A new way of teaching different subjects in a foreign language in the Building Engineering Degree at the Universidad Politécnica.

The European Union has been promoting linguistic diversity for many years as one of its main educational goals. This is an element that facilitates student mobility and student exchanges between different universities and countries and enriches the education of young undergraduates. In particular, a higher degree of competence in the English language is becoming essential for engineers, architects and researchers in general, as English has become the lingua franca that opens up horizons to internationalisation and the transfer of knowledge in today’s world. Many experts point to the Integrated Approach to Contents and Foreign Languages System as being an option that has certain benefits over the traditional method of teaching a second language that is exclusively based on specific subjects. This system advocates teaching the different subjects in the syllabus in a language other than one’s mother tongue, without prioritising knowledge of the language over the subject. This was the idea that in the 2009/10 academic year gave rise to the Second Language Integration Programme (SLI Programme) at the Escuela Arquitectura Técnica in the Universidad Politécnica Madrid (EUATM-UPM), just at the beginning of the tuition of the new Building Engineering Degree, which had been adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) model. This programme is an interdisciplinary initiative for the set of subjects taught during the semester and is coordinated through the Assistant Director Office for Educational Innovation. The SLI Programme has a dual goal; to familiarise students with the specific English terminology of the subject being taught, and at the same time improve their communication skills in English. A total of thirty lecturers are taking part in the teaching of eleven first year subjects and twelve in the second year, with around 120 students who have voluntarily enrolled in a special group in each semester. During the 2010/2011 academic year the degree of acceptance and the results of the SLI Programme have been monitored. Tools have been designed to aid interdisciplinary coordination and to analyse satisfaction, such as coordination records and surveys. The results currently available refer to the first and second year and are divided into specific aspects of the different subjects involved and into general aspects of the ongoing experience

From spiral to helical stairs: Santa Cruz la Real and Santiago Apóstol approaches

In the late 15th and the early 16th centuries different styles coexisted in Spain. Amongst them, the predominant one was the late Gothic Architecture. This paper focuses on the helical staircase as one of the more representative elements of this style. It analyses the geometric and constructive configuration of (i) the stair located in the church apse of the Monasterio de Santa Cruz la Real in Segovia and (ii) the one located in the tower of Santiago Apóstol Church in Villa del Prado. As will be shown, both are examples of seemingly intermediate steps between the spiral and the helical staircases. Our purpose, is to contribute to the knowledge about the way this type of circular staircases were built and gain a better understanding of the process followed by the stonemasonry masters. Both aspects are essential to provide a solid foundation for the preservation of this type of Heritage

Robotics for All in Early Years Education

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo conocer el impacto educativo del uso de la robótica como recurso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en Educación Infantil. Se diseñó, sobre la base en las necesidades educativas detectadas previamente, un programa de intervención como soporte pedagógico para atender a la diversidad de los estudiantes del aula de Educación donde se implementó. No obstante, la importancia y obligatoriedad que las leyes educativas españolas otorgan a la implementación de las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC) en todas las etapas educativas, actualmente, no se ofrecen recursos materiales variados para implementar en el aula, asimismo, tampoco se ha considerado a la robótica en las primeras etapas educativas. En esta intervención se utilizó un robot sencillo de manejar, con posibilidades educativas variadas para trabajar contenidos de distintas materias y con un diseño atrayente para los niños. Los resultados de la aplicación de la intervención han sido positivos, principalmente en la motivación de los niños en el aprendizaje de contenidos de diversas áreas como lógica-matemática, lectoescritura, expresión artística, nociones temporales y espaciales, destacándose los múltiples beneficios que la robótica tiene tanto para el docente como para los estudiantes.This study is aimed at understanding the educational impact of the use of robo- tics as a teaching-learning tool in early years education. An intervention was de- signed as a pedagogical support to respond to the diversity of children studying in the classroom, where it was applied. Despite Spanish educational laws ensure the importance and obligation of introducing the information and communi- cation technologies (ICT) throughout all educational stages, currently limited resources are available for its introduction, and robotics are set aside of the early years of education. In this intervention, we used a user-friendly robot with an appealing design for children and with diverse educational possibilities to work with contents of different areas. The results of its implementation have shown to be very positive, mainly because children were motivated about learning on diverse topics, such as mathematical logic, literacy, artistic expressions, space and time notions. Finally, the multiple benefits of robotics for the teacher and stu- dents are highlighte

