The Influence of Bilingualism on Creative Skills

Tesis (Magíster en la enseñanza del inglés como lengua extranjera)The present study aims to determine if there is a link between bilingualism and creativity in students of first year of secondary school. Real data was collected through an international creativity test known as the Adaptation of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, which was applied to bilingual and monolingual students. Statistical results showed that there is no significant difference in creativity considering the final results obtained by the samples. Nevertheless and considering what was previously said and despite of the fact that the study does not prove the theory of creative thinking in the total scores of the groups it is important to mention that it does prove it in the results of each individual, in other words, analyzing the final results of each student in each group it is easily to see a difference in the results, but if it seen the total results of groups the difference is low, so it can be said that the evidence is enough to prove the hypothesis. Besides that, the investigation of this topic helps future researchers since there are just a few studies that aim to prove the theory that bilinguals have more creative skills than people who speak only one language or mother tongue.El presente estudio tiene como objetivo determinar si existe una conexión entre el ser bilingüe y la creatividad en estudiantes de primer año de enseñanza media. Datos reales fueron recolectados a través de un test internacional de creatividad conocido como la Adaptación del Test de Pensamiento Creativo de Torrance, el cuál fue aplicado en estudiantes bilingües y monolingües. Los resultados estadísticos arrojaron que no existe una diferencia significativa en creatividad considerando los resultados finales obtenidos por ambas muestras. Sin embargo y considerando lo que fue previamente expuesto y a pesar de que el estudio no prueba la teoría de pensamiento creativo en el puntaje total de los grupos, es importante señalar que si prueba la teoría en los resultados individuales de cada alumno, en otras palabras, analizando los resultados finales de cada estudiante se puede ver fácilmente una diferencia en los resultados, pero si se ve los resultados totales por grupo la diferencia es baja, por lo tanto se puede decir que la evidencia es suficiente para probar la hipótesis. Además de esto, la investigación de éste tema ayuda a futuros investigadores ya que hay pocos estudios que tienen como objetivo probar la teoría de que los bilingües tienen más habilidades creativas que los estudiantes que solo manejan un idioma o lengua materna

Draft genome of Haloarcula rubripromontorii strain SL3, a novel halophilic archaeon isolated from the solar salterns of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.

The genus Haloarcula belongs to the family Halobacteriaceae which currently has 10 valid species. Here we report the draft genome sequence of strain SL3, a new species within this genus, isolated from the Solar Salterns of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. Genome assembly performed using NGEN Assembler resulted in 18 contigs (N50 = 601,911 bp), the largest of which contains 1,023,775 bp. The genome consists of 3.97 MB and has a GC content of 61.97%. Like all species of Haloarcula, the genome encodes heterogeneous copies of the small subunit ribosomal RNA. In addition, the genome includes 6 rRNAs, 48 tRNAs, and 3797 protein coding sequences. Several carbohydrate-active enzymes genes were found, as well as enzymes involved in the dihydroxyacetone processing pathway which are not found in other Haloarcula species. The NCBI accession number for this genome is LIUF00000000 and the strain deposit number is CECT9001

Nudging Youth to Develop Savings Habits: Experimental Evidence Using SMS Messages

In this working paper, we report on a field experiment articulating financial information via cellphone text messages and financial decisions among low-income youth in Colombia. For twelve months, youth accountholders are randomly assigned to receive either: (a) monthly financial education messages, (b) monthly savings reminders, (c) semimonthly reminders, or (d) control. After 12 months, account balances in monthly and semimonthly reminders groups increase by 28% and 43%, respectively, relative to controls. Financial education messages do not increase balances. Over two thirds of balance increases in reminder groups are net savings. Savings effects of reminders last eight months after youth stop receiving messages

Influence of organic matter and CO2 supply on bioremediation of heavy metals by Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus almeriensis in a multimetallic matrix

Producción CientíficaThis research evaluated the influence of organic matter (OM) and CO2 addition on the bioremediation potential of two microalgae typically used for wastewater treatment: Chlorella vulgaris (CV) and Scenedesmus almeriensis (SA). The heavy metal (HM) removal efficiencies and biosorption capacities of both microalgae were determined in multimetallic solutions (As, B, Cu, Mn, and Zn) mimicking the highest pollutant conditions found in the Loa river (Northern Chile). The presence of OM decreased the total biosorption capacity, specially in As (from 2.2 to 0.0 mg/g for CV and from 2.3 to 1.7 mg/g for SA) and Cu (from 3.2 to 2.3 mg/g for CV and from 2.1 to 1.6 mg/g for SA), but its influence declined over time. CO2 addition decreased the total HM biosorption capacity for both microalgae species and inhibited CV growth. Finally, metal recovery using different eluents (HCl, NaOH, and CaCl2) was evaluated at two different concentrations. HCl 0.1 M provided the highest recovery efficiencies, which supported values over 85% of As, 92% of Cu, and ≈100% of Mn and Zn from SA. The presence of OM during the loaded stage resulted in a complete recovery of As, Cu, Mn, and Zn when using HCl 0.1 M as eluent.Gobierno regional de Castilla y León (UIC 071, CLU 2017-09 and VA080G18)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (project CTQ2017-84006-C3-1-R)Unión Europea - FEDER (CLU 2017-09 and CTQ2017-84006-C3-1-R

Debate electoral 13-J: la audiencia social en la estrategia digital de los partidos políticos

Las redes sociales han transformado la comunicación política, y ahora los partidos se enfrentan a nuevos retos para acercarse a los ciudadanos, conjugando en su estrategia Twitter y el uso de los tradicionales medios de comunicación. En este contexto digital, la audiencia social se ha establecido como una comunidad participativa y fidelizada, que sigue ganando peso en la estrategia transmedia de los canales de televisión y que ofrece nuevos retos para las organizaciones. El presente trabajo estudia la estrategia digital con audiencia social desarrollada por las principales formaciones políticas durante el debate electoral del 13 de junio de 2016. Retransmitido por 17 cadenas de televisión, fue el quinto debate más visto en la historia de España y alcanzó 1,8 millones de tuits. Se ha analizado para ello la producción de contenido compartido en Twitter por cada formación y la relación establecida con la comunidad, con el objetivo de determinar si los partidos políticos incorporaron la audiencia social en su estrategia. 13-J Election Debate: Social Audience in Digital Strategy of Political PartiesSocial networks have transformed political communication, and now political parties face new challenges in approaching citizens, combining Twitter with the use of traditional media in their communication strategy. In this digital context, the social media audience has established itself as a faithful and participatory community that continues to gain importance in television channels’ transmedia strategy, while creating new challenges for these organizations. This article examines the digital strategy for social media audiences used by the main political parties during the electoral debate on June 13, 2016. Broadcast on 17 television channels, it was the fifth most watched debate in Spanish history, and it generated 1.8 million tweets. Analysis has been carried out on the production of content shared on Twitter by each political group and the relationship established with the community to determine if political parties incorporated the social media audience in their strategies