Construccionismo, postmodernismo y teoría de la evaluación. La función estratégica de la evaluación

La evaluación es una empresa lucrativa y un perfil profesional al que muchos se han sumado careciendo de las mínimas competencias y conocimientos exigibles. Evaluar es emitir juicios de valor sobre objetos diversos, incluidas las iniciativas de intervención social. El planteamiento convencional es racionalista (diagnóstico, planificación, intervención y análisis del impacto), a pesar de que los modelos racionalistas hayan perdido vigor en las ciencias sociales a favor de alternativas políticas, simbólicas o caóticas, tal como apreciamos en la historia del pensamiento organizacional. En una perspectiva construccionista, observamos además el poder reificador de los criterios escogidos en cada situación de evaluación. La evaluación sugiere o impone qué es lo correcto en cada caso; criterios que pasan a acotar, dar sentido y prioridad a determinado modo de entender las relaciones sociales, los objetivos o el modo de comportamiento personal y organizacional. Mi propuesta es elevar esta inevitable consecuencia práctica de las evaluaciones a rango de virtud política y ética, al servicio de los intereses y deseos de futuro de los grupos que participan en procesos evaluativos, primando su función estratégica sobre las tradicionales funciones de mejora y rendición de cuentas."Testing" and "evaluating" are money-making activities that offer a rewarding professional career; perhaps it is no surprise that the field includes numbers of self-styled "evaluators" who provide services without the required training. Evaluation means the systematic application of given criteria for judging the merit or value of a variety of 'assessables' - capacities, powers and services, including social policy interventions. The conventional perspective is rationalist (in diagnosis, planning, intervention and impact analysis), even though rationalism have lost their pre-eminence in the social sciences, in favour of political, symbolic or chaotic alternatives, as the history of organizational thought reveals. Alternatively, from a constructionist perspective, we see the power of evaluation criteria to reify what they ostensibly assess. Evaluations suggest or impose what is right; criteria of value define, give meaning and prioritize just one way of understanding social relations, program goals or individual and organizational behaviour. The suggestion in this article is to make a positive virtue of this inevitable pragmatic consequence of evaluation: to openly embrace it as an agent of change, emphasizing a strategical function beyond the traditional purposes of enhancement and accountability

The hard promise to end with disability though inclusive art

A lo largo de la historia, la discapacidad ha sido un tema muy controvertido. Aunque se intente enmascarar, las personas discapacitadas son vistas como inútiles e improductivas por una parte de la sociedad. Esto alude a los pequeños detalles que se dan en las interacciones entre las diferentes personas, con/sin, dentro de una asociación de arte inclusivo. Por ejemplo, no esperar iniciativas por parte de las personas discapacitadas, o el mero hecho de tratarles como niños. Nuestro objetivo fue analizar la viabilidad práctica de una estrategia desidentitaria en un centro de arte inclusivo. Los resultados indican que, en este contexto, el trabajo con los usuarios del centro se mantiene dentro de los límites de las concepciones tradicionales de la diversidad funcional. Ciertos tintes paternalistas y estigmatizadores en el lenguaje y el trato personal parecen dificultar que los usuarios accedan a la construcción conjunta de identidades alternativas alejadas del estigma.Disability has been a controversial topic over the ages. Disability people are seen as useless and unproductive by an important part of the society though this understanding is tried to be masked. It alludes to little details that occur in the interaction among different people, with/without, who belong to an association of inclusive art. For instance: in not waiting for the disability people to have initiative, or the fact of being treated as children. The imposition of an illusory socially-defined normality emerges in these practices. The goal of the study was to analyze the feasibility of a strategy of desidentification in a center of inclusive art. Results show that the work with center users, subtle or openly, continues the limits of traditional conceptions of functional diversity. Some paternalist and stigmatizing practice in language and personal interaction complicates users to accede to relational constructions of alternative identities from usual stigmas

Theodore y la fantasía del yo, o relaciones afectivas con máquinas que parecen personas y personas que también lo parecen

