Macroeconomics in practice: using WIKIS for collaborative learning

This project is based on the creation of collaborative wikis for students of Macroeconomics to elaborate a final work in which they apply the theoretical knowledge learnt in the subject to the real world. The initiative was implemented during the course 2015-2016 and aimed at 140 students enrolled in the subject at the Degree of Finance and Accountancy of the University of Cadiz. To emphasize the link between the theories explained in class and the real world, in previous courses we have already used news and other resources. With this project, we now introduce the use of wikis, which consist on the creation of a website to allow collaborative creation and modification of contents and structure from the web browser. Students were organized in 44 teams, of about 3 members, to examine data on a certain macroeconomic variable (i.e. inflation or GDP), in a particular geographical context (i.e. G20 or EU countries). The objectives of the project include: i) to enhance learning and comprehension of theoretical knowledge and ii) to contribute to the development of skills related to the subject, such as the skill to apply the acquired knowledge, the skill to analyze and search information and teamwork. Students’ opinions gathered from a survey at the end of the course suggest that these objectives have been achieved

Trivianometrics, una competición académica por equipos en el aula de Econometría Financiera.

Memoria en formato artículo de los resultados del proyecto de innovación docente PI_14_011 realizado en la Universidad de Cádiz durante el curso 2013/14. El proyecto recibió el tercer premio de innovación docente y diploma de excelencia otorgado por la Unidad de Innovación Docente de la UCA y el Consejo Social de la Universidad de Cádiz. http://www.uca.es/recursos/doc/Unidades/Unidad_Innovacion/Innovacion_Docente/2013_2014/1266175410_285201512844.pdfMotivar a los alumnos para estudiar con regularidad y participar en clase es una tarea compleja pero fundamental en asignaturas de aprendizaje continuo, donde los nuevos conocimientos se fundamentan en conocimientos previos adquiridos en las mismas. Con el objeto de incrementar el interés y estudio de la asignatura, propusimos a los alumnos participar en una competición académica por equipos donde se pone a prueba sus conocimientos de Econometría Financiera. El diseño de Trivianometrics combina dos elementos fundamentales en el aprendizaje: 1) trabajo continuo durante el curso y 2) un incentivo a corto plazo que motive a superar las dificultades de la materia de estudio. La competición se llevó a cabo durante el curso 2013/14 donde se creó una clasificación de equipos a partir de los puntos obtenidos en mini rondas de preguntas. Semanalmente, los alumnos tenían la posibilidad de ganar puntos para su equipo y mejorar la clasificación que se actualizaba al final de cada ronda. La distribución de los puntos se planificó de modo que se mantuviera el interés hasta el final. Tras desarrollarse la competición, se nombraron tres equipos ganadores que fueron recompensados con una nota extra en el examen y el reconocimiento público en clase con la entrega de un diploma de recuerdo. Al final del curso, los alumnos rellenaron un encuesta de opinión sobre la utilidad y los efectos del Trivianometrics en su motivación, proceso de aprendizaje y nota final de la asignatura con resultados muy satisfactorios. Más del 70% de los alumnos encuestados consideró que la actividad había tenido efectos positivos en su estudio regular. Además, nos sorprendió gratamente que más de la mitad de los alumnos consideró más motivador el reconocimiento hacia los ganadores que los puntos extra en el examen.Unidad de Innovación Docente UCA, Universidad de Cádi

Aportación al conocimiento de la flora briológica española. Nótula IV: las Sierras de Jabalambre y Gúdar (Teruel)

