Variables associated to the self-efficacy perceived by Spanish Secondary School Science teachers

La autoeficacia docente es uno de los principales factores asociados al desempeño profesional de los profesores, a la calidad de su enseñanza y a los resultados de aprendizaje logrados por los estudiantes. En este trabajo hemos analizado la autoeficacia del profesorado español de ciencias y su relación con otras características del profesor y del contexto en que imparte docencia. Se han utilizado datos obtenidos en el estudio TALIS 2013 (Teaching and Learning International Survey) promovido por la OCDE. La muestra española ascendió a 3422 profesores, de los cuales 590 imparten asignaturas de ciencias. Hemos descrito la autoeficacia percibida por este colectivo de docentes de ciencias, comparando las medias obtenidas en las variables de autoeficacia para el profesorado de ciencias y de otras materias, y hemos identificado las variables que en mayor medida contribuyen a explicar el sentido de autoeficacia en tres dominios: el manejo de la clase, la enseñanza y la implicación del alumnado. Para ello, calculamos las correlaciones entre las variables de autoeficacia docente y el resto de las variables, y se ha aplicado un análisis de regresión con más de una variable dependiente, usando un modelo lineal general (MLG) multivariado. Los resultados obtenidos muestran mayores niveles en autoconfianza para la enseñanza y menores en la autoconfianza para la implicación del alumnado. Las variables más relevantes en la explicación de la autoconfianza han resultado ser la cooperación entre el profesorado, la percepción sobre el clima de disciplina en el aula, las necesidades de desarrollo profesional en las materias de ciencias y en su enseñanza, y las concepciones constructivistas. No obstante, los predictores se comportan de diferente modo en función del tipo de autoeficacia que se pretenda explicar. A partir de los resultados obtenidos, se formulan algunas propuestas para la mejora de la autoeficacia docente en el profesorado de ciencias.Teacher self-efficacy is one of the main factors associated with professional performance of teachers, quality of teaching and learning outcomes achieved by students. In this paper we have analyzed the efficacy of Spanish science teachers and their relation to other features of the teacher and the environment in which they teach. We used data from the 2013 study TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Survey) promoted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Spanish sample amounted to 3422 teachers, of whom 590 teach science subjects. We have described the perceived self-efficacy in this group of science teachers, we compare the means obtained in efficacy variables for teaching science and other subjects, and we have identified the variables that contribute most to explain the sense of efficacy in three domains: classroom management, teaching, and student engagement. To do this we have calculated the correlations between teacher self-efficacy and other variables, and we have applied a regression analysis with more than one dependent variable, by using a multivariate general linear model (GLM). The results show higher levels of self-confidence for teaching and lower levels in self-confidence for student involvement. The most significant variables in explaining self-confidence have proved to be cooperation between teachers, perceived climate of discipline in the classroom, professional development needs in the areas of science and teaching, and constructivist beliefs. However, the predictors behave differently depending on the type of efficacy being explained. From the results, someproposals have been made for the improvement of teaching self-efficacy to science teacher

Una mirada a un grupo de nombres de lugar de reciente creación en un municipio español: algunas semejanzas y diferencias con los topónimos antiguos

The present work is focused on toponyms of recent creation. These new place names have generally received less attention among scholars than those with a long history, which have often generated passionate debates and academic papers about their origins. The group analyzed here was discarded from the index list resulting from a toponymy survey made in the village of Gata (Cáceres) in 2014. They are less than one hundred years old, and do not appear to be registered as toponyms in any known written source. However, their analysis reveals that the necessity for a social community to give names to the places it inhabits, and the process for the creation of new toponyms has essentially not changed for centuries.El presente trabajo se centra en los topónimos de reciente creación. Este grupo ha recibido generalmente menos atención por parte de los investigadores que aquellos otros que cuentan con una historia más larga, los cuales han sido con frecuencia objeto de apasionados debates acerca de su origen y generado numerosos trabajos académicos. La nómina de los aquí analizados está formada por el grupo de los no tomados en consideración para formar porte del corpus topónimo de Gata (Cáceres) efectuado en 2014 por tener menos de un siglo de antigüedad y no aparecer en ninguna de las fuentes escritas consultadas. Sim embargo, su análisis revela que para una comunidad rural la necesidad de darle un nombre a los lugares de su entorno y el proceso de creación de nuevos topónimos no ha variado sustancialmente desde la antigüedad

Public Goods and Territory

The paper will attempt to demostrate the fundamental importance of public goods in the performance of any territory or economy. After discussing the concept and definition of public goods, the most important of them will be reviewed along with their degree of publicness. Their relative positions within society will also be analyzed. Finally, the relationship between private and public goods will be discussed and some conclusions will be reached as to the necessary balance and relative importance among them.

