Learners’ Satisfaction and Language Teacher Education Programs: Are we Doing our Homework?

Este reporte presenta un estudio realizado por el grupo de investigación Lenguaje y Pedagogía. El objetivo de esta investigación era determinar el grado de satisfacción de los estudiantes matriculados en los programas de licenciatura del Departamento de Lingüística e Idiomas respecto a su preparación para convertirse en docentes. 40 estudiantes de semestres principiantes, intermedios y avanzados de los dos programas de licenciatura del Departamento fueron entrevistados y sus respuestas clasificadas y analizadas. Los resultados muestran que los estudiantes están satisfechos con la preparación que están recibiendo como futuros profesores de lengua extranjera. Sin embargo, hay una serie de aspectos que pueden mejorar. Las sugerencias derivadas del estudio se describen a continuación. Palabras Clave: formación de docentes de lenguas extranjeras, post-método, satisfacción de los estudiante

Learners’ Satisfaction in Two Foreign Language Teacher Education Programs: Are We Doing Our Homework?

This article reports the results of a descriptive research project whose goal was to identify the degree of satisfaction of students enrolled in two teacher education programs at a public Colombian university. As satisfaction and quality are prevalent terms in curriculum evaluation, and are encouraged by accreditation and government regulations, learner feedback can be valuable input in these processes. Seventy students of beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels from two programs were surveyed. The findings suggest that besides the mechanisms proposed by the government to collect information, student feedback needs to be considered. Regarding the programs, learners display an overall satisfaction, but methodology and assessment need to be considered in future curriculum development and evaluation processes

Influence of the structural components of artificial turf systems on impact attenuation in amateur football players

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the infuence of the structural components of diferent 3rd generation artifcial turf football feld systems on the biomechanical response of impact attenuation in amateur football players. A total of 12 amateur football players (24.3±3.7 years, 73.5±5.5kg, 178.3±4.1cm and 13.7±4.3 years of sport experience) were evaluated on three third generation artifcial turf systems (ATS) with diferent structural components. ATS were composed of asphalt subbase and 45mm of fbre height with (ATS1) and without (ATS2) elastic layer or compacted granular sub-base, 60mm of fbre height without elastic layer (ATS3). Two triaxial accelerometers were frmly taped to the forehead and the distal end of the right tibia of each individual. The results reveal a higher force reduction on ATS3 in comparison to ATS1 (+6.24%, CI95%: 1.67 to 10.92, ES: 1.07; p<0.05) and ATS2 (+21.08%, CI95%: 16.51 to 25.66, ES: 2.98; p<0.05) elastic layer. Tibia acceleration rate was lower on ATS3 than ATS1 (−0.32, CI95%: −0.60 to −0.03, ES: 4.23; p<0.05) and ATS2 (−0.35, CI95%: −0.64 to −0.06; ES: 4.69; p<0.05) at 3.3m/s. A very large correlation (r=0.7 to 0.9; p<0.05) was found between energy restitution and fbre height in both head and tibial peak acceleration and stride time. In conclusion, structural components (fbre height, infll, sub-base and elastic layer) determine the mechanical properties of artifcial turf felds. A higher force reduction and lower energy restitution diminished the impact received by the player which could protect against injuries associated with impacts compared to harder artifcial turf surfaces

Teaching in Landscape

“We, the landscape architects, concerned with the future development of our landscapes in a fast changing world, believe that everything, influencing the way in which the outdoor environment is created, used, and maintained is fundamental to sustainable development and human well-being. We, being responsible for the improvement of the education of future landscape architects to enable them to work for a sustainable environment within the context of our natural and cultural heritage”. (IFLA/UNESCO 2005) CHARTER FOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION) Nowadays, respect and appreciation of the landscape sustainably grow. Landscape Architecture professionals are makers encourage and guide this growth. However, there is still no legal recognition of the landscape profession in Spain. For this reason we present this paper that shows the current framework in which appear a professional educated with masters and specialized courses, but it lacks a defined work area and unique in its business learned. We present the demands of both IFLA and the EFLA and teaching lines proposed by these organizations at European level are distinguished. Furthermore, we analyze the national scene and major training centres are distinguished

Eventos deportivos propulsores de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible

Actividad Física y Deport

Measuring residents' perceptions of corporate social responsibility at small and medium-sized sports events

