Validation of a self-perceived media competence instrument for pre-service teachers / Validación de un instrumento de autopercepción de competencia mediática para docentes en formación

Abstract

Key to guaranteeing the fundamental human rights of freedom of expression and information is the development of media competence, particularly in schools. Training teachers in the area of media competence is particularly important for developing these skills in the broader citizenry. In order to provide educators and educational policymakers with a useful diagnostic tool, we have designed a self-perception questionnaire. The questionnaire was applied to a sample of Peruvian education students (N = 501). On the one hand, the results confirm the construct’s coherence, validity and instrumental reliability. On the other hand, they allow us to propose a theoretically based update to the way in which this construct is interpreted and applied, confirming the multidimensionality of media competence. Finally, we use this empirical evidence to discuss the integral, transversal and ecological status of media competence.     

Effects of manipulating relative and absolute motion information during observational learning of an aiming task.

In the visual perception perspective of observational learning, the manipulation of relative and absolute motion information in visual demonstrations optimally directs learners' search towards appropriate task solutions. We assessed the effect of emphasizing transformational information and removal of structural information using point-light kinematic displays in approximating the model's relative motion patterns. Participants viewed computer-simulated point-light demonstrations or normal video demonstrations before and intermittently throughout 100 acquisition trials with knowledge of results on an underarm modified-dart aiming task. On the next day, all participants performed 20 retention trials without demonstrations. The kinematics of spatial and temporal coordination and control variables were examined relative to the model's action, as well as performance scores. The results indicated that approximation of the model's spatial and temporal coordination and control patterns was achieved after observation of either type of demonstrations. No differences were found in movement outcomes. In a second experiment, the effects of manipulating absolute motion information by slow-motion demonstrations were examined relative to real-time demonstrations. Real-time demonstrations led to a closer approximation to the model's spatial and temporal coordination patterns and better outcome scores, contradicting predictions that slow-motion displays convey intact relative motion information. We speculate that the effect of visual demonstration speed on action perception and reproduction is a function of task constraints--that is, novelty or familiarity of relative motion of demonstrated activities.     

Performance scores and standings during the 43rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, 2011

Abstract Scores in artistic gymnastics are subject to changes in the rules that occur each Olympic cycle as outlined in the Code of Points, because rules influence the composition of routines and therefore performance. The aim of this study was to identify the most important routine apparatus for success in a World competition. The data were the official results for the 478 gymnasts (262 men, 216 women) who competed in the 43rd Artistic Gymnastic World Championships in 2011 in Tokyo, Japan. The factors least influenced by the technical standard of competitors were performance scores on uneven bars and balance beam for women, and those on pommel horse for men. For uneven bars, balance beam, and pommel horse, scores were consistently good predictors of final standing. Our results suggest that high scores on these apparatus have a greater influence on overall performance than scores on the other apparatus, regardless of the competitors' standard.     

They have gone,and now what? Understanding re-enrolment patterns in the Catalan public higher education system

Studies of student re-enrolment patterns in higher education constitute, along with traditional studies of persistence and dropout, a key element for improving the quality of higher education institutions. However, these studies tend to be limited as they are centred on a single institution, due to the lack of national-scale data sets for monitoring students between different institutions. Using a longitudinal population-based data set provided by the Catalan University Assurance Agency (AQU), which includes information records on 21,473 undergraduate students, this paper aims to develop and test an exploratory model of student re-enrolment, specifically in the Catalan public university system. We are not only interested in student re-enrolment, but also in whether they do so during the first year after dropout or in the same area of knowledge. Results from logistic regression analysis revealed that although most students return to the university system in the first year after dropout, many of these change to a different area of knowledge, which is clear evidence of dysfunctional and inefficient guidance systems and university entrance. Findings provide a more accurate and complete picture of student re-enrolment behaviour and suggest the need to develop targeted policies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our university systems.     

Control of locomotion in expert gymnasts in the absence of vision

The main aim of this study was to determine how gymnasts are affected by the removal of vision when executing simple moves. A secondary aim was to establish whether crucial sensory cues exist for blindfolded gymnasts. Eight expert gymnasts were asked to maintain a straight displacement during three types of blindfolded locomotion: walking, steering a wheelchair and verbally ordering a second person pushing their wheelchair. In the first two conditions,active displacement made proprioceptive cues available to update the body trajectory. In the last condition, however, proprioceptive cues were greatly reduced, since the gymnasts displaced passively. The performance of the gymnasts was compared to that of eight experts in other non-gymnastic sports (control group). The results showed that the participants veered in all conditions. However, except in the verbal condition, the gymnasts departed less from linearity than the controls. We conclude that: (1) even for a simple motor task, gymnasts' performance is altered by eliminating vision; (2) compared with other sportsmen and women, gymnasts are better able to deal with the absence of vision when proprioceptive cues are available. These findings suggest two possible explanations: (1) gymnasts are more able to ‘pick up' crucial information and (2) a gymnast's proprioceptive system is more sensitive.     

Remembering Things Without Context: Development Matters

Spatial context supports memory retrieval in adults. To understand the development of these effects, context effects on object recognition were tested in neurotypical children ages 3 years to adulthood (n 3–6 years = 34, n 10–16 years = 32, n college age = 22) and individuals with Down syndrome (DS) ages 10–29 years (n = 21). Participants engaged in an object recognition task; objects were presented in scenes and either remained in that same scene or were removed at test. In some groups (< 4.5 years and with DS) context effects were present even though object recognition was poor. After 4.5 years, children demonstrated memory flexibility, while later in adolescence context effects reemerged, showing nonlinearity in the development of these effects.