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In recent decades, Higher Education Institutions have been committed to adapting medical teaching to new educational paradigms, integrating new tools and active methods into the teaching-learning process. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the teaching methods formally adopted in the teaching-learning process of Medicine courses in the country. This is a descriptive, exploratory study with a quantitative and analytical approach. Data were obtained by consulting the portal of the Medical Schools of Brazil, pedagogical course project and institutional websites. Of the 258 schools analyzed, 200 (77.5%) adopted active learning methodologies as their central teaching method. The North (94.7%) and Northeast (83.6%) regions were the ones that concentrated the largest number of institutions that formally incorporated methodologies that privilege active participation in comparison to the traditional teaching method. Furthermore, active methods were observed more frequently in private schools (80.8%) and in small/medium-sized municipalities (82.6%), demonstrating a growing movement of courses to adapt to active teaching methods. The most recent medical schools, created in 2013, were the ones with the highest rates of active methods compared to traditional ones (94.1% versus 75%, p=0.014). Despite advances, the inclusion of active methods in medical curricula is still a major challenge, as the integration of active learning methodologies requires consistency with the pedagogical proposal of the course, evaluation, planning and engagement of the multiple social subjects that participate in this pedagogical process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to understand the structuring of psychological assessments in custody actions and, on the other hand, to identify the existence of homogeneity or heterogeneity in these practices. Twenty-nine Brazilian legal psychologists participated in this study and answered an online questionnaire built based on the literature. The analysis of the results was carried out through deductive and semantic Thematic Analysis, whose previous categories were created based on national and international guidelines. The most salient results indicate some divergences from the literature, but that its actions and dimensions are compatible with those found in the literature. Based on these results, a guide of systematized practices is proposed, aiming to promote greater uniformity in parental assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the impacts of a Brazilian home-based programme on violent behaviour of elementary school students. To identify the causal impact, it explores the variation between schools with potentially treated students and the municipalities that implemented the programme over the years. The results suggest a reduction in verbal or physical abuse, theft or robbery, and attack or threat by more than 5 percentage points in schools with treated students. There is also evidence that the effects are greater the sooner children participate in the programme, meaning that early years interventions can be an effective policy to reduce school violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to evaluate the occurrence of C lostridium difficile in commercial raw meat and meat products commercialized in Brazil, and to determine the pathogenic potential and antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates. After selective enrichment, the isolation of C. difficile involved plating with and without an alcohol shock treatment onto C. difficile moxalactam agar (CDMNA). The toxigenic profile was determined through PCR for detection of tcdA, tcdB, cdtA and cdtB genes and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for toxin A/B. C. difficile was isolated from 8.9% (17 out of 192) of analyzed samples. Plating without alcohol treatment (sensitivity of 88.23%) was more efficient than with alcohol treatment (sensitivity of 29.41%) in C. difficile isolation. The profile A + B+CDT- was observed in 35.0% (28/80) of the isolates. The A/B toxin was tested in 44 isolates and 15.9% of them were positive. Resistance to clindamycin, ceftizoxime tetracycline, metronidazole, vancomycin, and ceftriaxone were observed among isolates. Multi-drug resistance was detected in 36.4% (8/22) of the isolates evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the third year of elementary school, after three full school years, 22% of students can read only single words in Brazil (INEP, 2016). Difficulties with reading and writing are associated with the teaching method and the absence of appropriate literacy practices. Most children that have learning difficulties can overcome it with proper instruction. The central issue discussed in this article is that for the children to learn to read, it is necessary to explicitly teach them to read. Therefore, this paper aim to (1) discuss and bring effective examples of how neuroscientific theories of reading can help us find the more effective method of literacy and teaching reading, and (2) the creation of an informative brochure for elementary school teachers, whose focus is to illustrate and make practical suggestions on scientific evidence-based literacy. Based on evidence from neuroscientific studies that underline the importance of teaching the alphabetical principle and the development of phonological awareness, we have prepared a pamphlet with practical tips and techniques for teaching reading based on the phonic method, a method that corresponds to the evidence from neuroscientific studies reviewed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research is to identify the characteristics of articles published on company valuation in