Service needs forecasting: an approach for the automotive industry using analogies with medical ER management models.

During the past years, the industry has shifted position and moved towards “the luxury universe” whose customers are demanding, treating individuals as unique and valued customer for the business, offering vehicles produced with the state of the art technologies and implementing the highest finishing standards. Due to the competitive level in the market, car makers enable processes which equalizes customer services to E.R. management, being dealt with the maximum urgency that allows the comparison between both, car workshops and emergency rooms, where workshop bays or ramps will be equal to emergency boxes and skilled technicians are equivalent to the health care specialist, who will carry out tests and checks prior to afford any final operation, keeping the “patient” under control before it is back to normal utilization. This paper establishes a valid model for the automotive industry to estimate customer service demand forecasting under variable demand conditions using analogies with patient demand models used for the medical ER.

SERVICE NEEDS FORECASTING: An Approach for the Motor Industry Using Analogies with Medical ER Management Models.

During the past years, the industry has shifted position and moved towards “the luxury universe” whose customers are demanding, treating individuals as unique and valued customer for the business, offering vehicles produced with the state of the art technologies and implementing the highest finishing standards. Due to the competitive level in the market, motor makers enable processes which equalizes customer services to E.R. management, being dealt with the maximum urgency that allows the comparison between both, car workshops and emergency rooms, where workshop bays or ramps will be equal to emergency boxes and skilled technicians are equivalent to the health care specialist, who will carry out tests and checks prior to afford any final operation, keeping the “patient” under control before it is back to normal utilization. This paper ratify a valid model for the automotive industry to estimate customer service demand forecasting under variable demand conditions using analogies with patient demand models used for the medical ER

Impacts of the EU Biofuel Target on Agricultural Markets and Land Use - A Comparative Modelling Assessment

The Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC) requires that 20% of the EU's energy needs should come from renewable sources by 2020, and includes a target for the transport sector of 10% from biofuels. This report analyses and discusses the global impacts of this biofuel target on agricultural production, markets and land use, as simulated by three agricultural sector models, AGLINK-COSIMO, ESIM and CAPRI. The impacts identified include higher EU production of ethanol and biodiesel, and of the crops used to produce them, as well as more imports of both biofuels. Trade flows of biofuel feedstocks also change to reflect greater EU demand, including a significant increase in vegetable oil imports. However, as the extra demand is small in world market terms, the impact on world market prices is limited. With the EU biofuel target, global use of land for crop cultivation is higher by 5.2 million hectares. About one quarter is area within the EU, some of which would otherwise have left agriculture.

Design of an assessment methodology for Educational Innovation Groups in the EHEA.

This document explains the process of designing a methodology to evaluate Educational Innovation Groups, which are structures created within universities in the context of adaptation to the European Higher Education Area. These groups are committed to introduce innovation in educational processes as a means to improve educational quality. The assessment design is based on a participatory model of planning called Working With People, that tries to integrate the perspectives of all stakeholders. The aim of the methodology is to be a useful tool for the university to evaluate the work done by the groups, encourage the members to continue improving the quality of teaching and reorient the activities to fulfill the emergent needs that the university faces.

Integrated assessment of policy interventions for promoting sustainable irrigation in semi-arid environments: A hydro-economic modeling approach

