Social Emotional Learning: A Case for Success

By performing a quantitative research study, this applied dissertation was designed to ascertain the difference between students’ self-efficacy who have been exposed to a curriculum that integrated social emotional learning (SEL) skills and those students who have not. Bandura’s social cognitive theory was used as the theoretical framework to demonstrate how SEL increases self-efficacy and motivation, which increases academic success. At the time of the study, one school (control school) was not implementing a SEL skills curriculum, while the other school (experimental school) was integrating Personalization for Academic and Social Emotional Learning (PASL), a social emotional learning strategy curriculum into the classroom. This study utilized 1007 junior students and forty-one teachers from these two different schools. Using the Likert scale, the subjects were asked to complete thirty survey questions based on five core social emotional learning competencies: social awareness, self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. An analysis of the data revealed positive outcomes on all five core social emotional learning skill competencies for those students who were exposed to a curriculum that incorporated SEL strategies, as opposed to those who were not exposed. This indicates that those students who possess social emotional learning skills have a greater self-efficacy, which can correlate to positive success in and out of the school system, which leads to successful and productive community members

La qualita' ed i suoi costi nell'ambito della gestione d'impresa

Il concetto di qualità ha da sempre suscitato un certo interesse sia nel mondo imprenditoriale che accademico; esso ha subito una profonda evoluzione, principalmente grazie al progresso tecnologico che ha sempre più diversificato esigenze ed aspettative dei consumatori. Inizialmente esso ero applicato esclusivamente ai prodotti materiali, ai processi produttivi ed ai servizi, ma è stato successivamente esteso all'intera organizzazione. Gli anni '90 hanno rappresentato per le aziende un momento di presa di conoscenza degli aspetti della qualità globale e un coinvolgimento di gran parte di esse nell'applicazione di una serie di metodologie operative e di nuove forme organizzative. Dovendo poi, la gestione aziendale,fondarsi su dati il più possibile certi ed analitici; è importante l'implementazione in azienda di un sistema di riduzione dei costi della non-qualità. Tale sistema suddiviso in fasi, prevede una iniziale analisi e classificazione dei costi in diverse categorie, una loro quantificazione ed uno studio che porteranno all’azienda numerosi vantaggi, sia di tipo competitivo, sia di tipo economico. abstract The concept of quality has always been some interest in both business and academic world: it has undergone profound changes, mainly due to technological progress that has increasingly diverse needs and expectations of consumers. Initially it was applied only to physical products, production processes and services, but was later extended to the entire organization. The 90 companies accounted for a moment of capture of knowledge of the quality of, and involvement of most of them in implementing a series of operational methods and new organizational forms. Having to then, the company management, based on data the maximum assurance and analytical, it is important to implement in the company of a system of reducing the costs of poor quality. This system divided into phases, provides an initial analysis and classification of costs into different categories, their quantification and a study that will bring many benefits to the company, either by competitiveness, and economic

Changes in perceived desirability and goodness of relationship as a function of being paired with attractive versus unattractive partners.

Regardless of a subject\u27s own level of physical appearance, it has been found that both male and female subjects tend to prefer and choose the most physically attractive dating partner from those available (Agoglia, 1969; Walster, Aronson, Abrahams, and Rottmann, 1966). This finding fails to confirm the plausible alternative hypothesis . that subjects would choose a dating partner of about equal physical attractiveness. Why does an individual, regardless of his own physical appearance, tend to choose the most nhysically attractive alternative presented to him (her) for a dating partner

Challenges and debates of critical environmental thinking in the new South American context : an analysis in historical key

