La sangre es la vida: a la caza del vampiro semítico

Human communities of any time, including the mesopotamian one, have developed world-wide the myth of the vampire one apart from each other. It shows undoubtedly that we could find a worry inherent to the human being in the foundations of this myth: his mortal character. In ancient times the vampire was only a female being, while after the female vampire survives beside the male vampire with a function always secondary. The vampire suffers, what we could say, a change of sex with absolute certainty in modern times. It's then that the male vampire character, what we know so well by means of literature and films, the prototype that Bram Stoker would settle definitively, grows. Finally we would like to remind that the vampire phenomenon is culturally too complex to try to reduce it to a medical pathology. Even though medicine could explain the relatively recent cases of balkan vampirism more or less satisfactorily, we can't forget that the myth of the vampire sinks his roots millennia behind, penetrating into the most primitive fear of the most primitive human being

La serpiente y la muerte: historia de un secular romance desde el Poema de Gilgameš hasta nuestros días. Herramientas para una aproximación hermenéutica al fenómeno literario en la narrativa de terror y fantástica

Desde tiempos inmemoriales, se diría casi por instinto, el hombre ha temido y evitado a la serpiente. Pero también, contemporáneamente, fascinado por ella, parece haber envidiado algunos de sus atributos. Ese dúplice impulso, responsable de sentimientos opuestos y contradictorios, ha dejado su huella además, desde el pasado más remoto, en manifestaciones culturales tales como la literatura o las artes plásticas, que a menudo exteriorizan arraigadas creencias religiosas. Así, desde una perspectiva contemporánea, sería posible descubrir, ya en los textos literarios de la antigua Mesopotamia, el germen del papel desempeñado por este reptil en la narrativa de terror y, en general, en la rica literatura fantástica de los siglos XIX y XX.From time immemorial, almost instinctively, man has feared and avoided the snake. Nonetheless, at same time, fascinated by this animal, he seems to have envied some of its attributes. This dual impulse, responsible for opposing and contradictory feelings, has also left its mark, since the remotest past, on cultural manifestations, such as literature or plastic arts, which often reveal entrenched religious beliefs. Thus, from a contemporary perspective, it would be possible to find, as early as on literary texts of ancient Mesopotamia, the origins of that role played by this reptile within the narrative of terror and, more broadly, inside the rich fantastic literature of 19th and 20th centurie

Localización y tratamiento de información histórica a través de la toponimia menor: utilidad del catastro de la riqueza rústica

Las investigaciones en el campo de la geografía histórica exigen manejar un volumen notable de documentación histórica o de archivo, la cuál habitualmente carece de representaciones cartográficas que permitan su localización en el espacio. Esta limitación hace necesario buscar alternativas para su localización y representación en el espacio, siendo una de ellas la búsqueda de toponimia menor coincidente en la cartografía catastral. El catastro es una fuente idónea para este tipo de investigaciones debido a su escala de detalle y a la valiosa información alfanumérica que lleva asociado, entre la que se encuentra la toponimia. El catastro más adecuado para tal fin es el de la riqueza rústica de 1957, que por sus características no puede ser incluido en un sistema de información geográfica sin evitar un costoso proceso de georreferenciación y digitalización. En la presente comunicación se plantearán alternativas para la georreferenciación y digitalización del catastro de la riqueza rústica para posibilitar su tratamiento en un SIG, y se comprobará la coincidencia toponímica entre tres catastros distantes en el tiempo, el catastro de Ensenada (1756), el catastro de la riqueza rústica (1957) y el catastro actual, tomando como áreas objeto de estudio varios antiguos concejos del actual municipio de Cabezón de la Sal (Cantabria).Research in the field of historical geography requires handle a considerable volume of historical documentation, which typically lacks the cartographic representations that enable its location in space. This limitation makes necessary to find alternatives for its spatial location and representation, being one of which the search of matching placenames in cadastral maps. The cadastre is an ideal source for this type of research because of its scale and its associated alphanumeric information, among which is the toponymy. The most suitable cadastre for that purpose is the one of 1957, which by its nature can’t be included in a geographic information system without avoiding a costly process of digitizing and georeferencing. This paper will raise alternatives for georeferencing and digitizing the 1957’s cadastre to allow its treatment in a GIS, and check the toponymic coincidence between three cadastres distant in time, the cadastre of Ensenada (1756), the cadastre of rural areas (1957) and the current cadastre, taking as example some different areas from the municipality of Cabezón de la Sal (Cantabria)

