Inventors on the move: tracing inventors’ mobility and its spatial distribution

This paper aims to provide insights into the phenomenon of knowledge flows. We study one of the main mechanisms through which these flows occur, i.e., the mobility of highly-skilled individuals. We focus on the geographical mobility of inventors across European regions. Thus, patent data are used to trace the pattern of inventors’ mobility across european regions, to track down focuses of attraction of talent throughout the continent, and to study their distribution across the space. To do so, we gather information from PCT patent documents and we first match the names which seemed to belong to the same inventor and then we create a new algorithm to decide whether each patent applied for under each name belongs to the same inventor.

General Equilibrium Long-Run Determinants for Spanish FDI: A Spatial Panel Data Approach

While general equilibrium theories of trade stress the role of third-country effects, little work has been done in the empirical foreign direct investment (FDI) literature to test such spatial linkages. This paper aims to provide further insights into long-run determinants of Spanish FDI by considering not only bilateral but also spatially weighted third-country determinants. The few studies carried out so far have focused on FDI flows in a limited number of countries. However, Spanish FDI outflows have risen dramatically since 1995 and today account for a substantial part of global FDI. Therefore, we estimate recently developed Spatial Panel Data models by Maximum Likelihood (ML) procedures for Spanish outflows (1993-2004) to top-50 host countries. After controlling for unobservable effects, we find that spatial interdependence matters and provide evidence consistent with New Economic Geography (NEG) theories of agglomeration, mainly due to complex (vertical) FDI motivations. Spatial Error Models estimations also provide illuminating results regarding the transmission mechanism of shocks.

Spatial and Temporal Trends in Sunshine Duration over Western Europe

This work analyzes sunshine duration variability in the western part of Europe (WEU) over the 1938– 2004 period. A principal component analysis is applied to cluster the original series from 79 sites into 6 regions, and then annual and seasonal mean series are constructed on regional and also for the whole WEU scales. Over the entire period studied here, the linear trend of annual sunshine duration is found to be nonsignificant. However, annual sunshine duration shows an overall decrease since the 1950s until the early 1980s, followed by a subsequent recovery during the last two decades. This behavior is in good agreement with the dimming and brightening phenomena described in previous literature. From the seasonal analysis, the most remarkable result is the similarity between spring and annual series, although the spring series has a negative trend; and the clear significant increase found for the whole WEU winter series, being especially large since the 1970s. The behavior of the major synoptic patterns for two seasons is investigated, resulting in some indications that sunshine duration evolution may be partially explained by changes in the frequency of some of them

The Role of Canyons in Strata Formation

This paper provides a spatial and temporal multi-scale approach of European submarine canyons. We fi rst present the long-term geologic view of European margins as related to controls on submarine canyon development. Then we discuss the extent to which submarine canyon systems resemble river systems because both essentially form drainage networks. Finally, we deal with the hortest-term, highestresolution scale to get a fl avor of the current functioning and health of modern submarine canyons in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Submarine canyons are unique features of the seafl oor whose existence was known by European fi shermen centuries ago, especially for those canyons that have their heads at short distance from shoreline. Popular names given to specifi c canyons in the different languages spoken in European coastal communities refer to the concepts of a"deep" or"trench." In the old times it was also common thinking that submarine canyons where so deep that nobody could measure their depth or even that they had no bottom. Submarine canyons are just one of the seven different types of seafl oor valleys identifi ed by Shepard (1973) in his pioneering morphogenetic classifi cation. Shepard (1973) defined submarine canyons as"steep-walled, sinuous valleys, with V-shaped cross sections, and relief comparable even to the largest of land canyons; tributaries are found in most of the canyons and rock outcrops abound on their walls." Canyons are features typical of continental slopes with their upper reaches and heads cut into the continental shelf.

Un análisis comparativo del papel del bucle fonológico versus la agenda visoespacial en el cálculo en niños de 7-8 años = A comparative analysis of the phonological loop versus the visuo-spatial sketchpad in mental arithmetic tasks in 7-8 y.o. children

En esta investigación se ha estudiado la relación entre dos subsistemas de la memoria de trabajo (buclefonológico y agenda viso-espacial) y el rendimiento en cálculo con una muestra de 94 niños españolesde 7-8 años. Hemos administrado dos pruebas de cálculo diseñadas para este estudio y seis medidassimples de memoria de trabajo (de contenido verbal, numérico y espacial) de la «Batería de Testsde Memoria de Treball» de Pickering, Baqués y Gathercole (1999), y dos pruebas visuales complementarias.Los resultados muestran una correlación importante entre las medidas de contenido verbaly numérico y el rendimiento en cálculo. En cambio, no hemos encontrado ninguna relación con las medidasespaciales. Se concluye, por lo tanto, que en escolares españoles existe una relación importanteentre el bucle fonológico y el rendimiento en tareas de cálculo. En cambio, el rol de la agenda viso-espaciales nulo

The summer North Atlantic Oscillation in CMIP3 models and related uncertainties in projected summer drying in Europe

