Reflections on the rural school: A successful educational model

En el presente artículo se describe y analiza la escuela rural actual en Cataluña. Se presentan datos comparativos de los resultados académicos de las pruebas de competencias básicas de los alumnos de 6º de Primaria de las escuelas rurales y del global de la Comunidad Autónoma, de tres cursos consecutivos. Se describen algunas de sus potencialidades y fortalezas. Para la realización de la investigación se han utilizado diferentes datos oficiales de la Generalitat de Cataluña y también se han entrevistado a maestros/as, padres/madres y exalumnos/as todos relacionados con la escuela rural. Tradicionalmente la escuela rural en España, también en Cataluña, era maltratada, descuidada y muchas veces abandonada. Esta enseñanza era una copia imperfecta y deformada de la urbana. En la actualidad la escuela rural ha mejorado significativamente los resultados académicos y en valoración y respeto por el trabajo realizado. La organización está consolidada, tiene éxito y no está cuestionada. Quizás la escuela rural deba guiar y orientar la escuela urbana hacia una educación más dinámica, flexible y personalThis article describes and analyzes the current rural school in Catalonia. We present comparative data of the academic results of the tests of basic competences of the students of Primary of 6 of the rural schools and of the global of the Autonomous Community. It describes some of its potentialities and strengths. In order to carry out the research, different official data of the Generalitat of Catalonia have been used, and in-depth interviews have also been conducted with teachers, parents and alumni all related to the rural school. Traditionally the rural school in Spain, also in Catalonia, was mistreated, neglected and often abandoned. This teaching was an imperfect and deformed copy of the urban one. At present the rural school has improved significantly in the academic results and in appreciation and respect for the work done. The organization is consolidated, successful and unquestioned. Perhaps the rural school should guide and orient the urban school towards a more dynamic, flexible and personal educatio

Do continuous work days at schools produce situations of socio-educational inequality among students?

Este estudio presenta una reflexión, descripción y análisis sobre la implementación de la jornada intensiva en los centros educativos de Cataluña. En los últimos años se ha introducido en casi la totalidad de los centros de secundaria públicos; también en la actualidad hay un plan piloto para valorar su introducción en la escuela primaria. Por el contrario, los centros privados y concertados han mantenido el mismo horario y no han realizado cambios en este sentido. El artículo pretende reflexionar sobre si la jornada intensiva puede producir en algunos casos efectos negativos en los alumnos. Muchos niños/as y adolescentes por las tardes no participan en ninguna actividad extraescolar; estas tienen unos costes elevados y muchas familias no pueden costear los gastos. La situación aboca a determinados colectivos a no realizar actividades fuera del horario escolar y pasan el tiempo en el hogar o con el grupo de iguales principalmenteThis study presents a reflection, description, and analysis of the implementation of continuous work days at educational centers in Catalonia. In the last years, this measure has been introduced in nearly all public secondary schools. Currently, there is also a plan to evaluate the introduction of such measure at primary schools. On the contrary, private and semi-private schools have maintained the same schedule and they have not made any changes in this regard. The article intends to reflect whether or not there might be negative effects on the students. Many of them do not participate in any extracurricular activities after class; as those are expensive and many families cannot afford them. This situation leads to certain groups not doing any activities outside of school hours. Instead, they spend their time mainly at home or with peers in similar circumstance

Towards the creation of a European Network of Earth Observation Networks within GEO. The ConnectinGEO project

