Evaluation of educational quality performance on virtual campuses using fuzzy inference systems.

The general objective of this study is to analyze student satisfaction with the use of virtual campuses in university teaching in order to discover the main variables influencing the overall online teaching-learning process that give quality to the virtual educational process. To this end, an ex-post-facto research methodology was applied to 1084 university students, who completed an ad hoc designed questionnaire, which allowed us to carry out descriptive analysis, classification trees and fuzzy inference systems using SPSS and Matlab software. The results suggest that four variables predominantly influence the quality of the teaching-learning processes in virtual campuses: satisfactory teacher responses to student questions and observations, the positive attitude of teachers towards the use of information and communication technologies, students having appropriate digital skills, and activities that encourage ideas and debate.

The Influence of Self-Regulation Behaviors on University Students' Intentions of Persistance.

The implementation of the European higher education area (EHEA) is a true paradigm change in university education in which the student, with particular consideration given to autonomous work, takes the place of the teacher as the central element of the teaching-learning process. In this autonomous work, the strategies the students regularly use become particularly important, given the supposition that doing that work will lead to academic success. The objective of this study is to analyze the variables that influence students' expectations of success, measured through their intention to persist on the course they are doing. A questionnaire designed ad hoc was given to a sample of 1037 university students. It included aspects related to reasons for choosing the course, institutional integration, use of self-regulation strategies, and intention to drop out. Data analysis allowed the identification of satisfaction with the course chosen and appropriate study skills acquired in secondary education as predictors of expectations of academic persistance, with some differences in terms of gender. Other strategies such as class attendance or going deeply into course content did not figure. These results are at odds with the principles underlying the EHEA and show that they have not yet been interiorized by the students, who continue to perceive their studies more traditionally.

Factors that determine the persistence and dropout of university students.

BACKGROUND: The increase of students in higher education means a more heterogeneous student body, complicating the identification of the variables that influence students' decisions to stay in or drop out of university. The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of these variables on students' decisions by establishing specific groups of students based on performance. METHOD: A study was carried out with 2,970 first-year university students from Portugal, using the decision tree technique. RESULTS: Academic performance is confirmed as a determining variable in the decision to remain or drop out, allowing us to establish three groups (high, medium and low achievement), in which different types of variables act as mediators: sex, type of course (licenciatura [BA] or mestrado integrado), the fact of studying at the students' first-choice university or the mother's educational level. CONCLUSIONS: Without neglecting the weight of academic achievement as a priority variable, we must consider these secondary variables in the configuration of student groups in order to plan support policies to avoid higher-risk students dropping out.

Elucidating the mechanism of action of copper heptagluconate on the plant immune system against Pseudomonas syringae in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L).

BACKGROUND: Phytopathogenic problems caused by the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae in tomato are becoming more serious due to the emergence of strains resistant to classical pesticides. This has led to research into new formulations with lower environmental problems. One of the most promising alternatives to the use of classical pesticides is the induction of natural plant defences. New formulations based on Cu complexed with heptagluconic acid induce plant innate defences and could be an alternative to classical treatments based on inorganic Cu against bacterial speck. To study the efficacy of this compound in tomato against P. syringae, we tested its systemic effect Applying the treatments via radicular. RESULTS: Treated plants showed less infection development and lower number of viable bacteria in leaves. We also observed better performance of parameters involved in plant resistance such as the antioxidant response and the accumulation of phenolic compounds. CONCLUSION: Results showed that soil drench applications can be highly effective for the prevention and control of bacterial speck in tomato plants, showing a reduction in symptoms of ∼ 50%. Moreover, application of Cu heptagluconate induced accumulation of the plant polyphenols caffeic and chlorogenic acids, and reduced the amount of reactive oxygen species in infected plants. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Corrigendum: Comparison of Personal, Social and Academic Variables Related to University Drop-out and Persistence.

[This corrects the article on p. 1610 in vol. 7, PMID: 27803684.].

Freshmen Program Withdrawal: Types and Recommendations.

University program dropout is a problem that has important consequences not only for the student that leaves but also for the institution in which the withdrawal occurs. Therefore, higher education institutions must study the problem in greater depth to establish appropriate prevention measures in the future. However, most research papers currently focus primarily on the characteristics of students who leave university, rather than on those who choose to pursue alternative courses of study and therefore fail to take into account the different kinds of abandonment. The aim of this paper is to identify the different types of dropout to define their characteristics and propose some recommendations. Thus, an ex post facto study was carried out on a sample of 1,311 freshmen from a university in the north of Spain using data gathered using an ad-hoc designed questionnaire, applied by telephone or an online survey, and completed with data available in the university data warehouse. A descriptive analysis was performed to characterize the sample and identify five different groups, including 1. Students persisting in their initiated degree 2. Students who change of program (within the same university) 3. Students transferring to a different university 4. Students enrolling in non-higher-education studies 5. Students that quit studying. Also, data mining techniques (decision trees) were applied to classify the cases and generate predictive models to aid in the design of differentiated intervention strategies for each of the corresponding groups.

