Low-altitude aerial photography for optimum N fertilization of winter wheat on the North China Plain

Previous research has shown that site-specific nitrogen (N) fertilizer recommendations based on an assessment of a soil’s N supply (mineral N testing) and the crop’s N status (sap nitrate analysis) can help to decrease excessive N inputs for winter wheat on the North China Plain. However, the costs to derive such recommendations based on multiple sampling of a single field hamper the use of this approach at the on-farm level. In this study low-altitude aerial true-color photographs were used to examine the relationship between image-derived reflectance values and soil–plant data in an on-station experiment. Treatments comprised a conventional N treatment (typical farmers’ practice), an optimum N treatment (N application based on soil–plant testing) and six treatments without N (one to six cropping seasons without any N fertilizer input). Normalized intensities of the red, green and blue color bands on the photographs were highly correlated with total N concentrations, SPAD readings and stem sap nitrate of winter wheat. The results indicate the potential of aerial photography to determine in combination with on site soil–plant testing the optimum N fertilizer rate for larger fields and to thereby decrease the costs for N need assessments.

Use of digital camera to assess nitrogen status of winter wheat in the Northern China Plain

The most widely used methods to assess the nitrogen (N) status of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) are the determination of plant total N by combustion, the testing of nitrate in the leaf tissue and the use of SPAD readings. However, due to their labor requirements or high costs these methods can hardly be applied to the huge wheat growing areas of the Northern China Plain. This study therefore examined an alternative method to measure the N status of wheat by using a digital camera to record the visible green light reflected from the plant canopy. The experiment was conducted near Beijing in a multi-factorial field trial with three levels of N. The intensity of green light reflected from the wheat canopy was compared to the total N concentration, to the nitrate concentration of the basal stem, and to the SPAD readings of leaves. The results show significant inverse relationships between greenness intensity, canopy total N, and SPAD readings at booting and flowering. At booting, sap nitrate <2000mgL^-1 was inversely related to greenness intensity and to sap nitrate concentration in the basal stem. At sap nitrate ~2000mgL^-1, the greenness intensity reached a plateau. At booting and flowering, significant inverse relationships between greenness intensity and shoot biomass were found. The results show the potential of the new method to assess the N status of winter wheat.

The Containment of Labour Unrest in the Post Socialist China

Due to its transition from the socialist mode of production to the capitalist mode, workers in China have been exposed to the exploitative class relations that they hardly experienced before. The working class is now assuming a subordinate position in the relations of production while the capitalist class remains in the dominant position. As a consequence, workers’ protests are constantly emerging and class conflicts are exacerbating in the contemporary China. I have set out to study in this paper how the party-state in China contains labour unrest through the All China Federation of Trade Unions (the ACFTU), which I argue is a state apparatus that performs the ideological, political and economic functions in different situations. There has been an ongoing academic debate on if the ACFTU is defending workers’ interests. Some scholars have expressed optimism while some have taken a dim view. Drawing on Poulantzas’ theory of capitalist state, I hope to make contribution to this debate by demonstrating that the ACFTU is under some circumstances serving the short term interests of workers as individuals, but not the economic and political interests of workers as a class. Instead of organizing workers to overcome the effects of isolation or forming a class for itself, the ACFTU attempts to contain labour unrest and reproduce their subordination in the relations of production.

China's Labor Question

The Honda workers’ strike in 2010 attracted world wide attention. It was one of thousands of labor disputes that happen every year in China, but it was the first major calling for the right of workers to represent themselves in collective bargaining. The question of representation is therefore the main topic of the book. The various contributors to this volume share the view that the Chinese party-state takes the protest against social inequality seriously. It has enacted many laws aimed at channeling dissatisfaction into safe channels. The implementation of these laws, however, lags behind and these laws do not include the right of freedom of association. Without this right, super-exploitation will persist and the system of labor relations will remain prone to eruptive forms of protest. The first part of the book provides an overview of the economic context of Chinese labor relations, the transformation of class-relations, the evolution of labor law, and government policies intended to set a wage floor. Based on extensive field research, the second part looks at the evolution of labor relations at the industry level. In the third part, the focus shifts to the Corporate Social Responsibility agenda in China. The final part looks at the connection between land reform and social inequality.

