Overweight/obesity in college students: a systematic review / Excesso de peso/obesidade em estudantes universitários: uma revisão sistemática / Sobrepeso/obesidad en estudiantes universitarios: una revisión sistemática

This article aims to characterize the prevalence and the factors associated with overweight/obesity in college students, through a systematic review. For doing so, the PRISMA protocol has been utilized. Articles about overweight/obesity were selected in college students on the databases of the National Library of Medicine (PUBMED), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), Web of Science and Scopus, it was considered the publication period from 2014 to 2019. We found 4,740 articles and 28 met the eligibility criteria. The overweight/obesity prevalence in college students varied from 9.5% to 47.0%. The Odds Ratio was the most used association measure (comparison) in studies. As characteristics that favor overweight/obesity, inadequate diet, income, male gender, low level of physical activity and family history of overweight/obesity are mentioned. The factors associated with protection against overweight/obesity were a healthy diet, regular physical activity and screen time. Finally, this review showed that university students are prone to overweight/obesity, as they have behavioral factors related to inadequate diet, low level of physical activity, income, being male, and sociocultural and family aspects due to a history of overweight/obesity. In counterpart, this review argues that healthy diet and physical activity and reduced screen time represent a health maintenance factor against overweight/obesity.

Este artigo tem como objetivo caracterizar a prevalência e os fatores associados ao sobrepeso/obesidade em universitários, por meio de uma revisão sistemática. Para isso, foi utilizado o protocolo PRISMA. Foram selecionados os artigos sobre sobrepeso/obesidade de universitários nas bases de dados da National Library of Medicine (PUBMED), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), Web of Science e Scopus, considerou-se o período de publicação de 2014 a 2019. Dos 4.740 artigos encontrados, 28 atenderam aos critérios de elegibilidade. A prevalência de sobrepeso/obesidade em universitários variou de 9,5% a 47,0%. Dentre as medidas de associação (comparação), houve maior utilização do Odds Ratio. Como destaques os fatores associados com o sobrepeso/obesidade, cita-se a dieta inadequada, renda, sexo masculino, baixo nível de atividade física e o histórico familiar de sobrepeso/obesidade. Os fatores associados como proteção ao sobrepeso/obesidade foram a dieta saudável, prática regular de atividade física e o tempo de tela. Por fim, esta revisão mostrou que os universitários são propensos ao sobrepeso/obesidade, por apresentarem fatores comportamentais relacionados a dietas inadequadas, baixo nível de atividade física, renda, ser do sexo masculino e aspectos socioculturais e familiares em função de histórico de sobrepeso/obesidade. Em contrapartida, esta revisão sustenta que a dieta saudável e atividade física e a redução do tempo de tela representam um fator de manutenção da saúde contra o sobrepeso/obesidade.

Este artículo pretende caracterizar la prevalencia y los factores asociados al sobrepeso/obesidad en estudiantes universitarios, a través de una revisión sistemática. Para ello se ha utilizado el protocolo PRISMA. Se seleccionaron artículos sobre sobrepeso/obesidad en estudiantes universitarios en las bases de datos de la National Library of Medicine (PUBMED), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), Web of Science y Scopus, se consideró el periodo de publicación de 2014 a 2019. Se encontraron 4.740 artículos y 28 cumplieron los criterios de elegibilidad. La prevalencia de sobrepeso/obesidad en estudiantes universitarios varió del 9,5% al 47,0%. El Odds Ratio fue la medida de asociación (comparación) más utilizada en los estudios. Como características que favorecen el sobrepeso/obesidad se mencionan la dieta inadecuada, los ingresos, el sexo masculino, el bajo nivel de actividad física y los antecedentes familiares de sobrepeso/obesidad. Los factores asociados a la protección contra el sobrepeso/obesidad fueron la dieta saludable, la actividad física regular y el tiempo de pantalla. Por último, esta revisión mostró que los estudiantes universitarios son propensos al sobrepeso/obesidad, ya que tienen factores de comportamiento relacionados con la dieta inadecuada, el bajo nivel de actividad física, los ingresos, el hecho de ser varones y aspectos socioculturales y familiares debido a una historia de sobrepeso/obesidad. En contrapartida, esta revisión sostiene que la dieta y la actividad física saludables y la reducción del tiempo de pantalla representan un factor de mantenimiento de la salud contra el sobrepeso/obesidad.

