international organisations. Until Portugal joined the European Union (EU) in 1986, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank were the main agencies playing this role. Henceforth, those institutions lost some influence, and the European dimension gained increasing prominence. This article discusses the role of those international organisations in the definition of priorities for Portuguese higher education policy in recent decades, and provides a general overview of the outside perceptions of the Portuguese situation as understood by these international organisations. In particular, the article focuses on those interventions that promoted the influence of market mechanisms in the Portuguese higher education system by emphasising the need for higher education institutions (HEIs) to strive for increased economic responsiveness.     

Language and country preponderance trends in MEDLINE and its causes.

OBJECTIVE: The authors characterized the output of MEDLINE papers by language and country of publication during a thirty-four-year time period. METHODS: We classified MEDLINE's journal articles by country of publication (Anglos/Non-Anglos) and language (English/Non-English) for the years 1966 and from 1970 to 2000 at five-year intervals. Eight English-speaking countries were considered Anglos. Linear regression analysis of number of papers versus time was performed. RESULTS: The global number of papers increased linearly at a rate of 8,142 papers per year. Anglo and English papers also increased linearly (6,740 and 9,199, respectively). Journals of Non-Anglo countries accounted for 25% of the English language increase (2,438 per year). Only Non-English papers decreased at a rate of 1,056 fewer papers per year. These trends have led to overwhelming shares of English and Anglo papers in MEDLINE. In 2000, 68% of all papers were published in the 8 Anglo countries and 90% were written in English. CONCLUSIONS: The Anglo and English preponderances appear to be a consequence of at least two phenomena: (1) editorial policy changes in MEDLINE and in some journals from Non-Anglo countries and (2) factors affecting Non-Anglo researchers in the third world (publication constraints, migration, and undersupport). These are tentative conclusions that need confirmation.     

The Combined Effects of Instructor Communicative Behaviors,Instructor Credibility,and Student Personality Traits on Incivility in the College Classroom

This study investigated the combined role of instructor communication variables (nonverbal immediacy and self-disclosure), instructor credibility (competence, caring, and trustworthiness), and student personality traits (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness) in predicting students’ uncivil behaviors in class. A total of 406 students completed online questionnaires regarding the instructor of the class they attended prior to the one in which the study was administered. Personality and instructor behavior variables contributed approximately equally to explaining variance in student incivility. Students’ conscientiousness and agreeableness had direct negative relationships with incivility, whereas instructors’ amount and negativity of self-disclosure had direct positive relationships with incivility.     

Olympics,Media and Politics: The First Olympic Ideas in Brazilian Society During the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

Abstract

The Olympic Games of the modern era are powerful global mediated events. Olympic cities receive an overwhelming examination by world media. As the 2016 Olympic host, Rio de Janeiro has been given an enormous amount of attention, both by the international media and researchers who looked at the urban spaces of Rio, the struggles over the hegemony of the city and the social meanings the Olympics bring to the host city’s citizens. However, studies over the historical relationship between Rio, sport and media are rare. This paper addresses the historical uses of the term Olympic by Brazilian media during the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. By looking at the main articles in the newspapers of these periods, we examine the extent to which ideologies over sports have changed the way the Olympics were represented in Brazil’s national imaginary. We demonstrate how the use of expressions associated with the Olympics historically generated a closer appreciation of these events by the public. We also show how political authorities appropriated the Olympics for their own benefit. The paper concludes by asking whether or not the historical lessons from the early Olympic ideas in Brazil have been learned by the 2016 Rio Games organizers.     

Books and articles of academic interest

Books and articles of academic interest     

The Role of Anatomy Computer-Assisted Learning on Spatial Abilities of Medical Students

Currently, medical education context poses different challenges to anatomy, contributing to the introduction of new pedagogical approaches, such as computer-assisted learning (CAL). This approach provides insight into students' learning profiles and skills that enhance anatomy knowledge acquisition. To understand the influence of anatomy CAL on spatial abilities, a study was conducted. A total of 671 medical students attending Musculoskeletal (MA) and Cardiovascular Anatomy (CA) courses, were allocated to one of three groups (MA Group, CA Group, MA + CA Group). Students' pre-training and post-training spatial abilities were assessed through Mental Rotations Test (MRT), with scores ranging between 0-24. After CAL training sessions, students' spatial abilities performance improved (9.72 ± 4.79 vs. 17.05 ± 4.57, P < 0.001). Although male students in both MA Group and CA Group show better baseline spatial abilities, no sex differences were found after CAL training. The improvement in spatial abilities score between sessions (Delta MRT) was correlated with Musculoskeletal Anatomy training sessions in MA Group (r = 0.333, P < 0.001) and MA + CA Group (r = 0.342, P < 0.001), and with Cardiovascular Anatomy training sessions in CA Group (r = 0.461, P = 0.001) and MA + CA Group (r = 0.324, P = 0.001). Multiple linear regression models were used, considering the Delta MRT as dependent variable. An association of Delta MRT to the amount of CAL training and the baseline spatial abilities was observed. The results suggest that CAL training in anatomy has positive dose-dependent effect on spatial abilities.     

