Water competence development in young children : common methodological approaches and their effects on aquatic skill acquisition and on gross motor development

Objetivo: Esta tese inclui três estudos relacionados com o ensino da natação, procurando cumprir com os seguintes objetivos: (i) descrever a organização e metodologia de ensino da natação desenvolvida em Portugal, em contexto educativo (primeiro ciclo do ensino básico); (ii) analisar as diferenças na competência aquática adquirida entre dois programas de ensino da natação, em contextos de profundidade distintos (água rasa e profunda); (iii) analisar as mudanças longitudinais no desenvolvimento motor global de crianças, após cinco, dez e 30 meses de prática de natação e de futebol. Métodos: Para o primeiro estudo, a amostra incluiu 89 coordenadores pedagógicos de escolas de natação e 100 professores de natação. Em ambos os grupos amostrais foram aplicados questionários para apurar a organização e metodologia de ensino da natação. Para o segundo estudo, a amostra foi constituída por 21 crianças (4,70 ± 0,51 anos), de ambos os géneros e sem qualquer experiência em programas de ensino da natação. A amostra foi dividida em dois grupos experimentais, que foram sujeitos a um programa similar de ensino da natação, durante seis meses, mas variável na profundidade do espaço aquático (piscina de água rasa; piscina de água profunda). Para o terceiro estudo, a amostra foi composta por 33 crianças (4,8 ± 0,5 anos). A amostra foi dividida em três grupos: grupo de controlo; grupo praticante de futebol; grupo praticante de natação. Foi utilizado o Test Gross Motor Development - 2nd Edition para avaliar o desenvolvimento motor global em três momentos distintos: após cinco, dez e trinta meses de prática desportiva. Resultados: Os resultados do primeiro estudo sugerem que a natação no primeiro ciclo do ensino básico regese, sobretudo, pelas orientações do Ministério da Educação. Os principais objetivos das aulas estão relacionados com a adaptação ao meio aquático, privilegiando-se as habilidades aquáticas básicas (81,4%), num ensino pouco suportado em material pedagógico. No segundo estudo, os resultados sugerem que o ensino em piscina rasa permite adquirir um nível superior de competência aquática, em particular em cinco habilidades aquáticas básicas. No terceiro estudo, os dados apontam, em ambos os grupos (futebol e natação), para uma melhoria significativa do quociente motor bruto e dos scores padrão, na locomoção e controlo de objetos entre T5 e T10. Os praticantes de futebol atingem um quociente máximo de desenvolvimento motor após 10 meses de prática. Os praticantes de natação apresentaram um desenvolvimento motor (entre T10 e T30) gradual, particularmente em habilidades de controlo de objetos. Conclusões: Os dados descritos no primeiro estudo permitiram-nos identificar algumas insuficiências no enquadramento da natação no primeiro ciclo do ensino básico, provavelmente por condicionantes da eficiência do processo de ensino-aprendizagem, ao nível da aquisição de habilidades aquáticas mais complexas. Para além disso, os resultados sugerem que as sessões de natação em baixa profundidade parecem facilitar o desenvolvimento da competência aquática em crianças, após seis meses de prática. Foi também concluído que a prática desportiva (natação e futebol) durante a infância pode contribuir para um maior desenvolvimento motor.Objective: This thesis includes three studies related to the teaching of swimming, with the following objectives: (i) to describe the organization and methodology of swimming teaching in Portugal, in the context of school education (elementary school); (ii) to analyze and compare the efficiency between the two program types of swimming teaching (practice in shallow water and practice in deep water); (iii) to analyze the longitudinal changes in the gross motor development of children, after five, ten and 30 months practicing swimming and soccer in parallel. Methods: For the first study, the sample included 89 pedagogical coordinators of swimming schools and 100 swimming teachers. We have done a survey with both groups to assess the level of organization and methodology of swimming teaching. For the second study, the sample was composed by 21 children (4.70 ± 0.51years), of both genders and with no experience with swimming learning programs. The sample was organized in two experimental groups, which have followed a similar swimming learning program during six months, but using different water depths (one using shallow water, the other using deep water). For the third study, the sample was composed by 33 children (4.8 ± 0.5 years). The sample was organized in three groups: control group, soccer group, swimming group. We have used the Test Gross Motor Development – 2nd Edition to evaluate the gross motor development in three different moments: after five, ten and 30 months of practice of both sports. Results: the results of the first study indicate that the swimming practice in the elementary school is conducted following the orientations from the Portuguese Ministry of Education. At this level, the swimming practice is focused on the aquatic readiness, giving more attention to basic aquatic skills (81.4%), where the teaching model rarely includes pedagogical material. In the second study, the results indicate that we can achieve a better performance (higher level of aquatic competence) in shallow water than in deep water, especially with acquiring the five basic aquatic skills. In the third study, the results indicate that, in both groups (soccer and swimming), there’s a significant improvement of the gross motor coefficient and the standard scores in the locomotion and control of objects, between T5 and T10. The soccer practitioners have reached the higher motor development coefficient, after 10 months of practice. The swimming practitioners have a gradual motor development (between T10 and T30), especially with regards to object control skills. Conclusions: with the data of the first study, we could find some deficiencies in the integration of swimming practice in the elementary school’s program and probably those are limitations of the efficiency of the teaching method adopted, in respect to the acquisition of more complex aquatic skills. By the results of the second study, the development of aquatic skills, by children after six months of practice, seems to be easier in shallow water that in deep water. The data collected with the last study indicate that sports (both swimming and soccer) during childhood can contribute for a higher gross motor development of children

