Family-based affirmative action? Subversion and resilience strategies of gay father families

The present doctoral dissertation is aimed at analyzing how and with what consequences gay father families and their children’s schools negotiate possible differences in the construction of family and gender at home and in the families’ social milieus. This objective fits in with the broader goal of researching how family-school interactons are influenced by the social context such as hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 2002). The thesis is based on qualitative fieldwork carried out with 18 nonheterosexual parent families in Spain, comprising 30 interviews with 44 people. The principal participant group were 14 de novo (adoptive and surrogacy) gay father families with resident preadolescent children. The findings revealed that all the de novo families assumed open communication strategies at school with inclusive consequences: apart from incidental questions and reactions of surprise, the children did not suffer homophobic bullying. The analisis showed that the necessary condition for inclusion was not the open communication but rather illocutionary orientation (Habermas, 1984; Soler & Flecha, 2010), understood as the parents’ sensitivity to the attitudes of their children and schools. The schools received the families in an inclusive manner, which, however, was only receptive and not proactive, therefore some of the families (reconstituted ones), coerced by the social context, got excluded. Gender relations at home were predominantly androgynous, and outside home predominantly traditional, yet the children negotiated this difference with inclusive consequences. They participated in hegemonic collective practices, thus confirming the thesis on the similarity between homo- and heterosexual-parent families (Golombok, 2006). Consistently, also the families’ identity politics was “assimilationist” and non-queer. Admittedly, the analisis showed that such a politics was increased by social expectations. Still, the findings suggest that educational and other family policies should draw on broad agendas of gender and family diversity rather than on the politics of difference and the unique status of LGB families.

Tractament psicològic del dolor crònic en nens i adolescents

L'objectiu d'aquest projecte és que els nens i adolescents amb dolor crònic puguin gaudir d'una millor qualitat de vida. El projecte té dues línies de recerca complementàries. El primer objectiu específic és crear i adaptar instruments per avaluar l’experiència dolorosa a la població infantil. Dues són les mesures que s'han estudiat en escolars: l'escala numèrica verbal (vNRS-11) tant en paper com en format electrònic, i una versió modificada de la versió pediàtrica del Survey of Pain Attitudes (Peds-SOPA). El segon objectiu específic és avaluar els efectes de la teràpia cognitiva (TC) en una mostra de nens de 12 a 18 anys que pateixen dolor crònic. En concret, volem estudiar si algunes característiques personals i familiars dels joves (per exemple, creences relacionades amb la salut, intensitat del dolor, estratègies d'afrontament, expectatives del tractament) estan associades a l'adherència a les recomanacions terapèutiques i, en conseqüència, són variables que afavoreixen la recuperació d’aquests pacients. Un tractament de 10 sessions es porta a terme per aconseguir aquest objectiu. S’ofereix als pacients un conjunt d'habilitats i estratègies específiques per a què puguin exercir un major control dels seus símptomes i reduir l'impacte d'aquests en les seves vides. Els resultats d'aquests estudis seran de gran interès per millorar el maneig del dolor infantil. A més, els resultats determinaran quines són les variables associades amb l’adherència a les prescripcions terapèutiques. Aquest és un tema particularment d’interès pel fet de que un factor determinant de l’èxit clínic és el grau en què una persona s'adhereix a les recomanacions. D'altra banda, el desenvolupament de les mesures de dolor pediàtric és de gran rellevància tant per a clínics com per a investigadors, ja que moltes de les decisions clíniques es basen en allò que el pacient ha informat sobre el seu dolor.