More time for science: Using Testable to create and share behavioral experiments faster, recruit better participants, and engage students in hands-on research.

A major pain for researchers in all fields is that they have less and less time for actual science activities: reading, thinking, coming up with new theories and hypotheses, testing, analyzing data, writing. In psychology, three of the most time-consuming nonactual science activities are: learning how to program an experiment, recruiting participants, and preparing teaching materials. Testable (www.testable.org) provides a suite of academic tools to speed things up considerably. The Testable software allows the development of most psychology experiments in minutes, using a natural language form and a spreadsheet. Furthermore, any experiment can be easily converted into a social experiment in Testable Arena, with multiple participants interacting and viewing each other's responses. Experiments can then be published to Testable Library, a public repository for demonstration and sharing purposes. Participants can be recruited from Testable Minds, the subject pool with the most advanced participants verification system. Testable Minds employs multiple checks (such as face authentication) to ensure participants have accurate demographics (age, sex, location), are human, unique, and reliable. Finally, the Testable Class module can be used to teach psychology through experiments. It features over 50 ready-made classic psychology experiments, fully customizable, which instructors can add to their classes, together with their own experiments. These experiments can then be made available to students to do, import, modify, and use to collect data as part of their class. These Testable tools, backed up by a strong team of academic advisors and thousands of users, can save psychology researchers and other behavioral scientists valuable time for science.

A brief guide to the menstrual cycle and oral contraceptive use for researchers in behavioral endocrinology.

There is increasing evidence that reproductive hormones exert regulatory effects in the central nervous system that can influence behavioral, cognitive, perceptual, affective, and motivational processes. These effects occur in adults and post-pubertal individuals, and can be demonstrated in humans as well as laboratory animals. Large changes in 17ß-estradiol and progesterone occur over the ovarian cycle (i.e., the menstrual cycle) and afford a way for researchers to explore the central nervous system (CNS) effects of these hormones under natural physiological conditions. Increasingly, oral contraceptives are also being studied, both as another route to understanding the CNS effects of reproductive hormones and also as pharmacological agents in their own right. This mini-review will summarize the basic physiology of the menstrual cycle and essential facts about oral contraceptives to help novice researchers to use both paradigms effectively.

Evaluation of the Substance Abuse Research and Education Training (SARET) program: Stimulating health professional students to pursue careers in substance use research.

BACKGROUND: We developed and implemented the Substance Abuse Research Education and Training (SARET) program for medical, dental, nursing, and social work students to address the dearth of health professionals pursuing research and careers in substance use disorders (SUD). SARET has 2 main components: (1) a novel online curriculum addressing core SUD research topics, to reach a large number of students; (2) a mentored summer research experience for in-depth exposure. METHODS: Modules were integrated into the curricula of the lead institution, and of 5 external schools. We assessed the number of Web modules completed and their effect on students' interest in SUD research. We also assessed the impact of the mentorship experience on participants' attitudes and early career trajectories, including current involvement in SUD research. RESULTS: Since 2008, over 24,000 modules have been completed by approximately 9700 individuals. In addition to integration of the modules into curricula at the lead institution, all 5 health-professional partner schools integrated at least 1 module and approximately 5500 modules were completed by individuals outside the lead institution. We found an increase in interest in SUD research after completion of the modules for students in all 4 disciplines. From 2008 to 2015, 76 students completed summer mentorships; 8 students completed year-long mentorships; 13 published in SUD-related journals, 18 presented at national conferences, and 3 are actively engaged in SUD-related research. Mentorship participants reported a positive influence on their attitudes towards SUD-related clinical care, research, and interprofessional collaboration, leading in some cases to changes in career plans. CONCLUSIONS: A modular curriculum that stimulates clinical and research interest in SUD can be successfully integrated into medical, dental, nursing, and social work curricula. The SARET program of mentored research participation fostered early research successes and influenced career choice of some participants. Longer-term follow-up will enable us to assess more distal careers of the program.

simUfish: An Interactive Application to Teach K-12 Students About Zebrafish Behavior.

