Social effects of collaborative learning in primary schools

There is conflicting evidence on whether collaborative group work leads to improved classroom relations, and if so how. A before and after design was used to measure the impact on work and play relations of a collaborative learning programme involving 575 students 9e12 years old in single- and mixed-age classes across urban and rural schools. Data were also collected on student interactions and teacher ratings of their group-work skills. Analysis of variance revealed significant gains for both types of relation. Multilevel modelling indicated that better work relations were the product of improving group skills, which offset tensions produced by transactive dialogue, and this effect fed through in turn to play relations. Although before intervention rural children were familiar with each other neither this nor age mix affected outcomes. The results suggest the social benefits of collaborative learning are a separate outcome of group work, rather than being either a pre-condition for, or a direct consequence of successful activity, but that initial training in group skills may serve to enhance these benefits.

The use of drama to teach social skills in a special school setting for students with autism.

For children with autism, social challenges may be both part of the disability and a barrier to accessing education. This paper reports on a project which used drama to address such challenges by drawing on the social skills of non-autistic peers in a special school setting. The paper demonstrates how drama’s flexibility may be harnessed in order to help students support each other’s development of creative and communicative skills. Focusing on two children in particular, specific examples are given to illustrate how they participated in group work, made imaginative contributions to verbal and physical representations, and engaged with abstract ideas. The project’s outcomes suggest, given a concrete structure and an invitation to collaborate, drama can be a powerful learning medium for children with ASD. The conclusion reflects on the diverse meaning of inclusive practice which can be achieved within specialist settings.

Enhanced effects of combined cognitive bias modification and computerised cognitive behaviour therapy on social anxiety

This study examines whether combined cognitive bias modification for interpretative biases (CBM-I) and computerised cognitive behaviour therapy (C-CBT) can produce enhanced positive effects on interpretation biases and social anxiety. Forty socially anxious students were randomly assigned into two conditions, an intervention group (positive CBM-I + C-CBT) or an active control (neutral CBM-I + C-CBT). At pre-test, participants completed measures of social anxiety, interpretative bias, cognitive distortions, and social and work adjustment. They were exposed to 6 × 30 min sessions of web-based interventions including three sessions of either positive or neutral CBM-I and three sessions of C-CBT, one session per day. At post-test and two-week follow-up, participants completed the baseline measures. A combined positive CBM-I + C-CBT produced less negative interpretations of ambiguous situations than neutral CBM-I + C-CBT. The results also showed that both positive CBM-I + C-CBT and neutral CBM-I + C-CBT reduced social anxiety and cognitive distortions as well as improving work and social adjustment. However, greater effect sizes were observed in the positive CBM-I + C-CBT condition than the control. This indicates that adding positive CBM-I to C-CBT enhanced the training effects on social anxiety, cognitive distortions, and social and work adjustment compared to the neutral CBM-I + C-CBT condition.

Luta por reconhecimento e desigualdade social: uma análise da experiência dos catadores da Asmare em Belo Horizonte (MG)

Esta dissertação discute a dinâmica de luta dos catadores da Asmare em Belo Horizonte (MG)e seus possíveis desdobramentos em políticas públicas para esse grupo social. Parte-se da ideia de luta e conflito social, recorrendo-se às discussões de luta por reconhecimento de Axel Honneth, apontando os limites e possibilidades do uso dessa abordagem no contexto brasileiro em face da elevada desigualdade social. A investigação foi realizada a partir de um estudo de caso longitudinal, com recorte temporal de 1987 a 2010. Foram feitas entrevistas em profundidade, conversas espontâneas e observações. Como método de análise foi adotada a leitura de narrativas. A partir das múltiplas vozes presentes nas narrativas dos entrevistados, observa-se que a luta dos catadores da Asmare foi repleta de idas e vindas, contradições e conflitos. Nas narrativas dos catadores foram evidenciadas diferentes formas de desrespeitos e reconhecimento recusado, bem como expectativas morais de reconhecimento. Foram alcançadas reivindicações junto ao poder público local, como a construção de uma política de apoio ao trabalho desse grupo que, ao longo dos anos, foi passando por reconfigurações e mais recentemente por uma inflexão, que acirrou os conflitos entre poder público e Asmare.

