Les pràctiques d'FP com a eina de formacio i d'insercio en el mercat de treball

Quan analitzem I'evolució del nostre país en el camp educatiu, particularment en el camp de la formació, comprovarem que ha seguit un camí que, almenys en certa mesura, ha anat relacionat amb I'evolució económica i social, sense que aixó hagi d'implicar cap dependencia directa ni una total coordinació: de fet, cada subsistema social té la seva própia dinamica i les seves inercies...

Espiritualitat: heterodòxia i punt de trobada, un actiu per a l’educació social

El món occidental contemporani està desvetllant un interès creixent per les necessitats no materials de la persona, el que podríem anomenar interioritat o espiritualitat. Hem passat de la lluita col·lectiva i del compromís social al culte del jo, i es fa palesa la necessitat de tenir cura de la dimensió interior des d’una visió no religiosa de la persona, que ha de conviure amb les tradicions religioses que poblen les ciutats. L’afirmació que l’espiritualitat és una dimensió pròpia de l’ésser humà és cada vegada més acceptada per una majoria de persones. En aquest sentit, la religiositat, com a conjunt de creences que donen peu a una determinada visió de la vida, és una manera determinada de concretar l’espiritualitat. Aquest escenari afegeix al model bio-psico-social de les ciències humanes, sobre el qual s’ha basat la formació dels educadors socials, un quart pilar, el que fa referència a la dimensió espiritual.

Improving breast cancer education: the case of an evolving multidisciplinary module for undergraduate medical students (lausanne medical school, 1993-2008).

Breast cancer is a public health issue in numerous countries. Multidisciplinary collaboration is required for patient care, research, and also education of future physicians. This paper uses Kern's framework for curriculum design to demonstrate how a breast diseases module for undergraduate medical students created in 1993 evolved over 15 years. The main outcomes of program refinements were better integrated course content, the development of electronic course documents, and implementation of computer-aided small group learning. A main future challenge is to further develop efficient instructional strategies in line with well-defined learning needs for undergraduate students.

A matter of time: delayed mate encounter postpones mating window initiation and reduces the strength of female choosiness

Reproductive success is determined by the presence and timing of encounter of mates. The latter depends on species-specific reproductive characteristics (e.g. initiation/duration of the mating window), season, and reproductive strategies (e.g. intensity of choosiness) that may potentially mitigate constraints imposed by mating windows. Despite their potentially crucial role for fitness and population dynamics, limited evidence exists about mating window initiation, duration and reproductive strategies. Here, we experimentally tested the mechanisms of initiation and the duration of the common lizard's Zootoca vivipara mating window, by manipulating the timing of mate encounter and analyzing its effect on (re-)mating probability. We furthermore tested treatment effects on female reproductive strategies, by measuring female choosiness. The timing of mate encounter and season did not significantly affect mating probability. However, a longer delay until mate encounter reduced female choosiness. Re-mating probability decreased with re-mating delay and was independent of mating delay. This indicates that mating window initiation depends on mate encounter, that its duration is fixed, and that plastic reproductive strategies exist. These findings contrast with previous beliefs and shows that mating windows per se may not necessarily constrain reproductive success, which is congruent with rapid range expansion and absence of positive density-effects on reproductive success (Allee effects). In summary, our results show that predicting the effect of mating windows on reproduction is complex and that experimental evidence is essential for evaluating their effect on reproduction and reproductive strategies, both being important determinants of population dynamics and the colonization of new habitats.

Stereotypes of Age Differences in Personality Traits: Universal and Accurate?

Age trajectories for personality traits are known to be similar across cultures. To address whether stereotypes of age groups reflect these age-related changes in personality, we asked participants in 26 countries (N = 3,323) to rate typical adolescents, adults, and old persons in their own country. Raters across nations tended to share similar beliefs about different age groups; adolescents were seen as impulsive, rebellious, undisciplined, preferring excitement and novelty, whereas old people were consistently considered lower on impulsivity, activity, antagonism, and Openness. These consensual age group stereotypes correlated strongly with published age differences on the five major dimensions of personality and most of 30 specific traits, using as criteria of accuracy both self-reports and observer ratings, different survey methodologies, and data from up to 50 nations. However, personal stereotypes were considerably less accurate, and consensual stereotypes tended to exaggerate differences across age groups.

Case-based learning in VTLE: An effective strategy for improving learning design

This article presents preliminary research from an instructional design perspective on the design of the case method as an integral part of pedagogy and technology. Key features and benefitsusing this teaching and learning strategy in a Virtual Teaching and Learning Environment(VTLE) are identified, taking into account the requirements of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) for a competence-based curricula design. The implications of these findings for alearning object approach exploring the possibilities of learning personalization, reusability and interoperability trough IMS LD, are also analyzed.

LMS y web 2.0 una relación simbiótica en las aulas universitarias Diseño e integración de actividades pedagógicas 2.0 en una plataforma Blackboard

Peer-reviewed

Technology educational affordance: Bridging the gap between patterns of interaction and technology usage

Peer-reviewed

Quality of Learners' Time and Learning Performance Beyond Quantitative Time-on-Task

Peer-reviewed

LMS y web 2.0 una relación simbiótica en las aulas universitarias. Diseño e integración de actividades pedagógicas 2.0 en una plataforma Blackboard

Peer-reviewed

Partisan Cleavages and Distributive Preferences in Chile

Beliefs about how goods and resources should be distributed in society constitute a central element in the identification with political parties. In this sense, the preference for a more or less active role of the state in redistribution is expected to be related with different party identifications and with the left-right continuum. The present article challenges this assumption, proposing that processes of ideological destructuration have led to that party identification does not constitute a current political cleavage in Chile. The data to be analyzed correspond to the International Social Survey Programme survey implemented in Chile in 1999 and 2009. Results indicate there are scarce differences in distributional preferences by the identification with political parties.

