Acceso abierto a la ciencia

El acceso abierto (open access) a la ciencia es el movimiento que persigue la disponibilidad libre y gratuita de los contenidos científicos en internet. A pesar de tratarse de una iniciativa conocida, existen aún ideas confusas y también malas interpretaciones sobre algunos de sus objetivos, características o funcionamiento. Este libro se ha organizado para dar respuesta a estas dudas y malentendidos. En primer lugar, se presentan los fundamentos y antecedentes del acceso abierto, entendido como un cambio radical en el funcionamiento del sistema de comunicación científica. En los capítulos siguientes se analiza la situación de las revistas científicas y los repositorios (que constituyen las dos vías establecidas para conseguir este cambio de modelo), los aspectos legales relacionados con la información científica, la actitud de los científicos respecto del acceso abierto y las políticas desplegadas para facilitar la extensión de este modelo. Para finalizar, se presenta una valoración de los logros conseguidos hasta el momento por el movimiento y sus retos de futuro.

The european higher education area at work: Lights and shadows defining continuous assessment

The aim of this paper is to analyse how learning assessment, particularly the Continuous Assessment system, has been defined in the Public Administration and Management Diploma Course of the University of Barcelona (Spain). This course was a pioneering experiment at this university in implementing the guidelines of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), and thus represents a good case study for verifying whether one of the cornerstones of the EHEA has been accomplished with success. Using data obtained from the Teaching Plans elaborated by the lecturers of each subject, we are able to establish that the CA system has been progressively accepted to such an extent that it is now the assessment formula used by practically all of the lecturers, conforming in this way to the protocols laid down by the Faculty of Law in which this diploma course is taught. Nevertheless, we find that high dispersion exists in how Continuous Assessment is actually defined. Indeed, it seems that there is no unified view of how Continuous Assessment should be performed. This dispersion, however, seems to diminish over time and raises some questions about the advisability of agreement on criteria, considering the potential which CA has as a pedagogical tool. Moreover, we find that the Unique Assessment system, which students may also apply for, is an option chosen only by a minority, with lecturers usually defining it as merely a theoretical and/or practical test, of little innovation in relation to traditional tests.