La VII Reunión de Briología tuvo lugar los días 5 al 9 de abril de 1976 en Mora de Rubielos, con objeto de continuar el estudio del Sistema Ibérico iniciado con la Sierra de Albarracín. Durante las jornadas de trabajo se exploraron las sierras de Jabalambre y Gúdar. En esta comunicación damos a conocer el resultado de nuestras recolecciones en ambas Sierras. Después de un somero estudio de la vegetación de la zona objeto de nuestro trabajo, se da a conocer la presencia de 17 especies de Hepáticas y 125 de Musgos. Este resultado representa la primera aportación para esta parte del Sistema Ibérico y una notable contribución al conocimiento de la brioflora turolense.The VII Bryological Meeting took place on the 5th to the 9th of April, 1976 in Mora de Rubielos, its aim being to continue the study of the Iberian System which began in the Sierra de Albarracín. Work done during the Meeting consisted in exploring the sierras ofJabaIambre and Gúdar. The result of our gatherings in both these sierras is made known in this article. After a summary study ofthe vegetation of the area which was the subject of our investigation, the presence of 17 species of Hepaticae and 125 of Mosses is discovered. These results form the first contribution for this part of the Iberian System and an important contribution to the knowledge of the Teruel bryoflora

El uso de códigos QR para mejorar en Econometría. Una experiencia docente.

Memoria final en formato artículo del proyecto de innovación docente PI_13_016. El proyecto fue llevado a cabo durante el curso académico 2012/13 y recibió un accésit y diploma con mención de excelencia por la Unidad de Innovación Docente y el Consejo Social de la Universidad de Cádiz. http://www.uca.es/recursos/doc/Unidades/Unidad_Innovacion/Innovacion_Docente/2012_2013/891466831_195201411523.pdfLos teléfonos móviles, máximos representantes de la integración tecnológica en nuestra sociedad, siguen ampliando su oferta de aplicaciones para facilitar nuestra vida diaria. Sin embargo, el mundo formativo continúa sin dar el paso definitivo a estos nuevos dispositivos. Con el trasfondo de que nuestros estudiantes empiecen a utilizar sus móviles en actividades formativas (m-learning) y con el objetivo de facilitar el aprendizaje de la asignatura de Econometría, se desarrolló una serie de actividades disponibles en el móvil mediante la lectura de códigos QR que permiten a los alumnos afianzar conceptos sobre la materia de estudio. Al finalizar el curso se realizó una encuesta de opinión cuyos resultados se analizaron para detectar los factores que influyen en el uso del móvil en las actividades que se pusieron a disposición de los estudiantes. Los principales resultados muestran la importancia de tener un conocimiento previo en la lectura de códigos QR para que los alumnos consideren esta actividad una ventaja en lugar de un inconveniente. Asimismo, se detectó que ventajas del móvil como la inmediatez de uso y la portabilidad pueden quedar menoscabadas por la lentitud de las conexiones de datos y el reducido tamaño de las pantallas de estos dispositivos.Unidad de Innovación Docente UCA, Universidad de CádizEl archivo contiene la memoria en formato artículo: 4 página

TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES AND PATTERNS OF INCOME CONVERGENCE IN EUROPE: A CLUSTER ANALYSIS

This paper analyses the patterns of convergence across the European Union countries in terms of both economic growth and technological conditions during the period 1995-2013. We apply the methodology of Phillips-Sul (2007) to study convergence in real income per capita and countries’ technological capabilities. We consider separately eight technological indicators as proxies for a country's innovative ability and absorptive capacity. The results support the club convergence hypothesis for income and some technology-related indicators, and offer an approximation to the role that technological capabilities could play in the income convergence process

Using Interactive Response Systems in Economics: utility and factors influencing students’ attitudes

