Learning 2.0 : concepts and experiences with social networks and software

Peer-reviewed

What leads people to keep on e-learning? An empirical analysis of users' experiences and their effects on continuance intention

User retention is a major goal for higher education institutions running their teaching and learning programmes online. This is the first investigation into how the senses of presence and flow, together with perceptions about two central elements of the virtual education environment (didactic resource quality and instructor attitude), facilitate the user¿s intention to continue e-learning. We use data collected from a large sample survey of current users in a pure e-learning environment along with objective data about their performance. The results provide support to the theoretical model. The paper further offers practical suggestions for institutions and instructors who aim to provide effective e-learning experiences.

Feature selection for automatic analysis of emotional response based on nonlinear speech modeling suitable for diagnosis of Alzheimer׳s disease

Alzheimer׳s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia among the elderly. This work is part of a larger study that aims to identify novel technologies and biomarkers or features for the early detection of AD and its degree of severity. The diagnosis is made by analyzing several biomarkers and conducting a variety of tests (although only a post-mortem examination of the patients’ brain tissue is considered to provide definitive confirmation). Non-invasive intelligent diagnosis techniques would be a very valuable diagnostic aid. This paper concerns the Automatic Analysis of Emotional Response (AAER) in spontaneous speech based on classical and new emotional speech features: Emotional Temperature (ET) and fractal dimension (FD). This is a pre-clinical study aiming to validate tests and biomarkers for future diagnostic use. The method has the great advantage of being non-invasive, low cost, and without any side effects. The AAER shows very promising results for the definition of features useful in the early diagnosis of AD.

Early adversity and 5-HTT-BDNF genes: New evidences of Gene-Environment interactions on depressive symptoms in a general population

Background Adverse childhood experiences have been described as one of the major environmental risk factors for depressive disorder. Similarly, the deleterious impact of early traumatic experiences on depression seems to be moderated by individual genetic variability. Serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) modulate the effect of childhood adversity on adult depression, although inconsistencies across studies have been found. Moreover, the gene×environment (G×E) interaction concerning the different types of childhood adversity remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to analyse the putative interaction between the 5-HTT gene (5-HTTLPR polymorphism), the BDNF gene (Val66Met polymorphism) and childhood adversity in accounting for adult depressive symptoms. Method A sample of 534 healthy individuals filled in self-report questionnaires of depressive symptomatology [the Symptom Check List 90 Revised (SCL-90-R)] and different types of childhood adversities [the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ)]. The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism (5-HTT gene) and the Val66Met polymorphism (BDNF gene) were genotyped in the whole sample. Results Total childhood adversity (β=0.27, p<0.001), childhood sexual abuse (CSA; β=0.17, p<0.001), childhood emotional abuse (β=0.27, p<0.001) and childhood emotional neglect (β=0.22, p<0.001) had an impact on adult depressive symptoms. CSA had a greater impact on depressive symptoms in Met allele carriers of the BDNF gene than in the Val/Val group (F=5.87, p<0.0001), and in S carriers of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism (5-HTT gene) (F=5.80, p<0.0001). Conclusions Childhood adversity per se predicted higher levels of adult depressive symptoms. In addition, BDNF Val66Met and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms seemed to moderate the effect of CSA on adult depressive symptoms.

El cuidado de los ancianos en el entorno familiar : valoración de los recursos de apoyo mediante grupos de discusión

Introduction: in the present study several collectives with knowledge of the reality of family care of the elderly assessed several socia and healthcare resources and suggested several possibilities for improvement. Method: four discussion groups were used as a data collection technique. The groups were composed of caregivers, representatives-users of associations for the elderly, experts in geriatrics, and social services professionals. Results: the various discussion groups positively evaluated the Home Help Service, the Support Teams of the Home Service Programs, Interdisciplinary Community Health Workers Units, Daytime Care Centres, and the Family Rest Programme but suggested some changes to all of them. The discussion groups also indicated the need to improve the material, economic and emotional assistance given to caregivers and asked for training, institutional coordination, anddissemination of information about available resources and assistance. Conclusions: some changes are required to improve the current social and health resources available to families caring for the elderly within the family unit. Among the suggestions for improvement proposed by the participants, many are useful and could easily be applied, whereas others provide an interesting starting point for debate and reflection. Knowledge and understanding of the situation of caregiving families, based on their own experiences and those of the people who know them, is in itself sufficient to initiate and implement changes to provide resources appropriate to their needs

A Markov chain analysis of emotional exchange in voice-to-voice communication: Testing for the mimicry hypothesis of emotional contagion

Mimicry is a central plank of the emotional contagion theory; however, it was only tested with facial and postural emotional stimuli. This study explores the existence of mimicry in voice-to-voice communication by analyzing 8,747 sequences of emotional displays between customers and employees in a call-center context. We listened live to 967 telephone inter-actions, registered the sequences of emotional displays, and analyzed them with a Markov chain. We also explored other propositions of emotional contagion theory that were yet to be tested in vocal contexts. Results supported that mimicry is significantly present at all levels. Our findings fill an important gap in the emotional contagion theory; have practical implications regarding voice-to-voice interactions; and open doors for future vocal mimicry research.

