On the European bison’s rewilding hooves: How to visualize it?:A scientifically based visual communication toolkit for long-term and large spatial scale ecological processes

The need for public awareness of scientific findings through effective communication, delivered in easily understandable formats, is rapidly increasing. In this context, art and graphic design can help bridge the communication gap between science and various target groups, both within and outside academia, for a wide range of scientific topics.Centred on the field of conservation ecology, I explored the interdisciplinary relationship between visual arts and natural sciences. I focused on rewilding with European bison as a specific ecological subject, narrowing down to two locations in Poland and the Netherlands. Drawing on my background in scientific illustration and graphic design, a set of questions regarding visual communication in science were developed. How effective are visual communication tools for sharing scientific information? What types of visuals should be used? How should the information be laid out? What is the public’s perception on the format used? What is the process of creation of these visuals and how can these processes improve? To address these questions, a series of studies were conducted, resulting in both textual and visual outcomes. The findings of this project have implications for enhancing communication about European bison research and conservation efforts, with potential application to other related ecological topics. By examining the effectiveness of different types of illustrations, the layout of graphic scientific information, a variety of visual communication formats, and the public’s perception of these visual tools, we shed light on opportunities to visually improve the communication of ecological subjects. These insights also aim to inspire more interdisciplinary studies, investment, and interest in collaborations between visual communication and natural sciences

Effects of drop and film viscosity on drop impacts onto thin films

While drop-film impacts have been studied extensively in the past, little thought has been given towards separating the effects of the drop fluid properties from those of the film. Distinguishing between the behaviors resulting from characteristics of each independently could provide insight into the underlying physical phenomena with a clarity that is unavailable when the drop and the film consist of identical liquids. In this study, the viscosity is the central parameter varied in both drop and film liquid. Using water, aqueous glycerol mixtures, and Fluoroinert FC-72, a range of kinematic viscosity covering 3 orders of magnitude (4 × 10-7 - 6.5 × 10 -4 m2/s) is examined; a smaller range of surface tension (0.024-0.072 N/m) is covered, as well. Drop impacts occur over a range of Weber numbers from 20 to 3000 and Reynolds numbers from 20 to 14000. Impact outcomes categorized are both formation of a crown and splashing from the crown. Criteria for each impact outcome are presented in light of both film and drop properties; certain outcomes are found to depend more strongly on either the properties of the drop or the film individually. Crown formation appears to relate more strongly to the film's properties, whereas crown splashing has some dependence on the drop properties. Existing splashing correlations are examined in light of the separation of properties. © 2013 by Begell House, Inc

Infinite-dimensional representations of the rotation group and Dirac's monopole problem

Within the context of infinite-dimensional representations of the rotation group the Dirac monopole problem is studied in details. Irreducible infinite-dimensional representations, being realized in the indefinite metric Hilbert space, are given by linear unbounded operators in infinite-dimensional topological spaces, supplied with a weak topology and associated weak convergence. We argue that an arbitrary magnetic charge is allowed, and the Dirac quantization condition can be replaced by a generalized quantization rule yielding a new quantum number, the so-called topological spin, which is related to the weight of the Dirac string.Comment: JHEP style. Extended version of hep-th/0403146. Revised version, title and some notations are changed. References and Appendix B are adde

Dynamical properties of a dissipative discontinuous map: A scaling investigation

The effects of dissipation on the scaling properties of nonlinear discontinuous maps are investigated by analyzing the behavior of the average squared action \left as a function of the $n$-th iteration of the map as well as the parameters $K$ and $\gamma$, controlling nonlinearity and dissipation, respectively. We concentrate our efforts to study the case where the nonlinearity is large; i.e., $K\gg 1$. In this regime and for large initial action $I_0\gg K$, we prove that dissipation produces an exponential decay for the average action \left. Also, for $I_0\cong 0$, we describe the behavior of \left using a scaling function and analytically obtain critical exponents which are used to overlap different curves of \left onto an universal plot. We complete our study with the analysis of the scaling properties of the deviation around the average action $\omega$.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure

Tourists behavior during their trip: How they use and offer recommendations?

