WP 55 - Part-time employment: A comparative analysis of Spain and the Netherlands

Most industrialized countries have seen part-time employment as a percentage of total employment increase in the last decade. This paper presents the results of a comparative study of part-time employment in Spain and the Netherlands. The project comprised a legal comparative study of the effectiveness of the normative solutions provided by the Dutch and Spanish legal orders regarding the protection of part-time workers and the promotion of part-time employment, with special attention paid to the gender dimension of part-time work in both countries; and an analysis, based on data extracted from the European Community Household Panel (1995-2001), of the determinants of part-time employment in both countries and an examination of the extent to which part-time jobs are used as stepping-stones to full-time positions. We found significant country differences regarding females’ decisions to take part-time jobs. We also found that, in general, Dutch females are not less likely than their male counterparts to increase the number of hours they work. However, this applies only to those females who are part of a couple or have children younger than 12 years. In Spain, females are 2.6 times less likely than their male counterparts to switch from a part-time to a full-time job. JEL classification: J22, J71, K31, K33Part-time employment, discrimination, gender differences, multinomial logit

Materiales anódicos alternativos para el desarrollo de baterías de ión-litio sostenibles

Tesis doctoral presentada en el Departamento de Energía de la Universidad de Oviedo, 2016.[EN] Lithium-ion batteries are the most attractive and feasible alternative for the development of massive electrical energy storage systems to allow the implementation of renewable energy sources as well as the electric vehicle. Nevertheless, it is necessary to identify new eco-friendly electrode materials (active materials, conductive additives and binders) capable of improving the performance of the batteries without increasing the cost. Therefore, the Main Objective of this Thesis is to develop efficient anodes for lithium-ion batteries which increase the energy and power as well as the useful life of these devices, reducing the environmental impact associated with their manufacture, use and subsequent recycling. To achieve this goal, the work is organized in three activities that are related to the Specific Objectives set out. In a first activity, graphitic nanomaterials (graphite nanofibers) were prepared by heat treatment at high temperatures of carbon nanofibers produced in the catalytic decomposition of biogas, a renewable energy source. Graphite nanofibers with a highly-developed three-dimensional structure were used as anode active material for lithium-ion batteries. The electrochemical performance of these nanomaterials is comparable, or even superior at high-density currents, to that of oil-derived micrometric graphite, which is used on a large scale for lithium-ion batteries. The nanometric particle size reduces the diffusion time of the Li+ ions along the intercalation/deintercalation processes, allowing faster charge/discharge rates, thus making these graphite nanofibers potential candidates for anodes of high-power lithium-ion batteries. Afterwards, a series of hydrocolloids, more specifically, natural, safe and biodegradable biopolymers, among them sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium alginate, xanthan gum and guar gum, were employed as an alternative to polyvinylidene difluoride, synthetic fluorinated polymer commonly used as binder in anodes for lithium-ion batteries. From the electrochemical studies at different current rates and binder concentrations it can be concluded that the electrochemical performance of the synthetic graphite anodes with hydrocolloids with a linear structure or with the fluorinated polymer are comparable, proving the viability of the named for this application. Furthermore, the required amount of hydrocolloid for a proper electrode performance is smaller, which together with their lower prices and the possibility of using water instead of an organic solvent, would reduce costs as well as the environmental impact caused by these devices.Peer reviewe

Las AFMN como recurso educativo

En este trabajo se pone de manifiesto el valor educativo que tienen las Actividades Físicas en el Medio Natural (AFMN) como materia integrada dentro del área de Educación Física,favoreciendo al desarrollo físico e intelectual de los alumnos. La planificación y desarrollo de las AFMN debe abordarse desde una perspectiva globalizadora donde se favorezca al desarrollo integral del alumnado. Además, su tratamiento interdisciplinar va a potenciar la integración de contenidos de otras áreas, fomentando así el trabajo en grupo con otras materias e inclusión de valores educativos y contribuyendo al desarrollo de un proyecto colectivo. Debemos entender la motricidad como medio para lograr ese desarrollo integral, sin dejar de lado los contenidos específicos de la Educación Física.Grado en Educación Primari

la enseñanza de la lectoescritura en educación infantil: La transición de la etapa silábica a la silábico-alfabética

