Association between attitudes of filial responsibility and parent caregiving behavior

Objective: To analyze the association between attitudes of filial responsibility and adult child caregivers’ behaviors in the Southern Region of Brazil.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with 100 child caregivers of older adults. The data were collected through an interview using the protocol of filial responsibility adapted and validated to Brazilian Portuguese. Filial Expectation and Filial Piety scales evaluated the attitudes of filial responsibility. Caring behaviors assessed were: instrumental support, emotional, financial support, and companionship. The variables that presented p< .20 value in the bivariate analysis were inserted into a multivariate Poisson regression model.

Results: Financial and emotional support behaviors were significantly associated with filial piety (p = .050 and p = .001, respectively) and filial expectation (p = .013 and p = .023, respectively). Providing companionship was associated with filial piety (p = .015).

Conclusion: Attitudes of filial responsibility are associated with some but not all caregiving behaviors. Brazilians caring for older parents show more similarities to Chinese than to Canadian caregivers. Furthermore, filial responsibility and caregiving behaviors are strongly affected by Brazilian social and cultural norms. Reasons are discussed.     

Whole-School Collaborative Sustained Professional Development and Science Teacher Change: Signs of Progress

The experiences of middle school science teachers at two schools in the southeastern US who participated in collaborative, sustained, whole-school professional development and their implementation of standards-based instructional practices are the focus of this study. Participants were involved in their second year of the professional development experience. The research question that was explored was “How are science teachers implementing standards-based instruction while participating in effective professional development experiences?” Data collected in the form of teacher interviews and classroom observations using an observation protocol. Findings indicate that even with effective professional development, teachers implement standards-based instructional practices at varying levels. The reasons for these differences are discussed and the role of teacher beliefs and the impact of beliefs, experience and support from administrators on professional development efforts are discussed. Implications for future science education reform stakeholders and professional development efforts are revealed.     

Secondary immunization inhibits drug induced apoptosis<Emphasis Type="Italic">in vivo</Emphasis>

Immunization with a proper dose of an antigenic stimulus leads to cell proliferation and antibody response of circulating lymphocytes. We have previously observed that Secondary immunized spleenocytes resist ceramide-mediated apoptosisin vitro. Our present study is aimed at investigating thein vivo effect of immunization on apoptosis. Mice were subjected to either Primary or Secondary dose with Tetanus Toxoid. Unimmunized spleenocytes served as controls. Unimmunized, Primary and Secondary immunized mice were later exposed to chemotherapeutic drugs such as Etoposide/Methotrexate/Vincristine to induce apoptosis. Apoptosis was studied by using the Feulgen reaction on 5μ thin parafin sections of spleen. It was observed that Secondary immunized mice showed a lower percentage of apoptosis as compared to Primary or Unimmunized mice that was subjected to either of the chemotherapeutic drugs. It was thus concluded that Secondary immunization inhibits the process of chemotherapeutic drug induced apoptosis in vivo.     

Maintenance of responding when reinforcement becomes delayed

In four experiments with rats, we examined the persistence of behavior when reinforcement was switched from immediate to delayed. In Experiment 1, lever pressing elicited by instrumental training with immediate reinforcement continued when a 20-sec delay of reinforcement was introduced (easy-to-hard condition), whereas when the delay condition was introduced from the start (hard-to-hard condition), responding remained low throughout. A similar result was obtained in Experiment 2, in which lever pressing was elicited by a classical conditioning (autoshaping) procedure. In Experiment 3, rats initially trained with delayed reinforcement continued to respond at a low rate when switched to immediate reinforcement (hard-to-easy condition). By measuring magazine entry (goal tracking) as well as lever pressing (sign tracking) in Experiment 4, we confirmed that such transfer effects at least partly involve the persistence of whatever type of behavior was initially dominant.     

Natural lighting in the Hall of Two Hundred. A proposal for exhibition of its ancient tapestries

The present paper provides a qualitative and quantitative approach to natural lighting design for the Hall of Two Hundred in Palazzo Vecchio (the present town hall) in Florence. Starting from transient simulation of natural lighting inside the Hall in its present state, using the commercial software Radiance, a design proposal was suggested, detecting the optimal conditions for tapestry conservation and maintenance and taking into account their periodical exhibition, designing a proper wall show-case solution. The suggested design does not modify the architecture and structure of the building. The distribution of natural lighting and consequently of the illuminance and luminance inside the ambient, suggested a solution for exhibition of the historical tapestries, which can guarantee not only tapestry conservation but also the Hall structure and its present uses. The design proposal provides a comfortable lighting environment, rehabilitation and improvement of the historical perception and sight of these works of art, under variable sun and sky conditions throughout the year.     