Brazil between 2009 and 2018. To achieve the objective, a bibliometric research with a quantitative approach was carried out and data collection was done through the SPELL platform. The main results were that most articles on company valuation were published in 2013 and 2018, have three authors, the HEI that most published on the topic was UFG and the most used method was Discounted Cash Flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering gratitude as a virtue, rather than a positive emotion, requires measures different from those more commonly used and which conflate gratitude with appreciation. We here describe those measures, explaining why they are appropriate to the study of gratitude as a virtue. We then discuss how each measure was coded for this special issue, the manner of recruitment of our participants across the seven research sites (Brazil, Guatemala, the United States, Russia, Turkey, China, and South Korea), the overall hypotheses, and the analytic strategies used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses historical, theoretical, and methodological aspects of community psychology. Topics referred are efforts of psychologist Cezar Wagner de Lima Góis, Community Psychology Nucleus (NUCOM) at the Federal University of Ceará, and importance participation and dialogue while working for community programs.

Primary objective: This study aimed to identify and characterize profiles of executive functions (EF) following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Research design: The sample was comprised of 84 adult outpatients with mild and moderate/severe TBI who were assessed by means of a battery of EF tasks. A Hierarchical Cluster analysis was performed with tasksZ-scores. Clusters were compared by means of ANOVA and Chi-square analyses. Main outcomes and results: Three clusters were characterized by deficits in: (1) inhibition, flexibility and focused attention; (2) inhibition, flexibility, working memory and focused attention; and (3) no expressive executive deficits. Clusters did not differ in clinical or demographical variables. Conclusions: The first cluster replicated findings of previous studies on TBI EF profiles. IT is suggested that TBI rehabilitation studies of EF must select participants by their EF profile rather than for clinical or demographical variables. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present study is an experience report of 12 classes of Physical Education of Pedagogical Workshop Futsal Pibid, with grade 5 at a public school state elementary school in Santa Maria (RS). Was sought through a reflection of the characteristics of collective sports games, relating to the methods (partial and global games conditioned), since the first systematization, characteristics and their influence on the learning process of students in technical and tactical aspects. The study used a literature review to find these teaching methods of the most common sports with an emphasis on soccer, with reference to several authors in the area of sports initiation. It was found that the methods used have advantages and disadvantages, and conditioned games as a means of achieving the goals of the school, in an innovative way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To evaluate the experience of select cities in the Americas using the Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool (Urban HEART) launched by the World Health Organization in 2010 and to determine its utility in supporting government efforts to improve health equity using the social determinants of health (SDH) approach. Methods. The Urban HEART experience was evaluated in four cities from 2010-2013: Guarulhos (Brazil), Toronto (Canada), and Bogotá and Medellín (Colombia). Reports were submitted by Urban HEART teams in each city and supplemented by first-hand accounts of key informants. The analysis considered each city's networks and the resources it used to im- plement Urban HEART; the process by which each city identified equity gaps and prioritized interventions; and finally, the facilitators and barriers encountered, along with next steps. Results. In three cities, local governments spearheaded the process, while in the fourth (Toronto), academia initiated and led the process. All cities used Urban HEART as a platform to engage multiple stakeholders. Urban HEART's Matrix and Monitor were used to identify equity gaps within cities. While Bogotá and Medellín prioritized among existing interventions, Guarulhos adopted new interventions focused on deprived districts. Actions were taken on intermediate determinants, e.g., health systems access, and structural SDH, e.g., unemployment and human rights. Conclusions. Urban HEART provides local governments with a simple and systematic method for assessing and responding to health inequity. Through the SDH approach, the tool has provided a platform for intersectoral action and community involvement. While some areas of guidance could be strengthened, Urban HEART is a useful tool for directing local action on health inequities, and should be scaled up within the Region of the Americas, building upon current experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scoliosis is a three-dimensional deviation of the vertical line of the spine, often difficult to visualize and quantify. Hence, several studies have developed methodologies for its evaluation. Even so, an incipient discussion exists about which one is the most suitable method. The objective of this systematic review is to verify the existence of scientific evidence on alternative methods for noninvasive assessment of scoliosis. It was conducted a systematic search in the databases Scopus, Science Direct and PubMed, with the key-words: Non-invasive Monitoring [OR] Assessing