Safety and sustainability research for university schools of fine arts

Designing new teaching programs for both undergraduate and graduate university studies involves integrating concepts and methodologies regarding quality, work safety and hazard prevention, and environmental protection. One of the challenges facing Spanish research within the realm of European Higher Education concerns health and safety issues in the Arts.In the case of Fine Arts, student exploration is one of the fundamental pillars of the study program; therefore it is imperative that art studios be optimized. This optimization affects both designated resources (infrastructures, materials, equipment, etc.) and organization of the teaching force.In this context, the aim of our research is to improve educational practices by designing quality measures that are both friendly to the environment and hazardous free. The aim here is to assure adequate art studio and laboratory management, and provide students with hazard free health and environmentally safe concepts that can be incorporated in their professional lives.The school of Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona is part of a pilot program, where our experience in educational innovation and research is serving as a reference for the implantation of OSHAS 18001 norms.

Safety and sustainability research for university schools of fine arts

Designing new teaching programs for both undergraduate and graduate university studies involves integrating concepts and methodologies regarding quality, work safety and hazard prevention, and environmental protection. One of the challenges facing Spanish research within the realm of European Higher Education concerns health and safety issues in the Arts.In the case of Fine Arts, student exploration is one of the fundamental pillars of the study program; therefore it is imperative that art studios be optimized. This optimization affects both designated resources (infrastructures, materials, equipment, etc.) and organization of the teaching force.In this context, the aim of our research is to improve educational practices by designing quality measures that are both friendly to the environment and hazardous free. The aim here is to assure adequate art studio and laboratory management, and provide students with hazard free health and environmentally safe concepts that can be incorporated in their professional lives.The school of Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona is part of a pilot program, where our experience in educational innovation and research is serving as a reference for the implantation of OSHAS 18001 norms.

Safety and sustainability research for university schools of fine arts

Designing new teaching programs for both undergraduate and graduate university studies involves integrating concepts and methodologies regarding quality, work safety and hazard prevention, and environmental protection. One of the challenges facing Spanish research within the realm of European Higher Education concerns health and safety issues in the Arts.In the case of Fine Arts, student exploration is one of the fundamental pillars of the study program; therefore it is imperative that art studios be optimized. This optimization affects both designated resources (infrastructures, materials, equipment, etc.) and organization of the teaching force.In this context, the aim of our research is to improve educational practices by designing quality measures that are both friendly to the environment and hazardous free. The aim here is to assure adequate art studio and laboratory management, and provide students with hazard free health and environmentally safe concepts that can be incorporated in their professional lives.The school of Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona is part of a pilot program, where our experience in educational innovation and research is serving as a reference for the implantation of OSHAS 18001 norms.

Al-Bīrūnī's Kitāb Sānk and Kitāb Pātanğal:A Historical and Textual Study

The historical pole of this research distinguishes differing historical and cultural contexts in which the scholar al-Bïrûnî evolved. Between the years 973 and 1017, he lived in Khwarezm (Kät and JürjänTya), Ray, and Jürjän. He also dwelt in Kabul and Ghazna, both situated on a passage between Persia and India, and travelled to some parts of early medieval India between the years 1017 and 1030. Evidence pointing to him having made actual direct observations beyond the abode of Islam remains scanty. According to his writings, only five locales emerge as having been visited by him, all situated in today's Afghanistan and Pakistan. When al-BTrunl visited these places, he encountered the society of the Indian Shähis, who followed a form of Brahmanism. Al-Bïrûnï's knowledge of Sanskrit was the result of a long process that lasted at least 30 years (1000-1030). In order to reach the level of Sanskrit that enabled him to translate several works from Sanskrit into Arabic, he needed to work with literate people well-versed in Sanskrit, who may also have had some comprehension of Arabic, and/or Persian. The textual pole of this dissertation examines the question of the relationship between al- Bïrûnï's Arabic Kitab Sank and Kitäb Pätangal - two works related to Sämkhya-Yoga - and their possible Sanskrit sources. A philological survey based on these Arabic translations and on Sämkhya-Yoga Sanskrit literature highlights that al-Bïrûnï's translations, both, are related to the classical phase in the development of these two Indian philosophical systems. Despite the early spread of Yoga and Sämkhya ideas through Sanskrit literature, it seems that between the early 11th and 16th centuries they lost vitality amongst Indian scholars. Therefore, al-Bïrûnï's translation of works related to these specific Indian philosophies in the early 11th century CE deserves attention. The second pole of this study also demonstrates that al-BTrünl's hermeneutics played an important part in his transmission of these two Indian schools of thought, as he highly transformed his source in both form and substance. This dissertation considers the question of the relationship between al-Bïrûnï's Arabic translations and their possible Sanskrit sources from the viewpoint of Translation Studies; which makes it possible to point out potential candidates for being al-Bïrûnï's original Sanskrit sources with some confidence. Overall, the Kitäb Sank and the Kitäb Pätangal represent original works of Sämkhya and Yoga, as viewed and transmitted by a Perso-Muslim scholar, rather than pure translations of Sanskrit work.

Barriers and Motivators for Using Open Educational Resources in Schools

In an explorative study, we investigated on German schoolteachers how they use, reuse, produce and manage Open Educational Resources. The main questions in this research have been, what their motivators and barriers are in their use of Open Educational Resources, what others can learn from their Open Educational Practices, and what we can do to raise the dissemination level of OER in schools.

Small scale waste management. Composting project in selected schools in Mwanza, Tanzania

No 2/2008, sivu 8.

