bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Educación científica y brecha de género en España en alumnos de 15 años. Análisis secundarios de PISA 2015
Authors: López Rupérez Francisco , Expósito-Casas Eva , García García Isabel
Published: January 2021

Introducción. En multitud de países las mujeres están infrarrepresentadas en las diferentes áreas STEM (acrónimo, en inglés, de Ciencias, Tecnología, Ingeniería y Matemáticas) y, sin embargo, están sobrerrepresentadas en otros campos, tales como el de la salud, la psicología o la educación. La educación secundaria es considerada como una etapa crítica en la cual las chicas inician su distanciamiento de las ciencias y las matemáticas. Este estudio se propone, principalmente, profundizar en las relaciones entre la variable sexo, las expectativas de alumnos de 15 años de ejercer profesiones STEM y el rendimiento en Ciencias en España, y plantea finalmente algunas implicaciones para la educación científica. Métodos. Se ha establecido una distinción entre las expectativas profesionales relacionadas con las Ciencias en general y las propiamente STEM y se han efectuado análisis diferenciados, a partir de PISA 2015, sobre la relación entre esas expectativas en alumnos de 15 años edad, el rendimiento en Ciencias y la variable sexo, mediante análisis de covarianza, controlando la influencia del nivel socioeconómico y cultural (ISEC). Dichos análisis se han efectuado a nivel de España en su conjunto y de cada una de sus comunidades autónomas. Resultados. Los resultados obtenidos han permitido establecer empíricamente lo siguiente: una relativamente pequeña brecha de género en cuanto al rendimiento en Ciencias, una vez controlado el efecto del ISEC; una muy notable brecha de género en materia de expectativas profesionales STEM; la vinculación, particularmente en las chicas, entre vocaciones STEM y elevados rendimientos en Ciencias; y la diferente intensidad de la relación entre sexo y rendimiento por comunidad autónoma. Discusión. Dichos resultados se relacionan con evidencias anteriores, se presentan algunas de sus limitaciones y se efectúan recomendaciones en materia de enseñanza de las Ciencias en la educación secundaria.
La Historia del Arte escolar en el recuerdo del profesorado de Educación Secundaria en formación
Authors: López-Castelló Raúl
Published: January 2021

Este artículo aborda un aspecto de la representación de la Historia del Arte como disciplina escolar, a saber, el recuerdo sobre esta materia y su enseñanza y aprendizaje en 65 estudiantes procedentes del Máster en Profesor/a de Educación Secundaria (especialidad Geografía e Historia) de la Universitat de València. Para ello, se ha diseñado un instrumento, un cuestionario mixto de autoadministración en grupo, y se ha aplicado sobre la muestra antes de cursar el módulo específico en Didáctica de la Historia del Arte de dicho Máster. Los resultados del estudio revelan unos recuerdos escolares en relación con esta materia en la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, Bachillerato y universidad eminentemente tradicionales y propedéuticos. Esta herencia mnemónica, encarnada en las concepciones del futuro profesorado, supone un fuerte obstáculo que la formación inicial docente debe salvar para conseguir la renovación de la praxis de la Historia del Arte en las aulas y garantizar así la apremiante alfabetización audiovisual crítica del alumnado.
Notes on Possible Scribe-Compiler/Owner of MS Digby 86
Authors: Pope Nancy P.
Published: January 2021

This short article goes beyond other scholars' arguments about the identity of Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Digby 86's main scribe by checking the sources cited by those scholars and examining some sources not previously cited. The identification of the scribe-compiler and first owner as Richard de Grimhill (d. ca. 1207-08) turns out to be better supported than some scholars have thought. In contrast, previously claimed connections among Richard de Grimhill, various other persons named Grimhill, and Grimhill manor turn out to be unsupported. The article not only contributes to our discussion of Digby 86, but also reminds us that it may be worthwhile to consult older scholarship more often than we tend to.
Educación socioemocional: discutiendo su implementación en el contexto educativo chileno
Authors: Barría-Herrera Pamela , Améstica-Abarca José Manuel , Miranda-Jaña Christian
Published: January 2021

Las consecuencias de la crisis sanitaria, social y política reciente han planteado nuevos desafíos al sistema educativo chileno. Entre estos desafíos se encuentra propiciar el desarrollo socioemocional de sus estudiantes. En este contexto, distintos modelos y perspectivas sobre la educación y el aprendizaje socioemocional han adquirido gran relevancia y, a la vez, han puesto en evidencia que su implementación en el contexto educativo chileno requiere discutir aspectos como (i) la perspectiva a adoptar en torno a las emociones en los procesos educativos, (ii) la forma de comprender el rol de estudiantes y docentes involucrados/as en su implementación y (iii) el propio posicionamiento frente al desarrollo socioemocional como propuesta educativa. Estos elementos son discutidos en el presente ensayo.
Acompañamiento socioemocional en pandemia: tutorías PACE a estudiantes de cuarto año medio
Authors: Vásquez-Villegas Milena
Published: January 2021

