The promotion and assessment of generic skills from interdisciplinary teaching teams

The paper explains a teaching project financed by the University of Barcelona (UB). It focuses on ageneric skill of the University of Barcelona, which is defined as "the learning capability andresponsibility”, and in which analytical and synthesis skills are included. It follows a multidisciplinaryapproach including teachers of Mathematics, World Economics and Economic History. All of us sharethe same students during the first and the second course of the grade in Economics at the Faculty ofEconomics and Business. The project has been developed in three stages. The first one has beendone during the first semester of the course 2012/13, being applied to first year students on thesubjects of Mathematics and Economic History. The second phase is being to be done during thesecond semester only on the Economic History subject. A third stage is going to be done next course2013/14 to second year students on the subject of World Economics. Each different teaching teamhas developed specific materials and assessment tools for each one of the subjects included in theproject. The project emphasizes two teaching dimensions: the elaboration of teaching materials topromote the acquisition of generic skills from an interdisciplinary point of view, and the design ofspecific tools to assess such skills. The first results of the first phase of the project shows cleardeficiencies in the analytical skill regarding to first year students.

The promotion and assessment of generic skills from interdisciplinary teaching teams

The paper explains a teaching project financed by the University of Barcelona (UB). It focuses on ageneric skill of the University of Barcelona, which is defined as "the learning capability andresponsibility”, and in which analytical and synthesis skills are included. It follows a multidisciplinaryapproach including teachers of Mathematics, World Economics and Economic History. All of us sharethe same students during the first and the second course of the grade in Economics at the Faculty ofEconomics and Business. The project has been developed in three stages. The first one has beendone during the first semester of the course 2012/13, being applied to first year students on thesubjects of Mathematics and Economic History. The second phase is being to be done during thesecond semester only on the Economic History subject. A third stage is going to be done next course2013/14 to second year students on the subject of World Economics. Each different teaching teamhas developed specific materials and assessment tools for each one of the subjects included in theproject. The project emphasizes two teaching dimensions: the elaboration of teaching materials topromote the acquisition of generic skills from an interdisciplinary point of view, and the design ofspecific tools to assess such skills. The first results of the first phase of the project shows cleardeficiencies in the analytical skill regarding to first year students.

The promotion and assessment of generic skills from interdisciplinary teaching teams

The paper explains a teaching project financed by the University of Barcelona (UB). It focuses on ageneric skill of the University of Barcelona, which is defined as "the learning capability andresponsibility”, and in which analytical and synthesis skills are included. It follows a multidisciplinaryapproach including teachers of Mathematics, World Economics and Economic History. All of us sharethe same students during the first and the second course of the grade in Economics at the Faculty ofEconomics and Business. The project has been developed in three stages. The first one has beendone during the first semester of the course 2012/13, being applied to first year students on thesubjects of Mathematics and Economic History. The second phase is being to be done during thesecond semester only on the Economic History subject. A third stage is going to be done next course2013/14 to second year students on the subject of World Economics. Each different teaching teamhas developed specific materials and assessment tools for each one of the subjects included in theproject. The project emphasizes two teaching dimensions: the elaboration of teaching materials topromote the acquisition of generic skills from an interdisciplinary point of view, and the design ofspecific tools to assess such skills. The first results of the first phase of the project shows cleardeficiencies in the analytical skill regarding to first year students.

Aggregate Costs of Gender Gaps in the Labor Market: A Quantitative Estimate

[eng] This paper examines the quantitative effects of gender gaps in entrepreneurship and labor force participation on aggregate productivity and income per capita. We simulate an occupational choice model with heterogeneous agents in entrepreneurial ability, where agents choose to be workers, self-employed or employers. The model assumes that men and women have the same talent distribution, but we impose several frictions on women's opportunities and pay in the labor market. In particular, we restrict the fraction of women participating in the labor market.

Aggregate Costs of Gender Gaps in the Labor Market: A Quantitative Estimate

This paper examines the quantitative effects of gender gaps in entrepreneurship and labor force participation on aggregate productivity and income per capita. We simulate an occupational choice model with heterogeneous agents in entrepreneurial ability, where agents choose to be workers, self-employed or employers. The model assumes that men and women have the same talent distribution, but we impose several frictions on women's opportunities and pay in the labor market. In particular, we restrict the fraction of women participating in the labor market.

