THE METHOD OF SIMULATED MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD FOR THE ESTIMATON OF DYNAMIC ORDERED PROBIT: AN APPLICATION TO COUNTRY-RISK FOR NON-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

This paper aims to give a detailed explanation of the econometric methodology necessary to estimate dynamic probit models with ordinal dependent variables. A typology of cases are established which appear when considering different choices of individual heterogeneity along with time correlation. To be able to estimate by maximum likelihood the models which come out of the different alternatives proposed, simulation techniques are used and put into practice by the GHK simulator and, in this way, estimators by simulated maximum likelihood are obtained. Finally, all the models described are used to measure and determine the macroeconomic factors which explain the ratings of country-risk in non-developed countries.Country risk, panel data, external debt, dynamic ordered probit

Tunable Holographic Components in WDM Optical Networks

This paper describes the applications of a multipurpose holographic device in optical networks with Coarse and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM/ DWDM) technologies. In its basic structure, it can operate as a tunable wavelength filter, wavelength multiplexer or λ router. By using a more complex structure, the device works as OADM (Optical Add Drop Multiplexer) or OS (Optical Switch). Some simulations of the basic devices, from the optical transmission point of view, are made to match the transmission parameters for the application in optical networks. Performance parameters of the device, like switching time, losses, cross-talk or polarization insensitivity are analyzed and compared with other multiplexing or switching technologies. To complete the review of these components, a study of computer generated holograms (CGH) design is carried out. The results are used in the design of holographic devices to perform different applications: in Metro networks, where a design of a holographic device with wavelength conversion and routing is analyzed, or, in Access Networks like a tunable filter or demultiplexer in Fiber to the Home/Business (FTTH/FTTB) topologies

Spatial Determination of Magnetic Avalanche Ignition Points

Using time-resolved measurements of local magnetization in the molecular magnet Mn12-ac, we report studies of the propagation of magnetic avalanches (fast magnetization reversals) that originate from points inside the crystals rather than at the edges. The curved nature of the fronts produced by avalanches is reflected in the time-of-arrival at micro-Hall sensors placed at the surface of the sample. Assuming that the avalanche interface is a spherical bubble that grows with a radius proportional to time, we are able to locate the approximate ignition point of each avalanche in a two-dimensional cross-section of the crystal. For the samples used in these studies, avalanches in a given crystal are found to originate in a small region with a radius of roughly 150 microns.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Between Virgins and Priests: the Feminisation of Catholicism and Priestly Masculinity in Nineteenth-Century Spain

In 1843, the French anticlerical republican Jules Michelet wrote the following words in Journal, a newspaper of his country: ‘Dieu changea de sexe, il faut le dire encore une fois’ (‘God changed sex, it must be repeated yet again’). Michelet, who two years later published Du prêtre, de la femme, de la famille (Priests, Women, and Families), expressed European anticlericalism's fear of what was perceived as a close alliance between women and the Catholic Church.1 In his opinion, the main danger was the priest, ‘born male and strong, but who prefers to be weak so as to resemble a woman’ in order to influence the family life from the confessional.2 It is noteworthy that the ultramontane journalist Louis Veuillot, despite his political and ideological differences with Michelet, shared with him the idea that religion and particularly Catholicism was more and more identified with women. He commented that ‘the time after Voltaire's century could be called Mary's century’.3 Therefore, it seems clear that, either in a positive or in a negative way, both Veuillot and Michelet perceived religion as a matter of women. More than a century later, from the 1970s onwards, sociologists, anthropologists and historians have been discussing what has been called the thesis of the feminisation of religion. From different points of view, scholars who have participated in this debate have emphasised the increasing presence of femininity and women in the discourse and the practice of nineteenth‐century Christianity, especially Catholicism, and have connected the feminisation of religion with other important debates like those of the secularisation process or the complex relationship between religion and modernity.4 Some recent publications, however, have questioned the feminisation thesis, highlighting the male presence in some realms of religious life beyond the parish and the deep religious commitment of remarkable groups of men.5 Considering these international debates, this paper will focus on the situation in nineteenth‐century Spain, taking into account the broader transformations experienced by Catholicism during this century. I will defend the hypothesis that the Catholic Church identified itself with the same characteristics with which it defined femininity in the nineteenth century through the symbolic link with the Virgin Mary. Although this discursive feminisation of Catholicism left laymen in a difficult situation, it did contribute to reinforcing the patriarchal and hierarchical structure of the Church. The paper will be divided into three parts. First, I will briefly present the feminisation thesis through a critical view of international studies of this topic. Second, I will explore in detail the concept of the discursive or symbolic feminisation of Catholicism in light of the Spanish case. Finally, I will illustrate how a feminised church was able to reinforce priestly masculinity, that is to say, the role played by a particular group of Catholic men: bishops and priests

Switching of Magnetic Moments of Nanoparticles by Surface Acoustic Waves

We report evidence of the magnetization reversal in nanoparticles by surface acoustic waves (SAWs). The experimental system consists of isolated magnetite nanoparticles dispersed on a piezoelectric substrate. Magnetic relaxation from a saturated state becomes significantly enhanced in the presence of the SAW at a constant temperature of the substrate. The dependence of the relaxation on SAW power and frequency has been investigated. The effect is explained by the effective ac magnetic field generated by the SAW in the nanoparticles.Comment: Accepted in Europhysics Letter

Entre el hogar y la calle. La movilización política de mujeres católicas durante el Sexenio Democrático [Between home and the street. The political mobilisation of Catholic women during the Sexenio]

El Sexenio Democrático (1868-1874) fue un periodo convulso de la historia contemporánea española en el que la posición estable que la Iglesia española había alcanzado tras el Concordato de 1851 quedó en entredicho. Como consecuencia del proceso de feminización religiosa iniciado en las décadas anteriores, el debate público sobre la religión tuvo un importante componente de género. A pesar de las críticas de revolucionarios y secularistas, algunas mujeres que se presentaron a sí mismas como esposas y madres católicas se opusieron públicamente a las medidas gubernamentales que fueron en contra de los intereses eclesiásticos. Este artículo pretende reflexionar en torno a la agencia o capacidad de acción de las mujeres católicas y analiza la manera en que el antiliberalismo concibió la relación entre la esfera pública y la privada. [The Sexenio Democrático (1868-1874) was a troubled period of the modern history of Spain in which the stable position achieved by the Catholic Church after the Concordat of 1851 was widely questioned. Due to the feminisation of Catholicism during the previous decades, the public debate about religion had an important gendered component. Despite the criticisms of revolutionaries and secularists, some women who presented themselves as Catholic wives and mothers publicly opposed the Government measures against the Church’s interests. This paper reflects on the capacity of agency of Catholic women and analyses how anti-liberalism conceived the link between the public and the private realm.

Tuning Magnetic Avalanches in Mn12-ac

Using micron-sized Hall sensor arrays to obtain time-resolved measurements of the local magnetization, we report a systematic study in the molecular magnet Mn$_{12}$-acetate of magnetic avalanches controllably triggered in different fixed external magnetic fields and for different values of the initial magnetization. The speeds of propagation of the spin-reversal fronts are in good overall agreement with the theory of magnetic deflagration of Garanin and Chudnovsky \cite{Garanin}.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures; discussion expanded and revise