Sustaining irrigated agriculture to meet food production needs while maintaining aquatic ecosystems is at the heart of many policy debates in various parts of the world, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Researchers and practitioners are increasingly calling for integrated approaches, and policy-makers are progressively supporting the inclusion of ecological and social aspects in water management programs. This paper contributes to this policy debate by providing an integrated economic-hydrologic modeling framework that captures the socio-economic and environmental effects of various policy initiatives and climate variability. This modeling integration includes a risk-based economic optimization model and a hydrologic water management simulation model that have been specified for the Middle Guadiana basin, a vulnerable drought-prone agro-ecological area with highly regulated river systems in southwest Spain. Namely, two key water policy interventions were investigated: the implementation of minimum environmental flows (supported by the European Water Framework Directive, EU WFD), and a reduction in the legal amount of water delivered for irrigation (planned measure included in the new Guadiana River Basin Management Plan, GRBMP, still under discussion). Results indicate that current patterns of excessive water use for irrigation in the basin may put environmental flow demands at risk, jeopardizing the WFD s goal of restoring the ?good ecological status? of water bodies by 2015. Conflicts between environmental and agricultural water uses will be stressed during prolonged dry episodes, and particularly in summer low-flow periods, when there is an important increase of crop irrigation water requirements. Securing minimum stream flows would entail a substantial reduction in irrigation water use for rice cultivation, which might affect the profitability and economic viability of small rice-growing farms located upstream in the river. The new GRBMP could contribute to balance competing water demands in the basin and to increase economic water productivity, but might not be sufficient to ensure the provision of environmental flows as required by the WFD. A thoroughly revision of the basin s water use concession system for irrigation seems to be needed in order to bring the GRBMP in line with the WFD objectives. Furthermore, the study illustrates that social, economic, institutional, and technological factors, in addition to bio-physical conditions, are important issues to be considered for designing and developing water management strategies. The research initiative presented in this paper demonstrates that hydro-economic models can explicitly integrate all these issues, constituting a valuable tool that could assist policy makers for implementing sustainable irrigation policies.

Análisis de los factores de adopción de comercio electrónico en segmentos de consumidores finales. Aplicación al caso español

