La competencia pragmática en español L2: un caso de inmigrantes rusohablantes en inmersión lingüística continua

En este artículo nos centramos en el problema de la adquisición de\ud la competencia pragmática en español L2. Tomando como punto de\ud referencia a cuatro hablantes nativas del ruso en inmersión lingüística\ud continua, estudiamos el componente pragmático de su competencia\ud comunicativa en español. El objetivo principal de esta investigación\ud es analizar, a base de conversaciones grabadas, el dominio de mecanismos\ud pragmáticos en L2 que presentan las hablantes con un nivel\ud de conocimiento del español muy alto. Dado que se detectan varios\ud errores pragmáticos-tipo que las hablantes encuestadas cometen en la\ud ordenación del discurso en español L2, con el presente estudio buscamos\ud ofrecer una interpretación ontológica de los mismos para hacer\ud avanzar la didáctica del español a extranjeros.Pragmatic competence in L2 Spanish: a case of Russian-speaking\ud immigrants in full immersion. In this paper we focus on the problem\ud of acquisition of pragmatic competence in L2 Spanish. We take as\ud reference four native speakers of Russian in full immersion and study\ud the pragmatic component of their communicative competence in\ud Spanish language. The main aim of this research is to offer an analysis\ud based on recorded conversations and dealing with how speakers\ud with advanced competence in Spanish prove their command of\ud pragmatic tools in L2. Since more than one type of pragmatic failures\ud are observed in the target speakers’ discourse in L2 Spanish, this\ud work looks for offering their ontological interpretation in order to\ud contribute to the fi eld of Didactics of Spanish as a Foreign Language

Development of Decision Support System for Optimization of Dams\u2019 Management on Complex River Systems

The thesis presents a complex approach for modelling of a complex reservoir systems for water drainage management. The model has been built over a segment of a river with a certain parameters of water inflow, water outflow, required power production and max possible flood occurrence. Then the segments may be replicated with specific parameters to simulate whole system of the river. The model has been optimized in order to obtain the water drainage operation policy with regards of current and expected water volumes in the reservoirs ratio, required power production revenue, and minimal flood occurrence. Model has been verified on a walk-through basis on Valle D'Aosta river system and Volga-Kama river system. Flood propagation has been modelled in HEC-RAS software, while post-processing and impact analysis were performed in QGIS 3.0. The results show that proposed management approach allows to decrease the impact caused by inundation at Volga-Kama river basin by two times compared to the one implemented by the operator management approach. This result is achieved due to mitigation of the flood in highly populated areas and allowing additional water discharge among water management facilities in the areas with low population. Thus developed approach provides optimal water drainage for minimum flood occurrence and desired power production revenue

The TIGER Model: Application of detailed passenger and freight transport in a regional CGE setting

The present paper describes the construction and first empirical application of the TIGER model (TIGER is an abbreviation of “Transport and Infrastructure General Equilibrium model for Regionsâ€). The TIGER model belongs to the group of regional CGE models, applying a mix of conventional modelling techniques used in standard computable general equilibrium models and New Economic Geography elements. The TIGER model can be used to evaluate transport policies on economic and environmental effects. Innovative features of the TIGER model are the detailed modelling of the transport sector and modelling of commuting and migration decisions. The approach of the TIGER model is to model cross-border related transport policies on a disaggregate level, with freight and passenger transport flows, allowing for different transport modes (road, water, rail), distinguishing between public and private transport, and for different transport motives. Commuting trips will be modelled in detail, by a location-attraction function, jointly determining area of residence and place of work. The TIGER model is constructed as a regional model on the NUTS-3 level for Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and a part of Germany, where regions are linked by interregional trade flows, transport trips and migration. In a similar way the model can be extended to all NUTS-3 regions in Europe. This paper will relate on the construction of the database for the model and the addition of innovative elements in the model, necessary to model transnational passenger and freight flows. The construction of the model is based on the available data in the TRANSTOOLS database. The detail offered by the TIGER model allows for a quantitative evaluation of effects of several transport policies with a transnational dimension in the Benelux and Germany. We will present results of the TIGER model based on a current project in the Benelux.

Modelling Inter-Regional Trade Flows: Data and Methodological Issues in Rhomolo

The present paper studies the modelling of inter-regional trade flows in the newly developed general equilibrium model of European Commission, Rhomolo. In contrast to international trade, usually, trade of goods and services between regions is not recorded statistically. As a result, no statistical data exists for inter-regional trade, which could be readily used for modelling purposes. We propose an augmented entropy approach, which combines the Transtools model’s inter-regional trade and inter-regional transport cost data with data from regional and national statistics to obtain a full set of balanced bilateral trade data for all inter-regional transactions.Inter-regional trade, general equilibrium, trade costs, entropy, economic geography spatial equilibrium, DSGE.

Critical Thinking in the Digital Age: Strategies of Human Resource Management

The research introduces a strategy of utilising critical thinking (CT) as an instrument of developing professional skills set in the digital age. The research aims to evaluate the potential of CT in human resources management (HRM). It has been established that the strategy of CT offers a way of intellectual improvement within the framework of professional communication. Therefore, a systematic fostering of CT allows for successful integration of affective and cognitive aspects of communication in the context of HRM. Conversely, this research has identified the potential of the offered strategy in change- and risk management. The  CT strategy has proved itself to be an effective way of professional decision-making in key cognitive aspects as well as in effective ones (intellectual courage, perseverance, confident reasoning, independent thinking in tandem with overcoming egocentrism and sociocentrism). Based on the results of the empirical research within the modern digital environment, the long-term efficiency of the offered strategy has been substantiated; the researchers  have outlined the potential ways of implementing the results of the study, as well as strategy’s growth point

Size and composition dependent electrochemical oxidation and deposition of metal nanostructures.

