No one in the world knows what the hell do with mobile phones in classrooms. Not even scientific research

Imagine two students of a similar level doing exactly the same attention and memory test. Imagine, in fact, there is only one difference between them: one has the mobile in sight. It is silent, in a corner of the table, with the sound off; But it is in sight. The other student, before starting the test, had left it in the next room. I would ask you to imagine who would get better results, but it doesn’t make too much sense. A team from the University of Chicago and He studied it in detail. There is nothing surprising in this mental experiment, the results coincide with our prejudices: The student who sees the mobile will get worse results. It is something, also that connect directly to our experience real, with Our Fomowith Our “dependence” to mobile. How are we not going to worry about the damage made by these technologies in the classroom? How will the smartphone not become a first -order educational problem? And that is precisely the problem: that if we stay on the surface of the problem, in the social and political debate, we find a Spectacular political consensus (with several Autonomous communities prohibiting them from hype and saucer); But if we deepen the scientific fund, the problems begin. Life is not summarized in an experiment from the University of Chicago. So, we have wondered what really happens in a school when we prohibit mobile phones? What experiences have other countries and colleges that have already taken measures? Why is there no clear consensus about what to do? What does the experience say? Verkeorg The scenes are almost a cliché: kids looking at the mobile phone, notifications that interrupt classes, parallel chats commenting on what happens in the classroom, bullying, anonymous messages, worried families, decentralized students … With all this in mind, it is not surprising that dozens of experts, activists and parents warn of the negative consequences for learning associated with mobile use. In fact, with all this in mind, it is not strange that Many countries have begun to take letters In the matter: one in four countries It has regulated the use of mobiles in school. The list is very long. If we only focus on our geographical, cultural or development environment: they have done so places like France, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Canada or Australia. The first country to do so, in fact, was Italy. In late 2006 and early 2007, several incidents impacted fully on the country’s public opinion: from a group of students who recorded bulling another student with disabilities to another in which several students were recorded sexually harassing a teacher. That led the government to prohibit mobile in class. Unfortunately, its implementation was complex and there are not many data on its impact. What we do know is that in 2022 the Ministry of Education announced its prohibition againRecoding that (although no one paid attention to him) the measure had been in force for 15 years. We also know that by then, many more Páisses had regulated the matter. France approved its prohibition In 2018. In a similar situation are Luxembourg, Portugal and Sweden. In addition to Bavaria, the Swiss vaud canton, Ontario, Various states of Australia and dozens of school districts in the United States They have done the same. In 2023, Holland and the United Kingdom They said that it would also implement prohibitions From the following year. How have they done it? As we will see, this is the central question. First because, as Maria del Mar Sánchez pointed outProfessor of Educational Technology at the University of Murcia, none of these regulations has managed to homogenize the situation. If we approach what really happens in schools, “We will find great diversity“ Sánchez says. And this makes it difficult to apply, measure and study the consequences. The best example of this is Norway. In 2024, a report He explained That the prohibition of mobiles in classes had achieved a 60% reduction in consultations by psychological symptoms in adolescents, the decrease in cases of bulling and a significant improvement in the academic results of the girls. In addition, the effects it shows are much more intense on the low -income population. The curious thing, however, is that Norway I was not doing anything nationally with mobile phones. What was doing something was with bullying. Just coinciding with the period studied, the Nordic country was underway A series of changes To reduce bulling. The result is that, little by we are realistic, we will have to recognize that confusion is enormous. And is Spain? Being an autonomous competition, until recently each autonomous community and each educational center has decided on its own. As it seems, Galicia was a pioneer: In 2015 he published a decree prohibiting phones in class and, at the end of 2023, he also took a more vet during recess, dining room and entries or outputs of the center. Behind her (and in recent years) almost all communities have gone behind. But, again“one thing is the political and the holder and another the reality that he reaches the centers.” To the point that while Autonomic decrees were reformed To accommodate more hard disciplinary approaches, in others pilot projects to use mobiles were introduced as didactic tools. In short, Spain has been one more. Of course, it is important to note, however, that as Jose César Perales, professor at the University of Granada, explained in practice “the prohibition of mobile phones for non -educational use during school hours It was already the usual In most centers “that is, the most important change in recent years is that this prohibition is being made in a generalized way. In experts like Laura Canois part of a political response to the ‘state of opinion’ on the impact of technology rather than a clear will to intervene educationally in the huge list of problems That has contemporary youth. What does science say about all this? Let’s talk about academic performance Pabak … Read more

Genetics offers some clue to answer the eternal question: What the hell goes through my cat’s head?

