The residual effects of cooperative-learning experiences: A two-year follow-up

The author investigated how training in small-group and interpersonal behaviors affected children's behavior and interactions as they worked in small groups 2 years later. The authors assigned 52 fifth graders, who had been trained 2 years previously in cooperative group behaviors, to the trained condition and 36 fifth graders, who had not previously been trained, to the untrained condition. Both were reconstituted from the pool of students who had participated previously in group activities. The results showed a residual training effect, with the children in the trained groups being more cooperative and helpful than their untrained peers.

Does research into sensitive areas do harm? Experiences of research participation after a child's diagnosis with Ewing's sarcoma

Objective: To investigate family members' experiences of involvement in a previous study (conducted August 1995 to June 1997) following their child's diagnosis with Ewing's sarcoma. Design: Retrospective survey, conducted between 1 November and 30 November 1997, using a postal questionnaire. Participants: Eighty-one of 97 families who had previously completed an in-depth interview as part of a national case-control study of Ewing's sarcoma. Main outcome measures: Participants' views on how participation in the previous study had affected them and what motivated them to participate. Results: Most study participants indicated that taking part in the previous study had been a positive experience. Most (n = 79 [97.5%]) believed their involvement would benefit others and were glad to have participated, despite expecting and finding some parts of the interview to be painful. Parents whose child was still alive at the time of the interview recalled participation as more painful than those whose child had died before the interview. Parents who had completed the interview less than a year before our study recalled it as being more painful than those who had completed it more than a year before. Conclusions: That people suffering bereavement are generally eager to participate in research and may indeed find it a positive experience is useful information for members of ethics review boards and other gatekeepers, who frequently need to determine whether studies into sensitive areas should be approved. Such information may also help members of the community to make an informed decision regarding participation in such research.

Transport safety for older people: A study of their experiences, perceptions and management needs

With evidence of increasing accident risk due to age-related declines in health and cognition affecting driver performance, there is a need for research promoting safe mobility of older people. The present study aimed to identify transport options and licensing issues for a group of older people in an Australian community. Ninety-five participants aged 75 and over were interviewed about their driving status and accident record and tested for cognitive ability. After stratification on cognitive level and driver status (current, ex-driver or non-driver), 30 were selected for further in-depth interviews concerning demographics, licence status and impact of change, travel options available and used, and travel characteristics. Considerable reliance on the motor vehicle as the mode of transport and the decision to cease driving were major quality-of-life issues. There was little evidence of planning and support in making the decision to stop driving. Some differences in transport decisions on the basis of cognitive level were evident; however, people with severely compromised cognitive ability (and, therefore, unable to give informed consent) had been excluded. The study suggested the need for resources to assist older people/carers/health professionals to plan for the transition from driver to non-driver and to manage alternative transport options more effectively

The development of chromatography for the characterization of protein interactions: a personal perspective

This article reviews the progress of a personal endeavour to develop chromatography as a quantitative procedure for the determination of reaction stoichiometries and equilibrium constants governing protein interactions. As well as affording insight into an aspect of chromatography with which many protein chemists are unfamiliar, it shows the way in which minor adaptations of conventional chromatographic practices have rendered the technique one of the most powerful methods available for the characterization of interactions. That pathway towards quantification is followed from the introduction of frontal gel filtration for the study of protein self-association to the characterization of ligand binding by the biosensor variant of quantitative affinity chromatography.

Cursos abiertos en l??nea:?? un escenario para la gesti??n personal del conocimiento?

A partir de uma discuss??o dos antecedentes e caracter??sticas dos cursos on-line, este artigo descreve uma solu????o tecnol??gica de apoio ?? realiza????o deste tipo de curso, baseada no uso de ferramentas p??blicas e de uso gratuito(isto ??, que n??o requerem instala????o em um servidor pr??prio). Esta ?? uma prova de conceito que busca evidenciar as possibilidades e obst??culos associados ?? oferta deste tipo de pr??tica educativa em um contexto latino-americano.

