18 results
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2. What the World Chemical Community Thinks about the Concept of Physical and Chemical Change?
- Author
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Palmer, W. P.
- Abstract
The concept of physical and chemical change is far from being the clearest and most self-explanatory concept in the world. If a number of chemists are asked to define physical and chemical change, there may well appear to be a fair degree of uniformity in their answers, until a few examples are suggested. When chemists are asked to place a variety of changes into the category of physical or chemical change, then differences inevitably arise. It is not difficult to demonstrate this by viewing school textbooks and articles about the topic. In spite of this, physical and chemical change is still taught in most in most secondary school courses. The problem arises from the definition and the historical layers of meaning that have grown around the concept, almost by accretion, without teachers being aware of their significance. The purpose of this paper is to describe the answers given by experienced educators to a questionnaire, which attempted to find out what the views of science educators/chemists worldwide about physical and chemical change now are. Four appendixes present: (1) List of Respondents; (2) List of Questionnaires Returned; (3) Physical and Chemical Change: An Information Sheet; and (4) Full Questionnaire: Interview Protocol or Basis for Written Response.
- Published
- 1996
3. Assessment of Learning Strategies in College Students: A Brief Version of the MSLQ
- Author
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Curione, Karina, Uriel, Fabiana, Gründler, Virginia, and Freiberg-Hoffmann, Agustín
- Abstract
Introduction: The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) is one of the most worldwide employed scales to assess self-regulated learning and its factor structure is a topic of debate nowadays. In this paper the internal structure of the instrument is analyzed on university students of Argentina and Uruguay. The aim was to extract a short version of the MSLQ. Method: 918 Argentinian and Uruguayan university students participated. An exploratory factor analysis as well as confirmatory factor analysis was applied using SPSS 21, SIMLOAD and LISREL 8.8 respectively. The factor invariance of the model was tested through the segmentation of each sample according to country, age and gender. The internal consistency was calculated for each sample using the Omega coefficient, these coefficients were compared using the "AlphaTest" program and the coefficient q. Results: The exploratory factor analysis yielded a hexafactorial solution that kept 18 items. This structure was tested in the sample of each country through a confirmatory factor analysis, which verified adequate fit indices (CFI > 0.90, RMSEA < 0.06). The factorial invariance of the model was tested, verifying the metric equivalence ([delta]CFI < 0.009, [delta]RMSEA < 0.002). For each dimension and country, internal consistency was estimated, obtaining values between 0.55 and 0.79. Discussion and Conclusion: The abbreviated version of the MSLQ will allow to have further understanding of the way in which Argentinian and Uruguayan students self-regulate their learning. This information could prove useful for the design of interventions that promote self-regulated learning processes at a college level. Future research will test the structure hereby obtained, aiming to verify whether its results persist in different academic orientations and countries.
- Published
- 2022
4. The Changing Academic Profession in International Comparative and Quantitative Perspectives. Report of the International Conference on the Changing Academic Profession Project, 2008. RIHE International Seminar Reports. No.12
- Author
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Hiroshima University, Research Institute for Higher Education (Japan)
- Abstract
This year the Research Institute for Higher Education in Hiroshima University hosted an international conference in close collaboration with Hijiyama University. The main purpose of the 2008 conference was to enable the participants to give preliminary country/regional reports based on their national/regional surveys. This publication reports the proceedings of the conference. The following papers are presented at the conference: (1) International Implications of the Changing Academic Profession in Japan (Akira Arimoto); (2) The Context for the Changing Academic Profession: A Survey of International Indicators (William K. Cummings); (3) The Changing Academic Profession in Canada: Exploring Themes of Relevance, Internationalization, and Management (Amy Scott Metcalfe); (4) The Changing Academic Profession in the United States: 2007 (Martin Finkelstein and William Cummings); (5) The Academic Profession in England: Still Stratified after All These Years? (William Locke); (6) Changes in the Finnish Academic Profession Reflect Reforms in Higher Education (Timo Aarrevaara and Seppo Holtta); (7) Academic Staff in Germany: "Per Aspera Ad Astra?" (Ulrich Teichler); (8) The Changing Academic Profession in Italy: Accounts from the Past, First Insights from the Present (Michele