Epistemología de la investigación social / Epistemology of social research

INTRODUCCIÓN. La epistemología, rama de la filosofía que estudia el proceso de investigación y su producto el conocimiento científico, implica ámbitos de la ciencia con enfoque positivismo y postpositivismo, interpretativismo, teoría crítica; y, transcomplejo, cada uno de ellos con los elementos paradigmáticos de: ontología, epistemología y metodología, su conocimiento y aplicabilidad en los diferentes ámbitos es fundamental porque sus enfoques generan ciencia. OBJETIVO. Desarrollar capacidades intelectuales en bases contextuales y teóricas en epistemología de la investigación social, indispensables para el ejercicio profesional en el ámbito de la investigación científica y del conocimiento científico. MATERIALES Y MÉTODOS. Estudio observacional, descriptivo, con población y muestra conocida de 30 modalidades de publicación, periodo junio a julio 2020. Los criterios de inclusión fueron: fuentes secundarias de información bibliográfica validadas en el ámbito de las ciencias sociales. La técnica de observación fue en buscadores bibliográficos PUBMED, Scielo, Scopus, Diccionario de Descriptores en Ciencias de la Salud y la Real Academia Española. La tarea de revisar la literatura de investigación comprendió la identificación, selección, análisis crítico, descripción escrita, interpretación, discusión y conclusión de la información que existe sobre la epistemología de la investigación social, tema, que se registró con aplicación de un gestor de referencias bibliográficas, tipo Microsoft Word. RESULTADOS. Se logró obtener capacidades intelectuales al estructurar la cronológica de la epistemología de la investigación social, del conocimiento científico y nuevas perspectivas para el ejercicio profesional en el ámbito de la investigación científica. CONCLUSIÓN. Las perspectivas se orientan a integrar paradigmas pasados y futuros con visión de transcomplejidad, espacios organológicos de una gran red, conformación de cibercomunidades de investigación, uso de método integrador, nuevo lenguaje en equipos multidisciplinarios, agentes como el foco principal de la teoridad epistémica en espacio, tiempo y la relación entre las cosas.

INTRODUCTION. Epistemology, a branch of philosophy that studies the research process and its product, scientific knowledge, involves areas of science focussed in with positivism and postpositivism, interpretivism, critical theory; and, transcomplex, each one of them with the paradigmatic elements of: ontology, epistemology and methodology, their knowledge and applicability in the different fields is fundamental because their approaches generate science. OBJECTIVE. Develop intellectual capacities on contextual and theoretical bases in the epistemology of social research, essential for professional practice in the field of scientific research and scientific knowledge. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Observational, descriptive study, with population and a known sample of 30 publication modalities, period June to July 2020. The inclusion criteria were: secondary sources of bibliographic information validated in the field of social sciences. The observation technique was in bibliographic search engines PUBMED, Scielo, Scopus, Dictionary of Descriptors in Health Sciences and the Royal Spanish Academy. The task of reviewing the research literature included the identification, selection, critical analysis, written description, interpretation, discussion and conclusion of the information that exists on the epistemology of social research, subject, which was registered with the application of a reference manager bibliographic, Microsoft Word type. RESULTS. Intellectual capacities were obtained by structuring the chronology of the epistemology of social research, scientific knowledge and new perspectives for professional practice in the field of scientific research. CONCLUSION. The perspectives are aimed at integrating past and future paradigms with a vision of transcomplexity, organological spaces of a large network, formation of research cyber communities, use of integrative method, new language in multidisciplinary teams, agents as the main focus of epistemic theory in space, time and the relationship between things.

