Health literacy among young adults: a short survey tool for public health and health promotion research

Health literacy (HL) is context-specific. In public health and health promotion, HL in the private realm refers to individuals' knowledge and skills to prevent disease and to promote health in everyday life. However, there is a scarcity of measurement tools explicitly geared to private realm contexts. Our aim was to develop and test a short survey tool that captures different dimensions of HL in the context of family and friends. We used cross-sectional data from the Swiss Federal Surveys of Adolescents from 2010 to 2011, comprising 7983 males and 366 females between 18 and 25 years. HL was assessed through a set of eight items (self-reports). We used principal component analysis to explore the underlying factor structure among these items in the male sample and confirmatory factor analysis to verify the factor structure in the female sample. The results showed that the tested item set represented dimensions of functional, interactive and critical HL. Two sub-dimensions, understanding versus finding health-relevant information, denoted functional HL. Interactive and critical HL were each represented with two items. A sum score based on all eight items (Cronbach's α: 0.64) showed expected positive associations with own and parental education among males and females (p < 0.05). The short item set appears to be a feasible measurement tool to assess HL in the private realm. Its broader application in survey studies may help to improve our understanding of how this form of HL is distributed in the general population.

Business as Usual? : An Appraisal of the Implementation of the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity into EU’s Media Law and Policies

Irrespective of the diverse stances taken on the effect of the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity in the external relations context, since its wording is fairly open-ended, it is clear to all observers that the Convention’s impact will largely depend on how it is implemented domestically. The discussion on the national implementation of the Convention, both in the policy and in the academic discourses, is only just emerging. The implementation model of the EU could set an important example for the international community and for the other State Parties that have ratified the UNESCO Convention, as both the EU and its Member States acting individually, have played a critical role in the adoption of the Convention, as well as in the longer process of promoting cultural concerns on the international scene. Against this backdrop, this article analyses the extent to which the EU internal law and policies, in particular in the key area of media, take into account the spirit and the letter of the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity. The article seeks to critically evaluate the present state of affairs and make some recommendations for calibration of future policies.

Business as Usual? : The Implementation of the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity and EU Media Law and Policies

Irrespective of the diverse stances taken on the effect of the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity in the external relations context, since its wording is fairly open-ended, it is clear to all observers that the Convention’s impact will largely depend on how it is implemented domestically. The discussion on the national implementation of the Convention, both in the policy and in the academic discourses, is only just emerging, although six years the Convention’s entry into force have passed. The implementation model of the EU can set an important example for the international community and for the other State Parties that have ratified the UNESCO Convention, as both the EU and its Member States acting individually, have played a critical role in the adoption of the Convention, as well as in the longer process of promoting cultural concerns on the international scene. Against this backdrop, this article analyses the extent to which the EU internal law and policies, in particular in the key area of media, take into account the spirit and the letter of the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity. Next to an assessment of the EU’s implementation of the Convention, the article also offers remarks of normative character – in the sense of what should be done to actually attain the objective of protecting and promoting cultural diversity. The article seeks to critically evaluate the present state of affairs and make some recommendations for calibration of future policies.

An IEEE 802.11 energy efficient mechanism for continuous media applications

The widespread deployment of wireless mobile communications enables an almost permanent usage of portable devices, which imposes high demands on the battery of these devices. Indeed, battery lifetime is becoming one the most critical factors on the end-users satisfaction when using wireless communications. In this work, the optimized power save algorithm for continuous media applications (OPAMA) is proposed, aiming at enhancing the energy efficiency on end-users devices. By combining the application specific requirements with data aggregation techniques, {OPAMA} improves the standard {IEEE} 802.11 legacy Power Save Mode (PSM) performance. The algorithm uses the feedback on the end-user expected quality to establish a proper tradeoff between energy consumption and application performance. {OPAMA} was assessed in the OMNeT++ simulator, using real traces of variable bitrate video streaming applications, and in a real testbed employing a novel methodology intended to perform an accurate evaluation concerning video Quality of Experience (QoE) perceived by the end-users. The results revealed the {OPAMA} capability to enhance energy efficiency without degrading the end-user observed QoE, achieving savings up to 44 when compared with the {IEEE} 802.11 legacy PSM.

