Assessment of heritage rammed-earth buildings. The Alcázar of King Don Pedro I (Spain).

The conservation and maintenance of earthen buildings is crucial, especially when dealing with heritage sites. This normally involves considerable effort in preliminary studies, which must be well planned in order to efficiently manage any restoration. This case study proposes a methodology to briefly assess the current state of a historical rammed-earth wall, to bring to light specific information regarding approaches for subsequent studies or decisions. This methodology is based on the study of damage and risk as a tool to swiftly discern critical areas or issues needing immediate attention. The procedure is illustrated on an outstanding heritage building: the Alcázar of King Don Pedro I in Carmona (Seville, Spain). Our conclusions confirm that this methodology constitutes an efficient and straightforward means to obtain not only a preliminary assessment of rammed-earth walls, but also objective and useful criteria for decision-makers

A propósito de los métodos de estudio de la Historia económica de la Antigüedad

El trabajo es una reflexión acerca de los métodos de estudio de la Historia Económica de la Antigüedad utilizados desde el nacimiento de ésta como disciplina autónoma a finales del siglo XIX; también sobre las aportaciones de la economía al conocimiento de otras dimensiones de la sociedad romana de la Antigüedad. A partir de esta reflexión, el artículo implica, asimismo, plantearse una vez más la cuestión de la oportunidad de los estudios de naturaleza interdisciplinar en la investigación del historiador del Derecho y el romanista.This work is an overview about Ancient Economic History study methods used since its birth as a discipline at the end of 19th century. At the same time, this work will also show Economy contributions to the knowledge of another ancient roman society dimensions. From this point, the article raises once again the matter of interdisciplinary studies for the Law and Roman Law researcher.Le travail est une réflexion sur les méthodes d’étude de l’Histoire Économique de l’Antiquité utilisées depuis la naissance de celle-ci comme discipline autonome à la fin du XIXème siècle; aussi sur les contributions de l’économie à la connaissance d’autres dimensions de la société romaine de l’Antiquité. À partir de cette réflexion, l’article implique, de même, se poser une fois de plus la question de l’occasion des études de nature interdisciplinaire dans la recherche de l’historien du Droit et de l’historien romaniste. En alemán: Die Arbeit bringt Gedanken zu Untersuchungsmethoden der antiken Wirtschafts-geschichte, die seit ihrer Entstehung als eigenständiges Fach zu Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts angewandt wurden. Thematisiert wird der Beitrag der Wirtschaft zur Erschließung anderer Bereiche der römischen Gesellschaft in der Antike. Ausgehend von dieser Überlegung will der Artikel erneut aufzeigen, wie günstig sich die Interdisziplinarität von Untersuchungen auf die Forschungen von Rechtshistorikern und Romanisten auswirkt

Entre emigración e integración. La percepción del extranjero como recurso productivo para la comunidad

Traducción de Ana María Rodrígue

Physical versus economic depletion of a nonrenewable natural resource

The present paper explores the relationship between physical and economic depletion of a nonrenewable natural resource using a decomposition of mining costs akin to the one used in the literature on productivity and technical change. We argue that this decomposition can provide key insights on future availability of nonrenewable natural resources. Using data on slate mining in Galicia (Northern Spain), we provide quantitative evidence of the role played by physical depletion in economic exhaustion but also of the offsetting effects of technical change. Additionally, we provide a measure of the effects on economic depletion of input prices, output, fixed inputs and production scale. Input prices and fixed input misallocation contributes far more to economic depletion than physical depletion while technical change has a remarkable negative contribution to economic depletion. Policy implications are discussed, particularly, the importance of promoting technical change. Keywords: Non-renewable natural resources, Physical depletion, Economic depletion, Mining cost, Slate mining, Technical change, Total Cost Growth decompositio

External validation of the GrazeIn model of pasture dry matter intake and milk yield prediction for cows managed at different calving dates and stocking rates

