A technique for designing glossary activities with facial authentication

Nowadays, one of the key challenges for distance education is to be able to verify the students’ identity in order to check if they are actually who they claim to be when they are doing their online tasks and to avoid identity thief. This can be achieved through facial authentication software. In e-learning, thanks to this technology there is a way to confirm that the students are not committing fraud in their studies and besides to improve this kind of education by equaling its validity and prestige to traditional face-to-face education. The goal of this research is to avoid fake users that perform educational tasks on behalf of others in the Learning Management Systems (LMSs), and more specifically to develop a new technique to design activities with glossaries that properly allow control of the student learning process through facial authentication software. The presented technique is composed of several steps that guide instructors in the elaboration of this kind of activities. This work has used Moodle platform for the experimentation, and analyzes the experience of 67 students with the activities designed with the presented technique

Desde el margen: Teatro alterno y comunidades hispanas de Nueva York, 1997–2017

Esta disertación analiza ocho textos de los autores Tere Martínez, Jorge Merced, Marco Antonio Rodríguez, Eva Cristina Vásquez y cuatro performances en la calle. La misma explora las relaciones entre los cuatro dramaturgos y las comunidades hispanas de Nueva York. Indaga en el proceso de cómo la memoria de estas comunidades se refleja en un repertorio teatral. Por otro lado, revisa la organización del performance cultural en las comunidades. La hipótesis de esta investigación es que en el teatro hispano alterno hay obras que son reflejo y reflexión sobre los grupos periféricos y que el performance es una herramienta social. --- This dissertation analyzes eight texts by playwrights Tere Martínez, Jorge Merced, Marco Antonio Rodríguez, and Eva Cristina Vásquez. It explores the relationships between the mentioned authors and the Hispanic communities of New York City, principally the process of how history and memories of these communities are reflected in a theatrical repertoire. On the other hand, Desde el margen explores four cultural and social performances performed on streets by neighbors or social activists reviewing the organization of these performances developed by Hispanic groups. The hypothesis of this research is that in the alternative Hispanic theater there are works that reflect Hispanic peripherical groups and that performing arts and theater are social tools. The dissertation’s theoretical framework are Performance Studies and Latinx Studies

Exploring the influence of facial verification software on student academic performance in online learning environments

In spite of the advances in technology in the e-learning field during the last decades, there is still a gap of software and tools that actually improve the assessment of this kind of education by preventing students from cheating when they perform their activities online. Currently, most learning management systems do not offer enough tools or characteristics to check that students are who they assure when they carry out their exercises or online tests. Facial verification software can be considered an interesting tool to answer this need. This facial software helps to verify the identity of the students when they perform their activities, with the intention of confirming whether they are who they claim to be. However, its use could modify the academic results of the students due to psychological factors (e.g. they could feel spied, ashamed or too controlled). The aim of this article is to investigate whether the utilization of facial verification software can modify the academic performance of students in their online activities. In this work, the grades of 70 master students were analyzed and the conclusions pointed out that the academic performance obtained by the students is similar for both groups: those who have used facial authentication and those who did not use it

A proposal to improve the authentication process in m-health environments

Special Section: Mission Critical Public-Safety Communications: Architectures, Enabling Technologies, and Future Applications One of the challenges of mobile health is to provide a way of maintaining privacy in the access to the data. Especially, when using ICT for providing access to health services and information. In these scenarios, it is essential to determine and verify the identity of users to ensure the security of the network. A way of authenticating the identity of each patient, doctor or any stakeholder involved in the process is to use a software application that analyzes the face of them through the cams integrated in their devices. The selection of an appropriate facial authentication software application requires a fair comparison between alternatives through a common database of face images. Users usually carry out authentication with variations in their aspects while accessing to health services. This paper presents both 1) a database of facial images that combines the most common variations that can happen in the participants and 2) an algorithm that establishes different levels of access to the data based on data sensitivity levels and the accuracy of the authentication

Magnetocaloric effect in Mn-containing Hitperm-type alloys.