Who has lived with a cat has probably intrigued more than once by the sometimes incomprehensible Gatuna Psychology. Now, a project seeks to respond to some of the mysteries that surround the behavior of these felines in the hope that their psychology is not, after all, completely impossible to understand. Cats are sought. And the first step to achieve this is in Create a database with information about numerous cats of various races and contexts. It is precisely what the Darwin cat initiative team is doing, or Darwin’s Cats. Plans. He objective of this project It is to collect 100,000 cats enrolled in June 2026, although they have not yet reached the 10,000 mark. The team seeks to gather information on the behavior of felines through a questionnaire and information about the genetics of each individual. For the latter, participants will have to send a hair sample from the animal next to the questionnaire. Combining these data, the team hopes to obtain the highest database of its kind to investigate not only in the behavior of these domesticated animals, but also expand our knowledge about their health. Who wants to register your pet, yes, you must pay a donation of about $ 150, in order to finance the investigation. In Xataka Communicating with our cats has always been a complex task. A study has discovered the key: flashing Darwin’s ark. This project is not the first in its style for the team that undertakes it. The initiative is part of the work of the Darwin Ark Association (Darwin’s Ark), which a few years ago made Similar work With dogs. Behind the project There is a team of researchers linked to the Chan School of Medicine of the University of Massachusetts and Broad Institute. Inquiring in feline psychology. Perhaps because of the contrast between dogs and cats or perhaps because their behavior really is strange to us, the psychology of cats has intrigued many throughout the long history of coexistence between felines and humans. So strange is sometimes the behavior of these animals that we have come to apply evidence aimed at detecting psychopathy trends in these animals. In recent years, this field of study has put some emphasis In the genetics of cats when confirming some ideas about the existence of hereditary features in the personality of these animals. A quite widespread notion but that we are still understanding. {“Videid”: “x95dxwi”, “Autoplay”: fals, “Title”: “The strongest animal measures 1mm so are the most fearsome animals”, “Tag”: “Webedia-prod”, “Duration”: “343”} Health issue Understanding the genetics of these mammals goes beyond finding patterns in their behavior. It can also help us when detecting genetic components of some of the diseases that affect cats and thus be able to find ways to improve veterinary attention to these animals. Perhaps they can even help us prevent or cure some of the diseases and disorders that affect very present animals in our environment. In Xataka | The ‘Maullido Division’, when Russia released 5,000 cats to help in World War II Image | Vitolic Mana (Function () {Window._js_modules = Window._js_modules || {}; var headelement = document.getelegsbytagname (‘head’) (0); if (_js_modules.instagram) {var instagramscript = Document.Createlement (‘script’); }}) (); – The news Genetics offers some clue to answer the eternal question: What the hell goes through my cat’s head? It was originally posted in Xataka by Pablo Martínez-Juarez .

Without tolls, the AP-7 has become hell. The solution passes through speed limits of 60 km/h

The AP-7 is known as the Mediterranean highway. It is an essential axis for Spanish traffic since it allows to circulate without interruptions between Tarragona and Alicante. And if we add their links to other roads, it allows to circulate between France and Cádiz. A road, yes, that until 2021 was marked by various tolls. Some sections, in fact, They were one of the most expensive in Spain. The road, however, is fought from the Tolls in 2021. What it was A historical claim In the area it soon became a problem. In its first year, the road saw tourism traffic increasing 40% and 80% of trucks, collected in The country. The obvious result: more jams, more accidents … and more jams accordingly. Specifically, only the first year the AP-7 concentrated 20% of the dead on the road throughout Catalonia. A figure that contrasts with the trend of the rest of the country where the deceased on the road They concentrate on secondary roads. The New free routewith France at one end and Barcelona to one of its sides, it has turned the road into a parade of merchandise vehicles. And the problem is such that since then solutions are being sought. First with a partial reduction of speed limits. An action that has arrived in 2022 and added 82 kilometers. The next step is to copy Europe. A solution to the European Since then, the AP-7 situation has not improved much. Although mortal figures have been reduced over time, only in 2024 more than 1,600 incidents on the road. The response of traffic managers has been to reduce speed. How much? It will depend on the Meteorology and traffic congestion. Because the proposal goes through a changing management of the maximum speed of the road. A solution that already applies to other roads in Europe and that can reduce the maximum allowed limit to 60 km/h. The person in charge of announcing the measure was the Minister of Interior, Núria Parlon. They point out in The newspaper that this section of variable speed will extend for 150 kilometers between Maçanet de la Selva (Girona) and the Vendrell (Tarragona). For this, panels controlled by artificial intelligence will be implemented that will limit the traffic speed based on the different circumstances that are giving. The measure takes as reference what happens, for example, In German autobahn. On these roads there is no defined speed limit. In fact, if circumstances accompany, There is no speed limit. But at nightfall, when it rains or if there are works on the road, the panels show a speed limit equal to or less than 130 km/h. The operation is exactly the same as on the German roads but the director of the Catalan Traffic Service (SCT), Ramon Lamiel, already warns in an interview with EFE: The speed can be reduced up to 60 km/h at some points. At the moment, the project is in the development phase by the Servei Català de Trànsit (SCT)who has the competitions on Catalan roads. In the second quarter of the year it should be written to be able to get it as a tender. They explain in The countrythat the intention is to deploy a progressive reduction in the maximum speed before the driver is suddenly with a bottling that forces him to reduce the speed much more drastic. Speaking to the newspaper, Lamiel insists that speed will be reduced Only in the most congested sections since they believe that the increase in accidents is derived from a greater volume of traffic and not from the danger of the road. In addition, he points out that they already proposed this measure to extend it nationwide by the roads that are the competence of the DGT but that its proposal was dismissed. The truth is that The theory says that when we circulate more slowly, traffic jams are reduced. Atasco are a sum of errors. When we circulate at a lower speed, the time to alleviate errors is greater and these are reduced. It is a matter of effectiveness and not so much speed. Traffic circulates more slowly but flows. If we circulate too fast, the braking are more abrupt, it costs more to recover a sustained speed and, little by little, we end up stucking the road. Photo | ENRIC In Wikimedia In Xataka | Catalonia has its own DGT Pegasus: Falcó is the most powerful radar in Spain and the most complicated to detect

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