The Shrinking Endogeneity of Optimum Currency Areas Criteria: Evidence from the European Monetary Union – A Beta Regression Approach.

The endogeneity of optimum currency areas criteria has been widely studied since Frankel and Rose (1998) seminal paper. Literature normally suggests that there is a positive relationship between trade and business cycles correlation. This paper develops work on this subject (Silvestre and Mendonça, 2007) where we confirm this hypothesis in euro area countries and UE-15 for 1967-2003 period using OLS and 2SLS estimates. However, we also find then that trade influence on cycles synchronization diminished in the last years. Now our goal was precisely to evaluate this question. Using a non-linear model based on Beta distribution in the same sample, we concluded that trade has a decreasing marginal effect on business cycles correlation. This result shows that trade flows are important in the first stages of economic integration, but become less important as trade intensity increases. Other factors must then be considered.European Monetary Union (EMU); Business Cycles Correlation; Optimum Currency Areas; International Trade; Beta Regression.

In situ decolorization monitoring of textile dyes for an optimized UV-LED/TiO2 reactor

Heterogeneous photocatalysis, using photocatalysts in suspension to eliminate diverse contaminants, including textile wastewater, has several advantages. Nevertheless, current absorbance and decolorization measurements imply sample acquisition by extraction at a fixed rate with consequent photocatalyst removal. This study presents online monitoring for the decolorization of six azo dyes, Orange PX-2R (OP2), Remazol Black B133 (RB), Procion Crimson H-EXL (PC), Procion Navy H-EXL (PN), Procion Blue H-EXL (PB), and Procion Yellow H-EXL (PY), analyzing the spectrum measured in situ by using the light scattering provided by the photocatalyst in suspension. The results obtained have corroborated the feasibility of obtaining absorbance and decolorization measurements, avoiding disturbances in the process due to a decrease in the volume in the reactor.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

John Kerry’s Political Rhetoric: An Account of the Main Rhetorical Features of His Oral Delivery

Decenes Jornades de Foment de la Investigació de la FCHS (Any 2004-2005)An accurate use of language is a key factor in achieving personal and public objectives in all spheres of our everyday interaction, but the exploitation of the appropriate linguistic resources becomes crucial for those professionals involved in the field of politics. Obtaining the support of the masses, legitimising political policies, or succeeding in public debates and parliamentary negotiations may depend to a great extent on the kind of language a politician employs and its adequacy to each political event. This paper analyses the oral delivery of senator John F. Kerry –the favourite Democratic Party candidate for the US presidency in the 2004 presidential elections– in four public events (two debates and two speeches) celebrated before the election day. Our study focuses particularly on the analysis of a series of rhetorical patterns and linguistic devices employed by the senator in order to empower his argumentations, namely: three-part statements, contrastive pairs, lexical and syntactic repetition, purposive selection and use of pronouns, addressing formulae, introductory formulae for personal opinion and ideology, and the usage of discourse organisers. The results of this study hint, inter alia, that behind the apparent spontaneity of Kerry’s oral delivery there is a selective use of linguistic devices, which is necessarily the product of prior consideration and thoughtful discourse elaboration

Sobre la reforma proyectada del Código Penal: delitos de atentado y de resistencia/desobediencia

Treball Final de Grau en Criminologia i Seguretat. Codi: CS1044. Curs: 2013-2014El presente estudio trata de analizar las modificaciones contempladas por el reciente proyecto de ley de 4 de octubre de 2013, de reforma del Código Penal vigente, efectuadas sobre el Título XXII, Capítulo II de este último, referente a los atentados contra la autoridad, sus agentes y los funcionarios públicos, y resistencia y desobediencia. De acuerdo con el Índice reflejado, se iniciará este estudio examinando el bien protegido por estos artículos, así como los sujetos activos y pasivo de estos delitos, y elementos subjetivos de los mismos. Se tratarán las conductas típicas en cuestión, así como las penas fijadas en cada caso. Por último, se realizarán diversas consideraciones finales.This essay tries to analyze the modifications contemplated by the recent bill dated on October, 4th 2013, about Criminal Code amendments, made on Chapter II of the Title XXII, on assaults on the authority, its agents and civil servants, and on resistance and disobedience. According to the reflected index, this work will begin with the study of the legal right protected by these articles, and also passive and active subjects of these felonies, and subjective elements of them. The typical behaviours will be dealt, and penalties fixed for every case will be studied. Finally, various final considerations will be carried out