Análise simultânea dos conceitos de ansiedade e medo: contribuições para os diagnósticos de enfermagem / Análisis simultáneo de los conceptos de ansiedad y temor: contribuciones a los diagnósticos de enfermería / Simultaneous analysis of the concepts of anxiety and fear: contributions to nursing diagnoses

Resumo Objetivos Realizar a análise simultânea dos conceitos de ansiedade e medo. Método Análise simultânea de conceitos com base nas nove etapas propostas por Haase, Leidy, Coward, Britt e Penn. Resultados 43 artigos foram incluídos a partir de uma busca em cinco bases de dados. 51 atributos, 26 antecedentes e 10 consequentes foram identificados a partir da análise destes conceitos. Esta análise revelou que a ansiedade e o medo são conceitos subjetivos, multidimensionais e com altos graus de abstração. Conclusão A análise simultânea da ansiedade e do medo possibilitou o refinamento destes diagnósticos e a proposição de modificações em seus componentes. Implicações para a prática A análise destes conceitos possibilitará a identificação precisa destes fenômenos na prática clínica, proporcionando maior acurácia diagnóstica.

Resumen Objetivos Realizar un análisis simultáneo de los conceptos de ansiedad y miedo. Método Análisis simultáneo de conceptos basado en los nueve pasos propuestos por Haase, Leidy, Coward, Britt y Penn. Resultados Se incluyeron 43 artículos de una búsqueda en cinco bases de datos. Del análisis de estos conceptos se identificaron 51 atributos, 26 antecedentes y 10 consecuencias. Este análisis reveló que la ansiedad y el miedo son conceptos subjetivos y multidimensionales con altos grados de abstracción. Conclusión El análisis simultáneo de la ansiedad y del miedo permitió refinar estos diagnósticos y proponer cambios en sus componentes. Implicaciones para la práctica el análisis de estos conceptos permitirá la identificación precisa de estos fenómenos en la práctica clínica, proporcionando una mayor precisión diagnóstica.

Abstract Objectives To make a simultaneous analysis on the concepts of anxiety and fear. Method Simultaneous concept analysis with nine steps proposed by Haase, Leidy, Coward, Britt, and Penn. Results A total of 43 articles were included from a search in five literature databases. 51 attributes, 26 antecedents, and 10 consequents were identified from the analysis of these concepts. This analysis revealed that anxiety and fear are subjective, multidimensional concepts with high abstraction degrees. Conclusion The simultaneous analysis of anxiety and fear is useful to refine these diagnoses and propose changes in their components. Implications for practice The analysis of these concepts enables the precise identification of these effects in the clinical practice, applying greater diagnostic accuracy.

When a Crash Is Really an Accident: A Concept Analysis.

The debate over using the word accident has encouraged some groups to adopt the word crash, while other groups retain using accident. This article addresses the inconsistent and interchangeable use of the terms accident and crash. This conceptual analysis used a Critical Review Method, with Critical Theory as the theoretical framework. A literature search was conducted in MEDLINE and CINAHL for articles published through 2011. An extensive review of literature was followed by purposive sampling of articles published in 2011 across countries, disciplines, and contexts. Forty-seven articles were read in entirety, resulting in 2 themes for accident: intent and injury. Seven articles were critically analyzed for intent, injury, and underrepresented margins of society (5 articles using the term accident, 1 article using crash and accident interchangeably, and 1 using only crash). There was congruency on injury across all 7 articles. Results were mixed for intent and the incorporation of marginalized people. Although there is evidence that the use of the word accident should be maintained when the event could not have reasonably been prevented, the theoretical framework highlights this will likely perpetuate the conceptual confusion. The recommendation is to (1) identify the mechanism of injury, (2) identify event as intentional versus nonintentional, and (3) identify event as preventable versus nonpreventable.

Diálogos de Lacan na reinvenção do inconsciente / Lacan's dialogues for a reinvention of the unconscious / Los diálogos de Lacan en la reinvención de lo inconsciente

Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar e explicitar três momentos da interlocução de Jacques Lacan com o estruturalismo em seu percurso de reinvenção do inconsciente. Como metodologia, foram analisados três textos dos teóricos estruturalistas referidos por Lacan: o antropólogo Claude Lévi-Strauss e os linguistas Ferdinand de Saussure e Roman Jakobson. Com o intuito de dimensionar a asserção lacaniana de que “o inconsciente é estruturado como uma linguagem”, este trabalho propõe um percurso de leitura que busca evidenciar em profundidade o diálogo que Lacan manteve com estes autores. Tal proposta é desenvolvida a partir da leitura rigorosa e elaboração de comentários sobre os textos dos autores estruturalistas, com foco na formulação original de seus conceitos e apropriações efetuadas por Lacan. Desse modo, busca-se demonstrar como alguns conceitos propostos pela antropologia estrutural de Lévi-Strauss e pela linguística estrutural de Saussure e Jakobson, uma vez reformulados, constituem os pilares sobre os quais repousam a estrutura do inconsciente lacaniano formalizada no escrito "A instância da letra no inconsciente".