ConnectinGEO (Coordinating an Observation Network of Networks EnCompassing saTellite and IN-situ to fill the Gaps in European Observations " is a new H2020 Coordination and Support Action with the primary goal of linking existing Earth Observation networks with science and technology (S&T) communities, the industry sector, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and Copernicus. ConnectinGEO aims to facilitate a broader and more accessible knowledge base to support the needs of GEO, its Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs) and the users of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS). A broad range of subjects from climate, natural resources and raw materials, to the emerging UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be addressed. The project will generate a prioritized list of critical gaps within available observation data and models to translate observations into practice-relevant knowledge, based on stakeholder consultation and systematic analysis. Ultimately, it will increase coherency of European observation networks, increase the use of Earth observations for assessments and forecasts and inform the planning for future observation systems. ConnectinGEO will initiate a European Network of Earth Observation Networks (ENEON) that will encompass space-based, airborne and in-situ observations networks. ENEON will be composed by project partners representing thematic observation networks along with the GEOSS Science and Technology Stakeholder Network, GEO Communities of Practices, Copernicus services, Sentinel missions and in-situ support data representatives, representatives of the space-based, airborne and in-situ observations European networks (e.g. EPOS, EMSO and GROOM, etc), representatives of the industry sector and European and national funding agencies, in particular those participating in the future ERA-PlaNET. At the beginning, the ENEON will be created and managed by the project. Then the management will be transferred to the network itself to ensure its future continuity. ConnectinGEO's main goal in ENEON is to mature a consultation complemented by a systematic analysis of available data and metadata, which will draw for the first time a coherent picture of the variety of used data interfaces, policies and indicators. This way, the project will stimulate a harmonized and coherent coverage of the European EO networks, reemphasizing the political strategic targets, create opportunities for SMEs to develop products based on the current networks, and open avenue for industry to participate in investments addressing the identified high-priority gaps

Segle XIX. Esperances i fracassos de la modernitat a l’educació. Situació d’Espanya

La Modernitat s’inicia al segle XV i cristal·litza al XIX amb unes característiques molt concretes. Aquest període es caracteritza per l’ús de la raó com a element prioritari en l’organització de les diverses institucions socials. També van aparèixer destacats corrents liberals. El procés de modernització tingué moltes dificultats per consolidar-se en les escoles espanyoles al llarg del segle XIX. Aquest article pretén mostrar algunes d'aquestes dificultats: inversions minses, equipaments educatius deficients, alt nombre d'analfabets, consideració social del mestre negativa... La investigació mostra la institució educativa en un context més ampli: històric, social i cultural. Massa vegades s'ha presentat l'escola com una institució aïllada i isolada, separada d'allò que s'esdevé fora de l'aula. També, s'interpretaa partir dels elements socials i culturals més significatius.Aquesta visió ens obrirà a noves perspectives per comprendre l'educació del segle XIX. Unes elits molt rellevants i amplis sectors de la societat valoraven negativament la Modernitat i els corrents liberals; també, aquesta visió la tenien de totes les aportacions modernes i liberals per transformar les escoles

Malestar familiar: ¿tiene incidencia la pobreza infantil y juvenil en los resultados académicos?

Este estudio presenta una descripción, análisis y reflexión sobre la pobreza infantil y juvenil. España enfrenta una crisis económica muy profunda, y las propuestas del Gobierno para abordar los problemas sociales consisten fundamentalmente en avanzar en el modelo neoliberal. Los alumnos van a la escuela, pero en muchos casos sus resultados son deficientes, lo que hace que España presente un alto índice de fracaso escolar. La metodología incluye investigación bibliográfica, tratamiento de datos cuantitativos y cualitativos y entrevistas en profundidad. Los resultados obtenidos muestran un abandono escolar muy alto, junto con un número significativo de niños y adolescentes en situación de pobreza, lo cual permite establecer una relación entre pobreza infantil y juvenil y abandono escolar. El Gobierno centra su atención en la institución educativa y solo consigue desacreditarla; sus actuaciones y resultados son insuficientes. Por ello, la propuesta es que —junto con las autoridades e instituciones pertinentes— implemente políticas globales e integrales para abordar el problema

Influence of liquid-to-biogas ratio and alkalinity on the biogas upgrading performance in a demo scale algal-bacterial photobioreactor