El acompañamiento socioemocional es una de las áreas identificadas por la Unesco como fundamentales a desarrollar en el ámbito educativo, en el contexto de la pandemia por COVID-19 durante el año 2020. El Área de Gestión Personal del Programa de Acompañamiento y Acceso Efectivo a la Educación Superior (PACE) de la Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh), sede Puerto Montt, tiene como principal objetivo abordar el desarrollo socioemocional y vocacional de estudiantes en su etapa de preparación para la universidad. El presente artículo da a conocer las estrategias metodológicas de la implementación de acciones que permitieron que el Área de Gestión Personal de PACE-UACh cumpliera con las directrices propuestas por el Ministerio de Educación, para estudiantes de 4° año medio en contexto virtual. Dentro de los principales hallazgos, se advierte el aporte realizado para la toma de decisiones, la ampliación de expectativas y la construcción de proyectos de vida, así como para la identificación de talentos y el proceso de autoconocimiento de las y los estudiantes. Por último, se destaca la importancia del acompañamiento al desarrollo socioemocional como un deber ético y se considera una adecuada conectividad como un derecho fundamental que debiese estar garantizado, para así cumplir con las necesidades educativas de la población en contexto de emergencia sanitaria.
Percepciones sobre la asignatura “Empleo de las TIC para la vida profesional”
Authors: Chávez-Carrizo Paulina
Published: January 2021

El objetivo del presente artículo es exponer los resultados de una investigación que se propuso indagar sobre el enfoque pedagógico utilizado en la asignatura “Empleo de las TIC para la vida profesional”, impartida por la carrera Pedagogía en Historia y Geografía de la Universidad de Playa Ancha, Chile. En primer lugar, se presenta un marco de antecedentes que expone la situación de la sociedad de la información y, en segundo lugar, un marco teórico de ciertos enfoques pedagógicos. Posteriormente, se exponen los resultados de la investigación, la cual recogió las percepciones de la docente que imparte la asignatura, sus estudiantes y un experto en TIC y educación. La metodología empleada fue de carácter cualitativo, con enfoque comprensivo, descriptivo e interpretativo, de tipo estudio de caso. La muestra es no probabilística e intencionada teórica, correspondiente a cinco estudiantes. A partir de las entrevistas surgieron cuatro categorías: percepciones sobre el enfoque pedagógico, percepción sobre uso de las habilidades TIC para el desarrollo de habilidades del siglo XXI, percepciones sobre las condiciones organizativas de la asignatura y percepciones sobre las proyecciones al ámbito profesional. Además de otros hallazgos, la investigación permitió identificar que el principal enfoque pedagógico utilizado en la asignatura estudiada es el socioconstructivismo.
Portfolio Optimization based on Synthetic Fish Congestion Algorithm and Artificial Intelligence: In the Condition of Uncertainty and Half-Variance Risk
Authors: Ghahderijani Reza Abedi , Mirlohi Sayed Mojtaba , olai Fariborzj , Ataabadi Abdolmajid Abdolbaghi
Published: January 2021

The issue of stock portfolio optimization is the most well-known issue in the area of optimization. The purpose of this issue is to create a portfolio among different stocks in such a way that it has the highest returns and the least risk. The problem of optimal selection of stock portfolio is one of the Non-deterministic polynomial hardproblems (NP-hard). For this reason, this article introduces a new hybrid algorithm based on artificial immunity algorithm and swarm of fish algorithm. The computational results show that the proposed combination method has the ability to find the best investment boundary in comparison to other proposed methods.
Atypical Amiodarone toxicity: Iatrogenic ataxia and dysarthria in an elderly female
Authors: Warren Amanda , Lin Dana , Katz Ashlyn , Boazak Pola
Published: January 2021

Amiodarone is one of the most frequently used antiarrhythmic drugs on the market, treating both life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias as well as supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. Some of its most commonly known side effects include corneal deposits, cardiac toxicity, pneumonitis, thyroid hormone fluctuation, and dermatological reactions. Despite the frequency of occurrence of neurological complications secondary to Amiodarone they remain to be under-recognized by healthcare professionals. This casereport aims to increase awareness of the neurological complications of Amiodarone.
Novel use of overtube for rectal foreign body to “clean” out the colon: Extraction of large Tide-To-Go pen
Authors: Shao Paul , Yen Winston , Grewal Jasleen K. , Perumpail Ryan , Leung Felix
Published: January 2021

The rate of colorectal foreign bodies is increasing. Endoscopists must be creative in order to remove the foreign objects safely in the most minimally invasive manner as these objects could vary greatly in size and shape. We present a case of the novel use of an esophageal overtube to aid in the removal of a difficult-to-remove Tide-To-Go cap.
Study of knowledge, attitude, and practice of me-too drugs among the prescribers in a tertiary care hospital  A cross-sectional study
Authors: N Chandralekha , Udaykumar Padmaja , Shenoy Anahita
Published: January 2021

Background: Me-too drugs are usually defined as drugs with a similar chemical structure or the identical mechanism of action as the drugs that are previously in the market. The availability of the promising first-in-class drug is generally followed by the development of drugs with similar properties, me-too drugs, or follow-on drugs.

Aim and Objective: The aim of the study was to study the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of me-too drugs among prescribers in the tertiary care hospitals.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out using a validated questionnaire. This questionnaire assessed KAP of me-too drugs of the prescribers from consultants and postgraduates in the tertiary care hospitals of South India. Informed consent was taken from the study participants. The analysis of data was done using suitable statistical tests.