This paper aims to present and explain three of the dialogues established by Jacques Lacan with the Structuralism in his journey to the reinvention of the unconscious. The methodology consisted of analyses of three specific texts of structuralist theorists referred to by Lacan: the anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss and the linguists Ferdinand de Saussure and Roman Jakobson. Aiming to put into perspective his assertion that “the unconscious is structured like a language”, we propose a reading course that seeks to show the in-depth dialogue that Lacan maintained with these authors. Such a proposal is developed through an attentive reading of and comments on the texts of the authors mentioned above, with focus on the appropriation and reformulation of their ideas, carried out by the Lacanian text. Thus, we seek to clarify how some of the concepts proposed by the Structural Anthropology of Lévi-Strauss and the Structural Linguistics of Saussure and Jakobson constitute the pillars to the structure of the unconscious formalized by Lacan's Écrit “The instance of the letter in the unconscious”.

Este artículo tiene como finalidad presentar y explicar tres momentos de la interlocución de Jacques Lacan con el Estructuralismo en su recorrido de reinvención del inconsciente. La metodología empleada se basa en un análisis de tres textos de los teóricos estructuralistas mencionados por Lacan: el antropólogo Claude Lévi-Strauss y los lingüistas Ferdinand de Saussure y Roman Jakobson. Con el objetivo de dimensionar la aserción lacaniana de que “el inconsciente es estructurado como un lenguaje”, este trabajo propone un recorrido de lectura que busca evidenciar en profundidad el diálogo que Lacan mantuvo con estos autores. Dicha propuesta es desarrollada a partir de la lectura minuciosa y elaboración de comentarios sobre los textos de los autores estructuralistas, con enfoque en la formulación original de sus conceptos y apropiaciones efectuadas por Lacan. Así, se busca demostrar cómo algunos conceptos propuestos por la Antropología Estructural de Lévi-Strauss y por la Lingüística Estructural de Saussure y Jakobson, una vez reformulados, constituyen los bastiones sobre los cuales está asentada la estructura del inconsciente lacaniano formalizado en su escrito “La instancia de la letra en el inconsciente”.

The Centre for Speech, Language and the Brain (CSLB) concept property norms.

Theories of the representation and processing of concepts have been greatly enhanced by models based on information available in semantic property norms. This information relates both to the identity of the features produced in the norms and to their statistical properties. In this article, we introduce a new and large set of property norms that are designed to be a more flexible tool to meet the demands of many different disciplines interested in conceptual knowledge representation, from cognitive psychology to computational linguistics. As well as providing all features listed by 2 or more participants, we also show the considerable linguistic variation that underlies each normalized feature label and the number of participants who generated each variant. Our norms are highly comparable with the largest extant set (McRae, Cree, Seidenberg, & McNorgan, 2005) in terms of the number and distribution of features. In addition, we show how the norms give rise to a coherent category structure. We provide these norms in the hope that the greater detail available in the Centre for Speech, Language and the Brain norms should further promote the development of models of conceptual knowledge. The norms can be downloaded at www.csl.psychol.cam.ac.uk/propertynorms.

A grade e a pulsão de verdade / La tabla y la pulsión de verdad / The grid and the truth drive

Bion foi o primeiro a expressar insatisfação pela grade. No entanto, atribui-lhe um papel central em alguns dos seus escritos mais importantes. De fato, a grade não se mostra útil aos fins para os quais foi criada (registrar a sessão, aumentar a capacidade de observação do analista etc.), mas para compreender e ampliar o pensamento de Bion. Com intuitiva presteza, a grade permite visualizar a estreita dialética entre os vários conceitos da sua teoria da mente. Em particular a coluna 2, oportunamente reinterpretada por Grotstein como a coluna do sonho, ajuda a captar o significado que Bion atribui à pulsão de verdade.

