Search results

In this study we analyse the relations of parental attitudes towards academic achievement (process-centred vs. performance-centred) with self-representations, motivational orientations and academic achievement. Participants were 498 students attending 7th and 9th grades. To collect data we used a self-concept scale (Peixoto & Almeida, 1999), a scale of motivational orientations (Skaalvik, 1997), and a scale to assess parental attitudes towards academic performance (An-tunes & Fontaine, 2003). Correlation analysis showed positive associations between processes centred attitudes and academic self-concept, self-esteem, task orientation, and academic achievement. Performance centred attitudes were negatively correlated with academic self-concept, self-esteem and academic achievement, and positively related to self-enhancing ego orientation, self-defeating ego orientation and avoidance orientation. Structural equation modelling revealed different paths, in the relationship between parental attitudes and academic achievement, for process centred attitudes and for performance centred attitudes. Results in this study support the idea that the perception of parental attitudes centred in the process are related to positive outcomes while parental attitudes centred on performance are related to less positive outcomes. Finally, data in this study converges with the existing literature that highlights the mediating role of individual characteristics such as self-concept and motivational orientations in the relationship between parental attitudes and academic achievement.

Human exploration of the hydrosphere is ever increasing as conventional industries grow and new industries emerge. A new emerging and fast-growing industry is the marine renewable energy. The last decades have been characterized by an accentuated development rate of technologies that can convert the energy contained in stream flows, waves, wind and tides. This growth benefits from the fact that human society has become notably aware of the well-being of the environment that we all live in. This brings a human desire to implement technologies which cope better with the natural environment. Yet, this environmental awareness poses difficulties in approving new renewable energy projects such as offshore wind, wave and tidal energy farms. Lessons have been learned that lack of consistent environmental data can become an impasse when consenting permits for testing and deployments marine renewable energy technologies. An example is the European Union in which a majority of the member states requires rigorous environmental monitoring programs to be in place when marine renewable energy technologies are commissioned and decommissioned. To satisfy such high demands and to simultaneously boost the marine renewable sector, long-term environmental monitoring framework that gathers multi-variable data are needed to keep providing data to technology developers, operators as well as to the general public. Technologies based on active acoustics might be the most advanced tools to monitor the subsea environment around marine manmade structures especially in murky and deep waters where divining and conventional technologies are cost. The main objective of this PhD project has develop and test an active acoustic monitoring system for offshore renewable energy farms, by integrating a multitude of appropriate monitoring sonar, hydrophones and cameras systems to be developed with standards suitable for subsea environmental monitoring. In this project, a first task was to identify, secondly acquire and test sonar systems, then a platform was designed and built, a data acquisition device control systems were developed, finally additional instruments such as video cameras and sonars were added. This systems integration followed by calibration of devices was conducted. The sonar systems were used for quantitative measurements of the occurrence of e.g. large marine animals and schools of fish near marine renewable energy converters. The sonar systems were also used for seabed inspections, depth measurements and capitating flow observations. So far, the combination of multibeam and dual-beam sonar systems produced good results of target detection, bottom inspection, depth measurements and biomass estimation. The multibeam sonar system was capable of resolving isolated targets located near high acoustic retroreflective objects. Panoramic acoustic images of wave and instream energy converters were acquired using a multibeam sonar operating at frequencies near 1 GHz. The Dual-beam and split-beam sonar systems produced data referent to acoustic background intensity of targets that helps to classify targets according to its size, composition and 3-Dimensional location within the water column. The next phase of this project will deploy the platform for longer periods in order to gather consistent acoustic and optical backscattering data of marine animal behaviour within marine renewable energy farms.

Population aging is a major achievement of human development enjoyed by an increasing number of people around the world. In Africa, despite the remarkable increase in absolute terms, the proportion of African elderly is only 5% of the African population, against over 12% of the elderly population worldwide. No less important than the increase in the numbers is the remarkable global progress in quality of life and satisfaction of the elderly. At this level, most African low-income countries are overrepresented as the worst countries for the elderly to live in, as shown by the Global AgeWatch Index 2015. According to HelpAge International the countries with the worst performance lack a comprehensive approach to policy framework to address the challenges posed by the aging of their populations. Although this conclusion is not entirely wrong, it needs careful attention and qualification: What does it mean to have a comprehensive approach to population aging in countries where increasing numbers of elderly, here designated 'gerontogrowth', is overshadowed by the rejuvenation of the younger population? Why people would worry in advance with a phenomenon that they still do not live or feel? Without questioning the new Index's potential this article shows that its explanatory power and reach can and should be substantially improved with a really more comprehensive analytical and methodological framework. A framework that articulates the concept of capabilities with crucial structural concepts of population dynamics, in the context of the different stages of global demographic transition, where the world's elderly population is integrated.

SUMARIO:
I. LA COOPERACIÓN COMO FACTOR DE COHESIÓN DE LOS SISTEMAS DESCENTRALIZADOS. II. LAS CAUSAS DE LA DESCOHESIÓN EXISTENTE. III. LA POSITIVACIÓN JURÍDICA DEL PRINCIPIO DE COOPERACIÓN.IV. RASGOS CARACTERIZADORES DEL SISTEMA DE RELACIONES.V. COOPERACIÓN VERTICAL Y HORIZONTAL.VI. EL CONCEPTO DE COOPERACIÓN.VII. LOS GRANDES INSTRUMENTOS (INEXISTENTES) DE LA COOPERACIÓN.VIII. ÓRGANOS E INSTRUMENTOS ORDINARIOS DE LA COOPERACIÓN VERTICAL: A. Conferencias sectoriales. B. Comisiones Bilaterales de Cooperación. C. Los convenios verticales. D. Planes y Programas conjuntos. E. Otras técnicas: Órganos mixtos; Consorcios; encomiendas de gestión; procedimientos participados.IX. LA COOPERACIÓN HORIZONTAL.X. ALGUNAS REFLEXIONES FINALES.

The available literature on the relationship between taxation and economic growth is mixed, although some consensus exists on the negative effects of some taxes on growth. In this paper we study the relationship between taxation and growth for the European Union in 2 0 0 4 - 2 0 1 6 through a quantile regression approach to detect different patterns along the distribution. The results show a negative effect of the tax burden, with higher impact at the last quantiles, evidencing a non-linear relationship between tax burden and economic growth in the European Union, in contrast, the top corporate tax rate appears as non-significant in this study. In addition, population growth, with negative impact, and investment and human capital, with positive effect, also explain the economic growth in the period ; La literatura existente sobre la relación entre impuestos y crecimiento económico no es concluyente, aunque existe cierto consenso sobre los efectos negativos de determinados impuestos sobre el crecimiento económico. En este trabajo se estudia la relación entre fiscalidad y crecimiento económico en los países de la Unión Europea mediante regresión cuantllica en el periodo 2004- 2016 para detectar distintos comportamientos a lo largo de la distribución. Los resultados muestran una relación negativa de la presión fiscal, con mayor impacto en los últimos cuantiles, evidenciando una relación no lineal entre impuestos y crecimiento en la Unión Europea. Sin embargo, el tipo máximo del impuesto de sociedades no resulta significativo en este estudio. Finalmente, el crecimiento de la población, con impacto negativo, y la inversión y el capital humano, con efecto positivo, también explican el crecimiento económico en el periodo analizado