Sleep habits and biological clocks determined in children: cognitive fluctuations and intelligence

This study presents evidence of the chronotype’ significant influence for the cognitive performance of children aged between 7 and eleven years old, specifically for the attention skills. Two groups of children were identified regarding their chronotypes: morning, intermediate and eveningn types. The impact of chronotype or diurnal preference was examined concerning the performance in attention subtest of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). The subtest was administered in two periods of the day – morning and afternoon - during two weeks. The students answered to the same subtest with one-week interval. The statistical analysis for the chronotype identification (through questionnaire) and for the attention test (WISC) followed the procedures and the score calculation of the original version of the instruments. By using the SPSS, version 24, were carried out comparison statistical tests to confirm performance differences. The different biological preferences of children impacted the attention fluctuation in a significant manner (p< .05) considering the different hours of tests realization which confirmed that biological clocks are determining and affecting the synchrony effect: the optimal performance according to specific periods of the day. These specific periods are determined biologically and with differences among individuals. Even determined biologically, the chronotype shows variation during lifespan. The results of this study highlight the crucial reflexion for the biological studies on the diurnal preferences and their impact in life of human being. Specifically related to Psychology area in order to understand the effect of biological rhythms in the development of young children and the schedules of the assessment settings where they are assigned

Educational Challenges: Cultural Behaviours, Psychopathology and Psychological Intervention.

In the present society we are facing behaviors mainly in young individuals that might be considered trends of culture or psychopathology. Both contexts are challenges for Education, Psychology and Health. This poster examines nine case studies specifically in Educational Psychology with the main goal to identify and to define phenomena contexts in school culture, the potential psychopathology involved and to present a psychological (and pedagogical) intervention for each case. The research was conducted by university students in the period between March 2017 and June 2017, in Portugal, and the childhood was focused. The case studies explored the cyberbullying; the bullying - victims and bullies’ perspectives; the obsessive compulsive disorder; the perception and inclusion of children from homoparental families; the inclusion of foreign students in the higher education systems as host institutions; the low vision and the inclusion in curricular physical activities; the influence of doc-reality and media in attitudes and self-esteem; and the influence of morningness and eveningness types for learning in the same school timetables. The university students were supervised during their research analysis and two methods were available for the intervention research study: the meta-analysis and the empirical research. In the second phase, the pedagogical intervention was designed for the different educational contexts in analysis, especially concerning the school environments. The evidence of literature and the empirical studies showed new trends of school’ behaviors and educational disturbances that require further research and effective (and adequate to age, gender, nationality and culture) pedagogical instruments. Respecting the instruments, on the one hand, to identify behaviors, habits or pathologies and to highlight the role and the training of teachers, psychologists and health professionals, on the other hand, to promote the early intervention and to enhance healthy child development and the orientation of the families. To respond to both milestones, this poster presents nine pedagogical projects that will be discussed on their impact concerning advances for the psychological and educational intervention, in a person-centered approach. Introductio

Enfisema bolhoso associado a consumo de drogas

AbstractBullous emphysema is characterized by permanent enlargement of airspaces distal to the terminal bronchiole accompanied by destruction of alveolar walls. Several aetiologies have been described, namely deficiency of α1-antitrypsin and the consumption of tobacco. With the exception of the deficiency of α1-antitrypsin, some cases of bullous emphysema in the young adult continue without known aetiology. Some cases of bullous emphysema have been described, emphasising the relationship between the disease and drug consumption. The association possibly creates the conditions for the development of large lung bullae, with particular exuberance for the superior lobes. The authors describe two clinical cases of young patients, with history of consumption of smoked substance abuse and bullous emphysema.Rev Port Pneumol 2010; XVI (1): 157-16

Cognitive accounts of second language acquisition: critical period and age effects

According to previous framework, the main hypothesis is that language could be acquired with accuracy just in a critical period, until puberty. The critical period effects are present both in first and second language acquisition situations. However the mastery and native-like competence believed as a classic achievement by the youngest learners (infants), could be compromised for several other maturational constraints which are not favourable. In the scope of PhD research, is been developed a battery, in electronic format, to observe differences, at phonological processing and other cognitive levels in the second-language field, between children, adolescents and adults. According to theories and findings in the neuroplasticity area, it was objective to analyse the metalinguistic competence and cognitive processes involved in it, considering age, gender and also nationality and mother tongues of the individual. Here will be presented and discussed implications of some results regarding performance in the dichotic hearing test

A Inclusão de Alunos com Experiência Migratória: Necessidade de Instrumentos de Avaliação e de Intervenção Educativa