As the zebrafish is rapidly becoming a species of choice in preclinical research, several efforts are being placed toward creating educational programs for K-12 students based on this promising model organism. However, as any other model organisms, the use of zebrafish in classroom settings requires additional experimental resources and poses ethical challenges related to animal use. To mitigate these factors, we have developed an application (app), simUfish, which implements a mathematical model of zebrafish behavior for generating multiple fish trajectories and animating their body undulations. simUfish is developed using a multiplatform game engine and is expected to promote the knowledge of zebrafish behavior to both K-12 students and the general public. Specifically, it demonstrates basic principles of fish individual and social behaviors, including environment interaction; fear response toward a predator; shoaling; and attraction toward a stimulus, which can be a food source or simply a finger placed on the touch screen. The effectiveness of the app as an accessible experimental tool for learning was tested in an outreach activity on middle school students from the New York City school system. The results from this activity show an immediate, tangible improvement of students' satisfaction and willingness to learn about key concepts on zebrafish behavior, accompanied by high level of interest in life sciences.

Transdisciplinary translational behavioral (TDTB) research: opportunities, barriers, and innovations.

The translation of basic behavioral science discoveries into practical strategies represents a promising approach to developing more effective preventive interventions to improve health. Since translational research inevitably involves making use of diverse perspectives from multiple disciplines, it is best conducted as a transdisciplinary enterprise. In this paper, we discuss current strategies used by NIH to support transdisciplinary translational behavioral (TDTB) research, summarize successful efforts, and highlight challenges encountered in conducting such work (ranging from conceptual to organizational to methodological). Using examples from NIH-funded projects we illustrate the potential benefits of, and barriers to, pursuing this type of research and discuss next steps and potential future directions for NIH-supported TDTB research.

Conectividad cerebral en la regulación emocional: la solución de problemas emocionales / Brain connectivity in emotional regulation: the emotional solving problems

La solución de problemas emocionales es un mecanismo de regulación emocional que utiliza estrategias cognitivo-lingüísticas para reducir el impacto afectivo de una situación y lograr un objetivo propuesto. Es considerado un mecanismo saludable junto con la revaluación, a diferencia de la supresión y la rumiación. Estudios con técnicas de neuroimágenes han propuesto áreas cerebrales asociadas al funcionamiento de los diferentes mecanismos de regulación emocional. En este trabajo se propuso investigar los gradientes de conectividad cerebral de sustancia blanca asociados a la solución de problemas emocionales, con el objetivo de proponer una red de conectividad neuronal de este mecanismo de regulación emocional. Para evaluar la efectividad de la solución de problemas emocionales se utilizó una tarea conductual desarrollada recientemente basada en la recuperación semántica esforzada con estímulos de alto impacto afectivo. Participaron del estudio 32 mujeres jóvenes (M= 24,34; DS=5,24). Se obtuvieron coeficientes de correlación de Pearson entre las medidas del porcentaje de acierto de la tarea conductual y la anisotropía fraccional de los fascículos de sustancia blanca de interés. Los resultados proponen un red neuronal de solución de problemas emocionales en la que participarían principalmente el Fascículo Arqueado y Fronto Occipital Inferior del hemisferio izquierdo, cruciales en la implementación de estrategias de carácter léxico y semántico para la disminución del impacto afectivo (AU)

Emotional solving problems is an emotional regulation mechanism that implements cognitive-linguistics strategies to reduce the affective impact in a situation and to accomplish a proposed objective. Together with the reappraisal, it is considered a healthy mechanism, in difference with suppression and rumination. Researches that have used neuroimaging techniques have proposed cerebral areas associated to the functioning of the different emotional regulation mechanisms. The objective of this research was to study the brain connectivity gradients of white matter associated to emotional solving problems, to propose a brain connectivity network of this emotional regulation mechanism. The efficacy of emotional solving problems was measured with a behavioral task recently developed, based on semantic effortful retrieval with high affective impact stimulus. 32 young women (M= 24,34; DS=5,24) participated of the study. Correlations of Pearson were performed between accuracy measures of the behavioral task and fractional anisotropy of the white matter fascicles of interest. The results propose a brain connectivity network of emotional solving problems with the main participation of the Arcuate and Fronto Occipital Inferior fascicles of left hemisphere, both crucial in the implementation of lexical and semantic strategies to the reduction of affective impact (AU)

