Actitudes de los maestros hacia la integración escolar de niños con necesidades especiales

Resumen

Se hace un estudio de las variables que afectan a las actitudes de los maestros hacia la integración escolar de niños con necesidades especiales en dieciséis centros educativos normales de la provincia de Guipúzcoa.

No se encuentran relaciones entre las actitudes de los maestros y el sexo, la lengua materna, tipo de centro, nivel de apoyo administrativo o técnico, tiempo de contacto con los niños (tiempo de integración). Sí que se observan relaciones significativas entre las variables actitudes y las variables número de alumnos por aula, actividades extraescolares, información, diagnóstico, nivel educativo, edad de los maestros.

En general, no obstante, las actitudes tienden a ser positivas.

Se analizan y discuten los resultados y se recoge la importancia de una consideración multidimensional del estudio de las actitudes de los maestros hacia la integración escolar de niños con necesidades especiales.     

Effects of different strength training frequencies during reduced training period on strength and muscle cross-sectional area

This study investigated the effects of different reduced strength training (RST) frequencies on half-squat 1 RM and quadriceps cross-sectional area (QCSA). Thirty-three untrained males (24.7?±?3.9 years; 1.73?±?0.08?m; 74.6?±?8.4?kg) underwent a 16-week experimental period (i.e. eight weeks of strength training [ST] followed by additional eight weeks of RST). During the ST period, the participants performed 3–4 sets of 6–12 RM, three sessions/week in half-squat and knee extension exercises. Following ST, the participants were randomly allocated to one of three groups: reduced strength training with one (RST1) or two sessions per week (RST2), and ceased training (CT). Both RST1 and RST2 groups had their training frequency and total training volume-load (i.e. RST1?=?50.3% and RST2?=?57.1%) reduced, while the CT group stopped training completely. Half-squat 1 RM (RST1?=?27.9%; RST2?=?26.7%; and CT?=?28.4%) and QCSA (RST1?=?6.1%; RST2?=?6.9%; and CT?=?5.8%) increased significantly (p?<?.05) in all groups after eight weeks of ST. No significant changes were observed in 1 RM and QCSA for RST1 and RST2 groups after the RST period, while the CT group demonstrated a decrease in half-squat 1 RM (22.6%) and QCSA (5.4%) when compared to the ST period (p?<?.05). In conclusion, different RST frequencies applied were able to maintain muscle mass and strength performance obtained over the regular ST period. Thus, it appears that RST frequency does not affect the maintenance of muscle mass and strength in untrained males, as long as volume-load is equated between frequencies.     

Learning-by-Consuming and the Dynamics of the Demand and Prices of Cultural Goods

The major distinctive feature of cultural goods is that consumers must learn how to consume them, implying that preferences should be modelled as intertemporally dependent. The canonical model in the literature uses a habit formation analogy. In this paper, we discuss in detail, though in the simplest setup, a consistent preference structure for that model. Then, we derive the implications for the dynamics of two aggregate equilibrium models, a fixed price model and a flexible price model. The learning-by-consuming behaviour is characterised by a preference structure displaying bounded adjacent complementarity in the demand for the cultural good. This implies that there will be short run complementarity between the stocks of culture and financial wealth and that the adjustment of the demand for cultural goods, or of their relative price, will have some inertia. In the exogenous price model, we find that increases in income will raise the long run demand for cultural goods while increases in the relative price will decrease it. In the endogenous price model, an increase in the supply of cultural goods will imply an initial undershooting of the price of cultural goods followed by an upward transition process. Our results seem to be consistent with the empirical results on the demand for cultural goods and seem to offer an explanation for the Baumol and Bowen paradox.JEL Classification: Z1, E21Earlier versions of this paper have been presented at the 1st Conference of the Sociedade Portuguesa de Investigação em Economia (SPiE, 1997) and at the Xth Conference of the Association for Cultural Economics International, 1998, Barcelona.     

What do daily behavior report cards (DBRCs) measure? An initial comparison of DBRCs with direct observation for off‐task behavior

This study investigated the similarity of information provided from a daily behavior report card (DBRC) as rated by the teacher to direct observation data obtained from external observers. In addition, the similarity of ratings was compared with variations of problem severity (mild, severe) and teacher training (none, some). Results suggested a moderate association between teacher perceptions of behavior as measured by DBRC ratings and direct observation conducted by an external observer. In addition, 23–45% of the variance in DBRC ratings was consistent with the direct observation data. Severity of the behavior problem or the inclusion of training was not found to significantly affect the similarity of ratings. In summary, results tentatively suggest that the DBRC may be a viable supplement to direct observation for estimating behavior in applied settings. Limitations, future research directions, and implications are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 669–676, 2005.