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This study used sequential exploratory, mixed-method research that explored the influence of authentic tasks on adult language learners' interactions in e-forums. The participants belonged to a blended-flipped program of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). E-Forum posting in the course aimed at encouraging beginner learners to exchange experiences; however, participation in the e-forums did not evolve into spontaneous interactions. Therefore, authentic tasks were designed and implemented in the e-forum. Data were gathered from learners' participation registers, surveys, and interviews and by executing a content-analysis procedure. After analyzing the data, one main category and three subcategories emerged. The main category showed that implementing authentic tasks on students' e-forums interactions led to the collaborative construction of a cognitive-social e-learning environment. The main category comprised three subcategories: (a) building a learning community by interweaving affective-communicative actions, (b) promoting an online learning environment through authenticity, and (c) moving from individual to collective knowledge construction. Findings suggest that the implementation of authentic tasks on e-forums: (a) increased learners' meaningful interactions mediated by social, cognitive, and teaching presences; (b) helped to construct significant and lifelong knowledge collectively; and (c) fostered a stronger learning community through participants' affective-communicative actions.

This study explores the effectiveness of online and blended teaching methods in developing cross-curricular skills crucial for an ideal engineering profile among undergraduate students. Involving 587 online and 635 blended students across 11 Latin American universities, the research incorporates Likert tests for student perceptions and Mann-Whitney statistical tests for hypothesis scrutiny. Challenges emerged due to diverse academic contexts and the subjective nature of self-reported perceptions. Despite these hurdles, findings highlight the blended method's superior effectiveness in fostering key engineering skills. The study not only contributes to teaching method exploration but also addresses challenges in cross-cultural research settings, enhancing our understanding of the complexities and adaptations required for cross-curricular skill development in engineering education.

This collaborative autoethnographic research explores the identity shaping construction trajectory of a group of three English teacher researchers as well as the repercussions that these processes had on the enactment of a critical decolonial perception toward the ELT field. Using a qualitative approach, the English teachers engaged in this collaborative autoethnography shared their experiences, beliefs, and influences to collectively examine how these influenced their evolving professional identities and their current critical understanding of the field. In general, the study reveals that collaborative autoethnography provides a unique platform for examining the identity trajectory of individuals and for establishing a connection between the past and the present. The findings similarly highlight the interplay between individual experiences, sociocultural contexts, and pedagogical practices, fostering a deeper understanding of English teacher researcher identity development. By emphasizing the significance of collective exploration, this study advocates for incorporating collaborative autoethnography more actively as a valuable tool for professional development in English education and research in general, and in Colombia in particular.

Purpose: This study compared approaches to school closures in four Latin American countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru), describing the impact on the health and educational wellbeing of school-age children and youth, and evaluating their approaches in regard to continuing education through the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: We collected 75 publicly available documents including scientific and gray literature (government documents and news releases), that referred to school closures and their impact on children's health and wellbeing. We did thematic analyses using open, axial, and selective coding and applied the latest Health Promoting Schools standards and indicators to the findings. Findings: Results showed that countries followed epidemiological reasons for prioritizing school closures while adopting some policies that abide by Health Promoting School principles. While they emphasized the need to reopen schools so that instruction could continue, school closures were among the longest in the world. The most significant impacts on wellbeing identified in the four countries were related to food security and mental health. Research limitations/implications: This study focused on a particular set of documents, and it may not capture the full spectrum of relevant information in different contexts or regions. Practical implications: By comparing school closures approaches among four Latin American countries, this study highlights the importance of context-specific interventions. In a post-pandemic era, lessons learned from these experiences should help foster more resilient and inclusive educational systems and explore the paths forward for following the new Health Promoting Schools framework in the region. Originality/value: Cross-country qualitative analyses on this topic are rare. This study adds to the knowledge base by eliciting lessons for future health education research and policy efforts.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the youth version of the program Parents Taking Action in Bogota, Colombia, using a quasi-experimental design. We hypothesized that parents in the treatment groups would improve in levels of knowledge, empowerment, self-efficacy, and use of strategies related to topics of adolescence and sexuality compared to the control group. We recruited 25 Colombian parents of pre/adolescent youth with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 10 and 17 in Bogota. The intervention included four weekly sessions in which the new content about sexuality and adolescence was delivered. Twelve parents were in the intervention group and 13 were in the control group. Intervention participants significantly improved in Knowledge (t = 4.37 p < 0.001), Self-Efficacy (t = 7.15, p < 0.001), Use of Strategies (t = 4.29, p < 0.001), and Family Empowerment (t = 3.82, p < 0.005) between baseline and follow-up. The control group did not improve on any of the outcome measures, and the mean differences between baseline and follow-up scores were significant between intervention and control groups. The program has potential for high impact as information is scarce and parents do not have resources related to pre/adolescence. The program shows promise as an efficacious tool for community organizations and health providers to support families.

