Comunicación para el desarrollo y el cambio social: Influencia de las normas sociales para una sociedad inclusiva en Montenegro

UNICEF and the Government of Montenegro implemented a communication strategy “It’s about ability” to challenge the existing, exclusionary practices and promote new, inclusive social norms for children with disability. Drawing on communication for development principles and social norms theory, a 2010-2013 nation-wide campaign mobilized disability rights NGOs, parents associations, media and private sector to stimulate inclusive attitudes and practices towards children with disabilities. As a result, the percentage of citizens who find it acceptable for a child with disability to attend the same class with theirs increased from 35 before the campaign to 80 percent at the end of it. Similarly, the percentage of Montenegrin citizens who find it acceptable for a child with disability to be the best friend of their child increased from 22 before the campaign to 51 percent at the end of it. The campaign was participatory, audience-centred and guided by the key communication planning principles.UNICEF y el Gobierno de Montenegro implementaron la estrategia de comunicación “Se trata de la habilidad” para desafiar las prácticas existentes y excluyentes y promover nuevas normas sociales inclusivas para los niños con discapacidad. Basándose en los principios de la comunicación para el desarrollo y las normas sociales, una campaña nacional del 2010-2013 movilizó a las ONG de derechos de las personas con discapacidad, asociaciones de padres, los medios de comunicación y el sector privado para estimular las actitudes y prácticas inclusivas hacia los niños con discapacidades. Como resultado, el porcentaje de ciudadanos que encuentran aceptable para un niño con discapacidad asistir a la misma clase que los suyos aumentó de un 35%, antes de la campaña, a un 80% al final de la misma. Del mismo modo, el porcentaje de ciudadanos montenegrinos que encuentran aceptable que un niño con discapacidad pueda ser el mejor amigo de sus hijos incrementó de un 22% anterior a la campaña a un 51% al final de la misma. La campaña fue participativa, centrada en el público y guiada por los principios clave de planificación de la comunicación

Media Literacy in Montenegro

Few countries in the world have introduced media education into their curriculums. Montenegro became one of them in 2009, when "media literacy" was introduced as an optional subject for 16 and 17 year old students of Gymnasium high schools. This article presents the findings of the first and only research conducted so far on media education in Montenegro. It is a national case study which examines the potential of media education to change the school culture and accelerate education system reform towards embracing the new digital education paradigm in the future. The focus is on the results of research conducted through in-depth interviews with media literacy teachers all over the country. Despite the many challenges, all teachers identify the potential of media education to strengthen some of the key competences of the students and to improve their motivation and academic performance. They also identify potential to change positively school culture by transforming teachers into "cultural mediators" (Morcellini, 2007) and by supporting the formation of a "participative culture" (Jenkins & Kelley, 2013) in schools. This research recommends focusing education reform on spreading the media education pedagogy to the entire curriculum in order to embrace the new digital education paradigm in the future

Towards a New, Digital Communication Paradigm

Updating of the key concepts of media education is absolutely necessary due to the changes introduced by the digital revolution. This article looks into the ways that the key media education concepts are modified in the digital age according to the ongoing, international scientific debate. It suggests their adapting to make them fully relevant to the digital media and participatory culture. The ongoing process of adaptation of the current paradigm of communication and media education is likely to lead, in future, to a new, digital communication paradigm. As a consequence, schools will need to adopt a corresponding new, digital education paradigm

