La Gestión de la Educación Superior Universitaria como Derecho Humano y Bien Público Social

Se presentan los instrumentos y mecanismos institucionales que deberían ser creados o mejorados para revertir preservando la calidad - la excesiva disparidad entre los indicadores de entrada y salida a las carreras de grado de la Facultad Regional Delta de la Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, y por extensión a las Facultades de Ingeniería de América del Sur Se analizan los objetivos e impactos de las acciones de gestión académica propuestas para los factores incidentes en la permanencia de alumnos que se definen y caracterizan con un claro sentido de origen en el seno de un grupo de investigación de una institución definida, pero también con una intención de buscar elementos comunes para pensar los problemas de deserción y desgranamiento, de gran importancia estratégica en nuestra región. Año tras año se registra un crecimiento de la matrícula, pero también se observa que no aumenta proporcionalmente la tasa de graduación. La universidad masiva plantea desafíos complejos que van a exigir la aplicación de instrumentos sofisticados para lograr obtener información relevante que permita formular los diagnósticos certeros y las herramientas adecuadas que mejoren las tasas de permanencia y graduación desde una perspectiva inclusiva

LA GESTION DEL CONOCIMIENTO Y EL ACCESO A LAS CARRERAS DE GRADO EN LA FACULTAD REGIONAL DELTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLOGICA NACIONAL.

Este trabajo es la síntesis de un proyecto de investigación realizado el la Facultad Regional Delta de la Universidad Tecnológica Nacional entre el año 2003 y 2005. La complejidad que presenta en la actualidad a nivel de las instituciones educativas de nivel superior universitario en la argentina, las realidades emergentes de los procesos de acceso y permanencia en la vida académica universitaria, se traduce desde múltiples perspectivas, que se abordan específicamente desde las tendencias actuales de la investigación educativa, aplicada en forma específica a una coyuntura propia de la Facultad Regional Delta, pero de la cual pueden extraerse características y tendencias que adaptadas a otras realidades, propongan tentativas de solución a una cuestión de centralidad en las instituciones universitarias

Distributed synchronization algorithms for wireless sensor networks

The ability to distribute time and frequency among a large population of interacting agents is of interest for diverse disciplines, inasmuch as it enables to carry out complex cooperative tasks. In a wireless sensor network (WSN), time/frequency synchronization allows the implementation of distributed signal processing and coding techniques, and the realization of coordinated access to the shared wireless medium. Large multi-hop WSN\u27s constitute a new regime for network synchronization, as they call for the development of scalable, fully distributed synchronization algorithms. While most of previous research focused on synchronization at the application layer, this thesis considers synchronization at the lowest layers of the communication protocol stack of a WSN, namely the physical and the medium access control (MAC) layer. At the physical layer, the focus is on the compensation of carrier frequency offsets (CFO), while time synchronization is studied for application at the MAC layer. In both cases, the problem of realizing network-wide synchronization is approached by employing distributed clock control algorithms based on the classical concept of coupled phase and frequency locked loops (PLL and FLL). The analysis takes into account communication, signaling and energy consumption constraints arising in the novel context of multi-hop WSN\u27s. In particular, the robustness of the algorithms is checked against packet collision events, infrequent sync updates, and errors introduced by different noise sources, such as transmission delays and clock frequency instabilities. By observing that WSN\u27s allow for greater flexibility in the design of the synchronization network architecture, this work examines also the relative merits of both peer-to-peer (mutually coupled - MC) and hierarchical (master-slave - MS) architectures. With both MC and MS architectures, synchronization accuracy degrades smoothly with the network size, provided that loop parameters are conveniently chosen. In particular, MS topologies guarantee faster synchronization, but they are hindered by higher noise accumulation, while MC topologies allow for an almost uniform error distribution at the price of much slower convergence. For all the considered cases, synchronization algorithms based on adaptive PLL and FLL designs are shown to provide robust and scalable network-wide time and frequency distribution in a WSN

Re-think cleanliness : transformative perspectives within radical design

LAUREA MAGISTRALEGli studi culturali definiscono la pulizia come un processo di costruzione sociale di "ripristino dell'ordine sociale e perseguimento di ideali di purezza". Definire la pulizia come un processo di continuo rafforzamento dei valori mentali porta a supporre che per le attività di pulizia il ruolo dell'acqua si riduca alla funzione basilare di agente pulente, che in questo caso potrebbe essere sostituito se gli ordini mentali rimangono intatti. Ciò significa la possibilità di interrompere la continuità dei sistemi in termini di consumi idrici e, infine, ridefinire tessuto sociale e valori. Viene proposta una prospettiva radicale trasformando un'unità funzionale tradizionale per la pulizia -rimuovere lo sporco- per passare progressivamente a un'unità di soddisfazione -ripristinare la nozione di purezza- con l'obiettivo di stabilire un approccio di sistema di soddisfazione verso un modo più sostenibile di vivere "la conservazione dell'acqua ”. Tuttavia, questo è un esercizio di progettazione non solo per i domini della sostenibilità, ma rivendica anche l'indipendenza e stabilisce gli standard per un cambiamento culturale che può definire i valori della nuova generazione: diversità, trasformazione e rigenerazione.Cultural studies defines cleanliness as a social construct process of “restoring social order and pursuing ideals of purity”. Defining cleanliness as a process of continuous reinforcement of mental values leads to the assumption that for cleanliness activities, the role of water is reduced to the basic function of cleansing agent, which in this case could be replaced if the mental orders remain untouched. This means the possibility to break systems continuity in terms of water consumptions and eventually redefine social fabric and values. A radical perspective is proposed by transforming a traditional functional unit for cleanliness -shower and baths- to move progressively to a satisfaction unit -restore mental order- with the aim to establish a satisfaction-system approach towards a more sustainable way of living “water preservation”. Nevertheless, this is a design exercise not only for sustainability domains, it is also claims for independence and sets the standards for a cultural shift that can define the values of the new generation: diversity, transformative and regenerative