Comparison of Personal, Social and Academic Variables Related to University Drop-out and Persistence.

Dropping out of university has serious consequences not only for the student who drops out but also for the institution and society as a whole. Although this phenomenon has been widely studied, there is a need for broader knowledge of the context in which it occurs. Yet research on the subject often focuses on variables that, although they affect drop-out rates, lie beyond a university's control. This makes it hard to come up with effective preventive measures. That is why a northern Spanish university has undertaken a ex post facto holistic research study on 1,311 freshmen (2008/9, 2009/10, and 2010/11 cohorts). The study falls within the framework of the ALFA-GUIA European Project and focuses on those drop-out factors where there is scope for taking remedial measures. This research explored the possible relationship of degree drop-out and different categories of variables: variables related to the educational stage prior to university entry (path to entry university and main reason for degree choice), variables related to integration and coexistence at university (social integration, academic integration, relationships with teachers/peers and value of the living environment) financial status and performance during university studies (in terms of compliance with the program, time devoted to study, use of study techniques and class attendance). Descriptive, correlational and variance analyses were conducted to discover which of these variables really distinguish those students who drop-out from their peers who complete their studies. Results highlight the influence of vocation as main reason for degree choice, path to university entry, financial independency, social and academic adaptation, time devoted to study, use of study techniques and program compliance in the studied phenomenon.

Construção de um questionário transcultural de motivos de abandono do ensino superior / Development of a transcultural questionnaire of motives for higher education dropout / Construcción de un cuestionario transcultural de motivos de abandono de la enseñanza superior

O abandono no Ensino Superior é um tema relevante pela sua incidência e consequências negativas no estudante, família, instituição e sociedade em geral. Procurando conhecer os motivos da intenção de abandono, investigadores do Brasil, Espanha e Portugal convergiram na construção de um questionário de avaliação transcultural. Atendendo à multidimensionalidade das causas de abandono, o questionário abarca seis dimensões: Social, Acadêmica, Professores, Saúde e Bem-estar, Institucional e Financeira. A análise fatorial, com amostras autônomas de estudantes do 1º ano do Brasil, Espanha e Portugal, mostrou uma distribuição adequada dos itens nas seis dimensões, com alguma discrepância na dimensão Professores na amostra do Brasil. Os índices de consistência interna atingiram níveis adequados nas seis dimensões (valores entre 0,74 e 0,91). Futuros desenvolvimentos devem testar a dimensionalidade do questionário e a sua invariância nos três países, incluindo já variáveis psicológicas e académicas para análise da validade de critério. (AU)

The dropout in higher education assumes relevant percentages, with negative consequences for the students, family, institution and society in general. In order to know the reasons for the dropout intention, researchers from Brazil, Spain and Portugal converged on the construction of a transcultural questionnaire. Face the multidimensional nature of dropout causes, the questionnaire assesses six dimensions: Social, Academic, Faculty, Health and Wellbeing, Institutional, and Financial. The factorial analysis, with autonomous samples of first-year students from Brazil, Spain and Portugal, showed an adequate distribution of the items by the six dimensions, with some difficulties in Faculty dimension in Brazilian sample. The internal consistency of items reached adequate levels in those six dimensions (values range from .74 to .91). Future developments should test the dimensionality of the questionnaire and its invariance in all three countries, including other psychological and academic variables for criterion validity analysis. (AU)

El abandono en la enseñanza superior es un tema relevante por su incidencia y por sus consecuencias negativas a nivel personal, familiar, institucional y social. En búsqueda de conocer las razones de intención de abandono, investigadores de Brasil, España y Portugal participaron en la construcción de un cuestionario de evaluación transcultural. Dicho instrumento, de naturaleza multidimensional, se organiza en seis dimensiones: Social, Académica, Profesorado, Salud y Bienestar, Institucional y Financiera. El análisis factorial, con muestras independientes de los estudiantes del primer año de Brasil, España y Portugal, mostró una distribución adecuada de los ítems en las seis dimensiones, con alguna discrepancia en la dimensión Profesorado en la muestra brasileña. Los índices de consistencia interna alcanzaron niveles adecuados (valores entre .74 y .91), si bien que se debe realizar nuevos estudios para probar la dimensionalidad del cuestionario y su invariancia en los tres países, incluyendo las variables psicológicas y académicas para analizar la validez de criterio. (AU)