Sobre la edad oligocénica inferior del yacimiento de Santpedor (Cuenca del Ebro, provincia de Barcelona)

Un muestreo intensivo del clasico yacimiento de mamíferos fósles de Santpedor ha dado como resultado la presencia de Theridomys aff. aquatilis, Gliravus aff. priscus, Eucricetodon atavus y Pseudoltinomys gaillardi. Esta asociacin permite atribuir 1os niveles del yacimiento al Oligoceno inferior mas bajo (nivel de Hoogbutsel)

En torno a los efectos de la edad en el aprendizaje escolar de una lengua extrangera

The purpose of this article is to treat a currently much debated issue, the effects of age on second language learning. To do so, we contrast data collected by our research team from over one thousand seven hundred young and adult learners with four popular beliefs or generalizations, which, while deeply rooted in this society, are not always corroborated by our data.Two of these generalizations about Second Language Acquisition (languages spoken in the social context) seem to be widely accepted: a) older children, adolescents and adults are quicker and more efficient at the first stages of learning than are younger learners; b) in a natural context children with an early start are more liable to attain higher levels of proficiency. However, in the context of Foreign Language Acquisition, the context in which we collect the data, this second generalization is difficult to verify due to the low number of instructional hours (a maximum of some 800 hours) and the lower levels of language exposure time provided. The design of our research project has allowed us to study differences observed with respect to the age of onset (ranging from 2 to 18+), but in this article we focus on students who began English instruction at the age of 8 (LOGSE Educational System) and those who began at the age of 11 (EGB). We have collected data from both groups after a period of 200 (Time 1) and 416 instructional hours (Time 2), and we are currently collecting data after a period of 726 instructional hours (Time 3). We have designed and administered a variety of tests: tests on English production and reception, both oral and written, and within both academic and communicative oriented approaches, on the learners' L1 (Spanish and Catalan), as well as a questionnaire eliciting personal and sociolinguistic information. The questions we address and the relevant empirical evidence are as follows: 1. "For young children, learning languages is a game. They enjoy it more than adults."Our data demonstrate that the situation is not quite so. Firstly, both at the levels of Primary and Secondary education (ranging from 70.5% in 11-year-olds to 89% in 14-year-olds) students have a positive attitude towards learning English. Secondly, there is a difference between the two groups with respect to the factors they cite as responsible for their motivation to learn English: the younger students cite intrinsic factors, such as the games they play, the methodology used and the teacher, whereas the older students cite extrinsic factors, such as the role of their knowledge of English in the achievement of their future professional goals. 2 ."Young children have more resources to learn languages." Here our data suggest just the opposite. The ability to employ learning strategies (actions or steps used) increases with age. Older learners' strategies are more varied and cognitively more complex. In contrast, younger learners depend more on their interlocutor and external resources and therefore have a lower level of autonomy in their learning. 3. "Young children don't talk much but understand a lot"This third generalization does seem to be confirmed, at least to a certain extent, by our data in relation to the analysis of differences due to the age factor and productive use of the target language. As seen above, the comparably slower progress of the younger learners is confirmed. Our analysis of interpersonal receptive abilities demonstrates as well the advantage of the older learners. Nevertheless, with respect to passive receptive activities (for example, simple recognition of words or sentences) no great differences are observed. Statistical analyses suggest that in this test, in contrast to the others analyzed, the dominance of the subjects' L1s (reflecting a cognitive capacity that grows with age) has no significant influence on the learning process. 4. "The sooner they begin, the better their results will be in written language"This is not either completely confirmed in our research. First of all, we perceive that certain compensatory strategies disappear only with age, but not with the number of instructional hours. Secondly, given an identical number of instructional hours, the older subjects obtain better results. With respect to our analysis of data from subjects of the same age (12 years old) but with a different number of instructional hours (200 and 416 respectively, as they began at the ages of 11 and 8), we observe that those who began earlier excel only in the area of lexical fluency. In conclusion, the superior rate of older learners appears to be due to their higher level of cognitive development, a factor which allows them to benefit more from formal or explicit instruction in the school context. Younger learners, however, do not benefit from the quantity and quality of linguistic exposure typical of a natural acquisition context in which they would be allowed to make use of implicit learning abilities. It seems clear, then, that the initiative in this country to begin foreign language instruction earlier will have positive effects only if it occurs in combination with either higher levels of exposure time to the foreign language, or, alternatively, with its use as the language of instruction in other areas of the curriculum.

Cultura y espiritualidad en la edad moderna valenciana: Juan de Juanes y el ostensorio bifaz de la iglesia parroquial de San Andrés de L'Alcúdia.

En este artículo, partiendo de las pinturas de Juan de Juanes en l¿Alcúdia, analizamos las cuestiones sociales que pudieron incidir en su producción artística, iconografía y difusión dentro del ámbito valenciano. La posible influencia del erasmismo, la filosofía intimista, la cristología de Eiximenis o el adoctrinamiento a los moriscos son algunos aspectos sobre los que centramos nuestra reflexión.

