The structure of sub-national public debt : liquidity vs credit risks

Analizamos los determinantes de la estructura de la deuda pública en el caso de España, desde una perspectiva subnacional. El cambio endógeno en la estructura de la deuda (entre instrumentos de corto plazo e instrumentos de largo plazo, y entre préstamos y valores) depende de medidas observables de riesgo crediticio y de liquidez. Para discriminar entre los determinantes potenciales, diseñamos modelos empíricos que incorporan variables financieras, económicas e institucionales. Estimamos los modelos mediante el Método Generalizado de Momentos y hacemos uso de una nueva base de datos trimestral sobre la estructura de la deuda pública regional española para el período I TR 1995-IV TR 2012. Nuestros resultados muestran que los determinantes más robustos de las decisiones sobre la gestión de deuda pública regional, refl ejada por la estructura de la deuda, son los riesgos de refinanciación y la expectativa del apoyo del Gobierno central (medido por la dinámica de las transferencias a las Comunidades Autónomas)We analyse the determinants of the structure of public debt in the case of Spain, from a sub-national perspective. The endogenous shift in the composition of debt (among shortvs long-term instruments, and loans vs securities) depends on observable measures of credit and liquidity risks. To discriminate among competing potential determinants, we set out empirical models that incorporate fi nancial, economic and institutional variables. We estimate the models by GMM and make use of a new quarterly dataset of Spanish regional governments’ debt structure for the period 1995Q1-2012Q4. Our results show that the most robust determinants of regional public fi nancial management decisions, as refl ected by the structure of debt, are rollover risks and the expectation of central government support (as measured by the dynamics of transfers

Thermophilic and mesophilic temperature phase anaerobic codigestion (TPAcD) compared with single-stage co-digestion of sewage sludge and sugar beet pulp lixiviation

The performance of temperature phase anaerobic co-digestion (TPAcD) for sewage sludge and sugar beet pulp lixiviation (using the process of exchanging the digesting substrate between spatially separated thermophilic and mesophilic digesters) was tested and compared to both single-stage mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic co-digestion. Two Hydraulic Retention Times (HRT) were studied in the thermophilic stage of anaerobic digestion in two temperature phases, maintaining the optimum time of the mesophilic stage at 10 days, obtained as such in single-stage anaerobic co-digestion. In this way, we obtained the advantages of both temperature regimes. Volatile solids removal efficiency from the TPAcD system depended on the sludge exchange rate, but fell within the 72.6e64.6% range. This was higher than the value of 46.8% obtained with single-stage thermophilic digestion and that of 40.5% obtained with mesophilic digestion. The specific methane yield was 424e468 ml CH4 per gram of volatile solids removed, similar to that of single-stage mesophilic anaerobic digestion. The increase in microbial activity inside the reactor was directly proportional to the organic loading rate (OLR) (or inversely proportional to the HRT) and inversely proportional to the size of the microbial population in single-stage anaerobic co-digestion systems

Insights on the acting role of Martian atmosphere in the fragmentation pathways of organic and C-containing inorganic compounds using LIBS

In the present work, a preliminary fundamental study about the influence of background gas in Martian surface conditions (CO2, P=7 mbar) on the formation of emitting species in laser-induced plasmas of ablated C-containing compounds was performed. Results were compared with those obtained using ambient air as surrounding gas of irradiated samples. Energy thresholds were evaluated for excited atomic and molecular species of interest resulting in the plasma using a home-made LIBS system coupled to a pressure chamber for simulating Martian environment during the analysis of samples. Inorganic salts as calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate besides pyrene as organic reference compound were analyzed in order to discern the origin of C-containing species coexisting in the plasma plume (C, C2 and CN, mainly). Results from acquired emission spectra shed light on the different carbon sources of emitting species as a function of energetic and pressure conditions.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Improving the Estimation of Psychometric Functions in 2AFC Discrimination Tasks

Ulrich and Vorberg (2009) presented a method that fits distinct functions for each order of presentation of standard and test stimuli in a two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) discrimination task, which removes the contaminating influence of order effects from estimates of the difference limen. The two functions are fitted simultaneously under the constraint that their average evaluates to 0.5 when test and standard have the same magnitude, which was regarded as a general property of 2AFC tasks. This constraint implies that physical identity produces indistinguishability, which is valid when test and standard are identical except for magnitude along the dimension of comparison. However, indistinguishability does not occur at physical identity when test and standard differ on dimensions other than that along which they are compared (e.g., vertical and horizontal lines of the same length are not perceived to have the same length). In these cases, the method of Ulrich and Vorberg cannot be used. We propose a generalization of their method for use in such cases and illustrate it with data from a 2AFC experiment involving length discrimination of horizontal and vertical lines. The resultant data could be fitted with our generalization but not with the method of Ulrich and Vorberg. Further extensions of this method are discussed

Response Errors Explain the Failure of Independent-Channels Models of Perception of Temporal Order

