ENSINO DE LÍNGUAS ESTRANGEIRAS EM FACULDADES DE TRADUÇÃO E INTERPRETAÇÃO DE ESPANHA: ESTUDO DE FATORES TEXTUAIS

Foreign language teaching and learning has received a considerable amount of scholarly attention across different stages of education, particularly in the case of English. Apart from language training in general contexts, language for special purposes also constitutes a prolific field of study. However, less research has been conducted on the foreign-language training needs of trainee translators and interpreters and the corresponding teaching methodologies. In order to gain insight into actual teaching practices in this area in Spanish universities, we have studied the methodological approaches used in the classroom by 58 foreign language lecturers at 13 Translation and Interpreting Faculties in Spain, through a research project of Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain). Information was compiled from the responses to an ad hoc questionnaire created for this purpose, sent out by email and filled out on a voluntary basis. This article describes the uses made of texts in foreign language classes, to which end we will focus on the responses to one of the questions posed in the questionnaire. One of the key findings of the study is the preponderance of lexical, semantic, morphological and syntactic features, potentially implying teaching methodologies akin to those used in other education settings.La enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras ha sido ampliamente explorada, especialmente en el caso del inglés, en diferentes niveles educativos. Además de la formación en idiomas en contextos generales, las lenguas para fines específicos han constituido un campo de estudio prolífico. Sin embargo, cuando se trata de la enseñanza de lenguas orientada a los futuros traductores e intérpretes, se ha ahondado poco en sus necesidades y en las metodologías docentes que requieren. Para conocer la práctica docente universitaria en la formación lingüística de traductores e intérpretes en España, mediante un proyecto de investigación de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (España), realizamos un estudio sobre una serie de aspectos metodológicos donde participaron 58 profesores de lenguas extranjeras de trece facultades españolas de Traducción e Interpretación. Lo hicieron mediante una encuesta creada ad hoc distribuida por correo electrónico y que respondieron desinteresadamente. Concretamente, el objetivo de este artículo es describir cómo se explotan los textos en las clases de lenguas extranjeras, para lo cual nos centraremos en las respuestas a una de las preguntas del cuestionario. Un hallazgo fundamental del estudio es la preponderancia de los aspectos léxico-semánticos y morfosintácticos, lo que podría implicar un método de enseñanza muy similar al de otros contextos educativos.O ensino de línguas estrangeiras tem sido amplamente explorado, especialmente no caso do inglês, em diferentes níveis educacionais. Além do treinamento linguístico em contextos gerais, as linguagens para fins específicos constituíram um campo de estudo prolífico. No entanto, quando se trata de ensino de línguas voltadas para futuros tradutores e intérpretes, pouco foi feito sobre suas necessidades e as metodologias de ensino que eles exigem. Conhecer a prática de ensino universitário no treinamento linguístico de tradutores e intérpretes em Espanha, através de um projeto de pesquisa da Universidade de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Espanha), realizamos um estudo sobre uma série de aspectos metodológicos envolvendo 58 professores de línguas de treze faculdades de tradução e interpretação da Espanha. A informação foi coletada através de uma pesquisa criada ad hoc distribuída por e-mail e eles responderam desinteressadamente. Especificamente, o objetivo deste artigo é descrever como os textos são explorados em aulas de língua estrangeira, para o qual nos concentraremos nas respostas a uma das perguntas do questionário. Um achado fundamental do estudo é a preponderância dos aspectos lexical-semântico e morfossintático, o que poderia implicar um método de ensino muito semelhante ao de outros contextos educacionais

The advertising of financial products in the press

Although experts on advertising and the discourse of advertising have traditionally presented a series of features common to all adverts, the incidence of these features depends on a number of factors, including the type of product being promoted, the market being addressed and the media used. This article presents the results obtained from an analysis of a corpus of English print adverts for financial products focussing on lexical, semantic, syntactic and pragmatic aspects. Initial research determined the salient features of this type of advert enabling us subsequently to observe the extent to which they differ from adverts for consumer goods in general. The rapid expansion of this product sector and its advertising over recent decades makes it a particularly interesting area to study, while industry estimates predict that the money spent on advertising in this sector will increase substantially over the next five years, ensuring its relevance as a field of study. This paper, and the material involved, can be useful in itself as a description of a particular discourse, but can also be regarded as a tool to be used in translation, translator training and the teaching of English for specific purposes

