Search results for: Maria Clara Pilatti

Authors: Mária Hudáková, Mária Lusková

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This report is focused on widening the theoretical knowledge as well as controlling practical application from the risk management point of view, regarding to dynamic business changes that have occurred in Slovakia which recently has been considered to be an environment full of risk and uncertainty. The idea of the report is the proposal of the controlling operation model in the course of risk management process in an enterprise operating in Slovakia, by which the controller is able to identify early risk factors in suggested major areas of the business management upon appropriate business information integration, consecutive control and prognoses and to prepare in time full-value documents in order to suggest measures for reduction thereof. Dealing with risk factors, that can quickly limit the growth potential of the enterprise, is an essential part of managerial activities on each level. This is the reason why mutual unofficial, ergo collegial cooperation of individual departments is necessary for controlling application from the business risk management point of view. An important part of the report is elaborated survey of the most important risk factors existing in major management areas of enterprises operating in Slovakia. The outcome of the performed survey is a catalogue of the most important enterprise risk factors. The catalogue serves for better understanding risk factors affecting the Slovak enterprises, their importance and evaluation.

Keywords: controlling, information, risks, risk factor, crisis

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Authors: Sebastián Olivares Lizana, Marianna Oyanedel González

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This study takes part of a major project based on implementing a CLIL program (Content and Language Integrated Learning) at Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, a leading Chilean tertiary Institution. It aims at examining the relationship between the development of Reflective Processes (RP) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) in weekly learning logs written by faculty members, participants of an initial professional development online course on English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Such course was designed with a genre-based approach, and consists of multiple tasks directed to academic writing proficiency. The results of this analysis will be described and classified in a scale of key indicators that represent both the Reflective Processes and the advances in CALP, and that also consider linguistic proficiency and task progression. Such indicators will evidence affordances and constrains of using a genre-based approach in an EFL Engineering CLIL program implementation at tertiary level in Chile, and will serve as the starting point to the design of a professional development course directed to teaching methodologies in a CLIL EFL environment in Engineering education at Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María.

Keywords: EFL, EAL, genre, CLIL, engineering

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Authors: Helena Susana Afonso Alves, Natália Maria Rafael Canadas, Ana Maria Rodrigues

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We examined the impact of governance rules on information asymmetry, using the turnover ratio and the bid-ask spread as proxies for the information asymmetry. We used a SEM model and analyzed the indirect relations through the voluntary disclosure of information and the organizational performance. We built a voluntary disclosure index based on the information firms provided in their annual reports and divided the governance characteristics in two constructs: directors’ and supervisors’ structures and ownership structure. We concluded that the ownership structure exerts a direct influence on share price and share liquidity, Otherwise, the directors’ and supervisors’ structures exert an indirect influence, through the organizational performance and the voluntary disclosure of information. The results also show that for firms with high levels of disclosure the bid-ask spread is lower. However, in firms with a high ownership concentration investors tend to increase the bid-ask spreads and trade less, which, in this case, reduces the liquidity of the stock. The failure to find the relationship between voluntary disclosure of information and the turnover ratio shows us that the liquidity of shares is more related to the greater or lesser concentration of shareholders, with the performance of their companies than with the access to information. Moreover, it is clear that the role that information disclosure plays is mainly at the level of price formation.

Keywords: corporate governance, information asymmetry, voluntary disclosure, structural equation modelling, SEM

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Authors: Gracia V. Navarro, María C. González, María G. González, María V. González

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In Chile, since 2002, there are extracurricular enrichment programs complementary to regular education for students with high intellectual capacity. This paper describes a model for the educational inclusion of students, with special educational needs associated with high intellectual capacity, developed at the University of Concepción and its effects on its students, academics and undergraduate students that collaborate with the program. The Talentos UdeC Program was created in 2003 and is intended for 240 children and youth from 11 to 18 years old, from 15 communes of the Biobio region. The case Talentos UdeC is analyzed from a mixed qualitative study in which those participating in the educational model are considered. The sample was composed of 30 students, 30 academics, and 30 undergraduate students. In the case of students, pre and post program measurements were made to analyze their socio-emotional adaptation, academic motivation and socially responsible behavior. The mentioned variables are measured through questionnaires designed and validated by the University of Concepcion that included: The Socially Responsible Behavior Questionnaire (CCSR); the Academic Motivation Questionnaire (CMA) and the Socio-Emotional Adaptation Questionnaire (CASE). The information obtained by these questionnaires was analyzed through a quantitative analysis. Academics and undergraduate students were interviewed to learn their perception of the effects of the program on themselves, on students and on society. The information obtained is analyzed using qualitative analysis based on the identification of common themes and descriptors for the construction of conceptual categories of answers. Quantitative results show differences in the first three variables analyzed in the students, after their participation for two years in Talentos UdeC. Qualitative results demonstrate perception of effects in the vision of world, project of life and in other areas of the students’ development; perception of effects in a personal, professional and organizational plane by academics and a perception of effects in their personal-social development and training in generic competencies by undergraduates students.