El lenguaje es una de las facultades más importantes del ser humano. Se trata de una herramienta elemental para la comunicación, que nos permite la construcción de conocimientos, el logro de aprendizajes y la integración social y cultural. Para los niños y niñas, el lenguaje es un medio de relación con los demás a través del cual pueden conocer el mundo que les rodea y establecer relaciones afectivas. Debido a la gran importancia que tienen el lenguaje y la comunicación en los seres humanos, la enseñanza y aprendizaje de la lectoescritura es uno de los procesos más trascendentales que deben iniciarse en Educación Infantil. A través de este trabajo se pretende hacer llegar a los niños y niñas la importancia de la lectoescritura en nuestras vidas. Para ello se ha planificado y llevado a cabo una propuesta didáctica gracias a la cual podrán comprobar los diferentes usos que damos a la lengua escrita. Se sigue, principalmente, un enfoque constructivista, planteando actividades reales a partir de las cuales pueden apreciar el carácter instrumental de la lectoescritura y su principal finalidad: la comunicación.Grado en Educación Infanti

Effect of early feed restriction on performance and health status in growing rabbits slaughtered at 2 kg live-weight

[EN] The effect of a time-limited access to the feeders (8 h per d from 9:30 to 17:30) on fattening performance and health status was studied in rabbits reared until 2 kg live-weight as typical in the Spanish market. For this purpose, the same diet (10.5 MJ digestible energy/kg, 38.9% neutral detergent fibre and 18.4% crude protein on dry matter basis) was used over two consecutive trials. A total of 192 growing rabbits (96 in each trial) were weaned at 35 d and assigned to 2 different feeding treatments (continuously fed ad libitum or restricted from 35 until 49 d). In the first trial, feed restriction reduced daily feed intake (94.3 vs. 74.2 g; P<0.001), daily weight gain (43.6 vs. 27.1 g; P<0.001) and impaired feed conversion rate (FCR) (2.28 vs. 2.92, P<0.001) in the first 14 d after weaning. Later on, no feed restriction was applied and a compensatory growth was observed in previously restricted rabbits (44.8 vs. 54.8 g/d; P<0.001). Early restricted rabbits did not reach the Spanish commercial weight (2 kg) at 63 d of age and weighed less than full-fed rabbits (1989 vs. 1888 g; P=0.001). Moreover, feed restriction did not improve FCR in the whole fattening period (2.56 on average). The second trial was extended until 70 d to permit restricted rabbits to attain market weight. However, at that age, live weight of restricted rabbits was also lower than that of rabbits always fed ad libitum (2285 vs. 2101 g; P=0.001). In the first trial, no health problem was recorded (average mortality 1.04%) whereas in the second trial feed restriction allowed both mortality (25.6 vs. 6.34%, P=0.017) and morbidity (41.4 vs. 12.7%, P=0.004) to decrease. The higher number of losses in the second trial made economic FCR differ from scientific FCR (3.63 vs. 2.89, on average) in the 35¿70 d period. Moreover, morbidity increased heterogeneity of fattening performance. In conclusion, the interest of feed restriction in Spanish fattening rabbit farms is mitigated by the conventional market weight. Nevertheless, in a context with high rates of digestive troubles, a time-limited access to the feeder enhances health status on the farm and could justify the short delay necessary to reach slaughter weight.Romero, C.; Cuesta, S.; Astillero, J.; Nicodemus, N.; Blas, CD. (2010). Effect of early feed restriction on performance and health status in growing rabbits slaughtered at 2 kg live-weight. World Rabbit Science. 18(4):211-218. doi:10.4995/wrs.2010.77821121818

Is single layer graphene a promising anode for sodium-ion batteries?

