Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Valencia Scale of Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Hypnosis-client Version in a Portuguese Sample.

Research literature about hypnosis highlights the importance of clients' attitudes and beliefs toward hypnosis because they promote hypnotic responses and may predict the effectiveness of hypnotic interventions as well as minimize iatrogenic effects for clients. This study analyzes the factorial structure and psychometric properties with confirmatory methodology of the Valencia Scale of Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Hypnosis-Client Version, using a Portuguese sample. We expected to replicate the results obtained in previous research conducted with samples from various countries. The Portuguese sample comprised 1,977 participants. We found a structure of 8 factors, with an adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Results are similar to those found in exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with samples from other countries.

Competencias del profesorado en las TIC: Influencia de factores personales y contextúales / ICT Competences of teachers: Influence of personal and contextual factors

Las competencias del profesorado en las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación siguen siendo un elemento crucial para el desarrollo educativo. Este trabajo pretende establecer un marco que permita concretar las relaciones de los dos elementos competenciales (tecnológico y pedagógico) y analizar la influencia de factores personales y contextuales clave. La información se ha recogido a partir de un cuestionario en una muestra de 868 profesores de educación primaria y secundaria en la Comunidad Valenciana (España). Los resultados muestran la importancia de un enfoque multivariado, para valorar la complejidad del problema. Aportan una visión de las influencias de los diversos factores personales y contextuales que van más allá de los numerosas aportaciones basadas en enfoques univariados. Esto es muy relevante para el desarrollo de las políticas educativas, tanto las relativas a los programas de dotaciones como las destinadas a la formación del profesorado.

The ICT competences of teachers remain a crucial issue for educational development. This work aims to establish a framework to specify the relations of the two elements of competence (technological and pedagogical) and analyze the influence of key personal and contextual factors. The data were collected from a questionnaire in a sample of868 teachers from primary and secondary education in Comunidad Valenciana (Spain). The results show the importance of a multivariate approach to assess the complexity of the problem. They provide an overview of the influences of different personal and contextual factors that go beyond the many contributions based on univariate approaches. This is very relevant to the development of education policies for both programs for endowments as those aimed at teacher training.

Epilepsy surgery in children with developmental tumours.

We report our experience regarding evaluation, surgical treatment and outcomes in a population of 21 children with histopathologically confirmed developmental tumours [nine dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumours (DNET), ten gangliogliomas (GG) and two gangliocytomas (GC)] and related epilepsy, analyzing video-EEG, MRI and neuropsychological data, before and after surgery. Most children had focal epilepsy correlating well with lesion location. One patient had epileptic spasms and generalized discharges. Tumours were located in the temporal lobe in 13 patients. Mean age at surgery was 11.16 years. Postsurgical MRI showed residual tumour growth in one DNET. One child had a recurrent ganglioglioma with anaplastic transformation. At latest follow-up (mean 4.68 years) 95.2% of patients were seizure-free and no significant neuropsychological declines were observed. Evidence from our study suggests that, in this setting, surgery should be performed before criteria for refractory epilepsy are met, particularly in cases with early seizure onset, in order to optimize cognitive outcome.

Cerebellum atrophy and development of a peripheral dysgraphia: a paediatric case.

Two types of dysgraphia may be distinguished: the core ones, which reflect damage to the linguistic orthographic routes, and the peripheral ones, produced by alterations in the selection or execution of graphic motor patterns. We report the case of an 8-year-old male child, who consulted specialists due to difficulties in writing, with a background of acute cerebellar swelling at the age of 4. The writing pattern he has developed shows characteristic errors of a peripheral dysgraphia. The magnetic resonance imaging taken during the neuropsychological evaluation shows a mild atrophy in the cerebellum cortex. Our case is similar to previous studies of adult patients and equally supports the fact that the functional network responsible for the peripheral control of writing abilities may include the cerebellum, which not only maintains previously learnt writing processes but is also involved in the evolutionary acquisition of this ability.