Results: About 73% of doctors were aware that me-too drugs have identical chemical structure as the prototype drug in the therapeutic class. Among the participants 54% (disagreed) and 29% (agreed) that information about the benefits and safety of me-too drugs is inadequate. The total work experience of doctors had a maximum association (effect size = 12.6%, P = 0.0001) on knowledge. The majority of the prescribers opined that me-too drugs are heavily marketed than generic drugs. More drugs in a therapeutic class did not make treatment decisions difficult for the majority of the participants.

Conclusion: The prescribers had very good knowledge and a positive attitude toward me-too drugs. The prescribers preferred to prescribe generic drugs over me-too drugs. Untoward side effects, heavy marketing and pricing of follow-on drugs were of real concern.
Exploring the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on the Financial Performance of Rural and Community Banks in Ghana
Authors: Anim Reindolph Osei , Amaning Newman , Quartey Joyce Ama , Frimpong Patrick Twumasi
Published: January 2021

The interest of Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) in CSR activities which include education and leadership development, Health, Community development are geared towards ensuring the wellbeing of community members. This means that CRS is key to the success of RCBs. Based on the above reasons the study attempts to examine the influence of CSR on the financial performance of selected Ghanaian Rural and Community Banks. RCBs sampled for this study were fifteen (15) from the Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana using annual reports for a six-year-period from 2012 to 2017. Regression analysis was employed to measure the effect of CSR, financial indicators, bank age, and size of the board of directors using the Data Envelope Technique on the performance of the RCBs. Findings showed that technical efficiency and productivity were low in some RCBs over the six-year-period. The results also showed that technical change, technological change, and Total Factor Productivity affected performance. However, the size of the board of directors was inversely related to the performance of RCBs. There is therefore the need for RCBs to improve input savings and also ensure an efficient allocation of monetary resources to corporate social responsibility activities as a way of enhancing their overall productivity. Not much has been written about the impact of CSR on the financial performance of RCBs in Africa. This study thus is among the first significant attempts to explore the impacts of CSR on the financial performance of RCBs in Africa.
Effects of High-Grain Diet on the Quality of Meat and Carcass of Lambs and Economic Indices of Various Diets
Authors: S. Leite Hélia Maria de , Batista Nayane V. , Lima Allison F. de , Firmino Salenilda S. , Assis Ana Paula P. de , Miranda Maria Vivianne F. G. de , L. Melo Vitor Lucas de , Lima Renata N. de , O. Lima Patrícia de
Published: January 2021

The Brazilian sheep farming sector suffers from low productivity, related to the extensive animal production system and low availability of native fodder during most of the year. An alternative to the systems would be the use of a diet without roughage, allowing greater weight gain and better quality carcasses. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of diets containing different proportions of grains on the quality of carcass and meat of lambs as well as the economic indices of various diets. Three diets containing different proportions of concentrate and roughage (100:0, 80:20, and 60:40) were supplied. The concentrate comprised 85% whole-grain corn and 15% commercial pelletized supplement. Twenty-four male lambs (no racial pattern; average body weight, 20.9 ± 1.0 kg; age, 6 months) were randomly allotted to three collective bays for 52 days. Subsequently, the animals were slaughtered, and further analyses were performed. The diet with 100% concentrate achieved overall higher carcass yield, lower weight loss on cooking, and greater lipid oxidation. However, no diet affected weight gain, slaughter weight, carcass length and thorax depth, pH, temperature, color, water-holding capacity, and meat shear force (P > 0.05). The best economic indices were obtained with the diet containing 100% concentrate. Therefore, based on the results obtained, the use of 100% concentrated diet for lambs is the most suitable practice to improve the sheep production from a productive and economic point of view.
Reflexões sobre o uso de um sistema de padronização e gerenciamento de qualidade como estratégia de gestão de pessoas: o governo das condutas através do ISO-9001, na perspectiva da governamentalidade em leituras foucaultianas
Authors: Aquino Magno Geraldo de
Published: January 2021

O objetivo deste ensaio é refletir sobre o sistema de padronização e gerenciamento de qualidade ISO 9001 como uma estratégia de governo das condutas de funcionários no espaço de trabalho, a partir da noção de governamentalidade foucaultiana. No contexto da gestão da qualidade, as normas ISO 9001 fornecem as normalizações e os parâmetros necessários para gerenciar o que se convencionou denominar como qualidade de produtos e serviços. Contudo, a implementação dos princípios que regem a busca pela qualidade nos produtos e serviços, e também dos processos organizacionais, podem ser consideradas como estratégias refinadas de gestão de pessoas. Assim, neste ensaio, sugeriu-se que o Sistema de padronização e gerenciamento de qualidade ISO 9001 é uma forma muito elaborada de governo das condutas, pela perspectiva da governamentalidade foucaultiana, que depende fortemente do uso de formas de controle através de normas de comportamento e da captura do trabalhador através do fornecimento de parâmetros para o engajamento destes trabalhadores no exercício de suas funções no espaço do trabalho.
Materialismo: a influência dos valores culturais e das variáveis demográficas
Authors: Mueller Adilson , Schilling Flávia Ramos , Damacena Cláudio
Published: January 2021

