University Of Vic Research Articles

Effectiveness of virtual reality on functional mobility during treadmill training in children with cerebral palsy: a single-blind, two-arm parallel group randomised clinical trial (VirtWalkCP Project)

IntroductionTreadmill training and virtual reality have been investigated in children with cerebral palsy. However, few studies have assessed the effectiveness of the combination of both treatments on children’s functional and...

Teaching interpreting online for the Translation and Interpreting Degree at the University of Vic

Abstract At a time when the advances in information and communication technologies meant that new approaches to virtual teaching and learning could be proposed, the teaching staff on the degree in Translation and Interpreting at UVic decided to offer part of the degree in distance learning mode. This learning mode was launched in the 2001–2002 academic year, with optional face-to-face teaching sessions some Saturdays and coexisted with the traditional face-to-face courses. During the first years, the fourth-year interpreting specialisation subjects were not taught online for technical and pedagogical reasons. Since the 2014-2015 academic year, we also teach these subjects online. The challenge that we face starting the 2017-2018 academic year is twofold: 1. To adapt the online teaching of interpreting subjects to groups with a high number of students in the new Inter-university Degree in Translation, Interpreting and Applied Languages jointly offered by the University of Vic and the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). 2. To adapt the contents and methodology of interpreting subjects to changes in professional practice: telephone and videoconference interpreting, especially in liaison interpreting. In our paper, we will show some online teaching resources, as well as several online tools which we use in our courses.

An Intergenerational Information and Communications Technology Learning Project to Improve Digital Skills: User Satisfaction Evaluation.

Background“Digital Partners” is an intergenerational information and communications technology learning project carried out in the municipalities of Vic and Centelles (Catalonia) from April to May 2018. Within the framework of the introduction of community service as a subject in secondary education, the Centre for Health and Social Studies (University of Vic) created a training space with 38 intergenerational partners (aged 14-15 years and >65 years), with the aim of improving the senior users’ digital skills in terms of use of smartphones and tablets, thus helping reduce the digital divide in the territory.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to evaluate the satisfaction of both junior and senior participants toward the intervention and to explore its main drivers.MethodsParticipants who volunteered to participate in the study were interviewed. Quantitative and qualitative data gathered in paper-based ad hoc surveys were used to assess participants’ satisfaction.ResultsThe experience shows a broad satisfaction of both junior and senior users. The project’s strengths include the format of working in couples; randomly pairing individuals by operating system; the ability to practice with the device itself; individuals’ free choice to decide what they wish to learn, develop, or practice; and the availability of voluntary practice material that facilitates communication and learning. With regard to aspects that could be improved, there is a need to review the timetabling flexibility of meetings to avoid hurrying the elderly and to extend the project’s duration, if necessary.ConclusionsThis activity can serve to create mutual learning through the use of mobile devices and generate security and motivation on the part of the seniors, thus reducing the digital divide and improving social inclusion.

Chair ICO/UVIC-UCC of palliative care at the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia: an innovative multidisciplinary model of education, research and knowledge transfer

ObjectivesGeneration and dissemination of knowledge is a relevant challenge of palliative care (PC). The Chair Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO)/University of Vic (UVIC) of Palliative Care (CPC) was founded in...

Gait parameters in children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

To identify the gait parameters used to assess gait disorders in children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy (CP) and evaluate their responsiveness to treatments. A systematic search within PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus (in English, 2000-2016) for randomized controlled trials of children with bilateral spastic CP who were assessed by instrumented gait analysis (IGA) was performed. Data related to participants and study characteristics, risk of bias, and outcome measures were collected. A list of gait parameters responsive to clinical interventions was obtained. Twenty-one articles met the inclusion criteria. Eighty-nine gait parameters were identified, 56 of which showed responsiveness to treatments. Spatiotemporal and kinematic parameters were widely used compared to kinetic and surface electromyography data. The majority of responsive gait parameters were joint angles at the sagittal plane (flexion-extension). The IGA yields responsive outcome measures for the gait assessment of children with bilateral spastic CP. Spatiotemporal and kinematic (at sagittal plane) parameters are the gait parameters used most frequently. Further research is needed to establish the relevant gait parameters for each clinical problem. Fifty-six responsive gait parameters for children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy were identified. Most responsive gait parameters belong to joint angles time-series at sagittal plane. Spatiotemporal and kinematic parameters are widely used compared to kinetic and surface electromyography parameters.

