Implementation of Rio Principles into Latin American Environmental Laws

This paper evaluates the way Latin American Environmental Law have incorporated Rio Declaration´s principles. The survey includes a detailed revision of legal regimes of Mexico Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica where Environmental Law is more developed but few references to other Ibero-American countries are taken into consideration as well. Although the study focuses more in the 27 principles of Rio Declaration but it also evaluates the level of compliance with the commitments assumed by signatory parties of Climate Change and Biodiversity Convention

Business Cycle and Macroeconomic Policy Coordination in MERCOSUR

The paper analyzes cyclical comovements in the Mercosur area differentiating idiosyncratic from common shocks. In the Mercosur (or any region for that matter) shocks can be country-specific, affecting only one country or a specific set of countries (for example, a weather-related shock, a domestic policy shock); or they can be common to the entire region (for example, a change in the conditions in international capital markets or a world recession). Propagation mechanisms, in turn, are important because a shock that was initially country-specific, originating in one country, might eventually spillover to others. We build on the unobserved component approach to decompose the Mercosur countries real GDP (seasonally adjusted) fluctuations into these three components and compare them with previous results. The main findings in the paper are: first, common factors originating in impulses stemming from changes in investor’s sentiment are relevant to explaining regional output comovements and the spillover effects between neighbors are significant. Second, volatility matters, and matters especially in the case of recent regional agreements. Supply shocks in Mercosur countries tend to be larger than in the US and European countries. Third, finance matters for both volatility and output/price dynamics. Accelerator effects may be important in explaining some features of the output/price dynamics that the standard models based on vector autoregression techniques are unable to account for..

Do Firms Sell Forward for Strategic Reasons? An Application to the Wholesale Market for Natural Gas

Building on a model of the interaction of risk-averse firms that compete in forward and spot markets, we develop an empirical strategy to test whether oligopolistic firms use forward contracts for strategic motives, for risk-hedging, or for both. An increase in the number of players weakens the incentives to sell forward for risk-hedging reasons. However, if strategic motives are also relevant, then an increase in the number of players strengthens the incentives to sell forward. This difference provides the analyst with a way to identify whether strategic considerations are important at motivating firms to sell forward. Using data from the Dutch wholesale market for natural gas where we observe the number of players, spot and forward sales, and churn rates, we find evidence that strategic reasons play an important role at explaining the observed firms’ (inverse) hedge ratios. In addition, the data lend support to the existence of a learning effect by wholesalers.market power, risk-hedging, forward contracts, spot market, over-the-counter trade, market transparency, churn rates

Key aspects in 3D fatigue crack closure numerical modelling

Since long time, fatigue crack closure has been studied by means of finite element models. Initially by bi-dimensional models and recently, due to the higher computational capabilities, the use of three-dimensional models has been extended, providing a wider comprehension of the problem. Starting with the methodology used for 2D cases, a specific methodology for 3D models has been developed. Key parameters affecting the model have been analyzed and recommendations have been established. The numerical accuracy is evaluated in terms of crack closure and opening values. They main issues studied are the material behaviour, the loading cycles and crack growth scheme, the contact simulation, the meshing and the element size at the crack tip and along the thickness, the plastic wake computed and the opening and closure definition considered. This paper summarises the main learning and recommendations from the latest numerical modelling experience of the authors.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

An Analysis of Next Generation Access Networks Deployment in rural areas

Next generation access networks (NGAN) will support a renewed electronic communication market where main opportunities lie in the provision of ubiquitous broadband connectivity, applications and content. From their deployment it is expected a wealth of innovations. Within this framework, the project reviews the variety of NGAN deployment options available for rural environments, derives a simple method for approximate cost calculations, and then discusses and compares the results obtained. Data for Spain are used for practical calculations, but the model is applicable with minor modifications to most of the rural areas of European countries. The final part of the paper is devoted to review the techno-economic implications of a network deployment in a rural environment as well as the adequacy and possible developments of the regulatory framework involve

Boosting Backward Search Throughput for FM-Index Using a Compressed Encoding

The rapid development of DNA sequencing technologies has demanded for com- pressed data structures supporting fast pattern matching queries. FM-index is a widely-used compressed data structure that also supports fast pattern matching queries. It is common for the exact matching algorithm to be memory bound, resulting in poor performance. Searching several symbols in a single step improves data locality, although the memory bandwidth requirements remains the same. We propose a new data-layout of FM-index, called Split bit-vector, that compacts all data needed to search k symbols in a single step (k-step), reducing both memory movement and computing requirements at the cost of increasing memory footprint.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Consolidation of an EV Project Based Learning program integrated within a complete Bachelor Engineering Degree

Proyecto docente para el aprendizaje de competencias fundamentales de la ingeniería a través del aprendizaje basado en un proyecto multianual y multidisciplinar coordinado sobre las asignaturas troncales de este tipo de grados. Los resultados obtenidos son del tipo docente, funcionales y científicos que han permitido fabricar varios modelos de vehículos eléctricos ligeros con los que se ha acudido a competiciones internacionales.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Psychodrama in Portugal

t In this paper for the Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie (ZPS), the beginnings of psychodrama in the Portuguese-speaking community are visited, giving relevance to the history of the two psychodrama training organizations in Portugal and their cooperation. References are made to publishing works about psychodrama and sociodrama’s practice, theory, and research. The last sections of the paper address the challenges brought by the pandemic situation to the traditional settings of group psychotherapy and psychodrama and bring some reflections on the future of our shared practice as psychodramatists.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lanthanum ferromanganites thin films by sol–gel process. Influence of the organic/inorganic R ratio on the microstructural properties

Strontium-substituted lanthanum ferromanganites, La0.8Sr0.2Mn1−yFeyO3+δ (y=0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1), LSMF2Y (Y=10y) for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathode applications have been synthetized by a polymeric sol–gel route and deposited on YSZ substrates by a dip-coating process. The influence of the sol synthesis parameters (metal composition, organic and metal salt concentrations) on the thin film microstructure has been investigated. In this study, it has been shown that the organic/inorganic ratio, called R, appears as a key parameter to control the microstructural properties of final coatings