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This paper examines the use of the theological doctrine of probabilism by the Valencian political writer Juan de Madariaga in his Del senado y su príncipe of 1617. Madariaga's work is but one example of the phenomenal diffusion of probabilism in political and legal writings in seventeenth century Spain. Such popularity must be understood in the institutional context of the Habsburg monarchy, effectively managed by an expanding number of powerful councils (consejos), constituting what Spanish historians call a 'polysynodial regime'. Probabilists argued that council members could, within limits, defer to the majority opinion within the council without shirking their conscientious duties. As explained by Madariaga, by morally allowing such deferrals, probabilism strengthened the cohesiveness of the councils and preserved their authority in the eyes of the king and the people. It is suggested that by relying on probabilism in order to foster unanimity within the council, Madariaga was in fact attempting to remove occasions for one of the favoured criticisms against the polysynodial regime: that the multiplicity of contradictory advice confused the monarch and prevented the sort of expedite action necessary for solving the urgent problems of the monarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a study that analyzed the structure, organization and offering of internships as part of undergraduate degrees in Social Work at Spanish universities (82), as well as the intended attainment from these work experiences in social institutions and entities. The content of undergraduate degrees in Social Work taught at Spanish universities (37), the courses related to internships or work placements (85), and the range of specific skills associated with these courses were analyzed. The content analysis of the selected skills identified and described 42 professional skills. The results of this study provide insight into the offering of undergraduate degrees in Social Work in Spain, as well as skills acquired from internships that relate to professional activity. Social Work internshipsare a transactional space of collaborative learning between universities, the profession, and social entities that generate clear potential for all the involved parties. The acquisition of skills, abilities and competencies through internships facilitates understanding the use of methodology in different professional areas and levels, as well as the application of ethical problem solving principles and strategies; this facilitates the acquisition of professional skills in all areas of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Knowledge Society, along with the non‐stop growing technological evolution, entails university students acquiring new competences for them to be successful in society. These are called 21st‐century competences that come as high‐skill competences – higher‐order thinking capacities and teamwork competences – and information and communication technologies (ICT) competences – technological, pedagogical and ethical. This study aims to determine the link between ICT competences and high‐skill competences. A correlational study was conducted whose sample was formed by 983 students studying degrees at the Universidad de Valencia (Spain), selected by non‐probabilistic incidental sampling and collecting information with two questionnaires. The results indicate a positive and statistically significant relation between ICT competences with the other two considered sets: higher‐order thinking capacities and teamwork competences. Moreover, pedagogical competences are more related with the two high‐skill competence sets. This suggests the need for training plans that favour learning 21st‐century competences and for stressing pedagogical competences in ICT. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: University students require new competences to face a changing society.21st‐century competences are made up of ICT competences, higher‐order thinking capacities and teamwork competences.The empirical relation between ICT competences with higher‐order thinking capacities and teamwork competences has been little addressed.Few empirical studies have determined the contribution of each of the competence dimensions in that relation. What this paper adds: There is a positive relation between ICT competences and higher‐order thinking capacities and teamwork competences.Pedagogical competences –ICT competences‐ are more closely related to the two sets of high‐skill competences.Problem solving and the two teamwork competences contribute more to the relation with ICT competences. Implications for practice and/or policy: University system have to development training plans in the 21st century competences for the university student.University system have to promote specific training in pedagogical competences ‐ICT competences‐ for university student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new hybrid prediction system is proposed to predict wind speed. • Simplex and chaotic mapping optimization cuckoo algorithm are proposed. • An uncertainty prediction model based on Monte Carlo method is proposed. • The energy theory is proposed to optimize the decomposition mode number. • Theories proofs and experiments verify the effectiveness of the model. Wind energy has strong volatility and intermittent. Accurate wind speed prediction can not only improve the safety of the system, but also optimize dispatch and reduce economic losses. However, previous studies tend to ignore the influence of virtual components and lack effective identification of wind speed characteristics and a robust interval prediction scheme, resulting in poor results. To bridge these gaps, this paper proposes an energy theory method to solve the problem of modal over-decomposition. The study also combines effective modal recognition, uses different prediction methods according to modal characteristics and proposes a set of new optimization algorithms to improve nonlinear prediction capabilities. Finally, based on Monte Carlo theory, a set of interval prediction schemes that can adapt to different error characteristics are proposed. Under the verification of wind speed data in Changma, China and Sotavento, Spain. The mean absolute percentage error of wind speed deterministic prediction reaches 4.22% and 5.82%, respectively. The coverage rate of wind speed uncertainty prediction meets different confidence requirements, and the average interval width is still less than 2.5 m/s at 90% confidence. The results show that the forecasting system proposed in this paper is significantly better than all the comparative forecasting schemes, which can reduce the risk of fluctuations and improve the stability and safety of the wind power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore wind energy generation has experienced an important growth in the last five years, reaching currently an installed capacity of almost 8000 MW. The most important references in this type of technology are Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Germany and United Kingdom. In Spain, previsions