Towards a new model of management and self-funding to regenerate obsolete neighborhoods

El artículo aborda el problema de la financiación en la regeneración integral de barriadas. Tras el análisis de fórmulas ya ensayadas de gestión y financiación, se propone las directrices para un nuevo modelo basado en el cooperativismo. El potencial económico de una actuación colectiva activa y unitaria, precisa un modelo de economía social basado en la prestación de servicios como base de la habitabilidad y el mantenimiento como objetivo para reducir los ciclos de obsolescencia. Esto articula un mecanismo a largo plazo que trascienda la rehabilitación y garantice la adaptación progresiva a los nuevos estándares de habitabilidad.The article addresses the problem of financing of the integral regeneration of neighborhoods. After the analysis of already tested models of management and financing, guidelines for a new model based on cooperativism are proposed. The economic potential of an active and unitary collective action requires a social economy model based on the provision of services as a basis for habitability and maintenance as an objective to reduce cycles of obsolescence. This articulates a long-term mechanism that transcends the single action of rehabilitation and ensures a progressive adaptation to new standards of habitability

Between historic sites and new tourist destinations: the development of the first periphery in medium-sized andalusian coastal cities (1950-1980)

This study aims to analyze the urbangrowth experienced in the third quarter of the 20th century in medium-sized cities (1950-1980). These cities can be considered as relevant referents in their countries, although their population is lower than in regional centres (over 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants). Furthermore, they have been recently recognized as an opportunity to promote more sustainable territorial strategies. Nevertheless, there are still gaps in many fields. The so-called first urban periphery was built in response to urging quantitative needs of the European existing housing. This was at the end of the mid-century wars, due to massive migration from the countryside to the cities in the whole continent. Sharing many of the morphological and pathological features with their equivalents, Spanish cities would have introduced certain peculiarities in their development because of the socio-political context marked by strong state control. This general framework of housing was completed with the implementation of some policies developed in the 1960s. Tourism was used as one of the growth engines of Spain’s economy. Within this context, this research takes the Andalusian coast as a geographical framework and it intends to identify two different processes that have determined the urban development of these cities. On one hand, there are urban areas that have experienced a progressive demographic growth and have remained within the population range that defines a medium-sized city during this time. On the other hand, many towns have undergone anexponential evolution, moving from the features assimilated to rural settlements, to qualities of a medium-size city. In the final analysis, the purpose of this paper is to examine how historic sites have responded to this duality, as well as to determineif their protection has been decisive in the type of development that they have experienced.Research Plan of the University of Sevill

Analysis of Phenotypic and Genotypic Susceptibility to Clarithromycin and Amikacin of Mycobacterium abscessus Complex Strains Isolated from Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Mycobacterium; Amikacin; ClarithromycinMicobacteria; Amikacina; ClaritromicinaMicobacteri; Amikacina; ClaritromicinaMycobacterium abscessus complex infections are ever on the rise. To curb their increasing evolution, we performed an in-depth study of 43 clinical isolates of cystic fibrosis patients obtained from 2009 to 2020. We identified their subspecies, uncovered their genotypic resistance profiles, characterised their antibiotic-resistant genes, and assessed their phenotypic antibiotic susceptibilities. The phenotypic and genotypic methods showed total agreement in terms of resistance to clarithromycin and amikacin. Of the 43 clinical strains, 28 belonged to M. abscessus subsp. abscessus (65.1%), 13 to M. abscessus subsp. massiliense (30.2%), and 2 to M. abscessus subsp. bolletii (4.6%). The resistant rates for clarithromycin and amikacin, the two main drugs against M. abscessus complex pulmonary infections, were 64.2% and 14.2%, respectively. We found three strains of M. abscessus subsp. abscessus that showed heteroresistance in the rrl and rrs genes, and these strains also presented double-resistance since they were macrolide- and aminoglycoside-resistant. M. abscessus subsp. abscessus showed a high minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and a resistant percentage larger than or equal to 88% to cefoxitin, ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin, doxycycline, imipenem, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. These results show a panorama of the high resistance of Mycobacterium abscessus complex to current drugs for cystic fibrosis patients. Thus, other treatment methods are urgently needed.This research received funding from the Fundació Hospital Universitari Vall Hebron—Institut de Recerca

Mass housing neighbourhoods in medium sized andalusian cities: between historic city centres and new peripheral developments

