Digital literacy matters. Increasing workforce productivity through blended English language programmes

Current workplace demands newer forms of literacies that go beyond the ability to decode print. These involve not only competence to operate digital tools, but also the ability to create, represent, and share meaning in different modes and formats; ability to interact, collaborate and communicate effectively using digital tools, and engage critically with technology for developing one’s knowledge, skills, and full participation in civic, economic, and personal matters. This essay examines the application of the ecology of resources (EoR) model for delivering language learning outcomes (in this case, English) through blended classroom environments that use contextually available resources. The author proposes the implementation of the EoR model in blended learning environments to create authentic and sustainable learning environments for skilling courses. Applying the EoR model to Indian skilling instruction contexts, the article discusses how English language and technology literacy can be delivered using contextually available resources through a blended classroom environment. This would facilitate not only acquisition of language and digital literacy outcomes, but also consequent content literacy gain to a certain extent. This would ensure satisfactory achievement of not only communication/language literacy and technological literacy, but also active social participation, lifelong learning, and learner autonomy.

Différences sur le plan de la motivation au travail, de la capacité de résilience et du sentiment d’efficacité personnelle en classe et à l’école des enseignants débutants selon leur participation à des programmes d’insertion professionnelle offerts dans leurs commissions scolaires d’attache

Actuellement au Québec, le contexte d’insertion professionnelle en enseignement représente plusieurs défis pour les enseignants débutants, et ce, en raison de multiples causes (p.ex. la précarité et le manque de soutien). Résultat : près de 15 % à 20 % d’entre eux quitteront la profession dans les cinq premières années de leur carrière et cette statistique ne cesse d’augmenter. Pour remédier à la situation, l’une des solutions envisagées est la mise en place de programmes d’insertion professionnelle (PIP) par les commissions scolaires, lesquels offrent différentes mesures de soutien telles que du mentorat, des ateliers de formation et des réseaux d’entraide en ligne. Cela dit, les modalités de mise en place de ces programmes varient grandement d’un milieu à l’autre, et ce, autant en ce qui a trait aux services offerts qu’à l’admission des candidats. De plus, ceux-ci ne sont généralement évalués que de façon informelle par le milieu. On ne sait donc pas si les enseignants débutants qui y participent se distinguent réellement quant à leur persévérance dans le métier, laquelle repose notamment sur leur motivation au travail, leur capacité de résilience et leur sentiment d’efficacité personnelle (SEP) en classe et à l’école (Bandura, 1997, 2007; Bélair & Lebel, 2007; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002; Fernet, Sénécal, Guay, Marsh, & Dowson, 2008; Zacharyas & Brunet, 2012). Ce projet de recherche vise d’une part à mesurer les différences sur le plan de ces variables chez les enseignants débutants participant ou non à un PIP. D’autre part, il vise également à mesurer la prédiction de ces variables par les différentes mesures de soutien offertes dans les PIP chez ceux qui y participent pour constater leur contribution respective dans un PIP. Pour ce faire, une étude préexpérimentale a été menée auprès de 86 participants. À l’aide d’un questionnaire, la motivation au travail, la capacité de résilience et le SEP en classe et à l’école ont été mesurés afin de comparer les résultats du groupe d’enseignants participant à un programme à ceux n’y participant pas. Une MANCOVA a d’abord été conduite avec ces variables et trois variables contrôles « avoir pensé quitter » le milieu d’enseignement, « ordre d’enseignement » et « expérience d’enseignement » comme covariables. Des régressions linéaires multivariées ont ensuite été menées à partir des mesures de soutien. Aucun résultat significatif n’a été obtenu quant aux différences entre les participants en fonction de la participation à un PIP ce qui est représentatif des résultats obtenus dans d’autres recherches sur le sujet (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). Aucun résultat significatif n’a été obtenu concernant la prédiction des variables d’intérêt par les mesures de soutien.

