Arms tracing: perspectives on control, traffic and use of illegal weapons in Colombia

The publication reports on an extensive research endeavour to screen small arms stockpiles that were seized from illicit non-state actors in Colombia in the course of the past 5 years. It determines the proportion of these arms that are of European Union origin and reconstructs these arms flows 'upstream', so as to assess whether and to what extent these arms have been subject to unauthorized re-exports by states that obtained the arms legally from European Union member states

Deblocking of interacting particle assemblies: from pinning to jamming

A wide variety of interacting particle assemblies driven by an external force are characterized by a transition between a blocked and a moving phase. The origin of this deblocking transition can be traced back to the presence of either external quenched disorder, or of internal constraints. The first case belongs to the realm of the depinning transition, which, for example, is relevant for flux-lines in type II superconductors and other elastic systems moving in a random medium. The second case is usually included within the so-called jamming scenario observed, for instance, in many glassy materials as well as in plastically deforming crystals. Here we review some aspects of the rich phenomenology observed in interacting particle models. In particular, we discuss front depinning, observed when particles are injected inside a random medium from the boundary, elastic and plastic depinning in particle assemblies driven by external forces, and the rheology of systems close to the jamming transition. We emphasize similarities and differences in these phenomena.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, submitted for a special issue of the Brazilian Journal of Physics entitled: Statistical Mechanics of Irreversible Stochastic Models - I

La Commission des écoles catholiques de Montréal et l’intégration des immigrants et des minorités ethniques à l’école française de 1947 à 1977

Au Québec, la question de l’intégration des minorités ethniques s’est d’abord posée au niveau des institutions scolaires, tout particulièrement à la Commission des écoles catholiques de Montréal (CECM). Cet article analyse l’évolution des politiques de la CECM en matière d’intégration linguistique, de 1947 à 1977, à la lumière des rapports sociaux entre la majorité francophone et les communautés anglophone et allophone. Selon nous, la CECM joua un rôle déterminant dans la redéfinition de l’école française comme principal lieu d’accueil et d’intégration des minorités ethniques à la majorité francophone, d’une part, en adoptant progressivement un discours plus musclé sur la langue d’enseignement et, d’autre part, en élaborant une véritable politique de francisation et d’accueil.In Quebec, the integration of ethnic minorities is an issue which initially arose within educational institutions, particularly the Commission des écoles catholiques de Montréal (CECM). Covering the period from 1947 to 1977, this article analyzes the evolution CECM policies related to integration in light of the social relationships between the French-speaking majority and the English-speaking and allophone communities. In our opinion, the CECM played a decisive role in redefining the French school as the primary place for receiving and integrating ethnic minorities into the French-speaking majority. This was done, on the one hand, by progressively adopting a tougher stance on the language of instruction and, on the other hand, by developing a genuine policy on francization and the welcoming of ethnic minorities

Detecting Nature in Pictures

Com o advento da partilha em grande escala de imagens geo-referenciadas na internet, em portais como o Flickr e Panoramio, existem agora grandes fontes de dados prontas a serem processadas para a extracção de informação útil. A utilização destes dados para a criação de um mapa das áreas naturais e de origem humana do nosso planeta, pode fornecer conhecimento adicional aos decisores políticos responsáveis pela conservação do planeta.O problema de determinar o grau de naturalidade de uma imagem, pré-condição para a criação de tal mapa, pode ser generalizado como um problema de classificação de paisagens. Foram executadas experiências para melhor compreender a aplicabilidade de cada uma das técnicas identificadas para a classificação de paisagens quando aplicada à tarefa de distinguir entre imagens naturais e de origem humana. As suas vantagens e limitações, como os seus requisitos computacionais, são detalhados.Com uma escolha cuidada das técnicas e respectivos parâmetros foi possível construir um classificador capaz de distinguir entre paisagens naturais e de origem humana com elevada precisão, mas também capaz de processar uma grande quantidade de imagens dentro de um espaço de tempo razoável.With the advent of large-scale geo-tagged image sharing on the internet, on websites such as Flickr and Panoramio, there are now large sources of data ready to be mined for useful information. Using this data to automatically create a map of man-made and natural areas of our planet, can provide additional knowledge to decision-makers responsible for world-conservation.The problem of determining the degree of naturalness of an image, required to create such a map, can be generalized as a scene classification task. Experiments were performed to better understand the applicability of each of the identified scene classification techniques to perform the distinction between man-made and natural images. Their advantages and limitations, such as their computational costs, are detailed.With careful selection of techniques and their parameters it was possible to build a classifier capable of distinguishing between natural and man-made scenery with high accuracy and that can also process a large amount of pictures within a reasonable time frame

