The role of new technologies in competence teaching in higher education： The case of accounting

The Spanish educational system will require certain changes in order to achieve the Bologna objectives for the European Higher Education Area, including a more professional profile, with new activities and roles for both students and teachers, who must assume new skills that will affect concepts and attitudes related to the teaching and learning processes within the framework of training projects. However, students must also take a leading role in the educational process by adopting independent, meaningful and cooperative learning methods. This process will imply a notable change of mindset for the typical Spanish students and will involve a high degree of collaboration between students and teachers. Teachers will have to choose suitable methodologies for achieving those objectives, within the academic framework and considering the characteristics of professional training in skills. In addition, they must create the appropriate structural and organizational conditions to carry out these activities （class size, space, educational organization, etc.）. This paper describes the authors＇ experience in designing learning methodologies for the teaching of accountancy in the business administration degree course at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part describes the methodology designed for teaching accounting, based on PBL （problem-based learning）, compiled with Internet-based technologies. We analyze its use and evolution in two accounting subjects in the first and the fourth years of the degree. The second part presents the results for each subject in these years. The authors also point out the differences between students who chose the learning methodology described and those who used the traditional approach. The final part of the paper presents the conclusions obtained from the statistical treatment of the results and the analysis of different options for correlating the information obtained. These results show that there is a direct correlation between the use of an active learning model--through the teaching methodology--and obtaining satisfactory exam results in the subject. Finally, the authors analyze these results and consider how they should be used for evaluating the suitability of the methodology and to determine whether it is necessary to redesign the methodology to fit in with the characteristics, conditions and limitations of the teaching and learning processes.     

On the robustness of Riccati flows to complete model misspecification

Consider the continuous-time matrix Riccati operator Ricc$\left(Q\right)=AQ+Q{A}^{\prime }?QSQ+R$. In this work, we consider the robustness of this operator to direct perturbations of the matrices (A, R, S) and, in particular, the flow robustness of the corresponding Riccati differential equation. For a given class of perturbation, we show that the corresponding differential equation is well defined in the sense it is bounded above and below, it has a well-defined fixed point, and it converges to this fixed point exponentially fast. Moreover, the flow of the perturbed Riccati flow is close to the nominal Riccati flow when the perturbation is small; i.e. we prove a continuity-type condition in the size of the perturbation.     

Angle between choice alleys as a critical factor in spontaneous alternation

Rats were tested for spontaneous alternation in a variety of mazes differing in the angle between choice alleys. Uniformly high alternation rates were found at all angles from 330 down to 90 deg. At 45 or 0 deg, the rates approximated a chance 50%, and at angles between 45 and 90 deg the alternation rates were also intermediate. The hypothesis that the spatial distance between goal regions is the critical factor was rejected, and it was concluded that the angle between alleys is the principal factor determining alternation under these conditions. The results support the idea that alternation in the rat is basically a vestibular phenomenon.     

More than solutions: Empowering students to think strategically and tactically

Courses: Communication Activism; Public Advocacy; Social Movements; Public Speaking; Persuasion; Argumentation; Public Sphere.

Objectives: This semester-long activity helps students implement a solutions–strategies–tactics framework into their advocacy work. More specifically, students learn to (1) designate, research, and assess the causes of significant social/political problems; (2) design long-term strategies and chronologically arrange step-by-step tactics to address those problems; (3) devise different kinds of messages for purposes of influencing public opinion/behavior, mobilizing collective action, organizing communities into political constituencies, and swaying decision makers; and (4) develop skills and competencies for becoming agents—rather than observers—of social change.     

Caffeine improves muscular performance in elite Brazilian Jiu-jitsu athletes

Scientific information about the effects of caffeine intake on combat sport performance is scarce and controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of caffeine to improve Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ)-specific muscular performance. Fourteen male and elite BJJ athletes (29.2?±?3.3?years; 71.3?±?9.1?kg) participated in a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover experiment. In two different sessions, BJJ athletes ingested 3?mg?kg^?1 of caffeine or a placebo. After 60?min, they performed a handgrip maximal force test, a countermovement jump, a maximal static lift test and bench-press tests consisting of one-repetition maximum, power-load, and repetitions to failure. In comparison to the placebo, the ingestion of the caffeine increased: hand grip force in both hands (50.9?±?2.9 vs. 53.3?±?3.1?kg; respectively p?p?=?.02), and time recorded in the maximal static lift test (54.4?±?13.4 vs. 59.2?±?11.9?s; p?p?=?.02), maximal power obtained during the power-load test (750.5?±?154.7 vs. 826.9?±?163.7?W; p?p?=?.04). In conclusion, the pre-exercise ingestion of 3?mg?kg^?1 of caffeine increased dynamic and isometric muscular force, power, and endurance strength in elite BJJ athletes. Thus, caffeine might be an effective ergogenic aid to improve physical performance in BJJ.     

