A case study for measuring informal learning in PLEs

The technological support for learning and teaching processes is constantly changing. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) applied to education, cause changes that affect the way in which people learn. This application introduces new software systems and solutions to carry out teaching and learning activities. Connected to ICT application, the emergence of Web 2.0 and its use in learning contexts enables an online implementation of the student-centred learning paradigm. In addition, 2.0 trends provide “new” ways to exchange, making easier for informal learning to become patent. Given this context, open and user-centered learning environments are needed to integrate such kinds of tools and trends and are commonly described as Personal Learning Environments. Such environments coexist with the institutional learning management systems and they should interact and exchange information between them. This interaction would allow the assessment of what happens in the personal environment from the institutional side. This article describes a solution to make the interoperability possible between these systems. It is based on a set of interoperability scenarios and some components and communication channels. In order to test the solution it is implemented as a proof of concept and the scenarios are validated through several pilot experiences. In this article one of such scenarios and its evaluation experiment is described to conclude that functionalities from the institutional environments and the personal ones can be combined and it is possible to assess what happens in the activities based on them.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Acute Toxicity of Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid on Early Life Stages of Daphnia Magna, Siriella Armata, Paracentrotus Lividus Sea Urchin, and Turbot (Scophthalmus Maximus L.).

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a persistent organic pollutant whose potential toxicity is causing great concern. In the present study, we used two crustaceans (_Daphnia magna_, _Siriella armata_), echinoid embryos (_Paracentrotus lividus_) and turbot (_Scophthalmus maximus L._) embryos and larvae to investigate the acute toxicity of this compound. The marine species _S. armata_ exhibited greater sensitivity than the freshwater species _D. magna_. In the 48-h acute toxicity test the median lethal concentration was 10.96 mg/L for _S. armata_ and 87.46 mg/L for _D. magna_. In the 96h toxicity test, turbot showed the lowest EC50 (0.155 mgL-1), whilst the EC50 for _S. armata_ was 7.92 mgL-1 which was approximately three times lower than that for sea urchin (24.12 mgL-1). The EC10 values were estimated as 0.032 mgL-1, 4.23 mgL-1 and 45.21 mgL-1 for turbot, Siriella and daphnia, respectively. The LOEC values were 75 µgL-1, 2.5 mgL-1 and 75 mgL-1 (p< 0.05) for turbot, daphnia, and Siriella, respectively. The NOEC values were estimated at 37.5 µgL-1, 1.25 mgL-1 and 50 mgL-1 (p< 0.05) for turbot, Siriella and daphnia, respectively. The order of acute toxicity was: turbot > _S. armata_ > sea urchin > _Daphnia magna_. This result highlights the importance of including a marine fish in the battery of species to describe the toxicity of these compounds. Considering the persistent nature of PFOS, more research is required to determine potential consequences of long-term exposure to these compounds in aquatic ecosystems

Balanced Scorecard in SMEs: Effects on innovation and financial performance

Empirical research on the consequences of the use of the balanced scorecard (BSC) has mostly been conducted in large firms. Previous findings are not easily applied to the small business literature, and assumptions about the benefits of BSC for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not based on quantitative empirical evidence. We investigated the effects of SME’s use of BSC in terms of financial performance and innovation outcomes. Our arguments are based on the efficiency gains and potential flexibility losses associated with formalizing managerial practices in SMEs. We propose that the developmental stage of the firm may influence this trade-off. Based on a survey of 201 SMEs in Spain, we found that firms using BSC for feedforward control obtained better financial performance and presented higher levels of exploitative innovation. We also found that the positive effect of BSC on perceived and attained financial performance is stronger in more established SMEs

Animación Sociocultural en el 1º Ciclo: ¿Cuáles son los Beneficios de Promover la Integración Escolar?

