Legal regime of quality control in goods

It has long been said that market itself is the ideal regulator of all evils that may come up among traders. Free and fair competition among manufacturers in the market will adequately ensure a fair dealing to the consumers. However, these are pious hopes. that markets anywhere in the world could not accomplish so far. Consumers are being sought to be lured by advertisements issued by manufacturers and sellers that are found often false and misleading. Untrue statements and claims about quality and performance of the products virtually deceive them. The plight of the consumers remains as an unheard cry in the wildemess. In this sorry state of affairs, it is quite natural that the consumers look to the governments for a helping hand. It is seen that the governmental endeavours to ensure quality in goods are diversified. Different tools are formulated and put to use, depending upon the requirements necessitated by the facts and circumstances. This thesis is an enquiry into these measures

Efectividad del tratamiento con neurofeedback en trastornos del estado del ánimo, ansiedad y fibromialgia: una revisión de literatura

El neurofeedback es una técnica no invasiva en la que se pretende corregir, mediante condicionamiento operante, ondas cerebrales que se encuentren alteradas en el electroencefalograma. Desde 1967, se han conducido numerosas investigaciones relacionadas con los efectos de la técnica en el tratamiento de alteraciones psicológicas. Sin embargo, a la fecha no existen revisiones sistemáticas que reúnan los temas que serán aquí tratados. El aporte de este trabajo es la revisión de 56 artículos, publicados entre los años 1995 y 2013 y la evaluación metodológica de 29 estudios incluidos en la revisión. La búsqueda fue acotada a la efectividad del neurofeedback en el tratamiento de depresión, ansiedad, trastorno obsesivo compulsivo (TOC), ira y fibromialgia. Los hallazgos demuestran que el neurofeedback ha tenido resultados positivos en el tratamiento de estos trastornos, sin embargo, es una técnica que aún está en desarrollo, con unas bases teóricas no muy bien establecidas y cuyos resultados necesitan de diseños metodológicamente más sólidos que ratifiquen su validez.

Supervisión de los contratos estatales en los órganos de las ramas legislativa y judicial

ante la existencia de un marco legal y reglamentario precario, se han identificado algunos problemas en el desarrollo de la función de supervisión e interventoría desde la óptica meramente contractual aplicada en los organismos que hacen parte de las ramas legislativa y judicial. en tal sentido resulta pertinente realizar un análisis comparativo de los instrumentos adoptados al interior de cada entidad, en consecuencia el problema de la presente investigación se plantea a partir del siguiente cuestionamiento: ¿las formas de autorregulación implementadas por los órganos de las ramas legislativa y judicial para el control de la actividad de contratación en defecto de una regulación legal y reglamentaria al respecto les permiten disponer de un marco jurídico apropiado para el ejercicio adecuado de la supervisión?.

Pre-school contributions to future achievements

This paper provides recent evidence about the beneÖts of attending preschool on future performance. A non-parametric matching procedure is used over two outcomes: math and verbal scores at a national mandatory test (Saber11) in Colombia. It is found that students who had the chance of attending preschool obtain higher scores in math (6.7%) and verbal (5.4%) than those who did not. A considerable fraction of these gaps comes from the upper quintiles of studentís performance, suggesting that preschool matters when is done at high quality institutions. When we include the number of years at the preschool, the gap rises up to 12% in verbal and 17% in math.

La Evaluación en las enseñanzas procedimentales. El cuaderno como herramienta de evaluación continua en las enseñanzas de dibujo

El dibujo como actividad procedimental implica realizar una serie de acciones consecutivas que requieren condiciones más exigentes para su aprendizaje, tanto en cantidad de práctica como en su organización. La evaluación del aprendizaje de procedimientos tiene carácter continuado, procesual, contextual y estratégico, favoreciendo la autorregulación del alumno en su proceso de aprendizaje gracias a la ayuda que el profesorado le presta. La evaluación de un proceso que se adquiere en el tiempo conlleva a plantear el cuaderno como elemento de control de dicho proceso que ayuda en la evaluación continua del mismo

