Psychotherapy focusing on dialogical and narrative perspectives: a systematic review from qualitative and mixed-methods studies.

Introduction: This systematic review identified qualitative and mixed-methods empirical studies on psychotherapy from dialogical and narrative approaches, aiming to address the following questions: (1) How are subjectivity and intersubjectivity qualitatively understood in dialogical and/or narrative psychotherapies studied using dialogical and narrative approaches? (2) How do therapeutic changes occur, including their facilitators and barriers? (3) What psychotherapeutic resources are available for psychotherapists in these types of studies? Method: The articles were selected according to the Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and the eligibility criteria proposed by the PICOS strategy (participants, interventions, comparators, outcomes, and study design) from 163 records identified in the Web of Science Core Collection databases. Results: The systematic review process allowed the selection of 16 articles. The results provided insights into the understanding of subjectivity, intersubjectivity, change in psychotherapy, its facilitators, and barriers from these perspectives. It also offered some therapeutic interventions that can be implemented in psychotherapies, integrating dialogical and/or narrative aspects. Discussion: The centrality of dialogical exploration of patient/client resources, therapists as interlocutors fostering client agency, polyphony serving as scaffolding for change, and interconnection with the sociocultural environment are discussed. The integration of this latter topic has been a challenge for these types of studies, considering the active construction of shared meanings. The dialogical and narrative approaches focus psychotherapy on transforming meanings through dialogue and re-authoring stories, evolving within cultural and historical contexts. Thus, this study highlights the relevance of these perspectives in contemporary psychotherapy, emphasizing dialogue in co-creation within an intersubjective framework.

Investigating AVHs narratives through text analysis: the proposal of Dialogic Science for tackling stigmatization.

BACKGROUND: Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are a significant symptom of various psychological conditions, often stigmatized and misunderstood. Moving beyond traditional psychological, psychotherapeutic and psychiatric approaches, recent research shifts focus on understanding AVHs through community perspectives and the resulting stigmatization. This research approach is crucial for better support and understanding of AVHs, however it still suffers from the lack of a rigorous and shared methodology for studying and reducing stigma. METHODS: Our study, part of the Italian "PsicoVoice" project, aims to investigate community discourses on AVHs, in order to observe whether and to what extent they are drivers of stigmatisation processes. Engaging 268 participants with direct (hearers) and indirect (such as relatives and professionals) experiences of AVHs, the research analyzes a corpus of 54,320 instances using MADIT: a text analysis methodology which is both qualitative and quantitative. MADIT allows for an innovative examination of the rhetorical-argumentative structures within narratives, producing an index for measuring the narratives' practical impact on people' interactions around AVHs. RESULTS: The analysis revealed that the overall community discourses are predominantly shaped by absolute and personal belief-driven modalities. This way of conveying sense, even with non-necessarily-judgmental words, contributes to a stigmatizing environment for individuals with AVHs, cementing a static representation dominated by personal opinions and reducing the potential for more nuanced, diverse interactions about AVHs. CONCLUSION: The study's findings underscore the importance of addressing the narrative structures within community discourses. By intervening in these narratives, there is potential to shift towards a less stigmatizing social construction of AVHs. Thus, the article concludes using the results to provide some insights on how to generate these interventions. This approach could significantly impact how communities understand and interact with individuals experiencing AVHs, promoting more inclusive and supportive environments and interventions.

Too much time or not enough? An observational study of teacher wait time after questions in case-based seminars.

BACKGROUND: We define teacher wait time (TWT) as a pause between a teacher question and the following response given by a student. TWT is valuable because it gives students time to activate prior knowledge and reflect on possible answers to teacher questions. We seek to gain initial insights into the phenomenon of TWT in medical education and give commensurate recommendations to clinical teachers. METHODS: We observed n = 719 teacher questions followed by wait time. These were video-recorded in 29 case-based seminars in undergraduate medical education in the areas of surgery and internal medicine. The seminars were taught by 19 different clinical teachers. The videos were coded with satisfactory reliability. Time-to-event data analysis was used to explore TWT overall and independently of question types. RESULTS: In our sample of case-based seminars, about 10% of all teacher questions were followed by TWT. While the median duration of TWT was 4.41 s, we observed large variation between different teachers (median between 2.88 and 10.96 s). Based on our results, we recommend that clinical teachers wait for at least five, but not longer than 10-12 s after initial questions. For follow-up and reproduction questions, we recommend shorter wait times of 5-8 s. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides insights into the frequency and duration of TWT and its dependence on prior questions in case-based seminars. Our results provide clinical teachers with guidance on how to use TWT as an easily accessible tool that gives students time to reflect on and respond to teacher questions.

