Do Depositors Punish Banks For "Bad" Behavior?: Examining Market Discipline In Argentina, Chile, And Mexico

This paper examines the existence of market discipline in the banking industries of Argentina, Chile, and Mexico during the 1980s and 1990s. Using a bank panel data set, we test for the presence of market discipline by studying whether depositors punish risky banks by withdrawing their deposits. We find that across countries and across deposit insurance schemes, market discipline exists even among small, insured depositors. Standardized coefficients and variance decomposition of deposits indicate that bank fundamentals are at least as important as other factors affecting deposits. GMM estimations confirm that the results are robust to the potential endogeneity of bank fundamentals.

Multiscale computational homogenization: review and proposal of a new enhanced-first-order method

This is a copy of the author 's final draft version of an article published in the Archives of computational methods in engineering. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11831-016-9205-0The continuous increase of computational capacity has encouraged the extensive use of multiscale techniques to simulate the material behaviour on several fields of knowledge. In solid mechanics, the multiscale approaches which consider the macro-scale deformation gradient to obtain the homogenized material behaviour from the micro-scale are called first-order computational homogenization. Following this idea, the second-order FE2 methods incorporate high-order gradients to improve the simulation accuracy. However, to capture the full advantages of these high-order framework the classical boundary value problem (BVP) at the macro-scale must be upgraded to high-order level, which complicates their numerical solution. With the purpose of obtaining the best of both methods i.e. first-order and second-order, in this work an enhanced-first-order computational homogenization is presented. The proposed approach preserves a classical BVP at the macro-scale level but taking into account the high-order gradient of the macro-scale in the micro-scale solution. The developed numerical examples show how the proposed method obtains the expected stress distribution at the micro-scale for states of structural bending loads. Nevertheless, the macro-scale results achieved are the same than the ones obtained with a first-order framework because both approaches share the same macro-scale BVP.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Organización y gestión como determinantes de la aplicación de intervenciones en APS

La historia de la enfermería en el desarrollo de los servicios sanitarios comunitarios, la convierten en una profesión líder en la atención de las personas. La enfermería de salud comunitaria es un componente necesario en la prestación de cuidados sanitarios para mejorar la salud de la población en general; constituye el mayor potencial al alcance de los países en desarrollo, para extender sus servicios sanitarios a la población más necesitada. El trabajo de la enfermería comunitaria se basa en la identificación de problemas y en la planificación de actividades de promoción de la salud, prevención de enfermedades y desarrollo de actividades educativas; priorizando a los grupos vulnerables identificados, las familias o los individuos, haciendo uso de todos los recursos disponibles en el sistema familiar. Situación que le permite ser dinámica y creativa a fin de suplir las necesidades de la sociedad, como proveedoras primarias en el cuidado a la salud. Se reconoce que el profesional de enfermería es un componente importante dentro de la estructura de la Atención Primaria de la Salud (APS), ya que al identificar las necesidades sanitarias de la comunidad y promover su participación activa, cumple con el objetivo de planificar, organizar, gestionar, ejecutar y evaluar los programas relacionados con la salud y el bienestar de la población, haciendo uso de sus habilidades de interacción interpersonal, no sólo con la comunidad, sino también, con los miembros del equipo de salud y otros sectores importantes, en pro de satisfacer las necesidades identificadas. En este contexto, es necesario evaluar el nivel de satisfacción o insatisfacción que experimentan las enfermeras/ros comunitarias en su trabajo, la cual estará condicionada por numerosos factores, tales como el ambiente físico donde trabajan, remuneración económica que perciben, la interrelación que ejercen con sus compañeros y jefes, el sentido de realización/logro, la posibilidad de aplicar y desarrollar nuevos conocimientos y asumir retos, entre otros. El propósito de esta investigación es el de identificar los factores determinantes que condicionan la satisfacción en el trabajo de los enfermeros comunitarios y determinar si el modelo de gestión del Área de Salud de General Alvear, Mendoza influye en la aplicación de intervenciones de APS que realizan los enfermeros, en el año 2011.Fil: González, Sergio. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Escuela de Enfermería..Fil: Martínez, Sergio. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Escuela de Enfermería.