The magnetocaloric effect of Fe60−xMnxCo18Nb6B16 x=0,2,4 is studied. Mn addition decreases the Curie temperature of the alloys but also reduces the peak entropy change and the refrigerant capacity of the material. The estimated adiabatic temperature change, for a maximum applied field of 15 kOe, is 1.3 K. Obtained values are comparable to those of some Nanoperm-type alloys. The magnetic entropy change, SM, of the studied samples follows a master curve, which is the same for all of them. The exponent controlling the field dependence of SM scales with reduced temperature in the same way as the master curve does

Muscle mass measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis, calf circumference and grip strength in older adults

AbstractObjectiveTo determine the correlation between muscle mass, measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), with calf circumference and grip strength.Materials and methodsCross-sectional and observational study. Including all functional adults over 60 years of age seen in our Geriatric Clinic during the months of March 2013–February 2014. Measurements of weight, height, BMI, calf circumference, grip strength and muscle mass by BIA were made after the signature of informed consent.Results105 patients were evaluated, 73 women and 32 men, with a mean age of 76 years (SD±7.3). Muscle mass showed a mild positive correlation with calf circumference: Pearson (r=0.31; p=0.000) and a moderate positive correlation with grip strength: Pearson (r=0.50; p=0.000).DiscussionMuscle mass by BIA has a positive correlation with calf circumference and grip strength, and is a reliable measure to assess muscle mass and physical performance in older adults in geriatric ambulatory clinics and can be used in the diagnosis of sarcopenia in Mexican patients

A constant magnetocaloric response in FeMoCuB amorphous alloys with different FeB ratios

The magnetocaloric effect of Fe91−xMo8Cu1Bx (x = 15 , 17 , 20) amorphous alloys has been studied. The temperature of the peak of magnetic entropy change can be tuned by altering the Fe / B ratio in pk pk the alloy, without changing its magnitude, ILlSM I. The average contribution of the Fe atoms to ILlSM I increases with increasing B content. This is correlated with the increase in the low temperature mean magnetic moment of Fe. A recently proposed master curve behavior for the magnetic entropy change is also followed by these alloys and is common for all of them

Nanocrystallization effects on the specific heat of fe-co-nb-b amorphous alloy

Specific heat at constant pressure, CP, was measured on amorphous, nanocrystalline and fully crystalline samples of Fe60Co18Nb6B16 alloy. Magnetic and calorimetric measurements agree, describing a continuously decreasing Curie temperature of the amorphous phase. A clear enhancement of CP over the Dulong-Pettit limit has been observed (from 14 to 25 %). Part of the enhancement is due to magnetic (mainly amorphous phase) and electronic contributions, although an excess volume can be inferred from the high value of the slope of CP versus temperatur

Effect of water stress during grain filling on yield, quality and physiological traits of illpa and rainbow quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) cultivars

The total area under quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) cultivation and the consumption of its grain have increased in recent years because of its nutritional properties and ability to grow under adverse conditions, such as drought. Climate change scenarios predict extended periods of drought and this has emphasized the need for new crops that are tolerant to these conditions. The main goal of this work was to evaluate crop yield and quality parameters and to characterize the physiology of two varieties of quinoa grown under water deficit in greenhouse conditions. Two varieties of quinoa from the Chilean coast (Rainbow) and altiplano (Illpa) were used, grown under full irrigation or two different levels of water deficit applied during the grain filling period. There were no marked differences in yield and quality parameters between treatments, but the root biomass was higher in plants grown under severe water deficit conditions compared to control. Photosynthesis, transpiration and stomatal conductance decreased with increased water stress in both cultivars, but the coastal variety showed higher water use efficiency and less discrimination of C-13 under water deficit. This response was associated with greater root development and a better stomatal opening adjustment, especially in the case of Rainbow