Existe uma falta de consenso sobre os motivadores do comportamento materialista. Enquanto alguns estudos mostram que este comportamento pode gerar relações de menor qualidade e menores índices de bem-estar pessoal e físico, outros apontam que pode auxiliar na construção da identidade das pessoas. Com o objetivo de analisar a influência dos valores culturais e das variáveis demográficas no comportamento materialista, foi realizada uma pesquisa descritiva com 300 consumidores brasileiros. Os resultados evidenciaram a Autopromoção apresentou uma relação positiva na dimensão felicidade e sucesso do materialismo. A Abertura à Mudança evidenciou uma relação negativa com a dimensão felicidade e positiva com a dimensão sucesso. A Autotranscendência mostrou uma relação positiva com a dimensão felicidade e negativa com a dimensão sucesso. A Conservação apresentou uma relação positiva com ambas as dimensões. Por fim, a idade e a renda apresentaram influência apenas sobre a dimensão felicidade do materialismo.
Mensuração e análise da construção de capacidade absortiva em firmas intensivas em conhecimento em Minas Gerais
Authors: Oliveira Diego Marcolino Lima , Castro José Márcio de , Gonçalves Aléssia Franco , Santos Christiene Mara dos
Published: January 2021

Nas últimas décadas, a capacidade absortiva (CA) emergiu na literatura como um dos principais temas no campo da gestão sendo um construto utilizado na explicação de vários fenômenos organizacionais. Desde a década de 1990, quando a temática foi introduzida na análise organizacional, vários esforços foram empreendidos para compreender e analisar seus antecedentes e consequentes. Todavia, a literatura ainda ressente-se de maior compreensão empírica dos antecedentes da capacidade absortiva e das suas implicações para o gerenciamento da capacidade absortiva das firmas. Baseado em uma ampla revisão da literatura sobre os antecedentes da capacidade absortiva realizou-se uma survey com 155 firmas intensivas em conhecimento (KIB´s) com vistas a construir e validar uma escala de mensuração da capacidade absortiva composta de 22 atributos. Além disso, com base na escala desenvolvida propusemos uma matriz de análise apontando os antecedentes (ou práticas organizacionais) que podem contribuir, nas firmas estudadas, para os processos de aquisição, assimilação, transformação e exploração dos conhecimentos externos para fins de inovação. Os resultados nas firmas pesquisadas indicam uma concentração de práticas organizacionais orientadas para o desenvolvimento da capacidade absortiva realizada (CAR) com várias implicações para a inovação das firmas.
A construção do discurso jornalístico: um olhar analítico para a presença dos princípios de responsividade e interdiscursividade em um artigo de opinião
Authors: Oliveira Juliane Ferraz , Teixeira Andréia
Published: January 2021

Este estudo tem por objetivo compreender os processos responsivo e interdiscursivo que sustentam o discurso jornalístico no  artigo de opinião  da filósofa Djamila Ribeiro, publicado na  Folha de S. Paulo. Para esse feito, o objeto de análise são as estratégias discursivas que sustentam os discursos antirracistas, tematizados no artigo analisado e como elas são representadas no texto O enfrentamento ao racismo precisa ser mais do que posts para aliviar a consciência. Tencionamos compreender a produção de sentido frente ao texto analisado e as estratégias discursivas mencionadas. Para isso, adotamos o Círculo de Bakhtin como base teórica para o propósito do estudo, a partir de uma articulação com outros autores (Possenti, 2003; Pêcheux, 2009; ORLANDI, 2012, AZEVEDO, 2014) que discutem a linguagem nas suas diversas manifestações em práticas sociais e discursivas. A análise proposta é de ordem interpretativa, e como procedimentos, utilizamos a análise Linguística de manifestações discursivas que compõem o corpus em questão.   Concluímos o artigo com a expectativa de contribuir para novos debates que se propõem a focalizar a questão do racismo na sociedade.
Machado de Assis e a crônica: “O punhal de Martinha” – o debate dialógico da memória
Authors: Campos Edson Nascimento , Timóteo Herbert de Oliveira , Diniz Filho Mariano Alves
Published: January 2021

A publicação propõe-se a refletir sobre a orientação social da memória como espaço de debate dialógico entre os fatos que se constituem, na contraposição e no confronto, como material de lembrança ou de esquecimento. Do ponto de vista das forças centrípetas há, axiologicamente, fatos que devem ser lembrados, mas há fatos que devem ser esquecidos como restos. Contraditoriamente, as forças centrífugas, ao tomarem, desse modo, o esquecimento, apropriam-se, axiologicamente, de tal material semiótico, rearticulando a sua lembrança como festa de ressurreição de seu sentido social. Em face desse quadro de divisão ideológica, assumindo uma certa exterioridade e uma certa excedência em relação à crônica, “O Punhal de Martinha”, do autor-criador de Machado de Assis, o texto desta publicação analisa as refrações que esse autor propõe ao tomar a defesa axiológica do esquecimento como lugar social de ação das forças centrífugas. Nisso o punhal, como signo, ou resposta social que ocorre na contraposição e no confronto das vozes sociais, passa a ser considerado como metonímia das respostas da valoração/avaliação social que as forças centrípetas e centrífugas atribuem à posição ideologizada para a mulher nas relações que axiologicamente situam o homem como figura dominante. Nas refrações do autor-criador, torna-se importante a lembrança do que seria esquecido, ou seja, a posição social de independência e assertividade da mulher. Por isso é impossível esquecer Martinha como desejam as forças centrífugas, ainda que se possa lembrar de Lucrécia como pretendem as forças centrípetas ao privilegiarem, para a mulher, a posição social de dependência e não-assertividade.
FAHRENHEIT 451: diálogos com a filosofia de Deleuze
Authors: Fernandes Marcela Penaforte
Published: January 2021