The rise of new technologies has changed the way tourists trust in eWOM to choose a restaurant. There is a growing use of opinion and price comparison websites, where opinions and ratings can be shared with other users. In addition, the spreading of false or paid comments has made this type of webs seek the generation and maintenance of trust. However, there are few studies that analyse how to generate trust in these webs and its effect in the intention of the consumer to participate in WOM behaviours, once the tourist is already in its tourist destination. Therefore, this research analyses the influence of recommendations on the generation of tourists’ trust in the review websites of restaurant industry while they are in the destination. A regression analysis of data from 439 tourists has revealed that the perceived credibility, the quality of the information and the quality of the web affect trust in review websites. This fact encourages the contracting of restaurant services and communication among consumers, both in a traditional way (WOM) and through the review websites (eWOM), while the tourist is in the tourism destination.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Volcano Seismology From Around The World: Case Studies From Mount Pinatubo (Philippines) Galeras (Colombia), Mount Wrangell And Mount Veniaminof (Alaska)

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2005A compilation of research papers in volcano seismology is presented: (1) to study the configuration of magma systems beneath volcanoes, (2) to describe unexpected effects of the shaking from a regional earthquake on volcanic systems, and (3) to integrate seismicity investigations into a conceptual model for the magma system of a volcano. This work was undertaken because much research in volcano seismology is needed to help in hazard assessment. The possible configuration of magma systems beneath Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, and Galeras Volcano, Colombia, is studied with b-value mapping. We suggest models for earthquake-volcanoes interactions by studying the declines in local seismicity at Mt. Wrangell and Mt. Veniaminof, Alaska, following the 3 November 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake (DFE). Finally, a model for the magmatic-hydrothermal system beneath Mt. Veniaminof is proposed by deriving a velocity model and relocating the earthquakes, and by studying the temporal changes of frequencies and attenuation (Q) at the source of long-period (LP) events. Results from b-value mapping confirm that volcanoes are characterized by localized zones of high b-values, and also indicate that the internal structure of volcanoes is variable. Analyses of the background seismicity at Mt. Veniaminof suggest that earthquakes result from locally-induced stresses and that LP events may represent the response of a shallow hydrothermal system to heat input from below. The study of declines in seismicity at Mt. Wrangell and Mt. Veniaminof volcanoes following the DFE indicates that the dynamic shaking from regional shocks can physically damage a volcano and together with the static stress changes can affect the local seismicity for extended periods. We conclude that the use of simple methods allows a better understanding of the seismicity at volcanoes in Alaska, but most importantly in developing countries where the small number of seismograph stations puts challenging limitations for research

El valor percibido en webs de social commerce: Efectos sobre la lealtad del consumidor.

El estudio del comportamiento del consumidor en webs de social commerce está en auge, debido al gran crecimiento del sector en los últimos años. A pesar de ello, su comprensión se encuentra en su infancia, debido a la multitud de factores influyentes. Esta investigación, a través de la metodología del estímulo-organismo-respuesta, estudia qué papel tiene el valor percibido (O) por el consumidor, mediante el análisis de dos de sus principales antecedentes (calidad del sistema y del servicio) (S), así como de sus efectos sobre la lealtad (R). Los resultados obtenidos a partir de la aplicación de la técnica PLS a una muestra de 272 consumidores habituales de estas webs ponen de manifiesto la gran importancia que la calidad de la web tiene en la generación de valor en el consumidor, así como el rol clave de éste sobre las intenciones del consumidor tanto para volver a comprar como para recomendar.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Efecto de la confianza en la lealtad y el eWOM en las comunidades virtuales de marca.

La confianza en la marca y en la Comunidad Virtual de Marca (CVM) pueden contribuir a la generación de lealtad a la marca y eWOM positivo. Sin embargo, no han sido muchos los estudios empíricos que han incluido ambos tipos de confianza en la evaluación de los resultados de las CVM. Por lo tanto, este trabajo tiene como objetivo explorar cómo la confianza en la marca y la confianza en la comunidad influyen en la lealtad y en el eWOM. Para ello se emplearon datos procedentes de una encuesta realizada a usuarios de CVM que fueron analizados mediante la técnica PLS. Los resultados confirman que la confianza en la marca influye en la lealtad y en el eWOM tanto directamente, como indirectamente a través de la confianza en la CVM. Además, la lealtad favorece la generación de eWOM. Las implicaciones para la práctica de marketing son comentadas.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech