Treball de camp a una colònia de xatrac comú (sterna hirundo) en Alemanya

Estudio elaborado a partir de una estancia en el Institut fur Vogelforschung. El objeto de la estancia fue participar en la campaña de campo en la colonia de Charrán común (Sterna hirundo) situada en Wilhelmshaven (Alemania), entre los meses de mayo y agosto de 2005. Esta participación se llevó a cabo bajo la dirección del Prof. Dr. Peter H. Becker y junto a su equipo. Se participó en la recogida rutinaria de datos de la colonia así como en distintas técnicas relacionadas con el presente proyecto, como el marcaje de pollos, su observación directa desde escondites y la recogida de distintas muestras biológicas. El objetivo principal era continuar con la obtención de datos para el trabajo de investigación sobre la influencia de la calidad y la condición parental en la manipulación adaptativa de la razón de sexos y la asignación por sexos. La obtención de datos se basa en la implantación de transponders en pollos, que permiten la identificación de cada charrán de por vida. La combinación de esta información con la observación directa de cebas hace de la colonia un lugar excepcional, lo que permite conocer los factores que influyen en las tendencias que existan. Sin embargo, el objetivo específico de la campaña se centraba en investigar la variabilidad individual de la respuesta inmune en los pollos de charrán en relación a un número de atributos de los propios pollos (sexo, tamaño, tasa de crecimiento, proteínas en plasma, hematocrito, carga parasitaria, carotenos en plasma, isótopos de las plumas), de los padres (fecha y tamaño de puesta, calidad parental) y de las condiciones de cría (orden de eclosión, densidad de la sub-colonia). Los resultados de estos datos obtenidos durante la campaña respaldan que existe una influencia de la condición nutricional y la calidad parental en la respuesta immune de los pollos, debida probablemente a un esfuerzo reproductivo diferencial.

The effects of feeding Karlodinium veneficum (PLY # 103; Gymnodinium veneficum Ballantine) to the blue mussel Mytilus edulis

The effects of exposure to the type species for Karlodinium veneficum (PLY # 103) on immune function and histopathology in the blue mussel Mytilus edulis were investigated. Mussels from Whitsand Bay, Cornwall (UK) were exposed to K. veneficum (PLY # 103) for 3 and 6 days. Assays for immune function included total and differential cells counts, phagocytosis and release of extra cellular reactive oxygen species. Histology was carried out on digestive gland and mantle tissues. The toxin cell quota for K. veneficum (PLY #103) was measured by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry detecting two separable toxins KvTx1 (11.6 ± 5.4 ng/ml) and KvTx2 (47.7 ± 4.2 ng/ml). There were significant effects of K. veneficum exposure with increasing phagocytosis and release of reactive oxygen species following 6 days exposure. There were no significant effects on total cell counts. However, differential cell counts did show significant effects after 3 days exposure to the toxic alga. All mussels produced faeces but not pseudofaeces indicating that algae were not rejected prior to ingestion. Digestive glands showed ingestion of the algae and hemocyte infiltration after 3 days of exposure, whereas mantle tissue did not show differences between treatments. As the effects of K. veneficum were not observed in the mantle tissue it can be hypothesized that the algal concentration was not high enough, or exposure long enough, to affect all the tissues. Despite being in culture for more than 50 years the original K. veneficum isolate obtained by Mary Parke still showed toxic effects on mussels.

Parental education and family characteristics: educational opportunities across cohorts in Italy and Spain

Drawing on data contained in the 2005 EU-SILC, this paper investigates the disparities in educational opportunities in Italy and Spain. Its main objective is to analyse the predicted probabilities of successfully completing upper-secondary and tertiary education for individuals with different parental backgrounds, and the changes in these probabilities across birth cohorts extending from 1940 to 1980. The results suggest that the disparities in tertiary education opportunities in Italy tend to increase over time. By contrast, the gap in educational opportunity in Spain shows a marked decrease across the cohorts. Moreover, by using an intuitive decomposition strategy, the paper shows that a large part of the educational gap between individuals of different backgrounds is “composed” of the difference in the endowment of family characteristics. Specifically, it seems that more highly educated parents are more able to endow their children with a better composition of family characteristics, which accounts for a significant proportion of the disparities in educational opportunity.