Our models for affective relationships can be found in cultural products as novels, poetry and films. How does a relation begin, continue, and end? Which are the usual characters, or the plot points which structure its development? These are questions that make part of narratives produced and reproduced in our cultural background. From a narrative psychology perspective, affective relationships fit a dynamic in which different characters propose lines of development (intrigues), which in turn prescribe how our participation should be, in which we result embodied, creating the illusion of a “real” relation that it’s no more than a virtual fantasy, being these last terms interchangeable. The fantasy of the self is a strategic narration that we impose to the other and to ourselves for the relation to be and take sense. I use the film Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) to reflect on these topics, using the doubts about the possibility/virtuality of the human-machine relationship for extending the metaphoric of the fantasy of the self in the affective relationship. In the tradition of the romantic and science-fiction narrative, the machine is that we try to impose on our demiurgic fantasy, imperfect perfection of human beings, and that finally transcends us, raising doubts about the reality/virtuality of our own presence in the narrations in which we livedNuestros modelos para las relaciones afectivas se encuentran localizados en productos culturales como la novela, la poesía o el cine. De qué modo se inicia, continúa o finaliza una relación, cuáles son sus personajes tipo, los hitos que marcan su desarrollo estructural, forman parte de narraciones producidas y reproducidas en nuestro acervo cultural. Desde una psicología narrativa, la relación afectiva responde a una dinámica en la que los distintos personajes van proponiendo líneas de desarrollo, o intrigas, que prescriben la forma de nuestra participación, y en las que resultamos in-corporardos, generando la ilusión de una relación real que no deja de ser una fantasía virtual, siendo estos términos al fin intercambiables. La fantasía del yo es un relato estratégico que imponemos al otro y a nosotros mismos para que la relación suceda y cobre sentido. Aprovecho la película Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) para reflexionar sobre estas cuestiones, utilizando las dudas sobre la posibilidad/virtualidad de la relación hombre-máquina para ampliar la metafórica de la fantasía del yo en la relación afectiva. Heredera de la tradición romántica y de la ciencia-ficción, la máquina es el otro al que tratamos de imponer nuestra fantasía demiúrgica, perfección imperfecta de lo humano, y que finalmente nos supera, planteando la duda sobre la realidad/virtualidad de nuestra propia presencia en los relatos en que somos vividos

Evaluation in Spain: Concepts, Contexts, and Networks

Evaluation as a discipline has just started to take hold in Spain, especially since the nineties. More and more research centres, independent consultants, professionals and scholars are devoted to these tasks. However, we lack a unified body of knowledge, there is no shared vision of what evaluation is, nor is there a professional profile recognized by society or even by ourselves. Entry of unqualified persons in the profession is a tangible reality, with many supposed evaluators whose training is limited, in the best of cases, to a specific course, or certain personal experience as participants (not technicians) in some evaluation process, generally in an accreditation system. The practice of evaluation is spread around a multitude of fields of independent professional and academic activities. Recent evaluation networks allow us to se

Creating cost-effective adaptative educational hypermedia based on markup technologies and e-learning standards

This paper addresses the problem of developing a cost-effective, flexible Web educational environment focused on the learner. Our project, called <e-Aula>, has three main goals: (1) to simplify the creation of a virtual class environment, (2) the reuse of previously existing educational content and, (3) to enable content adaptation to meet individual needs. The design of <e-Aula> is based on recently developed e-learning standards (such as IMS, EML and ADL/SCORM) and courses are developed according to the Learning Object model. We use markup technologies (i.e. XML) to streamline the way the system is built and how it handles information. XML's metadata and related technologies are used not only to mark up the course material so that content can be adapted and reused, but also to mark up all data needed to manage different activities involved in the learning process (such as managing student information or system use). <e-Aula> also includes synchronous and asynchronous tools for communication between students and tutors.This paper addresses the problem of developing a cost-effective, flexible Web educational environment focused on the learner. Our project, called <e-Aula>, has three main goals: (1) to simplify the creation of a virtual class environment, (2) the reuse of previously existing educational content and, (3) to enable content adaptation to meet individual needs. The design of <e-Aula> is based on recently developed e-learning standards (such as IMS, EML and ADL/SCORM) and courses are developed according to the Learning Object model. We use markup technologies (i.e. XML) to streamline the way the system is built and how it handles information. XML's metadata and related technologies are used not only to mark up the course material so that content can be adapted and reused, but also to mark up all data needed to manage different activities involved in the learning process (such as managing student information or system use). <e-Aula> also includes synchronous and asynchronous tools for communication between students and tutors

Creating cost-effective adaptative educational hypermedia based on markup technologies and e-learning standards