Conception et mise à l’essai d’une stratégie pédagogique pour développer la métacognition pendant le processus de débogage de programmes informatiques au collégial

Les étudiantes et étudiants inscrits dans le programme technique Informatique de gestion au collégial ont comme tâche de concevoir, coder et mettre au point divers programmes informatiques. La capacité pour réaliser cette dernière tâche, soit la mise au point de programmes ou débogage de programmes, est très peu développée chez les élèves. Ils ne prennent pas le temps de vérifier si leurs programmes fonctionnent adéquatement. Selon les superviseurs de stage en milieu de travail, ils ne testent pas assez leurs programmes. La procédure pour supprimer les erreurs de programmation qui leur est proposée ne semble pas suffisante en elle-même pour les soutenir dans leur apprentissage. Les ouvrages consultés sur le sujet de la métacognition nous incitent à penser qu’il manque à la procédure de débogage générale une dimension métacognitive qui pourrait leur être enseignée. L’objectif de cette recherche est de développer une stratégie pédagogique socioconstructiviste intervenant sur la métacognition pour soutenir le développement de la capacité à déboguer des programmes informatiques et à améliorer le sentiment d’auto-efficacité des élèves face à cette tâche. L’autoquestionnement semble être une stratégie métacognitive à développer chez les élèves, car il est primordial que les élèves se questionnent avant de débuter et pendant une tâche quelconque, en particulier celle du débogage de programmes. Trop souvent, les élèves escamotent cette étape d’auto-questionnement, ils ont trop hâte de pianoter sur l’ordinateur et voir si cela fonctionne. Notre type d’essai consiste en l’élaboration d’une intervention pédagogique, sa validation et sa mise à l’essai auprès des élèves. Le matériel nécessaire pour l’intervention a été tiré et adapté du livre sur la métacognition de Lafortune et St-Pierre. Plusieurs activités d’apprentissage ont été construites pour ce projet : un exercice de prise de conscience sur des stratégies d’apprentissage efficaces, une activité d’autoévaluation pour vérifier les connaissances des étudiantes et étudiants sur le débogage de programmes et une troisième activité concernant la planification du processus de résolution de problèmes qui a été reprise tout le long de la session. Ces activités ont été mises à l’essai auprès d’un groupe d’étudiants de 2e année en Technique Informatique à la session Hiver 2004. Les résultats de cette mise à l’essai sont intéressants. Dans un premier temps, l’objectif concernant le développement des habiletés métacognitives de planification a été atteint. De même, le développement de la démarche de débogage a été nettement amélioré, car au début, la démarche était très générale et peu efficace tandis qu’à la fin, la démarche était beaucoup plus structurée et détaillée. L’atteinte de l’objectif, concernant le sentiment d’autoefficacité des élèves, est difficile à évaluer car l’objectif semblait être déjà présent au début selon leurs réponses au questionnaire initial. Cela est très surprenant, car les élèves n’ont pas nécessairement une bonne démarche de débogage mais ils pensent que leur démarche est efficace. Les retombées de ce projet ont permis d’approfondir mes connaissances personnelles au sujet de la métacognition, de l’approche socioconstructiviste et du sentiment d’autoefficacité. En ce qui concerne les élèves, ils ont pris conscience de l’importance du débogage de programmes dans leurs fonctions de travail et ils possèdent une procédure efficace de débogage générale qu’ils peuvent utiliser en tout temps. La stratégie pédagogique, les activités prévues et les outils utilisés nécessitent certains ajustements. Entre autres, utiliser davantage la technique du modelage par le professeur en classe et modifier la procédure générale de débogage en la schématisant pour développer davantage l’autoquestionnement chez les élèves.

Élaboration et expérimentation d’une approche d’évaluation des programmes axée sur l’accompagnement et l’utilisation des résultats

