Politics in Jonathan Swift’s Literature

Jonathan Swift es considerado uno de los mejores autores del siglo dieciocho debido a su conseguido estilo satírico y por la polémica que causó en la sociedad de su tiempo. Su obra maestra, Los Viajes de Gulliver, que aparenta ser un simple libro de viajes -entre los muchos otros de su época-, presenta una brillante sátira que no se distingue demasiado de los ensayos y panfletos políticos que el mismo autor publicó, y en los cuales criticaba la situación de su país. Una crítica dirigida tanto a los politicos irlandeses y al gobierno británico, como a la propia población y a la raza humana en general. Con este trabajo pretendo acercarme a la ideología de este autor a través de las ideas que pudo plasmar en su literatura. Para ello, he analizado cuatro de sus ensayos políticos para después examinar Los Viajes de Gulliver desde la perspectiva de este primer análisis, y así poder revelar la conexión que existe entre los tratados políticos de Swift y su ficción.Departamento de Filología InglesaGrado en Estudios Inglese

Patrons de transport atmosfèric i tendències en la química de la precipitació del Montseny

L’objectiu d’aquest estudi és interpretar els canvis de la química de la pluja dels últims vint-i-cinc anys al Montseny. Els mètodes d’anàlisi estadístic de trajectòries (TSMs) indiquen que en el período 1984-1993 els contaminants antropogènics (SO42–,H+ i NO3–) que es dipositaven al Montseny procedien principalment de l’Europa Central i Oriental. La disminució significativa de les concentracions de SO4 2– i H+ reflecteix la reducció de les emissions de sofre al centre d’Europa. En el período 1998-2009, l’origen de SO42–, H+ i NO3– es pot atribuir al trànsit marítim al mar del Nord i als països de l’est d’Europa i el nord d’Àfrica.Postprint (published version

WeMO effects on the amount and the chemistry of winter precipitation in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula

The cluster classification of provenances at a site in the NE Iberian Peninsula indicated that in the period of extended winter (December to March, DJFM) fast Atlantic air flows correspond to positive WeMO index (WeMOi), while negative WeMOi are associated to Mediterranean circulations. The amount of winter precipitation was inversely correlated with winter WeMOi. Wet deposition fluxes of marine-derived (Na+, Mg2+ and Cl) and anthropogenic-derived (NO3 and K+) ions were significantly (and negatively) related to winter WeMOi. The negative phase of WeMO causes the entry of air masses from the Mediterranean into the Iberian Peninsula, that are enriched with marine ions. For NO3 this result suggests the advection over the Mediterranean of polluted air masses from southern Europe and the scavenging and deposition of this pollution by rain during WeMO negative phases. This will carry long-range pollutants to the NE Iberian Peninsula, but local pollutants may also contribute, as precipitation events from the Mediterranean (associated to negative WeMOi) may incorporate local anthropogenic emissions that build up during the winter anticyclonic episodes typical of the region.Postprint (published version

Are the Pyrenees a barrier for the transport of birch (Betula) pollen from Central Europe to the Iberian Peninsula?

This work provides a first assessment of the possible barrier effect of the Pyrenees on the atmospheric transport of airborne pollen from Europe to the North of the Iberian Peninsula. Aerobiological data recorded in three Spanish stations located at the eastern, central and western base of the Pyrenees in the period 2004–2014 have been used to identify the possible long range transport episodes of Betula pollen. The atmospheric transport routes and the origin regions have been established by means of trajectory analysis and a source receptor model. Betula pollen outbreaks were associated with the meteorological scenario characterized by the presence of a high-pressure system overm over Morocco and Southern Iberian Peninsula. France and Central Europe have been identified as the probable source areas of Betula pollen that arrives to Northern Spain. However, the specific source areas are mainly determined by the particular prevailing atmospheric circulation of each location. Finally, the Weather Research and Forecasting model highlighted the effect of the orography on the atmospheric transport patterns, showing paths through the western and easternmost lowlands for Vitoria-Gasteiz and Bellaterra respectively, and the direct impact of air flows over Vielha through the Garona valley.Peer ReviewedPreprin

Influence of the WeMO and NAO decadal trends on the airborne pollen levels recorded in Catalonia (NW Mediterranean basin)

Airborne pollen records constitute a powerful tool for different purposes. First, in studies of dispersion and source identification of pollen grains, which, incorporated into the atmosphere by anemophilous plants, produce allergic symptoms in a part of the population sensitive to it. On the other hand, aerobiological databases provide useful information for the understanding of the trends induced by the climate change. The decadal series allow the extraction of patterns with intra-annual variability (seasonality of the events and their relationship with the atmospheric transport patterns) and inter-annual variability (inter-annual trends and its possible relationship with climatic variability indexes). The longer the aerobiological monitoring series the better the understanding of the effects of climate change on pollination trends. The aim of this study is to explore the influence of climate change on the airborne pollen series recorded in Catalonia during the period 1994-2012 by the analysis of its correlation with both, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the new regional teleconnection Western Mediterranean Oscillation (WeMO) defined within the synoptic framework of the western Mediterranean basin

How brand post content contributes to user's Facebook brand-page engagement. The experiential route of active participation