Wolfgang Köhler's the mentality of apes and the animal psychology of his time

In 1913, the Anthropoid Station for psychological and physiological research in chimpanzees and other apes was founded by the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (Berlin) near La Orotava, Tenerife. Eugene Teuber, its first director, began his work at the Station with several studies of anthropoid apes’ natural behavior, particularly chimpanzee body language. In late 1913, the psychologist Wolfgang Köhler, the second and final director of the Station, arrived in Tenerife. During his stay in the Canary Islands, Köhler conducted a series of studies on intelligent behavior in chimpanzees that would become classics in the field of comparative psychology. Those experiments were at the core of his book Intelligenzprüfungen an Menschenaffen (The Mentality of Apes), published in 1921. This paper analyzes Köhler's experiments and notions of intelligent behavior in chimpanzees, emphasizing his distinctly descriptive approach to these issues. It also makes an effort to elucidate some of the theoretical ideas underpinning Köhler's work. The ultimate goal of this paper is to assess the historical significance of Köhler's book within the context of the animal psychology of his time (AU)

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Improving the dependability of research in personality and social psychology: recommendations for research and educational practice.

In this article, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Task Force on Publication and Research Practices offers a brief statistical primer and recommendations for improving the dependability of research. Recommendations for research practice include (a) describing and addressing the choice of N (sample size) and consequent issues of statistical power, (b) reporting effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), (c) avoiding "questionable research practices" that can inflate the probability of Type I error, (d) making available research materials necessary to replicate reported results, (e) adhering to SPSP's data sharing policy, (f) encouraging publication of high-quality replication studies, and (g) maintaining flexibility and openness to alternative standards and methods. Recommendations for educational practice include (a) encouraging a culture of "getting it right," (b) teaching and encouraging transparency of data reporting, (c) improving methodological instruction, and (d) modeling sound science and supporting junior researchers who seek to "get it right."

Fish cam: an online tool for introducing shoaling behavior to the classroom.

Fish Cam is an on-line educational resource that enables students to participate in behavioral research projects without ever leaving their classroom. By linking onto the Fish Cam site, students will observe an experimental tank in which fish choose shoal-mates in dichotomous choice tests. In these experiments, a test fish, in the central compartment, displays its shoaling preference by swimming near small shoals of fish in either of two side compartments. Assays are designed to examine the effects of phenotype, shoal size, and other factors known to influence shoaling. Students monitor Fish Cam in real time, and students collect data simply by running timers when the test fish crosses into the preference zones at each end of the central compartment. The times are logged onto data sheets that we provide, and we assist the students with their analysis. The simplicity of shoaling behavior makes it an ideal model system for data collection that is accessible to students of all ages and, in its first few years of operation, Fish Cam studies have been performed by fifth-, seventh- and eleventh-grade students. Sample lesson plans and handouts are available online to enhance the Fish Cam experience. The ultimate goals of this project are to make scientific research accessible in the classroom and promote science education.

Some useful insights for graduate students beginning their research in physiological psychology: anecdotes and attitudes.

This paper is based on my experiences in 40 years of research in behavioral neuroscience. It is aimed at giving help to beginning graduate students with advice for how to do their research.

Entrepreneurship research in Spain: developments and distinctiveness / La investigación del emprendimiento en España: desarrollos y características propias

This article presents a review of research on entrepreneurship in Spain, paying particular attention to its beginnings, nature and main focus of interest. We have developed a database based on the review of 471 works produced between 1977 and 2009, including articles published in national and international journals and dissertations (read in Spain) that allowed us to extract the following results. There is a preference for qualitative methods, conceptual contributions and the entrepreneurial process as the privileged research theme. There is also a strong focus of interest on micro and small enterprises. These characteristics of Spanish research in areas of entrepreneurship can make a distinctive contribution to international research. However, the dissemination of knowledge and inadequate strategies for international publication limit the diffusion of Spanish research in entrepreneurship. Lastly, we discuss the implications for future research (AU)

