«¿Cómo conseguir que Juan realice su tarea?» Algunas ideas generales sobre la motivación de logro y su modificación

Resumen

En este artículo se describen los conceptos y mecanismos motivacionales básicos relacionados con el logro y el aprendizaje. Se explican losiconceptos de motivación extrínseca e intrínseca. Se exponen los determinantes básicos de la motivación de logro, de acuerdo con la teoría de Atkinson, y su significación para la intervención. De modo similar, se describe el concepto de atribución y se comenta el papel de las atribuciones en la conducta, así como la significación que puede tener el hecho de iniciar un proceso atribucional tras el fracaso o, por el contrario, iniciar la busqueda activa de los medios para encontrar la solución. Se subraya la necesidad de considerar las posibles repercusiones que el desarrollo cognitivo y social puede tener sobre la motivación de logro, así como la importancia de diseñar procedimientos para la identificación de los sujetos que presenten patrones atribucionales maladaptativos.     

Widely linear estimation for multisensor quaternion systems with mixed uncertainties in the observations

The optimal widely linear state estimation problem for quaternion systems with multiple sensors and mixed uncertainties in the observations is solved in a unified framework. For that, we devise a unified model to describe the mixed uncertainties of sensor delays, packet dropouts and uncertain observations by using three Bernoulli distributed quaternion random processes. The proposed model is valid for linear discrete-time quaternion stochastic systems measured by multiple sensors and it allows us to provide filtering, prediction and smoothing algorithms for estimating the quaternion state through a widely linear processing. Simulation results are employed to show the superior performance of such algorithms in comparison to standard widely linear methods when mixed uncertainties are present in the observations.     

Mapping air pollution effects on atmospheric degradation of cultural heritage

The costs for deterioration and soiling of different materials due to air pollution are huge and the damage to culture targets endangers seriously the rich European cultural heritage. Within the sixth Framework Programme of the EU, the overall aim of the CULT-STRAT project has been to assess and predict the effects of different pollutants on materials and objects of cultural heritage in a multipollutant scenario and to identify indicators and thresholds levels of pollutants. In particular, the present paper reports one of the studies carried out in the CULT-STRAT project at city level and focused on the town of Madrid (Spain). Different maps are shown for the past, present and possible future scenarios: inventory of stock of cultural heritage for each selected material, concentration of selected pollutants (SO₂, NO₂, O₃ and PM₁₀), corrosion (cast bronze) and recession (Portland limestone), exceedance of tolerable degradation thresholds for each material and corrosion-cultural heritage overlapped maps. The model and the methodology developed could be useful if apply it to towns, regions or countries in order to quantify the percentage of Cultural Heritage at risk or to quantify the percentage of the area where corrosion/recession exceeds the established tolerable levels.     

A new application model of building ventilation with light shafts: a proposal based on case study assessment

There is a lack of studies concerning both the quality of air entering buildings from light shafts and its impact on energy consumption. A combined isothermal analysis of several factors such as urban environment and wind, along with the dimensional conditions of the building, facilitated the assessment of the light shaft to promote air change. The aim of this study was on the impact of architectural design on the quality of the incoming air from light shafts. The capacity of light shafts to provide air change with urban air was evaluated using the concept of air change efficiency. This is determined by the environment, the dimensions, and the proportions of the building containing a light shaft. These were simulated using computation fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques which were experimentally validated. This concept requires the definition of an ideal control domain for comparative evaluation in different cases. For the case studies evaluated, it was verified through numerical analysis that the longer the light shaft in the wind direction was, the better the air change efficiency. It was confirmed that light shafts up to 12 m high and with height/length (H/L) rates lower than 3 were those achieving the best efficiency. The study provided several evaluation tools of a design of this type of outdoor space according to the criteria of air change content. An equation is presented defining the value of the air change efficiency for the outline of architectural design strategies intended for buildings with air shafts.     

