Art echo: María Zambrano and the Kouroi Relief

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of early Greek thought in the work of María Zambrano, a Spanish critic and philosopher who lived most of her life in exile (1939 - 1984). Zambrano incorporates Greek concepts into her writing as a means to question conventional Philosophy, not as an aim or télos, but as an uncomfortable dwelling that paradoxically leads into suspension and doubt. Key concepts and artistic figures emerge in her seemingly illogical reasoning (‘razón poética’) such as those arising from her work on the Greek ‘Kouroi.’ Zambrano refuses fixity in Philosophy, where logic and method can be rigorously apprehended. She gracefully takes another turn: by elucidating ancient wisdom through allusive metaphors and ancient ruins, she resists direct pathways into History and Truth. Her style takes after her thinking and can often meander into the realms of enigma, mysticism, and other unconventional forms of thought such as intuition and dreams

The Economics of Geographical Indications: GIs Modelled As Club Assets

Geographical Indications (GIs) for products (Basmati rice, Champagne sparkling wine, Antigua coffee, etc.) were regulated at the international level in 1995 (WTO TRIPS Agreement, Part II, Section 3). This paper sets a general framework of analysis for GI-labeled goods, based on the modeling of a GI as a club asset (partial excludability and no rivalry in benefits to the firms that lawfully label their products with the GI). A model of club reputation is developed which includes Shapiro (1982) and Winfree & McCluskey (2005) as special cases. Reputation is assumed to be traceable through the GI label; quality is endogenously determined at the firm level, with reputation as the state variable. In contrast with previous research, it is shown that the TRIPS legal construct around GIs is potentially compatible with an equilibrium involving a self-fulfilling level of quality (and reputation) that is above the minimum, under the condition that the GI club has a reduced membership of firms. However, the establishment of a minimum level of quality is still the first best policy to improve firm profits. It is also shown that under bottom-up firm-driven processes of club formation (maximization of firm profits), firm levels of quality and profits are higher, and levels of club membership are lower, than under top-down State-driven processes (maximization of club profits). When quality is taken as exogenous, the model evolves into a static partial equilibrium framework, where the GI is subject to potential dilution phenomena due to membership crowding and oversupply. GI-related expenses, output, membership, and club finance are all determined simultaneously. It is shown that under partial rivalry in benefits, both output and membership are reduced, in an equilibrium that approaches the cartel equilibrium. State subsidization is shown to lead to potential inefficiencies stemming from price and incentive distortions. The geographical confinement of output is shown to impact factor prices and quantities. Finally, issues concerning potential monopsonistic concerns and the replication of GIs are briefly sketched.

Geographical Indications: The Economics of Claw-Back

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Working Paper No: 11/2010International Relations/Trade,

Geographical Indications: The Economics of Claw-Back

Geographical Indications (GIs) for products (Basmati rice, Champagne sparkling wine, Antigua coffee, etc.) were regulated at the international level in 1995 (WTO TRIPS Agreement, Part II, Section 3). This paper proposes a model on the welfare effects of the socalled “claw-back” of GIs; i.e. the protection in a country (Home) of a GI of another country (Foreign), when the said GI had previously acquired generic status at Home (cf.: protection of Feta in the EU or of Champagne in Chile). The setting includes two countries (Home and Foreign); three varieties (Foreign GI-original goods, Home GI-variety goods and generics) and a continuum of heterogeneous consumers. Two regimes are analyzed: protection / no protection; in two scenarios for Foreign firms: perfect / oligopolistic competition. Only the equilibrium at Home is analyzed. Although a loss in global welfare is always expected when fewer varieties are available in a market, results suggest that industrialized Home countries, with sophisticated consumers and higher relative costs tend to lose less from protecting Foreign GIs than developing Home countries, where the opposite is true. With oligopolistic competition, GI firms become from differentiated from their closest competitor after protection (now generics), further stressing the competitive distortion; consumers with a low willingness to pay for origin and a high degree of valuation for the GI-variety are the biggest losers. Regarding firms, however, contrary to the conventional wisdom, oligopolistic competition by Foreign firms leads to less stringent conditions for Home GI-varieties to compete, and does not affect generics. In effect, if after protection Home GI-varieties can successfully differentiate themselves from Foreign GI-original goods without the (unlawful) use of the GI label (either through the development of their own GI or through proper branding) and stay competitive, the scenario of oligopolistic competition from Foreign firms is more favorable to their development than the scenario of perfect competition.

