An account of cognitive flexibility and inflexibility for a complex dynamic task

Problem solving involves adapting known problem solving methods and strategies to the task at hand (Schunn & Reder, 2001) and cognitive flexibility is considered to be “the human ability to adapt the cognitive processing strategies to face new and unexpected conditions of the environment” (Cañas et al., 2005, p. 95). This work presents an ACT-R 6.0 model of complex problem solving behavior for the dynamic microworld game FireChief (Omodei & Wearing, 1995) that models the performance of participants predisposed to behave either more or less flexibly based on the nature of previous training on the task (Cañas et al., 2005). The model exhibits a greater or lesser degree of cognitive inflexibility in problem solving strategy choice reflecting variations in task training. The model provides an explanation of dynamic task performance compatible with the Competing Strategies paradigm (Taatgen et al., 2006) by creating a second layer of strategy competition that renders it more flexible with respect to strategy learning, and provides an explanation of cognitive inflexibility based on reward mechanism

Contextualización de las condiciones para una propuesta de etnodesarrollo en San Basilio de Palenque

El trabajo de investigación Contextualización de las condiciones para una propuesta de etnodesarrollo en San Basilio de Palenque fue realizado en el espacio territorial palenquero e incluyó la participación de representantes de la diáspora en la ciudad de Cartagena. El estudio se propuso precisar requisitos para la concreción de una propuesta de desarrollo con identidad para la comunidad afrodescendiente; en este sentido planteo como objetivos, el análisis de las dinámicas culturales, económicas, territoriales ambientales, políticas y económicas de población, así como también establecer aproximaciones a las opciones de desarrollo viables, y finalmente, proponer las condiciones políticas, jurídicas y de organización social que podrían considerarse como opción propia de futuro pertinente para la comunidad. Teóricamente, se tuvo en cuenta los planteamientos de Bonfil (1995) sobre el etnodesarrollo y los requisitos que demanda esta apuesta; de igual manera se asumieron los aportes del Proceso Nacional de Comunidades Negras (PCN) con respecto a la consolidación de una opción propia de futuro para las comunidades afrodescendientes teniendo en cuenta derechos relacionados con la identidad cultural, el territorio, y la autonomía comunitaria. En términos metodológicos se hizo uso de la entrevista, los conversatorios y la revisión documental herramientas que permitieron acceder a la información, así como también el método de la consulta colectiva. Como resultados se exponen los requerimientos para una opción propia de futuro para el espacio cultural palenquero considerando recursos con incidencia en el desarrollo propio, las posibilidades estratégicas y el marco normativo que garantizaría el deseo de progreso de la comunidad afrodescendiente.Incluye referencias bibliográficas (páginas 134 - 142) y anexo

Communicative competence within the proyecto de cursos libres de idiomas extranjeros at Universidad del Atlántico

The development of the Communicative Competence is currently a crucial factor. Any study centered on the specificity of the development of Communicative Competence framed by its social context: the classroom, mediated by the teacher and the material will surely bring fruitful insights to the understanding and operationalization of such theoretical construct and its application in the field of Language Teaching. The research reported here aimed at describing how the materials and the methodology implemented by a third level teacher at the Cursos Libres de Idiomas Extranjeros (CLLE) at Universidad Del Atlántico contributed to the development of the students’ Communicative Competence. An in-depth understanding of what went on in a particular classroom, in terms of the development of communicative competence during the development of one complete unit, was analyzed. For the present study, qualitative approach was chosen. Communicative competence, the focus of this study, is a construct which is not measurable. In order to approach it, it needs to be observed, analyzed and described. This research did not intend to establish direct cause effect relation in order to make generalizations, but rather to examine how in a particular case the teaching and the materials influenced the development of communicative competence in a specific group of students. Consequently, for the present study, ethnography and case study was combined in an ethnographic case study. In order to carry out the case study, techniques proper of ethnography were employed, such as observation, interview, field notes and document analysis.MaestríaMagister en la Enseñanza del Ingle