Robotics for all in early years education

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo conocer el impacto educativo del uso de la robótica como recurso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en Educación Infantil. Se diseñó, sobre la base en las necesidades educativas detectadas previamente, un programa de intervención como soporte pedagógico para atender a la diversidad de los estudiantes del aula de Educación donde se implementó. No obstante, la importancia y obligatoriedad que las leyes educativas españolas otorgan a la implementación de las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC) en todas las etapas educativas, actualmente, no se ofrecen recursos materiales variados para implementar en el aula, asimismo, tampoco se ha considerado a la robótica en las primeras etapas educativas. En esta intervención se utilizó un robot sencillo de manejar, con posibilidades educativas variadas para trabajar contenidos de distintas materias y con un diseño atrayente para los niños. Los resultados de la aplicación de la intervención han sido positivos, principalmente en la motivación de los niños en el aprendizaje de contenidos de diversas áreas como lógica-matemática, lectoescritura, expresión artística, nociones temporales y espaciales, destacándose los múltiples beneficios que la robótica tiene tanto para el docente como para los estudiantes.This study is aimed at understanding the educational impact of the use of robo- tics as a teaching-learning tool in early years education. An intervention was de- signed as a pedagogical support to respond to the diversity of children studying in the classroom, where it was applied. Despite Spanish educational laws ensure the importance and obligation of introducing the information and communi- cation technologies (ICT) throughout all educational stages, currently limited resources are available for its introduction, and robotics are set aside of the early years of education. In this intervention, we used a user-friendly robot with an appealing design for children and with diverse educational possibilities to work with contents of different areas. The results of its implementation have shown to be very positive, mainly because children were motivated about learning on diverse topics, such as mathematical logic, literacy, artistic expressions, space and time notions. Finally, the multiple benefits of robotics for the teacher and stu- dents are highlighte

Morteros no tradicionales en la construcción arquitectónica

We intend to make a detailed study about such a simple material like mortar, but really important in building industry. The final aim is to develop a new kind of mortar from easily available admixtures that can be widely used. That mortar would pass all possible tests in order to prove its proper features for construction. It would be done against a standar mortar and another ones, allowing us a wide reference to obtain more accurate results.Se pretende realizar un estudio detallado de un material tan sencillo como el mortero, pero no por ello menos importante, así como también conseguir mejorar sus propiedades por medio de un aditivo que sea sencillo de encontrar en el mercado, de forma que no sean necesarios conocimientos especiales para su uso. Con el nuevo mortero obtenido realizaremos todos los ensayos que estén en nuestra mano, tanto de él como de un mortero tipo, así como de otros materiales semejantes que existan en el mercado y que nos sirvan de pauta en la comparación de propiedades con el nuevo mortero que sea obtenido. De esta forma podremos saber si este mortero puede ser de utilidad en el campo de la Construcción

Integrated approach to foreign language in the building engineering degree at the Universidad Politécnica Madrid

The European Union has been promoting linguistic diversity for many years as one of its main educational goals. This is an element that facilitates student mobility and student exchanges between different universities and countries and enriches the education of young undergraduates. In particular,a higher degree of competence in the English language is becoming essential for engineers, architects and researchers in general, as English has become the lingua franca that opens up horizons to internationalisation and the transfer of knowledge in today’s world. Many experts point to the Integrated Approach to Contents and Foreign Languages System as being an option that has certain benefits over the traditional method of teaching a second language that is exclusively based on specific subjects. This system advocates teaching the different subjects in the syllabus in a language other than one’s mother tongue, without prioritising knowledge of the language over the subject. This was the idea that in the 2009/10 academic year gave rise to the Second Language Integration Programme (SLI Programme) at the Escuela Arquitectura Tecnica in the Universidad Politecnica Madrid (EUATM-UPM), just at the beginning of the tuition of the new Building Engineering Degree, which had been adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) model. This programme is an interdisciplinary initiative for the set of subjects taught during the semester and is coordinated through the Assistant Director Office for Educational Innovation. The SLI Programme has a dual goal; to familiarise students with the specific English terminology of the subject being taught, and at the same time improve their communication skills in English. A total of thirty lecturers are taking part in the teaching of eleven first year subjects and twelve in the second year, with around 120 students who have voluntarily enrolled in a special group in each semester. During the 2010/2011 academic year the degree of acceptance and the results of the SLI Programme are being monitored. Tools have been designed to aid interdisciplinary coordination and to analyse satisfaction, such as coordination records and surveys. The results currently available refer to the first semester of the year and are divided into specific aspects of the different subjects involved and into general aspects of the ongoing experience

El levantamiento de planos en la edificación

El hombre es un ser capaz de aprender y de utilizar lo aprendido, para transformar su entorno natural y social por medio de la tecnología. La historia del hombre, es la Historia de los avatares de un largo proceso de aprendizaje y de sus consecuencias en todos los órdenes. En esta ponencia se pondrá de manifiesto, la utilidad de los programas de simulación virtual y su aplicación en el estudio de los edificios. A través de simulaciones virtuales, se puede levantar edificios, tanto edificados,como no edificados. Se pueden crear modelos de edificios sin construir, se puede dar paseos por el interior de los edificios, se puede analizar la obra arquitectónica de los grandes arquitectos,...etc. Nuestro objetivo, es el análisis de los instrumentos que en este momento se están utilizando en el Levantamiento de Planos. Se analizaran, las herramientas básicas de programas de dibujo asistido por ordenador, tales como Autocad, 3D Studio y programas similares, para posteriormente ver su aplicación en el desarrollo infográfico de diferentes obras de arquitectura. El dibujo por ordenador tiene una gran difusión entre los profesionales, cada vez más los estudios y gabinetes de trabajo exigen que el profesional que colabora en las tareas de producción y dibujo de los planos arquitectónicos, tenga más conocimientos en el terreno informático. En los últimos tiempos la introducción de las presentaciones en tres dimensiones y multimedia hacen que el profesional deba conocer estos medios y su utilización.Los paseos virtuales, introducen un concepto fundamental para la compresión de las edificaciones. Pero a su vez existe un problema, y es que se acceda a la representación gráfica virtual, sin la madurez necesaria en el campo de la Presentación Arquitectónica. Es por ello que nos parece importante hacer un nálisis del Levantamien-to de planos en la edificación y su problemática