Bion was the first to express dissatisfaction with the grid. Still, he attributed it a central role in some of his most important writings. In fact, the grid does not prove useful for the purposes for which it was created (to document the session, to enhance the observational ability of the analyst, etc.), but to understand and expand upon Bion’s thinking. With intuitive adroitness, the grid depicts the dialectic relationship between the various concepts of Bion’s theory of the mind. Especially column 2, timely reinterpreted by Grotstein as the dream column, helps grasp the significance that Bion assigned to the truth drive.

Bion ha sido el primero en expresar insatisfacción hacia la tabla. Sin embargo le asignó un rol central en algunos de sus escritos más importantes. De hecho, la tabla no se demuestra útil para los fines que se pensaba antes (es decir, registrar as sesiones, incrementar la capacidad de observación del analista, etc.), sino para comprender mejor y ampliar el pensamiento de Bion. Con intuitiva inmediatez, la tabla evidencia la escucha dialéctica que existe entre los varios conceptos de su teoría de la mente. En particular, la columna 2, convenientemente rebautizada por Grotstein como la columna del sueño, ayuda a coger el significado que Bion asigna a la pulsión de la verdad.

"I'll have one of each": how separating rewards into (meaningless) categories increases motivation.

We propose that separating rewards into categories can increase motivation, even when those categories are meaningless. Across six experiments, people were more motivated to obtain one reward from one category and another reward from another category than they were to obtain two rewards from a pool that included all items from either reward category. As a result, they worked longer when potential rewards for their work were separated into meaningless categories. This categorization effect persisted regardless of whether the rewards were presented using a gain or loss frame. Using both moderation and mediation analyses, we found that categorizing rewards had these positive effects on motivation by increasing the degree to which people felt they would "miss out" if they did not obtain the second reward. We discuss implications for research on motivation and incentives.

Conceptual and linguistic representations of kinds and classes.

We investigate the hypothesis that our conceptual systems provide two formally distinct ways of representing categories by investigating the manner in which lexical nominals (e.g., tree, picnic table) and phrasal nominals (e.g., black bird, birds that like rice) are interpreted. Four experiments found that lexical nominals may be mapped onto kind representations, whereas phrasal nominals map onto class representations but not kind representations. Experiment 1 found that phrasal nominals, unlike lexical nominals, are mapped onto categories whose members need not be of a single kind. Experiments 2 and 3 found that categories named by lexical nominals enter into both class inclusion and kind hierarchies and thus support both class inclusion (is a) and kind specification (kind of) relations, whereas phrasal nominals map onto class representations which support only class inclusion relations. Experiment 4 showed that the two types of nominals represent hierarchical relations in different ways. Phrasal nominals (e.g., white bear) are mapped onto classes that have criteria of membership in addition to those specified by the class picked out by the head noun of the phrase (e.g., bear). In contrast, lexical nominals (e.g., polar bear) specify one way to meet the criteria specified by the more general kind concept (e.g., bear). Implications for the language-conceptual system interface, representation of hierarchical relations, lexicalization, and theories of conceptual combination are discussed.

Effects of musicality and motivational orientation on auditory category learning: a test of a regulatory-fit hypothesis.

Two experiments investigated the effects of musicality and motivational orientation on auditory category learning. In both experiments, participants learned to classify tone stimuli that varied in frequency and duration according to an initially unknown disjunctive rule; feedback involved gaining points for correct responses (a gains reward structure) or losing points for incorrect responses (a losses reward structure). For Experiment 1, participants were told at the start that musicians typically outperform nonmusicians on the task, and then they were asked to identify themselves as either a "musician" or a "nonmusician." For Experiment 2, participants were given either a promotion focus prime (a performance-based opportunity to gain entry into a raffle) or a prevention focus prime (a performance-based criterion that needed to be maintained to avoid losing an entry into a raffle) at the start of the experiment. Consistent with a regulatory-fit hypothesis, self-identified musicians and promotion-primed participants given a gains reward structure made more correct tone classifications and were more likely to discover the optimal disjunctive rule than were musicians and promotion-primed participants experiencing losses. Reward structure (gains vs. losses) had inconsistent effects on the performance of nonmusicians, and a weaker regulatory-fit effect was found for the prevention focus prime. Overall, the findings from this study demonstrate a regulatory-fit effect in the domain of auditory category learning and show that motivational orientation may contribute to musician performance advantages in auditory perception.