El comercio electrónico ha experimentado un fuerte crecimiento en los últimos años, favorecido especialmente por el aumento de las tasas de penetración de Internet en todo el mundo. Sin embargo, no todos los países están evolucionando de la misma manera, con un espectro que va desde las naciones pioneras en desarrollo de tecnologías de la información y comunicaciones, que cuentan con una elevado porcentaje de internautas y de compradores online, hasta las rezagadas de rápida adopción en las que, pese a contar con una menor penetración de acceso, presentan una alta tasa de internautas compradores. Entre ambos extremos se encuentran países como España que, aunque alcanzó hace años una tasa considerable de penetración de usuarios de Internet, no ha conseguido una buena tasa de transformación de internautas en compradores. Pese a que el comercio electrónico ha experimentado importantes aumentos en los últimos años, sus tasas de crecimiento siguen estando por debajo de países con características socio-económicas similares. Para intentar conocer las razones que afectan a la adopción del comercio por parte de los compradores, la investigación científica del fenómeno ha empleado diferentes enfoques teóricos. De entre todos ellos ha destacado el uso de los modelos de adopción, proveniente de la literatura de adopción de sistemas de información en entornos organizativos. Estos modelos se basan en las percepciones de los compradores para determinar qué factores pueden predecir mejor la intención de compra y, en consecuencia, la conducta real de compra de los usuarios. Pese a que en los últimos años han proliferado los trabajos de investigación que aplican los modelos de adopción al comercio electrónico, casi todos tratan de validar sus hipótesis mediante el análisis de muestras de consumidores tratadas como un único conjunto, y del que se obtienen conclusiones generales. Sin embargo, desde el origen del marketing, y en especial a partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, se considera que existen diferencias en el comportamiento de los consumidores, que pueden ser debidas a características demográficas, sociológicas o psicológicas. Estas diferencias se traducen en necesidades distintas, que sólo podrán ser satisfechas con una oferta adaptada por parte de los vendedores. Además, por contar el comercio electrónico con unas características particulares que lo diferencian del comercio tradicional –especialmente por la falta de contacto físico entre el comprador y el producto– a las diferencias en la adopción para cada consumidor se le añaden las diferencias derivadas del tipo de producto adquirido, que si bien habían sido consideradas en el canal físico, en el comercio electrónico cobran especial relevancia. A la vista de todo ello, el presente trabajo pretende abordar el estudio de los factores determinantes de la intención de compra y la conducta real de compra en comercio electrónico por parte del consumidor final español, teniendo en cuenta el tipo de segmento al que pertenezca dicho comprador y el tipo de producto considerado. Para ello, el trabajo contiene ocho apartados entre los que se encuentran cuatro bloques teóricos y tres bloques empíricos, además de las conclusiones. Estos bloques dan lugar a los siguientes ocho capítulos por orden de aparición en el trabajo: introducción, situación del comercio electrónico, modelos de adopción de tecnología, segmentación en comercio electrónico, diseño previo del trabajo empírico, diseño de la investigación, análisis de los resultados y conclusiones. El capítulo introductorio justifica la relevancia de la investigación, además de fijar los objetivos, la metodología y las fases seguidas para el desarrollo del trabajo. La justificación se complementa con el segundo capítulo, que cuenta con dos elementos principales: en primer lugar se define el concepto de comercio electrónico y se hace una breve retrospectiva desde sus orígenes hasta la situación actual en un contexto global; en segundo lugar, el análisis estudia la evolución del comercio electrónico en España, mostrando su desarrollo y situación presente a partir de sus principales indicadores. Este apartado no sólo permite conocer el contexto de la investigación, sino que además permite contrastar la relevancia de la muestra utilizada en el presente estudio con el perfil español respecto al comercio electrónico. Los capítulos tercero –modelos de adopción de tecnologías– y cuarto –segmentación en comercio electrónico– sientan las bases teóricas necesarias para abordar el estudio. En el capítulo tres se hace una revisión general de la literatura de modelos de adopción de tecnología y, en particular, de los modelos de adopción empleados en el ámbito del comercio electrónico. El resultado de dicha revisión deriva en la construcción de un modelo adaptado basado en los modelos UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, Teoría unificada de la aceptación y el uso de la tecnología) y UTAUT2, combinado con dos factores específicos de adopción del comercio electrónico: el riesgo percibido y la confianza percibida. Por su parte, en el capítulo cuatro se revisan las metodologías de segmentación de clientes y productos empleadas en la literatura. De dicha revisión se obtienen un amplio conjunto de variables de las que finalmente se escogen nueve variables de clasificación que se consideran adecuadas tanto por su adaptación al contexto del comercio electrónico como por su adecuación a las características de la muestra empleada para validar el modelo. Las nueve variables se agrupan en tres conjuntos: variables de tipo socio-demográfico –género, edad, nivel de estudios, nivel de ingresos, tamaño de la unidad familiar y estado civil–, de comportamiento de compra – experiencia de compra por Internet y frecuencia de compra por Internet– y de tipo psicográfico –motivaciones de compra por Internet. La segunda parte del capítulo cuatro se dedica a la revisión de los criterios empleados en la literatura para la clasificación de los productos en el contexto del comercio electrónico. De dicha revisión se obtienen quince grupos de variables que pueden tomar un total de treinta y cuatro valores, lo que deriva en un elevado número de combinaciones posibles. Sin embargo, pese a haber sido utilizados en el contexto del comercio electrónico, no en todos los casos se ha comprobado la influencia de dichas variables respecto a la intención de compra o la conducta real de compra por Internet; por este motivo, y con el objetivo de definir una clasificación robusta y abordable de tipos de productos, en el capitulo cinco se lleva a cabo una validación de las variables de clasificación de productos mediante un experimento previo con 207 muestras. Seleccionando sólo aquellas variables objetivas que no dependan de la interpretación personal del consumidores y que determinen grupos significativamente distintos respecto a la intención y conducta de compra de los consumidores, se obtiene un modelo de dos variables que combinadas dan lugar a cuatro tipos de productos: bien digital, bien no digital, servicio digital y servicio no digital. Definidos el modelo de adopción y los criterios de segmentación de consumidores y productos, en el sexto capítulo se desarrolla el modelo completo de investigación formado por un conjunto de hipótesis obtenidas de la revisión de la literatura de los capítulos anteriores, en las que se definen las hipótesis de investigación con respecto a las influencias esperadas de las variables de segmentación sobre las relaciones del modelo de adopción. Este modelo confiere a la investigación un carácter social y de tipo fundamentalmente exploratorio, en el que en muchos casos ni siquiera se han encontrado evidencias empíricas previas que permitan el enunciado de hipótesis sobre la influencia de determinadas variables de segmentación. El capítulo seis contiene además la descripción del instrumento de medida empleado en la investigación, conformado por un total de 125 preguntas y sus correspondientes escalas de medida, así como la descripción de la muestra representativa empleada en la validación del modelo, compuesta por un grupo de 817 personas españolas o residentes en España. El capítulo siete constituye el núcleo del análisis empírico del trabajo de investigación, que se compone de dos elementos fundamentales. Primeramente se describen las técnicas estadísticas aplicadas para el estudio de los datos que, dada la complejidad del análisis, se dividen en tres grupos fundamentales: Método de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS, Partial Least Squares): herramienta estadística de análisis multivariante con capacidad de análisis predictivo que se emplea en la determinación de las relaciones estructurales de los modelos propuestos. Análisis multigrupo: conjunto de técnicas que permiten comparar los resultados obtenidos con el método PLS entre dos o más grupos derivados del uso de una o más variables de segmentación. En este caso se emplean cinco métodos de comparación, lo que permite asimismo comparar los rendimientos de cada uno de los métodos. Determinación de segmentos no identificados a priori: en el caso de algunas de las variables de segmentación no existe un criterio de clasificación definido a priori, sino que se obtiene a partir de la aplicación de técnicas estadísticas de clasificación. En este caso se emplean dos técnicas fundamentales: análisis de componentes principales –dado el elevado número de variables empleadas para la clasificación– y análisis clúster –del que se combina una técnica jerárquica que calcula el número óptimo de segmentos, con una técnica por etapas que es más eficiente en la clasificación, pero exige conocer el número de clústeres a priori. La aplicación de dichas técnicas estadísticas sobre los modelos