This paper addresses the problem of developing a cost-effective, flexible Web educational environment focused on the learner. Our project, called <e-Aula>, has three main goals: (1) to simplify the creation of a virtual class environment, (2) the reuse of previously existing educational content and, (3) to enable content adaptation to meet individual needs. The design of <e-Aula> is based on recently developed e-learning standards (such as IMS, EML and ADL/SCORM) and courses are developed according to the Learning Object model. We use markup technologies (i.e. XML) to streamline the way the system is built and how it handles information. XML's metadata and related technologies are used not only to mark up the course material so that content can be adapted and reused, but also to mark up all data needed to manage different activities involved in the learning process (such as managing student information or system use). <e-Aula> also includes synchronous and asynchronous tools for communication between students and tutors.This paper addresses the problem of developing a cost-effective, flexible Web educational environment focused on the learner. Our project, called <e-Aula>, has three main goals: (1) to simplify the creation of a virtual class environment, (2) the reuse of previously existing educational content and, (3) to enable content adaptation to meet individual needs. The design of <e-Aula> is based on recently developed e-learning standards (such as IMS, EML and ADL/SCORM) and courses are developed according to the Learning Object model. We use markup technologies (i.e. XML) to streamline the way the system is built and how it handles information. XML's metadata and related technologies are used not only to mark up the course material so that content can be adapted and reused, but also to mark up all data needed to manage different activities involved in the learning process (such as managing student information or system use). <e-Aula> also includes synchronous and asynchronous tools for communication between students and tutors

Conectado: concienciando contra el cyberbullying mediante un videojuego educativo

Conectado es un juego educativo diseñado y desarrollado para concienciar sobre el cyberbullying en las escuelas a jóvenes de secundaria. Este juego trabaja las emociones y coloca al jugador en el papel de víctima durante 40 minutos que dura el juego para que pueda empatizar con las víctimas y ponerse en la piel de estas. Se ha comprobado que el videojuego cumple su objetivo y es efectivo al incrementar la percepción que logran los alumnos sobre el ciberacoso como se ha demostrado a través de varios experimentos realizados con 257 jóvenes de 11 a 17 años de tres centros educativos distintos.Conectado es un juego educativo diseñado y desarrollado para concienciar sobre el cyberbullying en las escuelas a jóvenes de secundaria. Este juego trabaja las emociones y coloca al jugador en el papel de víctima durante 40 minutos que dura el juego para que pueda empatizar con las víctimas y ponerse en la piel de estas. Se ha comprobado que el videojuego cumple su objetivo y es efectivo al incrementar la percepción que logran los alumnos sobre el ciberacoso como se ha demostrado a través de varios experimentos realizados con 257 jóvenes de 11 a 17 años de tres centros educativos distintos

Theodore y la fantasía del yo, o relaciones afectivas con máquinas que parecen personas y personas que también lo parecen

Our models for affective relationships can be found in cultural products as novels, poetry and films. How does a relation begin, continue, and end? Which are the usual characters, or the plot points which structure its development? These are questions that make part of narratives produced and reproduced in our cultural background. From a narrative psychology perspective, affective relationships fit a dynamic in which different characters propose lines of development (intrigues), which in turn prescribe how our participation should be, in which we result embodied, creating the illusion of a “real” relation that it’s no more than a virtual fantasy, being these last terms interchangeable. The fantasy of the self is a strategic narration that we impose to the other and to ourselves for the relation to be and take sense. I use the film Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) to reflect on these topics, using the doubts about the possibility/virtuality of the human-machine relationship for extending the metaphoric of the fantasy of the self in the affective relationship. In the tradition of the romantic and science-fiction narrative, the machine is that we try to impose on our demiurgic fantasy, imperfect perfection of human beings, and that finally transcends us, raising doubts about the reality/virtuality of our own presence in the narrations in which we livedNuestros modelos para las relaciones afectivas se encuentran localizados en productos culturales como la novela, la poesía o el cine. De qué modo se inicia, continúa o finaliza una relación, cuáles son sus personajes tipo, los hitos que marcan su desarrollo estructural, forman parte de narraciones producidas y reproducidas en nuestro acervo cultural. Desde una psicología narrativa, la relación afectiva responde a una dinámica en la que los distintos personajes van proponiendo líneas de desarrollo, o intrigas, que prescriben la forma de nuestra participación, y en las que resultamos in-corporardos, generando la ilusión de una relación real que no deja de ser una fantasía virtual, siendo estos términos al fin intercambiables. La fantasía del yo es un relato estratégico que imponemos al otro y a nosotros mismos para que la relación suceda y cobre sentido. Aprovecho la película Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) para reflexionar sobre estas cuestiones, utilizando las dudas sobre la posibilidad/virtualidad de la relación hombre-máquina para ampliar la metafórica de la fantasía del yo en la relación afectiva. Heredera de la tradición romántica y de la ciencia-ficción, la máquina es el otro al que tratamos de imponer nuestra fantasía demiúrgica, perfección imperfecta de lo humano, y que finalmente nos supera, planteando la duda sobre la realidad/virtualidad de nuestra propia presencia en los relatos en que somos vividos