Cognitive modelling of complex problem solving behaviour

In the universe of problems humans face every day there is subset characterized by a salient dynamic component. The FireChief task (Omodei & Wearing 1995) is a fire-fighting computer simulation that can be characterized as the acquisition of interactive skills involving fast-paced actions cued by external information. This research describes the process followed to create a cognitive model of this complex dynamic task where full experimental control is not available. The cognitive model provides a detailed description of how cognition and perception interplay to produce the interactive skill of fighting the fire. Several artefacts were produced by this effort including a dynamic task fully compatible with ACT-R, a tool for analysing the data, and a cognitive model whose features enable the replication of several aspects of the empirical data. A key finding is that good performance is linked to an effective combination of strategic control with attention to changing task demands, reflecting time and care taken in informing and effecting action. The contributions of this work towards our understanding of complex problem solving are the methodological approach to the creation of the model, the design patterns embedded in the model (which are a reflection of the cognitive demands imposed by the nature of the task) and mainly an explanation of how skill, described in terms of strategy use, is acquired in complex scenarios. This study also provides a deeper understanding of the interactions observed in the Cañas et al. (2005) dataset, including a computational realisation of how cognitive inflexibility occurs

Roma ante la revolución : rápida ojeada sobre el pasado y el porvenir de la Iglesia Católica

Copia digital. Valladolid : Junta de Castilla y León. Consejería de Cultura y Turismo, 2009-201

Reflexiones en torno a la actividad acuática en educación infantil

Ante la proliferación de programas de «natación» para niños cada vez más pequeños, así como de otras muchas actividades más o menos sofisticadas para este mismo colectivo, bajo la premisa de «estimulación precoz», este trabajo reflexiona sobre los planteamientos teóricos que sustentan los programas de intervención en el medio acuático. Dentro del marco general del desarrollo motor del individuo, se propone considerar la actividad motriz realizada en el medio acuático como una experiencia diferente que contribuya a enriquecer el bagaje de conductas motrices que el niño va adquiriendo de forma aparentemente espontánea a lo largo de sus primeros años de vida. Sin llegar a conclusiones definitivas se señalan las líneas de intervención para favorecer lo que podríamos denominar el desarrollo de las habilidades motrices básicas acuáticas

Plastic Responses to Temperature Versus Local Adaptation at the Cold Extreme of the Climate Gradient

Climate is a strong selection agent at high elevations, but experimental examinations of how animals exclusive of highlands cope with its variation are scarce. We analysed temperature-induced variation of early ontogenetic traits in the alpine grasshopper Chorthippus cazurroi, and compared populations from the elevational extremes of the species distribution under laboratory conditions spanning natural temperature ranges. Neither elevation of origin, nor different growing temperatures, had a direct effect on nymph body size, but both factors contributed to size at hatching indirectly, via their effect on the duration of embryo development. Large emerging nymphs had a consistently greater survival, although small and fast-developing nymphs from highlands also performed well at low temperatures. Viability selection favoured fast-developing phenotypes in conditions in which plasticity delayed development, in a typical countergradient pattern. Growth in the successive stage did not compensate for slow development at hatching, thus responses at this early stage have potential long-lasting consequences. Although phenotypic selection during early development certifies the strength of selection imposed by cold temperatures in the laboratory, elevation clines of body size did not emerge in either nymphs or the wild parental generation. Differentiation in the wild may be levelled out by fecundity selection for large sizes, drift and gene flow resulting from the fragmentation and proximity of populations, or by micro-climatic differences that reduce the likelihood of directional selection. There is therefore potential for local adaptation to temperature, but a series of conditions typical of alpine environments and ectotherms may impair, confound or constrain full differentiation along the gradient.We are grateful to M. Martini and A. Segura for their help during grasshopper rearing and to J. Moya for borrowing us HOBO sensors. We also thank Picos de Europa National Park for the permissions to capture adult grasshoppers in the study area, S. Young for editing the English, and two anonymous referees for providing useful comments on a former version of the manuscript. Funding for this study was provided by the British Ecological Society (Grant N. 4278/5250) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CGL2011-28177, CGL2014-53899-P).Peer reviewe