for technology, have been set at around 750 MW of installed power during the period 2011–2020. However, Spanish coastal features, social opposition to installations near the coast and lack of a stable regulatory environment guaranteeing the investments are factors which are restraining the development of this technology. This paper presents a brief review of the state of the art of offshore wind technology and it describes the most frequently used types of turbines, transmission systems and support structures in Europe. It also presents the current situation and the expected growth of offshore wind power facilities, introducing the characteristics of the operational – and under construction – windfarms. Finally, it analyses particular problems and solutions for its development in Spain which can be extrapolated to countries with similar circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents an evolutionary algorithm for wind speed reconstruction from synoptic pressure patterns. The algorithm operates in a search space formed by grids of pressure measures, and must classify the different situations into classes, in such a way that a measure of wind speed in a given point is minimized among patterns assigned to the same class. Then, each class is assigned a mean wind speed and direction, so the wind speed reconstruction is possible for a new grid of synoptic pressures. In this paper we present the problem model and the specific description of the evolutionary algorithm proposed to solve the problem. We also show the good performance of the proposed method in the reconstruction of the average wind speed in six wind towers in Spain. The proposed method is applicable to wind speed reconstruction or reconstruction of wind missing data of wind series, specially when there is no other variable or related measure available. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Textbooks are frequently used as a resource to teach children how to solve word problems in mathematics classes. The solving models explicitly proposed by textbooks, and the kind of problems they propose, can therefore have a decisive influence on the way in which students learn to solve them. This paper analyses the extent to which the problem solving models proposed by the books include reasoning as one of the steps needed to solve a problem. To do this, the processes and steps articulated in the models proposed in the books by Anaya, SM and Santillana are categorized according to data, reasoning, choice of operation, strategies, execution of operations, expression of results, checking and inventing. The results indicate that reasoning processes are hardly ever found in the models, especially in lower year courses. It is concluded that mathematical textbooks provide incomplete solving models that fail to promote reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper exposes the existing problems for optimal industrial preventive maintenance intervals when decisions are made with right-censored data obtained from a network of sensors or other sources. A methodology based on the use of the z transform and a semi-Markovian approach is presented to solve these problems and obtain a much more consistent mathematical solution. This methodology is applied to a real case study of the maintenance of large marine engines of vessels dedicated to coastal surveillance in Spain to illustrate its usefulness. It is shown that the use of right-censored failure data significantly decreases the value of the optimal preventive interval calculated by the model. In addition, that optimal preventive interval increases as we consider older failure data. In sum, applying the proposed methodology, the maintenance manager can modify the preventive maintenance interval, obtaining a noticeable economic improvement. The results obtained are relevant, regardless of the number of data considered, provided that data are available with a duration of at least 75% of the value of the preventive interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the modernization of irrigation techniques in recent years has improved water use efficiency, the substitution of open channels by pressurized pipes led to a substantial increase in the energy used in irrigated agriculture. Given the concern for energy savings and sustainability, official administrations have promoted several initiatives to improve energy efficiency in irrigated agriculture, and researchers have developed different tools for the same. Although energy audits have been conducted in irrigation networks managed by Water Users' Associations, the implementation of energy conservation measures proposed in these audits has not been always successful. This paper, which reviews the energy aspects of irrigation systems modernized in recent decades in Spain and in other countries, considers the characteristics and special features of Water Users' Associations and proposes an energy management system (EMS) for the same. The stages of the EMS are described, beginning with the definition of energy policy and the establishment, implementation and verification of energy plans, the essential conditions to guarantee the success of the EMS are described, in which energy audits are just a part of a process of continual improvement of energy efficiency. A Strategy for Efficient Energy Management has been implemented in a Water Users' Association in southeast Spain. The improvement measures proposed in the first energy plan were implemented, and an increase from 60 to 65 % in average energy efficiency was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Epidemiological models of epidemic spread are an essential tool for optimizing decision-making. The current literature is very extensive and covers a wide variety of deterministic and stochastic models. However, with the increase in computing resources, new, more general, and flexible procedures based on simulation models can assess the effectiveness of measures and quantify the current state of the epidemic. This paper illustrates the potential of this approach to build a new dynamic probabilistic model to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in different compartments. Methods: We propose a new probabilistic model in which, for the first time in the epidemic literature, parameter learning is carried out using gradient-free stochastic black-box optimization techniques simulating multiple trajectories of the infection dynamics in a general way, solving an inverse problem that is defined employing the daily information from mortality records. Results : After the application of the new proposal in Spain in the first and successive waves, the result of the model confirms the accuracy to estimate the seroprevalence and allows us to know the real dynamics of the pandemic a posteriori to assess the impact of epidemiological measures by the Spanish government and to plan more efficiently the subsequent decisions with the prior knowledge obtained. Conclusions: The model results allow us to estimate the daily patterns of COVID-19 infections in Spain retrospectively and examine the population's exposure to the virus dynamically in