An Agent-Based Simulation of Rental Housing Markets

We simulate a closed rental housing market with search and matching frictions, in which both landlord and tenant agents are imperfectly informed. Homogeneous landlords set rents to maximise revenue, using information on the market to estimate the relationship between posted rent and time-on-the-market (TOM). Tenants, heterogeneous in income, engage in undirected search accepting residences based on their idiosyncratic tastes for housing and a disagreement point derived from information on the distribution of offers. The steady state to which the simulation evolves shows price dispersion, nonzero search times and vacancies.The main results concern the effects of increasing information on either side of the market. When tenants see a greater percentage of the distribution of offers, tenants learn to refuse high rents and so the population rises and tenants' utilities rise as does overall welfare. Conversely, when landlords have less information, their utility can rise as over estimations in best posting rent move the market to higher rents.Real estate; Rental markets; Search; Information; Simulation; Multi-agent systems

Yasmin Levy canta romances ladinos y canciones flamencas: Orientación para los estudiantes de Hispánicas

Yasmin inició su carrera cantando los romances antiguos de la tradición llamada ladina de los judeo-españoles o sefardíes. Las comunidades judías, radicadas en España desde el Imperio romano, florecieron durante el reinado de Alfonso X (1252- 1284 AD). En 1492 los judíos practicantes fueron expulsados de España. Se desparramaron por todo el Mediterráneo, conservando sobre todo en sus canciones su forma de hablar castellano. Se detallan las características principales de la lengua ladina. En su primer disco compacto Yasmin canta diez canciones en el ladino antiguo. En el segundo disco maneja una mayor variedad de fuentes y pretende "fusionar" el ladino y el flamenco. Se comentan dos canciones de cada disco. Dos discos posteriores y un DVD ofrecen más material para los profesores y estudiantes de Hispánicas que quieran comprender mejor la cultura de la Edad Media española.Yasmin‘s career started with ballads from the Judaeo-Spanish (Sephardic) or Ladino tradition. Jewish communities, established in Spain since Roman times, flourished under Alfonso X (1252-1284 AD). In 1492 practising Jews were driven out of Spain. They re-settled all over the Mediterranean, preserving their 15th-century Spanish especially in their songs. The major features of Ladino are outlined. Yasmin‘s first CD has ten songs in archaic Spanish. In her second CD she draws from wider sources and seeks to "fuse" the Ladino and Flamenco modes. Two songs from each CD are highlighted. Two later CDs and a DVD provide further materials for teachers and students of Spanish seeking better understanding of Spain‘s medieval culture.peerReviewe

Castigo coloquial de los franceses, los rusos, los españoles y Napoleón de Arturo Pérez-Reverte La sombra del águila (1993)

In 1812, a Spanish battalion is part of Napoleon's army invading Russia. In a major battle, when the Spaniards intend to surrender to the Russians, the French cavalry "saves" the Spaniards. The Spaniards abandon their original plan and re-engage on the French side. They perform superbly well. In October, Napoleon's Grande Armée begins the retreat and crosses the river Beresina in late November 1812. Eleven Spaniards enter Spain in April 1814. The narrator, speaking on behalf of the battalion, describes the French as "franchutes" and "gabachos". French commanders are mocked pitilessly. The Russian ("ruski") artillery and Cossack cavalry fight well, though their commander is a disaster. The French consider the Spaniards to be patriotic, violent – and unfit for modern government. Napoleon is to the Spaniards "el Petit Cabrón", "el Petit", "el Enano", "el Ilustre" and "el Monstruo". Pérez-Reverte develops an impressive variety of pejorative designations for individuals and social groups. He also delivers a great many examples of familiar speech. In other texts and in La sombra del águila Pérez-Reverte displays profound knowledge and mastery of colloquial and vulgar speech.En 1812, un batallón español forma parte del ejército napoleónico en la invasión de Rusia. Cuando en una batalla importante los españoles piensan rendirse a los rusos, la caballería francesa "salva" a los españoles. Los españoles abandonan el plan original y vuelven a combatir en nombre de los franceses. Su actuación militar es impecable. En octubre, la Grande Armée inicia el regreso y cruza el río Beresina hacia finales de noviembre de 1812. En abril de 1814 once españoles entran en España. El narrador, en nombre del batallón español, describe a los franceses como "franchutes" y "gabachos", burlándose despiadadamente de los jefes militares franceses. La artillería "ruski" y la caballería cosaca son buenos soldados, aunque su comandante es un desastre. Según los franceses, los españoles son patrióticos, violentos – e incapaces de comprender un sistema de gobierno moderno. Para los españoles Napoleón es "el Petit Cabrón", "el Petit", "el Enano", "el Ilustre" y "el Monstruo". Pérez-Reverte desarrolla una variedad impresionante de términos peyorativos para los individuos y los grupos sociales. También presenta muchísimos ejemplos del lenguaje familiar. En otros textos y aquí en La sombra del águila Pérez-Reverte revela unos conocimientos.peerReviewe

Can Isabel Allende help us to teach Spanish?