Keywords: educational model, high intellectual capacity, inclusion, special educational needs

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Authors: María del Carmen Recio-Ruiz, Ramiro Ruiz-Rosas, Juana María Rosas, José Rodríguez-Mirasol, Tomás Cordero

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At the present time, conventional fossil fuels show environmental and sustainability disadvantages with regard to renewables energies. Producing energy and chemicals from biomass is an interesting alternative for substitution of conventional fossil sources with a renewable feedstock while enabling zero net greenhouse gases emissions. Pyrolysis is a well-known process to produce fuels and chemicals from biomass. In this work, conventional and fast pyrolysis of different agro-industrial residues (almond shells, hemp hurds, olive stones, and Kraft lignin) was studied. Both processes were carried out in a fixed bed reactor under nitrogen flow and using different operating conditions to analyze the influence of temperature (400-800 ºC) and heating rate (10 and 20 ºC/minfor conventional pyrolysis and 50 ºC/s for fast pyrolysis)on the yields, products distribution, and composition of the different fractions. The results showed that for both conventional and fast pyrolysis, the solid fraction yield decreased with temperature, while the liquid and gas fractions increased. In the case of the fast pyrolysis, a higher content of liquid fraction than that obtained in conventional pyrolysis could be observed due to cracking reactions occur at a lesser extent. With respect to the composition of de non-condensable fraction, the main gases obtained were CO, CO₂ (mainly at low temperatures), CH₄, and H₂ (mainly at high temperatures).

Keywords: bio-oil, biomass, conventional pyrolysis, fast pyrolysis

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Authors: Eliziane Navarro, Aparecida Citta

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Child of the dark is the work of the Brazilian author Carolina Maria de Jesus published at the first time by Ática & Francisco Alves in 1960. It is, mostly, a story of lack of rights. It lacks to men who live in the slums what is essential in order to take advantage of the privilege of rationality to develop themselves as civilized humans. It is, therefore, in the withholding of the basic rights that inequality finds space to build itself to be the main misery on Earth. Antonio Candido, a Brazilian sociologist, claims that it is the right to literature has the ability to humanize men, once the aptitude to create fiction and fable is essential to the social balance. Hence, for the forming role that literature holds, it must be thought as the number of rights that assure human dignity, such as housing, education, health, freedom, etc. When talking about her routine, Carolina puts in evidence something that has great influence over the formation of human beings, contributing to the way they live: the slum. Even though it happens in a distinct way and using her linguistics variation, Carolina writes about something that will only be discussed later on Brazil’s Cities Statute and Ermia Maricato: the right to the city, and how the slums are, although inserted in the city, an attachment, an illegal city, a dismissing room. It interests ourselves, for that matter, in this work, to analyse how the deprivation of the rights to the city and literature, detailed in Carolina’s journal, conditions human beings to a life where the instincts overcome the social values.

Keywords: Child of the dark, slum, Brazil, architecture and literature

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Authors: Rosy Saikia, Krishna Barua

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The evolution of visual art can be traced back from “pre-historic” humans, from the age of Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Metal Age. Mesopotamians and the Egyptians were the pioneers of art, in the first period of history. But the field of art first flourished in the west during the Renaissance. Since then, art represents a continuous yet varied tradition till present day. Until the early 19th century art focused chiefly on representational, religious and classical motifs, but gradually art became more abstract and conceptual approaches gained popularity. Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) was one of the leading poets cum art critic of European modernism. This paper addresses the relationship between Rilke's poetry and visual art, which involves an intimate transference of aesthetic means and definitions of form in the creative process of writing. Rilke’s connection with Auguste Rodin made him learn that a person who can “see” things could realize the beauty of a “thing” and could subsequently write. To “see” the “thing” or “object” rather than representing emotion was considered as more important by Rodin and that was the way he cracked the old aesthetic mould. Rilke himself agreed that his correspondence with the artists made him acquainted nothing but a new way of seeing. Rilke admitted to the constant reference to the Bible, the books of the Danish poet Jens Peter Jacobsen and Auguste Rodin, who all had given him the experience of the essence of creativity, its depths and eternity. Rilke’s association with philosophers such as Nietzhche and artists, starting from Worpweders and Rodin to Cezanne’s paintings, made him almost an apprentice in visual art.

Keywords: seeing, gaze, aesthetic, beauty, visual art, Rilke

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Authors: A. P. Moiseeva, Z. S. Zavyalova

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This paper focuses on the Technoscience phenomenon and its role in modern society. It gives a review of the latest research on Technoscience. Based on the works of Paul Forman, Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Bruno Latour, Maria Caramez Carlotto and others, the authors consider the concept of Technoscience, its specific character and prospects of its development.

