Lobbying, Campaign Contributions and Political Competition

We study how lobbying affects political competition and policy outcomes. Two parties compete in an election where each of them can receive support from a lobby in the form of monetary contributions for campaign spending in exchange for a certain position in the political spectrum. The trade-off for the political party is that more campaign spending increases the chances of winning the election but the ideology of the lobby is not aligned with that of the median voter. We study the game played between the lobbies, each of which offers a contract to one party specifying a policy position and a campaign spending contribution, and the parties, each of which decide whether to accept such contract and if not how to compete against the other party. We explore how lobbying and political competition affect polarization, campaign spending and welfare. Our results match and explain empirical findings

Modelo de fisuración. Aplicación a estructuras axisimétricas de hormigón armado

El comportamiento mecánico del hormigón sigue siendo un problema no resuelto en cuanto a la modelización según las teorias de la mecánica del continuo, a pesar de tratarse de un material ampliamente extendido en su uso. Una de las facetas más caracteristicas de su comportamiento, la fisuración, representa tal vez el aspecto más dificil de tratar en los modelos bi y tridimensionales. En este articulo se describe un modelo propuesto de comportamiento que salva el compromiso entre complejidad y aplicabilidad: La fisuración es considerada como un deterioro del material -daño, tal vez- y su orientación no es registrada en la historia; al igual que ocurre en la Teoria de la Plasticidad, existe un trabajo de fisuración que sirve para medir el deterioro existente. El modelo es además compatible con la plasticidad como tal, tipica del comportamiento a compresión del hormigón. Dicho modelo, junto con una versión modificada del método de longitud de arco para resolución de problemas no lineales, es implementado y utilizado para la resolución de algunos ejemplos

Common value elections with private information and informative priors: theory and experiments

We study efficiency and information aggregation in common value elections with continuous private signals and informative priors. We show that small elections are not generally efficient and that there are equilibria where some voters vote against their private signal even if it provides useful information and abstention is allowed. This is not the case in large elections, where the fraction of voters who vote against their private signal tends to zero. In an experiment, we then study how informativeness of priors and private signals impact efficiency and information aggregation in small elections. We find that there is a substantial amount of voting against the private signal. Moreover, while most experimental elections are efficient, voting behaviour reveals little about voter’s private information

Practical Framework for Problem-Based Learning in an Introductory Circuit Analysis Course

Este artículo presentado al Congreso EDUCON y publicado en la Plataforma IEEE Xplore proporciona ejemplos de problemas planteados en contextos reales y prácticos adecuados para implementar el aprendizaje basado en problemas (ABP) en un curso introductorio sobre análisis de circuitos. Se discuten los resultados de aprendizaje asociados y la forma en que estos problemas pueden utilizarse para construir juegos de rol de un solo jugador. Además, se discute la importancia del proceso de evaluación y se confirma la estrecha relación entre la consecución de los objetivos de aprendizaje del curso y el progreso del juego. Aquí recopilamos una selección de contextos prácticos adecuados mediante el método de la gamificación con ejemplos que describen el proceso para aplicar el enfoque del Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas en un curso introductorio sobre análisis de circuitos. Se añade un contexto real a los problemas (aprendizaje situado), modelando sistemas físicos como circuitos eléctricos y los resultados del aprendizaje, y creando dinámicas de aprendizaje-formación en forma de juegos de rol, seleccionando contenidos y evaluando el proceso del juego. Se sigue un planteamiento similar al aplicado en los juegos de rol clásicos, con una "quest" principal (principales resultados de aprendizaje en el curso) y secundarias. Se establecen niveles, puntos de experiencia y "recompensas" al resolver cada cuestión. Este procedimiento permite seguir la programación y no supone un trabajo extra para el docente.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Individualized exercises for continuous assessment in engineering

This project focuses on the development of a web application that automatically grades the solution to engineering exercises. The input data of each exercise is different for each student in order to reduce plagiarism and increase motivation. Students can access the web app from any device with internet access (computer, laptop, phone, …) at any time. The fact that the exercises are enunciated and evaluated in an individualized way eliminates the possibility for students to share the solutions and divert the profitable collaboration between students towards the learning of the resolution procedure itself. From the professor’s perspective, this tool allows an efficient and continuous evaluation of students. Besides, the storage of the data (number of attempts, time required, etc.) provides valuable information both for the self-assessment of the professor and for the analysis of the individualized learning process of each student. The web application is coded in Python, which easily allows the incorporation of additional features according to the needs of professors and students. The web application has already been tested during two academic years in two Spanish universities and for several engineering degrees. Ten professor and more than 2000 students have already benefit from this web application.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

De los centros TIC al PRODIG: evolución de los planes de formación del profesorado