Sociological analysis of Montenegrin teachers’ digital capital

Starting with the concept of digital capital in social sciences, this article presents the key findings of the “Global Kids Online” nationally representative survey of primary and high school teachers’ digital skills and practices that was conducted in Montenegro with Unicef’s support in 2018. Digital capital, as any other form of capital within Bourdieu’s perspective, has a sociological validity only in correlation with other forms of capital – such as economic, cultural and social – in a limited context and according to a multi-dimensional approach which goes from a macro- to a micro-social perspective (Pandolfini, 2016). This article identifies and discusses three perspectives of digital capital – macro, meso-social and micro – and their material (technologies, digital services and school experiments with devices) and non-material resources (digital competencies). Analysis of data from the Montenegrin research relating to this perspective shows that the daily practice of using digital technology in classrooms seems to be marginal, even though most teachers have access to the internet in their schools. Currently the majority of teachers are using the internet at school mostly just for checking information online. Their digital competencies are not generally advanced: on average, social and operational skills are the most developed, while their creative skills are least developed. Therefore, to support the development of children’s media literacy through formal education, further investments towards the strengthening of teachers’ digital competencies need to be made and the research shows that the demand for digital pedagogy courses already exists among most teachers. In other words, the Montenegrin research points to the need to invest more in education and experimentation related to the meso- and micro-social perspectives of digital capital.Partindo do conceito de capital digital nas Ciências Sociais, este artigo apresenta as principais conclusões do inquérito nacionalmente representativo do “Global Kids Online” sobre as competências e práticas digitais de professores do ensino básico e secundário, realizado em Montenegro com o apoio da Unicef, em 2018. O capital digital, como qualquer outra forma de capital na perspetiva de Bourdieu, apenas tem validade sociológica em correlação com outras formas de capital, como a económica, cultural e social, num contexto limitado e de acordo com uma abordagem multidimensional que vai de uma perspetiva macro a uma microssocial (Pandolfini, 2016). Este artigo identifica e discute três perspetivas do capital digital – macro, meso e micro social – e os seus recursos materiais (tecnologias, serviços digitais e experiências escolares com dispositivos) e não materiais (competências digitais). A análise dos dados do estudo montenegrino, de acordo com esta perspetiva, mostra que a prática diária de utilização da tecnologia digital nas salas de aula parece ser marginal, embora a maioria dos professores tenha acesso à internet nas escolas. Atualmente, a maioria dos professores utiliza a internet na escola principalmente para verificar informação online. Geralmente, as suas competências digitais não são avançadas: em média, as competências sociais e operacionais são as mais desenvolvidas, enquanto as competências criativas estão menos desenvolvidas. Portanto, para apoiar o desenvolvimento da literacia mediática nas crianças através da educação formal, é necessário realizar mais investimentos para reforçar as competências digitais dos professores. O estudo mostra ainda que a procura por cursos de pedagogia digital já existe entre a maioria dos professores. Por outras palavras, o estudo montenegrino aponta para a necessidade de investir mais na educação e na experimentação associadas às perspetivas meso e microssocial do capital digital

The Effect of Phases of the Adoption of the Circular Economy on Firm Performance: Evidence from 28 EU Countries

Although a substantial body of literature has analysed the potential benefits of the circular economy, empirical evidence on the relationship between circular economy-related activities and firm performance is scarce. Rather than analysing only the effect of the circular economy on firm performance, we empirically examine the effects of the different phases of the adoption process of the circular economy on firm performance. Therefore, in this paper, a multiphase framework of circular economy adoption is developed. Employing a propensity-score-matching model on the sample of more than 4000 European SMEs, we show that the adoption of circular economy activities improves firm performance as measured by productivity. In addition, our findings reveal that the impact of circular economy activities on firm performance is dependent on the different phases of the adoption process. Taken together, this study enriches current research on the circular economy by contributing to a more nuanced understanding on the relationship between the different phases of the adoption process and firm performance

