Què són les comunitats d'aprenentatge

Aquest article fa una primera aproximació a les Comunitats d’Aprenentatge, el seu coneixement, les seues característiques, els seus principis i els seus antecedents per a iniciar-se en investigacions al seu voltant.This article presents a first approximation to the Learning Communities, their knowledge, their characteristics, their principles and their antecedents to initiate in investigations on them

Does student proactivity guarantee positive academic results?

This paper analyzes the impact of students’ proactivity on academic performance based on a sample from students enrolled in an introductory course of Political Economy at the University of Seville (Spain) in three consecutive courses (2014–2015, 2015–2016 and 2016–2017). Proactivity is measured by several indicators, such as class attendance, case-study oral presentation and its delivery in a foreign language, all of them being non-mandatory activities for students who have participated in the experiment. Specifically, this study aims to assess the impact of a student’s proactivity on two academic outcomes: (i) to pass or fail the exam; and (ii) the score obtained. Impact assessment has been performed using a probit and ordered multinomial logit models. The results show that a student’s proactivity measured by class attendance and case-study presentation significantly increases the probability of passing the exam, while the impact of using a foreign language seems to be non-significant. In relation to the score obtained, the proactivity measured through the case presentation raises the probability of obtaining a higher mark more than regular class attendance.Junta de Andalucía proyecto SEJ-132Universidad Autónoma de ChileUniversidad de Sevilla. Departamento de Análisis Económico y Política Económic

Health and heating in the city of Temuco (Chile). Monetary savings of replacing biomass with PV system in the residential sector

The paper conducts a comprehensive analysis of replacing residential use of wood burning stoves for heating with photovoltaic systems for the generation of electricity using storage batteries (PV + storage systems). The research focuses on the city of Temuco (Southern Chile) as a case study, since this city has a high use of firewood for heating (80% of households) and also because this city has been declared by authorities as an area saturated with suspended particles. The total cost corresponds to the acquisition of systems. The reduction of monetary value of the impact of polluting emissions, resulting from the combustion of firewood, on health and traffic accidents is calculated. The interactive tool GDB Compare has been used to calculate the impact of pollution on health both in terms of attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life years. The monetary value of the impact on health has been calculated using two alternative approaches: the value of statistical life and the human capital approach. To identify firewood use requirements, heating degree–days has been used for temperatures ≤15 °C and ≤18 °C. The emissions avoided calculations have been refined, including emissions associated with the manufacture and transport of systems through the life cycle analysis. For all scenarios, the main results show that the savings outweigh the costs

Quality of Institutions, Technological Progress, and Pollution Havens in Latin America. An Analysis of the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis

A set of 17-year panel data (1996–2013) across a representative sample from eighteen Latin American countries is used to respond four research questions: Did Latin American Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions prove the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis? Did the quality of institutions play a compensating role for income on environmental stress? Did technological progress help decouple income from environmental stress? Has the Pollution Haven Hypothesis (PHH) been proven? In order to answer the research questions, the paper expands the traditional EKC approach by including an exclusive quality analysis of institutions, technological progress, and PHH as part of the model. This innovation is developed considering the most recent literature about EKC as a starting point. Major findings show that the relationship between income and GHG emissions is adjusted to the traditional EKC hypothesis for the analyzed period. They also show that the quality of institutions and technological progress improve environmental sustainability. However, the variables, Foreign Direct Investment and International Trade, provide a negative answer to the fourth question. The main methodological contribution of this paper is to use a threefold extended classic EKC model to conduct the feasible generalized least squares method. The paper also contributes to the growing body of PHH literature.Junta de Andalucía proyecto SEJ-132Cátedra de Economía de la Energía y del MedioUniversidad Autónoma de Chil

Numerical optimization of hybrid dielectric/HTS resonators for surface impedance evaluation of HTS films

This work describes an alternative to the traditional dielectric resonator topology used for measuring surface impedance in high temperature superconducting (HTS) films. A gap is introduced above the dielectric so that only the lower film is in direct contact with it. This arrangement has been used extensively for mechanical tuning of dielectric resonators and, when used for surface impedance measurement, it can be designed to make the losses in the upper film small relative to the overall resonator losses. Then, measured results are mostly due to one of the films and not the average of two. The specifics of a resonator design for measuring 2-inch wafers are presented. An analysis and optimization of the resonator is done using a numerically efficient mode-matching algorithm.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Understanding the ERP Project Champion Role and Its Criticality

Existence of an adequate project champion role has been identified as a critical success factor in ERP implementation projects. However, the figure of the project champion is not yet quite well understood. Some authors relate it with the project sponsor figure while others relate it with the project manager figure. This paper tries to clarify these concepts. Our research framework has been based upon an extensive ERP literature review and a web survey. The findings of this survey show that the adequate project champion role is that of the project sponsor; respondents also think that both project manager and project sponsor are critical to the success of an ERP implementation project and not merely the project champion figure. We also show the interdependence between project sponsor role, project manager role and ERP project success, for which we present an interdependence model

A structural decomposition analysis of CO2 main drivers for the spanish economy

The aim of this paper is the analysis of structural decomposition of changes in CO2 emissions in Spain by using an enhanced Structural Decomposition Analysis (SDA) supported by detailed Input–Output tables from the World Input–Output Database (2013) (WIOD) for the period 1995–2009. The decomposition of changes in CO2 emissions at sectoral level are broken down into six effects: carbonization, energy intensity, technology, structural demand, consumption pattern and scale. The results are interesting, not only for researchers but also for utility companies and policy-makers as soon as past and current political mitigation measures are analyzed in line with such results. The results allow us to conclude that the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol together with European Directives related to the promotion of RES seem to have a positive impact on CO2 emissions trends in Spain. After reviewing the current mitigation measures in Spain, one policy recommendation is suggested to avoid the rebound effect and to enhance the fight against Climate Change that is tax benefits for those companies that prove reductions in their energy intensity ratios.Junta de Andalucía SEJ 132Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad ECO2014-56399-RMinisterio de Educación (Chile) 018/FONDECYT/1

Evaluación de políticas públicas sobre poblaciones heterogéneas. ¿Pueden los órganos de control externo contribuir a su avance?

A partir de las aportaciones de Heckman et al. (1997), Manski (2001) e Imbens (2004), así como Durán (2004) en la literatura española, este artículo aborda la cuestión de si los órganos de control externo pueden contribuir eficazmente al desarrollo de la investigación evaluatoria en poblaciones heterogéneas, particularmente cuando aquélla se basa en la aplicación de métodos de inferencia causal estadística. El artículo sostiene que cuando las características que motivan las diferentes respuestas de los individuos a los tratamientos resultan observables al investigador, el control de las mismas mediante el método de selección sobre observables resulta adecuado. La evidencia encontrada en estos métodos evaluatorios debe, no obstante, contrastarse con el arrojado por otros estimadores, particularmente en el caso de existir características no observables. El estimador de diferencias en diferencias puede resultar, en este caso, de ayuda. Los órganos de control externo españoles y, de manera especial, el Tribunal de Cuentas cuentan con las habilitaciones legales necesarias para poder recopilar el soporte empírico necesario para este tipo de evaluaciones. La implementación de su tratamiento se beneficiaría de los paquetes informáticos disponibles. Sobre los resultados de los análisis evaluatorios en poblaciones heterogéneas, los decisores públicos podrían desarrollar reglas de asignación que permitan –bien sobre un criterio de eficiencia, bien sobre un criterio de equidad– optimizar los efectos de los tratamientos o políticas públicas