The effect of nature on designers' creativity, according to their personality profile

The aim of this work is to demonstrate whether natural environments, either real or simulated, tend to enhance designers' creativity, and whether the effects differ depending on their personality profile. Numerous studies have been conducted on the variables that shape the work environment and affect the designer's creativity, but few take into account the interaction between the work environment and the designer's personality profile. The aim of this study is to carry out a practical experiment in which a certain number of individuals solve conceptual design problems in different work environments, followed by an assessment of the creativity of the results. The results show higher values of creativity for both types of natural setting than in a neutral scenario. The personality of the designers determines whether the highest values are achieved in real or in artificial nature

EFFECTS OF TAX REFORMS IN A SHIRKING MODEL WITH UNION BARGAINING

In this paper we introduce a progressive income tax in the shirking model with union bargaining presented by in Altenburg and Straub (2002). Indeed, we differentiate taxation on employees and employers for the fiscal policy analysis. The main results show that it is possible, with a constant revenue reform, to enhance employment by shifting the tax imposition towards lower firm taxation. And, that it is crucial to consider a proportional or progressive taxation on labour income in order to be able to analyse the effect on unemployment for a constant replacement rate.Labour taxation, union bargaining, efficiency wages

Nuclear and partonic dynamics in the EMC effect

It has been recently confirmed that the magnitude of the EMC effect measured in electron deep inelastic scattering is linearly related to the Short Range Correlation scaling factor obtained from electron inclusive scattering. By using a $x$-rescaling approach we are able to understand the interplay between the quark-gluon and hadronic degrees of freedom in the discussion of the EMC effect.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, 2 table. We have incorporated SLAC data and redone the calculation with the newest ROOT 5.3

Industrial synthesis of cysteine derivatives

Comunicación presentada en European Research Conference: "Organic Electrochemistry: Moving Towards Clean and Selective Synthesis", Agelonde-La Londe Les Maures, April 15-19, 1998

Proposed Methodology to Evaluate CO2 Capture Using Construction and DemolitionWaste

Since the Industrial Revolution, levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have been constantly growing, producing an increase in the average global temperature. One of the options for Carbon Capture and Storage is mineral carbonation. The results of this process of fixing are the safest in the long term, but the main obstacle for mineral carbonation is the ability to do it economically in terms of both money and energy cost. The present study outlines a methodological sequence to evaluate the possibility for the carbonation of ceramic construction waste (brick, concrete, tiles) under surface conditions for a short period of time. The proposed methodology includes a pre-selection of samples using the characterization of chemical and mineralogical conditions and in situ carbonation. The second part of the methodology is the carbonation tests in samples selected at 10 and 1 bar of pressure. The relative humidity during the reaction was 20 wt %, and the reaction time ranged from 24 h to 30 days. To show the e ectiveness of the proposed methodology, Ca-rich bricks were used, which are rich in silicates of calcium or magnesium. The results of this study showed that calcite formation is associated with the partial destruction of Ca silicates, and that carbonation was proportional to reaction time. The calculated capture e ciency was proportional to the reaction time, whereas carbonation did not seem to significantly depend on particle size in the studied conditions. The studies obtained at a low pressure for the total sample were very similar to those obtained for finer fractions at 10 bars. Presented results highlight the utility of the proposed methodology

Automated construction and analysis of political networks via open government and media sources

We present a tool to generate real world political networks from user provided lists of politicians and news sites. Additional output includes visualizations, interactive tools and maps that allow a user to better understand the politicians and their surrounding environments as portrayed by the media. As a case study, we construct a comprehensive list of current Texas politicians, select news sites that convey a spectrum of political viewpoints covering Texas politics, and examine the results. We propose a ”Combined” co-occurrence distance metric to better reflect the relationship between two entities. A topic modeling technique is also proposed as a novel, automated way of labeling communities that exist within a politician’s ”extended” network.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Multiple Order Dual-Band Active Ring Filters with Composite Right/Left Handed Cells

In this paper, a novel dual-band active filter topology is presented. The non-linear phase response of a composite right/left-handed cell is used to achieve the desired dual-band performance. Additionally, the proposed structure based on coupled ring resonators yields a very compact solution in which high-order implementations can be easily obtained by cascading multiple rings. The theoretical principles of this type of filters are analyzed in detail. Finally, three prototypes based on first-, second- and third-order structures validate the feasibility of this type of filters. Good agreement between simulations and measurements has been achieved