Desde el presente proyecto se propone desarrollar un ejercicio de revisión crítica de los interrogantes sobre los que se erigen los principales tópicos de la corriente ambiental latinoamericana, con el objeto de vislumbrar los ribetes que asume sobre las consecuencias socioambientales de los modelos de desarrollo, acorde con las características del nuevo contexto social sudamericano. La materialización del debate propuesto, se llevará a cabo desde un análisis socio-histórico, tomando como marco teórico los aportes de la ecología política latinoamericana y la historia ambiental, considerando que desde esta perspectiva se profundizan los conocimientos de las diversas realidades de la región, dándole valor a singularidades históricas, sociales y ambientales. Todo lo cual resulta un desafío interesante para el análisis sociológico que asume como preocupación teórica la cuestión socio-ambiental. Para ello, en primera instancia se propone profundizar en el análisis de las etapas por las que transcurre la historia ambiental en la mayor parte de los países sudamericanos, específicamente en Argentina, estructurado sobre la relación que se establece entre sociedad/naturaleza, según los modelos productivos dominantes. Posteriormente, el estudio se enfocará en un análisis comparado de diferentes propuestas que emergen de la corriente ambiental crítica y que desde diversas perspectivas y enfoques epistemológicos proponen una alternativa de resolución de la problemática ambiental.From the present project, we propose to develop an exercise of critical review of the questions on which the main topics of the Latin American environmental are current erected, in order to glimpse the borders that it assumes on the socio-environmental consequences of the development models, in accordance with the characteristics of the new South American social context. The materialization of the proposed debate out will be carried from a socio-historical analysis, taking as theoretical framework the contributions of Latin American political ecology and environmental history, considering that from this perspective the knowledge of the different realities of the region is deepened, giving value to historical, social and environmental singularities. All of which is an interesting challenge for the sociological analysis that assumes the socio-environmental issue as a theoretical concern. For this, in the first instance we propose to deepen the analysis of the stages through which the environmental history takes place in most of the South American countries, specifically in Argentina. Structured on the relationship established between society/nature, according to the models dominant productive. Subsequently, the study will focus on a comparative analysis of different proposals that emerge from the critical environmental current and from different perspectives and epistemological approaches propose an alternative to solve environmental problems

Assessing the Adolescent and Adult Prefrontal Cortex Proteome for Mechanisms of Enhanced Vulnerability to Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a debilitating neurobiological disorder affecting millions of people in the United States and around the globe. Treatment options for alcoholism are limited, due in part to incomplete understanding of the development and molecular mechanisms that lead to alcohol addiction. Age of drinking onset is one of the most significant predictors of lifetime alcoholism risk, with individuals initiating alcohol use during adolescence at substantially increased risk for developing alcoholism than those who initiate drinking during early adulthood. However, the specific neurobiological mechanisms responsible for this increased risk remain elusive. Synaptic plasticity is a critical component of adolescent brain development, and evidence suggests that alcohol and other drugs of abuse may induce aberrant plasticity in the brain, leading to long-term changes in the response to these drugs. Thus, the goals of this dissertation were to characterize the development of the adolescent and adult prefrontal cortex, a region known to be involved in adolescent maturation and drug taking behavior, and assess the differences in how the adolescent and adult prefrontal cortex respond to the presence of alcohol at the protein-expression level. Several of the proteins regulated by age and alcohol are involved in synaptic plasticity, including the protein phosphatase calcineurin (PPP3R1), which displays increased expression during adolescence and reduced expression following alcohol drinking in the adolescent but not adult prefrontal cortex. Systemic inhibition of PPP3R1 withthe drug FK506 reduced alcohol drinking more potently in adolescent versus adult mice, suggesting that PPP3R1 may be functionally involved in age differences in alcohol consumption. Next, to evaluate the role of PPP3R1 in long-term vulnerability to alcoholism following adolescent exposure to alcohol, a protocol for adolescent drinking and subsequent adult operant self-administration of alcohol was developed. Mice exposed to alcohol drinking during adolescence exhibited increased operant responding for alcohol during adulthood, and finding that was not evidenced in adult mice exposed to alcohol and subsequent operant self-administration. The increased responding for alcohol in adolescent alcohol exposure was reduced by the PPP3R1 inhibitor FK506. In contrast, operant responding for alcohol was not affected by FK506 in mice exposed to water during adolescence or adult mice exposed to either alcohol or water, demonstrating relative selectivity for the unique pattern of increased intake exhibited by mice exposed to alcohol during adolescence. The role of PPP3R1 in the prefrontal cortex was assessed via site-directed microinjection of FK506, which increased operant responding for alcohol in mice exposed to either alcohol or water during adolescence. Lastly, to examine brain regions known to be both regulated by input from the prefrontal cortex and involved in alcohol reinforcement, the amygdala, dorsal striatum and nucleus accumbens were all assessed for expression and phosphorylation of CaMKII, a protein critical for synaptic plasticity. Adolescent mice displayed reduced phosphorylation of CaMKII in the amygdala following voluntary alcohol drinking, whereas adult mice exhibited no changes in expression or phosphorylation. Conversely, phosphorylation of the AMPA receptor subunit GluA1 was increased in adult mice following alcohol consumption but reduced in adolescent mice. Finally, systemic administration of tianeptine, an atypical antidepressant that upregulates pGluA1 in a CaMKII-dependent manner, increased alcohol consumption in adolescent mice but decreased alcohol consumption in adult mice. Collectively, these experiments demonstrate that the adolescent and adult brains have noticeably different responses to alcohol consumption. The findings provide evidence that long-lasting alterations in synaptic plasticity may be responsible for the increased alcohol intake observed after adolescent exposure to alcohol.Doctor of Philosoph

