The teaching of ethics in occupational risks prevention through the debate on ethical dilemmas

[EN] It seems reasonable to think that ethics and occupational risk prevention always go hand in hand. However, very little is known about the International Code of Ethics for Occupational Health Professionals, whose third edition was published in 2014 by the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH). Moreover, some circumstances in occupational risk prevention can lead to controversial issues and ethical dilemmas. Despite this, most occupational risk prevention master¿s studies do not include ethics in professional practice matters. This paper presents the teaching experiences in professional practice ethics workshops in the Master¿s Degree in Occupational Risks Prevention of the Universitat Politècnica de València. In these workshops, ethical issues are included in their curricula, and ethical dilemmas are discussed through academic debates. The results of the experience were positive and encouraging. The students learn to open their minds to a different point of view and understand the problems they will have to face in their professional careers.Pellicer, TM.; López-Mateu, V.; Gimenez-Carbo, E. (2022). The teaching of ethics in occupational risks prevention through the debate on ethical dilemmas. IATED. 10039-10045. https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2022.2426100391004

Sustainable rural development through vocational education: Sot River landscape restoration workshop

[EN] Most of the small towns in the inner area of Spain have problems with the loss of population, low economic development, and unemployment. This is a widespread phenomenon in many areas, such as the Valencia region, where significant differences exist between the periphery coastal zone and the interior. Some of these towns have natural resources like highlands, rivers, and vegetation as significant tourist attractions. Vocational education programs are oriented to increase the employment of the residents while keeping the characteristics of its population and its territory in the different municipalities. Sot de Chera, located in the region of the Serranía (70 km from Valencia), is one of these municipalities. This paper presents the educational experience using one of these programs and workshops for the recovery of an area of outstanding landscape and environmental value. During the last decade, some efforts have been made to combine these natural resources with other activities to increase the area¿s population and economic activity. The case presented uses a combination of teaching methodologies and practical training connected with the daily life and activities of the people in the town. It has also involved all the inhabitants, including their different opinions and participation. The results obtained during the training and occupational project demonstrate the great potential of these interventions. These types of activities and programs have become a substantial improvement for the sustainable development of these areas.This project was carried out thanks to the funding received from the Servicio Valenciano de Empleo y Formación (SERVEF), with the project Taller de Empleo restauración paisajística del Rio Sot 2014 (ETCOTE file FOTAE 2014/47/46), with the collaboration of the Sot de Chera Town hall. The authors thank the staff of SERVEF and the Sot de Chera town hall for providing the support and resources needed to carry out the activities.López-Mateu, V.; Pellicer, TM.; Blanch Vanacloig, J. (2022). Sustainable rural development through vocational education: Sot River landscape restoration workshop. IATED. 9951-9959. https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2022.24009951995