Assessment of land use and land cover changes during the last 50 years in oases and surrounding rangelands of Xinjiang, NW China

An analysis of historical Corona images, Landsat images, recent radar and Google Earth® images was conducted to determine land use and land cover changes of oases settlements and surrounding rangelands at the fringe of the Altay Mountains from 1964 to 2008. For the Landsat datasets supervised classification methods were used to test the suitability of the Maximum Likelihood Classifier with subsequent smoothing and the Sequential Maximum A Posteriori Classifier (SMAPC). The results show a trend typical for the steppe and desert regions of northern China. From 1964 to 2008 farmland strongly increased (+ 61%), while the area of grassland and forest in the floodplains decreased (- 43%). The urban areas increased threefold and 400 ha of former agricultural land were abandoned. Farmland apparently affected by soil salinity decreased in size from 1990 (1180 ha) to 2008 (630 ha). The vegetated areas of the surrounding rangelands decreased, mainly as a result of overgrazing and drought events.The SMAPC with subsequent post processing revealed the highest classification accuracy. However, the specific landscape characteristics of mountain oasis systems required labour intensive post processing. Further research is needed to test the use of ancillary information for an automated classification of the examined landscape features.

Status and Potential of Smallholder Livestock Production Systems in Xishuangbanna, southern P.R. China

