Pencil Paper Research Articles

Identity Status as a Moderator of the Relationship between Belonging to Religious Communities and Religious Coping in a Group of Young Polish Catholic Girls and Boys

The present study aims to test the importance of belonging to religious communities to the frequency of using religious strategies for coping with stress, taking into account the moderating role of identity status and gender. This study used Polish adaptations of two questionnaires: The Religious Coping Questionnaire and the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale. Participants in this study were adolescent and young adult Polish Catholic girls and boys, belonging and not belonging to religious communities. The survey was carried out using the pencil–paper method on a sample of 407 young people with varying degrees of involvement in religious practice. A multivariate analysis of variance showed that the frequency of using positive religious coping strategies differs significantly between groups of people belonging to and not belonging to a religious community. As a result of the study, the interaction of the variable belonging to a religious community and the variable identity status in deciding on the frequency of using positive religious strategies for coping with stress was recognized (F = 2.448; p = 0.033). However, the interaction of these variables with gender did not reach the level of statistical significance (F = 0.655; p = 0.658). Multiple regression analysis indicates that the identity dimension Identification with Commitment explains 14.7% of the frequency of using the Cooperation with God strategy. Belonging to religious communities is significant for the frequency of use of selected religious coping strategies and the intensity of all dimensions of identity development. The results of the statistical analysis showed that identity status is a moderator of the relationship between belonging to religious communities and the intensity of positive religious coping strategies. It was found that the frequency of use of religious coping strategies and the intensity of identity dimensions differed between Polish Catholic girls and boys.

Description of the activated mathematical knowledge of the triangle concept in three empirical contexts

The paper addresses concept formation processes of students in the field of geometry. More precisely, the paper deals with the questions of what knowledge do students activate about triangles in different contexts with different (digital) tools and furthermore what content-related meaning do they give to the concept of triangles? Methodologically, we use the descriptive framework of empirical theories for the analysis of our case study. The students develop different notion of the concept of triangles, using three empirical contexts like 3D pen, dynamic geometry software and pencil paper in an activity that allow students to construct the characteristics of triangles. In this article, we focus on how the students in our case study (further) develop and give meaning to the concept of triangle, which is central in geometry, in three empirical contexts; thus, engage in concept formation processes.

Pencil–paper on-skin electronics

Pencils and papers are ubiquitous in our society and have been widely used for writing and drawing, because they are easy to use, low-cost, widely accessible, and disposable. However, their applications in emerging skin-interfaced health monitoring and interventions are still not well explored. Herein, we report a variety of pencil-paper-based on-skin electronic devices, including biophysical (temperature, biopotential) sensors, sweat biochemical (pH, uric acid, glucose) sensors, thermal stimulators, and humidity energy harvesters. Among these devices, pencil-drawn graphite patterns (or combined with other compounds) serve as conductive traces and sensing electrodes, and office-copy papers work as flexible supporting substrates. The enabled devices can perform real-time, continuous, and high-fidelity monitoring of a range of vital biophysical and biochemical signals from human bodies, including skin temperatures, electrocardiograms, electromyograms, alpha, beta, and theta rhythms, instantaneous heart rates, respiratory rates, and sweat pH, uric acid, and glucose, as well as deliver programmed thermal stimulations. Notably, the qualities of recorded signals are comparable to those measured with conventional methods. Moreover, humidity energy harvesters are prepared by creating a gradient distribution of oxygen-containing groups on office-copy papers between pencil-drawn electrodes. One single-unit device (0.87 cm2) can generate a sustained voltage of up to 480 mV for over 2 h from ambient humidity. Furthermore, a self-powered on-skin iontophoretic transdermal drug-delivery system is developed as an on-skin chemical intervention example. In addition, pencil-paper-based antennas, two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) circuits with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and batteries, reconfigurable assembly and biodegradable electronics (based on water-soluble papers) are explored.

Uma proposta de articulações entre Álgebra Vetorial e GeoGebra

Neste trabalho, apresentamos algumas produções oriundas de um minicurso realizado em um evento direcionado a licenciandos e professores de matemática da Educação Básica. Destarte que, apenas estudantes realizaram inscrição nesta atividade. A proposta do minicurso constituiu-se a partir de um estudo do trânsito entre as diferentes representações vetoriais nos domínios numérico, algébrico e geométrico, subsidiado pelo software GeoGebra, com o intuito de apontar caminhos para a instauração de pressupostos do emergente Paradigma de Questionamento do Mundo, cujos pilares se assentam no despertar de uma visão prospectiva que se opõe ao Paradigma de Visitação de Obras. Nesta perspectiva, tomamos como aporte teórico a Teoria Antropológica do Didático – TAD, a qual possui um dos fundamentos centrado nas análises das atividades didáticas matemáticas em torno de uma modelação praxeológica pontual, por meio da interação entre os blocos prático e teórico. As atividades foram planejadas e desenvolvidas contemplando-se tarefas que geralmente são tratadas em aulas ou avaliações sobre a teoria de vetores no plano, objetivando-se apontar direções para integrar o software às aulas que abordam a álgebra vetorial. Em termos de resultados, identificamos que os participantes abandonaram a postura estática e coadjuvante imposta no modelo tradicional de ensino e assumiram um papel protagonista nas atividades desenvolvidas, tanto no ambiente “papel lápis” quanto no âmbito virtual, contribuindo, desta forma, com a formação de futuros professores de matemática que questionem e não apenas visitem obras.