OPTIMAL DEMAND FOR LONG-TERM BONDS WHEN RETURNS ARE PREDICTABLE

This paper further explores the horizon effect in the optimal static and dynamic demand for risky assets under return predictability as documented by Barberis (2000). Contrary to the case of stocks, the optimal demand for long-term Government bonds of a buy-and-hold investor is not necessarily increasing in the investment horizon, and may in fact be decreasing for some initial levels of the predicting variable. The paper provides an analytical explanation based on the dependence of the mean variance ratio on the investor´s time horizon. Under stationarity of the predicting variable, unusually high or unusually low levels of the predictor tend to dissapear over time inducing the mean of cumulative returns to grow less or more than linearly as the investment horizon increases. If this effect dominates that on the variance, optimal demands can either be increasing or decresing in the investment horizon. On the other hand, the solution to the investor´s dynamic allocation problem in the presence of bonds indicates that long-term Government bonds do not provide a good hedge for adverse changes in the investor´s opportunity set: optimal dynamic demands for bonds do not differ from static portfolio choices at any horizon.

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT FEES: ASSETS OR PROFITS BASED COMPENSATION?

This paper compares assets-based portfolio management fees to profits-based fees. Whilst both forms of compensation can provide appropriate risk incentives, fund managers´ limited liability induces more excess risk-taking under a profits-based fee contract. On the other hand, an assets-based fee is more costly to investors. In Spain, where the law explicitly permits both forms of retribution, assets-based fees are observed far more frequently. Under this type of compensation, the paper provides some insights into how management fees should be determined in order to solve the principal´s trade-off between providing better risk incentives and incurring a lower cost of compensation.

A nonparametric dimension test of the term structure

This paper addresses the problem of conducting a nonparametric test of the dimension of the state variable vector in a continuous-time term structure model. The paper shows that a bivariate diffusion function of the short rate process is a sufficient condition for the term structure to be driven by two stochastic factors. Using an easy-to-implement kernel smoothing method the number of state variables can be tested under very unrestrictive assumptions. The results suggest that continuous-time models for the US interest rates should contain at least two stochastic factors

Academic procrastination in non-traditional college students

Introducción. La procrastinación es la acción de retrasar la realización de tareas necesarias, hasta el extremo de generar malestar y perjuicios a los individuos que la protagonizan. La presencia de alumnado no tradicional en las universidades se ha incrementado notablemente en las últimas décadas. Este tipo de estudiantes encuentra dificultades en sus estudios, las cua- les podrían propiciar una mayor incidencia de las conductas procrastinadoras. Para compro- barlo, comparamos los niveles de procrastinación y motivos para procrastinar entre estudian- tes tradicionales y no tradicionales. Método. Utilizamos una muestra de 479 estudiantes colombianos. Los niveles de procrasti- nación y motivos para procrastinar fueron medidos a partir de la Procrastination Assessment Scale – Students (PASS). En el análisis de datos se utilizaron estadísticos descriptivos, análisis factorial exploratorio, prueba t para muestras independientes y d de Cohen. Resultados. Los estudiantes no tradicionales han presentado niveles de procrastinación supe- riores (t=4,412; p<0,001; d=0,459), aunque los motivos para procrastinar no difieren de los aportados por estudiantes tradicionales. El carácter de estudiante no tradicional ha resultado ser una variable relevante en la explicación de la procrastinación académica. Discusión y conclusiones. A partir de estos resultados, se deriva la conveniencia de ofrecer una orientación académica al alumnado no tradicional, con el fin de tratar la procrastinación y reducir así posibles riesgos de bajo rendimiento o abandono en este colectivo estudiantil.Introduction. Procrastination is the act of delaying necessary tasks until the extreme of ex- periencing discomfort and negative consequences to the individuals. The presence of nontra- ditional students at universities is a phenomenon which has increased remarkably over the last decades. This type of university students finds some difficulties during their grade. This could result in a higher prevalence of procrastination behaviors among nontraditional students at university. To test this, our work compares procrastination levels and reasons to procrastinate among traditional and nontraditional students Method. A sample of 479 Colombian college students was used. Procrastination and the rea- sons to procrastinate are measured by the Procrastination Assessment Scale - Students (PASS). The data analysis is based on descriptive statistics, exploratory factorial analysis, t test for independent samples and Coohen’s d. Results. Nontraditional students show higher procrastination levels (t=4,412; p<0,001; d=0,459), although their reasons to procrastinate are similar to those of traditional students. The nontraditional student condition is a demographic variable relevant for explaining aca- demic procrastination. Discussion and Conclusion. These results suggest the convenience of offering academic counselling and guidance to nontraditional students, in order to attend procrastination and reducing that way low achievement or dropout risks

When cheaper is better: fee determination in the market for equity mutual funds

In this paper, we develop a model of the market for equity mutual funds that captures three key characteristics of this market. First, there is competition among funds. Second, fund managers' ability is not observed by investors before making their investment decisions. And third, some investors do not make optimal use of all available information. The main results of the paper are that 1) price competition is compatible with positive mark-ups in equilibrium; and 2) worse-performing funds set fees that are greater or equal than those set by better-performing funds. These predictions are supported by available empirical evidence