Noise Figure Measurement of Differential Amplifiers Using non-Ideal Baluns

This paper analyzes the noise and gain measurement of microwave differential amplifiers using two passive baluns. A general model of the baluns is considered, including potential losses and phase/amplitude unbalances. This analysis allows de-embedding the actual gain and noise performance of the isolated amplifier by using single-ended measurements of the cascaded system and baluns. Finally, measured results from two amplifier prototypes are used to validate the theoretical principles

Simulaciones Monte Carlo para el desarrollo de un prototipo de tomógrafo de protones con aplicación en protonterapia

El objetivo de este trabajo es demostrar la viabilidad de obtener imágenes médicas con protones, utilizando detectores de Silicio multisegmentados y una agrupaci on de 4 detectores de centelleo de alta resolución. Esto solucionaía los problemas derivados de utilizar imágenes obtenidas con rayos X para plani car tratamientos con haces de protones, que es lo que se hace en la actualidad. Para ello se han diseñado dos experimentos a partir de simulaciones Monte Carlo con Geant4. El primero de ellos ha servido como prueba de concepto: fantoma sencillo cuasi-bidimensional (espesor ~ 0,7mm) y un haz de protones de 10 MeV con el que se ha estudiado la resolución espacial de los detectores empleados y la sensibilidad en energía que se obtiene cuando los protones atraviesan materiales de diferente densidad. En el segundo diseño de experimento se han utilizado protones de mayor energía (100-150 MeV) y un fantoma cilíndrico de 6 cm de diámetro, que nos acerca más al caso médico. A partir de los resultados obtenidos de las simulaciones se han reconstruido las imágenes de los fantomas para ambos experimentos con la máxima granularidad posible y se han comparado con las imágenes obtenidas a partir de los datos del experimento real. Gracias a los diseños empleados y a los algoritmos desarrollados para el tratamiento de datos, corrección y reconstrucción de imagen ha sido posible distinguir las formas de los diferentes patrones utilizados así como los materiales que los componen a partir de la energía que han depositado los protones en el sistema de detectores, respaldando la viabilidad de ambos experimentos. Estos resultados corroboran que la instrumentación nuclear de vanguardia puede contribuir a mejorar las condiciones de diagnóstico en el campo de la protonterapia.Universidad de Sevilla. Máster Universitario en Física Nuclea

The boom of the superhero genre and the new global film industry

Proveniente del mundo del cómic, la figura del superhéroe debutó con éxito en el cine a finales de la década de los 70. Sin embargo, ha sido durante los últimos quince años cuando esta figura ha cobrado un extraordinario protagonismo y, en sus múltiples variantes, ha dado pie a buena parte de las franquicias cinematográficas que en la actualidad dominan las salas de cine de todo el planeta. Al hilo de este nuevo paisaje fílmico, el presente artículo se propone explorar la naturaleza del cine de superhéroes, un apabullante espectáculo audiovisual que es consumido por millones de espectadores en todo el mundo, con especial incidencia entre el público infantil y juvenil. Tal indagación conduce a examinar las narrativas desplegadas en estas series de películas, así como a analizar la propia figura del superhéroe en el contexto de un cine saturado de efectos visuales y acción trepidante. Finalmente, el artículo trata de señalar las razones de fondo que han llevado a la industria de Hollywood a apostar por el género de superhéroes como fórmula recurrente para atraer al público a las salas de cine.Coming from the field of comic books, the character of the superhero began to appear successfully in the cinema of the late 70’s. However, during the last fifteen years this type of character has taken on a very important role and, in its many variants, has given rise to much of the film franchises that currently dominate movie theatres all over the world. Following the thread of this new film landscape, this article aims to explore the nature of superhero movies, an overwhelming audiovisual spectacle that is consumed by millions of spectators around the world, with a significant impact on children and young audiences. That inquiry leads to examine the narratives unfolding in these film series, while analysing the character of the superhero within the context of a cinema saturated with visual effects and frenetic action. Finally, the article tries to point out the basic reasons that have led the Hollywood industry to focus on superhero genre as a recurring formula to bring audiences to movie theatres