El règim jurídic del comerç internacional de serveis en el marc de la UE i l'OMC

La inclusió de l'IED dins de «comerç de serveis» i la noció àmplia de «servei» provoquen que l’abast del GATS sigui molt ampli

CETA on investment: the definitive surrender of EU Law to GATS and NAFTA/BITs

Provisions on investment in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the EU, both on substance and on dispute settlement procedures, culminate a long process of replacement of the original EECT/ECT approach to establishment by the approaches followed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs). The article analyzes this process; it focuses in particular the law of external relations but takes into account the evolution of the law of the internal market and can also be read from this perspective as, in the authors’ opinion, the evolution in the former throws light on the latter. The article intends to leave the legal facts to speak by themselves. By unveiling their rationale, it also gives rise to political concerns regarding the evolution of the law. As CETA limits the ability of the EU to legislate and erodes the European Court of Justice’s role, the article leads to the conclusion that the underlying rationale for the evolution, both in the internal and the external areas, has not been that of promoting integration but that of deregulation

Why we fight and The focused interview. Cinema and Social Science during World War II

Durant la Segona Guerra Mundial, l'exèrcit dels Estats Units va plantejar uns mètodes d'adoctrinament de la tropa que combinaven la instrucció física i tècnica amb la formació racional. La sèrie cinematogràfica documental Why We Fight (WWF) va ser una de les millors respostes a aquests nous mètodes. WWF pretenia activar la part racional del soldat, proporcionant-li documentació exhaustiva de la guerra, i, al mateix temps, aquesta argumentació racional es convertia en la base sobre la qual es desplegaven les estratègies d'estimulació emocional. Però, a més a més de ser una peça clau en el programa pedagògic de l'exèrcit, WWF també va esdevenir un avenç en la investigació de les reaccions de les audiències. En relació amb això, es van desenvolupar tècniques com l'entrevista enfocada per a investigar les respostes dels soldats davant dels films. L'objectiu del mètode sembla que era avaluar les reaccions i proposar canvis en els films perquè complissin millor el seu propòsit d'adoctrinament.During World War II, the U.S. military suggested troop indoctrination methods that combined physical and technical training with rational formation. The series of documentary films Why We Fight was one of the best examples of these new methods. WWF tried to activate the rational part of the soldier, providing him with comprehensive information about the war, while at the same time this rational argument became the foundation on which emotional stimulation strategies were built. Besides being a key player in the Army’s educational program, however, WWF was also a breakthrough in audience reaction research. In connection with this, techniques such as the focused interview were developed to investigate the responses of soldiers when faced with these films. It appears that the aim of this method was to evaluate reactions and to propose changes in the films in order to better achieve their purpose of moral and psychological indoctrination

El condicionament en les anàlisis factorials descriptives: l'anàlisi parcial interna i simultània

Postprint (published version

Analysis of the prospects for updating the trade pillar of the European Union-Chile Association Agreement

The perception of the present state of trade relations with Chile is obscured by a lack of adequate understanding of its legal framework as well as of the policy behind it. This study attempts to clarify the present state of and future prospects for trade between the EU and Chile through an examination of previous agreements and the EU’s new approach to trade liberalisation. The authors agree with the large consensus existing on both the EU and Chilean sides regarding the efficacy of the Association Agreement, but note that any extension of an agreement with Chile should capture the spirit of older EU agreements rather than simply following the ‘NAFTA route’. The study also includes a comparative analysis between the EU-Chile agreement and current trade agreements being negotiated by the EU and Chile with third countries

Analysis of the upcoming Modernisation of the Trade Pillar of the European Union-Mexico Global Agreement

Study for the EU Parliament co-authored by Rodrigo Polanco: The 1997 Global Agreement between the EC and its Member States and Mexico, together with the set of decisions taken in its framework, has been effective, and thus modifications of the agreement are mainly motivated by changes in the global landscape since it was first enacted. Therefore, broad considerations on how the European Union (EU) trade policy is shaped are extremely relevant for the upcoming negotiations with Mexico. In this context, the needs and expectations, both from the EU and Mexico, regarding any further agreements are examined, focusing in particular on areas beyond trade in goods and services such as procurement, investment, and regulatory cooperation. It is argued that the 'old' Association Agreements should be taken as models for any modifications, given their emphasis on EU-specific issues and their ability to accommodate the needs of Mexico in any deepened agreement

Study of porosity and permeability of air filter material in respiratory proptection filters.

The objective is the study of filtering tissue permeability and the characterization by means of permeability tests, of the process of coal particles retention in breath protection filters.The permeability of nine probes have been measured against partic

Full scale test for explosion water barriers in small cross-section galleries

Underground coal mines explosions generally arise from the inflammation of a methane/air mixture. This explosion can also generate a subsequent coal dust explosion. Traditionally such explosions have being fought eliminating one or several of the factors needed by the explosion to take place. Although several preventive measures are taken to prevent explosions, other measures should be considered to reduce the effects or even to extinguish the flame front. Unlike other protection methods that remove one or two of the explosion triangle elements, namely; the ignition source, the oxidizing agent and the fuel, explosion barriers removes all of them: reduces the quantity of coal in suspension, cools the flame front and the steam generated by vaporization removes the oxygen present in the flame. Passive water barriers are autonomous protection systems against explosions that reduce to a satisfactory safety level the effects of methane and/or flammable dust explosions. The barriers are activated by the pressure wave provoked in the explosion destroying the barrier troughs and producing a uniform dispersion of the extinguishing agent throughout the gallery section in quantity enough to extinguish the explosion flame. Full scale tests have been carried out in Polish Barbara experimental mine at GIG Central Mining Institute in order to determine the requirements and the optimal installation conditions of these devices for small sections galleries which are very frequent in the Spanish coal mines. Full scale tests results have been analyzed to understand the explosion timing and development, in order to assess on the use of water barriers in the typical small crosssection Spanish galleries. Several arrangements of water barriers have been designed and tested to verify the effectiveness of the explosion suppression in each case. The results obtained demonstrate the efficiency of the water barriers in stopping the flame front even with smaller amounts of water than those established by the European standard. According to the tests realized, water barriers activation times are between 0.52 s and 0.78 s and the flame propagation speed are between 75 m/s and 80 m/s. The maximum pressures (Pmax) obtained in the full scale tests have varied between 0.2 bar and 1.8 bar. Passive barriers protect effectively against the spread of the flame but cannot be used as a safeguard of the gallery between the ignition source and the first row of water troughs or bags, or even after them, as the pressure could remain high after them even if the flame front has been extinguished