Reading habits of pre-service teachers / Trayectorias de lectura del profesorado en formación

Abstract

Recent studies on the reading habits of those studying to be teachers have questioned the reading identity of the people who are to become the future mediators of reading in school environments. Within this framework, the current research constitutes an exploratory hermeneutic interpretative study on the reading habits of pre-service teachers, in order to establish a reader profile for this population group, which is the focus of our study. The information is taken from students at Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. It has been collected through sharing life experiences and has undergone a mixed content statistical analysis. The results reveal a standard profile defined by discontinuous reading habits, precarious intertexts and current practices mainly related to bestsellers.     

Association of leisure time and occupational physical activity with obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in Chile

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between physical activity (PA), both occupational (OPA) and during leisure time (LTPA), with obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in Chilean adults. 5,157 participants from the Chilean National Health Survey 2009–2010 were included in this study. OPA and LTPA levels were assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. The association between both PA with obesity and cardiovascular risk factors was determined using logistic regression. Our findings showed a significant trend between higher LTPA and lower odds for obesity (OR 0.64 [95% CI: 0.53; 0.76], central obesity 0.52 [0.44; 0.61]) and other cardiovascular risk factors including diabetes (OR: 0.72 [0.55; 0.94]), hypertension (OR: 0.59 [0.50; 0.71]) and metabolic syndrome (OR: 0.62 [0.50; 0.78]). In contrast, OPA was only associated with lower odds of diabetes (OR: 0.79 [0.65; 0.98]) and hypertension (0.85 [0.74; 0.98]). In conclusion, LTPA was associated with a lower risk of all major cardiovascular risk factors, whereas OPA was only associated with a lower risk of diabetes and hypertension.     

A system of cognitive stimulation in instructional strategies

Cognitive Stimulation is a system of intrinsic motivation which draws upon neo-behavioral, cognitive, and information-processing theories and upon a body of related research. The essential features of this system are the following: (a) a discrepancy between stimulus input and the learner's expectations for that input, (b) instrumental responses by the learner to reduce the discrepancy, and (c) feedback which may have the effect of maintaining the discrepancy or of reducing it by signalling changes in the environment or by modifying the learner's expectations. Based on this formulation, some important instructional considerations include the collative content of the input and the type of expectation which the input violates. In order to maximize their motivational effects, discrepancies must be maintained at optimal levels by manipulating variables such as the total value of the discrepant elements and the degree to which the elements are incompatible. Finally, the motivational impact of discrepancies is subject to the facilitating or debilitating effects of cognitive and personality differences among individual learners. The implications of this system for instructional decision-making were considered in terms of the selection of instructional topics, instructional materials, and instructional strategies.     

The Use of Evaluation Criteria to Improve Academic Discussion in Cooperative Groups

Teachers remark that during Cooperative Learning (CL), the academic nature of the group discussions and the resulting group products can be disappointing. Often, this may be due to a lack of understanding on the students’ part on the elements that make up an exemplary product. This study examined whether clearly articulated evaluation criteria (EC's) would alter the nature of the group's discussion and subsequently improve students’ learning. The groups using the EC spent more time evaluating their products, discussing the content of their unit and task than students not using the evaluation criteria. The evaluative and task‐focused talk at the group level were modestly, yet significantly correlated with individual scores on an essay test following the unit. These findings suggest that the presence of clear and accessible criteria for evaluation can improve the academic nature of group discussions and individual learning gains. The findings provide a practical way to apply current assessment practices to classrooms using CL strategies.     

Fair Game: Using Simulators to Change Likelihood of Distracted Driving at the Minnesota State Fair

Distracted driving is a problem on U.S. roadways. Strategic campaigns have tried to curb this behavior with varying success. Researchers are examining how distracted-driving simulators might be useful in helping to combat this epidemic. Participants (N = 193) took part in a pretest/posttest, between-subjects field experiment where they were randomly assigned to one of five video game driving simulation scenarios (e.g., texting/talking/two combo conditions/distraction-free). Results indicated that participants texting during simulation committed more crashes, fog line crossings, and speed infractions than those talking and those who were not distracted. Further, results indicated that the simulation experience led to reports of being less likely to drive distracted in the future.     