Sistema de Control Integrado para PYMES del sector de la Construcción

[EN] Most construction companies are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that manage project-based and businessfocused activities simultaneously. Commercial software packages are not fully developed to offer a unique solution that tackles both. To fill this gap, this paper describes an integrated management system specifically developed for SMEs in the construction industry, whether contractors or consulting engineering and architectural firms. Both, project and business functions are addressed and handled by the system as a whole. Particular attention is given to the procurement process because it is essential for the strategic planning of these companies, which must naturally engage new contracts to remain in business. The system is based on a client/ server architecture that is arranged in three tiers: presentation (user interfaces and forms), application (queries), and data (relational tables). The system uses MS AccessTM as a database management system. Users are categorized according to their functions within the hierarchy of the company, and therefore several different interfaces are designed for each personnel category. The system works in real-time, so every employee with a preestablished right of access can obtain information instantaneously. This is crucial for making immediate decisions when problems arise, allowing prompt actions from every manager in the hierarchy and resulting in noteworthy time savings. This computer-based application has been successfully implemented by four Spanish SMEs in the construction industry. The suitability and advantages of the system implementation are highlighted in this paper with specific data regarding its current operation.[ES] La mayor parte de compañías de la industria de la construcción son pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMEs) que gestionan simultáneamente actividades basadas en los proyectos y en los negocios. Las aplicaciones informáticas comerciales no se han desarrollado suficientemente para ofrecer una solución única que aborde ambos aspectos. Con el fin de cubrir esta carencia, el presente artículo describe un sistema integrado de gestión diseñado específicamente para PYMEs del sector de la construcción, sean constructoras o consultoras de ingeniería y arquitectura. Ambas funciones, proyectuales y empresariales, son abordadas y gestionadas conjuntamente por el sistema. Especial atención origina el proceso de contratación debido a que es fundamental para la planificación estratégica de estas empresas, las cuales deben conseguir nuevos contratos con el fin de mantenerse en el mercado. El sistema está basado en una arquitectura cliente/servidor que se estructura en tres niveles: presentación (interfaces del usuario y formularios), aplicación (consultas) y datos (tablas relacionales). Se utiliza MS AccessTM como sistema gestor de la base de datos. Los usuarios se categorizan de acuerdo con sus funciones dentro de la jerarquía empresarial y, por lo tanto, se diseñan diferentes interfaces para cada categoría de personal. El sistema trabaja en tiempo real, de modo que cada empleado, con sus derechos de acceso preestablecidos, puede obtener información instantáneamente. Este aspecto es fundamental para tomar decisiones inmediatas cuando surgen los problemas, permitiendo que los gestores en cualquier nivel jerárquico actúen rápidamente, y obteniendo ahorros de tiempo sustanciales. Esta aplicación informática se ha implementado con éxito en cuatro empresas españolas del sector de la construcción. La adaptabilidad y ventajas del sistema se destacan en el artículo, incluyendo datos concretos sobre su funcionamiento real.The beta version of the computer program was tested at Iva-Leying, a Spanish SME. The research described in this paper was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Infrastructures through grant 2004-36. We wish to thank both organizations for their support, and also Debra Westall and Salvador Palanca for revising the text.Pellicer, E.; Pellicer, TM.; Catalá Alís, J. (2009). An Integrated Control System for SMEs in the Construction Industry. Revista de la Construcción. 8(2):4-17. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/624604178

Cement-based mortar patch repair of RC columns. Comparison with all-four-sides and one-side repair

[EN] This paper describes an experimental study on patch-repaired reinforced concrete columns subjected to axial loads until failure. The behaviour of four series of columns repaired with Class R3 and R4 cement-based mortar was analysed both with and without a bonding agent. The results obtained were compared with control series of undamaged and damaged but unrepaired columns to determine the effectiveness of the repairs and the subsequent improvement in the behaviour of the columns. The results of this study were compared with those of previous work by the authors on the analysis of all-four-side repairs and one-side repairs. The conclusion reached was that patch repairs are highly effective as compared to the other techniques studied and that using Class R3 mortar achieves better results on damaged columns made with low-quality concrete. It was also concluded that applying a bonding agent does not improve the results, although this element was found to be necessary to prevent the premature detachment of the repair when there is a substantial difference between the stiffness of the column concrete and that of the mortar used in the repairs. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The authors wish to express their gratitude to the HADES CONSTRUCCIONES Y CREACIONES 2003 company for their human and material contributions to this work.Ortega, I.; Pellicer, TM.; Calderón García, PA.; Adam, JM. (2018). Cement-based mortar patch repair of RC columns. Comparison with all-four-sides and one-side repair. Construction and Building Materials. 186:338-350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.07.148S33835018

