Diferencias intra e inter individuales en inteligencia social de estudiantes portugueses

Social intelligence is a favorable condition for career decision-making and development. The social intelligence indices of Portuguese students in school years prior to a career transition are characterized and intra and interindividual differences are analyzed. Participants were 1095 students (552, 50.4% women) with a mean age of 14.78 years (SD = 1.86), in the 8th (542, 49.5%), 10th (295, 26.9%) and 11th (258, 23.6%) grades. The Cognitive Test of Social Intelligence (PCIS) was administered at two moments, six months apart. Results indicate that the 8th grade obtained higher average scores in Problem Solving, Motivation and Self-confidence (time 1), while the 10th grade obtained better results in Problem Solving, Motivation and Familiarity (time 2). Between the assessment moments, all school years register an increase in Problem Solving and Self-confidence in social situations. These results constitute favorable psychological conditions for the promotion of ethical questioning in career guidance interventions.A inteligência social constitui uma condição favorável à tomada de decisão e ao desenvolvimento vocacional. Este trabalho visa caracterizar os níveis de inteligência social, e analisar as diferenças intra e interindividuais, em alunos portugueses em anos de pré-transição vocacional. Participaram 1095 alunos (552, 50% mulheres), com uma média de idades de 14,78 anos (DP = 1,86), do 8º, 10º, e 11º níveis escolares. Administrou-se a Prova Cognitiva de Inteligência Social (PCIS), em dois momentos (T1 e T2), com seis meses de intervalo. Os resultados indicam que o 8º ano obteve resultados médios superiores, nos índices de Resolução de Problemas, Motivação e Autoconfiança (T1), enquanto o 10º ano obteve resultados superiores, em Resolução de Problemas, Motivação e Familiaridade (T2). Entre momentos de avaliação, registra-se, para todos os níveis escolares, um aumento em Resolução de Problemas e Autoconfiança em situações sociais. Estes resultados constituem condições psicológicas favoráveis à promoção do questionamento ético nas intervenções de orientação vocacional.La inteligencia social es una condición favorable para la toma de decisiones y el desarrollo de la carrera. Se caracterizan los niveles de inteligencia social y sus diferencias intra e interindividuales en estudiantes portugueses en transición pre-profesional. Participaron 1095 estudiantes (552, 50.4% mujeres) con una edad media de 14.78 (DE = 1.86), del 8º (542, 49,5%), 10º (295, 26.9%) y 11º (258, 23.6%) años escolares. Se administró la Prueba Cognitiva de Inteligencia Social (PCIS) en dos ocasiones, con seis meses de diferencia. Los resultados indican que los estudiantes del 8º grado obtuvieron puntajes medios más altos en la Resolución de Problemas, Motivación y Confianza (T1), mientras que los del 10º grado obtuvieron mejores resultados en la Resolución de Problemas, Motivación y Familiaridad (T2). Entre momentos de evaluación se registra, para todos los años, un aumento en la Resolución de Problemas y Confianza en situaciones sociales. Estos resultados constituyen condiciones psicológicas favorables a la promoción del cuestionamiento ético en las intervenciones de orientación profesional.Project coordinated by the fourth author and co-funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology and the Compete Program - PTDC/CPE-CED/098896/200

How do parents manage irritability, challenging behavior, non-compliance and anxiety in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders? A meta-synthesis

Although there is increasing research interest in the parenting of children with ASD, at present, little is known about everyday strategies used to manage problem behaviour. We conducted a meta-synthesis to explore what strategies parents use to manage irritability, non-compliance, challenging behaviour and anxiety in their children with ASD. Approaches included: (1) accommodating the child; (2) modifying the environment; (3) providing structure, routine and occupation; (4) supervision and monitoring; (5) managing non-compliance with everyday tasks; (6) responding to problem behaviour; (7) managing distress; (8) maintaining safety and (9) analysing and planning. Results suggest complex parenting demands in children with ASD and problem behaviour. Findings will inform the development of a new measure to quantify parenting strategies relevant to ASD

Occupying the 'third space': perspectives and experiences of Asian English language teachers

