Phonological Awareness Tests of Coimbra’s Neuropsychological Assessment Battery : reliability and validity studies

A Bateria de Avaliação Neuropsicológica de Coimbra (BANC) integra, entre diversos outros instrumentos de avaliação, três testes de consciência fonémica: um teste de eliminação e dois de substituição de fonemas. No presente trabalho, apresentam-se dados relativos às propriedades psicométricas destes testes, designadamente à precisão (consistência interna e estabilidade temporal), à validade de constructo (progressão dos resultados em função da idade e intercorrelações entre os testes), à validade discriminante (diferenciação do desempenho de grupos com e sem problemas de aprendizagem), e à validade concorrente (correlações com testes de inteligência, outros testes da BANC e os resultados escolares dos sujeitos). Os resultados obtidos atestam a adequação psicométrica do teste de eliminação e de um dos testes de substituição, sendo menos favoráveis, em termos de precisão e progressão em função da idade, no que concerne ao outro teste de substituição.Coimbra’s Neuropsychological Assessment Battery contains, amongst several other assessment instruments, phonemic awareness tests: one phoneme elision test and two phoneme substitution tests. This paper presents data concerning their psychometric properties, namely precision (internal consistency and temporal stability), construct validity (age differentiation and tests’ intercorrelations), discriminant validity (differentiation of groups with and without learning problems) and concurrent validity (correlations with intelligence tests, other tests from the Battery and academic grades of subjects). The results obtained demonstrate the psychometric adequacy of the elision test and of one of the substitution’s tests, but are less favourable regarding the other substitution test, namely in terms of precision and age differentiation

The Compound Muscle Action Potential as Neurophysiological Marker for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Objectives: To definite the peripheral nervous involvement in ALS through the repeated use of the compound motor action potential (CMAP) to test the progression of disease, to determine different change of phrenic CMAP and forced vital capacity (FVC) in spinal and bulbar onset, and to establish clinical and neurophysiological features of patients with poor prognosis. Material & Methods: CMAP from phrenic, ulnar, and medial plantar nerves, Medical Research Council (MRC) score, revised ALS functional rating scale (ALSFRS-R) and FVC were evaluated in 117 ALS patients every three months in one year-period. Results: Bulbar onset patients had lower FVC but similar amplitude of phrenic CMAP at baseline compared to spinal onset patients. The patients with poor prognosis had lower phrenic CMAP and FVC at baseline. CMAP values, when compared to the rate found in the previous visit, reduced significantly in both poor and good prognosis groups during the entire follow-up period, while the FVC reduced significantly only in the first three months. Conclusions: CMAP is a reproducible sensitive marker for motor neurons loss and collateral reinnervation in ALS also in a short period of time. The changes in CMAP, MRC, FVC and ALSFRS-R score resulted correlated, but CMAP is the only parameter with the advantage to demonstrate objectively the progression of disease in both patients with poor and good prognosis for the entire period of follow-up. It should be used as clinical outcome of ALS in clinical trials, taking advantage of its objectivity and selectivity for peripheral nervous system study

Representações de Dificuldades de Aprendizagem em Portugal

It is essential to study learning disabilities (LD) representations by education professionals since they are the ones who are more directly involved in their identification and intervention. This research analyzes the representations of the concept of LD of 310 Portuguese education professionals (regular education teachers, special education teachers, and psychologists). Through a questionnaire that consists of three parts, we examine the perspectives of the professionals regarding: 1) the identification criteria (e.g., exclusion; discrepancy; RTI) and the phenomenology of LD (manifestations; specific nature of LD); 2) the use, broad or narrow, of the LD term; and 3) the Portuguese legislation regarding LD. The results obtained indicate the agreement with the manifestations of LD (e.g., low achievement), with the criterion of discrepancy and with a dimensional view of LD. The professionals considered that LD may be due to contextual factors (e.g., socioeconomic disadvantage, family interactions, and inadequate teaching conditions). Participants also expressed agreement with a very comprehensive use of the term (e.g., in the absence of a diagnosis, in school failure situations). Education professionals also expressed a negative perspective regarding the educational support given to LD in Portugal. The comparisons between professional groups have documented the existence of certain significant differences.É essencial estudar as representações de Dificuldades de Aprendizagem (DA) dos profissionais de educação, uma vez que eles estão diretamente envolvidos na respetiva identificação e intervenção. Esta investigação analisa as representações do conceito de DA de 310 profissionais de educação portugueses (professores do ensino regular, professores de educação especial e psicólogos). Através de um questionário constituído por três partes avaliam-se as perspetivas dos profissionais em relação: 1) aos critérios de identificação (e.g., exclusão; discrepância; RTI) e à fenomenologia das DA (manifestações; natureza específica); 2) ao emprego, amplo ou restrito, do termo DA; e 3) à legislação nacional relativa às DA. Os resultados obtidos expressam acordo em relação às manifestações das DA (e.g., baixo desempenho), ao critério da discrepância e a uma visão dimensional das DA. Os profissionais consideraram que as DA se podem ficar a dever a determinantes contextuais (e.g., desvantagem socioeconómica e condições de ensino inadequadas). Os participantes também expressaram acordo com um emprego muito abrangente do termo (e.g., na ausência de diagnóstico, em situações de insucesso escolar). Os profissionais de educação também exprimiram uma perspetiva negativa em relação ao apoio educativo dispensado às DA em Portugal. As comparações entre grupos profissionais documentaram a existência de algumas diferenças significativas