The influence of the liquid-to-biogas ratio (L/G) and alkalinity on methane quality was evaluated in a 11.7 m3 outdoors horizontal semi-closed tubular photobioreactor interconnected to a 45-L absorption column (AC). CO2 concentrations in the upgraded methane ranged from <0.1 to 9.6% at L/G of 2.0 and 0.5, respectively, with maximum CH4 concentrations of 89.7% at a L/G of 1.0. Moreover, an enhanced CO2 removal (mediating a decrease in CO2 concentration from 9.6 to 1.2%) and therefore higher CH4 contents (increasing from 88.0 to 93.2%) were observed when increasing the alkalinity of the AC cultivation broth from 42 ± 1 mg L−1 to 996 ± 42 mg L−1. H2S was completely removed regardless of the L/G or the alkalinity in AC. The continuous operation of the photobioreactor with optimized operating parameters resulted in contents of CO2 (<0.1%–1.4%), H2S (<0.7 mg m−3) and CH4 (94.1%–98.8%) complying with international regulations for methane injection into natural gas grids.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Optimization of multi-stage thickening of biomass in a demonstrative full–scale microalgae-based wastewater treatment system

This study gathers the results of the operation and optimization of the thickening of microalgal biomass produced at demonstrative scale in photobioreactors fed with agricultural runoff and domestic wastewater. The optimization was conducted during two months. The system consisted in two gravity thickeners connected in series in a multi-stage approach. The objective of thickening was to concentrate the microalgae grown in photobioreactors (total solids (TS) concentration of 0.1–1 g/L) into a biomass with 20 g/L of TS, which was considered optimal for the subsequent anaerobic digestion process. First, the utilization of one single thickener alone allowed to achieve a concentration factor (CF) of 1.9 and recovery efficiency (RE) of 28%. However, the final concentration of TS in the thickened biomass (6.4 g/L) was still much lower than the target concentration. The installation of the second thickener connected in series with the first one significantly improved the overall performance. Indeed, a TS concentration of 26.5 g/L was finally achieved, with an overall CF of 3.6. The results of the study suggest that the multi-stage thickening process is a suitable strategy and it is highly advisable to achieve a successful microalgal biomass thickening at full-scale. In addition, other three points have been identified as key factors to be taken into account for biomass tickening: proper adjustment of the purge flowrate, coordination between purges times and volumes in the different stages, and proper adjustment of the operation of the scrapers.The authors would like to thank the European Commission (INCOVER, GA 689242) and the Government of Catalonia (Consolidated Research Group 2017 SGR 1029) for their financial support. E. Uggetti and R. Díez-Montero would also like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Economy for their research grants (RYC2018-025514-I and IJC2019-042069-I, respectively).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Building-integrated rooftop greenhouses: an energy and environmental assessment in the mediterranean context

A sustainable and secure food supply within a low-carbon and resilient infrastructure is encapsulated in several of The United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals. The integration of urban agriculture in buildings can offer improved efficiencies; in recognition of this, the first south European example of a fully integrated rooftop greenhouse (iRTG) was designed and incorporated into the ICTA-ICP building by the Autonomous University of Barcelona. This design seeks to interchange heat, CO2 and rainwater between the building and its rooftop greenhouse. Average air temperatures for 2015 in the iRTG were 16.5 °C (winter) and 25.79 °C (summer), making the iRTG an ideal growing environment. Using detailed thermophysical fabric properties, 2015 site-specific weather data, exact control strategies and dynamic soil temperatures, the iRTG was modelled in EnergyPlus to assess the performance of an equivalent ‘freestanding’ greenhouse. The validated result shows that the thermal interchange between the iRTG and the ICTA-ICP building has considerable moderating effects on the iRTG’s indoor climate; since average hourly temperatures in an equivalent freestanding greenhouse would have been 4.1 °C colder in winter and 4.4 °C warmer in summer under the 2015 climatic conditions. The simulation results demonstrate that the iRTG case study recycled 43.78 MWh of thermal energy (or 341.93 kWh/m2/yr) from the main building in 2015. Assuming 100% energy conversion efficiency, compared to freestanding greenhouses heated with oil, gas or biomass systems, the iRTG delivered an equivalent carbon savings of 113.8, 82.4 or 5.5 kg CO2(eq)/m2/yr, respectively, and economic savings of 19.63, 15.88 or 17.33 €/m2/yr, respectively. Under similar climatic conditions, this symbiosis between buildings and urban agriculture makes an iRTG an efficient resource-management model and supports the promotion of a new typology or concept of buildings with a nexus or symbiosis between energy efficiency and food production.Postprint (published version