Due to the increase of sports events in local communities, it has become essential to organize such events in a socially responsible way at the environmental, social, and economic levels. The aim of this research was to develop a measurement tool to help determine the degree of social responsibility perceived by residents at small-medium scale sports events, to guide sports managers towards the design of socially responsible sports events. From the elaboration of a questionnaire developed ad-hoc, the perception of the residents was analyzed (n = 516). The psychometric properties of the tool, composed of 35 items, were analyzed by means of an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. As main conclusions, we were able to contrast the validity and reliability of the questionnaire on the perception of corporate social responsibility in small-scale sports events, around the dimensions of Sustainable Sports Activity, Social Cohesion, and Well-Being. As a consequence, it allowed us to identify three strategic management areas towards which the organizers of these events should focus special attention if they want to progress towards the achievement of socially responsible sports event

GIS-Based Assessment of Banana Residual Biomass Potential for Ethanol Production and Power Generation: A Case Study

Banana is one of the most important fruit crops in the world. The plant bears one bunch in its life, leaving behind a large amount of agricultural residues (starchy and lignocellulosic biomass), which could be used for different purposes such as bioenergy. Ecuador is the largest exporter of banana fruits. In this work, the potential of banana residual biomass produced in the province of El Oro, Ecuador for bioenergy applications was assessed using Geographic Information Systems?GIS. The methodology included the assessment of biomass distribution, facility location, transport optimization and a novel virtual land parcel that allows for these kinds of studies in areas with lack of geo-referenced information. According to our approach, El Oro province has an available biomass potential of 190,102 t fm year?1 of starchy residual biomass and 198,602 t dm year?1 of lignocellulosic residual biomass. Two candidate points located at 79°51?12?W3°11?21?S and 79°52?49?W3°17?49?S were identified for the installment of energy conversion facilities supplied with residual biomass. From the available potential of starchy biomass it would be possible to obtain up to 19 million liters of bioethanol per year assuming an average yield of 101.2 l t?1 fresh matter; while the available lignocellulosic biomass, which energy content (Lower Heating Value, moisture free biomass) was determined at 12.9 MJ kg?1 on average, could be used for power generation with an installed capacity of 18 MW. Chemical characterization of the lignocellulosic biomass suggested that further studies should be undertaken regarding the potential application of these crop residues to second generation bioethanol

Accelerated Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Enzymatic Degradation by Room Temperature Alkali Pre-treatment for Reduced Polymer Crystallinity

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the most widely employed plastic for single-use applications. The use of enzymes isolated from microorganisms, such as PETase with the capacity to hydrolyze PET into its monomers, represents a promising method for its sustainable recycling. However, the accessibility of the enzyme to the hydrolysable bonds is an important challenge that needs to be addressed for effective biodegradation of postconsumer PET. Here, we combined an alkali pre-treatment (25 °C) with PETase incubation (30 °C) with post-consumed PET bottles. The pre-treatment modifies the surface of the plastic and decreases its crystallinity enabling the access of the enzyme to the hydrolysable chemical bonds. When the alkali pre-treatment is incorporated into the enzymatic process the degradation yields increase more than one order of magnitude reaching values comparable to those obtained during heating/cooling cycles. Our results show energetic advantages over other reported pre-treatments and open new avenues for sustainable PET recycling.Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Jaume

Continuous culture methodology for the screening of microalgae for oil

A basic criterion in the selection of microalgae suitable as source of oil for biodiesel should be their actual capacity to produce lipids or, more properly, the fatty acid yield. Performance assessment of ten preselected microalgae under both batch and continuous culture points to the latter approach as the most adequate for evaluating fatty acid productivity. Differences were patent in continuous culture among strains that otherwise had analogous oil accumulation potential under batch culture. Some promising strains under batch culture (like Muriella aurantiaca and Monoraphidium braunii) exhibited, however, values for actual fatty acid productivity lower than 40 mg L-1d-1 in continuous regime. The analysis performed in photochemostat under continuous culture regime revealed the great potential of Chlorococcum olefaciens, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Scenedesmus almeriensis as oil producing microalgae. Fatty acid productivity levels over 90 mg L-1d-1 were recorded for the latter strains under moderate nitrogen limitation, conditions which led to an enrichment in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, a more suitable profile as raw material for biodiesel. The continuous culture methodology employed represents a sound procedure for screening microalgae for biofuel production, providing a reliable evaluation of their fatty acid production capacity, under conditions close to those of outdoor production systemsEspaña MCINN Project CTQ2008-06741-CO2-02/PP