Keywords: technoscience, information society, transdisciplinarity, European Technology Platforms

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Authors: Maria Isabel Garcia-Planas, Maria Victoria Garcia-Camba

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Recent advances in cognitive neuroscience have allowed a step forward in perceiving the processes involved in learning from the point of view of the acquisition of new information or the modification of existing mental content. The evoked potentials technique reveals how basic brain processes interact to achieve adequate and flexible behaviours. The objective of this work, using evoked potentials, is to study if it is possible to distinguish if a patient suffers a specific type of learning disorder to decide the possible therapies to follow. The methodology used, is the analysis of the dynamics of different areas of the brain during a cognitive activity to find the relationships between the different areas analyzed in order to better understand the functioning of neural networks. Also, the latest advances in neuroscience have revealed the existence of different brain activity in the learning process that can be highlighted through the use of non-invasive, innocuous, low-cost and easy-access techniques such as, among others, the evoked potentials that can help to detect early possible neuro-developmental difficulties for their subsequent assessment and cure. From the study of the amplitudes and latencies of the evoked potentials, it is possible to detect brain alterations in the learning process specifically in dyscalculia, to achieve specific corrective measures for the application of personalized psycho pedagogical plans that allow obtaining an optimal integral development of the affected people.

Keywords: dyscalculia, neurodevelopment, evoked potentials, Learning disabilities, neural networks

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Authors: Sara Herrero Jaén, José María Santamaría García, María Lourdes Jiménez Rodríguez, Jorge Luis Gómez González, Adriana Cercas Duque, Alexandra González Aguna

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Background: Health concept has evolved throughout history. The health level is determined by the own individual perception. It is a dynamic process over time so that you can see variations from one moment to the next. In this way, knowing the health of the patients you care for, will facilitate decision making in the treatment of care. Objective: To design a technological tool that calculates the people health level in a sequential way over time. Material and Methods: Deductive methodology through text analysis, extraction and logical knowledge formalization and education with expert group. Studying time: September 2015- actually. Results: A computational tool for the use of health personnel has been designed. It has 11 variables. Each variable can be given a value from 1 to 5, with 1 being the minimum value and 5 being the maximum value. By adding the result of the 11 variables we obtain a magnitude in a certain time, the health level of the person. The health calculator allows to represent people health level at a time, establishing temporal cuts being useful to determine the evolution of the individual over time. Conclusion: The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) allow training and help in various disciplinary areas. It is important to highlight their relevance in the field of health. Based on the health formalization, care acts can be directed towards some of the propositional elements of the concept above. The care acts will modify the people health level. The health calculator allows the prioritization and prediction of different strategies of health care in hospital units.

Keywords: calculator, care, eHealth, health

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Authors: Eliziane Fernanda Navarro, Aparecida Eleonora Sitta

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Child of the Dark is the work of the Brazilian author Carolina Maria de Jesus, published at the first time by Ática and Francisco Alves in 1960. It is, mostly, a story of lack of rights. It lacks to men who live in the slums what is essential in order to take advantage of the privilege of rationality to develop themselves as civilized humans. It is, therefore, in the withholding of the basic rights that inequality finds space to build itself to be the main misery on Earth. Antonio Candido, a Brazilian sociologist claims that it is the right to literature has the ability to humanize men, once the aptitude to create fiction and fable is essential to the social balance. Hence, for the forming role that literature holds, it must be thought as the number of rights that assure human dignity, such as housing, education, health, freedom, etc. When talking about her routine, Carolina puts in evidence something that has great influence over the formation of human beings, contributing to the way they live: the slum. Even though it happens in a distinct way and using her own linguistics variation, Carolina writes about something that will only be discussed later on Brazil’s Cities Statute and Erminia Maricato: the right to the city, and how the slums are, although inserted in the city, an attachment, an illegal city, a dismissing room. It interests ourselves, for that matter, in this work, to analyse how the deprivation of the rights to the city and literature, detailed in Carolina’s journal, conditions human beings to a life where the instincts overcome the social values.

Keywords: Child of the Dark, slum, literature, architecture and urbanism, fundamental rights, Brazil

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Authors: Yessica A. Aguilera

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English is currently the only foreign language included in the national educational curriculum in Chile. The English curriculum establishes that once completed secondary education, students are expected to reach B1 level according to the Common European Reference Framework (CEFR) scale. However, the objective has not been achieved, and to the author’s best knowledge, there is still a severe lack of English language skills among students who have completed their secondary education studies. In order to deal with the fact that students do not manage English as expected, team-based learning (TBL) was introduced in English language lessons at the Universidad Federico Santa María (USM). TBL is a collaborative teaching-learning method which enhances active learning by combining individual and team work. This approach seeks to help students achieve course objectives while learning how to function in teams. The purpose of the research was to assess the implementation and effectiveness of TBL in English language classes at USM technical training education. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from teachers and students about their experience through TBL. Research findings show that both teachers and students are satisfied with the method and that students’ engagement and participation in class is higher. Additionally, students score higher on examinations improving academic outcomes. The findings of the research have the potential to guide how TBL could be included in future English language courses.