The value of "may" as an evidential and epistemic marker in English medical abstracts

Our article addresses the issue of the relationship between epistemic modality and evidentiality. Earlier works such as Lazard (2001) claim that English does not hold grammatical markers for the source of knowledge in contrast to other languages, e.g. Quechua, that seem to do so. Dendale and Tasmowski (2001), however, think that grammatical evidentials are possible in English, and Aikhenvald (2004) admits that modal verbs in English are a borderline case. In our article, we seek to explore the use of may and might in a corpus of medical abstracts to demonstrate (i) their value as grammatical evidential markers, and (ii) their value as epistemic markers that show the author’s attitude to the proposition manifested. In doing so, we follow Cornillie (2009), who defines these two concepts as independent categories. The results of our analyses indicate that these modals may be used as grammatical markers of evidentiality, regardless of other semantic and pragmatic meanings.Part of the Research Project Evidencialidad en un corpus multidisciplinar de artículos científico-técnicos en lengua inglesa, grant FFI2009-10801 (FEDER, Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation)

Muscular Dystrophies at Different Ages: Metabolic and Endocrine Alterations

Common metabolic and endocrine alterations exist across a wide range of muscular dystrophies. Skeletal muscle plays an important role in glucose metabolism and is a major participant in different signaling pathways. Therefore, its damage may lead to different metabolic disruptions. Two of the most important metabolic alterations in muscular dystrophies may be insulin resistance and obesity. However, only insulin resistance has been demonstrated in myotonic dystrophy. In addition, endocrine disturbances such as hypogonadism, low levels of testosterone, and growth hormone have been reported. This eventually will result in consequences such as growth failure and delayed puberty in the case of childhood dystrophies. Other consequences may be reduced male fertility, reduced spermatogenesis, and oligospermia, both in childhood as well as in adult muscular dystrophies. These facts all suggest that there is a need for better comprehension of metabolic and endocrine implications for muscular dystrophies with the purpose of developing improved clinical treatments and/or improvements in the quality of life of patients with dystrophy. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to describe the current knowledge about of metabolic and endocrine alterations in diverse types of dystrophinopathies, which will be divided into two groups: childhood and adult dystrophies which have different age of onset

Sweetened nopal flakes: a functional snack

Nopal (Opuntia spp. and Nopalea spp. genera) is a crop, recognized for its nutritional and medicinal properties; however, there are some underused species, despite the great genetic diversity in Mexico. The genus Opuntia spp. is the most consumed nopal, whereas Nopalea spp. has low commercial demand, possibly because their nutraceutical attributes are unknown. Additionally, the nopal pads or cladodes are little accepted by many consumers, due to their texture and flavor. The study objectives were 1) evaluate the nutraceutical content and antioxidant activity of four nopal cultivars: Nopalea cochenillifera cv. Texas (NT) and Opuntia ficus-indica cv. Jade (OJ), Milpa Alta (OMA), and Atlixco (OA); 2) develop nopal flakes, sweetened with rebaudioside A, from the cultivar with the best nutraceutical quality and sensory acceptability. Ascorbic acid, total phenolics, and total flavonoids were determined by spectrophotometric methods, individual flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin) by HPLC, and antioxidant activity by the DPPH assay. OA was the cultivar with the best nutraceutical quality. The sweetened nopal flakes of OA, at a concentration of 1.1 mg g-1 rebaudioside A, had the highest sensory acceptability by the panelists in intensity and sweetness preference. The addition of rebaudioside A improved the product’s flavor and contributed to preserve the flavonoids and antioxidant activity. These results will contribute to the chemotaxonomy of O. ficus-indica and N. cochellinifera species,and to the utilization of nopals as functional foods, due to their nutraceutical quality

