A contribution to knowledge of the biodiversity of Syrphidae (Diptera) in Spain

Data are provided on two hoverfly species new to the Iberian Peninsula, Brachyopa grunewaldensis Kassebeer and Criorhina floccosa (Meigen), and one new to Spain, Eumerus consimilis Šimić & Vujić. New habitat and breeding data are presented.

Knowledge of pre-eclampsia in women living in Makole Ward, Dodoma, Tanzania.

Background: Pre-eclampsia is a hypertensive disorder specific to pregnancy responsible for significant maternal morbidity and mortality in Africa. The majority of deaths related to pre-eclampsia could be avoided with timely and effective care. “Phase one delays” arise because of lack of knowledge. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the knowledge levels of women living in Makole ward, comparing respondent subgroups with different demographic characteristics. It also aimed to compare knowledge levels in respect to six subtopics of pre-eclampsia. This was to allow for planning of appropriate activities to reduce delays in seeking health care. Methods: This study surveyed 200 adult women randomly identified in the community. They were asked 36 questions on preeclampsia requiring yes / no answers. The data was analysed quantitatively. Results: Overall knowledge levels were low with an average of 41% of correct answers. Minor differences in the knowledge levels of demographic subgroups were found. Statistically significant differences were identified between sub-topics of preeclampsia; signs and symptoms were the least well known. Conclusion: Educational systems (formal and informal) are failing to provide communities with potentially life-saving information. Health centre, community and school based education programmes are recommended.

Proportion dominance in valuing lives: The role of deliberative thinking

Proportion responding (PR) is the preference for proportionally higher gains, such that the same absolute quantity is valued more as the reference group decreases. This research investigated this kind of proportion PR in decisions about saving lives (e.g., saving 10/10 lives is preferred to saving 10/100 lives). The results of two studies suggest that PR does not stem from an overall tendency to choose higher proportions, but rather from faulty deliberative reasoning. In particular, people who display PR are less likely to engage in deliberative reflection as measured by response time, the Process Dissociation Procedure, the Cognitive Reflection Test, a numeracy test, and a task assessing denominator neglect. This association between faulty deliberation and PR was observed only when choosing the highest proportion was non-normative because it came at the expense of absolute gains (e.g., saving 10/10 lives is preferred to saving 11/100 lives). These results help to make sense of discrepant findings in previous research, pertaining to how PR relates to biased reasoning and decision making.

Knowledge of HIV transmission risk behavior, and perceptions of risk among Haitian women living in Miami, Florida

This study was conducted to gain a more comprehensive understanding of HIV risk among Haitian women. The variables measured were: knowledge of HIV transmission, sexual risk behaviors, and perceptions of risk among Haitian women. The sociocultural aspect of the Haitian women's lives with regard to their risky behaviors was also examined. A total of 101 Haitian women (aged 25-53) who attended two comprehensive health clinics were interviewed. A combined questionnaire derived from both the ARM-Q and the RBA was used. In general, the women had good knowledge of the sexual transmission of HIV I AIDS and indicated that they were susceptible to HIV infection. However, knowledge and perceptions of risk were not translated into sexual risk-reduction behaviors with their partners. Multiplicity of partners and low incidence of condom use were the two major sexual risk factors isolated in this study. Results indicate Haitian women were more likely to use condoms if they possessed greater HIV knowledge and their sexual partners held more positive attitudes toward using condoms. Also, Haitian women may have failed to protect themselves because behavior changes could have involved threats to their social and economic survival, relationships and culturally sanctioned roles. This suggests the need to include male partners in HIV prevention interventions with Haitian women. Future research should focus on preventing high-risk behavior by improving knowledge, altering the male partners' attitudes toward condoms, and enhancing communication and negotiation skills. Nursing implications and recommendations for culturally sensitive and relevant AIDS prevention efforts are discussed.