Compassionate communities: design and preliminary results of the experience of Vic (Barcelona, Spain) caring city.

A program of Compassionate City or Community (CC) has been designed and developed in the City of Vic (43,964 habitants, Barcelona, Spain), based on The Compassionate City Charter and other public health literature and experiments, with the joint leadership of the City Council and the Chair of Palliative Care at the University of Vic, and as an expansion of a comprehensive and integrated system of palliative care. The program started with an assessment of needs of the city as identified by 48 social organizations with a foundational workshop and a semi-structured survey. After this assessment, the mission, vision, values and aims were agreed. The main aims consisted in promoting changes in social and cultural attitudes toward the end of life (EoL) and providing integrated care for people with advanced chronic conditions and social needs such as loneliness, poverty, low access to services at home, or conflict. The selected slogan was "Living with meaning, dignity, and support the end of life". The program for the first year has included 19 activities (cultural, training, informative, and mixed) and followed by 1,260 attendants, and the training activities were followed by 147 people. Local and regional sponsors are funding the initiative. After a year, a quantitative and qualitative evaluation was performed, showing high participation and satisfaction of the attendants and organizations. In the second year, the care for particular vulnerable people defined as targets (EoL and social factors described before) will start with volunteers with more organizations to join the project. The key identified factors for the initial success are: the strong joint leadership between social department of the Council and the University; clear aims and targets; high participation rates; the limited size of the geographical context; which allowed high participation and recognition; and the commitment to evaluate results.

Can the integration of a PLE in an e-portfolio platform improve generic competences?

The study analyzes the improvement in generic competences through e-portfolio/PLE platform and didactic planning. The new version of the platform, Digital Folder, contains utilities for students and teachers and some PLE components that help the learning process through e-portfolios. Didactic planning is compared for students from the University of Vic and the University of Barcelona, with a total of 61 participants. A questionnaire has been applied for measuring the use of functions and how much these functions aid in the improvement of the generic competences (reflection, planning and selection of information). The results confirm that the most helpful functions for students are: the Schedule, the Academic tasks, the Teacher’s portfolio and Dialogue with the teacher. However, the implication of these functions in the improvement of the competences depends on didactic planning overall for reflection on learning.

Strategy to fight against malnutrition in chronic patients with complex health needs