Addressing COVID-19 and Health Literacy Disparities Among Correctional Facility Residents Through Dialogue-Based Education.

Carceral communities face heightened COVID-19-related risks while simultaneously experiencing medical mistrust and limited access to health information and services. Health education programs that incorporate dialogue-based, participatory learning models have been shown to motivate health behavior and increase health knowledge in carceral settings. To increase health literacy and change COVID-19-related health behavior among jail residents in the United States, a local health department developed a dialogue-based education program centered around COVID-19 prevention, misinformation, and navigating health care systems. Dialogue-based health information sessions took place in person in a county jail. Pre- and postsurveys gauged the sessions' influence on self-reported health literacy and behavior intention. Overall, 595 residents collectively attended 43 facilitated discussions. Key findings indicate that dialogue-based education can temper medical mistrust, influencing COVID-19 preventive behaviors and increasing health literacy in a carceral setting.

Impact on mental health and well-being of the dialogic literary gathering among women in a primary healthcare centre.

There is strong scientific evidence on the academic, cognitive, social, and emotional benefits of Dialogic Literary Gatherings (DLG) for diverse people in a wide range of settings. However, the transference of DLG to a primary healthcare centre has not yet been studied. To address this gap a case study was conducted on the impact of a DLG in a primary healthcare centre on participants' mental health and wellbeing from the perception of participants and professionals involved in it. To that end, four daily life stories and a focus group with women participating in the DLG, most of them over 75 years old with no higher education, were conducted, as well as two in-depth interviews, one with the DLG facilitator and one with the director of the health centre. Results show that participants perceived their mental health and wellbeing improved thanks to the functioning and type of dialogue in the DLG, promoting friendships, support and solidarity. Participants also reported that, by being aware of their capabilities in the DLG, they became agents of transformation within their families and environments, turning relationships between healthcare professionals and patients more egalitarian. These findings hold implications for public health and healthcare centres.

Effects of dialogic reading for comprehension (LuDiCa) on the social interaction of autistic adolescents and their peers.

BACKGROUND: In today's contemporary world, relationships take a prominent role in the lives of adolescents. However, challenges related to mutual understanding and a lack of inclusive environments can often lead to autistic teens feeling excluded. OBJECTIVE: In order to assess the impact of naturalistic interventions on interpersonal relationships, we conducted an experimental test utilizing Dialogic Reading for Comprehension (LuDiCa) in online reading circles with groups comprising both autistic and neurotypical adolescents. Our focus was on exploring its relevance for enhancing social interaction, particularly in terms of conversational acts, sharing experiences, initiations, and questions. METHODS: Five autistic and five neurotypical students between 11 and 15 years old from a public school in Brasilia, Federal District, participated. We paired groups A and B (made up of trios of teenagers) and groups C and D (made up of pairs) in a multiple baseline design per reading group, in which all groups went through the baseline conditions (BL), intervention (LuDiCa) and maintenance. RESULTS: LuDiCa increased the frequency of conversational acts of both autistic participants and neurotypical peers. In addition, the intervention favored initiations, questions, and sharing experiences, through the shared activity of reading and talking about a work of fiction. Participants rated the intervention in relation to the platform, the book, the reading facilitator, and interaction with peers. We discuss the potential of the facilitator's role in favoring interactions and the potential of LuDiCa as a joint activity for the engagement of adolescents. We also include suggestions for future research focused on the online context and discuss some limitations of the LuDiCa intervention. CONCLUSION: In summary, our study offers initial experimental evidence demonstrating the positive impact of LuDiCa on social interaction behaviors among both autistic and neurotypical adolescents within an inclusive setting.

Chatbot dialogic reading boosts comprehension for Chinese kindergarteners with higher language skills.

Dialogic reading promotes early language and literacy development, but high-quality interactions may be inaccessible to disadvantaged children. This study examined whether a chatbot could deliver dialogic reading support comparable to a human partner for Chinese kindergarteners. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, 148 children (83 girls; Mage = 70.07 months, SD = 7.64) from less resourced families in Beijing, China, were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: dialogic or non-dialogic reading techniques with either a chatbot or human partner. The chatbot provided comparable dialogic support to the human partner, enhancing story comprehension and word learning. Critically, the chatbot's effect on story comprehension was moderated by children's language proficiency rather than age or reading ability. This demonstrates that chatbots can facilitate dialogic reading and highlights the importance of considering children's language skills when implementing chatbot dialogic interventions.