Rostan); (9) The Australian Academic Profession: A First Overview (Hamish Coates, Leo Goedegebuure, Jeannet Van Der Lee and Lynn Meek); (10) Governance and Decision-Making Related to Academic Activities: The Case of Higher Educational Institutions in Malaysia (Muhammad Jantan and Morshidi Sirat); (11) A Preliminary Review of the Hong Kong CAP Data (Gerard A. Postiglione and Hei Hang Hayes Tang); (12) Progress of the Academic Profession in Mainland China (Hong Chen); (13) Analyses of the Educational Backgrounds and Career Paths of Faculty in Higher Education Institutions in Beijing Municipality, China (Yan Fengqiao and Chen Yuan); (14) The Changing Academic Profession in an Era of University Reform in Japan (Tsukasa Daizen and Atsunori Yamanoi); (15) Brazilian Academic Profession: Some Recent Trends (Elizabeth Balbachevsky, Simon Schwartzman, Nathalia Novaes Alves, Dante Filipe Felgueiras dos Santos, and Tiago Silva Birkhoz Duarte); (16) Mexican Academics at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century: Who Are They and How Do They Perceive Their Work, Institutions and Public Policies (A Preliminary Analysis) (Jesus Francisco Galaz-Fontes, Laura Elena Padilla-Gonzalez, Manuel Gil-Anton, Juan Jose Sevilla-Garcia, Jose Luis Arcos-Vega, Jorge Martinez-Stack, Sergio Martinez-Romo, Gabriel Arturo Sanchez-de-Aparicio-y-Benitez, Leonardo Jimenez-Loza and Maria Elena Barrera-Bustillos); (17) The Academic Profession in Argentina: Characteristics and Trends in the Context of a Mass Higher Education System (Monica Marquina and Norberto Fernandez Lamarra); and (18) The Academic Profession in South Africa in Times of Change: Portrait from the Preliminary Results of the Changing Academic Profession (CAP) Research Project (Charste C. Wolhuter, Philip Higgs, Leonie G. Higgs, and Isaac M. Ntshoe). Appended are: (1) CAP Questionnaire; (2) Conference Program; and (3) List of Participants. Individual papers contain figures, tables, references and footnotes.
- Published
- 2008
5. Towards Understanding EFL Teachers' Conceptions of Research: Findings from Argentina
- Author
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Banegas, Darío Luis
- Abstract
This paper investigates the conceptions of research held by English as a foreign language teachers in Argentina. Quantitative data from 622 participants from an online questionnaire were followed by qualitative data from online interviews with 40 of those participants. Results show that the teachers conceptualised research through conventional notions closer to a quantitative paradigm. They felt research was not part of their job, and a lack of time was the main reason for not engaging in/with research. Teacher development, agency, empowerment, and autonomy could be sought by engaging teachers with forms of research which are meaningful to them, such as action research.
- Published
- 2018
6. Music and Its Significance in Children Favourite Audiovisuals
- Author
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Porta, Amparo and Herrera, Lucía
- Abstract
Audiovisual media are part of children's daily life. They build and/or replace a part of the reality that is sometimes preceded. This paper is interested in one of the elements of the audiovisual binomial, the soundtrack, in order to analyse its meaning and sense from the children's point of view. The objectives are: to determine if the audiovisual media clips to which children are exposed (sound, image and all) are perceived differently; to establish the possible differences in the assessment they make when comparing the sound and image presentation modalities. Fourteen audiovisual media (movies, series, cartoons and documentaries) were identified by 115 children (10-12 years old) as preferred. Audiovisuals were edited in three modalities (sound, image, and all) and grouped into different series of three clips, which were watched in group sessions by 547 Spanish and Argentinian children (mean age: 11 years old). An Assessment Questionnaire of audiovisual clips was designed and implemented. Results showed differences in the meaning of the soundtrack in three of the five categories of the questionnaire. The significant predominance of the sound in series, documentaries and, especially, movies is highlighted. Contextual space-time elements, affective implications, feelings, and empathy as well as assessment of the experience are all perceived by means of the sound (the music).
- Published
- 2017
7. The ECO European Project: A New MOOC Dimension Based on an Intercreativity Environment
- Author
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Acedo, Sara Osuna and Cano, Lucía Camarero
- Abstract
The ECO European Project funded by the European Commission is dedicated to bringing MOOCs to a new dimension by taking advantage of the new possibilities offered by the Social Web (O'Reilly, 2005). This paper focuses on the intercreative aspects of MOOCs. It takes a look at the characteristics of the new ECO MOOCs to see if they are designed and implemented within an intercreative environment. The methodology is quantitative and data collection was conducted using self-administered questionnaires with closed or semi-closed questions. This study includes the so-called sMOOCs, which stress intercreativity to work towards collective intelligence.
