Development and Validation of a Scale to Assess Students’ Attitude towards Animal Welfare

This work presents the development of a scale of attitudes of secondary-school and university students towards animal welfare. A questionnaire was drawn up following a Likert-type scale attitude assessment model. Four components or factors, which globally measure animal welfare, are proposed to define the object of the attitude. The components are animal abuse for pleasure or due to ignorance (C1), leisure with animals (C2), farm animals (C3) and animal abandonment (C4). The final version of the questionnaire contains 29 items that are evenly distributed among the four components indicated, guaranteeing that each component is one-dimensional. A sample of 329 students was used to validate the scale. These students were aged between 11 and 25, and were from secondary schools in Aragon and the University in Zaragoza (Aragon's main and largest city, located in NE Spain). The scale shows good internal reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.74. The questionnaire was later given to 1,007 students of similar levels and ages to the sample used in the validation, the results of which are presented in this study. The most relevant results show significant differences in gender and level of education in some of the components of the scale, observing that women and university students rate animal welfare more highly.     

Cognitive-operative model of intelligent learning systems behavior

In this paper behavior during the teaching–learning process is modeled by means of a fuzzy cognitive map. The elements used to model such behavior are part of a generic didactic model, which emphasizes the use of cognitive and operative strategies as part of the student–tutor interaction. Examples of possible initial scenarios for the teaching–learning process are developed, along with the results provided by the model.     

Scientific revolutions,paradigms and textbooks in development theories

The purpose of this study is to test whether Thomas Kuhn's model of scientific revolutions and his hypothesis of the ‘mirror effect’ of education apply to the history of the sociology of development, as many analysts of the field argue. Syllabi were examined from 1970 to 1981 for each of the existing graduate programs in sociology of development in Mexican major public and private universities.Results are inconsistent with the claim that the sociology of development has experienced a major scientific revolution, and we found no evidence of the existence of paradigms in the field. The same results are consistent with Kuhn's hypothesis of the ‘mirror effect’ of scientific change on textbooks and scientific training in pre-paradigmatic disciplines.     

Students' evaluations of university instructors: The applicability of American instruments in a Spanish setting

Items from two American instruments designed to measure students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness were translated into Spanish and administered to a sample of Spanish university students. Most of the items were judged by the students to be appropriate, every item was chosen by at least a few as being a most important item, and all but the Workload/Difficulty items clearly differentiated between lecturers whom students indicated to be “good,” “average,” and “poor.” A series of factor analyses clearly identified the factors that the instruments were designed to measure and that have been identified in previous research. Finally, a multitrait-multimethod analysis demonstrated that there was good agreement between factors from the two instruments which were hypothesized to measure the same components of effective teaching, and provided support for both the convergent and discriminant validity of the ratings. The findings illustrate the feasibility of evaluating effective teaching in a Spanish university and the appropriateness of the two American instruments.     

Media Archeology in Spain

Based on a carefully selected list of references in Spanish, the following text presents a brief history of the magic lantern in Spain, from its invention to the beginning of its decadence as a social medium of communication. The magic lantern emerged in the seventeenth century, with the application of a series of physical principles that allowed the first attempts and experiences of image projection, such as the one described by Juana Inés de la Cruz in Sueño, a silva strophe published in Seville in 1692. As a device, the magic lantern finally was consolidated during the last quarter of the eighteenth century, mainly due to the popular sessions of phantasmagorias, which, in Spain, were run by projectionists such as Juan González Mantilla, or Robertson himself. After the magic lantern became institutionalized and commercialized throughout the whole Iberian Peninsula—the same as in the rest of Europe—its decline took place in the last decade of the nineteenth century, when it had to compete with the cinematograph.     

The determination of factors related to academic achievement in the university: Implications for the selection and counselling of students

An initial diagnosis of some educational and psychological capacities of students on arrival at university were studied. This enabled us to find out what factors had a greater influence on academic achievement at the end of the first year. Using the techniques of multiple regression we established the optimal achievement performances expected from each of the students. Secondary school marks, the academic achievement tests and the intermediate examinations at university were the best set of predictors of academic performance. Differential aptitudes of intelligence increase considerably the accuracy of the prediction. Values of R of between 0.71 to 0.88 were reached depending on the criteria used. The usefulness of the prediction equations as a tool for increasing personalized attention to students is pointed out and a case made for the establishment of objective mechanisms for admission to higher education.