El impacto demográfico de la inmigración en la España rural despoblada

La inmigración ha conseguido detener o frenar la despoblación de muchos municipios de la España interior y envejecida. Este documento de trabajo analiza el impacto demográfico de la llegada de inmigrantes procedentes del extranjero sobre las zonas rurales españolas en despoblación que han recibido alta inmigración extranjera entre 2000 y 2008. Los resultados muestran el carácter crucial de esta llegada para frenar su declive demográfico, hasta el punto de que una parte importante de estas zonas obtuvo finalmente cifras positivas en su evolución anual. Se concluye planteando las implicaciones que para el diseño de las políticas migratorias y de población tienen estos resultados

Evaluating Simultaneous Visual Instructions with Kindergarten Children on Touchscreen Devices

[EN] A myriad of educational applications using tablets and multi-touch technology for kindergarten children have been developed in the last decade. However, despite the possible benefits of using visual prompts to communicate information to kindergarteners, these visual techniques have not been fully studied yet. This article therefore investigates kindergarten children¿s abilities to understand and follow several visual prompts about how to proceed and interact in a virtual 2D world. The results show that kindergarteners are able to effectively understand several visual prompts with different communication purposes despite being used simultaneously. The results also show that the use of the evaluated visual prompts to communicate data when playing reduces the number of interferences about technical nature fostering dialogues related to the learning activity guided by the instructors or caregivers. Hence, this work is a starting point for designing dialogic learning scenarios tailored to kindergarten children.This work is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and funded by the European Development Regional Fund (EDRF-FEDER) with Project TIN2014-60077-R; by VALi+d program from Conselleria d¿Educació, Cultura i Esport (Generalitat Valenciana) under the fellowship ACIF/2014/214, and by the FPU program from Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport under the fellowship FPU14/00136Nácher, V.; García-Sanjuan, F.; Jaén Martínez, FJ. (2020). Evaluating Simultaneous Visual Instructions with Kindergarten Children on Touchscreen Devices. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. 36(1):41-54. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2019.1597576S4154361Allen, R., & Scofield, J. (2010). Word learning from videos: more evidence from 2-year-olds. Infant and Child Development, 19(6), 649-661. doi:10.1002/icd.712Cristia, A., & Seidl, A. (2015). Parental Reports on Touch Screen Use in Early Childhood. PLOS ONE, 10(6), e0128338. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0128338Derboven, J., De Roeck, D., & Verstraete, M. (2012). Semiotic analysis of multi-touch interface design: The MuTable case study. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 70(10), 714-728. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2012.05.005Egloff, T. H. (2004). Edutainment. Computers in Entertainment, 2(1), 13-13. doi:10.1145/973801.973822Fernández-López, Á., Rodríguez-Fórtiz, M. J., Rodríguez-Almendros, M. L., & Martínez-Segura, M. J. (2013). Mobile learning technology based on iOS devices to support students with special education needs. Computers & Education, 61, 77-90. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.09.014Furió, D., González-Gancedo, S., Juan, M.-C., Seguí, I., & Rando, N. (2013). Evaluation of learning outcomes using an educational iPhone game vs. traditional game. Computers & Education, 64, 1-23. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.12.001Hanna, L., Risden, K., & Alexander, K. (1997). Guidelines for usability testing with children. Interactions, 4(5), 9-14. doi:10.1145/264044.264045Honomichl, R. D., & Chen, Z. (2012). The role of guidance in children’s discovery learning. WIREs Cognitive Science, 3(6), 615-622. doi:10.1002/wcs.1199Hourcade, J. P. (2007). Interaction Design and Children. Foundations and Trends® in Human-Computer Interaction, 1(4), 277-392. doi:10.1561/1100000006Ioannou, A., Zaphiris, P., Loizides, F., & Vasiliou, C. (2013). Let’S Talk About Technology for Peace: A Systematic Assessment of Problem-Based Group Collaboration Around an Interactive Tabletop. Interacting with Computers, 27(2), 120-132. doi:10.1093/iwc/iwt061Keenan, T., Ruffman, T., & Olson, D. R. (1994). When do children begin to understand logical inference as a source of knowledge? Cognitive Development, 9(3), 331-353. doi:10.1016/0885-2014(94)90010-8Levine, S. C., Huttenlocher, J., Taylor, A., & Langrock, A. (1999). Early sex differences in spatial skill. Developmental Psychology, 35(4), 940-949. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.35.4.940Nacher, V., Garcia-Sanjuan, F., & Jaen, J. (2016). Interactive technologies for preschool game-based instruction: Experiences and future challenges. Entertainment Computing, 17, 19-29. doi:10.1016/j.entcom.2016.07.001Nacher, V., Jaen, J., & Catala, A. (2016). Evaluating Multitouch Semiotics to Empower Prekindergarten Instruction with Interactive Surfaces. Interacting with Computers, 29(2), 97-116. doi:10.1093/iwc/iww007Nacher, V., Jaen, J., Navarro, E., Catala, A., & González, P. (2015). Multi-touch gestures for pre-kindergarten children. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 73, 37-51. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2014.08.004Nacher, V., Jurdi, S., Jaen, J., & Garcia-Sanjuan, F. (2019). Exploring visual prompts for communicating directional awareness to kindergarten children. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 126, 14-25. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.01.003Neumann, M. M. (2017). Parent scaffolding of young children’s use of touch screen tablets. Early Child Development and Care, 188(12), 1654-1664. doi:10.1080/03004430.2016.1278215Pecora, N., Murray, J. P., & Wartella, E. A. (Eds.). (2009). Children and Television. doi:10.4324/9781410618047Plowman, L., Stevenson, O., Stephen, C., & McPake, J. (2012). Preschool children’s learning with technology at home. Computers & Education, 59(1), 30-37. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.11.014Smith, S. P., Burd, E., & Rick, J. (2012). Developing, evaluating and deploying multi-touch systems. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 70(10), 653-656. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2012.07.002Van der Meij, H., & van der Meij, J. (2014). A comparison of paper-based and video tutorials for software learning. Computers & Education, 78, 150-159. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2014.06.003Vatavu, R.-D., Cramariuc, G., & Schipor, D. M. (2015). Touch interaction for children aged 3 to 6 years: Experimental findings and relationship to motor skills. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 74, 54-76. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2014.10.00

