Utilización de técnicas mineralógicas y geoquímicas para la caracterización de cerámicas arqueológicas

Poster presentat a la Sessió 11 : "Estudios arqueométricos"La utilización de técnicas químicas y mineralógicas en Arqueología está mostrando grandes avances a la hora de conocer la procedencia de las arcillas utilizadas para su elaboración. En este trabajo se pretende poner de manifiesto la importancia del uso de dichas técnicas, por lo que se ha manejado como muestra varios fragmentos cerámicos recogidos en prospección de un yacimiento Vettón de la provincia de Salamanca.The use of chemical and mineralogical techniques in Archaeology is showing great progress in order to know the origin of the clays used in its manufacture. This paper is intended to highlight the importance of using these techniques. For this reason, several ceramic from Vettón's site in Salamanca province have been studied

The personal income tax applied in the member states of European Union. The case of Spain.

In the Communication on "Tax policy in the European Union - Priorities for the years ahead" (COM/2001/260 of 23 May 2001), the Commission reiterated its belief that there is no need for an across the board harmonisation of Member States' direct tax systems. For tax policy, the Communication established, as a main priority, the need to address the concerns of individuals and businesses operating within the Internal Market by focusing on the elimination of tax obstacles to all forms of cross-border economic activity, in addition to continuing the fight against harmful tax competition. This approach was confirmed in the Communication "The contribution of taxation and customs policies to the Lisbon strategy" (COM/2005/532 of 25 October 2005) (European Commission, 2006). The Spanish Law No 35/2006, 28 th November of Personal Income Tax, reformed that tax. The long-term capital gains will be taxed at 18% (before 15%) ;the tax scale will be comprised of only 3 or 4 brackets (before 5) and the top marginal rate (before 45%) will be reduced; and some tax credits and allowances (acquisition of permanent home and contributions to pension funds for example) were readjusted in order to make them more accessible to low-income earners. The present paper makes a brief approach to the harmonisation in the European Union, explains the reform of the Spanish Personal Income Tax, introduces new figures and formulas never seen before at book of taxes, analyses the concept of the Spanish Personal Income Tax, studies the elements of this tax as the beneficiary, taxable person, territoriality, basis of assessment, exemptions, explains the basic mechanism of the tax, deductions, the taxable base, the tax rates, collections and examples. This paper is the result of three researches that the authors are carrying out at The Institute for Fiscal Studies, Ministry of Economy and Finance, University of CEU San Pablo, Madrid and University of Oviedo Spain from 2006 to 2008

Mineralogical analysis of mortars in the walls of Ávila (Spain) and its surroundings

The present article evaluated the mineralogical composition of 85 mortar samples from some emblematic monuments of Ávila city (Spain), which were collected during the restoration of the monuments. The aim of this article is to try to extract the relationship between the composition and the origin of the raw materials, as well as to identify possible alterations in the samples. The study of the samples was carried out using visual and petrographic techniques such as stereoscopic microscope, XRD, and SEM/EDX analysis. The main components of the mortars were calcite, feldspar and quartz, although small amounts of phyllosilicates were also identified. The minerals of the mortars came from the surroundings of the city, and some of the samples presented evident alteration of the original materials due to humidity, salt concentration, and biological weathering, possibly inducted by unfortunate effects of the restoration. Finally, a study of the salts present in some mortars showed that most samples display contamination of soluble salts such as halite, thenardite, hexaedrite, and carnalite. This investigation offers fresh insight into historic building activity and related techniques, and should provide knowledge useful for restoration and conservation processes

Archaeometric study of Roman tesserae from Salamanca (Spain). Archaeology and geochemical analysis

In this study an analysis was made of 37 samples of tesserae of different shades and colours from Roman archaeological sites in the province of Salamanca (Spain), where pavements of opus tessellatum have been located. The tesserae were characterized by Mass Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Spectrometry, in order to determine their origin, composition and technique of manufacture. Results could reveal to us the local production of certain tesserae and the existence of a commercial network through the Via de la Plata and its main roads in the Iberian Peninsula

On-site factories to support lean principles and industrialized construction

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of on-site factories that combine the strengths of both prefabrication techniques and a traditional work environment to support lean principles and promote industrialized construction for on-site operations. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the principles of lean construction and design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA), discrete-event simulation is used to evaluate different arrangements and configurations of an on-site factory for the prefabrication of structural insulated panels (SIPs). Findings: The proposed on-site factory provided a feasible way to promote lean and industrialized construction principles. Also, these types of factories are particularly relevant for projects in remote areas that do not have sufficient infrastructure. Further, it is also a good solution for strengthening the local economy by using local labor and suppliers, hence assisting in the creation of a socially responsible framework. Originality/value: This study presents the design of an on-site factory for the prefabrication of SIPs. This type of on-site assembly supports not only lean principles but also promotes social responsibility by capitalizing on local labor. This approach could be particularly interesting for construction companies in developing countries or working in a project with limited infrastructure