High management applied to organizational security

En este articulo investigue la relación que puede existir entre el conocimiento adquirido en la especialización en alta gerencia, y la actual forma de gestión seguridad en el escenario empresarial, el cual ha evolucionado desde el empirismo hasta la actual profesionalización liderada por la Universidad Militar Nueva Granada. Hoy en día, la profesionalización de la seguridad tanto en Colombia, como en Latinoamérica, es un arte que va en franco desarrollo a convertirse en una verdadera ciencia. Para nuestro caso, este desarrollo del conocimiento va desde un sinnúmero de diplomados, a un único pregrado y una única especialización. Por esta razón, desde la óptica académica se ha podido identificar que los contenidos curriculares están direccionados hacia el desarrollo de una fuerte labor técnica. Pero, ¿en la actualidad los profesionales de la seguridad necesitan un mayor nivel de formación que les genere herramientas para enfrentar los nuevos retos que demandan los cada vez mas exigentes y complejos procesos organizacionales?, la respuesta es: definitivamente, SI !!!!!!. En merito de la presente problemática, este articulo de investigación es una reflexión propositiva con visión académica que propenda por la generación de nuevas herramientas a través del desarrollo de un modelo académico de gerencia de alto nivel para la gestión de seguridad organizacional.This paper investigates the relationship that may exist between the knowledge gained specialization in senior management, and the current form of management security business scenario, which has evolved from empiricism to the current professionalization led by the Universidad Militar Nueva Granada . Today, the professionalization of security both in Colombia and in Latin America , is an art that goes into full development to become a true science. In our case , the development of knowledge ranging from countless graduates, to one undergraduate and unique expertise. For this reason, it has been from the academic perspective identify which curricula are directed towards the development of a strong technical work . But today 's security professionals need a higher level of training that will generate new tools to address the challenges demanded by increasingly demanding and complex organizational processes ?, the answer is definitely YES !!!!!! . In merit of this problem , this research article is a reflection purposeful academic vision that tends to generate new tools through the development of an academic model of top management for managing organizational security

Estudio de la relación entre el mercado de valores peruano y mercados de valores desarrollados a partir de la relación entre los índices bursátiles

El documento digital no refiere asesorDetermina la relación que existe entre la volatilidad de los mercados desarrollados y el mercado peruano. La volatilidad es medida a través de la rentabilidad de dichos mercados, para ello, se utilizó la información de los principales índices bursátiles de cada mercado. Analiza y estima la relación entre las fluctuaciones en mercados financieros eficientes o desarrollados, y el mercado de valores peruano, esta relación se analizará a partir de modelar a través de la metodología GARCH las rentabilidades de los principales índices de ambas realidades, a lo largo de un periodo de 15 años. Se sostiene como hipótesis la existencia de una fuerte relación entre el comportamiento volátil de los mercados eficientes y el mercado peruano. Busca identificar una relación que permita a los inversionistas del mercado local contar con una herramienta adicional de análisis que ayude al proceso de toma de decisiones.Tesi

