Una experiència d'aprenentatge basat en problemes en enginyeria del software

El departament de Ciències de la Computació imparteix des de fa força anys l'assignatura d'enginyeria del software a les titulacions superior i tècnica d'enginyeria informàtica. Fins el curs passat, la metodologia docent era la "tradicional": classes magistrals de teoria, classes de problemes i pràctiques de laboratori, amb una avaluació en que un examen escrit té el major pes. El nostre convenciment que l'estudiant aprenia molt menys del que era possible i necessari, més les idees aportades per un dels cursos de formació del IDES, ens ha portat a experimentar durant el curs 2005-06 una adaptació de l'enfocament d'aprenentatge basat en resolució de problemes. En aquesta comunicació exposem breument els continguts de la assignatura, els motius d'aquest canvi, el nou mètode docent emprat i la valoració (globalment molt positiva) que en fem tant els professors de la assignatura com els estudiants

Favoriser l’expression orale chez les apprenants universitaires grâce à des stratégies de communication

Speaking in a foreign language can be a vast challenge for most learners, and this is the case of a group of learners in a university setting located in Cartagena. Therefore, this article reports the findings of a pedagogical intervention, which implemented communication strategies to foster university learners’ speaking skills. The strategies aimed to reduce learners’ reliance on their L1, to strengthen their L2 oral fluency, and to lower their affective filter when performing oral tasks. Twentytwo learners participated in the intervention stage, which consisted of six workshop that were designed including several communication strategies and then implemented. Data collected, in the action stage, displayed that communication strategies had a positive effect on learners’ L2 oral proficiency, and suggested that the implementation of these strategies and meaningful oral tasks were beneficial to broaden and to refine their lexicon, to improve their fluency, and to lower their affective filter.Hablar en un idioma extranjero puede ser un gran desafío para la mayoría de los estudiantes, y este es el caso de un grupo de estudiantes en un entorno universitario ubicado en la ciudad de Cartagena. Por lo tanto, este artículo reporta los hallazgos de una intervención pedagógica, la cual implementó una serie de estrategias de comunicación para fomentar las habilidades orales de los estudiantes universitarios. Las estrategias tenían como objetivo reducir la dependencia de los alumnos en su primera lengua, fortalecer su fluidez oral en inglés y reducir su filtro afectivo al realizar actividades orales. Veintidós estudiantes participaron en la etapa de intervención, la cual consistió en la implementación de seis talleres que se diseñaron incluyendo varias estrategias de comunicación. Los datos recopilados, en la etapa de acción, mostraron que las estrategias de comunicación tuvieron un efecto positivo en la competencia oral de los estudiantes en el idioma extranjero y sugirieron que la implementación de estas estrategias en compañía de actividades orales significativas fue beneficiosa para ampliar y refinar el léxico de los estudiantes, mejorar su fluidez, y reducir su filtro afectivo

The molecular environment of the pillar-like features in the HII region G46.5-0.2

At the interface of HII regions and molecular gas peculiar structures appear, some of them with pillar-like shapes. Understanding their origin is important for characterizing triggered star formation and the impact of massive stars on the interstellar medium. In order to study the molecular environment and the influence of the radiation on two pillar-like features related to the HII region G46.5-0.2, we performed molecular line observations with the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment, and spectroscopic optical observations with the Isaac Newton Telescope. From the optical observations we identified the star that is exciting the HII region as a spectral type O4-6. The molecular data allowed us to study the structure of the pillars and a HCO+ cloud lying between them. In this HCO+ cloud, which have not any well defined 12CO counterpart, we found direct evidence of star formation: two molecular outflows and two associated near-IR nebulosities. The outflows axis orientation is perpendicular to the direction of the radiation flow from the HII region. Several Class I sources are also embedded in this HCO+ cloud, showing that it is usual that the YSOs form large associations occupying a cavity bounded by pillars. On the other hand, it was confirmed that the RDI process is not occurring in one of the pillar tips.Comment: Accepted in MNRAS (2017 June 13

Recognizing New Classes with Synthetic Data in the Loop : Application to Traffic Sign Recognition

On-board vision systems may need to increase the number of classes that can be recognized in a relatively short period. For instance, a traffic sign recognition system may suddenly be required to recognize new signs. Since collecting and annotating samples of such new classes may need more time than we wish, especially for uncommon signs, we propose a method to generate these samples by combining synthetic images and Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) technology. In particular, the GAN is trained on synthetic and real-world samples from known classes to perform synthetic-to-real domain adaptation, but applied to synthetic samples of the new classes. Using the Tsinghua dataset with a synthetic counterpart, SYNTHIA-TS, we have run an extensive set of experiments. The results show that the proposed method is indeed effective, provided that we use a proper Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to perform the traffic sign recognition (classification) task as well as a proper GAN to transform the synthetic images. Here, a ResNet101-based classifier and domain adaptation based on CycleGAN performed extremely well for a ratio for new/known classes; even for more challenging ratios such as , the results are also very positive

A Chicana feminist epistemology in adult education: A literature review

The purpose of this literature review was to identify research in adult education literature that used a Chicana feminist theoretical framework. The review was conducted using the Elton B. Stephen CO. (EBSCO) database. Although a thorough review of the most notable adult education journals revealed a lack of scholarly articles using Chicana Feminist Epistemology (CFE), the authors were able to identify three themes within the literature that could aid in incorporating CFE into adult education research. Future implications of embedding a Chicana feminist epistemology in adult education research and practice can create well-rounded studies centered around authentic Latina experiences

