Comparing phonetic difficulties by EFL learners from Spain and Japan.

XXII Jornades de Foment de la Investigació de la Facultat de Ciències Humanes i Socials (Any 2017)After decades of improving language learning methods, English as a Foreign Language (hereafter EFL) still makes Spanish and Japanese learners struggle with the correct pronunciation. Each country focused on its own lack of phonemes in relation to the target language and, despite years, of research the problem is as present as ever. This article approaches this border-crossing problem by means of the moderate version of the contrastive analysis hypothesis (henceforth CAH) and compares and analyses the phonetic problems of both languages against the target language, English. By expanding the focus, the resulting data could serve as a starting point for further studies that down the way could facilitate EFL learning all around the world

A study in vowels: Comparing phonetic difficulties between languages

XXIII Jornades de Foment de la Investigació de la Facultat de Ciències Humanes i Socials (Any 2018)Decade after decade language learning still proves difficult for EFL learners all around the world. Countries are consistently having the same phonetic problems they had. This article wants to present two methods commonly used when comparing languages (contrastive analysis and statistics) and add two more, relatively fresh methods (spectrographic analysis and Johari windows), in order to find a new angle to look at old problems. By taking into account more points of view, the resulting data could be a starting point for future researchers facilitating EFL learning for future generations

Characterization of laser-produced fast electron source for integrated simulation of fast ignition

Relativistic electron currents (∼ 10 kA µm−2) are produced by focusing an intense laser beam (I ≥ 1019W cm−2) on a solid target. Based on this mechanism, an original inertial confinement fusion scheme has been proposed which consists in heating the compressed deuterium-tritium core with a laser-produced electron beam. Experimentally the fast electron source is not well characterized and simulations of both electron generation and transport remain a difficult task. Generally, transport codes are used with a simplified fast electron source as initial condition. The fast electron spectrum is assumed to be exponential with an adjustable temperature, and the divergence is characterized by a dispersion angle. To verify these assumptions, we have performed a characterization of the laser-driven fast electron source by means of PIC simulations [1] in the cases of a planar foil and a double cone

The water cycle in Reccopolis

Reccopolis was a new city built in Visigothic Spain in the late 6th c. CE. Even rarer than this example of an ex novo urban foundation in the post-Roman West is the fact that the city was equipped with a brand-new aqueduct. The aqueduct has, until now, only been partially studied, but in this paper we update and re-assess the original, preliminary results. We consider the city’s whole water cycle, including usage and drainage, employing new engineering calculations and GIS analyses. The results show that the aqueduct was an integral part of the city. Finally, we set our conclusions within their wider context, looking not only at the roles of aqueducts in the ideal of a city at this time, but also at urban water culture in the Late Antique West

Suburbia as a Narrative Space in the Cinematic Universe of Douglas Sirk

Douglas Sirk, now fully recognized as an influential filmmaker, was considered a successful but uninteresting director in the 1950s. His melodramas were considered bland and subsequently ignored because they focused on female-centric concerns. In the following decades, he started to be considered as an auteur that not only had an impeccable and vibrant mise-en-scène, but also a unique ability to deliver movies that might seem superficial on a surface level but were able to sneak in some subtle and revolutionary criticism about American society. The aim of this paper is to analyse the most rebellious and subversive aspects of Sirk’s classic All that Heaven Allows (1955) from a gender perspective and how Todd Haynes’s tribute Far from Heaven (2002) added new challenges by touching upon thorny subjects that already existed in Sirk’s time but were deemed taboo for mass audiences.Actualmente reconocido como un cineasta influyente, Douglas Sirk fue considerado un director de éxito, pero poco interesante en los años cincuenta. Sus melodramas fueron calificados de anodinos y posteriormente fueron ignorados por centrar la mirada en las preocupaciones de las mujeres. En las décadas siguientes, comenzó a ser valorado como un autor que no sólo realizaba una puesta en escena impecable y vibrante, sino que también poseía una capacidad única para presentar películas que aparentemente podrían parecer superficiales pero que tenían la audacia de mostrar una crítica sutil y revolucionaria sobre la sociedad norteamericana. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar los aspectos más transgresores y subversivos del clásico de Douglas Sirk All that Heaven Allows (1955) desde una perspectiva de género y cómo la película de Todd Haynes Far from Heaven (2002) no solo rinde homenaje al film de Sirk sino que añade nuevos retos al abordar temáticas controvertidas que en la década de los cincuenta se consideraban tabú para el gran público.Douglas Sirk, actualment reconegut com a cineasta influent, va ser considerat un director d’èxit però poc interessant als anys cinquanta. Els seus melodrames van ser qualificats d’anodins, i posteriorment ignorats, per la seua temàtica centrada en les preocupacions de les dones. En les dècades següents, va començar a ser valorat com un autor que no només presentava una posada en escena impecable i vibrant, sinó que també posseïa una capacitat única per presentar pel·lícules que aparentment podrien semblar superficials però que tenien la capacitat de mostrar una crítica subtil i revolucionària sobre la societat nord-americana. L’objectiu d’aquest article és analitzar els aspectes més transgressors i subversius del clàssic de Sirk All that Heaven Allows (1955) des d’una perspectiva de gènere, i com la pel·lícula de Todd Haynes Far from Heaven (2002) ret homenatge al film de Douglas Sirk al temps que afegeix nous reptes abordant temes espinosos que ja existien en els anys 50, però es consideraven tabú per al gran públic