Effects of dialogic reading for comprehension (LuDiCa) on the social interaction of autistic adolescents and their peers

Abstract Background In today's contemporary world, relationships take a prominent role in the lives of adolescents. However, challenges related to mutual understanding and a lack of inclusive environments can often lead to autistic teens feeling excluded. Objective In order to assess the impact of naturalistic interventions on interpersonal relationships, we conducted an experimental test utilizing Dialogic Reading for Comprehension (LuDiCa) in online reading circles with groups comprising both autistic and neurotypical adolescents. Our focus was on exploring its relevance for enhancing social interaction, particularly in terms of conversational acts, sharing experiences, initiations, and questions. Methods Five autistic and five neurotypical students between 11 and 15 years old from a public school in Brasilia, Federal District, participated. We paired groups A and B (made up of trios of teenagers) and groups C and D (made up of pairs) in a multiple baseline design per reading group, in which all groups went through the baseline conditions (BL), intervention (LuDiCa) and maintenance. Results LuDiCa increased the frequency of conversational acts of both autistic participants and neurotypical peers. In addition, the intervention favored initiations, questions, and sharing experiences, through the shared activity of reading and talking about a work of fiction. Participants rated the intervention in relation to the platform, the book, the reading facilitator, and interaction with peers. We discuss the potential of the facilitator's role in favoring interactions and the potential of LuDiCa as a joint activity for the engagement of adolescents. We also include suggestions for future research focused on the online context and discuss some limitations of the LuDiCa intervention. Conclusion In summary, our study offers initial experimental evidence demonstrating the positive impact of LuDiCa on social interaction behaviors among both autistic and neurotypical adolescents within an inclusive setting.

Oficinas multitemáticas: Estudantes como protagonistas na popularização da ciência em Feira de Santana -BA / Multi-thematic workshops: Students as protagonists in the popularization of science in Feira de Santana -BA / Talleresmultitemáticos: los estudiantes como protagonistas de la divulgación científica en Feira de Santana ­BA

Objetivo: estimular estudantes a serem protagonistas de ações que fomentassem na sua comunidade a popularização das ciências através de oficinas pedagógicas temáticas, colocando-os como construtores dos saberes, assim como, fortalecendo o papel extensionista da Universidade. Método:As atividades tiveram a participação de 80 alunos e foram desenvolvidas no Departamento de Ciências Biológicas (DCBIO) da Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (UEFS), pelos docentes do NUPEECBio, discentes e monitores. Foi realizada na SNCT (2019) com estudantes do Ensino Fundamental (6° e 7° ano) utilizando oficinas multitemáticas em Ciências. Após essa etapa, foram aplicados questionários e a avaliação qualitativa usando a Escala Likert para realizar uma avaliação qualitativa sobre a participação e adesão dos estudantes. Resultados:A análise dos dados em conjunto nos permitiu avaliar o grau de satisfação, percepção e cognição dos estudantes após cada oficina, demonstrando que as estratégias utilizadas foram exitosas. Conclusão:nessa experiência de interface Universidade e Escola básica, foi possível perceber a relevância da junção de atividades teóricas/práticas por meios de oficinas interdisciplinares no despertamento de curiosidade, motivação e receptividade dos estudantes.

Objective: to encourage students to take the lead in actions that would promote the popularization of science in their community through themed pedagogical workshops, placing them as builders of knowledge, as well as strengthening the university's extension role. Method: 80 students took part in the activities, which were carried out at the Department of Biological Sciences (DCBIO) of the State University of Feira de Santana (UEFS) by NUPEECBio teachers, students and monitors. It was held during SNCT (2019) with elementary school students (6th and 7th grade) using multi-thematic science workshops. After this stage, questionnaires and the Likert Scale were applied to carry out a qualitative assessment of student participation and adherence. Results:Analyzing the data together allowed us to assess the degree of satisfaction, perception and cognition of the students after each workshop, demonstrating that the strategies used were successful. Conclusion: in this experience of the interface between university and elementaryschool, it was possible to see the relevance of combining theoretical/practical activities through interdisciplinary workshops in arousing curiosity, motivation and receptivity in the students.