Los aportes de la ecología política latinoamericana a la corriente ambiental crítica

El presente trabajo profundiza en los puntos de encuentro entre la ecología política y el pensamiento crítico latinoamericano, como aportes a la corriente ambiental crítica, entendida simultáneamente como propuesta explicativa y respuesta alternativa a la crisis ambiental. Los conceptos vertidos forman parte de los resultados parciales de la investigación, orientados a recuperar la producción de corrientes de pensamiento latinoamericana que aborden la cuestión ambiental, directa o indirectamente. El análisis se centra en los lineamientos centrales de la ecología política, en su relación con el pensamiento crítico latinoamericano, considerando que ambas corrientes comparten el interés por la construcción de una identidad configurada sobre una realidad social y ambiental común, en la que se reconocen. De forma general, la metodología se circunscribe al análisis bibliográfico desde un enfoque crítico. Palabras clave: Ecología política latinoamericana; Corriente ambiental crítica; Construcción identitaria; Enfoque socio-histórico

Investigación en Educación Ambiental. Problematizando la Temática Ambiental en la Sociedad Contemporánea

El presente artículo se focaliza en tres ejes principales que actúan como hilo conductor de la presentación y a partir de los cuales se desarrolla el tema central de la ponencia. En el primer eje se reflexiona sobre el campo de la Educación Ambiental, considerando la pluralidad discursiva y los diferentes enfoques desde los que se estructura su conformación como campo disciplinar en formación, haciendo especial hincapié en las características del enfoque crítico. El segundo eje gira en torno a las contradicciones que se vislumbran entre la emergencia de la Educación Ambiental y los resultados obtenidos hasta el momento actual, considerando los mecanismos que han condicionado su resolución, teniendo en cuenta aquellos elementos que pueden considerarse bien como constitutivos de la crisis ambiental, o como elementos válidos para la conformación de una relación alternativa entre sociedad-naturaleza, a lo largo del proceso de racionalización de la sociedad occidental. En el tercer eje se profundiza en los retos y perspectivas a los que se enfrenta la Educación Ambiental en la sociedad contemporánea, considerando su relación con aquellas dimensiones que se visualizan como el marco categorial del contexto social en que se desarrolla la profundización de la crisis ambiental. Para finalizar se dejan planteados algunos interrogantes con relación a los temas abordados y al futuro de la Educación Ambiental como respuesta educativa a la problemática ambiental. Palabras clave: Educación Ambiental. Sociedad contemporánea. Retos y perspectivas. Interrogantes.El presente artículo se focaliza en tres ejes principales que actúan como hilo conductor de la presentación y a partir de los cuales se desarrolla el tema central de la ponencia. En el primer eje se reflexiona sobre el campo de la Educación Ambiental, considerando la pluralidad discursiva y los diferentes enfoques desde los que se estructura su conformación como campo disciplinar en formación, haciendo especial hincapié en las características del enfoque crítico. El segundo eje gira en torno a las contradicciones que se vislumbran entre la emergencia de la Educación Ambiental y los resultados obtenidos hasta el momento actual, considerando los mecanismos que han condicionado su resolución, teniendo en cuenta aquellos elementos que pueden considerarse bien como constitutivos de la crisis ambiental, o como elementos válidos para la conformación de una relación alternativa entre sociedad-naturaleza, a lo largo del proceso de racionalización de la sociedad occidental. En el tercer eje se profundiza en los retos y perspectivas a los que se enfrenta la Educación Ambiental en la sociedad contemporánea, considerando su relación con aquellas dimensiones que se visualizan como el marco categorial del contexto social en que se desarrolla la profundización de la crisis ambiental. Para finalizar se dejan planteados algunos interrogantes con relación a los temas abordados y al futuro de la Educación Ambiental como respuesta educativa a la problemática ambiental. Palabras clave: Educación Ambiental. Sociedad contemporánea. Retos y perspectivas. Interrogantes