RADIC: un middleware de tolerancia a fallos que preserva el rendimiento

La tolerancia a fallos es una línea de investigación que ha adquirido una importancia relevante con el aumento de la capacidad de cómputo de los súper-computadores actuales. Esto es debido a que con el aumento del poder de procesamiento viene un aumento en la cantidad de componentes que trae consigo una mayor cantidad de fallos. Las estrategias de tolerancia a fallos actuales en su mayoría son centralizadas y estas no escalan cuando se utiliza una gran cantidad de procesos, dado que se requiere sincronización entre todos ellos para realizar las tareas de tolerancia a fallos. Además la necesidad de mantener las prestaciones en programas paralelos es crucial, tanto en presencia como en ausencia de fallos. Teniendo en cuenta lo citado, este trabajo se ha centrado en una arquitectura tolerante a fallos descentralizada (RADIC – Redundant Array of Distributed and Independant Controllers) que busca mantener las prestaciones iniciales y garantizar la menor sobrecarga posible para reconfigurar el sistema en caso de fallos. La implementación de esta arquitectura se ha llevado a cabo en la librería de paso de mensajes denominada Open MPI, la misma es actualmente una de las más utilizadas en el mundo científico para la ejecución de programas paralelos que utilizan una plataforma de paso de mensajes. Las pruebas iniciales demuestran que el sistema introduce mínima sobrecarga para llevar a cabo las tareas correspondientes a la tolerancia a fallos. MPI es un estándar por defecto fail-stop, y en determinadas implementaciones que añaden cierto nivel de tolerancia, las estrategias más utilizadas son coordinadas. En RADIC cuando ocurre un fallo el proceso se recupera en otro nodo volviendo a un estado anterior que ha sido almacenado previamente mediante la utilización de checkpoints no coordinados y la relectura de mensajes desde el log de eventos. Durante la recuperación, las comunicaciones con el proceso en cuestión deben ser retrasadas y redirigidas hacia la nueva ubicación del proceso. Restaurar procesos en un lugar donde ya existen procesos sobrecarga la ejecución disminuyendo las prestaciones, por lo cual en este trabajo se propone la utilización de nodos spare para la recuperar en ellos a los procesos que fallan, evitando de esta forma la sobrecarga en nodos que ya tienen trabajo. En este trabajo se muestra un diseño propuesto para gestionar de un modo automático y descentralizado la recuperación en nodos spare en un entorno Open MPI y se presenta un análisis del impacto en las prestaciones que tiene este diseño. Resultados iniciales muestran una degradación significativa cuando a lo largo de la ejecución ocurren varios fallos y no se utilizan spares y sin embargo utilizándolos se restablece la configuración inicial y se mantienen las prestaciones.

Procedural Meaning Explicatures in the Development of New Subordination Strategies in Romance

The sociocultural changes that led to the genesis of Romance languages widened the gap between oral and written patterns, which display different discoursive and linguistic devices. In early documents, discoursive implicatures connecting propositions were not generally codified, so that the reader should furnish the correctinterpretation according to his own perception of real facts; which can still be attested in current oral utterances. Once Romance languages had undergone several levelling processes which concluded in the first standardizations, implicatures became explicatures and were syntactically codified by means of univocal new complexconjunctions. As a consequence of the emergence of these new subordination strategies, a freer distribution of the information conveyed by the utterances is allowed. The success of complex structural patterns ran alongside of the genesis of new narrative genres and the generalization of a learned rhetoric. Both facts are a spontaneous effect of new approaches to the act of reading. Ancient texts were written to be read to a wide audience, whereas those printed by the end of the XV th century were conceived to be read quietly, in a low voice, by a private reader. The goal of this paper is twofold, since we will show that: a) The development of new complex conjunctions through the history of Romance languages accommodates to four structural patterns that range from parataxis tohypotaxis. b) This development is a reflex of the well known grammaticalization path from discourse to syntax that implies the codification of discoursive strategies (Givón 2 1979, Sperber and Wilson 1986, Carston 1988, Grice 1989, Bach 1994, Blackemore 2002, among others]

Innovation strategies in the presence of technology markets: evidence from spanish innovative firms

The development of markets for technology has eased the acquisition of technology and reshaped the innovation strategies of firms that we classify as producers of innovations or as imitators. Innovative activities of firms include research, acquisition of technology and downstream activities. Within an industry, firms producing innovations tend to conduct more research and downstream activities than those imitating innovations. Acquisition of technology is equally important for both. To implement innovation strategies, firms producing innovations require both the capability to scan the external environment for technology and the capability to integrate new technology. Firms producing innovations require both, while firms imitating innovations require scan capabilities only