Producción CientíficaCreating and developing a firm-hosted virtual brand community forms part of a rela-tionship marketing strategy; therefore, it makes sense to evaluate its effectiveness in termsof relational outcomes. In an attempt to know how marketers can foster the relationship withthe brand through virtual communities, we posit and estimate a model of relational efficacyfor a firm-managed Facebook brand page (FBP) in which the brand posts created by the firminfluence the behavioural engagement of individual users through the utilitarian and hedonicvalues derived from their interactive experiences within the FBP. The findings highlight thatinformation posts stimulate user behavioural engagement through the utilitarian experientialroute. Aside from any experiential route and adopting a more direct path, interaction posts arethe main drivers of engagement behaviour. Image posts contribute towards the perception ofutility, but in no way affect engagement. Finally, in order to gain a deeper insight, we explorethe moderating effect of user brand purchase intensity on the relations posited in the model.Ministerio de economía y competitividad (proyecto ECO2012-36275

Latent communities of digital publications: The role of editors, followers, and advertisers

Producción CientíficaThis research explores how digital publications may be turned into something more than just a meeting point for people who are seeking information and may become a latent community. The paper proposes that the network of editors, followers, and advertisers of digital publications determine the user sense of community towards the publication. While the pattern of connections among editors and followers reinforces the sense of community, advertisers act as intruders who weaken the feasibility of building a community. Data were collected from followers of digital publications. The dynamics of the sense of community is described as a process in which informational value and identification are essential to nurturing readers’ soft or hard commitment. Findings indicate that the strong ties between editors and followers as well as the diversity positively impacts on informational value and identification, whereas advertising intrusiveness diminishes the informational value.Junta de Castilla y León (proyecto VA001B10-1)Fondo europeo de desarrollo regional (proyecto VA112P17

Efficiency of web communication strategies. The case of art museums

Producción CientíficaThe success of a web communication strategy depends on the ability to construct efficient websites which spark the public’s interest and attract visitors. To this end, organizations adopt a range of approaches: content web, transactional web, or interactive web. Such is the case of museums, organizations which are increasingly using innovation in their communication with the public via websites and by building new relationships through new technologies. The present research explores the impact which the approach or orientation to online communication has on online traffic as an indicator of success. The empirical work is based on analyzing information from a sample of the world’s major art museums. Results show content orientation and interaction to be the main drivers of web traffic. Findings also reveal that it is the larger museums, mainly in the US and UK, which have most innovated their websites.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project ECO2012-38552

Aplicació de models font-receptor per a determinar àrees font de components biològics (pol·len i papallones)

Els models font-receptor permeten establir relacions entre un punt receptor (punt de mostreig) i les àrees font probables (regions emissores) mitjançant l'associació de valors de concentració en el punt receptor amb les corresponents retrotrajectòries atmosfèriques, i, juntament amb altres tècniques, permeten interpretar fenòmens de transport a escala sinòptica. No obstant això, fins a l'actualitat, pocs treballs han aplicat aquests tipus de models per descriure les àrees font d'organismes biològics. A Catalunya es disposa de registres molt complets de pol·len (dades de la Xarxa Aerobiològica de Catalunya) i de papallones (dades del Catalan Butterfly Monitoring Scheme), un material biològic també susceptible de ser transportat a llargues distàncies i del que pot interessar conèixer les seves àrees d'origen. En aquest treball presentem els resultats de l'ús del model de Seibert et al. aplicat a l'estudi de les regions font de: (1) determinats pol·lens de caràcter al·lergogen, observats a Catalunya i Canàries, i (2) la papallona migratòria Vanessa cardui, observada a Catalunya. Amb els resultats obtinguts podem corroborar la idoneítat d'aquests models per a explicar la procedència de diferents espècies, tant químiques com biològiques, ampliant així les possibilitats d'aplicació del model original al camp molt més extens de l'aerobiologia

Atmospheric dispersion of airborne pollen evidenced by near-surface and columnar measurements in Barcelona, Spain

Hourly measurements of pollen near-surface concentration and lidar-derived profiles of particle backscatter coefficients and of volume and particle depolarization ratios during a 5-day pollination event observed in Barcelona, Spain, between 27 – 31 March, 2015, are presented. Maximum hourly pollen concentrations of 4700 and 1200 m-3 h-1 were found for Platanus and Pinus, respectively, which represented together more than 80 % of the total pollen. Everyday a clear diurnal cycle caused by the vertical transport of the airborne pollen was visible on the lidar-derived profiles of the backscatter coefficient with maxima usually reached between 12 and 15 UT. A method based on the lidar polarization capabilities was used to retrieve the contribution of the pollen to the total signal. On average the diurnal (9 – 17 UT) pollen aerosol optical depth (AOD) was 0.05 which represented 29 % of the total AOD, the volume and particle depolarization ratios in the pollen plume were 0.08 and 0.14, respectively, and the diurnal mean of the height of the pollen plume was found at 1.24 km. The dispersion of the Platanus and Pinus in the atmosphere was simulated with the Nonhydrostatic Multiscale Meteorological Model on the B grid at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center with a newly developed Chemical Transport Model (NMMB/BSC-CTM). Model near-surface daily concentrations were compared to our observations at two sites: in Barcelona and Bellaterra (12 km NE of Barcelona). Model hourly concentrations were compared to our observations in Barcelona.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft