A study of the effects of PVAC on works of art on paper and wood: pH and colour change

This paper presents the preliminary findings of pH and colour measurements carried out on artworks on paperand on wood that had been treated with a poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAC) based adhesive in the 1980s. In both cases, areas treated with PVAC proved to be less acidic than untreated areas. Contrary to expectations, the conservation treatments have not, as yet, increased acidity levels in the objects under study. Colour measurements of the works on paper showed that those that had been backed with a cotton fabric using a mixture of methylcellulose and PVAC were less yellow than those from the same print run that had not been backed. This finding suggests that the backing somehow prevented the natural degradation of the support. In view of these preliminary results, further research is clearly needed. This study forms part of a broader ongoing project to assess the role of PVAC in the conservation of a range of cultural assets.

Smart antennas: state of the art

Aim of this contribution is to illustrate the state of the art of smart antenna research from several perspectives. The bow is drawn from transmitter issues via channel measurements and modeling, receiver signal processing, network aspects, technological challenges towards first smart antenna applications and current status of standardization. Moreover, some future prospects of different disciplines in smart antenna research are given.

Mètode psicofísic “cos-art”: relació amb l’emissió de la veu

Es presenten els resultats d’una investigació de caràcter qualitatiu -encara que s’ha utilitzat en algun moment l’estadística- pel que fa a la valoració que un grup d’alumnes de la Universitat Ramon Llull fa del mètode psicofísic Cos-Art com a treball que serveix per millorar l’emissió de la veu. Les tècniques i els instruments per a la recollida d’informació que s’han utilitzat han estat el diari de camp i el qüestionari. L’anàlisi de resultats mostra el treball global del Mètode com a efectiu. En blocs més específics, com poden ser els temes de respiració o llengua, entre altres, la freqüència més elevada en les respostes ha estat que el treball de Cos-Art els ha ajudat bastant. Per últim, un gran nombre d’alumnes consideren que el Mètode Cos-Art ajuda, de forma molt positiva, a prendre consciència d’un mateix.

Art, història i ideologia. Programes de les cases i palaus barcelonins al segle XVIII

El fet que la pintura decorativa del darrer quart del Set-cents sigui una de les manifestacions plàstiques més interessants de la producción catalana del moment ha estat el motor impulsor de la nostra dedicació al tema dins el marc del projecte de recerca ACAF/ART. Així, centrarem la nostra ponéncia en els programes decoratius del palaus barcelonins d'aquest període.

Gallery districts of Barcelona: the strategic play of art dealers

This article focuses on Barcelona"s art market to explore the underlying factors behind the clustering of art dealers in several of the city"s districts. Drawing upon quantitative and qualitative data, the article analyses how such clustering reveals a strategic action in the sense attributed to it by Crozier and Friedberg (1981). Gallery districts are not a reflection of structural factors (economic, urban development-related or social) but the result of a combination of strategic choices either individual or collective which explain the permanence of leading gallery districts or the emergence of new ones.

Compact thermal storage: a-state-of-the-art review of experimental results

Thermal energy storage (TES) can increase the thermal energy effieresa, of a process by reusing the waste heat from industrial process, solar energy or other sources. There are different ways to store thermal energy: by sensible heat, by latest heat, by sorption process or by chemical reaction. This thesrs provides a-state-of-the-art review of the experimental performance of TES systems based on solid gas sorption process and chemical reactions. The importance of theses processes is that provides a heat loss free storage system with a high energy density.

Life cycle analysis and life cyle impact assessment methodologies: a state of the art

Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a comprehensive method for assessing the environmental impact of a product or an activity over its entire life cycle. The purpose of conducting LCA studies varies from one application to another. Different applications use LCA for different purposes. In general, the main aim of using LCA is to reduce the environmental impact of products through guiding the decision making process towards more sustainable solutions. The most critical phase in an LCA study is the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) where the life cycle inventory (LCI) results of the considered substances related to the study of a certain system are transformed into understandable impact categories that represent the impact on the environment. In this research work, a general structure clarifying the steps that shall be followed ir order to conduct an LCA study effectively is presented. These steps are based on the ISO 14040 standard framework. In addition, a survey is done on the most widely used LCIA methodologies. Recommendations about possible developments and suggetions for further research work regarding the use of LCA and LCIA methodologies are discussed as well.

