Open University of Catalonia

About: Open University of Catalonia is a education organization based out in Barcelona, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Context (language use) & Higher education. The organization has 1943 authors who have published 4646 publications receiving 64200 citations. The organization is also known as: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya & UOC.

Comunidades de práctica virtuales:acceso y uso de contenidos

Abstract: According to Wenger, McDermott and Snyder (2002), a community of practice (CP) is «a group of persons sharing a concern, a set of problems or common interest in a subject, and who deepen knowledge and skill in this field through continued interaction». Among other aspects, the moderator is a key figure when guaranteeing the functioning of CPs, especially in the case of virtual CPs. The moderator’s function is to promote participation and manage the contents exchanged among members of the CP, identify the important contents and store them in such a way that they can be retrieved. The case of the information management group of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya is used to illustrate how information and communication technologies and the moderator help to preserve the memory of the CP.

Regional Variation in Europe Between Homicide and Other Forms of External Death and Criminal Offences

Abstract: This chapter analyzes the relationship between homicide and other external causes of death such as suicide, motor vehicle traffic accidents and work-related accidents across Europe. It also compares homicide to other violent offences and to property offences. The comparison is both cross-sectional and longitudinal, identifying regional variations in rates and trends from 1970 to 2008, unless in the cases where data are available only for shorter periods of time. Data are taken mainly from the World Health Organization Statistics, the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics and the Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics. The findings suggest that opportunity-based theories provide the more plausible explanation of regional differences and trends in the various measures studied.

Benchmarking Corporate Social Responsibility within Spanish Companies

Abstract: In this paper, the authors focus on the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) upon business profitability. In order to be capable of working with homogeneous data, the authors’ starting point is to use the criteria defined by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ work on the subject, and published by the Spanish journal Actualidad Economica. In this work, an index was created which assigns between one and five points to the companies depending on the importance given by them to CSR. The CSR measurement published by the Observatorio de la RSE will also be considered. In order to measure companies’ profitability, this paper will take into account their return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) of 2005 and 2006. The authors’ purpose is to demonstrate that the relationship between CSR and business profitability is neutral.

Brain microstructural and metabolic alterations detected in vivo at onset of the first demyelinating event.

Abstract: In early multiple sclerosis, a clearer understanding of normal-brain tissue microstructural and metabolic abnormalities will provide valuable insights into its pathophysiology. We used multi-parametric quantitative MRI to detect alterations in brain tissues of patients with their first demyelinating episode. We acquired neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging [to investigate morphology of neurites (dendrites and axons)] and 23Na MRI (to estimate total sodium concentration, a reflection of underlying changes in metabolic function). In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 42 patients diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome or multiple sclerosis within 3 months of their first demyelinating event and 16 healthy controls. Physical and cognitive scales were assessed. At 3 T, we acquired brain and spinal cord structural scans, and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging. Thirty-two patients and 13 healthy controls also underwent brain 23Na MRI. We measured neurite density and orientation dispersion indices and total sodium concentration in brain normal-appearing white matter, white matter lesions, and grey matter. We used linear regression models (adjusting for brain parenchymal fraction and lesion load) and Spearman correlation tests (significance level P ≤ 0.01). Patients showed higher orientation dispersion index in normal-appearing white matter, including the corpus callosum, where they also showed lower neurite density index and higher total sodium concentration, compared with healthy controls. In grey matter, compared with healthy controls, patients demonstrated: lower orientation dispersion index in frontal, parietal and temporal cortices; lower neurite density index in parietal, temporal and occipital cortices; and higher total sodium concentration in limbic and frontal cortices. Brain volumes did not differ between patients and controls. In patients, higher orientation dispersion index in corpus callosum was associated with worse performance on timed walk test (P = 0.009, B = 0.01, 99% confidence interval = 0.0001 to 0.02), independent of brain and lesion volumes. Higher total sodium concentration in left frontal middle gyrus was associated with higher disability on Expanded Disability Status Scale (rs = 0.5, P = 0.005). Increased axonal dispersion was found in normal-appearing white matter, particularly corpus callosum, where there was also axonal degeneration and total sodium accumulation. The association between increased axonal dispersion in the corpus callosum and worse walking performance implies that morphological and metabolic alterations in this structure could mechanistically contribute to disability in multiple sclerosis. As brain volumes were neither altered nor related to disability in patients, our findings suggest that these two advanced MRI techniques are more sensitive at detecting clinically relevant pathology in early multiple sclerosis.