resultantes de considerar los distintos criterios de segmentación, tanto de clientes como de productos, da lugar al análisis de un total de 128 modelos de adopción de comercio electrónico y 65 comparaciones multigrupo, cuyos resultados y principales consideraciones son elaboradas a lo largo del capítulo. Para concluir, el capítulo ocho recoge las conclusiones del trabajo divididas en cuatro partes diferenciadas. En primer lugar se examina el grado de alcance de los objetivos planteados al inicio de la investigación; después se desarrollan las principales contribuciones que este trabajo aporta tanto desde el punto de vista metodológico, como desde los punto de vista teórico y práctico; en tercer lugar, se profundiza en las conclusiones derivadas del estudio empírico, que se clasifican según los criterios de segmentación empleados, y que combinan resultados confirmatorios y exploratorios; por último, el trabajo recopila las principales limitaciones de la investigación, tanto de carácter teórico como empírico, así como aquellos aspectos que no habiendo podido plantearse dentro del contexto de este estudio, o como consecuencia de los resultados alcanzados, se presentan como líneas futuras de investigación. ABSTRACT Favoured by an increase of Internet penetration rates across the globe, electronic commerce has experienced a rapid growth over the last few years. Nevertheless, adoption of electronic commerce has differed from one country to another. On one hand, it has been observed that countries leading e-commerce adoption have a large percentage of Internet users as well as of online purchasers; on the other hand, other markets, despite having a low percentage of Internet users, show a high percentage of online buyers. Halfway between those two ends of the spectrum, we find countries such as Spain which, despite having moderately high Internet penetration rates and similar socio-economic characteristics as some of the leading countries, have failed to turn Internet users into active online buyers. Several theoretical approaches have been taken in an attempt to define the factors that influence the use of electronic commerce systems by customers. One of the betterknown frameworks to characterize adoption factors is the acceptance modelling theory, which is derived from the information systems adoption in organizational environments. These models are based on individual perceptions on which factors determine purchase intention, as a mean to explain users’ actual purchasing behaviour. Even though research on electronic commerce adoption models has increased in terms of volume and scope over the last years, the majority of studies validate their hypothesis by using a single sample of consumers from which they obtain general conclusions. Nevertheless, since the birth of marketing, and more specifically from the second half of the 19th century, differences in consumer behaviour owing to demographic, sociologic and psychological characteristics have also been taken into account. And such differences are generally translated into different needs that can only be satisfied when sellers adapt their offer to their target market. Electronic commerce has a number of features that makes it different when compared to traditional commerce; the best example of this is the lack of physical contact between customers and products, and between customers and vendors. Other than that, some differences that depend on the type of product may also play an important role in electronic commerce. From all the above, the present research aims to address the study of the main factors influencing purchase intention and actual purchase behaviour in electronic commerce by Spanish end-consumers, taking into consideration both the customer group to which they belong and the type of product being purchased. In order to achieve this goal, this Thesis is structured in eight chapters: four theoretical sections, three empirical blocks and a final section summarizing the conclusions derived from the research. The chapters are arranged in sequence as follows: introduction, current state of electronic commerce, technology adoption models, electronic commerce segmentation, preliminary design of the empirical work, research design, data analysis and results, and conclusions. The introductory chapter offers a detailed justification of the relevance of this study in the context of e-commerce adoption research; it also sets out the objectives, methodology and research stages. The second chapter further expands and complements the introductory chapter, focusing on two elements: the concept of electronic commerce and its evolution from a general point of view, and the evolution of electronic commerce in Spain and main indicators of adoption. This section is intended to allow the reader to understand the research context, and also to serve as a basis to justify the relevance and representativeness of the sample used in this study. Chapters three (technology acceptance models) and four (segmentation in electronic commerce) set the theoretical foundations for the study. Chapter 3 presents a thorough literature review of technology adoption modelling, focusing on previous studies on electronic commerce acceptance. As a result of the literature review, the research framework is built upon a model based on UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) and its evolution, UTAUT2, including two specific electronic commerce adoption factors: perceived risk and perceived trust. Chapter 4 deals with client and product segmentation methodologies used by experts. From the literature review, a wide range of classification variables is studied, and a shortlist of nine classification variables has been selected for inclusion in the research. The criteria for variable selection were their adequacy to electronic commerce characteristics, as well as adequacy to the sample characteristics. The nine variables have been classified in three groups: socio-demographic (gender, age, education level, income, family size and relationship status), behavioural (experience in electronic commerce and frequency of purchase) and psychographic (online purchase motivations) variables. The second half of chapter 4 is devoted to a review of the product classification criteria in electronic commerce. The review has led to the identification of a final set of fifteen groups of variables, whose combination offered a total of thirty-four possible outputs. However, due to the lack of empirical evidence in the context of electronic commerce, further investigation on the validity of this set of product classifications was deemed necessary. For this reason, chapter 5 proposes an empirical study to test the different product classification variables with 207 samples. A selection of product classifications including only those variables that are objective, able to identify distinct groups and not dependent on consumers’ point of view, led to a final classification of products which consisted on two groups of variables for the final empirical study. The combination of these two groups gave rise to four types of products: digital and non-digital goods, and digital and non-digital services. Chapter six characterizes the research –social, exploratory research– and presents the final research model and research hypotheses. The exploratory nature of the research becomes patent in instances where no prior empirical evidence on the influence of certain segmentation variables was found. Chapter six also includes the description of the measurement instrument used in the research, consisting of a total of 125 questions –and the measurement scales associated to each of them– as well as the description of the sample used for model validation (consisting of 817 Spanish residents). Chapter 7 is the core of the empirical analysis performed to validate the research model, and it is divided into two separate parts: description of the statistical techniques used for data analysis, and actual data analysis and results. The first part is structured in three different blocks: Partial Least Squares Method (PLS): the multi-variable analysis is a statistical method used to determine structural relationships of models and their predictive validity; Multi-group analysis: a set of techniques that allow comparing the outcomes of PLS analysis between two or more groups, by using one or more segmentation variables. More specifically, five comparison methods were used, which additionally gives the opportunity to assess the efficiency of each method. Determination of a priori undefined segments: in some cases, classification criteria did not necessarily exist for some segmentation variables, such as customer motivations. In these cases, the application of statistical classification techniques is required. For this study, two main classification techniques were used sequentially: principal component factor analysis –in order to reduce the number of variables– and cluster analysis. The application of the statistical methods to the models derived from the inclusion of the various segmentation criteria –for both clients and products–, led to the analysis of 128 different electronic commerce adoption models and 65 multi group comparisons. Finally, chapter 8 summarizes the conclusions from the research, divided into four parts: first, an assessment of the degree of achievement of the different research objectives is offered; then, methodological, theoretical and practical implications of the research are drawn; this is followed by a discussion on the results from the empirical study –based on the segmentation criteria for the research–; fourth, and last, the main limitations of the research –both empirical and theoretical– as well as future avenues of research are detailed.