Este artigo pretende identificar na história em quadrinhos FAHRENHEIT 451, de Tim Hamilton (2019), traços da filosofia de Deleuze, tendo em vista a construção de uma linguagem da multiplicidade que envolve tecnologia e imaginário cultural. Uma experimentação que pretende ler a ficção norte-america sob o olhar do desejo em contraste com uma sociedade de controle. O conhecimento como ameaça ao assujeitamento na esteira do pensamento sem imagem, da criação dentro do universo marcado pela transitoriedade. O livro como recurso de combate à máquina despótica. O fogo dos bombeiros como signo da ordem. Apontamentos que constatam as ações de liberdade e opressão numa dada sociedade do controle.
“Sabe com quem está falando?": heterogeneidades e posicionamentos discursivos inscritos no discurso aristocrático da elite brasileira
Authors: Brito Robson Figueiredo , Nascimento Fernanda Zilli do
Published: January 2021

Este trabalho propôs uma descrição dos posicionamentos discursivos inscritos na pauta do “sabe com quem está falando?” da formação discursiva da aristocracia da elite brasileira. Para tanto, analisaram-se três cenas enunciativas, gravadas em vídeos e amplamente divulgados pela mídia, nas quais indivíduos foram interpelados por uma ordem de um agente do Estado, mas se recusaram a acatá-la. A partir dos pressupostos da Análise de Discurso, tomamos as noções de sujeito do discurso, formação discursiva e de pré-construído para descrever quais foram os modos de dizer pelos quais os indivíduos indiciaram sua identificação com o discurso da elite brasileira. A análise demonstrou que o indivíduo se identifica com a formação discursiva do “sabe com quem está falando?” assumindo estratégias bélicas que se assentam em: desqualificar o seu oponente; filiar-se a outras vozes hierarquicamente superiores; projetar um ethos que faz supor um poder maior do que o de seu adversário com o objetivo de estabilizar o seu lugar de poder e vencer o seu interlocutor.
Ethos e vozeamentos
Authors: Gomes Fernanda Santana
Published: January 2021

O estudo consiste em uma análise discursiva da música Carta à mãe África, de Genival Oliveira Gonçalves. Com proeminente teor crítico social, o discurso remete ao racismo, de ontem e hoje, e à escravidão do negro ocorrida no passado de nosso país, mas que no presente ainda deixa transparecer marcas de opressão e violação dos direitos humanos. O principal objetivo é examinar como se constitui o ethos discursivo do enunciador. Dessa forma, busca flagrar os aspectos linguístico-discursivos do texto como interdiscursividade, processos de metaforização, jogos antitéticos e semióticos, responsividade discursiva, ativação de auditórios e construção, mobilização e projeção do ethos discursivo. O estudo baseia-se, principalmente, nas concepções teóricas de Bakhtin (2002, 2003, 2014) sobre dialogismo e polifonia e nas noções de ethos cunhadas por Aristóteles (2015) e Maingueneau (2008a, 2008b). Procedendo à análise, tornou-se possível perceber a atividade discursiva do enunciador, observar como se posiciona enunciativamente, instaurando e articulando movimentos dialógicos, a fim de mobilizar o auditório e legitimar o seu discurso. Sendo assim, foi possível perceber como se dá a construção e projeção do seu ethos discursivo.
Towards an Optimisation of Visual Aesthetics for User Interaction
Authors: Isiaka Fatima
Published: January 2021

Visual aesthetics is a crucial aspect of visual experience, and very few amount of knowledge is distributed to people on how some visual colors are more pronounced than others or why users prefer some colors to others. There are few articles that have written topics on the natural adaptations and how colour can affect people. In this chapter, we lay special emphasis on improving methods on visual aesthetics for user interaction by applying natural valence modelling where color preferences arise from user’s average affective response to visual aesthetics, that is mostly related to objects or things around us. A simple experiment conducted as provided support in respect to this phenomenon. Users like or prefer very strong and sharp colors that attract the eyes and dislike colors that are less sharp or clear to human vision. This natural valence modelling agrees more to the data collected and gives a more plausible or very comprehensive meaning to how users prefer the colors of objects they had viewed.
Effects of Environmental Emissions on the Respiratory System: Secrets and Consequences
Authors: Hajirasouliha Farzaneh , Zabiegaj Dominika
Published: January 2021

Human health has been affected adversely by air pollution as a serious environmental challenge. Ambient (outdoor) air pollution mainly resulted from human activities (e.g., fuel combustion, heat generation, industrial facilities) causes 4.2 million deaths every year. Moreover, each year, 3.8 million people die from indoor air pollution which means household exposure to smoke from fuels and dirty cook stoves. They are the risks of stroke, heart attack, lung disease, or cancer that resulted from air pollution which assaults our brain, heart, and lungs using its invisible weapons named particulate matter (PM). These inhalable particles are of a nanoscale or microscale size. Upon inhalation, the air with its components enters the human body through the respiratory system. The lungs are the responsible organs for gas exchange with blood. Inhaled particles, such as silica, organic compounds, and metallic dusts, have toxic effects on our pulmonary system. For example, the accumulation of nanoparticles in the kidneys, liver, spleen, and central nervous system through the penetration of the epithelial barriers in the lungs has been observed. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the toxic effects of air particles on the different organs in the human body and to introduce some of the adverse effects of air pollution on human health.
Natural Polymers in Micro- and Nanoencapsulation for Therapeutic and Diagnostic Applications: Part I: Lipids and Fabrication Techniques
Authors: C. Ngwuluka Ndidi , Y. Abu-Thabit Nedal , J. Uwaezuoke Onyinye , O. Erebor Joan , O. Ilomuanya Margaret , R. Mohamed Riham , M.A. Soliman Soliman , H. Abu Elella Mahmoud , A.A. Ebrahim Noura
Published: January 2021