This chapter is drawn from a larger study which describes the experiences and perspectives of a group of Asian English language teachers who were also postgraduate students in a Master's program provided offshore in Vietnam and onshore in Australia by an Australian university. Case study data were gathered from the two sites through semi-structured interviews, related documents and primary texts. Finding relating to one of the key interview questions, which investigated Asian postgraduates' responses to Western educational discourses, form the basis of the chapter. Asian teachers reported feeling very influenced by pedagogical approaches which had originated in the West, and felt professional inspired by them to search for new, innovative teaching approaches. They also recognized the benefits of a synthesis of Western and local approaches. Despite occupying this "Third Space", however, Asian postgraduates reported feelings of inferiority, disruption, and frustration on both personal and pedagogic levels when attempting to work within Western discourses and, in some cases, when working alongside Western teachers. In this chapter I argue for greater recognition of what Asian teachers can offer in terms of ability to 'adapt' rather than to 'adopt' and 'recast' rather than imitate. This cultural and education acumen could form the basis for more dialogue between language teachers in the Asia Pacific region

Detecting and Tracking Nosocomial Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Rapid detection and differentiation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is critical for the early diagnosis of difficult-to-treat nosocomial and community acquired clinical infections and improved epidemiological surveillance. We developed a microfluidics chip coupled with surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy (532 nm) “lab-on-a-chip” system to rapidly detect and differentiate methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and MRSA using clinical isolates from China and the United States. A total of 21 MSSA isolates and 37 MRSA isolates recovered from infected humans were first analyzed by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The mecA gene, which refers resistant to methicillin, was detected in all the MRSA isolates and different allelic profiles were identified assigning isolates as either previously identified or novel clones. A total of 17,400 SERS spectra of the 58 S. aureus isolates were collected within 3.5 hours using this optofluidic platform. Intra- and inter-laboratory spectral reproducibility yielded a differentiation index value of 3.43 to 4.06 and demonstrated the feasibility of using this optofluidic system at different laboratories for bacterial identification. A global SERS-based dendrogram model for MRSA and MSSA identification and differentiation to the strain level was established and cross-validated (Simpson index of diversity of 0.989) and had an average recognition rate of 95% for S. aureus isolates associated with a recent outbreak in China. SERS typing correlated well with MLST indicating that it has high sensitivity and selectivity and would be suitable for determining the origin and possible spread of MRSA. A SERS-based partial least-squares regression model could quantify the actual concentration of a specific MRSA isolate in a bacterial mixture at levels from 5 to 100% (regression coefficient, > 0.98; residual prediction deviation, >10.05). This optofluidic platform has advantages over traditional genotyping for ultrafast, automated and reliable detection and epidemiological surveillance of bacterial infections

High-throughput and automated diagnosis of antimicrobial resistance using a cost-effective cellphone-based micro-plate reader

Routine antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) can prevent deaths due to bacteria and reduce the spread of multi-drug-resistance, but cannot be regularly performed in resource-limited-settings due to technological challenges, high-costs, and lack of trained professionals. We demonstrate an automated and cost-effective cellphone-based 96-well microtiter-plate (MTP) reader, capable of performing AST without the need for trained diagnosticians. Our system includes a 3D-printed smartphone attachment that holds and illuminates the MTP using a light-emitting-diode array. An inexpensive optical fiber-array enables the capture of the transmitted light of each well through the smartphone camera. A custom-designed application sends the captured image to a server to automatically determine well-turbidity, with results returned to the smartphone in ~1 minute. We tested this mobile-reader using MTPs prepared with 17 antibiotics targeting Gram-negative bacteria on clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, containing highly-resistant antimicrobial profiles. Using 78 patient isolate test-plates, we demonstrated that our mobile-reader meets the FDA-defined AST criteria, with a well-turbidity detection accuracy of 98.21%, minimum-inhibitory-concentration accuracy of 95.12%, and a drug-susceptibility interpretation accuracy of 99.23%, with no very major errors. This mobile-reader could eliminate the need for trained diagnosticians to perform AST, reduce the cost-barrier for routine testing, and assist in spatio-temporal tracking of bacterial resistance