The concept of care complexity: a qualitative study

Background: Hospital organisations based on the level of care intensity have clearly revealed a concept, that of care complexity, which has been widely used for decades in the healthcare field. Despite its wide use, this concept is still poorly defined and it is often confused with and replaced by similar concepts such as care intensity or workload. This study aims to describe the meaning of care complexity as perceived by nurses in their day-to-day experience of hospital clinical care, rehabilitation, home care, and organisation. Design and methods: Fifteen interviews were conducted with nurses belonging to clinical-care areas and to heterogeneous organisational areas. The interview was of an unstructured type. The participants were selected using a propositional methodology. Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological method was chosen for the analysis of the interviews. Results: The nurses who were interviewed predominantly perceive the definition of care complexity as coinciding with that of workload. Nevertheless, the managerial perspective does not appear to be exclusive, as from the in-depth interviews three fundamental themes emerge that are associated with the concept of care complexity: the patient, the nurse and the organisation. Conclusions: The study highlights that care complexity consists of both quantitative and qualitative aspects that do not refer only to the organisational dimension. The use of the terminology employed today should be reconsidered: it appears to be inappropriate to talk of measurement of care complexity, as this concept also consists of qualitative – thus not entirely quantifiable – aspects referring to the person being cared for. In this sense, reference should instead be made to the evaluation of care complexity, which would also constitute a better and more complete basis for defining the nursing skills required in professional nursing practice

Análise do desempenho de crianças em risco ambiental na WPPSI-R

[Resumo] Regista-se, actualmente, um interesse crescente em relação ao risco ambiental, isto é, em relacção crianças em cuja história pessoal e familiar se encontram ambientes familiares alterados ou problemas sociais graves. Neste ambito, no presente trabalho procede-se él caracterização do desempenho na WPPSI-R de um grupo de crianças de idade pré-escolar em risco ambiental tomando como comparação um grupo de crianças provenientes de famílias com estatuto socio-económico identico. Analisam-se, ainda, as implicaçoes decorrentes dos resultados obtidos ao nível dos processos de despistagem ou identificação precoce.[Abstract] There is, nowadays, an increasing interest on environmental risk, that is, in children who have experienced disrupted familial environments or serious social problems. This paper compares WPPSI-R results of two matched groups: a) a group of preschool children at environmental risk; b) a low-risk group, similar in age, gender and socioeconomic status. .Implications of the findings for screening and early identification of children at risk are discussed

Environmental aspects of internal migration in Tanzania

In recent years, the issue of the nexus of climate change and human migration has attracted a growing amount of interest among scholars and policy makers. Using individual-level data from the Tanzania National Panel Survey conducted in 2008\u20132009, we examine the roles played by droughts or floods, crop diseases, and severe water shortages in inter-district migration in Tanzania. Findings reveal that droughts or floods and crop diseases are associated with an overall decrease in the likelihood of inter-district mobility, providing support for the \u201cenvironmental scarcity\u201d hypothesis. Yet migration becomes a likely response to droughts and floods among individuals with no education suggesting mobility is a key livelihood strategy among those most disadvantaged. Future examination of domestic migration-environment processes at the individual-level is critical for informed policy and programs

Testes de Nomeação Rápida: Contributos para a avaliação da linguagem oral

A Bateria de Avaliação Neuropsicológica de Coimbra (BANC) integra, entre diversos outros instrumentos de avaliação, um teste de Nomeação Rápida de Cores para crianças com 5 e 6 anos, um teste de Nomeação Rápida de Números e um teste de Nomeação Rápida de Formas e Cores, ambos para crianças dos 7 aos 15 anos. No presente trabalho, apresentam-se dados relativos às propriedades psicométricas destes testes, designadamente à estabilidade temporal, às respectivas intercorrelações e relações com os resultados escolares, e à capacidade de diferenciarem crianças com e sem problemas de aprendizagem. Os resultados obtidos atestam, por um lado, a adequação psicométrica dos testes e, por outro lado, indicam que os testes de Nomeação de Números e de Formas e Cores não devem ser perspectivados como equivalentes