- Published
- 2016
8. Predicting General Academic Performance and Identifying the Differential Contribution of Participating Variables Using Artificial Neural Networks
- Author
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Musso, Mariel F., Kyndt, Eva, Cascallar, Eduardo C., and Dochy, Filip
- Abstract
Many studies have explored the contribution of different factors from diverse theoretical perspectives to the explanation of academic performance. These factors have been identified as having important implications not only for the study of learning processes, but also as tools for improving curriculum designs, tutorial systems, and students' outcomes. Some authors have suggested that traditional statistical methods do not always yield accurate predictions and/or classifications (Everson, 1995; Garson, 1998). This paper explores a relatively new methodological approach for the field of learning and education, but which is widely used in other areas, such as computational sciences, engineering and economics. This study uses cognitive and non-cognitive measures of students, together with background information, in order to design predictive models of student performance using artificial neural networks (ANN). These predictions of performance constitute a true predictive classification of academic performance over time, a year in advance of the actual observed measure of academic performance. A total sample of 864 university students of both genders, ages ranging between 18 and 25 was used. Three neural network models were developed. Two of the models (identifying the top 33% and the lowest 33% groups, respectively) were able to reach 100% correct identification of all students in each of the two groups. The third model (identifying low, mid and high performance levels) reached precisions from 87% to 100% for the three groups. Analyses also explored the predicted outcomes at an individual level, and their correlations with the observed results, as a continuous variable for the whole group of students. Results demonstrate the greater accuracy of the ANN compared to traditional methods such as discriminant analyses. In addition, the ANN provided information on those predictors that best explained the different levels of expected performance. Thus, results have allowed the identification of the specific influence of each pattern of variables on different levels of academic performance, providing a better understanding of the variables with the greatest impact on individual learning processes, and of those factors that best explain these processes for different academic levels.
- Published
- 2013
9. Reliability and Validity of the 'Achievement Emotions Questionnaire': A Study of Argentinean University Students
- Author
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Paoloni, Paola Verónica, Vaja, Arabela Beatriz, and Muñoz, Verónica Lilian
- Abstract
Introduction: This paper aims at describing the psychometric features of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ), focusing specifically on the section that measures class emotions. From a theoretical perspective, this instrument was designed based on the control-value theory of achievement emotions. Therefore, a description of the psychometric features of the questionnaire could pave the way for discussions about the underlying theory. From a practical perspective, it is important to highlight that there is no documented literature in our country about the technical advantages and benefits that the instrument has. Thus, the description of the instrument could represent important contributions to the field. Method: The section of the AEQ that assesses class emotions consists of 80 items grouped into eight scales: enjoyment, hope, pride, anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, and boredom. We based the reliability analysis on the responses obtained from a sample of 450 students who attend the School of Engineering at Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (Argentina). For the analysis of content validity, we considered 11 experts' responses to a questionnaire specifically designed to this end. Results: The results obtained indicate acceptable reliability levels both for the use of the questionnaire as a whole and also for the individual use of each scale, except for "hope," for which future analysis and reformulations are needed. The inter-rater reliability test allowed us to confirm the content validity of the instrument, as 80-100% of the raters showed agreement in indicating high or moderate relevance for 79 of the 80 items in the questionnaire. Conclusion: The reliability and validity indices obtained in this study provide evidence to conclude that the Argentinean Spanish version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQe) can be used reliably with groups of students in our context. In addition, the results suggest alternatives that could increase the levels of reliability and validity obtained in this study.
- Published
- 2014
10. Alcances pedagógicos del uso de métodos "mixtos" en investigación: La noción de "ciencia" y la reestructuración representacional.
- Author
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Cecilia Genovesi, Mariela
- Subjects
LEARNING ,ACQUISITION of data ,OPEN-ended questions ,AFFECT (Psychology) ,QUESTIONNAIRES - Abstract
Copyright of Revista Latinoamericana de Metodología de las Ciencias Sociales is the property of Universidad Nacional de La Plata and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2021
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11. End-of-life Decision-making and Religious Beliefs: Opinions and Attitudes towards Death and Euthanasia in Argentina.
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Cruz Esquivel, Juan and Irrazábal, Gabriela
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ATTITUDES toward death ,EUTHANASIA ,ATTITUDES toward religion ,RELIGIOUS identity ,WILL of God - Abstract
Copyright of Revista Latinoamericana de Bioética is the property of Revista Latinoamericana de Bioetica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2021
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12. LUOU "Estar Tranquilo": Using a Life-course Approach to Explore Perceptions of Well-being among Older Adults in Curicó, Chile.
