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Traditionally, general skills and personal growth have been developed through cognitive processes within academic contexts. Development based on experience may be an alternative route to achieve cognitive knowledge. Enact-learning is based on the biunivocal relationship between knowledge and action. Action is movement. Participants interact with their environment through movement. When participants are aware of this interaction, knowledge is created. First interactions in personal development with the environment are non-verbal. Returning to this concept, we propose work based on creative movement and non-verbal communication. This approach takes into account the multiple intelligences paradigm in order to generate knowledge. This paper seeks to explain a movement development program that has been applied to freshman students studying in different academic areas. The program design is explained in detail. The article demonstrates how the program has helped to develop the participants' body consciousness. The students' reflections are analyzed using a qualitative methodology. A questionnaire focused on the students' perceptions of the connections between general skills and the program rounds out the research results.

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this work is to explore which factors impact on the adoption of the flipped classroom in vocational education to pave the way for the schools which want to apply this model. Background: Although various experiences in the use of the flipped classroom have been reported in recent years in the literature, fewer efforts have been done on how to implement this model from a pedagogical standpoint. The factors that influence its adoption have not been studied in depth, at least not in a global way. These factors include the use of technology and teaching methodologies active in the classroom, the trend towards innovation of teachers and schools, and whether teachers have the necessary ICT training and infrastructures. Moreover, although the results of many experiences in Higher Education have been published, this is not so for other levels of education, such as vocational schools. Methodology: A quantitative research method was used by constructing a questionnaire. The questionnaire included open questions in order to obtain qualitative information, which enriched the results obtained. Descriptive and factor analysis was used to analyze data, within the framework of the project FlipIT!--Flipped Classroom in the European Vocational Education", ERASMUS+ Strategic Partnership (2015-1-HU01-KA202-013555) funded by the European Union, with the participation of Hungary, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic, and Spain. The research sample includes 625 teachers (434 from Spain, 121 from Hungary and 61 from the Czech Republic) from schools participating or somehow associated to the project. Contribution: An empirically validated framework of the factors influencing the adoption of the flipped classroom approach in schools was obtained. This framework can guide the curriculum design of flipped classroom model courses for vocational education teachers. Findings: Empirically validated factors for the adoption of the flipped classroom in technical schools are presented. In addition, descriptive analysis results from a sample of 625 vocational education teachers confirmed that the countries involved in the survey fulfill the factors needed for the adoption of the flipped classroom in vocational education schools. Another important result is that, according to the surveyed teachers, the flipped classroom is a strongly practice-oriented method very suitable for vocational education. Recommendations for Practitioners: The framework here presented can guide the curriculum design of flipped classroom model courses for vocational and technical education teachers and allow schools to know the factors to review and improve in order to use the model. Recommendations for Researchers: This study is a first step toward determining the factors needed for the adoption of the flipped classroom model in vocational and technical schools. More studies using alternative data sources and methods are needed to obtain a definite model to support this adoption since FC has proved to be a very successful model for motivating students. We hope these results pave the way for schools who want to adopt the FC model and for focusing teaching training on the competences that this work detected. Impact on Society: Recently, we are witnessing an important debate about the future of education at every level. Different innovative methodologies have emerged in a search for more motivating and effective ways to learn, as well as to develop in our students the so-called 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, communication and collaboration, creativity, and information, media and technology skills. The flipped classroom approach can help to improve vocational education by changing traditional classes and teaching students other important soft skills, such as teamwork and collaboration, reflection, digital skills, and self-study. Future Research: The model is currently being implemented in schools in Spain, Hungary, and the Czech Republic using the results obtained here under the framework of the European project "FlipIT!-Flipped Classroom in the European Vocational Education", ERASMUS+ Strategic Partnership (2015-1-HU01-KA202-013555). After checking the criteria obtained in the framework for each of the participating schools, as a first step, an online course has been created using the competences obtained in this framework, both pedagogical and ICT. Once the course is completed, the teachers will carry out a pilot project to use the model. We hope the framework is useful to other researchers in order to implement the model in other countries and extend it with other criteria to obtain a validated international framework. This study is a first step toward determining the factors needed for the adoption of the flipped classroom model in technical schools. More studies using alternative data sources and methods are needed to obtain a definite model to support this adoption since FC has proved to be a very successful model for motivating students. We hope these results pave the way for schools who want to adopt the FC model and for focusing teacher training on competences.