El presente artículo tiene como objetivo mostrar la perspicacia pedagógica de la relación entre la Animación Sociocultural y el educar, verificando cuál es la percepción que los alumnos y docentes revelan sobre la misma. La animación sociocultural es relevante en el desarrollo del niño, pues valorizando el juego, previene conflictos y favorece las relaciones sociales. En la escuela, esta interrelación con el juego hace que la acción de la Animación Sociocultural aplicada a la educación ayude a construir la personalidad del niño, instruyendo normas y reglas de socialización de manera lúdica. Así, el presente estudio intentó demostrar cuál es el valor que la Animación Sociocultural tiene en la integración y éxito escolares, en la percepción de los propios alumnos de la Enseñanza Básica. De esta forma, se implementó el Programa TEIP en la Agrupación de Escuelas Nunes Álvares en Castelo Branco, Portugal. Se pretendió verificar si los alumnos del 1º Ciclo consideran importante la relación entre la Animación Sociocultural y la enseñanza curricular con el objetivo de promover la integración y éxito escolares. Después de la participación de 439 alumnos, se verificó que la relación entre la animación y el educar es relevante y positiva, siendo vista como promotora y facilitadora del éxito e integración escolar.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sistema de localização global

Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e TelecomunicaçõesSem resumo disponivel.The technological advances achieved on the last quarter century enabled signi cant improvements in terms of locating people and property. However, the inability of the present location systems to estimate highly accurate positions, particularly in indoor environments, keeps restricting their use, leading to the research performed in this document. After reviewing the existing solutions, this thesis proposes the development and implementation of Thesis Location System (TLS), an indoor location system based on the recent technology Bluetooth Low Energy. TLS consists on a wireless sensor network composed by a set of SensorTag devices from Texas Instruments disposed in xed and previously known positions, supported by an Android app, that acts as the central module and receives their signals, and by a web page built for con guration purposes which are connected by an external server. The developed work also includes a method of processing the collected data, as well as an analysis of the resulting e ects from the tags' signal propagation through the environment. The analysis reveals some evident limitations of the dimensioned system, but even so TLS performs with an average accuracy of 2.5 meters (that can exceed ve meters in the worst circumstances), with 77% of the estimates considered as valid

Prognostic utility of ischemic response in functional imaging tests (SPECT or stress echocardiography) in low-risk unstable angina patients

Background: The aim of this study is to determine the ability of ischemic response in imaging stress tests (single-photon emission computed tomography [SPECT] or stress echocardiography [SE]) to predict events in low-risk unstable angina patients. Methods: Three hundred and fifty-nine patients with unstable angina (< 24 h), asymp­tomatic at admission, without ST-segment elevation or depression, normal troponins, and undergoing SPECT (n = 188) or SE (n = 171) during hospitalization (median = 1 day) were included. A positive imaging test (IMAGING+) was defined as the presence of reversible perfusion defects or wall motion abnormalities in at least 2 contiguous segments. Multivariate models were constructed using these results and clinical variables to predict events at 6 months. Results: Ninety-nine (27%) patients had IMAGING+, 72/188 (38%) in SPECT and 27/17 (16%) in SE (p < 0.0001). Events occurred in 84 (23%) patients: 4 had myocardial infarc­tion, 47 new hospitalizations due to angina and 33 coronary artery revascularizations. Inde-pendent predictors of coronary artery disease were: IMAGING+ (OR: 6.4, 95% CI: 3.4–11.8, p < 0.0001), history of coronary artery disease (OR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.2–5.2, p < 0.02) and TIMI risk (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1–2.2, p < 0.03). Conclusions: In low-risk unstable angina patients, an ischemic response in functional stress tests (SPECT or SE) was associated with adverse events and severe coronary artery disease

Calidad de servicio de trámite administrativo municipal y su influencia en la satisfacción del ciudadano

