The Computation of the Logarithmic Cohomology for Plane Curves

We give algorithms of computing bases of logarithmic cohomology groups for square-free polynomials in two variables. (Fixed typos of v1)Comment: 19 page

Enhancing smart environments with mobile robots

Sensor networks are becoming popular nowadays in the development of smart environments. Heavily relying on static sensor and actuators, though, such environments usually lacks of versatility regarding the provided services and interaction capabilities. Here we present a framework for smart environments where a service robot is included within the sensor network acting as a mobile sensor and/or actuator. Our framework integrates on-the-shelf technologies to ensure its adaptability to a variety of sensor technologies and robotic software. Two pilot cases are presented as evaluation of our proposal.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Análisis de la intención de realizar comercio social en webs con herramientas sociales

El comercio social, o comercio a través de los medios sociales (también conocido como social commerce) es una de las modalidades de comercio electrónico con mayor potencial de crecimiento. Sin embargo, su estudio aún es limitado, por lo que las dinámicas y elementos que afectan a la intención de realizar comercio social requieren de una mayor investigación. La bibliografía existente principalmente analiza la intención de los usuarios de practicar comercio social en una red social, pero no en una web de comercio electrónico que tenga sus propias herramientas sociales (p. ej. foros, valoraciones de productos, etc.). Por lo tanto, la presente investigación tiene como objetivo identificar los antecedentes de la intención de comercio social en webs de comercio electrónico en las que se emplean herramientas sociales. A partir de la revisión de la literatura, se desarrolla un modelo para analizar la influencia de cinco posibles antecedentes de la intención de comercio social: calidad de la web, apoyo social emocional, apoyo social informativo, presencia social e inmersión o flow. Para ello, se realizó un estudio empírico entre los usuarios de una web de comercio electrónico que cuenta con un sistema de valoración, comentarios de productos y foros. Los datos se obtuvieron a partir de una encuesta realizada a 200 compradores, y fueron analizados mediante la técnica PLS. Los resultados indican que los elementos más racionales y emocionales de la experiencia del usuario, como son la calidad del sitio web, flow y el apoyo social emocional, son los que motivan la compra; mientras que la presencia social y el apoyo social informativo, no son significativos. Este estudio contribuye a la teoría del comportamiento del consumidor al aplicar variables predictivas de la intención de comercio social a webs con herramientas sociales. Además, los resultados ayudan a los profesionales del comercio electrónico a mejorar el uso que hacen de las herramientas sociales.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

An assisted navigation method for telepresence robots

Telepresence robots have emerged as a new means of interaction in remote environments. However, the use of such robots is still limited due to safety and usability issues when operating in human-like environments. This work addresses these issues by enhancing the robot navigation through a collaborative control method that assists the user to negotiate obstacles. The method has been implemented in a commercial telepresence robot and a user study has been conducted in order to test the suitability of our approach.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Mechanics of fiber-reinforced hyperelastic solids

Recent designs for deployable space structures include elements that can be folded to high curvatures and recover elastically. A type of material proposed for such hinges is fiber composites with a soft silicone matrix. This research focuses on the characterization of this type of composites. Their mechanical properties during folding have been studied experimentally, revealing a highly non-linear moment-curvature relationship and stress softening, due to microdamage. The micromechanics of the problem have also been studied numerically, with a finite element model that takes into account the arrangement of the fibers. The model predicts most of the features observed experimentally, including the microbuckling that reduces fiber strain during folding. The model overestimates the material stiffness, due to its inability to model the damage taking place in the material. Current efforts are focused on modeling this damage process. In order to do so, the tension stiffness transverse to the fibers has been measured. Preliminary results including cohesive elements that delamination show good agreement with the tests

Destination Image on the DMO's Platforms: Official Website and Social Media

Tourists usually configure and develop ideas about possible destinations based on information previously gathered from both social media and the official web of the destination management organization (DMO). In spite of the relevance of said information sources, there have not been many studies evaluating how these different sources influence the destination image. This research proposes a model intended to explain the image creation process of a destination taking into account both the DMO’s online platforms and the perceived psychological distance. The proposed model is tested with an empirical study including a questionnaire which collects data from 264 participants. The validity of the model is reviewed through PLS analysis. Results show that the psychological distance does not influence the overall destination image. In addition, the overall destination image can be estimated to a larger extent when tourists approach social media as their main source of information. Implications and conclusions are discussed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

"De Paisano a Paisano: Mexican Migrants and the Transferrence of Political Attitudes to their Countries of Origin"

Is there a link between immigration and democratization? Can immigrants transfer democratic values to their countries of origin? If so, what are the implications for the countries in question? This dissertation looks into the theoretical construct of social remittances and tests it empirically using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitatively speaking, this gets tested using survey and aggregate data. Qualitatively speaking, field work was carried out in a number of Mexican States. This work found that migrants do play a role in local politics through the transference of political attitudes. This includes, but is not limited to political participation, the incumbent party's fortunes, the governor's party's coalition's chances for reelection, the overall electoral competitiveness, and third party's share of the vote. This grassroots impact, however is tempered and constrained by the same dynamics that led individuals to migrate in the first place

Accurate Stereo Visual Odometry with Gamma Distributions

Point-based stereo visual odometry systems typically estimate the camera motion by minimizing a cost function of the projection residuals between consecutive frames. Under some mild assumptions, such minimization is equivalent to maximizing the probability of the measured residuals given a certain pose change, for which a suitable model of the error distribution (sensor model) becomes of capital importance in order to obtain accurate results. This paper proposes a robust probabilistic model for projection errors, based on real world data. For that, we argue that projection distances follow Gamma distributions, and hence, the introduction of these models in a probabilistic formulation of the motion estimation process increases both precision and accuracy. Our approach has been validated through a series of experiments with both synthetic and real data, revealing an improvement in accuracy while not increasing the computational burden.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Project "PROMOVE: Advances in mobile robotics for promoting independent life of elders", funded by the Spanish Government and the "European Regional Development Fund ERDF" under contract DPI2014-55826-R