Contribution of historical Spanish inventions to the knowledge of olive oil industrial heritage

This article presents new research, which has the objective of quantifying the knowledge produced by historical technological innovations in the field of olive oil industrial heritage. It studies inventions related to the mechanical processes of the extraction of olive oil between 1826 and 1966, which are recorded in the Historical Archive of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. It uses a new adaptation of the methodology of knowledge management (KM) defined by Nonaka and Takeuchi. We have obtained the knowledge value of each innovation according to the level of technological knowledge registered at the time, while distinguishing between the historical evolution of inventions relating to milling and those relating to pressing. In the first analysis, the results show a recession in the quantitative level of knowledge in the olive oil sector with respect to the technological potential of the time. However, when contrasted with the events relating to industrial heritage at the time, it is possible to account for this technological evolution and prove the validity of the methodology used. The results show that general evolution of the knowledge generated has decreased, particularly in the pressing process, although this is not the case in the milling process.     

Transitioning to agile software development: Lessons learned from a government-contracted program

With a need to implement an agile software development methodology in government programs, this study was conducted to explore how organizations transitioned from a traditional waterfall software development method to agile methods. To accomplish this study, a case study research was utilized. A multimillion-dollar government-contracted program in the US was studied. The research findings reveal key challenges faced by organizations during the transition and the lessons learned that can be applied to future programs. Propositions for future research are also presented.     

Effects of volleyball match-induced fatigue on knee joint position sense

Abstract

It has been suggested that a greater number of injuries during the last third of practice sessions or matches could be related to alteration of lower limb neuromuscular control due to neuromuscular fatigue. This fatigue-related effect can be mediated by changes in joint proprioception. In athletes, the use of functional fatigue protocols could have the advantage of mimicking the demands of sporting activity, thus reflecting more specifically the changes in neuromuscular control and proprioception observed in sport settings. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of fatigue induced by a volleyball match on knee joint position sense in elite volleyball players. Seventeen female volleyball players aged 18.9±4.2 years from the Portuguese national team volunteered for the study. Knee joint position sense was evaluated by an open kinetic chain technique and active knee positioning, and was reported using absolute, relative, and variable angular errors. Joint position sense measures were obtained before and immediately after a simulated volleyball match of five sets. To ensure that the match was sufficiently intense to induce fatigue, the perceived exertion or exercise intensity was assessed at the end of the match using Borg’ s rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. All participants completed the volleyball match (90min duration), reaching or exceeding 15 on the RPE scale (15.59±0.71; range 15–17), equivalent to “hard/heavy work”. After the volleyball match, a significant increase in absolute (2.11°) and relative (1.71°) angular errors was detected. Match-induced fatigue significantly exacerbated the overestimation of the test position. Moreover, the reliability and accuracy in estimating knee angles decreased from rest to the fatigued state, as shown by the increase (264%) in variable error. Our results show that fatigue induced by a volleyball match has a marked effect on knee joint position sense in elite female volleyball players. Knee joint position sense was less accurate and less consistent after the volleyball match. Fatigue induced by a simulated competitive volleyball match resulted in proprioceptive deficits, decreasing sensorimotor system acuity in female volleyball players.     

Comparison of Dynamic Visual Acuity Between Water Polo Players and Sedentary Students

In this study, we examined differences in dynamic visual acuity between elite and subelite water polo players and sedentary students. To measure dynamic visual acuity binocularly, we asked participants to indicate the orientation of a broken ring, similar to the Landolt C, which increased in size as it moved across a computer screen. Two different speeds, three possible trajectories, and two different levels of contrast were evaluated. There were statistically significant differences between elite players and sedentary students for each combination of speed, contrast, and trajectory. Elite players achieved better dynamic visual acuity scores, and results also improved for some combinations of speed, contrast, and trajectory. Comparison between elite and subelite groups failed to reveal any     

An intersubjective developmental perspective on interactions between deaf and hearing mothers and their deaf infants

Most research into interactions between mothers and their infants with hearing impairments focuses on mothers' and infants' behaviors separately, speculating about the interplay among these behaviors and their effects on child development. In the present article, an intersubjective developmental theory focusing on the development of the "interworld" between deaf and hearing mothers and their deaf infants is used to integrate and interpret the seemingly incoherent research on early mother-deaf child interaction. Inspired by Stern's work (e.g., Stern, 1985), the intersubjective developmental theory distinguishes four stages in the development of intersubjectivity: emerging (birth-2 months), physical (2-8 months), existential (8-13 months), and symbolic (13 months and older), each characterized by a different type of mother-infant interaction. The integration of research findings on early mother-deaf child interaction into these four developmental stages offers new perspectives that can advance research and resolve certain early-intervention issues.     