Rheological and hydration characterization of calcium sulfoaluminate cement pastes

Calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cements are currently receiving a lot of attention because their manufacture produces less CO2 than ordinary Portland cement (OPC). However, it is essential to understand all parameters which may affect the hydration processes. This work deals with the study of the effect of several parameters, such as superplasticizer (SP), gypsum contents (10, 20 and 30 wt%) and w/c ratio (0.4 and 0.5), on the properties of CSA pastes during early hydration. This characterization has been performed through rheological studies, Rietveld quantitative phase analysis of measured x-ray diffraction patterns, thermal analysis and mercury porosimetry for pastes, and by compressive strength measurements for mortars. The effect of the used SP on the rheological properties has been established. Its addition makes little difference to the amount of ettringite formed but strongly decreases the large pore fraction in the pastes. Furthermore, the SP role on compressive strength is variable, as it increases the values for mortars containing 30 wt% gypsum but decreases the strengths for mortars containing 10 wt% gypsum.This work has been supported by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through MAT2010- 16213 research grant, which is co-funded by FEDER, and Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (RYC-2008- 03523)

Hydration studies of calcium sulfoaluminate cements blended with fly ash

The main objective of this work is to study the hydration and properties of calciumsulfoaluminate cement pastes blended with fly ash (FA) and the corresponding mortars at different hydration ages. Laboratory X-ray powder diffraction, rheological studies, thermal analysis, porosimetry and compressive strength measurements were performed. The analysis of the diffraction data by Rietveld method allowed quantifying crystalline phases and overall amorphous contents. The studied parameters were: i) FA content, 0, 15 and 30 wt.%; and ii) water addition, water-to-CSA mass ratio (w/CSA = 0.50 and 0.65), and water-to-binder mass ratio (w/b = 0.50). Finally, compressive strengths after 6 months of 0 and 15 wt.% FA [w/CSA = 0.50] mortars were similar: 73 ± 2 and 72 ± 3 MPa, respectively. This is justified by the filler effect of the FA as no strong evidences of reactivity of FA with CSA were observed. These results support the partial substitution of CSA cements with FA with the economic and environmental benefitsThis work has been supported by Spanish MINECO through MAT2010-16213 research grant, which is co-funded by FEDER. I. Santacruz thanks a Ramón y Cajal fellowship, RYC-2008-03523

Buenas prácticas en competencias mediáticas y altas capacidades intelectuales

Esta comunicación tiene por objetivo relatar una experiencia llevada a cabo con alumnos con altas capacidades intelectuales bajo el eje principal de la educación en pantallas y ofrecer una guía didáctica que permita implementar el taller en otros centros docentes. La metodología de trabajo se ha realizado desde tres universidades andaluzas de Comunicación y Educación (Universidad de Málaga, Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla y Universidad de Cádiz).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Effect of calcium sulfate source on the hydration of calcium sulfoaluminate eco-cement

The availability of cements, including eco-cements, with tailored mechanical properties is very important for special applications in the building industry. Here we report a full study of the hydration of calcium sulfoaluminate eco-cements with different sulfate sources (gypsum, bassanite and anhydrite) and two water/cement ratios (0.50 and 0.65). These parameters have been chosen because they are known to strongly modify the mechanical properties of the resulting mortars and concretes. The applied multitechnique characterization includes: phase assemblage by Rietveld method, evolved heat, conductivity, rheology, compressive strength and expansion/retraction measurements. The dissolution rate of the sulfate sources is key to control the hydration reactions. Bassanite dissolves very fast and hence the initial setting time of the pastes and mortars is too short (20 min) to produce homogeneous samples. Anhydrite dissolves slowly so, at 1 hydration-day, the amount of ettringite formed (20 wt%) is lower than that in gypsum pastes (26 wt%) (w/c = 0.50), producing mortars with lower compressive strengths. After 3 hydration-days, anhydrite pastes showed slightly larger ettringite contents and hence, mortars with slightly higher compressive strengths. Ettringite content is the chief parameter to explain the strength development in these eco-cements.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Interncaional Andalucía Tech