Postural Assessment [OR] Postural Evaluation [OR] Assessing Postural Evaluation Methods [AND] Scoliosis [OR] Spinal Curvatures [OR] Spinal Deformity [OR] Spine Curvatures. Adopting the following inclusion criteria: addressing patients with scoliosis and involve assessment postural noninvasive, and exclusion: not describe the evaluation method used or approach treatment and not be written in English. At the beginning, 200 articles were found. After checking the titles and abstracts, eight articles were selected and 12 articles were included in the bibliographical references (i.e. an overall number of 20 articles). Of these, 18 studies were included in the quality criteria. Overall, the studies showed satisfactory results for the evaluation of scoliosis, being observed differences between the methods in time needed to perform the evaluation, system cost, complexity of the procedures to be carried out and data collected. These systems do not replace X-ray as gold-standard, even though it can be used to reduce the radiation exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite efforts by the scientific community to create a single universal quantitative method to assess geological sites, dozens of methods have been designed and applied around the world with the purpose of assessing geosites with specific interests. Although several studies have already compared quantitative assessment methods with different objectives, there is not yet research that compares the application of general-purpose (method applicable to any geosite) and special-purpose methods (designed to assess geomorphosites) on the assessment of geosites with geomorphological and other geological interest. In view of this fact, this study aims (i) to make a quantitative assessment of the scientific value of the inventoried geosites of the Itatiaia National Park, Brazil, adopting geological and geomorphological approaches, using both general- and special-purpose methods and (ii) to discuss whether special-purpose methods provide different results that justify their application and whether general-purpose methods appropriately assess geomorphological heritage. The methodology procedures consisted of applying two general- and three special-purpose methods adopting the geological and geomorphological approaches to each geosite. The results show two main patterns: (i) different scores in the assessment of the geological and geomorphological approaches when applying the same method and (ii) similar scores in the assessment of each geosite among each method type –general- or special-purpose methods. The comparison of these five methods showed that general- and special-purpose methods could be applied in geosites with geomorphological and other geological interest without strongly affecting the final results. • General- and special-purpose methods show similar criteria for assessing scientific value • The key-locality criterion fits better in the evaluation of other types of geosites than geomorphosites • The palaeogeographical value criterion scores higher in the assessment of geomorphosites • General- and special-purpose methods for the geoheritage assessment provide similar results [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding contested cultural boundaries continues to be a theoretical and empirical issue for anthropologists. For some time, cognitive and other like-minded anthropologists have used cultural consensus analysis (CCA), developed by Romney, Weller, and Batchelder (1986), to quantitatively estimate the level of cultural sharing around a particular domain. This method has limits and, as its critics (fairly or unfairly) have pointed out, can present a static, homogeneous image of culture. Residual agreement analysis (RAA) helps address this lacuna. This extension of CCA can identify subcultural variation and elicit the structural nature of such shared deviation. Utilizing data from Brazilian Pentecostals, CCA demonstrates that this community shares a model of lifestyle success known as A Vida Completa. Residual agreement analysis, however, shows systematic deviations from the overall cultural consensus across two congregations. This finding suggests that the distinction between how these two churches conceive of A Vida Completa may not be due to unique cultural beliefs but rather to differential emphasis of an underlying shared cultural model. This research demonstrates a novel extension of CCA and provides insights into the characteristics of Brazil's fastest growing religious community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Methods’ and their devices have been conventionally viewed as the means through which the move from world to representation (and back again) might be reliably performed. An alternative view, perhaps most clearly exemplified by the post-ANT empirical programme of ‘material semiotics’, sees methods and devices as integral to the ways particular ‘realities’ are enacted in practices of inscription and intervention. Drawing upon this latter work, the present paper examines the role of satellite images, GIS and GPS data and devices in the methods utilized in the location, identification and classification of ‘illegal deforestation’ in Brazilian Amazonia. Here we witness how efforts to render ‘deforestation’ into a stable object of knowledge, singular and coordinated, are countered by attempts to render it multiple and irreconcilable as methods and devices become entangled in the conflicts and antagonisms of social life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Micro-organisms are present throughout the meat processing chain, from raw materials until finished product Industrial quality programs check for contamination in raw materials and final products to ensure the