‘The life of crime does not pay; stop and think!’: the process of co-constructing a prototype pedagogical model of sport for working with youth from socially vulnerable backgrounds

Purpose: This study discusses the process of co-constructing a prototype pedagogical model for working with youth from socially vulnerable backgrounds.

Participants and settings: This six-month activist research project was conducted in a soccer program in a socially vulnerable area of Brazil in 2013. The study included 17 youths, 4 coaches, a pedagogic coordinator and a social worker. An expert in student-centered pedagogy and inquiry-based activism assisted as a debriefer helping in the progressive data analysis and the planning of the work sessions.

Data collection/analysis: Multiple sources of data were collected, including 38 field journal/observation and audio records of: 18 youth work sessions, 16 coaches’ work sessions, 3 combined coaches and youth work sessions, and 37 meetings between the researcher and the expert.

Findings: The process of co-construction of this prototype pedagogical model was divided into three phases. The first phase involved the youth and coaches identifying barriers to sport opportunities in their community. In the second phase, the youth, coaches and researchers imagined alternative possibilities to the barriers identified. In the final phase, we worked collaboratively to create realistic opportunities for the youth to begin to negotiate some of the barriers they identified. In this phase, the coaches and youth designed an action plan to implement (involving a Leadership Program) aimed at addressing the youths’ needs in the sport program. Five critical elements of a prototype pedagogical model were co-created through the first two processes and four learning aspirations emerged in the last phase of the project.

Implications: We suggest an activist approach of co-creating a pedagogical model of sport for working with youth from socially vulnerable backgrounds is beneficial. That is, creating opportunities for youth to learn to name, critique and negotiate barriers to their engagement in sport in order to create empowering possibilities.     

Improved children’s motor learning of the basketball free shooting pattern by associating subjective error estimation and extrinsic feedback

This study aimed at assessing the interaction between subjective error estimation and frequency of extrinsic feedback in the learning of the basketball free shooting pattern by children. 10- to 12-year olds were assigned to 1 of 4 groups combining subjective error estimation and relative frequency of extrinsic feedback (33% × 100%). Analysis of performance was based on quality of movement pattern. Analysis showed superior learning of the group combining error estimation and 100% feedback frequency, both groups receiving feedback on 33% of trials achieved intermediate results, and the group combining no requirement of error estimation and 100% feedback frequency had the poorest learning. Our results show the benefit of subjective error estimation in association with high frequency of extrinsic feedback in children’s motor learning of a sport motor pattern.     

��It depends on what science teacher you got��: urban science self-efficacy from teacher and student voices

In the United States today, urban schools serve the majority of high-poverty and high minority populations including large numbers of Hispanic students. While many Hispanic students perform below grade level in middle school science, the science teaching community as a whole is lacking elements of diversity as teachers struggle to meet the needs of all learners. Researchers have recognized that science teacher effectiveness, one consequence of self-efficacy among teachers, is associated with future science achievement and science-related careers of their students. This qualitative study explores how three science teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom impacts students’ science self-efficacy beliefs at one urban middle school. Hispanic students were the focus of this investigation due to demographics and history of underperformance within this district. Teachers’ perspectives, as well as outside observer evaluations of instructional strategies and classroom climates were triangulated to explore dynamics that influence students’ interests and motivation to learn science using a framework to link teachers’ sense of efficacy (focusing on student outcomes). Findings suggest the impact teacher effectiveness can have on student outcomes, including strengthened student science self-efficacy and increased science achievement. Building awareness and support in teachers’ sense of efficacy, as well as developing respectful and supportive relationships between educator/facilitator and pupil during the transition to middle school may construct permanence and accomplishment for all in science.     

Universal and Specific Services for University Students with Specific Learning Disabilities: The Relation to Study Approach,Academic Achievement,and Satisfaction

In recent years, an increasing number of students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) have enrolled in universities. The present exploratory study examined the frequency of use and appreciation of universal (open to every student) and specific services (offered to students with SLDs) and their relation to age, academic achievement, satisfaction, self-efficacy, and use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. Participants were 147 Italian university students with SLD diagnoses (42 males; mean age: 22.49, SD = 3.29). Results showed that, overall, the frequency of use and appreciation of specific services were positively related to academic satisfaction, self-efficacy, and SRL strategies. Furthermore, frequency of use of compensatory tools and dispensatory measures was positively associated with academic achievement. These findings suggest that universities play an important role in supporting students with SLDs during their academic years by providing them with useful services and accommodations.