Conflict of Interpretations

Language is intellect and matter; one can act upon it. As in the assessment of historical evidence, it is possible to distance language from the regulations and the corresponding eagerness of orthodoxy

Microfinance institutions and efficiency

Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are special financial institutions. They have both a social nature and a for-profit nature. Their performance has been traditionally measured by means of financial ratios. The paper uses a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to efficiency to show that ratio analysis does not capture DEA efficiency.Special care is taken in the specification of the DEA model. We take a methodological approach based on multivariate analysis. We rank DEA efficiencies under different models and specifications; e.g., particular sets of inputs and outputs. This serves to explore what is behind a DEA score. The results show that we can explain MFIs efficiency by means of four principal components of efficiency, and this way we are able to understand differences between DEA scores. It is shown that there are country effects on efficiency; and effects that depend on Non-governmental Organization (NGO)/non-NGO status of the MFI

Warm hilltop inflation

We study the low-temperature limit of warm inflation in a hilltop model. This limit remains valid up to the end of inflation, allowing an analytic description of the entire inflationary stage. In the weak dissipative regime, if the kinetic density of the inflaton dominates after inflation, low scale inflation is attained with Hubble scale as low as 1 GeV. In the strong dissipative regime, the model satisfies the observational requirements for the spectral index with a mild tuning of the model parameters, while also overcoming the $\eta$-problem of inflation. However, there is some danger of gravitino overproduction unless the particle content of the theory is large.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Determinants of the outcomes of services outsourcing: an empirical study of transport services.

The purpose of our study is to examine whether the design and management of the interfaces and interaction processes between customer and provider in services outsourcing are determinants of the results achieved by the outsourcing company. Following the conceptual framework initiated in the study by Wynstra et al. [11], this study focuses on transport services and hypothesized relationships are tested using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) statistical technique. The primary data used was obtained from a survey in three different countries (Germany, Japan and Spain), and from manufacturing companies in the electronics, automotive and machinery sectors. Among other things, the results show that both the structural dimensions of interaction (the organization's resources that it must commit) and the process dimensions of interaction (that consider the dynamic nature of the relationships), are important for obtaining adequate performance from transport services outsourcing.Spanish National Program of Industrial Design and Production DPI 2009 11148PAIDI Excellence Projects P08-SEJ0384

A Platform-Based Software Design Methodology for Embedded Control Systems: An Agile Toolkit

A discrete control system, with stringent hardware constraints, is effectively an embedded real-time system and hence requires a rigorous methodology to develop the software involved. The development methodology proposed in this paper adapts agile principles and patterns to support the building of embedded control systems, focusing on the issues relating to a system's constraints and safety. Strong unit testing, to ensure correctness, including the satisfaction of timing constraints, is the foundation of the proposed methodology. A platform-based design approach is used to balance costs and time-to-market in relation to performance and functionality constraints. It is concluded that the proposed methodology significantly reduces design time and costs, as well as leading to better software modularity and reliability

Towards Competencies os Sustainability in Engineering Degrees: Project based service-learning experiences

Comunicació presentada al 13th International Conference on Society & Materials, SAM13 (Pisa, 20-21 May 2019)In the present work, a series of collaborative service-learning (SL) experiences carried out in the Universitat Jaume I de Castelló and University of the Basque Country will be presented. These experiences have been developed with in undergraduate courses,bachelor thesis and master thesis. The work points out how these experiences can serve as a toolf or teaching coordination at various levels: horizontal coordination with in a year in one degree, coordination between different degrees orinter-university coordination. The potential of these experiences makes them a very powerful methodological tool that can help not, only the students and the extra curricular agents involved, but also the teaching itself

Analizando los resultados académicos en la Educación Superior en España

The development of the European Higher Education Area has been a process of modernization in many universities. Teaching methodologies have undergone a process of continuous change to meet the demands for high quality leading to a need for enhancement in the learning assessment methodologies as well. The objective of this study is to analyse student´s academic performance measured through coursework vs. final exam and to ascertain the factors that could explain the difference. Regression and variance analysis are carried out over the grades and responses to a questionnaire on a sample of 298 students of different subjects in a Spanish university. The results show that there are differences between continuous assessment and the final examination marks.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad FFI2013-41235-

Simple Forms of Image in Art History / Las formas simples de la imagen en la Historia del Arte

El estudio del arte prehistórico ha estado condicionado por las teorías acerca de la mente primitiva, el pensamiento prelógico o el inconsciente psicoanalítico. En este artículo, los autores desarrollan un nuevo método analítico en el que parten del concepto de las formas simples. La actividad artística comienza con el instinto lúdico, la búsqueda del ritmo y la simetría y la necesidad de "mímesis" o imitación. La expresión de las emociones, sentimientos o ideas puede acompañar o no a estas necesidades primarias. Este método se aplica a cuatro ejemplos: el desfile de los soldados, el carro de guerra, la cerámica decorada de Cnossos y los petroglifos de un pueblo de la selva amazónica.Palabras claveArte prehistórico, formas simples, símbolo, desfile de soldados, carro de guerra, decoración cerámica, petroglifos.AbstractThe study of Prehistoric art has been conditioned by the theories of primitive mind, prelogical thought or psychoanalytical unconscious. In this paper, the authors develop a new analytical method, starting from the concept of simple forms. The artistic behavior begins with the playful instinct, the search of rhythm and symmetry and the necessity of “mimesis” or imitation. The expression of emotions, feelings, or ideas can be added or not to these primary necessities. This method is applied to four examples: the march of soldiers, the war chariot, Cnossos decorated pottery and the drawings and petroglyphs of an Amazon forest people.Key WordsPrehistoric art, simple forms, symbol, march of soldiers, war chariot, pottery decoration, petroglyphs.

Analysis of the waste selective collection at drop-off systems: Case study including the income level and the seasonal variation

There are several factors which have an influence in the selective collection of the municipal waste. To define a selective collection system, the waste generation pattern should be firstly determined and these factors should be analyzed in depth. This paper tries to analyze the economic income level and the seasonal variation on the collection and the purity of light-packaging waste to determine actions to improve the waste management plan of a town. In the first stage of the work, waste samples of the light-packaging containers were collected in two zones of the town with different economic characteristics in different seasons during one year. In the second stage, the samples were characterized to analyze the composition and purity of the waste. They were firstly separated into four fractions: metals; plastic; beverage cartons; and misplaced materials. The misplaced fraction was in its turn separated into cardboard, rubber and leather, inert waste, organic matter, paper, hazardous waste, clothes and shoes, glass and others. The plastic fraction was separated into five types of plastics and the metal fraction into three. In the third stage, the data have been analyzed and conclusions have been extracted. The main result is that the quality of the light-packaging fraction collected in these zones during both seasons were similar. This methodology can be extrapolated to towns with similar characteristics. It will be useful when implementing a system to collect the waste selectively and to develop actions to achieve a good participation in the selective collection of the waste

Entrevista con Almudena Grandes

Almudena Grandes coloca como cita inicial de su novela Inés y la alegría un fragmento del poema Díptico español en el que Cernuda trata de recuperar la manera “limpia” de la escritura de Galdós frente a la oscuridad de la posguerra franquista. Álabe quisiera contextualizar esta entrevista a partir de ese díptico de Galdós / Cernuda con un breve añadido de Jaime Gil de Biedma: “De todas las historias de la Historia/ sin duda la más triste es la de España/ porque termina mal…