Longer-term impacts of mentoring, educational services, and incentives to learn: evidence from a randomized trial in the United States

This paper is the first to use a randomized trial in the US to analyze the short- and long-term educational and employment impacts of an afterschool program that offered disadvantaged high-school youth: mentoring, educational services, and financial rewards with the objective to improve high-school graduation and postsecondary schooling enrollment. The short-term hefty beneficial average impacts quickly faded away. Heterogeneity matters. While encouraging results are found for younger youth, and when the program is implemented in relatively small communities of 9th graders; detrimental longlived outcomes are found for males, and when case managers are partially compensated by incentive payments and students receive more regular reminders of incentives.

Mentoring, educational services, and economic incentives longer-term evidence on risky behaviors from a randomized trial

This paper is the first to use a randomized trial in the US to analyze the short- and long- term impacts of an afterschool program that offered disadvantaged high-school youth: mentoring, educational services, and financial rewards to attend program activities, complete high-school and enroll in post-secondary education on youths' engagement in risky behaviors, such as substance abuse, criminal activity, and teenage childbearing. Outcomes were measured at three different points in time, when youths were in their late-teens, and when they were in their early- and their latetwenties. Overall the program was unsuccessful at reducing risky behaviors. Heterogeneity matters in that perverse effects are concentrated among certain subgroups, such as males, older youths, and youths from sites where youths received higher amount of stipends. We claim that this evidence is consistent with different models of youths' behavioral response to economic incentives. In addition, beneficial effects found in those sites in which QOP youths represented a large fraction of the entering class of 9th graders provides hope for these type of programs when operated in small communities and supports the hypothesis of peer effects.

L'Orientació professional

L'autor fa un repàs a la història de l'orientació professional al llarg del segle XX i analitza les diverses causes econòmiques polítiques i socials

Guia d'orientació professional per a universitaris. 'Guía de orientación profesional para universitarios'.

La creación del DOIP, Departamento de Orientación y de Inserción Profesional, de la Fundación Universidad Empresa de la UIB supone un empuje definitivo a la inserción profesional de los jóvenes titulados. Esta guía es la primera publicación que ve la luz en marco de esta iniciativa, una herramienta para la inserción profesional y social de los universitarios de las Islas Baleares. Contiene una presentación del servicio de orientación, un capítulo de planificación, otros dedicados a la elaboración del plan de búsqueda de trabajo, especialmente a las técnicas de búsqueda activa de trabajo, la respuesta a ofertas, las cartas de presentación, las entrevistas y las pruebas de selección. Finalmente se ofrencen direcciones y datos de interés.

L'orientació professional. 'La orientación profesional'.

Se presenta la orientación profesional como un proceso que se va desarrollando a lo largo de toda la trayectoria académica y se analizan las fases y los componentes que hay que introducir en cada etapa educativa.

Jocs per a l'orientació professional. 'Juegos para la orientación profesional'.

Ayudar a los alumnos en su orientación profesional. Explica 9 juegos que, con sus variantes, ascienden a 29. En un cuadro de doble entrada recoge las aptitudes y los aspectos de orientación que trabajan cada uno de los juegos. Explica los juegos (objetivos, procedimiento, preliminares, normas y reglas, variantes). Los juegos han sido experimentados (y modificados) por alumnos de los últimos cursos de EGB y BUP. En conjunto, los 29 juegos, tienen en cuenta la mayor parte de los aspectos más importantes y necesarios para una correcta información profesional, de tal manera que se puede llevar a cabo un programa de orientación profesional con el soporte de estos juegos.

Two different 3D biogeochemical models for the NW mediterranean sea: validation with Meris data and intercomparison

Report for the scientific sojourn carried out at the University of New South Wales from February to June the 2007. Two different biogeochemical models are coupled to a three dimensional configuration of the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) for the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea (Ahumada and Cruzado, 2007). The first biogeochemical model (BLANES) is the three-dimensional version of the model described by Bahamon and Cruzado (2003) and computes the nitrogen fluxes through six compartments using semi-empirical descriptions of biological processes. The second biogeochemical model (BIOMEC) is the biomechanical NPZD model described in Baird et al. (2004), which uses a combination of physiological and physical descriptions to quantify the rates of planktonic interactions. Physical descriptions include, for example, the diffusion of nutrients to phytoplankton cells and the encounter rate of predators and prey. The link between physical and biogeochemical processes in both models is expressed by the advection-diffusion of the non-conservative tracers. The similarities in the mathematical formulation of the biogeochemical processes in the two models are exploited to determine the parameter set for the biomechanical model that best fits the parameter set used in the first model. Three years of integration have been carried out for each model to reach the so called perpetual year run for biogeochemical conditions. Outputs from both models are averaged monthly and then compared to remote sensing images obtained from sensor MERIS for chlorophyll.