Turismo social e terceira idade:desafios emergentes

Este estudo tem por objetivo realçar e discutir dois temas de relevância atual: o turismo social e a terceira idade. O turismo social consiste em um esforço conjunto da Sociedade e do Estado em promover a universalização e a humanização da prática turística incorporando nesta atividade grupos socialmente e/ou economicamente desfavorecidos tais como os trabalhadores, os deficientes, os jovens e os idosos. Estes últimos, face ao processo de envelhecimento da população mundial ora em curso, têm assim justificada a necessidade de inclusão de suas demandas, entre as quais o direito ao lazer, no rol das políticas sociais formulado quer no âmbito estatal, quer no conjunto de ações que venha a ser adotado a nível da sociedade civil organizada. A questão da terceira idade é analisada a partir de uma pesquisa histórica que descreve a evolução do tratamento dispensado aos idosos pelas diversas sociedades, ao longo do tempo. Esta trajetória investigativa culmina com a explanação da situação atual do velho no mundo e mais especificamente no Brasil. O turismo social é abordado através da formulação de conceitos, da sua confrontação com os valores que norteiam o chamado turismo tradicional e da apresentação de experiências já postas em prática. É destacado o papel precípuo do Bureau Intemational du Tourisme Social - BITS na divulgação e no fomento desta atividade pelo mundo. Na última parte do trabalho, é feita a correlação entre os dois temas, quando então é demonstrada a importante contribuição que o lazer e o turismo social em particular têm a oferecer à população idosa como exercício completo de participação, com resultados positivos no desenvolvimento físico e mental de um estrato etário ao mesmo tempo carente e ansioso por possibilidades de integração social.

Mecanismos sócio-genéticos da representação social de trabalho docente por grupos de licenciandos de física e de química da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

This research aims to understand the social representations Teaching Work in groups of undergraduate students of Physics and Chemistry of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. For this, the proposal was based on the three theoretical and methodological consensus Carvalho (2012) in the explanation of socio-genetic mechanisms constituents of dynamic consensus that has functionality to your organization. It Was used to achieve this goal, the theoretical-epistemological Serge Moscovici (1978, 2003), Jodelet (2011), Wagner (1998,( 2011) and Carvalho (2012). The corpus analyzed results from a qualitative and quantitative research, developed in three stages. The first two (2) questionnaires to fifty (50) of each undergraduate course, a questionnaire and another profile for collection of free associations concerning motes inductors "Give Lesson," "Student" and "Teacher". The second step in the procedure Multiple Classifications, Roazzi (1995), aimed for another thirty (30) undergraduate students for each course, as well as Document Analysis of Educational Projects Curriculum courses in Physics and Chemistry. The data analysis of the first stage focused on descriptive statistics and frequency and average order of the words associated with motes inductors. The results from the Multiple Classification Procedure submitted to multidimensional analysis (MSA multidimensional scalogram analysis) and SSA (Similarity Structure Analysis), were interpreted by the theoretical and methodological proposal of the three consensus, supported by analysis of the rhetorical nature of justifications classifications and categorizations of words, boosted in times of application of Procedure Multiple Classification. The data revealed that the groups surveyed were the same Social Representation with specific dynamic consensual. Thinking Teaching Work for these groups it is considered in three dimensions: the BE-DO-HAVE of teaching. In the group of Physics consensus was clear semantic, which expressed a dynamic in which the interpretations of "Teaching Work" peacefully coexist on perceptions of two concepts: An identity around the "BE" "Teacher" or "BE" "Educator" and the other, how they think about professional development. The type of group consensus Chemistry pointed to a consensual logic hierarchical order in which the gradual between the elements of BE-DO-HAVE attested conflicts and disagreements about the perceptual object "Teaching Work", around what value most, whether they are the attributes of personal or professional-technical dimension of teaching, in the course of professional development. The thesis to explain the mechanisms of socio-genetic Representation Social Teaching Work by theoretical and methodological proposal was confirmed

Quando mudar é condição para permanecer: a escola Casa Familiar Rural e as estratégias de reprodução social do campesinato na Transamazônica (Pará-Amazônia)

