Associa-se frequentemente o termo "massificação" do ensino superior à democratização de seu acesso por parte de alunos provenientes das camadas sociais e culturais menos favorecidas e com menor tradição familiar de formação acadêmica superior. Neste artigo, pretende-se discutir, com base na análise de alguns indicadores da forte expansão ocorrida nos sistemas de ensino superior de Portugal e do Brasil nas últimas décadas, a efetiva democratização ocorrida. Vários pontos desse crescimento exponencial e alguns mecanismos de regulação criados, entretanto, permitem que se afirme que o ensino superior se abriu na realidade a estratos sociais e a públicos menos tradicionais neste nível de ensino; contudo, permanecem acentuadas assimetrias sociais nas instituições e nos cursos a que se tem acesso, ao mesmo tempo em que a permanência e abandono também se diferenciam socialmente em termos das respectivas taxas de incidência. Estes fenômenos têm causas diversas, não sendo possível ilibar as próprias instituições de ensino superior de responsabilidades nesse cenário.

This article analyses the impacts of the Portuguese quality assurance system on academic cultures, using the Cultural Theory proposed by Douglas (1970, 1982) and developed by Thompson, Ellis and Wildavsky (1990) as an explanatory framework for Portuguese academics' preference formation in relation to quality assessment. The Portuguese higher education system has been undergoing a change of paradigm by moving from traditional collegial system to a legal framework influenced by New Public Management. The former institutional context, where academic collegiality was the basis of democratic decision, promoted the egalitarian way of life, where the group dimension is stronger. However, recent legislation has promoted two different logics. On the one hand it has decreased the influence of the group dimension by favouring individualistic values and beliefs. On the other, it has reinforced the grid dimension through greater centralisation of power and separation of roles of universities and polytechnics, thus promoting the hierarchic way of life. The new legislation framework has produced changes that have strongly modified traditional governance structures and mechanisms and are likely to affect academics' perceptions of quality assurance processes and impacts as much as they influence the development of beliefs and values.

This work studies the role of using cool paints and/or thermal insulation on the thermal behavior and energy demand of a residential building. Buildings with thermal characteristics representing both old and new constructions are considered; the results were obtained using the dynamic computer simulator ESP-r.For a case-study building in Portugal, in the summer, it was found that an increase in roof and façade value of total solar reflectance from 50 % to 92 % reduces the maximum free-float indoor temperature between 2.0 ºC and 3.0 ºC in old construction (without thermal insulation), and between 1.2 ºC and 2.2 ºC in new construction (with thermal insulation). This has as a trade-off effect the decrease of the minimum indoor temperature of up to 1.5 ºC. The results of annual energy demand for heating show a maximum penalization of about 30 % when using cool paints. However, it was demonstrated that the cooling demand almost disappears, thus eliminating the need to install air-conditioning devices.The analysis of two specific hot periods of real summer weather data shows that the sun's altitude is critical on which solution originates the highest temperature reduction.

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The 'initiation rituals' of new students in Portuguese Higher Education are viewed as a lever for group cohesion. Using the group dynamics perspective as a theoretical view, this paper reflects on hazing as an initiation ritual that supports and maintains groups by encouraging cognitive, behavioural and emotional processes of social dependency. For the empirical data analysis, a qualitative methodology was chosen, using the students' spontaneous discourses about their academic integration. The results point to the diversity of freshmen perspectives on and experiences of hazing: either rejecting or subscribing, no student seems indifferent to it. Hazing can work as a positive catalyst to the construction of statutory identity. Furthermore, the relationship of submission which underlies these transition rituals is experienced by freshmen as a 'price to pay' for their entrance in the university world.

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