Experimental results on advanced inertial fusion schemes obtained within the HiPER project

This paper presents de results of experiments conducted within the Work Package 10 (fusion experimental programme) of the HiPER project. The aim of these experiments was to study the physics relevant for advanced ignition schemes for inertial confinement fusion, i.e. the fast ignition and the shock ignition. Such schemes allow to achieve a higher fusion gain compared to the indirect drive approach adopted in the National Ignition Facility in United States, which is important for the future inertial fusion energy reactors and for realising the inertial fusion with smaller facilitie

Mejoras en la protección de distancia aplicado a fallas con contenido sub-armónicas en líneas de transmisión

Series compensated transmission lines bring technical and economic advantages for power systems. However, when transient events occur, the performance of distance protection is affected, which can cause undesired tripping in the protection. This study compared the Fourier transform algorithm with a variant of the Prony method, which allows attenuating sub-harmonic frequencies that are generated at the time of an electrical failure in series compensated transmission lines. It was observed how the estimation of the fault impedance was improved when single-phase faults were applied, allowing the distance protection to improve its selectivity at the moment of making the tripping decision. This study assessed a 400 kV system developed with the alternative transient program was, and the signal processing was assessed using the Python and Matlab programming language.Las líneas de transmisión con compensación serie capacitiva tienen ventajas técnicas y económicas en los sistemas de Potencia, pero en el momento en que presenta un fenómeno transitorio, las protecciones de distancia se ven afectada en su desempeño, lo que puede originar disparos indeseados en la protección. En esta investigación, se compara el algoritmo de la transformada de Fourier con una variante del método de Prony, para así analizar su desempeño al momento de amortiguar frecuencias sub-armónica, durante una falla eléctrica en una línea de transmisión con compensación serie capacitiva. En esta investigación, se puede observar cómo se mejora la estimación de la impedancia de falla cuando se aplican fallas monofásicas, permitiendo que la protección de distancia mejore su selectividad, al momento de tomar la decisión del disparo. En este documento se analiza un sistema de 400 kV que se desarrolla con el Programa de Transitorio ATP y el análisis de procesamiento de señales se realiza con el lenguaje de programación de Python y Matlab

Application to a short-stem hip implant

Today, different implant designs exist in the market; however, there is not a clear understanding of which are the best implant design parameters to achieve mechanical optimal conditions. Therefore, the aim of this project was to investigate if the geometry of a commercial short stem hip prosthesis can be further optimized to reduce stress shielding effects and achieve better short- stemmed implant performance. To reach this aim, the potential of machine learning techniques combined with parametric Finite Element analysis was used. The selected implant geometrical parameters were: total stem length (L), thickness in the lateral (R1) and medial (R2) and the distance between the implant neck and the central stem surface (D). The results show that the total stem length was not the only parameter playing a role in stress shielding. An optimized implant should aim for a decreased stem length and a reduced length of the surface in contact with the bone. The two radiuses that characterize the stem width at the distal cross-section in contact with the bone were less influential in the reduction of stress shielding compared with the other two parameters; but they also play a role where thinner stems present better results

Short-run dynamics of income disparities and regional cycle synchronization in the U.S.

Since the 1990s, the issue of regional income convergence and its long-term tendencies has been thoroughly and heatedly discussed. Much less attention, however, has been devoted to the short-run dynamics of regional convergence. In particular, three important aspects have not yet been adequately addressed. First, it is indeed essential to understand whether regional disparities manifest a tendency to move systematically along the national cycle. Then, if this happens to be the case, it becomes crucial to know whether 1) these movements are pro- or counter-cyclical,2) the cyclical evolution of the disparities is a consequence of differences in the timing with which the business cycle is felt in regions or it is motivated by the amplitude differences across local cyclical swings. In this paper, we shed light on these issues using data on personal income for the 48 coterminous U.S. states between 1969 and 2008. Our results indicate that income disparities do not move randomly in the short run but follow a distinct cyclical pattern, moving either pro- or counter-cyclically depending on the period of analysis. These patterns are probably explained by the changes in the direction of capital and labor flows that favor developed or poorer states in different periods. As for the underlying mechanism, it appears that the short-run evolution of the disparities in recent years is largely a consequence of differences in the timing with which the business cycle is felt across states rather than the outcome of amplitude differences across local cyclical swings