Apathy dimensions in Parkinson's disease

OBJECTIVE: Apathy is a prominent and disabling symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD) and is a multidimensional behaviour, but which dimensions are specifically affected is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this preliminary study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Dimensional Apathy Scale (DAS) and explore the multidimensional profile of apathy in PD patients.  METHODS: Thirty-four PD patients, with 30 of their informants/carers, and 34 healthy controls, with 30 of their informants, completed the DAS, Apathy Evaluation Scale and the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form. Motor staging and independent living status were recorded.  RESULTS: Comparative group analyses revealed that PD patients were significantly more apathetic on self-rated executive (p = 0.01) and initiation (p = 0.03) dimensions than controls, where only executive apathy was significantly higher in ratings of patients' informants/carers compared with controls' informants (p = 0.02). A third of patients were impaired on at least one apathy dimension. Additionally, patients with apathy tended to have more impaired activities of daily living, while none of the apathy dimensions related to motor disability.  CONCLUSION: Our findings show the DAS is a valid and reliable multidimensional apathy tool for use in PD. PD is characterised by an executive apathy profile as determined by informants/carers, although patients described both executive and initiation apathy. This indicates a lack of motivation for planning, organisation and attention and lack of initiation of thoughts or behaviours. Further research is needed to determine the cognitive underpinnings of this emerging apathy profile and the clinical impact in PD. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Treatment of Advanced Parkinson's Disease

Patients at late stage Parkinson's disease (PD) develop several motor and nonmotor complications, which dramatically impair their quality of life. These complications include motor fluctuations, dyskinesia, unpredictable or absent response to medications, falls, dysautonomia, dementia, hallucinations, sleep disorders, depression, and psychosis. The therapeutic management should be driven by the attempt to create a balance between benefit and side effects of the pharmacological treatments available. Supportive care, including physical and rehabilitative interventions, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and nursing care, has a key role in the late stage of disease. In this review we discuss the several complications experienced by advance PD patients and their management. The importance of an integrative approach, including both pharmacological and supportive interventions, is emphasized

Apathy in Mild Parkinson's Disease: Neuropsychological and Neuroimaging Evidence.

BACKGROUND: Apathy is one of the most common neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD). Few studies have investigated the cognitive and neuroanatomical correlates of apathy in PD, and those which have done so have not controlled for the presence of other neuropsychiatric comorbidities. OBJECTIVE: To explore the cognitive and neuroanatomical correlates of apathy in PD at a mild disease stage. METHODS: Sixty-five PD patients and 24 healthy controls participated in this study. Patients underwent extensive neuropsychological screening, neuropsychiatric assessment using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, structural MRI scanning, and neurological examination. A voxel-based multiple regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between grey matter volumes and apathy scores. RESULTS: Higher apathy scores correlated with lower grey matter volume in several brain areas including the left insula, left inferior/middle/medial frontal gyrus, right anterior cingulate, and the left superior temporal gyrus. Significant impairments were found in tests assessing executive functions, and a trend-level significant difference was observed in long term memory tests in patients with apathy, when compared with patients without apathy. CONCLUSIONS: Apathy was associated with greater levels of atrophy in the frontal and temporal cortex, and anterior cingulate, as well as overall lower level of cognitive performance, particularly in executive function and memory skills. Apathy appears to be associated with cognitive impairments in PD, therefore, treatment of this symptom might mitigate its effects on cognitive performance in this clinical population

Irrelevant Features of a Stimulus Can Either Facilitate or Disrupt Performance in a Working Memory Task: The Role of Fluid Intelligence

It has been shown that fluid intelligence (gf) is fundamental to overcome interference due to information of a previously encoded item along a task-relevant domain. However, the biasing effect of task-irrelevant dimensions is still unclear as well as its relation with gf. The present study aimed at clarifying these issues. Gf was assessed in 60 healthy subjects. In a different session, the same subjects performed two versions (letter-detection and spatial) of a three-back working memory task with a set of physically identical stimuli (letters) presented at different locations on the screen. In the letter-detection task, volunteers were asked to match stimuli on the basis of their identity whereas, in the spatial task, they were required to match items on their locations. Cross-domain bias was manipulated by pseudorandomly inserting a match between the current and the three back items on the irrelevant domain. Our findings showed that a task-irrelevant feature of a salient stimulus can actually bias the ongoing performance. We revealed that, at trials in which the current and the three-back items matched on the irrelevant domain, group accuracy was lower (interference). On the other hand, at trials in which the two items matched on both the relevant and irrelevant domains, the group showed an enhancement of the performance (facilitation). Furthermore, we demonstrated that individual differences in fluid intelligence covaries with the ability to override cross-domain interference in that higher gf subjects showed better performance at interference trials than low gf subjects. Altogether, our findings suggest that stimulus features irrelevant to the task can affect cognitive performance along the relevant domain and that gf plays an important role in protecting relevant memory contents from the hampering effect of such a bias