Objetivo: incentivar a los estudiantes a protagonizar acciones que promuevan la popularización de la ciencia en su comunidad a través de talleres educativos temáticos, convirtiéndolos en constructores de conocimiento y fortaleciendo el papel de extensión de la universidad. Método: 80 estudiantes participaron en las actividades, que se llevaron a cabo en el Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas (DCBIO) de la Universidad Estatal de Feira de Santana (UEFS) por profesores, estudiantes y monitores de NUPEECBio. Se llevó a cabo durante el SNCT (2019) con estudiantes de la escuela primaria (6º y 7º grado) utilizando talleres de ciencias multitemáticas. Después de esta etapa, se aplicaron cuestionarios y la Escala de Likert para llevar a cabo una evaluación cualitativa de la participación y la adhesión de los estudiantes. Resultados: El análisis conjunto de los datos nos permitió evaluar el grado de satisfacción, percepción y cognición de los alumnos luego de cada taller, demostrando que las estrategias utilizadas fueron exitosas. Conclusión: en esta experiencia de interfaz entre la universidad y la escuela primaria, fue posible constatar la importancia de la combinación de actividades teórico/prácticas a través de talleres interdisciplinares para despertar curiosidad, motivacióny receptividad en los alumnos.

Using longitudinal qualitative research to explore the experience of receiving and using augmentative and alternative communication.

BACKGROUND: People who have communication difficulties may benefit from using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Understanding and measuring outcomes from the use of AAC is an important part of evaluating the impact of devices and services. Outcome measurement needs to reflect the changing nature of the impact of using AAC on an individual's ability to participate in activities of daily life. There is a limited understanding of the concepts that should inform the evaluation of outcomes from AAC device provision, nor how people's expectations from AAC may change over time. AIMS: To inform the development of a patient-reported outcome measure for AAC by understanding more about people's expectations from AAC and how these change over time. METHODS & PROCEDURES: A longitudinal qualitative research study was designed and carried out with seven participants over a period of 2 years. Participants were recruited from a regional specialist assessment service for AAC in the south-west of the UK. Four semi-structured interviews were carried out: (1) before assessment for AAC, (2) after assessment, (3) directly after provision of an AAC device and (4) between 6 and 12 months after provision. An original analytic method was used in this study that built on the principles of longitudinal interpretative phenomenology analysis, applied with a dialogic theoretical lens. This approach enabled the inclusion of a range of multimodal and embodied data collected to this study and allowed the research team to draw out salient themes across the cohort group while attending to the influence of time and context on experience. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: The results confirm and extend the three core concepts that were used to guide analysis: changes; contexts; future possibilities. The contextual and temporal influences on outcomes attainable from AAC for this cohort were also identified and illustrated through cross-case comparison. Deeper, analytic, and conceptual engagement with theory, which was then applied to analysis of the data, provided methodological rigour in the study. The results enhance our understanding of people's hopes and expectations from AAC and how these change over time. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: This qualitative longitudinal research study provides new insights into the journeys of people who experience communication disability, and the shifting nature of their sense of identity as they engage with, and learn from using, AAC. The study is significant as it attends to the dynamic nature of experience and how contextual and experiential factors influence people's hopes and expectations from AAC. The paper presents an original application of longitudinal qualitative research methodology with people who use AAC which can be further applied and tested in the field of communication disability research. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject We did not know the impact that time has on the concepts that have been identified to represent important outcomes from AAC. The existing concepts used to define outcomes from AAC were not adequately conceptualized to develop a patient-reported outcome measure. This study sought to extend our knowledge about outcomes from AAC. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This study adds to the methodological toolkit available for qualitative inquiry in the field of communication disability research by presenting a longitudinal qualitative research methodology. It adds depth to our understanding of the concepts that underpin outcomes from AAC and highlights the dynamic nature of contexts and how this influences desired outcomes. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This longitudinal qualitative research study provides a broader perspective on the experience of getting AAC. It will enable clinicians to better navigate the contextual and transitionary factors that influence people's experience of acquiring AAC devices. The enhanced concepts described will also support clinical conversations that consider the wider facets of communication and what AAC can add to existing communicative tool kits beyond getting a message across.

How Much Dialogic Coordination Practices Matter to Healthcare Professionals-A Delphi Approach towards a Tool for Identification and Measurement.

