Cultural Connections

Postcard from Raquel Escalera, during the Linfield College Semester Abroad Program at the University of Nottingham in England. This postcard was also a 2016 essay contest winner

Person to Person in England

While still in the midst of their study abroad experiences, students at Linfield College write reflective essays. Their essays address issues of cultural similarity and difference, compare lifestyles, mores, norms, and habits between their host countries and home, and examine changes in perceptions about their host countries and the United States. In this essay, Maria Raquel Escalera Gonzalez describes her observations during her study abroad program at the University of Nottingham in England

Bridging the Gap: A Pentadic Analysis of Theresa May’s Conservative Conference Speech “Britain after Brexit: A Vision of a Global Britain”

This qualitative study of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative conference speech “Britain after Brexit: A Vision of a Global Britain” delivered in the fall of 2016 uses pentadic criticism as the basis for its analysis. This contemporary study identifies women as an underrepresented minority in the realm of politics around the world and media as a powerful channel for their portrayal. As the role of women in political leadership is more prevalent in times of crisis around the world, it is exceedingly important to understand the role that the media can play in their portrayal for both foreign and domestic audiences alike. This study reaffirms that more women in leadership within politics is needed for equitable gender representation in politics. May’s speech and her portrayal within the media for both foreign and domestic audiences show that it is possible for women to bridge the gap of gender and politics

Conditions Pertinent for Overcoming Gender Inequality in Political Leadership: A Comparative Analysis of Angela Merkel and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

This qualitative study of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany implements a most different systems design (MDSD) as the basis for its comparative analysis. A cross-examination of Johnson Sirleaf’s and Merkel’s personal backgrounds, their leadership styles in their political careers before they became the heads of their governments, and their level of political participation in democracy or liberalization movements prior to their rise to power is conducted in this study. Key strands of feminist approaches in IR, such as liberal feminism, difference feminism, and postmodern feminism add to this study’s discourse on Johnson Sirleaf’s and Merkel’s rise to political power. The basis for this study is that women comprise an underrepresented minority in the field of politics worldwide. As women in political leadership is more prevalent in times of crisis around the world, it is exceedingly important to understand the conditions under which women political leaders may attain their country’s highest political office. More so, this study identifies some key similar conditions from which Angela Merkel and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf overcame gendered obstacles in politics to reach their country’s highest political offices

Optimización de red de distribución de alimentos

En la actualidad el hambre es uno de los principales problemas que afecta a la humanidad. Por esta razón, el segundo objetivo de desarrollo sostenible es: hambre cero.En Navarra existen dos organizaciones: Banco de alimentos de Navarra y Cruz Roja Navarra que tratan de paliar dicho problema colaborando en un programa de ayuda alimentaria nacional. Ambas organizaciones, llamadas organizaciones asociadas de distribución, se encargan de realizar la distribución de alimentos básicos a numerosas organizaciones asociadas de reparto, las cuales llegan a los destinatarios finales.Este trabajo fin de grado pretende optimizar la red de distribución desde una de las organizaciones asociadas de distribución Banco de Alimentos de Navarra, hasta las organizaciones asociadas de reparto, que se encuentran en diferentes municipios de la Comunidad, con las que colabora.El objetivo del trabajo es crear una aplicación que permita seleccionar uno de los almacenes del Banco de Alimentos de Navarra como origen y los municipios donde estén situadas las organizaciones asociadas de reparto, y sea necesario repartir en esa fase, como destinos de la ruta. La aplicación calcula y muestra la ruta más óptima, la longitud de ésta y la representación del trayecto en el mapa.<br /

Glucagon stimulation test to assess growth hormone status in Prader-Willi syndrome

Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) must be confirmed before starting treatment in adults with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Most studies use the growth-hormone-releasing hormone plus arginine (GHRH-arginine) test. No data are available on the glucagon stimulation test (GST) in PWS. We compared the utility of fixed-dose (1 mg) GST versus GHRH-arginine test in diagnosing GHD. Adults and late adolescents with PWS underwent both tests on separate days. In the GHRH-arginine test, GHD was defined according to body mass index. In the GST, two cutoffs were analyzed: peak GH concentration 90 kg). We analyzed 34 patients: 22 weighing ≤ 90 kg and 12 weighing > 90 kg. In patients weighing ≤ 90 kg, the two tests were concordant in 16 (72.72%) patients (k = 0.476, p = 0.009 with GST cutoff 90 kg, the two tests were not concordant with GST cutoff 90 kg, the < 1 ng/mL cutoff seems better. Larger studies are necessary to establish definitive glucagon doses and cutoffs, especially in extremely obese patients