Régimen jurídico de la seguridad alimentaria. De la policía administrativa a la gestión de riesgos

La policia administrativa, una de les més clàssiques formes d'intervenció pública en l'esfera jurídica dels particulars, ha vingut caracteritzant fins a temps recents l'acció administrativa en el sector dels aliments. No obstant, les limitacions que sembla presentar aquesta forma d'intervenció davant el riscos que avui emergeixen de tal sector, i en particular de l'industria alimentària, han propiciat la construcció d´un nou i, fins a cert punt, complex sistema, caracteritzat a grans trets per la intersecció entre agents públics i privats: els sistema d´anàlisis i gestió de riscos.

Autoavaliação de um agrupamento : um percurso de melhoria da qualidade de gestão e do serviço educativo da escola

Com o propósito de acompanhar a mudança da sociedade, em Portugal decorre a implementação de várias reformas entre as quais a da Administração Pública. Melhorar o serviço educativo prestado pelas escolas é condição essencial para o aumento da qualificação dos alunos. A Avaliação e a Auto Avaliação (AA) do desempenho da escola tornam-se cada vez mais importantes no sentido de acompanhar e garantir a evolução e o progresso do sistema educativo. Desta forma, torna-se imprescindível uma reflexão sobre os procedimentos desenvolvidos que visam suprir as necessidades das escolas. Este projeto de investigação, no âmbito do Mestrado em Ciências da Educação, especialização em Administração Escolar, tem como finalidade dar o seu contributo para esse debate, através da apresentação e discussão dos resultados de dois ciclos avaliativos, tendo sido aplicado, o modelo CAF (Common Assessment Framework). Neste sentido, pretendeu-se averiguar de que forma a AA (Auto Avaliação) contribui para o processo global de gestão da escola. Fazendo recurso à metodologia de estudo de caso, num Agrupamento de Escolas no interior do país, utilizou-se o paradigma qualitativo para a recolha de dados. Pela análise dos dados foi possível concluir que a aplicação do primeiro ciclo de avaliação, através do desenvolvimento de processos de melhoria da qualidade de serviço prestado, influenciou o segundo ciclo avaliativo. Esta influência foi evidente na melhoria dos planos de ação para colmatar pontos negativos detetados no ciclo avaliativo anterior contribuindo, consequentemente, para a melhoria do processo de gestão da escola. Desta forma, a experiência adquirida, as alterações introduzidas, a convição dos órgãos de gestão da escola e de quase todas as pessoas que nela exercem a sua atividade permitem concluir que é imprescindível a autorregulação e que a mesma proporcionou benefícios que levaram à melhoria da qualidade de gestão da escola.

O círculo da escrita : o texto argumentativo e a consciência (meta)linguística no ensino secundário

O projeto que se apresenta tem por finalidade investigar processos de aperfeiçoamento da competência de escrita do texto argumentativo de alunos do Ensino Secundário. Considerou-se as contribuições convergentes das teorias e técnicas da psicologia cognitiva e de perspetivas sociais da linguagem. Em consequência, associou-se o modelo de revisão de Hayes e Flower (1983; 1980), e de Hayes, Flower, Schriver, Stratman e Carey (1987), ao modelo de análise do discurso de Bronckart (2004; 1996) e à proposta linguística de Adam (2006; 1992). A hipótese que sustenta a investigação é que a consciência (meta)linguística pode facilitar a revisão textual e o aperfeiçoamento da competência de escrita de textos argumentativos, em contexto de Oficina de Escrita. A investigação conjugou duas fases. Na fase intensiva do estudo de caso, os alunos do 11.º ano de Português de uma Escola do Porto progrediram, através de trabalho continuado em Oficina de Escrita. Após a experiência, mesmo alunos com dificuldades revelaram domínio de metalinguagem, mais consciência (meta)linguística na revisão e autorregulação da sua aprendizagem. Na fase extensiva, foi aplicado um inquérito por questionário a uma amostra probabilística de professores do Secundário, igualmente do Porto. Os docentes valorizaram os aspetos supracitados, bem como a leitura de textos argumentativos e o treino do conhecimento explícito da língua. Contudo, em triangulação, as respostas indiciam um ensino centrado no professor, pouco aberto a projetos de escrita, a novas tecnologias e à divulgação de textos à Escola e ao meio. Os resultados indicam que a competência de escrita de textos argumentativos é passível de aperfeiçoamento em Oficina de Escrita, através de interiorização do género textual e aprofundamento da competência (meta)linguística. No contexto do estudo, comprova-se a influência de um treino de escrita inserido em Projetos de Escola, tendo o aluno como sujeito da sua própria aprendizagem, em interação com o meio.

