Emotional and educational accompaniment through dialogic literary gatherings: a volunteer project for families who suffer digital exclusion in the context of COVID-19

In order to improve educational conditions of families lacking digital resources during the home lockdown associated with the COVID-19 crisis, a project of educational and emotional support through books featuring Dialogic Literary Gatherings was carried out, with the name “Books that Bring People Together”. We present the main results of the impact of this activity from the point of view of n = 63 volunteers who participated in it. Using Student’s t-test for related samples, the differences in volunteers’ competencies before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the experience were tested, in order to analyze whether the activity had also exerted an impact on these competencies. Moreover, a correlation analysis was applied between the items for evaluating family participation by the volunteers, volunteer skills, and training, with the aim of testing the relationships between those variables as a result of participation in the experience. Results show that families found that accompaniment improved the quality of life of their children, making them feel loved and accompanied. In addition, the family atmosphere was improved, as did the children’s interest in reading. This mode of training led to greater involvement, motivation, and interest, thereby complying with a transversal axis of the process—community participation

Más allá de las TIC. Aprendizaje permanente para una sociedad de la información inclusiva

En la actual Sociedad de la Información (SI), donde un cambio cultural, como es el uso masivo de las TIC, ha provocado un cambio social, es necesario repensar la inclusión de la población adulta, especialmente la de mayor edad, en un entorno cada vez más informatizado, que, a priori, puede parecer exclusor. Contrariamente a la idea general, la población adulta de todas las edades se está incorporando de manera activa a esta SI a través de la adquisición progresiva de competencias digitales, hecho al cual contribuyen de manera significativa las actividades de Aprendizaje Permanente (AP). En el presente artículo se analiza, en primer lugar, a través de los microdatos de la muestra europea proporcionados por la encuesta PIAAC (OCDE, 2013), la correlación existente entre el desarrollo de las diversas competencias instrumentales con las habilidades digitales. Seguidamente, mediante una regresión lineal múltiple, se muestra que, más allá de las características sociopersonales de la población adulta, es el factor educativo el que supone un mayor desarrollo de las competencias instrumentales en general y las digitales en particular. De esta forma, se defiende el AP como estrategia fundamental para lograr de manera definitiva la ruptura de la brecha digital entre jóvenes y adultos, así como elemento esencial para que la emocratización de la SI sea una realidad

Opinion and community formation in coevolving networks

In human societies opinion formation is mediated by social interactions, consequently taking place on a network of relationships and at the same time influencing the structure of the network and its evolution. To investigate this coevolution of opinions and social interaction structure we develop a dynamic agent-based network model, by taking into account short range interactions like discussions between individuals, long range interactions like a sense for overall mood modulated by the attitudes of individuals, and external field corresponding to outside influence. Moreover, individual biases can be naturally taken into account. In addition the model includes the opinion dependent link-rewiring scheme to describe network topology coevolution with a slower time scale than that of the opinion formation. With this model comprehensive numerical simulations and mean field calculations have been carried out and they show the importance of the separation between fast and slow time scales resulting in the network to organize as well-connected small communities of agents with the same opinion.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. New inset for Fig. 1 and references added. Submitted to Physical Review

La formación como variable de calidad del envejecimiento en el empleo en entornos organizacionales tecnificados

En el marco de los cambios tecnológicos introducidos en la industria 4.0, el estudio analiza a nivel organizativo las relaciones entre innovación tecnológica, calidad del empleo, formación, posición organizacional y edad de las/os trabajadoras/es. A partir de la observación de un impacto neutral de la introducción de tecnologías avanzadas sobre la mayoría de dimensiones que componen el constructo “calidad del trabajo”, el estudio se basa en un análisis mediante modelos de ecuaciones estructurales realizados utilizando datos de una muestra de 907 empleadas/os de 9 empresas de la industria 4.0 de Aragón. Los resultados de los modelos testados permiten observar que la introducción de nuevas tecnologías puede provocar un decrecimiento de la calidad percibida de la experiencia de trabajo asociada al paso de tiempo, y que la formación atenúa de manera relevante dicho efecto negativo, sobre todo en los entornos menos tecnificados. Within the framework of the technological changes introduced by the Industry 4.0, the study aims to analyse at an organizational level the relationships between technological innovation, job quality, training, organizational position and age of the workers. Starting from the observation of a neutral impact of the introduction of advanced technologies on the majority of dimensions that make up the construct ‘quality of work’, the study is based on an analysis through models of structural equations carried out using data from a sample of 907 employees from 9 companies of Industry 4.0 of Aragon. The results of the tested models allow to observe that the introduction of new technologies can cause a decrease in the perceived quality of the work experience associated with the passage of time, and that training significantly attenuates this negative effect especially in organisational environments relatively less technified

Exploring a developing tourism industry: A resource-based view approach.

