Synchronic Tutoring of a Virtual Community

The role of tutors has changed over time, depending on models of learning and on the technology available. This article discusses the evolution of the tutor role and presents a new model concerning the tutoring functions in a synchronous virtual community. The definition of a virtual community starts from a theory of communities of learning and takes the features of the virtual environment into account. A project set in order to verify the tutors' features in a synchronous virtual community with an educational aim will be described in detail. The chats on-line are analyzed combining two analysis systems: (a) a category system describing the tutor's on-line functions; and (b) a discourse analysis exploring the dialogical and interactive dimensions of the tutor interventions. Results gathered from this study highlight typical features of tutoring on-line a virtual community. On-line tutorship appears to be a fluid, situated and dynamic process of meaning negotiation. Tutors are able to take over each others' specific roles and students act as tutors to each other.     

The Panther

His vision, from the constantly passing bars,
Has grown so weary that it cannot hold anything else
It seems to him there are a thousand bars;
and behind the bars, no world.     

Modeling information sources as integrals for effective and efficient source selection

In this paper, a new source selection algorithm for uncooperative distributed information retrieval environments is presented. The algorithm functions by modeling each information source as an integral, using the relevance score and the intra-collection position of its sampled documents in reference to a centralized sample index and selects the collections that cover the largest area in the rank-relevance space. Based on the above novel metric, the algorithm explicitly focuses on addressing the two goals of source selection; high-recall, which is important for source recommendation applications and high-precision which is important for distributed information retrieval, aiming to produce a high-precision final merged list.     

Beauty,effort and talent: a brief history of Brazilian women’s soccer in press discourse

This essay offers a brief historical background to the evolution of women’s soccer in Brazil. It focuses on the main obstacles women faced to pursue the game, which was forbidden to women in Brazil in 1941. By analysing how the newspapers treat women’s teams, the essay will try to highlight significant changes in the stereotypes that long guided perceptions of people about women soccer players.     

The effects of teacher support,parental monitoring,motivation and self-efficacy on academic performance over time

European Journal of Psychology of Education - This study aimed to investigate the contribution of teacher support and parental monitoring to academic performance over three years, testing the...     

Criss-cross heart three-dimensional printed models in medical education: A multicenter study on their value as a supporting tool to conventional imaging

The utility of three-dimensional (3D) printed models for medical education in complex congenital heart disease (CHD) is sparse and limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of 3D printed models for medical education in criss-cross hearts covering a wide range of participants with different levels of knowledge and experience, from medical students, clinical fellows up to senior medical personnel. Study participants were enrolled from four dedicated imaging workshops developed between 2016 and 2019. The study design was a non-randomized cross-over study to evaluate 127 participants' level of understanding of the criss-cross heart anatomy. This was evaluated using the scores obtained following teaching with conventional images (echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging) versus a 3D printed model learning approach. A significant improvement in anatomical knowledge of criss-cross heart anatomy was observed when comparing conventional imaging test scores to 3D printed model tests [76.9% (61.5%–87.8%) vs. 84.6% (76.9%–96.2%), P < 0.001]. The increase in the questionnaire marks was statistically significant across all academic groups (consultants in pediatric cardiology, fellows in pediatric cardiology, and medical students). Ninety-four percent (120) and 95.2% (121) of the participants agreed or strongly agreed, respectively, that 3D models helped them to better understand the medical images. Participants scored their overall satisfaction with the 3D printed models as 9.1 out of 10 points. In complex CHD such as criss-cross hearts, 3D printed replicas improve the understanding of cardiovascular anatomy. They enhanced the teaching experience especially when approaching medical students.     

Gender (im)balance in the pool of graduate talent: the portuguese case

Tertiary Education and Management - Doctoral education has grown substantially, resulting in a larger and diverse pool of graduates for research. Simultaneously, gender balance in research has...     

The use of Internet of Things devices in early childhood education: A systematic review

Education and Information Technologies - Internet of Things (IoT) devices are becoming ubiquitous and gradually impacting on young children’s play, learning and growth worldwide. It is vital...     

Supporting preschoolers’ cognitive development: Short- and mid-term effects of fluid reasoning,visuospatial, and motor training

Cognitive abilities are essential to children's overall growth; thus, the implementation of early and effective training interventions is a major challenge for developmental psychologists and teachers. This study explores whether an intervention simultaneously operating on fluid reasoning (FR), visuospatial, narrative, and motor abilities could boost these competencies in a group of Italian preschoolers (N = 108, 54 males 54 females, Age_mean = 4.04). FR and visuospatial abilities showed training-related increases at the end of the training and 1-year follow-up (moderate effect size). Interestingly, positive correlations with working memory and mathematical abilities were found. Beyond their scientific relevance, the short- and long-term effects provide fundamental indications for designing and implementing educational programs dedicated to preschoolers.     

Autonomic modulation of heart rate in paraplegic wheelchair basketball players: Linear and nonlinear analysis

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the autonomic modulation of heart rate in sedentary paraplegics and paraplegic wheelchair basketball players with thoracic spinal cord injury below T6. Seven paraplegic wheelchair basketball players (active paraplegic group), five paraplegics who were not involved in regular exercise (sedentary paraplegic group) and 10 able-bodied participants (control group) took part in the study. The heart rate variability was evaluated by linear (low frequency and high frequency band in normalised units and low frequency/high frequency ratio) and nonlinear methods (Shannon entropy, corrected conditional entropy, and symbolic analysis).

The sedentary group presented significantly higher values for low frequency, low frequency/high frequency ratio and symbolic index with no significant variations (0V%), and also lower values for the high frequency and symbolic index with two significant unlike variation (2ULV%) compared to active paraplegic group. Shannon entropy and corrected conditional entropy analyses revealed significantly lower values in the sedentary group than in the control or active paraplegic groups. Paraplegic individuals who regularly undertake physical exercise have higher complexity of R-R interval time series, lower sympathetic modulation, and higher parasympathetic modulation than sedentary paraplegic participants.