An Interactive Tool for Automatic Predimensioning and Numerical Modeling of Arch Dams

The construction of double-curvature arch dams is an attractive solution from an economic viewpoint due to the reduced volume of concrete necessary for their construction as compared to conventional gravity dams. Due to their complex geometry, many criteria have arisen for their design. However, the most widespread methods are based on recommendations of traditional technical documents without taking into account the possibilities of computer-aided design. In this paper, an innovative software tool to design FEM models of double-curvature arch dams is presented. Several capabilities are allowed: simplified geometry creation (interesting for academic purposes), preliminary geometrical design, high-detailed model construction, and stochastic calculation performance (introducing uncertainty associated with material properties and other parameters). This paper specially focuses on geometrical issues describing the functionalities of the tool and the fundamentals of the design procedure with regard to the following aspects: topography, reference cylinder, excavation depth, crown cantilever thickness and curvature, horizontal arch curvature, excavation and concrete mass volume, and additional elements such as joints or spillways. Examples of application on two Spanish dams are presented and the results obtained analyzed

Tangibot: A tangible-mediated robot to support cognitive games for ageing people A usability study

[EN] The ever increasing elderly population requires a revision of technology to make it usable and meaningful for them. Most applications take into account their reduced physical and cognitive abilities in order to provide assistive services, but this paper focuses on building technology to improve these capacities through cognitive games. We present Tangibot, a tangible-mediated robot aimed at enabling more intuitive and appealing interactions. A usability study conducted on subjects at three different levels of cognitive impairment (none, mild, and severe) reveals that it is usable and engaging for users with no or mild cognitive impairment, and even though it is less usable for persons with severe impairment, it triggers positive emotional reactions among them, which makes it promising for their use in therapeutic activities.This work is supported by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and funded by the European Development Regional Fund (EDRF-FEDER) with Project TIN2014-60077-R. It is also supported by fellowship ACIF/2014/214 within the VALi+d program from Conselleria d'Educacio, Cultura i Esport (Generalitat Valenciana), and by fellowship FPU14/00136 within the FPU program from Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport.García Sanjuan, F.; Jaén Martínez, FJ.; Nácher-Soler, VE. (2017). Tangibot: A tangible-mediated robot to support cognitive games for ageing people A usability study. Pervasive and Mobile Computing. 34:91-105. doi:10.1016/j.pmcj.2016.08.007S911053

Big data analytics in intensive care units: challenges and applicability in an Argentinian hospital

In a typical intensive care unit of a healthcare facilities, many sensors are connected to patients to measure high frequency physiological data. Currently, measurements are registered from time to time, possibly every hour. With this data lost, we are losing many opportunities to discover new patterns in vital signs that could lead to earlier detection of pathologies. The early detection of pathologies gives physicians the ability to plan and begin treatments sooner or potentially stop the progression of a condition, possibly reducing mortality and costs. The data generated by medical equipment are a Big Data problem with near real-time restrictions for processing medical algorithms designed to predict pathologies. This type of system is known as realtime big data analytics systems. This paper analyses if proposed system architectures can be applied in the Francisco Lopez Lima Hospital (FLLH), an Argentinian hospital with relatively high financial constraints. Taking into account this limitation, we describe a possible architectural approach for the FLLH, a mix of a local computing system at FLLH and a public cloud computing platform. We believe this work may be useful to promote the research and development of such systems in intensive care units of hospitals with similar characteristics to the FLLH.Facultad de Informátic

