School and community factors involved in Chilean students’ perception of school safety

Identifying and understanding predictors of school safety perceptions is important due to its consequences for students. However, it is not clear what school‐related factors most contribute to explaining students’ perception of school safety, and how they relate to community‐related factors such as neighborhood safety. The purpose of this study was to understand the factors associated with Chilean elementary and middle school students’ perceptions of school safety. We used a sample of 5,455 students from low socioeconomic status public schools, and analyzed the predictive value of peer physical and verbal victimization; teacher and school staff victimization; teacher's social support; and perception of safety in the students’ neighborhoods on perceptions of school safety. Findings showed that although different forms of school violence, particularly peer physical victimization and physical and sexual victimization from teachers and school staff, contribute to students’ perception of school safety, the highest contribution came from students perceiving their neighborhoods as unsafe. In contrast, teacher social support contributed to increased levels of perceived school safety. We discuss the need for school‐based interventions that address physical victimization and engage teachers in prosocial and less punitive approaches to foster a positive and safe school climate, and in fostering school–community partnerships.     

Positive Aspects of Family Caregiving of Dependent Elderly

Previous research recently revealed the presence of positive aspects in caregiving. This study had a double objective: first, to identify positive aspects of family caregiving; second, to analyze the relationship between these caregiving rewards and different variables. A total of 140 family caregivers of dependent elderly participated in the study. Out of these, 79 of the elderly suffered dementia and 63 were institutionalized. Caregivers’ satisfaction and quality of life was above average. Those caregivers who perceived a good quality of relationship with their elder presented more satisfaction than the others. Problems in quality of life showed a positive relationship with the level of dependence of the elder. On the other hand, the more level of dependence of the elder, the greater the level of satisfaction of the caregiver. Those caregivers with a good relationship showed less provisional meaning than those with a normal or a bad relationship. We confirm the relevance of the caregiver-elder relationship, which can be improved and modified through specific preventive interventions. Our findings indicate that interventions for caregivers of people with dementia should explore ways to find meaning in caregiving.     

Deafness and attention in deaf children

The study shows the differences between hearing parents and deaf instructors interacting with deaf children and directing their attention. Data were collected at home and at a service for special needs in Bristol, England. The mother or instructor was asked to play naturally with the child with the toys provided. When the child's attention was focused during their play, the mother or instructor had to try to direct the child's attention to each of the toys. The results suggest that both groups (mothers and instructors) were effective in directing attention to objects not in the immediate area of play; however, hearing mothers were more successful than deaf instructors.     

Towards an Affective Childist Literary Criticism

A long-asked question in children’s literature studies is how the child reads the very same book we (adults) have read. In 1984, Peter Hunt argued for a “childist criticism” proposing that young readers’ multiple individual responses to literature should inform adults’ critical practice. In this article, I propose that affect theory and new materialist epistemologies could reorient our critical practice in and with children’s literature. Using the concept of childist criticism (Hunt 1984, 1991) and Maggie MacLure’s (2013) notion of the “wonder of data,” I follow different encounters between children (and researchers) and the book La madre y la muerte/La partida (Laiseca et al., 2016). This book tells a macabre story about a mother that cannot bear to have her child taken away by Death. By following the book’s agency (García-González & Deszcz-Tryhubczak, 2020) in the research assemblage of different projects, I propose possible affective methodological orientations to post-representational research for children’s literature criticism.

     

Early narrative skills in Chilean preschool: Questions scaffold the production of coherent narratives

This study examined whether or not question answering aided the construction of coherent narratives in pre-readers. Sixty Chilean preschoolers completed two tasks using a wordless picture-book: 30 children answered questions about the story and then produced a narrative using the book; 30 children completed the tasks in reverse order. Elements of coherence were assessed in both tasks, namely problem, resolution, and mental-states. The findings indicate that questions can scaffold the production of more coherent narratives. Narratives elicited after questions were judged to be more coherent than those produced before the question–answering task. In contrast, there were no differences between scores for the question answers in the different order conditions. The results are discussed regarding the interactional role of questions and the facilitative effect they have on focusing attention to the narrative task.     