En el presente trabajo abordaremos parte de los resultados de una investigación en la que hemos analizado la evolución de los planes de formación de la Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Andalucía para favorecer la implementación de los distintos planes de introducción de las TIC en las aula desde la puesta en marcha de los llamados “centros TIC” hasta el Programa de Digitalización de Centro (PRODIG) iniciado en este curso 2018-2019. Desde que la Junta de Andalucía aprobó el Decreto 72/2003 de Medidas de Impulso de la Sociedad del Conocimiento, la apuesta de la administración por la formación del profesorado de enseñanzas obligatorias fue muy ambiciosa. En general el impacto en los centros por el proyecto TIC fue muy positivo en opinión de la mayoría de los docentes, destacando principalmente el aumento en la motivación del alumnado. A pesar de ello, la formación ofrecida por parte de la administración era una de las mejoras que se demandaban. El siguiente plan de introducción de tecnología en las aula fue el proyecto “Escuela TIC 2.0”, que dotó a los centros de aulas con pizarras digitales y conexión Wifi, así como de dispositivos portátiles para el alumnado. En este caso, el profesorado manifestó igualmente la necesidad de una formación más centrada en los pedagógico que en lo tecnológico y que diera prioridad a fomentar los cambios metodológicos que se demandaban en los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje. La última apuesta (PRODIG) se ha iniciado este curso 2018-2019 con el fin de fomentar el cambio metodológico en los centros educativos, partiendo de la base expuesta en diferentes estudios previos realizados que afirman que la mera dotación tecnológica de los centros docentes no implica cambios en los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje si no se sustenta en cambios pedagógicos profundos que surjan de las necesidades de cada uno de los centros educativos.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

ICT resources for research: an ANOVA analysis on the digital research skills of higher education teachers comparing the areas of knowledge within each gender

Research skills are part of the academic activities of Higher Education teachers. Regardless of the knowledge area they teach, there is a need to observe, reflect, select, analyse and communicate scientific results using technological advances. The aim of this study is to analyse the use that teachers make of different ICT resources for research in terms of gender, comparing within each gender the different areas of knowledge to which the teachers belong (Science and Engineering-Architecture, Health Sciences, Art-Humanities and Social-Legal Sciences). To this end, an ex post facto design through surveys was used with a sample of 867 university teachers in the Spanish education system. For the comparative analysis, univariate ANOVA by multiple comparisons was used. The findings revealed that teachers have, in general terms and in both genres, an average level of use, highlighting more use in digital databases, academic Google, high-impact journal websites, and very little use in data analysis software, mainly in qualitative software. The results highlighted that the EngineeringArchitecture area is the one that makes the greatest use of ICT for research in comparison with the Art-Humanities area which uses ICT resources the least. The results demonstrate the need to develop procedural and cognitive skills in teaching staff in the most needed areas, not only to encourage them to continue researching and sharing the results acquired, but also to attend and prepare students in research skills so that they can continue learning and increasing their academic and professional training once the university stage is over

Testing edible mushrooms to inhibit the pancreatic lipase activity by an in vitro digestion model

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Palanisamy, M. Testing edible mushrooms to inhibit the pancreatic lipase activity by an in vitro digestion model (2012) International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 47 (5), pp. 1004-1010., which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2011.02934.x. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archivingOne of the strategies in prevention or treatment of obesity is altering metabolism of lipids by inhibition of dietary fat absorption. The extracts obtained with methanol, water and methanol:water (1:1) from 21 mushroom species were screened as potential sources of pancreatic lipase (PL) inhibitors using a standardised in vitro test. Lepiota procera methanol:water (1:1) extracts showed the highest inhibition activity closely followed by Grifola frondosa, Pleurotus eryngii and Lyophyllum shimeji. Other mushroom strains such as Morchella conica, Marasmius oreades, Lentinula edodes, Amanita ponderosa and Boletus edulis also showed a certain inhibitory activity. However, when the PL inhibitory activity was evaluated using an in vitro digestion model mimicking gut conditions, none of the selected mushroom extracts were able to inhibit PL activity. On the contrary, stimulation of the lipase activity levels was observed and it was not due to endogenous mushroom lipases activitiesThe research was supported by the European Union within the 7th framework programme (7FM-PEOPLE-2009-IIF project 251285), ALIBIRD-CM S2009 ⁄AGR-1469 regional program from the Community of Madrid (Spain) and AGL2010-21537 national R+D program from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovatio

Sinorhizobium fredii HH103 RirA is required for oxidative stress resistance and efficient symbiosis with Soybean

Members of Rhizobiaceae contain a homologue of the iron-responsive regulatory protein RirA. In different bacteria, RirA acts as a repressor of iron uptake systems under iron-replete conditions and contributes to ameliorate cell damage during oxidative stress. In Rhizobium leguminosarum and Sinorhizobium meliloti, mutations in rirA do not impair symbiotic nitrogen fixation. In this study, a rirA mutant of broad host range S. fredii HH103 has been constructed (SVQ780) and its free-living and symbiotic phenotypes evaluated. No production of siderophores could be detected in either the wild-type or SVQ780. The rirA mutant exhibited a growth advantage under iron-deficient conditions and hypersensitivity to hydrogen peroxide in iron-rich medium. Transcription of rirA in HH103 is subject to autoregulation and inactivation of the gene upregulates fbpA, a gene putatively involved in iron transport. The S. fredii rirA mutant was able to nodulate soybean plants, but symbiotic nitrogen fixation was impaired. Nodules induced by the mutant were poorly infected compared to those induced by the wild-type. Genetic complementation reversed the mutant’s hypersensitivity to H2O2, expression of fbpA, and symbiotic deficiency in soybean plants. This is the first report that demonstrates a role for RirA in the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis.Andalucian Government Grant No. P11-CVI-7500Spanish Government Grant Nos. BIO2013-42801-P and BIO2016-78409-REuropean Regional Development Funds (ERDF)VPPI (V Plan Propio de Investigación) of University of Seville