Democracy, Globalization and Financial Crisis. A quantitative essay on the economic sovereignty of nation-states in the Eurozone

During the Eurozone crisis, northern Eurozone countries have been able to maintain nation-state politics and high standards of national democracy. On the contrary, periphery Eurozone countries' national governments have been forced to abdicate part of their nation-state politics through the application of policy formulas with scarce national ownership, which has, in turn, eroded their national democracy. The Economic Sovereignty Index (ESI) proposal, with about 1,000 observations, reinforces recent literature statements on the evolution of national sovereignty in the Eurozone and its negative effects on national democratic quality in periphery countries.Durant la crisi de l'Eurozona, els països del nord de l'Euro han estat capaços de mantenir la vitalitat de la política de l'Estat-nació i alts estàndards de qualitat democràtica al mateix temps. Ans al contrari que a la perifèria, els governs nacionals s'han vist forçats a abdicar part de la seva política nacional per mitjà de l'aplicació de receptes de política econòmica amb baix consentiment nacional, que han generat erosió en la democràcia nacional. La proposta "Índex de Sobirania Econòmica" (ISE), amb aproximadament 1000 observacions, reforça les recents conclusions de la literatura acadèmica sobre la forta connexió entre sobirania econòmica y erosió democràtica als països de la perifèria.Durante la crisis de la Eurozona, los países del norte del Euro han sido capaces de mantener la vitalidad de la política del Estado-nación y altos estándares de calidad democrática al mismo tiempo. Al contrario que en la periferia, los gobiernos nacionales han visto forzados a abdicar parte de su política nacional mediante la aplicación de recetas de política económica con bajo consentimiento nacional, que han generado erosión en la democracia nacional. La propuesta "Índice de Soberanía Económica" (ISE), con aproximadamente 1000 observaciones, refuerza las recientes conclusiones de la literatura académica sobre la fuerte conexión entre soberanía económica y erosión democrática en los países de la periferia

Ni escuela, ni trabajo: el tiempo libre como un oasis obligado en medio de la nada

L'article presenta part dels resultats del projecte EJECT "L'ocupabilitat dels i les joves: formació, gènere i territori" finançat pel Pla Estatal d'Investigació Científica, Tècnica i d'Innovació 2013-2016 (Ref. CSO2014-59753-P) . En concret, aquesta investigació es pregunta fins a quin punt les conseqüències de la crisi de l'ocupació (amb altes taxes d'atur, inactivitat i precarietat) estan sostraient pes al treball productiu en el projecte vital dels joves. Aquest article es planteja que la pèrdua de centralitat quotidiana de l'ocupació repercuteix en la identitat masculina, sobretot, dels joves amb nivells baixos de qualificació que se senten expulsats del sistema educatiu i consideren poc atractiu el mercat laboral. La hipòtesi de partida planteja que els joves atribuirien a les activitats d'oci el pes de la identitat personal, especialment els homes. De manera que aquestes activitats, desenvolupades al marge de la formació o el treball remunerat, representarien un espai de confort per als joves. A partir d'aquests plantejaments, es proposa una estratègia metodològica qualitativa. Els resultats apunten que el temps lliure emergeix com un oasi obligat al mig del no-res: confereix identitat social quan el sistema educatiu t'expulsa i el mercat de treball resulta poc atractiu.The article presents part of the results of the EJECT project "The employability of young people: training, gender and territory" financed by the Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica, Técnica y de Innovación 2013-2016 (Ref. CSO2014-59753- P). In particular, this research tries to explain how consequences of the occupation crisis (high unemployment rates, inactivity and precariousness) are subtracting centrality of productive work on the vital project of young people. This article argues that the loss of daily centrality of employment has an impact on male identity, especially in the case of young people with lower levels of qualification who feel they are expelled from the education system and find the labor market unattractive. The starting hypothesis argues that young people would attribute to leisure activities the weight of personal identity, specially. So these activities, developed outside the training or paid work, would represent a space of comfort for the young people. Based on these theoretical approaches, a qualitative methodological strategy is proposed. The results point out that free time emerges as a forced oasis in the middle of nowhere: it confers social identity when the education system expels young people and the labor market is unattractive for them.El artículo presenta parte de los resultados del proyecto EJECT “La empleabilidad de l@s jóvenes: formación, género y territorio” financiado por el Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica, Técnica y de Innovación 2013-2016 (Ref. CSO2014-59753-P). En concreto, esta investigación se pregunta hasta qué punto las consecuencias de la crisis de la ocupación (con altas tasas de paro, inactividad y precariedad) están sustrayendo peso al trabajo productivo en el proyecto vital de los jóvenes. Este artículo se plantea que la pérdida de centralidad del empleo repercute en la identidad masculina, sobre todo, en los jóvenes con niveles bajos de cualificación que se sienten expulsados del sistema educativo y consideran poco atractivo el mercado laboral. La hipótesis de partida plantea que los jóvenes atribuirían a las actividades de ocio el peso de la identidad personal, especialmente los hombres. De manera que estas actividades, desarrolladas al margen de la formación o el trabajo remunerado, representarían un espacio de confort para los jóvenes. A partir de estos planteamientos, se propone una estrategia metodológica cualitativa. Los resultados apuntan que el tiempo libre emerge como un oasis obligado en medio de la nada: confiere identidad social cuando el sistema educativo te expulsa y el mercado de trabajo resulta poco atractivo