With Chinas rapid economic development during the last decades, the national demand for livestock products has quadrupled within the last 20 years. Most of that increase in demand has been answered by subsidized industrialized production systems, while million of smallholders, which still provide the larger share of livestock products in the country, have been neglected. Fostering those systems would help China to lower its strong urban migration streams, enhance the livelihood of poorer rural population and provide environmentally save livestock products which have a good chance to satisfy customers demand for ecological food. Despite their importance, China’s smallholder livestock keepers have not yet gained appropriate attention from governmental authorities and researchers. However, profound analysis of those systems is required so that adequate support can lead to a better resource utilization and productivity in the sector. To this aim, this pilot study analyzes smallholder livestock production systems in Xishuangbanna, located in southern China. The area is bordered by Lao and Myanmar and geographically counts as tropical region. Its climate is characterized by dry and temperate winters and hot summers with monsoon rains from May to October. While the regionis plain, at about 500 m asl above sea level in the south, outliers of the Himalaya mountains reach out into the north of Xishuangbanna, where the highest peak reaches 2400 m asl. Except of one larger city, Jinghong, Xishuangbanna mainly is covered by tropical rainforest, areas under agricultural cultivation and villages. The major income is generated through inner-Chinese tourism and agricultural production. Intensive rubber plantations are distinctive for the lowland plains while small-scaled traditional farms are scattered in the mountane regions. In order to determine the current state and possible future chances of smallholder livestock production in that region, this study analyzed the current status of the smallholder livestock sector in the Naban River National Nature Reserve (NRNNR), an area which is largely representative for the whole prefecture. It covers an area of about 50square kilometer and reaches from 470 up to 2400 m asl. About 5500 habitants of different ethnic origin are situated in 24 villages. All data have been collected between October 2007 and May 2010. Three major objectives have been addressed in the study: 1. Classifying existing pig production systems and exploring respective pathways for development 2. Quantifying the performance of pig breeding systemsto identify bottlenecks for production 3. Analyzing past and current buffalo utilization to determine the chances and opportunities of buffalo keeping in the future In order to classify the different pig production s ystems, a baseline survey (n=204, stratified cluster sampling) was carried out to gain data about livestock species, numbers, management practices, cultivated plant species and field sizes as well associo-economic characteristics. Sampling included two clusters at village level (altitude, ethnic affiliation), resulting in 13 clusters of which 13-17 farms were interviewed respectively. Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CatPCA) and a two-step clustering algorithm have been applied to identify determining farm characteristics and assort recorded households into classes of livestock production types. The variables keep_sow_yes/no, TLU_pig, TLU_buffalo, size_of_corn_fields, altitude_class, size_of_tea_plantationand size_of_rubber_fieldhave been found to be major determinants for the characterization of the recorded farms. All farms have extensive or semi-intensive livestock production, pigs and buffaloes are predominant livestock species while chicken and aquaculture are available but play subordinate roles for livelihoods. All pig raisers rely on a single local breed, which is known as Small Ear Pig (SMEP) in the region. Three major production systemshave been identified: Livestock-corn based LB; 41%), rubber based (RB; 39%) and pig based (PB;20%) systems. RB farms earn high income from rubber and fatten 1.9 ±1.80 pigs per household (HH), often using purchased pig feed at markets. PB farms own similar sized rubber plantations and raise 4.7 ±2.77 pigs per HH, with fodder mainly being cultivated and collected in theforest. LB farms grow corn, rice and tea and keep 4.6 ±3.32 pigs per HH, also fed with collected and cultivated fodder. Only 29% of all pigs were marketed (LB: 20%; RB: 42%; PB: 25%), average annual mortality was 4.0 ±4.52 pigs per farm (LB: 4.6 ±3.68; RB: 1.9 ±2.14; PB: 7.1 ±10.82). Pig feed mainly consists of banana pseudo stem, corn and rice hives and is prepared in batches about two to three times per week. Such fodder might be sufficient in energy content but lacks appropriate content of protein. Pigs therefore suffer from malnutrition, which becomes most critical in the time before harvest season around October. Farmers reported high occurrences of gastrointestinal parasites in carcasses and often pig stables were wet and filled with manure. Deficits in nutritional and hygienic management are major limits for development and should be the first issues addressed to improve productivity. SME pork was found to be known and referred by local customers in town and by richer lowland farmers. However, high prices and lacking availability of SME pork at local wet-markets were the reasons which limited purchase. If major management constraints are overcome, pig breeders (PB and LB farms) could increase the share of marketed pigs for town markets and provide fatteners to richer RB farmers. RB farmers are interested in fattening pigs for home consumption but do not show any motivation for commercial pig raising. To determine the productivity of input factors in pig production, eproductive performance, feed quality and quantity as well as weight development of pigs under current management were recorded. The data collection included a progeny history survey covering 184 sows and 437 farrows, bi-weekly weighing of 114 pigs during a 16-months time-span on 21 farms (10 LB and 11 PB) as well as the daily recording of feed quality and quantity given to a defined number of pigs on the same 21 farms. Feed samples of all recorded ingredients were analyzed for their respective nutrient content. Since no literature values on thedigestibility of banana pseudo stem – which is a major ingredient of traditional pig feed in NRNNR – were found, a cross-sectional digestibility trial with 2x4 pigs has been conducted on a station in the research area. With the aid of PRY Herd Life Model, all data have been utilized to determine thesystems’ current (Status Quo = SQ) output and the productivity of the input factor “feed” in terms of saleable life weight per kg DM feed intake and monetary value of output per kg DM feed intake.Two improvement scenarios were simulated, assuming 1) that farmers adopt a culling managementthat generates the highest output per unit input (Scenario 1; SC I) and 2) that through improved feeding, selected parameters of reproduction are improved by 30% (SC II). Daily weight gain averaged 55 ± 56 g per day between day 200 and 600. The average feed energy content of traditional feed mix was 14.92 MJ ME. Age at first farrowing averaged 14.5 ± 4.34 months, subsequent inter-farrowing interval was 11.4 ± 2.73 months. Littersize was 5.8 piglets and weaning age was 4.3 ± 0.99 months. 18% of piglets died before weaning. Simulating pig production at actualstatus, it has been show that monetary returns on inputs (ROI) is negative (1:0.67), but improved (1:1.2) when culling management was optimized so that highest output is gained per unit feed input. If in addition better feeding, controlled mating and better resale prices at fixed dates were simulated, ROI further increased to 1:2.45, 1:2.69, 1:2.7 and 1:3.15 for four respective grower groups. Those findings show the potential of pork production, if basic measures of improvement are applied. Futureexploration of the environment, including climate, market-season and culture is required before implementing the recommended measures to ensure a sustainable development of a more effective and resource conserving pork production in the future. The two studies have shown that the production of local SME pigs plays an important role in traditional farms in NRNNR but basic constraints are limiting their productivity. However, relatively easy approaches are sufficient for reaching a notable improvement. Also there is a demand for more SME pork on local markets and, if basic constraints have been overcome, pig farmers could turn into more commercial producers and provide pork to local markets. By that, environmentally safe meat can be offered to sensitive consumers while farmers increase their income and lower the risk of external shocks through a more diverse income generating strategy. Buffaloes have been found to be the second important livestock species on NRNNR farms. While they have been a core resource of mixed smallholderfarms in the past, the expansion of rubber tree plantations and agricultural mechanization are reasons for decreased swamp buffalo numbers today. The third study seeks to predict future utilization of buffaloes on different farm types in NRNNR by analyzing the dynamics of its buffalo population and land use changes over time and calculating labor which is required for keeping buffaloes in view of the traction power which can be utilized for field preparation. The use of buffaloes for field work and the recent development of the egional buffalo population were analyzed through interviews with 184 farmers in 2007/2008 and discussions with 62 buffalo keepers in 2009. While pig based farms (PB; n=37) have abandoned buffalo keeping, 11% of the rubber based farms (RB; n=71) and 100% of the livestock-corn based farms (LB; n=76) kept buffaloes in 2008. Herd size was 2.5 ±1.80 (n=84) buffaloes in early 2008 and 2.2 ±1.69 (n=62) in 2009. Field work on own land was the main reason forkeeping buffaloes (87.3%), but lending work buffaloes to neighbors (79.0%) was also important. Other purposes were transport of goods (16.1%), buffalo trade (11.3%) and meat consumption(6.4%). Buffalo care required 6.2 ±3.00 working hours daily, while annual working time of abuffalo was 294 ±216.6 hours. The area ploughed with buffaloes remained constant during the past 10 years despite an expansion of land cropped per farm. Further rapid replacement of buffaloes by tractors is expected in the near future. While the work economy is drastically improved by the use of tractors, buffaloes still can provide cheap work force and serve as buffer for economic shocks on poorer farms. Especially poor farms, which lack alternative assets that could quickly be liquidizedin times of urgent need for cash, should not abandon buffalo keeping. Livestock has been found to be a major part of small mixed farms in NRNNR. The general productivity was low in both analyzed species, buffaloes and pigs. Productivity of pigs can be improved through basic adjustments in feeding, reproductive and hygienic management, and with external support pig production could further be commercialized to provide pork and weaners to local markets and fattening farms. Buffalo production is relatively time intensive, and only will be of importance in the future to very poor farms and such farms that cultivate very small terraces on steep slopes. These should be encouraged to further keep buffaloes. With such measures, livestock production in NRNNR has good chances to stay competitive in the future.