This paper aims to analyse the evolution experienced by the neighbourhoods that comprise the so-called first periphery. Most of them have been thoroughly studied, has led to recognize theirs values and to be included in the catalogues of heritage protection of their respective cities. However, this research shows that is pending an in-depth analysis in cities of intermediate scale. Its significance lies not only in the fact that they are the most significant operations of architecture of the modern movement in their respective cities, but are especially noteworthy the values derived from its strategic location within the urban structure of these intermediate scale cities. Being near to city centre, they have been constituted as transition pieces between historic sites, new peripheral developments, and even, their nearest territory. As method, this research proposes a comparative analysis of traceability among different study cases, from medium-sized cities of the Andalusian Coast (Spain). In this context, it means recording the evolution that these promotions have been experienced since their first designs until their current situation. It attempts to find the characteristics that have resulted in the urban configuration of this periphery and to recognize the sum of all the cultural, economic, social and technological aspects that conditions the ways of life that today are detected in them. Definitely, the knowledge generated by this research allows extracting architectural and urban values of these examples, which justify its necessary dissemination as part of our legacy

Metodologías activas y TIC para prevenir el acoso escolar. Principales antecedentes de estudio y contribuciones

Bullying is a widespread problem that has caused great social alarm in recent years because of its serious effects on children. In the educational context it is one of the most common expressions of peer violence along with cyber-bullying. The aim of this research has been to analyse the scientific production about the prevention of school bullying through active methodologies and the use of ICTs in formal educational contexts. This study derives from a research project financed through the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FPU18/00676) and is the result of a bibliometric study, in which various current articles have been analysed through the application of different indicators. The results show that scientific productivity on this subject has proliferated in recent years, which gives a glimpse of the relevance given to these issues in the scientific community. Among the conclusions of this work, the advantages of the use of gamification and the use of digital applications such as Kahoot or digital comics, which allow students to simulate experiences that would occur in the real world in order to develop new skills, critical self-reflection and greater awareness of the problem, should be highlighted. In the same way, it is essential that teachers, through the use of these teaching strategies, promote the students' protagonism, their expectations towards learning, as well as the prevention of bullying behaviour among peers.El acoso escolar es un problema generalizado que ha originado gran alarma social en los últimos años debido a los graves efectos que causa en los niños. En el contexto educativo es una de las expresiones más comunes de la violencia entre compañeros junto con el ciberacoso. El objetivo de esta investigación ha sido analizar la producción científica sobre la prevención del acoso escolar a través de metodologías activas y el uso de las TIC en contextos educativos formales. Este trabajo deriva de un proyecto de investigación financiado a través del Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (FPU18/00676) y es el resultado de un estudio bibliométrico, en el que se han analizado diversos artículos de actualidad mediante la aplicación de diferentes indicadores. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto que la productividad científica sobre esta temática ha proliferado en los últimos años, lo que permite entrever la relevancia concedida a estas cuestiones en la comunidad científica. Entre las conclusiones de este trabajo cabe destacar las ventajas del uso de la gamificación y la utilización de aplicaciones digitales tipo Kahoot o de elaboración de cómics digitales, que permitan a los estudiantes poder simular experiencias que se producirían en el mundo real con el fin de desarrollar nuevas capacidades, autorreflexión crítica y una mayor concienciación del problema. De la misma forma, que resulta imprescindible que los docentes a través de la utilización de estas estrategias didácticas promuevan el protagonismo del alumnado, sus expectativas hacia el aprendizaje, así como la prevención de conductas de intimidación

Hybrid power-heat microgrid solution using hydrogen as an energy vector for residential houses in Spain. A case study

In order to favor a transition to a renewable energy economy, it is necessary to study the possible permeation of renewable energy sources not only in the electric grid or industrial scale, but also in the small householding scale. One of the most interesting technologies available for this purpose is solar energy, since it is a mature technology that can be easily installed in every rooftop. Thus, a techno-economic assessment was carried out to evaluate the installation of a solar-based power-heat hybrid microgrid considering the use of hydrogen as an energy vector in a typical residential house in Spain. Lead-acid batteries plus the photovoltaic and solar thermal energy installation are complemented with a hydrogen system composed of an electrolyzer, two metal hydride bottles, and a fuel cell. A simulation tool has been generated using experimental models developed and validated with real equipment for each one of the electric microgrid component. Three operating modes were tested making use of this tool to better manage the energy consumed/produced and optimize the economic output of the facility. The results show that setting up a hydrogen-based microgrid in a residential house is unviable today, mainly due to the high cost of hydrogen generation and consumption equipment. If only solar energy is considered, the microgrid inversion (12.500 €) is recovered in ten years. On the other hand, selling the electricity output has almost no repercussions considering current electrical rates in Spain. Finally, while using an optimization algorithm to manage energy use, battery life-spam, and economic benefit slightly increase. However, this profit may not be enough to justify the use of a more complex control system. The results of this research will help users, renewable energy companies, investigators, and policymakers to better understand the different factors influencing the spread of renewable smart grids in households and propose solutions to address these.Junta de Andalucía - Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidad PY18-RE-002