Los estudios de Bellas Artes en la Universidad de Barcelona ante el reto del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior: de las especialidades a los títulos de Grado

El contenido del artículo se centra en la conversión de los estudios de Bellas Artes al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior. Este proceso llega a su último tramo con el encargo a las universidades de proponer su mapa de titulaciones y elaborar sus correspondientes planes de estudios. Por eso, es conveniente analizar el corpus normativo estatal desplegado a lo largo de este período: en él se pone de manifiesto el rumbo, los ritmos y los criterios que lo han conducido.La singularidad de las enseñanzas artísticas superiores plantea el reto añadido de la clarificación actual del diseño de nuevas propuestas de futuro. En el seno de los estudios de Bellas Artes, el proceso ha supuesto un cambio en el modo de enfrentarse a la reforma de los planes de estudios, poniendo al alumno en su centro y valorando especialmente las competencias y en los perfiles profesionales. Los primeros resultados han sido los libros blancos de la ANECA; textos de referencia en la justificación de los posibles futuros Grados de Bellas Artes, Diseño y Conservación-Restauración.

Quesada Sanz, Fernando y Zamora Merchán, Mar (eds.), El caballo en la antigua Iberia (estudios sobre los équidos en la Edad del Hierro), Bibliotheca Archaeologica Hispana, 19, Madrid, 2003, 253 pp.

La colaboración editorial entre la Real Academia de la Historia y la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid ha hecho posible el libro que nos ocupa, inscrito en la espléndida serie de temas peninsulares BAH. colección que alcanza ya los 19 títulos en sus primeros cuatro años de existencia. El caballo en la antigua Iberia aborda un tema necesitado de una revisión en nuestro actual panorama historiográfico; tal objetivo se cumple mediante una serie de capítulos independientes, fruto del trabajo de diversos estudiosos y especialistas que, desde metodologías y ciencias muy diferentes entre sí, tienen en común un mismo objeto de estudio.

Contreras Cortés, Francisco y Cámara Serrano, Juan Antonio: La jerarquización social en la Edad del Bronce del Alto Guadalquivir (España). El poblado de Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén)

La denominada cultura argárica ha sido desde siempre uno de los focos más atractivos de la Prehistoria peninsular. El libro que tenemos entre las manos aporta un grano de arena más al conocimiento de esta cultura, pero atendiendo a uno de los grupos geográficamente más periféricos, lo que complementa los trabajos que desde mucho tiempo atrás se vienen realizando en diversos puntos del SE peninsular, área nuclear de este fenómeno.

Cerámicas de época celtibérica en la Edad del Hierro asturiana

Este artículo pretende simplemente reinterpretar ciertas cerámicas procedentes de yacimientos asturianos, las cuales han sido publicadas previamente y cuya orientación cronológica o cultural, según los casos, permite ofrecer en el momento actual nuevas precisiones o interpretaciones.

Producción cerámica en Catalunya en la Edad del Bronce: el ejemplo de la cueva de Les Pixarelles

La cerámica aparecida en la cueva de Les Pixarelles proporciona un conjunto ideal para estudiar la evolución de las producciones cerámicas desde la fase final del Neolítico hasta el Bronce final en Catalunya. El estudio diacrónico de las cerámicas se ha basado en la combinación del estudio tipológico y estilístico y en un estudio petrográfico que ha permitido caracterizar diversas fábricas. Las diferencias observadas responden a la utilización de diversas materias primas y a la utilización de diferentes técnicas de preparación de pasta que revelan una interesante complejidad para la producción cerámica de la zona.

"El Barranc de Gàfols" (Ginestar, Tarragona) y "Aldovesta" (Benifallet, Tarragona): estudio arqueozoológico como base de teorización sobre la dieta humana a principios de la Edad del Hierro y la complejidad económica en el curso bajo del Ebro.

En relación a trabajos recientes sobre los patrones de poblamiento protohistórico en el curso bajo del Ebro y la causalidad económica (Asensio el alii, 1996/ Mascort el alii, 1991), decidimos plantear un estudio que nutriera dichas hipótesis mediante el análisis arqueozoológico de dos yacimientos culturalmente contemporáneos y de cronologías sucesivas, ubicados a orillas de este río.

Estrategias para afrontar el envejecimiento y diferencias asociadas a la edad: una aproximación a través del análisis de contenido.

El objeto del presente estudio es examinar la naturaleza de las estrategias que las personas consideran a la hora de afrontar el envejecimiento, adenzás de comprobar la presencia de posibles efectos asociados a la edad en la preferencia por unas o por otras. Se entrevistaron 48 personas (16 jóvenes, 16 de mediana edad y 16 mayores) y se aplic6 un análisis de contenido a las respuestas obtenidas. Los resultados indican que existe una gran variedad de estrategias, algunas orientadas a la acción externa, otras al cambio cognitivo y que, en general, las personas consideran simultáneamente tanto unas como otras. En ciranto a las diferencias en función de la edad. las Dersonas mavores tienden a mencionar más estritegias internas que 10s jóvenes, aunque esta tendencia nofue estadísticanzente si~nificativaE. n concreto. 10s ióvenes mencionan esvecialmente la actividaYd como modo de afrontar eienvejecimiento, mienbus que 10s mavores aluden ma's frecuentemente a la tranauilidad.

