Joint Construction Of Knowledge Research Articles

Avaliação vocal de crianças disfônicas pré e pós intervenção fonoaudiológica em grupo: estudo de caso

Este estudo tem como objetivo caracterizar a dinâmica vocal de crianças disfônicas pré e pós-terapia fonoaudiológica em grupo por meio de avaliação perceptivo-auditiva e acústica da voz. Participaram seis crianças, dois meninos e quatro meninas, com idades entre sete e dez anos, com diagnóstico de disfonia funcional ou organofuncional. As crianças foram submetidas à anamnese, análise perceptivo-auditiva e acústica da voz, antes e após processo terapêutico grupal semanal, num total de doze sessões de quarenta minutos cada. Como estratégias terapêuticas foram propostas atividades de dramatizações, desenhos, brincadeiras, elaboração de painéis e realizados exercícios vocais (de forma coletiva e lúdica). Buscou-se a troca de experiências entre os membros do grupo, a construção conjunta de conhecimentos sobre a produção da voz e saúde vocal, e, a atuação direta por meio de técnicas e exercícios. Os dados foram analisados usando um nível de significância de 0,10. Quanto aos parâmetros de rugosidade e grau global da disfonia da avaliação perceptivo-auditiva, houve diferença entre as avaliações realizadas antes e depois do processo terapêutico grupal (p=0,024 e p=0,074, respectivamente). Em relação à análise acústica da voz pré e pós-terapia, não houve diferença para frequência fundamental e intensidade vocal média (p=0,288 e p=0,906, respectivamente). Já para as medidas de ruído, jitter e shimmer, houve diferença entre as avaliações iniciais e finais (p=0,079 e p=0,046, respectivamente). A terapia fonoaudiológica em grupo promove modificações na dinâmica vocal de crianças disfônicas, no que se refere aos parâmetros perceptivo-auditivos e acústicos.

The difficulties of dealing with social inequities at the Family Health Program in Natal, Brazil

The paper will present data from research on the Family Health Program in a low-income district of Natal, Brazil. Through an institutional ethnographic perspective at the three Family Health Units in the district, it has been possible to create a joint construction of knowledge where the following are evident: (1) the need to consider the limitations of the biomedical approach; (2) the naturalization of social inequities and the lack of agency of health care users; and (3) the need to reflect on unfair power relations being reproduced through hierarchical interactions.

A rationale for science–policy interfaces

This paper aims at a better understanding of the justifications for science–policy interfaces, of the reasons for their growing importance in environmental governance, and of the theoretical and epistemological challenges they pose. I look at the intersections between science and policy to highlight that science and policy, far from being mutually exclusive and hermetic categories, are intersecting domains of human activity which are in co-evolution. Science–policy interfaces are defined as social processes which encompass relations between scientists and other actors in the policy process, and which allow for exchanges, co-evolution, and joint construction of knowledge with the aim of enriching decision-making. They are implemented to manage the intersection between science and policy. The theoretical questions which arise at this intersection are then explored, which allows for the identification of a series of 15 normative requirements for science–policy interfaces. The conclusion suggests that this normative content may provide guidance for the design, implementation, and evaluation of real-life science–policy interfaces, and identifies key methodological issues which need further theoretical research as well as practical experimentation.

Interlanguage Development of Spanish Learners: Comprehension, Production, and Interaction

This study explores the relationship between group interaction and interlanguage development, specifically listening comprehension and the production of target grammar forms. Two groups (39 participants in total) of first-semester Spanish students at an American university took notes on a mini-lecture, then completed a text reconstruction and listening comprehension test. The experimental group (n = 18) interactively shared notes for five minutes in small groups; the control group (n = 21) did not interact, although students were allowed to study their notes for five minutes. The experimental group scored significantly higher (p = 0.001) on the listening comprehension task. The recorded interactions, analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively, revealed significant differences between the interaction groups in the amount and types of L2 words used in the joint construction of knowledge. Quantitative analysis, conducted by means of a customized computer program that identified and counted target linguistic forms, facilitated ready comparison across interaction groups through innovative analytic techniques. This study shows that interaction may have an effect on listening comprehension and suggests that the different ways in which learners interact may explain this effect.

Computador para interação comunicativa

The article discusses school communication as an interactive teaching practice between the teacher and the students. It emphasizes the fact that communication technologies, particularly the computer, can be mediators in the joint construction of knowledge. They favor the individual's continual education, leading him or her to learn to be, to do, to know and to work with others in a cooperative manner, in order to create a collective intelligence capable of managing conflict and promoting a more human life.