What do school principals do? Leadership practices in Spain drawn from PISA and TALIS international studies

Principals play a key role in schools. Their actions affect the efficacy of schools and indirectly on the students’ academic performance. Numerous studies describe the different activities that principals perform in their daily practice, grouping them in dimensions, not existing unanimity neither around the practices carried out nor the dimensions. In Spain, the new educational law, LOMCE, emphasizes the importance of looking into what international research says regarding the field of education to support the need for change and justify the ones that are being made, and develops an extended list of competences of the principal. This study is a synthesis of a narrative research with the following analysis unit: the results of the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Study) international reports, and the data provided on school leadership and their practices, from which conclusions are inferred, comparing them with the competences stated in the LOMCE. The comparative analysis of the leadership practices presented depicts a still uneven and heterogeneous scenario, not existing agreement neither for the setting of boundaries for the leadership dimensions, nor for the number of practices that constitute them. Such a scenario points towards the need for further empirical research, in order to accurately obtain a homogeneous catalogue of the actions carried out by principal, that may open the door to the development of the role of principal, and to the improvement of effectiveness and performance of schools, as it is suggested internationally, and it is an objective of the new educational law.

¿Fue la crisis política del Occidente musulmán del siglo XIII debida a un cambio climático? Una aproximación histórica al fin del Periodo Cálido Medieval

Durante el siglo XIII se produjo una sucesión de revueltas que supuso la desaparición del Imperio almohade y su sustitución por poderes regionales en al-Andalus, el Magreb y el Magreb al-Aqsà. La historiografía ha presentado el surgimiento y pugna entre estos poderes como un fenómeno social, político e, incluso, cultural y religioso, con el que se ha podido explicar su aniquilación o marginalización. Este trabajo pretende contextualizar los hechos desde una perspectiva medioambiental, de forma que la desintegración del califato almohade, el surgimiento de aquellos poderes y la progresión de los reinos cristianos en la península ibérica puedan entenderse desde una visión global de cambio climático y una posible crisis agrícola.

Propuesta de mejora del proceso de aprovisionamiento de materiales consumibles y suministros en una empresa de servicios petroleros

El presente proyecto de investigación desarrolla la mejora en el proceso de aprovisionamiento y distribución de materiales consumibles y repuestos desde su situación operativa actual hasta un modelo optimizado, estructurado y sostenible. Esto se aplica al proceso del área de compras y abastecimiento de la empresa Schlumberger Del Perú S.A.; sin embargo, las metodologías aplicadas pueden ser aplicadas en cualquier sector. El objetivo general es la reducción de costos, disminución en los tiempos de entregas deseables por la operación y un óptimo manejo de recursos, desarrollando mediciones adecuadas para asegurar su mejora continua La propuesta de este trabajo de investigación contempla la implementación de un modelo VMI (manejo de inventario por parte del proveedor) para los materiales consumibles y repuestos no críticos. El objetivo general del proyecto es obtener una reducción de costos y gastos en el área de aprovisionamiento y gestión de inventarios para los materiales consumibles y repuestos en la empresa Schlumberger del Perú S.A. mediante la implementación de un sistema colaborativo VMI. Los objetivos específicos del presente proyecto están orientados a reducir los días de cobertura inventario, disminuir la operatividad transaccional relacionada al aprovisionamiento de MRO, el incremento materiales negociados vía catálogo, así como reducir el tiempo de aprovisionamiento de materiales.

Interglacials of the last 800,000 years

Interglacials, including the present (Holocene) period, are warm, low land ice extent (high sea level), end-members of glacial cycles. Based on a sea level definition, we identify eleven interglacials in the last 800,000years, a result that is robust to alternative definitions. Data compilations suggest that despite spatial heterogeneity, Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5e (last interglacial) and 11c (similar to 400ka ago) were globally strong (warm), while MIS 13a (similar to 500ka ago) was cool at many locations. A step change in strength of interglacials at 450ka is apparent only in atmospheric CO2 and in Antarctic and deep ocean temperature. The onset of an interglacial (glacial termination) seems to require a reducing precession parameter (increasing Northern Hemisphere summer insolation), but this condition alone is insufficient. Terminations involve rapid, nonlinear, reactions of ice volume, CO2, and temperature to external astronomical forcing. The precise timing of events may be modulated by millennial-scale climate change that can lead to a contrasting timing of maximum interglacial intensity in each hemisphere. A variety of temporal trends is observed, such that maxima in the main records are observed either early or late in different interglacials. The end of an interglacial (glacial inception) is a slower process involving a global sequence of changes. Interglacials have been typically 10-30ka long. The combination of minimal reduction in northern summer insolation over the next few orbital cycles, owing to low eccentricity, and high atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations implies that the next glacial inception is many tens of millennia in the future.