Reflexiones sobre la sustentabilidad y sus dimensiones sociales

En este trabajo se recuperan algunos ejes conceptuales y categoriales sobre la noción de sustentabilidad y sus dimensiones sociales, que por su posicionamiento ideológico, perspectiva de análisis y su consideración sobre el origen causal de la crisis ambiental, puede ser englobada al interior del pensamiento ambiental crítico. Para ello, se emplea una estrategia metodológica de tipo cualitativo, recurriendo a la selección, revisión y análisis de bibliografía específica, profundizando en los aportes de Velázquez (2003) y Leff (2004), quienes abordan la noción de sustentabilidad desde una perspectiva de carácter crítico. Esto es, resignifican dicha noción desde un punto de vista que no es funcional al sistema capitalista y realizan propuestas de transformación para las formaciones sociales contemporáneas cuyos patrones de vinculación con la naturaleza y entre sí, son de carácter depredador y de explotación.Fil: Sales, Lorena.Fil: Agoglia, Ofelia.Fil: Pérez Sosa, Martín.Fil: Arcos, Camilo

Narrativas de mujeres que adoptan monoparentalmente en Chile

Este artículo analiza las narrativas de un grupo de mujeres que adoptaron monoparentalmente en Chile, producidas en el contexto de una investigación cualitativa más amplia sobre esta temática. Los resultados dan cuenta del paso de estas adoptantes por diversos dispositivos jurídico-judiciales, institucionales y técnicos durante el proceso adoptivo, en los que se pone en evidencia el tratamiento diferencial y discriminatorio del que la mayoría de ellas son objeto, así como las narrativas y prácticas de resistencia puestas en juego para cuestionar dichos dispositivos y legitimar sus proyectos adoptivos. Se discuten los antecedentes y hallazgos, a fin de incidir en el análisis y transformación de las políticas públicas y las intervenciones profesionales vinculadas a este fenómeno.This article analyzes the narratives of a group of women who are the single parents of adopted children, in the broader context of the qualitative investigation of this subject. Their stories speak of the various legal-judicial, institutional and technical procedures they faced during the adoption process, which highlight the biased and discriminatory treatment most of them received, as well the acts of resistance they used to challenge these obstacles and vindicate their legal right to adoption. The discussion of the background and findings of this research is meant to influence and transform public policies and professional interventions in the field of adoption.Este artigo analisa as narrativas de um grupo de mulheres que adotou monoparentalmente no Chile, produzidas no contexto de uma pesquisa qualitativa mais ampla sobre esse assunto. Os resultados mostram a passagem dessas mulheres por vários dispositivos legais e judiciais, institucionais e técnicos durante o processo de adoção, em que se evidencia o tratamento diferenciado e discriminatório do qual a maioria delas são objeto; além disso, mostram narrativas e práticas de resistência que desafiam esses dispositivos e procuram legitimar seus projetos de adoção. Discutem-se os antecedentes e os resultados a fim de influenciar a análise e a transformação das políticas públicas, bem como as intervenções profissionais relacionadas a esse fenômeno