Repping the streets, repping the hometown : a sociophonetic analysis of dialectal variation in the Moroccan hip hop community

The following study is a sociophonetic analysis of coronal stop affrication in the casual speech of four Moroccan rappers from two regions of the country: the cities of Salé and Casablanca, where the phoneme is /t/ is realized as the palato-alveolar affricate [tʃ], and the city of Meknès, where the phoneme /t/ is realized as the alveolar affricate [ts]. Casablanca and Salé host two of the most important rap scenes in the country, and Meknès hosts a significant, but less prominent, rap scene; this would suggest that the rappers from Meknès will attempt to access the Slaoui-Cassaoui variant [tʃ] in order to access the authenticity inherent in the more important rap scene’s street code. However, the varying attitudes between the two Meknassi rappers towards adopting the Slaoui-Cassaoui street code indicates a more complex construction of the notion of authenticity within the Moroccan Hip Hop community.Middle Eastern Studie

Improving electrical and thermal surface properties of polymer composite materials

Treballs Finals de Grau d'Enginyeria Química, Facultat de Química, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2016-2017, Tutores: Núria Llorca Isern, Ana Maria Escobar RomeroThe use of new composite materials has increase in the last decades due to the possibility to achieve great properties with the combination of two or more materials. A great example is carbon fibre reinforce polymers (CFRPs), which are intensively use in many applications for their good strength to weight ratio. These materials are apparently an ideal component for aircraft industrial; however, the electrical and thermal conductivity they exhibit makes it unsuitable for certain applications like lightening strike protection. To achieve better performance on CFRPs, it is common to metallise the surface with aluminium, copper or others conductive materials. In this project two different approaches have been compared: joining, with adhesive tape, and coating, with electrochemical deposition and sputtering. The electrical conductivity of the samples, before and after the metallization, has been studied with the 4-probes method and we have studied the influence of thickness on thermal and electrical conductivity

Some acoustic and articulatory correlates of phrasal stress in Spanish

All spoken languages show rhythmic patterns. Recent work with a number of different languages (English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and French) suggests that metrically (hierarchically) assigned stress levels of the utterance show strong correlations with the amount of jaw displacement, and corresponding F1 values. This paper examines some articulatory and acoustic correlates of Spanish rhythm; specifically, we ask if there is a correlation between phrasal stress values metrically assigned to each syllable and acoustic/articulatory values. We used video recordings of three Salvadoran Spanish speakers to measure maximum jaw displacement, mean F0, mean intensity, mean duration, and mid-vowel F1 for each vowel in two Spanish sentences. The results show strong correlations between stress and duration, and between stress and F1, but weak correlations between stress and both mean vowel intensity and maximum jaw displacement. We also found weak correlations between jaw displacement and both mean vowel intensity and F1

The COVID-19's Spillover Effects on Industry Indices Returns: Evidence from Casablanca Stock Exchange: Les effets d'entraînement du COVID-19 sur les rendements des indices industriels : Evidence de la Bourse de Casablanca

Résumé Cette étude examine la réaction de la Bourse de Casablanca au COVID-19 en considérant plus particulièrement l'effet d'entraînement des cas et des décès liés au COVID-19 dans cinq pays sélectionnés affectés par le COVID-19, dont le Maroc, sur les rendements des indices industriels de la Bourse de Casablanca du 13 juin 2019 au 11 juin 2020. Cette étude utilise le "modèle VAR-X" (modèles VAR avec des variables exogènes) à cette fin, pour examiner les rendements des indices de l'industrie (variables endogènes) en réponse aux cas et aux décès liés au COVID-19 (variables exogènes). Les résultats empiriques suggèrent l'existence d'effets de d'entrainement significatifs sur les rendements de la plupart des indices industriels, suggérant que la Bourse de Casablanca est plus vulnérable aux situations épidémiologiques d'autres pays. Plus précisément, les résultats suggèrent que les retombées de l'Espagne et de la France sont l'un des facteurs clés qui influencent négativement les rendements de la majorité des indices industriels. Mots clés : COVID-19, rendements des indices de l'industrie, Bourse de Casablanca, modèle VAR-X.   Abstract This study investigates the Casablanca Stock Exchange response to COVID-19 by considering more particularly the spillover effect of COVID-19 related cases and deaths of five selected countries affected by COVID-19, including Morocco, on the Casablanca Stock Exchange’s industry indices returns from June 13, 2019, to June 11, 2020. This study employs the “VAR-X model” (VAR models with exogenous variables) for this purpose, to examine industry indices returns (endogenous variables) response to COVID-19 related cases and deaths (exogenous variables). The empirical findings suggest the existence of significant spillover impacts on most of the industry indices returns, suggesting that Casablanca Stock Exchange is more vulnerable to the epidemiological situations of other countries. More specifically, the findings suggest that spillovers from Spain and France are one of the key driving factors that influence negatively the majority of industry indices returns. Keywords: COVID-19, Industry indices returns, Casablanca Stock Exchange, VAR-X model

Modernización vitivinícola del Valle de Casablanca: potencialidades y vulnerabilidad de la actividad

This article presents some results obtained during the development of the Project IPGH-OEA GEO 2.1.2.3 .4. entitled "Expansion of the Viticulture and its relation with the Local Development in Casablanca (Chile) and Mendoza (Argentina)", whereby, the potential for the development of the Viticulture in the commune of Casablanca is analyzed. This is an economic activity that marks the specialization of the valley since its modernization and productive reconversion, and, along with the space location of agro-industries denominated "warehouses boutiques", stands out in the rural landscape of the commune. The limitations that threaten the future expansion of the viticulture in the valley of Casablanca are also analyzed, with specifi c reference to the shortage of water resources in terms of precipitations, irrigation infrastructure, and systems of irrigated land, in addition to the possible competition of new productive or exporting regions, which represents a serious limitation for the sustainable development of the activity.    El artículo muestra algunos resultados obtenidos durante el desarrollo del Proyecto IPGH-OEA GEO 2.1.2.3.4. titulado "Expansión de la Vitivinicultura y su relación con el Desarrollo Local en Casablanca (Chile) y Mendoza (Argentina)". Se analizan las potencialidades de la comuna de Casablanca para el desarrollo de la Vitivinicultura, actividad económica que marca la especialización del valle a partir de la modernización y reconversión productiva, y que junto con la localización espacial de las agroindustrias denominadas "bodegas boutiques" se distinguen en el paisaje rural de la comuna. Se analizan también las limitantes que amenazan la futura expansión de la vitivinicultura en el valle de Casablanca, referidas específicamente a la escasez del recurso agua en términos de precipitaciones, infraestructura de riego y sistemas de regadío, además de la competencia eventual de nuevas regiones productivas o exportadoras, lo cual representa una seria limitante para el desarrollo sustentable de la actividad.  

Labor Rights Report: Morocco

[Excerpt] This report examines the labor rights situation in Morocco. The labor rights taken into consideration include those rights defined as “core labor standards” by Section 2113 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 3813(6)): the right of association; the right to organize and bargain collectively; a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor; a minimum age for the employment of children; and acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health. Because of the emphasis in the Trade Act on the elimination of the worst forms of child labor, we have broadened the discussion not only to include minimum age for employment of children but also the effective elimination of the worst forms of child labor