Knowledge of and attitudes toward sexual and reproductive health among college students

Abstract Introduction: Knowledge provides the foundation for values, attitudes and behavior. Knowledge about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and positive attitudes are essential for implementing protective behaviors. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate SRH knowledge and attitudes in college students and their association with sexual and reproductive behaviors. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 1946 college students. The data were collected using a self-report questionnaire on the sociodemographics characteristics of the sample, an inventory on SRH knowledge and an attitude scale, and were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics (ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation). Results: The sample was 64% female and 36% male, with a mean age of 21 years. The majority were sexually active and used contraception. The SRH knowledge was moderate (22.27 ± 5.79; maximum score = 44), while the average SRH attitude score was more favorable (118.29 ± 13.92; maximum score = 140). Female and younger students studying life and health sciences had higher (P < .05) SRH knowledge and attitude scores. The consistent use of condom and health care surveillance were highly dependent on the students’ SRH knowledge and attitudes. Engagement in sexual risk behaviors was associated with lower scores for these variables. Conclusions: Strategies to increase SRH knowledge and attitudes are important tools for improving protective behaviors, especially with respect to contraception, health care surveillance and exposure to sexual risk. Older males studying topics other than life sciences should be a priority target for interventions due to their higher sexual risk

Nurses knowledge of health effects of dietary fibre

Introduction: Nurses accompany patients throughout their health care to prevent and treat disease, so their knowledge about diet and dietary fibre is key to successful diet therapy, which is an essential part of a patient's non-pharmacological treatment. It is known from the literature that a high proportion of nurses have limited knowledge about diet therapy and about sources of soluble fibre and other foods that can prevent or treat certain diseases. Given the position of nurses as key providers of dietary guidance, and given the health benefits of dietary fibre, we wanted to assess the level of fibre-related knowledge among nurses in Croatia. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional study based on data collected between October 2014 and March 2015 using a survey developed by the CI&DETS Polytechnic Institute in Viseu, Portugal. The survey contains questions about demographic characteristics as well as about knowledge of sources of dietary fibre, recommended daily intake and effects of fibre intake on particular diseases. The study included a total of 369 nurses from two health institutions and one nursing school from Croatia older than 18 years. Differences in knowledge were assessed for significance using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. Possible associations among variables were explored using Spearman's rank correlation. For all statistical analyses, the threshold of significance was defined as P<0.05. Results: The level of knowledge among nurses in Croatia about dietary fibre varied from «undecided» to «partial knowledge». The median for level of knowledge ranged from 3 to 4 with low variability ranging from 0.11 to 0.33. Average levels of knowledge in percentages varied from 57.6% to 82.1%. Nurses with higher education levels showed significantly higher knowledge levels about the influence of dietary fiber intake on the risk of certain diseases (p = 0.007), constipation (p = 0.016), bowel cancer (p = 0.005) and breast cancer (p = 0.039). Conclusion: The level of nurses’ knowledge about dietary fiber is suboptimal. This indicates the need to strengthen nurse education in the areas of diet and diet therapy. Increase the level of knowledge of nurses about nutrition can positively influence the quality of care.

The pedagogical content knowledge of Danish geography teachers in a changing schooling context

This study examines the self-reported, topic-specific professional knowledge (TSPK) of Danish geography teachers seen as an aspect of their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) when teaching weather formation and climate change. This topic is considered representative of geography teaching in Denmark. In the last ten years Danish primary and lower-secondary schooling has undergone several significant changes, including the introduction of a final multiple-choice exam in geography in 2007, and a fundamental reconstruction of the curriculum in 2014. These changes are expected to influence the TSPK of geography teachers in ways that potentially have an impact on their classroom practice. Teachers´ responses to specific questions relating to their choice of learning goals and the content and organisation of their lessons show that geography teachers take into account not only the knowledge aspects which point to the final multiple-choice exam, but also the ‘bildung’ perspectives of the subject equipping students to develop their own opinions when dealing with socio-scientific issues (SSI).

ESL teacher profiles of ICT integration in their classroom practices and assessment activities : a portrait viewed through the lens of some Quebec teachers’ social representations

