Information Policies in Spain: Towards the New “Information Society”

The concept of a society based on information and knowledge is becoming the norm in every country, including Spain. The need to have well-designed information policies that allow us to come to terms with the new upsurge of media, technology and services that has taken place in our society is discussed first. Information policies required by these changes in society have been implemented in Spain and are described in relation to the new challenges of the “Society of Knowledge.” Similarly, the background and past efforts made in the field of information policy in Spain are analysed, along with the latest government projects that comprise an attempt to get this country to form part of the “Information Society” with the help of the supra-national information policy of the European Union

Do Seabirds Control Wind Drift during Their Migration across the Strait of Gibraltar? A Study Using Remote Tracking by Radar

This study presents data on the directional flying behaviour of the five most abundant seabird species migrating across the Strait of Gibraltar in relation to the wind, as observed from the north coast, based on radar tracking, and identified to species level by visual observations. A total of 318 seabird trajectories were analysed, illustrating the expected east-west or west-east movements in spring and autumn. We hypothesised that the seabirds that cross the Strait channel during their migrations would behave differently with respect to compensation for wind direction, depending on their flight styles, the migratory period, and the prevailing winds. In this regard, our results showed that flapping birds (Razorbill, Puffin, Northern Gannet, and Balearic shearwater) compensated for wind drift independently of the season and the predominant wind direction. This agrees with the theory that suggests that under moderate winds and whenever visual contact with the coastline is present (as in the case of our study), migrants should compensate for wind drift to avoid being drifted towards the coast, off their main direction of flight. However, Cory's shearwater, an active gliding seabird with long, slender wings, showed an adaptive directional response to wind, allowing it to be drifted in spring when westerly tailwinds were prevalent, but compensated for wind in autumn, when both easterly and westerly winds were similarly frequent. This adaptive flight behaviour allows it to take advantage of the prevailing tailwinds in spring, gaining ground speed and saving energy during its passage through the Strait, while in autumn, more frequent headwind conditions and a more directional migration to the south may favour compensating for wind drift. Our results support the usefulness of bird radar as a remote tool for describing the pattern of animal movements in the marine environment, as well as their behavioural response to atmospheric conditions. These studies are particularly relevant in the current framework of climate change

The need of information policies in face of the new globalized society. The spanish case

Ante el reto de la globalización de la economía y de la información, el presente artículo aborda la necesidad de contar con políticas de información sólidas que permitan asumir la convergencia de medios, tecnologías y servicios que ha tenido lugar en la incipiente Sociedad de la Información. Para ello se toma como punto de referencia el caso español, analizando los antecedentes y tentativas en materia de políticas de información en España, así como los últimos proyectos gubernamentales que tratan de sumar a este país a la Sociedad del Conocimiento.Because of the Economy and Information globalization challenge, this article undertake the necessity of solid information policies that allows assume the convergence of media, technology and services which have appeared through the incipient Information Society. It is took as reference point the Spanish case, we analyse the antecedents and initiatives on information policies matter in Spain, as well as the last government projects trying add this country to the Knowledge Society

Study on the use of metadata for digital learning objects in university institutional repositories (MODERI)

Metadata is a core issue for the creation of repositories. Different institutional repositories have chosen and use different metadata models, elements and values for describing the range of digital objects they store. Thus, this paper analyzes the current use of metadata describing those Learning Objects that some open higher educational institutions' repositories include in their collections. The goal of this work is to identify and analyze the different metadata models being used to describe educational features of those specific digital educational objects (such as audience, type of educational object, learning objectives, etc.). Also discussed is the concept and typology of Learning Objects (LO) through their use in University Repositories. We will also examine the usefulness of specifically describing those learning objects, setting them apart from other kind of documents included in the repository, mainly scholarly publications and research results of the Higher Education institution.En prens

Biodiesel production from olive-pomace oil of steam-treated alperujo

Recently interest has been revived in the use of plant-derived waste oils as renewable replacements for fossil diesel fuel. Olive–pomace oil (OPO) extracted from alperujo (by-product of processed olives for olive oil extraction), and produced it in considerable quantities throughout the Mediterranean countries, can be used for biodiesel production. A steam treatment of alperujo is being implemented in OPO extraction industry. This steam treatment improves the solid–liquid separation by centrifugation and facilitates the drying for further extraction of OPO. It has been verified that the steam treatment of this by-product also increases the concentration of OPO in the resulting treated solid, a key factor from an economic point of view. In the present work, crude OPO from steam-treated alperujo was found to be good source for producing biodiesel. Oil enrichment, acidity, biodiesel yield and fatty acid methyl ester composition were evaluated and compared with the results of the untreated samples. Yields and some general physicochemical properties of the quality of biodiesel were also compared to those obtained with other oils commonly used in biodiesel production. As for biodiesel yield no differences were observed. A transesterification process which included two steps was used (acid esterification followed by alkali transesterification). The maximum biodiesel yield was obtained using molar ratio methanol/triglycerides 6:1 in presence of sodium hydroxide at a concentration of 1% (w/w), reaction temperature 60 °C and reaction time 80 min. Under these conditions the process gave yields of about 95%, of the same order as other feedstock using similar production conditions.Junta de Andalucía (P06-AGR- 01906)Dr. Guillermo Rodríguez is grateful to the JAE-Doc Programme (CSIC) co-funded by European Social Fund (Operational Programme ESF 2007-2013

Bienes muebles de las capillas hospitalarias en los territorios de la Orden de Santiago en Extremadura

Estudio de los ornamentos y elementos litúrgicos de las capillas hospitalarias pertenecientes a la Orden de Santiago en tierras extremeñas.Study of the ornaments and liturgical elements of the hospital chapels belonging to the Order of Santiago in Extremadura.peerReviewe

Bienes muebles de las capillas hospitalarias en los territorios de la Orden de Santiago en Extremadura

Estudio de los ornamentos y elementos litúrgicos de las capillas hospitalarias pertenecientes a la Orden de Santiago en tierras extremeñas.Study of the ornaments and liturgical elements of the hospital chapels belonging to the Order of Santiago in Extremadura.peerReviewe

Participación y dinámica socio-política de género en los municipios españoles

En esta ponencia se presentan algunos resultados del proyecto “Género, Participación y Sistemas Locales de Bienestar” financiado por el Instituto de la Mujer en convocatoria pública, dentro del Plan Nacional de I+D+I (2006).Más concretamente, nos centraremos en el análisis comparado de casos llevado a cabo entre asociaciones de mujeres y una muestra representativa del resto de asociaciones en 5 municipios españoles. A través de los resultados de una encuesta realizada a las asociaciones y de entrevistas en profundidad a representantes y responsables locales, se analiza el papel del movimiento de mujeres en los sistemas locales de bienestar, y en particular el de las organizaciones de mujeres en la canalización de la demanda de servicios con dimensión de género