This article presents the design, construct validation, and reliability of a self-report instrument in Spanish that aims to characterize different types of strategies that students can use to learn computer programming. We provide a comprehensive overview of the identification of learning strategies in the existing literature, the design and development of preliminary questionnaire items, the refinement of item wording, and the examination of the internal structure and reliability of the final instrument. The construction of the items was based on the educational theory of Self-Regulated Learning. The final version of the questionnaire, called the Computer Programming Learning Strategies Questionnaire (CEAPC), was administered to 647 students enrolled in computer programming courses. The data collected from the participants were used to examine the construct validity and reliability of the questionnaire. The CEAPC consists of 13 subscales, each corresponding to a different type of learning strategy, and a total of 89 items. Statistical analyses of the data indicate that the CEAPC has adequate construct validity. In addition, the results of the internal consistency analysis indicate satisfactory reliability across the different subscales of the instrument. This study contributes to the field of educational research, particularly in the area of self-regulated learning in computer programming.

Service-learning (SL) is an active methodology built onto reciprocal learning that combines social responsibility and academic learning. Changes in students' profiles and the evolving interaction between educational institutions and society have encouraged the use of similar participative methodologies in diverse contexts, including higher education. Although the focus of these projects usually centers on student learning, SL experiences enable a holistic construction of knowledge that also affects instructors. This study analyzes instructors' perceptions on developing teaching competences in SL projects and overcoming difficulties. The current research, based on a mixed paradigm, collected answers to a semistructured questionnaire from university instructors (n = 34) in 12 Ibero-American countries with experience in SL. The results show how instructors rate positively their acquisition of teaching competences (socioemotional, organizational, and technical competences) when organizing SL projects; however, they experience a lack of training in this specific methodology.

Fostering spoken communication in a foreign language classroom is not an easy task. With that in mind, this paper explores a proposal to motivate students' L2 oral communication through the practice of narrative games called tabletop roleplaying games adapted as task-based activities. It implied an action research process in which the teacher-researcher with his students reflected and intervened on the identified problematic situation: Lack of oral communication in L2. In that sense, it started with a diagnostic test that showed the current state of verbal communication in L2 in a Colombian rural public school. Next, the teacher-researcher chose to appeal to the gamification of the classroom along with the adoption of a task-based framework to activity design aiming to improve students' motivation to take the risk of communicating in L2. The teacher-researcher applied sets of activities that progressed from traditional role-play to a tabletop roleplaying game. In accordance, video recordings, narratives, artifacts collections, and semi-structured interviews were essential to collect data. Afterward, the teacher-researcher analyzed the data with an emic approach to identify patterns in the information that uncovered the categories and subcategories of information. Consequently, the teacher-researcher concluded that the students feel better motivated using L2 if the learning environment offers opportunities for social interaction, collaborative work, and scaffolding in task-based exercises embedded in a fictional world game.

This article presents the preliminary results of an enquiry on the work experience of Colombian language teachers who have entered the workforce in foreign countries. The study aims at unveiling aspects of the personal and professional experience of those graduates that might be relevant for pre-service teachers in local degree programs ahead of their potential move abroad in a growing international mobility context. The study includes data from surveys and personal interviews carried out with a group of 26 participants whose narratives of experience invite one to consider the variables that may either facilitate or hinder one's teaching practice in a foreign workplace and the intercultural communication issues that language teachers may need to deal with. A reflection is brought forward on the needs that teacher training programs at university level in Colombia should address to broaden the scope of their graduates' likely move abroad.

One of the educational challenges faced by Latin American universities is the development of digital citizenship competence in their students on issues of digital identity, security and privacy online. The aim of the study was to identify the perception of Mexican and Colombian university students towards the preventive measures of online privacy. For that purpose, a mixed-cut study was carried out. For the quantitative part, a survey made up of 20 items was applied to 1,245 university students. Meanwhile, for the qualitative part, 42 university students were asked to answer open questions. The quantitative analysis was carried out using descriptive and inferential statistics for data by country and gender. In order to test the hypotheses about the existence of significant differences, the Kruskal-Wallis test was chosen. While for the qualitative part, the university student responses were transcribed, the information was organized, and the main contributions of the students were presented. The results indicate that Mexican and Colombian university students have a favorable attitude towards preventive measures of online privacy. No significant differences were detected in the items on preventive measures of online privacy with respect to the variables Country, and Gender. The stories of the university student show a late development in the attitudes and skills regarding preventive measures of online privacy that begins with entering university, and that is consolidated over time. In addition, inconsistencies were detected between the favorable attitude expressed by students towards a broad use of online care with respect to the informants' narratives.

The purpose of this research was to determine the relevance of the media in the prevention, education and contextual management of COVID-19. Methodology: descriptive non-experimental transectional research. An international survey validated by experts was applied, surveying 1082 people during a month. The countries with the highest participation were Peru, Colombia, Mexico, the United States and Russia. The data was processed using SPSS version 25. 64.7% of the respondents affirmed that the means were decisive in preventing the pandemic; 59.1% recognized the importance of the media for awareness and prevention of the pandemic, and 64% valued the importance of the media for the contextual management of the pandemic; demonstrating a significant relationship between the variables. Contributions: the need for strategic, prudent, ethical and socially responsible communication that benefits citizens in a pandemic situation is highlighted.

