Estrategias de Evaluación de Competencias de los Alumnos Universitarios a través del Trabajo Grupal

El Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior plantea desarrollar y evaluar métodos de aprendizaje centrados en la adquisición de competencias, que permitirán al alumno enfrentarse a distintos tipos de situaciones, tanto en contextos académicos como profesionales. Este nuevo planteamiento, implica el uso de diferentes metodologías didácticas, entre las que se encuentra el trabajo en grupo. Sin embargo, para el profesor universitario es un desafío evaluar los resultados del aprendizaje en grupo y no siempre se muestra como una tarea sencilla. En el presente trabajo se realiza una aproximación a los diferentes métodos de evaluación de la competencia realizar trabajos en grupo, mediante una revisión bibliográfica y un cuestionario a profesores de la Universitat de València. La revisión bibliográfica indica que las tendencias actuales para la evaluación del trabajo en grupo requieren la combinación de diferentes estrategias, tales como la observación directa del profesor formalizada a través de rúbricas u hojas de evaluación, autoevaluación, coevaluación y tutorías docentes. Los resultados del cuestionario muestran que la mayoría del profesorado utiliza el trabajo en grupo como estrategia docente; sin embargo, no se establecen unos criterios formales para su evaluación. Las estrategias de evaluación del trabajo en grupo más utilizadas por los docentes son la observación directa en clase y durante la exposición de los resultados, bien a través de informes o bien a través de la presentación oral. Además, el papel que juega el alumno en el proceso de evaluación de esta competencia (autoevaluación y coevaluación) está escasamente potenciado por el docente

Changes in organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and cations in soil as a result of fire and water erosion in a Mediterranean landscape

10 páginas, 7 figuras, 9 tablas.Fire affects large parts of the dry Mediterranean shrubland, resulting in erosion and losses of plant nutrients. We have attempted to measure these effects experimentally on a calcareous hillside representative of such shrubland. Experimental fires were made on plots (4 m x 20 m) in which the fuel was controlled to obtain two different fire intensities giving means of soil surface temperature of 439 degrees C and 232 degrees C with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees C lasting for 36 min and 17 min. The immediate and subsequent changes induced by fire on the soil's organic matter content and other soil chemical properties were evaluated, together with the impact of water erosion. Seven erosive rain events, which occurred after the experimental fires (from August 1995 to December 1996), were selected, and on them runoff and sediment produced from each plot were measured. The sediments collected were weighed and analysed. Taking into account the variations induced by fire on the soil properties and their losses by water erosion, estimates of the net inputs and outputs of the soil system were made. Results show that the greatest losses of both soil and nutrients took place in the 4 months immediately after the fire. Plots affected by the most intense fire showed greater losses of soil (4077 kg ha(-1)) than those with moderate fire intensity (3280 kg ha(-1)). The unburned plots produced the least sediment (72.8 kg ha(-1)). Organic matter and nutrient losses by water erosion were related to the degree of fire intensity. However, the largest losses of N-NH4+ and N-NO3- by water erosion corresponded to the moderate fire (8.1 and 7.5 mg N m(-2), respectively).Peer reviewe

Development of a Model to Estimate the Risk of Emission of Greenhouse Gases from Forest Fires

While the Mediterranean basin is foreseen to be highly affected by climate change (CC) and severe forest fires are expected to be more frequent, international efforts to fight against CC do not consider forest fires' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions risk and the possibility of its mitigation. This is partly due to a lack of a methodology for GHG risk spatial assessment and consideration of the high value of carbon stocks in forest ecosystems and their intrinsic risk. To revert this, an innovative GHG emission risk model has been developed and implemented in a pilot forest area. This model considers geospatial variables to build up emission vulnerability based on potential fire severity and resistance of a landscape, value at risk and the hazard of a fire occurrence. The results classify low, moderate and high emission risks in the analysed areas. This identification of hotspots allows the prioritisation of fire prevention measures in a region to maximise the reduction of GHG emissions in the case of a fire event. This constitutes the first step in a holistic and consistent CC mitigation that not only considers anthropic GHG sources but also possible GHG emissions by forest fires that can be actively prevented, managed and reduced

Hydrological properties of a Mediterranean soil burned with different fire intensities

