Technical Change and Polarization of the Labor Market: Evidence for Brazil, Colombia and Mexico

We use occupations descriptions for Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, to build computer-use related tasks intensities, and link then to series of cross sections of data of each country in order to empirically assess to what extent the observed empirical regularities, and the reallocation of workers across occupations that require different tasks intensities, are consistent with the SBTC or polarization models. We find an increase of both wages and workers at the extremes of the wage or skills occupations distribution, the less routinaire/computerizabe, particularly pronounced in the period since personal computers began to be introduced in the region. This finding, along with other empirical regularities, provides support for some of the main implications of the polarization model in the cases of Colombia and Mexico.Relative Wages, Income Distribution, Technical Change.

The Acoustics of the Choir in Spanish Cathedrals

One of the most significant enclosures in worship spaces is that of the choir. Generally, from a historical point of view, the choir is a semi-enclosed and privileged area reserved for the clergy, whose position and configuration gives it a private character. Regarding the generation and transformation of ecclesial interior spaces, the choir commands a role of the first magnitude. Its shape and location produce, on occasions, major modifications that significantly affect the acoustics of these indoor spaces. In the case of Spanish cathedrals, whose design responds to the so-called “Spanish type”, the central position of the choir, enclosed by high stonework walls on three of its sides and with numerous wooden stalls inside, breaks up the space in the main nave, thereby generating other new spaces, such as the trascoro. The aim of this work was to analyse the acoustic evolution of the choir as one of the main elements that configure the sound space of Spanish cathedrals. By means of in situ measurements and simulation models, the main acoustic parameters were evaluated, both in their current state and in their original configurations that have since disappeared. This analysis enabled the various acoustic conditions existing between the choir itself and the area of the faithful to be verified, and the significant improvement of the acoustic quality in the choir space to become apparent. The effect on the acoustic parameters is highly significant, with slight differences in the choir, where the values are appropriate for Gregorian chants, and suitable intelligibility of sung text. High values are also obtained in the area of the faithful, which lacked specific acoustic requirements at the time of construction

Thermal and Lighting Consumption Savings in Classrooms Retrofitted with Shading Devices in a Hot Climate

Most educational buildings in southern Spain do not meet current energy requirements as weak thermal envelopes and the lack of cooling systems lead to severe discomfort in classrooms, especially when temperatures are above 30 °C. Given that global warming is expected to worsen this situation in coming decades, one of the first steps to be taken is to protect window openings from high levels of solar radiation by adding shading devices to reduce indoor temperatures and improve visual comfort. The aim of this research is to evaluate the reduction in thermal and lighting consumption in a classroom where a solar protection system in the form of an egg-crate shading device was installed. Two classrooms—one with an egg-crate device and another with no shading system—were monitored and compared for a whole year. The use of an egg-crate device in these classrooms reduced indoor operative temperatures during warmer periods while also improving indoor natural illuminance levels. Moreover, annual electric air conditioning consumption decreased by approximately 20%, with a 50% reduction in electric lighting consumption. These savings in electricity were largely conditioned by the use patterns observed in these ambient systems.Spanish government BIA2014-53949-RMinistry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spanish GovernmentEuropean Regional Development Fun

Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on Thermal Comfort in A Building Category: The Case of Linear-type Social Housing Stock in Southern Spain

The Climate Change scenario projected by the IPCC for the year 2050 predicts noticeable increases in temperature. In severe summer climates, such as the Mediterranean area, this would have very negative e ects on thermal comfort in the existing housing stock, given the current high percentage of dwellings which are obsolete in energy terms and house a population at serious risk of energy poverty. The main aim of this paper is to generate a predictive model in order to assess the impact of this future climate scenario on thermal comfort conditions in an entire building category. To do so, calibrated models representing linear-type social multi-family buildings, dating from the post-war period and located in southern Spain, will be simulated extensively using transient energy analyses performed by EnergyPlus. In addition, a sensitivity analysis will be performed to identify the most influential parameters on thermal discomfort. The main results predict a generalized deterioration in indoor thermal comfort conditions due to global warming, increasing the average percentage of discomfort hours during the summer by more than 35%. This characterization of the future thermal behaviour of the residential stock in southern Spain could be a trustworthy tool for decision-making in energy retrofitting projects which are so badly needed. To do so, further work is required on some limitations of this model so that di erent user profiles and typologies can be represented in detail and an economic assessment can be included

A proposal to improve the acoustics in fernandina churches: the example of Magdalena Church in Cdrdoba (Spain)