This study sought to examine how professional identities of English Language Teacher Educators (ELTEs) evolved considering current socio-political factors surrounding Teaching English as an International Language (TEIL) in Colombia. This in-depth research examined how a group of 5 non-native ELTEs constructed and transformed their identity in an English Teacher Education programme. It is framed by an interpretive paradigm and a critical action research approach. Interviews, a series of small group study events, and ELTEs' reflective reports were the three approaches employed to collect the data. The main finding of this investigation showed a certain degree of change in participants' professional identities.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study is to compare the perceptions of employed people in Mexico and Colombia about managerial and leadership behavioural effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative multiple cross-case and cross-nation comparative analysis of findings obtained from the two past emic replication (Mexico and Colombia) studies was conducted. Findings: The study suggests that people within Mexican and Colombian organizations perceive "managerial and leadership behavioural effectiveness" in very similar ways. The findings support those researchers whose studies indicate that culture may not, as previously thought, play a significant role in the way managers should manage and lead their subordinates. Research limitations/implications: The authors acknowledge two main limitations related to the sample size and scope of the two compared sets of empirical source data. The number of critical incidents about perceived managerial behavioural effectiveness obtained from the two compared studies was unbalanced (318 from the Mexican study and 267 from the Colombian study). Thus, the authors suggest more indigenous replication managerial behaviour studies be carried out in both Mexico and Colombia with the objective of identifying (if possible) the existence of critical incidents that could lead to different findings. Furthermore, the authors suggest conducting replica studies focused on specific industries rather than a diverse range of organizations to test the generalizability of the findings. Practical implications: The findings of the comparative study are relevant to those human resource development professionals in international companies with operations in Mexico and/or Colombia when preparing their executives for international assignments in these Latin American countries. Originality/value: The comparative study attempts to generate new insights and better understanding within the context of "managerial and leadership behavioural effectiveness" research, which the authors hope will make a useful contribution to the existing small body of knowledge regarding similarities and differences in managerial practices across culturally diverse Latin American countries.

Environmental education has an important role in higher education institutions as it leads to understanding the importance of sustainability, thus creating a positive impact on students. This impact extends beyond the classroom, inspiring them to actively engage in environmentally responsible behaviors and become conscientious stewards of our planet. The aim of the research was to analyze the environmental perception and ecological attitude of university students at the University of Medellín, that is, this study consisted of examining whether environmental education programs positively influenced the perception of the green campus and the ecological attitude. A structural model was proposed to empirically contrast this phenomenon at a university accredited as a green campus. The results explored that the universities that carry out environmental programs and that offer educational activities on this topic generate a responsible attitude towards sustainability and ecology in their students. This has short, medium and long-term impacts for the university.

This paper proposes a model that comprises a learning exercise based on challenges, which tends to promote non-technical skills such as oral expression, communication, resource management, leadership and problem solving among engineering students. Since engineers have been recognized throughout the world for their ability to creatively solve problems, using the technical knowledge developed in their professional career, it has been considered that these skills make it easier for them to reach results that involve the solution of mathematical problems, or those related to science, through the use of technical skills, research or analysis and synthesis. In this sense, the academia seems to have placed the emphasis on hard and technical skills, while, non-technical ones, have been left in a secondary stage in the case of engineers, ignoring their role on their professional development. This project proposes a model that will bring together more than 180 engineering students and 4 university professors, by involving them in a real challenge that they might solve by means of their technical and non-technical skills. The model is being applied at a university and their first results show the need to modify the engineering training processes, to include the development of appropriate competences in engineers, in response to the demands of a globalized world.

The present reflective article aims to describe some challenges that psychology programs in Colombia must face in the future, in order to let their students achieve an international professional profile and to improve their academic quality. First of all, psychology programs need to implement a bilingual curriculum, with many basic and professional courses in a foreign language like English, to teach students to think social and psychological problems in a wide intercultural way (Coulson & Homewood, 2016; Taylor & Hulme, 2015). Secondly, psychology professors should motivate their students to acquire higher levels of engagement with bilingual communication learning, to have better opportunities of professional development by applying to academic exchange experiences with international universities.

This article of reflection considers socio-political issues such as linguistic perialism, native speakerism, English as an International language, and appropriate teaching methodologies, which are currently contentious issues in the ELT community. Framed within a critical approach of applied linguistics, these issues are addressed in three sections (global/local tensions, teacher professional identity, and a new EFL professional identity) in order to argue that a dynamic, shifting, and multifaceted perspective of a globally-minded EFL teacher professional identity is needed so that Colombian EFL professionals can define or redefine their own identities in taking an informed and critical political stance.

This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative narrative study. Its aim was to analyze what student-teachers' narratives unveiled about the construction of their identity as language learners, and the connections made with being future in-service teachers. This study, which was carried out with undergraduate students from a public university in Tunja, was the product of permanent interaction and dialogue with student-teachers in their initial teaching experiences. Narratives, in-depth interviews, and journals were used as data collection instruments. Data were analyzed using the grounded theory approach. The results suggest that student-teachers construct and re-construct their identities as language learners and future teachers across classroom interactions and their empowerment through teaching and reflection.