The study of coordination practices in health policy is a central aspect. The need for further research has been recently highlighted because of COVID-19. In this sense, dialogic practices (DP) have been identified but not validated yet. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a DP questionnaire for healthcare teams. Items were identified based on a literature review, and the content validation was carried out by means of a Delphi study. A total of 10 experts assessed the clarity and appropriateness of the items and their corresponding measurement scales. After two rounds, a high level of consensus was reached, with agreement of 90% or higher on all items, and a high degree of stability and concordance in the results. This study resulted in a questionnaire consisting of four items, one for each identified DP initially proposed to the experts, as no other practices were revealed. From a practical perspective, the validation of these items constitutes a methodological innovation that responds to the call in the literature to open new avenues for comparative studies, and the possibility of generalising the findings and bringing together different approaches to the problem of coordination, which is key in health policy where unforeseen situations emerge.

The first Portuguese Open Dialogue pilot project intervention.

Introduction: In 2020, the Directorate General of Health (DGS), a central service of the Ministry of Health in Portugal, approved and co-financed the first Open Dialogue program in the country. The present report aims to demonstrate the preliminary results of the first year of the project, implemented in the northern interior region of Alentejo. Methods: Seven people at the Center of Concern (PCC) and 21 family members/social networks received care through Open Dialogue; four external social workers and psychologists were also involved in the project as members of the support network. A total of 160 network meetings were undertaken, reaching as many as 27 per month in the busiest periods. Based on a previous Italian Research Protocol, developed by Pocobello et al. (non-published manuscript), quantitative and qualitative data were collected in and after the clinical meetings involving PCC and their family/social network, through a multi-method approach: clinical history interview (e.g., generic research on sociodemographic data, duration of untreated symptoms, reasons for requesting help, possible hospitalizations, and/or treatments/therapies) and the following scales applied every five sessions (e.g., CORE-OM, BSI, GAF, and LSNS-6). Results: The preliminary results indicate an improvement in global functioning and the enlargement of social network size/support, a decrease in symptoms, and a negative correlation between the number of sessions and the LSNS6. Medication use remained largely unchanged at the end of the project. Discussion: In general, even with a small sample, the results are considered satisfactory and seem to be aligned with the vast majority of Open Dialogue studies, which for several decades have consistently pointed toward better recovery rates than treatment as usual as well as increased client satisfaction. We expect that the results presented can boost further research and help strengthen the OD approach.

Dialogic literary argumentation and close reading: effects on high school students' literature-related argumentative writing and motivational beliefs.

Given evidence that adolescent students' motivation to read and write about literature declines with age, we proffer an approach called dialogic literary argumentation (DLA) that asks students to explore literature through argumentation in pursuit of understanding the meanings and possibilities of being human. This quasi-experimental study compared the effectiveness of DLA with close reading (CR), a common approach to teaching literature in high school English language arts classrooms, in improving students' motivational beliefs about writing and literature-related argumentative writing. The study also examined how the links between motivational beliefs and argumentative writing performance varied by instructional contexts. Participants were 278 high school students in 14 classrooms across 8 public high schools. Classrooms of students received either DLA or CR throughout the academic year. While both the DLA and CR groups improved in literature-related argumentative writing, the DLA group demonstrated more growth than the CR group. Neither group exhibited changes in motivational beliefs. However, at the end of the year, both DLA and CR students' transactional writer beliefs were predictive of writing self-efficacy. Transmissional writer beliefs negatively correlated with argumentative writing in the CR group and had a null relationship in the DLA group. Overall, motivational beliefs and argumentative writing were more positively correlated in the DLA group than the CR group after the intervention. We posit that the argumentative elements unique to DLA may act to protect students from the negative impacts of transmissional beliefs. Our findings provide theoretical explanations and pedagogical recommendations on how DLA and CR can be jointly employed to heighten students' motivation and strengthen their argumentative writing competence.

