Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2024-08-26"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- The Role of Participatory Budgeting in the Development of Outermost Regions: the Case of Azores ArchipelagoPublication . Freitas Santos, José; Bernardino, SusanaParticipatory budgeting is a new form of public financing that intends to engage citizens in the political decision-making process. In this descentralized process, the population propose and votes for the most useful projects in a certain location with the aim of obtaining public resources to implement and benefit their own community. Taking the case of Azores, one of the outermost regions of Portugal, the objective is to evaluate how the participatory budgting has been implemented in that region between 2018 and 2022. The Azores archipelago is an autonomous region of Portugal located in the North Atlantic. The archipelago comprises nine islands and several islets which belong to three groups: i) the Western Group (with two islands: Flores and Corvo); ii) the Central Group (with five islands: Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Graciosa and Terceira); and iii) the Eastern Group (with two islands: São Miguel and Santa Maria, and the Formigas islets). To accomplish that goal a statistical analysis of the approved projects is made in order to ascertain the area of intervention, the regional distribution, the financial relevance and the content of projects. Further, the contribution of participatory budgeting for the cohesion of the overall region is evaluated not only from the point of view of each Island (inter island comparasion) but also at the level of municipality (intra island comparasion).
- Impact of VR-Based Cognitive Training on working memory and inhibitory control in IDD young adultsPublication . Trigueiro, Maria João; Lopes, Joana; Simões-Silva, Vítor; Melo, Bruno Bastos Vieira de; Almeida, Raquel Simões de; Marques, António; Trigueiro, Maria João; Simões-Silva, Vitor; Simões de Almeida, Raquel; Pereira da Silva Marques, António José; Bastos Vieira de Melo, BrunoYoung people with intellectual developmental disabilities have a persistent delay in the development of executive functions. Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly being used as a cognitive intervention tool, with significant effectiveness demonstrated in different types of populations. This pilot study aims to investigate the impact of a cognitive training program utilizing VR on young adults diagnosed with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDDs). The participants (N = 15) served as their own control group and were assessed three times: weeks 0, 8, and 16, with a rest period (0–8 weeks) and an intervention period (8–16 weeks). The assessments included measures of cognitive function provided by E-Prime® (Version 3). Overall, an improvement in working memory and inhibitory control was found after the intervention, but not in sustained attention. These findings suggest that VR-based cognitive training holds promise as an effective intervention for enhancing cognitive abilities in young adults with intellectual developmental disabilities. This study provides a foundation for future investigations into VR’s role in cognitive rehabilitation and its potential to support daily living skills and overall quality of life for individuals with IDDs. Further research is needed to explore the long-term effects and broader applicability of VR interventions.