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to determine the factors and conditions that intervene in the implementation of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) in diverse Colombian educational contexts. This study was conducted at five private schools from different cities and towns in the country (Bogotá, Chía, Tenjo, Facatativá, and Girardot). Data was collected from three sources (interviews, questionnaires, and field journals). Data analysis procedures included the use of triangulation and validation procedures through the grounded theory approach. Findings revealed that teachers still have complications understanding CLIL as an approach that goes beyond the mere usage of the target language in content. Instead, the study advocates for the inclusion of essential lifelong skills (i.e. creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication) when implementing CLIL in the classroom. Results also indicated that staged lesson planning is scarce, and that teachers' practices still emphasize the scope and sequence plan provided by the textbook used in the institutions. Hence, the study supports the design and implementation of CLIL professional development programs that through scaffolding can assist teachers in viewing and situating CLIL as a dialogic pedagogical approach. Not only does the approach help teachers make use of their existing knowledge of CLIL, but also helps them materialize ways through which language and content can be integrated.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to verify some relationships between entrepreneurial attitude, university environment, entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurial training, which can be used to promote entrepreneurship among university students. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of 3,005 questionnaires answered by students from ten universities in Colombia was gathered and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for the analysis. Findings: The results show that the more a student perceives an entrepreneurial culture and the more training he or she receives, the more entrepreneurial attitude he or she will have. Also, it was found that entrepreneurial culture has a positive effect on university environment, and the latter has a positive effect on entrepreneurial training. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this study was that only ten Colombian universities were sampled; therefore, general inferences cannot be made. Additionally, the variables investigated here may have not accurately measured the full scale of the entrepreneurship programmes in such universities or the way the culture of these institutions had a direct impact on students. Projects such as the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students' Survey (GUESSS), which measure variables related to entrepreneurship at the university level, enable universities to shape their policies around this important topic. This study indicates that universities should offer training in entrepreneurial, problem-solving and communication skills to produce entrepreneurs who can better face current challenges. Originality/value: Other studies have discussed entrepreneurial culture, but they usually deal with university environment, entrepreneurial training and entrepreneurial attitudes separately. This study integrates all these factors and measures the level of interaction between them.

The aim of this study is to analyze the forms of argumentation regarding a socio-economic question related to the consumption of coffee by a group of 32 students with a Bachelor's Degree in Natural Science and Environmental Education. For this, a rubric was used to analyze three fundamental aspects: content, structure, and position or response in the face of the arguments. The results indicate that the students can produce arguments with content, but difficulties are observed in regard to their developing arguments with structure. Furthermore, the students tend to avoid debate situations, which does not allow for the improvement of their arguments. Despite that, the participants acknowledge the importance of including argumentation in their training, and they are aware of their difficulties. This indicates the need to promote a greater number of studies that would allow the importance of argumentation to be included in the educational processes.

The integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the academic context caused a change in the way teaching and learning is carried out. It also broadened the usually formal educational contexts and the way these are accessed. Nonetheless, gaps can still be found concerning the inequality in the access to ICT resources and tools and, therefore, in the universal access to knowledge and education. This paper studies the use and integration of ICT through students' perceptions from the educational centers of the municipality of San Juan Girón (Santander, Colombia). The population is composed of 208 participants with ages ranging between 12 and 18, 59% female and 41% male. Statistically significant results were obtained concerning the use of school-owned resources and teaching methodologies. One of the most outstanding results shows the population analyzed needs to apply a new teaching methodology to promote the integration of the ICT in the classrooms in a more suitable and coherent way. Moreover, training processes and pedagogical updating are required to motivate a curricular change considering rhythms, forms, quality and different learning styles in the municipality of San Juan Girón.

This is a study on high school English as a foreign language Colombian teacher identity. Using an interpretive research approach, I explored the influence of the National Bilingual Programme on the reconstruction of teacher identity. This study focuses on how teachers feel about language requirements associated with a language policy. Three instruments were used to collect the data for this research: a survey to find out teachers' familiarity with the policy and explore their views on the language policy and language requirements and other aspects of their identity; autobiographical accounts to establish teachers' trajectories as language learners and as professional English teachers; and semi-structured interviews to delve into their feelings and views on their language policy and requirements for English teachers.

The article begins with the broad context of youth and adult education (YAE) in Colombia, and then discusses the place that educational demands occupy in the political plans of popular feminisms. The article ends with an analysis of the experiences of two community projects, which address YAE for women from the perspective of gender, feminisms, and popular education.

One hundred and ninety-eight hours of teacher-student interactions following transgressions in 109 early childhood classrooms in Colombia were observed to describe: (1) the types of responses teachers used to address students' moral and conventional transgressions, (2) whether those responses were appropriate for the type of transgression, and (3) the type of reflection promoted by the teachers on issues related to the socio-moral domains. Findings evidenced that the most prevalent responses did not allude to moral or conventional issues, and did not include a reflection with student participation. Practical implications of the study are discussed in terms of the need of more evidence-based guidelines and training for educators about how to promote moral development in their classrooms.

