Popular education: The Latin American experience

The author discusses the theory and practice of popular education in Latin America, seen as an alternative model for social change at the popular level, rather than simply an educational method. The development of popular education is located in the context of the political-economic history of Latin America, and the consequences of this for the peasantry and the working class. The author presents the defining characteristics of popular education, together with its main tendencies, both negative and positive.

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Zusammenfassung Der Verfasser behandelt Theorie und Praxis der Volksbildung in Lateinamerika, die eher als ein alternatives Modell zur gesellschaftlichen Veränderung auf allgemeiner Ebene als eine reine Bildungsmethode verstanden wird. Die Entwicklung der Volksbildung wird im Zusammenhang mit der politisch-wirtschaftlichen Geschichte Lateinamerikas und deren Auswirkung auf den Bauern-stand und die Arbeiterklasse angesehen. Der Verfasser stellt die genau umrissenen Charakteristiken der Volksbildung mit ihren sowohl negativen als auch positiven Hauptströmungen vor.

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Résumé L'auteur analyse la théorie et la pratique de l'éducation populaire qui est perçue en Amérique Latine plus comme un modèle alternatif de changement social au niveau populaire, qu'un simple méthode éducative. Le développement de l'éducation populaire est à placer dans le contexte de l'histoire politico-economique de l'Amérique Latine et de ses conséquences pour la paysannerie et la classe des travailleurs. L'auteur dégage les caractéristiques essentielles de l'éducation populaire en même temps que ses principales tendances aussi bien négatives que positives.

     

Caffeine improves muscular performance in elite Brazilian Jiu-jitsu athletes

Scientific information about the effects of caffeine intake on combat sport performance is scarce and controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of caffeine to improve Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ)-specific muscular performance. Fourteen male and elite BJJ athletes (29.2?±?3.3?years; 71.3?±?9.1?kg) participated in a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover experiment. In two different sessions, BJJ athletes ingested 3?mg?kg^?1 of caffeine or a placebo. After 60?min, they performed a handgrip maximal force test, a countermovement jump, a maximal static lift test and bench-press tests consisting of one-repetition maximum, power-load, and repetitions to failure. In comparison to the placebo, the ingestion of the caffeine increased: hand grip force in both hands (50.9?±?2.9 vs. 53.3?±?3.1?kg; respectively p?p?=?.02), and time recorded in the maximal static lift test (54.4?±?13.4 vs. 59.2?±?11.9?s; p?p?=?.02), maximal power obtained during the power-load test (750.5?±?154.7 vs. 826.9?±?163.7?W; p?p?=?.04). In conclusion, the pre-exercise ingestion of 3?mg?kg^?1 of caffeine increased dynamic and isometric muscular force, power, and endurance strength in elite BJJ athletes. Thus, caffeine might be an effective ergogenic aid to improve physical performance in BJJ.     

Automatic laboratory-based strategy to improve the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in primary care

Introduction

To study the pre-design and success of a strategy based on the addition of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in the blood samples of certain primary care patients to detect new cases of type 2 diabetes.

Materials and methods

In a first step, we retrospectively calculated the number of HbA1c that would have been measured in one year if HbA1c would have been processed, according to the guidelines of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Based on those results we decided to prospectively measure HbA1c in every primary care patient above 45 years, with no HbA1c in the previous 3 years, and glucose concentration between 5.6-6.9 mmol/L, during an 18 months period. We calculated the number of HbA1c that were automatically added by the LIS based on our strategy, we evaluated the medical record of such subjects to confirm whether type 2 diabetes was finally confirmed, and we calculated the cost of our intervention.

Results

In a first stage, according to the guidelines, Hb1Ac should have been added to the blood samples of 13,085 patients, resulting in a cost of 14,973€. In the prospective study, the laboratory added Hb1Ac to 2092 patients, leading to an expense of 2393€. 314 patients had an HbA1c value ≥ 6.5% (48 mmol/mol). 82 were finally diagnosed as type 2 diabetes; 28 thanks to our strategy, with an individual cost of 85.4€; and 54 due to the request of HbA1c by the general practitioners (GPs), with a cost of 47.5€.

Conclusion

The automatic laboratory-based strategy detected patients with type 2 diabetes in primary care, at a cost of 85.4€ per new case.Key words: type 2 diabetes, HbA1c, diagnosis, preanalytical phase, test request appropriateness, costs, cost analysis     

Overshadowing as a function of trial number: Dynamics of first- and second-order comparator effects

In two conditioned lick suppression experiments with rats, we examined the permanence of the overshadowing effect as a function of the number of compound reinforced training trials. In Experiment 1, robust overshadowing was observed following 4 compound-US pairings but dissipated with 36 pairings. Overshadowing decreased because responding to the overshadowed stimulus increased, not because responding by the control group decreased. This dissipation was stimulus specific and not attributable to a response ceiling. Experiment 2 extended the generality of the effect to a sensory preconditioning design and further demonstrated that overshadowing lost through many compound-US pairings was restored by posttraining extinction of the training context. The results are explicable in terms of the extended comparator hypothesis (Denniston, Savastano, & Miller, 2001) under the assumption that the impacts of first- and second-order comparator processes grow differentially as a function of number of trials.     

