History of Spanish Mathematics Education Focusing on PhD Theses

This article offers an overview of mathematics education in Spain, analyzing the production of PhD theses over the last 30 years. This period has been divided into four cycles that describe the evolution of Spanish research in the field of mathematics education, together with changes in university and social politics. This paper also includes a forecast of the number of theses that will be produced over the next 7 years, thus predicting the future progress and development of this area of research.     

Do eco-innovations harm productivity growth through crowding out? Results of an extended CDM model for Italy

This paper discusses the results for Italy of a CDM model (Crepon et al., 1998) further extended with the objective of evaluating drivers and productivity effects of environmental innovations. The particular nature of environmental innovations, especially as regards the need of government intervention to create market opportunities, is likely to affect the way through which they are pursued (innovation equation within the CDM model) and their effect on productivity (productivity equation).     

Reliability of the ALPHA environmental questionnaire and its association with physical activity in female fibromyalgia patients: the al-Ándalus project

Physical activity attenuates the symptoms of fibromyalgia, and its level is oftentimes associated with the perceived environment of fibromyalgia patients. Within this context, we aimed to study the reliability of the Spanish version of the Assessing Levels of Physical Activity (ALPHA) environmental questionnaire and the mode of commuting questionnaire. We also studied the association between the perceived environment and mode of commuting with physical activity levels among female fibromyalgia patients in Spain. Test–retest reliability was judged by the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), weighted kappa statistic, Spearman correlations and the proportion of agreement. We calculated bivariate Pearson’s correlations between environmental sum scores and physical activity measured by both International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and accelerometry. More than 70% of the scales and items showed a good reliability regarding the ICC, the weighted kappa, the Spearman correlation and the percentage of inter-agreement (higher than 50%). The perceived environment assessed with the ALPHA showed a low correlation with both IPAQ and accelerometry. The Spanish version of the ALPHA environmental questionnaire proved to be reliable and showed a weak degree of association with physical activity in female fibromyalgia patients.     

A Host Intrusion Detection System architecture for embedded industrial devices

The integration of Cyber-Physical Systems in the industrial domain has become indispensable for Industry 4.0. Unfortunately, as the interconnectivity among them increases, so do the opportunities for malicious users to target them. Hence, it is necessary to increase the security of these systems and their components. A wide range of security solutions (e.g., industrial Firewalls) are already an integral part of Industrial Automation Systems, however, these are deployed at strategical system locations and might not be capable of identifying intrusions that target specific elements of embedded industrial devices. Host Intrusion Detection Systems (Host IDS) are one security solution that allow to detect such type of intrusions, as they analyze information related to specific host devices. This contribution presents a feasible Host IDS architecture for embedded industrial devices. This architecture takes into consideration features and capabilities of Host IDS from the IT domain. It also considers system-, environmental- and device-specific properties from the industrial domain. These properties are presented in the form of abstracted requirements and considerations that are contemplated for the conceptualization of the presented architecture. Furthermore, the feasibility of this architecture is validated through the implementation and evaluation of a prototypical Host IDS deployed in a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) hosting a Real-Time Operating System (RTOS). This evaluation is achieved through the demonstration of a set of hypotheses derived from the abstracted requirements and supported by the evaluation of test scenarios. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first fully operational Host IDS to be deployed and evaluated on a PLC.     

The influence of socioeconomic status,working memory and academic self-concept on academic achievement

European Journal of Psychology of Education - There is today ample evidence that academic achievement depends on individual disparities in socioeconomic status (SES), working memory (WM) and...     

A model for developing and assessing youth-based environmental engagement programmes

In this paper, we argue that a fundamental cultural shift is needed to effectively address anthropogenic causes of climate change. Evidence suggests that youth are well positioned to create such transformation. While various studies have contributed empirical evidence to numerous youth-based non-formal environmental engagement programmes, what is missing in the environmental education literature is discussion of a systematic approach to the development and evaluation of these programs. In this paper, we draw on the youth civic engagement literature to propose a framework that can be used as a basis to guide further development of evidence-based practices. Five major components are described as follows: (1) the engagement activity; (2) the engagement process; (3) initiating and sustaining factors; (4) mediators and moderators; and (5) outcomes. This approach to youth engagement can inform both researchers trying to study effective ways of creating change and practitioners developing environmental programmes that aspire towards a culture of sustainability.     

Multimedia integration for language e-learning： Content, context and the e-dossier

In the education world, it is widely accepted that language learning is one of the pioneering disciplines in the application and use of the information and communication technologies, initially preceded by the widespread use of audiovisual resources which, finally integrated in the digital space, bring about the use of multimedia. Additionally, language learning has greatly contributed to standardizing lesson plans. They set the basis for learning design, one of the last advances in the pedagogical organization of education through the use of computers in learning managing systems. Most recently, language learning has also played an innovative role in the implementation of portfolios to education. These three perspectives address different issues for e-learning： the access to content through technology; the design of the learning initially with the help of tutors and then applying institutional frameworks for their own personal learning processes; and the edition of the resulting e-learning experience as evidence with the e-dossier, a part of the e-portfolio. Currently, the web is evolving towards its original function as the read/write web where the user, apart from accessing information, can create their own information and communicate more interactively, using technology-enhanced learning environments to integrate text and multimedia for real audiences both in the classroom and outside. Thus, taking language learning guided by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the authors present here a complete e-learning system which integrates textual as well as multimedia facilities to acquire learning content, edit learning design and report learning experiences.     

Learning the principles of simulation using the birthday problem

Using the famous Birthday problem, we present here a practical activity that allows students to perceive the basic reasoning behind simulation and explore its potential. Through a playful approach with probabilities, students are led along a path that illustrates difficulties with intuition and introduces them to theoretical results for sample proportions.     

Superintendent’s leadership: the cultural aspects of the role enactment

This qualitative study seeks to create a better understanding of the work of school superintendents. This study was conducted using ethnographic techniques as a way to describe the practice of a Latino superintendent in a borderland community in south Texas. Guiding questions for this study were: What goes on in the workday life of a superintendent? and how does the superintendent enact his role as superintendent? Field study for this qualitative inquiry occurred over a period of seven months. Data for this study, including transgressive data, were collected primarily through participant observations, semi-structured ethnographic interviews, from artefacts and journal notes.