Este artículo presenta una revisión de la investigación realizada en España sobre emprendimiento, prestando especial atención a sus comienzos, naturaleza y principales focos de interés. La revisión de 471 trabajos producidos entre 1977 y 2009, entre artículos publicados en revistas nacionales e internacionales y tesis doctorales, leídas en España, nos aporta una base de datos que nos ha permitido extraer los siguientes resultados. Existe una preferencia por métodos cualitativos, por contribuciones conceptuales y por el proceso emprendedor como tema de investigación principal. Existe también un fuerte interés por estudiar las micro y pequeñas empresas. Estas características de la investigación española en temas de emprendimiento pueden hacer una contribución distintiva a la investigación internacional. No obstante, la diseminación del conocimiento y las insuficientes estrategias orientadas a la publicación internacional limitan la difusión de la investigación española en emprendimiento. Se discuten las implicaciones para futuras investigaciones (AU)

Normative collective behavior in the Station building fire.

Objective. This article offers a test of the normative explanation of collective behavior by examining the fire at the Station nightclub in Rhode Island that killed 100 and injured nearly 200 persons.Methods. Information on all persons at the club comes from content analysis of documents from the Rhode Island Police Department, the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, and The Providence Journal. We use negative binomial regression to test hypotheses about the effects of group-level predictors of the counts of dead and injured in 179 groups at the nightclub.Results. Results indicate that group-level factors such as distance of group members at the start of the fire, the number of intimate relations among them, the extent to which they had visited the nightclub prior to the incident, and the average length of the evacuation route they used predict counts of injured and dead. The research also looks at what behavioral differences exist between survivors and victims, ascertains the existence of role extension among employees of the nightclub, and provides support for the affirmation that dangerous contexts negate the protective influence of intimate relations in groups.Conclusion. We argue for the abandonment of current emphasis on irrationality and herd-like imitative behavior in studies of evacuation from structural fires in buildings and for the inclusion of group-level processes in social psychological explanations of these incidents.

Análise da associação entre o desempenho acadêmico, a velocidade de execução das tarefas e o comportamento da criança a partir da EACI-P / Analysis of association between the academic performance, the speed of execution of tasks and behavior of children from EACI-P

Esse trabalho busca analisar a associação entre o desempenho acadêmico, a velocidade de execução das tarefas, e os problemas de comportamento infantil, avaliados pela EACI-P, bem como as inter-relações entre esses problemas de comportamento, desempenho e a inteligência estimada das crianças. MÉTODO: Trata-se de um estudo transversal com a avaliação do comportamento por meio de escala padronizada, comparação entre as idades e análise de associação entre as variáveis do instrumento (EACI-P) segundo classificação do professor. RESULTADOS: Os resultados da avaliação dos professores quanto à presença ou não de problemas de comportamento nas 84 crianças avaliadas revelam que 7,9 por cento (7) crianças apresentam Hiperatividade/Problema de Conduta, 2,2 por cento (2) crianças apresentam um nível abaixo do esperado para sua idade e nível de escolarização no que se refere ao Funcionamento Independente/Socialização Positiva, 13,5 por cento (12) apresentam Inatenção, 5,6 por cento (5) têm sintomas de Neurotismo/Ansiedade e 1,1 por cento (1) vivencia um processo de Socialização Negativa. O desempenho foi associado aos escores de desatenção e hiperatividade. A velocidade de execução foi associada à socialização negativa e o escore de QI foi negativamente correlacionado com todas as variáveis comportamentais, exceto funcionamento independente. CONCLUSÃO: É possível por meio da aplicação da EACI-P obter dados para compreender o comportamento e a aprendizagem da criança, fundamentando intervenções precoces. Comportamento, desempenho acadêmico, velocidade de execução e inteligência foram fatores de risco ou proteção para aprendizagem, caso estejam preservados ou prejudicados. A relação professor-aluno-escola é fundamental para o desenvolvimento psicossocial da criança, a partir da mediação dessa tríade podem-se evitar problemas de aprendizagem, comportamentos e relacionamentos interpessoais...