Análisis de los apoyos que reciben los jóvenes con discapacidad intelectual en su transición a la vida adulta en España: una investigación a partir de experiencias de profesionales y personas con discapacidad = Analysis of support received by young people with intellectual disabilities in their transition to adulthood in Spain: an investigation based on the experiences of professionals and people with disabilities

The objective of this study is to gather information regarding the adaptation of the range of socio educational projects and services aimed at the transition to an adult life of young persons with intellectual disabilities in Spain. The research of the study has been done in three stages. During each stage, a specific tool has been used. One to one in-depth interviews have been undertaken with 45 professionals and 20 individuals with intellectual disabilities. The Delphi method has been applied to two panels consisting of 20 experts each. Firstly, results focus on the approach to different issues related to the devices. Secondly, the training opportunities that these individuals receive to ease the transition period is addressed. And finally, the study refers to the participation of the individuals themselves and their families in the process. The developed analysis allows us to propose strategies to improve the transition to adult life

An fMRI Study of Emotional engagement in decicion-making

It has been suggested that decisionmaking depends on sensitive feelings associatedwith cognitive processing rather than cognitiveprocessing alone. From human lesions, we knowthe medial anterior inferior-ventral prefrontalcortex processes the sensitivity associated withcognitive processing, it being essentiallyresponsible for decision making.In this fMRI (functional Magnetic ResonanceImage) study 15 subjects were analyzed usingmoral dilemmas as probes to investigate the neuralbasis for painful-emotional sensitivity associatedwith decision making. We found that a networkcomprising the posterior and anterior cingulateand the medial anterior prefrontal cortex wassignificantly and specifically activated by painfulmoral dilemmas, but not by non-painful dilemmas.These findings provide new evidence that thecingulate and medial anterior prefrontal areinvolved in processing painful emotionalsensibility, in particular, when decision makingtakes place. We speculate that decision makinghas a cognitive component processed by cognitivebrain areas and a sensitivity component processedby emotional brain areas. The structures activatedsuggest that decision making depends on painfulemotional feeling processing rather than cognitiveprocessing when painful feeling processinghappens

Student experiences in a course blended learning

Fascination is a project for design students, developed jointly by the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) and the University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), which works with two groups of students, one group of participants in Spain and another group in Thailand where, hands-on activities, a range of technologies are used to prepare students for the lessons, through learning activities and content. This research paper presents the test of both a general model and a tool for measuring the participants’ experiences in a course that uses a blended learning methodology, with the aim of collecting empirical evidence to justify the effort of applying this methodology, based on the participants’ satisfaction. The procedure used in the conceptualization of the survey, the generation of topics, the collection of data, and the validation of the scale of various items are described here. The information, provided by the 26 people surveyed about the course and the virtual environment that was used, was analyzed to measure their perceptions and explore possible relations. Finally the conclusions of the research and the future work are presented.

L' Impacte de la mort en estudiants d'infermeria durant el seu primer període de pràctiques

