José Carlos Morgado

INDIGO BACKSTAINING DURING CELLULASE WASHING

We have attempted to understand the mechanisms of indigo backstaining during enzyme stone washing by separately analyzing dye staining levels on different cotton surfaces during the process. The high ability of the cellulase enzyme protein to bind to cotton cellulose is the major cause of backstaining. Further studies of commercial cellulases show that the pH of maximum cellulase activity may not be the same pH of maximum of cellulase binding capacity to the substrate, and also that indigo dyes have completely different affinities for cellulase proteins from different fungal origins.

Enzymatic treatment of lyocell - clarification of depilling mechanisms

We have characterized cellulose from the original structure of a lyocell fabric, from pills mechanically removed from the surface with a razor blade and from cellulose microfibrils removed from the surface and dispersed in the liquor during a cellulase depilling process. We find that cellulases first attack the cellulose from the microfibrils on the surface of the fabric because they are more externally exposed than the cellulose of the original fabric structure and have the same characteristics in terms of molecular weight, polydispersity, and crystallinity index as the base fabric. Cellulose from the microfibrils removed from the base fabric by the cellulase and recovered from the liquor shows significantly increased polydispersity, therefore indicating that the microfibrils have been widely attacked by the enzymes. Cellulases prove to be thorough surface finishing agents, since they change only the fiber surface, not the crystallinity.

Interactions of cotton with CBD peptides

The binding of genetically engineered Family II cellulose binding domains (CBDs) of Cellumonas fimi cellulases to cotton fabrics was studied and possible textile applications were investigated. Family II CBDs bound to cotton cellulose increased dye affinity, especially for acid dyes, but with very poor washing fastness. Ironing of the protein bound fabrics before dyeing increases dye affinity, which is probably due to protein denaturation and thus increases exposition of ionic groups. For desorption of CBD proteins from the cotton fabric, high levels of mechanical agitation and alkaline conditions (pH >7) are necessary. Binding of Family II CBDs to cellulose releases fine particles, whereas migration and desorption did not. Long time storage of cotton fabrics with adsorbed CBD proteins did not cause changes in their physical properties and did not damage cotton cellulose. The presence of water on the surface of cellulose was found to be essential for the interfabric migration of Family II CBDs. The double binding cellulose domain binds strongly on cotton and their interfabric migration is smaller.

Teacher Evaluation, Curricular Autonomy and Professional Development: Trends and Tensions in the Portuguese Educational Policy.

For the past two years, teacher evaluation has been the most visible aspect of educational policy in Portugal. The model that was established in 2008 has prompted not only strong reactions among teachers but also many passionate discussions in the context of the Portuguese society at large. In this article, we discuss issues of teacher evaluation by relating them to issues of teachers’ curricular autonomy and professional development, considering that these may be regarded as three pillars of what we envisage as a renewed teacher professionalism that might contribute to improving the quality of teaching and learning. Our analysis of recent measures suggests that a deficit of formative devices in teacher evaluation is narrowing opportunities for teachers’ professional development, which, combined with legislative initiatives that limit the alleged promotion of teachers’ curricular autonomy, may pose serious threats to the advancement of Portuguese teachers’ professionalism.

Processo de Bolonha e ensino superior num mundo globalizado

Deriving from a series of economic, social and cultural transformations resulting from the recent globalization surge, we analyze some of the changes that ought to take place in the field of education so that teaching institutions and teachers alike can develop teaching-learning processes guided by criteria of democracy, inclusion and justice and so that schooling may realize the expectations placed on it. Since it is one of the main instruments in the production of personal, cultural and social identities, we also question the importance of curriculum in that undertaking.

Identidade e profissionalidade docente: sentidos e (im)possibilidades

The complexity of the present time and the diversity of solicitations that schools have to face nowadays have reinforced the strategic importance that education still has in our society. As a consequence, education has deserved a quite particular attention by the political power. This attention has been translated into various changes aiming at adjusting the educational systems to the present time. Along this process, teachers have been given a special role, as the transformations that are to be implemented in the teaching area and the success of the students depend, widely, on them. Nevertheless, the possibility of the teachers to pursue, in better conditions, the aims of education depend, in our opinion, on three factors: professional competence, professional identity and professional teaching. Bearing in mind the aspects referred to above, we have analyzed some of the challenges and problems that schools and teachers have to face nowadays. These have obstructed the change and the improvement of their daily practice. Besides that, we have listed some aspects that we consider essential to raise the prestige of this profession and to give back to the teachers the leading role and recognition that they deserve in our society.

Academic development as educational inquiry? Insights from established practices

If academic development is to contribute to (re)shaping the purposes and means of pedagogy in higher education, then it has to be based on educational inquiry, for only inquiry will allow us to undertake a critical analysis of educational policies, practices and beliefs with the goal of transforming them. However, the conditions under which academic development units (ADUs) operate may hinder rather than foster educational inquiry. This is the issue we explore in this paper on the basis of a small-scale, interview-based study that was conducted in six well-established ADUs at universities in the USA. By looking at how these units work, we gained insights into paradoxes and tensions that seem to indicate that educational inquiry cannot play a significant role within them, even though these units act as catalysts for the enhancement of teaching in the academic milieu. We should ask whether ADUs are appropriate sites for educational inquiry and whether they can contribute to (re)shaping the higher education landscape.