Encapsulation, specifically microencapsulation is an old technology with increasing applications in pharmaceutical, agrochemical, environmental, food, and cosmetic spaces. In the past two decades, the advancements in the field of nanotechnology opened the door for applying the encapsulation technology at the nanoscale level. Nanoencapsulation is highly utilized in designing effective drug delivery systems (DDSs) due to the fact that delivery of the encapsulated therapeutic/diagnostic agents to various sites in the human body depends on the size of the nanoparticles. Compared to microencapsulation, nanoencapsulation has superior performance which can improve bioavailability, increase drug solubility, delay or control drug release and enhance active/passive targeting of bioactive agents to the sites of action. Encapsulation, either micro- or nanoencapsulation is employed for the conventional pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, biologics, or bioactive drugs from natural sources as well as for diagnostics such as biomarkers. The outcome of any encapsulation process depends on the technique employed and the encapsulating material. This chapter discusses in details (1) various physical, mechanical, thermal, chemical, and physicochemical encapsulation techniques, (2) types and classifications of natural polymers (polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids) as safer, biocompatible and biodegradable encapsulating materials, and (3) the recent advances in using lipids for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Polysaccharides and proteins are covered in the second part of this chapter.
Influence of the Microwaves on the Sol-Gel Syntheses and on the Properties of the Resulting Oxide Nanostructures
Authors: Predoanǎ Luminita , Attila Karajz Dániel , Otieno Odhiambo Vincent , Stanciu Irina , M. Szilágyi Imre , Pokol György , Zaharescu Maria
Published: January 2021

Among the chemical methods in the liquid phase, the sol–gel technique is a versatile and efficient method for pure or doped metal oxide films or powders preparation, showing some advantages over other preparation techniques (high homogeneity, the possibility to introducing dopants in large amount, low processing temperature and control over the stoichiometry). Combining the sol–gel (SG)method with the effect of ultrasounds(US) or microwaves (MW) leads to improving the sol–gel procedure. The microwave-assisted sol–gel method is most frequently used for obtaining nanocrystalline, monodispersed oxide nanoparticles, or to transform amorphous gels into well-crystallized nanopowders. Less studied is the influence of the microwaves on the sol–gel reactions in solutions. The benefit of using microwave-assisted sol–gel preparation highly depends on the reagents used and on the composition of the studied systems. In the present chapter, results on the influence of the microwaves on the chemical reactions that take place during the sol–gel synthesis and on the properties of the resulted samples are discussed.
An Attempt in Blending Higher Volume of Ethanol with Diesel for Replacing the Neat Diesel to Fuel Compression Ignition Engines
Authors: Balasubramanian Prabakaran
Published: January 2021

Alcohols are renewable in nature and can be manufactured from biomass. Butanol a higher alcohol, can be utilized as co-solvent to prevent the phase separation of diesel-ethanol blends as per the previous researches. This experimentation has been conducted with the blends of diesel-ethanol with various proportions of n-butanol followed by the solubility test in the temperature range of 5–25°C. The results indicate that 45% of ethanol can be blended with diesel by the assistance of 10% of n-butanol to make the final blend stable up to a temperature of 5°C for 20 days, which met the requirements of the essential properties (ASTM). Existing diesel engine has been modified as per the optimal level of parameters such as intake air temperature (IAT), fuel injection timing (FIT), nozzle opening pressure (NOP) and compression ratio (CR) obtained using Taghuchi method of L9 orthogonal array. Arrived out parameters are 75°C of IAT, 29° before top dead centre of FIT, 210 bar of NOP and 19: 1 of compression ratio. The implementation of these parameters in diesel engine and fueling with diesel-ethanol butanol blend containing 45% ethanol produced closer performance and emissions characteristics compared to that of diesel. However, the emissions of smoke, hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide produced by the optimal blend are found to be marginally higher compared to that of diesel. These can be ratified by the introduction of after treatment systems modifications.
Taxon-Specific Pair Bonding in Gibbons (Hylobatidae)
Authors: Geissmann Thomas , Rosenkranz-Weck Simone , J.G.M. Van Der Loo Judith , Orgeldinger Mathias
Published: January 2021