A "concrete view" of aging: event related potentials reveal age-related changes in basic integrative processes in language.

Normal aging is accompanied by changes in both structural and functional cerebral organization. Although verbal knowledge seems to be relatively stable across the lifespan, there are age-related changes in the rapid use of that knowledge during on-line language processing. In particular, aging has been linked to reduce effectiveness in preparing for upcoming words and building an integrated sentence-level representation. The current study assessed whether such age-related changes extend even to much simpler language units, such as modification relations between a centrally presented adjective and a lateralized noun. Adjectives were used to elicit concrete and abstract meanings of the same, polysemous lexical items (e.g., "green book" vs. "interesting book"). Consistent with findings that lexical information is preserved with age, older adults, like younger adults, exhibited concreteness effects at the adjectives, with more negative responses to concrete adjectives over posterior (300-500 ms; N400) and frontal (300-900 ms) channels. However, at the noun, younger adults exhibited concreteness-based predictability effects linked to left hemisphere processing and imagery effects linked to right hemisphere processing, contingent on whether the adjectives and nouns formed a cohesive conceptual unit. In contrast, older adults showed neither effect, suggesting that they were less able to rapidly link the adjective-noun meaning to form an integrated conceptual representation. Age-related changes in language processing may thus be more pervasive than previously realized.

Nouns referring to tools and natural objects differentially modulate the motor system.

While increasing evidence points to a critical role for the motor system in language processing, the focus of previous work has been on the linguistic category of verbs. Here we tested whether nouns are effective in modulating the motor system and further whether different kinds of nouns - those referring to artifacts or natural items, and items that are graspable or ungraspable - would differentially modulate the system. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) study was carried out to compare modulation of the motor system when subjects read nouns referring to objects which are Artificial or Natural and which are Graspable or Ungraspable. TMS was applied to the primary motor cortex representation of the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle of the right hand at 150 ms after noun presentation. Analyses of Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) revealed that across the duration of the task, nouns referring to graspable artifacts (tools) were associated with significantly greater MEP areas. Analyses of the initial presentation of items revealed a main effect of graspability. The findings are in line with an embodied view of nouns, with MEP measures modulated according to whether nouns referred to natural objects or artifacts (tools), confirming tools as a special class of items in motor terms. Additionally our data support a difference for graspable versus non graspable objects, an effect which for natural objects is restricted to initial presentation of items.

Nutrigenômica e nutrigenética: importantes conceitos para a ciência da nutrição / Nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics: important concepts for the nutrition science

The genetic map accomplished in the Human Genome Project was crucialto supply the tools and information about genetic aspects. The knowledge about the communication between genes and food compounds, such as nutrients and bioactive compounds, enabled the emergence of two new sciences, named nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics. Nutrigenomics refers to the study of how these compounds can act in the genetic expression modulation, while nutrigenetics studies the effect of genetic variation in the diet and disease interaction, with the identification of genes responsible for different responses to diet. Given the importance of understanding thein teraction between diet and gene, whereas the substances found in food can modify phenotype, the purpose of the present work is to search andgather literature data about the main advances in nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics, thus contributing to the updated education of students and health professionals. In order to achieve it, an extensive bibliographic research was done into the main scientific electronic database Pubmed and Medline, using the descriptors Nutrigenomics, Nutritional Genomics, Nutrigenetics. Data observed in literature state that environmental factors, mainly the diet, can initiate different responses among individuals due togenetic variability or polymorphisms. The current technology allows the identification of more than 500 thousand polymorphisms per person. However, only some of them seem to have functional effect. In epigeneticevents, polymorphisms are responsible for modifying the phenotype and even for the function of genes, resulting in metabolic changes such as increase or decrease in dietary intake requirements. So, the challenge isto understand how this interaction works on the balance between healthand disease. This knowledge will allow an effective nutritional interventionby the professional, based on the client's genetic map.