Cette recherche porte sur le thème de l’évaluation de programmes dans le réseau collégial et les défis qu’elle soulève en regard de son utilité. Plus précisément, nous abordons les difficultés posées par l’évaluation des programmes au Cégep de Saint-Jérôme et proposons une nouvelle approche permettant d’augmenter l’utilité de ce processus pour le personnel enseignant. Notre problématique s’articule principalement autour du fait que l’évaluation de programmes a été vécue par plusieurs membres du personnel enseignant comme une opération administrative, voire comme une opération de reddition de comptes. En lien avec l’adoption en 2008 d’une nouvelle politique institutionnelle d’évaluation des programmes (PIEP) au Cégep de Saint-Jérôme, nous montrons les limites du processus et des instruments d’évaluation de programmes associés. Nous nous concentrons ensuite sur les stratégies d’évaluation des apprentissages puisqu’elles constituent un aspect essentiel de l’évaluation des programmes et un levier important de changement en vue d’améliorer la qualité de leur mise en oeuvre. Notre question de recherche est la suivante: comment peut-on augmenter l’utilité de l’évaluation des programmes pour les enseignantes et les enseignants du Cégep de Saint-Jérôme? Notre cadre de référence dresse une présentation générale de l’évaluation de programmes, mais repose sur une approche de l’évaluation axée sur l’utilisation. Celle-ci s’avérait tout à fait pertinente compte tenu de notre question de recherche. La recension des écrits nous a permis d’élaborer un cadre d’intervention, à partir des travaux de Michael Quinn Patton, Jean A. King et Hallie Preskill. Notre cadre d’intervention circonscrit une démarche d’évaluation de programmes qui repose sur quatre critères d’utilité: le facteur personnel, l’utilisation attendue, la participation active et le renforcement des capacités en évaluation. De plus, il confère à la conseillère pédagogique, qui est aussi la chercheure, une posture d’accompagnement, définie à travers quatre rôles: consultante, animatrice, négociatrice et formatrice. Cette recherche poursuivait trois objectifs: utiliser concrètement notre cadre d’intervention dans l’évaluation d’un programme au Cégep de Saint-Jérôme, accompagner le personnel enseignant suivant un scénario découlant de notre cadre d’intervention et valider notre cadre d’intervention. Nos objectifs de recherche nécessitaient une méthodologie appropriée. Celle-ci repose sur une approche méthodologique qualitative, une posture épistémologique critique et un essai de type recherche intervention. Neuf participantes et participants ont pris part à la démarche d’évaluation de programmes que nous leur avons proposée. Les données ont été recueillies grâce à la technique de l’observation participante et la triangulation des méthodes de collecte de données a été utilisée afin d’assurer la rigueur de nos travaux. L’analyse de contenu nous a permis d’étudier les données recueillies au moyen d’une grille d’analyse élaborée à partir de catégories émergentes et d’autres issues de notre cadre de référence. La dimension éthique a également été au coeur de la collecte et de l’analyse de nos données. Nous avons d’ailleurs pris plusieurs précautions à cet effet. Les données obtenues nous ont permis de répondre à notre question de recherche en démontrant en quoi la démarche d’évaluation de programmes réalisée par nos participantes et nos participants a contribué à augmenter l’utilité de celle-ci pour le personnel enseignant, telle que définie dans notre cadre de référence. Cette démarche a permis au personnel enseignant d’augmenter sa participation et son intérêt à l’égard de l’évaluation de programmes ainsi que d’utiliser concrètement à court terme les résultats obtenus pour améliorer ses pratiques d’évaluation des apprentissages. Deux niveaux de participation ont été expérimentés. Dans le niveau le plus élevé, une partie des participantes et des participants a été regroupée au sein d’un groupe de travail, lequel a contribué à l’élaboration d’une grille d’analyse portant sur les stratégies d’évaluation des apprentissages. Cette grille a par la suite été expérimentée par l’ensemble des participantes et participants sur un échantillon de onze cours du programme pour lesquels elles et ils ont procédé à l’autoévaluation de leur propre matériel (copies d’examens, copies de grille d’évaluation, etc.). Un rapport d’évaluation a été produit à partir des grilles d’analyse complétées. Les données obtenues nous ont également permis de valider notre cadre d’intervention et de dégager plusieurs éléments facilitant la transférabilité des résultats obtenus. Nous pensons d’ailleurs que celui-ci constitue une avenue pertinente et utile pour le réseau collégial puisqu’il favorise l’utilisation des résultats à court terme par le personnel enseignant, développe la pensée évaluative du personnel enseignant et parce qu’il augmente la qualité et l’efficacité du processus. De plus, le modèle d’accompagnement du personnel enseignant que nous avons élaboré et expérimenté contribue à dépasser une approche basée sur la reddition de comptes ou la gestion administrative des programmes. À tout le moins, il s’agit d’une piste intéressante pour les conseillères et les conseillers pédagogiques qui ont à intervenir comme nous dans ce dossier.