Las revistas científico-técnicas españolas de ciencias de la actividad física y el deporte: adecuación a las normas ISO y grado de normalización

Este artículo tiene por objeto conocer el grado de normalización y la adecuación de las revistas científico-técnicas españolas del campo de las Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte a diversos apartados clave de las normas ISO 8-1977 e ISO 215-1986. A partir de la observación directa de los fascículos, se han confeccionado dos índices para calcular el Grado General de Normalización (GGN) y el Grado Fundamental de Normalización (GFN). Los resultados indican que el ajuste de las publicaciones a la norma ISO 8-1977 es equivalente a la de otros campos españoles como el de Economía y el de Tecnología, mientras que es menor en la norma ISO 215-1986. La mayoría de las revistas presentan un GFN inferior a su respectivo GGN. Como principal conclusión se señala la existencia de un margen considerable de mejora en las revistas estudiadas, especialmente en los aspectos fundamentales de las normas.

En torno a los efectos de la edad en el aprendizaje escolar de una lengua extrangera

The purpose of this article is to treat a currently much debated issue, the effects of age on second language learning. To do so, we contrast data collected by our research team from over one thousand seven hundred young and adult learners with four popular beliefs or generalizations, which, while deeply rooted in this society, are not always corroborated by our data.Two of these generalizations about Second Language Acquisition (languages spoken in the social context) seem to be widely accepted: a) older children, adolescents and adults are quicker and more efficient at the first stages of learning than are younger learners; b) in a natural context children with an early start are more liable to attain higher levels of proficiency. However, in the context of Foreign Language Acquisition, the context in which we collect the data, this second generalization is difficult to verify due to the low number of instructional hours (a maximum of some 800 hours) and the lower levels of language exposure time provided. The design of our research project has allowed us to study differences observed with respect to the age of onset (ranging from 2 to 18+), but in this article we focus on students who began English instruction at the age of 8 (LOGSE Educational System) and those who began at the age of 11 (EGB). We have collected data from both groups after a period of 200 (Time 1) and 416 instructional hours (Time 2), and we are currently collecting data after a period of 726 instructional hours (Time 3). We have designed and administered a variety of tests: tests on English production and reception, both oral and written, and within both academic and communicative oriented approaches, on the learners' L1 (Spanish and Catalan), as well as a questionnaire eliciting personal and sociolinguistic information. The questions we address and the relevant empirical evidence are as follows: 1. "For young children, learning languages is a game. They enjoy it more than adults."Our data demonstrate that the situation is not quite so. Firstly, both at the levels of Primary and Secondary education (ranging from 70.5% in 11-year-olds to 89% in 14-year-olds) students have a positive attitude towards learning English. Secondly, there is a difference between the two groups with respect to the factors they cite as responsible for their motivation to learn English: the younger students cite intrinsic factors, such as the games they play, the methodology used and the teacher, whereas the older students cite extrinsic factors, such as the role of their knowledge of English in the achievement of their future professional goals. 2 ."Young children have more resources to learn languages." Here our data suggest just the opposite. The ability to employ learning strategies (actions or steps used) increases with age. Older learners' strategies are more varied and cognitively more complex. In contrast, younger learners depend more on their interlocutor and external resources and therefore have a lower level of autonomy in their learning. 3. "Young children don't talk much but understand a lot"This third generalization does seem to be confirmed, at least to a certain extent, by our data in relation to the analysis of differences due to the age factor and productive use of the target language. As seen above, the comparably slower progress of the younger learners is confirmed. Our analysis of interpersonal receptive abilities demonstrates as well the advantage of the older learners. Nevertheless, with respect to passive receptive activities (for example, simple recognition of words or sentences) no great differences are observed. Statistical analyses suggest that in this test, in contrast to the others analyzed, the dominance of the subjects' L1s (reflecting a cognitive capacity that grows with age) has no significant influence on the learning process. 4. "The sooner they begin, the better their results will be in written language"This is not either completely confirmed in our research. First of all, we perceive that certain compensatory strategies disappear only with age, but not with the number of instructional hours. Secondly, given an identical number of instructional hours, the older subjects obtain better results. With respect to our analysis of data from subjects of the same age (12 years old) but with a different number of instructional hours (200 and 416 respectively, as they began at the ages of 11 and 8), we observe that those who began earlier excel only in the area of lexical fluency. In conclusion, the superior rate of older learners appears to be due to their higher level of cognitive development, a factor which allows them to benefit more from formal or explicit instruction in the school context. Younger learners, however, do not benefit from the quantity and quality of linguistic exposure typical of a natural acquisition context in which they would be allowed to make use of implicit learning abilities. It seems clear, then, that the initiative in this country to begin foreign language instruction earlier will have positive effects only if it occurs in combination with either higher levels of exposure time to the foreign language, or, alternatively, with its use as the language of instruction in other areas of the curriculum.