En el cuento "El oro de Tomás Vargas" de Isabel Allende se han creado cien espacios divididos en cinco ejercicios. Cada ejercicio tiene una lista aleatoria de veinte adjetivos, de adjetivos y frases temporales o de unidades verbales en tiempo pasado. El/la estudiante tiene que rellenar los espacios con los elementos correctos.In Isabel Allende’s short story “El oro de Tomás Vargas” one hundred gaps have been set into the text and arranged in five exercises. Each exercise has a randomised list of twenty adjectives, adjectives combined with phrases of time or verbal units based on past tenses. The student has to fill in the gaps with the correct solutions.peerReviewe

Aurora La Cujiñi” (1898) de R. B. Cunninghame Graham - Una indagación

In Aurora La Cujiñi-A realistic sketch in Seville, published by the Scottish writer R. B. Cunninghame Graham in 1898, the frontispiece showed the sepia image of a female flamenco dancer. What might La Cujiñi‘ mean? Charles Davillier and Gustave Doré in 1862-63 note the existence of a Sevillan dancer with this name. In 2011 the present writer was gifted an old lithograph, in colour, published in Seville . 1850‘ and entitled Aurora La Cujiñí‘ - with ñ and í. The two images are supplied. Aurora La Cujiñi‘ really existed. Graham‘s sketch has five phases: Seville; the bullfight; the crowd‘s return to town; a low-quality flamenco show; and the highly stirring performance by an initially anonymous female dancer - the dead Aurora brought back to life. Graham emphasises the Seville blend of blood and sensuality in a realist style also capable of mockery and criticism. Graham‘s writing includes a good variety of well-controlled Spanish vocabulary, his empathy with horses and a deep nostalgia for times past. W. H. Hudson, writer and friend of Graham, in 1894 recommended that Graham should read the Argentine sketches published by Alfred Ébélot in 1890. In Aurora La Cujiñi Graham in 1898 is beginning to show mastery of the literary sketch. Question: Might Lorca have read Aurora La Cujiñi before drafting. Teoría y juego del duende?En Aurora La Cujiñi-A realistic sketch in Seville (1898) del escritor escocés R. B. Cunninghame Graham, el frontispicio llevaba la imagen en sepia de una bailadora de flamenco. ¿Qué podría significar "La Cujiñi"? Charles Davillier y Gustave Doré en 1862-1863 apuntan la existencia de una bailaora sevillana con este nombre. En 2011 al que esto escribe le regalaron una litografía antigua, en color, publicada en Sevilla hacia 1850‘ e intitulada. "Aurora la Cujiñí" - con ñ y con í. Se incluyen las dos imágenes. "Aurora La Cujiñi" realmente existió. El bosquejo‘ de Graham tiene cinco fases: Sevilla; la corrida; la vuelta de la muchedumbre al centro; un tablao flamenco de baja calidad; y la actuación apasionante de una bailadora inicialmente anónima - la Aurora muerta que vuelve a vivir. Graham pone énfasis en la mezcla sevillana de sangre y sensualidad, manejando una prosa realista, socarrona y crítica. En su escritura se notan una variedad bien controlada de léxico español, su empatía con los caballos y su nostalgia profunda por los tiempos pasados. W. H. Hudson, escritor y amigo de Graham, recomendó en 1894 que éste leyera los bosquejos‘ argentinos publicados por Alfred Ébélot en 1890. En "Aurora La Cujiñi" Graham en 1898 está empezando a dominar la técnica del bosquejo. Pregunta: ¿Podría haber leído Lorca "Aurora La Cujiñi" antes de redactar "Teoría y juego del duende"?peerReviewe

El laísmo en "Cinco horas con Mario" de Miguel Delibes (1966): … para el entrenamiento de estudiantes extranjeros en el español correcto

Una viuda habla en primera persona durante el 85 por ciento de "Cinco horas con Mario": usa 81 veces el laísmo, incorrección gramatical muy arraigada en el habla de Castilla. Prohibido desde 1796, el laísmo se niega a desaparecer. En otras cuatro novelas de Delibes se apuntan sólo 38 casos de laísmo: 28 los dicta el narrador vallisoletano. El conservadurismo vallisoletano de la viuda –vanidosa, aburguesada y anti-intelectual– incluye el laísmo. Los expertos sitúan el laísmo en las dos Castillas, en Madrid, en ciertas zonas de la España occidental, en La Rioja y en Santander. Para el estudiante extranjero de Hispánicas, ¿qué puede significar esta "impropiedad" al parecer indestructible?A widow in first person voice -85% of "Cinco horas con Mario" - 81 times over uses laísmo, a grammatical error deeply rooted in Castilian speech. Banned since 1796, laísmo refuses to die. Four other Delibes novels deliver only 38 instances of laísmo, 28 voiced by the Valladolid-born narrator. The widow is vain, devoutly middle-class and anti-intellectual. Her Valladolid-style conservatism includes the laísmo. Linguists locate laísmo in both Castiles, Madrid, certain areas of western Spain, La Rioja and Santander. What is the foreign student of Spanish to make of this seemingly indestructible "impropriety"?peerReviewe

Outdoor music festivals: Cacophonous consumption or melodious moderation?

Large outdoor music festivals have emerged as part of a general expansion of licensed recreational activities, but in research terms they have been largely impenetrable due to commercial sensitivities. These sensitivities notwithstanding, the number and scale of such events necessitate a greater understanding of alcohol and drug use and the potential to promote normative protective behaviours in this context. This study examines self-reported alcohol and drug behaviours of 1589 attendees at a music festival in Scotland during the summer of 2008. Similarities between the outdoor rock music festivals and the dance club scene are considered alongside the challenges associated with risk reduction in these settings. Results show that alcohol was consumed by the majority of samples; however, negative consequences were reported by a minority of respondents, suggesting evidence of controlled hedonism within a situation traditionally associated with unrestrained excess. Similarly, the majority of samples did not use drugs. The majority also report a number of self-regulating protective behaviours suggesting that alcohol and drug use is contained within a developing social culture of ‘controlled intoxication’. Results further suggest that although music festivals are transitory events, there is a degree of consistency amongst attendees. Music festivals may therefore be atypical but potentially effective environments to increase protective behaviours using normative messaging and modern communications media. This study was resourced exclusively by local alcohol and drug partnerships