Customer loyalty plan at Residencia Gómez-Pardo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Accommodation is a first need and one of the most important decisions that university students have to decide taking into account their limited budget. The satisfaction grade of these students is the relevant aspect for the administrators and managers of the university residences, because it allows assuring the viability and sustainability of this kind of accommodation. In a situation of decline in rate of retention of students into the residence, coupled with an environment of economic crisis. Hence, of disposable income reduction, it seems essential to get to know what factors affect the motivation to remain into the university residence more than others when it comes to the final choice. The offer?s increase of different kind of accommodation is another variable to be considered when taking the decision related to the management of this kind of accommodation. Thus, there is the need to know which are the key factors and to obtain information about these variables in order to go deep into the relevance grade with the aim to pursue the strategic objectives, that will allow to improve the relationship with the customer and to respond to his accommodation? needs. This article researches the motivation elements that lead the students to remain in a university residence or to abandon it in exchange or a different accommodation, as per example shared flats or individual apartments. This research work intends to be useful for the university residence?s managers in order to increase its incomes, to raise the satisfaction degree among its residents and to obtain better end results in the management of these properties. The fieldwork conducted in the Residencia Universitaria Gómez Pardo (RUGP), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), for four semesters, which means students from 27 different grades (undergraduates) and 81 surveys finished, shows the following conclusions. Not only the relation with the residence?s personnel but also the quality and quantity of the feeding and the availability and quality of the internet service, constitute key factors when it comes to make the decision of remaining or of abandoning the residence when the semester comes to its end.