Les facteurs affectant les taux de réussite des cours d’anglais et de sciences humaines des étudiants dans les programmes de formation technique

A large percentage of Vanier College's technology students do not attain their College degrees within the scheduled three years of their program. A closer investigation of the problem revealed that in many of these cases these students had completed all of their program professional courses but they had not completed all of the required English and/or Humanities courses. Fortunately, most of these students do extend their stay at the college for the one or more semesters required for graduation, although some choose to go on into the workforce without returning to complete the missing English and/or Humanities and without their College Degrees. The purpose of this research was to discover if there was any significant measure of association between a student's family linguistic background, family cultural background, high school average, and/or College English Placement Test results and his or her likelihood of succeeding in his or her English and/or Humanities courses within the scheduled three years of the program. Because of both demographic differences between 'hard' and 'soft' technologies, including student population, more specifically gender ratios and student average ages in specific programs; and program differences, including program writing requirements and types of practical skill activities required; in order to have a more uniform sample, the research was limited to the hard technologies where students work hands-on with hardware and/or computers and tend to have overall low research and writing requirements. Based on a review of current literature and observations made in one of the hard technology programs at Vanier College, eight research questions were developed. These questions were designed to examine different aspects of success in the English and Humanities courses such as failure and completion rates and the number of courses remaining after the end of the fifth semester and as well examine how the students assessed their ability to communicate in English. The eight research questions were broken down into a total of 54 hypotheses. The high number of hypotheses was required to address a total of seven independent variables: primary home language, high school language of instruction, student's place of birth (Canada, Not-Canada), student's parents' place of birth (Both-born-in-Canada, Not-both-born-in-Canada), high school averages and English placement level (as a result of the College English Entry Test); and eleven dependent variables: number of English completed, number of English failed, whether all English were completed by the end of the 5th semester (yes, no), number of Humanities courses completed, number of Humanities courses failed, whether all the Humanities courses were completed by the end of the 5th semester (yes, no), the total number of English and Humanities courses left, and the students' assessments of their ability to speak, read and write in English. The data required to address the hypotheses were collected from two sources, from the students themselves and from the College. Fifth and sixth semester students from Building Engineering Systems, Computer and Digital Systems, Computer Science and Industrial Electronics Technology Programs were surveyed to collect personal information including family cultural and linguistic history and current language usages, high school language of instruction, perceived fluency in speaking, reading and writing in English and perceived difficulty in completing English and Humanities courses. The College was able to provide current academic information on each of the students, including copies of college program planners and transcripts, and high school transcripts for students who attended a high school in Quebec. Quantitative analyses were done on the data using the SPSS statistical analysis program. Of the fifty-four hypotheses analysed, in fourteen cases the results supported the research hypotheses, in the forty other cases the null hypotheses had to be accepted. One of the findings was that there was a strong significant association between a student's primary home language and place of birth and his or her perception of his or her ability to communicate in English (speak, read, and write) signifying that both students whose primary home language was not English and students who were not born in Canada, considered themselves, on average, to be weaker in these skills than did students whose primary home language was English. Although this finding was noteworthy, the two most significant findings were the association found between a student's English entry placement level and the number of English courses failed and the association between the parents' place of birth and the student's likelihood of succeeding in both his or her English and Humanities courses. According to the research results, the mean number of English courses failed, on average, by students placed in the lowest entry level of College English was significantly different from the number of English courses failed by students placed in any of the other entry level English courses. In this sample students who were placed in the lowest entry level of College English failed, on average, at least three times as many English courses as those placed in any of the other English entry level courses. These results are significant enough that they will be brought to the attention of the appropriate College administration. The results of this research also appeared to indicate that the most significant determining factor in a student's likelihood of completing his or her English and Humanities courses is his or her parents' place of birth (both-born-in-Canada or not-both-born-in-Canada). Students who had at least one parent who was not born in Canada, would, on average, fail a significantly higher number of English courses, be significantly more likely to still have at least one English course left to complete by the end of the 5th semester, fail a significantly higher number of Humanities courses, be significantly more likely to still have at least one Humanities course to complete by the end of the 5th semester and have significantly more combined English and Humanities courses to complete at the end of their 5th semester than students with both parents born in Canada. This strong association between students' parents' place of birth and their likelihood of succeeding in their English and Humanities courses within the three years of their program appears to indicate that acculturation may be a more significant factor than either language or high school averages, for which no significant association was found for any of the English and Humanities related dependent variables. Although the sample size for this research was only 60 students and more research needs to be conducted in this area, to see if these results are supported with other groups within the College, these results are still significant. If the College can identify, at admission, the students who will be more likely to have difficulty in completing their English and Humanities courses, the College will now have the opportunity to intercede during or before the first semester, and offer these students the support they require in order to increase their chances of success in their education, whether it be classes or courses designed to meet their specific needs, special mentoring, tutoring or other forms of support. With the necessary support, the identified students will have a greater opportunity of successfully completing their programs within the scheduled three years, while at the same time the College will have improved its capacity to meeting the needs of its students.

