Management of social production of habitat

Construir abordajes adecuados para la gestión de la producción social del hábitat pasa por reconocer la naturaleza compleja del hábitat social en tanto sistema de situaciones en interacción con otros sistemas. Pasa igualmente por asumir la complejidad de sus procesos de producción, fuertemente determinados en su concepción, desarrollo y resultados por la mayor o menor presencia de cada uno de los grupos de actores afectados y sus respectivos paradigmas culturales. En este contexto la cuestión de la formación de los técnicos emerge como un vector fundamental de cara al acierto en el enfoque de la producción del hábitat, cuyo nivel de complejidad puede exigir un tránsito no sólo desde la actuación unidisciplinar a la transdisciplinar, sino hacia una gestión de naturaleza transectorial. Ello implica construir modelos de gestión participativa y concertada que nos remiten, más allá del plano técnico y político, a un nuevo e ineludible grado de conciencia sobre las implicaciones sociales y ambientales de la producción del hábitat.The construction of adequate approaches for the management of social production of habitat depends upon recognition of the complex nature of social habitat as being a system of situations in interaction with other systems and with other situations. It equally depends upon the acceptance of the complexity of their production processes, which are largely determined in the design, development and results by the degree of presence of each group of actors involved and their respective cultural paradigms. In this context, the question of technician training emerges as a fundamental vector with a view to the skill and commitment of every actor in the approach of production of habitat, whose level of complexity can demand a transfer not only from uni-disciplinary action into trans-disciplinary action, but also towards management of a trans-sectorial nature. This implies constructing models of participative and harmonized management which refer us, beyond the technical and political level, to a new and inescapable degree of awareness about social and environmental implications of production of habitat

Maestría en gestión y desarrollo de la vivienda social de la Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de la UNNE: gestación y evolución

El presente trabajo describe el proceso de gestación y evolución de la Maestría en Gestión y Desarrollo de la Vivienda Social, del Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Vivienda (IIDVi), FAU, UNNE. Se presenta como primera maestría en esta facultad diseñada, dirigida y gestionada por docentes-investigadores de la misma institución, y también como nueva etapa de evolución de la unidad académica de pertenencia (IIDVi), así como de la cátedra Gestión y Desarrollo de la Vivienda Popular, con carácter de acto de transmisión, enriquecimiento y discusión del “estado del arte” del tema, desde una particular e ineludible óptica teóricoideológica.The present work describes the process of gestation and evolution of the Master in Management and Development of the Social Housing, of the Institute of Research and Development in Housing (IIDVi), FAU, UNNE. It´s the first master’s in the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU UNNE) designed, directed and managed by teacher-researchers from the same institution. This is also a new stage of evolution of the academic unit of belonging (IIDVi), as well as of the cathedra Gestión y Desarrollo de la Vivienda Popular, with character of act of transmission, enrichment and discussion of the “state of the art” of the topic, from a particular and unavoidable theoretical - ideological optics.Fil: Pelli, Victor. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Vivienda; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Alcalá, Laura Inés. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Vivienda; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Giró, Marta Graciela. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Vivienda; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pelli, María Bernabela. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Vivienda; Argentin

A clinical test for visual crowding

Crowding is a major limitation of visual perception. Because of crowding, a simple object, like a letter, can only be recognized if clutter is a certain critical spacing away. Crowding is only weakly associated with acuity. The critical spacing of crowding is lowest in the normal fovea, and grows with increasing eccentricity in peripheral vision. Foveal crowding is more prominent in certain patient groups, including those with strabismic amblyopia and apperceptive agnosia. Crowding may lessen with age during childhood as reading speed increases. The range of crowding predicts much of the slowness of reading in children with developmental dyslexia. There is tantalizing evidence suggesting that the critical spacing of crowding indicates neural density (participating neurons per square deg) in the visual cortex. Thus, for basic and applied reasons, it would be very interesting to measure foveal crowding clinically in children and adults with normal and impaired vision, and to track the development of crowding during childhood. While many labs routinely measure peripheral crowding as part of their basic research in visual perception, current tests are not well suited to routine clinical testing because they take too much time, require good fixation, and are mostly not applicable to foveal vision. Here we report a new test for clinical measurement of crowding in the fovea. It is quick and accurate, works well with children and adults, and we expect it to work well with dementia patients as well. The task is to identify a numerical digit, 1-9, using a new “Pelli” font that is identifiable at tiny width (0.02 deg, about 1 minarc, in normal adult fovea). This allows quick measurement of the very small (0.05 deg) critical spacing in the normal adult fovea, as well as with other groups that have higher critical spacing. Preliminary results from healthy adults and children are presented

Einblicke in Forschung & Entwicklung 2008-2009 des ISBB Institut für Sprache in Beruf und Bildung