Enhancing FoG detection by means of postural context using a waist accelerometer

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Home detection of freezing of gait using Support Vector Machines through a single waist-worn triaxial accelerometer

Among Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptoms, freezing of gait (FoG) is one of the most debilitating. To assess FoG, current clinical practice mostly employs repeated evaluations over weeks and months based on questionnaires, which may not accurately map the severity of this symptom. The use of a non-invasive system to monitor the activities of daily living (ADL) and the PD symptoms experienced by patients throughout the day could provide a more accurate and objective evaluation of FoG in order to better understand the evolution of the disease and allow for a more informed decision-making process in making adjustments to the patient’s treatment plan. This paper presents a new algorithm to detect FoG with a machine learning approach based on Support Vector Machines (SVM) and a single tri-axial accelerometer worn at the waist. The method is evaluated through the acceleration signals in an outpatient setting gathered from 21 PD patients at their home and evaluated under two different conditions: first, a generic model is tested by using a leave-one-out approach and, second, a personalised model that also uses part of the dataset from each patient. Results show a significant improvement in the accuracy of the personalised model compared to the generic model, showing enhancement in the specificity and sensitivity geometric mean (GM) of 7.2%. Furthermore, the SVM approach adopted has been compared to the most comprehensive FoG detection method currently in use (referred to as MBFA in this paper). Results of our novel generic method provide an enhancement of 11.2% in the GM compared to the MBFA generic model and, in the case of the personalised model, a 10% of improvement with respect to the MBFA personalised model. Thus, our results show that a machine learning approach can be used to monitor FoG during the daily life of PD patients and, furthermore, personalised models for FoG detection can be used to improve monitoring accuracy.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Interval-valued feature selection

In this paper we introduce the use of interval variables in classification problems of time series signals. By introducing the concept of interval kernel as a similarity measure among intervals, modifications for some well-known feature selection methods are developed in order to apply these methods to select the most relevant interval variables. A comparison against standard point attributes feature selection (Relief and FSDD) is made for purposes of validation .Peer ReviewedPreprin

High-efficient energy harvesting architecture for self-powered thermal-monitoring wireless sensor node based on a single thermoelectric generator

In recent years, research on transducers and system architectures for self-powered devices has gained attention for their direct impact on the Internet of Things in terms of cost, power consumption, and environmental impact. The concept of a wireless sensor node that uses a single thermoelectric generator as a power source and as a temperature gradient sensor in an efficient and controlled manner is investigated. The purpose of the device is to collect temperature gradient data in data centres to enable the application of thermal-aware server load management algorithms. By using a maximum power point tracking algorithm, the operating point of the thermoelectric generator is kept under control while using its power-temperature transfer function to measure the temperature gradient. In this way, a more accurate measurement of the temperature gradient is achieved while harvesting energy with maximum efficiency. The results show the operation of the system through its different phases as well as demonstrate its ability to efficiently harvest energy from a temperature gradient while measuring it. With this system architecture, temperature gradients can be measured with a maximum error of 0.14 ∘ C and an efficiency of over 92% for values above 13 ∘ C and a single transducer.This work was supported by the research Grant PID2019-110142RB-C22 funded by MCIN/ AEI/10.13039/501100011033

A kinematic sensor and algorithm to detect motor fluctuations in Parkinson disease: Validation study under real conditions of use

Postprint (published version