De cuando Poe interrogó a una momia. Un extraño caso a caballo entre la antropología cultural y la arqueología forense: El orientalismo sometido a examen por el padre del terror racional

Si bien el relato Some Words with a Mummy, de Edgar Allan Poe, bebe de fuentes precedentes tanto narrativas como de otra naturaleza, su trama se revela extremadamente original a la hora de ofrecer una nueva aproximación a la figura literaria de la momia. En manos del cáustico Poe, este relato se convierte en una contundente crítica contra la soberbia racionalista y, más concretamente, contra los discutibles métodos de historiadores y arqueólogos decimonónicosAlthough Edgar Allan Poe’s short story Some Words with a Mummy is inspired by previous narratives and other sources, its plot is highly original as it offers a new approach to the mummy character. In the hands of mordant Poe, this story becomes a strong critique against the rationalist hubris and, more specifically, against the questionable methods of Nineteenth-Century historians and archaeologists

Remedios the Beauty an ancient winged goddess in the literary work of García Márquez

La “Asunción” de Remedios, la bella, es sin duda uno de los episodios más fascinantes y comentados entro de la obra de García Márquez, aunque no por ello se puede considerar de los mejor comprendidos. En el presente ensayo lo examinaremos detenidamente, centrándonos en las analogías con la tradición católica y otras religiones precedentes que en él se pueden advertir. Pues en efecto, consciente o inconscientemente, en último término, la figura de Remedios se revela heredera de un acervo ideológico y gráfico que se remonta a la Prehistoria, momento en el que surge una diosa con rasgos aviaresUndoubtedly, the “Assumption” of Remedios the Beauty is one of the most fascinating and discussed episodes within the work of García Márquez. Nevertheless it can not be considered among the best understood. In this essay we’ll examine it carefully, focusing on analogies with Catholic tradition and other earlier religions that can be detected in it. Since, in fact, consciously or unconsciously, all things considered, Remedios appears as heiress of an ideological and graphic legacy that dates back to prehistoric times, when a goddess with avian traits arise

Automatic generation of software interfaces for supporting decisionmaking processes. An application of domain engineering & machine learning

[EN] Data analysis is a key process to foster knowledge generation in particular domains or fields of study. With a strong informative foundation derived from the analysis of collected data, decision-makers can make strategic choices with the aim of obtaining valuable benefits in their specific areas of action. However, given the steady growth of data volumes, data analysis needs to rely on powerful tools to enable knowledge extraction. Information dashboards offer a software solution to analyze large volumes of data visually to identify patterns and relations and make decisions according to the presented information. But decision-makers may have different goals and, consequently, different necessities regarding their dashboards. Moreover, the variety of data sources, structures, and domains can hamper the design and implementation of these tools. This Ph.D. Thesis tackles the challenge of improving the development process of information dashboards and data visualizations while enhancing their quality and features in terms of personalization, usability, and flexibility, among others. Several research activities have been carried out to support this thesis. First, a systematic literature mapping and review was performed to analyze different methodologies and solutions related to the automatic generation of tailored information dashboards. The outcomes of the review led to the selection of a modeldriven approach in combination with the software product line paradigm to deal with the automatic generation of information dashboards. In this context, a meta-model was developed following a domain engineering approach. This meta-model represents the skeleton of information dashboards and data visualizations through the abstraction of their components and features and has been the backbone of the subsequent generative pipeline of these tools. The meta-model and generative pipeline have been tested through their integration in different scenarios, both theoretical and practical. Regarding the theoretical dimension of the research, the meta-model has been successfully integrated with other meta-model to support knowledge generation in learning ecosystems, and as a framework to conceptualize and instantiate information dashboards in different domains. In terms of the practical applications, the focus has been put on how to transform the meta-model into an instance adapted to a specific context, and how to finally transform this later model into code, i.e., the final, functional product. These practical scenarios involved the automatic generation of dashboards in the context of a Ph.D. Programme, the application of Artificial Intelligence algorithms in the process, and the development of a graphical instantiation platform that combines the meta-model and the generative pipeline into a visual generation system. Finally, different case studies have been conducted in the employment and employability, health, and education domains. The number of applications of the meta-model in theoretical and practical dimensions and domains is also a result itself. Every outcome associated to this thesis is driven by the dashboard meta-model, which also proves its versatility and flexibility when it comes to conceptualize, generate, and capture knowledge related to dashboards and data visualizations