Assessment of problem solving in computing studies

The assessment of learning outcomes is a key concept in the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) since credits are awarded when the assessment shows the competences which were aimed at have been developed at an appropriate level. This paper describes a study which was first part of the Bologna Experts Team-Spain project and then developed as an independent study. It was carried out with the overall goal to gain experience in the assessment of learning outcomes. More specifically it aimed at 1) designing procedures for the assessment of learning outcomes related to these compulsory generic competences; 2) testing some basic psychometric features that an assessment device with some consequences for the subjects being evaluated needs to prove; 3) testing different procedures of standard setting, and 4) using assessment results as orienting feedback to students and their tutors. The process of development of tests to carry out the assessment of learning outcomes is described as well as some basic features regarding their reliability and validity. First conclusions on the comparison of the results achieved at two academic levels are also presented.

Assessment of learning outcomes in computing studies

The assessment of learning outcomes is a key concept in the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) since credits are awarded when the assessment shows the competences which were aimed at have been developed at an appropriate level. This paper describes a study which was first part of the project of the Bologna Experts Team-Spain and then developed as an independent study. It was carried out with the overall goal to gain experience in the assessment of learning outcomes. More specifically it aimed at 1) designing procedures for the assessment of learning outcomes related to these compulsory generic competences; 2) testing some basic psychometric features that an assessment device with some consequences for the subjects being evaluated needs to prove; 3) testing different procedures of standard setting, and 4) using assessment results as orienting feedback to students and their tutors. The process of development of tests to carry out the assessment of learning outcomes related to these competences, as well as some basic features regarding their reliability and validity is described and first results on the comparison of results achieved at two academic levels, will also be described at a later stage.