- Author
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Salazar-Norambuena, Carola
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PSYCHOLOGICAL aspects of aging ,PUBLIC housing ,INDEPENDENT living ,LONG-term health care ,RESIDENTIAL patterns ,INTERVIEWING ,SOCIOECONOMIC status ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,POPULATION geography ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,PSYCHOLOGICAL adaptation ,THEMATIC analysis ,LIFE course approach ,SENIOR housing ,COMPARATIVE studies ,PENSIONS ,SOCIAL support ,HEALTH equity ,DATA analysis software ,INTERPERSONAL relations ,WELL-being ,SOCIAL classes ,OLD age - Abstract
This study assesses perceptions of well-being between two groups of older adults in Curicó, Chile. One group (n=12) were residents of a long-term care center (known as ELEAM), while another group (n=13) were members of two clubs for older adults - Estrellitas del Vaticano (Vatican's Little Stars) and Club Campo Lindo (Beautiful Countryside) - who lived in their own homes. Data collection consisted of lifestory narratives to explore differences in how older adults in different living situations - long-term residential care vs. independent living - define and perceive what it means to be well in older age. Both groups were paired according to the variables of age, educational level, socioeconomic status, and physical status. In this article, I explore how both groups expressed their desire to estar tranquilo or "be peaceful" in their older age; however, each group achieved this state in different ways. ELEAM residents focused on fostering good relationships with fellow residents and maintaining their autonomy. In contrast, club members focused on practicing their religion, maintaining family relationships, and engaging in activities. Although participants shared similar backgrounds and lived through the same historical events (i.e., military dictatorship), their current situations impacted their perceptions of well-being. For individuals to achieve their desired level of well-bing or to estar tranquilo required that they adapt to different living arrangements: club members had to adapt to living without their children, and ELEAM residents to living in an institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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13. Prescribing style and variation in antibiotic prescriptions for sore throat: cross-sectional study across six countries.
- Author
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Cordoba, Gloria, Siersma, Volkert, Lopez-Valcarcel, Beatriz, Bjerrum, Lars, Llor, Carl, Aabenhus, Rune, and Makela, Marjukka
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STREPTOCOCCAL disease diagnosis ,AGE distribution ,ANTIBIOTICS ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,DRUG prescribing ,RESEARCH methodology ,MEDICAL records ,PHARYNGITIS ,POPULATION geography ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,STATISTICAL sampling ,SEX distribution ,PHYSICIAN practice patterns ,MULTIPLE regression analysis ,CROSS-sectional method ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,ODDS ratio - Abstract
Background: Variation in prescription of antibiotics in primary care can indicate poor clinical practice that contributes to the increase of resistant strains. General Practitioners (GPs), as a professional group, are expected to have a fairly homogeneous prescribing style. In this paper, we describe variation in prescribing style within and across groups of GPs from six countries. Methods: Cross-sectional study with the inclusion of 457 GPs and 6394 sore throat patients. We describe variation in prescribing antibiotics for sore throat patients across six countries and assess whether variation in “prescribing style” - understood as a subjective tendency to prescribe - has an important effect on variation in prescription of antibiotics by using the concept of prescribing style as a latent variable in a multivariable model. We report variation as a Median Odds Ratio (MOR) which is the transformation of the random effect variance onto an odds ratio; Thus, MOR = 1 means similar odds or strict homogeneity between GPs' prescribing style, while a MOR higher than 1 denotes heterogeneity in prescribing style. Results: In all countries some GPs always prescribed antibiotics to all their patients, while other GPs never did. After adjusting for patient and GP characteristics, prescribing style in the group of GPs from Russia was about three times more heterogeneous than the prescribing style in the group of GPs from Denmark - Median Odds Ratio (6.8, 95% CI 3.1;8.8) and (2.6, 95% CI 2.2;4.4) respectively. Conclusion: Prescribing style is an important source of variation in prescription of antibiotics within and across countries, even after adjusting for patient and GP characteristics. Interventions aimed at influencing the prescribing style of GPs must encompass context-specific actions at the policy-making level alongside GP-targeted interventions to enable GPs to react more objectively to the external demands that are in place when making the decision of prescribing antibiotics or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2015
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14. COMPARABILITY AND EQUIVALENCE IN SOCIAL RESEARCH.