ZABALZA, Miguel A. La enseñanza univer si­ taria. El escenario y sus protagonistas. 2. ed. Madrid: Narcea, 2004.

Quando se realiza a recensao de uma obra existem sempre alguns motivos que justificam a sua escolha. Neste caso, a opcao por este livro baseou-se, essen cialmente, no tema do dossie deste numero da Revista – o Ensino Superior – e na pertinencia e atualidade do texto de Miguel A. Zabalza, pese embora tenha sido escrito ha cerca dez anos. O livro enquadra-se na colecao “Universitaria”, uma colecao de livros sobre docencia universitaria onde se incluem estudos que, sem descurar a necessaria fundamentacao teorica, se centram em problemas com que os docentes se deparam na sua pratica diaria, apresentando, por isso, propostas de reflexao e de acao que visam enriquecer o seu desenvolvimento profissional. Assim se compreende que o principal objetivo do autor ao escrever este livro se circunscreva a uma reflexao sobre o trabalho que se desenvolve na universidade, numa perspetiva em que concilia a descricao com a proposta de alternativas de melhoria. Considerando a universidade como um espaco de tomada de decisoes de varia ordem, Zabalza direciona o texto para um conjunto de aspetos que interferem de forma direta na docencia e na formacao de estudantes e professores universitarios. Tendo consciencia de que se trata de um cenario formativo complexo, em que se entrecruzam diversas dimensoes e uma multiplicidade de elementos, tanto internos – contexto institucional, conteudos dos cursos, professores e alunos – como externos – politicas para o ensino superior, avancos da ciencia, cultura e investigacao e associacoes profissionais –, o autor define quatro eixos de analise que permitem abordar, de forma mais circunstanciada, cada um desses aspetos: (i) o primeiro, Universidade-politica universitaria, relativo ao contexto institucional e influencias externas que o condicionam, em particular as legislativas e financeiras; (ii) o segundo, Conteudos curriculares, Ciencia e Tecnologia, que incide na substância formativa do trabalho univer

Avaliacao e qualidade do desenvolvimento profissional docente: que relacao?

Parece nao suscitar controversia a afirmacao de que, por contingencias diversas, a avaliacao tem vindo nos ultimos anos a adquirir uma significativa centralidade tanto ao nivel dos discursos como das praticas. Em todos os setores da sociedade, a avaliacao tornou-se ja um lugar-comum, prevalecendo a ideia de que a ausencia de avaliacao condenara qualquer instituicao ao fracasso. Exemplo do que acabamos de referir e o caso da educacao, onde a avaliacao se expandiu de tal forma que abrange hoje todas as dimensoes que estruturam o edificio educativo. Mais recentemente, os conceitos de desenvolvimento, de qualidade e de desenvolvimento da qualidade tem vindo tambem a constar dos propositos e das praticas de mudanca e melhoria do ensino e da aprendizagem, o que reclama uma analise dos procedimentos de avaliacao que concorrem para isso. Na educacao, e precisamente ao nivel da aprendizagem e do desenvolvimento profissional docente que a avaliacao podera fazer a diferenca, sobretudo se contribuir para melhorar a preparacao cientifica e pedagogica dos professores, se ajudar e consolidar compromissos e se contribuir para renovar mentalidades. E precisamente sobre estes aspetos que refletimos no texto que a seguir se apresenta. Comecamos por caracterizar distintas formas de desenvolvimento profissional docente, aludindo aos propositos, processos de aprendizagem, visoes de professor e tipos de profissionalismo que lhes estao subjacentes. Seguidamente, fazemos referencia a avaliacao do desempenho docente, interpelando diferentes logicas em torno das quais esta se pode consubstanciar e relacionamos o desenvolvimento profissional e a avaliacao do desempenho, identificando alguns pontos criticos nessa relacao. No final, em jeito de conclusao, referimos alguns aspetos que, em nosso entender, podem contribuir para tornar essa simbiose mais proficua e fazer da avaliacao um mecanismo de melhoria profissional.

Democratizar la escuela a través del currículo: en busca de una nueva utopía

Starting from the idea that it is difficult to build an inclusive school within a society of progress and abundance but where inequalities abound, it is important to examine to what extent schools, combining the best of the past with the present changes and the future advancements, can play a role in reversing this situation. This opportunity makes us reconsider the social mission of schools and defend that the curriculum developed in schools assumes himself as a collective space of commitments, a stimulus to participation and a way to develop a true moral education, where the values assume themselves as structural axes of a fairer, more solidarity and more democratic society. Teachers assume greater responsibilities in this process, because the excellence of the pedagogical act depends largely of their intellectual abilities and of the virtues of its character. It is, therefore, around these assumptions that I intend to, throughout this text, challenge the school and the curriculum in search of a new utopia.