A SUPPORT TOOL TO IMPROVE COURSE CREDIT TRANSFER IN AN EDUCATION INSTITUTION

Processes of course transfer equivalencies should verify the compatibility or equivalence between these curricular components. In educational institutions, the teachers evaluate manually such decision processes with no type of technological support. In order to determine if the courses attended by the students in their institutions of origin can be accepted, the teachers make comparisons between the contents of both courses (attended and requested). Allied to this, the semiannual volume of these processes makes the analysis tedious, time-consuming, error-prone, and constantly challenged by stakeholders. Thus, this work purposes the development of a decision tool based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to aid in identifying the equivalence of disciplines through the analysis of their contents. The purpose of the decision tool is to support teachers during the evaluation of processes to take advantage of these curricular components. In order to evaluate the performance of the system, we constructed a dataset containing teacher evaluations in real processes of course equivalencies. This dataset was the gold standard (benchmark) for the computational tests. The metrics used in the tests for the evaluation of the proposed technique included AUROC curve, Accuracy and F-Measure.Los procesos de equivalencias de transferencia de cursos deben verificar la compatibilidad o equivalencia entre estos componentes curriculares. En las instituciones educativas, los docentes evalúan manualmente dichos procesos de decisión sin ningún tipo de soporte tecnológico. Para determinar si los cursos a los que asisten los estudiantes en sus instituciones de origen pueden ser aceptados, los docentes realizan comparaciones entre los contenidos de ambos cursos (cursados ​​y solicitados). Aliado a esto, el volumen semestral de estos procesos hace que el análisis sea tedioso, lento, propenso a errores y constantemente desafiado por las partes interesadas. Así, este trabajo tiene como objetivo el desarrollo de una herramienta de decisión basada en técnicas de Procesamiento del Lenguaje Natural (PNL) que ayude a identificar la equivalencia de disciplinas a través del análisis de sus contenidos. El propósito de la herramienta de decisión es apoyar a los docentes durante la evaluación de procesos para aprovechar estos componentes curriculares. Para evaluar el desempeño del sistema, construimos un conjunto de datos que contiene las evaluaciones de los maestros en procesos reales de equivalencias de cursos. Este conjunto de datos fue el estándar de oro (punto de referencia) para las pruebas computacionales. Las métricas utilizadas en las pruebas para la evaluación de la técnica propuesta incluyeron curva AUROC, Precisión y Medida F.Os processos de equivalência de transferência de curso devem verificar a compatibilidade ou equivalência entre estes componentes curriculares. Nas instituições de ensino, os professores avaliam manualmente tais processos de decisão sem nenhum tipo de suporte tecnológico. Para determinar se os cursos frequentados pelos alunos nas suas instituições de origem podem ser aceites, os professores fazem comparações entre os conteúdos dos dois cursos (frequentados e solicitados). Aliado a isso, o volume semestral desses processos torna a análise tediosa, demorada, sujeita a erros e constantemente desafiada pelos stakeholders. Assim, este trabalho objetiva o desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta de decisão baseada em técnicas de Processamento de Linguagem Natural (PNL) para auxiliar na identificação da equivalência de disciplinas por meio da análise de seus conteúdos. O objetivo da ferramenta de decisão é apoiar os professores na avaliação dos processos de aproveitamento destes componentes curriculares. Para avaliar o desempenho do sistema, construímos um conjunto de dados contendo avaliações de professores em processos reais de equivalências de cursos. Este conjunto de dados foi o padrão ouro (benchmark) para os testes computacionais. As métricas utilizadas nos testes de avaliação da técnica proposta incluíram curva AUROC, Exatidão e F-Measure

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Testing a global standard for quantifying species recovery and assessing conservation impact.

Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a "Green List of Species" (now the IUCN Green Status of Species). A draft Green Status framework for assessing species' progress toward recovery, published in 2018, proposed 2 separate but interlinked components: a standardized method (i.e., measurement against benchmarks of species' viability, functionality, and preimpact distribution) to determine current species recovery status (herein species recovery score) and application of that method to estimate past and potential future impacts of conservation based on 4 metrics (conservation legacy, conservation dependence, conservation gain, and recovery potential). We tested the framework with 181 species representing diverse taxa, life histories, biomes, and IUCN Red List categories (extinction risk). Based on the observed distribution of species' recovery scores, we propose the following species recovery categories: fully recovered, slightly depleted, moderately depleted, largely depleted, critically depleted, extinct in the wild, and indeterminate. Fifty-nine percent of tested species were considered largely or critically depleted. Although there was a negative relationship between extinction risk and species recovery score, variation was considerable. Some species in lower risk categories were assessed as farther from recovery than those at higher risk. This emphasizes that species recovery is conceptually different from extinction risk and reinforces the utility of the IUCN Green Status of Species to more fully understand species conservation status. Although extinction risk did not predict conservation legacy, conservation dependence, or conservation gain, it was positively correlated with recovery potential. Only 1.7% of tested species were categorized as zero across all 4 of these conservation impact metrics, indicating that conservation has, or will, play a role in improving or maintaining species status for the vast majority of these species. Based on our results, we devised an updated assessment framework that introduces the option of using a dynamic baseline to assess future impacts of conservation over the short term to avoid misleading results which were generated in a small number of cases, and redefines short term as 10 years to better align with conservation planning. These changes are reflected in the IUCN Green Status of Species Standard

Integrating geochemical (surface waters, stream sediments) and biological (diatoms) approaches to assess AMD environmental impact in a pyritic mining area: Aljustrel (Alentejo, Portugal)

Aljustrel mines were classified as having high environmental hazard due to their large tailings volume and high metal concentrations in waters and sediments. To assess acid mine drainage impacted systems whose environmental conditions change quickly, the use of biological indicators with short generation time such as diatoms is advantageous. This study combined geochemical and diatom data, whose results were highlighted in 3 groups: Group 1, with low pH (1.9-5.1) and high metal/metalloid (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn; 0.65-1032 mg/L) and SO4 (405-39124 mg/L) concentrations. An acidophilic species, Pinnularia aljustrelica, was perfectly adapted to the adverse conditions; in contrast, teratological forms of Eunotia exigua were found, showing that metal toxicity affected this species. The low availability of metals/metalloids in sediments of this group indicates that metals/metalloids of the exchangeable fractions had been solubilized, which in fact enables metal/metalloid diatom uptake and consequently the occurrence of teratologies; Group 2, with sites of near neutral pH (5.0-6.8) and intermediate metal/metalloid (0.002-6 mg/L) and SO4 (302-2179 mg/L) concentrations; this enabled the existence of typical species of uncontaminated streams (Brachysira neglectissima, Achnanthidium minutissimum); Group 3, with samples from unimpacted sites, showing low metal/metalloid (0-0.8 mg/L) and SO4 (10-315 mg/L) concentrations, high pH (7.0-8.4) and Cl contents (10-2119 mg/L) and the presence of brackish to marine species (Entomoneis paludosa). For similar conditions of acidity, differences in diversity, abundance and teratologies of diatoms can be explained by the levels of metals/metalloids. (C) 2015 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V

O STF e a construção institucional das autoridades reguladoras do financeiro: um estudo de caso das ADIns The Brazilian Supreme Court and the institutional design of the public authorities of the National Financial System: an ADIns' empirical study

Este artigo pretende avaliar a atuação da corte constitucional brasileira, o Supremo Tribunal Federal, como verdadeiro ator no desenho institucional das autoridades reguladoras do sistema financeiro nacional, o Conselho Monetário Nacional (CMN) e o Banco Central do Brasil (BCB). Sua interação com os poderes políticos, por meio do julgamento de Ações Diretas de Inconstitucionalidade (ADIns), ao longo dos últimos 20 anos, forneceu balizas jurídicas para a construção dessas autoridades. Esta pesquisa, que parte de uma análise qualitativa das decisões do Tribunal como estudo de caso, mapeou os temas e atores interessados na regulação do sistema financeiro e na estrutura dessas entidades, assim como procurou demonstrar como a atuação da corte reforçou a competência normativa desses órgãos. Ao final, este artigo delineia parâmetros para eventual edição de futura legislação, que vise regular o sistema financeiro, revogando a Lei 4594 de 1964, e conceder eventual autonomia ao Banco Central do Brasil.<br>The purpose of this study is to analyse the manner the Brazilian Supreme Court's (Supremo Tribunal Federal - STF) decisions have influenced the institutional design of the national monetary council and the Brazilian Central Bank. During the last 20 years, STF provided limits to the power of these public authorities, by judging Direct Actions of Unconstitutionality (ADIns). This research is based on empirical study that intends to identify the actors and the issues submitted to the court and how its decision enforced their power of regulating the financial system. As a result, it is possible to perceive directions to enact the law that intends to regulate the financial system and eventually to attribute the independence to the Brazilian Central Bank