La investigación titulada “Influencia de la calidad de servicio del trámite administrativo municipal en la satisfacción del ciudadano 2016” tuvo el propósito de explicar las causas que influyen en la percepción y expectativas que experimenta el usuario durante la gestión de los servicios de trámite administrativo municipal y de este modo generar reflexiones que permitan a los gobiernos locales adoptar estrategias adecuadas y apropiadas a sus contextos y a la naturaleza de sus actores. La investigación se desarrolló en la Municipalidad distrital de El Agustino, al ser representativa de un gobierno local emergente conformante del Estado Peruano. La investigación fue de enfoque cuantitativo, de naturaleza objetiva, basada en la obtención de conocimientos de forma empírica, responde a un estudio básico, de nivel explicativo, diseño no experimental y de corte transversal. El método fue hipotético deductivo, se recogió la información mediante dos instrumentos diseñados para el ámbito municipal: Cuestionario de Calidad de Servicio de trámite administrativo municipal y Cuestionario que mide el Grado de Satisfacción del ciudadano, validados por tres expertos de la Universidad Cesar Vallejo, para una muestra de 380 ciudadanos. El análisis estadístico se realizó a través de pruebas no paramétricas considerando que las variables de estudio son de tipo cualitativas. En la investigación se halló que la calidad de servicio administrativo percibido es de nivel regular y predomina una población medianamente satisfecha, asimismo se concluyó que la calidad del servicio administrativo municipal influye positivamente en la satisfacción del ciudadano de la Municipalidad distrital de El Agustino 2016

El ABP en el Desarrollo de Capacidades de la Asignatura de Estrategias Metodológicas en los Estudiantes de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación – Filial Yanahuanca de la Universidad Nacional Daniel Alcides Carrión de Cerro de Pasco, Año 2017

El propósito de la investigación fue determinar la influencia del ABP en el desarrollo de capacidades de la asignatura de estrategias metodológicas en los estudiantes de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación – Filial Yanahuanca de la Universidad Nacional Daniel Alcides Carrión de Cerro de Pasco, año 2017. La investigación es de tipo aplicada, explicativa, se empleó el método experimental con diseño cuasi experimental. La población de estudio estuvo conformada por 46 estudiantes del V semestre de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación Filial Yanahuanca de la UNDAC, divididos en dos grupos, un grupo experimental con 26 estudiantes y un grupo control con 20 estudiantes a los que se le aplicó un cuestionario para el ABP y un pre y post test. Se utilizó las pruebas de confiabilidad de Kuder Richardson (KR-20) para determinar la confiabilidad del pre y post test y Cronbach para el cuestionario. El resultado del análisis de la prueba estadística se tiene que El valor determinado de p-valor en la tabla 19, se observa es menor que el nivel de significación . (0.000 < 0.05), está por debajo de la probabilidad que proponen los investigadores en educación. Por lo tanto, rechazamos la hipótesis nula. Se concluye que ABP constituye una opción metodológica positiva tal como lo demuestran las evidencias, por lo tanto, deberían ser utilizadas en la educación superior universitario para lograr desarrollar capacidades de los estudiantes.The purpose of the research was to determine the influence of the PBL in the development of skills in the subject of methodological strategies in the students of the Faculty of Education Sciences - Yanahuanca Branch of the Daniel Alcides Carrión National University of Cerro de Pasco, 2017. The research is of applied, explanatory type, the experimental method with quasi-experimental design was used. The study population consisted of 46 students of the V semester of the Faculty of Education Sciences Yanahuanca Branch of the UNDAC, divided into two groups, an experimental group with 26 students and a control group with 20 students who were applied a questionnaire for PBL and a pre and pos test. We used the reliability tests of Kuder Richardson (KR-20) to determine the reliability of the pre and posttest and Cronbach for the questionnaire. The result of the analysis of the statistical test is that the determined value of p-value in the table 19, is observed is less than the level of significance . (0.000 <0.05), is below the probability proposed by researchers in education. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis. It is concluded that PBL constitutes a positive methodological option as evidenced by the evidence, therefore they should be used in university higher education in order to develop students' abilitie