Highly concentrated bitumen emulsions. A state of the art, review of experimental results

Les emulsions concentrades o altament concentrades de betum són un camp molt poc estudiat avui en dia. El treball és un estat de l'art de tots els papers que hi ha sobre aquest tema desde el mètode tradicional fins el HIPR (High Internal Phase Ratio).

Integrating defeasible argumentation with fuzzy ART neural networks for pattern classification

Many classification systems rely on clustering techniques in which a collection of training examples is provided as an input, and a number of clusters c1,...cm modelling some concept C results as an output, such that every cluster ci is labelled as positive or negative. Given a new, unlabelled instance enew, the above classification is used to determine to which particular cluster ci this new instance belongs. In such a setting clusters can overlap, and a new unlabelled instance can be assigned to more than one cluster with conflicting labels. In the literature, such a case is usually solved non-deterministically by making a random choice. This paper presents a novel, hybrid approach to solve this situation by combining a neural network for classification along with a defeasible argumentation framework which models preference criteria for performing clustering.

Estudi de les arts del cos en el museu del segle XXI: un art efímer i viu dins del museu

L’objectiu principal d’aquesta investigació és analitzar per què les arts de cos estan tan presents en els museus del segle XXI. Per fer-ho, ens centrarem primer en conèixer la història de les arts del cos des dels seus inicis al carrer o galeries alternatives fins a l’entrada al museu. En segon lloc, farem una aproximació a l’evolució dels museus centrant-nos en els segles XX i XXI. En tercer lloc, investigarem com les arts del cos entren als museus i farem una recerca d’aquestes arts en el museu del segle XXI

Dades obertes enllaçades (Linked Open Data) en el món de l'educació : Una visió de l'estat de l'art d'aquesta tecnologia aplicada a l'ensenyament i l'aprenentatge

En el present treball hem tractat d'aportar una visió actual del món de les dades obertes enllaçades en l'àmbit de l'educació. Hem revisat tant les aplicacions que van dirigides a implementar aquestes tecnologies en els repositoris de dades existents (pàgines web, repositoris d'objectes educacionals, repositoris de cursos i programes educatius) com a ser suport de nous paradigmes dins del món de l'educació.

Art públic, regeneració urbana i participació. El projecte Cartografies de La Mina

[eng] The evolution of public art throughout the twentieth century has resulted since the 60"s in a kind of practical intervention in the urban domain with a strong social and participatory intention. This paper presents several of these projects in relation to the kind of participattory levels, and detecting different trends. The paper Specially focuses on the project"Cartografies de La Mina", developed in Sant Adrià de Besòs (Barcelona) between 2002 and 2005 by the POLIS Research Centre at the University of Barcelona.

Public Art, strategies for the regeneration of public space

This paper discusses some of the key concepts in the consideration of public art as a central element in urban regeneration processes, especially in reference to its role in the processes of citizen participation.

Inclusion and empowerment in public art and urban design

To involve citizens in developing the processes of city making is an objective that occupies part of the agenda of political parties in the context of the necessary renewal in representative democracy. This paper aims to provide some answers to the following questions: Is it possible to overcome the participatory processes based exclusively on the consultation? Is it possible to"train" residents to take an active role in decision-making? How can we manage, proactively, the relationship between public actors, technicians and politicians, in a participatory process? We analyse the process development for creating the Wall of Remembrance in the Barcelona neighbourhood of Baró de Viver, a work of public art, created and produced by its neighbours, in the context of a long participatory process focused on changing the image of the neighbourhood and the improvement of public space. This result and this process have been possible in a given context of cooperation among neighbours, local government and the research team (CR-Polis, Art, City, Society at the University of Barcelona). The development of a creative process of citizen participation between 2004 and 2011 made possible the direct management of decision making by the residents on the field of the design of public space in the neighbourhood. However, the material results of the process does not overshadow the great achievement of the project: the inclusion of a neighbourhood in taking informed decisions because of their empowerment in public space design and management of their remembrances.