Combining Leaf Shape and Texture for Costa Rican Plant Species Identification

In the last decade, research in Computer Vision has developed several algorithms to help botanists and non-experts to classify plants based on images of their leaves. LeafSnap is a mobile application that uses a multiscale curvature model of the leaf margin to classify leaf images into species. It has achieved high levels of accuracy on 184 tree species from Northeast US. We extend the research that led to the development of LeafSnap along two lines. First, LeafSnap’s underlying algorithms are applied to a set of 66 tree species from Costa Rica. Then, texture is used as an additional criterion to measure the level of improvement achieved in the automatic identification of Costa Rica tree species. A 25.6% improvement was achieved for a Costa Rican clean image dataset and 42.5% for a Costa Rican noisy image dataset. In both cases, our results show this increment as statistically significant. Further statistical analysis of visual noise impact, best algorithm combinations per species, and best value of , the minimal cardinality of the set of candidate species that the tested algorithms render as best matches is also presented in this research

Bryozoan borings in shells of Costa Rican miocene oysters

Borings of bryozoan colonies are rare fossils and hitherto unknown from Central America. Four different types of zoaria, belonging to Spathipora sp., Terebripora sp. A, Terebripora cf. falunica and Iramena sp., were recognized. They are developed on shells of Miocene oysters (Saccostrea sp. and Ostrea sp.) from shell - beds of the Venado-Formation (Northern Limon - San Carlos Basin, Costa Rica). The period of colonization and growth by bryozoans and/or a few other benthic invertebrates was probably a short - term event, followed by suffocation from accumlating sediment.

Costa Rican personalities

In the chair Creating and Maintaining Database of the School of Library, Documentation and Information, in 1998, students created a database called "Biblos" with information on 632 libraries and information centers and documentation of Costa Rica. A valuable work needed more time to verify, debug, analyze the results statistically, prepare a report, a catalog and indexes required to publish the document: "Libraries Rican."In 1999, finding the students are excited and committed to this document, I suggested we call the project work: "Personalities Rican," which was to develop a database and use it as input to design a Web page that can be installed on Internet or burn a CD. Students were identified and committed to the project. Providing an innovative practices, apply creativity, awareness of acquired knowledge, skills and abilities needed to provide users with products and innovative information services.

Speech by Mr. Alban Sandi Bonilla, Dean, Faculty of Arts at the Inauguration of Professional Lecture "Managing Information in Specialized Areas in Costa Rican

Friends: Although we have not devoted special sessions to discuss the matter, the truth is that in some informal occasions we talked lightly about the relevance of the School of Library, Documentation and Information is at the Faculty of Arts. We have consistently defined our School Faculty as a humanist. The human reality in all its modes of symbolic production is the object of study that brings us together as an area of knowledge. A school is that, a major academic unit, which it brings together different disciplines deserve epistemological affinity for joint development. Cooperation, ease of interdisciplinary association are elements that justify the existence of the faculties. And our conversations, I insist, casual and light, have led us to establish two positions may seem superficially divergent, but are not. The Library mates look as techniques themselves, and feel that can be placed almost anywhere Faculty, and at first glance does not explain its presence in a humanities faculty. Let me turn away from this self-image.

Children's Library system, its projection in the Costa Rican Education

To focus the projection that libraries have had children in Costa Rican education, it is necessary to note that Costa Rica is one of the countries of Latin America, which has developed valuable experience of having specialized libraries in the care of preschool and school children , becoming an important resource in supporting educational and cultural level. This, then places it as a model country in this field in Latin America, on the initiative and from the heart of the capital, starting in 1971 with the opening of the Children's Library Carmen Lyra. System currently operates six libraries of this type, installed in different districts of the Central Canton of San Jose.

Information Literacy in Costa Rican Universities. Viewing Levels of Incorporation from the Information Published on the Websites of their Libraries

Training in information competencies or information literacy is one of the current challenges of university libraries at the possibilities of access to vast information resources that facilitate digital media, which require a better understand and apply the selection and assessment criteria to retrieval the highest quality and relevance of information as needed. In this situation, Ibero-American university libraries (Latin-America, Spain and Portugal) have been slowly incorporating this training either from direct training programs, offered from the library or through collaborative work with teachers and schools in curricula of various universities as a whole or in specific disciplines. In this text, it was identified that, at present, from the information displayed on Web sites of universities-HEI in Costa Rica, a very small percentage of university libraries would find taking actions in a level 1 or 2 of incorporating information literacy, since a large most developed is still very focused programs and processes to the traditional user training, while another large majority, unfortunately, has no action-information about actions from the forming perspective that should be any library.