Perspectivas teóricas para un enfoque dialógico de la acreditación de posgrado en México

Los procesos de acreditación se ubican en el marco de las megatendencias globales que colocan en el centro del debate las nociones excelencia y evaluación de la calidad en las instituciones de educación superior contemporáneas. El estudio se realiza en la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, parte de un enfoque cualitativo en el que el método análisis de contenidos ocupó el centro de las acciones para develar desde las epistemologías globales y regionales, las regularidades que se manifiestan en la dinámica de los procesos de acreditación con énfasis en las instituciones de educación mexicana. La unidad de análisis se ubica en los documentos normativos, foros e informes de buenas prácticas en el quehacer de la acreditación. Como resultado, se proponen las bases conceptuales que favorecen una dialógica en el proceso de evaluación aplicada a los programas de posgrado mexicano, el cual, con las adecuaciones necesarias podría aplicarse a otras universidades.

Accreditation processes are located within the framework of global megatrends that place the notions of excellence and quality assessment in contemporary higher education institutions at the center of the debate. The study presented here was carried out at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, based on a qualitative approach in which the content analysis method was at the center of the actions to unveil from the global and regional epistemologies regularities that are manifested in the dynamics of accreditation processes with emphasis on Mexican educational institutions. The unit of analysis is located in the normative documents, forums and reports of good practices in accreditation. As a result, conceptual bases are proposed that can favor a dialogic in the evaluation process applied to Mexican graduate programs, which, with the necessary adaptations could be applied to con universities.

Supporting second language acquisition of bilingual preschool children through professionalization of caregivers in specialized preschool programs.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of a training program on language support strategies and dialogic reading for caregivers working in specialized preschool programs. These programs serve children without a regular childcare place who grow up with one or more languages other than German as the environmental language. Recent studies investigating the development of children attending these programs found only moderate improvements in German receptive language skills, while language support quality of the programs was rated as average. We assessed receptive second language competencies in vocabulary and grammar of n = 48 children and language support competencies of n = 15 caregivers using an interventional pre-posttest design. Receptive vocabulary skills of children supported by trained caregivers (intervention group) were compared to children supported by untrained caregivers (control group, n = 43). We found that both children's and caregivers' competencies increased from pre- to posttest, whereas the control group's receptive vocabulary skills did not increase noticeably. The caregivers' language support competencies influenced the increase of children's receptive grammar but not vocabulary skills. The comparison between the intervention group and control group consistently showed no effect of group membership on children's receptive vocabulary acquisition over time. Since the control group data came from a secondary analysis, only receptive vocabulary skills could be compared. The preliminary results of our study suggest that a caregivers' training on language support strategies and dialogic reading in everyday educational situations support bilingual children's grammar acquisition.

Neurobiological perspective on the development of executive functions.

Executive functions are a set of top-down cognitive processes necessary for emotional self-regulation and goal-directed behaviour supporting, among others, academic abilities. Premature infants are at high risk for subsequent cognitive, psychosocial, or behavioural problems even in the absence of medical complications and in spite of normal brain imaging. Given that this is a sensitive period of brain growth and maturation, these factors may place preterm infants at high risk for executive function dysfunction, disrupted long-term development, and lower academic achievements. Therefore, careful attention to interventions at this age is essential for intact executive functions and academic development.

An educational game for teaching osmolarity and tonicity: opinions of dental and medical students.

In health courses, the students must be familiar with the effects of intravenous solutions on cell volume and function, a topic where there can be learning difficulties and misunderstandings. Since educational games can assist in understanding complex concepts, we created a game relating solution osmolarity and tonicity to red blood cell volume that was used in undergraduate Dentistry and Medicine courses. The students, working in groups, completed the game board by indicating the effect of the solutions on the red blood cell volume and classifying the solutions in terms of tonicity and osmolarity. The student indicated that the use of the educational game contributed to their understanding of osmolarity and tonicity.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study describes an educational game for teaching osmolarity and tonicity, using classical red blood cell experiment results. The game was used during dialogic teaching, which was interrupted three times so that the student groups could answer questions about the experiments by completing a table describing the effects of different solutions on cell volume. According to the students' perception, the game contributed to their understanding of osmolarity and tonicity as related to human cells.

Anticipation dialogs in Vermont's system of mental healthcare: Sustaining the growth of a dialogic practice culture.