Aggregate Costs of Gender Gaps in the Labor Market: A Quantitative Estimate

This paper examines the quantitative effects of gender gaps in entrepreneurship and labor force participation on aggregate productivity and income per capita. We simulate an occupational choice model with heterogeneous agents in entrepreneurial ability, where agents choose to be workers, self-employed or employers. The model assumes that men and women have the same talent distribution, but we impose several frictions on women's opportunities and pay in the labor market. In particular, we restrict the fraction of women participating in the labor market.

Comparison of quality of life after stereotactic body radiotherapy and surgery for early-stage prostate cancer

Background: As the long-term efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) becomes established and other prostate cancer treatment approaches are refined and improved, examination of quality of life (QOL) following prostate cancer treatment is critical in driving both patient and clinical treatment decisions. We present the first study to compare QOL after SBRT and radical prostatectomy, with QOL assessed at approximately the same times pre- and post-treatment and using the same validated QOL instrument. Methods: Patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were treated with either radical prostatectomy (n = 123 Spanish patients) or SBRT (n = 216 American patients). QOL was assessed using the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) grouped into urinary, sexual, and bowel domains. For comparison purposes, SBRT EPIC data at baseline, 3 weeks, 5, 11, 24, and 36 months were compared to surgery data at baseline, 1, 6, 12, 24,and 36 months. Differences in patient characteristics between the two groups were assessed using Chi-squared tests for categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were constructed for each EPIC scale to account for correlation among repeated measures and used to assess the effect of treatment on QOL. Results: The largest differences in QOL occurred in the first 16 months after treatment, with larger declines following surgery in urinary and sexual QOL as compared to SBRT, and a larger decline in bowel QOL following SBRT as compared to surgery. Long-term urinary and sexual QOL declines remained clinically significantly lower for surgery patients but not for SBRT patients. Conclusions: Overall, these results may have implications for patient and physician clinical decision making which are often influenced by QOL. These differences in sexual, urinary and bowel QOL should be closely considered in selecting the right treatment, especially in evaluating the value of non-invasive treatments, such as SBRT.

A panel data analysis of FDI and informal labor markets

The objective of this paper is to examine whether informal labor markets affect the flows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and also whether this effect is similar in developed and developing countries. With this aim, different public data sources, such as the World Bank (WB), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) are used, and panel econometric models are estimated for a sample of 65 countries over a 14 year period (1996-2009). In addition, this paper uses a dynamic model as an extension of the analysis to establish whether such an effect exists and what its indicators and significance may be.

Coneixements i usos lingüístics de l'estudiantat de la Universitat de Lleida (2012 / 2013). Estudi comparatiu dels resultats obtinguts el 1993/1994 amb els de l’actualitat

El treball que teniu a les mans és una recerca sociolingüística que té com a objectiu l’anàlisi dels coneixements i els usos lingüístics de la Universitat de Lleida, a partir de la comparació dels resultats obtinguts a “Coneixements i usos lingüístics de l’estudiantat de la Universitat de Lleida” (Curs 1993/1994), un estudi impulsat des dels Servei de Llengua i Terminologia l’any 1993. L’elaboració del treball es divideix en tres etapes: l’etapa d’investigació, l’etapa d’organització i l’etapa d’interpretació. La primera etapa ha estat destinada a la recollida de dades. He demanat a un total de 1046 alumnes provinents de vint-i-un graus o especialitat diferents que contestessin un qüestionari. La segona etapa consisteix en l’organització de les dades. El primer que he fet ha estat entrar els resultats de cadascuna de les enquestes al programa ACCES, el qual m’ha permès fer les posteriors agrupacions partint sempre del model de 1993. Una vegada he tingut totes les agrupacions fetes, he fet tots els percentatges, gràfiques i taules al programa Excel. Finalment, quan ja he tingut tots els gràfics i taules confeccionats he passat ja a l’última etapa del treball: la interpretació de les dades. Primer he fet una lectura de cadascun dels gràfics i taules, comparant-los posteriorment amb els resultats obtinguts el 1993. Una vegada he tingut tots els comentaris fets he passat ja al més important: la redacció de les conclusions, on intento explicar els canvis més importants que he copsat.

