Cross-cultural adaptation of the Work Disability Diagnosis Interview (WoDDI) for the Brazilian context

The Work Disability Diagnosis Interview (WoDDI) is a structured interview guide developed by the University of Sherbrooke, Canada to help clinicians detect the most important work-related disability predictors and to identify one or more causes of prolonged absenteeism. This methodological study aims for the cross-cultural adaptation of the WoDDI for the Brazilian context. The method followed international guidelines for studies of this kind, including the following steps: initial translation, synthesis of translations, back translation, evaluation by an expert committee and testing of the penultimate version. These steps allowed obtaining conceptual, semantic, idiomatic, experiential and operational equivalences, in addition to content validity. The results showed that the translated WoDDI is adapted to the Brazilian context and can be used after training.

Academic and clinical preparation in speech-language pathology and audiology: a global training consortium

ABSTRACT: Purpose: To describe a research-based global curriculum in speech-language pathology and audiology that is part of a funded cross-linguistic consortium among 2 U.S. and 2 Brazilian universities. Method: The need for a global curriculum in speechlanguage pathology and audiology is outlined, and different funding sources are identified to support development of a global curriculum. The U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), in conjunction with the Brazilian Ministry of Education (Fundacao Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior; CAPES), funded the establishment of a shared research curriculum project, “Consortium for Promoting Cross-Linguistic Understanding of Communication Disabilities in Children” for East Tennessee State University and the University of Northern Iowa and 2 Brazilian universities (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria and Universidade de São Paulo-Baurú). Results: The goals and objectives of the research-based global curriculum are summarized, and a description of an Internet-based course, “Different Languages, One World,” is provided Conclusion: Partnerships such as the FIPSE–CAPES consortium provide a foundation for training future generations of globally and research-prepared practitioners in speechlanguage pathology and audiology.

Contribuições da Psicologia Histórico-Cultural para a formação e atuação do psicólogo em contexto de Educação Inclusiva

Este texto objetiva discutir contribuições da Psicologia Histórico-Cultural para a formação e a atuação do psicólogo junto à educação, num contexto de Educação Inclusiva. Destacam-se os fundamentos e princípios da educação para pessoas com deficiência, bem como postulados da teoria de Vigotski referentes à formação e à atuação dos psicólogos. Considera-se que a perspectiva teórica elaborada pelo autor soviético contribui por: destacar a transitoriedade dos eventos e fenômenos; atrelar o mundo das ideias, valores e representações à vida objetiva e à prática social; relacionar propostas educacionais a um dado projeto de sociedade; defender a possibilidade do desvendamento da constituição social do psiquismo e da possível intervenção sobre a mesma; requisitar uma condição de desenvolvimento humano sobre o patamar do homem cultural e livre. Por fim, destaca-se o fato de que a Educação Inclusiva deve se referir ao processo de apropriação e usufruto das produções humanas mais complexas, elaboradas nas diferentes áreas da vida e do conhecimento.

Starch distribution in pear tree organs in relation to training systems, rootstocks and fruit quality

Starch is the main form in which plants store carbohydrates reserves, both in terms of amounts and distribution among different plant species. Carbohydrates are direct products of photosynthetic activity, and it is well know that yield efficiency and production are directly correlated to the amount of carbohydrates synthesized and how these are distributed among vegetative and reproductive organs. Nowadays, in pear trees, due to the modernization of orchards, through the introduction of new rootstocks and the development of new training systems, the understanding and the development of new approaches regarding the distribution and storage of carbohydrates, are required. The objective of this research work was to study the behavior of carbohydrate reserves, mainly starch, in different pear tree organs and tissues: i.e., fruits, leaves, woody organs, roots and flower buds, at different physiological stages during the season. Starch in fruit is accumulated at early stages, and reached a maximum concentration during the middle phase of fruit development; after that, its degradation begins with a rise in soluble carbohydrates. Moreover, relationships between fruit starch degradation and different fruit traits, soluble sugars and organic acids were established. In woody organs and roots, an interconversion between starch and soluble carbohydrates was observed during the dormancy period that confirms its main function in supporting the growth and development of new tissues during the following spring. Factors as training systems, rootstocks, types of bearing wood, and their position on the canopy, influenced the concentrations of starch and soluble carbohydrates at different sampling dates. Also, environmental conditions and cultural practices must be considered to better explain these results. Thus, a deeper understanding of the dynamics of carbohydrates reserves within the plant could provide relevant information to improve several management practices to increase crop yield efficiency.

