Effects on empathy and emotional intelligence of a Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility programme in physical education (Efectos de un programa de Responsabilidad Personal y Social sobre la empatía y la inteligencia emocional en educación física)

In recent years, research has pointed to the value of positive youth development programmes through physical education. The influence of this type of programme, specifically the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility programme, on the empathy and emotional intelligence of students is a field to be explored. The study’s aims were: (1) to investigate the effects of a Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility-based programme on empathy and perceived emotional intelligence in physical education; and (2) to compare the scores between lower-middle and upper-middle socioeconomic context schools. Participants were 210 students (ages 10-12). A quasi-experimental design with two analyses of covariance were completed. The programme improved the students’ feelings of sadness (p < .05). More pronounced improvements were found on the feelings of sadness (p = .016) in the lower-middle socioeconomic context group. The intervention was more effective on understanding feelings (p < .001) in the upper-middle context group. Improvements were found in emotional intelligence (p = .017), attention (p < .05) and repair (p < .026) factors in the lower-middle context group compared to the upper-middle context group. We found that the programme has been especially useful for improving emotional intelligence in depressed socioeconomic contexts. Resumen. En los últimos años, la investigación ha señalado el valor de los programas de desarrollo positivo adolescente a través de la educación física. La influencia de este tipo de programas, en concreto del programa de Enseñanza de la Responsabilidad Personal y Social, sobre la empatía y la inteligencia emocional de los alumnos es un campo por explorar. Los objetivos del estudio fueron: (1) investigar los efectos de un programa basado en el modelo de Enseñanza de Responsabilidad Personal y Social sobre la empatía y la inteligencia emocional percibida en educación física; y (2) comparar los resultados entre los colegios de contexto socioeconómico medio-bajo y medio-alto. Los participantes fueron 210 alumnos (de 10 a 12 años). Se realizó un diseño cuasi-experimental con dos análisis de covarianza. El programa mejoró los sentimientos de tristeza de los estudiantes (p <.05). Se encontraron mejoras más pronunciadas en los sentimientos de tristeza (p = .016) en el grupo de contexto socioeconómico medio-bajo. La intervención fue más efectiva en la comprensión de sentimientos (p <.001) en el grupo de contexto medio-alto. Se encontraron mejoras en los factores de inteligencia emocional (p = .017), atención (p <.05) y reparación (p <.026) en el grupo de contexto medio-bajo en comparación con el grupo de contexto medio-alto. Encontramos que el programa ha sido especialmente útil para mejorar la inteligencia emocional en contextos socioeconómicos vulnerables.

Unfamiliar Contexts Compared to Familiar Contexts Impair Learning in Humans

Context plays a key role in learning and memory processes. Re-exposure to the context that information was learned in facilitates memory retrieval of this information. However, it is currently unclear whether context changes also influence the ability to learn new information, which the present work investigated in two experiments with healthy participants (n = 40 per experiment; 20 female). In experiment 1, participants learned a list of word-pairs (A-B) in the morning and a second non-overlapping list (C-D) in the evening, either in the same context or in a different context than the first list (between-subjects). We confirmed that new learning is enhanced if it takes place in the same context, putatively driven by context-dependent retrieval of meta-learning processes. In addition, new learning in the other context was significantly decreased compared to baseline. In experiment 2, participants were exposed to both contexts in the morning, but only learned word-pairs in one of them. Familiarity with the other context abolished differences between the same and other context group. These data point to the novelty of the context interfering with new learning rather than the familiarity of the context enhancing it. Importantly, the reduction of new learning in the other context in the first experiment, where the context was unfamiliar in both learning sessions, suggests mechanisms beyond attention processes that are bound by the novelty of the other context. Rather, the old context impairs the processing of the new context, possibly by biasing pattern completion and pattern separation trade-offs within the hippocampus.

Consolidated Framework for Collaboration Research derived from a systematic review of theories, models, frameworks and principles for cross-sector collaboration

Cross-sector collaboration is needed to address root causes of persistent public health challenges. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify studies describing theories, models, frameworks and principles for cross-sector collaboration and synthesized collaboration constructs into the Consolidated Framework for Collaboration Research (CFCR). Ninety-five articles were included in the review. Constructs were abstracted from articles and grouped into seven domains within the framework: community context; group composition; structure and internal processes; group dynamics; social capital; activities that influence or take place within the collaboration; activities that influence or take place within the broader community; and activities that influence or take place both in the collaboration and in the community. Community engagement strategies employed by collaborations are discussed, as well as recommendations for using systems science methods for testing specific mechanisms of how constructs identified in the review influence one another. Researchers, funders, and collaboration members can use the consolidated framework to articulate components of collaboration and test mechanisms explaining how collaborations function. By working from a consolidated framework of collaboration terms and using systems science methods, researchers can advance evidence for the efficacy of cross-sector collaborations.