Prediction of crude protein and classification of the growth stage of wheat plant samples from NIR spectra

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to analyse the crude protein content of dried and milled samples of wheat and to discriminate samples according to their stage of growth. A calibration set of 72 samples from three growth stages of wheat (tillering, heading and harvest) and a validation set of 28 samples was collected for this purpose. Principal components analysis (PCA) of the calibration set discriminated groups of samples according to the growth stage of the wheat. Based on these differences, a classification procedure (SIMCA) showed a very accurate classification of the validation set samples : all of them were successfully classified in each group using this procedure when both the residual and the leverage were used in the classification criteria. Looking only at the residuals all the samples were also correctly classified except one of tillering stage that was assigned to both tillering and heading stages. Finally, the determination of the crude protein content of these samples was considered in two ways: building up a global model for all the growth stages, and building up local models for each stage, separately. The best prediction results for crude protein were obtained using a global model for samples in the two first growth stages (tillering and heading), and using a local model for the harvest stage samples.

Estimation of age- and stage-specific Catalan breast cancer survival functions using US and Catalan survival data

Background: During the last part of the 1990s the chance of surviving breast cancer increased. Changes in survival functions reflect a mixture of effects. Both, the introduction of adjuvant treatments and early screening with mammography played a role in the decline in mortality. Evaluating the contribution of these interventions using mathematical models requires survival functions before and after their introduction. Furthermore, required survival functions may be different by age groups and are related to disease stage at diagnosis. Sometimes detailed information is not available, as was the case for the region of Catalonia (Spain). Then one may derive the functions using information from other geographical areas. This work presents the methodology used to estimate age- and stage-specific Catalan breast cancer survival functions from scarce Catalan survival data by adapting the age- and stage-specific US functions. Methods: Cubic splines were used to smooth data and obtain continuous hazard rate functions. After, we fitted a Poisson model to derive hazard ratios. The model included time as a covariate. Then the hazard ratios were applied to US survival functions detailed by age and stage to obtain Catalan estimations. Results: We started estimating the hazard ratios for Catalonia versus the USA before and after the introduction of screening. The hazard ratios were then multiplied by the age- and stage-specific breast cancer hazard rates from the USA to obtain the Catalan hazard rates. We also compared breast cancer survival in Catalonia and the USA in two time periods, before cancer control interventions (USA 1975–79, Catalonia 1980–89) and after (USA and Catalonia 1990–2001). Survival in Catalonia in the 1980–89 period was worse than in the USA during 1975–79, but the differences disappeared in 1990–2001. Conclusion: Our results suggest that access to better treatments and quality of care contributed to large improvements in survival in Catalonia. On the other hand, we obtained detailed breast cancer survival functions that will be used for modeling the effect of screening and adjuvant treatments in Catalonia.

La atención a la diversidad cultural en Cataluña: exclusión, segregación e interculturalidad

La diversidad cultural se ha incrementado notablemente en los centros escolares españoles por la llegada de alumnado de origen inmigrado y esto, más los discursos de toma en consideración de las diferencias culturales que han realizado la Unión Europea y las administraciones autonómicas, ha contribuido a la aparición del discurso intercultural. Este artículo presenta la evolución realizada hasta llegar al discurso dominante actual basándose en un trabajo empírico de análisis de documentación editada por la Generalitat de Cataluña sobre política de integración y de escolarización de los inmigrados y entrevistas en profundidad a políticos y técnicos de los diferentes niveles de la administración catalana. De ello se concluye la existencia de tres etapas en la política de integración de los inmigrados en Cataluña: un primer momento de mera observación del fenómeno; una segunda etapa en la que sin abandonar la observación se insiste en la organización vertical y horizontal de la administración para trabajar de forma coordinada un fenómeno que empieza a despertar preocupación; y, una tercera, en la que sin abandonar la necesaria observación y organización, el énfasis se sitúa en la intervención. Estas fases son el marco de lo realizado a nivel educativo donde observamos la dificultad de traducción del discurso intercultural a la práctica cotidiana de los centros escolares, de los noventa, es necesario incrementar los esfuerzos para incorporar al alumnado de origen inmigrado en el dominio de la creencia de que la educación intercultural (en contra de lo que esta implica) es cuestión que deben trabajar los centros con inmigrantes y, ante la presión existente en las aulas (por el incremento del alumnado, la matrícula viva, etc.), el retorno a prácticas potencialmente segregacionistas que nos recuerdan actuaciones implementadas para escolarizar a los gitanos años atrás. Sin negar los avances realizados desde mediados aulas y centros de Cataluña.