El mapa genético realizado en el Proyecto Genoma Humano fue crucial para suministrar herramientase informaciones sobre los aspectos genéticos. El conocimiento de la comunicación entre los genes y los componentes de los alimentos como los nutrientes y los compuestos bioactivos posibilitó el surgimiento de dos nuevas ciencias llamadas nutrigenómica y nutrigenética. La nutrigenómica se refiere al estudio de cómo tales compuestos actúan en la modulación de la expresión genética, mientras que la nutrigenética estudia el efecto de la variación genética en la interacción entre dieta y enfermedad, con la identificación de los genes responsables por diferentes respuestas a la dieta. Dada la importancia de conocer la interacción gen-nutriente, y a que las sustancias presentes en los alimentos pueden modular la expresión génica y cambiar el fenotipo, el presente trabajo pretende pesquisar y compilar los datos de la literatura sobre los principales avancesen nutrigenómica y nutrigenética. Para ello, fue realizada una extensa investigación bibliográfica en los principales banco de datos electrónico scientíficos Pubmed y Medline, por medio de los descriptores Nutrigenomic, Nutritional Genomics y Nutrigenetic. En la literatura, los datos observados afirman que factores ambientales, principalmente la dieta, pueden desencadenar diferentes respuestas entre los individuos en función de variabilidad genética o polimorfismos. La tecnología actual permite la identificación de más de 500 mil polimorfismos por persona, sin embargo, sólo algunos de ellos tienen efecto funcional. En casos epigenéticos,los polimorfi smos son responsables por la alteración del fenotipo e inclusive por las funciones de los genes que pueden resultar en alteraciones metabólicas tales como el aumento o reducción de la necesidadde ingestión de nutrientes. El desafío es entender como esa interacción influye en el equilibrio entre salud y enfermedad. Tal conocimiento permitirá al profesional de nutrición una i...

O mapeamento genético realizado no Projeto Genoma Humano foi crucial no fornecimento de ferramentas e informações acerca dos aspectos genéticos. O conhecimento da comunicação entre os genes e os compostos dos alimentos, como os nutrientes e os compostos biotativos possibilitou o surgimento de duas novas ciências, denominadas nutrigenômica e nutrigenética. A nutrigenômica se refere ao estudo de como tais compostos atuam na modulação da expressão gênica, enquanto a nutrigenética estuda o efeito da variação genética na interação entre dieta e doença, com a identificação dos genes responsáveis por diferentes respostas para com a dieta. Visto a importância em se compreender a interação genenutriente, já que as substâncias presentes nos alimentos podem modular a expressão gênica, modificando o fenótipo. O presente trabalho visa pesquisar e compilar os dados da literatura sobre os principais avanços na nutrigenômica e nutrigenética, contribuindo com a formação atualizada de estudantes e profissionais da saúde. Para tanto, foi realizada extensa pesquisa bibliográfica nos bancos de dados eletrônicos científicos Pubmed e Medline, por meio dos descritores Nutrigenomic, Nutritional Genomics e Nutrigenetic. Na literatura, os dados observados afirmam que fatores ambientais, principalmente a dieta, podem desencadear diferentes respostas entre os indivíduos em função da variabilidade genética ou polimorfismos. A tecnologia atual permite a identificação de mais de 500 mil polimorfismos por pessoa, porém, somente alguns deles têm efeito funcional. Em eventos epigenéticos, os polimorfismos são responsáveis pela alteração do fenótipo e até mesmo pelas funções dos genes, podendo resultar em alterações metabólicas como no aumento ou redução da necessidade de ingestão dos nutrientes. O desafio é entender como essa interação atua no balanço entre a saúde e a doença. Tal conhecimento poderá possibilitar ao profissional de nutrição uma eficaz intervenção nutricional, uma vez que o mes...

Quality dimensions in health evaluation: manager's conceptions.