Virtual education faces tremendous challenges such as lack of motivation and high dropout rates. However, one solution to this problem is the incorporation of digital pedagogical strategies based on gamification, which promote interest, facilitate the learning process, and contribute to reducing dropout. In this sense, we evaluated the student's preference for using the gamified tool "Didactic City," by using a quantitative methodology and structural equation models. This preference included fundamental factors such as utility, knowledge, engagement, enjoyment, motivation, and ease of use. The results are expected to contribute to create a more informed decision-making process not only for video game designers but also for pedagogues, and educational managers who could perform game improvements, redesigns, inclusion, or exclusion of individual elements that would make students prefer to use gamification tools in the future. The results indicate that the students' utility, the enjoyment generated by the tool, and the improvement of knowledge are the critical factors in terms of preference for using gamified tools in virtual learning environments. Implications for policy and practice: (1) In virtual learning environments, higher education institutions and instructors can include gamified tools to create pleasant environments that increase students' motivation and facilitate learning; (2) Designers and developers of gamified educational tools should measure their acceptance, as this factor is decisive for fulfilling the purposes of these pedagogical tools; (3) Researchers could evidence more factors that influence the preference for the use of gamified educational tools.

Dengue cases rose to record levels during 2023-2024. We investigated dengue in Valle del Cauca, Colombia, to determine if specific virus serotypes or lineages caused its large outbreak. We detected all 4 serotypes and multiple lineages, suggesting that factors such as climatic conditions were likely responsible for increased dengue in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adolescent smoking is associated with significant health and social risks. Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of interventions based on behavior change theories in preventing adolescent smoking uptake. However, evidence from the theory-based perspective of evaluation is limited, especially for how such complex interventions work, and how they work when implemented in different contextual settings. Method: A comparative qualitative analysis was conducted to explore various influences on behavior change among participants taking part in two smoking prevention interventions in Northern Ireland and Bogotá. Twenty-seven focus groups were conducted in 12 schools (6 in Northern Ireland and 6 in Bogota, n = 195 pupils participated; aged 11–15 years). The Theoretical Domains Framework guided a content analysis of the data. Results: We found similarities across settings in terms of knowledge, skills, and beliefs related to smoking or vaping behavior change, as well as differences in contextual resources and social influence. Different environmental resources included availability to purchase tobacco products in the neighborhoods and previous information about tobacco risk. Participants in both interventions perceived behavioral change outcomes related to personal skills and intention to not smoke or vape. Conclusion: These findings have highlighted how both individual factors and contextual resources influence behavior change for smoking prevention in practice. Local contextual factors and social influences affecting pupils should be taken into account in the implementation and evaluation of health behavior change interventions. In particular, this study supports using social and contextual influence strategies in interventions to reduce the onset of adolescent smoking and vaping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ciencia y Educación (2707-3378) is the property of Duanys Miguel Pena Lopez 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.)

This paper explores how Black women entrepreneurs in Cali, Colombia confront racism and sexism, as they engage in the expanding neoliberal beauty market. We argue that anti-racist entrepreneurial experiences in Cali are shaped by four interconnected processes: First, changes in gender and development policies, aligned with inclusive neoliberal development projects. Second, the limitations of state neoliberal multicultural policies, which has made activists aware of the need to address racism and sexism. Third, activist's appropriation of the intersectional turn, allowing them to recognize articulations between racism, classism and sexism. Fourth, the adoption of anti-neoliberal discourses supporting distributive and solidarity practices. Our analysis suggests that while entrepreneurial anti-racist actions do not generate radical or permanent changes in the beauty industry, they do have material and symbolic effects in Black women's experiences of racial justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes cognitive and emotional empathy in students who started their training at the Education Science Faculty of the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia. The sample was formed by 317 students enrolled in the study programs of Preschool, Plastic Arts, Natural Sciences, Physical Education, Philosophy, Computer Science, Foreign Languages, Mathematics, Music, Psychopedagogy, and Social Sciences. The Cognitive and Affective Empathy Scale (TECA for its Spanish initials) was used to collect data. Both the reliability of TECA and its construct validity were determined for this sample. Participants obtained better results in the cognitive dimension, the highest scores additionally corresponding to the emotional understanding scale. As far as gender is concerned, women outperformed men in their scores, especially in the two affective dimension scales. Differences also appeared according to age, scores growing as age increased. With regard to the training program in which students were enrolled, significant contrasts were identified in perspective adoption and empathic stress. Finally, a suggestion is made about the need for teacher training curricula to envisage empathy development for the purpose of strengthening the emotional skills of future lecturers.