O portefólio como instrumento de reflexão na disciplina de desenho A do Ensino Secundário

A temática apresentada é resultante da prática de ensino supervisionada no Ensino Secundário em Artes Visuais e tem como finalidade aprofundar questões que envolvem a autorregulação das aprendizagens para o desenvolvimento do pensamento reflexivo dos alunos. A importância do paradigma reflexivo está cada vez mais presente nas práticas educativas dos nossos tempos, remetendo para um novo conceito de ensino e de avaliação no processo de ensino-aprendizagem, de acordo com um ensino cada vez mais centrado no aluno. Seguindo a intemporalidade do pensamento freireano são desenvolvidas práticas de avaliação tendo por base a integração do portefólio como instrumento de aprendizagem progressiva para a prática reflexiva dos alunos na disciplina de Desenho A. Este projeto de investigação participativa pretende analisar informações qualitativas e quantitativas de forma a reconhecer o contributo e o benefício da dimensão reflexiva ao longo do processo de ensino-aprendizagem no desenvolvimento pessoal e cognitivo do aluno.

Huntington's disease patients have selective problems with insight

The objective of this study was to determine insight in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) by contrasting patients' ability to rate their own behavior with their ability to rate a person other than themselves. HD patients and carers completed the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX), rating themselves and each other at two time points. The temporal stability of these ratings was initially examined using these two time points since there is no published test-retest reliability of the DEX with this Population to date. This was followed by a comparison of patients' self-ratings and carer's independent ratings of patients by performing correlations with patients' disease variables, and in exploratory factor analysis was conducted on both sets of ratings. The DEX showed good test-retest reliability, with patients consistently and persistently underestimating the degree of their dysexecutive behavior, but not that of their carers. Patients' self-ratings and caters' ratings of patients both showed that dysexecutive behavior in HD can be fractionated into three underlying components (Cognition, Self-regulation, Insight), and the relative ranking of these factors was similar for both data sets. HD patients consistently underestimated the extent of only their own dysexecutive behaviors relative to carers' ratings by 26%, but were similar in ascribing ranks to the components of dysexecutive behavior. (c) 2005 Movement Disorder Society.

Moving feedback forward: theory to practice

There is substantial research interest in tutor feedback and students’ perception and use of such feedback. This paper considers some of the major issues raised in relation to tutor feedback and student learning. We explore some of the current feedback drivers, most notably the need for feedback to move away from simply a monologue from a tutor to a student to a valuable tutor–student dialogue. In relation to moving feedback forward the notions of self regulation, dialogue and social learning are explored and then considered in relation to how such theory can translate into practice. The paper proposes a framework (GOALS) as a tool through which tutors can move theory into practice with the aim of improving student learning from feedback.

