Social media: a distraction or an educational tool?

[Abstract:] This research is a promising starting point for teaching in the university environment and, more specifically, for students in the first year of studies with a high level of difficulty. It has been shown that social networks combined with other collaborative learning techniques can serve as an incentive and a focus of attraction for newly arrived students, even decreasing the stress that some of them experience with the change linked to university access. The authors want to continue applying and improving this technique in successive years, in more topics and subjects, to confirm its goodness and its influence on the success rate of the students. In this way, it will be possible to verify whether the outcomes obtained were the result of chance or whether they were conditioned by the limitations of the analysis, for example the low number of participating students and the situation of confinement of the population. In principle, the authors think that, on the contrary, the great acceptance of the initiative even under these circumstances is a sign of its potential. In this sense, it must be taken into account the difficult and novel situation experienced by the students, who had to adapt to a new online teaching mode from one day to the next and who could therefore have considered this activity as an additional overload. In any case, this assumption must be verified. Undoubtedly, the greatest limitation of this research lies in its gender perspective, as the percentage of female participants is clearly unrepresentative of the global university students. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this fact is often a reality in most STEAM careers (NASEM, 2020, p.38), where men are still a majority

Factors influencing the choice of a university degree: the case of recreation, parks and tourism administration studies

The aim of this research is to analyze students´ expectations that have an influence on choosing Leisure and Recreation as an academic major. According to the analysis of this research on the reasons for choosing Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration studies at a university in the United States, the conclusions reached show that among multiple factors, the expectations of having collaborative and situated learning experiences are one of the main reasons for choosing these studies, as well as the job opportunities that this degree offers. The results of this research evidence the high degree of emotionality affecting this decision. The conclusions of this study may be useful for designing Leisure and Recreation curriculums

Earnings Inequality, Unemployment and Income Distribution in the OECD

This paper will try to elucidate to what degree disposable income distribution in some OECD countries has been affected by the labor market changes described using data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). Three questions require a detailed analysis. Firstly, how has income distribution evolved in the countries under study? The first section describes the inequality trends derived from the best micro-data available on disposable income to carry out international comparisons from the LIS database. Secondly, what effects have the changes in earnings inequality had on the above trends? The links between earnings inequality as well as primary income inequality (which includes income from work and capital) and disposable income distribution must be examined to answer this question. And lastly, what has been the distributive impact of unemployment with regard to greater inequality and/or higher poverty levels? Aspects such as social security coverage rates and how unemployment affects households are relevant factors for understanding the effects of such a phenomenon in the various countries considered

Inequality, Growth and Welfare: An International Comparison

This study offers will try to present some empirical evidence in an attempt to improve our understanding of welfare. After reviewing the empirical criteria used to measure welfare in comparative contexts and explaining our methodology (section 2), section 3 deals with major trends in some OECD countries. In section 4, the effects on welfare of the distribution of economic growth by income levels are analyzed using real income changes at three different points of the distribution scale. A cross-national comparison of the absolute income levels of the low, median and high-income households in every country is carried out in section 5. Finally, in the last part of the paper, our attention is focused on a synthetic measure of welfare based on the notion of combining average income and inequality in some kind of two-dimensional welfare index

Aplicación de un protocolo de diagnóstico de hipertrófia benigna de próstata en atención primaria. Impacto en la adecuación de la derivación a la consulta de urología

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Cirugía. Fecha de lectura: 06-06-201

Listening to the Voices of Novice Lecturers in Higher Education: A Qualitative Study

The professional development of novice staff at the university still requires considerable improvement. In this research paper, and in an attempt to define a development model in higher education, attention is paid to the perspectives and judgments of novice university staff. The research focuses specifically on the expression of their problems, difficulties, dilemmas, and decisions related to their course plans and classroom contexts. The methodology applied here integrates processes of qualitative interpretation supported by the AQUAD Six data processing program in the presentation of results. These findings make clear the need to integrate novices into the teaching community in order to reduce the fears they experience on starting their academic careers and increase the benefits to the university community as a whole

The culture of the equality of opportunities in the European university context

La nueva función de las universidades, en el complejo y entrelazado contexto social, necesita de un gran compromiso de la comunidad académica con la igualdad de oportunidades de género. El objetivo de esta investigación ha sido analizar los pensamientos, creencias y cultura de las académicas en su desarrollo profesional docente e investigador en la Universidad de Alicante. Se ha aplicado una estrategia metodológica basada en la investigación de las narrativas de las participantes para el análisis de información. El tratamiento de los datos se ha articulado con base en el programa informático AQUAD 7. Los resultados nos ofrecen una comprensión mayor de las voces de las académicas, especialmente, de sus preocupaciones, temores y dilemas. Las conclusiones de esta investigación instan a una revisión de las políticas institucionales en el tejido universitario español que promueva oportunidades más efectivas y sostenida participación legítima en la comunidad universitaria.The new role of the universities in a complex and intertwined social context requires a major commitment by the academic community regarding gender equality. The objective of this research is to analyze the thoughts, beliefs and culture of the academic women in their professional teaching and research development at Universidad de Alicante. A methodological strategy was applied in the research of the accounts of the participants for the analysis of information. The management of data was done using AQUAD 7. The results allow greater comprehension of the voices of the academic women, especially, about their concerns, worries and dilemmas. The conclusions of this research motivate a review of the institutional policies, in the context of the Spanish universities, to promote more effective opportunities and continued legitimate participation in the university community.Artículo de investigación que contiene el informe final de los resultados obtenidos en el proyecto La educación superior y oportunidades de género, auspiciada y liderada por la Universidad de Alicante, España