Application of hydrodynamic cavitation in brewing

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Química e BiológicaA cerveja é uma bebida muito popular em todo o mundo e que tem uma grande história até aos dias de hoje, sendo a terceira bebida mais consumida em todo o mundo. É obtida por fermentação alcoólica, utilizando leveduras geralmente do género Saccharomyces, num mosto preparado a partir de malte de cereais, no qual foram adicionadas flores de lúpulo ou produtos de lúpulo e água potável. A indústria da cerveja, como a conhecemos, é o resultado de um longo desenvolvimento. A forma de produzir cerveja não é muito variável, pelo que esta indústria se baseia na criatividade para inovar nesta área. Além disso, atualmente várias investigações têm sido realizadas com vista a inovar tecnologicamente o processo. Uma das tecnologias mais investigadas neste campo, e o foco central deste estudo é a aplicação da cavitação hidrodinâmica no fabrico de cerveja, mais precisamente durante a fase de ebulição do mosto, a fim de poupar energia no processo. O fenómeno de cavitação consiste (com auxílio de maquinaria) na formação e colapso de pequenas bolhas de vapor que geram grandes quantidades de energia no meio. O principal objetivo deste estudo é fazer uso da tecnologia na ebulição do mosto, e compreender as condições que otimizam a isomerização dos ácidos alfa, bem como compreender se é possível reduzir os níveis de glúten na cerveja. As experiências foram realizadas num wort kettle com um volume de 50 L. Foram testadas diferentes temperaturas num intervalo de 70 a 90 °C, bem como diferentes números de cavitação sendo aplicados num intervalo de 0.062 a 0.15. Além disso, foi realizada uma experiência com pellets de lúpulo ao invés de extrato de lúpulo. Foram também realizadas experiências a 70 e 100 °C (temperatura de ebulição) sem cavitação, a fim de comparar os resultados com a utilização da tecnologia. A isomerização mais elevada (63 %) foi obtida a 90 °C aplicando um número de cavitação de 0.062. Esta foi superior à isomerização obtida para a experiência de ebulição tradicional (53.7 %). Os resultados mostraram que a temperatura de 90 °C, independentemente do número de cavitação, parece muito promissora e resulta numa melhor isomerização, ou pelo menos comparável à ebulição tradicional. Relativamente aos resultados de glúten, a cavitação hidrodinâmica mostrou diminuir a concentração de gliadina (proteína de glúten) no meio. No início da experiência foi detetada uma concentração de 65.3 ± 9.5 mg/L de gliadina enquanto no final 49.7 ± 7.2 mg/L.Beer is a very popular drink around the world, a beverage that has a great history until today, being the third most consumed drink in the entire world. It is obtained by alcoholic fermentation, using usually selected yeasts of the Saccharomyces genus, into a wort prepared from cereal malt, in which flowers of hops or hop products and potable water have been added. The beer industry as we know is the result of long development. The way of producing beer is not very variable, so this industry is based on creativity to innovate in this area. Furthermore, research is currently being carried out in order to technologically innovate the process. One of the most in-depth technologies in this field and the central focus of this study is the application of hydrodynamic cavitation in brewing, more precisely during the wort boiling stage, in order to save energy in the process. The cavitation phenomenon consists of (with support of machinery) the formation and collapse of small steam bubbles generating large amounts of energy in the medium. The main goal of this study is to make use of the application of the technology in wort boiling and understand the conditions that optimise the isomerisation of bitter alpha acids, as well as to understand if it is possible to reduce the levels of gluten in beer. The experiments were performed in a wort kettle with a volume of 50l. Different temperatures were tested in a range from 70 to 90 °C, as well as different cavitation numbers being applied in a range from 0.062 to 0.15. Furthermore, an experiment with hop pellets instead of hop extract was performed. Besides that, experiments at 70 and 100 °C (boiling temperature) without cavitation were also performed in order to compare the results with the use of the technology. The highest isomerization (63 %) was obtained at 90 °C applying 0.062 cavitation number. This was higher than the isomerization obtained for the experiment of traditional boiling (53.7 %). The results have shown that the use of 90 °C, regardless the cavitation number, seem very promising and results in isomerization better or comparable to traditional boiling. Regarding the gluten results, hydrodynamic cavitation has shown to decrease the concentration of gliadin (protein of gluten) in the medium. At the beginning of the experiment it was detected a concentration of 65.3 ± 9.5 mg/L gliadin while at the end 49.7 ± 7.2 mg/L