Usabilidad y Accesibilidad web. Auditoría a FeelSafe.at

En el presente documento abordamos el estudio de la accesibilidad y usabilidad web. En primer lugar, presentamos un marco teórico; definimos dichos conceptos, analizamos sus implicaciones y revisamos la legislación y normativa al respecto. A continuación, se procede al análisis de la accesibilidad y la usabilidad en un caso práctico. En concreto, se explica el concepto y componentes principales de accesibilidad, se presenta la Iniciativa de Accesibilidad Web (WAI), que promueve su aplicación, y se describen las pautas creadas por esta iniciativa para crear un sitio accesible (WCAG), atendiendo a la regulación a la que está sujeta en la Unión Europea y en España. Asimismo, se describen las tres herramientas principales para el análisis automático de una página web en términos de accesibilidad (TAW, HERA y Examinator). También se describen los componentes principales de la usabilidad, desde el punto de vista de Jakob Nielsen (2012), referencia imprescindible en el estudio de esta materia. Con el objetivo de presentar una aplicación práctica de todos los contenidos mencionados anteriormente, se lleva a cabo una detalla auditoría del sitio web feelsafe.at. Esta auditoría está dividida en dos partes: una auditoría de accesibilidad y otra de usabilidad. En primer lugar, se analiza la accesibilidad del sitio web de forma automática, con la herramienta TAW, y, a continuación, de forma manual, con el soporte de herramientas adicionales como checkmycolours.com. Se describen las deficiencias y se hace una propuesta de mejora. En segundo lugar, se presenta de forma detallada, el análisis manual de la usabilidad y, al igual que en el apartado anterior, se presentan los problemas encontrados y la solución a los mismos. Para finalizar el estudio, presentamos las conclusiones obtenidas como resultado del trabajo realizado

Stability and Thermal Properties Study of Metal Chalcogenide-Based Nanofluids for Concentrating Solar Power

Nanofluids are colloidal suspensions of nanomaterials in a fluid which exhibit enhanced thermophysical properties compared to conventional fluids. The addition of nanomaterials to a fluid can increase the thermal conductivity, isobaric-specific heat, diffusivity, and the convective heat transfer coefficient of the original fluid. For this reason, nanofluids have been studied over the last decades in many fields such as biomedicine, industrial cooling, nuclear reactors, and also in solar thermal applications. In this paper, we report the preparation and characterization of nanofluids based on one-dimensional MoS2 and WS2 nanosheets to improve the thermal properties of the heat transfer fluid currently used in concentrating solar plants (CSP). A comparative study of both types of nanofluids was performed for explaining the influence of nanostructure morphologies on nanofluid stability and thermal properties. The nanofluids prepared in this work present a high stability over time and thermal conductivity enhancements of up to 46% for MoS2-based nanofluid and up to 35% for WS2-based nanofluid. These results led to an increase in the efficiency of the solar collectors of 21.3% and 16.8% when the nanofluids based on MoS2 nanowires or WS2 nanosheets were used instead of the typical thermal oil

Higher Education Students’ Assessments towards Gamification and Sustainability: A Case Study

: Some academics are pushing for teaching staff to implement didactical practices to obtain sustainable behavior. Moreover, a fundamental element of gamification in all educational stages is the noteworthy effect it has on student motivation. In our study, we examined higher education students’ assessments in the University of Malaga on the design of educational gamification and the teaching criteria that relate to gamification, and its effect on student’s motivation, the applications of gamification, and the attitude towards sustainability. A questionnaire was administered to students studying for degrees in education from the University of Malaga. A total of 187 valid surveys were obtained. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was computed for these data based on an exploratory–confirmatory model and using SmartPLS version 3.3.2. A positive relationship between assessment of students’ motivation and sustainability attitude was found. We found that the opinions of the students about the role of their training and teaching design material in education would affect students’ motivation and the sustainability behavior, although the power of this last construct is moderate