Metonymy and Anaphoric Reference: Anaphoric Reference to a Metonymic Antecedent in Dude, Where’s My Country, Stupid White Men, The Da Vinci Code and Deception Point

Departing from the postulates of Ruiz de Mendoza and his collaborators on metonymic anaphora (Ruiz de Mendoza 1997, 1999; Ruiz de Mendoza; Otal 2002; Ruiz de Mendoza; Díez 2004), this paper analyzes some of the most outstanding cases of anaphoric reference to a metonymic antecedent in four best sellers. Antecedent selection turns up problematic in certain cases. These difficulties are considerably reduced, however, by means of the distinction between simple and double metonymies, and some constraints and principles that govern the selection of the anaphoric referent: Constraint on Metonymic Anaphora, Domain Availability Principle, Domain Combinability Principle, and Domain Precedence Principle. The operation of mappings and principles is described through the analysis of real language examples. The phenomenon of metonymic anaphora is surveyed along with cases of implicative reference, through which these scholars account for otherwise problematic cases of anaphoric reference. Ruiz de Mendoza’s is a highly comprehensive approach as far as metonymic anaphora is concerned, but further research should be carried out regarding its relationship with implicative reference.Partiendo de los postulados sobre anáfora metonímica de Ruiz de Mendoza y sus colaboradores (Ruiz de Mendoza 1997, 1999; Ruiz de Mendoza; Otal 2002; Ruiz de Mendoza; Díez 2004), el presente artículo analiza algunos de los casos más significativos de referencia anafórica a antecedentes metonímicos en cuatro best sellers. La selección del antecedente se muestra problemática en algunos casos; sin embargo, estas dificultades se ven reducidas considerablemente con la distinción entre metonimias simples y dobles, así como varias constricciones y principios que gobiernan la selección del referente anafórico: Constricción de Anáfora Metonímica, Principio de Disponibilidad de Dominios, Principio de Combinabilidad de Dominios y Principio de Precedencia de Dominios. La operabilidad de estos mapeos y principios se describe detalladamente en este artículo mediante una selección de ejemplos reales. El fenómeno de anáfora metonímica se analiza en conjunción con casos de referencia implicativa mediante los que estos académicos dan cuenta de casos de referencia anafórica que podrían llegar a ser problemáticos. El enfoque de Ruiz de Mendoza demuestra ser exhaustivo y completo en lo que respecta a la anáfora metonímica, aunque parece necesario llevar a cabo más estudios versados en su relación con casos de referencia implicativa

Phase locked harmonic generation in the opaque region of GaAs

We demonstrate second and third harmonic generation from a GaAs substrate, well-below the absorption edge, in both transmission and reflection geometries. The pump is tuned at 1064 nm, in the transparency range, while the SH and the TH signals are tuned in the opaque spectral range of GaAs, at 532 nm and 355 nm, respectively. As expected, we find that the polarization of the generated signals is sensitive to the polarization of the pump. In our experiment, we work far from the phase matching condition and we account for both surface and bulk contributions, and show that the surface-generated SH components can be more intense than bulk-generated SH signals. The experimental results are contrasted with numerical simulations that include these two factors, using a hydrodynamic model that accounts for all salient aspects of the dynamics, including surface and bulk generated harmonic components.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Usos y funciones de la metáfora conceptual en discurso pedagógico sobre meditación

