Evaluation and publication delay in Ibero-American scientific journals

This article analyses the review, acceptance and publication dates of a sample of 21,890 articles from 326 Ibero-American scientific journals from all subject areas and countries included in the Latindex Catalogue 2.0 and published between 2018 and 2020 (freely available as an open access dataset). The aim is to discover evaluation and publication times. The evaluation process takes a median of 110 days, the publication process, a median of 82 days, and the whole process, a median of 224 days. Statistical differences are found according to periodicity, subject areas, countries, existence of a printed version and article type (Call for Papers or General articles). From the data we find that the delay in publication is longer than publishers themselves report to the DOAJ. STEM areas present the most similarity in publication patterns, having a higher number of evaluation days (Ed) than publication days (Pd); Arts and Humanities present the opposite pattern, with a higher Pd than Ed. In the case of Social Sciences, the times are similar. General articles and Call for Papers articles differ in terms of Ed, but not Pd, indicating that Call for Papers revisions are faster.     

Intelligent classrooms and smart software: Teaching and learning in today’s university

The use of information and communication technologies in higher education is surrounded by contradictory, yet interrelated themes, that suggest that education is either experiencing a revolution or approaching its own demise. Undoubtedly, technologies are becoming embedded in academic life but patterns of adoption are more complex and nuanced than polarized themes suggest. The extreme polarity of a ‘promises and fears’ spectrum is unable to fully account for why this is the case; neither can it be explained by economics, demographics, or the technology. This article argues that one of the most significant variables in the deployment of and adaptation to information technologies in the university is academic culture. In other words, unless we consider academic culture we cannot fully capture the relationship of technologies to education.     

The emerging of teachers' conceptions of new subjects inserted in mathematics programs: the case of informatics

The changes in mathematical curricula induced by the introduction of informatics in school represent the general framework of this research. In particular we focus on the teacher's role by analysing the different choices taken by mathematics teachers when faced with a curriculum reform induced by the introduction of informatics in secondary school courses (age 14–16). Our hypothesis is that these choices are the consequence of conceptions teachers have about informatics and its teaching in relation to the teaching of mathematics. Thus, through a case study research method, we focus on mathematics teachers' conceptions of informatics and its teaching. An attempt is made at outlining a typology of these conceptions, based on the different orientations identified.     

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of a Novel Display Case Design: Case Study of the Renovated Anne Frank House

ABSTRACT

Many museums are housed in historic buildings, sometimes the building itself is part of the museum collection. Creating a stable environment by providing a nearly constant temperature and relative humidity at correct levels decreases the risk of object degradation. Maintaining this steady indoor environment, however, increases energy consumption and risks to the historic building. Museum display cases offer a solution to the mitigation of risks to which valuable objects may be subjected by providing an extra layer of protection to indoor climate fluctuations. The Anne Frank House is a historic house museum located in Amsterdam. The museum has undergone several renovations in the last years to deal with an increase in the number of visitors to over 1.2 million a year. The original diaries and other documents of Anne Frank are permanently on display in the Anne Frank House. With the recent refurbishment the possibility arose to design a new state-of-the-art display case. This study presents the results of the experimental research related to the design, performed in-situ. The temperature and relative humidity in the new exhibition space and inside the new display cases were monitored to gain insight into the hygrothermal behavior of these controlled environments. A complementary numerical study was performed to investigate effects of dynamic climate control of the exhibition gallery and climate conditions in the display case under various circumstances. Four main conclusions are presented in this paper. The investigated display case design is able to provide a stable relative humidity environment by means of silica gel, while using an active box-in-box climate control system to create stable temperature conditions. The inner case temperature depends on the temperature supplied by the display case air handling unit. Protocols must be in place in case of malfunction or failure of the climate control system of the display case. The air handling unit of the case needs to be shut off to create a passive environment for the objects on display until necessary actions are taken. Exhibition gallery set points can be less stringent when susceptible museum objects are on display in the display case. The environments are separated and provide an opportunity for energy saving set point strategies. The last conclusion drawn is that the numerical study provides valuable insight into imposing dynamic control of set points for temperature and relative humidity in the exhibition gallery and the effect on the display case environment.     

‘Tracksuit Traitors’: Eastern German Top Athletes on the Run

In the time between its founding and the fall of the wall in November 1989, more than three million people left the German Democratic Republic, many of them illegally and under dangerous circumstances. The party leadership perceived this mass exodus of its citizens as one of the major threats for the real socialist regime.1^?1. Bispinck Bispinck, Henrick. “Republikflucht. Flucht und Ausreise als Problem der DDR-Führung.” Vor dem Mauerbau. Politik und Gesellschaft der DDR in den Fünfziger Jahren, edited by MichaelSchwartz and Hermann Wentker, 285–309. München: Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2003. [Google Scholar], “Republikflucht.”‘Republikflucht’, as this move from East to West was called by the party leadership, was the reason for the two most important hiatuses in Eastern German history: the first result was that the SED leadership built the wall in August 1961. Many years later, in the fall of 1989, the situation culminated, when a flood of desperate refugees tried to escape to the Federal Republic of Germany via Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia, thus effectively hurrying along the regime's demise. The world of sports, too, was considerably affected by this phenomenon. The following essay shall offer a short historical summary of the different reasons and routes Eastern German top athletes chose for their escape. Examples from various decades show that in spite of individual circumstances certain similarities in pattern can be made out, especially in respect to the way the government dealt with these cases of ‘treason’.     

Circadian rhythm effect on physical tennis performance in trained male players

To determine the effect of circadian rhythm on neuromuscular responses and kinematics related to physical tennis performance, after a standardised warm-up, 13 highly competitive male tennis players were tested twice for serve velocity/accuracy (SVA), countermovement vertical jump (CMJ), isometric handgrip strength (IS), agility T-test (AGIL) and a 10-m sprint (10-m RUN). In a randomised, counter-balance order, tennis players underwent the test battery twice, either in the morning (i.e., AM; 9:00 h) and in the afternoon (i.e., PM; 16:30 h). Paired t-tests were used to analyse differences due to time-of-day in performance variables. Comparison of morning versus afternoon testing revealed that SVA (168.5 ± 6.5 vs. 175.2 ± 6.1 km · h^?1; P = 0.003; effect size [ES] = 1.07), CMJ (32.2 ± 0.9 vs. 33.7 ± 1.1 cm; P = 0.018; ES = 1.46), AGIL (10.14 ± 0.1 vs. 9.91 ± 0.2 s; P = 0.007; ES = 1.23) and 10-m RUN time (1.74 ± 0.1 vs. 1.69 ± 0.1 s; P = 0.021; ES = 0.67) were significantly blunted during the morning testing. However, IS was not affected by time-of-day (P = 0.891). Thus, tennis performance may be reduced when competing in the morning in comparison to early evening. Therefore, coaches and tennis players should focus on schedule the SVA, power, speed and agility training sessions in the afternoon.