Big data analytics in intensive care units: challenges and applicability in an Argentinian hospital

In a typical intensive care unit of a healthcare facilities, many sensors are connected to patients to measure high frequency physiological data. Currently, measurements are registered from time to time, possibly every hour. With this data lost, we are losing many opportunities to discover new patterns in vital signs that could lead to earlier detection of pathologies. The early detection of pathologies gives physicians the ability to plan and begin treatments sooner or potentially stop the progression of a condition, possibly reducing mortality and costs. The data generated by medical equipment are a Big Data problem with near real-time restrictions for processing medical algorithms designed to predict pathologies. This type of system is known as realtime big data analytics systems. This paper analyses if proposed system architectures can be applied in the Francisco Lopez Lima Hospital (FLLH), an Argentinian hospital with relatively high financial constraints. Taking into account this limitation, we describe a possible architectural approach for the FLLH, a mix of a local computing system at FLLH and a public cloud computing platform. We believe this work may be useful to promote the research and development of such systems in intensive care units of hospitals with similar characteristics to the FLLH.Facultad de Informátic

Phase imaging by spatial wavefront sampling

Phase-imaging techniques extract the optical path length information of a scene, whereas wavefront sensors provide the shape of an optical wavefront. Since these two applications have different technical requirements, they have developed their own specific technologies. Here we show how to perform phase imaging combining wavefront sampling using a reconfigurable spatial light modulator with a beam position detector. The result is a time-multiplexed detection scheme, capable of being shortened considerably by compressive sensing. This robust referenceless method does not require the phase-unwrapping algorithms demanded by conventional interferometry, and its lenslet-free nature removes trade-offs usually found in Shack–Hartmann sensors

Modeling and vibration mode analysis of a ball screw drive

Positioning systems for machine tools are generally driven by ball screws due to their high stiffness and low sensitivity to external perturbations. However, as modern machine tools increase their velocity and acceleration of positioning, the resonant modes of these systems could be excited degrading the trajectory tracking accuracy. Therefore, a dynamic model including the vibration modes is required for machine design as well as for controller selection and tuning. This work presents a high-frequency dynamic model of a ball screw drive. The analytical formulation follows a comprehensive approach, where the screw is modeled as a continuous subsystem, using Ritz series approximation to obtain an approximate N-degree-of-freedom model. Based on this model, the axial and angular components of each mode function are studied for different transmission ratios to determine the degree of coupling between them. After that, the frequency variation of each mode was studied for different carriage positions and different moving masses. Finally, an analysis of these results applied to controller design and parameter estimation is also presented.Fil: Vicente, Diego Alberto. Universidad Nacional de la Pampa. Facultad de Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Hecker, Rogelio Lorenzo. Universidad Nacional de la Pampa. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Villegas, Fernando Javier. Universidad Nacional de la Pampa. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Flores, Gustavo Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Agreement technologies and their use in cloud computing environments