Keywords: collaborative learning, college education, English language learning, team-based learning

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Authors: Catarina Maria Neto Da Cruz, Ana Maria Reis D’Azevedo Breda

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The world is changing and, consequently, the young people need more sophisticated tools and skills to lead with the world’s complexity. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Learning Framework 2030 suggests an interdisciplinary knowledge as a principle for the future of education systems. In the curricular document Portuguese about the profile of students leaving compulsory education, the critical thinking and creative thinking are pointed out as skills to be developed, which imply the interconnection of different knowledge, applying it in different contexts and learning areas. Unlike primary school teachers, teachers specialized in a specific area lead to more difficulties in the implementation of interdisciplinary approaches in the classrooms and, despite the effort, the interdisciplinarity is not a common practice in schools. Statement like "Mathematics is everywhere" is unquestionable, however, many math teachers show difficulties in presenting such evidence in their classes. Mathematical modelling and problems in real contexts are promising in the development of interdisciplinary pedagogical practices and in Portugal there is a continuous training offer to contribute to the development of teachers in terms of their pedagogical approaches. But when teachers find themselves in the classroom, without a support, do they feel able to implement interdisciplinary practices? In this communication we will try to approach this issue through a case study involving a group of Mathematics teachers, who attended a training aimed at stimulating interdisciplinary practices in real contexts, namely related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: education, mathematics, teacher training, interdisciplinarity

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Authors: Clara Eichberger, Daantje Derks, Hannes Zacher

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Technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW) involves performing job-related tasks after regular working hours with the help of technological devices. Due to emerging information and communication technologies, such behavior becomes increasingly common. Since previous research on the relationship of TASW, psychological detachment and well-being are mixed, this study aimed to examine the moderating roles of appraisal and cognitive coping. A moderated mediation model was tested with daily diary data from 100 employees. As hypothesized, TASW was positively related to negative affect at bedtime. In addition, psychological detachment mediated this relationship. Results did not confirm appraisal and cognitive coping as moderators. However, additional analyses revealed cognitive coping as a mediator of the positive relationship of TASW and positive affect at bedtime. These results suggest that, on the one hand engaging in TASW can be harmful to employee well-being (i.e., more negative affect) and on the other hand, it can also be associated with higher well-being (i.e., more positive affect) in case it is accompanied by cognitive coping.

Keywords: cognitive coping, psychological detachment, technology-assisted supplemental work, well-being

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Authors: Ana-Maria Gheldiu, Bianca M. Abrudan, Maria A. Neag, Laurian Vlase, Dana M. Muntean

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Background information: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of multiple-dose fluvoxamine on the pharmacokinetic profile of single-dose carvedilol in rats, in order to evaluate this possible drug-drug pharmacokinetic interaction. Methods: A preclinical study, in 28 white male Wistar rats, was conducted. Each rat was cannulated on the femoral vein, prior to being connected to BASi Culex ABC®. Carvedilol was orally administrated in rats (3.57 mg/kg body mass (b.m.)) in the absence of fluvoxamine or after a pre-treatment with multiple oral doses of fluvoxamine (14.28 mg/kg b.m.). The plasma concentrations of carvedilol were estimated by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The pharmacokinetic parameters of carvedilol were analyzed by non-compartmental method. Results: After carvediol co-administration with fluvoxamine, an approximately 2-fold increase in the exposure of carvedilol was observed, considering the significantly elevated value of the total area under the concentration versus time curve (AUC₀₋∞). Moreover, an increase by approximately 145% of the peak plasma concentration was found, as well as an augmentation by approximately 230% of the half life time of carvedilol was observed. Conclusion: Fluvoxamine co-administration led to a significant alteration of carvedilol’s pharmacokinetic profile in rats, these effects could be explained by the existence of a drug-drug interaction mediated by CYP2D6 inhibition. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by CNCS Romania – project PNII-RU-TE-2014-4-0242.

Keywords: carvedilol, fluvoxamine, drug-drug pharmacokinetic interaction, rats

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Authors: María Fernanda Quiceno Vallejo, Patricia del Portillo, María Mercedes Zambrano, Jeisson Alejandro Triana, Dayana Calderon, Juan Manuel Anzola

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Microorganisms from tropical ecosystems can be novel in terms of adaptations and conservation. Given the macrodiversity of Colombian ecosystems, it is possible that this diversity is also present in Colombian soils. Tropical soil bacteria could offer a potentially novel source of bioactive compounds. In this study we analyzed a metagenomic fosmid library constructed with tropical bacterial DNAs with the aim of understanding its underlying diversity and functional potential. 8640 clones from the fosmid library were sequenced by NANOPORE MiniOn technology, then analyzed with bioinformatic tools such as Prokka, AntiSMASH and Bagel4 in order to identify functional biosynthetic pathways in the sequences. The strains showed ample difference when it comes to biosynthetic pathways. In total we identified 4 pathways related to aryl polyene synthesis, 12 related to terpenes, 22 related to NRPs (Non ribosomal peptides), 11 related PKs (Polyketide synthases) and 7 related to RiPPs (bacteriocins). We designed primers for the metagenomic clones with the most BGCs (sample 6 and sample 2). Results show the biotechnological / pharmacological potential of tropical ecosystems. Overall, this work provides an overview of the genomic and functional potential of Colombian soil and sets the groundwork for additional exploration of tropical metagenomic sequencing.

