Drawing is a non-verbal language : Illustrations from experimental research studies

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The Child Food Rejection Scale: Development and validation of a new scale to assess food neophobia and pickiness among 2- to 7-year-old French children

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Le dessin comme stratégie constructive des apprentissages à l’école: Entre suggestions de la pratique et apports de la recherche expérimentale

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Infants’ social evaluation abilities: testing their preference for prosocial agents at 6, 12 and 18 months with different social scenarios

International audienceA recent body of research suggests infants prefer prosocial behaviours. However, some studies failed to report this preference, and asked what specific parameters allow to observe it. We attempt to provide a part of answer to that question by investigating if the preference vary 1) with age (testing infants aged 6, 12, 18 months), 2) with the type of social behaviours (help, play and share), and 3) when the pro-and antisocial agents' appearance were manipulated (i.e., displaying neutral, own-race or other-race faces). To this end, we use an eye-tracking methodology to assess infants' preference between pro-and antisocial agents featured in animated cartoons. We found that the prosocial preference was not stable across ages and varied depending on social scenarios. No sound conclusion could be given about the influence of faces. Our results invite to wonder in which extent very young infants perceive the prosociality in complex social behaviours

Food rejection in young children:Validation of the Child Food Rejection Scale in English and cross-cultural examination in the UK and France.

Although there are numerous studies examining food rejection (neophobia and pickiness), very few studies have directly compared these particular behaviors in children from different countries. Testing children from different countries is important for future research, as there are clear differences between European countries in early feeding practices and child fruit and vegetable consumption. In the present study we aimed to (i) validate the Child Food Rejection Scale in English and (ii) compare children’s food neophobia and pickiness in the UK and France. To that aim, the Child Food Rejection Scale was first translated into English and its reliability and validity were assessed. Second, food rejection scores in a UK sample (n=117) and in a French sample (n=256) were directly compared to examine cross-cultural differences. Results showed that the Child Food Rejection Scale can be successfully used outside France. Moreover results revealed that UK children are less neophobic and picky than French children. These cultural differences can be useful to inform targeted interventions to change food related behaviors in these different populations

Siis taasko vaalit? : kunnan selviytymisopas valtakunnallisiin vaaleihin

Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena on tuottaa Nurmijärven kunnalle kirjalliset toimintaohjeet käytännön vaalivalmisteluihin. Opinnäytetyön toimeksiantaja on Nurmijärven kunnan keskushallinto ja yhteyshenkilönä toimii keskusvaalilautakunnan sihteeri Marja-Liisa Back, jonka vastuulla vaalien organisointitehtävät ovat. Toiminnallisen osuuden keskiössä on vaaliohje, johon on koottu tietoja ja taitoja vaaliorganisaatiolta. Opinnäytetyön tietoperustassa käsitellään Lean-ajattelua sekä prosessien kehittämistä ja mallinnusta. Näitä menetelmiä on hyödynnetty opinnäytetyön käytännön toteutuksessa, jossa analysoitiin, kuvattiin ja kehitettiin vaalien järjestämismenettelyjä Nurmijärven kunnassa. Vaaliprosessin kehittämistehtävä on valtakunnallisen vaalin harvinaisuudesta johtuen ongelmallinen. Itse vaalin aikana on usein käytettävissä hyvin rajallinen määrä henkilöresursseja prosessin arviointiin ja kehittämiseen, joten uskallusta toimivan prosessin muuttamiseen ja kyseenalaistamiseen ei juuri ole ollut. Opinnäytetyössä laadittiin keväällä 2018 kirjallinen vaaliohje Nurmijärven kunnalle, jonka tarkoituksena on tukea oikeusministeriön tuottamia vaalioppaita. Vaaliohjetta voidaan hyödyntää ja kehittää mahdollisten maakuntavaalien tai seuraavien eduskuntavaalien yhteydessä. Vaaliohje on hyödynnettävissä ja sovellettavissa myös muiden kuntien vaaliprosesseissa ja niiden kehittämisessä. Vaaliopasta voidaan hyödyntää seuraavan vaalin järjestelytehtävissä, ja opinnäytetyössä käsiteltyjä tekniikoita voidaan hyödyntää vaaliprosessin analysoinnissa jo vaalin aikana. Vaaliopasta täydennetään tulevien vaalien yhteydessä, jotta prosesseja helpottavat oivallukset voidaan tallentaa löydettävään muotoon tulevaisuutta varten. Jatkossa erityistä huomiota tulee kiinnittää henkilöstöresurssien tasapainottamiseen, jotta henkilöstökustannuksista ei tule kohtuutonta taakkaa kunnalle, varmistaen kuitenkin samalla äänestäjän oikeusturvan täyttyminen.The purpose of this thesis was to produce written instructions for organizing general elections in the municipality of Nurmijärvi. The principal of the thesis was the central government of Nurmijärvi and the contact person was secretary of the central election committee, Marja-Liisa Back, who is responsible for the practical arrangements for elections. At the core of the functional part of the thesis was the collected skills and know-how from the election organization. The theory mainly revolved around lean thinking and process modeling and development. These methods have been used in the functional part, which analyses, models and develops the practical election arrangements in the municipality of Nurmijärvi. Due to the rarity of a general election, the analysis and development of related processes is challenging. During the actual election season there is very limited amount of human resources available for the analysis and development of the processes, so there has rarely been courage to question and alter the current process. During the spring of 2018, a resource handbook was written for the municipality of Nurmijärvi, that aims to support the manuals written by the Ministry of Justice. The handbook can be used and developed during the possible provincial elections in the fall of 2018, or during the election of the parliament during the spring of 2019. The handbook can also be made use of and applied in the election processes of other municipalities. The handbook can be used during the practical arrangements of the next election and the methods discussed in the thesis can be used to analyze the processes during the election. In the future, extra attention should be paid to the balancing of human resources during the elections, so that staff costs will not become an unreasonable burden to the municipality, while assuring the rights of the voters