[EN] The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) involves changing traditional methods to promote innovative teaching experiences. This paper has two main aims: a) to show evidence of the use of Interactive Response Systems (IRS) to identify gaps in the understanding of the course contents and b) to investigate factors influencing students’ attitudes towards the use of IRS. The experience was developed through a collective tutoring session in the subject of Economics using IRS. Economics is a first-year subject in the Degree of Business Administration and Management offered by the University of Cadiz, which includes contents of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics and uses economic models to explain the function of the economy and the behaviour of economic agents. Results show that IRS technique allows detecting gaps in learning and comprehension. From our econometric estimations, we also identify two strongly significant variables affecting students’ attitudes towards IRS: gender and received explanations regarding the use of IRS. Variables such as first enrolment in the subject and the number of hours devoted to studying have a positive and significant effect on the attitude to IRS, but at a lower level of significance (from 5% to 10%).Bares López, L.; Fernández Pérez, AM.; Ferrándiz León, E.; Flores Varo, ME.; León Rodríguez, MD. (2017). Using Interactive Response Systems in Economics: utility and factors influencing students’ attitudes. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences. 4(1):16-36. doi:10.4995/muse.2017.5476.SWORD163641Anthis, K. (2011). Is It the Clicker, or Is It the Question? Untangling the Effects of Student Response System Use. Teaching of Psychology, 38(3), 189-193. doi:10.1177/0098628311411895Butler, J. A. (1992). Use of teaching methods within the lecture format. Medical Teacher, 14(1), 11-25. doi:10.3109/01421599209044010Camacho-Mi-ano, M. D. M. and del Campo, C. (2014). Useful interactive teaching tool for learning: clickers in higher education. Interactive Learning Environments, 1-18.Cabrer, B., Sancho, A. and Serrano, G. (2001). Microeconometría y Decisión. Pirámide, Madrid.Caldwell, J. E. (2007). Clickers in the Large Classroom: Current Research and Best-Practice Tips. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 6(1), 9-20. doi:10.1187/cbe.06-12-0205Carnaghan, C., & Webb, A. (2007). Investigating the Effects of Group Response Systems on Student Satisfaction, Learning, and Engagement in Accounting Education. Issues in Accounting Education, 22(3), 391-409. doi:10.2308/iace.2007.22.3.391Dallaire, D. H. (2011). Effective Use of Personal Response «Clicker» Systems in Psychology Courses. Teaching of Psychology, 38(3), 199-204. doi:10.1177/0098628311411898Emenike, M. E., & Holme, T. A. (2012). Classroom Response Systems Have Not «Crossed the Chasm»: Estimating Numbers of Chemistry Faculty Who Use Clickers. Journal of Chemical Education, 89(4), 465-469. doi:10.1021/ed200207pFallon, M., & Forrest, S. L. (2011). High-Tech Versus Low-Tech Instructional Strategies. Teaching of Psychology, 38(3), 194-198. doi:10.1177/0098628311411896Fies, C., & Marshall, J. (2006). Classroom Response Systems: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 15(1), 101-109. doi:10.1007/s10956-006-0360-1Gebru, M. T., Phelps, A. J., & Wulfsberg, G. (2012). Effect of clickers versus online homework on students’ long-term retention of general chemistry course material. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 13(3), 325-329. doi:10.1039/c2rp20033cGül, H., Gül, S. S., Kaya, E., & Alican, A. (2010). Main trends in the world of higher education, internationalization and institutional autonomy. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9, 1878-1884. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.417Han, J. H., & Finkelstein, A. (2013). Understanding the effects of professors’ pedagogical development with Clicker Assessment and Feedback technologies and the impact on students’ engagement and learning in higher education. Computers & Education, 65, 64-76. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.02.002Kay, R., & Knaack, L. (2009). Exploring the Use of Audience Response Systems in Secondary School Science Classrooms. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 18(5), 382-392. doi:10.1007/s10956-009-9153-7Kennedy, G. E., & Cutts, Q. I. (2005). The association between students’ use of an electronic voting system and their learning outcomes. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 21(4), 260-268. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2005.00133.xKing, S. O., & Robinson, C. L. (2009). ‘Pretty Lights’ and Maths! Increasing student engagement and enhancing learning through the use of electronic voting systems. Computers & Education, 53(1), 189-199. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.01.012Lasry, N. (2008). Clickers or Flashcards: Is There Really a Difference? The Physics Teacher, 46(4), 242-244. doi:10.1119/1.2895678Liu,T., Liang, J., Wang, H., Chan, T. and Wei, L. (2003). Embedding Educlick in Classroom to Enhance Interaction. In Lee, K., Mitchell, K. (eds.) Proceedings International Conference Computers in Education (ICCE), 117-125. Hong Kong (China).Ludvigsen, K., Krumsvik, R., & Furnes, B. (2015). Creating formative feedback spaces in large lectures. Computers & Education, 88, 48-63. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2015.04.002MacGeorge, E. L., Homan, S. R., Dunning, J. B., Elmore, D., Bodie, G. D., Evans, E., … Geddes, B. (2007). Student evaluation of audience response technology in large lecture classes. Educational Technology Research and Development, 56(2), 125-145. doi:10.1007/s11423-007-9053-6Morling, B., McAuliffe, M., Cohen, L., & DiLorenzo, T. M. (2008). Efficacy of Personal Response Systems («Clickers») in Large, Introductory Psychology Classes. Teaching of Psychology, 35(1), 45-50. doi:10.1177/009862830803500112Moss, K., & Crowley, M. (2011). Effective learning in science: The use of personal response systems with a wide range of audiences. Computers & Education, 56(1), 36-43. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.03.021Palmer, E. J., Devitt, P. G., De Young, N. J., & Morris, D. (2005). Assessment of an electronic voting system within the tutorial setting: A randomised controlled trial [ISRCTN54535861]. BMC Medical Education, 5(1). doi:10.1186/1472-6920-5-24Poirier, C. R., & Feldman, R. S. (2007). Promoting Active Learning Using Individual Response Technology in Large Introductory Psychology Classes. Teaching of Psychology, 34(3), 194-196. doi:10.1080/00986280701498665Schackow, T., Milton, C., Loya, L. and Friedman, M. (2004). Audience Response Systems: Effect on Learning in Family Medicine Residents. Family Medicine, 36, 496-504.Siau, K., Sheng, H., & Nah, F. F.-H. (2006). Use of a Classroom Response System to Enhance Classroom Interactivity. IEEE Transactions on Education, 49(3), 398-403. doi:10.1109/te.2006.879802Stowell, J. R., & Nelson, J. M. (2007). Benefits of Electronic Audience Response Systems on Student Participation, Learning, and Emotion. Teaching of Psychology, 34(4), 253-258. doi:10.1080/00986280701700391Van Dijk, L. A., Van Der Berg, G. C., & Van Keulen, H. (2001). Interactive lectures in engineering education. European Journal of Engineering Education, 26(1), 15-28. doi:10.1080/03043790123124White, P., Syncox, D., & Alters, B. (2011). Clicking for grades? Really? Investigating the use of clickers for awarding grade-points in post-secondary education. Interactive Learning Environments, 19(5), 551-561. doi:10.1080/10494821003612638Wooldridge, J.M. (2003). Introductory econometrics, a modern approach. Second ed. South-Western College Publishing, Cincinnati, OH