Disease-related malnutrition (DRM) is a prevalent condition amongst older people as well as patients in all healthcare settings around the world. Chronic patients with complex health needs (CPCHN defined as those with complex chronic conditions that involve multiple health requirements, complex social support needs, or both) are especially vulnerable to malnutrition. Malnutrition is associated with increased morbidity, a higher hospital admission and readmission rate, increased needs for social resources and even a high mortality. In Catalonia, CPCHN account for 3.5-5 % of the Catalan population (250,000 to 375,000 patients), and we have data pointing to a high prevalence of malnutrition in CPCHN admitted in hospitals for an acute episode (36 % malnourished, 47 % risk of malnutrition). Nevertheless, the prevalence of DRM in CPCHN in the community has been not sufficiently studied. In addition, health and social risk factors for malnutrition are unknown in these population. Taking all these into account, it is necessary to establish an integrated and a collaborative health and social strategy for the screening and management of nutritional care, mainly from a community-based as well as a patient-centered approach. The strategy to tackle against malnutrition in CPCHN is led by the Department of Health of Catalonia (PPAC, PIAISS), the Spanish Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (SENPE) and the Family and Community Nursing Association (AIFICC), with the support of the University of Vic. This strategy is based on a Decalogue of actions to fight against malnutrition previously identified by a consensus among experts from scientific societies, social services and public health, incorporating the vision of patients and caregivers. Aims : 1. Highlight the DRM problem in CPCHN launching a prevalence study of DRM in the CPCHN selecting a representative sample of Catalonian society. 2. Establish an integrated and a collaborative intervention plan (nutritional and social) linked to the detection of malnutrition and/or social dysfunction. Results and impact : 1. The prevalence study of DRM in the CPCHN is a prospective observational and multicenter randomized study that has been performed in a region of Catalonia, representative of the Catalan society (80 % urban, 20 % rural). The sample size calculated was 384 patients, a total of 404 patients have been participated. A very high prevalence of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition has been found (46.5 % risk, 5.9 % malnutrition) Living alone, polypharmacy and dysphagia were the most important social and health determinants that influence DRM and will allow us to focus strategies to improve patient care. 2. The integrated and collaborative intervention plan to tackle against DRM in CPCHN is based on a protocol that includes the clinical, nutritional and social risk screenings. With this aim, Primary Care teams (doctors and nurses) and Social Service professionals (Primary Care and community resources) are coordinated with the Nutritional Support Unit in the reference hospital in a collaborative manner. The first step has been to incorporate mandatory nutritional and social risk factors screenings in patients identified as CPCHN. A positive nutritional or social screening have been linked to comprehensive nutritional and social assessment plans that will allow diagnosing and encoding malnutrition and identifying patients at risk of social dysfunction. Diagnosis of DRM or social dysfunction is linked to an integrated intervention plan (nutritional and social), that includes case-conferences in the case of patients with complex needs. Highlights : Prior to the development of the strategy for dealing with DRM in CPCHN, a low implementation of nutritional screening was detected. This fact was probably due to a low awareness of DRM, but also for lack of a feasible and efficient plan of approach, that must include not only the health aspects but also the social determinants that accompany the disease. Contingencies : The implementation of this strategy is time-consuming, and requires an integrated health and social work. Tutorials have been attached to the shared medical history of Catalonia to guide professionals in the application of the screenings. Timeline : The prevalence study of DRM in the community has been finished at January 2016. The mandatory screening and the validation of the nutritional and social intervention plan will be implemented during 2016. Conclusion : The results of the prevalence study of DRM in CPCHN could be extrapolated to the rest of Catalonia, allowing us to manage effectively the health and social policies. It will also allow us to analyze the impact of different health care quality indicators linked to the strategy to approach to DRM. Nutritional and social community intervention can be cost-efficient, as demonstrated in the hospital setting, and probably will allow reducing unnecessary admissions, readmissions, complications, need for social resources and will help improve the quality of life in CPCHN. The impact of this strategy is based in detecting and treating in an integrated and collaborative manner DRM in CPCHN.

Effect of Using Formative Assessment Techniques on Students’ Grades

This paper presents some of the results of a broader research project on how formative assessment affects the development of specific and generic competences in teacher training subjects at higher education level. The paper describes and discusses the impact of participatory and non-participatory assessment techniques on the attainment of learning outcomes in four different subjects. The sample was comprised of students (n=118) on teacher training bachelor's degrees at the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia. Data were gathered on the lecturers’ activities in each subject and on the students’ final grades. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to assess the effect of formative assessment on students’ final grades for a subject. Statistical analysis shows that students who took subjects that were assessed by participatory techniques had a significantly (p<0.001) higher average final grade than those who had not been assessed in this way. The discussion of this paper is based on other researches which argue that the improvement of students’ learning outcomes can arise from an improved learning process.