Two component systems: physiological effect of a third component

Signal transduction systems mediate the response and adaptation of organisms to environmental changes. In prokaryotes, this signal transduction is often done through Two Component Systems (TCS). These TCS are phosphotransfer protein cascades, and in their prototypical form they are composed by a kinase that senses the environmental signals (SK) and by a response regulator (RR) that regulates the cellular response. This basic motif can be modified by the addition of a third protein that interacts either with the SK or the RR in a way that could change the dynamic response of the TCS module. In this work we aim at understanding the effect of such an additional protein (which we call ‘‘third component’’) on the functional properties of a prototypical TCS. To do so we build mathematical models of TCS with alternative designs for their interaction with that third component. These mathematical models are analyzed in order to identify the differences in dynamic behavior inherent to each design, with respect to functionally relevant properties such as sensitivity to changes in either the parameter values or the molecular concentrations, temporal responsiveness, possibility of multiple steady states, or stochastic fluctuations in the system. The differences are then correlated to the physiological requirements that impinge on the functioning of the TCS. This analysis sheds light on both, the dynamic behavior of synthetically designed TCS, and the conditions under which natural selection might favor each of the designs. We find that a third component that modulates SK activity increases the parameter space where a bistable response of the TCS module to signals is possible, if SK is monofunctional, but decreases it when the SK is bifunctional. The presence of a third component that modulates RR activity decreases the parameter space where a bistable response of the TCS module to signals is possible.

ZnO nanorods for efficient third harmonic UV generation.

ZnO nanorods grown by both high temperature vapour phase transport and low temperature chemical bath deposition are very promising sources for UV third harmonic generation. Material grown by both methods show comparable efficiencies, in both cases an order of magnitude higher than surface third harmonic generation at the quartz-air interface of a bare quartz substrate. This result is in stark contrast to the linear optical properties of ZnO nanorods grown by these two methods, which show vastly different PL efficiencies. The third harmonic generated signal is analysed using intensity dependent measurements and interferometric frequency resolved optical gating, allowing extraction of the laser pulse parameters. The comparable levels of efficiency of ZnO grown by these very different methods as sources for third harmonic UV generation provides a broad suite of possible growth methods to suit various substrates, coverage and scalability requirements. Potential application areas range from interferometric frequency resolved optical gating characterization of few cycle fs pulses to single cell UV irradiation for biophysical studies.

Comparison of quality of life after stereotactic body radiotherapy and surgery for early-stage prostate cancer

Background: As the long-term efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) becomes established and other prostate cancer treatment approaches are refined and improved, examination of quality of life (QOL) following prostate cancer treatment is critical in driving both patient and clinical treatment decisions. We present the first study to compare QOL after SBRT and radical prostatectomy, with QOL assessed at approximately the same times pre- and post-treatment and using the same validated QOL instrument. Methods: Patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were treated with either radical prostatectomy (n = 123 Spanish patients) or SBRT (n = 216 American patients). QOL was assessed using the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) grouped into urinary, sexual, and bowel domains. For comparison purposes, SBRT EPIC data at baseline, 3 weeks, 5, 11, 24, and 36 months were compared to surgery data at baseline, 1, 6, 12, 24,and 36 months. Differences in patient characteristics between the two groups were assessed using Chi-squared tests for categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were constructed for each EPIC scale to account for correlation among repeated measures and used to assess the effect of treatment on QOL. Results: The largest differences in QOL occurred in the first 1-6 months after treatment, with larger declines following surgery in urinary and sexual QOL as compared to SBRT, and a larger decline in bowel QOL following SBRT as compared to surgery. Long-term urinary and sexual QOL declines remained clinically significantly lower for surgery patients but not for SBRT patients. Conclusions: Overall, these results may have implications for patient and physician clinical decision making which are often influenced by QOL. These differences in sexual, urinary and bowel QOL should be closely considered in selecting the right treatment, especially in evaluating the value of non-invasive treatments, such as SBRT.