L'Intégration d'un Module d'Étude Internet Dans la Classe de Comptabilité: Perceptions des Élèves et les Résultats Académiques

Implemented in the context of Business Administration students enrolled in a college level three year technology program, this research investigated students’ perceptions and academic results concurrent with the implementation of an online web module designed to facilitate student self-study. The students involved in this research were enrolled in a program that, while offering a broad education in business disciplines, specialized in the field of accounting. As a result, students were enrolled in academically rigorous accounting courses in each of the six semesters of the program. The weighting of these accounting courses imposes a significant self-study component – typically matching or exceeding the time spent in class. In this context many of the students enrolled in the Business Administration Program have faced difficulties completing the self-study component of the course effectively as demonstrated in low homework completion rates, low homework grade averages and ultimately low success rates in the courses. In an attempt to address this situation this research studied the implementation of a web-based self-study module. Through this module students could access a number of learning tools that were designed to facilitate the self-study process under the premise that more effective self-study learning tools will help remove obstacles and provide more timely confirmation of learning during student self-study efforts. This research collected data from a single cohort of students drawn from the first three sequential accounting courses of the Business Administration Program. The web-based self-study module was implemented in the third of the three sequential accounting courses. The first two of these courses implemented a traditional manual self-study environment. Data collected from the three accounting courses included homework completion rates, homework, exam and final grades for the respective courses. In addition the web-study module allowed the automatic reporting of student usage of a number of specific online learning tools. To complement the academic data, students were surveyed to gain insight into their perceptions of the effectiveness of the web-based system. The research provided a number of interesting insights. First among these was a confirmation of the importance of the self-study process in the academic achievement of the learners. Regardless of the self-study environment, manual or web-enhanced, a significant positive correlation existed between the students’ self-study results, demonstrated in both homework completion rates and homework averages and the corresponding final grades. These results confirm the importance of self-study found generally in the prevailing academic literature regarding students enrolled in higher education. In addition, the web-enhanced learning environment implemented during the third accounting course coincided with significantly higher homework completion rates and corresponding homework averages: homework completion rates in particular increased from a combined average of 63% in the first two accounting courses to 93% in the web-enhanced context of the third accounting course. Moreover, the homework completion rates of the web-enhanced course were evenly distributed across the cohort of students. A quartile-based analysis was subsequently completed. Quartiles were constructed by ranking the students according to their combined average homework completion rates from the first two manual self-study courses, Accounting I and II. The quartile-based homework completion rates for the manual self-study courses Accounting I and II were subsequently compared to the results these same quartiles of students achieved in the web-based self-study within Accounting III. While the first two courses demonstrated significantly uneven homework completion rates across the quartiles ranging from 31% to 91% homework completion rates, the differences among the four quartiles within the web-enhanced module, with an average homework completion rate of 93%, were statistically insignificant. Congruent with the positive academic results observed in the third, web-enhanced course, through the corresponding survey, students expressed a strong attitude in favor of the online self-study environment. This research was designed to add to the existing research that studies the implementation of learning in an online setting. Specifically, the research was designed to explore a middle ground of online learning – a web-enhanced course – a context that supplements the classroom experience rather than replacing it. The web-enhanced accounting course demonstrated impressive favorable results, both academically and in terms of students' perception of the system; these results suggest that a web-enhanced environment can provide learning tools that facilitate the self-study process while providing a structured learning environment that can help developing learners reach their potential.

How are Canadian universities training and supporting undergraduate medical, physiotherapy and occupational students for global health experiences in international low-resource settings?

