Self-Efficacy of First-Generation College Students and the Relationship to Academic Performance and College Adjustment

The authors examined whether self-efficacy mediated the relationship between generational status and 2 academic outcome indicators of 192 college students. A mediation effect was not found with either academic performance or college adjustment. However, high self-efficacy at the beginning of the year predicted better college adjustment at the end of the 1st year. For college students in general, high self-efficacy was related to better college adjustment. Recommendations for counselors are discussed

Earnings Mobility in Times of Growth and Decline: Argentina from 1996 to 2003

In recent years, the economy of Argentina has experienced both rapid economic growth and severe economic decline. In this paper, we use a series of one-year long panels to study who gained the most in pesos when the economy grew and who lost the most in pesos when the economy contracted. Various considerations led us to expect that mobility would be divergent—that is, that the individuals who started with the highest initial earnings would enjoy the largest earnings gains in pesos. Contrary to expectations and for a wide range of specifications, mobility is found to be mostly convergent, sometimes neutral, and never divergent. We then demonstrate how generally rising inequality and convergent mobility can be reconciled. Thus, the panel data analysis performed in this paper presents a picture of economic growth that is much more pro-poor than what one gets from cross-sectional inequality comparisons

Una indagación sobre el papel de la proficiencia en L3 sobre la influencia transversal en la adquisición de terceras lenguas

Abstract: With the rise of multilingualism, studies have proliferated that investigate the interaction of the different languages. The study presented here sets out to examine the role that proficiency plays on the occurrence of a specific interaction, namely interlanguage transfer from a prior non–native language (L2 German) upon another non–native language (L3 English) at the level of syntax in Spanish/ Catalan bilinguals. Data were collected from 80 learners of L3 English who were at different proficiency levels (as indicated by a 30-item cloze test), while data for the analysis of transfer was elicited using a story telling task. Statistical tests revealed significant differences across proficiency levels, i.e. low and pre–intermediate (p= .032), low and intermediate levels (p= .000), and pre–intermediate and intermediate levels (p= .018). Título en español: “Una indagación sobre el papel de la proficiencia en L3 sobre la influencia transversal en la adquisición de terceras lenguas”Resumen: Con el crecimiento del multilingüismo, han proliferado los estudios que investigan la interacción entre diferentes lenguas. El presente estudio se plantea examinar el rol que desempeña la proficiencia en la ocurrencia de un tipo específico de interacción, a saber, transferencia entre interlenguas de una lengua no nativa (L2 Alemán) a otra lengua no nativa (L3 Inglés) a nivel sintáctico en bilingües Castellano/ Catalán. Se recogieron datos de 80 aprendices de L3 Inglés que estaban en diferentes niveles de proficiencia (como indicó un cloze test de 30 ítems), mientras que los datos para el análisis de la transferencia se elicitaron empleando una tarea narrativa. Los tests estadísticos realizados revelaron diferencias significativas entre niveles bajo y pre–intermedio (p= .032), bajo e intermedio (p= .000) y pre–intermedio e intermedio (p= .018).</jats:p

Software Design Guidelines for Usability

For years, the Human Computer Interaction &#40;HCI&#41; community has crafted usability guidelines that clearly define what&#10;characteristics a software system should have in order to be easy to use. However, in the Software Engineering &#40;SE&#41;&#10;community keep falling short of successfully incorporating these recommendations into software projects. From a SE&#10;perspective, the process of incorporating usability features into software is not always straightforward, as a large number&#10;of these features have heavy implications in the underlying software architecture. For example, successfully including an&#10;&ldquo;undo&rdquo; feature in an application requires the design and implementation of many complex interrelated data structures and&#10;functionalities. Our work is focused upon providing developers with a set of software design patterns to assist them in the&#10;process of designing more usable software. This would contribute to the proper inclusion of specific usability features&#10;with high impact on the software design. Preliminary validation data show that usage of the guidelines also has positive&#10;effects on development time and overall software design quality

Impact of Technical Barriers to Trade on Argentine Exports and Labor Markets

While tariff and quota barriers in agricultural, food and manufactured products have been declining due to the proliferation of multilateral trade agreements, there is increasing debate regarding the impact of product and process standards and technical regulations, since they may have become a subtler form of protection. One of the possible effects of increasing standards in developing countries is that it may affect the size of the exporting sector, with adverse effects on labor markets. We test such effect for the case of Argentina using firm level data for the manufacturing sector. We find evidence of a reduction in export shares due to an increase in standard stringency. Moreover, there is an increase in the skill ratio for exporting firms. The overall effect of standard stringency on average wages of exporting firms is negative, supporting the idea that lower net producer prices, due to a higher cost of standard compliance, are passed on to workers.

Assessment of the photovoltaic potential at urban level based on 3D city models: A case study and new methodological approach

The use of 3D city models combined with simulation functionalities allows to quantify energy demand and renewable generation for a very large set of buildings. The scope of this paper is to determine the solar photovoltaic potential at an urban and regional scale using CityGML geometry descriptions of every building. An innovative urban simulation platform is used to calculate the PV potential of the Ludwigsburg County in south-west Germany, in which every building was simulated by using 3D city models. Both technical and economic potential (considering roof area and insolation thresholds) are investigated, as well as two different PV efficiency scenarios. In this way, it was possible to determine the fraction of the electricity demand that can be covered in each municipality and the whole region, deciding the best strategy, the profitability of the investments and determining optimal locations. Additionally, another important contribution is a literature review regarding the different methods of PV potential estimation and the available roof area reduction coefficients. An economic analysis and emission assessment has also been developed. The results of the study show that it is possible to achieve high annual rates of covered electricity demand in several municipalities for some of the considered scenarios, reaching even more than 100% in some cases. The use of all available roof space (technical potential) could cover 77% of the region’s electricity consumption and 56% as an economic potential with only high irradiance roofs considered. The proposed methodological approach should contribute valuably in helping policy-making processes and communicating the advantages of distributed generation and PV systems in buildings to regulators, researchers and the general public

Multiculturalism and Internationalization in Spanish Universities: ¿North-south Socio-cultural Differences?

Introduction. Spanish universities are undergoing a process of continuous Europeanization and globalization, translated into a growing interest in studying the development of internationalization and multiculturalism. Objectives: To compare internationalization and multiculturalism in Spanish universities from the north and the south of the country. Methodology: The questionnaire consists of 61 items divided into nine topics. It was implemented in 2014-2015. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in variables on multiculturalism, but some differences regarding internationalization were found, where a higher budget and amount of involved staff in the University of the North versus the ones from the south was observed. Conclusions: All universities met, however, more than 50% of the objectives established on internationalization

Leonor Serrano, educadora i feminista en temps de canvis (1890-1942)

Reseña del libro: Leonor Serrano: educadora i feminista en temps de canvis Immaculada Artero Broch, Miquel Ortells Roca Universitat Jaume I, Servicio de Publicaciones, 2015. ISBN 978-84-16356-21-