In an attempt to find an adequate carbon material to achieve a successful reversible adsorption of Na+ ions, single layer graphene, is experimentally investigated in this work, for the first time, as anode for sodium-ion batteries. To this end, single layer graphene that was grown on copper foil by chemical vapor deposition was subjected to extended galvanostatic cycling and to cyclic voltammetry in the potential range of 0-2.8 V versus Na/Na+. Regardless of the current density and electrolyte formulation used, the amount of Na+ ions adsorbed/desorbed reversibly per surface area (specific reversible cell capacity) was very modest and comparable to that obtained with bare copper electrodes of reference, thus suggesting that the reversible capacity of the single layer graphene electrode is mostly due to the electrochemical response of the copper substrate. These experimental results clearly agree with recent theoretical calculations showing that the adsorption of Na+ ions on the surface of single layer graphene is energetically unfavourable unless that surface includes significant defects density.Financial support from IBERDROLA FOUNDATION (www.fundacioniberdrola.org, Projects 2014-2015) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness MINECO (under Projects ENE2011-28318-CO-02 and ENE2014-52189-C2-2-R) is gratefully acknowledged. A. Ramos and N. Cuesta, respectively, thank the Spanish Research Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) for a JAE-Doc contract, co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) for a pre-doctoral grant (BES-2012-052711).Peer reviewe

COMPARISON OF GAMIFICATION TOOLS FOR EVALUATING THE ETHICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY SKILLS IN SCIENCE DEGREES

In the last two years the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) has implemented the evaluation of key transversal competences in its degrees. The objective is to offer an added value both for UPV s graduates and their employers. Nowadays, labour market is demanding not only professional skills but also personal and transversal competences development. However, evaluating these skills may require evaluation methods and techniques different to traditional ones. The authors have worked with gamification tools to help assessing student s performance in Ethical, environmental and professional responsibility skill. The experiences described have been developed in the frame of an Innovative Educational Project Improvement during the academic years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016. The aim of this paper is to compare the performance of two gamification applications, Socrative and Quizbean, for evaluating the above mentioned skill. Both applications can be used in the classroom with different devices such as laptops, tablets or mobile phones, and are based on creating questionnaires. These applications also share other characteristics such as high number of questions allowed, relatively high number of students in the classroom, instant results, etc. Socrative was used in Thermodynamics and Chemical Kinetics course in the first year of the Bachelor s degree in Biotechnology. Quizbean was used in Groundwater management subject in the fourth year of the Bachelor s degree in Environmental Sciences. To increase student motivation, game rules were included to encourage competition. The questionnaires were designed and classified according to 3 possible levels of acquisition of the key competence, these levels are fully described in a specific rubric that was explained beforehand to the students. Both applications performed successfully and the specificities of each gamification tool are described in the results. Students were satisfactorily involved in the activity, and some examples are included to show different levels of competence acquisition.The authors would like to thank the Vice-Rectorate for Studies, Quality and Acreditation of the Universitat Politècnica de València for funding the lnnovation and Educational Improvement Project A005: “Experiencia piloto de evaluación en distintas titulaciones de la UPV de la competencia transversal UPV Responsabilidad ética, medioambiental y profesional”Sebastiá-Frasquet, M.; Vargas Colás, MD.; Asensio Cuesta, S.; Pascual-Seva, N. (2016). COMPARISON OF GAMIFICATION TOOLS FOR EVALUATING THE ETHICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY SKILLS IN SCIENCE DEGREES. IATED. https://doi.org/10.21125/iceri.2016.1855

Programa de Educación sobre la utilización de Apps móviles para la promoción del auto cuidado en la Diabetes Mellitus tipo 2