Abstract : OBJECTIVES : Canadian medical (MD), physiotherapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) students increasingly show an interest in global health experiences (GHEs). As certain moral hazards can occur as a result of student GHEs, a growing consensus exists that universities must have an established selection process, in-depth pre-departure training (PDT), adequate onsite supervision and formal debriefing for their students. This study aimed at identifying current practices in Canadian MD, PT and OT programs and discussing areas for improvement by comparing them with recommendations found in the literature. METHODS : Canadian MD, PT and OT programs (n = 45) were invited to answer an online survey about their current practices for GHE support and training. The survey included 24 close-ended questions and 18 open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics and a thematic analysis were performed on the data and results were discussed with recommendations found in the literature. RESULTS : Twenty-three programs responded to the survey. Student selection processes varied across universities; examples included using academic performance, interviews and motivation letters. All but 1 MD program had mandatory PDT; content and teaching formats varied, as did training duration (2-38 hours). All but 1 MD program had onsite supervision; local clinicians were frequently involved. Debriefing, although not systematic, covered similar content; debriefing was variable in duration (1-8 hours). CONCLUSIONS : Many current practices are encouraging but areas for improvement exist. Integrating global health content into the regular curriculum with advanced study option in global health for students participating in GHEs could help universities standardize support and training.

Les critères d'enseignement de la calligraphie prescrits dans les programmes d'études officiels au Canada.

Après avoir œuvré dans le milieu scolaire auprès d'élèves des cycles primaires, j'ai choisi, en septembre 2008, d'entreprendre des études de 2e cycle en éducation afin de parfaire mes connaissances dans le domaine de l'apprentissage et de l'enseignement de l'écriture aux cycles primaires. Le besoin de me spécialiser dans ce domaine s'est imposé de lui-même en raison du grand nombre d'élèves de mon entourage aux prises avec des difficultés d'écriture, notamment en rédaction de textes. Ainsi, me préoccupaient énormément, la brièveté mais surtout la faible qualité des textes écrits, notamment le peu de cohérence entre les idées, la piètre structure des textes, le peu de considération pour le plan élaboré auparavant, les nombreuses erreurs d'orthographe de même que la transcription lente et laborieuse dont font preuve certains élèves. Le présent projet de recherche vise justement à dégager la place explicite accordée à l'enseignement de la calligraphie au Canada en examinant le contenu des programmes d'études officiels utilisés aux cycles primaires.

Estimated Disability-adjusted Life Years Averted By Long-term Provision Of Long Acting Contraceptive Methods In A Brazilian Clinic.

What is the contribution of the provision, at no cost for users, of long acting reversible contraceptive methods (LARC; copper intrauterine device [IUD], the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system [LNG-IUS], contraceptive implants and depot-medroxyprogesterone [DMPA] injection) towards the disability-adjusted life years (DALY) averted through a Brazilian university-based clinic established over 30 years ago. Over the last 10 years of evaluation, provision of LARC methods and DMPA by the clinic are estimated to have contributed to DALY averted by between 37 and 60 maternal deaths, 315-424 child mortalities, 634-853 combined maternal morbidity and mortality and child mortality, and 1056-1412 unsafe abortions averted. LARC methods are associated with a high contraceptive effectiveness when compared with contraceptive methods which need frequent attention; perhaps because LARC methods are independent of individual or couple compliance. However, in general previous studies have evaluated contraceptive methods during clinical studies over a short period of time, or not more than 10 years. Furthermore, information regarding the estimation of the DALY averted is scarce. We reviewed 50 004 medical charts from women who consulted for the first time looking for a contraceptive method over the period from 2 January 1980 through 31 December 2012. Women who consulted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Campinas, Brazil were new users and users switching contraceptive, including the copper IUD (n = 13 826), the LNG-IUS (n = 1525), implants (n = 277) and DMPA (n = 9387). Estimation of the DALY averted included maternal morbidity and mortality, child mortality and unsafe abortions averted. We obtained 29 416 contraceptive segments of use including 25 009 contraceptive segments of use from 20 821 new users or switchers to any LARC method or DMPA with at least 1 year of follow-up. The mean (± SD) age of the women at first consultation ranged from 25.3 ± 5.7 (range 12-47) years in the 1980s, to 31.9 ± 7.4 (range 16-50) years in 2010-2011. The most common contraceptive chosen at the first consultation was copper IUD (48.3, 74.5 and 64.7% in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, respectively). For an evaluation over 20 years, the cumulative pregnancy rates (SEM) were 0.4 (0.2), 2.8 (2.1), 4.0 (0.4) and 1.3 (0.4) for the LNG-IUS, the implants, copper IUD and DMPA, respectively and cumulative continuation rates (SEM) were 15.1 (3.7), 3.9 (1.4), 14.1 (0.6) and 7.3 (1.7) for the LNG-IUS, implants, copper IUD and DMPA, respectively (P < 0.001). Over the last 10 years of evaluation, the estimation of the contribution of the clinic through the provision of LARC methods and DMPA to DALY averted was 37-60 maternal deaths; between 315 and 424 child mortalities; combined maternal morbidity and mortality and child mortality of between 634 and 853, and 1056-1412 unsafe abortions averted. The main limitations are the number of women who never returned to the clinic (overall 14% among the four methods under evaluation); consequently the pregnancy rate could be different. Other limitations include the analysis of two kinds of copper IUD and two kinds of contraceptive implants as the same IUD or implant, and the low number of users of implants. In addition, the DALY calculation relies on a number of estimates, which may vary in different parts of the world. LARC methods and DMPA are highly effective and women who were well-counselled used these methods for a long time. The benefit of averting maternal morbidity and mortality, child mortality, and unsafe abortions is an example to health policy makers to implement more family planning programmes and to offer contraceptive methods, mainly LARC and DMPA, at no cost or at affordable cost for the underprivileged population. This study received partial financial support from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), grant # 2012/12810-4 and from the National Research Council (CNPq), grant #573747/2008-3. B.F.B., M.P.G., and V.M.C. were fellows from the scientific initiation programme from FAPESP. Since the year 2001, all the TCu380A IUD were donated by Injeflex, São Paulo, Brazil, and from the year 2006 all the LNG-IUS were donated by the International Contraceptive Access Foundation (ICA), Turku, Finland. Both donations are as unrestricted grants. The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest associated with this study.