Síndrome d'alienació parental (SAP): aproximació al perfil de competències parentals del progenitor alienat: elaboració d'una guia d'exploració tècnica

De l’experiència professional de l’equip del SATAF al llarg dels anys, s’ha constatat que un dels conflictes més recurrents, existents en els procediments contenciosos, és el rebuig filial envers un dels progenitors, habitualment, el no-custodi. Un tipus de rebuig filial és la Síndrome d’Alienació Parental (SAP), descrita per Gardner, inicialment, l’any 1985. A partir dels estudis realitzats d’ençà l’any 2004, aquest grup d’investigació pretén centrar la present recerca en el perfil de competències parentals del progenitor alienat. Paral·lelament, s’ha elaborat una entrevista semiestructurada d’exploració de la SAP. Altrament, també s’ha creat una guia d’observadors per tal d’aconseguir certa operativitat diagnòstica. Els resultats obtinguts han partit d’una anàlisis estadística no-paramètrica, considerant el petit tamany de la mostra. Amb l’anàlisi, es constata que la gravetat de la SAP no manté relació quant a presència d’habilitats parentals en el progenitor alienat. D'altra banda, l’actitud d’aquests progenitors incideix en el manteniment de la Síndrome. Disposar d’eines específiques per a l’avaluació d’aquests casos optimitza i operatitvitza les intervencions amb aquestes famílies.

Los sistemas participativos en las políticas de gestión de RSU: ejemplos de best-practices y el caso español

En el presente estudio se analizan los sistemas de gestión de RSU de Alemania, Noruega y California, considerados best-practices, desde la perspectiva de la creación de las políticas que los han hecho posibles. De este análisis se destacan como elementos importantes el liderazgo institucional, los acuerdos con la industria y el debate social. Posteriormente se analiza el caso de España y de Cataluña, comparándolo con los casos destacados y los elementos seleccionados. En este análisis se sigue la evolución de su legislación, planes y programas y se consideran los elementos que definen el panorama actual. Finalmente, siguiendo las recomendaciones de diversos autores y la voluntad del actual programa catalán, se plantea un sistema participativo para la elaboración de estas políticas.

Why do educated mothers matter? A model of parental help

The paper investigates the role of mothers in affecting childrens' performance at school. It develops a theoretical model in which household is treated as an individual, whose utility depends on the performance at school of the student and on consumption. The model focuses on the possibilities through which mother’s help may affect pupil's performance in terms of time devoted to supervision and spillover effects. Empirical evidence, using Italian PISA 2006, shows that highly educated mothers have a positive impact on students' score only when they are highly qualified in the job market.

Interferència dels trastorns de personalitat en la capacitat parental. Comparació entre població normal i diagnosticada

En aquesta investigació, hem comparat tres mostres (amb diagnòstic de transtorn de la personalitat, amb trets disfuncionals de la personalitat i sans) per tal de valorar quina disposa d’un funcionament parental més acurat. Dels resultats obtinguts, malgrat el petit tamany de la mostra, podem afirmar que els progenitors sans obtenen millors resultats que els altres dos, i que els que disposen de trets disfuncionals tenen un funcionament més adequats que els que tenen un diagnòstic.

OER in Portugal as agent of curriculum innovation and technological change. Inducing practices of "new" teaching standards

This research project aimed the following goal: promote the creation, use and disclosure of OER in a Group of Schools, involving schools and teachers from different learning levels, expecting to test and validate the use of OER, in a learning-teaching model towards curricular innovation. Defining as a starting point different subjects and teachers from distinct academic areas, we have implemented a set of activities leading to the creation of OER supported, when possible, in FLOSS tools. We adopted an action research methodology with a dual purpose: to act within a community of teachers and students, while increasing at the same time their knowledge, as well as the researcher's. The activity was developed cooperatively in order to process a certain reality of the teaching-learning process, through practical/reflective action towards it and inducing its implementation by others in the Portuguese School System, based on the production and sharing OER.

An Inquiry into the use of illegal electoral practices and effects of political violence

This article investigates whether vote-buying and the instigation of violence in the disputed 2007 Kenyan elections were strategically motivated, and whether those affected by electoral violence changed their views towards ethno-politics and the use of violence. To answer these questions, a panel survey conducted before and after the elections is combined with external indicators of electoral violence. We find that political parties targeted vote-buying towards specific groups to weaken the support of their political rivals and to mobilize their own supporters. Furthermore, parties instigated violence strategically in areas where they were less likely to win. Although the victims of violence would prefer that parties are no longer allowed to organize in ethnic or religious lines, they are more likely to identify in ethnic terms, support the use of violence and avoid relying on the police to resolve disputes. The overall findings suggest an increased risk of electoral-violence reoccurring.

Hacia una reformulación sistémica del “Síndrome de Alienación Parental”. Estudio de un caso.