This study provides the first statistically significant evidence that the mechanisms of how pair bonds are created or maintained differ between gibbon taxa. We examine the pair bond in captive pairs of three genera of gibbons (Hylobatidae): siamangs (Symphalangus, N = 17 pairs), crested gibbons (Nomascus, N = 7 pairs), and pileated gibbons (Hylobates pileatus, N = 9 pairs). In the first part of this study, we determine three generally-accepted indicators of pair-bond strength (mutual grooming, behavioral synchronization and partner distance). A pairwise comparison of our samples reveals a difference in relative partner distances between siamangs and pileated gibbons, suggesting that siamangs may have a stronger pair bond than pileated gibbons. No difference among the three taxa was found in other variables believed to indicate pair bond strength. In the second part we examine the amount of partner-directed grooming in each sex. In siamangs, males invest significantly more into pair bonds than females, whereas the opposite is true in crested and pileated gibbons. Our results for siamangs correspond to predictions derived from the ‘mate-defense hypothesis’ for the evolution of pair bonds, whereas our results for crested gibbons and pileated gibbons correspond to predictions derived from the ‘male-services hypothesis’.
Fish and Fisheries of the Eastern Coast of Mexico, with Emphasis on Coral Reef Species
Authors: González-Gándara Carlos , A. Chávez Ernesto
Published: January 2021

The state on knowledge of fish communities associated with coral reefs of the southern Gulf of Mexico (Veracruz, Campeche bank), and eastern Yucatan on the Caribbean is reviewed, in addition to a description of the main fisheries of the area. The review includes coral reef fish of Veracruz, the Campeche Bank, and reefs running along the Caribbean coast up to the border with Belize. Data recorded suggest that the heterogeneity of different levels (region, reef and reef zone) may be responsible for a larger number of niches available, promoting higher specific diversity that is more evident in the Caribbean reefs. The environmental conditions create patterns of differential abundance among the three zones. The main regional fisheries include more than 60 species and the current yield suggests a 30% reduction compared to catch volumes recorded a few years ago. The changes in coral coverage and the fishing pressure over coral reefs have exerted effects on species of fishing importance.
Evolution of Catholic Marriage Morality in the Twentieth Century from a Baby-Making Contract to a Love-Making Covenant - Part I: Era of John Paul II
Authors: Collins Vacek S.J. Edward
Published: January 2021

For nearly a century Catholic Church teaching on Sexuality evolved greatly. Changes in science and the teaching of other Christian churches begged for a fresh start. John Paul II, elected pope in 1978, attempted to update that teaching by providing new background arguments, without changing any of the strictures in the foreground. John Paul II insisted on necessity of total love, allowing for no exceptions. He claimed that divorce was impossible because the spouses retained no control over their marriage promises. Homosexual activity was judged to be morally deficient. Likewise the recent arrival of reproductive technology was largely condemned for breaking the sexual unity of the spouses. But fertile sexual activity was newly appreciated as the important activity of spouses cooperating with the creative activity of God. In the twenty-first century the Church’s official teachings continues to be reformed, but their relevance is widely questioned as social norms continue to drastically change.
Institutions, Culture and Foreign Direct Investment in Transition Economies: Does Culture Matter and Why?
Authors: Silajdzic Sabina , Mehic Eldin
Published: January 2021

The aim of this research is to analyse the importance of cultural and institutional determinants in attracting FDI to transition countries. We rely on gravity econometric framework and examine the impact of cultural and institutional factors on FDI using bilateral FDI flows between home (i.e. major trading partners) and eight transition economies in the period 2000–2018. We study this relationship in an integrated framework considering principal gravity forces, traditional FDI determinants, policy and institutional factors. We provide strong and robust evidence that cultural factors, depicted in Hofmann cultural indices, influence MNCs’ locational decisions. Other things held constant, specific cultural features seem more important than formal institutions, which seems at odds with standard neoclassical propositions, and shed some new light on the way we understand international business transactions.
Heavy Metal Sources and Their Effects on Human Health
Authors: Rama Jyothi Narjala
Published: January 2021

Heavy metals are defined in many ways, based on various factors such as density and atomic weight. Some of the heavy metals are essential as nutrients for humans such as iron, cobalt and, zinc in small quantities but are toxic in higher quantities. But few metals, such as lead, cadmium and, mercury are poisonous even in small quantities. The toxicity of heavy metals is depending on concentration,period of exposure and route of exposure. Heavy metal exposure takes place on human beings through inhalation from the atmosphere, intake through drinking water and, ingestion through the skin by dermal contact. The present chapter describes the definition of heavy metals, sources of these heavy metals, toxicity and, their impact on various environmental segments, such as air, water and, soil.
Social Factors Influence on Accounting Students Attitude to Use Games Based Learning
Authors: Silva Rui , Rodrigues Ricardo , Leal Carmem
Published: January 2021

The general objective of this article is to analyze the impacts of a gamified resource created (Accountingame) as learning tools to teach the curricular unit of Accounting. Theory of Planned Behaviour was used to investigate social factors such as Social Influence, Recognition and Reciprocal Benefits, which are predictors of Attitude to use this kind of game like a learning accounting tool. The relevance of this study is due to the lack of empirical studies that analyze the application, viability, and effectiveness of gamified resources in the teaching areas of knowledge, such as Accounting. The game was used by students of Accounting (n = 816) for the first time in the scope of Higher Education in Portugal in the academic year 2018/2019. Results of this research suggest the importance of these resources to increase Attitude, Continued Use Intention and Intention to Word of Mouth related to Games Based Learning as an effective method of support for the learning process of accounting students. We believe that this study can be a contributor to researchers in this area to understand why the study of Accounting is genuinely challenging for students. This research will be enabling managers of Higher Education Institutions, professors and other educational agents to decide on the best strategies to use in order to increase student involvement in Accounting learning.
Building Effective Working Relationships among Academics through Participation in Communities of Practice
Authors: Folasade Akinyemi Adeola , Nkonki Vuyisile , Sweet-Lily Baleni Lulekwa , Rutendo Mudehwe-Gonhovi Florence
Published: January 2021