A Decade Of Malaria During Pregnancy In Brazil: What Has Been Done Concerning Prevention And Management.

In Brazil, malaria remains a disease of major epidemiological importance because of the high number of cases in the Amazonian Region. Plasmodium spp infections during pregnancy are a significant public health problem with substantial risks for the pregnant woman, the foetus and the newborn child. In Brazil, the control of malaria during pregnancy is primarily achieved by prompt and effective treatment of the acute episodes. Thus, to assure rapid diagnosis and treatment for pregnant women with malaria, one of the recommended strategy for low transmission areas by World Health Organization and as part of a strategy by the Ministry of Health, the National Malaria Control Program has focused on integrative measures with woman and reproductive health. Here, we discuss the approach for the prevention and management of malaria during pregnancy in Brazil over the last 10 years (2003-2012) using morbidity data from Malaria Health Information System. Improving the efficiency and quality of healthcare and education and the consolidation of prevention programmes will be challenges in the control of malaria during pregnancy in the next decade.

Estudo das propostas de formação profissional desenvolvidas pala Faculdade de Educação Fisica de Santo Andre

Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Educação Física

Aspectos de formação e transição em programas para adolescentes e adultos portadores de deficiencia mental em instituições especializadas

Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Educação Física

Effects of human trampling on a rocky shore fauna on the Sao Paulo coast, southeastern Brazil

Increased tourist activity in coastal regions demands management strategies to reduce impacts on rocky shores. The highly populated coastal areas in southeastern Brazil are an example of degradation caused by development of industry and tourism. Among different shore impacts, trampling has been intensively studied, and may represent a significant source of stress for intertidal fauna. A randomised blocks design was applied to experimentally study the effects of two different trampling intensities on richness, diversity, density and biomass of the rocky shore fauna of Obuseiro beach, Guarujá, southeastern Brazil. Blocks were distributed in two portions of the intertidal zone, dominated respectively by Chthamalus bisinuatus (Cirripedia) and Isognomon bicolor (Bivalvia). Blocks were trampled over three months, simulating the vacation period in Brazil and were monitored for the following nine months. Results indicate that Chthamalus bisinuatus is vulnerable to trampling impacts. Richness, diversity and turn-over index tended to be higher in trampled plots four months after trampling ceased. In general, results agree with previous trampling studies, suggesting that even low intensities of trampling may cause some impact on intertidal communities. Management strategies should include isolation of sensitive areas, construction of boardwalks, visitor education and monitoring programmes. In Brazil, additional data obtained from experimental studies are necessary in order to achieve a better understanding of trampling impacts on rocky shore communities.