Keywords: bioactives, biosyntethic pathways, bioinformatic, bacterial gene clusters, secondary metabolites

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Authors: Espinoza S. Clara, Gamarra Q. Flor, Marianela F. Ramos Quispe S. Miguel, Flores R. Omar

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Tropaeolum majus L. is a native plant to South and Central America, used since ancient times by our ancestors to combat different diseases. Glucotropaeolonin is one of its main components, which when hydrolyzed, forms benzyl isothiocyanate (BIT) that promotes cellular apoptosis (programmed cell death in cancer cells). Therefore, the present research aims to evaluate the effect of the pressure and temperature of BIT extraction by supercritical CO₂ from Tropaeolum majus L. The extraction was carried out in a supercritical fluid extractor equipment Speed SFE BASIC Brand: Poly science, the leaves of Tropaeolum majus L. were ground for one hour and lyophilized until obtaining a humidity of 6%. The extraction with supercritical CO₂ was carried out with pressures of 200 bar and 300 bar, temperatures of 50°C, 60°C and 70°C, obtained by the conjugation of these six treatments. BIT was identified by thin layer chromatography using 98% BIT as the standard, and as the mobile phase hexane: dichloromethane (4:2). Subsequently, BIT quantification was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The highest yield of oleoresin by supercritical CO₂ extraction was obtained pressure 300 bar and temperature at 60°C; and the higher content of BIT at pressure 200 bar and 70°C for 30 minutes to obtain 113.615 ± 0.03 mg BIT/100 g dry matter was obtained.

Keywords: solvent extraction, Tropaeolum majus L., supercritical fluids, benzyl isothiocyanate

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Authors: Maria Luisa Nozawa Ribeiro, Maria Teresa Miceli Kerbauy

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This paper aims to present the theories of public participation in order to understand the context of the public GMO (Genetic Modified Organisms) policies in Brazil, highlighting the characteristics of its configuration and the dialog with the experts. As a controversy subject, the commercialization of GMO provoked manifestation of some popular and environmental representative groups questioning the decisions of policy makers and experts on the matter. Many aspects and consequences of the plantation and consumption of this crops emerged and the safety of this technology was questioned. Environmentalists, Civil Right's movement, representatives of rural workers, farmers and organics producers, etc. demonstrated their point of view, also sustained by some experts of medical, genetical, environmental, agronomical sciences, etc. fields. Despite this movement, the precautionary principle (risk management), implemented in 1987, suggested precaution facing new technologies and innovations in the sustainable development society. This principle influenced many legislation and regulation on GMO around the world, including Brazil, which became a reference among the world regulatory GMO systems. The Brazilian legislation ensures the citizens participation on GMO discussion, characteristic that was important to establish the connection between the subject and the participation theory. These deliberation spaces materialized in Brazil through the "Public Audiences", which are managed by the National Biosafety Technical Commission (CTNBio), the department responsible for controlling the research, production and commercialization of GMOs in Brazil.

Keywords: public engagement, public participation, science and technology studies, transgenic politics

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Authors: Kevser Cakmak, Adrián Montesano, Lourdes Artigas, Marta Salla, Clara Mateu

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The main objective of this research is to explore the relational letter writing technique as an intervention in couple therapy for reconnecting couples with their values and ethical preferences. This is a recently developed therapeutic tool within the framework of Narrative Therapy that consists of two interviews and a letter writing task, in which a meta-conversation between the relationship itself, the couple members, and the therapists is fostered. Although this specific therapeutic technique can be used within the therapy process, in this case study, it is used as a brief stand-alone narrative intervention for a middle age heterosexual couple breast cancer survivor. Couple’s relational and personal wellbeing was monitored before, during, and after the intervention by means of the dyadic adjustment and the clinical outcomes in routine evaluation-outcome measure, respectively. The couple showed a significant improvement after the intervention in both levels. The content of the letter writing exercises was qualitatively analysed to explore the reconstruction of their ethical values. Results from both methods are integrated in order to get an in-depth perspective of the newly developed tool. The potential of the letter writing technique as stand-alone and as adjunct brief intervention is discussed.

Keywords: couple therapy, narrative therapy, psychotherapy tool, relational letter writing

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Authors: Clara Theresia, Hardianto Iridiastadi

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Drowsiness is one of the main factors that contribute to the occurrence of accidents, particularly in the transportation sector. While the effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive functions have been reported, the exact relationships remain a critical issue. This study aimed at quantifying the effects of extreme sleep deprivation on vigilance, fatigue, and performance during simulated train driving. A total of 12 participants were asked to drive a train simulator continuously for 4 hours, either in a sleep deprived condition (2-hr of sleep) or normal (8-hr of sleep) condition. Dependent variables obtained during the task included Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) parameters, degree of fatigue (assessed via Visual Analogue Scale/VAS) and sleepiness (reported using Karolinska Sleepiness Scale/KSS), and driving performance (the number of speed limit violations). Findings from this study demonstrated substantial decrements in vigilance in the sleep-deprived condition. This condition also resulted in 75% increase in speed violation and a two-fold increase in the degree of fatigue and sleepiness. Extreme sleep deprivation was clearly associated with substantially poorer response. The exact effects, however, were dependent upon the types of responses.