After the Christian conquest of Cordoba by Fernando I11 in 1236, small churches were erected in substitution of Muslim mosques. Thus arises the Fernandina church model which will become a church archetype after the Reconquest. They are simple churches, with three naves covered with wooden roof structures and domed apses that satisfied the needs of liturgy and preach at that time, in which music was enphasized over speech. Nowadays many of those churches combine their liturgical activities with cultural uses. In this work the acoustic conditions of this church model are studied. An acoustic analysis on one of these type of churches will be applied: Magdalena church, which has been recently restored for cultural uses. From measuring taken in situ together with computer simulation, architectural solutions are proposed to adapt the acoustics of the space to both speech and music use.Una propuesta para mejorar la acústica en las iglesias de Fernandina. El ejemplo de la Iglesia Magdalena en Córdoba (España) R. Suárez, JJ Sendra y J. Navarro Instituto Universitario de Ciencias de la Construcción (IUCC). ETS Arquitectura. Universidad de Sevilla. España Resumen Después de la conquista cristiana de Córdoba por Fernando I11 en 1236, se erigieron pequeñas iglesias en sustitución de las mezquitas musulmanas. Así surge el modelo de iglesia de Fernandina que se convertirá en un arquetipo de iglesia después de la Reconquista. Son iglesias simples, con tres naves cubiertas con techos de madera y ábsides abovedados que satisfacían las necesidades de la liturgia y la predicación en ese momento, en la que la música se enfatizaba con el habla. Hoy en día, muchas de esas iglesias combinan sus actividades litúrgicas con usos culturales. En este trabajo se estudian las condiciones acústicas de este modelo de iglesia. Se aplicará un análisis acústico en uno de estos tipos de iglesias: la iglesia de Magdalena, recientemente restaurada para usos culturales

Empirical and numerical analysis of an opaque ventilated facade with windows openings under Mediterranean climate conditions

In recent years, there has been growing concern regarding energy efficiency in the building sector with energy requirements increasing worldwide and now responsible for about 40% of final energy consumption in Europe. Previous research has shown that ventilated façades help to reduce energy use when cooling buildings in hot and temperate climates. Of the different ventilated façade configurations reported in the literature, the configuration of ventilated façade with window rarely has been studied, and its 3D thermodynamic behavior is deserving of further analysis and modeling. This paper examines the thermal behavior of an opaque ventilated façade with a window, in experimentally and numerical terms and its impact in energy savings to get indoor comfort. Field measurements were conducted during the winter, spring and summer seasons of 2021 using outdoor full scale test cells located in Seville (southern Spain). The modeling of the ventilated façade was carried out using a three-dimensional approach taking into account the 3D behavior of the air flow in the air cavity due to the presence of the window. The validation and comparison process using experimental data showed that the proposed model provided good results from quantitative and qualitative point of view. The reduction of the heat flux was assessed by comparing the energy performance of a ventilated façade with that of an unventilated façade. Both experimental and numerical results showed that the ventilated façade provided a reduction in annual total energy consumption when compared to the unventilated façade, being compensated the winter energy penalization by the summer energy savings. This reduction is about 21% for the whole typical climatic year showing the ability of the opaque ventilated façade studied to reduce energy consumption to insure indoor comfort, making its suitable for use in retrofitting the energy-obsolete building stock built in Spain in the middle decades of the 20 century

Indoor environmental assessment: comparing ventilation scenarios in pre- and post-retrofitted dwellings through test cells

In the next few years, outdoor temperature is expected to increase significantly as a result of climate change, a noticeable phenomenon, especially in the Mediterranean. In this future scenario, ventilation is a low-cost and useful strategy for tackling indoor overheating, mainly in energy-poor housing buildings. This research assesses the influence of different ventilation systems, air rates and schedules on the thermal comfort and indoor air quality of a residential retrofitted space when compared to an un-retrofitted environment, through test cell measurements. To do so, the methodology combines on-site monitoring with numerical models, simultaneously analysing both spaces under the same climate conditions. Results obtained show barely perceptible differences between the implementation of a mechanical ventilation system and a natural one, when it comes to thermal comfort in spaces with low thermal inertia, highlighting the clear advantage of energy and economic savings of the passive system

Is indoor overheating an upcoming risk in southern Spain social housing stocks? Predictive assessment under a climate change scenario

Beyond thermal comfort, the future outlook of climate change poses a challenge for the health of the most vulnerable inhabitants of the existing residential stock. In southern Spain specifically there is extensive social housing stock that is obsolete from an energy perspective and occupied by an aging population with economic constraints for the use of energy. The main aim of this work is to evaluate the possible comfort risks in terms of overheating following the different criteria established by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), both under current conditions and in a climate change scenario. For this purpose, a parametric simulation model was developed to reliably evaluate the category of linear-type social housing from the postwar period, a total of more than 42,000 dwellings. The results show that around 38% of the evaluated cases are already at risk of overheating as they fail to meet two of the three adaptive criteria set in TM52. By 2050 this figure will be almost 100%. In addition, it is expected that global warming will result in an increase of up to 40% in the percentage of Hours of Exceedance