In mindfulness and meditation instructional contexts, conceptual metaphor is a powerful facilitator of intersubjective communication about inner events and first-person experiences. Previous studies in meditation discourse have described space as a productive source domain that is used by meditation teachers to characterise metaphorically inner events and abstract concepts related to the meditative practice (Silvestre-López 2019, 2020). This study examines the discourse manifestations of the space source domain used to metaphorically characterise the most representative metaphorical topics (targets) in a corpus of introductory talks about meditation addressed to an audience of non-expert meditators. The analysis is sensitive to the communicative dimension of the use of metaphors in that it distinguishes between non-deliberate and deliberate uses (Steen 2015) and considers the functions they fulfil in discourse (Semino 2008; Goatly 2011). The corpus was analysed qualitatively following a bottom-up approach. Metaphor identification was carried out using DMIP (Reijnierse et al. 2018). Target and source domain coding was done with the help of dictionary information and the domains already identified in a metaphor compendium created in previous meditation discourse analyses (see Coll-Florit & Climent 2019; Silvestre-López & Navarro 2017; Silvestre-López 2020). This approach allowed different layers of domain specificity to be unveiled, with remarkable differences found between non-deliberate and deliberate metaphor use. Among them, differences in degree of source domain granularity (Langacker 2008) ranging from vaguer notions like undefined space or spaciousness to conceptually richer and finer-grained scenarios like the home and shelter, ocean, landscape, or sky models. The speakers were found to use these source domains consistently with explanatory purposes (explanatory function) to help their audience reconceptualise some of the most frequent target topics in their talks (e.g., the present moment, the meditator, the mind, awareness, or meditation) from more mindfully-oriented perspectives, hence allowing to become aware of and get rid of potential misconceptions. Deliberate uses proved particularly useful in promoting understanding through reconceptualisation, which was in turn facilitated by the vivid imagery evoked through detailed elaborations of source-domain scenery. Besides ideational functions, deliberate metaphors were also found to facilitate positive attitudinal changes towards the practice, as well as to provide for argument structuring and create textual cohesion. Overall, non-deliberate and deliberate uses were found to combine in the speakers’ production to aid them in skilfully achieving their own communicative intentions, which underscores the need for further studies that explore potential ways of applying similar findings to real meditation practice, and in instructional settings.La metáfora conceptual es un potente facilitador de la comunicación de eventos internos y experiencias en primera persona en contextos de instrucción de mindfulness y meditación. Estudios previos sobre el discurso de la meditación han descrito la noción del espacio como un dominio productivo en el discurso de maestros de meditación utilizado como fuente para caracterizar metafóricamente eventos y conceptos abstractos relacionados con la práctica meditativa (Silvestre-López 2019, 2020). Este artículo explora las manifestaciones discursivas del dominio fuente del espacio utilizadas para caracterizar metafóricamente temas metafóricos (dominios meta) representativos en un corpus de charlas introductorias sobre meditación dirigidas a una audiencia de no expertos. El análisis es sensible a la dimensión comunicativa del uso de las metáforas y para ello distingue entre usos no deliberados y deliberados (Steen 2015), y considera también sus funciones principales en el discurso (Semino 2008; Goatly 2011). El corpus fue analizado cualitativamente siguiendo un enfoque inductivo. La identificación de metáforas se llevó a cabo aplicando DMIP (Reijnierse et al. 2018). La codificación de los dominios meta y fuente se realizó con la ayuda de la información del diccionario y de los dominios ya identificados en un compendio de metáforas elaborado en anteriores estudios sobre el discurso de la meditación (véase Coll-Florit & Climent 2019; Silvestre-López & Navarro 2017; Silvestre-López 2020). El enfoque aquí adoptado ha permitido desvelar diferentes grados de especificidad en los dominios metafóricos, con diferencias relevantes entre metáforas deliberadas y no deliberadas. Entre ellas, los resultados revelan diferentes grados de granularidad de los dominios fuente (Langacker 2008) desde nociones menos definidas como espacio no definido o espaciosidad hasta escenarios conceptualmente más ricos como los modelos casa y refugio, océano, paisaje o cielo. El estudio ha permitido desvelar cómo los hablantes utilizan estos dominios fuente de forma coherente con fines explicativos (función explicativa) para ayudar a su audiencia a reconceptualizar algunos de los temas (dominios meta) más frecuentes en sus charlas (por ejemplo, el momento presente, el meditador, la mente, la consciencia o la meditación), aportando perspectivas más cercanas a la filosofía del mindfulness, facilitando de este modo que la audiencia pueda tomar de conciencia de posibles ideas erróneas sobre la práctica. En concreto, los usos metafóricos deliberados se han revelado especialmente útiles para promover la comprensión a través de la reconceptualización, facilitada ésta por las imágenes vívidas evocadas a del dominio fuente. Además de las funciones ideacionales, las metáforas deliberadas también son utilizadas para facilitar cambios de actitud positivos hacia la práctica, así como proporcionar estructura argumental y facilitar la cohesión textual. En general, el estudio ilustra cómo los usos deliberados y no deliberados se combinan en la producción de los hablantes para alcanzar sus propias intenciones comunicativas, subrayando la necesidad de llevar más estudios que exploren posibles formas de aplicar resultados similares a la práctica real de la meditación y su instrucción.This research was carried out within the framework of the projects GV/2019/101 (Generalitat Valenciana) and UJI-B2018-59 (Universitat Jaume I)

