Teaching styles and achievement: student and teacher perspectives

Using data from a Spanish assessment program of fourth-grade pupils, we analyze to what extent using certain teaching practices and materials in class is related to achieve- ment in maths and reading. We distinguish using traditional and modern teaching styles. As a novelty, we measure in-class work using two di erent sources of information -teacher and students. Our identi cation strategy relies on between-class within-school variation of teaching styles. We nd that modern practices are related to better achievement, specially in reading, while traditional practices, if anything, are detrimental. There are di erences depending on the source of information: the magnitude of coe cients is larger when practices are reported by students. These ndings are robust to considering al- ternative de nitions of teaching practices. We obtain heterogeneous e ects of teaching styles by gender and type of school but only when using students' answers. Our nd- ings highlight the importance of the source of information, teacher or students, to draw adequate conclusions about the e ect of teaching style on achievement

Informe de seguimiento de la actividad de los Ministerios en relación con los Programas del Marco General para la Mejora de la Calidad de la Administración General del Estado durante 2011: Real Decreto 951/2005, de 29 de julio, por el que se establece el Marco General para la Mejora de la Calidad en la AGE

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Association between Birth Plan Use and Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Southern Spain: A Case-Control Study

Background: Birth plans are used for pregnant women to express their wishes and expectations about childbirth. The aim of this study was to compare obstetric and neonatal outcomes between women with and without birth plans. Methods: A multicentre, retrospective case–control study at tertiary hospitals in southern Spain between 2009 and 2013 was conducted. A total of 457 pregnant women were included, 178 with and 279 without birth plans. Women with low-risk gestation, at full-term and having been in labour were included. Sociodemographic, obstetric and neonatal variables were analysed and comparisons were established. Results: Women with birth plans were older, more educated and more commonly primiparous. Caesarean sections were less common in primiparous women with birth plans (18% vs. 29%, p = 0.027); however, no significant differences were found in instrumented births, 3rd–4th-degree tears or episiotomy rates. Newborns of primiparous women with birth plans obtained better results on 1 min Apgar scores, umbilical cord pH and advanced neonatal resuscitation. No significant differences were found on 5 min Apgar scores or other variables for multiparous women. Conclusions: Birth plans were related to less intervention, a more natural process of birth and better outcomes for mothers and newborns. Birth plans can improve the welfare of the mother and newborn, leading to birth in a more natural way

Study of the Microstructure Evolution of Low-pH Cements Based on Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) by Mid- and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, and Their Influence on Corrosion of Steel Reinforcement

Low-pH cements are designed to be used in underground repositories for high level waste. When they are based on Ordinary Portland Cements (OPC), high mineral admixture contents must be used which significantly modify their microstructure properties and performance. This paper evaluates the microstructure evolution of low-pH cement pastes based on OPC plus silica fume and/or fly ashes, using Mid-Infrared and Near-Infrared spectroscopy to detect cement pastes mainly composed of high polymerized C-A-S-H gels with low C/S ratios. In addition, the lower pore solution pH of these special cementitious materials have been monitored with embedded metallic sensors. Besides, as the use of reinforced concrete can be required in underground repositories, the influence of low-pH cementitious materials on steel reinforcement corrosion was analysed. Due to their lower pore solution pH and their different pore solution chemical composition a clear influence on steel reinforcement corrosion was detecte

Body mass index and its influence on chronic low back pain in the Spanish population: a secondary analysis from the European health survey (2020)

Risk factors such as obesity and a sedentary lifestyle contribute to the development of chronic low back pain. Purpose: To describe how body mass index (BMI) influences the prevalence of chronic low back pain in the general Spanish population and assess this influence given other factors as sex, age, physical occupational demands, and recreational physical activity. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional design was performed based on secondary data from the European Health Survey in Spain (2020). Data on age, gender, physical occupational demands, physical activity, BMI, and presence of chronic low back pain were extracted. Results: A total of 19,716 (52.2% women) subjects with a median age of 53 years old were analyzed. Of these, 18.3% had chronic low back pain, 39% were overweight, and 16.1% were obese. The adjusted generalized linear model showed that being obese increased the odds of chronic low back pain by 1.719 times (p < 0.001). Being a woman increased the odds by 1.683 times (p < 0.001). Performing occupational tasks requiring high physical demands increased the odds by 1.403 times (p < 0.001). Performing physical activity in leisure time several times a week decreased the odds by 0.598 times (p < 0.001). For every additional year of age, the odds of chronic low back pain increased by 3.3% (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Obesity is related with the presence of chronic low back pain in the general Spanish population. This association persists, being the more relevant factor, after adjusting the association of BMI and chronic low back pain with other factors such as sex, age, physical occupational demands, and recreational physical activity

Pregnants and partners satisfaction with Prenatal Education Program in Primary Care

Objetivo: Analizar la satisfacción percibida por las gestantes y sus acompañantes en relación con el contenido de las sesiones del Programa de Educación Maternal y su utilidad respecto al proceso de embarazo, parto y crianza. Personas y métodos: Estudio observacional, descriptivo, transversal y ampliado con metodología cualitativa, realizado en el Centro de Salud de Lepe (Huelva). Se midió cuantitativamente la satisfacción a través de un cuestionario semiestructurado de elaboración propia, previamente validado. Se hizo una valoración cualitativa con cuatro grupos de discusión de 10 personas (tres con gestantes y uno con acompañantes). Se efectuó un análisis estadístico con el programa SPSS y un análisis cualitativo con MaxQda 10. Las consideraciones éticas se establecieron según la legislación vigente. Resultados: Participaron 378 gestantes y 82 acompañantes. Según el análisis cuantitativo, el 77,5% de las mujeres y el 70,7% de los acompañantes mostraron un nivel de satisfacción muy alto. El análisis cualitativo corroboró los altos resultados obtenidos en satisfacción. Conclusión: El Programa de Educación Maternal fue percibido por las usuarias y los usuarios como muy satisfactorio y afirmaron que respondía a sus necesidades. Entre las áreas de mejora se destacó la demanda de un mayor número de sesiones y un aumento de los contenidos de las mismas, así como una mejor adecuación del lugar donde se impartían las sesiones y los recursos utilizados, y la coordinación entre los niveles de atención especializada y primaria

Affective Valence Detection from EEG Signals Using Wrapper Methods

In this work, a novel valence recognition system applied to EEG signals is presented. It consists of a feature extraction block followed by a wrapper classification algorithm. The proposed feature extraction method is based on measures of relative energies computed in short‐time intervals and certain frequency bands of EEG signal segments time‐locked to the stimuli presentation. These measures represent event‐related desynchronization/synchronization of underlying brain neural networks. The subsequent feature selection and classification steps comprise a wrapper technique based on two different classification approaches: an ensemble classifier, i.e., a random forest of classification trees and a support vector machine algorithm. Applying a proper importance measure from the classifiers, the feature elimination has been used to identify the most relevant features of the decision making both for intrasubject and intersubject settings, using single trial signals and ensemble averaged signals, respectively. The proposed methodologies allowed us to identify a frontal region and a beta band as the most relevant characteristics, extracted from the electrical brain activity, in order to determine the affective valence elicited by visual stimuli