Holographic reality: enhancing the artificial reality experience throuhg interactive 3D holography

Holography was made know by several science-fiction productions, however this technology dates back to the year 1940. Despite the considerable age of this discovery, this technology remains inaccessible to the average consumer. The main goal of this manuscript is to advance the state of the art in interactive holography, providing an accessible and low-cost solution. The final product intends to nudge the HCI com munity to explore potential applications, in particular to be aquatic centric and environmentally friendly. Two main user studies are performed, in order to determine the impact of the proposed solution by a sample audience. Provided user studies include a first prototype as a Tangible User Interface - TUI for Holographic Reality - HR Second study included the Holographic Mounted Display - HMD for proposed HR interface, further analyzing the interactive holographic experience without hand-held devices. Both of these studies were further compared with an Augmented Reality setting. Obtained results demonstrate a significantly higher score for the HMD approach. This suggests it is the better solution, most likely due to the added simplicity and immersiveness features it has. However the TUI study did score higher in several key parameters, and should be considered for future studies. Comparing with an AR experience, the HMD study scores slightly lower, but manages to surpass AR in several parameters. Several approaches were outlined and evaluated, depicting different methods for the creation of Interactive Holographic Reality experiences. In spite of the low maturity of holographic technology, it can be concluded it is comparable and can keep up to other more developed and mature artificial reality settings, further supporting the need for the existence of the Holographic Reality conceptA tecnologia holográfica tornou-se conhecida através da ficção científica, contudo esta tecnologia remonta até ao ano 1940. Apesar da considerável idade desta descoberta, esta tecnologia continua a não ser acessíveil para o consumidor. O objetivo deste manuscrito é avançar o estado de arte da Holografia Interactiva, e fornecer uma solução de baixo custo. O objetivo do produto final é persuadir a comunidade HCI para a exploração de aplicações desta tecnologia, em particular em contextos aquáticos e pró-ambientais. Dois estudos principais foram efetuados, de modo a determinar qual o impacto da solução pro posta numa amostra. Os estudos fornecidos incluem um protótipo inicial baseado numa Interface Tangível e Realidade Holográfica e um dispositivo tangível. O segundo estudo inclui uma interface baseada num dispositivo head-mounted e em Realidade Holográfica, de modo a analisar e avaliar a experiência interativa e holográfica. Ambos os estudos são comparados com uma experiência semelhante, em Realidade Aumentada. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que o estudo HMD recebeu uma avaliação significante mel hor, em comparação com a abordagem TUI. Isto sugere que uma abordagem "head-mounted" tende a ser melhor solução, muito provavelmente devido às vantagens que possui em relação à simplicidade e imersividade que oferece. Contudo, o estudo TUI recebeu pontuações mais altas em alguns parâmetros chave, e deve ser considerados para a implementação de futuros estudos. Comparando com uma experiência de realidade aumentada, o estudo HMD recebeu uma avaliação ligeiramente menor, mas por uma margem mínima, e ultrapassando a AR em alguns parâmetros. Várias abordagens foram deliniadas e avaliadas, com diferentes métodos para a criação de experiências de Realidade Holográfica. Apesar da pouca maturidade da tecnologia holográfica, podemos concluir que a mesma é comparável e consegue acompanhar outros tipos de realidade artificial, que são muito mais desenvolvidos, o que suporta a necessidade da existência do conceito de Realidade Holográfica

The speed gateway: a facility for the upliftment and promotion of South Africa's motorsport culture

