EL MUNDO FÍSICO DE ARISTÓTELES

Aristotle raised the most popular of the Greek theories about the universe and the bodies movement. In this paper I collect and integrate scattered ideas in the literature about the physical world of Aristotle, dividing this paper in two parts. The first talk in general about Aristotelian philosophy and his contributions to human knowledge. The second deals specifically Aristotelian mechanics and geocentric universe. This paper shows how Aristotle was more concerned with the movement causes than its description, relying primarily on philosophical methods

Optimal exact designs of experiments via Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming

Optimal exact designs are problematic to find and study because there is no unified theory for determining them and studyingtheir properties. Each has its own challenges and when a method exists to confirm the design optimality, it is invariablyapplicable to the particular problem only.We propose a systematic approach to construct optimal exact designs by incorporatingthe Cholesky decomposition of the Fisher Information Matrix in a Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming formulation. Asexamples, we apply the methodology to find D- and A-optimal exact designs for linear and nonlinear models using global orlocal optimizers. Our examples include design problems with constraints on the locations or the number of replicates at theoptimal design points

Unveiling the structure of the Marrakech Medina: Architecture History as a precedent for Contemporary Architectural Design

The population increase that occurred in North African and Middle-Eastern cities, has led to an uncontrolled urban growth that produced urban environments lacking the spatial richness from their historical vernacular towns. In order to alert and to change this context this paper illustrates work in progress for a design project at the city of Marrakech in Morocco. It describes from a historical and analytical point of view, research carried out at the Zaouiat Lakhdar quarter of the Marrakech Medina. The goal is to create the basis for a computational tool that could capture spatial features of the existing architectonic fabric and apply them at contemporary architectural scenarios. The methodology used is explained from the initial historical analysis and fieldwork realized in situ to the identification of social, religious and geometric set of laws and its codification into two different types of generative rules. These were than applied either at the urban level, or at the domestic level. At the urban scale the system generates options for new urban neighborhood layouts, and at the domestic level, proposes different housing typologies taking in consideration architectural precedents. Results from a class will be showed. The ultimate objective of this project is to illustrate how fruitful can be the interdisciplinary dialogue between history, culture, computation and architecture. It outcome is proved as a dynamic design process able to infer on the organization of a Design Studio, and in the formalization of a computational design methodology that contributes with architectural solutions to the building of the local environment

Factores determinantes y críticos en empresas de servicios, para la obtención de ventajas competitivas sostenibles y transferibles a estrategias de globalización : un análisis de la industria del software ... /