A qualidade das refeições de empresas cadastradas no Programa de Alimentação do Trabalhador na cidade de São Paulo

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a qualidade global das refeições oferecidas por Unidades de Alimentação e Nutrição de empresas beneficiárias do Programa de Alimentação do Trabalhador, na cidade de São Paulo. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal realizado com 72 empresas cadastradas no programa. Foram coletadas informações de três dias consecutivos das refeições oferecidas no almoço, no jantar e na ceia. A qualidade das refeições oferecidas foi avalia pelo Índice de Qualidade da Refeição, e sua análise foi feita de forma estratificada segundo o perfil da empresa obtido pela análise de cluster. RESULTADOS: A média do Índice de Qualidade da Refeição para as grandes refeições foi de 66,25. Foram obtidos dois grupos de empresas na análise de cluster. As empresas do primeiro, composto em sua maioria por empresas do setor de comércio de micro e pequeno porte, cadastradas na modalidade de autogestão e sem supervisão de nutricionista, obtiveram pior qualidade da refeição (Índice=56,23). As empresas do segundo cluster, constituído principalmente por empresas de médio e grande porte do setor industrial, com gestão terceirizada e supervisão de nutricionista, obtiveram pontuação média do Índice de 82,95. CONCLUSÃO: As refeições oferecidas pelas empresas participantes do Programa de Alimentação do Trabalhador não estavam adequadas, segundo o Índice de Qualidade da Refeição. As empresas de menor porte e estrutura tiveram refeições de pior qualidade quando comparadas com as demais, demonstrando que empresas deste perfil são prioritárias para intervenções dentro do Programa de Alimentação do Trabalhador.

Situação epidemiológica da brucelose bovina no Estado de Minas Gerais

Realizou-se um estudo para caracterizar a situação epidemiológica da brucelose bovina no Estado de Minas Gerais. O Estado foi estratificado em sete circuitos produtores. Em cada circuito foram amostradas aleatoriamente cerca de 300 propriedades e, dentro dessas, foi escolhido, de forma aleatória, um número pré-estabelecido de animais, dos quais foi obtida uma amostra de sangue. No total, foram amostrados 20.643 animais, provenientes de 2.204 propriedades. Em cada propriedade visitada aplicou-se um questionário epidemiológico para verificar o tipo de exploração e as práticas zootécnicas e sanitárias que poderiam estar associadas ao risco de infecção pela doença. O protocolo de testes utilizado foi o da triagem com o teste do antígeno acidificado tamponado e a confirmação dos positivos com o teste do 2-mercaptoetanol. O rebanho foi considerado positivo, se pelo menos um animal foi reagente às duas provas sorológicas. As prevalências de focos e de animais infectados do Estado foram de 6,0% [5,0-7,1%] e 1,1% [0,78-1,4%], respectivamente. Os resultados para os circuitos pecuários da prevalência de focos e de animais foram: circuito 1, 4,7% [2,7-7,7%] e 0,82% [0,06-1,6%]; circuito 2, 7,2% [4,6-10,6%] e 1,2% [0,53-1,8%]; circuito 3, 6,8% [4,3-10,0%] e 1,5% [0,47-2,4%]; circuito 4, 6,5% [4,1-9,8%] e 1,1% [0,39-1,7%]; circuito 5, 3,8% [2,0-6,5%] e 0,40% [0,11-0,69%]; circuito 6, 6,2% [3,8-9,6%] e 0,66% [0,29-1,0%]; circuito 7, 11,0% [7,7-15,0%] e 1,7% [0,92-2,6%], respectivamente. Os fatores de risco (odds ratio, OR) associados à condição de foco foram: compra de reprodutores (OR = 1,66 [1,13-2,44]), ocorrência de aborto nos últimos 12 meses (OR = 1,81 [1,26-2,60]) e presença de cervídeos na propriedade (OR = 1,56 [1,08-2,27]). A vacinação contra brucelose foi identificada como fator protetor (OR = 0,38 [0,19-0,79]). Concluiu-se que o programa obrigatório de vacinação de bezerras, iniciado na década de 1990, está sendo eficaz ao reduzir a prevalência em todo o Estado e em todos os sistemas de produção animal. As autoridades sanitárias devem priorizar o controle da compra de animais para reprodução, que não apresentem garantias sanitárias e incorporar essa medida às ações de educativas.