Una revisión sobre la consolidación empresarial en España

La continua y veloz evolución que están experimentando los mercados actuales de todo el mundo, han propiciado la concentración de numerosas empresas con la finalidad de dar respuesta a las estrategias de crecimiento y la mejora de desarrollo que esta nueva situación conlleva. La importancia del fenómeno de concentración empresarial en España en los últimos años, justifica la necesidad de realizar un nuevo estudio sobre la situación actual española. El presente trabajo toma como unidad de análisis el total de grupos que cotizan en la actualidad en la Bolsa española, tratando de mostrar su realidad. De este modo, permite conocer la estabilidad que tienen dentro del mercado español y, al mismo tiempo, aproximamos al método de consolidación empleado, las características de las sociedades dependientes y otros rasgos claves que faciliten un mayor conocimiento de tales entidades

Galactic planetary nebulae with Wolf-Rayet nuclei. II. A consistent observational data set

We present high resolution spectrophotometric data for 34 galactic planetary nebulae with [WC] nuclei (WRPNe).The sample includes PNe with early and late [WC] stars and some WELS. Physical conditions and chemical abundances have been derived and expansion velocities were estimated for most objects of the sample. A statistical study was developed to find fundamental relationships between the nebular and central star parameters.We found evidence for a strong unexpected electron temperature gradient in WRPNe which is related to nebular excitation. Abundance ratios indicate that there seems to be no preferential stellar mass for the WR phenomenon to occur in the nucleus of a planetary nebula. The PNe M 1-25 and M 1-32 were found to have very small Ne/O ratios.Our data confirm the trend of the electron density decreasing with decreasing spectral type, which was interpreted as evidence that [WC] stars evolve from late to early [WC] types. On the other hand, the expansion velocities do not show the increase with decreasing spectral type, that one might expect in such a scenario. Two objects with very late [WC] central stars, K 2-16 and PM 1-188, do not follow the general density sequence, being of very low density for their spectral types. We suggest that the stars either underwent a late helium flash (the ``born again'' scenario) or that they have had a particularly slow evolution from the AGB. The 6 WELS of our sample follow the same density vs. [WC]-type relation as the bona fide WRPNe, but they tend to have smaller expansion velocities. The comparison between the WRPNe in the Magellanic Clouds and in the Galaxy indicates that metallicity affects the [WR] phenomenon in central stars of planetary nebulae.Comment: 20 pages, including 2 figures and 3 tables. Paper accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 200

Investigating Piezochromic Properties of πconjugated Materials: a combined Raman and DFT Study

Π-conjugated materials have been studied for decades due to their great interest in organic electronics. Among them, piezochromic materials, which exhibit color changes resulting from external pressure or mechanical grinding, become very attractive from a scientific viewpoint owing to their potential applications as pressure-sensing and opticalrecording systems1. The main target of the present work is to develop a joint experimental and theoretical approach able to deliver crucial information for the understanding of the structural effects causing piezochromic changes. To this end, we will focus our attention on two families of -conjugated materials with potential application as sensors. The first one is a family of 9,10-Bis((E)-n(pyrid-2-yl)vinyl) anthracene, BPnVA (n=2 orto-,3 metha- and 4 para-) compounds, see Figure 1. Interestingly, these three compounds with varying position of the nitrogen on the external pyridyl group exhibit different molecular packing modes. Grinding and the application of external pressure on the powder also led to a strong change in their photoluminescence color.2 The second familiy is based on the N,N’-Bis-Boc-3,3’-di(pyren-1yl)-2,2’-biindole compound (compound 1c in Figure 1) which also shows photoluminescence under pressure application. However, the molecular packing induced by this phenomenon is still under study 3. In both cases, it will be also very interesting to determine how temperature affects the vibrational structure of these systems.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Antiparasitic activity of chicory (Cichorium intybus) and its natural bioactive compounds in livestock: a review

Increasing drug resistance in gastrointestinal (GI) parasites of livestock and concerns about chemical residues in animal products and the environment are driving the development of alternative control strategies that are less reliant on the use of synthetic drugs. An increasingly investigated approach is the use of bioactive forages with antiparasitic properties as part of the animal’s diet (nutraceuticals) or as potential sources of novel, natural parasiticides. Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a multi-purpose crop and one of the most promising bioactive forages in temperate regions, and numerous in vivo trials have explored its potential against parasitic nematodes in livestock. However, it is unclear whether chicory can induce a direct and broad activity against various GI parasites in different livestock species, and the levels of chicory in the diet that are required to exert an efficient antiparasitic effect. Moreover, the mechanisms leading to the reported parasiticidal activity of chicory are still largely unknown, and its bioactive phytochemicals have only recently been investigated. In this review, we summarise the progress in the study of the antiparasitic activity of chicory and its natural bioactive compounds against GI parasites in livestock, through examination of the published literature. The available evidence indicates that feeding chicory can reduce faecal egg counts and/or worm burdens of abomasal nematodes, but not infections with intestinal worms, in ruminants. Highly chicory-rich diets (≥ 70% of chicory dry matter in the diet) may be necessary to directly affect abomasal parasitism. Chicory is known to synthesise several bioactive compounds with potential antiparasitic activity, but most research has been devoted to the role of sesquiterpene lactones (SL). Recent in vitro studies have confirmed direct and potent activity of SL-rich extracts from chicory against different GI helminths of livestock. Chicory SL have also been reported to exhibit antimalarial properties and its potential antiprotozoal activity in livestock remains to be evaluated. Furthermore, the detailed identification of the main antiparasitic metabolites of chicory and their pharmacokinetics need further confirmation. Research gaps and perspectives on the potential use of chicory as a nutraceutical forage and a source of bioactive compounds for parasite control in livestock are discussed