Conceptual Metaphor in Meditation Discourse: An Analysis of the Spiritual Perspective

Meditation has spread beyond the frontiers of religion to go global in other areas of social practice, including secular and spiritual-but-not-religious contexts. Conceptual metaphor, as proposed by Lakoff (1993) has been described as a powerful mechanism to facilitate the communication of first-person experiences connected to religious and lay contemplative practice, including meditation and enlightenment, as reported in several studies. Despite the detachment of the spiritual-but-not-religious movement from other areas of practice, the question of how metaphor is used in discourse about meditation within this perspective has not been addressed. This paper investigates the role of conceptual metaphor in spiritual-but-not-religious meditation discourse through a bottom-up qualitative analysis of a corpus of talks about meditation given by three highly-recognized spiritual teachers. Results chart the topics that are addressed more frequently through metaphor in the corpus (metaphor target domains), describe the range of areas of experience (source domains) used to characterise metaphorically the three most frequent target domains (THOUGHT, THE PRESENT MOMENT, MEDITATOR), and discuss fundamental differences in non-deliberate and deliberate conceptual metaphor use with the help of a selection of examples from the corpus. The findings provide evidence of relevant metaphors used to model the experience and practice of meditation in spiritual-but-not-religious settings and how they are rendered in discourse. Comparisons with metaphorical models already identified in religious and secular discourse contexts are also established, with a special focus on the models that have been transferred from traditional religious meditation spheres to current contexts of social practice

Development of a planning tool : factory planner

Estágio realizado na Infineon TechnologiesRelatório do Estágio Curricular da LGEI 2003/200

Laser Ultrasound Inspection Based on Wavelet Transform and Data Clustering for Defect Estimation in Metallic Samples

Laser-generated ultrasound is a modern non-destructive testing technique. It has been investigated over recent years as an alternative to classical ultrasonic methods, mainly in industrial maintenance and quality control procedures. In this study, the detection and reconstruction of internal defects in a metallic sample is performed by means of a time-frequency analysis of ultrasonic waves generated by a laser-induced thermal mechanism. In the proposed methodology, we used wavelet transform due to its multi-resolution time frequency characteristics. In order to isolate and estimate the corresponding time of flight of eventual ultrasonic echoes related to internal defects, a density-based spatial clustering was applied to the resulting time frequency maps. Using the laser scan beam’s position, the ultrasonic transducer’s location and the echoes’ arrival times were determined, the estimation of the defect’s position was carried out afterwards. Finally, clustering algorithms were applied to the resulting geometric solutions from the set of the laser scan points which was proposed to obtain a two-dimensional projection of the defect outline over the scan plane. The study demonstrates that the proposed method of wavelet transform ultrasonic imaging can be effectively applied to detect and size internal defects without any reference information, which represents a valuable outcome for various applications in the industry. View Full-TextPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version