This paper discusses uncertainties in model projections of summer drying in the Euro-Mediterranean region related to errors and uncertainties in the simulation of the summer NAO (SNAO). The SNAO is the leading mode of summer SLP variability in the North Atlantic/European sector and modulates precipitation not only in the vicinity of the SLP dipole (northwest Europe) but also in the Mediterranean region. An analysis of CMIP3 models is conducted to determine the extent to which models reproduce the signature of the SNAO and its impact on precipitation and to assess the role of the SNAO in the projected precipitation reductions. Most models correctly simulate the spatial pattern of the SNAO and the dry anomalies in northwest Europe that accompany the positive phase. The models also capture the concurrent wet conditions in the Mediterranean, but the amplitude of this signal is too weak, especially in the east. This error is related to the poor simulation of the upper-level circulation response to a positive SNAO, namely the observed trough over the Balkans that creates potential instability and favors precipitation. The SNAO is generally projected to trend upwards in CMIP3 models, leading to a consistent signal of precipitation reduction in NW Europe, but the intensity of the trend varies greatly across models, resulting in large uncertainties in the magnitude of the projected drying. In the Mediterranean, because the simulated influence of the SNAO is too weak, no precipitation increase occurs even in the presence of a strong SNAO trend, reducing confidence in these projections.

Tracing the Origin and Spread of Agriculture in Europe

The origins of early farming and its spread to Europe have been the subject of major interest for some time. The main controversy today is over the nature of the Neolithic transition in Europe: the extent to which the spread was, for the most part, indigenous and animated by imitatio (cultural diffusion) or else was driven by an influx of dispersing populations (demic diffusion). We analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of the transition using radiocarbon dates from 735 early Neolithic sites in Europe, the Near East, and Anatolia. We compute great-circle and shortest-path distances from each site to 35 possible agricultural centers of origin—ten are based on early sites in the Middle East and 25 arehypothetical locations set at 58 latitude/longitude intervals. We perform a linear fit of distance versus age (and viceversa) for each center. For certain centers, high correlation coefficients (R . 0.8) are obtained. This implies that a steady rate or speed is a good overall approximation for this historical development. The average rate of the Neolithic spread over Europe is 0.6–1.3 km/y (95% confidence interval). This is consistent with the prediction of demic diffusion(0.6–1.1 km/y). An interpolative map of correlation coefficients, obtained by using shortest-path distances, shows thatthe origins of agriculture were most likely to have occurred in the northern Levantine/Mesopotamian area

Environmental factors, spatial variation, and specific requirements of Chironomidae in Mediterranean reference streams

Chironomidae spatial distribution was investigated at 63 near-pristine sites in 22 catchments of the Iberian Mediterranean coast. We used partial redundancy analysis to study Chironomidae community responses to a number of environmental factors acting at several spatial scales. The percentage of variation explained by local factors (23.3%) was higher than that explained by geographical (8.5%) or regional factors(8%). Catchment area, longitude, pH, % siliceous rocks in the catchment, and altitude were the best predictors of Chironomidae assemblages. We used a k-means cluster analysis to classified sites into 3 major groups based on Chironomidae assemblages. These groups were explained mainly by longitudinal zonation and geographical position, and were defined as 1) siliceous headwater streams, 2) mid-altitude streams with small catchment areas, and 3) medium-sized calcareous streams. Distinct species assemblages with associated indicator taxa were established for each stream category using IndVal analysis. Species responses to previously identified key environmental variables were determined, and optima and tolerances were established by weighted average regression. Distinct ecological requirements were observed among genera and among species of the same genus. Some genera were restricted to headwater systems (e.g., Diamesa), whereas others (e.g., Eukiefferiella) had wider ecological preferences but with distinct distributions among congenerics. In the present period of climate change, optima and tolerances of species might be a useful tool to predict responses of different species to changes in significant environmental variables, such as temperature and hydrology.

Traducción técnica del capítulo III del libro Advanced Data Warehouse design: from conventional to spatial and temporal applications

The proposal to work on this final project came after several discussions held with Dr. Elzbieta Malinowski Gadja, who in 2008 published the book entitled Advanced Data Warehouse Design: From Conventional to Spatial and Temporal Applications (Data-Centric Systems and Applications). The project was carried out under the technical supervision of Dr. Malinowski and the direct beneficiary was the University of Costa Rica (UCR) where Dr. Malinowski is a professor at the Department of Computer Science and Informatics. The purpose of this project was twofold: First, to translate chapter III of said book with the intention of generating educational material for the use of the UCR and, second, to venture in the field of technical translation related to data warehouse. For the first component, the goal was to generate a final product that would eventually serve as an educational tool for the post-graduate courses of the UCR. For the second component, this project allowed me to acquire new skills and put into practice techniques that have helped me not only to perfom better in my current job as an Assistant Translator of the Inter-American BAnk (IDB), but also to use them in similar projects. The process was lenggthy and required torough research and constant communication with the author. The investigation focused on the search of terms and definitions to prepare the glossary, which was the basis to start the translation project. The translation process itself was carried out by phases, so that comments and corrections by the author could be taken into account in subsequent stages. Later, based on the glossary and the translated text, illustrations had been created in the Visio software were translated. In addition to the technical revision by the author, professor Carme Mangiron was in charge of revising the non-technical text. The result was a high-quality document that is currently used as reference and study material by the Department of Computer Science and Informatics of Costa Rica.