Influence of plant structure, cultural pratices and environmental conditions on the development of the bacterial canker of kiwifruits

Italy has a preeminent rank in kiwifruit industry, being the first exporter and the second largest producer after China. However, in the last years kiwifruit yields and the total cultivated area considerably decreased, due to the pandemic spread of the bacterial canker caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa). Several climatic conditions and cultural practices affect the development of the bacterial canker. This research work focused on the impact of agricultural practices and microclimate conditions on the incidence and epidemiology of Psa in the orchard. Therefore, the effect of fertilization, irrigation, use of bio-regulators, rootstock, training system and pruning were examined. The effect of different tunnel systems was analyzed as well, to study the plant-pathogen interaction. Considering the importance of insects as vectors in other pathosystems, the role of Metcalfa pruinosa in the spread of the bacterial canker was investigated in controlled conditions. In addition, quality and storage properties of fruits from infected plants were assessed. The study of all these aspects of the agronomic practices is useful to define a strategy to limit the bacterial diffusion in the orchard. Overall, excess nitrogen fertilization, water stress, stagnant water supplies, pruning before summer and the high number of Metcalfa pruinosa increased the Psa incidence. In contrast, tunnel covers may be useful for the control of the disease, with special attention to the kind of material.

Training synaesthesia

Abstract. Synaesthetic inducers such as graphemes are typically cultural artifacts. Thus, a learning component seems evident in synaesthesia (Simner et al, 2009 Brain 132 57 – 64). Normally, synaesthetes report to have their experiences since they can remember. Nevertheless, a recent training study suggests that synaesthesia can be mimicked in non-synaesthetes. To date, the role of learning during the development of synaesthesia is still debated. It is not clear whether synaesthesia can be learned or trained at all. To address this question, we compared a non-adaptive and an adaptive training for their effectiveness. We assessed their impact on two types of priming tasks, before and after the training. We found stronger priming in the adaptive training group suggesting that adaptive training is more efficient to mimic synaesthesia.

SOCIAL CULTURAL FACTORS IN HIV/AIDS TRANSMISSION AMONG WOMEN IN RWANDA

This study examines the social cultural factors that influence HIV/AIDS transmission among women in RWANDA and especially in RUGALIKA sector. Some of those social cultural factors we can say marriage, polygamy, early marriage, poverty, religious beliefs, lack of access to productive resources and lack of education and training. The objectives of the study were to identify the social cultural factors which influence in HIV transmission among women and the constraint of HIV/AIDS among women and to find out how those constraint can be overcome and also to identify the measures that could be take for more prevent the spread of HIV infection to the women and to the all people in general. The research contains 5chapters which are: 1st chapter: general conclusion; 2nd chapter: literature review; 3rd chapter: research methodology; 4th chapter: data analysis and interpretation and the 5th chapter is general conclusion and recommendation. This research was conducted in RUGALIKA sector which has about 2990 women aged between 21 35 years old and thus a sample of 290 women was selected in different region of RUGALIKA sector. After the interpretation of the findings; the most vulnerable group is the women aged between 31-35 years; the vulnerability is due to different factors but most of them we have: poverty issues, polygamy, lack of access to productive resources, lack of education and training, religious beliefs and we cannot forget the physiological factors. After the genocide of 1994, Rwanda has known many orphans; and in RUGALIKA sector young women and girls are often to be sexual exploited in order to survive.

Increasing intercultural competence and tolerance in multicultural schools: A Training Program and its effectiveness

This study reports the implementation of a Training of Intercultural Competence and Tolerance (TICT) for upper-secondary school students and the empirical evaluation of its effectiveness. The TICT program was developed to counteract increasing interethnic conflicts in the North Caucasus Federal District of Russia. It is based on the theoretical and empirical framework of social psychology and cross-cultural psychology. The training effectiveness was assessed by conducting pre- and post-surveys among the training participants. The results indicate that TICT contributes to the development of a positive ethnic identity and the formation of a civic identity among the participating youth. It also increases their optimism regarding the future of interethnic relations in Russia and the subjective level of intercultural competence of majority group youth towards minority cultures. Thus, the evaluation of the training effectiveness of the TICT has shown that the aims of the training have been achieved to a large extent and that the Training of Intercultural Competence and Tolerance can be effectively used to prevent interethnic conflicts and promote interethnic relations in multicultural schools. Suggestions for the practical implementation of the TICT as well as for future research on the training's effectiveness are discussed.