El objetivo del presente estudio es realizar una lectura de una situación de alienación parental en un divorcio conflictivo desde un enfoque sistémico-relacional, respondiendo a la falta de modelos de intervención para dicha casuística y considerando poco holístico el planteamiento defendido bajo la categoría Síndrome de Alienación Parental (SAP), descrita por Gardner el año 1985. Se analizan con metodología cualitativa cinco sesiones de psicoterapia de una familia de tres miembros derivada judicialmente por el rechazo de la hija a mantener contacto con la madre. Atendiendo a sus respectivas narrativas en relación a la pareja, los resultados muestran una mitología compartida en el pasado y una ruptura de la misma, en el caso de la madre. Se observa una precaria gestión del cambio, así como un conflicto comunicacional que impide desarrollar nuevas estrategias narrativas tras la separación. Los resultados permiten apoyar la apertura de líneas de investigación que contribuyan a una reformulación del SAP desde una perspectiva más profunda que aprehenda la complejidad de lo llamamos las Prácticas Alienadoras Familiares (PAF).

Broadcast Yourself! Internet and playful media practices

In this paper we want to present a work- in-progress research about video self production on the Internet that is part of a broader research project which explores the ways current media practices convey a 'playful' relationship with digital technologies in popular culture.

A longitudinal study of environmental tobacco smoke exposure in children: parental self reports versus age dependent biomarkers

Background: Awareness of the negative effects of smoking on children's health prompted a decrease in the self-reporting of parental tobacco use in periodic surveys from most industrialized countries. Our aim is to assess changes between ETS exposure at the end of pregnancy and at 4 years of age determined by the parents' self-report and measurement of cotinine in age related biological matrices.Methods: The prospective birth cohort included 487 infants from Barcelona city (Spain). Mothers were asked about maternal and household smoking habit. Cord serum and children's urinary cotinine were analyzed in duplicate using a double antibody radioimmunoassay. Results: At 4 years of age, the median urinary cotinine level in children increased 1.4 or 3.5 times when father or mother smoked, respectively. Cotinine levels in children's urine statistically differentiated children from smoking mothers (Geometric Mean (GM) 19.7 ng/ml; 95% CI 16.83–23.01) and exposed homes (GM 7.1 ng/ml; 95% CI 5.61–8.99) compared with non-exposed homes (GM 4.5 ng/ml; 95% CI 3.71–5.48). Maternal self-reported ETS exposure in homes declined in the four year span between the two time periods from 42.2% to 31.0% (p < 0.01). Nevertheless, most of the children considered non-exposed by their mothers had detectable levels of cotinine above 1 ng/mL in their urine.Conclusion: We concluded that cotinine levels determined in cord blood and urine, respectively, were useful for categorizing the children exposed to smoking and showed that a certain increase in ETS exposure during the 4-year follow-up period occurred.

Reusing IMS-LD formalized best practices in collaborative learning structuring

Designs of CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning)activities should be flexible, effective and customizable toparticular learning situations. On the other hand, structureddesigns aim to create favourable conditions for learning. Thus,this paper proposes the collection of representative and broadlyaccepted (best practices) structuring techniques in collaborative learning. With the aim of establishing a conceptual common ground among collaborative learning practitioners and softwaredevelopers, and reusing the expertise that best practicesrepresent, the paper also proposes the formulation of these techniques as patterns: the so-called CLFPs (CollaborativeLearning Flow Patterns). To formalize these patterns, we havechosen the educational modelling language IMS Learning Design (IMS-LD). IMS-LD has the capability to specify many of the collaborative characteristics of the CLFPs. Nevertheless, the language bears limited capability for describing the services that mediate interactions within a learning activity and the specification of temporal or rotated roles. This analysis isdiscussed in the paper, as well as our approaches towards thedevelopment of a system capable of integrating tools using IMSLDscripts and a CLFP-based Learning Design authoring tool.

Parental care time in four European countries: comparing types and contexts

The intensity of parental investments in child care time is expected to vary across families with different norms and time-constraints. Additionally, it should also differ across countries, since the abilities of parents to harmonize family and work vary by national context. In our opinion, however, this question remains inconclusive for two main reasons: 1) only some countries have been studied from a comparative approach; 2) previous studies have not paid enough attention to the analysis of how the conditional effects of education and employment affect parental investments.In this paper we used nationally representative time-use data from Denmark, Flanders, Spain and the United Kingdom (N=4,031) to explore how employment and education predict variations in child care time. IN Britain and Spain employment has a strong negative effect on fathers’ child care, but a weaker one in Flanders and particularly in Denmark. In contrast, maternal employment has a strong negative impact in all four countries. Education increases child care time significantly only among Spanish mothers and fathers, as well as British mothers. Nonetheless, we find that college-educated mothers under similar time-constraints increase substantially their expected child care time in Britain, Flanders and Spain; for fathers we find a more mixed picture. Routine child care activities are more sensitive to both maternal and paternal employment than interactive child care activities. Finally, we observe that working a public sector job generally increases a total time allocated to parental care, controlling for several demographic and socioeconomic variables.