The assessment of spirituality and religiousness in schizophrenia.

To assess religious coping in schizophrenia, we developed and tested a clinical grid, as no validated questionnaire exists for this population. One hundred fifteen outpatients were interviewed. Results obtained by 2 clinicians were compared. Religion was central in the lives of 45% of patients, 60% used religion extensively to cope with their illness. Religion is a multifaceted construct. Principal component analysis elicited 4 factors: subjective dimension, collective dimension, synergy with psychiatric treatment, and ease of talking about religion with psychiatrist. Different associations were found between these factors and psychopathology, substance abuse, and psychosocial adaptation. The high prevalence of spirituality and religious coping clearly indicates the necessity of addressing spirituality in patient care. Our clinical grid is suitable for this purpose. It proved its applicability to a broad diversity of religious beliefs, even pathological ones. Interjudge reliability and construct validity were high and specific training is not required.

Termination of pregnancy among teenagers - why more surgical terminations?

Introduction: In 2012, a study by K. Chatziioannidou and S-C. Renteria showed that teenagers chose to undergo a surgical termination of pregnancy (TOP) more often than a medical TOP (mifepristone followed by misoprostol) when they decided to terminate a pregnancy. It also showed that the teenagers' choice for a medical versus surgical method is inversely proportional to the adults' choice although the efficiency of the medical method showed even better results for teenagers than for adults. According to the hypothesis made, the reasons for this choice might be influenced by the following facts: (i) the belated call to make an appointment, the medical procedure not being available after 9 weeks of gestation; (ii) the imperative request for confidentiality; (iii) the beliefs and subjective appreciation of the medical staff. Objectives: The aim of this retrospective and qualitative study is to analyse the reasons why, in case of a TOP, teenagers chose the surgical method more often than their adult counterparts. Material: (i) All teenagers who were admitted for an abortive procedure during 2011 in the in- or outpatient ward. (ii) The professional team (midwives and sexual and reproductive counsellors) in charge in the case of a TOP request. Methods: The information about the patient's history and the biopsycho- social data was retrieved from the patient files filled out by midwives and sexual and reproductive health counsellors during the first appointment for a TOP request or during its process. The professionals' appreciation was evaluated by means of a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Concerning the choice of the method for a pregnancy termination, the results of our research show that: (i) Out of 47 teenagers, 27 chose the surgical method and 17 the medical method. (ii) Three had a second trimester abortion (which includes use of the medical method). (iii) Fifteen teenagers out of the 27 who chose a surgical method consulted between the 9th and 14th weeks of amenorrhoea and therefore did not have any other choice. The reasons for their 'late arrival' will be explained in detail. The 12 teenagers who arrived before the 8th week of amenorrhoea and chose to undertake abortion by suction & curettage under general anaesthesia did it for the following reasons: (i) Four were afraid of bleeding and pain. (ii) Five thought that the organisation of the surgical procedure was easier. (iii) Two did not trust the abortion pill. (iv) One was taken to her mother's gynaecologist where she had a D&C. Confidentiality was requested nine times out of 27 when choosing the surgical method, and six times out of 17 when choosing the medical method. Therefore, although confidentiality concerns a third of the teenagers' pregnancy termination requests, it does not seem to be a significant element for the choice of the method. As for the subjective appreciation of the professionals, the first results of the discussions seem to show that teenagers were reluctant or resistant towards the medical method. Conclusion: This study shows that the reasons why teenagers still prefer the use of the surgical over the medical method compared to adults, seem to include the late request for an appointment, fear of pain and bleeding and organisational issues. Confidentiality does not seem to greatly influence the teenagers' choice. Nonetheless, medical professionals seem to favour the suction curettage procedure performed under anesthesia because they associate young age with vulnerability and psychological frailty and consequently diminished ability to cope with pain and emotional distress during the medical procedures.

Three essays in incomplete contracts

General Introduction These three chapters, while fairly independent from each other, study economic situations in incomplete contract settings. They are the product of both the academic freedom my advisors granted me, and in this sense reflect my personal interests, and of their interested feedback. The content of each chapter can be summarized as follows: Chapter 1: Inefficient durable-goods monopolies In this chapter we study the efficiency of an infinite-horizon durable-goods monopoly model with a fmite number of buyers. We find that, while all pure-strategy Markov Perfect Equilibria (MPE) are efficient, there also exist previously unstudied inefficient MPE where high valuation buyers randomize their purchase decision while trying to benefit from low prices which are offered once a critical mass has purchased. Real time delay, an unusual monopoly distortion, is the result of this attrition behavior. We conclude that neither technological constraints nor concern for reputation are necessary to explain inefficiency in monopolized durable-goods markets. Chapter 2: Downstream mergers and producer's capacity choice: why bake a larger pie when getting a smaller slice? In this chapter we study the effect of downstream horizontal mergers on the upstream producer's capacity choice. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find anon-monotonic relationship: horizontal mergers induce a higher upstream capacity if the cost of capacity is low, and a lower upstream capacity if this cost is high. We explain this result by decomposing the total effect into two competing effects: a change in hold-up and a change in bargaining erosion. Chapter 3: Contract bargaining with multiple agents In this chapter we study a bargaining game between a principal and N agents when the utility of each agent depends on all agents' trades with the principal. We show, using the Potential, that equilibria payoffs coincide with the Shapley value of the underlying coalitional game with an appropriately defined characteristic function, which under common assumptions coincides with the principal's equilibrium profit in the offer game. Since the problem accounts for differences in information and agents' conjectures, the outcome can be either efficient (e.g. public contracting) or inefficient (e.g. passive beliefs).