Acquiring synaesthesia: insights from training studies

Synaesthesia denotes a condition of remarkable individual differences in experience characterized by specific additional experiences in response to normal sensory input. Synaesthesia seems to (i) run in families which suggests a genetic component, (ii) is associated with marked structural and functional neural differences, and (iii) is usually reported to exist from early childhood. Hence, synaesthesia is generally regarded as a congenital phenomenon. However, most synaesthetic experiences are triggered by cultural artifacts (e.g., letters, musical sounds). Evidence exists to suggest that synaesthetic experiences are triggered by the conceptual representation of their inducer stimuli. Cases were identified for which the specific synaesthetic associations are related to prior experiences and large scale studies show that grapheme-color associations in synaesthesia are not completely random. Hence, a learning component is inherently involved in the development of specific synaesthetic associations. Researchers have hypothesized that associative learning is the critical mechanism. Recently, it has become of scientific and public interest if synaesthetic experiences may be acquired by means of associative training procedures and whether the gains of these trainings are associated with similar cognitive benefits as genuine synaesthetic experiences. In order to shed light on these issues and inform synaesthesia researchers and the general interested public alike, we provide a comprehensive literature review on developmental aspects of synaesthesia and specific training procedures in non-synaesthetes. Under the light of a clear working definition of synaesthesia, we come to the conclusion that synaesthesia can potentially be learned by the appropriate training.

Gender and language in online job advertisements - a cross-cultural study

The aim of this project is to investigate the use of gender-fair language from a cross-linguistic perspective. Specifically, we are interested in whether the use of gender-fair language correlates with socio-economic rankings of gender equality and with structural features of a language. We decided to analyze online job advertisements, as they reflect common language use and can easily be compared across languages. Moreover, formulations in job advertisements have been shown to impact personnel selection via the way target groups are addressed and referred to. In the present study we examined to what extent job advertisements are formulated in a gender-fair way and how this correlates with factors such as language, culture as well as status and gender-typicality of the job advertised. The data consisted of job advertisements published online in four European countries which occupy different positions in socio-economic rankings of gender equality (World Economic Forum, 2011): Switzerland (10), Austria (rank 34), Poland (42), and Czech Republic (75). We randomly selected 100 job advertisements from four lines of business characterized by different proportions of female employees – steels/metals, science, restaurants/food services, and health care. The advertisements were analyzed with regard to the linguistic form of the job title and the remaining text; we also noted indicators of job status, reference to gender-typical traits, pictures of women/men and other information which might be relevant to the use of gender-fair language (e.g., equal opportunity policies). A first analysis of the data indicates that the phrasing of job titles is closely related to the gender-typicality of a profession. While mainly gender-fair forms are used in healthcare, masculine forms are used more often in the domain of steels and metals. Feminine forms only, however, are almost never used. Cultural differences as well as correlations with associated variables will be discussed.

Competence Training in Higher Education: The case of the Technological Master "Prestación de Servicios Profesionales" from the Colegio de Postgraduados (México).

The Competency-Based Education in the context of training is intended as a comprehensive approach that seeks to link education with the productive sector and increase the potential of individuals, in the face of social, economic, political and cultural transformations that suffers the world and the contemporary society; this is how educational services associated to the rural area takes part of the global revalorization of the role of learning and knowledge. Under the competence approach and taking into account the CONOCER model, we design a Technological Master from the “Colegio de Postgraduados” identifying the competences needed so that the students, professional from different areas of knowledge, managed to develop them, but mainly to achieve the goal of developing the capacities of producers in Mexican rural area.