Swamp buffalo keeping – an out-dated farming activity? A case study in smallholder farming systems in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, PR China

Expansion of rubber tree plantations and agricultural mechanization caused a decline of swamp buffalo numbers in the Naban River National Nature Reserve (NRNNR), Yunnan Province, China. We analysed current use of buffaloes for field work and the recent development of the regional buffalo population, based on interviews with 184 farmers in 2007/2008 and discussions with 62 buffalo keepers in 2009. Three types of NRNNR farms were distinguished, differing mainly in altitude, area under rubber, and involvement in livestock husbandry. While pig based farms (PB; n=37) have abandoned buffalo keeping, 11% of the rubber based farms (RB; n=71) and 100% of the livestock-corn based farms (LB; n=76) kept buffaloes in 2008. Herd size was 2.5 +/-1.80 (n=84) buffaloes in early 2008 and 2.2 +/-1.69 (n=62) in 2009. Field work on own land was the main reason for keeping buffaloes (87.3 %), but lending work buffaloes to neighbours (79.0%) was also important. Other purposes were transport of goods (16.1%), buffalo trade (11.3%) and meat consumption (6.4%). Buffalo care required 6.2 +/-3.00 working hours daily, while annual working time of a buffalo was 294 +/-216.6 hours. The area ploughed with buffaloes remained constant during the past 10 years despite an expansion of land cropped per farm. Although further replacement of buffaloes by tractors occurs rapidly, buffaloes still provide cheap work force and buffer risks on poor NRNNR farms. Appropriate advice is needed for improved breeding management to increase the efficiency of buffalo husbandry and provide better opportunities for buffalo meat sale in the region.