Independent-channels models of perception of temporal order (also referred to as threshold models or perceptual latency models) have been ruled out because two formal properties of these models (monotonicity and parallelism) are not borne out by data from ternary tasks in which observers must judge whether stimulus A was presented before, after, or simultaneously with stimulus B. These models generally assume that observed responses are authentic indicators of unobservable judgments, but blinks, lapses of attention, or errors in pressing the response keys (maybe, but not only, motivated by time pressure when reaction times are being recorded) may make observers misreport their judgments or simply guess a response. We present an extension of independent-channels models that considers response errors and we show that the model produces psychometric functions that do not satisfy monotonicity and parallelism. The model is illustrated by fitting it to data from a published study in which the ternary task was used. The fitted functions describe very accurately the absence of monotonicity and parallelism shown by the data. These characteristics of empirical data are thus consistent with independent-channels models when response errors are taken into consideration. The implications of these results for the analysis and interpretation of temporal order judgment data are discussed

An approach to the reality of rural public schools in Andalusia

Se aborda la situación actual de las escuelas rurales analizando la legislación específica en Andalucía; valorando la realidad organizativo-didáctica que demandan y la situación del profesorado que accede a las mismas: permanencia efímera, así como formación inicial y continua no adecuadas. Las conclusiones evidencian que los centros rurales se resisten a sustituir el sentido de acogida de la comunidad educativa, por la prevalencia del rendimiento de cuentas, que deja a un lado la “integridad” del ser humano, determinante de la “integralidad” de los elementos constitutivos de la persona, así como la ausencia de arraigo de los maestros a esas realidades culturalesThe current situation of rural schools is analyzed by analyzing the specific legislation in Andalusia; valuing the organizational-didactic reality that they demand and the situation of the teaching staff that accesses them: ephemeral permanence, as well as inadequate initial and continuous training. The conclusions show that rural centers are reluctant to replace the sense of welcome of the educational community, because of the prevalence of accountability, which leaves aside the "integrity" of the human being, determinant of the “integrality” of the elements constitutive of the person, as well as the lack of roots of teachers to these cultural realitie

Strategies to unblock the n-GaAs surface when electrodepositing Bi from acidic solutions

Bismuth ultra-thin films grown on n-GaAs electrodes via electrodeposition are porous due to a blockade of the electrode surface caused by adsorbed hydrogen when using acidic electrolytes. In this study, we discuss the existence of two sources of hydrogen adsorption and e propose different routes to unblock the n-GaAs surface in order to improve Bi films compactness. Firstly, we demonstrate that increasing the electrolyte temperature provides ompact yet polycrystalline Bi films. Cyclic voltammetry scans indicate that this low crystal quality might be a result of the incorporation ofBi hydroxides within the Bi film as a result of the temperature increase. Secondly, we have illuminated the semiconductor surface to take advantage of photogenerated holes. These photocarriers oxidize the adsorbed hydrogen nblocking the surface, but also create pits at the substrate surface that degrade the Bi/GaAs interface and prevent an epitaxial growth. Finally, we show that performing a cyclic voltammetry scan before electrodeposition enables the growth of compact Bi ultra-thin films of high crystallinity on semiconductor substrates with a doping level low enough to perform transport measurements

Conferencia “Entregar al Paraná es como entregar las Islas Malvinas” : Reflexiones en relación a los desafíos económicos y políticos que atañen a la lucha por la soberanía nacional

Con más de diez novelas publicadas, Giardinelli nos confirma la intrínseca relación que existe entre la lucha y el activismo político con ser un gran escritor. Impulsor de la lucha por la recuperación del control del río Paraná y del canal Magdalena por parte del Estado, en la conferencia Entregar el Paraná es como entregar las malvinas: Reflexiones en relación a los desafíos económicos y políticos que atañen a la lucha por la soberanía nacional, el autor relata las razones que motivan su lucha como nacidas del amor: del amor a su hogar, a su patria, a sus compatriotas; recordándonos que existen formas de resistencia a través de la escritura y de la comunicación.Facultad de Trabajo Socia

Relationship between Emotional Intelligence, Educational Achievement and Academic Stress of Pre-Service Teachers

Emotional intelligence (EI) and stress are constructs that often characterize the teaching profession and are inversely related. There is evidence in the literature that suggests the importance of teachers working on EI in order to learn coping strategies and improve their teaching practices. This descriptive and correlational study had the purpose of examining the social–emotional profile of future teachers based on their EI and academic stress levels in order to provide guidance for future stressful situations that will affect their future professional development. For this purpose, we used a random sampling for convenience in a university population enrolled in degrees of education at Andalusian universities (Spain), getting a sample of 1020 pre-service teachers. The results pointed to a superiority in EI, academic stress, and academic achievement in favor of females compared to males. The relationship among EI, academic stress, and student teachers’ achievement was demonstrated. Furthermore, some components of EI were positioned as important factors to improve student achievement and reduce academic stress. Once the high incidence of these constructs on academic achievement was confirmed, the importance of developing EI and coping and stress skills training programs, aimed at improving academic success and their subsequent professional development, was demonstrated.Junta de Andalucía. Grant HUM-81

CMOS SPADs selection, modeling and characterization towards image sensors implementation

The selection, modeling and characterization of Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) are presented. Working with the standard 180nm UMC CMOS process, different SPAD structures are proposed in combination with several quenching circuits in order to compare their relative performances. Various configurations for the active region and the prevention of the premature edge breakdown are tested, looking for a miniaturization of the devices to implement image sensor arrays without loses in their performance