Black spruce is the most common tree species in Canada, dominating treed peatlands where they are usually stunted. We used 495 destructively sampled trees from 56 plots to develop allometric models of aboveground biomass by components (stem, branches, and needles) for small (<5 m tall) black spruce from peatlands in the Taiga Plains and Boreal Plains Ecozones of Western Canada, for which there were no specific models available of biomass by components. We used leave-one-plot-out cross-validation to assess transferability and compare our models with existing national and ecozone-specific equations. Our models predicted total tree biomass with better accuracy and less biased estimates than the national model (relative RMSE: 30% versus 35% national; relative bias: +1% versus –12% national). Similar results were obtained in other external datasets. Existing ecozone equations performed worse than either our models or the national ones. When we applied the models at the plot level to predict aboveground biomass density (Mg·ha−1), our models outperformed the national model again (relative RMSE: 15.9% versus 18.6% national, relative bias: +3.5% versus –13.6% national). These results indicate that at least for peatlands of Western Canada, our models provide better aboveground biomass estimates for small black spruce trees than existing models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work compares the transient behaviors of the flue gas sides of large-scale bubbling and circulating fluidized bed (BFB and CFB, respectively) boilers. For this purpose, a dynamic model of the in-furnace side of fluidized bed combustors presented and validated by the authors in a former work is used to simulate two industrial units. The results show that for load changes the heat transfer to the waterwalls stabilizes more rapidly in BFB units. Differences in stabilization time between the dense bed and the top of the furnace are observed in both units, caused by the distribution of solids along the combustor: the dense bed contains more solids than regions located higher up in the furnace and, therefore slower to respond, with stabilization times of around 15 minutes, as compared to stabilization times in the range of 1–8 minutes for the upper furnace. This behavior is accentuated in the BFB, where all the solids remain in the dense bottom region. The effect of the characteristic times of the main in-furnace mechanisms (fluid-dynamics, fuel conversion, and heat transfer) on the dynamic performance of BFB and CFB units has been explored and expressed through proposed mathematical relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern ecological models often account for the influence of the surrounding environment by using landscape pattern indices (LPIs) as measures of landscape structure. Ideally, the landscape samples from which these LPIs are ex-tracted should be centered on the locations where the response variable was measured. However, in situations where this is not possible due to a lack of adequate full-coverage landcover data, the question arises as to what degree this circumstance creates a bias in the value of the LPIs, thereby obscuring their relation with the response variable. To address this question, we extracted four representative LPIs from 30 rectangular (3 X 6 km) landscape samples evenly distributed across a 10 000 k[m.sup.2] boreal forest study area. These rectangles were subjected to systematic displacements across a range of distances (0.5 to 2.5 km) and directions, after which we recomputed the LPIs. We found that a 1 km spatial offset led to an average of 15% deviation of original LPI values. Unfortunately, as the offset increased, the range of resulting deviations also widened, making it difficult to predict this effect. Our findings fill a gap in the literature on landscape pattern analysis and suggest that researchers should avoid LPIs extracted from spatially offset landscape samples. Les modeles ecologiques modernes tiennent souvent compte de l'influence de l'environnement avoisinant en utili-sant des indices paysagers (IP) comme mesure de la structure du paysage. Les regions pour lesquelles ces IP sont extraits devraient idealement provenir du centre des endroits ou la variable etudiee a ete mesuree. Cependant, dans les cas ou cela n'est pas possible du au manque de donnees qui couvrent adequatement toute la couverture terrestre, la question surgit a sa-voir jusqu'a quel point cette situation cree un biais dans la valeur des IP, obscurcissant ainsi leur relation avec la variable etudiee. Pour aborder cette question, nous avons extrait quatre IP representatifs de 30 echantillons rectangulaires (3 X 6 km) de paysage egalement repartis dans une zone d'etude de 10 000 k[m.sup.2] de foret boreale. Ces rectangles ont ete soumis a des deplacements systematiques sur une serie de distances (0,5 a 2,5 km) et dans differentes directions apres quoi les IP ont ete recalcules. Nous avons trouve qu'un decalage spatial d'un kilometre entrainait une deviation moyenne de 15 % par rapport aux valeurs d'IP originales. Malheureusement, a mesure que le decalage augmente, la dispersion des deviations qui en resulte s'accroit, ce qui rend difficile la prediction de cet effet. Nos resultats comblent une lacune dans la litterature et indi-quent que les chercheurs devraient eviter d'extraire des IP a partir d'echantillons decales de paysage. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Landscape pattern indices (LPIs; or landscape metrics, as they are also commonly known) are quantitative measures of the composition (assortment of habitat types) and configuration (spatial distribution of habitat [...]

Interstellar carbonaceous dust is mainly formed in the innermost regions of circumstellar envelopes around carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch stars (AGBs). In these highly chemically stratified regions, atomic and diatomic carbon, along with acetylene, are the most abundant species after H2 and CO. In a previous study, we addressed the chemistry of carbon (C and C2) with H2 showing that acetylene and aliphatic species form efficiently in the dust formation region of carbon-rich AGBs whereas aromatics do not. Still, acetylene is known to be a key ingredient in the formation of linear polyacetylenic chains, benzene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as shown by previous experiments. However, these experiments have not considered the chemistry of carbon (C and C2) with C2H2. In this work, by employing a sufficient amount of acetylene, we investigate its gas-phase interaction with atomic and diatomic carbon. We show that the chemistry involved produces linear polyacetylenic chains, benzene, and other PAHs, which are observed with high abundances in the early evolutionary phase of planetary nebulae. More importantly, we have found a nonnegligible amount of pure and hydrogenated carbon clusters as well as aromatics with aliphatic substitutions, both being a direct consequence of the addition of atomic carbon. The incorporation of alkyl substituents into aromatics can be rationalized by a mechanism involving hydrogen abstraction followed by methyl addition. All the species detected in the gas phase are incorporated into nanometric-sized dust analogs, which consist of a complex mixture of sp, sp2, and sp3 hydrocarbons with amorphous morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]