Assessing the Potential of a Long-Term Climate Forecast for Cuba Using the WRF Model

Seasonal climatic prediction studies are a matter of wide debate all over the world. Cuba, a mainly agricultural nation, should greatly benefit from the knowledge, which is available months in advance of the precipitation regime and allows for the proper management of water resources. In this work, a series of six experiments were made with a mesoscale model WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting Model) that produced a 15-month forecast for each month of cumulative precipitation starting at two dates, and for three non-consecutive years with different meteorological characteristics: one dry year (2004), one year that started dry and turned rainy (2005), and one year where several tropical storms occurred (2008). ERA-Interim reanalysis data were used for the initial and border conditions and experiments started 1 month before the beginning of the rainy and the dry seasons, respectively. In a general sense, the experience of using WRF indicated that it was a valid resource for seasonal forecast, since the results obtained were in the same range as those reported by the literature for similar cases. Several limitations were revealed by the results: the forecasts underestimated the monthly cumulative precipitation figures, tropical storms entering through the borders sometimes followed courses different from the real courses inside the working domain, storms that developed inside the domain were not reproduced by WRF, and differences in initial conditions led to significantly different forecasts for the corresponding time steps (nonlinearity). Changing the model parameterizations and initial conditions of the ensemble forecast experiments was recommended.

Types of Older Adults ICT Users and the Grey Divide: Attitudes Matter

In a context where the proportion of older people increases, research related to active aging and digital technologies has generated a wide debate and numerous investigations aiming to implement new public policies. Usually these are based more on “classic” gaps than on the so-called “grey divide”, which focuses on perceptions and attitudes. To capture this dimension, a questionnaire was designed on uses, learning, and ethical, motivational and attitudinal aspects. A field work was carried out aimed at the population of the Autonomous Community of Madrid between 65 and 80 years old, with quotas of age and sex, with a total of 785 cases, with a sampling error of 3.5% for a p=95%. The results indicate that, given the specific uses made by the elderly, they are marked by the ubiquity of the cell phone, which is basically used to communicate, to alleviate loneliness and to stay active. Thus, through a cluster analysis we have been able to elaborate a typology of users according to attitudes and perceptions (grey divide) allowing us to better characterize the levels of technological adoption in a wider set of factors.

Dialnet Métricas como herramienta de evaluación bibliométrica: aportes al análisis de la actividad científica en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades

Within the current panorama of science evaluation, the limitations of citation indexes to study the social sciences and humanities have been the subject of wide debate. To resolve this situation, different products have been created for use in national contexts, since they cover certain aspects not contained in more international indices. An example is the In-RECS family, where an indicator such as the impact factor of Eugene Garfield is defined, but its contribution lies in the ability to evaluate research in Spain by obtaining citation indicators. This paper thus highlights the need to create new products for research evaluation in general, but particularly in the social sciences and humanities. The context in which different alternatives arise and are developed to evaluate existing journals is presented, along with Dialnet Metrics, a citation index developed by the Dialnet Foundation in collaboration with the EC3 Group and dozens of Spanish universities. Based on an analysis of the citations of source journals from different subject areas, Dialnet Metrics provides indicators to evaluate the research impact at different levels. This bibliometric product enables contextualized analysis at the micro (researchers), meso (journals), and macro (areas and universities) levels. Finally, the content, data volumes, and structure of this citation index are described quantitatively. Resumen Dentro del panorama actual de evaluación de la ciencia, las limitaciones de los índices de citación para estudiar las Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades han sido motivo de amplio debate. Para resolver esta situación, se han creado distintos productos para ser usados en contextos nacionales, dado que cubren ciertos aspectos no presentes en los índices de carácter más internacional. Como ejemplo se encuentran los de la familia In-RECS, donde se define un indicador similar al factor de impacto de Eugene Garfield, pero su aporte radica en la capacidad de evaluar la investigación en España mediante la obtención de indicadores de citas. Es por ello por lo que en este trabajo se expone la necesidad de crear nuevos productos para la evaluación de la investigación en general, pero particularizando en las Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades. Se muestra el contexto en el que surgen y se desarrollan las distintas alternativas de evaluación de revistas existentes y se presenta Dialnet Métricas. Este es un índice de citación realizado por la Fundación Dialnet en colaboración con el Grupo EC3 y decenas de universidades españolas. A partir del análisis de las referencias citadas de revistas fuente de distintos campos temáticos, Dialnet Métricas proporciona indicadores para evaluar el impacto de la investigación a varios niveles. Este producto bibliométrico posibilita el análisis contextualizado a nivel micro (investigadores), meso (revistas) y macro (áreas y universidades). Por último, se describen cuantitativamente los contenidos, volúmenes de datos y estructura de este índice de citas. Palabras clave

What is a Digital Weapon? Towards a Functional Approach to Hypermodern Warfare Media

There is a wide debate concerning cyberwar and the new dangers of the Internet, but this debate focuses too often on practical issues, while the conceptual and somehow strictly “philosophical” dimension remains unquestioned. In this article, I will try to show that a better understanding of what we mean when we speak about weapons, or at least a better understanding of the new difficulties entailed by digital technologies in the field of military devices, can help us to provide a better analysis of the risks and of the ethical issues connected to contemporary fighting. In particular, I will argue that the so-called “digital turn” entails a blurring of the distinction between weapons and non-weapons, because in what I will call our “hypermodern era” the criteria we traditionally used in order to make this distinction have become obsolete.