Vertical ground reaction force responses to different head-out aquatic exercises performed in water and on dry land

The purpose was to analyse the vertical ground reaction forces (Fz) of head-out aquatic exercises [stationary running (SR), frontal kick (FK), cross-country skiing (CCS), jumping jacks (JJ), adductor hop (ADH) and abductor hop (ABH)] at two cadences in both aquatic and dry land environments. Twelve young women completed two sessions in each environment, each consisting of three exercises performed at two cadences (first and second ventilatory thresholds – C1 and C2, respectively). Two-way and three-way repeated measures analysis of variance were used to the statistical analysis. The results showed that the peak Fz and impulse were significantly lower in the aquatic environment, resulting in values from 28.2% to 58.5% and 60.4% to 72.8% from those obtained on dry land, respectively. In the aquatic environment, the peak Fz was lower and the impulse was higher at the C1 than at the C2. Furthermore, it was observed that SR and FK (0.9–1.1 BW) elicited a significantly higher peak Fz values compared to the ADH and JJ exercises (0.5–0.8 BW). It can be concluded that the aquatic environment reduces the Fz during head-out aquatic exercises. It should be noted that its magnitude is also dependent on the intensity and the identity of the exercise performed.     

Decision support system through automatic algorithms and electronic request in diagnosis of anaemia for primary care patients

IntroductionAn appropriate management of anaemia laboratory tests is crucial for a correct diagnosis and treatment. A non-sequential “shotgun” approach (where every anaemia related test is ordered) causes workload and cost increases and could be potentially harmful. We have implemented a Decision Support System through our laboratory information system (LIMS) based on reflexive algorithms and automatic generation of interpretative reports specifically in diagnosis of anaemia for primary care patients.Materials and methodsWhen a request contained an “Anaemia Suspicion Study” profile, more than twenty automatic reflexive rules were activated in our LIMS based upon laboratory results. These rules normally involved the addition of reflexive tests. A final report was automatically generated for each interpretation which was always reviewed for their validity by two staff pathologists. We measured the impact of this system in the ordering of most common anaemia related tests and if a proper treatment was established based on the interpretive report.ResultsFrom all the studies performed, only 12% were positive being “iron deficiency” and “anaemia of chronic disease” the most frequent causes, 62% and 17%, respectively. Proper treatment was established in 88% of these anaemic patients. Total iron, transferrin, ferritin, folate and vitamin B12 demand decreased substantially after implementation representing a cost reduction of 40% only for these five tests.ConclusionsOur system has easily improved patient outcomes, advising on individual clinical cases. We have also noticeably reduced the number of over-requested tests and laboratory costs.     

Fighting for excellence: the case of the Federal University of Pelotas

This paper investigates the implementation and evaluation of quality management systems within the higher education sector in Brazil. It is based on Institutional and Neo Institutional theories and presents the case of the Federal University of Pelotas, to discuss higher education institutions’ options in a context of wide and complex environmental changes.     

Changes in school through a long-term project of action research. Building bridges between school practice and Roma communities

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out within the framework of a long-term action-research project in schools in Barcelona, Spain, in which a large concentration of pupils come from diverse ethnic backgrounds and are at risk of social exclusion. Specifically, the introduction of the Fifth Dimension (5D) model into these schools is analysed here. 5D is an action-research programme partnership between universities and schools that has been developed by an international network of researchers and is based on a collaborative learning model, supported by information and communication technologies and by the university students themselves. This study focuses on the changes produced in school practices and in the role of teachers. Over a 4-year period, qualitative data were elicited from four primary school using linguistic methods, field notes, interviews and focus group with educators involved in the process. Cultural Historical Activity Theory was used as a framework for analysis of the coded data. The findings highlight the key elements for the change: consistency in the mediating devices (proposed tools and activities), reorientation of classroom interactions into forms of collaboration, the changing roles of the teachers to include design, observation and help, and the development of inter-institutional partnerships based on permanent negotiation.     

Interactions in virtual learning environments: new roles for digital technology

For the last 10 years, online pre-service teacher distance education has increased significantly in Brazil. As a result, research on this educational modality has also increased, in particular, research investigating the different roles students and teachers play in these courses. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of digital technologies in two specific contexts: how teachers, tutors, and students play a role in producing interactive digital didactic material and how digital technologies themselves can play a role in teaching distance learning courses. But for these roles to emerge, we point to the need for participants of online courses to interact collaboratively. To identify these roles, grounded theory, a branch of qualitative research, was used as the two roles were articulated. Data were produced from virtual observations in virtual learning environments and virtual interviews. The results stress that both highlighted roles are related. They transform teacher and student roles and participation in the virtual classroom, and an “agency of media” emerges in online mathematics education.