A adaptação ao meio aquático em contextos de ensino com diferentes profundidades: um estudo das diferenças metodológicas e na aquisição de habilidades motoras aquáticas em crianças de 4 e 5 anos

A natação, tal como outros desportos, têm vindo a sofrer transformações e evoluções na metodologia de ensino. No entanto, ainda são colocadas muitas dúvidas acerca do tipo de método de ensino a utilizar bem como do contexto de aprendizagem a adoptar, em particular, a profundidade da piscina (rasas ou profundas) na adaptação ao meio aquático. Assim, neste estudo propomo-nos analisar a eficácia da metodologia de ensino no âmbito da adaptação ao meio aquático, em escolas de natação que recorrem a diferentes contextos de aprendizagem: em água rasa e profunda. Em particular, é objectivo desta pesquisa a análise da relação entre o nível de competência aquática de crianças de cinco e quatro anos, em diferentes contextos de ensino-aprendizagem da natação, designadamente a profundidade da piscina e a organização metodológica do ensino ministrado. Para o efeito, foram analisadas noventa e oito crianças (idade média de 4,39 e um desvio padrão de 0,49), em dois grupos distintos, de acordo com o contexto de ensino-aprendizagem da natação: cinquenta alunos provenientes do ensino numa piscina profunda e quarenta e oito alunos de uma piscina rasa. A amostra foi ainda estudada de acordo com a experiência prévia de prática de natação: com seis, doze e dezoito meses de prática. Todas as crianças integradas na amostra foram avaliadas na sua competência aquática, recorrendo a uma ficha de observação de domínio de habilidades motoras aquáticas adquiridas. Aos técnicos de natação responsáveis pela experiência aquática prévia das crianças estudadas foi aplicado um questionário para o registo da organização metodológica e respectivo contexto do ensino ministrado. Os resultados do nosso estudo indicam que na generalidade as escolas de natação não diferem significativamente ao nível da estrutura organizacional. No entanto, alguns aspectos metodológicos parecem distintos entre as escolas de natação de água rasa e profunda, particularmente na importância pedagógica que determinados conteúdos parecem ter na orientação dos programas de ensino. Os resultados indicam que as crianças com maior tempo de prática (6, 12 e 18 meses) apresentam um número superior de habilidades aquáticas adquiridas, independentemente do contexto de profundidade. Contudo, a competência aquática parece mais sólida entre as crianças com ensino em água rasa, pelo menos até aos 12 meses de experiência aquática. Pelos resultados encontrados no presente estudo, consideramos que a existência de assimetrias da aquisição de competências no meio aquático pode estar associada com as diferenças de profundidade da piscina bem como associada à organização metodológica do ensino adoptado pela da escola de natação.Swimming, like other sports, has been undergoing some transformations and evolutions in its teaching methodology. However, there are still many doubts about the specific teaching method to put to practise, as well as the learning context to adopt, particularly the pool's depth (shallow or deep) adapted to the aquatic environment. Thus, in this study we intend to analyse the efficiency of the teaching methodology regarding the adaption to the aquatic environment, at swimming schools which use different learning contexts, shallow and deep pools. Specifically, this research aims to analyse the relation between the level of water competence in children of four and five years old, in different teaching-learning contexts of swimming, namely the depth of the pool and the organization of the teaching methodology. For this, ninety eight children (mean age 4,39 and 0,49 standard deviation) were analysed and divided into two distinct groups, according to the swimming teaching-learning context: fifty students in a deep pool and forty eight students in a shallow pool. The sampling was also studied regarding the previous experience of swimming practise: twirty two children with six months of practise, twirty two children with twelve months of practise and twirty four children with eighteen months of practise. All children of the sampling were assessed in their water competence, using for this an observation sheet of the water motor skills acquired. It was asked to the swimming instructors of those children to fill in a questionnaire in order to register the methodological organization and its teaching context. The results of our study show that, in general, swimming schools do not significantly differ from each other in organizational terms. Nevertheless, some methodological aspects seem different when talking either of shallow or deep water swimming schools, particularly in the way specific contents are pedagogically valued when guiding the teaching syllabus. The results indicate that children who have longer practice (6, 12 and 18 months) show a bigger number of acquired aquatic skills, regardless of depth context. However, the aquatic skills appears to be more consistent in children who have learned in shallow waters, at least till their 12 months of aquatic experience. From these results we believe that the existence of asymmetries in the acquisition of water competence may be related to the differences in pool’s depth, as well as to the methodological organization adopted by the swimming school

Mídia e política no Brasil: textos e agenda de pesquisa Midia and politics in Brazil: texts and research agenda