Acerca del hielo en el islam medieval

The history of ice in medieval Arab societies is obscured behind a mosaic of a variety of references and scholarly citations. Beyond al-Qalqashandī's reference to organised ice trafficking in fourteenth-century Mamluk Egypt, we do not have conclusive evidence on the origin and use of ice as a consumer product. In this paper we trace its presence based on three genres of references: historical and literary quotations, medicine and literature pertaining to food. These references allow us to consider the extent of ice consumption in the Arab world before the ninth century, as well as the existence of an organised trade throughout the Middle Ages from that time. However, contrary to the Persian world, with its well-documented Iranian yakhchals, we still know virtually nothing about ice-houses in medieval Arab societies. We also know very little about the profession of the thallāj or ice-seller, or whether the widespread consumption of ice that originated in Spain in the sixteenth century was in fact a legacy of an earlier trade in al-Andalus.     

Cardiorespiratory and perceptual responses of two interval training and a continuous training protocol in healthy young men

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) can be performed with different effort to rest time-configurations, and this can largely influence training responses. The purpose of the study was to compare the acute physiological responses of two HIIT and one moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) protocol in young men. A randomised cross-over study with 10 men [age, 28.3?±?5.5years; weight, 77.3?±?9.3?kg; height, 1.8?±?0.1?m; peak oxygen consumption (VO₂peak), 44?±?11?mL.kg^?1.min^?1]. Participants performed a cardiorespiratory test on a treadmill to assess VO₂peak, velocity associated with VO₂peak (vVO₂peak), peak heart rate (HRpeak) and perceived exertion (RPE). Then participants performed three protocols equated by distance: Short HIIT (29 bouts of 30s at vVO₂peak, interspersed by 30s of passive recovery, 29?min in total), Long HIIT (3 bouts of 4?min at 90% of vVO₂peak, interspersed by 3?min of recovery at 60% of vVO₂peak, 21?min in total) and MICT (21?min at 70% of vVO₂peak). The protocols were performed in a randomised order with ≥48 h between them. VO₂, HRpeak and RPE were compared. VO₂peak in Long HIIT was significantly higher than Short HIIT and MICT (43?±?11 vs 32?±?8 and 37?±?8?mL.kg^?1.min^?1, respectively, P?P?P?2, HR and RPE than Short HIIT and MICT, suggesting a higher demand on the cardiorespiratory system. Short HIIT and MICT presented similar physiologic and perceptual responses, despite Short HIIT being performed at higher velocities.     

Physiological responses in different intensities of resistance exercise – Critical load and the effects of aging process

Aim was to identify critical load (CL) in young and elderly apparently healthy male cohorts. To contrast the metabolic, cardiovascular and perceptual responses on CL according to age. We evaluated 12 young (23 ± 3 years) and 10 elderly (70 ± 2 years) apparently healthy active males, who underwent: (1) 1 repetition maximum (1RM) test on a 45° Leg Press; (2) on different days, three high-intensity resistance exercise constant load tests (60%, 75% and 90% 1RM) until fatigue (Tlim). Absolute values of both the CL asymptote and curvature constant (kg) were significantly lower in elderly subjects (P < 0.05). In contrast, elderly subjects demonstrated a significantly higher number of repetitions at CL when compared with young subjects (P < 0.05). As expected, oxygen uptake (VO₂) and heart rate (HR) during maximal aerobic exercise testing were significantly reduced in older subjects. However, percent-predicted aerobic capacity were higher in older subjects (P < 0.05). In addition, blood lactate ([La^?]) corrected to Tlim and rating of perceived exertion values were greater in younger subjects at all intensities (P < 0.05). These findings, despite reduced force production in older subjects, endurance-related parameters are well preserved according to age-adjusted percent-predicted values in apparently healthy males.