Keywords: cognitive function, psychomotor vigilance task, sleep deprivation, train simulator

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Authors: Yuban Sebastian Cuartas-Agudelo, Sandra Marcela López-Hincapié, Vivianna Alexandra Garrido-Altamar, María de los Ángeles Rodríguez-Gázquez, Camilo Ruiz-Mejía, Lina María Martínez-Sánchez, Gloria Inés Martínez-Domínguez, Luis Eduardo Contreras, Felipe Eduardo Marino-Isaza

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Introduction: Doping is a prohibited practice in competitive sports with potential adverse effects; therefore, it is crucial to describe the attitudes of athletes towards this behavior and to determine which o these increase the susceptibility to carry out this practice. Objective: To determine the attitude of high-performance athletes towards doping in a sports institute in the city of Medellin, Colombia. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study during 2016, with a sample taken to convenience consisting of athletes over 18 years old enrolled in a sports institute of the city of Medellin (Colombia). The athletes filled by themselves the Petroczi and Aidman questionnaire: Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS) adapted to the Spanish language by Morente-Sánchez et al. This scale has 17 items with likert answer options, with a score ranging from 1 to 6, with a higher score indicating a stronger tendency towards doping practices. Results: 112 athletes were included with an average age of 21.6 years old, a 60% of them were male and the most frequent sports were karate 17%, judo 12.5% and athletics 9.8%. The average score of the questionnaire was 35.5 points of a 102 possible points. The lowest score was obtained in the following items: Is Doping necessary 1,4 and Doping isn’t cheating, everyone does it 1,5. Conclusion: In our population, there is a low tendency towards doping practices.

Keywords: sports, doping in sports, athletic performance, attitude

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Authors: Maria Gonzalez Alriols, Itziar Egues, Maria A. Andres, Mirari Antxustegi

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Peer to peer learning is an educational tool very useful to enhance teamwork and reinforce cooperation between mates. It is particularly successful to work with students of different level of previous knowledge, as it often happens among pupils of subjects in the first course of science and engineering studies. Depending on the performed pre-university academic itinerary, the acquired knowledge in disciplines as mathematics, physics, or chemistry may be quite different. This fact is an added difficulty to the tuition of first-course basic science subjects of engineering degrees, with inexperienced students that do not know each other. In this context, peer to peer learning applied in small groups facilitates the communication between mates and makes it easier for the students with low level to be helped by the ones with better prior knowledge. In this work, several collaborative learning strategies were designed to be applied in the tuition of the subject 'chemistry', which is imparted in the first course of an engineering degree. Students were organized in groups combining mates with different level of prior knowledge. The teaching role was offered to the more experienced students who were responsible for designing learning pills to help the other mates in their group. This workload was rewarded with an extra mark, and more extra points were offered to all the group mates if every student in the group reached a determined level at the end of the semester. It was very important to start these activities from the beginning of the semester in order to avoid absenteeism. The obtained results were positive as a higher percentage of mates signed up and passed the final exam, the obtained final marks were higher, and a much better atmosphere was observed in the class.

Keywords: peer to peer tuition, collaborative learning, engineering instruction, chemistry

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Authors: Clara Inés Pardo Martínez

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In emerging economies, recycling is an opportunity for the cities to increase the lifespan of sanitary landfills, reduce the costs of the solid waste management, decrease the environmental problems of the waste treatment through reincorporate waste in the productive cycle and protect and develop people’s livelihoods of informal waste pickers. However, few studies have analysed the possibilities and strategies to integrate formal and informal sectors in the solid waste management for the benefit of both. This study seek to make a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis in three recycling associations of Bogotá with the aim to understand and determine the situation of recycling from perspective of informal sector in its transition to enter as authorized waste providers. Data used in the analysis are derived from multiple strategies such as literature review, the Bogota’s recycling database, focus group meetings, governmental reports, national laws and regulations and specific interviews with key stakeholders. Results of this study show as the main stakeholders of formal and informal sector of waste management can identify the internal and internal conditions of recycling in Bogotá. Several strategies were designed based on the SWOTs determined, could be useful for Bogotá to advance and promote recycling as a key strategy for integrated sustainable waste management in the city.

Keywords: Bogotá, recycling, solid waste management, SWOT analysis

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Authors: Thalía Moreno-García Malo, Santiago Torres-Ríos, María G. González-Cruz, María M. Hernández-Arroyo, Sergio R. Trejo-Estrada

Abstract:

Agave atrovirens is the main source of agave sap, the raw material for the production of pulque, an artisanal fermented beverage, traditional since prehispanic times in the highlands of central Mexico. Agave sap is rich in glucose, sucrose and fructooligosaccharides, and strongly differs from agave syrup from A. tequilana, which is mostly a high molecular weight fructan. Agave sap is converted into pulque by a highly diverse microbial community which includes bacteria, yeast and even filamentous fungi. The bacterial diversity has been recently studied. But the composition of consortia derived from directed enrichments differs sharply from the whole fermentative consortium. Using classical microbiology methods, and selective liquid and solid media formulations, either bacterial or fungal consortia were developed and analyzed. Bacterial consortia able to catabolize specific prebiotic saccharides were selected and preserved for future developments. Different media formulations, selective for bacterial genera such as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Lactococcus and Enterococcus were also used. For yeast, specific media, osmotic pressure and unique carbon sources were used as selective agents. Results show that most groups are represented in the enrichment cultures; although very few are recoverable from the whole consortium in artisanal pulque. Diversity and abundance vary among consortia. Potential bacterial probiotics obtained from agave sap and agave juices show tolerance to hydrochloric acid, as well as strong antimicrobial activity.

Keywords: Agave, pulque, microbial consortia, prebiotic activity

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Authors: Ester Ato, Maria Angeles Fernández-Vilar, Maria Dolores Galián

Abstract:

The aim of this work was to analyze the relation between children´s effortful control, marital adjustment and parenting practices in a sample of 345 Spanish children aged between 6 and 8 years. Traditionally, the literature confirms that a higher level of marital conflict has been associated with less effective and less positive parenting, but there are few studies that include the effect that children´s effortful control exert to this relation. To measure marital adjustment, parenting practices and children’s temperament, parents were given the Marital Adjustment Test (MAT), the Spanish version of the PCRI (Parent-Child Relationship Inventory), and the TMCQ (Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire). The results confirmed that higher marital satisfaction predicted more positive parenting practices, whereas lower marital adjustment scores predicted less parenting support and control. Using a statistical modeling approach, we tested a moderation model that revealed the moderating role of effortful control in the relation between marital adjustment and parenting. Concretely, higher marital satisfaction predicts higher parenting communication and involvement, but only in children with low levels of effortful control. Therefore, a difficult temperament interferes in a less negative way in the family system when parents are satisfied and united. And a better self-regulated child predicts more effective parenting practice regardless of the parents´ marital satisfaction. The clinical implications of the present findings should be considered. Specifically, difficult children must be detected and evaluated in community settings, such as school or community programs, in order to take into account the marital adjustment and parenting practices of their parents, and to be able to design adequate family interventions and prevent future pathologizing patterns.

Keywords: effortful control, marital adjustment, parenting, moderation

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Authors: Letizia Maria Drammis, Maria Antonella Brandimonte

Abstract:

The idea that people use space representations to think about time and number received support from several lines of research. However, how these representations develop in children and then shape space-time and space-number mappings is still a debated issue. In the present study, 40 children (20 pre-schoolers and 20 elementary-school children) performed 4 main tasks, which required the use of more concrete (non-symbolic) or more abstract (symbolic) space-time and space-number associations. In the non-symbolic conditions, children were required to order pictures of everyday-life events occurring in a specific temporal order (Temporal sequences) and of quantities varying in numerosity (Numerical sequences). In the symbolic conditions, they were asked to perform the typical time-to-position and number-to-position tasks by mapping time-related words and numbers onto lines. Results showed that children performed reliably better in the non-symbolic Time conditions than the symbolic Time conditions, independently of age, whereas only pre-schoolers performed worse in the Number-to-position task (symbolic) as compared to the Numerical sequence (non-symbolic) task. In addition, only older children mapped time-related words onto space following the typical left-right orientation, pre-schoolers’ performance being somewhat mixed. In contrast, mapping numbers onto space showed a clear left-right orientation, independently of age. Overall, these results indicate a cross-domain difference in the way younger and older children process time and number, with time-related tasks being more difficult than number-related tasks only when space-time tasks require symbolic representations.

Keywords: space-time associations, space-number associations, orientation, children

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Authors: Cris Bravo

Abstract:

Social entrepreneurship is a new and exciting topic that holds a great promise in helping alleviate the social problems of the world. As a new subject, the meaning of the term is too broad and this is counterproductive in trying to build understanding around the concept. The purpose of this study is to identify and compare the elements of social entrepreneurship as defined by seven international organizations leading social entrepreneurship projects: Ashoka Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Schwab Foundation and Yunus Center; as well as from three other institutions fostering social entrepreneurship: Global Social Benefit Institute, BRAC University, and Socialab. The study used document analysis from Skoll Foundation, Schwab Foundation, Yunus Center and Ashoka Foundation; and open ended interview to experts from the Global Social Benefit Institute at Santa Clara University in United States, BRAC University from Bangladesh, and Socialab from Argentina. The study identified three clearly differentiated schools of thought, based on their views on revenue, scalability, replicability and geographic location. While this study is by no means exhaustive, it provides an indication of the patterns of ideas fostered by important players in the field. By clearly identifying the similarities and differences in the concept of social entrepreneurship, research and practitioners are better equipped to build on the subject, and to promote more adequate and accurate social policies to foster the development of social entrepreneurship.

Keywords: replicability, revenue, scalability, schools of thought, social entrepreneurship

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Authors: Maria Medrano, Cristina Cadenas-Sanchez, Maddi Oses, Lide Arenaza, Maria Amasene, Idoia Labayen

Abstract:

The COVID-19 outbreak began in December 2019 in China and was rapidly expanded globally. Emergency measures, such as social distance or home confinement, were adopted by many country governments to prevent its transmission. In Spain, one of the most affected countries, the schools were closed, and one of the most severe mandatory home confinement was established for children from 14th March to 26th April 2020. The hypothesis of this study was that the measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic may have negatively affected physical activity and screen time of children. However, few studies have examined the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle behaviours. Thus, the aim of the current work was to analyse the effects of the COVID-19 confinement on physical activity and screen time in Spanish children. For the current purpose, a total of 113 children and adolescents (12.0 ± 2.6 yr., 51.3% boys, 24.0% with overweight/obesity according to the World Obesity Federation) of the MUGI project were included in the analyses. Physical activity and screen time were longitudinally assessed by 'The Youth Activity Profile' questionnaire (YAP). Differences in physical activity and screen time before and during the confinement were assessed by dependent t-test. Before the confinement, 60% did not meet physical activity recommendations ( ≥ 60/min/day of moderate to vigorous physical activity), and 61% used screens ≥ 2 h/day. During the COVID-19 confinement, children decreased their physical activity levels (-91 ± 55 min/day, p < 0.001) and increased screen time ( ± 2.6 h/day, p < 0.001). The prevalence of children that worsened physical activity and screen time during the COVID-19 confinement were 95.2% and 69.8%, respectively. The current study evidence the negative effects of the COVID-19 confinement on physical activity and screen time in Spanish children. These findings should be taken into account to develop and implement future public health strategies for preserving children's lifestyle behaviours and health during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19, lifestyle changes, paediatric, physical activity, screen time

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Authors: Rui Magalhães, Sohel Rana, Raul Fangueiro, Clara Gonçalves, Pedro Nunes, Gustavo Dias

Abstract:

Auxetic fibrous structures and composites with negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) have huge potential for application in ballistic protection due to their high energy absorption and excellent impact resistance. In the present research, re-entrant lozenge auxetic fibrous structures were produced through weft knitting technology using high performance polyamide and para-aramid fibres. Fabric structural parameters (e.g. loop length) and machine parameters (e.g. take down load) were varied in order to investigate their influence on the auxetic behaviours of the produced structures. These auxetic structures were then impregnated with two types of polymeric resins (epoxy and polyester) to produce composite materials, which were subsequently characterized for the auxetic behaviour. It was observed that the knitted fabrics produced using the polyamide yarns exhibited NPR over a wide deformation range, which was strongly dependant on the loop length and take down load. The polymeric composites produced from the auxetic fabrics also showed good auxetic property, which was superior in case of the polyester matrix. The experimental results suggested that these composites made from the auxetic fibrous structures can be properly designed to find potential use in the body amours for personal protection applications.

Keywords: auxetic fabrics, high performance, composites, energy absorption, impact resistance

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Authors: Carla Maria Costa Ferreira, Maria Helena Freitas Melao Barros

Abstract:

The rules implemented in Europe regarding structural design are termed Structural Eurocodes and deal with the several materials available for construction. Particularly regarding the very used in Europe concrete with steel reinforcement, it is named the Eurocode 2 – Design of Concrete Structures, usually known as EC2. The need of tables and abacuses to help in the design of reinforced concrete was due to the fact that the evolution and the study of new procedures and higher strength concrete showed that the previous tables needed to be improved. Reinforced concrete structures have particular aspects in the design that come from the nonlinear behavior of the concrete and steel and, in the case of concrete, also by the very low tensile strength. The design of reinforced concrete structures is made in terms of evaluating the ultimate strength and how it behaves under service conditions. As a matter of fact, the use of higher-strength concrete and steel classes showed that these serviceability design that was important for prestressed structures may be relevant in reinforced concrete structures. For these aspects, there are tables and design charts used for the ultimate limit design of reinforced concrete sections under bending moments and axial forces, and also auxiliary design diagrams able to evaluate the stress of the steel and the concrete at a section and the ductility for service limit states verification. For practical use, here are presented tables and design charts for the ultimate limit design of reinforced concrete sections and also auxiliary interaction diagrams for verification of the serviceability conditions. These kinds of aid for design were only available to engineers before the development of computers and, nowadays, yet an important tool in the universities for the students' use. Usually, in the reinforced concrete design, it is needed to obtain the area of the steel longitudinal reinforcement to be placed in the structure. The quantity and the position of the steel area may have different solutions and these tables and abacuses permit to obtain many possibilities in order to optimize the solution in economic or ductility terms.

Keywords: design examples, Eurocode 2, reinforced concrete, section design

Procedia PDF Downloads 40