Jorge Oliveira

Population ageing has increased the need for accessible and effective interventions to support cognitive functioning in older adults. This study examined the effects of virtual reality-based cognitive stimulation (VR-CS), paper-and-pencil cognitive stimulation (PP-CS), and socioemotional skills training (SEST) in community-dwelling older adults, while exploring whether baseline cognitive reserve moderated intervention outcomes. Sixty-five older adults attending a community program were allocated to one of three intervention groups: VR-CS, PP-CS, or SEST. Participants completed pre- and post-intervention assessments of global cognitive functioning, subjective memory complaints, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and functional ability. Cognitive reserve was assessed at baseline using the Cognitive Reserve Questionnaire. Linear mixed-effects models showed a significant improvement in global cognitive functioning over time, with cognitive reserve moderating intervention effects across groups. Participants with lower and average cognitive reserve improved across all intervention modalities, whereas those with higher cognitive reserve showed cognitive gains mainly in the VR-CS and PP-CS groups. Subjective memory complaints increased in the SEST group, possibly reflecting enhanced self-awareness or metacognitive monitoring. No significant effects were observed for depressive symptoms or life satisfaction. These findings suggest that cognitive reserve may help identify which older adults benefit most from different intervention formats, supporting more personalized approaches to cognitive and socioemotional stimulation in community settings.

Objective: Prolonged sitting is a major risk factor for adverse health outcomes, even among physically active individuals. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a six-month sit-stand desk intervention in reducing sitting time and improving psychological outcomes in office workers. Methods: A clustered randomized controlled trial was conducted with 38 office workers, allocated to either a sit-stand desk intervention or a traditional desk control group. Outcomes were assessed using validated self-report questionnaires. Results: A significant group-by-time interaction favouring the intervention group was observed for weekday sitting time, which decreased from 8.00 to 5.22 h/day (p=0.03), but not during weekends. No significant between-group differences were found for psychological outcomes, though exploratory analyses highlighted potential predictors explaining the reductions in sitting time. Conclusions: Sit-stand desks reduced occupational sitting time, suggesting potential value for workplace health interventions.

Background: Studies on the association between cognitive dysfunction and criminality have shown that individuals in prison, particularly repeat offenders and those convicted of violent crimes, tend to exhibit difficulties in cognitive, social, and emotional functioning. The objective of this study was to evaluate and characterize cognitive and executive functioning of incarcerated individuals, while also seeking to understand the impact of incarceration on executive functions. Methods: The sample consisted of 30 participants at various stages of their sentences. Neuropsychological assessments were conducted using cognitive screening tests and tests directed to assess executive functions and decision making. Results: Neurocognitive performance was within normative ranges. Selective associations between sentence duration and specific executive functions were observed, suggesting a relationship with criminal severity indicators. Decision-making also appeared impaired, as no evidence of learning was found and deck selection focused on more disadvantageous decks. Conclusions: These findings a relationship between indicators of criminal severity and specific aspects of executive functioning and decision making, rather than a generalized cognitive impairment. However, these conclusions require further research under this topic in larger and more diverse samples.

Background: Studies on the association between cognitive dysfunction and criminality have shown that individuals in prison, particularly repeat offenders and those convicted of violent crimes, tend to exhibit difficulties in cognitive, social, and emotional func-tioning. The objective of this study was to evaluate and characterize the executive func-tioning of incarcerated individuals based on the severity of criminal behavior through the type of crime committed, number of previous arrests, and duration of the sentence im-posed, while also seeking to understand the impact of incarceration on cognitive func-tioning. Methods: The sample consisted of 50 participants at various stages of their sen-tences, who had been convicted of violent and non-violent crimes. Neuropsychological assessments were conducted using cognitive screening tests and tests directed to assess executive functions and decision making. Results: Significant effects were found mainly for sentence duration, which corresponded to the severity of the crime, suggesting a differentiation of subgroups based on cognitive abilities or impairments. Conclusions: These findings may support a relationship between criminal behavior and poorer cog-nitive ability, executive functioning and decision making. However, these effects were not consistent across cognitive domains nor when comparisons were done according to the type of crime (violent vs. non-violent) which highlight the need for further research under this topic.

In response to the growing cybersecurity problem, this study presents an innovative approach using virtual reality to train individuals in reducing the risk of cyberattacks. The research involved adult participants with or enrolled in higher education studies, who participated in a virtual reality task that simulates a typical workday in a corporate setting. Participants were divided into three groups: a control group engaged in tasks without cybersecurity threats, and two experimental groups exposed to cybersecurity threats, but one with feedback on performance and the other without feedback. By comparing the control group with the experimental groups, the findings suggest that virtual reality is a promising tool for delivering immersive and ecologically valid cybersecurity training. The presence of performance feedback within these simulations was crucial for participants to better comprehend the complexities of cyber threats. Additionally, within the experimental groups, risky behaviors displayed during the virtual tasks, along with participants’ age, emerged as predictors of their attitudes toward cybersecurity and cybercrime in organizational settings. In conclusion, by taking advantage of this cutting-edge virtual reality approach, individuals, businesses, and governments can foster more secure cybersecurity practices, contributing to a safer digital landscape for everyone.