Abstract : Information and communication technologies (ICTs, henceforth) have become ubiquitous in our society. The plethora of devices competing with the computer, from iPads to the Interactive whiteboard, just to name a few, has provided teachers and students alike with the ability to communicate and access information with unprecedented accessibility and speed. It is only logical that schools reflect these changes given that their purpose is to prepare students for the future. Surprisingly enough, research indicates that ICT integration into teaching activities is still marginal. Many elementary and secondary schoolteachers are not making effective use of ICTs in their teaching activities as well as in their assessment practices. The purpose of the current study is a) to describe Quebec ESL teachers’ profiles of using ICTs in their daily teaching activities; b) to describe teachers’ ICT integration and assessment practices; and c) to describe teachers’ social representations regarding the utility and relevance of ICT use in their daily teaching activities and assessment practices. In order to attain our objectives, we based our theoretical framework, principally, on the social representations (SR, henceforth) theory and we defined most related constructs which were deemed fundamental to the current thesis. We also collected data from 28 ESL elementary and secondary school teachers working in public and private sectors. The interview guide used to that end included a range of items to elicit teachers’ SR in terms of ICT daily use in teaching activities as well as in assessment practices. In addition, we carried out our data analyses from a textual statistics perspective, a particular mode of content analysis, in order to extract the indicators underlying teachers’ representations of the teachers. The findings suggest that although almost all participants use a wide range of ICT tools in their practices, ICT implementation is seemingly not exploited to its fullest potential and, correspondingly, is likely to produce limited effects on students’ learning. Moreover, none of the interviewees claim that they use ICTs in their assessment practices and they still hold to the traditional paper-based assessment (PBA, henceforth) approach of assessing students’ learning. Teachers’ common discourse reveals a gap between the positive standpoint with regards to ICT integration, on the one hand, and the actual uses of instructional technology, on the other. These results are useful for better understanding the way ESL teachers in Quebec currently view their use of ICTs, particularly for evaluation purposes. In fact, they provide a starting place for reconsidering the implementation of ICTs in elementary and secondary schools. They may also be useful to open up avenues for the development of a future research program in this regard.

Resilience at Work - Extending knowledge of resilience in the work context

Diese Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit dem Konzept der Resilienz im Arbeitsumfeld. Drei Forschungsarbeiten liefern einen Beitrag zur Literatur im Bereich der Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie. In der ersten Studie werden Resilienzskalen miteinander verglichen und im Arbeitskontext validiert. Es wird eine Empfehlung ausgesprochen, welches Messinstrument sich am besten zur Erfassung von Resilienz im Arbeitskontext eignet. Die zweite Studie stellt die Unterschiede zwischen den beiden ähnlichen Konzepten Resilienz und Core Self-Evaluations dar. Zusätzlich wird die kognitive Bewertung von Situationen (Cognitive Appraisal) als Resilienzmechanismus in einem Tagebuchdesign betrachtet. In der dritten Studie wird der regulatorische Fokus von Personen als weiterer Resilienzmechanismus analysiert, um die Zusammenhänge zwischen Resilienz und positiven arbeitsbezogenen Ergebnissen zu erklären. Die Gesamtdiskussion baut auf den Erkenntnissen aus den drei Studien auf und fasst die theoretischen und praktischen Implikationen zusammen. Zusätzlich werden Ideen für die zukünftige Erforschung von Resilienz im Arbeitskontext diskutiert.

“Biomarkers in a One Health perspective: current knowledge of their ability to merge human and animal health

Biomarkers are nowadays essential tools to be one step ahead for fighting disease, enabling an enhanced focus on disease prevention and on the probability of its occurrence. Research in a multidisciplinary approach has been an important step towards the repeated discovery of new biomarkers. Biomarkers are defined as biochemical measurable indicators of the presence of disease or as indicators for monitoring disease progression. Currently, biomarkers have been used in several domains such as oncology, neurology, cardiovascular, inflammatory and respiratory disease, and several endocrinopathies. Bridging biomarkers in a One Health perspective has been proven useful in almost all of these domains. In oncology, humans and animals are found to be subject to the same environmental and genetic predisposing factors: examples include the existence of mutations in BR-CA1 gene predisposing to breast cancer, both in human and dogs, with increased prevalence in certain dog breeds and human ethnic groups. Also, breast feeding frequency and duration has been related to a decreased risk of breast cancer in women and bitches. When it comes to infectious diseases, this parallelism is prone to be even more important, for as much as 75% of all emerging diseases are believed to be zoonotic. Examples of successful use of biomarkers have been found in several zoonotic diseases such as Ebola, dengue, leptospirosis or West Nile virus infections. Acute Phase Proteins (APPs) have been used for quite some time as biomarkers of inflammatory conditions. These have been used in human health but also in the veterinary field such as in mastitis evaluation and PRRS (porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome) diagnosis. Advantages rely on the fact that these biomarkers can be much easier to assess than other conventional disease diagnostic approaches (example: measured in easy to collect saliva samples). Another domain in which biomarkers have been essential is food safety: the possibility to measure exposure to chemical contaminants or other biohazards present in the food chain, which are sometimes analytical challenges due to their low bioavailability in body fluids, is nowadays a major breakthrough. Finally, biomarkers are considered the key to provide more personalized therapies, with more efficient outcomes and fewer side effects. This approach is expected to be the correct path to follow also in veterinary medicine, in the near future.