How Did the COVID-19 Lockdown Affect Children and Adolescent's Well-Being: Spanish Parents, Children, and Adolescents Respond.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown strategies have been widely used to contain SARS-CoV-2 virus spread. Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to suffering psychological effects as result of such measures. In Spain, children were enforced to a strict home lockdown for 42 days during the first wave. Here, we studied the effects of lockdown in children and adolescents through an online questionnaire. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain using an open online survey from July (after the lockdown resulting from the first pandemic wave) to November 2020 (second wave). We included families with children under 16 years-old living in Spain. Parents answered a survey regarding the lockdown effects on their children and were instructed to invite their children from 7 to 16 years-old (mandatory scholar age in Spain) to respond a specific set of questions. Answers were collected through an application programming interface system, and data analysis was performed using R. Results: We included 1,957 families who completed the questionnaires, covering a total of 3,347 children. The specific children's questionnaire was completed by 167 kids (7-11 years-old), and 100 adolescents (12-16 years-old). Children, in general, showed high resilience and capability to adapt to new situations. Sleeping problems were reported in more than half of the children (54%) and adolescents (59%), and these were strongly associated with less time doing sports and spending more than 5 h per day using electronic devices. Parents perceived their children to gain weight (41%), be more irritable and anxious (63%) and sadder (46%). Parents and children differed significantly when evaluating children's sleeping disturbances. Conclusions: Enforced lockdown measures and isolation can have a negative impact on children and adolescent's mental health and well-being. In future waves of the current pandemic, or in the light of potential epidemics of new emerging infections, lockdown measures targeting children, and adolescents should be reconsidered taking into account their infectiousness potential and their age-specific needs, especially to facilitate physical activity and to limit time spent on electronic devices. Keywords: COVID-19; adolescent; children; lockdown; mental health; well-being