This study examines the relationship between Portuguese language teaching practices and the development of critical thinking (CT) in secondary schools across Angola, Brazil, and Portugal. Using a qualitative, cross-cultural design, the research involved 151 Grade 12 students (86 female, 65 male) and six Portuguese language teachers. Data were collected through annual lesson plans, a validated Critical Thinking Test (CTT), and a focus group with teachers and coordinators. Descriptive and inferential statistics complemented content analysis of lesson plans and discussions. Findings reveal a striking gap between curricular expectations and students’ actual CT performance. On the CTT, the average student score was 10.6 out of 25 (SD = 5.6), with considerable cross-national variation: Portugal obtained the highest mean (15.3), followed by Angola (8.8) and Brazil (7.7). Across all contexts, students scored highest on analysis and interpretation, while evaluation, synthesis, and creativity-related tasks yielded the lowest results. These patterns mirror the cognitive complexity of classroom activities identified in lesson plans, where simpler interpretative and analytical tasks predominated. The study highlights a strong connection between the level of cognitive complexity embedded in teaching activities and students’ performance in CT. Results suggest that explicit, intentional, and progressively demanding tasks — particularly those involving evaluation and synthesis — are crucial for improving CT outcomes. Teachers generally perceive CT as an overarching skill developed indirectly through literature, reading, and writing activities, rather than as a structured competence requiring targeted instruction. The novelty of this research lies in its comparative perspective across three Lusophone countries, providing rare cross-cultural evidence on how language teaching can either foster or hinder CT. Practically, the findings underscore the need for more deliberate integration of higher-order cognitive demands in classroom practice, bridging the persistent gap between curricular aims and student learning outcomes.

The acquired brain injuries (ABI) have consequences that affect the patients’ autonomy, particularly regarding activities of daily living (ADL). To reduce the impact that these changes will have on the patient’s life, it is important to develop diversified tasks with which individuals can train and improve their impaired abilities and strengthen those that are preserved. Therefore, this study aimed to validate a virtual ATM (Automated Teller Machine) task to be used to train patients with cognitive impairments. The sample consisted of 34 participants with ABI and 66 healthy controls. These participants performed the task either virtually or with a real ATM. Beyond revealing that the type of environment did not influence task performance, the results showed a relationship between the results of cognitive screening measures and the time to complete the task, in which participants with the lowest results had worse performance in the task. Also, the virtual ATM was more sensitive in discriminating the clinical group than the real task.

Throughout history, several moments guided the creation of ethical principles to combat abuses in scientific research with human beings. Starting in 1947, the Nuremberg Code was developed as an answer to the atrocities committed by nazi doctors during the Second World War and had the intention of protecting the autonomy and voluntary consent of the individual. The Declaration of Helsinki was developed in 1964 by the World Medical Association after they identified flaws in the Nuremberg Code and established basic principles related to clinical research, professional care, and nontherapeutic clinical research. The Declaration adds, among others, the introduction of consent via a third party, with legal faculties to authorize the participation of someone in a process of scientific research. During the following revisions to this Declaration, some points have been added regarding vulnerable groups and/or individuals, ethical committees, privacy, and confidentiality, among others. When looking at the context of disability, in addition to the aforementioned ethical documentation, the assumptions of the “United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” have necessarily been taken into account since 2008. In particular, it postulates that the idea of “universal design” should guide the conceptualization of research processes and the creation of new products or technologies. However, the application of these premisses to the specific context of People with Intellectual disabilities (PwID) appears to still clash with socially stigmatizing views, strongly set on a medical model of disability, that tend to take no notice of their participation and the value their contribution can have for the scientific research as ethical imperatives. In this sense, this document presents a conceptual model from which proposals for ethical guidelines in research with PwID are devised. The conceptual model, presented in Part II, consists of seven groups: (1) accessibility during the research process, where topics such as reasonable adaptations, feasibility, diversity and representation, good practices, and barriers are presented; (2) power imbalances, namely with regards to asymmetric power, tokenism, and gatekeeping; (3) vulnerability, both as a form of exclusion and power, along with the risks associated to it; (4) self-determination in scientific research, collaborative groups, and consulting sessions; (5) (in)capacity to consent, specifically concerning ethical dilemmas, fluctuating ability, risk perception and assessing the ability to consent; (6) informed consent, especially to proximity, adaptations, and barriers; and, lastly, (7) methodological approaches, about ethical challenges posed by it and the opportunities it brings. After a detailed description of the thematics inherent to each group, in Part III of the document, it is possible to find, summarily, the proposed guidelines, written to facilitate operationalization in planning a research design. It is important to mention that the proposed guidelines were converted to accessible language and empirically validated in partnership with portuguese PwID. In these sense, the validation was only done for the portuguese version of the guidelines.