Incongruence between self-reported and observed senior physical education teaching styles : an analysis using Mosston and Ashworth’s spectrum

Pedagogical styles, methods, models, practices or strategies are valued for what they claim they can achieve. In recent times curriculum documents and governments have called for a range of teaching approaches to meet the variety of learner differences and allow students to make more independent decision making in physical education (Hardy and Mawer, 1999). One well known system of categorizing teaching styles is the Mosston and Ashworth’s Spectrum of Teaching Styles (2002). In Queensland, prior to 2005, no research had been conducted on the teaching styles used by teachers of Physical Education. However, many teachers self-reported that they employed a variety of teaching styles depending on the aims and content of the material to be taught (Cothran, et al., 2005). This research, for the first time, collected teacher’s self-reported use of teaching styles and through observations verify the styles that were being used to teach Senior Physical Education in Queensland. More specifically the aims of the research were to determine: a) What teaching styles teachers of Senior Physical Education in Queensland believe they use? i) Were they using a range of teaching styles? ii) Were teachers of Senior Physical Education in Queensland using teaching styles that the Queensland Senior Physical Education Syllabus (2004) required? b) If Mosston and Ashworth’s (2002) Spectrum of Teaching Styles were used to categorise styles observed during the teaching of Senior Physical Education did the styles being used provide opportunities for evaluating as described by the Queensland Senior Physical Education Syllabus (2004)? The research was conducted in two phases. Part A involved use of a questionnaire to determine the teaching styles Queensland teachers of Senior Physical Education reported using and how often they reported using them. The questionnaire was administered to 110 teachers throughout Queensland. The sample was determined from 346 schools teaching Senior Physical Education (in 2006) across the state of Queensland, Australia. 286 questionnaires were sent to 77 non-randomised schools. There were 66 male and 44 female respondents in the sample. A wide range of teaching styles were reportedly used by teachers of Senior Physical Education with Practice Style-Style B, Command Style-Style A and Divergent Discovery Style-Style H, the most reportedly used. The Self-Teaching Style-Style K was reportedly used the least by teachers involved in this study. From the respondents a group of teachers were identified to form the participants for Part B. Part B of the study involved observation of a group of volunteer participants (from those who had completed the questionnaire) who displayed many of the ‘typical’ characteristics, and a cross-section of backgrounds, of teachers of Senior Physical Education in Queensland. In the case of this study, the criteria used to select the group of teachers to be observed teaching were, teaching experience (number of years: 0-4, 5-10 and 11 years and over), gender, geographical location of schools (focused on Brisbane and near area for travel/access purposes), profile of the students at schools (girls, boys or co-educational), nature of school (Government or Private) and the physical activities being taught in a school (activities to reflect all the areas of physical activity outlined within the syllabus). A total of 27 questionnaire respondents from Part A indicated that they were willing to be observed teaching practical lessons. The respondents who volunteered to be involved in Part B of the study came from different regions across the state of Queensland and was not confined to the Brisbane metropolitan area or large cities. From the group of people who volunteered for Part B four came from outside Brisbane and 23 from the Brisbane area. The final observation group of nine participants included eight teachers from the Brisbane area and one from a rural area. The characteristics of the final group included three females and six males from private and public schools with a range of teaching experience in years and a range of physical activities. Four year 12 and five year 11 teachers and their classes were videoed on three occasions as they progressed through an eight – nine week unit of work. This resulted in 24 hours 48 minutes and 20 seconds (or 4465 observations) of video teaching data which was subsequently coded by several researchers (99% interobserver reliability) to determine the teaching styles employed by the participants. This research indicated that, based on Mosston and Ashworth’s (2002) Spectrum of Teaching Styles, teachers of Senior Physical Education in Queensland used predominantly one style to teach 27 observed lessons. This is in sharp contrast to the variety of styles 110 teachers self- reportedly used and in spite of the Queensland Senior Physical Education Syllabus (2004) suggesting a range of specific styles be used. These results are discussed in the context of the Queensland Senior Physical Education Syllabus (2004), teacher knowledge of teaching styles and high-stakes curriculum and external pressures such as national testing and the publication of data from schools in tabloid newspapers. The data and findings in this research provide a rationale for improving teacher knowledge regarding teaching styles and the need for a clear definition of terminology in syllabus documents. Careful examination of the effects that the publishing of school data may have on teaching styles is advised. This research not only collected teacher’s perceptions of the teaching styles they believed they used it also verified these claims through direct observations of the teachers while teaching. These findings are relevant to syllabus writers, teacher educators, policy makers within education and teachers.