The ‘Nature of Science’ and the Perils of Epistemic Relativism

Research in Science Education - There is an increasing demand in the field of science education for the incorporation of philosophical and sociological aspects that are related to the scientific...     

Adult Education and the Health Literacy of Hispanic Immigrants in the United States

Discussion on the advantages of integrating health literacy into adult education has primarily been theoretical and conceptual. There is a need for studies that assess the impact of adult education on health literacy. This study implemented a quasi-experimental design to explore whether basic adult instruction may constitute a venue for improving health literacy among Spanish-speaking immigrants. Participants included adults in a High School Equivalency program in a US-Mexico border community who received either a standard GED curriculum or a GED curriculum enhanced with health literacy content. The Short Spanish TOFHLA was used to measure health literacy. While S-TOFHLA scores and health literacy levels improved in all participants, no statistically significant differences were observed across groups. Results are consistent with recommendations supporting adult education as a strategy for improving health literacy.     

“How do you feel about math?”: relationships between competence and value appraisals,achievement emotions and academic achievement

This study analyzes the relationships between cognitive appraisals, classroom and test emotions, and math achievement in a sample of 1219 Portuguese students from the 6th and 8th grades. Participants completed measures of perceived value, perceived competence, and seven math achievement emotions (boredom, hopelessness, anger, anxiety, enjoyment, pride, and relief) experienced in two different settings: classroom and tests. Math achievement was obtained from school records. Results showed significant associations between student competence and value appraisals, their emotional experiences in test and classroom situations, and their math achievement. However, when emotions were considered simultaneously in structural equation modeling, only anger in test situations and hopelessness were significant negative predictors of students’ math achievement. Hopelessness appears to play a particular role in the interplay between cognitive appraisals, emotions, and academic achievement as it is the only emotion that relates to math achievement both in test and classroom situations. Furthermore, findings also support the existence of differences in the relationships between cognitive appraisals and the achievement emotions students experience in these two settings.     

Stereotypy of spatial movements during noncontingent and contingent reinforcement

The degree of stereotypy in the movement patterns of 3 pigeons during noncontingent and contingent periodic food reinforcement was quantified by analyzing the distribution of turning angles, and by using information and Fourier analyses. The results indicated that (1) movement patterns were less stereotyped during noncontingent than during contingent reinforcement, (2) a reversal to noncontingent reinforcement resulted in a degree of stereotypy comparable to that during the first phase of noncontingent reinforcement, (3) movement patterns were maximally stereotyped immediately after food withdrawal and generally became less stereotyped as reinforcement approached, regardless of whether reinforcement was noncontingent or contingent, and (4) higher frequency movements generally accounted for more variance in the movements during contingent than during noncontingent reinforcement. Greater stereotypy in the movements during contingent reinforcement was likely due to a greater probability that similar movements were reinforced during contingent reinforcement. Momentary changes in the stereotypy of the movements within the interfood interval might reflect changes in the level of arousal.     

A cross-cultural study on the influence of cultural values and teacher beliefs on university teachers’ information and communications technology acceptance

This study examined how cultural values and teacher beliefs influence Chinese and Spanish university teachers’ acceptance of ICTs by combining Hofstede’s cultural values theory with technology acceptance theories. Four hundred and twenty-five university teachers from China and 385 teachers from Spain participated in the study. The proposed research model was tested by using samples from both countries and the multigroup analyses were performed to test moderating effects of cultural variables. Results confirmed the validity of the model in both samples and the effects of cultural values on the adoption of ICTs, and significant differences were observed between the two samples.

     

How speechreading contributes to reading in a transparent ortography: the case of Spanish deaf people

The aim of the study is to describe the performance of deaf and hearing people while speechreading Spanish, a language with transparent orthography, and to relate this skill to reading efficiency. Three groups of 27 participants each were recruited: a group of deaf participants, a chronological age‐matched hearing group and a reading age‐matched hearing group. All three were tested on vocabulary, phonological awareness, reading speed, speechreading and, only in the group of deaf people, speech intelligibility. The results indicate that deaf people are better speechreaders than younger hearing people, but they are no better than their age‐matched peers, and that speechreading is related to reading only in deaf people.