The importance of mentorship: exploring the experiences of novice teachers in Chile

Tesis (Profesor de Inglés para la Enseñanza Básica y Media y al grado académico de Licenciado en Educación)Mentorship is considered essential for providing novice teachers with a successful performance at the beginning of their careers since the first year of work as teachers has an important impact on the development of the future profession. The present study aims at exploring the experiences of novice teachers, who have been part of a mentorship program in Chile, in order to understand whether this program achieves the aim for which it was created or if it needs to be modified to make it a successful program. The subjects who participated in this research study belong to one public school called ―Liceo Bicentenario de Niñas‖ located in Santiago, Chile. The design of this investigation follows the features of qualitative research which is best suited for this study since its main concern is to know a particular phenomenon. Furthermore, the tradition of this study is a phenomenological study since it describes the meaning for individuals of their lived experiences of a concept or phenomenon. These participants answered a semi-structured interview which provides with several questions for interviewers and can provide with reliable, comparable qualitative data. Finally, the results showed that the Mentorship Program has both, positive and negative impact on novice teachers. In fact, there were three main aspects that are worth mentioning. Those aspects are: its importance, the areas that need to be improved and the suggestions given by the novice teachers.El programa de mentorías es considerado esencial para proporcionar a los profesores principiantes un desempeño exitoso al inicio de sus carreras desde el primer año de trabajo como profesores. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo explorar las experiencias de profesores principiantes que han sido parte de un programa de mentores en Chile con el fin de lograr comprender si este programa logra el objetivo para el cual fue creado o si necesita ser modificado para que funcione con éxito. Los sujetos que participaron en este estudio pertenecen a una escuela pública llamada "Liceo Bicentenario de Niñas" ubicada en Santiago de Chile. El diseño de esta investigación sigue las características de una investigación cualitativa la cual es la más adecuada para este estudio, ya que su principal preocupación es conocer un fenómeno en particular. Además, la tradición de este estudio es un estudio fenomenológico ya que describe el significado de los individuos de sus experiencias vividas de un concepto o fenómeno. Estos participantes respondieron a una entrevista semi estructurada que proporciona diversas preguntas a los entrevistadores y puede ofrecer datos cualitativos confiables y comparables. Finalmente, los resultados mostraron que el Programa de Mentores tiene un impacto tanto positivo como negativo en los profesores principiantes. De hecho, hay tres aspectos principales que vale la pena mencionar. Esos aspectos son: su importancia, las áreas que necesitan ser mejoradas y las sugerencias dadas por los profesores principiantes

Modulation-mode assignment for SVD-assisted and iteratively detected downlink multiuser MIMO transmission schemes

In this contribution we jointly optimize the number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers and the number of bits per symbol within an iteratively-detected multiuser MIMO downlink (DL) transmission scheme under the constraint of a given fixed data throughput and integrity. Instead of treating all the users jointly as in zero-forcing (ZF) multiuser transmission techniques, the investigated singular value decomposition (SVD) assisted DL multiuser MIMO system takes the individual user's channel characteristics into account. In analogy to bit-interleaved coded irregular modulation, we introduce a MIMO-BICM scheme, where different user-specific signal constellations and mapping arrangement were used within a single codeword. Extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) charts are used for analyzing and optimizing the convergence behaviour of the iterative demapping and decoding. Our results show that in order to achieve the best bit-error rate, not necessarily all user-specific MIMO layers have to be activate

EXIT chart analysis of iteratively detected and SVD-assisted broadband MIMO-BICM schemes

In this contribution the number of activated MIMO layers and the number of bits per symbol are jointly optimized under the constraint of a given fixed data throughput and integrity. In general, non-frequency selective MIMO links have attracted a lot of research and have reached a state of maturity. By contrast, frequency selective MIMO links require substantial further research, where spatio-temporal vector coding (STVC) introduced by Raleigh seems to be an appropriate candidate for broadband transmission channels. In analogy to bit-interleaved coded irregular modulation, a broadband MIMO-BICM scheme is introduced, where different signal constellations and mappings are used within a single codeword. Extrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) charts are used for analyzing and optimizing the convergence behaviour of the iterative demapping and decoding. Our results show that in order to achieve the best bit-error rate, not necessarily all MIMO layers have to be activated

Modulation-mode and power-assignment for SVD-assisted downlink multiuser MIMO systems

Multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) downlink (DL) transmission schemes experience both multiuser interference as well as inter-antenna interference. However, instead of treating all the users jointly as in zero-forcing (ZF) multiuser transmission techniques, the investigated singular value decomposition (SVD) assisted DL multiuser MIMO system takes the individual user's channel characteristics into account. The performed joint optimization of the number of activated MIMO layers and the number of bits per symbol along with the appropriate allocation of the transmit power shows that not necessarily all user-specific MIMO layers has to be activated in order to minimize the overall BER under the constraint of a given fixed data throughput

The Impact of an Associative Strategy (the PROFO Program) on Small and Medium Enterprises in Chile

The main objective of this article is to determine if associative strategies followed in Chile have had any impact on the enhancement of productive performance of Chilean SMEs firms. In order to do that, the estimate of the impact is approached using the benchmark given by Social Experiment but within the context of a `non-experimental' evaluation design. We conclude that these kinds of policies have been effective in increasing the productivity of the participating firms, and have also been efficient since they have achieved high social profits.program evaluation, associative strategies, SMEs, innovation, nonexperimental design