Some Internet Applications for Language Teaching: a Web-Assisted Course of English for Construction

The web expands the possibilities of language teaching, particularly in the field of specific areas, like engineering, architecture or the construction industry. It facilitates easy, instantaneous access to sources of information, specialized texts and data that were either unavailable in the past or took a considerable amount of time to access. In addition to providing these specific texts that can be used as teaching and practise material, and serving as an electronic board with information on classes, deadlines, contents, syllabus, etc., the web should also affect the way languages are taught, as well as the learning styles of the students. As many of us start using the web as a teaching resource, we should move from a phase of simply using the new media with the old content, on to developing not only new contents but also new teaching procedures and strategies based on these new media. By showing some of the web pages (http://www.ugr.es/~jmperez/Aparejadores1.html) developed for an English for Construction course at the English Department at the University of Granada, I will comment and reflect on how the Internet is beginning to affect our ways of teaching and learning. Quelques applications d’Internet À l’enseignement des langues. Un cours Web d’anglais pour la

construction. Le Web offre de nouvelles possibilités pour l'enseignement des langues, en particulier dans les domaines particuliers tels que l'ingénierie, l'architecture, ou l'industrie du bÂtiment. Il rend l'accès aux sources d'information facile et instantané notamment pour les données jadis difficilement accessibles voire totalement inaccessibles. Le Web met À disposition des matériaux de cours mais aussi des informations relatives À la gestion de ceux-ci (horaire, programmes, contenus, etc.). Il devrait de plus affecter les faÇons d'apprendre les langues autant que les styles d'apprentissage des étudiants. Comme notre propre pratique d'enseignant nous le montre, nous avons tendance À " faire du vieux avec du neuf ". Nous devrions progressivement arriver À développer de nouveaux contenus mais aussi de nouvelles procédures et stratégies d'apprentissage adaptées aux caractéristiques de ces nouveaux médias. Sur la base de l'analyse de certaines des pages d'un cours d'anglais pour la construction développé au Département d'anglais de l'Université de Grenade, (http://www.ugr.es/~jmperez/Aparejadores1.html), nous tenterons de montrer comment Internet progressivement modifie nos faÇons d'enseigner et d'apprendre. Quelques applications d’Internet à l’enseignement des langues. Un cours Web d’anglais pour la

construction. Einige Internet-Applikationen für den Sprachunterricht. Ein Web-unterstützter Englischkurs für den

Konstruktionsbau. Das Web erweitert die Möglichkeiten des Sprachunterrichtes, insbesondere in spezifischen Bereichen wie denen der Ingenieurwissenschaften, Architektur, oder Konstruktionsbau. Es ermöglicht den einfachen und schnellen Zugang zu Informationsquellen, speziellen Texten und Daten. Diese waren vorher nicht verfügbar, oder ihr Zugang war nur mit grossem Zeitaufwand verbunden. Das Web stellt nicht nur Kursmaterial zur Verfügung, sondern auch Informationen bezüglich deren Verwaltung (Stundenplan, Programme, Inhalt, etc.). Das Web kann auch die Art beeinflussen, wie Sprachen gelehrt werden, und hat somit auch Einfluss auf den Lernstil der Studenten. Wie die eigene Praxis uns zeigt, tendieren wir zum Einsatz der neuen Medien, allerdings mit altem Inhalt. Wir sollten daher nicht nur progressiv neuen Inhalt entwickeln, sondern auch neue Unterrichtsformen und-strategien, die auf den neuen Medien bauen. Anhand von einigen Web-Seiten (http://www.ugr.es/ ~jmperez/Aparejadores1.html), die für einen Englischkurs im Konstruktionsbau vom English Department der Universität von Grenada entwickelt wurde, werde ich kommentieren bzw. reflektieren wie das Internet die Art und Weise wie wir lehren und lernen, uns bereits beeinflusst.     

Canadian and US adult learning (1945–1970) and the cultural politics and place of lifelong learning

This essay examines adult learning in Canada and the USA (1945–1970). It explores this emergence in relation to moves to establish academic adult education as a cultural force that could help citizen learners to negotiate a way forward amid the collision of instrumental, social, and cultural change forces altering life, learning, and work in the emerging postindustrial society. In this regard, it focuses centrally on lifelong learning as an idea designed to have broad appeal in rapid-change postindustrial culture. In particular, it attempts to explicate a cultural politics of lifelong learning, which academic adult educators hoped would give the field a higher profile within what they perceived to be an emerging change culture of crisis and challenge. Two key factors are considered in these deliberations. First, this essay explores the relationship between public education (understood as schooling for children) and adult education. It takes up how this problematic relationship interfered with a post-war turn to lifelong learning. Second, it examines the shift in the meaning of the social in understanding adult education as social education in postindustrial society. It argues that the post-war discourse of democracy delimited this meaning, locating the social predominantly within a concern with preserving the dominant culture and society.