- Author
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Piovani, Juan Ignacio and Baranger, Denis
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SOCIAL science research ,SOCIAL status ,SOCIAL comparison ,SCIENTIFIC language ,QUESTIONNAIRES - Abstract
Copyright of Sociologia & Antropologia is the property of Sociologia & Antropologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
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15. Estimating prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the Southern Cone of Latin America: how different spirometric criteria may affect disease burden and health policies.
- Author
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Sobrino, Edgardo, Irazola, Vilma E., Gutierrez, Laura, Chung-Shiuan Chen, Lanas, Fernando, Calandrelli, Matías, Ponzo, Jacqueline, Mores, Nora, Serón, Pamela, Allison Lee, Jiang He, Rubinstein, Adolfo L., Chen, Chung-Shiuan, Lee, Allison, and He, Jiang
- Subjects
OBSTRUCTIVE lung disease diagnosis ,DISEASE prevalence ,SPIROMETRY ,LUNG diseases ,DISEASE risk factors ,AGE distribution ,ECONOMIC aspects of diseases ,OBSTRUCTIVE lung diseases ,MEDICAL needs assessment ,HEALTH policy ,PREVENTIVE health services ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,RESEARCH funding ,SEX distribution ,SEVERITY of illness index - Abstract
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. The study aimed to determine and compare the prevalence of COPD in the general population aged 45-74 years old according to fixed ratio and lower limit of normal (LLN) thresholds in four cities in the Southern Cone of Latin America.Methods: The Pulmonary Risk in South America (PRISA) study used a 4-stage stratified sampling method to select 5814 participants from 4 cities in the Southern Cone of Latin America (Bariloche and Marcos Paz, Argentina; Temuco, Chile; and Pando-Barros Blancos, Uruguay). Data on demographic information, medical history, risk factors, pre-bronchodilator and post-bronchodilator spirometry were obtained using a standard protocol. According to GOLD, COPD was defined as a post-bronchodilator ratio of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) over forced vital capacity (FVC) less than 70%. The LLN threshold was defined as the lower fifth percentile for predicted FEV1/FVC, and was evaluated as an alternative COPD definition.Results: Overall COPD prevalence was 9.3% (95% CI 8.4, 10.2%), and men had a higher prevalence [11.8% (95% CI 10.3, 13.3%)] than women [7.3% (95% CI 6.2, 8.3%)] with the fixed ratio. Overall COPD prevalence using LLN was 4.7% (95% CI 4.1, 5.3%), higher in men: 5.8% (95% CI 4.7, 6.8%) than women: 3.9% (95% CI 3.1, 4.7%). COPD prevalence was significantly higher among those who were older, hadConclusions: First, COPD and its risk factors are highly prevalent in the general population of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. Second, the prevalence of COPD by LLN criterion was significantly lower with lesser degrees of severity compared to fixed ratio of FEV1/FVC. Implementing LLN criterion instead of fixed ratio of FEV1/FVC may reduce the risk of over-diagnosis of COPD, although further prognostic studies of COPD adverse outcomes should be conducted using both definitions. Third, these data suggest that national efforts on the prevention, treatment, and control of COPD should be a public health priority in the Southern Cone of Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] - Published
- 2017
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16. Tobacco cessation intervention for pregnant women in Argentina and Uruguay: study protocol.
- Author
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Althabe, Fernando, Alemán, Alicia, Mazzoni, Agustina, Berrueta, Mabel, Morello, Paola, Colomar, Mercedes, Ciganda, Alvaro, Becú, Ana, Gibbons, Luz, Llambi, Laura, Bittar Gonzalez, María G., Tong, Van T., Farr, Sherry L., Smith, Ruben A., Dietz, Patricia M., Johnson, Carolyn, Buekens, Pierre, and Belizán, José M.
