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We have a system that is unable to keep students excited about their own learning and educational performance. In light of this situation it is the responsibility of educators to make a broad and global reflection on what must be changed and how this change may be managed. We believe that change is possible and there is no objective more necessary for society than investing in its future project. This paper proposes an exhaustive analysis of the current situation of the secondary school teachers and from there on justifies the change through the teaching practice based on innovation and with a better training in pedagogical and didactical issues.

We have a system that is unable to keep students excited about their own learning and educational performance. In light of this situation it is the responsibility of educators to make a broad and global reflection on what must be changed and how this change may be managed. We believe that change is possible and there is no objective more necessary for society than investing in its future project. This paper proposes an exhaustive analysis of the current situation of the secondary school teachers and from there on justifies the change through the teaching practice based on innovation and with a better training in pedagogical and didactical issues.

Given the significant amount of installed generation-capacity based on wind power, and also due to current economic downturn, the subsidies and incentives that have been widely used by wind-power producers to recover their investment costs have decreased and are even expected to disappear in the near future. In these conditions, wind-power producers need to develop offering strategies to make their investments profitable counting solely on the market. This paper proposes a multi-stage risk-constrained stochastic complementarity model to derive the optimal offering strategy of a wind-power producer that participates in both the day-ahead and the balancing markets. Uncertainties concerning wind-power productions, market prices, demands' bids, and rivals' offers are efficiently modeled using a set of scenarios. The conditional-value-at-risk metric is used to model the profit risk associated with the offering decisions. The proposed model is recast as a tractable mixed-integer linear programming program solvable using available branch-and-cut algorithms. Results of a case study are reported and discussed to show the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach.

Given the significant amount of installed generation-capacity based on wind power, and also due to current economic downturn, the subsidies and incentives that have been widely used by wind-power producers to recover their investment costs have decreased and are even expected to disappear in the near future. In these conditions, wind-power producers need to develop offering strategies to make their investments profitable counting solely on the market. This paper proposes a multi-stage risk-constrained stochastic complementarity model to derive the optimal offering strategy of a wind-power producer that participates in both the day-ahead and the balancing markets. Uncertainties concerning wind-power productions, market prices, demands' bids, and rivals' offers are efficiently modeled using a set of scenarios. The conditional-value-at-risk metric is used to model the profit risk associated with the offering decisions. The proposed model is recast as a tractable mixed-integer linear programming program solvable using available branch-and-cut algorithms. Results of a case study are reported and discussed to show the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach.

Attempts to model any present or future power grid face a huge challenge because a power grid is a complex system, with feedback and multi-agent behaviors, integrated by generation, distribution, storage and consumption systems, using various control and automation computing systems to manage electricity flows. Our approach to modeling is to build upon an established model of the low voltage electricity network which is tested and proven, by extending it to a generalized energy model. But, in order to address the crucial issues of energy efficiency, additional processes like energy conversion and storage, and further energy carriers, such as gas, heat, etc., besides the traditional electrical one, must be considered. Therefore a more powerful model, provided with enhanced nodes or conversion points, able to deal with multidimensional flows, is being required. This article addresses the issue of modeling a local multi-carrier energy network. This problem can be considered as an extension of modeling a low voltage distribution network located at some urban or rural geographic area. But instead of using an external power flow analysis package to do the power flow calculations, as used in electric networks, in this work we integrate a multiagent algorithm to perform the task, in a concurrent way to the other simulation tasks, and not only for the electric fluid but also for a number of additional energy carriers. As the model is mainly focused in system operation, generation and load models are not developed. The financial support from EPSRC for Liz Varga on project entitled "Transforming Utilities’ Conversion Points" (no. EP/J005649/1) is gratefully acknowledged.

Attempts to model any present or future power grid face a huge challenge because a power grid is a complex system, with feedback and multi-agent behaviors, integrated by generation, distribution, storage and consumption systems, using various control and automation computing systems to manage electricity flows. Our approach to modeling is to build upon an established model of the low voltage electricity network which is tested and proven, by extending it to a generalized energy model. But, in order to address the crucial issues of energy efficiency, additional processes like energy conversion and storage, and further energy carriers, such as gas, heat, etc., besides the traditional electrical one, must be considered. Therefore a more powerful model, provided with enhanced nodes or conversion points, able to deal with multidimensional flows, is being required. This article addresses the issue of modeling a local multi-carrier energy network. This problem can be considered as an extension of modeling a low voltage distribution network located at some urban or rural geographic area. But instead of using an external power flow analysis package to do the power flow calculations, as used in electric networks, in this work we integrate a multiagent algorithm to perform the task, in a concurrent way to the other simulation tasks, and not only for the electric fluid but also for a number of additional energy carriers. As the model is mainly focused in system operation, generation and load models are not developed. The financial support from EPSRC for Liz Varga on project entitled "Transforming Utilities’ Conversion Points" (no. EP/J005649/1) is gratefully acknowledged.

We evaluated a teacher training intervention programme aimed at improving the teaching and learning process relating to history in the secondary classroom. This was carried out via the implementation of several teaching units during the period of teaching practice of trainee teachers specialising in geography and history. The design of the teaching units was based on historical thinking competencies and on the introduction of active learning strategies. The programme was evaluated via a quasi-experimental A-B type methodological approach employing a pretest and a post-test. Both tools were designed on the basis of four dimensions (methodology, motivation, satisfaction and perception). The content of the tools was validated using the interjudge process via a discussion group in the first round and with a Likert scale questionnaire (1–4) with seven experts in the second round. The reliability of the tools has been estimated via three indices (Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability and omega), and the validity of the construct via an exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the structural equation model. The results regarding reliability and validity have been adequate. Furthermore, the descriptive results show an improvement in all of the dimensions following the implementation of the teaching units, particularly with regard to group work, the use of digital resources and work with primary sources.