Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research

Background Educational researchers have been using multimodal data (e.g., eye-tracking) to study teachers’ instructional practices. Yet, by and large, these technologies have not been handed over to teachers as resources for self-reflection. Aims This exploratory study aimed to develop and evaluate novel methodologies for supporting teachers in using multimodal data, specifically eye-tracking-overlaid multiple-point-of-view videos, as resources for deepening their understanding of learning and teaching. Sample and methods Five pre-service mathematics teachers (PSMT) participated in this study. First, they collaboratively constructed a body-scale polyhedron while wearing eye-tracking devices. In a subsequent structured reflection session, the participants collectively analyzed eye-tracking-overlaid multiple-point-of-view recordings of their construction activity. Drawing on Goodwin's Co-Operative Action theory, the researchers then qualitatively micro-analyzed the PSMTs' individual and interactive multimodal behaviors in both activities. Results The technology enabled the PSMTs to highlight, code, and elaborate on nuanced aspects of individuals’ perceptual and social behaviors during the construction activity. These insights led to a spontaneous generalization of pedagogical implications for their own prospective facilitation of classroom group work. Conclusions Supplementing PSMTs' video-based reflection on their own activity with multiple-point-of-view gaze data from their mobile eye trackers enriches the PSMTs’ microgenetic analysis of their own collaborative multimodal learning process, in turn potentially leading more generally to pedagogical inferences for their own prospective professional practice.

As Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly deployed to generate educational content, a critical safety question arises: can these models reliably estimate the difficulty of the questions they produce? Using Brazil's high-stakes ENEM exam as a testbed, we benchmark ten proprietary and open-weight LLMs against official Item Response Theory (IRT) parameters for 1,031 questions. We evaluate performance along three axes: absolute calibration, rank fidelity, and context sensitivity across learner backgrounds. Our results reveal a significant trade-off: while the best models achieve moderate rank correlation, they systematically underestimate difficulty and degrade significantly on multimodal items. Crucially, we find that models exhibit limited and inconsistent plasticity when prompted with student demographic cues, suggesting they are not yet ready for context-adaptive personalization. We conclude that LLMs function best as calibrated screeners rather than authoritative oracles, supporting an "evaluation-before-generation" pipeline for responsible assessment design.

Background Individual-level behavioral interventions are designed to improve health behaviors and manage noncommunicable diseases. Neighborhood geo-referenced contexts (NGRCs) significantly impact the success of these interventions. Integrating NGRC data into health information systems (HISs), including electronic medical records (EMRs), electronic health records (EHRs), and personal health records (PHRs), can enhance personalized NGRC-focused behavioral interventions and improve health outcomes. Despite the potential benefits, there is a notable gap in the literature about NGRC-focused behavioral interventions using HISs. Objective This scoping review aims to review the current status and stakeholder insights of NGRC-focused behavioral interventions using HISs. Methods Two reviewers examined publications indexed by MEDLINE (Ovid) and Scopus. Publications reporting on NGRC-focused behavioral interventions using HISs were included. We extracted data on study characteristics, population attributes, diseases, health setting characteristics, HISs, NGRCs, behavioral interventions, outcomes, and conclusions, with suggestions for future research. Results The literature search identified 24 studies for inclusion. Of these, EHRs or EMRs were mostly used in 20 studies, with limited focus on PHRs. HISs were not used in the entire process of NGRC-focused behavioral interventions in 23 studies. Behavioral interventions in 21 studies focused exclusively on social needs interventions, with comparatively limited attention given to lifestyle change interventions. NGRCs mainly focused on built environments (n=24), with less attention to natural (n=1) and social (n=4) environments. The spatiotemporal characteristics of NGRCs were described in limited detail. “Destination accessibility” was the main focus within built environments. Other characteristics (“density,” “design,” “diversity,” and “distance”) were less studied. Stakeholders’ perspectives highlighted the value, convenience, patient autonomy, and privacy of integrating content (NGRCs) and/or technology (HISs) into behavioral interventions, despite the persistence of certain social concerns. We summarized 15 recommendations in terms of NGRC-focused behavioral interventions using HISs. Conclusions PHRs have the potential to actively integrate more diverse, dynamic, and/or high-resolution NGRCs. Additionally, PHRs can participate in the entire process of NGRC-focused behavioral interventions, particularly in outpatient lifestyle change interventions. Health care providers can support these interventions to help achieve public health goals and advance health equity.

Abstract This article examines how images contribute to the narration and contestation of borders by analysing visual discourses within the context of the Basel trinational agglomeration. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework that combines Rose’s critical visual methodology, Barthes’ visual semiotics, and Kress and van Leeuwen’s social semiotics, it proposes a multi-level analytical framework for understanding how borders are visually represented and experienced. From a methodological point of view, visual discourse analysis is approached at different sites (production, image, and audiencing) and at three levels of analysis: the single image, the series of images, and the comparison of different image series. Each level makes it possible to grasp distinct dimensions of meaning production and preferred reading. Empirically, the study focuses on two photo-reportages commissioned as part of the Internationale Bauausstellung Basel 2020, a trinational building and urban planning exhibition that sought to promote regional integration across Switzerland, France, and Germany. The analysis demonstrates how images operate as discursive instruments, simultaneously aesthetic and political, that contribute to the way cross-border cooperation is visually constructed. While one photo-reportage highlights persistent material and symbolic markers of the border, the other envisions it as a lived, embodied space of interaction and ecological engagement. Through their distinct visual discourses, both photo-reportages illuminate how borders are made visible—or invisible—via visual media. The article argues that images should not be treated as mere illustrations but as active elements in border-making processes. It also offers a transferable analytical framework for engaging with visual materials in border studies and beyond.

There is an unclear relationship between socioeconomic status (SES)—a social exposure—and PD risk, where those with a higher SES may be more at risk, or the inverse may be true. The risk of PD may not be directly related to SES, but exposures like outdoor air pollution may be involved, particularly as associations between SES and air pollution exposure, and between air pollution exposure and neurodegenerative outcomes have been noted. Scopus, PubMed, and PsycINFO were searched to identify studies analysing degree of exposure to chronic ambient outdoor air pollution and incidence of PD, or the association between individual measures of SES and degree of exposure to outdoor air pollution. 25,416 studies were screened, with 37 fitting inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses were conducted by air pollutant, with narrative syntheses when this was not possible. There was evidence of a positive association between exposure to NO2 and PM2.5, and PD incidence. Higher and lower SES were associated with greater air pollution exposure, varying by location. The review had a low certainty of evidence, according to GRADE. Exposure to air pollution may be associated with greater risk of PD, and SES may play a role in the degree of air pollution exposure.