Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Improving trainee teachers’ digital and literary competence by designing multimodal constellations is the key objective of this research. The structured observation of this teaching intervention and the questionnaires administered for analysis (n = 138) offer relevant data that validate the value of this practice for future teachers. Following a cross-sectional descriptive approach, this research employs measures of central tendency (means and standard deviations) and bivariate analyses (Student’s t tests) with two mixed questionnaires. The internal consistency of the instruments used (α = .737) confirms their rigor as a tool for analysis. The results obtained show that including multimodal constellations in the classroom as a reading practice improves the teaching and learning of essential skills in teacher training.

The objective of this study is to explore the effect of prior experience (PE) and intrinsic motivation (IM) on the perception of learning (PL) of university students when they use online video tutorials. The methodology follows a quantitative, non-experimental, correlational, and cross-sectional research design, applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to 112 university students from different institutions and academic programs. The results from the first phase of the study show that YouTube is the platform most commonly used by students to search for video tutorials to help them academically, while the second phase reveals a positive correlation between PE and IM (rs = 0.526; p < 0.01) and between IM and PL (rs = .492; p < 0.01). These results indicate that video tutorials are a valuable tool that boosts students’ motivation in their learning process.

This paper explores the relationship between adolescents and YouTubers, with the aim of understanding the meaning and extent of the impact of following a given YouTuber. The limited scientific research on this subject has noted the importance of aspects such as the type of content in video broadcasts, the state of mind that these figures impress upon adolescents, and the level of proximity and idealization displayed by younger followers. To conduct this study, we developed and validated an ad hoc questionnaire. The results support the dimensions proposed and perpetuate certain gender roles. We conclude it is necessary to develop critical media education, raising awareness among families and teachers of the importance of this issue and the need to foster a critical approach in young people to “following” these new idols.

Se diseñó una rúbrica analítica para medir el desempeño de los estudiantes en el uso de Competencias de Información (CI) durante la redacción de informes de laboratorio. Para el diseño de la rúbrica se tomaron en consideración los estándares e indicadores de desempeño de la Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), las CI seleccionadas por el personal docente de la Facultad de Estudios Generales del Proyecto para la Integración de Competencias de Información al Currículo (PICIC) del Recinto de Río Piedras de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, así como los estándares de acreditación relacionados con las CI, establecidos por la Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Para la evaluación de la rúbrica se utilizaron los puntajes asignados a 77 estudiantes (informes) correspondientes a 6 secciones de laboratorio de dos cursos medulares del Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Los resultados de un Análisis Factorial Exploratorio reflejaron una estructura interna de la rúbrica que corresponde a dos factores, para los que se obtuvieron comunalidades entre 0.65 y 0.94 y un porcentaje de varianza explicada del 81.6%, lo que sugiere que la rúbrica diseñada puede ser utilizada para evaluar las CI de los estudiantes en la elaboración de informes de laboratorio. Se discute la correlación entre los criterios considerados en la rúbrica y se interpretan los resultados del Análisis Factorial a la luz de la información disponible en la literatura.

The debates around the levels of disparities within the levels of influence between global actors are still unresolved. While it's true that some states are more influential than others in global politics, it's also true that globalization opens spaces from which the struggle between global actors can be balanced. Faced with these dynamics, encountered, fragmented and sometimes antagonistic positions between some social groups and States against the possibilities of influence within globalization are frequent. In the following pages we will observe some of the dynamics in global-local relations within the framework of globalization. In addition, we will analyze how the different actors position themselves towards globalization, in a world where Postmodernity and the new technologies of information and communication are slowly collapsing the rational based absolutisms of Modernity. We are facing an uncertain future, and understanding the balance in multilateral global politics is relevant.

This study is dedicated to the life of the so-called “sonero mayor”, Ismael Rivera. Presents both, his journey to become a tropical music exponent at an international level and his personal experiences. The article contains references to past interviews, and books, as fragments of new interviews conducted by the author to close friends of the famous singer. A tour of the different facets of Maelo's life, such as his combination of ethno-religious roots (yoruba / orisha, catholic, and the Black Christ tradition), his nationality, his drug problem, but above all, its sovereignty. In the end, the paper reflects how the life of Ismael Rivera was at various levels, reflecting on the life of, what we call,a sovereign Caribbean Cimarron

Este número inicia el estudio e investigación afrodescendiente, a la sombra del Iroko boricua. En sí mismo, transdisciplinario y transgresivo. Es un espacio para el reconocimiento de saberes y experiencias afrodescendientes en Puerto Rico. Tiene Revista Umbral, 14, diciembre, 2018. umbral.uprrp.edu 4 como objetivo reconocer la importancia, trascendencia e imbricación de la consciencia afrodescendiente en todo espacio académico, científico, político, económico y social.

Ante la necesidad de un análisis crítico, la Revista Umbral ha decidido dedicar un número especial a la crisis económica de Puerto Rico con el objetivo de presentar abordajes profundos sobre las raíces de la misma y algunas de las decisiones que más impacto han tenido sobre ella. En el entendido de que esta crisis no es solo económica, sino que también es política, ética, moral, laboral, psicológica, ambiental, etc. se advierte sin embargo, que su rostro más perceptible es el financiero con todas las consecuencias que esto conlleva. La deuda, la dimensión más discutida y, como veremos en uno de los artículos, más violenta de la crisis, acapara gran parte de la atención de los medios y la ciudadanía. Pero, lamentablemente, poco -o casi nada- se reflexiona sobre los orígenes y el devenir de un concepto tan complejo y poderoso, que es de vital importancia en el funcionamiento del sistema socioeconómico en el que malvivimos.

This short note is based on the author’s previous research from 2016. It has been updated to take into consideration recent events related to a particular historical juncture in Puerto Rico: a debt crisis without precedent. It provides a brief introduction on how Puerto Rico entered this crisis, a general overview of the economic and political situation, as well as some economic perspectives toward the future.

In this article we review the concept of the role of the market, debt, and money based upon various interpretations of economic history and anthropology. It analyzes its difference from the economic discourses of today. We focus the analysis on neoliberal policies on debt at the global level and in particular on Puerto Rico.