Assessment of innovative measures implemented in European bus systems using key performance indicators

This paper reports the results of the assessment of a range of measures implemented in bus systems in five European cities to improve the use of public transport by increasing its attractiveness and enhancing its image in urban areas. This research was conducted as part of the EBSF project (European Bus System of the Future) from 2008 to 2012. New buses (prototypes), new vehicle and infrastructure technologies, and operational best practices were introduced, all of which were combined in a system approach. The measures were assessed using multicriteria analysis to simultaneously evaluate a certain number of criteria that need to be aggregated. Each criterion is measured by one or more key performance indicators (KPI) calculated in two scenarios (reference scenario, with no measure implemented; and project scenario, with the implementation of some measures), in order to evaluate the difference in the KPI performance between the reference and project scenario. The results indicate that the measures produce a greater benefit in issues related to bus system productivity and customer satisfaction, with the greatest impact on aspects of perceptions of comfort, cleanliness and quality of service, information to passengers and environmental issues. The study also reveals that the implementation of several measures has greater social utility than very specific and isolated measures.

Assessment for English language education on the programs at the Agricultural Engineering School of Madrid

The convergence process among European academic degrees pursues the exchange of graduate students and the adaptation of university programs to social demand. Within the framework of the European Higher Education, European universities will need to be more competitive not only by increasing or maintaining the student enrolment, but also in their academic performance. Thus, the reinforcing of English language education within the University Programs might play an important role to reach these objectives. In this sense, a complete survey was accomplished at the Agricultural Egineering School of Madrid (ETSIA ) addressing issues such as: identification the needs for bilingual instruction at ETSIA, identification resources needed and interest and background in English language of students and professors (San José et al., 2013). The conclusions and recommendations to promote the bilingual instruction in the ETSIA, taking into account the approaches followed by other Spanish universities, are presented in this work.

Definition of masks related to psychovisual features for video quality assessment

Video Quality Assessment needs to correspond to human perception. Pixel-based metrics (PSNR or MSE) fail in many circumstances for not taking into account the spatio-temporal property of human's visual perception. In this paper we propose a new pixel-weighted method to improve video quality metrics for artifacts evaluation. The method applies a psychovisual model based on motion, level of detail, pixel location and the appearance of human faces, which approximate the quality to the human eye's response. Subjective tests were developed to adjust the psychovisual model for demonstrating the noticeable improvement of an algorithm when weighting the pixels according to the factors analyzed instead of treating them equally. The analysis developed demonstrates the necessity of models adapted to the specific visualization of contents and the model presents an advance in quality to be applied over sequences when a determined artifact is analyzed.

Impact assessment of an integrated approach for thermal power generation plants asset management in the current energy market