There is little scholarly information about parent involvement in their children's English as a Foreign Language (EFL henceforth) literacy learning in the Colombian context. This exploratory-qualitative study looks into the possible roles of parents and children in EFL literacy learning at home, with special emphasis on parental roles and contributions. The study has a three-fold purpose: (1) to describe the behaviour of parents and students when doing EFL literacy tasks at home, (2) to explore feelings and thoughts (perceptions) of parents and students about working together on EFL literacy tasks at home, and (3) to identify ways in which parents contribute to a student's EFL learning. Sixteen ninth grade students at a state school, and their parents or caregivers, carried out a series of EFL literacy tasks in their respective homes. Video recordings, field notes, qualitative interviews, and surveys were used as data collection tools. The results demonstrate that even when parents do not have a command of the English language, they have the potential to help with EFL learning from a non-linguistic point of view (e.g. monitoring children's homework, providing learning conditions, shaping children's minds for EFL by giving advice, and feedback about EFL homework development).

Engineering professionals need to employ argumentative skills to support their decisions. This research presents the findings of an intervention that was designed and implemented at two universities in Colombia, South America, to help students enhance their written argumentative skills through essays on ethical dilemmas. Engineering professors included explanations based on modelled examples that showed adequate argumentation and provided feedback to students. This experience included a pre-test, post-test and a brief intervention based on problem-based learning (PBL). Results show that students improved in essay aspects such as the introduction, presenting and supporting a thesis, including evidence with proper references and the creation of a conclusion. Standardized national test results also support the benefits of this approach.

This article reports a qualitative case study about the implementation of a translanguaging strategy with EFL learners belonging to the Language Learning Support programs at a private university, who struggled when speaking in English. In order to address this problem, this strategy aim to help participants to reflect and self-direct their oral performance development. Multimodal tools were used for learners to undertake a specific course of action to cope with their speaking difficulties. Data gathered from tutor's journals, student's e-portfolio and interviews, showed how confidence and self-regulation were fostered after including student's mother tongue and ICT tools. These findings suggest a need to expand this implementation with learners of different proficiency levels who also find it difficult to verbally express their ideas. Moreover, it takes a look at the use of the mother tongue as an advantage rather than as an obstacle to learning a foreign language.

High Andean Páramos are very fragile neotropical ecosystems. Moreover, biodiversity in these areas is threatened by the anthropic activities of agriculture, cattle raising, and mining and has been little studied. Changes associated with potato farming and livestock grazing on microorganisms of Páramo soil of the Nevados National Natural Park (Nevados NNP) were assessed by (1) determination of physical and chemical properties (physicochemical matrix) and enzymatic activities associated (enzymatic activity matrix) with different biogeochemical cycles (C, N, and P); (2) microbial community functional diversity via evaluation of functional groups associated with carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles using cultivation-dependent techniques (arable functional group matrix and most probable number matrix); and (3) microbial diversity using cultivation-independent techniques that employ the hypervariable V5–V6 region of the 16S rRNA gene and pyrosequencing (16S-454 genus matrix and 16S-454 OTU matrix). Four of the six evaluated matrices (physicochemical, enzymatic activities, most probable number, and arable functional groups) revealed significant differences according to land use. The strategy adopted by the arable functional group matrix, in which the diversity of nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and cellulolytic compounds was evaluated, showed the most significant impacts of the different factors (land use, season, and elevation), especially those caused by potato cultivation and livestock. These results indicate that the initial impacts of potato farming and livestock grazing on the microbial community in El Bosque Village are better detected by functional diversity analysis than by molecular analysis of the 16S rRNA gene V5–V6 variable region. The results may have been caused by the type of molecular marker used in the analyses and the type of agricultural practices used by peasant farmers, which affect the functional diversity of the soil community. Among these practices are the maintenance of fallow periods greater than 7 years between each potato crop and the small proportion of cattle in relation to the total land area of the village. As the findings can be interpreted as an indicator of the early impacts of potato cultivation and livestock on microbial diversity, the effects of implementing community management plans, applying agroecological models, retaining biocultural memory, and changing agrarian structure are relevant for mitigating future changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Risk scores (RS) evaluate the likelihood of short-term mortality in patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, there is a scarcity of evidence to determine the risk of long-term mortality. This article aims to compare the effectiveness of 16 scores in predicting mortality at three, six, and twelve months in adult patients with CAP. Methods: A retrospective cohort study on individuals diagnosed with CAP was conducted across two hospitals in Colombia. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed at 3, 6, and 12 months to assess the predictive ability of death for the following scoring systems: CURB-65, CRB-65, SCAP, CORB, ADROP, NEWS, Pneumonia Shock, REA-ICU, PSI, SMART-COP, SMRT-CO, SOAR, qSOFA, SIRS, CAPSI, and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Results: A total of 3688 patients were included in the final analysis. Mortality at 3, 6, and 12 months was 5.2%, 8.3%, and 16.3% respectively. At 3 months, PSI, CCI, and CRB-65 scores showed ROC curves of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.71–0.77), 0.71 (95% CI: 0.67–0.74), and 0.70 (95% CI: 0.66–0.74). At 6 months, PSI and CCI scores showed performances of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.72–0.77) and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.69–0.74), respectively. Finally at 12 months, all evaluated scores showed poor discriminatory capacity, including PSI, which decreased from acceptable to poor with an ROC curve of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.61–0.66). Conclusion: When predicting mortality in patients with CAP, at 3 months, PSI, CCI, and CRB-65 showed acceptable predictive performances. At 6 months, only PSI and CCI maintained acceptable levels of accuracy. For the 12-month period, all evaluated scores exhibited very limited discriminatory ability, ranging from poor to almost negligible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast Cancer (BC) is associated with substantial costs of healthcare; however, real-world data regarding these costs in Colombia is scarce. The contributory regime provides healthcare services to formal workers and their dependents and covers almost half of the population in Colombia. This study aims to describe the net costs of healthcare in women with BC covered by the contributory regime in Colombia in 2019 from the perspective of the Colombian Health System. Methods: The main data source was the Capitation Sufficiency Database, an administrative database that contains patient-level data on consumption of services included in the National Formulary (PBS, in Spanish Plan de Beneficios en Salud). Data on consumption of services not included in the PBS (non-PBS) were calculated using aggregated data from MIPRES database. All direct costs incurred by prevalent cases of BC, from January 1 to December 31, 2019, were included in the analysis. The net costs of the disease were estimated by multiplying the marginal cost and the expected number of cases with BC by region and age group. Marginal costs were defined as the costs of services delivered to patients with BC after subtracting the expected costs of health services due to age, comorbidity burden or region of residence. To calculate these costs, we used Propensity Score Matching in the main analysis. All costs were expressed in 2019 international dollars. Productivity losses, transportation expenses, and caregiving costs were not included. Results: A total of 46,148 patients with BC were identified. Total net costs were $387 million (95% CI $377 to $396 million), 60% associated with non-PBS services. Marginal costs were $8,366 (95% Confidence Interval $8,170 to $8,573), with substantial variations between regions age groups (from $3,919 for older patients in the Amazonia region to $10,070 for younger patients in the Pacific region). The costs for PBS services were higher for ambulatory services and for patients who died during 2020. Conclusions: BC imposes a substantial economic burden for the Colombian Health System with important variations in net costs between regions and age groups. Patients near death and ambulatory services were associated with higher costs of healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contaduría y Administración is the property of Facultad de Contaduria y Administracion-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico 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.)