Alterations of Sleep and Sleep Oscillations in the Hemiparkinsonian Rat

Our previous studies in the rat model of Parkinson’s disease (PD) cholinopathy demonstrated the sleep-related alterations in electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillations at the cortical and hippocampal levels, cortical drives, and sleep spindles (SSs) as the earliest functional biomarkers preceding hypokinesia. Our aim in this study was to follow the impact of a unilateral substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) lesion in rat on the cortical and hippocampal sleep architectures and their EEG microstructures, as well as the cortico-hippocampal synchronizations of EEG oscillations, and the SS and high voltage sleep spindle (HVS) dynamics during NREM and REM sleep. We performed unilateral SNpc lesions using two different concentrations/volumes of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA; 12 μg/1 μl or 12 μg/2 μl). Whereas the unilateral dopaminergic neuronal loss >50% throughout the overall SNpc rostro-caudal dimension prolonged the Wake state, with no change in the NREM or REM duration, there was a long-lasting theta amplitude augmentation across all sleep states in the motor cortex (MCx), but also in the CA1 hippocampus (Hipp) during both Wake and REM sleep. We demonstrate that SS are the hallmarks of NREM sleep, but that they also occur during REM sleep in the MCx and Hipp of the control rats. Whereas SS are always longer in REM vs. NREM sleep in both structures, they are consistently slower in the Hipp. The dopaminergic neuronal loss increased the density of SS in both structures and shortened them in the MCx during NREM sleep, without changing the intrinsic frequency. Conversely, HVS are the hallmarks of REM sleep in the control rats, slower in the Hipp vs. MCx, and the dopaminergic neuronal loss increased their density in the MCx, but shortened them more consistently in the Hipp during REM sleep. In addition, there was an altered synchronization of the EEG oscillations between the MCx and Hipp in different sleep states, particularly the theta and sigma coherences during REM sleep. We provide novel evidence for the importance of the SNpc dopaminergic innervation in sleep regulation, theta rhythm generation, and SS/HVS dynamics control. We suggest the importance of the underlying REM sleep regulatory substrate to HVS generation and duration and to the cortico-hippocampal synchronizations of EEG oscillations in hemiparkinsonian rats

Media and information literacy among children on three continents: insights into the measurement and mediation of well-being

In understanding and promoting positive outcomes for children’s internet use, media and information literacies play a crucial mediating role, by enabling opportunities to learn, create, express oneself and participate, and by facilitating coping and building resilience. This chapter explains the approach taken by Global Kids Online (GKO), a multinational research partnership seeking to generate robust evidence that can inform policy and practice regarding children’s internet use in diverse cities and countries internationally. The chapter presents the rationale for GKO’s multidimensional approach to media and information literacy, and issues of measurement, social desirability and cross-national comparison. It shows recent findings showing cross-national similarities in higher levels of operational than creative skills as well as differences between higher and lower income countries; it is noteworthy that gender differences in children’s digital skills are found to be small. Having shown that the GKO quantitative research toolkit successfully operationalises the range of media and information literacies also addressed by comparable international frameworks, we commend it to future researchers, concluding with evidence that the results of the GKO research are now being used to inform national policy and practice regarding children’s learning in a digital age

In Silico and In Vitro Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 PLpro with Gramicidin D

Finding an effective drug to prevent or treat COVID-19 is of utmost importance in tcurrent pandemic. Since developing a new treatment takes a significant amount of time, drug repurposing can be an effective option for achieving a rapid response. This study used a combined in silico virtual screening protocol for candidate SARS-CoV-2 PLpro inhibitors. The Drugbank database was searched first, using the Informational Spectrum Method for Small Molecules, followed by molecular docking. Gramicidin D was selected as a peptide drug, showing the best in silico interaction profile with PLpro. After the expression and purification of PLpro, gramicidin D was screened for protease inhibition in vitro and was found to be active against PLpro. The current study’s findings are significant because it is critical to identify COVID-19 therapies that are efficient, affordable, and have a favorable safety profil

Could Inelastic Interactions Induce Quantum Probabilistic Transitions?

What are quantum entities? Is the quantum domain deterministic or probabilistic? Orthodox quantum theory (OQT) fails to answer these two fundamental questions. As a result of failing to answer the first question, OQT is very seriously defective: it is imprecise, ambiguous, ad hoc, non-explanatory, inapplicable to the early universe, inapplicable to the cosmos as a whole, and such that it is inherently incapable of being unified with general relativity. It is argued that probabilism provides a very natural solution to the quantum wave/particle dilemma and promises to lead to a fully micro-realistic, testable version of quantum theory that is free of the defects of OQT. It is suggested that inelastic interactions may induce quantum probabilistic transitions

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe