The motivational challenge facing beginner learners of Spanish at a distance

This paper presents some preliminary findings of an on-going longitudinal study of initial motivation and motivation maintenance in beginner distance adult learners of Spanish in the UK. Adapting a framework of executive motivational influences developed in the context of classroom teaching (Dörnyei, 2001a) to the distance learning process, data was obtained from questionnaires and follow-up interviews with a sample of questionnaire respondents. This paper explores meaningful descriptors of the most prevalent types of motivation found within this group. Drawing primarily on the interview data, it also presents early steps towards learner autonomy taken by these learners based on their own perceptions, and highlights the predominance of metacognitive over other strategies at this stage in their learning. Finally it analyses some of the motivational influences of tutors and of other learners, and their roles in supporting and affirming the learning endeavour, and indicates areas for follow-up research with beginner distance language learners within this study

On the development of relativization in the English language

The discussion is about relative clauses in Old English and the transition to the Middle English period. More specifically, it deals with the phenomenon of preposition stranding in one type of relative clauses but not in the two other types. An explanation is provided within the framework of generative grammar.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Evaluación del uso de techos verdes en la ciudad de Caracas - Venezuela.

Tesis (Ingeniero Constructor)RESUMEN: El problema energético y el deterioro ambiental a nivel mundial ha llevado al ser humano a desarrollar la arquitectura y la construcción mediante estrategias aplicadas a la mejora de proyectos que permitan aprovechar los recursos naturales sin perjudicar el ecosistema que los rodea. De esta manera pueden ofrecen mejoras al medioambiente a lo largo de su vida útil o funcionamiento. La solución constructiva de aplicar cubiertas verdes en las viviendas ofrece varios beneficios que aportan a resolver problemas ambientales los cuales afectan directamente al planeta, y son causados principalmente por la falta de vegetación en las áreas urbanas y por el continuo crecimiento acelerado de la población. En Venezuela, país al cual se pretende desarrollar este tema, se han realizado varias investigaciones para adaptar los principios internacionales de construcción sustentable al caso local, sin embargo, no se ha podido verificar el alcance positivo para el país, y hasta dónde son capaces los venezolanos de aplicar un tipo de construcción amigable con el medioambiente. Entre las alternativas constructivas que ayudan a preservar y mejorar el medioambiente, se elige la implementación de los techos verdes en viviendas de la ciudad de Caracas – Venezuela como objeto de estudio para el desarrollo de este trabajo de grado. Palabras claves: techos verdes, construcciones auto sostenibles, medio ambiente, isla de calor, ahorro de energía, ecosistemas.ABSTRACT: The energy problem and environmental degradation worldwide has led humans to develop the architecture and construction through strategies and the improvement of projects to exploit natural resources without harming the ecosystem that surrounds. This way they can offer improvements to the environment throughout its life or performance. The constructive solution to implement green roofs in homes offers several benefits they provide to solve environmental problems which directly affect the planet, and are mainly caused by the lack of vegetation in urban areas and the continued rapid population growth. In Venezuela, a country which aims to develop this theme, several investigations have been made to adapt international principles of sustainable construction to the local case, however, has not been able to verify the positive range for the country, and how far are capable Venezuelans to apply a kind of environmentally friendly construction. Among the constructive alternatives that help preserve and improve the environment, the implementation of green roofs on homes in the city of Caracas - Venezuela as an object of study for the development of this work is chosen. Keywords: green roofs, sustainable construction, environment, heat island, energy conservation, ecosystems

Generalized Pure Lovelock Gravity

We present a generalization of the n-dimensional (pure) Lovelock Gravity theory based on an enlarged Lorentz symmetry. In particular, we propose an alternative way to introduce a cosmological term. Interestingly, we show that the usual pure Lovelock gravity is recovered in a matter-free configuration. The five and six-dimensional cases are explicitly studied.Comment: v2, 16 pages, references and comments adde

RGBDTAM: A Cost-Effective and Accurate RGB-D Tracking and Mapping System

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping using RGB-D cameras has been a fertile research topic in the latest decade, due to the suitability of such sensors for indoor robotics. In this paper we propose a direct RGB-D SLAM algorithm with state-of-the-art accuracy and robustness at a los cost. Our experiments in the RGB-D TUM dataset [34] effectively show a better accuracy and robustness in CPU real time than direct RGB-D SLAM systems that make use of the GPU. The key ingredients of our approach are mainly two. Firstly, the combination of a semi-dense photometric and dense geometric error for the pose tracking (see Figure 1), which we demonstrate to be the most accurate alternative. And secondly, a model of the multi-view constraints and their errors in the mapping and tracking threads, which adds extra information over other approaches. We release the open-source implementation of our approach 1 . The reader is referred to a video with our results 2 for a more illustrative visualization of its performance

Sticking with Spanish: Reasons for Study and Motivation Maintenance in Adult Beginner Distance Language Learners

This paper examines the reasons for study of adult beginner distance learners of Spanish and the relationships between those reasons and motivation maintenance. A survey of 563 Open University UK students found motivational orientations distinct from those of young people in earlier studies. Adult learners who maintained their motivation also demonstrated a greater number of reasons for study. Their motivation embraced intrinsic and extrinsic, integrative and instrumental orientations, short-term and long-term ambitions, and an L2 self both ideal and realistically attainable. During their course module they focused more consistently than others on the language skills they had targeted, and expressed increased enjoyment of the learning experience. This study suggests that achieving ‘softer’ short-term goals encourages persistence towards longer-term goals which reflect the ideal L2 self

On the processing of agreement morphology

The paper deals with the role played by morphology in core syntax within a generative minimalist framework: more specifically it deals with the theory of valuation of agreement or phi-features (that is, person and number features) and the valuation of tense or t-features (that is, features like [+/-present]), and there is a second part where I focus on the computation of both kinds of features according to the neuroimaging literature. The core idea that I aim to defend is that agreement features and tense features are each valued by a distinct head, namely 'v' and T. I argue that the number of steps in the 'real' processing or computation of agreement features and of tense feaures must be the same, irrespective of whether the morphological realization is 'zero' (as is frequently the case in a language like English) or not (as is typically the case in a Romance language like Spanish).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Maxwell Superalgebras and Abelian Semigroup Expansion

The Abelian semigroup expansion is a powerful and simple method to derive new Lie algebras from a given one. Recently it was shown that the $S$-expansion of $\mathfrak{so}\left( 3,2\right)$ leads us to the Maxwell algebra $\mathcal{M}$. In this paper we extend this result to superalgebras, by proving that different choices of abelian semigroups $S$ lead to interesting $D=4$ Maxwell Superalgebras. In particular, the minimal Maxwell superalgebra $s\mathcal{M}$ and the $N$-extended Maxwell superalgebra $s\mathcal{M}^{\left( N\right) }$ recently found by the Maurer Cartan expansion procedure, are derived alternatively as an $S$-expansion of $\mathfrak{osp}\left( 4|N\right)$. Moreover we show that new minimal Maxwell superalgebras type $s\mathcal{M}_{m+2}$ and their $N$-extended generalization can be obtained using the $S$-expansion procedure.Comment: 31 pages, some clarifications in the abstract,introduction and conclusion, typos corrected, a reference and acknowledgements added, accepted for publication in Nuclear Physics