El aprendizaje cooperativo : una estrategia para la atención a la diversidad en el aula.

Monográfico con el título: 'Colaboración en el aula, aprendizaje en grupo'. Resumen basado en el de la publicación

Análisis estadístico y bibliométrico sobre investigaciones y estudios acerca del rendimiento académico en España (1976-1986) : aspectos conceptuales y descriptivos.

Analizar la bibliografía sobre el rendimiento académico. Conocer los círculos de productividad. Hipótesis 1: el conocimiento de los trabajos analizados es de tipo exponencial. Hipótesis 2: el crecimiento científico depende del incremento del Producto Nacional Bruto del país y del aumento de la población. Hipótesis 3: el número de autores con 'n' trabajos decrece rápidamente y, por consiguiente, la mayoría de los autores producen un solo trabajo. 511 publicaciones, tesis, tesinas o informes de investigación existentes en España en el período comprendido entre 1976-1986. Se parte de un plan de recogida de datos realizado en cuatro fases. A continuación se realizan estudios sobre el rendimiento académico y su relación con las variables predictoras (incremento poblacional y renta per cápita). Se estudian los círculos de productividad pedagógica. Comprobación de porcentajes en cada uno de estos apartados: libros, revistas y sin publicar. Estudios por niveles educativos y variables pedagógicas-psicológicas-sociológicas, pedagógicas-sociológicas, pedagógicas-psicológicas, psicológicas-sociológicas, pedagógicas, psicológicas y sociológicas. Revistas nacionales de carácter pedagógico. Revista Bordón, publicaciones del CIDE y servicio informático ISOC. El porcentaje de incremento interanual es superior al que cabría esperar según la curva de crecimiento exponencial. Se comprueba que el crecimiento científico depende más del incremento del Producto Nacional Bruto del país que del aumento de la población. De la clasificación de los trabajos en función del autor se derivan tres conclusiones: probabilidad de inexistencia de ámbitos o círculos que aglutinen científica y socialmente investigaciones y estudios sobre rendimiento académico, es posible que exista un acceso de forma esporádica u ocasional por parte de muchos autores, hay carencia de autores con gran productividad sobre el tema. Se percibe una correlación inversa entre el número de trabajos sin publicar y la suma total de libros y trabajos en revistas. La revista que aporta mayor porcentaje de trabajos sobre el rendimiento académico es la 'Revista de Investigación Educativa'. La mayoría de los trabajos han sido realizados sobre el nivel primario de la enseñanza. No existen diferencias significativas entre variables por niveles educativos. En opinión de los autores sería muy conveniente utilizar técnicas de meta-análisis para llegar a conclusiones más uniformes e integradoras, que finalmente, lleven a la construcción científica que debe guiar el conocimiento teórico y práctico de la educación.

El di??logo como estrategia de educaci??n en valores c??vicos : un estudio etnogr??fico en Primaria