Introducción: El mercado de las aplicaciones móviles ha crecido exponencialmente y tiene la oportunidad de ser utilizado como ayuda para el control de enfermedades crónicas. La mHealth complementa y apoya de manera eficiente la atención sanitaria convencional, debido a que las herramientas tecnológicas se han convertido en instrumentos útiles en la atención del paciente diabético.Objetivos: Diseñar un programa de educación sanitaria sobre el uso de aplicaciones móviles dirigido a población diabética de tipo 2 recién diagnosticada, con el fin de aumentar el auto cuidado de su salud de forma autónoma. Metodología: Se ha realizado una búsqueda bibliográfica en las principales bases de datos científicas y páginas web de interés, en relación con el tema del trabajo.Todo ello para la elaboración de un programa de salud que consta de una sesión grupal y un seguimiento individualizado posterior durante 6 meses llevado a cabo en la consulta de enfermería. Conclusiones: Mediante la utilización de aplicaciones móviles para la gestión y autocontrol de la diabetes por parte de los pacientes, se pretende fomentar su autonomía en la toma de decisiones en relación a su estado de salud, tomar una mayor conciencia de su papel en el proceso de cuidado y capacitarles para la detección de posibles complicaciones y actuar en consecuencia. Palabras clave: mHealth, diabetes mellitus tipo 2, aplicaciones móviles.<br /

Validation of the upper limb functional index on breast cancer survivor

Breast cancer survivors (BCS) may face functional alterations after surgical intervention. Upper Limb Disorders (ULDs) are highly prevalent even years after a diagnosis. Clinicians may assess the upper limbs after breast cancer. The Upper Limb Functional Index (ULFI) has been validated across different populations and languages. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Upper Limb Functional Index Spanish version (ULFI-Sp) in the BCS. Methods: A psychometric validation study of the ULFI-Sp was conducted on 216 voluntary breast cancer survivors. The psychometric properties were as follows: analysis of the factor structure by maximum likelihood extraction (MLE), internal consistency, and construct validity by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: The factor structure was one-dimensional. ULFI-Sp showed a high internal consistency for the total score (α = 0.916) and the regression score obtained from MLE (α = 0.996). CFA revealed a poor fit, and a new 14-item model (short version) was further tested. The developed short version of the ULFI-SP is preferable to assess upper limb function in Spanish BCS. Conclusions: Given the high prevalence of ULD in this population and the broader versions of ULFI across different languages, this study’s results may be transferred to clinical practice and integrated as part of upper limb assessment after breast cancer.Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Development and validation of a specific questionnaire to assess health-related quality of life in patients with home enteral nutrition: NutriQoL® development

Introduction: Home enteral nutrition (HEN) is indicated in patients with a functional gastrointestinal tract but who are unable to meet their nutritional requirements with normally consumed foodstuffs. HEN allows patients to remain in their social and family environment, thus reducing complications and costs associated with hospital admission, while increasing health-related quality of life (HRQoL). HRQoL in patients with HEN is mainly evaluated by generic instruments, which are not sensitive enough to identify certain specific patient-related outcomes of HEN. Objective: To develop a specific instrument to measure HRQoL in patients receiving HEN whose results allow interpretation regardless of the underlying disease and nutritional support administration route: the NutriQoL® questionnaire. Materials and methods: The development of the NutriQoL entailed a literature review, focus groups with experts, semistructured interviews with patients, an assessment of face validity and feasibility, and Rasch analysis conducted on data from a sample of 141 patients and 24 caregivers. Results: Of the 52 items initially proposed on the basis of the literature review, expert focus group, and semi-structured interviews with patients and caregivers, 17 items were finally selected through the development process to make up the final version of the NutriQoL, as well as a visual analog scale for global HRQoL scoring. The selected items were evaluated as adequate for frequency, importance, and clarity. Furthermore, they have been shown to be independent of the underlying condition and HEN administration route. Conclusion: A new instrument for measuring the HRQoL of patients with HEN in Spain has been developed, whose results are independent of the underlying condition and administration route. The next step will be the validation of the questionnaire to ensure that the instrument is valid, reliable, and sensitive to health status changes in patients, to be used periodically in usual clinical practice.The abstract of this paper was presented at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research 17th Annual European Congress (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) on November 2014 as a poster with interim findings. The poster’s abstract was published in “Value in Health” Vol 17, Issue 7, A518 (http://www.valueinhealthjournal.com/article/S1098-3015(14)03541-4/pdf) and A575 (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1098301514038650). Nestlé Health Science sponsored the stud