Map design for visually impaired people: past, present, and future research

International audienceOrientation and mobility are amongst the most important challenges for visually impaired people. Tactile maps can provide them with spatial knowledge of their environment, thereby reducing fear related to travelling in space. To date, raised-line paper maps have been used to make geographic information accessible, but these paper maps have significant limitations with regards to content and the presentation of information. Recent advances in technology may help to design usable interactive maps that overcome such limitations. In this paper, we first review different accessible map concepts. We then present our design of an interactive map prototype, and provide evidence of this interactive map’s high user satisfaction and efficiency as compared to a regular raised-line paper map. To conclude, we suggest that advances in interactive technologies (e.g., haptic touch surfaces) provide a unique opportunity to design usable maps in the near future

Kin'touch: understanding how visually impaired people explore tactile maps

International audienceTactile or interactive maps are largely used as an orientation aid for visually impaired people. Yet, little is known about haptic exploration strategies and their influence on the resultant cognitive mapping. We have designed a prototype with the potential to automatically analyze different users' exploration strategies. This prototype integrates data from the MS Kinect camera and a multi-touch table. It registers location of hands and digits on a tactile map. Results of preliminary studies show that this approach is promising

Food neophobia and pickiness in young children. How to measure it?

International audienceBackground. The two strongest barriers to increasing children's dietary variety and consumption of fruit and vegetables are food neophobia and pickiness, assumed to be the main kinds of food rejection in children. Accordingly, psychometric tools that provide a clear assessment of food neophobia and pickiness are greatly needed. Objective.We developed and validated a new scale for the assessment of food neophobia and pickiness, thus filling a major gap in the psychometric assessment of food rejection by French children. We concentrated on French children aged 2-7 years, as no such scale exists for this young population, and on the two known dimensions of food rejection, namely food neophobia and pickiness, as the nature of the relationship between them is still unclear. Design. The questionnaire was administered online to two samples (N =168; N ==256) of caregivers who responded for their children aged between 2 and 7 years. Additionally, a food choice task was administered to 17 children to check the scale's predictive validity. Main outcome measures/Statistical analysis performed. A factor analysis was performed to investigate the underlying structure of the scale. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent discriminant and predictive validity were also assessed. Results.The resulting scale, called the Child Food Rejection Scale (CFRS), included six items relating to food neophobia and five items relating to pickiness. The factor analysis confirmed the two-dimensional structure of the scale. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity were all satisfactory. Moreover, results from the food choice task showed that scores on the CFRS accurately predicted children's attitudes toward new and familiar foods. Conclusions.Taken together, these findings suggest that the CFRS, a short and easy-to-administer scale, represents a valuable tool for studying food rejection tendencies in French children

Visual exposure and categorization performance positively influence 3- to 6-year-old children's willingness to taste unfamiliar vegetables

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