Perceptions of critical situations involving football fans: the dynamics of conflict escalation or de-escalation

Fan violence in the context of football matches has drawn the attention of stakeholders and the media. This phenomenon has also attracted the scientific community’s attention, where research mostly focused on reasons for violence escalation. The Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM; Drury & Reicher, 2000) for example focuses on group-interactions and social identities, while the Aggravation Mitigation Model (AM model; Hylander & Guvå, 2010) concentrates on factors contributing to an escalation or a non-escalation of group-violence. However individual perceptions of the different persons involved in potential conflicts have not been sufficiently examined. Beside of that research in domestic football or involving ultrafans is scarce. Especially in Switzerland, there is a lack of research concerning the dynamics of the development or non-development of fan violence. This exploratory study included eight critical situations from the season 2012/2013 of the Swiss premier league to gather data about the perceptions of various persons involved (fans, police officers or security) and the dynamics contributing towards escalation or de-escalation. Fifty-nine narrative interviews were conducted and analysed with interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009). The individuals involved (fans, police and security personnel) showed groupspecific perceptions and a tendency to stereotype the opponent group. Provocative symbols (balaclavas or riot-gear uniforms) were important for the interpretation of the situation. No escalation occurred when successful communication and sufficient distance between the groups was established. Knowledge about the local fan culture is important, because it influences the perception of legitimacy on the side of the fans. This study improves the understanding of fan violence and is congruent with the ESIM and the AM model. It is suggested to deploy police dialogue teams without riot gear. Their task is to establish direct communication with the fans to facilitate a peaceful ending of a critical situation.

Dynamics of critical incidents with potentially violent outcomes involving ultra fans: an explorative study

This study examines incidents involving a tense atmosphere combined with higher risk of football fan violence. A systematic description of such critical incidents (CIs) identifying their risk factors and warning signs is yet lacking. This study looks beyond fans’ violent acts per se and focuses on CIs involving ultra fans with a potentially – but not necessarily – violent outcome. A preliminary study involving a focus group was conducted followed by a main study including eight case studies. The focus group comprised five professionals working with football fans who discussed CIs’ observable characteristics. Risk factors and warning signs were coded using content analysis, such as, ‘arrest of a fan’. In the main study, people involved in actual CIs were interviewed to explore these phenomena in more depth. An integrated model of CIs’ dynamics, risk factors and warning signs was compiled using data gathered in both studies.

A process evaluation of a health literacy intervention targeting pediatric providers' communication skills at the Texas Children's Health Plan

Background. Health literacy is an important determinant for quality health care, and affects communication between patients and physicians. Poor communication may result in negative effects in health. Improved communication between patients and physicians could positively affect health outcomes. Communication skills are teachable.^ Objectives. (1) to evaluate the process involved in the design and implementation of a health literacy intervention targeting pediatric providers’ communication skills at the Texas Children’s Health Plan in Houston, Texas; and (2) to describe lessons learned from this process that may be used in future attempts to address the issue of health literacy and health communication. ^ Design/methods. The process evaluation of the implementation of a health literacy strategy at the Texas Children’s Health Plan (TCHP) consisted of a critical analysis of all documents and minutes from meetings of the team of investigators. It also involved a secondary analysis of data collected between December 2006 and June 2007. Descriptive statistics, paired t-test and Wilcoxon-signed-rank test were employed in analyzing the data. This information was complemented with a limited review of existing literature on communication skills training programs. ^ Results. The design of the educational intervention followed recommendations from experts in the field of health literacy. The delivery of the intervention was possible and benefited from existing resources and logistics within the TCHP. Very few targeted providers participated in two offerings of the workshop (6.6% and 1.7% respectively). After the educational intervention, providers showed increased knowledge of health literacy facts and its effects in health (p=0.001); increased awareness of the low health literacy problem (p=0.003); increased expectations for change in practice (p=0.002), and intent to use health literacy strategies for communication immediately following the intervention (p=0.001). Low participation indicated the need for further investigation of barriers to, and means for successful implementation of programs aimed to improving health communication. ^ Conclusions. A short, focused intervention utilizing health literacy strategies for communication appeared effective in increasing knowledge and intentions for change in a small group of pediatric providers. ^

The use of social media to communicate child health information to low-income parents: A formative study