Improving insight and non-insight problem solving with brief interventions

Developing brief training interventions that benefit different forms of problem solving is challenging. In earlier research, Chrysikou (2006) showed that engaging in a task requiring generation of alternative uses of common objects improved subsequent insight problem solving. These benefits were attributed to a form of implicit transfer of processing involving enhanced construction of impromptu, on-the-spot or ‘ad hoc’ goal-directed categorizations of the problem elements. Following this, it is predicted that the alternative uses exercise should benefit abilities that govern goal-directed behaviour, such as fluid intelligence and executive functions. Similarly, an indirect intervention – self-affirmation (SA) – that has been shown to enhance cognitive and executive performance after self-regulation challenge and when under stereotype threat, may also increase adaptive goal-directed thinking and likewise should bolster problem-solving performance. In Experiment 1, brief single-session interventions, involving either alternative uses generation or SA, significantly enhanced both subsequent insight and visual–spatial fluid reasoning problem solving. In Experiment 2, we replicated the finding of benefits of both alternative uses generation and SA on subsequent insight problem-solving performance, and demonstrated that the underlying mechanism likely involves improved executive functioning. Even brief cognitive– and social–psychological interventions may substantially bolster different types of problem solving and may exert largely similar facilitatory effects on goal-directed behaviours.

”En aktiemarknad för alla” : Integritet och marknadsomsorg i (själv)regleringen av den svenska värdepappersmarknaden

”A stock market for all”. Integrity and concern for the market in the (self-)regulation of the Swedish securities market This article deals with the transformation process that led to the substantial growth of the securities markets, and also led to a situation where Sweden became one of the leading countries when it comes to ordinary people investing in shares and mutual funds. The article discusses how social control and regulation of the market changed as a result of this process. A sudden and strong unanimity for knowledge tests in order for a stockbroker to be allowed to conduct brokerage, advisory services and asset management was the significant change in this transformation process. Knowledge tests were first introduced on a voluntary basis by the industry itself, but is now a mandatory requirement by the State. This article argues that the unanimity for knowledge tests best can be understood by studying the broadening of the financial markets. The broadening meant that more groups in society – with very varying capabilities – had started to place their assets in the security markets. They were encouraged to do so since this was considered to be the solution to the growing number of socioeconomic problems. This article is mainly based on market statistics and document analysis supplemented by interviews.

Design and use of mobile technology in distance language education : Matching learning practices with technologies-in-practice

This thesis focuses on the adaptation of formal education to people’s technology- use patterns, theirtechnology-in-practice, where the ubiquitous use of mobile technologies is central. The research question is: How can language learning practices occuring in informal learning environments be effectively integrated with formal education through the use of mobile technology? The study investigates the technical, pedagogical, social and cultural challenges involved in a design science approach. The thesis consists of four studies. The first study systematises MALL (mobile-assisted language learning) research. The second investigates Swedish and Chinese students’ attitudes towards the use of mobile technology in education. The third examines students’ use of technology in an online language course, with a specific focus on their learning practices in informal learning contexts and their understanding of how this use guides their learning. Based on the findings, a specifically designed MALL application was built and used in two courses. Study four analyses the app use in terms of students’ perceived level of self-regulation and structuration. The studies show that technology itself plays a very important role in reshaping peoples’ attitudes and that new learning methods are coconstructed in a sociotechnical system. Technology’s influence on student practices is equally strong across borders. Students’ established technologies-in-practice guide the ways they approach learning. Hence, designing effective online distance education involves three interrelated elements: technology, information, and social arrangements. This thesis contributes to mobile learning research by offering empirically and theoretically grounded insights that shift the focus from technology design to design of information systems.

Adaptivity in programming languages

A programming style can be seen as a particular model of shaping thought or a special way of codifying language to solve a problem. An adaptive device is made up of an underlying formalism, for instance, an automaton, a grammar, a decision tree, etc., and an adaptive mechanism, responsible for providing features for self-modification. Adaptive languages are obtained by using some programming language as the device’s underlying formalism. The conception of such languages calls for a new programming style, since the application of adaptive technology in the field of programming languages suggests a new way of thinking. Adaptive languages have the basic feature of allowing the expression of programs which self-modifying through adaptive actions at runtime. With the adaptive style, programming language codes can be structured in such a way that the codified program therein modifies or adapts itself towards the needs of the problem. The adaptive programming style may be a feasible alternate way to obtain self-modifying consistent codes, which allow its use in modern applications for self-modifying code.