Nuevas técnicas de presentación en los proyectos de edificación

En los últimos tiempos la introducción de las resentaciones multimedia hace que el profesional deba conocer estos medios y su utilización. No podemos dar la espalda a estos avances pero deben ser introducidos en la medida en que sean necesarios, en la representación del proyecto de Edificación. Cada vez más los nuevos avances en la informática hacen que constantemente estemos innovando en nuestros sistemas de representación de los edificios. Pero a su vez existe un problema, y es que se acceda a la representación gráfica virtual sin la madurez necesaria en el campo de la resentación arquitectónica. Las simulaciones virtuales, nos puede ayudar a levantar edificios, tanto edificados, como no edificados. Podemos crear modelos como instrumento de comprobación volumétrica, podemos crear maquetas virtuales y en ellas dar paseos por el interior de los edificios, con esas nuevas herramientas se puede analizar la obra arquitectónica de los grandes arquitectos,...etc. El dibujo por ordenador tiene una gran difusión entre los profesionales, cada vez más los estudios y gabinetes de trabajo exigen que el profesional que colabora en las tareas de producción y dibujo de los planos rquitectónicos, tenga más conocimientos en el terreno informático. En los últimos tiempos la introducción de las presentaciones en tres dimensiones y multimedia hace que el profesional deba conocer estos medios y su utilización. En esta ponencia se podrá de manifiesto, el uso de los programas de simulación virtual y su aplicación en la representación del proyecto de Edificación. Se realizará un análisis de las paginas web de Arquitectura y de los profesionales de la edificación, analizando la expresión grafica de las misma, para ofrecer una línea de futuras actuaciones Veremos ejemplos de estas nuevas Técnicas de Presentación en los Proyectos de Edificación. Estas presentaciones impactan en la Sociedad y sirven de nexo de unión entre la sociedad y los profesionales del sector

Effect of fatty acids on self-assembly of soybean lecithin systems

With the increasing interest in natural formulations for drug administration and functional foods, it is desirable a good knowledge of the phase behavior of lecithin/fatty acid formulations. Phase structure and properties of ternary lecithin/fatty acids/water systems are studied at 37. °C, making emphasis in regions with relatively low water and fatty acid content. The effect of fatty acid saturation degree on the phase microstructure is studied by comparing a fully saturated (palmitic acid, C16:0), monounsaturated (oleic acid, C18:1), and diunsaturated (linoleic acid, C18:2) fatty acids. Phase determinations are based on a combination of polarized light microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering measurements. Interestingly, unsaturated (oleic acid and linoleic acid) fatty acid destabilizes the lamellar bilayer. Slight differences are observed between the phase diagrams produced by the unsaturated ones: small lamellar, medium cubic and large hexagonal regions. A narrow isotropic fluid region also appears on the lecithin-fatty acid axis, up to 8. wt% water. In contrast, a marked difference in phase microsctructure was observed between unsaturated and saturated systems in which the cubic and isotropic fluid phases are not formed. These differences are, probably, a consequence of the high Krafft point of the C16 saturated chains that imply rather rigid chains. However, unsaturated fatty acids result in more flexible tails. The frequent presence of, at least, one unsaturated chain in phospholipids makes it very likely a better mixing situation than in the case of more rigid chains. This swelling potential favors the formation of reverse hexagonal, cubic, and micellar phases. Both unsaturated fatty acid systems evolve by aging, with a reduction of the extension of reverse hexagonal phase and migration of the cubic phase to lower fatty acid and water contents. The kinetic stability of the systems seems to be controlled by the unsaturation of fatty acids.Dr. C.A. Godoy is grateful for her scholarship to the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID), Universidad de Alcalá and Banco Santander, through the “Becas Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra” Program, and to the Universidad del Valle for the bibliographic resources provided. Jaume Caelles from the SAXS-WAXS service at IQAC is gratefully for performing the measurements. Imma Carrera is acknowledged for sample preparation. Ignacio Jiménez is grateful for helping in graph improvement.Peer reviewe

Análisis del plano en el estudio de la ciudad histórica. Trasvases metodológicos entre arquitectura y arqueología

This paper deals with the study of the historic city through the plot plan as a source of knowledge. Methodological issues are tackled in their relation to two different yet linked concepts, morphology and stratigraphy, with the purpose of setting the basis for each and their respective links to the areas of architecture and archeology as disciplines, and a proposal is made for the application of both concepts to the analysis of the plan. At the background lies the reflection on drawing in investigation and on the need for multidisciplinary outlook