Optimization method for the determination of material parameters in damaged composite structures

An optimization method to identify the material parameters of composite structures using an inverse method is proposed. This methodology compares experimental results with their numerical reproduction using the finite element method in order to obtain an estimation of the error between the results. This error estimation is then used by an evolutionary optimizer to determine, in an iterative process, the value of the material parameters which result in the best numerical fit. The novelty of the method is in the coupling between the simple genetic algorithm and the mixing theory used to numerically reproduce the composite behavior. The methodology proposed has been validated through a simple example which illustrates the exploitability of the method in relation to the modeling of damaged composite structures.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

Designing experiments using digital fabrication in structural dynamics

In engineering, traditional approaches aimed at teaching concepts of dynamics to engineering students include the study of a dense yet sequential theoretical development of proofs and exercises. Structural dynamics are seldom taught experimentally in laboratories since these facilities should be provided with expensive equipment such as wave generators, data-acquisition systems, and heavily wired deployments with sensors. In this paper, the design of an experimental experience in the classroom based upon digital fabrication and modeling tools related to structural dynamics is presented. In particular, all experimental deployments are conceived with low-cost, open-source equipment. The hardware includes Arduino-based open-source electronics whereas the software is based upon object-oriented open-source codes for the development of physical simulations. The set of experiments and the physical simulations are reproducible and scalable in classroom-based environments.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Energy transfer between colloids via critical interactions

We report the observation of a temperature-controlled synchronization of two Brownian-particles in a binary mixture close to the critical point of the demixing transition. The two beads are trapped by two optical tweezers whose distance is periodically modulated. We notice that the motion synchronization of the two beads appears when the critical temperature is approached. In contrast, when the fluid is far from its critical temperature, the displacements of the two beads are uncorrelated. Small changes in temperature can radically change the global dynamics of the system. We show that the synchronisation is induced by the critical Casimir forces. Finally, we present the measure of the energy transfers inside the system produced by the critical interaction.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

New methodology for calculating damage variables evolution in Plastic Damage Model for RC structures

The behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) structures under severe demands, as strong ground motions, is highly complex; this is mainly due to joint operation of concrete and steel, with several coupled failure modes. Furthermore, given the increasing awareness and concern for the important seismic worldwide risk, new developments have arisen in earthquake engineering. Nonetheless, simplified numerical models are widely used (given their moderate computational cost), and many developments rely mainly on them. The authors have started a long-term research whose final objective is to provide, by using advanced numerical models, solid basis for these developments. Those models are based on continuum mechanics, and consider Plastic Damage Model to simulate concrete behavior. Within this context, this paper presents a new methodology to calculate damage variables evolution; the proposed approach is based in the Lubliner/Lee/Fenves formulation and provides closed-form expressions of the compressive and tensile damage variables in terms of the corresponding strains. This methodology does not require calibration with experimental results and incorporates a strategy to avoid mesh-sensitivity. A particular algorithm, suitable for implementation in Abaqus, is described. Mesh-insensitivity is validated in a simple tension example. Accuracy and reliability are verified by simulating a cyclic experiment on a plain concrete specimen. Two laboratory experiments consisting in pushing until failure two 2-D RC frames are simulated with the proposed approach to investigate its ability to reproduce actual monotonic behavior of RC structures; the obtained results are also compared with the aforementioned simplified models that are commonly employed in earthquake engineering.Postprint (published version

Analysis of ultra low cycle fatigue problems with the barcelona plastic damage model

This paper presents a plastic formulation based on the Barcelona plastic damage model ([1], [2]) capable of predicting the material failure due to Ultra Low Cycle Fatigue. This is achieved taking into account the fracture energy dissipated during the cyclic process. This approach allows the simulation of ULCF in regular cyclic tests, but also in non-regular cases such as seismic loads

Auditoria de estado de los caminos del proyecto celular GSM 400 K.

Proyecto de Graduación (Licenciatura en Ingeniería en Construcción). Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. Escuela de Ingeniería en Construcción, 2004.El presente trabajo fue el resultado de la inspección a los caminos construidos o mejorados para el acceso a los sitios del proyecto GSM 400 K del ICE y adjudicado a la empresa Alcatel de Costa Rica. El fin del trabajo fue la identificación de las deficiencias presentes en los caminos respecto a lo indicado en los planos aprobados por el ICE, y de las mejoras que debe realizar la empresa Alcatel durante el período de mantenimiento de las celdas. Con toda la información adquirida, se confeccionara un formato o plantilla para la inspección de los caminos en proyectos futuros con el propósito de unificar los criterios de los profesionales que realizarán éstas labores en el futuro. La metodología empleada para el desarrollo del trabajo consistió en visitas de inspección a los distintos sitios, donde se tomó una serie de fotografías de las deficiencias observadas, con lo que se elaboró un informe. De la información obtenida se concluye que varios de los aspectos a solucionar son comunes entre las celdas, como lo son: aludes, base del camino, incumplimiento respecto a lo indicado en planos, bombeos inadecuados, construcción ineficiente y cunetas rayadas con motoniveladora mal definidas; los cuales deberán ser corregidos durante el periodo de mantenimiento de las celdas