Optimal retrofit solutions considering thermal comfort and intervention costs for the Mediterranean social housing stock

There is an impending need to retrofit the existing social housing stock to improve thermal comfort and to reduce energy demand. This research proposes calibrated building stock models to assess thermal comfort of the social housing stock of southern Spain (Mediterranean area). Several retrofit strategies are optimised using a genetic algorithm to obtain the best retrofit solutions, considering three objectives: annual overheating hours (%), annual undercooling hours (%) and investment costs (€/m2). Results are shown for four different climatic areas in southern Spain. This study finds that it is possible to retrofit the aforementioned stock considering investment costs from approximately 20–200 €/m2. The percent- age of improvements for each climatic area are as follows: in Sevilla (B4 climatic area), investments costs up to 50 €/m2 led to 40% and 20% annual overheating and undercooling hours. In Cádiz, (A3 climatic area), 15% and 22% overheating and undercooling hours were achieved with medium-cost solutions (50–100 €/ m2). In Almería (A4 climatic area), also medium-cost strategies reported approximately 15% and 30% overheating and undercooling hours. In Granada (C3 climatic area), 15% and 38% overheating and under- cooling hours were obtained with medium-cost measures. Yet, applying high-cost solutions (100–200 €/ m2) only significantly improved thermal comfort in Almería and Sevill

Efectos de Largo Plazo de los Programas de Transferencias en Efectivo en Colombia

Los programas de transferencias condicionadas de dinero (CCT) han mostrado tener efectos positivos de corto plazo en educación, consumo, y asistencia a citas médicas, entre otros. Nosotros estimamos los impactos de largo plazo del CCT urbano Colombiano Familias en Acción sobre crimen, fecundidad adolescente, deserción escolar en secundaria, y matrícula en postsecundaria, utilizando un diseño de regresión discontinua con datos administrativos. Estimadores ITT muestran una reducción de 2.7 pp en las tasas de arresto de hombres y una reducción en la fecundidad adolescente de mujeres de 2.3 pp. Las tasas de deserción de secundaria se reducen en 5.8 pp, y para los hombres la matrícula postsecundaria se incrementa en 1.7 pp.Conditional Cash transfer (CCT) programs have been shown to have positive effects on a variety of outcomes including education, consumption and health visits, amongst others. We estimate the long-run impacts of the urban version of Familias en Acción, the Colombian CCT program on crime, teenage pregnancy, high school dropout and college enrollment using a Regression Discontinuity design on administrative data. ITT estimates show a reduction on arrest rates of 2.7pp for men and a reduction on teenage pregnancy of 2.3pp for women. High school dropout rates were reduced by 5.8pp and college enrollment was increased by 1.7pp for men.Efectos de Largo Plazo de los Programas de Transferencias en Efectivo en Colombia Enfoque Los programas de bienestar son usualmente concebidos para abordar necesidades causadas por la situación de pobreza de los hogares. Desde la década de 1990, las transferencias condicionadas se han popularizado como instrumentos para mitigar los efectos de la pobreza e inducir a los hogares a tomar decisiones que les permitan mejorar sus oportunidades futuras. En este trabajo se estudia si más allá de mitigar la pobreza en el corto plazo, Familias en Acción (FeA), el programa colombiano de transferencias de dinero condicionadas, tienen efectos duraderos en otros resultados diferentes. En particular, este trabajo utiliza datos administrativos de Medellín para evaluar sus efectos en el largo plazo sobre el crimen, la fecundidad adolescente, y el acceso a la educación. Contribución Este artículo es la primera evaluación de los efectos de largo plazo de FeA, un programa representativo de aquellos existentes en varios países en desarrollo, sobre una amplia batería de resultados, utilizando datos administrativos de alta calidad. Adicionalmente, el acceso al programa FeA en Colombia se determina con base en el puntaje del Sisben, un índice de calidad de vida construido para todos los hogares, y con un corte de elegibilidad bien definido que permite obtener resultados confiables y robustos. Resultados Se encuentra que, para los hombres, el programa FeA redujo la tasa de arresto en 2,7 puntos porcentuales (pp) respecto a una tasa del 6,2% en la población no beneficiaria. Para las mujeres, el programa genera una reducción de 2,3 pp en la fecundidad adolescente, relativo a una tasa de 8,5%. Finalmente, la tasa de deserción de secundaria se reduce en 5,8 pp tanto para hombres como para mujeres, y para los hombres, la matrícula postsecundaria se incrementa en 1,7 pp. Frase destacada: “Es la primera evaluación de los efectos de largo plazo de Familias en Acción, representativo de aquellos existentes en varios países en desarrollo, sobre una amplia batería de resultados, utilizando datos administrativos de alta calidad”