Data-driven estimates of global nitrous oxide emissions from croplands

Croplands are the single largest anthropogenic source of nitrous oxide (N₂O) globally, yet their estimates remain difficult to verify when using Tier 1 and 3 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Here, we re-evaluate global cropland-N₂O emissions in 1961–2014, using N-rate-dependent emission factors (EFs) upscaled from 1206 field observations in 180 global distributed sites and high-resolution N inputs disaggregated from sub-national surveys covering 15593 administrative units. Our results confirm IPCC Tier 1 default EFs for upland crops in 1990–2014, but give a ∼15% lower EF in 1961–1989 and a ∼67% larger EF for paddy rice over the full period. Associated emissions (0.82 ± 0.34 Tg N yr^–1) are probably one-quarter lower than IPCC Tier 1 global inventories but close to Tier 3 estimates. The use of survey-based gridded N-input data contributes 58% of this emission reduction, the rest being explained by the use of observation-based non-linear EFs. We conclude that upscaling N₂O emissions from site-level observations to global croplands provides a new benchmark for constraining IPCC Tier 1 and 3 methods. The detailed spatial distribution of emission data is expected to inform advancement towards more realistic and effective mitigation pathways.     

An Approach to Find Out Students’ Motives and Influences on Their Selection of Studies and University: Results from six years of continuous institutional research in a multi-campus system in Spain

This paper presents an institutional research on service quality conducted to analyze the students’ motives and influences on their selection of studies and university. The research was carried out by collecting data from first-year students in a multi-campus system where institutions are independent in their recruitment strategies. Results from six consecutive years are presented. The meaningful coincidence with previous research, the stability of some findings along the years, and the possibilities of this approach to be useful for strategic purposes and in marketing-related issues, make this methodology of particular interest. These results are also meaningful with a view to improving quality practices in the context of competition for the best students, and improving guidance practices to match students’ motives with higher education offer.

     

Science Education and the Material Culture of the Nineteenth-Century Classroom: Physics and Chemistry in Spanish Secondary Schools

Although a large number of Spanish secondary schools have preserved an important scientific heritage, including large scientific instrument collections, this heritage has never been officially protected. Their current state is very diverse, and although several research projects have attempted to initiate their recovery and use, their lack of coordination and wide range of methodological approaches has limited their impact. This paper presents a case-study integrated in a new project supported by the Catalan Scientific Instrument Commission (COMIC) whose final aim is the establishment of a research hub for the preservation, study and use of Spanish scientific instrument collections. Major aims in this project are promoting a better coordination of Spanish projects in this field, and furthering international research on science pedagogy and the material culture of science. The major focus of COMIC is currently the recovery of secondary school collections. This paper provides first, a historical account of the development of secondary education in Spain, and the contemporary establishment of physics and chemistry school collections. Second, we focus on a case-study of three Spanish schools (Valencia, Castellón, and Alicante). Finally, we provide a brief overview of current projects to preserve Spanish school collections, and discuss how COMIC can contribute to help to coordinate them, and to take a step forward interdisciplinary research in this context.     

University students’ success: A psycho-sociological approach

The aim of this paper is to propose a basic model to analyse processes of change in educational institutions taking into account both individual and contextual variables. It aims to identify the basic factors of change in order to contribute to reduce the dispersion of research projects, both from close subjects and one subject alone within human sciences, in order to make scientific accumulation easier and to guide social practice better. This proposal is based on Cryer and Elton’s (Studies in Higher Education, 1: 75–86, 1990) contributions, in this case applied to the learning processes of university students. They may account for static and dynamic aspects. To prove its coherence, it has been statistically compared with the data of a survey carried out among university students in Catalonia (Spain).     

Robust sliding mode control of a DC/DC Boost converter with switching frequency regulation

This paper presents the design of a hysteresis band controller to regulate the switching frequency in a sliding mode controlled nonlinear Boost power converter. The proposed architecture relies on a piecewise linear modeling of the switching function behavior within the hysteresis band, and consists of a continuous-time integral-type controller that modifies the amplitude of the hysteresis band of the comparator in accordance with the error between the desired and the actually measured switching period. The study provides the dynamical models of the converter operating in sliding mode and the switching frequency control loop. Moreover, the design of the parameters of both the sliding mode control and the switching frequency controller guarantee the fulfilment of the desired output voltage regulation of the Boost converter and the steady state setting of the switching frequency with a known, taylored dynamics. A Boost power converter prototype has been built to validate the proposal. Experimental results confirm the predicted good performance of the controllers, as well as the robustness with respect to changes in the switching frequency reference and the system parameters.     