Do Schools Discriminate Against Homosexual Parents? Evidence from an Internet Field Experiment

The recognition of homosexual rights is a controversial issue in many countries. Spain was the third country in the world (after Netherlands and Belgium) to introduce a law recognizing homosexual marriage and adoption of children. In this paper, we examine for the first time whether schools are more hesitant to give feedback to homosexual parents during children's pre-registration period in Spain. In order to do that, we designed an internet field experiment to be conducted in schools. We created three types of fictitious couples; one heterosexual, one male homosexual and one female homosexual, and send emails to schools making sexual orientation explicit. Our results show that men homosexual couples had a significant lower probability to receive and answer than heterosexual couples (22.5 percentage points less). No statistically significant differences in the response rate were found between female homosexual and heterosexual couples. This result suggests that male homosexual couples might be penalized because of the lack of a maternal figure. Keywords: Discrimination, field experiment, schools, homosexual rights. JEL codes: H41, I20, K36

Efficiency and Equity in Learning Communities and schools

Traditionally, school efficiency has been measured as a function of educational production. In the last two decades, however, studies in the economics of education have indicated that more is required to improve school efficiency: researchers must explore how significant changes in school organization affect the performance of at-risk students. In this paper we introduce Henry Levin’s adoption of the X-efficiency approach to education and we describe the efficient and cost-effective characteristics of one Learning Communities Project School that significantly improved its student outcomes and enrollment numbersand reduced its absenteeism rate to zero. The organizational change that facilitatedthese improvements defined specific issues to address. Students’ school success became the focus of the school project, which also offered specific incentives, selected teachers, involved parents and community members in decisions, and used the most efficient technologies and methods. This case analysis reveals new two elements—family training and community involvement—that were not explicit parts of Levin’s adaptation. The case of the Antonio Machado Public School should attract the attention of both social scientists and policy makers

Enseñar a aprender a pensar en los centros educativos, incluso en las actividades de evaluación.= Teaching to learn how to think at schools, even within assessment activities

El auténtico protagonismo de los centros educativostiene que dirigirse a ayudar a pensar a sus alumnos y aenseñarlos a aprender, es decir, el docente tiene queenseñar estrategias de aprendizaje y debe promover elesfuerzo del estudiante para facilitar la construcción deesquemas y el aprendizaje permanente.El profesor debe utilizar cualquier situación deaprendizaje para enseñar dichas estrategias deaprendizaje, incluso en las situaciones de evaluación;por lo tanto, en este trabajo se sugiere que en lasevaluaciones de los alumnos y alumnas se tenga encuenta la metacognición como factor fundamental en elaprendizaje y la enseñanza

Consumer valuation of energy-saving features of residential air conditioners with hedonic and choice models

The promotion of energy-efficient appliances is necessary to reduce the energetic and environmental burden of the household sector. However, many studies have reported that a typical consumer underestimates the benefits of energy-saving investment on the purchase of household electric appliances. To analyze this energy-efficiency gap problem, many scholars have estimated implicit discount rates that consumers use for energy-consuming durables. Although both hedonic and choice models have been used in previous studies, a comparison between two models has not yet been done. This study uses point of sale data about Japanese residential air conditioners and estimates implicit discounts rates with both hedonic and choice models. Both models demonstrate that a typical consumer underinvests in energy efficiency. Although choice models estimate a lower implicit discount rate than hedonic models, the latter models estimate the values of other product characteristics more consistently than choice models.

Outdoor/indoor air quality in primary schools in Lisbon: a preliminary study

Simultaneous measurements of outdoor and indoor pollution were performed at three schools in Lisbon. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde and NO2 were passively monitored over a two-week period. Bacterial and fungal colony-forming units and comfort parameters were also monitored at classrooms and playgrounds. The highest indoor levels of CO2 (2666 μg/m³), NO2 (40.3 μg/m³), VOCs (10.3 μg/m³), formaldehyde (1.03 μg/m³) and bioaerosols (1634 CFU/m³), and some indoor/outdoor ratios greater than unity, suggest that indoor sources and building conditions might have negative effects on air indoors. Increasing ventilation rates and use of low-emission materials would contribute towards improving indoor air quality.

Indian female gurus in contemporary in Hinduism : a study of central aspects and expressions of their religious leadership

Den rikt utformade och komplexa hinduiska traditionen har hittills huvudsakligen tecknats av manliga forskare och det är främst manliga religiösa strävanden som har dokumenterats. Detta förhållande och de patriarkala synsätt som styr många auktoritativa heliga texter har bidragit till att skapa intrycket att hinduiska kvinnors religiösa erfarenheter antingen saknas eller är avsevärt begränsade. Denna studie lyfter fram det faktum att ett ökande antal indiska kvinnor inom dagens hinduism axlar publika roller som religiösa ledare. Med sitt framträdande utmanar många av dessa rådande sociala uppfattningar om kvinnors underordnade ställning och främjar därmed en förnyad medvetenhet av urgamla föreställningar om Gud som kvinna. Avhandlingen utforskar fenomenet kvinnliga guruer genom att belysa sjuttio guruers andliga karriär, med särskild fokus på fyra av dem. Några av de frågor som behandlas är följande: På vilket sätt är kvinnliga guruer del av den hinduiska traditionen? Vilka förväntningar ställs på dem? Hur legitimeras deras auktoritet som guruer? Hur handskas guruerna med sina dubbla roller som kvinnor och andliga ledare? Hur återspeglas gudinnans ställning, som i indisk religiositet ofta är central, i kvinnors faktiska verklighet? Bidrar kvinnliga guruer med sitt religiösa engagemang till att nyskapa och förändra den indiska religiösa diskursen och utövningen av religion?