Evaluating the probability and the impact of a failure in GMPLS based networks

In this paper, we define a new scheme to develop and evaluate protection strategies for building reliable GMPLS networks. This is based on what we have called the network protection degree (NPD). The NPD consists of an a priori evaluation, the failure sensibility degree (FSD), which provides the failure probability, and an a posteriori evaluation, the failure impact degree (FID), which determines the impact on the network in case of failure, in terms of packet loss and recovery time. Having mathematical formulated these components, experimental results demonstrate the benefits of the utilization of the NPD, when used to enhance some current QoS routing algorithms in order to offer a certain degree of protection

Experimental Modeling and Control Strategies on an Open Mobile Robot Platform PRIM

This research work deals with the problem of modeling and design of low level speed controller for the mobile robot PRIM. The main objective is to develop an effective educational tool. On one hand, the interests in using the open mobile platform PRIM consist in integrating several highly related subjects to the automatic control theory in an educational context, by embracing the subjects of communications, signal processing, sensor fusion and hardware design, amongst others. On the other hand, the idea is to implement useful navigation strategies such that the robot can be served as a mobile multimedia information point. It is in this context, when navigation strategies are oriented to goal achievement, that a local model predictive control is attained. Hence, such studies are presented as a very interesting control strategy in order to develop the future capabilities of the system

Investment, duration, and exit strategies for corporate and independent venture capital-backed start-ups

We propose a model of investment, duration, and exit strategies for start-ups backed by venture capital (VC) funds that accounts for the high level of uncertainty, the asymmetry of information between insiders and outsiders, and the discount rate. Our analysis predicts that start-ups backed by corporate VC funds remain for a longer period of time before exiting and receive larger investment amounts than those financed by independent VC funds. Although a longer duration leads to a higher likelihood of an exit through an acquisition, a larger investment increases the probability of an IPO exit. These predictions find strong empirical support.

The implementation of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for the official control of lipophilic toxins in seafood: Single-laboratory validation under four chromatographic conditions

We performed a comprehensive study to assess the fit for purpose of four chromatographic conditions for the determination of six groups of marine lipophilic toxins (okadaic acid and dinophysistoxins, pectenotoxins, azaspiracids, yessotoxins, gymnodimine and spirolides) by LC-MS/MS to select the most suitable conditions as stated by the European Union Reference Laboratory for Marine Biotoxins (EURLMB). For every case, the elution gradient has been optimized to achieve a total run-time cycle of 12 min. We performed a single-laboratory validation for the analysis of three relevant matrices for the seafood aquaculture industry (mussels, pacific oysters and clams), and for sea urchins for which no data about lipophilic toxins have been reported before. Moreover, we have compared the method performance under alkaline conditions using two quantification strategies: the external standard calibration (EXS) and the matrix-matched standard calibration (MMS). Alkaline conditions were the only scenario that allowed detection windows with polarity switching in a 3200 QTrap mass spectrometer, thus the analysis of all toxins can be accomplished in a single run, increasing sample throughput. The limits of quantification under alkaline conditions met the validation requirements established by the EURLMB for all toxins and matrices, while the remaining conditions failed in some cases. The accuracy of the method and the matrix effects where generally dependent on the mobile phases and the seafood species. The MMS had a moderate positive impact on method accuracy for crude extracts, but it showed poor trueness for seafood species other than mussels when analyzing hydrolyzed extracts. Alkaline conditions with EXS and recovery correction for OA were selected as the most proper conditions in the context of our laboratory. This comparative study can help other laboratories to choose the best conditions for the implementation of LC-MS/MS according to their own necessities.

A Comparative study of germination strategies of two species of genus Allium sect. Allium

Germination experiments were performed with seeds of two species of genus Allium section Allium, a rare and endangered species A. pyrenaicum and a common A. sphaerocephalon. Different pre-treatments and a photoperiod of 24 h darkness were applied in order to simulate different germination conditions. Both species showed a high percentage of viable seeds a part of which were dormant. An elevate percentage of dormant seeds could be caused by a later collection time. Low altitude populations had more mortality than the others, possibly caused by the hard summer conditions during flowering and fruiting time. Comparisons between dates of species coexistence localities only show inter-population variability and it could be caused by the detected dormancy. Darkness accelerates germination, possibly for elongation radicle stimulation. Heat-shock pre-treatments decreased germination time in seeds from localities where fire is a probable event. The rarity of A. Pyrenaicum not seems to be caused by restricted germination requirements but is attributable to distinct habitat preferences, related to his altitudinal range of distribution