The aim was to evaluate the prediction accuracy of pasture dry matter intake (PDMI) and milk yield (MY) predicted by the GrazeIn model using a database representing 124 PDMI measurements at paddock level and 2232 MY measurements at cow level. External validation of the model was conducted using data collected from a trial carried out with Holstein-Friesian cows (n=72) while grazed 28 paddocks and were managed in a 2×2 factorial design by considering two calving dates (CD), with different number of days in milk (DIM), early (E, 29 DIM) vs. middle (M, 167 DIM), and two stocking rates (SR), medium (M, 3.9 cows ha-1) vs. high (H, 4.8 cows ha-1), under a rotational grazing system. Cows were randomly assigned to four grazing scenarios (EM, EH, MM and MH). The mean observed PDMI of the total database was 14.2 kg DM cow-1 day-1 while GrazeIn predicted a mean PDMI for the database of 13.8 kg DM cow-1 day-1. The mean bias was −0.4 kg DM cow-1 day-1. GrazeIn predicted PDMI for the total database with a relative prediction error (RPE) of 10.0% at paddock level. The mean observed MY of the database was 23.2 kg cow-1 day-1 while GrazeIn predicted a MY for the database of 23.1 kg cow-1 day-1. The mean bias was –0.1 kg cow-1 day-1. GrazeIn predicted MY for the total database with a mean RPE of 17.3% at cow level. For the scenarios investigated, GrazeIn predicted PDMI and MY with a low level of error which made it a suitable tool for decision support systemsINIA (project RTA2005-00204-00 and the complementary PhD fellowship granted to AIRF for her stay at the INRA-St. Gilles, Rennes, where the experimental database collected at the CIAM was evaluated using GrazeIn)S

External validation of the GrazeIn model of pasture dry matter intake and milk yield prediction for cows managed at different calving dates and stocking rates

The aim was to evaluate the prediction accuracy of pasture dry matter intake (PDMI) and milk yield (MY) predicted by the GrazeIn model using a database representing 124 PDMI measurements at paddock level and 2232 MY measurements at cow level. External validation of the model was conducted using data collected from a trial carried out with Holstein-Friesian cows (n=72) while grazed 28 paddocks and were managed in a 2×2 factorial design by considering two calving dates (CD), with different number of days in milk (DIM), early (E, 29 DIM) vs. middle (M, 167 DIM), and two stocking rates (SR), medium (M, 3.9 cows ha-1) vs. high (H, 4.8 cows ha-1), under a rotational grazing system. Cows were randomly assigned to four grazing scenarios (EM, EH, MM and MH). The mean observed PDMI of the total database was 14.2 kg DM cow-1 day-1 while GrazeIn predicted a mean PDMI for the database of 13.8 kg DM cow-1 day-1. The mean bias was −0.4 kg DM cow-1 day-1. GrazeIn predicted PDMI for the total database with a relative prediction error (RPE) of 10.0% at paddock level. The mean observed MY of the database was 23.2 kg cow-1 day-1 while GrazeIn predicted a MY for the database of 23.1 kg cow-1 day-1. The mean bias was –0.1 kg cow-1 day-1. GrazeIn predicted MY for the total database with a mean RPE of 17.3% at cow level. For the scenarios investigated, GrazeIn predicted PDMI and MY with a low level of error which made it a suitable tool for decision support systems

Gestión de servicio, instituciones educativas y calidad

El objetivo de este ensayo es evidenciar la importancia de la capacitación con visión integral del personal en las instituciones que incluyan administradores y directores, porque, estos actores deben ser generadores de cambio. En este sentido la formación de los funcionarios es primordial para que entiendan al servicio como un elemento diferenciador que asegura a las instituciones la permanencia y el crecimiento en el sector, así como la lealtad de sus colaboradores y de sus usuarios, ya que ellas hacen parte de un sistema social abierto, inmerso en un medio ambiente incierto y cambiante con el que se relaciona continuamente (Katz y Kahn, 1987). Por consiguiente, existen fuerzas ambientales que las afectan y a su vez éstas afectan el contorno