How did the COVID-19 lockdown affect children and adolescent's well-being: Spanish parents, children, and adolescents respond

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown strategies have been widely used to contain SARS-CoV-2 virus spread. Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to suffering psychological effects as result of such measures. In Spain, children were enforced to a strict home lockdown for 42 days during the first wave. Here, we studied the effects of lockdown in children and adolescents through an online questionnaire. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain using an open online survey from July (after the lockdown resulting from the first pandemic wave) to November 2020 (second wave). We included families with children under 16 years-old living in Spain. Parents answered a survey regarding the lockdown effects on their children and were instructed to invite their children from 7 to 16 years-old (mandatory scholar age in Spain) to respond a specific set of questions. Answers were collected through an application programming interface system, and data analysis was performed using R. Results: We included 1,957 families who completed the questionnaires, covering a total of 3,347 children. The specific children’s questionnaire was completed by 167 kids (7–11 years-old), and 100 adolescents (12–16 years-old). Children, in general, showed high resilience and capability to adapt to new situations. Sleeping problems were reported in more than half of the children (54%) and adolescents (59%), and these were strongly associated with less time doing sports and spending more than 5 h per day using electronic devices. Parents perceived their children to gain weight (41%), be more irritable and anxious (63%) and sadder (46%). Parents and children differed significantly when evaluating children’s sleeping disturbances. Conclusions: Enforced lockdown measures and isolation can have a negative impact on children and adolescent’s mental health and well-being. In future waves of the current pandemic, or in the light of potential epidemics of new emerging infections, lockdown measures targeting children, and adolescents should be reconsidered taking into account their infectiousness potential and their age-specific needs, especially to facilitate physical activity and to limit time spent on electronic devices.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Cognitive reserve assessment scale in health (CRASH): its validity and reliability

Background: the cognitive reserve (CR) concept has not been precisely defined in severe mental disorders and has been estimated using heterogeneous methods. This study aims to investigate and develop the psychometric properties of the Cognitive Reserve Assessment Scale in Health (CRASH), an instrument designed to measure CR in people with severe mental illness; (2) Methods: 100 patients with severe mental illness (non-affective psychoses and affective disorders) and 66 healthy controls were included. The internal consistency and convergent validity of CRASH were assessed. Spearman's correlations coefficients were also performed to examine the relationship between CRASH and neuropsychological tests, psychosocial functioning, and clinical course; (3) Results: the internal consistency was high (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.903). The CRASH global score had a large positive correlation with the Cognitive reserve questionnaire total score (r = 0.838, p < 0.001), demonstrating good convergent validity. The correlation coefficients between the CRASH total scores and clinical, functional, and neuropsychological performance were different between groups. In order to provide clinical interpretation, severity classification based on diagnosis (non-affective psychotic disorders, affective disorders, and healthy controls) have been created; (4) Conclusions: CRASH is the first CR measure developed specifically for patients with severe mental illness, facilitating reliable and valid measurement of this construct. The scale may aid in the stratification of patients and the implementation of personalized interventions