The role of fixed delays in neuronal rate models

Fixed delays in neuronal interactions arise through synaptic and dendritic processing. Previous work has shown that such delays, which play an important role in shaping the dynamics of networks of large numbers of spiking neurons with continuous synaptic kinetics, can be taken into account with a rate model through the addition of an explicit, fixed delay. Here we extend this work to account for arbitrary symmetric patterns of synaptic connectivity and generic nonlinear transfer functions. Specifically, we conduct a weakly nonlinear analysis of the dynamical states arising via primary instabilities of the stationary uniform state. In this way we determine analytically how the nature and stability of these states depend on the choice of transfer function and connectivity. While this dependence is, in general, nontrivial, we make use of the smallness of the ratio in the delay in neuronal interactions to the effective time constant of integration to arrive at two general observations of physiological relevance. These are: 1 - fast oscillations are always supercritical for realistic transfer functions. 2 - Traveling waves are preferred over standing waves given plausible patterns of local connectivity.

Adolescència i preferències vocacionals: anàlisi comparativa per sexes, de les preferències vocacionals expressades per estudiants de 4t. d'Educació Secundària Obligatòria, a través d'un disseny longitudinal amb mostratges de subjectes diferents

Aquest treball de recerca consisteix en un estudi sobre les preferències vocacionals expressades per adolescents que cursen 4t d’Educació Secundària Obligatòria, amb una anàlisi comparativa per sexes. Es tracta d’un estudi de cas realitzat en un centre del Vallès Oriental, de caràcter longitudinal, en el que s’ha recollit durant 7 cursos acadèmics consecutius les seves preferències vocacionals a través de la prova d’interessos Kuder-C. L'objectiu ha estat comparar les preferències expressades pels nois i per les noies, les influències dels models de gènere estereotipats, així com l’existència o no de diferències entre ambdós col·lectius amb el pas del temps.

La Figura del pedagog/a dins l’àmbit de l’orientació professional

El treball pretén conèixer l’orientació professional d’una manera àmplia per tal d’analitzar quines són les competències professionals necessàries i fonamentals per tal d’exercir d’orientador/a professional. Es realitza una anàlisi sobre el perfil professional del pedagog/a que exerceix com orientador/a, alhora que realitza una reflexió partint de les competències professionals, que permet analitzar la figura del pedagog/a dins l’àmbit de l’orientació professional

Modelling world investment markets using threshold conditional correlation models

In this paper we propose a parsimonious regime-switching approach to model the correlations between assets, the threshold conditional correlation (TCC) model. This method allows the dynamics of the correlations to change from one state (or regime) to another as a function of observable transition variables. Our model is similar in spirit to Silvennoinen and Teräsvirta (2009) and Pelletier (2006) but with the appealing feature that it does not suffer from the course of dimensionality. In particular, estimation of the parameters of the TCC involves a simple grid search procedure. In addition, it is easy to guarantee a positive definite correlation matrix because the TCC estimator is given by the sample correlation matrix, which is positive definite by construction. The methodology is illustrated by evaluating the behaviour of international equities, govenrment bonds and major exchange rates, first separately and then jointly. We also test and allow for different parts in the correlation matrix to be governed by different transition variables. For this, we estimate a multi-threshold TCC specification. Further, we evaluate the economic performance of the TCC model against a constant conditional correlation (CCC) estimator using a Diebold-Mariano type test. We conclude that threshold correlation modelling gives rise to a significant reduction in portfolio´s variance.

Epidemic models with an infected-infectious period

The introduction of an infective-infectious period on the geographic spread of epidemics is considered in two different models. The classical evolution equations arising in the literature are generalized and the existence of epidemic wave fronts is revised. The asymptotic speed is obtained and improves previous results for the Black Death plague

Exactly solvable phase oscillator models with syncrhonization dynamics

Populations of phase oscillators interacting globally through a general coupling function f(x) have been considered. We analyze the conditions required to ensure the existence of a Lyapunov functional giving close expressions for it in terms of a generating function. We have also proposed a family of exactly solvable models with singular couplings showing that it is possible to map the synchronization phenomenon into other physical problems. In particular, the stationary solutions of the least singular coupling considered, f(x) = sgn(x), have been found analytically in terms of elliptic functions. This last case is one of the few nontrivial models for synchronization dynamics which can be analytically solved.

Serveis d'informació professional

La elección de profesión es una de las decisiones más importantes que una persona debe tomar. De dicha elección dependen otros aspectos de la vida. La elección con conocimiento de causa debe estar precedida de una información detallada. Por eso la información profesional debería ser una actividad habitual en los centros educativos. La planificación de los servicios de información profesional tiene que seguir un proceso ordenado. En primer lugar es preciso conocer unas bases teóricas y metodológicas que fundamenten todo tipo de actividad. En segundo lugar es preciso realizar un estudio del contexto sociolaboral y del nivel educativo al cual va dirigido el programa de actividades de información profesional. De todo esto se derivan unas necesidades, tanto de parte de los alumnos como del centro y de los padres, que configuran unos objetivos a conseguir para satisfacer esas necesidades. Para la planificación de actividades encaminadas a conseguir objetivos, es preciso determinar unos contenidos sobre estudios, profesiones, estructura del sistema educativo, becas, etc. Es conveniente conocer las fuentes informativas; aplicar técnicas y conocer la situación del mundo laboral y el mercado de trabajo. Al final de un programa de actividades conviene evaluar lo que se ha hecho y su incidencia como feed-back para futuras experiencias.