Os sentidos das experiências compartilhadas pelas professoras em processos de formação continuada na rede municipal de ensino de Marilândia–Espírito Santo

Investiga as relações entre a formação continuada de professores e as práticas de partilha das experiências construídas na atuação docente nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental, numa escola da Rede Municipal de Ensino de Marilândia–ES. Questiona, com base nas narrativas de cinco professoras, como a experiência compartilhada nos processos de formação continuada de professores dos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental na Rede Municipal de Ensino de Marilândia–ES é vivida e percebida por elas e quais sentidos são produzidos sobre a formação continuada. Pressupõe a perspectiva de uma formação continuada em processo, ao longo da vida, desenvolvida em redes coletivas de trabalho e partilha de experiências no cotidiano escolar e na vida das professoras. Em face dessa complexidade, a pesquisa de caráter qualitativo e abordagem metodológica ancorada na pesquisa narrativa (auto)biográfica tem, como procedimentos de investigação, as entrevistas biográficas direcionadas para a construção de narrativas orais e escritas, a observação participante dos sujeitos da pesquisa em momentos formativos instituídos, a análise de documentos da Secretaria Municipal de Educação de Marilândia e da escola e a aplicação de questionário para composição de dados acerca do perfil dos sujeitos da pesquisa. A definição do caminho metodológico deste estudo teve inspiração em Benjamin e Larrosa e, no campo da formação de professores, sustentação nos referenciais de Nóvoa, Souza, Freire e Giroux. Os resultados apontam uma variedade de sentidos sobre a formação continuada de professores, desde formas mais institucionalizadas até iniciativas menos formais, vividas por meio da partilha de experiências e de processos (auto)formativos, que contribuem para o desenvolvimento pessoal e profissional do professor e organizacional da escola, de modo mais aproximado do trabalho pedagógico na unidade escolar e na sala de aula. Aponta a necessidade da valorização das experiências dos professores e do investimento no estudo das práticas. Considera a existência, entre os professores, de uma responsividade compartilhada sobre a formação do outro, compondo um coletivo instituinte na escola. Assinala a potencialidade da pesquisa narrativa (auto)biográfica como opção metodológica que possibilita o entrecruzamento dos movimentos investigativos e formativos.

Perfil Social, recrutamento e trajetórias políticas : uma análise dos representantes do Legislativo Estadual capixaba, 1986-2010

Esta pesquisa teve como propósito identificar o perfil socioeconômico dos parlamentares estaduais capixabas e observar os padrões de trajetórias políticas dos mesmos. Para tal foram levantados dados biográficos dos deputados estaduais que permitiram verificar as caracterísiticas sociais e econômicas, além de suas experiências eletivas e administrativas A hipótese analisada é de que qualidades específicas proporcionam maiores oportunidades para exercer cargos de liderança no interior da Assembleia Legislativa do Espírito Santo (Ales). O período analisado abarca a 11ª, 12ª, 13ª, 14ª, 15ª, 16ª e 17ª legislaturas as quais compreendem os anos entre 1987-2010. Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa foi necessário buscar embasamento teórico nos pressupostos da teoria das elites, teoria da institucionalização, teoria da ambição e teoria da profissionalização política. Buscaram-se também algumas análises sobre a composição social e trajetórias políticas dos legislativos brasileiros para compreender melhor a dinâmica das elites parlamentares. Foi possível mapear um perfil social e político dos membros da Ales e relacionar suas trajetórias políticas com a ocupação de cargos na instituição. Em vista disso, confirmou-se que as características pessoais assumem grande importância para a construção das carreiras políticas.

Medicis: a personal health care assistant

The relation between patient and physician in most modern Health Care Systems is sparse, limited in time and very inflexible. On the other hand, and in contradiction with several recent studies, most physicians do not rely their patient diagnostics evaluations on intertwined psychological and social nature factors. Facing these problems and trying to improve the patient/physician relation we present a mobile health care solution to improve the interaction between the physician and his patients. The solution serves not only as a privileged mean of communication between physicians and patients but also as an evolutionary intelligent platform delivering a mobile rule based system.

The rights approach to local public management: experiences from Brazil

The Fundação Getulio Vargas, São Paulo, Public Management and Citizenship Program was set up in 1996 with Ford Foundation support to identify and disseminate Brazilian subnational government initiatives in service provision that have a direct effect on citizenship. Already, the program has 2,500 different experiences in its data bank, the results of four annual cycles. The article draws some initial conclusions about the possibilities of a rights-based approach to public management and about the engagement of other agencies and civil society organizations.