This document is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree: Masters of Architecture (Professional) University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2015Globally people are at the edge of their seats wide-eyed with passion and awe for the spectacular and entertaining world of motor racing, admiring the world’s most powerful machines and talented drivers battling through the race tracks with lightning speed and outstanding agility. Due to lack of public support, poor management and funding the motorsport culture is rapidly dying out and race tracks are becoming exceedingly underutilized in South Africa. Through Architectural intervention, the aim is to transform the underutilized Kyalami race track into a vibrant and entertaining motorsport venue that will integrate motorsport back into society and preserve this iconic race track that maintains the national motorsport culture alive. Apart from the shear entertainment value motorsport provides it has always united people from around the globe and enabled the production of some of the most technologically advanced machines of our time. Recognising the tremendous value motor racing had, the iconic Kyalami race track was built in South Africa, situated between Johannesburg and Pretoria, which hosted a great number of International Grand Prix events. Motorsport soon gained a major cultural, political, social, economic and spatial presence in South Africa. After almost three decades the race track was removed from the Formula 1 Grand Prix calendar, among other major motorsport calendars, due to sanctions. The poor entertainment value over recent years has led to a major decline in public and sponsor interest in local motorsport. In return Kyalami has become unsustainable which, in the past year, nearly led to the loss of the iconic race track which would have further rendered the local motorsport culture extinct. This recurring scenario around the country becomes the vital point of enquiry for this thesis; the role of Architecture in promoting the motorsport culture; the long-standing relationship between the automobile and Man and its influence on the urban fabric and architecture that is part of our everyday experience. Sited on the Kyalami race track, the architectural design will include an urban framework that will better integrate the current isolated race track with its surrounding context. The framework will include outdoor public activity spaces as well as research, training and workshop facilities that will accommodate the public’s needs and interests at the same time uplift and promote both the automobile and motorsport industry. The primary Kyalami Motorsport Centre sited by the existing southern pit complex will not only offer an enhanced trackside and racing experience to both spectators and race teams but the necessary auto-tecture that will host thrilling motorsport events and promote the nation’s young talented driversGR201

Updating Carbon Storage Capacity of Spanish Cements

The fabrication of cement clinker releases CO2 due to the calcination of the limestone used as raw material, which contributes to the greenhouse effect. The industry is involved in a process of reducing this amount liberated to the atmosphere by mainly lowering the amount of clinker in the cements. The cement-based materials, such as concrete and mortars, combine part of this CO2 by a process called “carbonation”. Carbonation has been studied lately mainly due to the fact that it induces the corrosion of steel reinforcement when bringing the CO2 front to the surface of the reinforcing bars. Thus, the “rate of carbonation” of the concrete cover is characterized by and linked to the length of service life of concrete structures. The studies on how much CO2 is fixed by the hydrated phases are scarce and even less has been studied the influence of the type of cement. In present work, 15 cements were used to fabricate paste and concrete specimens withwater/cement (w/c) ratios of 0.6 and 0.45 which reproduce typical concretes for buildings and infrastructures. The amount of carbon dioxide uptake was measured through thermal gravimetry. The degree of carbonation, (DoC) is defined as the CO2 fixed with respect to the total theoretical maximum and the carbon storage capacity (CSC) as the carbonation uptake by a concrete element, a family or the whole inventory of a region or country. The results in the pastes where analyzed with respect to the uptake by concretes and indicated that: (a) the humidity of the pores is a critical parameter that favours the carbonation reaction as higher is the humidity (within the normal atmospheric values), (b) all types of cement uptake CO2 in function of the CaO of the clinker except the binders having slags, which can uptake additional CO2 giving aDoC near or above 100%. The CSC of Spain has been updated with respect to a previous publication resulting in proportions of 10.8–11.2% of the calcination emissions, through considering a ratio of “surface exposed/volume of the element” of 3 as an average of the whole Spanish asset of building and infrastructures