Identidad territorial y paisaje. Evolución morfológica de los núcleos en Castilla y León.

Este estudio intenta esclarecer las transformaciones físicas y socioeconómicas de los asentamientos rurales de la región española de Castilla y León, durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Se analiza la evolución temporal de la forma urbana a través de un Sistema de Información Geográfico (SIG), calculando unos índices métricos y comparándolos con la información demográfica histórica. Los resultados pretenden mostrar los efectos de la especialización funcional económica, causada por la integración en las jerarquías productivas globales, sobre la estructura urbana. La pérdida gradual de las características tradicionales de los pueblos castellanos, como la compacidad y la integración en el entorno, debido a la pérdida o degradación de la arquitectura popular y la construcción de nuevas edificaciones industriales, supone un riesgo para las futuras políticas de desarrollo local. Se considera necesario preservar la identidad paisajística y evitar la destrucción del patrimonio cultural para poder revitalizar estos territorios.

Predictors of attitudes toward inclusion of students with special educational needs in future education professionals

One of the main pillars in the development of inclusive schools is the initial teacher training. Before determining if it is necessary to make changes (and of what type) in training programs or curriculum guides related to the attention to diversity and inclusive education, the attitudes of future education professionals in this area should be analyzed. This includes the identification of the relevant predictors of inclusive attitudes. The research reported in this article pursued this objective, doing so with a quantitative survey methodology based on the use of cross-sectional structured data collection and statistical analyses related to the quality of the attitude questionnaire (factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha), descriptive statistics, correlations, hypothesis tests for difference of means, and regression analysis in order to predict attitudes towards inclusion in education. Firstly, the results show that the participants held very positive attitudes toward the inclusion of students with special educational needs. Particularly, older respondents, those with a longer training and, to a lesser extent, women and those who had been in touch with disabled people stood out within this attitude. Secondly, it is evidenced that self-transcendence values ​and, more weakly, contact, function as robust predictors of attitudes of future practitioners towards the inclusion of students with special needs. Some applications for the initial professionalization of educators are suggested in the discussion.

The Rhetorical Construction of Corporate Logos

This research is set in the context of today’s societies, in which the corporate visual symbology of a business, corporation or institution constitutes an essential way to transmit its corporate image. Traditional discursive procedures can be discovered in the development of these signs. The rhetorical strategies developed by the great classical authors appear in the logo-symbols expressing the corporate values of today’s companies. Thus, rhetoric is emerging once again in the sense it had many centuries ago: A repertory of rules that, paradoxically, standardizes the deviations of language and whose control is synonymous with power. The main objective of this study is to substantiate the rhetorical construction of logos using as a model of analysis the classical process of creating discourse. This involves understanding logos as persuasive discourses addressed to a modern audience. Our findings show that the rhetorical paradigm can be considered as a creative model for the con­struction of an original logo consistent with a company’s image.