Pencil–Paper Learning Should Be Combined with Online Homework Software

For the past eight years, we have used online homework software as a pedagogical tool for undergraduate students (almost all are second-year students) learning organic chemistry. Being strong proponents of homework, we were surprised to find that about half of the students who complete 90% or more of the online homework assignments received less than 50% of the available points on examinations, even though comparable problems were given. Students who combined traditional pencil–paper problem solving with the online software performed better than students who solely used the online homework package. Our findings contribute to the ongoing debate between pencil–paper and computer learning with the recommendation that they should be combined to provide students with the ultimate learning tool.

The evaluation of visuospatial performance between screen and paper

This study evaluates the effect of presentation media (PC tablet versus pencil and paper) on the performance, level of visual fatigue, and subjective preference of those taking visuospatial tests. Fifty university students participated and performed three visuospatial short-term memory tests and three visuospatial ability tests by using both types of display media. The display medium substantially affected all of the measured variables (p<0.01). On average, the paper–pencil test scores of the visuospatial short-term memory tests were about 10% higher and the answer time was about 20% shorter than those of the PC tablet tests. The average paper–pencil test score of the visuospatial ability tests was about 35% higher than the average test score of the PC tablet test. The visuospatial performance was substantially decreased under the PC tablet condition compared with that under the pencil–paper condition. In addition, visual fatigue was greater when participants used the PC tablet than when they used a pencil and paper.

On the Use of Spreadsheet Algebra Programs in the Professional Development of Teachers from Selected Township High Schools

This paper reports on the initial stages of a small-scale project involving the use of ‘spreadsheet algebra programs’ in the professional development of eight teachers from three township high schools. In terms of the education context, the paper draws on social practice theory. It then details what is meant by spreadsheet algebra. An analysis of teacher conversations and artefacts generated during an in-service workshop is conducted which takes into account the education context and two practices—the teachers' pencil–paper algebra and the mathematics teacher-educator's spreadsheet algebra. Implications for professional development are considered, especially the teachers' strategies with respect to the ‘top-down’ imposition of the curriculum in terms of patterns and functions.

Atelier portrait : médiation artistique pour une reconstruction narcissique dans un contexte de blessé de guerre

Reconstruction comes after the surgical intervention for a physical trauma. The rebuilding of the face involves psychological as well as physical processes. The psychological aspect of reconstruction is less visible but more complex. The findings of therapeutic workshops based on the concept of “the face” have been invaluable. Clinically, the workshops referred specifically to an examination of the links between the creation of and restoration of self-image. This six-month long, mono-centric study took place in a surgical ward in Amman (Jordan) which treated almost 200 civilian casualties of the Iraqi civil war. The results improve our knowledge of the diversity of the mechanisms and stages that the casualties experienced to rebuild their identity. The first stage was to ask the patients to draw a self-portrait. All the patients portrayed themselves before their trauma. Then they were then asked to draw themselves as they were “now”, ie: after the trauma. Dira, a young burns patient, looked at himself in a mirror for the first time since the accident. For his second self-portrait he chose a variety of different papers and materials to portray the scars and the different textures of his skin. Another child used stickers to portray himself like a mosaic. Most of the patients started their work with a pencil paper and drew an oval. This portrayed the “real face”, the one hidden under the scars, the burnt skin, the bandages… Hidden, like in Dira's self-portrait, under the different layers of paper. By hiding his original face, which was still there but unattainable, he portrayed his loss and fragility. It can be seen from this workshop that the whole body image is modified after physical trauma. The intensity of the care, the pain, and the bandages is an emotional investment. They become a type of protection but also an obstacle to the process of restoring the body image. The perception of one's body as “damaged” causes a serious imbalance of the patient's self-image because of the emotional association with a deep feeling of fragility. In turn, this sense of physical fragility is closely connected to its mental equivalent. The patient's spirit goes through a destructive phase because of the external and internal emotional overload. This mechanism, which drives the body image, can slow down mental development when the patient is a child or a teenager. This destructive stage of recovery precedes the reconstruction of the patient's identity. The therapeutic workshop illustrates the symbolic importance of this stage by exposing the link between the wish to gather together the fragmented body image post-trauma and the cutting-out that Dira did for his post-trauma self-portrait. The patient rebuilds his self-image by gathering it together piece by piece. Therapeutic workshops and individual therapy enables patients to verbalize their anxieties. Therapy helps them to overcome their fear of the physical reality of their trauma and to reconstruct their psychological identity simultaneous to the surgical reconstruction.

