Video games and Intellectual Disabilities: a literature review.

Los videojuegos son omnipresentes en la sociedad y esta tecnología ha trascendido su lado lúdico inicial para convertirse también en una herramienta educativa y de entrenamiento cognitivo. En este sentido, diferentes estudios han demostrado que los jugadores expertos obtener ventajas en diversos procesos cognitivos respecto a no-jugadores y jugar con juegos de video puede resultar en especial los beneficios que en algunos casos podría generalizarse a otras tareas. En consecuencia, los juegos de video podría ser utilizado como una herramienta de formación para mejorar las capacidades cognitivas en poblaciones atípicas, como las relativas a las personas con discapacidad intelectual (DI). Sin embargo, la literatura sobre los videojuegos en personas con ID es escasa. En este trabajo se ejecutó una revisión narrativa de los estudios sobre el uso de los videojuegos en relación a las personas con ID.Video games are ubiquitous in the society and this technology has transcended its initial playful side to become also an educational and cognitive training tool. In this sense, different studies have shown that expert game players gain advantages in various cognitive processes respect to non-players and that playing with video games can result in particular profits that in some cases could be generalized to other tasks. Accordingly, video games could be used as a training tool in order to improve cognitive abilities in atypical populations, such as relating to individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, literature concerning video games in people with ID is sparse. In this paper we executed a narrative review of the studies about the use of video games in relation to people with ID.• Fundación Valhondo Calaff (Cáceres), para Marta Rodríguez Jiménez • Università di Padova. Beca CPDA 127939, para Silvia LanfranchipeerReviewe

Ultra-trace Cu isotope ratio measurements via multi-collector ICP-mass spectrometry using Ga as internal standard : an approach applicable to micro-samples

The capabilities of Cu isotope ratio measurements are often restricted by the small volumes of sample available and/or their low Cu concentration. In this work, an analytical approach was developed for performing Cu isotopic analysis via multi-collector ICP-mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) at ultra-trace level using Ga as an internal standard for mass bias correction. The minimum concentration of Cu required for accurate and precise isotope ratio measurements was established to be 20 mu g L-1 with wet plasma conditions and 5 mu g L-1 with dry plasma conditions. The use of Ga as an internal standard for mass bias correction provided several advantages compared to Ni, i.e. improved internal precision on delta Cu-65 values and lower blank levels. Ga can also be used at a 4- fold lower concentration level than Ni. However, in wet plasma conditions, the signals of (ArO2H+)-Ar-36-O-16-H-1 and (ArNO+)-Ar-40-N-15-O-16 interfered with the signals of Ga-69(+) and Ga-71(+), respectively, while in dry plasma conditions, realized by the use of a desolvation unit, Ga-69(+) suffered from spectral interference from (ArN2H+)-Ar-40-N-14-H-1. These interferences were resolved by using medium mass resolution. For validation purposes, the approach was applied to commercially available blood and serum samples. The delta Cu-65 values for the samples measured at a concentration level of 5 mu g L-1 Cu and 5 mu g L-1 Ga using dry plasma conditions were in good agreement with those obtained for isotope ratio measurements at the "standard" concentration level of 200 mu g L-1 Cu and 200 mu g L-1 Ni using wet plasma conditions. In addition, the delta Cu-65 values obtained for micro-samples of serum/blood (volume of 100 mu L) were in good agreement with the corresponding ones obtained using the "standard" volume for isotopic analysis (500 mu L)

Environmental Sustainability and the Hospitality Customer Experience: A Study in Tourist Accommodation

Academic research on sustainability in the hospitality industry is scarce and fragmented, and requires a general structure to lend coherence to its approach. There is a need for empirical research to fathom the question of environmental sustainability and customer experience in the hospitality industry and to study the interaction between the two concepts. This paper aims to close these gaps by establishing the nature of the relationship between customers’ perceptions of the environmental practices in tourism accommodation and their customer experiences and levels of satisfaction. The working hypotheses, based on a review of the literature on environmental sustainability and customer experience in the hospitality industry, are tested in an empirical study of 412 Spanish customers who stayed in various types of tourist accommodation. The main conclusion is that the relationship between environmental sustainability and customer experience in the hospitality industry can be demonstrated. This paper also validates a measurement scale based on the most accepted dimensionality of the construct: cognitive (think), affective (feel), behavioral (act), sensory (sense) and social (relate)