OBJECTIVE: To understand manager's perceptions and experiences in regards to qualitative evaluations in basic health care. METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES: A qualitative study, based on the critical interpretive approach, was performed in 2006, in the city of Fortaleza, Northeastern Brazil. The sample consisted of the group responsible for planning basic health care at the state level. In order to obtain the empirical data, the focus group technique was utilized. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS: Two central themes emerged concerning the perceptions about quality and the dimensions of quality employed in health evaluations, which were revealed in distinct ways. The concepts of quality evaluation and qualitative evaluation did not appear clearly understood, confusing qualitative evaluation with formal quality evaluations. Likewise, the inherent multidimensionality of quality was not recognized. Despite the criticism expressed by the participants regarding the improper quantification of certain dimensions, the necessary technical skills and understanding were not observed for the approach to include the distinct dimensions of quality in the evaluation process. CONCLUSIONS: The conceptions of managers responsible for the planning of basic health care at the state level revealed an important disassociation from the premises of qualitative evaluation, especially those evaluations oriented by the fourth generation approach. Therefore, the model adopted by these actors for the evaluation of program and service quality did not consider their multidimensionality.

Estrutura de sistemas abertos de Imogene King: consistência semântica do conceito percepção em estudos empíricos / Imogene King's open framework: a review

A utilização de modelos conceituais sem uma reflexão sobre suas definições tem sido comum em nosso país. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a consistência semântica do conceito percepção da Estrutura de Sistemas Abertos de King em duas dissertações do programa de pós-graduação do Departamento de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal do Ceará. Foi utilizado como modelo de análise de teorias o proposto por Chinn e Kramer. Observou-se diferenças metodológicas e interpretativas na utilização do conceito percepção nos dois trabalhos avaliados. Conclui-se que as autoras ao adotarem o conceito nos seus estudos com pacientes hipertensos e com mães de crianças desnutridas utilizaram abordagens diferentes.

The utilization of conceptual models without a reflection about your definitions has been being common in our country. The present work has as aim to analyze the semantic consistency of percetion concept in King´s Opened Systems Structure in two postgraduation program dissertations of the Nursing Department of the Federal University of the Ceará. It was used as theories analysis model the proposed by Chinn and Kramer. Methodological and interpretative differences was observed in the concept perception utilization in the two evaluated works. It was concluded that the authors to the adopt the concept in their studies with hypertensive patients and with children's nourished poorly mothers used different approaches.

Linear separability in superordinate natural language concepts.

Two experiments are reported in which linear separability was investigated in superordinate natural language concept pairs (e.g., toiletry-sewing gear). Representations of the exemplars of semantically related concept pairs were derived in two to five dimensions using multidimensional scaling (MDS) of similarities based on possession of the concept features. Next, category membership, obtained from an exemplar generation study (in Experiment 1) and from a forced-choice classification task (in Experiment 2) was predicted from the coordinates of the MDS representation using log linear analysis. The results showed that all natural kind concept pairs were perfectly linearly separable, whereas artifact concept pairs showed several violations. Clear linear separability of natural language concept pairs is in line with independent cue models. The violations in the artifact pairs, however, yield clear evidence against the independent cue models.

[Questions about questions: cognitive survey of questionnaire development]. / Fragen über Fragen: cognitive survey in der Fragebogenentwicklung.

OBJECTIVES: Traditional pretests are used in the development of survey items to identify technical and comprehension problems. Cognitive processes involved in answering survey questions are not the object of this kind of test. METHODS: Cognitive survey methods were used here to test a questionnaire screening for rehabilitation needs in people suffering from back pain. Essential techniques of cognitive testing (think-aloud, probing, confidence ratings) are outlined. We applied these techniques to 20 patients suffering from either acute or chronic back pain in order to test the survey. RESULTS: The main goal, i.e., identifying problems in item formulation by means of cognitive testing, was achieved. Almost one third of the survey questions were rephrased according to the results of the study. Some of the improvements of the questionnaire are illustrated. CONCLUSIONS: The increased effort required to perform cognitive testing as compared to traditional pretesting pays off. The two methods have specific pros and cons and cannot replace one another.