Background and approach to a definition of smart buildings

There is no possibility of finding a single reference about domotics in the first half of the 20th century. The best known authors and those who have documented this discipline, set its origin in the 1970’s, when the x-10 technology began to be used, but it was not until 1988 when Larousse Encyclopedia decided to include the definition of "Smart Building". Furthermore, even nowadays, there is not a single definition widely accepted, and for that reason, many other expressions, namely "Intelligent Buildings" "Domotics" "Digital Home" or "Home Automation" have appeared to describe the automated buildings and homes. The lack of a clear definition for "Smart Buildings" causes difficulty not only in the development of a common international framework to develop research in this field, but it also causes insecurity in the potential user of these buildings. Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to propose a definition of the expression “Smart Buildings” that satisfactorily describes the meaning of this discipline. To achieve this aim, a thorough review of the origin of the term itself and the historical background before the emergence of the phenomenon of domotics was conducted, followed by a critical discussion of existing definitions of the term "Smart Buildings" and other similar terms. The extent of each definition has been analyzed, inaccuracies have been discarded and commonalities have been compared. Throughout the discussion, definitions that bring the term "Smart Buildings" near to disciplines such as computer science, robotics and also telecommunications have been found

The onset of solar cycle 24: What global acoustic modes are telling us

We study the response of the low-degree, solar p-mode frequencies to the unusually extended minimum of solar surface activity since 2007. A total of 4768 days of observations collected by the space-based, Sun-as-a-star helioseismic GOLF instrument are analyzed. A multi-step iterative maximum-likelihood fitting method is applied to subseries of 365 days and 91.25 days to extract the p-mode parameters. Temporal variations of the l=0, 1, and 2 p-mode frequencies are then obtained from April 1996 to May 2009. While the p-mode frequency shifts are closely correlated with solar surface activity proxies during the past solar cycles, the frequency shifts of the l=0 and l=2 modes show an increase from the second half of 2007, when no significant surface activity is observable. On the other hand, the l=1 modes follow the general decreasing trend of the solar surface activity. The different behaviours between the l=0 and l=2 modes and the l=1 modes can be interpreted as different geometrical responses to the spatial distribution of the solar magnetic field beneath the surface of the Sun. The analysis of the low-degree, solar p-mode frequency shifts indicates that the solar activity cycle 24 started late 2007, despite the absence of activity on the solar surface.Comment: To be accepted by A&A (with minor revisions), 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

The effects of employment uncertainty and wealth shocks on the labor supply and claiming behavior of older American workers

Unemployment rates in developed countries have recently reached levels not seen in a generation, and workers of all ages are facing increasing probabilities of losing their jobs and considerable losses in accumulated assets. These events likely increase the reliance that most older workers will have on public social insurance programs, exactly at a time that public finances are suffering from a large drop in contributions. Our paper explicitly accounts for employment uncertainty and unexpected wealth shocks, something that has been relatively overlooked in the literature, but that has grown in importance in recent years. Using administrative and household level data we empirically characterize a life-cycle model of retirement and claiming decisions in terms of the employment, wage, health, and mortality uncertainty faced by individuals. Our benchmark model explains with great accuracy the strikingly high proportion of individuals who claim benefits exactly at the Early Retirement Age, while still explaining the increased claiming hazard at the Normal Retirement Age. We also discuss some policy experiments and their interplay with employment uncertainty. Additionally, we analyze the effects of negative wealth shocks on the labor supply and claiming decisions of older Americans. Our results can explain why early claiming has remained very high in the last years even as the early retirement penalties have increased substantially compared with previous periods, and why labor force participation has remained quite high for older workers even in the midst of the worse employment crisis in decades.employment uncertainty, wealth shocks, retirement, labor supply, life-cycle models

Current status of las tablas de daimiel national park wetland and actions required for conservation

Wetlands are complex ecosystems that play multiple roles. ‘Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park’ (TDNP) undoubtedly plays a role in several ecosystem services and provides a connection between nature, farmers, scientists, residents, and other stakeholders. The state of degradation and/or vulnerability of this ecosystem (with a series of socio-economic implications) have led the publication of numerous articles. The work reported here provides a description of the growing importance of this wetland within the rural landscapes of La Mancha and emphasizes its state of degradation, mainly since pedological point of view. In this way, particular attention is required to assure the conservation of the Tablas of Daimiel Wetland; thus, several measures are proposed to improve the conservation of this area as to control and prohibit any dumping of any type of waste in the park or in its vicinityThis Research was funded by Organismo Autonomo Parques Nacionales (Autonomous Organism National Parks) of Spain (OAPN

Intensity of physical education classes in adolescents

Se registró la frecuencia cardiaca de 182 estudiantes (97 chicos y 85 chicas) de entre 12 y 18 años durante sus clases de Educación Física. Los resultados muestran una media del 21,62±14,33% del tiempo de clase en valores MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity). Respecto al género, pese a no ser significativo, los mayores valores corresponden a la chicas (23,47±14,45% vs 19,99±14,10%; p=0,106). No se ha observado efecto del tipo de sesión (deportes colectivos, deportes individuales, juegos tradicionales o bailes) sobre el tiempo en valores MVPA (p>0,05; TE0.05; ES<0.020), obtaining the highest values in team sports sessions. Results show that intensity and duration of analyzed classes do not comply with recommendations to become an adequate cardiovascular exercis

Physical Education in English. A proposal for working postural hygiene in Primary Education

In recent years, European Union has increased the demand for bilingual education as a tool to prepare young people in school and at work. This need has been reflected in the educational legislation of its member countries In Spain, since 2006 there is a basic competency related to foreign language learning. The Physical Education area has become an ideal means to facilitate the learning of English through play and movement. In order to facilitate the work of future teachers in the area, this article examines the teaching of Physical Education in the bilingual English. The current legislation that governs the implementation of bilingualism in schools will be presented, along with the most important methodological considerations for teaching our subject in English. Finally, in the section about practical applications, we present a circuit of activities to work postural hygiene in Primary Education. Each activity has its description in Spanish and English, along with the «teacher speech», with specific instructions to carry out in each of the exercise