Processing advantage for emotional words in bilingual speakers

Effects of emotion on word processing are well established in monolingual speakers. However, studies that have assessed whether affective features of words undergo the same processing in a native and non-native language have provided mixed results: studies that have found differences between L1 and L2 processing, attributed it to the fact that a second language (L2) learned late in life would not be processed affectively, because affective associations are established during childhood. Other studies suggest that adult learners show similar effects of emotional features in L1 and L2. Differences in affective processing of L2 words can be linked to age and context of learning, proficiency, language dominance, and degree of similarity between the L2 and the L1. Here, in a lexical decision task on tightly matched negative, positive and neutral words, highly proficient English speakers from typologically different L1 showed the same facilitation in processing emotionally valenced words as native English speakers, regardless of their L1, the age of English acquisition or the frequency and context of English use

How long can austerity persist? The factors that sustain fiscal consolidations

To put public debt on a sustainable path, many governments face the task of enacting large fiscal consolidation followed by years of sustained primary surpluses. By estimating hazard functions for the duration of consolidations, we analyse the features of past consolidation efforts across a panel of advanced economies. Our contribution is to identify the factors that help to start and sustain consolidations, separately discussing governments’ “commitment†to the cause as well as their “capacity†for action. Our analysis suggests that longer consolidations are initiated when public debt is high, fiscal deficits are large, the interest burden heavy and long-term sovereign bond yields elevated. However, we also find that a countries’ “capacity†to change course is important. Higher initial private sector savings, a stronger external balance, a competitive position and stable financial conditions appear to provide more scope for governments to sustain longer-lasting consolidations. Once we have controlled for the initial macroeconomic conditions, there is a lesser role for governments’ commitment as reflected in factors such as the composition and the pace of the fiscal adjustment or the political cycle in explaining the duration of consolidation. However, commitment to permanent, rather than temporary, fiscal adjustment is key

A PCR-based method for discriminating between high molecular weight glutenin subunits Bx7 and Bx7* in Triticum aestivum L

The correct assignment of high molecular weight glutenin subunit variants is a key task in wheat breeding. However, the traditional analysis by protein electrophoresis is sometimes difficult and not very precise. This work describes a novel DNA marker for the accurate discrimination between the Glu-B1 locus subunits Bx7 and Bx7*. The analysis of one hundred and forty two bread wheat cultivars from different countries has highlighted a great number of misclassifications in the literature that could lead to wrong conclusions in studies of the relationship between glutenin composition and wheat quality

European Coexistence Bureau (ECoB) - Best Practice Document for Coexistence of Genetically Modified Crops with Conventional and Organic Farming. 1. Maize Crop Production

The European Coexistence Bureau (ECoB) was created in 2008 by DG AGRI and the JRC to implement the Agriculture Council conclusions of 22 May 2006 in which the Council invited the Commission to engage in works related to coexistence in close cooperation with Member States and stakeholders. Among others the Council invited the Commission to identify the best practices for technical segregation measures and to develop crop-specific guidelines for coexistence regulations while leaving Member States necessary flexibility to adapt the recommendations to their specific climatic and agricultural conditions. ECoB, located in the premises of JRC Institute of Prospective Technological Sciences, consists of Secretariat (formed by permanent JRC staff and seconded national experts) and crop-specific technical working groups consisting of technical experts nominated by interested Member States (currently only one, dealing with maize crop production). The management practices for maize crop production proposed in this Best Practice Document (BPD) are a result of a consensus building process which started in October 2008. The ECoB Secretariat is responsible for collection of inputs from and exchange of information between them, analysis of the collected data and preparation of drafts of the Best Practice Document for consultation. ECoB Secretariat proposes compromise solutions on controversial issues, if necessary. This Best Practice Document was adopted by consensus within the EcoB in May 2010.JRC.DDG.J.5-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Reflexividad en torno a las tensiones y los conflictos generados en la interfase del campo de la militancia afro con el campo académico

Fil: Maffia, Marta Mercedes. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Pablo Gustavo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentin

Anglo-Saxon verbs of sounds: Semantic architecture, lexical representation and constructions

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the semantic structure of Anglo-Saxon verbs of sound from the point of view of the Lexical Grammar Model (LGM). Firstly, a description of the theoretical foundations of the LGM for the analysis of lexical structures and the specific methodological principles developed for historical vocabularies will be provided. Secondly, the semantic architecture of the verbal domain of Old English sound predicates will be offered. Thirdly, the system of lexical decomposition proposed by the LGM and its application to the lexical class under study will be explained. This system has the format of a lexical template which will be fundamental to understand the linking algorithm that mediates between the semantic representation of sound predicates and their morpho-syntactic realizations. This linking process has two phases: the first one will bind the lexical template of verbs of sound with the representation of the constructions and alternations where these predicates appear whereas the second interface will account for their grammatical behaviour