Nanomotors: new strategies of (bio)sensing based on motion

Nanomotors are nanoscale devices capable of converting energy into movement and forces. Among them, self-propelled nanomotors offer considerable promise for developing new and novel bioanalytical and biosensing strategies based on the direct isolation of target biomolecules or changes in their movement in the presence of target analytes. The mainachievements of this project consists on the development of receptor-functionalized nanomotors that offer direct and rapid target detection, isolation and transport from raw biological samples without preparatory and washing steps. For example, microtube engines functionalized with aptamer, antibody, lectin and enzymes receptors were used for the direct isolation of analytes of biomedical interest, including proteins and whole cells, among others. A target protein was also isolated from a complex sample by using an antigen-functionalized microengine navigating into the reservoirs of a lab-on-a-chip device. The new nanomotorbased target biomarkers detection strategy not only offers highly sensitive, rapid, simple and low cost alternative for the isolation and transport of target molecules, but also represents a new dimension of analytical information based on motion. The recognition events can be easily visualized by optical microscope (without any sophisticated analytical instrument) to reveal the target presence and concentration. The use of artificial nanomachines has shown not only to be useful for (bio)recognition and (bio)transport but also for detection of environmental contamination and remediation. In this context, micromotors modified with superhydrophobic layer demonstrated that effectively interacted, captured, transported and removed oil droplets from oil contaminated samples. Finally, a unique micromotor-based strategy for water-quality testing, that mimics live-fish water-quality testing, based on changes in the propulsion behavior of artificial biocatalytic microswimmers in the presence of aquatic pollutants was also developed. The attractive features of the new micromachine-based target isolation and signal transduction protocols developed in this project offer numerous potential applications in biomedical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and forensic analysis.

Economic crisis and recovery: changes in second birth rates within occupational classes and educational groups

This study assesses the decline in second birth rates for men and women across different skill levels in transitional Russia. Changes within educational groups and occupational classes are observed over three distinct time periods: the Soviet era, economic crisis, and economic recovery. The most remarkable finding is the similarity in the extent second birth rates declined within educational groups and occupational classes during the economic crisis. Although further decline occurred in the recovery period, more variation emerged across groups.

Free-and open source software for a course on network management: authoring and enactment of scripts based on collaborative learning strategies

This paper describes a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) case study in engineering education carried out within the context of a network management course. The case study shows that the use of two computing tools developed by the authors and based on Free- and Open-Source Software (FOSS) provide significant educational benefits over traditional engineering pedagogical approaches in terms of both concepts and engineering competencies acquisition. First, the Collage authoring tool guides and supports the course teacher in the process of authoring computer-interpretable representations (using the IMS Learning Design standard notation) of effective collaborative pedagogical designs. Besides, the Gridcole system supports the enactment of that design by guiding the students throughout the prescribed sequence of learning activities. The paper introduces the goals and context of the case study, elaborates onhow Collage and Gridcole were employed, describes the applied evaluation methodology, anddiscusses the most significant findings derived from the case study.

Learning design twofold strategies for teacher-led inquiry andstudent active learning

This workshop paper states that fostering active student participation both in face-to-face lectures / seminars and outside the classroom (personal and group study at home, the library, etc.) requires a certain level of teacher-led inquiry. The paper presents a set of strategies drawn from real practice in higher education with teacher-led inquiry ingredients that promote active learning. Thesepractices highlight the role of the syllabus, the importance of iterative learning designs, explicit teacher-led inquiry, and the implications of the context, sustainability and practitioners’ creativity. The strategies discussed in this paper can serve as input to the workshop as real cases that need to be represented in design and supported in enactment (with and without technologies).

Open source business strategies in the domain of embedded systems

El tema de este estudio es el aumento de la comprensión teórica y empírica de la estrategia de negocio de código abierto en el dominio de sistemas embebidos por investigar modelos de negocios de código abierto, retos, recursos y capacidades operativas y dinámicas.