Omaishoitajien toiveet ja odotukset hoitopaikalle lakisääteisten vapaapäivien ajaksi

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli selvittää millaisia toiveita ja odotuksia omaishoitajilla oli hoitopaikalle, jossa heidän omaishoidettavaansa hoidetaan lakisääteisten vapaapäivien ajan. Halusimme tietää myös oliko yhteistyökumppanimme Kaislakoti Oy tuttu hoivapaikkana omaishoitajille, jotka osallistuivat tutkimukseemme. Tutkimustyyppi on kvalitatiivinen. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin haastattelemalla kuutta omaishoitajaa teemahaastattelumenetelmällä. Haastateltavat pyydettiin Hiiden Seudun Omaishoitajayhdistyksen toimesta järjestetyistä tilaisuuksista, joihin osallistuimme. Haastattelut tehtiin 2013 alkuvuodesta. Jaoimme myös 30 puolistrukturoitua kyselylomaketta täytettäväksi omaishoitajille. Kyselylomakkeista palautui 11 kappaletta. Tutkimustuloksista kävi ilmi, että omaishoitajat toivoivat hoitopaikalta aktivoivaa toimintaa hoidettavalleen, jotta tämän toimintakyky ei heikentyisi hoitojakson aikana. Tärkeäksi koettiin myös kuntouttava toiminta ja palveluiden monipuolisuus, joiden tulisi olla muokattavissa vastaamaan jokaisen henkilökohtaisia tarpeita. Hoitopaikan tärkeimpinä kriteereinä pidettiin sen kodinomaisuutta, turvallisuutta ja viihtyisyyttä. Omaishoitajat odottivat hoitopaikalta täysihoitoa, jossa heidän hoidettavansa otettaisiin kokonaisvaltaisesti huomioon. Omaishoitajat tunsivat tarvitsevansa tukea tilanteissa, joissa heidän oma toimijuutensa ja terveydentilansa heikentyy. Tutkimustuloksista selvisi, että omaishoitajien jaksamista tukevia muotoja ovat loma ja mahdollisuus saada luotettava ja turvallinen sijaishoitopaikka nopeasti. Työelämäkumppanimme Kaislakoti ei ollut tunnettu kuin parin omaishoitajan kohdalla. Tutkimustulostemme pohjalta Kaislakoti voi kehittää tulevaisuudessa tunnettavuuttaan ja pystyy koordinoimaan toimintaansa omaishoitajien toiveita vastaavaksi. Avainsanat Omaishoito, vapaapäivät, omaishoitajien toiveet, sijaishoitoThe purpose of the study was to determine what kinds of wishes and expectations the caregivers had pertaining the home of elderly care, where their care recipients are being taken care of during statutory holidays. Furthermore, we wanted to know whether the caregivers were familiar with our partner Kaislakoti Oy as a care center. The research method was qualitative. The data was collected by interviewing six caregivers using a thematic interview method. The interviewees were recruited at the events organized by the Association of Caregivers of Hiiden’s Region. We held the interviews at the beginning of the year 2013. We also handed out 30 semi-structured questionnaires to be filled out by the caregivers. Eleven of the questionnaires were returned. The results of the study indicated that caregivers wish their care recipient refreshing activi-ties so that the care recipient’s performance would not deteriorate during the course of treatment. Rehabilitative activities and the versatility of services were also viewed as im-portant, and both should be flexible in order to meet every care recipient’s personal needs. The most important criteria of a home for elderly care were, according to the interviewees, homeliness, safety, and comfort. The caregivers expect full care where their care recipients would be comprehensively tak-en into consideration. The results showed that factors supporting the caregiver’s endur-ance are for example vacation and the fact that it’s fast and easy to get a reliable and safe substitute home of elderly care for their care recipient. Our partner Kaislakoti was not well-known amongst the caregivers as only two of them recognized it. Based on the results of our study Kaislakoti can develop it’s recognition in the future and is able to coordinate its actions to meet the expectations of the caregivers. Keywords Caring, Wishes of the Caregivers, Home of Elderly Car