Axially loaded RC columns repaired on one side with cement-based mortars

[EN] This paper describes and analyses the results of an experimental programme carried out at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia on 18 reinforced concrete (RC) columns, 12 of which had been repaired on one side with cement-based mortar before being subjected to axial loading until failure. The objective of the research was to determine the performance of the columns that had been repaired using different mortars, evaluate the influence of Class R3 and R4 mortar used and of the application of a binder or bonding agent. The results obtained were compared with those of the undamaged control columns and those of the unrepaired damaged columns to obtain values for the efficiency of the repairs and for the improvement in the load-bearing capacity of the columns. The results obtained indicate that the columns repaired with Class R3 mortar, with a lower elasticity modulus, function in better way than the Class R4 repaired ones. The presence or absence of a binder was not found to be a determining factor in improving the behaviour of the repaired elements. The chief novelty of the study lies in the fact that it is the first experimental study on RC columns totally repaired on one side only, using different types of mortar with and without the application of a binder. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The authors express their gratitude to HADES CONSTRUCCIONES Y CREACIONES 2003 for their material, human and financial support.Ortega, I.; Pellicer, TM.; Calderón García, PA.; Adam, JM. (2018). Axially loaded RC columns repaired on one side with cement-based mortars. Construction and Building Materials. 177:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.05.102S1917

An experimental study on RC columns repaired on all four sides with cementitious mortars

[EN] This paper describes a study carried out in the ICITECH laboratories (Universitat Politècnica de València) on RC columns repaired on all four sides with cementitious-based mortars. A total of 18 specimens were tested, representing a group of square 200 x 200 mm2 columns subjected to compressive axial loads. Different repair scenarios were considered in order to study the influence of the type of mortar used and the presence or absence of bonding agents between the mortar and the column concrete. The results obtained showed that bonding agents have no appreciable effect on the behaviour of the repaired columns. Of the two types of mortar used in the study (Classes R3 and R4), the columns repaired with the lower grade mortar (R3) were seen to behave better. The main novelty of this work lies in the fact that this is the first time that two types of mortar are compared in the repair of four column sides, in addition to the possible use of bonding agents between the mortar and the column.The authors are grateful to the HADES CONSTRUCCIONES Y CREACIONES 2003 company for their material and financial assistance, without which the study would not have been possible. They also wish to express their gratitude to Professor Jose L. Bonet, Dr. Javier Pereiro-Barcelo and Mr. Lino Martinez for their assistance in planning and performing the tests.Ortega, I.; Pellicer, TM.; Adam, JM.; Calderón García, PA. (2018). An experimental study on RC columns repaired on all four sides with cementitious mortars. Construction and Building Materials. 161:53-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.11.126S536216

Perspectiva comparada del mercado de la vivienda en el contexto latinoamericano e internacional

El artículo presenta una propuesta de homogeneización de precios de la vivienda que permite una comparación entre países con diferente grado de desarrollo económico. De este modo, pueden identificarse mejor las causas de la subida generalizada de precios de la última década. Los países objeto de estudio son, por una parte, quince de economía desarrollada (Australia, Estados Unidos, Japón y doce de la Unión Europea) y, por otra parte, nueve países latinoamericanos. Se definen cuatro tipos de precios relacionados con variables económicas que ponen de relieve que las diversas formas de pago existentes para la compra de una vivienda pueden modificar el precio nominal, al alza o a la baja, según el entorno. En los países desarrollados el crecimiento de los precios de la vivienda queda vinculado, sobre todo, a la tasa de interés real, y en menor medida, al empleo y al nivel de vida. La causa del incremento de precios en América Latina hay que atribuirla a la estabilidad y crecimiento económico alcanzado durante los últimos años, a pesar del escaso desarrollo del mercado hipotecario y las altas tasas de interés real.Garzón, P.; Pellicer Armiñana, E.; Catalá Alís, J.; Pellicer, TM. (2008). Perspectiva comparada del mercado de la vivienda en el contexto latinoamericano e internacional. Ambiente Construído. 8(1):21-35. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/61648S21358

Micropolíticas del movimiento: aportes metodológicos desde la investigación cualitativa crítica