Estimating the economic payoff to virtual university education: a case study of the Open University of Catalonia

This study extends the scope of research that examines the connection between physical attractiveness and student perception through a survey analysis. While other studies concentrate on physical attractiveness alone, we examined not only perceptions of attractiveness but its impact on students’ perception of knowledge, approachability and faculty selection in a hypothetical course. Using ordered logistic regression, logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression to examine the interaction between age, attractiveness, knowledge and approachability, our findings show that younger faculty members are perceived as more approachable and more attractive, while older faculty members are perceived as more knowledgeable. Faculty perceived as more attractive are also perceived to be more approachable. Further, we test the impact that these results have on faculty selection in a hypothetical course and find that students are more likely to select an attractive and approachable faculty member to take a course with, regardless of perceived knowledge of the faculty member. Overall, although the perception of beauty may be cursory, its results may not be when considering the primacy effect, role model effect and teaching effectiveness assessment.     

Antioxidant diet supplementation enhances aerobic performance in amateur sportsmen

The effects of antioxidant diet supplements on blood lactate concentration and on the aerobic and anaerobic thresholds and their adaptations to training were analysed. Fifteen amateur male athletes were randomly assigned to either a placebo group or an antioxidant-supplemented group (90 days supplementation with 500 mg x day(-1) of vitamin E and 30 mg x day(-1) of beta-carotene, and the last 15 days also with 1 g x day(-1) of vitamin C). Before and after the antioxidant supplements, the sportsmen performed a maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer and maximal and submaximal physiological parameters were assessed together with blood lactate concentration. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2max)), maximal blood lactate concentration, and the maximal workload attained rose significantly in both groups after the 3 months of training. At the end of the study, maximal blood lactate concentration was lower in the group that took supplements than in the placebo group. The percentage of VO(2max) attained at the anaerobic threshold rose significantly in both groups after 3 months of training, although the final value in the supplemented group was higher than that in the placebo group. Antioxidant diet supplements induced lower increases in blood lactate concentration after a maximal exercise test and could improve the efficiency in which aerobic energy is obtained.     

Journal coverage of the Emerging Sources Citation Index

The Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) was created recently, in 2015, but few assessments of its journal coverage have been made. The present study tries to fill that gap by comparing its coverage with that of other international abstracting and indexing (A&I) databases. Using this measure, it is feasible to benchmark this index against the other citation indexes for acceptance criteria. We analysed 6,296 ESCI‐indexed journals, 8,889 Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), 3,258 Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), 1,784 Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), and 22,749 Scopus journals as indexed in July 2017 to determine their inclusion in 105 databases. We found that 19.3% of the ESCI journals are not covered by any other A&I databases, a high figure compared with only 0.5% SCIE, 0.3% SSCI, 0.3% AHCI, and 5.5% Scopus journals. This low coverage suggests that the selection criteria for ESCI journals are not consistent with the overall trend in the other classical citation indexes.     

The role of universities in making industrial districts more dynamic. A case study in Spain

Through this research we aim to contribute to the debate on the role of universities in industrial districts in the context of the new competitive panorama that they are facing. With this objective in mind, we have carried out a study based on a university located within a Spanish textile district, using Social Network Analysis techniques. Of particular relevance are the relationships between companies, of which there is a dense concentration, and the university, which has an important role as mediator within the network.     

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIOEDUCATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS FOR OLDER ADULT STUDENTS

ABSTRACT

In this paper we consider that, to a great degree, educational quality is insured through successful educational and social-relationship strategies developed among educators and their older adult students. Proposals to improve educational quality should be considered within the unique context of each university's mission and goals. Otherwise, the same measures used in different institutions may lead either to progress or to educational and social regression. Much depends on the conditions under which programs are implemented, and the way they are perceived by participants in the educational process.