Open dialog is both a therapeutic approach and a way of organizing the system of mental healthcare that has been evolving in Finland since the 1980s. In Vermont, over the last decade, there has been an organic statewide effort to begin to integrate dialogic principles into the public system of mental healthcare. Because of the organic nature of these initiatives, there have not been coordinated systemic changes to support dialogic practices. To learn what visions participants in dialogically informed practice contexts have for the future as well as what structural innovations would support these visions anticipation dialogs were offered at three dialogically informed community mental health centers and one public psychiatric. The anticipation dialog was developed in Finland during the late 1980s to aid stuck professional and social networks in finding ways to move forward looking back from an imagined positive future. Twenty-seven multidisciplinary staff members and one service recipient participated in the dialogs. The authors conducted a multi-step process of thematic discourse analysis of all 4 anticipation dialogs. Findings underscore dilemmas entailed in growing a dialogic practice system, including the toll systemic uncertainty takes on workers in the system and the simultaneous pull to offer some amount of open-endedness to the system change process in the spirit of inclusiveness, mutual trust, democracy, and reducing hierarchy. Other key findings influencing sustainability of dialogic practices in community mental health include integrating dialogic work into roles rather than adding them to existing responsibilities. Our experiences indicate that anticipation dialogs may be a way of conducting systemic research that contributes to the forward momentum of system innovation. Offering a greater length of time for organizational anticipation dialogs would be valuable, as would centering the voices of clients and their networks.

Revisión de la intervención mediante lectura dialógica en niños con trastornos del desarrollo del lenguaje / A review of dialogic reading intervention in children with developmental language disorder

Resumen Introducción: La lectura dialógica es una de las técnicas más empleadas y estudiadas en el marco de las actividades de lectura compartida de libros entre niños y adultos. La presente revisión siste mática tiene como objetivo principal analizar sus efectos en el lenguaje de niños hablantes tardíos o con trastorno del desarrollo del lenguaje, no asociados a otra condición. Métodos: Se llevó a cabo una revisión sistemática de la literatura siguiendo las orientaciones del PRISMA Statement, mediante la consulta con diferentes bases de datos. Resultados: Las investigaciones revisadas muestran progresos en el lenguaje de los niños en indicadores léxicos, gramaticales y pragmáticos. También se observan cambios en el lenguaje de los adultos que aplican la intervención, tanto en el uso de las estrategias propias de la técnica como en las características gramaticales y suprasegmentales de su lenguaje. Discusión: La evidencia sobre la efectividad de la lectura dialógica en niños con trastornos del desarrollo lenguaje es prometedora pero presenta limitaciones importantes relativas, funda mentalmente, al diseño, la validez social y la fiabilidad de las intervenciones. Otras cuestiones destacables hacen referencia a los libros o materiales con los que se interactúa y a las medidas empleadas para valorar su efectividad.

Abstract Introduction: Dialogic reading is one of the most used and studied techniques within the fra me of shared book reading activities between children and adults. The current review aims to analyze its effects in late talkers and children with developmental language disorder, that is, not associated to other condition. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was carried out following PRISMA Statement gui delines. Results: The investigations reviewed show advances in children's lexical, grammatical and pragma tic indicators of language functioning. Likewise, changes are observed in the language of adults who apply the intervention, both in the use of dialogic reading strategies and in the grammatical and suprasegmental features of the language addressed to children. Discussion: The evidence about the effectivity of dialogic reading in late talkers and children with developmental language disorders is promising but has important limitations that are mainly related to the design, social validity and reliability of interventions. Other remarka ble issues relate to the books or materials employed and the measures used to assess its effectiveness.

Citation behavior, audience awareness, and identity construction in Arabic and EFL research.

Citations are an integral component of writer-reader dialogic interaction in academic discourse. One under-researched question concerns the role of audience as a contextual factor that impacts writers' citation choices and the nature of the identity and disciplinary knowledge that they construct. The present study adopts a discourse analytic, case-study research design. First, it aims to investigate the citation behavior in five Arabic education research articles. Second, it examines whether the writers of these papers would modify their intertextual style to enact different identity and disciplinary community when writing in English as a foreign language (EFL). Findings revealed a unique character for the Arabic-based citation behavior that contrasted, sometimes, markedly with conventional academic norms, indicating the pivotal role that culture plays in shaping rhetorical preferences. Arabic-based tendencies involved predominance of integral citations, use of combined citations and non-citations, and reliance on what is herein termed intertextual saturation and diffused intertextuality as rhetorical strategies to contract dialogic space and persuade audience. The findings also showed marginal modification of intertextual style in the EFL texts. This suggests lack of significant orientation toward target audiences' characteristics that would have resulted from enculturation into disciplinary community. The findings imply the need to introduce novice writers to the concept of audience if they are to produce academic discourse that is interpersonally optimal from the perspective of the international discourse community.