8 páginas, 5 figuras, 3 tablas.The influence of vegetation cover on soil hydrological properties and its response to the impact of different fire intensities, in a Mediterranean forest environment, has been evaluated. The study was carried out in the Permanent Experimental Field Station of La Concordia (Lliria-Valencia, Spain), on a set of nine erosion plots (4 x 20 m(2)). The Station is located on a calcareous hillside S-SE oriented, with soils of Rendzic Leptosol type and supporting Mediterranean shrubland vegetation. All runoff generated and sediment produced in every rain event was collected from each plot. The set up includes a system of sensors for the continuous monitoring of climatic parameters (air temperature and humidity, rain volume, intensity, etc.). In June 1995, a set of experimental fires was carried out to the Station. Three of the plots were burned with high intensity fire, three with moderate intensity and the remaining were left unaltered. Soil water content and water retention capacity (WRC) were measured in the different plots and in two different vegetation covers: under canopy (UC) and in bare soil (BS). The pF curves were also obtained for each fire treatment. A year after the fires (June 1995-June 1996), great differences, reaching 77.15%, in runoff generation between fire treatments and the control plots were observed. No significant differences were detected on water retention capacity between soils UC and BS in the burned plots. However, these differences appeared in the control plots, giving UC and BS values of 13% and 18%, respectively. Plots corresponding to the high intensity fire treatment showed values of WRC significantly higher than those of the moderate intensity and of the control treatments. The pF curves show that the values of water volume, at the different pressure points studied, were slightly greater on UC soil. Values obtained for BS samples are higher in the fire treatments, showing significant differences in respect to the control plots at pF 1 and 2. These differences were also observed for UC soil, but in this case at pF 2, 2.5 and 4.2.This work has been supported by the European Union (QLRT-2000-00289), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (CICYT) REN2001-1716 and Convenio (Agreement) Generalitat Valenciana – CSIC (02020024).Peer reviewe

Aggregation of under canopy and bare soils in a Mediterranean environment affected by different fire intensities

7 páginas, 4 figuras, 3 tablas.Soil macroaggregation in relation to soil organic matter (SOM) and calcium carbonate(CaCO3) content was studied, before and after experimental fires of different intensities, in two environments (under canopy and on bare soil). In 1995, two experimental fire treatments, based on the addition of different biomass amounts, were applied on a set of nine plots at the Permanent Field Station of La Concordia (Valencia, Spain). Three plots were burned with high intensity fire (T1), three with moderate intensity (T2) and three plots were left unburned to be used as control treatment (T3). Soils under canopy were characterized by higher macroaggregate stability (SMS), SOM content and mean weight diameter of aggregates (MWD) than bare soils, which presented higher CaCO3 contents. After the fires, tendencies to increase were observed in the SOM and SMS of all burned soils, probably because of the incorporation of partially burned plant material. The trends of SMS and SOM in T1 burned soils were towards to decrease with the occurrence of the first erosive rainfalls. These trends continued until the end of the study. MWD of under canopy soils on T1 and of soils on T2 showed a decreasing trend immediately after fire treatments. Not significant differences between sampling periods were found for CaCO3 content, with the exception of under canopy soils on T1 which tended to increase, and showed higher values at the end of the studied period. The differences observed initially between under canopy and bare soil disappeared after one year of fire in T1, which suggests a major degradation of soils affected by this treatment. Significant changes of the studied properties were not observed in unburned soils during one year of research. In these soils, organic matter showed significant correlations with macroaggregate stability and mean weight diameter. However, significant statistical relationships were not observed between the Studied properties in burned soils, showing that fire impact probably affected other soil characteristics related to soil aggregation.We thank the financial support from the Agreement Generalitat Valenciana — CSIC (2005020112) “Impacto de los incendios forestalesrepetidos sobre los procesos de erosión hídrica del suelo y la recuperación de la cubierta vegetal. Seguimiento y evaluación en una estación permanente de campo”, and the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia of the Spanish Government project “Procesos y balances hidrológicos y de sedimentos a diferentes escalas espaciales en ambientes mediterráneos: Efectos de la variabilidad climática y los cambios de uso del suelo” (PROBASE CGL2006-11619).Peer reviewe

Diferencias de género en las preferencias y desempeño profesional de ginecólogos y ginecólogas andaluces

En esta ponencia presentamos resultados parciales de una investigación desarrollada en Andalucía a una muestra representativa de profesionales de la ginecología que trabajan en el Sistema Sanitario Público Andaluz. El objetivo era conocer las opiniones y expectativas de los profesionales con respecto a la participación en actividades científicas y en el desempeño profesional. Los resultados muestran una fuerte incorporación de las mujeres al ejercicio de la Obstetricia y Ginecología y una desproporción en la ocupación de puestos de responsabilidad. El análisis desde la perspectiva de género y la teoría del gusto pone en relación las preferencias y el desempeño profesional con la persistencia de estereotipos y fronteras de género que se manifiestan en la dificultad que muestran las mujeres de participar como ponentes en reuniones científicas. Y muestra la dificultad de sacar conclusiones relativas a las diferencias observadas entre varones y mujeres si no se tiene en cuenta la variable edad

A myxoid fibrotic reaction pattern is associated with metastatic risk in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Metastasis; Fibrosis; Cutaneous squamous cell carcinomaMetástasis; Fibrosis; Carcinoma cutáneo de células escamosasMetàstasi; Fibrosi; Carcinoma cutani de cèl·lules escamosesAlthough desmoplasia has been associated with poor prognoses in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, little attention has been paid to the patterns of fibrosis. This study aimed to examine the different stromal fibrotic patterns as markers of metastatic risk. We performed a multicenter retrospective study that included 102 cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (52 non-metastatic and 50 metastatic carcinomas). Clinical and histopa-thological data were registered. The fibrotic reaction pattern was classified as mature, intermediate or immature depending on the presence of keloid-like collagen and myxoid stroma. The immature pattern (areas characterized by myxoid changes with no inflammation) was observed in 18 samples and its presence was significantly associated with immuno-suppression, budding, desmoplasia, perineural invasion, anatomic level, tumoural depth and metastatic risk in the multivariate analysis. Our findings suggest that the presence of an immature myxoid fibrotic pattern, which can be easily identified by routine hematoxylin-eosin staining, is strongly associated with metastatic risk.This work has been supported by grant PI15/00236 from Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Sanidad, and the ‘‘Xarxa de Bancs de Tumours”

Análisis de la demanda en Salud Mental en el Principado de Asturias: Características de la demanda y respuesta asistencial.

Introducción. En los últimos años haaumentado el número de demandas a Salud Mentalrelacionadas con Trastornos Mentales Comunes ycódigos Z. El presente trabajo analiza las característicasde la demanda y el tipo de respuesta asistencialen tres Centros de Salud Mental del Principado deAsturias.Método. Se trata de un estudio descriptivo. De lasderivaciones realizadas a estos tres Centros de Salud Mental se recogen una serie de variables sociodemográficas,clínicas, relacionadas con la demanda y relacionadascon la respuesta asistencial.Resultados y conclusiones. Se detecta un 68,8% decasos que podrían corresponder con Trastornos Mentales Comunes. Se asigna un 59,1% de los pacientesa psiquiatra y un 39,7% a psicólogo clínico. Loscasos de depresión, trastorno adaptativo y trastornoansioso-depresivo son asignados en mayor medida apsiquiatra, mientras que no hay diferencias en el casode la ansiedad. Estos datos no coinciden con las recomendacionesde las guías clínicas. Tras observar losresultados se plantea la importancia de la figura delpsicólogo clínico, tanto en atención primaria comoen especializada

Análisis de la demanda en Salud Mental en el Principado de Asturias (II): Expectativas, preferencias e información de los usuarios.

Introducción. Las expectativas y preferencias del paciente son una cuestión fundamental a tener en cuenta en Salud Mental. Por una parte, el derecho a decidir entre las diferentes opciones terapéuticas se recoge en la Ley de Autonomía del Paciente. Por otro lado, múltiples investigaciones han mostrado la influencia de las expectativas del usuario acerca del tratamiento, y por tanto la importancia de tenerlas en consideración. En este sentido, la información proporcionada por parte del derivante cobra especial relevancia. Método. La muestra se toma de usuarios derivados a Salud Mental que cumplen los criterios de inclusión y aceptan participar en el estudio (n=121). Mediante una entrevista telefónica se recoge información de variables sociodemográficas, relacionadas con la derivación, con las preferencias del paciente y finalmente con sus expectativas.Resultados y conclusiones. Respecto a las variables de la derivación, encontramos que el derivante proporcionó escasa información al paciente acerca de su problema y de los diferentes tipos de tratamiento. En las variables asociadas a las preferencias destaca el desconocimiento de los usuarios acerca de las labores del psicólogo clínico y del psiquiatra, así como de las diferentes implicaciones de la psicoterapia y del tratamiento psicofarmacológico. En cuanto a las expectativas, observamos de nuevo falta de información pero además un nivel importante de confianza en la intervención y una puntuación alta en locus de control interno. Parece fundamental una mayor consideración de este tipo de variables para la mejora del proceso de intervención posterior