Abdomen agudo en paciente con COVID-19

Among the extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19, gastrointestinal pathology is acquiring greater relevance since cases are being observed whose initial symptoms are related to this location, in the total absence of respiratory symptoms. This article aims to illustrate a representative case whose debut was an acute abdomen in the absence of respiratory symptoms. In addition, a link is established between the torpid evolution of the surgical process and COVID-19, reinforced by pathological findings. Entre las manifestaciones extrapulmonares de la COVID-19, la patología gastrointestinal está adquiriendo mayor relevancia, ya que se están observando casos cuya sintomatología inicial está relacionada con esta localización, en ausencia total de síntomas respiratorios. Este artículo pretende ilustrar un caso representativo, cuyo debut fue un abdomen agudo en ausencia de clínica respiratoria inicial. Además, se establece un nexo entre la evolución tórpida del proceso quirúrgico y la COVID-19, reforzado por los hallazgos anatomopatológicos

Empresas de Animación

Empresas de Animación<br /

Análisis etnoarqueológico del valor social del producto en sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras

This work was formulated as a consequence of considering the necessity of a value theory (that is, an economical theory), in archaeology. From our materialist perspective, that would allow us to set the basis for an objective analysis of past societies, understanding that only through the knowledge of their material life conditions and their social organization we would be able to know their historical becoming. We were reaching a common index that would make possible to compare different occupations and sites in Tierra del Fuego. This index would be used to make inferences about the amount of work invested in every occupation, amount of work that could be understood as the duration of the occupation or as the amount of people in that camp-site. On the other hand, on the basis of the Main Contradiciton formulation, we could establi sh a mechanism to quantify different participation in the production cycle and the existing differences in the access to the consumption of what has been produced. This will drive us to the formulation of a method to identify social explotation.Este trabajo surgió como consecuencia de varias preocupaciones. En primer lugar, considerábamos, desde hacía ya tiempo, la necesidad de una teoría del valor (económica, por tanto), en Arqueología; preocupación compartida con otros investigadores/as. Desde nuestra perspectiva materialista, ello nos había de permitir sentar las bases para un análisis objetivo de las sociedades prehistóricas, entendiendo que tan sólo a través delconocimiento de Las condiciones materiales de vida, y de la estructuración u organización de las relaciones sociales, podremos llegar a conocer el devenir histórico de las mismas. Buscábamos un índice, un común denominador, que nos permitiera poder comparar diferentes ocupaciones y yacimientos actualmente (y desde hace ya más de una década) en estudio en Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). Este índice debería permitirnos, por un lado realizar inferencias sobre la cantidad de trabajo invertida en cada ocupación de los diferentes asentamientos Yámana. Lo cual podría ser interpretado en clave de ti empo de ocupación o de cantidad de personas ocupando el sitio. Y por otro lado, y sobre la base de la formulación de la Contradicción Principal, podría establecer un mecanismo que nos permitiera cuantificar la participación diferencial en la producción y las disimetrías en el acceso al consumo de lo producido, estableciendo un «cálculo» para la identificación de la explotación. Este último interés tiene mucho que ver con el aceptado concepto de «sociedades igualitarias » aplicado a las sociedades cazadoras recolectoras, concepto cuestionable en tanto que surge de una aproximación androcéntrica. Este trabajo ha sido posible, en el caso de la sociedad Yámana, gracias a la exhaustiva y variada información etnográfica confrontada a una completa información arqueológica. El objetivo final es conseguir generar propuesta metodológica contrastada que nos permita este tipo de acercamientos a sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras prehistóricas

Analysis of the interaction between elderly people and a simulated virtual coach

The EMPATHIC project develops and validates new interaction paradigms for personalized virtual coaches (VC) to promote healthy and independent aging. To this end, the work presented in this paper is aimed to analyze the interaction between the EMPATHIC-VC and the users. One of the goals of the project is to ensure an end-user driven design, involving senior users from the beginning and during each phase of the project. Thus, the paper focuses on some sessions where the seniors carried out interactions with a Wizard of Oz driven, simulated system. A coaching strategy based on the GROW model was used throughout these sessions so as to guide interactions and engage the elderly with the goals of the project. In this interaction framework, both the human and the system behavior were analyzed. The way the wizard implements the GROW coaching strategy is a key aspect of the system behavior during the interaction. The language used by the virtual agent as well as his or her physical aspect are also important cues that were analyzed. Regarding the user behavior, the vocal communication provides information about the speaker's emotional status, that is closely related to human behavior and which can be extracted from the speech and language analysis. In the same way, the analysis of the facial expression, gazes and gestures can provide information on the non verbal human communication even when the user is not talking. In addition, in order to engage senior users, their preferences and likes had to be considered. To this end, the effect of the VC on the users was gathered by means of direct questionnaires. These analyses have shown a positive and calm behavior of users when interacting with the simulated virtual coach as well as some difficulties of the system to develop the proposed coaching strategy.The research presented in this paper is conducted as part of the project EMPATHIC that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no 769872