Consultable des del TDXTítol obtingut de la portada digitalitzadaLos desarrollos económico y tecnológico están impulsando la globalización. El aumento en la demanda, la creciente homogeneidad de los mercados y las facilidades que brindan las tecnologías de la información, dan lugar a que los deseos y preferencias de los clientes se vean satisfechos mediante productos y servicios estandarizados. En el contexto de los servicios, la estandarización, la configuración de las actividades de valor añadido, y los programas uniformes de Marketing se constituyen como elementos relevantes de la estrategia global en las empresas de servicios. En la literatura, varios autores han identificado que tales elementos se ven soportados por diversos factores que permiten el logro de ventajas competitivas a escala local y que pueden ser transferibles al entorno global, así como por nuevas ventajas que las empresas desarrollan en los diversos mercados. Sin embargo, hay escasa evidencia empírica de que esto suceda. Los objetivos principales de esta tesis se centran en dos vertientes: 1) Identificar los factores que son relevantes para que las empresas de servicios logren ventajas competitivas que puedan ser transferibles a una estrategia global; y 2) Construir un marco conceptual desde la perspectiva del marketing, en el que se combinan diversas posturas encontradas en la literatura con algunas prácticas de empresas de servicios. Para tal efecto se han analizado los casos de cinco empresas que producen sistemas operativos y que los comercializan a escala mundial: Hewlett Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Novell y Sun Microsystems. Los descubrimientos más significativos de este trabajo de investigación indican que: La amplitud de las líneas de productos y servicios, el capital tecnológico, los contratos, así como los servicios complementarios conforman factores críticos en orden de lograr ventajas competitivas sostenibles, y que dichos factores pueden ser transferibles a estrategias de globalización por las empresas de servicios de alta tecnología. Mientras que las alianzas y los programas de Marketing, aparte de ser considerados también fuentes de ventajas competitivas sostenibles, se erigen como potenciales agentes de transferencia de las ventajas competitivas de las empresas citadas. Como conclusión, el autor propone un marco conceptual para el análisis de la estrategia global de una empresa de servicios, el cual incluye: Las fuentes de ventaja competitiva, denotadas por factores organizativos y competitivos de las empresas; así como por los papeles que juegan las características de los servicios y el sector de servicios. Estas tres dimensiones condicionan el sostenimiento de las ventajas competitivas, así como la posibilidad de transferirlas al ámbito global. Luego entonces, la estrategia global se verá soportada por las ventajas competitivas transferidas y por la creación de nuevas ventajas en los diversos mercados donde la empresa participe.The developments economic and technological are impelling the globalization. The increase in the demand, the increasing homogeneity of the markets and the facilities that offer the technologies of the information (IT), they give rise that desires and preferences of the clients are satisfied by means of products and standardized services. In the context of the services, the standardization, the configuration of the activities of added value, and the uniform programs of Marketing are constituted like excellent elements of the global strategy in the companies of services. In Literature, several authors have identified who such elements are supported by diverse factors that allow the profit of competitive advantages on local scale and which they can be transferable to the global surroundings, as well as by new advantages that the companies develop in the diverse markets. Nevertheless, there is little empirical evidence of which this happens. The primary targets of this thesis are centered in two slopes: 1) Identifying the factors that are excellent so that the companies of services obtain competitive advantages that can be transferable to a global strategy; and 2) Propose a conceptual frame from the perspective of marketing, in that diverse positions found in Literature with some practices of companies of services are combined. For such effect the cases of five companies have been analyzed that produce operating systems and that commercialize them on world-wide scale: Hewlett Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Novell and Sun Microsystems. The most significant discoveries of this work of investigation indicate that: The amplitude of the lines of products and services, the technological capital, the contracts, as well as the complementary services conform critical factors in order to obtain sustainable competitive advantages, and that these factors can be transferable to strategies of globalization by the companies of services of high technology. Whereas the alliances and the programs of Marketing, aside from being also considered sources of sustainable competitive advantages, they are elevated like potential agents of transference of the competitive advantages of the mentioned companies. Like conclusion, the author proposes a conceptual frame for the analysis of the global strategy of a company of services, which includes: The sources of competitive advantage, denoted by organizational and competitive factors of the companies; as well as by the papers that play the characteristics of the services and the sector of services. These three dimensions condition the support of the competitive advantages, as well as the possibility of transferring them to the global scope. Soon then, the global strategy will be supported by the transferred competitive advantages and the creation of new advantages in the diverse markets where the company participates

Computational tools for designing shape- changing architectures

Smart materials or systems are characterized by having built-in sensors and actuators, adjusting their properties in response to external stimulus. The rapid development of these technologies presents an immense opportunity for designers and architects to provide innovative and creative solutions for adaptive buildings. However, there are several challenges for the incorporation of smart materials in the toolbox of architects in design practice: The lack of an overlap in knowledge between material science fields and design practices; the addition of time as a condition that renders these materials inherently dynamic; and the general disconnect between material issues in typical design settings. This paper discusses the challenges for designing shape-changing architecture and examines the way in which computational tools or digital technologies can help overcome those limitations in design practice. Finally, we discuss an approach for designing shape changing architectures with the aid of digital technologies, highlighting the different considerations that must be taken into account

Future of architectural hybridity:: Exploring the Bauhaus culture in Hajjar's hybrid architecture

The aim of this study is to explore the notion of stylistic hybridity in architecture by using shape grammar as a computational design methodology. The mid-twentieth-century architecture produced by William Hajjar is used as a case study for this exploration. Hajjar was a member of the architecture faculty at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), a practitioner in State College where the University Park campus is located, and an influential figure in the history of architecture in the area. The residential architecture he designed for and built in the area incorporates many of the shapes, rules, and features of both modern European architecture and traditional American architecture. Using computational methodology, this study offers an investigation into this hybridity phenomenon and explores the possibility of producing hybrid architectural designs for future uses. In the present study, shape grammars are used specifically to verify and describe the influence of Bauhaus/European modernism on Hajjar's domestic architecture: rules from the grammar developed for his single-family houses in the State College area will be compared with rules from the grammar developed for the Gropius-Breuer partnership in the United States. The potential of shape grammar will be discussed as an effective complementary tool for architectural historians to use in a mathematically rigorous way to verify the formal and functional similarities between styles. In short, it is proposed that shape grammars be used broadly in detective work to verify or disprove hypotheses