SENSIBILIDAD DE LA RAZÓN DE MOROSIDAD Y LIQUIDEZ DEL SISTEMA BANCARIO NACIONAL ANTE CAMBIOS EN EL ENTORNO: UN ENFOQUE UTILIZANDO DATOS DE PANEL

El objetivo principal de este estudio es identificar algunas variables del entorno que afectan los indicadores financieros de morosidad y de liquidez en el sistema bancario costarricense, cuantificar su efecto y determinar el rezago con que dicho efecto se presenta ante cambios en algunas variables del entorno.Mediante la aplicación del enfoque de datos de panel, el estudio brinda los siguientes resultados: i) en general, se determinó para los indicadores de morosidad crediticia y de liquidez que existe una reacción similar a nivel de sistema bancario ante cambios en las variables del entorno; no obstante, entre los bancos se presentan diferencias en su comportamiento particular, las que se asocian con aspectos de capacidad empresarial, políticas internas, eficiencia operativa, experiencia y tecnología, entre otros; ii)las variables que afectan con mayor intensidad la morosidad son: la devaluación, la inflación, las nuevas colocaciones crediticias y el ritmo de la actividad económica local; iii) por su parte, las variables que impactan el indicador de liquidez son: la emisión monetaria, las tasas de interés en colones, la tasa de subasta, la tasa de indiferencia y la morosidad de los bancos; iv) además se efectuó una cuantificación porcentual sobre el impacto en ambos indicadores ante cambios en las variables relevantes, así como el rezago que mostró mayor significancia en cada una de las variables.Desde el punto de vista del Banco Central los resultados permiten identificar qué variables podrían generar problemas sistémicos en cada una de las áreas evaluadas, lo cual debe ser tomado en consideración dentro del Sistema de Indicadores de Alerta Temprana al que da seguimiento la División Económica.

Quais as medidas de desempenho mais valorizadas pelos investidores : caso europeu

Mestrado em Contabilidade, Fiscalidade e Finanças Empresariais

The Amplifier - v. 17, no. 4

In this issue...Football, Free Films, Koehler Stout, Jodi Gouwens, Library, Vu Villa, Christmas Party, Fortin Foundation, Ted Ackerman, Final Examinations

Spanish Rheumatology Society and Hospital Pharmacy Society Consensus on recommendations for biologics optimization in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis

The aim of this study was to establish guidelines for the optimization of biologic therapies for health professionals involved in the management of patients with RA, AS and PsA. Recommendations were established via consensus by a panel of experts in rheumatology and hospital pharmacy, based on analysis of available scientific evidence obtained from four systematic reviews and on the clinical experience of panellists. The Delphi method was used to evaluate these recommendations, both between panellists and among a wider group of rheumatologists. Previous concepts concerning better management of RA, AS and PsA were reviewed and, more specifically, guidelines for the optimization of biologic therapies used to treat these diseases were formulated. Recommendations were made with the aim of establishing a plan for when and how to taper biologic treatment in patients with these diseases. The recommendations established herein aim not only to provide advice on how to improve the risk:benefit ratio and efficiency of such treatments, but also to reduce variability in daily clinical practice in the use of biologic therapies for rheumatic diseases

27th International Police Executive Symposium, Washington DC, USA, Urban Security: Challenges for 21st Century Global Cities

Goncalo de Melo Bandeira Counter-Terrorism, State of Emergency and Human Rights. In the global cities, the fight against terrorism is a way forward. Prevention of terrorism is another possible way. There are legal systems where the prevailing idea is combating terrorism. Fight, because is possible: life imprisonment or informal death penalty or even torture. While other jurisdictions only follow the prevention of terrorist crime: the retribution and positive general prevention and the resocialization. There may be extreme cases also in restorative justice. The recent terrorist attacks in Paris on 11.13.2015 have shown to the different types of police several problems. Some of those are: the declaration of State of emergency and the consequent restriction of human rights as the privacy of human communication or the liberty of travel by local city citizens or foreign citizens or the public entertainment shows, the problem of money laundering and the restriction of the business as usual, the vicious circle of more isolation from some urban communities, v.g. muslims, and other citizens also; and, brevitatis causa, the criminological problem of the causes and consequences of terrorism.

Handgrip strength cut-off for cardiometabolic risk index among Colombian children and adolescents : the FUPRECOL study

Abstract Objective: Evidence shows an association between muscular strength (MS) and health among youth, however low muscular strength cut-points for the detection of high metabolic risk in Latin-American populations are scarce. The aim of this study was two-fold: to explore potential age- and sex-specific thresholds of MS, for optimal cardiometabolic risk categorization among Colombian children and adolescents; and to investigate if cardiometabolic risk differed by MS group by applying the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) cut point. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study (the FUPRECOL study), published elsewhere. The FUPRECOL study assessments were conducted during the 2014– 2015 school year. MS was estimated by a handle dynamometer on 1,950 children and adolescents from Colombia, using the MS relative to weight (handgrip strength/body mass). A metabolic risk score was computed from the following components: waist circumference, triglycerides, HDL-c, glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. ROC analysis showed a significant discriminatory accuracy of MS in identifying the low/high metabolic risk in children and adolescents and both gender. Results: In children, handgrip strength/body mass level for a low metabolic risk were 0.359 and 0.376 in girls and boys, respectively. In adolescents, these points were 0.440 and 0.447 in girls and boys, respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, the results suggest a hypothetical MS level relative to weight for having a low metabolic risk, which could be used to identify youths at risk.