Analizar el estado de la cuesti??n de la educaci??n en valores en Educaci??n Primaria. Describir el contexto espec??fico en el que se asienta la investigaci??n. Explorar las posibilidades de educar en valores a trav??s del di??logo en un aula de Educaci??n Primaria. Establecer orientaciones sobre la educaci??n en valores en Educaci??n Primaria. El modelo metodol??gico elegido es la etnograf??a educativa y el m??todo de la investigaci??n es el estudio de caso. La investigaci??n se ha centrado en un estudio de caso ??nico: el estudio en profundidad de un aula de Educaci??n Primaria, realizando la investigadora una observaci??n participante. El centro educativo elegido es el CP Germ??n Fern??ndez Ramos de Oviedo, popularmente conocido como CP Villar Pando, y el aula corresponde a quinto curso, al que acuden veinticinco alumnos, quince ni??os y diez ni??as, de entre nueve y once a??os. De ellos, el 40 por ciento son inmigrantes. La propuesta que se hace en este estudio es que a trav??s del di??logo entre todos los miembros del aula pueden abordarse en profundidad los m??s diversos asuntos morales. El di??logo en el aula permite crear un clima de trabajo muy rico en el que se pueden abordar infinitas tem??ticas de educaci??n en valores, creando un medio reflexivo, en el que confluyan ideas previas sobre el tema, conocimientos acad??micos, experiencias, etc.. El trabajo etnogr??fico ha permitido indagar sobre el enfoque dial??gico de educaci??n en valores en Primaria y los resultados permiten establecer las siguientes conclusiones: 1) El di??logo est?? sometido a normas; 2) No son precisos sofisticados materiales educativos; 3) Permite plantear la educaci??n en valores de manera contextualizada; 4) Permite abordar la educaci??n en valores de modo transversal; 5) Permite desarrollar una ense??anza 'no infantilizadora'; 6) La ense??anza de valores c??vicos no tiene por qu?? ser una actividad acad??mica en sentido estricto; 7) La ense??anza de valores se puede abordar racionalmente; 8) Es una forma de aprender cooperativa, comunitaria; 9) Permite ense??ar al alumnado a dialogar; 10) Se favorece el pensamiento libre y aut??nomo; 11) La metodolog??a dial??gica en educaci??n en valores permite abordar en profundidad diversos contenidos acad??micos; 12) Coherencia entre teor??a-pr??ctica; y 13) Positiva valoraci??n de los implicados.

La clase de lengua española : un proyecto de reflexión y cambios basados en una estrategia de principios : tesis doctoral.

Introducir mejoras en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de Lengua Española en un aula de quinto curso de Educación Primaria de Cuba, a través de procesos de análisis y de reflexión de la práctica educativa y de las fuentes teóricas relacionadas con el tema, dentro de un planteamiento de investigación-acción cooperativa. Se plantea el análisis y la intervención educativa en un proceso educativo mediante el desarrollo de diversos ciclos investigativos, trabajando de forma colaborativa con el profesorado, y abarcando la generalidad de aspectos que condicionan el proceso didáctico (metodología didáctica, planteamientos didácticos de la normativa vigente, tradiciones didácticas, dificultades de aprendizaje, recursos didácticos, etc.). La investigación aborda desde la teoría, y sobre todo, desde la práctica, la introducción de diversas estrategias orientadas a vincular un trabajo integrado de los diferentes componentes lingüísticos con un enfoque comunicativo de la materia. El planteamiento metodológico consiste en desarrollar un proceso secuencial perfectamente estructurado y que parte del análisis de la realidad didáctica, prosigue con la elaboración de propuestas y la aplicación de las mismas y culmina con una nueva valoración de las estrategias introducidas, para lo cual se han utilizado diversas técnicas de análisis: métodos observacionales, entrevistas, análisis de documentos, debates de grupo, etc. Este proceso ha permitido establecer una serie de principios orientadores de la actuación didáctica contrastados en la práctica a lo largo de diversos ciclos de investigación. Estos principios están sujetos a los objetivos que se plantean y que tienen la exigencia común de introducir mejoras en el proceso educativo de la enseñanza-aprendizaje de la lengua, es decir: contribuir a la elevación de la calidad de aprendizaje de los alumnos en Lengua Española, construir y desarrollar un diseño curricular flexible y por etapas, concebir un modelo de clase ajustado a las necesidades del alumnado y que cumpla las exigencias normativas del sistema educativo cubano, y elevar la preparación profesional de los miembros de la investigación. Si bien la tesis se centra en el trabajo didáctico de un aula y materia concretas, muchas de las aportaciones y conclusiones son transferibles a otros contextos no sólo similares, sino pertenecientes a contextos socioculturales diferentes. Una de las principales aportaciones reside en haber planteado y desarrollado con éxito la introducción de estrategias orientadas a vincular un trabajo integrado de los diferentes componentes lingüísticos desde un enfoque comunicativo de la materia, siguiendo un planteamiento de investigación-acción cooperativa. Este tipo de planteamiento y metodología no han sido hasta ahora muy habituales en los trabajos de investigación desarrollados en el área de Didáctica de la Lengua y la Literatura, tanto en nuestro contexto educativo como en el cubano. Ejemplifica cómo se pueden diseñar y aplicar procesos de innovación educativa en esta área y en otras disciplinas desde el enfoque metodológico adoptado. Por otra parte, los principios didácticos que se formulan tienen el valor añadido de haber sido puestos en práctica y evaluados en un contexto concreto a lo largo del tiempo. Finalmente, la dinámica de la investigación ha supuesto una mayor preocupación e implicación en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje por parte de los diferentes sectores de la comunidad educativa. Ello ha redundado en una mayor motivación hacia el aprendizaje de la lengua y en un desarrollo significativo de las competencias lingüísticas del alumnado durante el período de intervención, tal y como se constata en la mejora del proceso y resultados de aprendizaje del alumnado en los diferentes componentes lingüísticos analizados (principalmente, en lectura silenciosa y oral, expresión oral y expresión escrita).