Motivação dos trabalhadores na sociedade do conhecimento

RESUMO: Nas sociedades avançadas da actualidade, aqui denominadas por sociedades do conhecimento, os níveis de responsabilidade e de exigência mental das organizações para com os seus trabalhadores é superior a qualquer outra realidade anterior. É emergente a necessidade de redefinir a estrutura das organizações, para que os reponsáveis e os seus respectivos colaboradores usufruam de condições potenciadoras do seu desempenho profissional. Os perfis ideais dos responsáveis de equipas e , em especial, dos «novos» trabalhadores produtores de conhecimento, incorporam determinadas características fundamentais para favorecerem o processo criativo e o trabalho autónomo. Mas as alterações não estão confinadas à dimensão laboral, pois surgiram igualmente mudanças profundas no seio da sociedade, as quais obrigam à existência de uma nova relação entre a vida pessoal e a vida profissional dos cidadãos. Todas estas transformações resultam na necessidade de uma componente motivacional muito forte por parte dos trabalhadores, os quais dependem apenas de si mesmos para a conseguir obter e manter. A solução desta problemática surge aqui configurada sob a forma de uma mudança de atitude por parte de todos os trabalhadores, a qual deverá fomentar a ocorrência de «Experiências óptimas» provenientes do desenvolvimento da actividade profissional dos mesmos, tal como é sugerido pela Teoria do Fluxo. Esta versão profunda da motivação intrínseca e estável é proposta como modelar e mesmo fulcral para o trabalhador na Sociedade do conhecimento. ABSTRACT: In today’s advanced societies, here referred as Knowledge Societies, the levels of responsibility and mental demanding which organizations require from their workers is higher than ever before. The need to redefine organizations structures is now emerging in order to allow CEO’s and their co-workers having access to encouraging conditions which improve their work performance. The ideal profile for a team leader and especially for the «new» Knowledge production workers, incorporate a defined group of fundamental characteristics to encourage the creative process and the autonomous work. But changes are not confined to the labor dimension. The Society core also suffered profound changes which demand the existence of a new relation between personal and professional life of its citizens. All these changes create the need for the existence of high motivational levels inside all workers, which now have to find their own ways to get and maintain it. The solution for this problem is presented here as a switch in workers attitude, which will increase the occurrence of optimal experiences coming directly from the development of their professional activity like it’s suggested in the flow theory. This version of the deep intrinsic and stable motivation is proposed as a model or even a central solution to the worker in the Knowledge Society.

Strategy Lab Experiences: Bathtub Dynamics

As the world changes ever faster, managers increasingly recognize the complexity and turbulence of the business systems in which they are embedded. The management problems are dynamic, while the dynamic complexity comes frequently from few variables with circle and delays interrelations that introduce nonlinearities.The present paper describes a research conducted in Portugal with two different groups - one, academic; the other, professional - where we explored the subjects’ understanding of some basic systems thinking concepts such as stock-flow relationship, feedback processes and time delays.

Tecnología apropiada en obstetricia: definición y evaluación desde las perspectivas de la población y del personal de salud

Se parte de la hipótesis de que para lograr satisfacer las necesidades de salud de la población, es preciso, entre otras cosas, que los servicios de salud utilicen tecnologías apropiadas. El problema que surge es el de definir lo que se considera "adecuado" y quiénes lo definen. Para ello se ha efectuado una investigación que permite detectar y analizar comparativamente la definición que, desde las perspectivas de la población y de los profesionales, se hace de la tecnología apropiada en obstetricia, como así también la tecnología utilizada en los distintos sectores de atención (público, de obras sociales y privado). Se presentan algunos datos referidos a dos aspectos de la atención: Utilización de técnicas y procedimientos biomédicos (pujar, jadear, episiotomía, anestesia, etc.) y consideración de las relaciones interpersonales en el proceso de atención (continuidad de la atención, rol del padre, favorecimiento del vínculo madre-hijo, etc.). Se observa que se utilizan modalidades de atención diferenciales según sectores de atención: son más tecnologizadas y medicalizadas en el sector privado. A la vez en éste se consideran más las relaciones interpersonales que favorecen la atención. Además, las opiniones de los profesionales, en cuanto a lo que cosideran adecuado, concuerdan más con las de las madres de dicho sector, siendo sus necesidades satisfechas en mayor medida que las de las demás. Resulta así que las necesidades de las mayorías - las que se atienden en servicios privados y de obras sociales - son cubiertas en menor medida, no qual se opone a un enfoque de riesgo que vuelca sus recursos en los grupos considerados vulnerables.

Individual pension information: Recommendations for the case of Spain based on the experiences of other countries

The aim of this paper is to establish some basic guidelines to help draft the information letter sent to individual contributors should it be decided to use this model in the Spanish public pension system. With this end in mind and basing our work on the experiences of the most advanced countries in the field and the pioneering papers by Jackson (2005), Larsson et al. (2008) and Sunden (2009), we look into the concept of “individual pension information” and identify its most relevant characteristics. We then give a detailed description of two models, those in the United States and Sweden, and in particular look at how they are structured, what aspects could be improved and what their limitations are. Finally we make some recommendations of special interest for designing the model for Spain.