According to the recent Spanish legislation, the amount of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) by weight must be reduced by at least 70% by 2020. However, the current behavior of the stakeholders involved in the waste management process make this goal difficult to achieve. In order to boost changes in their strategies, we firstly describe an Environmental Management System (EMS) based on regulation measures and economic incentives which incorporate universities as a key new actor in order to create a 3Rs model (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) in the C&D waste management with costs savings. The target areas are focused mainly on producer responsibility, promotion of low-waste building technologies and creation of green jobs to fulfill three main objectives: valorization of inert wastes, elimination of illegal landfills and stimulation of demand for recycled C&D wastes. To achieve this latter goal, we have also designed a simulation model-using the Systems Dynamic methodology-to assess the potential impact of two policies (incentives and tax penalties) in order to evaluate how the government can influence the behavior of the firms in the recycling system of C&D waste aggregates. This paper finds a broader understanding of the socioeconomic implications of waste management over time and the positive effects of these policies in the recycled aggregates market in order to achieve the goal of 30% C&D waste aggregates in 12 years or less.
The use of Information and Communication Technologies in higher education has proved to be very effective in different educational environments. A less explored area is their application for evaluation on-line, since it is a different process, with specific components. This work describes a methodology that combines the assessment with multiple choice tests through the virtual environment Moodle and the evaluation by using traditional classroom exams. The proposed mixed methodology ELFF (E-Learning and Face to Face) was implemented during the academic year 2010-11 in the subject Microeconomics: Markets and Competition in the European Union of the double degree in Law and in Business Administration and Management, to assess complementary aspects of the knowledge acquired. The obtained results show that it clearly promotes the participation of students, increases their motivation and improves their competence and so, their performance in terms of qualifications.
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