The Use of an Audience Response System in an Elementary School–Based Health Education Program

The audience response system (ARS) allows students to respond and interact anonymously with teachers via small handheld wireless keypads. Despite increasing popularity in classroom settings, the application of these devices to health education programming has not been studied. We assessed feasibility, engagement, and learning among children using an ARS compared with traditional pencil-paper formats, (ARS) for a stroke health education program. We compared outcome data generated via an ARS-based intervention to pencil-paper controls, including test scores and missing data rates among 265 schoolchildren 9 to 11 years old participating in stroke education. Among 119 children, we evaluated the feasibility of ARS use and explored student motivation with a 10-item questionnaire. We assessed facilitator experience with both methods. ARS use is feasible. Students reported having more fun (p < .001), increased attention (p < .001), participation (p < .001), and perceived learning outcomes (p < .001) compared with pencil-paper controls. Test scores showed highly positive improvement for both ARS and paper without additional benefits of ARS on learning. There was no difference in missing data rates (p < .001). Educators preferred the ARS. The use of an ARS among children is feasible and improves student and facilitator engagement without additional benefits on stroke learning.

Screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in asymptomatic drivers with liver cirrhosis

Background and study aims Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) represents a part of the spectrum of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). It can have a far-reaching impact on quality and ability to function in daily life and may progress to overt HE. This study was designed to screen for MHE in drivers with liver cirrhosis in Mansoura, a city in the Nile delta in Egypt. Patients and methods A total of 174 consecutive drivers with positive serology for viral markers and cirrhosis were screened for MHE. Questionnaires and standard psychometric tests and well-informed consent were performed at the same setting. The diagnosis of MHE was made when one or both symbol digit test (SDT) and number connection test (NCT) appeared abnormal. Beck’s inventory and Mini Mental State Examination questionnaires were performed for those diagnosed as MHE. After overnight fasting, venous blood samples were taken for haematologic tests and routine liver function tests by conventional methods. Arterial ammonia was also measured. Results A total of 66 patients showed evidence for MHE out of 139 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. No significant differences were present, apart from a significantly elevated arterial ammonia level ( p-value <0.001) and a bad self-reported driving history ( p < 0.05) in the MHE-positive group when compared with the MHE-negative group. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that advanced Child–Pugh grade ( p < 0.001), hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related aetiology ( p < 0.001) and smoking are significant risk factors for MHE. MHE is significantly commoner among Child–Pugh C patients ( p < 0.05) when compared with the other Child–Pugh grades. Conclusion Our data revealed a high prevalence of MHE (47%) among Egyptian drivers with liver cirrhosis. It is hence recommended to include the driving history as well as regular pencil–paper standard psychometric testing in evaluating those at risk, especially in the outpatient setting, for early detection and proper management.

Transforming spreadsheet-based numerical and graphical quadratic sequences into pencil–paper algebraic expressions, and prospective teachers

This note demonstrates multiple representations (numerical and graphical) of spreadsheet-based quadratic sequences together with prospective teachers’ pencil–paper transformations of these numerical sequences into a corresponding symbolization as algebraic expressions. With the majority of prospective teachers, the experience of school mathematics is one of disaffection. They are in a teacher education programme that offers them certification to teach up to grade nine in the public schools. Their work illustrates processes, such as recognizing and extending patterns, by specializing and generalizing particular functional relationships. Insights gained from various methods used by them, together with the instructional affordances, i.e. the instructional benefits of spreadsheets, represent a curricular continuity between quadratic, numerical sequences and related algebraic expressions and suggest a possible change to the order in which the two are introduced.

Automation and humanization at the dutch railways; some examples

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on automation projects specifically and the automation strategy. NS is the national rail-transport concern in the Netherlands with an annual turnover, qua receipts, of 1818 million guilders. In regard to the planning of a train service, one can say that up until at present this work intensive process is in principle a pencil–paper and ruler occurrence, where by a new timetable is planned half yearly, derived from the original but supplemented with the various changes. Too often the ergonomy is introduced into a project in the realization phase when the mainlines of another must be accepted as concrete. Other investigations and publications show that the man-job relation is especially by automated processes one of the most vulnerable and problematic links.