Copyright of Redes is the property of Redes-Revista Hispana para el Analisis de Redes Sociales 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.)

Surface water resources have played a fundamental role in the development of human societies. Considering that different agricultural and industrial activities are carried out in the Acacias River basin, the main objective of this research was to analyze the influence of land use on the water quality in this area by identifying the main sources that influence river water quality. The methodology consisted of establishing 12 sampling stations with different land uses at three times. The National Sanitation Foundation-Water Quality Index (NSF-WQI) was applied to the obtained water quality evaluation data. The main results showed that the stations associated with urban centers presented a higher concentration in the following variables: fecal coliforms, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and phosphates. The principal components analysis revealed a close relation between the parameters of fecal coliforms, phosphates and BOD, and the pollution processes by organic matter, which are probably related to domestic and industrial wastewater discharges, and to detergents in urbanized areas. The parameters with the greatest range of values were total dissolved solids and turbidity. These results coincide with what was observed in the correlation analysis. Finally, nitrates showed higher concentrations at stations 6 and 7, associated with agricultural and industrial influence areas (i.e., oil palm crops in the basin). This study about the Acacias River is, thus, extremely important for the region, and concludes that the river's self-purifying capacity allows improved water quality in the areas where the predominant land use is not associated with human settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Blunt abdominal trauma is a common cause of emergency department admission. Computed tomography (CT) scanning is the gold standard method for identifying intra-abdominal injuries in patients experiencing blunt trauma, especially those with high-energy trauma. Although the diagnostic accuracy of this imaging technique is very high, patient admission and prolonged observation protocols are still common practices worldwide. We aimed to evaluate the incidence of intra-abdominal injury in hemodynamically stable patients with high-energy blunt trauma and a normal abdominal CT scan at a Level-1 Trauma Center in Colombia, South America, to assess the relevance of a prolonged observation period. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients admitted to the emergency department for blunt trauma between 2021 and 2022. All consecutive patients with high-energy mechanisms of trauma and a normal CT scan at admission were included. Our primary outcomes were the incidence of intra-abdominal injury identified during a 24-hour observation period or hospital stay, ICU admission, and death. Results: We included 480 patients who met the inclusion criteria. The median age was 33 (IQR 25.5, 47), and 74.2% were male. The most common mechanisms of injury were motor vehicle accidents (64.2%), falls from height (26%), and falls from bikes (3.1%). A total of 99.2% of patients had a Revised Trauma Score of 8. Only 1 patient (0.2%) (95% CI: 0.01–1.16) presented with an abdominal injury during the observation period. No ICU admissions or deaths were reported. Conclusion: The incidence of intra-abdominal injury in patients with hemodynamically stable blunt trauma and a negative abdominal CT scan is extremely low, and prolonged observation may not be justified in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleomagnetic results obtained from 38 Pliocene—Pleistocene volcanic flows from the Knot of the Pastos and surroundings of Puracé volcano and Popayán (southwestern Colombia) are presented. Using stringent quality criteria and excluding sites that classify as representatives of transitional states of Earth's field, a selected group of 27 sites (16 with normal polarity and 11 with reversed polarity) was obtained with a mean direction (Dec = 357.8°, Inc = 6.4°, α95 = 7.5° and κ = 15) that coincides with the geocentric axial dipole field (GAD: Dec = 0o, Inc = 3.2o) and, unlike similar studies at similar latitudes, does not coincide with the GAD plus a 5% axial quadrupolar component (Dec = 0°, Inc = −1.08°). However, when serial correlation (SC) among several sites with high inclination anomalies is taken into consideration, the mean direction of two resulting groups of sites shows greater consistency with a field that includes a quadrupolar component. It is interpreted that the sites treated for SC record states of the field similar to today's field in the area of study, which is being affected by the South Atlantic Anomaly. Plain Language Summary: The only way to study Earth's magnetic field in the geologic past from experimental data is by studying the magnetization of rocks that record Earth's field in a way comparable to the way compasses point close to the geographic north. Earth's magnetic field changes are significant in relatively short time‐scales like years or centuries. In this study the paleomagnetic directions recorded in volcanic products from