Reconstruint la història de les poblacions humanes

Les tècniques de recerca de la genètica ens permeten seguir la pista del poblament humà de la Terra. Podem saber on va començar la humanitat i quant de temps fa, així com força detalls del procés d'expansió i migració de la població

La genètica de les migracions humanes: Seguint el rastre de les migracions a través del nostre genoma

La reconstrucció de les migracions humanes és possible gràcies a la informació aportada per diverses disciplines. L’estudi de la diversitat genètica de les poblacions humanes actuals ens revela quins han estat els esdeveniments demogràfics i moviments migratoris passats que han deixat una empremta en el nostre genoma

Dues jornades sobre geografia política

Deux rencontres de spécialistes en Géographie Politique se sont récemment déroulées avec un décalage de deux semaines et a seulement cent kilòmetres l'une de l'autre. La première, A Gérone, a eu comme centre d'intéret le double sujet «Pouvoir et Territoireu»; les cinq conférencier, qui étaient des spécialistes dans des différentes disciplines, ont essayé de mettre en commun les résultats de leurs réflexions méthodologiques et de leurs propos. La deuxième rencontre a eu lieu a Barcelone sous le titre «La frontiere en Géographie Politique»; les six conférenciers ont montré leur intéret vers le sujet des frontibres même s'ils n'ont pas manifesté une approche commune. Les deux rencontres, a vocation et thématique différente, montrent nettement la force dont fait preuve la Géographie Politique en Catalogne et en Espagne aujourd'hui.Within the space of two weeks and a distance of one hundred kilometres, two workshops of experts on Political Geography were held. The first was held in Girona under the title of «Power ad the Region». Although the five guest speakers proceed from different disciplines, they share a common interest in making proposals and reflecting on methodology. The second meeting, this time in Barcelona, was on «The frontier from the viewpoint of Political Geography». The six speakers, rather than sharing a unified approach, shared a passion for the frontier questions. The themes and purposes of the workshops were obviously different, but together clearly indicate the profound interest in Political Geography in Catalonia and Spain.En el interval0 de dos semanas, a tan solo cien kilómetros de distancia, han tenido lugar dos encuentros de especialistas de Geografia Política. El primero, en Girona, estuvo centrado en el binomio «Poder y Territorio»; a pesar de proceder de disciplinas diferentes, los cinco conferenciantes compartieron un interés comun por ofrecer propuestas y reflexiones metodológicas. El segundo encuentro, en Barcelona, Ilevaba por titulo «La frontera en la Geografia Politica»; los seis conferenciantes, mas que un enfoque central, compartieron su pasión por el universo de temas fronterizos. Dos encuentros con vocacion y tematica diferente, pero que indican a las claras la vigorosidad de la Geografia Política en Catalunya y en el Estado español.Amb tan sols dues setmanes de diferencia, i amb només cent kilometres de distancia, han tingut lloc dues trobades d'especialistes en Geografia Política. La primera, a Girona, es va centrar en el binomi «Poder i Territori»; malgrat procedir de disciplines diferents, els cinc conferenciants compartiren un interès comú per oferir propostes i reflexions metodològiques. La segona trobada, a Barcelona, portava per títol «La frontera en la Geografia Política»; en ella els sis conferenciants, més que un enfoc central, compartiren la seva passió per l'univers de temes fronterers. Dues jornades amb vocació i temàtica diferent, pero que indiquen clarament la vigorositat de la Geografia Política a Catalunya i a l'Estat espanyol

English-medium instruction in higher education and the ELT gaze: STEM lecturers’ self-positioning as NOT English language teachers

This paper explores how three Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) lecturers working in English-medium instruction (EMI) grapple with the prospect of self-positioning as English-language-teachers (ELTs), drawing on interviews in which they explicitly deny acting in this way. It begins with essential background, first discussing key concepts such as EMI, internationalization, Englishization in higher education and ‘CLIL-ised EMI’, the latter understood as what happens when EMI is reframed as sharing key characteristic with Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) – language teaching. The paper then outlines the main focus – the notion that STEM specialist EMI lecturers might, on occasion, act as ELTs – examining selected findings from previous research exploring this topic. This discussion is followed by further background information about the context and the methodological framework adopted here, a revised version of Positioning Theory. These preliminaries aside, the paper presents a series of excerpts from interviews with informants, which then serve to construct a narrative about EMI lecturers as ELTs. In the face of informants’ resistance to this identity, the paper ends with some thoughts on what has been learned, both in this context and further afield.Postprint (author's final draft

CLIL-ised EMI in practice: issues arising

In the shift to English-medium instruction (EMI) in European higher education, policy often runs ahead of research and curricular decisions are taken independent of evidence regarding their suitability for achieving broader educational goals, which may range from internationalisation as a general strategy to English language learning as a more specific one. Where English language learning is a goal, EMI may be CLILised, that is, it is adopted not only for content delivery, but also as a means through which students might improve their English. Drawing on interviews and classroom observations, and employing a Membership Categorisation Analysis methodology, this paper examines how a lecturer in agronomic engineering at a Catalan university experiences CLILised EMI. It documents how the lecturer positions himself as a content lecturer and how categories are produced and negotiated in interviews and classroom practices. Among other things, the paper shows that while the lecturer refuses to inhabit an English-language teacher identity, he nonetheless acts in this capacity when he focusses on vocabulary learning through the provision of glossaries and translation. These and other findings point to a more general disjuncture between policy and practice, which, it is argued, needs to be addressed by university administrators and EMI lecturers.Postprint (author's final draft