FT-IR Transflection Micro-Spectroscopy Study on Normal Human Breast Cells after Exposure to a Proton Beam

Fourier transform infrared micro-spectroscopy (μ-FT-IR) is nowadays considered a valuable tool for investigating the changes occurring in human cells after exposure to ionizing radiation. Recently, considerable attention has been devoted to the use of this optical technique in the study of cells exposed to proton beams, that are being increasingly adopted in cancer therapy. Different experimental configurations are used for proton irradiation and subsequent spectra acquisition. To facilitate the use of μ-FT-IR, it may be useful to investigate new experimental approaches capable of speeding up and simplifying the irradiation and measurements phases. Here, we propose the use of low-e-substrates slides for cell culture, allowing the irradiation and spectra acquisition in transflection mode in a fast and direct way. In recent years, there has been a wide debate about the validity of these supports, but many researchers agree that the artifacts due to the presence of the electromagnetic standing wave effects are negligible in many practical cases. We investigated human normal breast cells (MCF-10 cell line) fixed immediately after the irradiation with graded proton radiation doses (0, 0.5, 2, and 4 Gy). The spectra obtained in transflection geometry showed characteristics very similar to those present in the spectra acquired in transmission geometry and confirm the validity of the chosen approach. The analysis of spectra indicates the occurrence of significant changes in DNA and lipids components of cells. Modifications in protein secondary structure are also evidenced.

Documents and domains Aspects of Intercultural Education in English Language Teaching (ELT) in Portugal

The early learning of English in the state school network in Portugal has been the subject of a wide debate, which has not been exhausted by the introduction of English teaching as a curricular subject in the 1st cycle, in 2015, and which has helped to develop the intercultural awareness of a greater number of children. The new programmes and guideline documents emanating from the Ministry of Education, where objectives and areas of learning have been redefined, have been discussed and changed since the supranational imposition of the Common European Framework of Reference in 2001, with increasing allusions to the intercultural domain in learning English. Likewise, all the academic literature, from authors such as Byram (2006; 2009) and Guilherme . (2006), points to the centrality of intercultural competence in the learning of citizenship and curriculum construction since the first years of schooling. This article seeks to analyze the extent to which these intentions and visions of the “Intercultural Domain” have been incorporated into the reference curriculum documents and, in turn, will be structuring the experience of learning the English language by Portuguese children

Contrasts in fitness, motor competence and physical activity among children involved in single or multiple sports

Study aim: While there is wide debate around specialization in one sport, there is a lack of information about fitness levels and motor competence of children participating in single or multiple sports. Material and methods: The study involved 358 fifth-grade children who participated in a set of health-related fitness and motor competence tests over two consecutive years. A subsample of children (n = 109) wore an accelerometer for seven consecutive days. The independent samples t-test and ANCOVA were used to compare differences between single and multi-sport participants in study variables and changes between baseline and follow-up. Results: Multi-sport participants performed better in shuttle run (baseline/follow-up; p = 0.001/p = 0.006), push-up (p = 0.006/p = 0.036), and five leap tests (p = 0.001/p = 0.009) in baseline than single sport participants among boys. Likewise, multi-sport participants showed significantly more improvement in the throwing and catching combination test between study years among boys F1,159 = 3.570, p = 0.030. Among girls, no differences were found in any study variable between single and multi-sport participants. Conclusions: From the perspective of fitness and motor competence tests, there are no arguments for participating in just one sport at an early age. Instead, multi-sport participants performed better than single sport participants in the majority of test variables.

How has neoliberalism weakened science?

The current Covid-19 pandemic, and before that, the environmental crisis due to climate change, raise major questions about the relationship between science and society. More than ever, public opinions in OCDE countries question the legitimacy of scientists and scientific knowledge. The reasons for this fracture are obviously multiple and complex, but we believe that applying neoliberalism principles to research has contributed to it. In this article, we show how the funding of research by private institutions, staff precariousness, the ‘publish or perish’ policy have changed the way in which scientific knowledge is produced and decreased the confidence of citizens regarding scientific output. We believe it is high time to launch a wide debate on these issues within the scientific community. We should take advantage of both the climate and the health crises to put fundamental scientific issues and the role of scientists in society back on the table, so that science as a social activity (production and diffusion) is taken back into the hands of scientists in public institutions where conflicts with private interests are limited.

Three new suggested guidelines for increased transparency regarding open access article processing charges (APCs)

The article processing charge (APC) lies at the heart of the gold open access (GOA) business model. Small and larger society-based, as well as commercial publishers, rely – to different extents – on the APC and the GOA model to thrive. There is wide debate regarding what amount of APC is considered to be exploitative, and the issue of low APCs is often erroneously associated with “predatory” OA publishing. Independent of this debate, there is still, surprisingly, considerable opacity related to the APC used to cover the cost of GOA. In a bid to increase transparency, a simple 3-point plan at increasing academic and financial transparency of authors and journals/publishers regarding APCs is proposed: 1) indicate which author paid the APC in multi-author papers; 2) indicate the value of the APC paid; 3) provide online proof or certification of APC payment, including the indication of any discounts or waivers.

Copperheads and Half-Loyal Regular Officers

This chapter addresses the political controversies that continued to swirl around General Meade in early 1864. His summons before the Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War opened the political rift within the high command. In the army's lower ranks, however, the principal issue was that of reenlistment and army reorganization, and this chapter dissects the results of an army-wide debate over whether to sign up again for the duration of the war or return home. Political considerations took a backseat in the debate. Those who did not reenlist included men from both Republican and Democratic political persuasions. The chapter also discusses efforts by junior officers, some of whom had left the army, to malign the high command and tie it to notions of Democratic disloyalty in the pages of exposé books and opinion pieces.