Future of architectural hybridity:: Exploring the Bauhaus culture in Hajjar's hybrid architecture

The aim of this study is to explore the notion of stylistic hybridity in architecture by using shape grammar as a computational design methodology. The mid-twentieth-century architecture produced by William Hajjar is used as a case study for this exploration. Hajjar was a member of the architecture faculty at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), a practitioner in State College where the University Park campus is located, and an influential figure in the history of architecture in the area. The residential architecture he designed for and built in the area incorporates many of the shapes, rules, and features of both modern European architecture and traditional American architecture. Using computational methodology, this study offers an investigation into this hybridity phenomenon and explores the possibility of producing hybrid architectural designs for future uses. In the present study, shape grammars are used specifically to verify and describe the influence of Bauhaus/European modernism on Hajjar's domestic architecture: rules from the grammar developed for his single-family houses in the State College area will be compared with rules from the grammar developed for the Gropius-Breuer partnership in the United States. The potential of shape grammar will be discussed as an effective complementary tool for architectural historians to use in a mathematically rigorous way to verify the formal and functional similarities between styles. In short, it is proposed that shape grammars be used broadly in detective work to verify or disprove hypotheses

Interview with James C. Scott: Egalitarianism, the teachings of fieldwork and anarchist calisthenics

The following conversation took place in Lisbon, April 2012, and gathered many students and researchers from both Portugal and Spain. The conversation was first directed by our own questions and we then opened the floor for discussion, taking some questions from the audience. The subjects discussed ranged from Scott’s participation in the Perestroika Movement in Political Science to his critique of the State and the concept of high-modernism (see Seeing like a State – How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed, Scott’s 1998 book). The conversation also included his perspectives on resistance and their relation to contributions made by authors such as E.P. Thompson, Michel Foucault, and Pierre Clastres, among others. Finally, we also discussed the possibility of an “anarchist turn” in social sciences and came to know Scott’s law of anarchist calisthenics, and some hints about his new book, Two Cheers for Anarchism: Six Easy Pieces on Autonomy, Dignity, and Meaningful Work and Play (2012).

Utilidad comparativa entre la determinación de Hormona Gonadotropina Corionica Humana Vaginal y la prueba de Cristalografía para el diagnostico de Ruptura Prematura de Membranas en pacientes Obstétricas del Hospital General Dr. Nicolás San Juan en el periodo de agosto 2012 a febrero de 2013

Introducción: La Ruptura Prematura de Membranas Fetales (RPM) es uno de los problemas más comunes y controversiales que presenta la obstetricia. Una intervención oportuna puede estar limitada a la incapacidad de diagnosticarla, al utilizar pruebas que arrojen resultados falsos positivos o falsos negativos que resultan en un diagnóstico erróneo o retardado. El objetivo del presente estudio fue comparar la utilidad diagnóstica de la detección cualitativa de hormona gonadotropina coriónica humana vaginal con la prueba cristalografía para el diagnóstico de ruptura prematura de membranas. Material y Método: Se realizó un estudio transversal, comparativo y observacional en el que se incluyeron a 100 mujeres que ingresaron a la unidad de admisión del servicio de tococirugía del Hospital General del P.R. “Dr. Nicolás San Juan”, con diagnóstico de embarazo de 20 semanas de gestación o más y ruptura prematura de membranas confirmada por prueba de Valsalva positiva. A todas las pacientes se les realizó cristalografía y detección de hormona gonadotropina coriónica humana en el canal vaginal. El periodo de estudio fue de agosto 2012 a febrero 2013. Resultados: Se analizaron 100 pacientes con embarazo con certeza franca de ruptura de membranas. La prueba de detección de hormona gonadotropina coriónica humana vaginal mediante una tira reactiva tuvo un rendimiento diagnóstico de positividad del 100%. La cristalografía resultó 90% positiva y 10% negativa. Conclusión: La determinación cualitativa de hormona gonadotropina coriónica humana vaginal tiene mayor rendimiento diagnóstico que la cristalografía para diagnosticar ruptura prematura de membranas