Determination of factors related to the abandonment of the practice of swimming by former costa rican swimmers

The objective of this study was to determine the importance of different dimensions as the possible causes for the abandonment of the practice of swimming by former Costa Rican swimmers.  Subjects: 51 former swimmers participated, including 17 men (22 ±3.4 years of age) and 34 women (22.5 ±3.4 years of age) from different Costa Rican swimming teams.  The Questionnaire of Reasons for Attrition in the Practice of Sports (Gould et al, 1982; cited by Salguero, Tuero, and Márquez, 2003) was used.  Results:  A positive relationship was noted between perceptions of low skill and low performance (r: 0.372), while negative relationships were noted between years of practice and low skill (r:-0.337), years of practice and influence from others (r:-0.286), and years of practice and starting age for swimming (r:-0.622).  A significant interaction was found in the dimensions gender of participants (F: 2.952; p<0.05) and starting age for swimming (F: 3.147; p<0.01).  An interaction was also found between dimensions and the desire to swim again (F: 2.485; p>0.05).  There were also significant differences in the years of practice; that is, subjects who started before the age of 10 had a higher average of years of practice than those who started later (F: 21.465; p<0.05).  Additionally, a significant interaction was found in weekly hours of swimming practice (F: 2.072; p<0.05).  There were no significant differences (F: 2.535; p>0.05) according to weekly hours of training when subjects were actively swimming. Conclusions: Possible reasons for dropping out were lack of enjoyment and poor physical condition for men and perception of lack of team spirit for women.  The group that started after the age of ten gives similar importance to all the dimensions as possible reasons for dropping out, while the group that began swimming before the age of ten sees lack of team spirit, lack of enjoyment, and poor physical condition as the key reasons for dropping out.  The most important dimensions that represented the reasons for abandonment in subjects who wanted to swim again were lack of team spirit, poor physical condition and low skill, while lack of enjoyment was the most important reason for subjects who do not want to swim again.  In the group of subjects who would swim less than six hours, lack of team spirit is the most important cause, while the dimension lack of enjoyment was the most important reason for subjects who would swim 6 to 12 hours.  Additionally, the highest dropout percentages were observed in the transition from secondary school to college.

Technical performance profile of the four-time Costa Rican senior basketball league championship team

The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the technical performance profile of the four-time Costa Rican Senior Basketball League championship team. A total of 142 games was recorded throughout the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons. Performance indicators selected were: two and three-point shots (converted, missed, effectiveness rates), free throws (converted, missed, effectiveness rates), points, offensive and defensive rebounds, fouls, turnovers, assists and ball steals. The information was described based on absolute and relative frequency values. Data was compared by season and by playing period based on the following non-parametric techniques: U-test, Friedman test and Chi-square. In all cases, SPSS version 15.0 was used with a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Results showed a better profile of technical performance in the 2008 season, characterized by better percentages of two-point shots, free throws, fewer turnovers and more ball steals and assists. In relation to the playing period, the team showed a better technical performance profile during the second half of the matches. In general, the effectiveness rate of two-point shots and free throws was above 60% in both playing periods, while the three-point shot percentage ranged between 26.4% and 29.2%. In conclusion, the team showed a similar technical performance profile to that reported in the literature, as well as a clear evidence of the importance of recording and following up on technical performance indicators in basketball.

Beliefs, Teaching Practice and Proposals for the Attention of Cultural Diversity: the Case of a Costa Rican Teaching and Three Nicaraguans Infants

This article presents data from a research that studied a teacher belief regarding three Nicaraguan students. Specifically, presents findings related to teaching practice and its relation to diverse education proposals. It includes an analysis of four subcategories: daily dynamic of a teacher who works with infants of another culture, students’ assessment in the classroom, discipline strategies to children, and diverse beliefs and proposals. The data shows that, in the classroom, the teacher does not demonstrate different treatment to Nicaraguan and Costa Rican children, suggesting that equal treatment is the strategy per se used by the teacher to solve the issue of cultural diversity in the classroom. On the other hand, discipline is assumed by the teacher with scolding criteria, using a loud tone of voice and aggressive vocabulary.