The Internet, and specifically web 2.0 social media applications, offers an innovative method for communicating child health information to low-income parents. The main objective of this study was to use qualitative data to determine the value of using social media to reach low-income parents with child health information. A qualitative formative evaluation employing focus groups was used to determine the value of using social media for dissemination of child health information. Inclusion criteria included: (1) a parent with a child that attends a school in a designated Central Texas school district; and (2) English-speaking. The students who attend these schools are generally economically disadvantaged and are predominately Hispanic. The classic analysis strategy was used for data analysis. Focus group participants (n=19) were female (95%); White (53%), Hispanic (42%) or African American (5%); and received government assistance (63%). Most had access to the Internet (74%) and were likely to have low health literacy (53%). The most preferred source of child health information was the family pediatrician or general practitioner. Many participants were familiar with social media applications and had profiles on popular social networking sites, but used them infrequently. Objections to social media sites as sources of child health information included lack of credibility and parent time. Social media has excellent potential for reaching low-income parents when used as part of a multi-channel communication campaign. Further research should focus on the most effective type and format of messages that can promote behavior change in this population, such as story-telling. ^

Reflexiones en torno a las TIC en la educación media y la formación de docentes

En este trabajo proponemos discutir algunos puntos clave que atraviesan la problemática de las TIC y su aplicación al ámbito de la educación. En él introducimos algunas experiencias en investigación y educación que, como docentes y formadores de profesores de historia, nos condujeron a explorar el uso de las nuevas tecnologías para pensar y mediar los procesos de aprendizaje. Para ello, nos servimos fundamentalmente de dos herramientas conceptuales, el marco pedagógico-didáctico y el marco psicológico cognitivista. Luego de analizar las principales competencias necesarias desde el punto de vista del alumno para trabajar con TIC, nos detenemos en su impacto cognitivo, sobre todo en lo que respecta a la comprensión de la lectura electrónica. Abordamos, además, una reflexión crítica sobre el papel actual de las TIC en la educación media y en la formación de docentes. Puesto que no se puede negar que las nuevas herramientas de comunicación han modificado la relación que los jóvenes tienen con el acceso a la información y el mundo del conocimiento, nos preguntamos si esta condición implica reformular los esquemas de enseñanza hasta hoy conocidos para incorporar estos nuevos saberes. En definitiva, planteamos cuestiones sobre las ventajas que nos aportan las TIC, su papel como fuentes de conflictos, qué representan hoy en materia de política educativa y cuáles son los desafíos que, como docentes, podemos asumir

Reflexiones en torno a las TIC en la educación media y la formación de docentes

En este trabajo proponemos discutir algunos puntos clave que atraviesan la problemática de las TIC y su aplicación al ámbito de la educación. En él introducimos algunas experiencias en investigación y educación que, como docentes y formadores de profesores de historia, nos condujeron a explorar el uso de las nuevas tecnologías para pensar y mediar los procesos de aprendizaje. Para ello, nos servimos fundamentalmente de dos herramientas conceptuales, el marco pedagógico-didáctico y el marco psicológico cognitivista. Luego de analizar las principales competencias necesarias desde el punto de vista del alumno para trabajar con TIC, nos detenemos en su impacto cognitivo, sobre todo en lo que respecta a la comprensión de la lectura electrónica. Abordamos, además, una reflexión crítica sobre el papel actual de las TIC en la educación media y en la formación de docentes. Puesto que no se puede negar que las nuevas herramientas de comunicación han modificado la relación que los jóvenes tienen con el acceso a la información y el mundo del conocimiento, nos preguntamos si esta condición implica reformular los esquemas de enseñanza hasta hoy conocidos para incorporar estos nuevos saberes. En definitiva, planteamos cuestiones sobre las ventajas que nos aportan las TIC, su papel como fuentes de conflictos, qué representan hoy en materia de política educativa y cuáles son los desafíos que, como docentes, podemos asumir