This dissertation describes (1) size-dependent electrochemical oxidation/stripping of gold and silver nanoparticles (NPs), (2) alloying of copper with gold nanoparticles at underpotential deposition potentials, (3) electrochemical characterization of Au/Ag core-shell structures, (4) characterization of metal nanoparticle alloys by stripping voltammetry, and (5) layer-by-layer assembly of metal nanoparticle/polymer structures. The motivation of this work is to better understand fundamental properties of metal nanostructures as a function of size, shape, and composition. We synthesized Au and Ag NPs with different size by electrochemical reduction of the metal salt directly on the electrode surface and by seed-mediated growth in solution followed by chemisorption on a silane functionalized electrode surface, respectively. Linear sweep voltammetry results demonstrated a negative shift in peak potential for oxidation with decrease in size. For Ag NPs, the oxidation potential is 275 mV and 382 mV for 8 and 50 nm particles, respectively. In the case of Au NPs, the peak potentials are 734 and 913 mV for 4 and 250 nm particles, respectively. This shift in oxidation potential with change in size of metal nanoparticles is consistent with Plieth theory. Underpotential deposition of copper on Au NPs of different size led to alloying of Au and Cu. Several peaks were observed on linear sweep voltammograms. We assigned these peaks to different copper locations in the alloy structure: (1) Cu UPD on the surface of Au NP, (2) outer-shell Cu-Au alloy, and (3) core of Cu-Au NP alloy. Au/Ag core-shell nanostructures were synthesized by seed-mediated growth directly on the electrode surface and characterized with electrochemical techniques. During electrochemical characterization, dealloying of Au from Au/Ag alloy structures occurred by cycling in bromide containing electrolyte solution. Composition analysis based on LSV showed that less than 3% of Au remained on the electrode surface. SEM images showed that the morphology of Au/Ag nanostructures changes after electrochemical oxidation. Particles become bigger and form hollow bulbs , porous structures, and networks. We also synthesized Au/Ag alloy nanoparticles through a high temperature seed-mediated growth procedure and characterized them by UV-Vis and LSV at different stages of synthesis. LSV results provided information about the composition and atomic arrangements of alloy nanoparticles synthesized using 1:1 Au:Ag ratio, but a different synthesis method. After a 24-hour heating time, the (Au 4nm )Ag NPs did not show the oxidation peak for Ag, indicating that it stabilized during the alloy formation. In the case of (Ag 8nm )Au NPs, Ag oxidation peak appeared on LSVs regardless the heating time. Electrochemical characterization and UV-vis spectroscopy results for metal nanoparticle-polymer multilayer films showed that, with increase in the number of metal-polymer layers, absorbance and coverage increases due to an increase of the amount of metal assembled on the surface. A red shift in peak wavelength indicates an increase in size and aggregation of NPs on the electrode surface. SEM analysis shows that the morphology of the film depends on the nature of the metal deposited and the size of NPs. Films of Ag NPs consisted of large aggregated structures on the electrode surface, while films of Au NPs were uniform and porous. Experiments on the electron transfer through the polymer film to the metal NPs, demonstrated that electron transport depends on the number of polymer bilayers and the nature of the NPs. After deposition of 5 polymer bilayers, Au oxidation peak disappeared, while Ag oxidation peak was lower compared to 1 layer, but still observable. This dissertation describes a few sets of experiments on fundamental electrochemical properties of metal nanostructures. The results of these experiments are crucial for the application areas such as catalysis and sensing. It is important to study the stability of these nanoparticles, and also their recycling potential, since it can be affected by changes in the shape and size of the nanoparticles during the course of a reaction. This will not only provide information about electrochemical stability but may also prove useful as a method for analyzing nanoparticles and using them as labels for analytical applications by electrochemical stripping voltammetry

R&D and Economic Growth in Slovenia: A Dynamic General Equilibrium Approach with Endogenous Growth

In the article, we model R&D as a major endogenous growth element in a small open economy general equilibrium framework and consider several R&D policy scenarios for Slovenia. Increase of the share of sectoral investment in R&D that is deductible from the corporate income tax and increase of government spending on R&D turned out to be the most effective suggested policy measures. While the former policy measure is still followed in part by an undesired transfer of the tax relief to dividends, a moderate increase of government spending on R&D boosts long-run productivity in the economy, thus increasing the future value of firms, which is reflected in a desired dividend increase. The households that would gain more utility from such policy scenarios are those with more skilled and highly skilled labour, but not the very top earners in the economy.Endogenous growth, General equilibrium modelling, R&D, Slovenia

RHOMOLO: A Dynamic General Equilibrium Modelling Approach to the Evaluation of the EU's Regional Policies

This paper describes some of the features of a new dynamic general equilibrium framework (RHOMOLO) being developed at the European Commission (JRC-IPTS, together with DG REGIO) for evaluating EU Cohesion Policy. The design of the model reflects the objectives of Cohesion Policy, and a broader understanding of impact analysis which goes beyond pure economic effects and also considers environmental and social indicators. The model has both regional and sectoral dimensions – regionally, the aim is for complete NUTS2 (NUTS1 for Germany) coverage of the EU27, while the potential sector coverage is 23 – all of which leads to very large modelling dimensions and presents challenges in terms of data availability. The model is constructed using the concept of Dynamic Spatial Computable General Equilibrium (DSCGE), which ensures Walrasian equilibrium in a sequence of model solutions over time, and also incorporates elements of New Economic Geography (NEG) in the way it captures the forces of economic agglomeration and dispersion.