Neste trabalho são analisadas as relações entre escolarização (configurada na Casa Familiar Rural) e as estratégias de reprodução das organizações sociais representativas do campesinato em interface com as famílias de agricultores na Transamazônica, frente pioneira de colonização no Oeste do Pará, particularmente no município de Medicilândia. Esta escola, pensada por estes agentes sociais e coletivos em um cenário nacional e regional de publicização dos quadros que fragilizam a agricultura de base camponesa, a partir de meados da década de 1990, tem sido instrumento da luta social. As tensões no espaço social, lidas como ‘crise da base’ e ‘crise dos sistemas de produção’, teriam desenhado simultaneamente uma ‘crise de formação’ na qual as finalidades da escola foram sendo construídas por desafios sócio-econômico e políticos. Este cenário teria constituído os jovens agricultores como categoria social, investidos da expectativa coletiva de tornarem-se, sob a mediação da CFR, técnicos agrícolas e/ou dirigentes, a fim de dar continuidade ao grupo (seja dos atores, nos campos das organizações sociais/sindicais e comunitário-religiosas; seja das famílias, na sucessão agrícola e na manutenção de sua posição social). As repercussões da CFR na condição camponesa destes jovens são analisadas a partir de dados qualitativos e quantitativos, tomando-se como referência os interesses e investimentos dos agentes sociais, das famílias, bem como as inserções sócio-profissionais no campo e/ou na cidade destes jovens após a escolarização. Os resultados da CFR, considerando-se esta escola como estratégia coletiva organizada que visa transformar para conservar o campo de lutas enquanto sistema de relações objetivas do grupo social que a constitui, revelam que a mesma tem possibilitado a permanência dos jovens agricultores no campo sob diversos arranjos em que se imbricam as relações com o campesinato, com a cidade, com o conhecimento escolar/técnico, e com uma ética de trabalho e relação com a terra/natureza “ambientalizada”. No âmbito dos grupos domésticos e da coletividade camponesa (nas quais se incluem as organizações representativas do grupo estudado), a posição social destes jovens caracteriza-se por formas de distinção social visíveis nas práticas sócio-produtivas intercedidas pelo capital escolar, bem como na posição de mediadores dirigentes e técnicos.

Social isolation in a group living fish impairs cognition

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Fundamental Dimensions of Social Judgment: Sociability and Morality as Distinct Characteristics of Social Warmth

The present dissertation focuses on the two basic dimensions of social judgment, i.e., warmth and competence. Previous research has shown that warmth and competence emerge as fundamental dimensions both at the interpersonal level and at the group level. Moreover, warmth judgments appear to be primary, reflecting the importance of first assessing others’ intentions before determining the other’s ability to carry out those intentions. Finally, it has been shown that warmth and competence judgments are predicted by perceived economic competition and status, respectively (for a review, see Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2008). Building on this evidence, the present work intends to further explore the role of warmth and competence in social judgment, adopting a finer-grained level of analysis. Specifically, we consider warmth to be a dimension of evaluation that encompasses two distinct characteristics (i.e., sociability and morality) rather than as an undifferentiated dimension (see Leach, Ellemers, & Barreto, 2007). In a similar vein, both economic competition and symbolic competition are taken into account (see Stephan, Ybarra, & Morrison, 2009). In order to highlight the relevance of our empirical research, the first chapter reviews the literature in social psychology that has studied the warmth and competence dimensions. In the second chapter, across two studies, we examine the role of realistic and symbolic threats (akin economic and symbolic competition, respectively) in predicting the perception of sociability and morality of social groups. In study 1, we measure perceived realistic threat, symbolic threat, sociability, and morality with respect to 8 social groups. In study 2, we manipulate the level and type of threat of a fictitious group and measure perceived sociability and morality. The findings show that realistic threat and symbolic threat are differentially related to the sociability and morality components of warmth. Specifically, whereas realistic threat seems to be a stronger predictor of sociability than symbolic threat, symbolic threat emerges as better predictor of morality than realistic threat. Thus, extending prior research, we show that the types of threat are linked to different warmth stereotypes. In the third and the fourth chapter, we examine whether the sociability and morality components of warmth play distinct roles at different stages of group impression formation. More specifically, the third chapter focuses on the information-gathering process. Two studies experimentally investigate which traits are mostly selected when forming impressions about either ingroup or outgroup members. The results clearly show that perceivers are more interested in obtaining information about morality than about sociability when asked to form a global impression about others. The fourth chapter considers more properly the formulation of an evaluative impression. Thus, in the first study participants rate real groups on sociability, morality, and competence. In the second study, participants read an immigration scenario depicting an unfamiliar social group in terms of high (vs. low) morality, sociability, and competence. In both studies, participants are also asked to report their global impression of the group. The results show that global evaluations are better predicted by morality than by sociability and competence trait ascriptions. Taken together the third and the fourth chapters show that the dominance of warmth suggested by previous studies on impression formation might be better explained in terms of a greater effect of one of the two subcomponents (i.e., morality) over the other (i.e., sociability). In the general discussion, we discuss the relevance of our findings for intergroup relation and group perception, as well as for impression formation.