La mort i el procés de morir són fets quotidians en les persones grans i, conseqüentment, en els centres sociosanitaris, on bona part de les persones usuàries són d’edat avançada. Tot i que es tracta d’un fenomen natural que s’inclou dins del cicle vital de les persones, en la nostra societat la mort encara provoca rebuig, por, ansietat, tristesa i inquietud. En aquest marc, les estudiants1 d’infermeria són un col·lectiu que poden patir especialment l’impacte de la mort. Primer, perquè com a membres de la societat tenen interioritzat el codi social preestablert envers aquest tema i, segon, perquè durant la seva formació estan en contacte amb persones que estan al final de la vida i poden presenciar vivències de mort. En el primer període de pràctiques dels estudis d’infermeria, les estudiants han de fer front a diverses situacions del dia a dia fins aleshores desconegudes. Els conflictes interpersonals amb l'equip de treball i la inseguretat sobre les habilitats i les competències professionals són alguns dels aspectes que acostumen a viure amb més tensió. Tot i això, el que més impacte els provoca és la cura de les persones al final de la vida. Davant d'una situació de tensió, la persona viu un component estressor, que suposa el punt d’inflexió. A partir d’aquí s’activen els components adaptatius, que és el que emocionalment fa que la persona pugui fer front a aquesta situació estressant. A més, hi ha un component de suport, que són les ajudes que té. Segons com es treballi el component adaptatiu farà que la persona reaccioni en un futur de forma més automàtica i inconscient o, al contrari, que la persona respongui de forma més conscient i intencionada. El present treball està concebut per comprendre quins elements psicosocials – components estressors i components de suport– poden afectar a les estudiants que presencien la vivència de la mort de malalts geriàtrics terminals en el primer període de pràctiques en un centre sociosanitari. S’ha dissenyat un estudi descriptiu transversal quantitatiu, de caràcter exploratori, per tal de descriure la freqüència i algunes característiques psicosocials al voltant de la mort en estudiants d'infermeria en el seu primer període de pràctiques, tant a nivell personal com a nivell professional. La mostra de l'estudi són 65 estudiants, la majoria són dones d'entre els 18 i els 29 anys –més d’un 90%–. Els resultats indiquen que un 80% dels futurs professionals estudiats han patit la mort d’alguna persona significativa al llarg de la seva vida; d'aquests, gairebé un de cada quatre presenta dol complicat. Quant a la vivència de mort en les pràctiques, el 83% l'ha experimentat. Tot i aquest elevat percentatge, no totes les experiències tenen una connotació negativa. En prop de la meitat dels casos, les morts són percebudes com una experiència enriquidora i natural. Els components estressors més impactants que les estudiants han viscut durant les pràctiques per la mort d’alguna persona malalta són: la reacció de la família del finat, el patiment que es genera al seu voltant, algun signe o símptoma físic experimentat pel malalt al final del procés, i la pròpia reacció emocional. Els components de suport expressats són: saber gestionar les pròpies emocions, tenir més formació sobre relació d’ ajuda i empatia, tenir més formació en control de símptomes i comunicació, per atendre usuaris –tant malalts com familiars- i que algú els informés i orientés en el procés. Altres resultats a tenir en compte són que la població estudiada té més preocupació o inquietud per la mort i el procés de morir de la persona estimada i menys per la pròpia mort. A més, tot i que la meitat no hagués escollit geriatria com opció a les primeres pràctiques clíniques, gairebé tot el grup estudiat ho recomanaria després d'haver viscut l'experiència. Les implicacions pràctiques d'aquest estudi porten a pensar que es pot reorientar la informació i preparació que es dóna a les estudiants d’infermeria abans del primer contacte amb la realitat dels centres sociosanitaris, així com també el paper de formació i suport que pot fer tant la persona tutora de pràctiques com les infermeres de referència dels diferents centres. En conclusió, caldria dissenyar estratègies formatives i de suport entorn a la preparació psicològica personal de l’estudiant; entorn a l’acompanyament, les cures pal·liatives i el dol; i valorar la seva eficiència en el futur.

The factorial structure of the 41-item version of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) in a Spanish population of 8 to 12 years-old

On this instrumental study we intend to analyse the factorial structure of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) in a Spanish sample using exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis. As a second objective we intend to develop a short form of it for rapid screening and, finally, to analyze the reliabilities of both questionnaires. The SCARED was administered to a community sample of 1,508 children aged between 8 and 12 years. The sample was randomly split using half for the exploratory analysis and the other half for the confirmatory study. Furthermore a reduced version of the SCARED was developed using the SchmidLeiman procedure. Exploratory Factor Analysis yielded a four factor structure comprised of Somatic/panic, Generalized anxiety, Separation anxiety and Social phobia factors This structure was confirmed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The four factors, the full scale and the short scale showed good reliabilities. The results obtained seem to indicate that the Spanish version of the SCARED has good internal consistency, and along with other recent results, has a structure of four related factors that replicates the dimensions proposed for anxiety disorders by the DSM-IV-TR

Individual Differences in Music Reward Experiences

Music is one of the most pleasant human experiences, even though it has no direct biological advantage. However little is known about individual differences in how people experience reward in music-related activities. The goal of the present study was to describe the main facets of music experience that could explain the variance observed in how people experience reward associated with music. To this end we developed the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (BMRQ), which was administrated to three large samples. Our results showed that the musical reward experience can be decomposed into five reliable factors: Musical Seeking, Emotion Evocation, Mood Regulation, Social Reward, and Sensory-Motor. These factors were correlated with socio-demographic factors and measures of general sensitivity to reward and hedonic experience. We propose that the five-factor structure of musical reward experience might be very relevant in the study of psychological and neural bases of emotion and pleasure associated to music.

Approaching the experiences of young immigrants for the citizenship learning

This thesis seeks to answer the question: how do the participation experiences of young girl immigrant contribute to citizenship learning? Citizenship learning in youth comes from different contexts(family, school, friends and leisure and ambiguous) –where participation experiences take place–, combined with interpersonal relationships and personal dispositions (BiestaLawy& Kelly, 2009). So that, I want to know which are the young girl immigrants’ contextsand relationships and which kind of learning comes from each one. In addition, being young, girl and immigrant, are categories to take into account to understand their learnings.