Metric multidimensional scaling and automatic message generation applied to the tourism industry: The case of Israel

The present paper demonstrates the use of metric multidimensional scaling analysis to determine messages which could be utilized to enhance tourism for a particular region. An example utilizing the case of Israel is studied here in order to illustrate these techniques. Thirty professors and their spouses were interviewed to obtain ratio estimates of differences among 16 concepts associated with the focal concepts of “Israel” and “my vacation.” Data were analyzed using the metric program GALILEO (T.M.), which rendered a ratio-scaled configuration of the concepts in a multidimensional space. Further, using an algorithm called the Automatic Message Generator (T.M.), messages were formulated which would move “my vacation” closer to “Israel.” The techniques and the results are presented so as to make them relevant to those persons in charge of the generation of messages in the tourism industry. It is argued in this paper that the use of these techniques may facilitate the task of assessing and changing the attitudes of individuals with regard to their vacation preferences.     

Identity at Risk: Students’ Identity Configuration in the Aftermath of Trauma

Two and a half years after the July 2011 massacre on the Norwegian island of Utøya, 68 of the adolescent survivors were interviewed about their everyday life at school. The interviews revealed changes in the interplay and counterplay between student identity and social identity when new identities connected to the massacre were introduced in the school arena. This dynamic has two prominent contradictory aspects: (1) the strong need to avoid being associated with the massacre, yet (2) they also experience a high degree of imposed external framing of identity configuration. This article investigates school as an arena where unwanted identity changes are played out. School emerges as an arena that can complicate the rehabilitation process by confirming and specifying the changes caused by exposure to trauma. Implications for what trauma support at school could entail for trauma-exposed adolescents are indicated.     

Getting to know nature: evaluating the effects of the Get to Know Program on children’s connectedness with nature

People in industrialized countries may be losing their connection with nature. The Get to Know Program (Get to Know) is a multi-faceted program aimed at encouraging direct connection with nature through a variety of activities (observations of wildlife, hiking, creative arts, and special events), specifically among youth. Three studies assessed the effects of three Get to Know program activities on youth’s implicit connectedness with nature (measured using a computer based game). Participants were youth recruited from southern California schools or youth organizations. Participation in the Get to Know Program’s Creative Arts Contest was associated with increased implicit connectedness with nature. However, participation in the Get to Know Natural Treasure Adventure and Virtual Hike did not have an effect on connectedness with nature. Implications of these findings are important for agencies seeking to find effective tools for outreach focused on connecting participants with nature.     

Learner preferences for varying screen densities using realistic stimulus materials with single and multiple designs

Learner preferences for varying screen density levels were examined using multiple screen designs (high external validity) and single screen designs (high internal validity). When viewing multiple screens for each design in Study 1, subjects indicated the highest preference for medium-density screens while tending to select higher-density over lower density screens in individual comparisons. When viewing only the first screen of each density level in Study 2, subjects again expressed preferences for higher-density over lower-density designs. Suggestions are provided concerning the use of realistic and nonrealistic content for the stimulus materials as well as implications of using externally and internally valid screen designs for future research on computer-based instruction screen design.     

A Regularized GLS for Structural Equation Modeling

Ill conditioning of covariance and weight matrices used in structural equation modeling (SEM) is a possible source of inadequate performance of SEM statistics in nonasymptotic samples. A maximum a posteriori (MAP) covariance matrix is proposed for weight matrix regularization in normal theory generalized least squares (GLS) estimation. Maximum likelihood (ML), GLS, and regularized GLS test statistics (RGLS and rGLS) are studied by simulation in a 15-variable, 3-factor model with 15 levels of sample size varying from 60 to 100,000. A key result showed that in terms of nominal rejection rates, RGLS outperformed ML at all sample sizes below 500, and GLS at most sample sizes below 500. In larger samples, their performance was equivalent. The second regularization methodology (rGLS) performed well asymptotically, but poorly in small samples. Regularization in SEM deserves further study.