Die im vorliegenden Bericht zusammengestellten Texte gewähren den Leserinnen und Lesern Einblicke in die Vielfalt der Forschungs- und Entwicklungsaktivitäten im ISBB Institut für Sprache in Beruf und Bildung in der Berichtsphase 1.1.2008 – 30.6.2009. Inhaltlich sind die Projekte in die vier Forschungsschwerpunkte Mehrsprachigkeit in Beruf und Bildung (FSP 1), Sprachandragogik und Integration (FSP2), Sprachliche Diversität im inter-, intra- und transkulturellen Kontext (FSP3) und Kommunikation in Organisationen (FSP4) gruppiert. Für alle Projekte werden die Fragestelllungen, das methodische Vorgehen und, falls schon vorhanden, Ergebnisse übersichtsartig vorgestellt. Ebenso werden die Finanzierung und Kooperationspartner benannt. Bei den vorgestellten Projekten handelt es sich zum einen um intern finanzierte, zum anderen um mit Drittmitteln ermöglichte Forschungsaktivitäten. In den Projekten werden sowohl empirische Untersuchungen durchgeführt als auch, theorie- und forschungsgeleitet, Instrumente und didaktische Konzepte entwickelt. Einige der Projekte befinden sich in der Phase der Konzeptentwicklung und –antragsstellung, andere sind schon weit fortgeschritten oder nahezu abgeschlossen. Entsprechend unterschiedlich sind die kleineren und grösseren Texte im Bericht gestaltet. Die AutorInnen sind Projektleitende aus dem Team Forschung & Entwicklung des ISBB wie auch Dozierende aus den Fachgruppen L1 (Kommunikation Deutsch), L2 (Englisch und Französisch) und des Zentrums Deutsch als Fremdsprache DaZ/DaF

Mehrsprachigkeit an universitären Bildungsinstitutionen: Arbeitssprache Englisch im Hochschulfachunterricht

Dieser Artikel bietet einen Überblick zur Einführung von englischsprachigem Fachunterricht an Hochschulen (English-Medium Instruction, EMI). Die Rundschau ist eingebettet in Erläuterungen zu bildungs- und sprachpolitischen Entwicklungen in Europa. In einem Exkurs werden Erkenntnisse zum positiven Potenzial integrierten Sachfach- und Fremdsprachenlernens auf Primar- und Sekundarstufe vorgestellt. Das Hauptaugenmerk gilt der Tertiärstufe. Herausforderungen an alle Beteiligten werden aufgegriffen und auf der Basis von Ergebnissen bisheriger Studien diskutiert. Die tertiäre Stufe mit ihren spezifischen Anforderungen und Unterrichtsformen im Zusammenhang mit englischsprachigem Fachunterricht (EMI) steht für die Autoren im Fokus. Der Artikel zeichnet die Verbreitung und Tendenzen der Einführung von EMI im nicht-anglophonen Europa und in der Schweiz nach und zeigt auf, welche Probleme sich bei einer Umstellung auf EMI-Unterricht stellen. Differenziert wird dabei zwischen Ansprüchen an Dozierende und Anforderungen an Studierende. Im Zusammenhang mit den Dozierenden stehen vor allem folgende Themen zur Diskussion: ihr Kompetenzprofil, die Lernendenorientierung und Interaktivität im Unterrichtsverhalten als Schlüsselgrössen im EMI-Unterricht; des Weiteren der disziplinenspezifische EMI-Unterricht und die Zusammenarbeit von Sprach- und Fachdozierenden. Im Hinblick auf die Studierenden werden folgende Punkte kritisch beleuchtet: Ihre Englischkompetenzen beim Studieneintritt und, als Folge davon, Auswirkungen auf das Fachlernen. Abschliessend werden in vier Zielfeldern Hypothesen im Bezug auf EMI im Schweizer Hochschulkontext formuliert: 1) Kompetenzentwicklung Studierende, 2) Kompetenzprofil Dozierende, 3) Lehr-Lerndiskurse und 4) Hochschulentwicklung und Sprachplanung. Für eine erfolgreiche Einführung wie auch bei der Beforschung von EMI-Unterricht gilt es diese Zielfelder zu berücksichtigen

