Disorder-Induced Critical Phenomena in the 2-D Random Field Ising Model

Treballs Finals de Grau de Física, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Any: 2014, Tutora: Carmen MiguelThis paper discusses Barkhausen noise in magnetic systems in terms of avalanches near a disorder-induced critical point. We simulate the dynamics of a non-equilibrium zero-temperature Random Field Ising Model in two dimensions. Critical behaviour is analyzed from numerical simu-lations through scaling techniques. In addition, analytical approaches are brie y discussed

Framing the Court. Political Reactions to the Ruling on the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Catalan Parliament

This article analyses the reactions by political actors to the ruling of the Spanish Constitutional Court on the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Catalan parliament. It is suggested that political framings of the ruling can be classified into the legalist, attitudinal and institutional academic models of judicial behaviour. As will be shown, these models have a normative dimension, with implications for the ideal of the rule of law. These implications are skilfully captured and exploited by political actors as part of a wider battle for the framing of the ruling. The rule of law thus becomes politicised as a result of the tension around the judicialisation of the so-called Catalan ‘sovereignist process’

Councils of the Judiciary and Judges’ Perceptions of Respect to Their Independence in Europe

Councils of the Judiciary have spread in Europe under the assumption that they contribute to a central aspect of the Rule of Law: the independence of courts and judges under their authority. However, a recent survey of the European Network of Councils of the Judiciary showed that, in some countries, there are significant groups of judges that perceive their Judicial Council as disrespectful of their autonomy. While in countries such as Denmark or Belgium judicial distrust of the Council seems to be anecdotal, in other countries such as Spain a striking 36 per cent of respondent judges had such negative views of the institution. With the aid of mvQCA, this paper explains the causes of this paradoxical phenomenon. It is argued that judges hold such negative opinions of Councils of the Judiciary as the result of the interaction between institutional, political and socio-legal conditions: the range of powers of the Councils, their control by political elites and interest groups, and the degree of judicial corruption

Taking rights ironically ¿Qué nos enseñan sobre el “educado” liberalismo los “groseros” populistas de extrema derecha?

En los últimos años, Europa asiste a un desconcertante fenómeno: la consolidación y crecimiento de una pluralidad de partidos populistas de derecha radical que luchan por hacerse con un espacio en el escenario político. En este artículo sugiero que existe una relación particularmente compleja entre el liberalismo y este tipo de movimientos, por la cual los populistas de derecha son capaces de detectar y explotar algunas de las debilidades y contradicciones del discurso y la práctica liberales. Mediante la utilización de las herramientas conceptuales proporcionadas por la teoría política y jurídica, propongo tratar de desentrañar con cierto nivel de detalle en qué consiste esta paradójica relación y reflexionar sobre los que considero que pueden ser sus aspectos más relevantes.In the last years, Europe assists to a disquieting phenomenon: the consolidation and growth of a myriad of right-wing populists parties struggling for the achievement of a space in the political scenario. In this article I suggest that a particularly complex relation between liberalism and this sort of movements exists, by which far-right populists are able to detect and exploit some of the weaknesses and contradictions in the liberals discourse and practice. Through the use of conceptual tools provided by the political and legal theory, I propose to try to unravel with a certain level of detail in what does this paradoxical relation consist, and to reflect on what I consider that could be its most prominent aspect

Interpreting in the media : organisational, interactional and discursive aspects of dialogue interpreting in radio settings. A study of Spain's Radio 3.

This thesis aims to uncover and explain how interpreter-mediated live interviews work in radio broadcasting, from organisational, interactional and discursive points of view. The methodology I use in order to fulfil my aims and objectives involves a mixed model which is applied to five interpreter-mediated interviews broadcast on Radio 3's El Séptimo Vicio (ESV) (from the Spanish State Broadcasting Company, RNE). This model includes a descriptive framework of types of interpreter-mediated interviews, to which Conversation Analysis (CA) is applied, in order to shed light on the organisation of such events, as well as specific interactional phenomena and patterns arising in this particular type of interpreter-mediated event. AV recordings of one of the broadcasts and a semistructured interview with the host of ESV are used as corroboration for the CA. Findings and concluding remarks of the thesis focus on the “unique fingerprint” (Heritage and Greatbach, 1991:95-96; Heritage and Clayman, 2010:18) of practices and interactions analysed in my data. Within the limits of what can be generalised from the analysis of a specific (and to a certain extent always limited) set of data, avenues for future research are sketched, and implications for public engagement in the form of training and knowledge exchange activities which help to consolidate the study and practice of radio interpreting as a discipline in its own right are discussed. Likewise, future training and practice possibilities emerging from a deeper and critical knowledge of this media interpreting context are suggested

Constitutional courts and citizens' perceptions of judicial systems in Europe

In recent decades, constitutional courts have become essential institutions in the political systems of many European countries. At the legal level, constitutional courts are designed as organs intended to protect and enforce the normative constitution. At the political level, they are also expected to play a role in the protection of democratic systems of government and human rights. However, the stability of a democracy does not only depend on efficient institutional designs, but also on acceptable levels of public support for democratic institutions. Using data from the European Social Survey, this article shows that constitutional courts have negative effects on public views of the court system in at least two dimensions: perceptions of judicial independence and perceptions of judicial fairness. These effects, however, decrease with the age of the democratic system. Given the core role that diffuse support for the judiciary plays in the stability of the rule of law in a country, our findings suggest that, paradoxically, constitutional courts might have detrimental effects to the very goal that justifies their existence: the protection of democratic systems of government