Skills in the XXI Century Guidance: An Approach to the Costa Rican Reality

During a long time, the term competence has been used in different fields. Among those fields, and one of the most important, we can mention the educational system, from preschool to university levels. The term has to be understood as one person integral behavior, making him/her able to enter the labor force in the most competitive way. Within the university realm, experts have tried to include the model of competences as a transversal axle into the teaching-learning process. In European universities, such model has been implemented in most of them. In Latin America universities, on the other hand, it has been used in a good number of countries. The importance of early detection of competences among target populations in education has been widely discussed. However, it has been highlighted the necessity of considering romantic or subjective competences, which seem to lack of value in this complex and competitive actual world. The term competence has been classified as genetic competence, or common and specific competence. The latter is related to the knowledge scope. Within the counseling field, specifically, the general and specific competences are deemed highly appropriate for good a work performance. This article focuses on the main antecedents of competences and analyzes this approach from counseling field perspective. In regards to this specific aspect, a survey with professionals in counseling was carried out. Such a survey ends up dealing with some of the competences considered unavoidable for an accurate performance of professionals in counseling. It is important to mention that the competences of the survey mainly point out to genetic competences rather than to specific competences.

Integral Perspective of the Costa Rican Educational Development

The purpose of this essay is to raise the educational development that has been experienced in our country, outlining influential frames such as political, social, religious and economical ones. It aims to report statistical data as indicators of the development of our educational system, in areas of coverage, average education, repetition, desertion, among others. It is imperative to achieve changes and restructuring in our education system at all levels, from kindergarten to university, so it should take into account the contribution of all stakeholders in the education sector, as the human resource is valuable and all the innovative proposals should be heard, especially those that seek to build together and not ideas imposed that hinder the development of education in our country. Improvements must be necessary because there is an existing desire by many people of improving and achieving a true enrichment in our education.

Environmental Education Experience with Students from One Costa Rican Rural School

This article describes a teaching experience developed in Environmental Education in a Costa Rican rural school with students from ninth year, characterized by the dynamics of a workshop in which stresses the participation in the construction of initiatives to address environmental problems detected by the youth in their communities. The article aims to contribute to the construction of a pedagogical model of self-management training and education of young people in environmental sectors, tourism and agriculture, in the conviction that education constitutes a vital alternative for understanding and solving environmental problems.

Construction of the Cognitive Dimension of the Scientific Literacy in the Students through the Costa Rican Biological Sciences Olympics

This research recognizes the cognitive contributions to the students participating in the Third Costa Rican Biological Sciences Olympics that will define the advancement and strengthening in the construction of its conceptual dimension in the scientific literacy.  This paper is based, mainly, on qualitative approach techniques (ethnographic design:  case study); however, some data are interpreted through quantitative methodologies (descriptive design with an explanatory and exploratory touch) for the analysis of a sample of 54 high school students, finalists in the category A of the Olympics, through the use of tools such as a documentary study and a survey, in July 2009.  The information generated was analyzed using elements of inferential and descriptive statistics, figures and histograms.  It was proved that there is a better cognitive management in the topics assessed, an increase in the students’ academic performance as the tests are applied, a commitment for the academic update supported by the development of several tasks for previous preparation, curriculum contributions unprecedented based on our sample, a consent to optimize student’s knowledge about Biology, which will allow the application of scientific notions to diversify and renew the knowledge, according to what is established in the principles of scientific literacy.

Feasibility in Using Technological Resources for Implementing the Environmental Culture Cross-Cutting Factor for Sustainable Development in the Costa Rican Basic General Education

The purpose of this research was to analyze whether the use of technological resources may be feasible in the implementation of the environmental culture cross-cutting factor for sustainable development, which focuses on environmental issues related to the contents of the Science study program for the seventh year of the basic general education. The research design is qualitative with a dominant approach and uses some quantitative elements specifically in the design of instruments and some data analysis techniques. The type of study was developed with a multi-method approach; a trend that has been shaping a research style which integrates various methods in a single design. For this, we identified the didactic strategies and their relationship to both, technology and the environmental axis for sustainable development, used by six Science teachers of the 7th grade, in public institutions of the province of Heredia, Central Valley, Costa Rica, as well as the opinion of 20 students from that same grade. The main results include the opinions of the students, who showed a considerable interest in classes where technological resources are used. However, teachers do not show great interest or positive opinions on this matter; in addition, they are not well trained on the use of technological resources. It was also identified that the teaching personal who participated in the study do not develop this curricular axis.

Andanzas españolas de la poesía costarricense

Se describe analíticamente un recorrido histórico de los vínculos literarios, culturales y editoriales entre la producción poética costarricense del siglo xx, y la tradición lírica castellana. Sitúa las letras costarricenses en su contexto hispanoamericano, y señala algunos hitos que podrían explicar etapas y aspectos significativos de su desarrollo literario.An analytical description is provided of the literary, cultural and publishing ties existing between Costa Rican twentieth-century poetry and the Spanish lyric tradition. It situates Costa Rican letters in their Latin American context and suggests certain milestones which could explain significant stages and aspects of its literary development.