El sector energético, en España en particular, y de forma similar en los principales países de Europa, cuenta con una significativa sobrecapacidad de generación, debido al rápido y significativo crecimiento de las energías renovables en los últimos diez años y la reducción de la demanda energética, como consecuencia de la crisis económica. Esta situación ha hecho que las centrales térmicas de generación de electricidad, y en concreto los ciclos combinados de gas, operen con un factor de utilización extremadamente bajo, del orden del 10%. Además de la reducción de ingresos, esto supone para las plantas trabajar continuamente fuera del punto de diseño, provocando una significativa pérdida de rendimiento y mayores costes de explotación. En este escenario, cualquier contribución que ayude a mejorar la eficiencia y la condición de los equipos, es positivamente considerada. La gestión de activos está ganando relevancia como un proceso multidisciplinar e integrado, tal y como refleja la reciente publicación de las normas ISO 55000:2014. Como proceso global e integrado, la gestión de activos requiere el manejo de diversos procesos y grandes volúmenes de información, incluso en tiempo real. Para ello es necesario utilizar tecnologías de la información y aplicaciones de software. Esta tesis desarrolla un concepto integrado de gestión de activos (Integrated Plant Management – IPM) aplicado a centrales de ciclo combinado y una metodología para estimar el beneficio aportado por el mismo. Debido a las incertidumbres asociadas a la estimación del beneficio, se ha optado por un análisis probabilístico coste-beneficio. Así mismo, el análisis cuantitativo se ha completado con una validación cualitativa del beneficio aportado por las tecnologías incorporadas al concepto de gestión integrada de activos, mediante una entrevista realizada a expertos del sector de generación de energía. Los resultados del análisis coste-beneficio son positivos, incluso en el desfavorable escenario con un factor de utilización de sólo el 10% y muy prometedores para factores de utilización por encima del 30%. ABSTRACT The energy sector particularly in Spain, and in a similar way in Europe, has a significant overcapacity due to the big growth of the renewable energies in the last ten years, and it is seriously affected by the demand decrease due to the economic crisis. That situation has forced the thermal plants and in particular, the combined cycles to operate with extremely low annual average capacity factors, very close to 10%. Apart from the incomes reduction, working in out-of-design conditions, means getting a worse performance and higher costs than expected. In this scenario, anything that can be done to improve the efficiency and the equipment condition is positively received. Asset Management, as a multidisciplinary and integrated process, is gaining prominence, reflected in the recent publication of the ISO 55000 series in 2014. Dealing Asset Management as a global, integrated process needs to manage several processes and significant volumes of information, also in real time, that requires information technologies and software applications to support it. This thesis proposes an integrated asset management concept (Integrated Plant Management-IPM) applied to combined cycle power plants and develops a methodology to assess the benefit that it can provide. Due to the difficulties in getting deterministic benefit estimation, a statistical approach has been adopted for the cot-benefit analysis. As well, the quantitative analysis has been completed with a qualitative validation of the technologies included in the IPM and their contribution to key power plant challenges by power generation sector experts. The cost- benefit analysis provides positive results even in the negative scenario of annual average capacity factor close to 10% and is promising for capacity factors over 30%.

Multicultural education in Clinical Psychology Programs and the needs of racial minority trainees.

With more racial minorities entering the field of clinical psychology, the training needs of racial minority students in doctoral programs must be considered. Few studies address training in multicultural education from the perspective of racial minority students despite their increasing presence in the field. This may be due to assumptions educators make based on their level of competency in the area of multiculturalism. Thus, the goal of this exploratory study is to help determine the multicultural training needs of racial minorities enrolled in clinical psychology programs. This exploratory study was quantitative and used snowball sampling to survey racial minority trainees in doctoral programs in clinical psychology. Sixty one participants completed the survey. Results indicated that multicultural/diversity classes are valued by racial minority students and are relevant to them. However, the majority of students do not feel challenged, suggesting that their needs are not being fully met. It is recommended that their unique needs be included in the curriculum for multicultural education.

On the Edge of the World: Trauma and Twinship Selfobject Needs in Mrs. Dalloway

Alienation and aloneness appear as common themes in the experience of those impacted by trauma. Self psychology theorists, including contemporary proponents of intersubjectivity theory, have also discussed the ways in which alienation and disconnection from others permeate the experience of post-traumatic stress disorder. This discussion has highlighted the importance and centrality of twinship selfobject needs in providing a relational home for the emotional pain associated with trauma. These phenomena are especially apparent when one encounters the experiences of those combat veterans who have attempted to readjust to society upon returning home from military service. Using self psychology and intersubjectivity theory, this paper explores the ways that fiction, specifically Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, can illuminate the ways that trauma negatively impacts twinship selfobject needs in combat veterans. In examining the character of Septimus Smith, this paper illustrates the estrangement, singularity, and alienation associated with post-traumatic stress, and how this state of being can collude with societal misunderstanding and repression to shatter the self's sense of belongingness with and connection to others.