Distribution of Streptococcus agalactiae Among Iranian Women from 1992 to 2018: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Context: Group B Streptococcus has the capacity of being colonized in the rectovaginal organ of women and causes infections in a mother and her fetus, thereby leading to neonatal diseases. Evidence Acquisition: The aim of this review was to summarize all of the relevant articles published to highlight the prevalence of group B Streptococcus colonization or infection in different regions of Iran. A systematic literature review was conducted by searching PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (ISI), ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and domestic databases for papers published in English or Persian from 1992 up to July 2019, concerning the prevalence of group B Streptococcus among Iranian women. All information regarding year, location of cases, frequency, author’s name, date of publication, participants, pregnancy period, sampling, and quality assessment were recorded. Summary effects were derived using the random effects model. Results: Among 61 suitable papers, data revealed that 36,807 cases of pregnant and non-pregnant women had been tested for group B Streptococcus during 1992-2018. Overall, 11.9% of pregnant and 5.3% of non-pregnant women were positive. Further results were as follows: vaginal, recto-vaginal, rectal, and endocervical colonization rates were 12.9%, 9.7%, 18.5%, and 3.7%, respectively. Group B Streptococcus incidence was the highest in Sanandaj (61.5%), and the lowest in Tabriz (1.8%). Conclusions: Although the prevalence distribution in Iran seems to be acceptable, more investigations are needed to represent the real incidence of group B Streptococcus around the country. In addition, a program with a standard lab technique is needed to screen pregnant women for further treatment before birth.

Misericordia ilimitada: revisión del modelo antropológico “bienes limitados” en Mt 5,7

A partir de una revisión de los modelosantropológicos del Context Group, y al avanzar hacia una crítica del modelo de “bienes limitados”, el autor argumenta que las Bienaventuranzas deben ser entendidas como proclamaciones de gracia, no de honor; como expresión de júbilo ante bienes ilimitados, no como aforismos de reputación y dignidad. La misericordia enunciada en Mt 5,7 es entonces un don ilimitado, una gracia no enmarcada en las condiciones retributivas aún presentes en el primer Evangelio, pues esto no correspondería a la visión libre del Dios Abba que Jesús proclamaba. La reflexión teológica al final del artículo puntualiza esta distinción.

Affective Influence on Context-Specific Proportion Congruent (CSPC) Effect

Congruency effects diminish in contexts associated with mostly incongruent trials compared with contexts associated with mostly congruent trials. Here, we aimed to assess affective influences on this context-specific proportion congruent (CSPC) effect. We presented either neutral or affective faces as context stimuli in a Flanker task and associated mostly incongruent trials with male/female faces for a neutral-context group and with angry/happy faces for a affective-context group. To assess general influences of affective valence, we compared CSPC effects between the neutral-context group and the affective-context group. To assess valence-specific influences, we compared the size of CSPC effects – for the affective-context group only – between participants for whom mostly incongruent trials were associated with angry faces and participants for whom mostly incongruent trials were associated with happy faces. However, the modulating influence on the CSPC effect from affective versus neutral contexts or from valence-proportion mappings was not statistically significant.

Is L2 vocabulary learned better via context or via translation?

Various studies have shown intentional learning of L2 vocabulary to be more efficient than incidental learning from exposure to comprehensible input. Some have argued that such learning may be further enhanced by recourse to L1 translation, particularly for weaker learners. The present study aims to determine if intentional learning of new vocabulary through L1 does indeed confer an advantage over intentional learning from an L2 context. To this end, 403 Thai freshmen students were pre-tested on thirty vocabulary items set for study on their English course. They were then randomly allocated to either a translation or context group to learn those items. Time on task was controlled. A delayed post-test showed that while the translation group was better at matching the thirty English words with Thai translations, albeit marginally so, there was no benefit conferred on the translation group when it came to using the words in a contextual gap-filling exercise. This finding held for both advanced and weaker learners.

First-principles study of bandgap tuning in Ge1−xPbxSe

Narrow bandgap and its tuning are important aspects of materials for their technological applications. In this context group IV–VI semiconductors are one of the interesting candidates. In this paper, we explore the possibility of bandgap tuning in one of the family member of this family GeSe by using isoelectronic Pb doping. Our study is first-principles based electronic structure calculations of Ge[Formula: see text]Pb[Formula: see text]Se. This study reveals that the Ge-p and Se-p states are strongly hybridized in GeSe and shows a gap in the DOS at Ef in GeSe. This gap reduces systematically with simultaneous enhancement of the states in the near Ef region as a function of Pb doping. This leads tuning of the indirect bandgap in GeSe via Pb doping. The results of the indirect bandgap decrement are consistent with the experimental findings. We propose a mechanism where the electrostatic effect of dopant Pb cation could be responsible for these changes in the electronic structure of GeSe.