It is important scientific and, above all, on a social perspective and to produce knowledge and suggest solutions enabling respond to the main problem of this research: "How to identify and thereby develop prevention methods regarding to overcome learning disabilities of second language (L2) learners, in school context, taking into account the premise of different cognitive performances (the highest level of "competence") and different psychosocial predispositions and thus, several verbal behaviours due to psychological, cognitive and linguistic factors?” Method: 61 participants second language learners (Experimental Group) and 82 native and monolingual individuals (Control Group), aged between 7 and 30 years. It was developed a battery of 12 tests to observe, at different degrees of language development, the phonological awareness of the participants, according to the factors age, gender, nationality and native language spoken by individuals. The test appears to be programmed in an electronic format to determine the profile accuracy of sounds, control of recording the answers and report the time spent for each test. From the application of the tests battery, we found that the sample with migratory experience presents lower performance (with a lower degree of acceptability) toward the sample of native and monolingual (Portuguese) which suggests clear indication that L2 learners have the conditions that require school support especially given the differences in competence and performance among the age brackets. Naturally the L2 learners are students at risk regarding the literacy skills development, determining the academic performance and their inclusion

Plasticity periods effects in second language acquisition and speech behaviour profiles: the age factor and decoding skills changing.

The age factor always is considered above other factors, by most research, evidencing the children as the true experts in the acquisition of L2, which is becoming seriously a controversy. Will be discussed results regarding the general decoding competence and the phonological awareness and consciousness. The results may suggest that the different ages in the speech perception and production apply to different strategies, discussing the theoretical of the critical period for the languages acquisition

Psychometric evaluation of the french version of the children’s chronotype questionnaire: sleep habits and academic performance of native and immigrant children in Luxembourg

This paper examined the psychometric properties of the French version of the Children’s Chronotype Questionnaire (CCTQ) attending two elementary schools in Luxembourg (n = 172; ages 4–11 years, M = 8.0, SD = 2.1) of either Portuguese (n = 11), Luxembourgian (n = 147), or other (n = 15) ethnicity. Parents completed the CCTQ, from which we used two chronotype scales (i.e. midsleep point on free days; MSF, multi-item morningness/eveningness; M/E). Results indicated satisfactory internal consistency for M/E scale (α = .70), with high intercorrelation scores (r = .91 between items; r = .87 between scales). As hypothesized, the chronotype of morning and evening type children were different (p= .017, η2 = .06), with the former having an earlier MSF (M = 5:29 h) compared with the latter (M = 5:48 h). The evening group showing the poorest outcomes for the qualitative grades (2014/2015: F(7.308) = 2.34, p = .002; 2015/2016: F(7.996) = 2.46, p = .001). No significant differences in MSFc were found between natives and immigrants. The results indicate that the French version of the CCTQ has adequate reliability and validity for research studies. Evaluating chronotype and sleep behaviors in preschool and school-age children is important, as both may have a negative impact on academic performance

Learning styles determine different immigrant students’ results in testing settings: relationship between nationality of children and the stimuli of tasks.

Background: Literature presents little examination on the learning styles and sensorial preferences of immigrants during decoding of different tasks in testing contexts. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, non-native children (between 2nd and 12th grade) were divided into six groups determined by country of origin and examined on different stimuli, visual and auditory, associated with four tasks that measure cognitive and linguistic specific abilities. Results: The multivariate analysis confirmed that the children’s nationality significantly explained achievement variability regarding picture recognition and auditory discrimination. η 2 values indicated that there were moderate to larger effects for the nationality as a factor that explains the variance of performance. Conclusions: Results indicate that tasks’ stimuli can effectively assess and differentiate specific young minority groups in order to understand their actual level of preparation and their needs for further learning. The listening input, on the one hand, should be established as the main differentiator for all groups at the time of school entry, but, on the other hand, it should be avoided in Asian groups and Eastern European students during the first stages of second language (L2) learning in European contexts with romance languages as the target learning

Escrita Académica

Organização da escrita académica e deteção de plági

Como o cérebro aprende a Linguagem! O caso específico da aquisição de língua segunda: períodos críticos e fossilização

Os estudos que vêm sendo desenvolvidos na área da linguagem (língua materna (LM/L1), língua segunda (L2), bilinguismo) apresentam-se com objectos de estudo que vão desde a análise dos perfis das línguas (o aspecto mais linguístico e descritivo dos códigos) até aos aspectos neuropsicológicos envolvidos nesse tipo de aprendizagem – a relação entre a dinâmica estrutural do encéfalo e o comportamento verbal, em situação normal e patológica. A esfera na qual se desenrolam os estudos nesta área apresenta grande número de dimensões devido ao facto de não se investigar apenas sobre a linguagem, mas sobre, e essencialmente, comportamento verbal, equacionando vários factores psicológicos e linguísticos, individuais ou não, que se descobrem na relação entre ser humano e códigos de comunicação