contrast to seroprevalence surveys. Furthermore, given the flexibility of our simulation framework, we can model situations —even using non-parametric distributions between the different compartments in the model— that other models in the existing literature cannot. Our general optimization strategy remains valid in these cases, and we can easily create other non-standard simulation epidemic models that incorporate more complex and dynamic structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we present an extension to the mixed-model sequencing problem with work overload minimisation (MMSP-W) for production lines with serial workstations and parallel homogeneous processors. The extension is intended to meet the industrial need to sequence various products so that the work required and completed at the workstations over time is as constant as possible. Several approaches are proposed to formulate the problem, giving rise to different models. Four models are selected, and their performances are compared after running the Gurobi solver, using instances from the literature and a case study of the Nissan powertrain plant in Barcelona. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present a novel transmission expansion planning model that explicitly considers a multi-year planning horizon. The proposed formulation is a mixed-integer linear problem that can be solved using commercially available software. The algorithm determines the best overall transmission expansion plan, reflecting both investment and operational costs. To analyze the results obtained from the model, we use a set of efficiency metrics to appraise the effect of the expansion among generators and demands, as well as congestion metrics to measure changes in nodal prices and line congestions. This paper also provides a case study that considers the expansion plan for a transmission system based on the one of mainland Spain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The need to obtain automatic filters to treat wind data is clear due to the huge amount of data available in any wind farm analysis. Automatic detection of performance deviations of wind turbines is required for maintenance purposes. In spite of some alarms being registered by the wind farm’s SCADA system, many times automatic use of real data use is not valid due to its low quality. In this paper, the problems to carry out the characterization of the turbines in a wind farm are stated and a new technique to filter the data is presented. The robust statistical technique of the Least Median of Squares (LMedS) combined with a random search is adapted to deal with this problem with promising results. A mathematical model representing the dependency of the wind turbine behaviour in function not only of the wind speed but also of other variables such as the direction of the wind is also proposed. The results achieved are tested with long term real data from wind farms in Spain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, the task carried out by professors of different subjects of Survey Engineering is shown within a teaching innovation project with financial help of the UPC (Technical University of Catalonia). The tool has been developed for helping the students to solve practical problems which involve several subjects, and consists of the following parts: a data base of realistic problems with virtual observations of topography or photogrammetric surveys, the necessary theory to find the solution together with the mathematical tools to make the matrix calculus, and finally, in order to check the learning progress and the degree of assimilation of the subjects, a set of self assessment tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on mathematics teachers' knowledge has generally focused more on mathematics concepts than mathematical processes. This paper addresses the latter with a focus on mathematical problem solving (PS). It reports on a study that investigated the pedagogical knowledge for PS of prospective elementary school teachers of mathematics (PTs). Participants were 149 PTs at a university in Spain. They were at the end of their teacher education program. Data sources consisted of a questionnaire on knowledge of learning PS and a questionnaire on knowledge of teaching PS. Findings indicated that the PTs held combination of different levels of knowledge of PS learning and teaching. Many of them demonstrated appropriate knowledge of many characteristics for (1) PS learning consisting of student as a problem-solver, PS as a worthwhile task, non-cognitive factor related to PS, and (2) PS teaching consisting of PS teaching approaches, discourse in PS, intervention during stuck state in PS, PS assessment, and PS resources. However, there were also contradictions and limitations to their knowledge with implications for teacher education. These combination of appropriate and inappropriate knowledge resulted in some conflicts that are related to teaching actions and would limit student' learning of PS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper an experiment was carried out to test the theory of mental models of Johnson-Laird, which classifies subjects according to their previous knowledge. The subjects of the experiment were high school students of Valencia (Spain), to whom a problem solving test was administered. The results found seem to confirm that an inverse relation between the number of mental models implied in the problem and the percentage of subjects that solve it correctly, as the theory predicts. Moreover, subjects of higher previous knowledge do not always solve problems significantly better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the application of the multicriteria decision-making methods ELECTRE-I and AHP to a layout alternatives decision for a new high-speed train for the Madrid-Valencia high-speed line. The official choice is presented as a first introduction with the planning decision of the corresponding new high-speed lines for the south-east of Spain as part of the 2002-2007 high-speed network plan for Spain. This official selection of layout alternatives was decided in January 2002. The data used by the authors were obtained from public reports and official surveys, including two cost-effectiveness studies in net present value format for that part of the network that includes the important link between Madrid and Valencia. A short analysis of these net present value studies follows, and these studies show the feasibility of that part of the network, but were not decisive for the decision of the layout choice. The selection of alternatives for the Madrid-Valencia corridor is academically considered first with an ELECTRE-I method, and then with an analytic hierarchic process method. This is followed by an analysis of the problems using compromise programming. With both multicriteria decision-making methods the results showed that the North option was preferable, or `outranked' the others, in agreement with the official selection. Thus it demonstrates that such methods are appropriate as aids for such decision-making procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]