Sensibilizar para a diversidade linguística e cultural no pré-escolar

Relatório de estágio apresentado para obtenção do grau de mestre na especialidade profissional de educação pré-escolar

A diversidade cultural e as suas implicações no processo de ensino e aprendizagem : como integrar a diversidade na educação de infância

Relatório de estágio apresentado para obtenção do grau de mestre na especialidade profissional de Educação pré-escolar

Adaptação cultural e validação da Compliance with Standard Precautions Scale (CSPS) para enfermeiros brasileiros

Introdução: As precauções-padrão (PP) constituem um conjunto de medidas que têm como finalidade minimizar o risco de transmissão ocupacional de patógenos, sendo indispensável sua utilização por profissionais de saúde, sobretudo pelos enfermeiros. No entanto, a não adesão às PP constitui problemática amplamente discutida em todo o mundo. Embora haja diversos estudos brasileiros que visem avaliar a adesão às PP , ainda tem-se observado grande fragilidade no processo de construção e de validação dos instrumentos utilizados para avaliação deste construto. Objetivo: Realizar a adaptação cultural e validação da Compliance with Standard Precautions Scale (CSPS) para enfermeiros brasileiros. Metodologia: Trata-se de um estudo metodológico para a adaptação e validação da CSPS. Essa escala é composta por 20 itens com quatro opções de respostas, e destina-se a avaliar a adesão às PP. O processo de adaptação consistiu em Tradução, Consenso entre Juízes, Retrotradução e Validação Semântica. A primeira etapa foi a tradução do idioma original para o português do Brasil. Após foi realizado um comitê composto por sete juízes, a versão de consenso obtida na etapa anterior foi traduzida novamente para o idioma de origem. Foram avaliadas as propriedades psicométricas do instrumento, considerando-se as validades de face e de conteúdo, a validade de construto e a confiabilidade. A versão para o Português do Brasil da CSPS (CSPS-PB) foi aplicada em uma amostra de 300 enfermeiros que atuam na assistência a pacientes em um hospital localizado na cidade de São Paulo/SP. A confiabilidade foi avaliada por meio da consistência interna (alfa de Cronbach) e teste reteste (coeficiente de correlação intraclasse - ICC). Para a validação de construto, foi utilizada a comparação entre grupos diferentes, análise fatorial exploratória e análise fatorial confirmatória, segundo o Modelo de Equações Estruturais (SEM). Utilizou-se o software IBM® SPSS, 19.0. Para a análise fatorial confirmatória foi utilizado o módulo específico Analysis of Moment Structures (IBM® SPSS AMOS). Para a análise paralela utilizou-se o programa RanEigen Syntax. O nível de significância adotado foi ? = 0,05. Todos os aspectos éticos foram contemplados. Resultados: A tradução realizada por tradutores juramentados garantiu qualidade a esse processo. A validação de face e de conteúdo possibilitou a realização de modificações pertinentes e imperativas a fim de atender aos critérios de equivalências conceituais, idiomáticas, culturais e semânticas. Obteve-se ?=0,61 na avaliação da consistência interna, indicando confiabilidade satisfatória. O ICC indicou uma correlação de 0,87 quase perfeita para o teste reteste duas semanas após a primeira abordagem, conferindo estabilidade satisfatória. A validade de construto mostrou que a CSPS-PB foi capaz de discriminar as médias de adesão às PP entre grupos distintos referente à idade (F=5,15 p<=0,01), ao tempo de experiência clínica (F = 8,9 p<= 0,000) e a ter recebido treinamento (t = 2,48 p<=0,01). Na análise fatorial confirmatória, o modelo foi subidentificado. A análise fatorial exploratória indicou que todos os itens apresentaram cargas fatoriais adequadas (>=0,30), sendo identificados quatro fatores pela análise paralela. O total de variância explicada foi de 35,48%. Conclusão: A CSPS-PB, trata-se de um instrumento adequado, confiável e válido para medir a adesão às PP entre enfermeiros brasileiros

A Human Resource Training Program for Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have increased in the twenty-first century; however, the majority of cross-border mergers fail to achieve their financial objectives. Nonetheless, the number of merger failures has not stopped organizations from undertaking mergers. There are multiple sources and types of conflict associated with merger failure, which can all be traced back to the facts that human resource departments have not been utilized effectively and that there has been a lack of planning during the M&A process. Thus, this capstone proposes a training program as a reference for human resource departments to apply best practices for planning, training, and evaluating during the process of M&As, which will help potentially alleviate conflicts during the merger period.