Teachers' digital competences in higher education in Portugal and Spain

The potential of DTIC has brought new and emerging challenges to teachers, making it essential to acquire digital competences, especially in virtual learning environments and online technologies. In this sense, based on the DigCompEdu CheckIn self-assessment questionnaire, validated for the Portuguese population by earlier studies, this research aims to identify the most fragile and robust areas of digital competences of Portuguese and Spanish university teachers. The quantitative methodological approach emphasizes teachers' perception of their digital competences in three dimensions: teachers' professional competences, teachers' pedagogical competences and students' competences and involved 347 teachers from Portugal and Spain. The results show that teachers of the two institutions have an overall moderate level of digital proficiency-level B1 and B2-and that the differences encountered between Portuguese and Spanish teachers (for example, Portuguese teachers have level A2 in area 4-assessment-, while Spanish teachers are already at level B2) highlight the need to invest in specific training that may address specific frailties, and therefore allow for the promotion of their digital competences. Results relating to teaching experience and age show that there is no direct relation between either factor or being digitally competent. Regarding gender, results reveal that men had slightly better results than women. Overall, what the results show is the need for teachers to increase the level of digital competence through specific training, prepared according to the specificities of each institution, and the importance of developing public policies that prepare teachers for a more digital education

Coupled spin models for magnetic variation of planets and stars

Geomagnetism is characterized by intermittent polarity reversals and rapid fluctuations. We have recently proposed a coupled macro-spin model to describe these dynamics based on the idea that the whole dynamo mechanism is described by the coherent interactions of many small dynamo elements. In this paper, we further develop this idea and construct a minimal model for magnetic variations. This simple model naturally yields many of the observed features of geomagnetism: its time evolution, the power spectrum, the frequency distribution of stable polarity periods, etc. This model has coexistent two phases; i.e. the cluster phase which determines the global dipole magnetic moment and the expanded phase which gives random perpetual perturbations that yield intermittent polarity flip of the dipole moment. This model can also describe the synchronization of the spin oscillation. This corresponds to the case of sun and the model well describes the quasi-regular cycles of the solar magnetism. Furthermore, by analyzing the relevant terms of MHD equation based on our model, we have obtained a scaling relation for the magnetism for planets, satellites, sun, and stars. Comparing it with various observations, we can estimate the scale of the macro-spins.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure

Programa Universidade para todos – ProUni – Políticas públicas e inclusão social

This article is a partial product of a research project, called ProUni and Social Inclusion, that aims at evaluating the process of insertion and inclusion of students who received grants from the University For All Program. The research brings together researchers from the Nove de Julho University and the Pontifical Catholic University, both located in São Paulo. It is financed by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel in partnership with the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira, through the Special Program of Research – Education Observatory, of the Education and Culture Ministry. It works under the hypothesis that the ProUni is a program of social inclusion to facilitate access to higher education and employability to students. It uses as its working methodology bibliographic survey, study seminars, colloquia and field research, employing structured and semi-structured interviews and focal groups.Este artículo es un producto parcial de un proyecto de investigación titulado ProUni e Inclusión Social, que objetiva evaluar el proceso de inserción e inclusión de estudiantes distinguidos con una beca de Programa Universidad para Todos. La investigación integra investigadores de la Universidad Nove de Julho y de la Pontificia Universidad Católica, ambas de São Paulo; é financiada por la Coordinación de Perfeccionamiento de Personal de Nivel Superior, en asociación con el Instituto Nacional de Estudios y Pesquisas Educacionales Anísio Teixeira, por medio del Programa Especial de Pesquisa - Observatorio de la Educación del Ministerio de la Educación y Cultura. Trabaja con la hipótesis de que el ProUni es un programa de inclusión social para facilitar el acceso a la enseñanza superior y la empleabilidad de los estudiantes. Emplea como metodología encuesta bibliográfica, seminarios de estudio, coloquios y pesquisa de campo, utilizando entrevistas, estructuradas y semiestructuradas, y grupos focales.Este artigo é produto parcial de um projeto de pesquisa intitulado ProUni e Inclusão Social, que objetiva avaliar o processo de inserção e inclusão de estudantes com financiamento do Programa Universidade para Todos. A investigação integra pesquisadores da Universidade Nove de Julho e da Pontifícia Universidade Católica, ambas de São Paulo. é financiada pela Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, em parceria com o Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira, por intermédio do Programa Especial de Pesquisa - Observatório da Educação do Ministério da Educação e Cultura. Trabalha com a hipótese de que o ProUni é um programa de inclusão social facilitador do acesso ao ensino superior e da empregabilidade dos estudantes. Emprega como metodologia levantamento bibliográfico, seminários de estudo, colóquios e pesquisa de campo, utilizando entrevistas, estruturadas e semi-estruturadas, e grupos focais