“Prolegómenos para una gramática fílmica en clave pedagógica”

A partir de los paralelismos y correspondencias entre las gramáticas del lenguaje oral y del lenguaje fílmico que se analizan en el artículo, el autor propone la utilización del cine para revitalizar la enseñanza de lengua y literatura.     

Enseñanza de las ideas principales: problemas en el paso de la teoria a la práctica

Dno de los sueños de todo educador es encontrar conceptos o métodos que sean a la vez poderosos y extremadamente simples. La «idea principal» se ha presentado como una de estas panaceas que permite construir estrategias de comprensión lectora adecuadas a los relativamente complejos modelos cognitivos, mediante un procedimiento de atractiva sencillez. En este artículo se aborda uno de los problemas más importantes y menos tratados de este prometedor enfoque. La propia denominación de «la idea principal» supone la existencia de un única idea principal y la univocidad de ésta: todo el mundo convendrá en una única y misma idea, la del maestro será la misma a la de cada uno de los alumnos.

El problema planteado por los autores de que este supuesto no se realiza (hay divergencias fuertes en la identificación de la idea) abre vías menos simplistas pero quizá más atractivas a la enseñanza desde «la idea principal».     

The Impact of Tourette’s Syndrome in the School and the Family: Perspectives from Three Stakeholder Groups

This article analyzes the perceptions of Spanish health professionals, children with Tourette’s Syndrome (TS) and their parents about social, school and family problems related to the disorder. A qualitative research methodology was used involving Focus Groups (FGs) made up of children with TS (× 2 FGs), parents/caregivers of persons with TS (× 2 FGs) and health professionals (× 1 FG). The study highlights many of the principal areas of concern for persons with TS, parents/caregivers and health professionals that directly and indirectly add to the burden of living with the disorder. The results of the study point out that the stigma and social maladjustment in children with TS is caused in large part by a misunderstanding of the disorder by teachers and peers. Parents of children with TS especially emphasize tics, considering them to be the main cause of social maladaptation. The results suggest that interventions among parents, teachers and peers should be implemented towards a greater understanding of the disorder and its symptoms.     

Atribución de la causalidad y motivación de logro desde una perspectiva evolutiva. Evidencia empírica

Resumen

En el presente trabajo se revisan los principales estudios realzados sobre el desarrollo de las condiciones que determinan la motivación de logro: percepción de los resultados como éxitos o fracasos; capacidad para distinguir distintos niveles de incentivo; comprensión de los conceptos de habilidad, esfuerzo, dificultad de la tarea y suerte, así como de las relaciones compensatorias existentes entre ellos, J capacidad para formar expectativas realistas. También se revisan los estudios sobre las atribuciones que los niños realizan espontáneamente. Se indican tanto las implicaciones psicológicas y pedagógicas de los cambios evolutivos observados como los aspectos evolutivos que necesitan ser investigados.     

Predicting the Q of junior researchers using data from the first years of publication

A researcher's Q denotes their ability in scientific research as a real number. Due to their short presence in the academic environment, junior researchers have unstable Q values. This article aims to present a model that uses data from junior researchers’ first years of publication to predict their stable Q values. We tested the deep model and the linear regression model and compared their accuracies. We have obtained reliable results showing that the predicted values estimated with both models are better than the estimated Q values computed with the Q model itself when using only data from the first five years of publication. Lastly, we note that both approaches are robust approaches to deal with the inflation of citation bias.     

Ridden,Phil & Heldsinger,Sandy (2014) What teachers need to know about assessment and reporting acer Press (Victoria & Eurospan,London) isbn 978‐1‐74286‐111‐1 160 pp £25.95 http://www.isbs.com/collections/acer‐press/products/9781742861111

Teachers involved in literacy and numeracy testing will find in this book a valuable support to understand the why, how and what to assess. It is an informative volume that will give you practical information, guidance and deep understanding of what is behind a test. A must for Australian teachers, it is a great help for general practitioners and a valuable tool for the international audience. I suggest you borrow a copy if this book seems relevant. Jesús García Laborda