safety of consumer products; for this reason, the use of alternative methods instead of the conventional methods used in routine diagnostic laboratories is necessary to obtain reliable results in the shortest time possible. Samples of pig carcasses were collected in a slaughterhouse with Federal Inspection in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Mesophilic micro-organisms, Enterobacteriaceae and Escherichia coli were evaluated and tests performed by alternative methods, Tempo® , Petrifilm™, and the conventional method of counting micro-organisms in Petri dishes. After statistical analysis, the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) showed a strong correlation up to 0.70 between the methodologies used for the enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae and mesophilic microorganisms, show a moderate correlation between 0.30 to 0.70, for the diagnosis of Escherichia coli. The use of alternative methods to replace the conventional method can be recommended for diagnosis of Escherichiacoli, Enterobacteriaceae and mesophilic micro-organisms, because there was consistency between the results and the speed was increased by the alternative methodologies benefiting the pork industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveTo adapt and test the relative validity of an instrument measuring the usual food intake of 6–10-year-old children.DesignAn FFQ encompassing the preceding 6 months was adapted and compared with the average of three 24 h dietary recalls.SettingPrivate and public schools in Porto Alegre, capital city of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state in Brazil, with 1·5 million inhabitants.SubjectsChildren aged 6–10 years attending grades 1–4 in private and public schools in Porto Alegre.ResultsNinety-one children were studied. The FFQ overestimated all nutrients. Correlations with the values obtained by 24 h dietary recalls were mostly above 0·50. The deattenuated correlations increased for all nutrients. The κ coefficients for the adjusted nutrients varied from 0·12 (weak) to 0·34 (reasonable). Graphically, the FFQ was shown to underestimate some of the parameters and to overestimate others, with a wide CI for all nutrients.ConclusionsThe FFQ does not have the required relative validity to classify the intake levels of schoolchildren, and further investigation is required to understand the sources of error. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since 1996, CTA-ZM, a local Brazilian NGO, has been developing better ways to understand its work on pro-poor institutional transformation in Minas Gerais. It operates within a 'messy partnership' which includes farmer trade unions, associations, social movements, and academic institutions. The combined challenge of institutional transformation and messy partnerships has made it clear that mainstream monitoring is inadequate to trigger the diversity and depth of learning required within concerted action. This article describes a ten-year organisational learning journey, looking critically at the author's own work on participatory monitoring as an alternative. A framework of eight design principles is offered as an essential starting point for 'rethinking impact'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work evaluates regulatory impacts on the Brazilian cashew industry through the pilot use of CIBER, a value-chain-based approach, to identify and measure regulatory constraints and to enact regulatory reforms in donor-funded development projects. Drawing from secondary sources complemented by primary field research, all the CIBER-suggested steps are followed. The results reveal that tax and credit regulations should be priorities to improve the competitiveness of the cashew business in Brazil, and that CIBER can be an effective tool to expand industry analysis and to design reform strategies towards improved competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two different sources of data, Brazilian and Chilean banks and NGOs, were accessed to evaluate microcredit programs. Using propensity score and matching techniques, we compare the average income of individuals who received microcredit with the income of control groups, formed by people with similar characteristics. The results for the Brazilian data show a high positive impact of microcredit programs, especially for those administered by banks. In the Chilean case the evidence is weaker for the microcredit administered by banks. As for NGO-based programs, the evidence suggests that their impact on the average income of their clients is actually negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Se revisó la literatura disponible publicada entre 1957 y 2007 sobre la evaluación antropométrica de embarazadas y se analizaron críticamente las metodologías recomendadas. Las mediciones antropométricas constituyen el método más frecuentemente empleado debido a su reconocida utilidad para prevenir la morbimortalidad perinatal, predecir la salud del niño y promover la salud de la madre. Ha habido un intenso debate sobre el aumento óptimo de peso durante la gestación, que ha llevado a cambiar las recomendaciones nutricionales. Hasta la década de 1960 se sugería limitar el aumento de peso gestacional como una forma de evitar un resultado obstétrico desfavorable. Se reconoce que la metodología recomendada por el Instituto de Medicina (1990/1992) es la más aceptada en todo el mundo y ha servido de estándar de referencia en muchos estudios, sin embargo, también se presentan otros métodos (que utilizan modelos gráficos e indicadores basados en el índice de masa corporal y la tasa peso-altura gestacionales). Para contribuir a la salud materno-infantil se necesitan estudios que validen los indicadores de alteraciones nutricionales durante el embarazo y que tengan elevados valores de sensibilidad y especificidad con respecto a los desenlaces obstétricos indeseables, y determinar un estándar universal del aumento de peso durante la gestación. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the emphasis in current thinking about work with street children has changed from aid-dependency towards youth protagonism, many organisations ignore the role of the children's families in their interventions. In so doing, they reproduce obsolete welfare traditions and also violate rights guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and national legislation. This article illustrates the importance of child-family ties for both children and families, and argues that interventions that lack the involvement of parents and families serve to reproduce images of failed families and inadequate mothers. The author presents an alternative approach from Brazil which respects the rights and needs of children and families through family empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:To evaluate the educational influence in the relative validation of a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQs) for adults in the city of Viçosa, Brazil.Design and subjects:Four 24-h dietary recalls (reference method) were applied to a sample of 94 adults of both genders, at intervals of 1 month. At the end of the study, an FFQs consisting of 58 food items was also applied. Then, the individuals were divided into two main groups according to their educational level (lower and higher). The dietary data were calculated by the Diet Pro 4.0 software and analyzed according to differences of means or medians and Pearson's correlation coefficients. These coefficients were adjusted by the energy and corrected by the within-person variance for each educational group, considering the extreme quartiles of the data distribution.Results:The intake of energy and nutrients, based on the 24 h dietary recalls, was inferior for the lower educational group (P<0.05). For the FFQs, just the protein and calcium intakes were statistically different, suggesting interference of the education variable in this assessment. Overestimations in the FFQs were identified in the analyses of means and medians for vitamin C and retinol intakes in the lower education group and for retinol in the higher education one. However, when evaluated by correlation coefficients non-adjusted and adjusted, they were well correlated. On the other hand, lipid (r=0.34) and calcium (r=0.13) coefficients of the group with less instruction showed beneath the desirable values, suggesting weak consistence of the estimates provided by the FFQs for these nutrients. Correlation means of r=0.65 and 0.54 were found for the higher and lower educational groups, respectively.Conclusions:The results indicate that FFQs showed acceptable performance on evaluating the habitual food consumption for most of the nutrients in the studied population. A tendency for better quantifications in the groups with higher education was observed, inferring its influence in the assessment of the dietary intake.Sponsorship:CAPES – Coordenação de aperfeiçoamento de pessoal de nível superior.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2006) 60, 1311–1316. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602458; published online 14 June 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year, studies about food handlers' food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices are published. Some results of these papers have been rather controversial, especially those related to food safety practices. The two most common methods for evaluating food safety practices - self-assessment and observation - are generally treated as interchangeable, but they can have different meanings. The objective of this study was, therefore, to differentiate between the observed and self-reported food safety practices of food handlers, verifying the effect of different variables in these food safety indicators through structural equation modeling, and examining the relationship between cognitive factors and these practices. A questionnaire with 37 questions was given to 183 food handlers to evaluate their food safety knowledge, attitudes, self-reported practices, and risk perceptions. For the observed assessment method of evaluating the food handlers' practices (observed practices), a checklist was developed, and food handlers were observed during one workday. Two models were developed based on the results of these two assessment methods. In the first model a significant positive effect of knowledge and a negative effect of risk perception on self-reported practices were observed. Food handlers with high risk-perception about their practices reported less adequate practices. Positive food safety attitudes acted as a moderator dampening the positive effect between knowledge and self-reported practices. In the second model a significant positive effect of knowledge on observed practices. Attitudes strengthened the positive effect between knowledge and observed practices. On the other hand, a direct effect of attitude on observed practices was not observed. In conclusion, self-reported practices and observed practices are different and should be used and discussed properly. Unlabelled Image • A positive effect of knowledge on observed practices was found. • Attitudes acted as a moderator of the effect of knowledge on observed practices. • A positive effect of risk perception on self-reported practices was observed. • Observed practices presented a slight correlation with self-reported practices. • Self-reported and observed practices are noninterchangeable assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]