Group Stereotypes and The Self: How Social Status and Interaction Expectation Affect Self-Stereotyping

This study examined how ingroup status affects the tendency for people to internalize ingroup stereotypes (i.e. self-stereotype) when expecting to interact with another individual who holds stereotypic views of them. Past research has demonstrated that people self-stereotype when they want to affiliate with another individual who holds stereotypic views of them. By self-stereotyping, individuals create a common bond or shared set of beliefs with the other individual. This line of research has not yet examinedif there are any moderators in the relationship between affiliation motivation and self-stereotyping. However, there is reason to believe that members of lower-status groups are more likely to feel the need to create this common bond through self-stereotyping because 1) they identify more closely with their social group, 2) their group identity is more salient 3) they are more aware of the expectations of others, 4) and they care more about the quality of an interaction with a member from a higher-status group. For this experiment, I recruited twenty-seven members of Alpha Chi Omega andtwenty-eight members of Delta Gamma, two sororities that are perceived to be middle-ranked (as determined by a pre-test survey). Upon arriving to the study, half the participants were informed that they would be interacting with a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, a higher-ranked sorority (as determined by a pre-test survey) and half the participants were informed that they would be interacting with a member of a Chi Omega, a lower-ranked sorority (as determined by a pre-test survey). Participants were also informed that this partner held stereotypic views of their (i.e. the participant’s)sorority. After, participants were given the Self-Stereotyping Measure in which they rated how well sixteen characteristics described themselves. The results of the series of analyses performed on participants’ ratings on the Self-Stereotyping Measure indicated that when expecting to interact with another individual, members of low-status groups self-stereotype more than members of high-statusgroups and those who do not expect to interact. Furthermore, unexpectedly, among members of high-status groups, those who expected to interact with a member of a low-status group self-stereotyped less than those who did not expect to interact. Thus, this research provides support for the hypothesis that group status is a moderator in the relationship between self-stereotyping and affiliation motivation.

Exploring users inter-temporal preferences for measuring transport social equity effects

There exist different ways for defining a welfare function. Traditionally, welfare economic theory foundation is based on the Net Present Value (NPV) calculation where the time dependent preferences of considered agents are taken into account. However, the time preferences, remains a controversial subject. Currently, the traditional approach employs a unique discount rate for various agents. Nevertheless, this way of discounting appears inconsistent with sustainable development. New research work suggests that the discount rate may not be a homogeneous value. The discount rates may change following the individual’s preferences. A significant body of evidence suggests that people do not behave following a constant discount rate. In fact, UK Government has quickly recognized the power of the arguments for time-varying rates, as it has done in its official guidance to Ministries on the appraisal of investments and policies. Other authors deal with not just time preference but with uncertainty about future income (precautionary saving). In a situation in which economic growth rates are similar across time periods, the rationale for declining social optimal discount rates is driven by the preferences of the individuals in the economy, rather than expectations of growth. However, these approaches have been mainly focused on long-term policies where intergenerational risks may appear. The traditional cost-benefit analysis (CBA) uses a unique discount rate derived from market interest rates or investment rates of return for discounting the costs and benefits of all social agents included in the CBA. However, recent literature showed that a more adequate measure of social benefit is possible by using different discount rates including inter-temporal preferences rate of users, private investment discount rate and intertemporal preferences rate of government. Actually, the costs of opportunity may differ amongst individuals, firms, governments, or society in general, as do the returns on savings. In general, the firms or operators require an investment rate linked to the current return on savings, while the discount rate of consumers-users depends on their time preferences with respect of the current and the future consumption, as well as society can take into account the intergenerational well-being, adopting a lower discount rate for today’s generation. Time discount rate of social actors (users, operators, government and society) places a lower value in a future gain, but the uncertainty about future income strongly determines the individual preferences. These time and uncertainty depends on preferences and should be integrated into a transport policy formulation that may have significant social impacts. The discount rate of a user cannot be the same than the operator’s discount rate. The preferences of both are different. In addition, another school of thought suggests that people, such as a social group, may have different attitudes towards future costs and benefits. Particularly, the users have different discount rates related to their income. Some research work tried to modify user discount rates using a compensating weight which represents the inverse of household income level. The inter-temporal preferences are a proxy of the willingness to pay during the time. Its consideration is important in order to make acceptable or not a policy or investment

The public assistance job and the undergraduate social work curriculum.

"A study financed by the Rosenberg Foundation."

Some aspects of social casework in a medical setting; a study in the field of medical social work,

"The Committee on functions ... presents in this volume the third of a series of studies which have been chiefly concerned with the content of medical social practice." -- Foreword.

Group leadership in the present emergency; a study document addressed to board and committee members, executives, supervisors, group leaders, and other persons actively related to agencies engaged in recreation and informal education,

Mode of access: Internet.

Work and life; a study of the social problems of today,

"Some of the chapters of this book, in substance but not in form, have appeared in various magazines...The ideas advanced have also been presented in a series of popular lectures delivered in ...cities of the middle West."--Pref.