A prática pedagógica nos “descaminhos” do ensino da língua portuguesa : a formação do leitor para uma vida inteira

O presente trabalho procurou abordar as práticas de leitura desenvolvidas no ensino médio nas aulas de Língua Portuguesa na rede pública estadual de Quipapá-PE, tendo como questão norteadora: a origem do insucesso da formação leitora está focalizada nos educandos ou n ausência de uma ação potencializadora de um educador leitor? Nessa perspectiva, no decorrer deste estudo, são debatidas algumas concepções teóricas e metodológicas que propõem uma reflexão sobre as relações que estruturam as práticas pedagógicas, sugerindo o redimensionamento dos saberes docentes dos professores de Língua Portuguesa e das práticas de leitura. Apontando multiplicidade de fatores envolvidos que dificultam, mas não impossibilitam a necessária adesão à perspectiva de linguagem textual- interacionista como subsídio na libertação do professor de Língua Portuguesa do seu aprisionamento à tradição metodológica do ensino de gramática, em detrimento as atividades de leitura no cotidiano escolar. Posto que a escola como espaço privilegiado para formação de leitores, não tem correspondido às demandas sociais, nem esta tem estado, tem sido priorizada na ação educativa. Visto que a esses profissionais, por vezes, falta clareza a respeito da concepção de linguagem que norteia seu fazer pedagógico, derivado das lacunas em sua formação acadêmica, que resultam em contradições, conflitos, rupturas e permanências, contribuindo para uma visão contraditória das concepções construídas a respeito do seu papel como professor de língua materna. Usamos como aporte teórico as contribuições advindas da linguística aplicada, com base na perspectiva sócio interacionista da linguagem. Do ponto de vista metodológico, optamos pela pesquisa quantitativa e qualitativa com aplicação de questionários aos alunos, itens apresentados sob a modalidade Likert, bem como entrevistas aos professores. Contudo, com a análise, nos veio à confirmação de que no modelo de ensino vigente, a leitura como processo de interação e sentido, não está totalmente efetivada na ação docente, pois as atividades de gramática têm predominado; relegando ao segundo plano a formação do leitor crítico. Em razão disso, coloca-se a questão da aprendizagem do professor que, enquanto sujeito singular que possui uma história de vida, aprende e reconstrói seus saberes na experiência, podendo a partir de novos conhecimentos, para os quais intentamos contribuir, aderir a essa perspectiva teórica. Diante desse contexto apresentado, acreditamos que essa pesquisa pode trazer uma importante contribuição para despertar estes profissionais sobre o tratamento que deve ser dado a leitura por todos os professores, dada a importância decisiva para a formação e o exercício efetivo da cidadania.

L’anxiété des élèves au primaire: une analyse des connaissances théoriques et pratiques des enseignants

Méthodologie: Entretiens semi-dirigés

Understanding Teacher and Student Learning Situated in a School-wide Implementation of Fractions Instruction

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Beyond knowledge : an insight into the practice of a learning support teacher

Increasingly, schools are being asked to meet the challenges of providing inclusive classrooms for all children. Inclusion is no longer about special education for a special group of students. It is about school improvement in order to bring about the changes that are needed to classroom practices to ensure the improvement of student learning outcomes. Inclusion is no longer a policy initiative. Rather it has been transformed to become a process that moves a school towards inclusive practices that will result in school improvement, heightened student learning outcomes and greater opportunities for all students to gain equal access to education. This study focuses on the challenge of diversity as it translates into implementing inclusive practices across two secondary school contexts. I have undertaken this research in my role as a Learning Support Teacher over a period of five years. Central to my research is a constructivist ontology and a practice epistemology that aligns with a practitioner research methodology of action research. Seven generalisable propositions have emerged from this research that inform the strategies I am using to more easily accommodate legislated inclusivitiy. These propositions include: 1. School communities need to share a common understanding of equity. 2. The school principal must provide overt leadership in moving towards an inclusive school culture. 3. A whole-school approach is needed to narrow the gap between inclusion rhetoric and classroom practice. 4. Pedagogical reform is the most effective strategy for catering for diverse student learning needs. 5. Differentiating curriculum is achieved when collaborative planning teams develop appropriate units of work. 6. School communities need to make a commitment to gather, share and manage relevant information concerning students. 7. The Learning Support Teacher needs to be repositioned within a curriculum planning team.