extinct volcanoes of the Colombian Andes were obtained. Most of the volcanic flows record paleomagnetic directions consistent with the ones obtained from previous studies, which in general differ from the present magnetic directions in the area by being less inclined downwards. However, some of the volcanic flows did record paleomagnetic directions that are similar to the present magnetic directions in the area, which have been linked to an ample low magnetic intensity area in the Atlantic Ocean called the South Atlantic Anomaly. So, as it has been pointed out in other studies, it is possible that this anomaly has acted recurrently during the geologic past. Key Points: The mean paleomagnetic direction among the selected sites from Colombia shows consistency with a geocentric axial dipole (GAD) fieldConsistency with a GAD field with a 5% quadrupolar component is obtained when serial correlation is appliedSerially correlated sites are probably affected by the South Atlantic Anomaly, in a way similar to the present field in the study area [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) using mercury affects community agreements for the conservation of forests (CoS) and lakes (CoH), which have a high level of biodiversity in the Peasant Reserve Zone of the Cimitarra River Valley (ZRC-VRC) in Colombia. In this research, a multi-criteria approach (MCA) was applied to analyze the impact of ASGM. This analysis is based on the community environmental agreements to preserve CoS and CoH areas, the ecological importance of these areas, as well as the results of mercury dispersion in the Cimitarra river basin, with concentrations found 40 km downstream of the mining area of 0.09 µgTHg L−1 in the Cimitarra river, 0.07 µgTHg L−1 in the CoH, and 0.01 mgTHg kg−1 in the tissues of macrophytes, as well as the increase in deforestation since 2020 in the CoS, due to a 1.8% (990 ha) loss of forest cover, with 693 ha of the forest cover loss coinciding with areas related to the opening of new mines. The MCA showed that the main impact is found within the criterion Social and armed conflict, followed by Deforestation. This research offers recommendations to reduce impact scores, such as the implementation of a sustainable development plan (PDS) of the ZRC-VRC, and it highlights the urgent need to safeguard the community conservation areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Propolis has anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antibacterial and immunomodulatory properties, which is why it is suggested that it could be used as an alternative or complementary drug therapy in the treatment of various pathologies such as cancer, diseases chronic-degenerative and infectious. Materials and Methods: In this study, canine bone fibroblasts were used as control cells, and the canine Osteosarcoma cell line (OSCA-8) was acquired to evaluate the effects of ethanol extracts of propolis from five Colombian regions on these cells. The cytotoxic effect was evaluated by examining changes in cell viability and proliferation. Furthermore, the expression of some relevant and characteristic genes related to the tumor phenotype, related to the proinflammatory process and cell cycle, was assessed. Results: Thus, the evaluation of the relative expression of some genes associated with the cell cycle and inflammation could improve the understanding of the cytotoxic effect of propolis extracts on OSCA-8 cell lines. Conclusion: The first time in Colombia, the biological activity of ethanol extracts of propolis was evaluated regarding the inflammation and cell cycle pathways. After 48 hr, the Colombian EEP had an effect on the increase in both OSCA-8 cells and fibroblasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is considered valuable to take advantage of web activities to improve and qualify the English teaching and learning processes, especially in the promotion of reading comprehension. In this article we share the process and results of a study that focused on some activities based on web materials that were designed and used with 10th grade students, with the purpose of promoting reading. Data was gathered through the use of questionnaires, surveys and web activities. The results showed that most of the students agree on the fact that reading more information concerning a specific topic or about different subjects makes them work with enthusiasm; they also had new possibilities to access knowledge in a different way and to improve reading comprehension.

This article states that in order to exercise citizenship with responsibility, language teachers need to popularize a discourse for criticism in which students and teachers transcend tacit knowledge and common sense due to meta-cognition and argumentation and reach systematic knowledge and procedures posed by experts in the different disciplines. As illustrated inside, the source and objective of analysis by means of which this discourse can be contextualized in language teaching is "the language of mass media" and all the sociocultural and signifying practices that it invokes. We conclude that through the analysis of mass media it is possible to educate students with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to interact critically in the world.