Effects of Formative Assessment on the Learning-to-learn Skills of Teacher Training Students

Abstract This paper presents some of the results of a broader research project on how formative assessment affects the development of specific and generic competences in teacher training subjects at higher education level. The aim of the paper is to describe the impact of formative assessment on the development of learning-to-learn skills, in a sample of 143 students on teacher training bachelor's degrees at the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia. The results are from a quasi-experimental pre-post study, without a control group and follow-up, that used a quantitative method. Formative assessment was implemented in four subjects of the bachelor's degrees in Teacher in Primary Education (MEP) and Teacher in Early Childhood Education (MEI), in the second semester. At the start and end of each subject, students were asked to complete an ad hoc questionnaire to assess the effect of formative assessment on various competences, including learning-to-learn. The degree of independence and awareness that students perceived about what they had to learn increased significantly, but there were no significant differences in the level of demands on themselves. Therefore, the results suggest that formative assessment could increase students’ independence and awareness about learning.

Gender and the translation of audiovisual non-profit advertising

This paper aims to explore to what extent students enrolled on Translation and on Advertising courses are gender aware, i.e. whether they perceive that the decisions they take when translating or creating non-profit advertisements which present gender-related concerns may have an impact on the social perception of gender. Three groups of students of different levels (undergraduate versus postgraduate) and belonging to two different universities (University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia – Spain, and London Metropolitan University – UK) come under scrutiny. Drawing on previous stages of the study, the authors intend to examine how it is possible to address ethical issues in students’ curricula, to what extent gender awareness guides students choices when they work with non-profit adverts as opposed to commercial ones, and whether professional priorities and gender perspectives are compatible. A set of non-profit advertisements analysed and translated by the students and two Likert-type questionnaires have been used for this purpose. In addressing these questions, this study intends to fill the existing gap between gender, translation and advertising-focused research.

Colección “ocnos”: un puente entre dos culturas. Conversación con Joaquín Marco

Joaquín Marco, Carme Riera, Luisa Cotoner *Introducción, notas y transcripción de Fernanda BustamanteCon motivo del “VI Congreso José Agustín Goytisolo y su generación: la relación con la América hispana”, el día sábado 15 de marzo de 2015, en la sala de actos de la Reial Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona, se reunieron la Dra. Luisa Cotoner, profesora emérita de la Universitat de Vic, y la Dra. Carme Riera, catedrática de Literatura Española de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; con el Dr. Joaquín Marco, catedrático emérito de la Universitat de Barcelona. Joaquín Marco fue uno de los actores de la escena poética de la Barcelona de los años setenta y ochenta, tanto en su labor como profesor universitario, como poeta, como crítico y como editor. El conversatorio giró en torno a la colección de poesía ocnos (1968-1982), de la cual él fue su fundador.

Aprendizaje Servicio Universitario: creando empleo a partir de la emprendeduría social.

The University must become an engine of the civil society and take an active part in leading contemporary social challenges, such as the situation of unemployment in Spain. The University Service Learning methodology allows us to integrate a reality-based learning with the community service, concretizing the social responsibility of the University. The article presents the interfacultative EcoSPORTech project developed at the University of Vic. The purpose of this project has been the creation of youth employment using social entrepreneurship. The communication policy has been a key factor in this project.

La aplicación del método AICLE en los estudios de comunicación de la Universidad de Vic

En este artículo se elabora un diagnóstico de las asignaturas que siguen el método AICLE (Apredizaje Integrado de Contenidos y Lenguas Extranjeras) en la Facultad de Empresa y Comunicación (FEC) de la Universitat de Vic (UVic). En base a cuatro entrevistas semiestructuradas al profesorado que las imparte y a encuestas a 60 estudiantes de segundo ciclo de los estudios de comunicación, se elabora un diagnóstico de los puntos fuertes y débiles de la aplicación de este método y se recogen propuestas para mejorar el aprendizaje del inglés en las carreras de Periodismo, Comunicación Audiovisual y, también, de Publicidad y Relaciones Públicas que se imparten en la Universitad de Vic.