The Common Core debate on Twitter and the rise of the activist public

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were adopted with broad bipartisan backing in 46 states in 2010. Yet by 2015 they had become a lightning rod for a range of critiques about the education system while public support declined precipitously and became increasingly partisan. Not coincidentally, the CCSS were also the first major education initiative to play out in a social media environment. In this study we used mixed methods to analyze the debate surrounding the Common Core on Twitter for a 6-month period in 2013–2014, with a focus on the central participants in the discussion and the linguistic argumentation they used. We found an active debate about the Common Core on Twitter, consisting of about 190,000 tweets from 53,000 distinct actors. Using social network analysis, we identified three major factions in the debate, which represented supporters of the CCSS, educators who opposed the CCSS, and a large contingent of opponents from outside of the education industry. We also detected that many of the most prolific participants from outside of education were individual activists, rather than members of formal advocacy organizations. Analyzing the content of the debate amongst the most influential participants, we found it to be less about the CCSS themselves than a proxy war about larger education-related social issues. Finally, through an examination of the language of the tweets, we determined that the central members used a form of linguistic argumentation called ‘politicalspeak,’ which they employed to rouse their followers and influence the public discourse. Thus, the tactics of the factions on Twitter, particularly opponents of the CCSS from outside of education, employed both issue framing and linguistic strategies to establish a dominant narrative. Based on these findings, we argue that the discourse on Twitter at the time of the study was less of a means to introduce new ideas and perspectives, then it was amplify the voices of a broader array of public activists seeking to influence the direction of public policy.     

Approaches to Collaboration: Experiences of the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships

ABSTRACT

This study examined how partnerships between early care and education providers were developed and how they worked together to deliver comprehensive, high-quality services to infants and toddlers from low-income families. Survey data were collected from 220 Early Head Start (EHS) program directors and 386 child care center directors and family child care providers participating in EHS-child care partnerships. Research Findings: Nearly half of EHS programs chose partners with whom they had prior relationships, and most engaged them early (often before receiving the grant). Both EHS programs and child care providers described their relationships as mutually respectful and focused on similar goals. Through the partnerships, child care providers had access to professional development opportunities and offered children and families comprehensive services, such as health screenings. Practice or Policy: This study provided a nationally representative picture of EHS-child care partnerships. The findings suggest that strong relationships are foundational to the implementation of early care and education collaborations aimed at expanding access to high-quality care for infants and toddlers from low-income families. Collaborations are a potentially important policy lever that can help support the expansion of high-quality early care and education.     

Classroom discussion and individual problem-solving in the teaching of history: Do different instructional approaches affect interest in different ways?

In this study, 100 Italian eighth graders were divided into two groups to compare the effects of two instructional interventions – the first based on problem-solving through discussion, the second on individual problem-solving – on students' learning of two historical topics (World War I and the economic boom), interest and self-perception of competence in history. The intervention based on discussion produced greater situational interest and understanding of the historical inquiry. The topic of World War I turned out to be an effective source of situational interest. Structural equation models showed that situational interest elicited by the use of discussion and by World War I impacted both on students' individual interest and on self-perception of competence in history.     

Inter-Relations Between Ethnic-Racial Discrimination and Ethnic-Racial Identity Among Early Adolescents

The authors examined whether the longitudinal inter-relations between ethnic-racial discrimination and ethnic-racial identity vary according to the perpetrator of discrimination. The authors used three waves of data from early adolescents (n = 387; ages 11–12 at Wave 1) to assess the strength and direction of relations between perceived discrimination from non-school adults and peers vis-à-vis ethnic-racial identity exploration, commitment, private regard, and public regard. Cross-lagged autoregressive path analyses showed that more frequent discrimination, regardless of source, had reciprocal and significant longitudinal inter-relations with exploration and public regard. Peer discrimination predicted lower commitment and private regard 1 year later, whereas non-school adult discrimination did not. Implications are discussed in relation to the role of peers and ethnic-racial identity processes.