Psicología del aprendizaje de las Matemáticas : un enfoque cognitivo.

Se pretende estudiar algunos aspectos de la psicología del aprendizaje de las Matemáticas desde una óptica cognitivista, con la pretensión de poder esbozar postulados didácticos para esta área Matemática. El trabajo recoge gran parte de los estudios experimentales sobre el campo de la psicología del aprendizaje de las Matemáticas. Las investigaciones pertenecen a tres ámbitos diferentes: el anglosajón; el soviético y el francófono. El trabajo con el fin de poder estudiar algunos aspectos de la psicología del aprendizaje de las Matemáticas, que permitieran esbozar conclusiones didácticas, se perfiló en torno a los siguientes apartados: incidencia del lenguaje natural en el aprendizaje de las Matemáticas, papel del análisis de errores matemáticos como elemento diagnosticador y didáctico, papel de la comprensión en el aprendizaje de las Matemáticas desde la óptica de la teoría del procesamiento de la información, se analizan también las estrategias empleadas por los sujetos a la hora de resolver problemas matemáticos, y se completa la investigación con un estudio del papel que tiene el ordenador en el desarrollo de la habilidad matemática. Además de la bibliografía, se ha recurrido a material de trabajo procedente de las distintas universidades que trabajan este tema. El análisis se basa fundamentalmente en un estudio de los principios contenidos en las obras bibliográficas. La tendencia general de las investigaciones en las que se apoya el estudio, es la utilización de métodos claramente analíticos, cualitativos basados en entrevistas y análisis de protocolos verbales emitidos por los sujetos, acerca de sus actuaciones en el campo de la matemática escolar. Del contraste del conjunto de investigaciones que incluye este trabajo se puede concluir: se observa cómo un aprendizaje poco compresivo de las Matemáticas y excesivamente algoritmizado en la matemática escolar conduce a un nivel de actuación muy mecánico en este campo. Puede proponerse una didáctica de las Matemáticas más creativa e intuitiva basada en técnicas como la resolución de problemas. El lenguaje natural facilita la comprensión matemática, lo que conduce a una enseñanza de las Matemáticas tanto en su dimensión de símbolos como algo con significado. El análisis de los errores matemáticos cometidos por los niños al resolver determinados problemas puede constituirse en un importante elemento diagnóstico para el profesor, a la vez que un útil instrumento didáctico. Ayudar a aprender Matemáticas supone conocer lo que los estudiantes piensan acerca de ellas y por qué lo piensan. En este sentido la teoría del procesamiento de la información puede ofrecer puntos de apoyo de gran interés para la enseñanza de esta materia.

China Marches West: Jacket cover

The China we know today is the product of vast frontier conquests of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by the expanding Qing empire. China Marches West tells the story of this unprecedented expansion and explores its consequences for the modern Chinese nation.

China Marches West: Character List

Character list of Chinese terms in book China Marches West.