The aim of this study was to analyze the association between academic achievement, assessed by Child Behavior Scale for Teacher (EACI-P), as well as to correlate it to behavioral problems, speed of performance and IQ score. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study analysing EACIP Inventory answers through standardized comparison to neuropsychological variables in 84 children. RESULTS: Hyperactivity and conduct problems prevailed in 7.9 percent (7 cases) children, 2.2 percent of cases showed difficulties in Independent Functioning / Positive Socialization, 13.5 percent revealed inattention, 5.6 percent (5 cases) showed symptoms of neuroticism / anxiety and 1.1 percent (1 case) of cases experiences a negative socialization. Global performance was associated with inattention scores and positive socialization, whereas hyperactivity symptoms were correlated to inattention. Speed of performance was associated with negative socialization and IQ score was negatively correlated to all behavioral variables except independent functioning. CONCLUSION: It is possible through the application of EACI-P to obtain data to understand behavior and learning correlations, supporting early intervention. Behavior, speed of performance and intelligence could be either risk or protective factors for learning if they are preserved or impaired. Such data suggest that teacher-student interface is crucial to understand psychosocial development of children and could give support to positive approaches to face learning, behavior and interpersonal problems...

Análise da associação entre o desempenho acadêmico, a velocidade de execução das tarefas e o comportamento da criança a partir da EACI-P / Analysis of association between the academic performance, the speed of execution of tasks and behavior of children from EACI-P

OBJETIVO: Esse trabalho busca analisar a associação entre o desempenho acadêmico, a velocidade de execução das tarefas, e os problemas de comportamento infantil, avaliados pela EACI-P, bem como as inter-relações entre esses problemas de comportamento, desempenho e a inteligência estimada das crianças. MÉTODO: Trata-se de um estudo transversal com a avaliação do comportamento por meio de escala padronizada, comparação entre as idades e análise de associação entre as variáveis do instrumento (EACI-P) segundo classificação do professor. RESULTADOS: Os resultados da avaliação dos professores quanto à presença ou não de problemas de comportamento nas 84 crianças avaliadas revelam que 7,9 por cento (7) crianças apresentam Hiperatividade/Problema de Conduta, 2,2 por cento (2) crianças apresentam um nível abaixo do esperado para sua idade e nível de escolarização no que se refere ao Funcionamento Independente/Socialização Positiva, 13,5 por cento (12) apresentam Inatenção, 5,6 por cento (5) têm sintomas de Neurotismo/Ansiedade e 1,1 por cento (1) vivencia um processo de Socialização Negativa. O desempenho foi associado aos escores de desatenção e hiperatividade. A velocidade de execução foi associada à socialização negativa e o escore de QI foi negativamente correlacionado com todas as variáveis comportamentais, exceto funcionamento independente. CONCLUSÃO: É possível por meio da aplicação da EACI-P obter dados para compreender o comportamento e a aprendizagem da criança, fundamentando intervenções precoces. Comportamento, desempenho acadêmico, velocidade de execução e inteligência foram fatores de risco ou proteção para aprendizagem, caso estejam preservados ou prejudicados. A relação professor-aluno-escola é fundamental para o desenvolvimento psicossocial da criança, a partir da mediação dessa tríade podem-se evitar problemas de aprendizagem, comportamentos e relacionamentos interpessoais.(AU)

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the association between academic achievement, assessed by Child Behavior Scale for Teacher (EACI-P), as well as to correlate it to behavioral problems, speed of performance and IQ score. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study analysing EACIP Inventory answers through standardized comparison to neuropsychological variables in 84 children. RESULTS: Hyperactivity and conduct problems prevailed in 7.9 percent (7 cases) children, 2.2 percent of cases showed difficulties in Independent Functioning / Positive Socialization, 13.5 percent revealed inattention, 5.6 percent (5 cases) showed symptoms of neuroticism / anxiety and 1.1 percent (1 case) of cases experiences a negative socialization. Global performance was associated with inattention scores and positive socialization, whereas hyperactivity symptoms were correlated to inattention. Speed of performance was associated with negative socialization and IQ score was negatively correlated to all behavioral variables except independent functioning. CONCLUSION: It is possible through the application of EACI-P to obtain data to understand behavior and learning correlations, supporting early intervention. Behavior, speed of performance and intelligence could be either risk or protective factors for learning if they are preserved or impaired. Such data suggest that teacher-student interface is crucial to understand psychosocial development of children and could give support to positive approaches to face learning, behavior and interpersonal problems.(AU)

Construcción de una herramienta observacional para evaluar las conductas prosociales en las clases de educación física / The construction of an observational tool to evaluate pro-social behaviours in physical education classes