Um especialista em estudos de comunicação e um cientista político apresentam conjuntamente um panorama da pesquisa sobre as relações entre os meios de comunicação e os processos políticos no Brasil. Uma agenda de pesquisa é proposta e um elenco de textos nessa área é apresentado.<br>A specialist in communication studies and a political scientist present together a panorama of research on the relations between communication midia and political processes in Brazil A research agenda is proposed and a list of texts in this area is presented

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

Incidence of severe critical events in paediatric anaesthesia (APRICOT): a prospective multicentre observational study in 261 hospitals in Europe

Background Little is known about the incidence of severe critical events in children undergoing general anaesthesia in Europe. We aimed to identify the incidence, nature, and outcome of severe critical events in children undergoing anaesthesia, and the associated potential risk factors. Methods The APRICOT study was a prospective observational multicentre cohort study of children from birth to 15 years of age undergoing elective or urgent anaesthesia for diagnostic or surgical procedures. Children were eligible for inclusion during a 2-week period determined prospectively by each centre. There were 261 participating centres across 33 European countries. The primary endpoint was the occurence of perioperative severe critical events requiring immediate intervention. A severe critical event was defined as the occurrence of respiratory, cardiac, allergic, or neurological complications requiring immediate intervention and that led (or could have led) to major disability or death. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01878760. Findings Between April 1, 2014, and Jan 31, 2015, 31â127 anaesthetic procedures in 30â874 children with a mean age of 6·35 years (SD 4·50) were included. The incidence of perioperative severe critical events was 5·2% (95% CI 5·0â5·5) with an incidence of respiratory critical events of 3·1% (2·9â3·3). Cardiovascular instability occurred in 1·9% (1·7â2·1), with an immediate poor outcome in 5·4% (3·7â7·5) of these cases. The all-cause 30-day in-hospital mortality rate was 10 in 10â000. This was independent of type of anaesthesia. Age (relative risk 0·88, 95% CI 0·86â0·90; p<0·0001), medical history, and physical condition (1·60, 1·40â1·82; p<0·0001) were the major risk factors for a serious critical event. Multivariate analysis revealed evidence for the beneficial effect of years of experience of the most senior anaesthesia team member (0·99, 0·981â0·997; p<0·0048 for respiratory critical events, and 0·98, 0·97â0·99; p=0·0039 for cardiovascular critical events), rather than the type of health institution or providers. Interpretation This study highlights a relatively high rate of severe critical events during the anaesthesia management of children for surgical or diagnostic procedures in Europe, and a large variability in the practice of paediatric anaesthesia. These findings are substantial enough to warrant attention from national, regional, and specialist societies to target education of anaesthesiologists and their teams and implement strategies for quality improvement in paediatric anaesthesia. Funding European Society of Anaesthesiology

Incidence of severe critical events in paediatric anaesthesia (APRICOT): a prospective multicentre observational study in 261 hospitals in Europe

Background Little is known about the incidence of severe critical events in children undergoing general anaesthesia in Europe. We aimed to identify the incidence, nature, and outcome of severe critical events in children undergoing anaesthesia, and the associated potential risk factors. Methods The APRICOT study was a prospective observational multicentre cohort study of children from birth to 15 years of age undergoing elective or urgent anaesthesia for diagnostic or surgical procedures. Children were eligible for inclusion during a 2-week period determined prospectively by each centre. There were 261 participating centres across 33 European countries. The primary endpoint was the occurence of perioperative severe critical events requiring immediate intervention. A severe critical event was defined as the occurrence of respiratory, cardiac, allergic, or neurological complications requiring immediate intervention and that led (or could have led) to major disability or death. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01878760. Findings Between April 1, 2014, and Jan 31, 2015, 31 127 anaesthetic procedures in 30 874 children with a mean age of 6.35 years (SD 4.50) were included. The incidence of perioperative severe critical events was 5.2% (95% CI 5.0-5.5) with an incidence of respiratory critical events of 3.1% (2.9-3.3). Cardiovascular instability occurred in 1.9% (1.7-2.1), with an immediate poor outcome in 5.4% (3.7-7.5) of these cases. The all-cause 30-day in-hospital mortality rate was 10 in 10 000. This was independent of type of anaesthesia. Age (relative risk 0.88, 95% CI 0.86-0.90; p<0.0001), medical history, and physical condition (1.60, 1.40-1.82; p<0.0001) were the major risk factors for a serious critical event. Multivariate analysis revealed evidence for the beneficial effect of years of experience of the most senior anaesthesia team member (0.99, 0.981-0.997; p<0.0048 for respiratory critical events, and 0.98, 0.97-0.99; p=0.0039 for cardiovascular critical events), rather than the type of health institution or providers. Interpretation This study highlights a relatively high rate of severe critical events during the anaesthesia management of children for surgical or diagnostic procedures in Europe, and a large variability in the practice of paediatric anaesthesia. These findings are substantial enough to warrant attention from national, regional, and specialist societies to target education of anaesthesiologists and their teams and implement strategies for quality improvement in paediatric anaesthesia

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P &lt; 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)