This exploratory study examines dimensions related to tourism development in the case of Uruguay. Internal and external analyses were conducted to identify key resources to maximise opportunities and minimise threats to the country’s tourism development. The study, which adopts the resource-based view of the firm, is based on the perspectives of key tourism stakeholders. Unstructured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with eight key informants, three representing government institutions, three private, and two public-private. The interviews revealed opportunities in various fronts, primarily consolidating and expanding international markets, and developing additional offerings, including convention/event and heritage tourism to minimise the effects of seasonality. Strong dependence on neighbouring markets, marginal airline connectivity and knowledge of Uruguay internationally were main perceived barriers to further development. The value of employing the resource-based framework in guiding understanding of the themes under investigation was confirmed. Implications emerging from the findings are discussed, and future research directions suggested

Study of the phase transition in the 3d Ising spin glass from out of equilibrium numerical simulations

Using the decay of the out equilibrium spin-spin correlation function we compute the equilibrium Edward-Anderson order parameter in the three dimensional binary Ising spin glass in the spin glass phase. We have checked that the Edward-Anderson order parameter computed from out of equilibrium numerical simulations follows with good precision the critical law as determined in experiments and in numerical studies at equilibrium. We have also studied the dependence of the order parameter with the lattice size. Finally we present a large time study of the scaling of the off-equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation relations.Comment: 14 pages, 7 Postscript figure

A New Field Protocol for Monitoring Forest Degradation

Forest degradation leads to the gradual reduction of forest carbon stocks, function, and biodiversity following anthropogenic disturbance. Whilst tropical degradation is a widespread problem, it is currently very under-studied and its magnitude and extent are largely unknown. This is due, at least in part, to the lack of developed and tested methods for monitoring degradation. Due to the relatively subtle and ongoing changes associated with degradation, which can include the removal of small trees for fuelwood or understory clearance for agricultural production, it is very hard to detect using Earth Observation. Furthermore, degrading activities are normally spatially heterogeneous and stochastic, and therefore conventional forest inventory plots distributed across a landscape do not act as suitable indicators: at best only a small proportion of plots (often zero) will actually be degraded in a landscape undergoing active degradation. This problem is compounded because the metal tree tags used in permanent forest inventory plots likely deter tree clearance, biasing inventories toward under-reporting change. We have therefore developed a new forest plot protocol designed to monitor forest degradation. This involves a plot that can be set up quickly, so a large number can be established across a landscape, and easily remeasured, even though it does not use tree tags or other obvious markers. We present data from a demonstration plot network set up in Jalisco, Mexico, which were measured twice between 2017 and 2018. The protocol was successful, with one plot detecting degradation under our definition (losing greater than 10% AGB but remaining forest), and a further plot being deforested for Avocado (Persea americana) production. Live AGB ranged from 8.4 Mg ha–1 to 140.8 Mg ha–1 in Census 1, and from 0 Mg ha–1 to 144.2 Mg ha–1 Census 2, with four of ten plots losing AGB, and the remainder staying stable or showing slight increases. We suggest this protocol has great potential for underpinning appropriate forest plot networks for degradation monitoring, potentially in combination with Earth Observation analysis, but also in isolation

Determinación del nivel de riesgo cardiovascular en teleoperadores españoles: variables asociadas

Introduction. Cardiovascular pathologies are the first cause of morbidity in Spain. The risk factors that influence their appearance and evolution include socioeconomic and labor aspects. The objective was to determine the level of cardiovascular risk in telephone operators. Material and methods. Retrospective and cross-sectional study in 1215 Spanish teleoperators in the period January 2017 and December 2017 in which different parameters related to cardiovascular risk are valued (overweight-obesity scales, cardiovascular risk scales, atherogenic indices, fatty liver risk scales and metabolic syndrome among others) and the influence on them of variables such as age, sex and tobacco use. The study was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Balearic Islands Health Area. Results. We highlight the high prevalence of high blood pressure in males (23.94%) obesity with BMI (20%), Hypercholesterolemia (27.89%) and high risk of fatty liver (23.36%). Age is the variable that shows the greatest influence on the cardiovascular risk factors analyzed. Conclusions. Although the average age of the sample is low (35.26 years in women and 33.61 years in men) a high prevalence of hypertension, obesity with different models, metabolic syndrome, moderate and high score and REGICOR values as well as high risk of fatty liver especially in men is observed.Introducción. Las patologías cardiovasculares son la primera causa de morbimortalidad en España. Entre los factores de riesgo que influyen en su aparición y evolución se incluyen aspectos socioeconómicos y laborales. El objetivo fue determinar el nivel de riesgo cardiovascular en el colectivo de teleoperadores telefónicos. Material y métodos. Estudio retrospectivo y transversal en 1215 teleoperadores españoles en el periodo enero de 2017 y diciembre de 2017 en el que se valoran diferentes parámetros relacionados con el riesgo cardiovascular (escalas de sobrepeso-obesidad, escalas de riesgo cardiovascular, índices aterogénicos, escalas de riesgo de hígado graso y síndrome metabólico entre otros) y la influencia en ellos de variables como edad, sexo y consumo de tabaco. El estudio fue aprobado por el Comité de ética de investigación clínica del área de salud de Illes Balears. Resultados. Destacamos la alta prevalencia en varones de hipertensión arterial (23,94%) obesidad con IMC (20%), hipercolesterolemia (27,89%) y alto riesgo de hígado graso (23,36%). La edad es la variable que muestra mayor influencia en los factores de riesgo cardiovascular analizados. Conclusiones. Aunque la edad media de la muestra es baja (35,26 años en mujeres y 33,61 años en hombres) se observa una alta prevalencia de hipertensión, obesidad con los diferentes modelos, síndrome metabólico, valores moderados y altos de SCORE y REGICOR así como de alto riesgo de hígado graso especialmente en los hombres

Critical Behavior of the Three-Dimensional Ising Spin Glass

We have simulated, using parallel tempering, the three dimensional Ising spin glass model with binary couplings in a helicoidal geometry. The largest lattice (L=20) has been studied using a dedicated computer (the SUE machine). We have obtained, measuring the correlation length in the critical region, a strong evidence for a second-order finite temperature phase transition ruling out other possible scenarios like a Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition. Precise values for the $\nu$ and $\eta$ critical exponents are also presented.Comment: RevTex; 12 pages plus 5 ps figures. Final version to be published in PR