El presente trabajo describe la construcción y validación de un sistema taxonómico original, “ad hoc”, que permite observar las conductas prosociales que se producen en las clases de Educación Física (EF) en la Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO). Dichas conductas se encuentran relacionadas con el desarrollo de valores positivos. Técnicamente, es una herramienta que combina los sistemas de formatos de campo y los sistemas de categorías E/ME. Este sistema se ha desarrollado desde una perspectiva deductiva desde el punto de vista del desarrollo del razonamiento moral de Kohlberg. El proceso de optimización de la herramienta, incluye el control y análisis de calidad del dato, destacando la concordancia consensuada y el análisis de la teoría de generalizabilidad, los cuales arrojan unos resultados óptimos (AU)

This study describes the construction and validation of an original, “ad hoc” taxonomic system that allows the pro-social behav io u rs produced during compulsory secon dary sch ool physical education classes to be observed. Such behaviours are related to the development of positive values. Technically, the tool combines field format systems and E/ME category systems, which have been developed from a deductive perspective under the theoretical framework of Kohlberg’s development of moral reasoning. The tool’s optimisation process includes monitoring and analysing the quality of the data and focuses on consensus-based concordance and the analysis of the generalisabil ity theory, which yielded good results (AU)

The usefulness of distinguishing types of aggression by function.

Far from being a universally defined notion, aggression is a changing and multifaceted phenomenon encompassing various concepts. There is no consensus as to how different types of aggression should be classified: multiple ways of doing so using a variety of criteria exist in the scientific literature. Some scientists categorise aggressive acts according to how they are expressed, while others prefer to look at motive, function, purpose and objective. Despite the claim of some authors that distinguishing between different types of aggressive acts is not always productive, categorising these according to different purposes and objectives can be very useful, both for developing theory and because such an approach serves forensic practice as well as preventive and therapeutic interventions, as these focus on the propensities and personality of the individual. Furthermore, given that the main functional classifications analysed show a common tendency to dichotomise, it would seem appropriate for their terminology and some of their measurement instruments to be standardised.

Using SMS text messaging for teaching and data collection in the behavioral sciences.

Recent interest in university teaching has focused on interactivity in lectures and practical classes, and teachers in several fields have set up systems in which students can interact with the lecturer using mobile-phone-based SMS text messaging. This approach has particular potential in psychology, where students could use SMS messaging as a way of responding in simple psychology experiments or demonstrations. We describe a simple architecture for an SMS-based responding, using an SMS-to-HTTP message relay service, and a PHP/MySQL input-output handler. We describe briefly two experiments we have run using the system. The first experiment examined anchoring effects in an SMS-based auction. The second experiment examined delay discounting, with participants indicating their intertemporal preferences using SMS. Finally, we evaluate the feedback we obtained from students about the practical and conceptual issues surrounding text-message-based responding.

An institutional postdoctoral research training program: predictors of publication rate and federal funding success of its graduates.

OBJECTIVE: The National Institute of Mental Health funds institutional National Research Service Awards (NRSA) to provide postdoctoral research training. While peer-reviewed publications are the most common outcome measure utilized, there has been little discussion of how publications should be counted or what factors impact the long-term publication rates of trainees in these programs. METHODS: The authors reviewed current curricula vitae from 92 graduates of an institutional NRSA and from the faculty mentors of that program to assess publications through 2005. Publications were weighted based on peer versus non-peer-reviewed and authorship position. Trainee and mentor factors were assessed for their impact on publication rates and on becoming principal investigators of larger scale federal grants such as a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01. RESULTS: Weighted publication scores correlate with total publication rates at such a high rate that the two scores can be used interchangeably. Forty-three percent of graduates average at least one publication per year after completing the postdoctoral program; 20% were listed as an independent investigator on a larger federal grant. The number of publications published during postdoctoral training and additional funded training beyond that provided by the institutional NRSA are correlated with increased posttraining program publication rates; other factors including gender, terminal degree, number of publications prior to postdoctoral training, and mentor variables had no significant impact. Additional funded training, male gender, and increased time since completion of the training are associated with increased likelihood of larger grant federal funding. CONCLUSION: Weighting publications by whether they were peer-reviewed and by authorship position appears to have little benefit over a simple counting of the number of publications. Publication during research training and the pursuit of funding for additional individual research training may be appropriate short-term goals within an institutional research training program.