¿Charles Taylor en Operación Triunfo?. Análisis de la propuesta filosófico-moral de Taylor -en especial su ideal de autenticidad- y de su posible aplicación al reality show español

Aquest Treball Final de Carrera de la Llicenciatura de Periodisme de la Universitat Abat Oliba CEU té un doble objectiu: a)dur a terme una aproximació teòrico-filosòfica a la proposta cultural de Charles Taylor, i així aprofundir en l'examen dels elements centrals de la seva bibliografia -sobre tot en els pressupòsits antropològics i socials més destacats, així com també en el seu peculiar "ideal d'autenticitat"-; i b)projectar els dits fonaments teòrics en un apartat de naturalesa pràctica, com a forma de concretar la proposta del pensador nord-americà en algun dels fenòmens més interessants de la realitat mediàtica i cultural espanyola. Així, ens vam decidir per un dels programes televisius que més èxit ha tingut al nostre país als darrers temps: Operación Triunfo, donat que en tractar-se d'un concurs vinculat als somnis i a les aspiracions més profundes dels individus que hi participen, té una relació molt més estreta amb l'ideal d'autenticitat. A més, la justificació fonamental d'aquest estudi es basa en el fet que l'aportació filosòfica de Taylor és molt profitosa respecte a la situació cultural actual pels següents dos motius: a) la seva obra presenta una veritable i complerta proposta en positiu, basada en raons i arguments molt clars, que a més porten una esperança de recuperació a la societat occidental; i b) la seva crítica a la Modernitat no és totalment destructiva sinó que més aviat es basa en una comprensió correcta i una recuperació adequada del sentit originari d'algunes de les fonts morals que defineixen la nostra cultura.

La figura di Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) in Tajna Nikole Tesle (1980)

Nikola Tesla è considerato, dai divulgatori scientifici che di lui si occupano, una figura chiave nella storia della scienza moderna e contemporanea, per l’importanza che hanno avuto le sue ricerche nello sviluppo di tecnologie del XX e XXI secolo. La sua attuale scarsa fama nel piano accademico contrasta con un’abbondante presenza di un Nikola Tesla come personaggio di finzione nelle arti popolari. Questa ricezione ambigua di Tesla potrebbe essere di fatto relazionata con il carattere utopico e visionario delle sue speranze nella scienza come mezzo di conoscenza per il miglioramento della società umana. Questo breve saggio si propone di analizzare come venga presentato il personaggio di Nikola Tesla nel lungometraggio jugoslavo Tajna Nikole Tesle, contribuendo così alla comprensione di come la narrativa di finzione possa sfruttare l’immagine di uno scienziato relativamente agli interessi politici legati a specifici contesti socio-storici.

Firm-Specific Investment, Sticky Prices, and the Taylor Principle

According to the Taylor principle a central bank should adjust the nominal interest rate by more than one-for-one in response to changes in current inflation. Most of the existing literature supports the view that by following this simple recommendation a central bank can avoid being a source of unnecessary fluctuations in economic activity. The present paper shows that this conclusion is not robust with respect to the modelling of capital accumulation. We use our insights to discuss the desirability of alternative interest rate rules. Our results suggest a reinterpretation of monetary policy under Volcker and Greenspan: The empirically plausible characterization of monetary policy can explain the stabilization of macroeconomic outcomes observed in the early eighties for the US economy. The Taylor principle in itself cannot.

Firm-specific investment, sticky prices and the Taylor principle

According to the Taylor principle a central bank should adjust the nominal interest rate by more than one-for-one in response to changes in current inflation. Most of the existing literature supports the view that by following this simple recommendation a central bank can avoid being a source of unnecessary fluctuations in economic activity. The present paper shows that this conclusion is not robust with respect to the modelling of capital accumulation. We use our insights to discuss the desirability of alternative interest raterules. Our results suggest a reinterpretation of monetary policy under Volcker and Greenspan: The empirically plausible characterization of monetary policy can explain the stabilization of macroeconomic outcomes observed in the early eighties for the US economy. The Taylor principle in itself cannot.

Mostra de publicacions de l'Escola (1915-1999)

En iniciar el curs 1999-2000, just quan acabem d'adquirir la condició de Facultat, volem recordar que l'Escola sempre ha tingut vocació universitària, com ho demostren algunes de les seves publicacions. L'exposició vol mostrar de primera mà la feina que s'ha fet fins ara i com es pot continuar la tasca encetada fa tants anys.

Una mirada retrospectiva: de l'Escola Superior de Bibliotecàries a la Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació (1915-2005)

November 2005 marked the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Escola Superior de Bibliotecàries [Superior School of Librarians] of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya, which was the predecessor of the current Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació of the Universitat de Barcelona. This article offers text and images from an exhibit organised by the Facultat in order to commemorate this anniversary. A historic review is provided of different stages marking the evolution of the centre

The geographical concentration of industry across Spanish Regions, 1856-1995

New economic geography models show that there may be a strong relationship between economic integration and the geographical concentration of industries. Nevertheless, this relationship is neither unique nor stable, and may follow a ?-shaped pattern in the long term. The aim of the present paper is to analyze the evolution of the geographical concentration of manufacturing across Spanish regions during the period 1856-1995. We construct several geographical concentration indices for different points in time over these 140 years. The analysis is carried out at two levels of aggregation, in regions corresponding to the NUTS-II and NUTS-III classifications. We confirm that the process of economic integration stimulated the geographical concentration of industrial activity. Nevertheless, the localization coefficients only started to fall after the beginning of the integration of the Spanish Economy into the international markets in the mid-70s, and this new path was not interrupted by Spain¿s entry in the European Union some years later