- Subjects
PATIENT education ,SALIVA analysis ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,DIFFUSION of innovations ,ENZYME-linked immunosorbent assay ,EPIDEMIOLOGY ,INTERVIEWING ,MATHEMATICAL models ,RESEARCH methodology ,RESEARCH protocols ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,SMOKING cessation ,STATISTICS ,T-test (Statistics) ,ADULT education workshops ,SAMPLE size (Statistics) ,PILOT projects ,THEORY ,DATA analysis ,RANDOMIZED controlled trials ,COTININE ,PRE-tests & post-tests ,EDUCATIONAL outcomes ,INTER-observer reliability ,DATA analysis software ,PREGNANCY - Abstract
Background: Argentina and Uruguay are among the countries with the highest proportion of pregnant women who smoke. The implementation of an effective smoking cessation intervention would have a significant impact on the health of mothers and infants. The "5 A's" (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) is a strategy consisting of a brief cessation counseling session of 5-15 minutes delivered by a trained provider. The "5 A's" is considered the standard of care worldwide; however, it is under used in Argentina and Uruguay. Methods: We will conduct a two-arm, parallel cluster randomized controlled trial of an implementation intervention in 20 prenatal care settings in Argentina and Uruguay. Prenatal care settings will be randomly allocated to either an intervention or a control group after a baseline data collection period. Midwives' facilitators in the 10 intervention prenatal clinics (clusters) will be identified and trained to deliver the "5 A's" to pregnant women and will then disseminate and implement the program. The 10 clusters in the control group will continue with their standard in-service activities. The intervention will be tailored by formative research to be readily applicable to local prenatal care services at maternity hospitals and acceptable to local pregnant women and health providers. Our primary hypothesis is that the intervention is feasible in prenatal clinics in Argentina and Uruguay and will increase the frequency of women receiving tobacco use cessation counseling during pregnancy in the intervention clinics compared to the control clinics. Our secondary hypotheses are that the intervention will decrease the frequency of women who smoke by the end of pregnancy, and that the intervention will increase the attitudes and readiness of midwives towards providing counseling to women in the intervention clinics compared to the control clinics. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov. Identifier: NCT01852617. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
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17. Interest of pregnant women in the use of SMS (short message service) text messages for the improvement of perinatal and postnatal care.
- Author
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Cormick, Gabriela, Kim, Natalie A., Rodgers, Ashlei, Gibbons, Luz, Buekens, Pierre M., Belizán, José M., and Althabe, Fernando
- Subjects
POSTNATAL care ,MATERNAL health services ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,INTERVIEWING ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,RESEARCH funding ,STATISTICAL sampling ,TELEMEDICINE ,WIRELESS communications ,DATA analysis software ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics - Abstract
Background: Mobile health (mHealth) is emerging as a useful tool to improve healthcare access especially in the developing world, where limited access to health services is linked to poor antenatal care, and maternal and perinatal mortality. The objective of this study is to 1) understand pregnant women's access and usage of cell phones and 2) survey the health information needs and interests in a population attending public hospitals and health centers of two cities in Argentina. This information is not available and it is the basis to develop a strategy for improving maternal care via cell phones. Methods: Questionnaires were verbally administered to pregnant women who were attending an antenatal care visit in community health centers and public hospitals in Rosario, Santa Fe and Mercedes, Corrientes. Participants were 18 years of age or older and had previously given birth. The data obtained was qualitative and analyzed using SPSS version 18. Results: A total of 147 pregnant women meeting inclusion criteria (Rosario: 63; Mercedes: 84) were approached and verbally consented to participate. The average age was 29.5 years, most lived in urban areas (89%) with a mean travel time of 43.4 minutes required to get to the health center and 57.3 minutes to get the hospital. Ninety-six percent of women (n = 140) responded that they would like to receive text messages and cell phone calls with information regarding prenatal care, although the topics and period of time to receive information varied greatly. Conclusions: Considering the vast majority of the interviewed women had access to and were interested in receiving text messages and calls with educational information regarding pregnancy and infant health, pregnant women in Argentina could benefit from such an mHealth program. The low access to Internet suggests it is not an option for this population; however, this cannot be assumed as representative of the country's situation. To retain active participation, other forms of health communication, such as a 2-way text message systems or toll-free numbers, could be considered in the future. Cost of use and implementing these options should be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
18. FIRM SIZE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL CHARACTERISTICS: EVIDENCE FROM THE SME SECTOR IN ARGENTINA.
- Author
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Moreno, Justo de Jorge, Castillo, Leopoldo Laborda, and Masere, Elio de Zuani
- Subjects
BUSINESS enterprises ,DETERMINANTS (Mathematics) ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,REGRESSION analysis ,BUSINESSPEOPLE ,STRATEGIC planning - Abstract
This study investigates the determinants of firm size. Data was collected in face-to-face structured-questionnaire interviews of 1314 firm founders from 14 counties in Argentina. Quantile regression was used as a more suitable methodology to measurethe determinants of firm size. Our results show that the main sets of explanatory variables related to founder characteristics (age, experience, education, and vocation) provide a full explanation of firm size. We have also found evidence that a high degree strategic planning and a better competitive position are positively related to firm size as well. Finally, environmental factors were less representative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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