There is not much development of the theoretical, methodological, and empirical implications of adopting a feminist stance in social and urban research. In this text, three qualitative researchers venture to the challenge posed by the reflective exercise of putting in the foreground and in the first person their onto-epistemological positions in the methodological design of social research, especially when they are applied in uneven urban contexts. Based on their own experiences producing qualitative data in motion in the cities of Chaitén, Santiago and Barcelona, key guidelines are offered to make qualitative research a way of building conscious knowledge of the logics of power, thus avoiding the risk of calling it a critical discipline only as a way of renaming it, devoid of its ethical, political and practical implication. Existe poco desarrollo de las implicancias teóricas, metodológicas y empíricas de adoptar una postura feminista en investigación social y urbana. En el presente texto, tres investigadoras cualitativas se aventuran al desafío que supone el ejercicio reflexivo de traer al frente y en primera persona sus posiciones onto-epistemológicas en el diseño metodológico de la investigación social, en especial cuando son aplicadas en contextos urbanos desiguales. A partir de sus propias experiencias produciendo datos cualitativos en movimiento en las ciudades de Chaitén, Santiago y Barcelona, se ofrecen lineamientos claves para hacer de la investigación cualitativa un modo de construir conocimiento consciente de las lógicas de poder, evitando así el riesgo de apellidar crítica a la disciplina sólo como una forma de rebautizarla, vacía de su impacto ético, político y práctico

New binuclear copper(II) coordination polymer based on mixed pyrazolic and oxalate ligands: structural characterization and mechanical properties

A new inorganic-organic coordination polymer based on a copper( II) binuclear complex coordinated with pyrazole (L1), 1-(hydroxymethyl)pyrazole) (L2) and oxalate (Ox) ligands has been unexpectedly obtained. The crystal structure of this coordination polymer has been unequivocally determined from single crystal X-ray diffraction. One copper(II) center (Cu1) is fourcoordinated with two nitrogens (N2, L1 and N3, L2), one oxygen (O1, L1) and one chlorine atom, while the other copper(II) nucleus (Cu2) is five-coordinated with one nitrogen (N1, L1), three oxygens (O1, L2; O2 and O3, Ox) and one chlorine atom, giving slightly distorted square-planar and square-pyramidal geometries, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, such coordination environments have never been previously observed to coexist in the same structure. The terminal chlorine (Cl1) forms the connecting bridge between the planar binuclear [Cu2Cl(Ox)0.5-(L1)(L2)]n units ending in an attractive structural framework. An extended layered structure staggered along the b-axis is observed in the supramolecular view. Nanoindentation experiments were carried out and relevant mechanical parameters such as hardness, Young's modulus, indentation energies and elastic recovery were determined. Additionally, a comparative analysis between the supramolecular structure and the mechanical properties is reported

Buenas prácticas en la gestión de residuos de la construcción y demolición: ejemplos y oportunidades de mejora en el marco del proyecto CONDEREFF

[EN] This paper establishes a brief review through the existing literature of what is considered a ¿good practice¿ in general: definitions and most relevant characteristics, and limitations in the scope of the member countries of the European Un- ion. Subsequently, good practices application to environmental aspects is considered. Particularly, their advantages of the in the construction and demolition waste management field based on this specific context and current situation. Finally, the paper describes the methodology followed using an example, expressing how to collect, compare and evaluate these good practices. All these aspects are based on the experience developed in the research carried out within the European Interreg CONDEREFF project.Este trabajo ha sido desarrollado en el marco del Proyecto Europeo CONDEREFF, dentro del Programa INTERREG de la Unión Europea. Asimismo, los autores agradecen la colaboración de Clara Andrada Monrós y Laura Molina Cañamero en la recopilación y gestión de las fichas de las buenas prácticas de los socios del proyecto.López Mateu, V.; Pellicer, TM.; Peñalvo-López, E.; Cárcel-Carrasco, J. (2021). Buenas prácticas en la gestión de residuos de la construcción y demolición: ejemplos y oportunidades de mejora en el marco del proyecto CONDEREFF. Área de Innovación y Desarrollo,S.L. 211-216. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/19066421121