Approach to competences, human development and higher education

Tendo como fundamento a psicologia do desenvolvimento humano, apresenta-se, neste artigo, uma ampliação conceitual à compreensão de competência. Esse é um termo polissêmico, com multiplicidade de concepções epistemológicas, éticas e ideológicas que imprimem complexidade aos processos formativos, especialmente em relação à formação pessoal e profissional na educação superior. Defende-se a noção de competência ancorada na mobilização intencional de diversos recursos próprios ao desenvolvimento humano: processos psicológicos, comportamentos, conhecimentos, afetos, crenças, habilidades, escolhas éticas e estéticas, que devem ser mobilizados pelo sujeito. Apresenta-se, a partir dessa ampliação, uma categorização de competências transversais e possibilidades para sua avaliação. A reflexão pode fundamentar uma atuação crítica de psicólogos e educadores para a mediação do desenvolvimento de competências dos atores do ensino superior.Grounded on human development psychology, this paper presents a conceptual expansion of the understanding about competence. This is a polysemic construct, with a wide range of epistemological, ethical and ideological concepts that reinforce the complexity of training processes, especially in relation to personal and professional training in the context of higher education. This paper defends the notion of competence rooted in intentional mobilization of various resources inherent to human development: psychological processes, behaviors, knowledge, emotions, beliefs, aptitudes, ethical and aesthetic choices that the subject must mobilize. From this conceptual expansion, a categorization of transversal competences and possibilities of assessment are presented. Analyses can support critical actions of psychologists and educators to mediate the development of competences of higher education actors.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Northward expansion of paddy rice in northeastern Asia during 2000-2014.

Paddy rice in monsoon Asia plays an important role in global food security and climate change. Here we documented annual dynamics of paddy rice areas in the northern frontier of Asia, including Northeastern (NE) China, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan, from 2000-2014 through analysis of satellite images. The paddy rice area has increased by 120% (2.5 to 5.5 million ha) in NE China, in comparison to a decrease in South Korea and Japan, and the paddy rice centroid shifted northward from 41.16 °N to 43.70 °N (~310 km) in this period. Market, technology, policy, and climate together drove the rice expansion in NE China. The increased use of greenhouse nurseries, improved rice cultivars, agricultural subsidy policy, and a rising rice price generally promoted northward paddy rice expansion. The potential effects of large rice expansion on climate change and ecological services should be paid more attention in the future

Long-term sediment decline causes ongoing shrinkage of the Mekong megadelta, Vietnam

Since the 1990s the Mekong River delta has suffered a large decline in sediment supply causing coastal erosion, following catchment disturbance through hydropower dam construction and sand extraction. However, our new geological reconstruction of 2500-years of delta shoreline changes show that serious coastal erosion actually started much earlier. Data shows the sandy coast bounding river mouths accreted consistently at a rate of +2 to +4 km2/year. In contrast, we identified a variable accretion rate of the muddy deltaic protrusion at Camau; it was < +1 km2/year before 1400 years ago but increased drastically around 600 years ago, forming the entire Camau Peninsula. This high level of mud supply had sharply declined by the early 20th century after a vast canal network was built on the delta. Since then the Peninsula has been eroding, promoted by the conjunction of mud sequestration in the delta plain driven by expansion of rice cultivation, and hysteresis of long-term muddy sedimentation that left the protrusion exposed to wave erosion. Natural mitigation would require substantial increases in sediment supply well above the pre-1990s levels