Infrared Investigation of the Charge Ordering Pattern in the Organic Spin Ladder Candidate (DTTTF)2Cu(mnt)2

We measured the variable temperature infrared response of the spin ladder candidate (DTTTF)2Cu(mnt)2 in order to distinguish between two competing ladder models, rectangular versus zigzag, proposed for this family of materials. The distortion along the stack direction below 235 K is consistent with a doubling along b through the metal-insulator transition. While this would agree with either of the ladder models, the concomitant transverse distortion rules out the rectangular ladder model and supports the zigzag scenario. Intramolecular distortions within the DTTTF building block molecule also give rise to on-site charge asymmetry.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Solid State Science

Arbitrary parameters in implicit regularization and democracy within perturbative description of 2-dimensional gravitational anomalies

We show that the Implicit Regularization Technique is useful to display quantum symmetry breaking in a complete regularization independent fashion. Arbitrary parameters are expressed by finite differences between integrals of the same superficial degree of divergence whose value is fixed on physical grounds (symmetry requirements or phenomenology). We study Weyl fermions on a classical gravitational background in two dimensions and show that, assuming Lorentz symmetry, the Weyl and Einstein Ward identities reduce to a set of algebraic equations for the arbitrary parameters which allows us to study the Ward identities on equal footing. We conclude in a renormalization independent way that the axial part of the Einstein Ward identity is always violated. Moreover whereas we can preserve the pure tensor part of the Einstein Ward identity at the expense of violating the Weyl Ward identities we may as well violate the former and preserve the latter.Comment: 8 pages, no figure

A Case of Biliary Fascioliasis by Fasciola gigantica in Turkey

A case of Fasciola gigantica-induced biliary obstruction and cholestasis is reported in Turkey. The patient was a 37- year-old woman, and suffered from icterus, ascites, and pain in her right upper abdominal region. A total of 7 living adult flukes were recovered during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). A single dose of triclabendazole was administered to treat possible remaining worms. She was living in a village of southeast of Anatolia region and had sheeps and cows. She had the history of eating lettuce, mallow, dill, and parsley without washing. This is the first case of fascioliasis which was treated via endoscopic biliary extraction during ERCP in Turkey

Regularization Independent Analysis of the Origin of Two Loop Contributions to N=1 Super Yang-Mills Beta Function

We present a both ultraviolet and infrared regularization independent analysis in a symmetry preserving framework for the N=1 Super Yang-Mills beta function to two loop order. We show explicitly that off-shell infrared divergences as well as the overall two loop ultraviolet divergence cancel out whilst the beta function receives contributions of infrared modes.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, typos correcte

Symmetry preserving regularization with a cutoff

A Lorentz and gauge symmetry preserving regularization method is proposed in 4 dimension based on momentum cutoff. We use the conditions of gauge invariance or freedom of shift of the loop-momentum to define the evaluation of the terms carrying Lorentz indices, e.g. proportional to k_{\mu}k_{\nu}. The remaining scalar integrals are calculated with a four dimensional momentum cutoff. The finite terms (independent of the cutoff) are unambiguous and agree with the result of dimensional regularization.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, v2 references adde