Procalcitonin as a biomarker in equine chronic pneumopathies

Background Procalcitonin (PCT), a precursor protein of the hormone calcitonin, is a sensitive inflammatory marker in human medicine, which is primarily used for diagnosis of bacterial sepsis, but is also useful in diagnosis of exacerbation of asthma and COPD. In this study, PCT was evaluated as a potential biomarker for different chronic pneumopathies in the horse using an equine specific ELISA in comparison to established clinical markers and different interleukins. Sixty-four horses were classified as free of respiratory disease, recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), inflammatory airway disease (IAD) or chronic interstitial pneumopathy (CIP) using a scoring system. PCT concentrations were measured in plasma (n = 17) and in the cell- free supernatant of bronchoalveolar lavage (n = 64). PCT concentrations were correlated to interleukins IL-1ß and IL-6 in BALF, clinical findings and BALF cytology. Results The median PCT concentrations in plasma were increased in respiratory disease (174.46 ng/ml, n = 7) compared to controls (13.94 ng/ml, n = 10, P = 0.05) and correlated to PCT in BALF supernatant (rs = 0.48). Compared to controls (5.49 ng/ml, n = 15), median PCT concentrations in BALF supernatant correlated to the overall clinical score (rs = 0.32, P = 0.007) and were significantly increased in RAO (13.40 ng/ml, n = 21) and IAD (16.89 ng/ml, n = 16), while no differences were found for CIP (12.02 ng/ml, n = 12). No significant increases were found for IL-1 and IL-6 between controls and respiratory disease in general as well as different disease groups. Conclusions Although some correlations were found between PCT in plasma, BALF supernatant and clinical scores, PCT in BALF does not seem to be a superior marker compared to established clinical markers. PCT in plasma seems to be more promising and a greater number of samples should be evaluated in further studies

Influence of V/III molar ratio on the formation of In vacancies in InN grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy

We have applied a slow positron beam to study InN samples grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy with different V/III molar ratios (3300–24 000) and at different growth temperatures (550–625°C). Indium vacancies were identified in samples grown at V/III ratios below 4000. Their concentration is in the 10exp17cm−3 range. No strong dependence of vacancy concentration on the molar ratio was observed. At low V/III ratios, however, In droplets and vacancy clusters are formed near the substrate interface. The elevated growth temperature enhances the In vacancy formation, possibly due to limited sticking of In on the growth surface close to the decomposition temperature.Peer reviewe

University and social production of Habitat: research, training and action

La necesidad de construir nuevos paradigmas de comprensión e intervención en el hábitat, que aborden su complejidad, presenta un reto para la Universidad. Es preciso construir conocimiento tejiendo áreas especializadas que abordan el hábitat desde lo físico, lo social, lo económico, lo simbólico, lo jurídico y lo político. El hábitat social está llamado a constituirse en un espacio transdisciplinario de conocimiento e intervención. Y en esta construcción la Universidad está llamada a jugar un papel fundamental poniendo en juego las tres dimensiones de su función social: investigación, docencia y extensión universitaria. La investigación en la acción participativa y los modelos de aprendizaje servicio permiten explorar caminos de construcción colectiva del conocimiento en contextos de intervención, con todos los agentes sociales implicados. La praxis se convierte en lugar privilegiado para el aprendizaje y la generación de conocimiento. Este número surge con el propósito de visibilizar estas iniciativas y de contribuir a la construcción de las bases teórico-metodológicas que permiten dar respuesta a esta necesidad de interacción universidad sociedad, para afrontar la transformación de nuestro hábitat social en clave de participación democrática, equidad social, activación de la economía local y equilibrio ambiental. En este sentido, hicimos una convocatoria a la presentación de artículos científicos que expusieran tanto planteamientos teóricos como resultados de procesos de investigación. La respuesta ha sido generosa y recoge aportaciones argentinas, mexicanas, chilenas, uruguayas, brasileñas y españolas

Selective modulation of visual sensitivity during fixation

During periods of steady fixation, we make small amplitude ocular movements, termed microsaccades, at a rate of 1-2 every second. Early studies provided evidence that visual sensitivity is reduced during microsaccades - akin to the well-established suppression associated with larger saccades. However, the results of more recent work suggest that microsaccades may alter retinal input in a manner that enhances visual sensitivity to some stimuli. Here, we parametrically varied the spatial frequency of a stimulus during a detection task and tracked contrast sensitivity as a function of time relative to microsaccades. Our data reveal two distinct modulations of sensitivity: suppression during the eye movement itself, and facilitation after the eye has stopped moving. The magnitude of suppression and facilitation of visual sensitivity is related to the spatial content of the stimulus: suppression is greatest for low spatial frequencies while sensitivity is enhanced most for stimuli of 1-2 c/deg, spatial frequencies at which we are already most sensitive in the absence of eye movements. We present a model where the tuning of suppression and facilitation is explained by delayed lateral inhibition between spatial frequency channels. Our data show that eye movements actively modulate visual sensitivity even during fixation: the detectability of images at different spatial scales can be increased or decreased depending on when the image occurs relative to a microsaccade

Oscillatory activity in the infant brain reflects object maintenance

The apparent failure of infants to understand "object permanence" by reaching for hidden objects is perhaps the most striking and debated phenomenon in cognitive development. Of particular interest is the extent to which infants perceive and remember objects in a similar way to that of adults. Here we report two findings that clarify infant object processing. The first is that 6-mo-old infants are sensitive to visual cues to occlusion, particularly gradual deletion. The second finding is that oscillatory electroencephalogram activity recorded over right temporal channels is involved in object maintenance. This effect occurs only after disappearance in a manner consistent with occlusion and the object's continued existence