This chapter addresses the significance and importance of communities of practice in the professional development of academics as university teachers. Its documents the role of communities of practice in enabling and enhancing the development of a professional knowledge base, the acquisition of skills, and competencies for effective teaching practice, as well as the dissemination of practical knowledge needed within a community of teaching practitioners. It provides details of how a community of practice comes into being, and how working relations within a community of practice are fostered. There is an elaboration on how members of a community of practice come to perceive their substantive issues the same way, and how a common agenda is formed around those issues. It also discusses peculiar ways of dealing with the identified issues, and the manner in which expertise, resources, resourcefulness and experiences are exchanged and shared with improvement, change and further development of academics’ teaching practices in sight.
Next-Generation Sequencing Revealed that High Proportion of Human Embryos Resulted from Donor Eggs Are Segmental Chromosome Abnormal
Authors: Niu Xiangli , Lao Yanping , Sun Yan , Wang Weihua
Published: January 2021

High proportion of human embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) are aneuploidy or have segmental chromosomal errors. Not only a whole chromosome aneuploidy, but also small errors in a chromosome, such as microdeletion can be detected by current next-generation sequencing (NGS) for preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). The prevalence of aneuploidy in donor egg IVF was significantly different between fertility clinics. In the present study, we examined whether different embryo biopsy procedures affect embryonic aneuploidies in donor egg IVF. We did not find significant differences in the samples with abnormal chromosomes between two biopsy methods. When we further analyzed the samples with abnormal chromosomes, we found that 64.0–80.7% of the abnormalities were whole chromosome aneuploidies while 19.3–36.0% were segmental chromosome abnormalities. High embryo implantation rates were obtained after transferring screened euploid blastocysts. These results indicate that blastocyst biopsy procedures may not significantly affect embryo’s chromosomal status, but PGT by high-resolution NGS revealed that high proportions of human embryos derived from donor eggs are not only aneuploidy, but also segmental chromosome abnormal, and screening of small chromosomal errors by NGS is beneficial to patients who use donated eggs for infertility treatment.
In Search of the Optimal Saving Strategy for Pan-European Pension Products
Authors: Šebo Ján , Danková Daniela , Králik Ivan
Published: January 2021

The introduction of pan-European pension products in 2020 is associated with an ongoing debate on prescribing predefined saving strategy that would both deliver adequate performance and limit the down-side risk at the end of the saving horizon. Dynamic life-cycle saving strategies are generally accepted as a good risk-mitigation tool that can be individually set. Many research papers confirm the ability of life-cycle strategies to deliver high risk-reward outcomes. Objective of our paper is to test the ability of one-factor life-cycle saving strategies based on the age and/or the remaining saving horizon to deliver the promised value for PEPP savers. We constructed 18 saving strategies divided into three groups – static saving strategies with fixed proportion of equities, dynamic life-cycle strategies based on the age and/or remaining saving horizon, and quasi-active strategies combining two factors – the remaining saving horizon and price movement. We employed the model based on moving-block bootstrapping technique and performed simulations for various economic conditions. We have tested the expected saving performance combined with the down-side risk during the saving horizon. Our findings do not confirm the general findings on life-cycle saving strategies. We claim that having the age as the only factor defining the proportion of equities in the pension saving portfolio would not be optimal. However, we found that two-factor saving strategies look promising in delivering both lower down-side risk and higher performance over the saving horizon.
Delving Deeper: Divisibility Tests
Authors: Olsen Allen
Published: January 2021

Al Cuoco recently invited Paul Goldenberg to talk to an ongoing study group for high school teachers at Lawrence (Massachusetts) High School, of which I was a member. Our study group had spent most of fall 2004 looking at patterns in the repeating decimal representations of rational numbers.
Technology Tips: Average and Instantaneous Velocity
Authors: Ventress Andy
Published: January 2021

With the start of a new volume year, I, Shannon Driskell, would like to introduce this year's new “Technology Tips” coeditor, Robin Rider.
Card Folding: An Investigation with Limits
Authors: Pagni David L.
Published: January 2021

This article describes an activity involving the investigation of limits through geometry and algebra concepts, including graphing. The activity involves the use of index cards that students can measure to verify their mathematical conclusions.
Introduction
Authors: Willoughby Steve
Published: January 2021

The annual publication of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in the Middle States and Maryland became a quarterly journal called the Mathematics Teacher in 1908. W. H. Metzler, a professor at Syracuse University, served as its editor from its inception until it became the official journal of the newly formed National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in January 1921, with J. R. Clark as the new editor. In 1921, the present monthly schedule of publication for the school year was adopted.
Poles, Parking Lots, and Mount Piton: Classroom Activities that Combine Astronomy, History, and Mathematics
Authors: Madden Seán P. , Comstock Jocelyn M. , Downing James P.
Published: January 2021

How big is the earth? How far away is the moon? How big is the moon? How tall are the mountains on the moon? These wonderfully naïve questions have been asked for centuries by children and astronomers alike. A great bonus for mathematics and science teachers is that with basic concepts from the high school curriculum and data that students can collect themselves, these questions can be answered to a high degree of accuracy.