Trajectory Reconstruction Techniques for Evaluation of ATC Systems

This paper is focused on trajectory reconstruction techniques for evaluating ATC systems, using real data of recorded opportunity traffic. We analyze different alternatives for this problem, from traditional interpolation approaches based on curve fitting to our proposed schemes based on modeling regular motion patterns with optimal smoothers. The extraction of trajectory features such as motion type (or mode of flight), maneuvers profile, geometric parameters, etc., allows a more accurate computation of the curve and the detailed evaluation of the data processors used in the ATC centre. Different alternatives will be compared with some performance results obtained with simulated and real data sets

Determinantes del desempleo en Colombia (2001 - 2014) : análisis desde una perspectiva macroeconómica y de mercado

El desempleo resulta un tema de estudio muy interesante pues refleja la dinámica de una economía en cuanto a sus niveles de pobreza, equidad y distribución de recursos, por lo que este trabajo se enfoca en analizar los determinantes del desempleo en Colombia tanto a nivel macroeconómico como de mercado para el periodo comprendido entre 2001 - 2014 Para esto, se realiza una revisión de la literatura que permite identificar el punto de vista de autores que se han dedicado a la investigación de este tema y se estudian los efectos y los canales de transmisión de los determinantes del desempleo En cuanto al modelo econométrico, se analizan las variables que se espera afecten de manera significativa el desempleo a partir de la estimación del Modelo VEC y la función impulso respuesta para un choque especificado dada la coyuntura económica, además, se realiza una simulación de Montecarlo. Se encuentra que los choques a las variables exportaciones, inflación. Tasa Representativa de Mercado - TRM. Inversión Extranjera Directa - IED generan cambios importantes en el comportamiento del desempleo, mientras que aquellas variables que menos contribuyen a la variabilidad del desempleo son índice Mensual de Actividad Económica - IMACO y confianza del consumidor.Unemployment is a fascinating subject because it reflects the dynamics of an economy in terms of their levels of poverty, equity and distribution of resources. This work focuses on analyzing the determinants of unemployment in Colombia for the period 2001 - 2014 by macro and markets variables A review of the literature has been made to identify the point of view of authors who have dedicated themselves to research this issue, additionally, the effects and transmission channels of the determinants of unemployment are studied As for the econometric model, the variables that are expected to affect unemployment significantly from the estimated VEC model and impulse response function specified for a shock given the economic climate are analyzed. In addition, a Monte Carlo simulation is performed Variables like exports, inflation, Representative Market Rate - TRM, Foreign Direct Investment - 1ED generate significant changes in the behavior of unemployment, while those variables that contribute least to the variability of unemployment are Montly Index of Economic Activity - IMACO and consumer confidence.Magíster en EconomíaMaestrí

Guideline for constructing nutrient balance in historical agricultural systemes (and its application to three case-studies in southern Spain)

The purpose of this paper is to provide interested researchers with a simple tool to evaluate the efficacy of different methods of fertility replenishment that have accompanied and made possible the contemporary agriculture. We propose a nutrient balance model created especially to be applied to the past. In the first part of this working paper each term in the balance is defined and specified the information the user must input into the model. The second part of this paper reports on the application of this methodology based on the balances of nutrients to the evolution of Andalusian agriculture since the mid 18th Century. The nutrient balances show the effects of agrarian growth in an environmentally limited context, offering reasonable doubt regarding the medium and long-term stability of certain forms of cultivation. The balances show that in the last decades of the 19th Century, productive intensification had reached its ceiling, with livestock numbers levelling off or clearly declining. The deficits of nutrients even began to exceed the fertilisation capacity of the available livestock. The intensification applied in unfertilised rotations and crops had to be sustained through the extraction of soil reserves.Soil fertility management, Nutrient balances, Past organic agricultures, Agrarian growth, Socio-ecological transition, Agricultural change

Geo-chemical Analysis of Opus tesselatum from Ávila, Spain

Se han estudiado diversas muestras de Opus tesselatum procedentes de excavaciones arqueológicas de urgencia en Ávila (España) para determinar su origen y las tecnologías de producción utilizadas en su fabricación. Las teselas se han caracterizado por Espectrometría de Masas con fuente de Plasma de Acoplamiento Inductivo (ICP-MS), Difracción de Rayos X (XRD) y Espectrofotometría. Las muestras se corresponden con diferentes materiales con orígenes dispares (vidrios y rocas de varias áreas de aprovisionamiento). El color rojo en algunas teselas se debe principalmente a la presencia de cinabrio en su composición, lo que indica un movimiento comercial de materiales desde otras zonas de España ya que este mineral no está presente en las rocas de la provincia de ÁvilaSeveral Opus tesselatum samples from an emergency archaeological excavation in Ávila (Spain) have been studied in order to gather their origin and the production technologies used in their manufacture. Inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometry (ICP-MS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and spectrophotometry were used to characterize the samples. The samples were made with different materials of different origin (glasses and rocks from different Spain areas). Red color in some Opus tesselatum samples is mainly due to cinnabar presence in their composition. It could be indicative of commercial movements between different Spanish sites, since this mineral is not present in rocks from Ávil