Reflexiones en torno a las TIC en la educación media y la formación de docentes

En este trabajo proponemos discutir algunos puntos clave que atraviesan la problemática de las TIC y su aplicación al ámbito de la educación. En él introducimos algunas experiencias en investigación y educación que, como docentes y formadores de profesores de historia, nos condujeron a explorar el uso de las nuevas tecnologías para pensar y mediar los procesos de aprendizaje. Para ello, nos servimos fundamentalmente de dos herramientas conceptuales, el marco pedagógico-didáctico y el marco psicológico cognitivista. Luego de analizar las principales competencias necesarias desde el punto de vista del alumno para trabajar con TIC, nos detenemos en su impacto cognitivo, sobre todo en lo que respecta a la comprensión de la lectura electrónica. Abordamos, además, una reflexión crítica sobre el papel actual de las TIC en la educación media y en la formación de docentes. Puesto que no se puede negar que las nuevas herramientas de comunicación han modificado la relación que los jóvenes tienen con el acceso a la información y el mundo del conocimiento, nos preguntamos si esta condición implica reformular los esquemas de enseñanza hasta hoy conocidos para incorporar estos nuevos saberes. En definitiva, planteamos cuestiones sobre las ventajas que nos aportan las TIC, su papel como fuentes de conflictos, qué representan hoy en materia de política educativa y cuáles son los desafíos que, como docentes, podemos asumir

Hydrogen embrittlement risk of high strength galvanized steel in contact with alkaline media

The critical conditions for hydrogenembrittlement (HE) risk of highstrengthgalvanizedsteel (HSGS) wires and tendons exposed to alkaline concrete pore solutions have been evaluated by means of electrochemical and mechanical testing. There is a relationship between the hydrogenembrittlementrisk in HSGS and the length of hydrogen evolution process in alkalinemedia. The galvanizedsteel suffers anodic dissolution simultaneously to the hydrogen evolution which does not stop until the passivation process is completed. HSGS wires exposed to a very highalkalinemedia have showed HE risk with loss in mechanical properties only if long periods with hydrogen evolution process take place with a simultaneous intensive galvanized coating reduction.

NA PALMA DA MÃO: A difusão de celulares e smartphones e possibilidades para o ensino-aprendizagem no Brasil

A pesquisa considera a difusão de celulares e smartphones e as consequências deste fato em possibilidades para o ensino-aprendizagem. Aparatos de comunicação sempre estiveram ligados ao processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Entretanto, com o desenvolvimento mais intenso, nas últimas décadas, das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), essa relação vem ganhando novos contornos. Surge a Internet, a evolução das máquinas computacionais e, recentemente, a explosão dos dispositivos móveis, fornecendo novos produtos e serviços convergentes. Nesse contexto, celulares e smartphones tem sido utilizados e recomendados para apoio e complemento do processo de ensino-aprendizagem: a chamada Aprendizagem Móvel. Esse ramo cresce devido à rápida expansão e barateamento dessas tecnologias na sociedade. Para verificar cientificamente essa relação foi realizada uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa, do tipo exploratória, com dois projetos de Aprendizagem Móvel em andamento no Brasil, o Palma – Programa de Alfabetização na Língua Materna e o Escola Com Celular – ECC. Assim, a partir dos dados provenientes da pesquisa, identificamos alguns aspectos relacionados ao uso de celulares e smartphones para o processo de ensino-aprendizagem que contribuem na compreensão desse campo ainda em construção no Brasil. O uso desses dispositivos como suporte para processos de ensino-aprendizagem nos projetos estudados é delineado pelos aspectos tecnologia, dispositivo, público e contexto e novas tecnologias e Aprendizagem Móvel. O aspecto dispositivo desdobra-se em dimensões como disseminação, multifuncionalidade e acessibilidade que embasam os projetos, ainda favorece características apontadas como importantes para o processo de ensino-aprendizagem na atualidade, como mobilidade e portabilidade. Os projetos pesquisados demonstram potencial e metodologia adequada aos contextos para os quais foram criados e aplicados. Entretanto, a pesquisa indicou que ao mesmo tempo em que celulares e smartphones representam o ápice da convergência tecnológica e são considerados extremamente populares e acessíveis na sociedade contemporânea, com possibilidades concretas como nos projetos estudados, não conseguiram conquistar uma posição sólida como suporte para o ensino-aprendizagem. Tal indicação se deve, de acordo com o corpus, à carência de alguns fatores, como: fomento, as práticas se mostram extremamente dependentes da iniciativa pública ou privada para sua extensão e continuidade; sensibilização para o uso de tecnologias disponíveis, não consideram o aparelho dos próprios alunos e um planejamento que inclua, capacite e incentive o uso desses dispositivos. Além disso, a pesquisa também destaca a necessidade de uma visão crítica do uso e papel da tecnologia nesses processos.