Cómo surgen los conectores: los reformuladores id est, esto es, es decir

[Resumo] No ámbito dos denominados marcadores do discurso (entre eles, os conectores) escasean os traballos diacrónicos. Parece razoable pensar que, se coñecemos como xorden e co- Abstracts / Resúmenes / Resumos mo se desenvolven estas unidades, comprenderemos mellor o seu funcionamento actual. De todos os conectores reformulativos estudamos tres: es decir, esto es e id est. O primeiro é o máis empregado, o segundo está restrinxido á lingua escrita e o último é a versión latina de escasa, mais ininterrumpida, presenza en español.[Resumen] En el ámbito de los llamados marcadores del discurso (entre ellos, los conectores) escasean los trabajos diacrónicos. Parece razonable pensar que, si conocemos cómo surgen y cómo se desarrollan estas unidades, comprenderemos mejor su funcionamiento actual. De todos los conectores reformulativos estudiamos tres: es decir, esto es e id est. El primero es el más utilizado, el segundo está restringido a la lengua escrita y el último es la versión latina de escasa, pero ininterrumpida, presencia en español.[Abstract] Of all the studies on the subject of discourse markers (which include connectors), very few have have been diachronic in nature. It seems reasonable to assume that if we knew more about their origin and development, we would better understand how they operate in contemporary Spanish. We have chosen to study three of these reformulative connectors: es decir, esto es, and id est. The first one is the most widely used; the second is used only in written Spanish ; and the last one is the Latin equivalent, which in current Spanish is used very sparsely, though incessantly

Capturing high-level requirements of information dashboards' components through meta-modeling

[EN]Information dashboards are increasing their sophistication to match new necessities and adapt to the high quantities of generated data nowadays.These tools support visual analysis, knowledge generation, and thus, are crucial systems to assist decision-making processes.However, the design and development processes are complex, because several perspectives and components can be involved.Tailoringcapabilities are focused on providing individualized dashboards without affecting the time-to-market through the decrease of the development processes' time. Among the methods used to configure these tools, the software product lines paradigm and model-driven development can be found. These paradigms benefit from the study of the target domain and the abstraction of features, obtaining high-level models that can be instantiated into concrete models. This paper presents a dashboard meta-model that aims to be applicable to any dashboard. Through domain engineering, different features of these tools are identified and arranged into abstract structuresand relationships to gain a better understanding of the domain. The goal of the meta-model is to obtain a framework for instantiating any dashboard to adapt them to different contexts and user profiles.One of the contexts in which dashboards are gaining relevance is Learning Analytics, as learning dashboards are powerful tools for assisting teachers and students in their learning activities.To illustrate the instantiation process of the presented meta-model, a small example within this relevant context (Learning Analytics) is also provided