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13748-012-0031-9[EN] Nowadays, cloud computing is revolutionizing the services provided through the Internet to adapt itself in order to keep the quality of its services. Recent research foresees the advent of a new discipline of agent-based cloud computing systems that can make decisions about adaption in an uncertain environment. This paper discusses the role of argumentation in the next generation of agreement technologies and its use in cloud computing environments.This work is supported by the Spanish government (MICINN), project reference: TIN2012-36586-C03-01.Heras Barberá, SM.; De La Piedra, F.; Julian Inglada, VJ.; Rodríguez, S.; Botti Navarro, VJ.; Bajo, J.; Corchado, JM. (2012). Agreement technologies and their use in cloud computing environments. Progress in Artificial Intelligence. 1(4):277-290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13748-012-0031-9S27729014European Comission: The Future of Cloud Computing. Technical report (2010)Barham, P., Dragovic, B., Fraser, K., Hand, S., Harris, T., Ho, A., Neugebauer, R., Pratt, I., Warfield, A.: Xen and the art of virtualization. In: SOSP03 Proceedings of the Nineteenth ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles, pp. 164–177. ACM, New York (2003)Wang, L., et. al.: Scientific cloud computing: early definition and experience. In: 10th IEEE International Conference on High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC-08), pp. 825–830. IEEE Press (2008)Talia, D.: Clouds meet agents: toward intelligent cloud services. Internet Comput. IEEE 16(2), 78–81 (2012). doi: 10.1109/MIC.2012.28Heras, S.: Case-Based Argumentation Framework for Agent Societies. PhD thesis, Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/12497 (2011)Ashton, K.: That ‘internet of things’ thing. RFID J. (2009). http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/4986Klusch, M.: Information agent technology for the Internet: a Survey. Data Knowl. Eng. 36, 337–372 (2001)Schaffer, H.E.: X as a Service. Cloud Computing, and the Need for Good Judgment IT Professional 11(5), 4–5 (2009). doi: 10.1109/MITP.2009.112Richardson, L., Ruby, S.: RESTful Web Services, Web services for the real world O’Reilly, Media, May, p. 454 (2007)GlusterFS Developers. The Gluster web site. http://www.gluster.org (2012)Chodorow, K., Dirolf, M.: The Definitive Guide. O’Reilly Media, MongoDB (2010)Fuentes-Fernandez, R., Hassan, S., Pavon, J., Galan, J.M., Lopez-Paredes, A.: Metamodels for role-driven agent-based modelling. Comput. Math. Organ. Theory 18(1), 91–112 (2012)Jordán, J., et al.: A customer support application using argumentation in multi-agent systems. In: 14th International Conference on, Information Fusion, pp. 772–778 (2011)Heras, S., Jordán, J., Botti, V., Julián, V.: Argue to agree: a case-based argumentation approach. Int. J. Approx. Reasoning (2012, in press)Walton, D., Reed, C., Macagno, F.: Argumentation Schemes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2008)Bench-Capon, T., Sartor, G.: A model of legal reasoning with cases incorporating theories and values. Artif. Intell. 150(1–2), 97–143 (2003)Dignum, F., Weigand, H.: Communication and deontic logic. In: Information Systems Correctness and Reusability, pp. 242–260. World Scientific, Singapore (1995)Wooldridge, M., Jennings, N.R.: Intelligent agents: theory and practice. Knowl. Eng. Rev. 10(2), 115–152 (1995)Lopez-Rodriguez, I., Hernandez-Tejera, M.: Software agents as cloud computing services. In: 9th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multiagent Systems. Advances in Intelligent and Soft Computing, vol. 88, pp. 271–276. Springer, Berlin (2011)Sim, K.M.: Towards complex negotiation for cloud economy. In: 5th International Conference on Advances in Grid and Pervasive Computing. LNCS, vol. 6104, pp. 395–406. Springer, Berlin (2010)Aversa, R., et al.: Cloud agency: a mobile agent based cloud system. In: International Conference on Complex, Intelligent and Software Intensive Systems, pp. 132–137. IEEE Computer Society Press, Washington, DC (2010)Cao, B., et al.: A service-oriented qos-assured and multi-agent cloud computing architecture. In: 1st International Conference on Cloud Computing. LNCS, vol. 5931, pp. 644–649. Springer, Berlin (2009)Rahwan, I., Simari, G. (eds.): Argumentation in Artificial Intelligence. Springer, Berlin (2009

EST2uni: an open, parallel tool for automated EST analysis and database creation, with a data mining web interface and microarray expression data integration

This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2105/9/5[Background] Expressed sequence tag (EST) collections are composed of a high number of single-pass, redundant, partial sequences, which need to be processed, clustered, and annotated to remove low-quality and vector regions, eliminate redundancy and sequencing errors, and provide biologically relevant information. In order to provide a suitable way of performing the different steps in the analysis of the ESTs, flexible computation pipelines adapted to the local needs of specific EST projects have to be developed. Furthermore, EST collections must be stored in highly structured relational databases available to researchers through user-friendly interfaces which allow efficient and complex data mining, thus offering maximum capabilities for their full exploitation.[Results] We have created EST2uni, an integrated, highly-configurable EST analysis pipeline and data mining software package that automates the pre-processing, clustering, annotation, database creation, and data mining of EST collections. The pipeline uses standard EST analysis tools and the software has a modular design to facilitate the addition of new analytical methods and their configuration. Currently implemented analyses include functional and structural annotation, SNP and microsatellite discovery, integration of previously known genetic marker data and gene expression results, and assistance in cDNA microarray design. It can be run in parallel in a PC cluster in order to reduce the time necessary for the analysis. It also creates a web site linked to the database, showing collection statistics, with complex query capabilities and tools for data mining and retrieval.[Conclusion] The software package presented here provides an efficient and complete bioinformatics tool for the management of EST collections which is very easy to adapt to the local needs of different EST projects. The code is freely available under the GPL license and can be obtained at http:// bioinf.comav.upv.es/est2uni. This site also provides detailed instructions for installation and configuration of the software package. The code is under active development to incorporate new analyses, methods, and algorithms as they are released by the bioinformatics community.Partially funded by "Conselleria de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentacion de la Comunidad Valenciana" and Spanish "Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia" (research grants GEN2001-4885-C05 and GEN2003-20237-C06).Peer reviewe