The determinants of industrial location in Spain, 1856-1929

Durant el segle XIX, l'economia espanyola va transitar per les primeres etapes de la industrialització. Aquest procés es va donar en paral·lel a la integració del mercat domèstic de béns i factors, en un moment en què les reformes liberals i la construcció de la xarxa ferroviària, entre d'altres, van generar una important caiguda en els costos detransport. Al mateix temps que es donava aquesta progressiva integració del mercat domèstic espanyol, es van produir canvis significatius en la pauta de localització industrial. D'una banda, hi hagué un augment considerable de la concentració espacial de la indústria des de mitjans de segle XIX i fins a la Guerra Civil, i d¿altra, un increment de l'especialització regional. Ara bé, quines van ser les forces que van generar aquests canvis? Des d¿un punt de vista teòric, el model de Heckscher-Ohlin suggereix que la distribució a l'espai de l¿activitat econòmica ve determinada per l'avantatge comparativa dels territoris en funció de la dotació relativa de factors. Al seu torn, els models de Nova Geografia Econòmica (NEG) mostren l'existència d'una relació en forma de campana entre el procés d'integració econòmica i el grau de concentració geogràfica de l'activitat industrial. Aquest article examina empíricament els determinants de la localització industrial a Espanya entre 1856 i 1929, mitjançant l'estimació d¿un model que combina els elements de tipus Heckscher-Ohlin i els factors apuntats des de la NEG, amb l'objectiu de contrastar la força relativa dels arguments vinculats a aquestes dues interpretacions a l'hora de modular la localització de la indústria a Espanya. L'anàlisi dels resultats obtinguts mostra que tant la dotació de factors com els mecanismes de tipus NEG van ser elements determinants que expliquen la distribució geogràfica de la indústria des del segle XIX, tot i que la seva força relativa va anar variant amb el temps.

The geographical concentration of industry across Spanish Regions, 1856-1995

New economic geography models show that there may be a strong relationship between economic integration and the geographical concentration of industries. Nevertheless, this relationship is neither unique nor stable, and may follow a ?-shaped pattern in the long term. The aim of the present paper is to analyze the evolution of the geographical concentration of manufacturing across Spanish regions during the period 1856-1995. We construct several geographical concentration indices for different points in time over these 140 years. The analysis is carried out at two levels of aggregation, in regions corresponding to the NUTS-II and NUTS-III classifications. We confirm that the process of economic integration stimulated the geographical concentration of industrial activity. Nevertheless, the localization coefficients only started to fall after the beginning of the integration of the Spanish Economy into the international markets in the mid-70s, and this new path was not interrupted by Spain¿s entry in the European Union some years later

Comment on "Selection of the Saffman-Taylor finger width in the absence of surface tension: an exact result"

A Comment on the Letter by Mark Mineev-Weinstein, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 2113 (1998). The authors of the Letter offer a Reply.

Nonlinear Saffman-Taylor instability

We show, both theoretically and experimentally, that the interface between two viscous fluids in a Hele-Shaw cell can be nonlinearly unstable before the Saffman-Taylor linear instability point is reached. We identify the family of exact elastica solutions [Nye et al., Eur. J. Phys. 5, 73 (1984)] as the unstable branch of the corresponding subcritical bifurcation which ends up at a topological singularity defined by interface pinchoff. We devise an experimental procedure to prepare arbitrary initial conditions in a Hele-Shaw cell. This is used to test the proposed bifurcation scenario and quantitatively asses its practical relevance.

Reply to Comment on 'Two-finger selection theory in the Saffman-Taylor problem

We clarify the meaning of the results of Phys. Rev. E 60, R5013 (1999). We discuss the use and implications of periodic boundary conditions, as opposed to rigid-wall ones. We briefly argue that the solutions of the paper above are physically relevant as part of a more general issue, namely the possible generalization to dynamics, of the microscopic solvability scenario of selection.

Experiments of periodic forcing of Saffman-Taylor fingers

We report on an experimental study of long normal Saffman-Taylor fingers subject to periodic forcing. The sides of the finger develop a low amplitude, long wavelength instability. We discuss the finger response in stationary and nonstationary situations, as well as the dynamics towards the stationary states. The response frequency of the instability increases with forcing frequency at low forcing frequencies, while, remarkably, it becomes independent of forcing frequency at large forcing frequencies. This implies a process of wavelength selection. These observations are in good agreement with previous numerical results reported in [Ledesma-Aguilar et al., Phys. Rev. E 71, 016312 (2005)]. We also study the average value of the finger width, and its fluctuations, as a function of forcing frequency. The average finger width is always smaller than the width of the steady-state finger. Fluctuations have a nonmonotonic behavior with a maximum at a particular frequency.

Phase-field approach to spatial perturbations in normal Saffman-Taylor fingers

We make a numerical study of the effect that spatial perturbations have in normal Saffman-Taylor fingers driven at constant pressure gradients. We use a phase field model that allows for spatial variations in the Hele-Shaw cell. We find that, regardless of the specific way in which spatial perturbations are introduced, a lateral instability develops on the sides of the propagating Saffman-Taylor finger. Moreover, the instability exists regardless of the intensity of spatial perturbations in the cell as long as the perturbations are felt by the finger tip. If, as the finger propagates, the spatial perturbations felt by the tip change, the instability is nonperiodic. If, as the finger propagates, the spatial perturbations felt by the tip are persistent, the instability developed is periodic. In the later case, the instability is symmetrical or asymmetrical depending on the intensity of the perturbation.