Alimento humano : viabilidad y encaje del diseño permacultural como sistema agrícola

La Permacultura, los Paisajes de retención de agua y la Economía del bien común, se configuran como una alternativa a la situación actual de la agricultura. Mediante la combinación de estas corrientes, se puede desarrollar una agricultura más respetuosa con el entorno natural capaz de ayudar a regenerarlo. Una buena gestión del suelo fija y estabiliza el CO2 y gracias a los paisajes de captación de agua, se consigue cosechar el agua, infiltrándose en los ecosistemas y llenándolos de vida. Sumado a una correcta gestión del agua se mitigan los efectos del cambio climático en nuestras latitudes. Finalmente la economía del bien común, nos permite crear sistemas económicos más justos y sociales, encajando a la perfección con los principios de la Permacultura. Para poder aplicar dicho concepto actualmente, establecer el sistema agrícola como un sistema asociativo (asociación sin ánimo de lucro), nos permite fijar unos precios estables y sociales, dando especial importancia a la mano de obra y a la autosuficiencia.

Aportaciones del Comunicado de Londres en el Proceso de Bolonia: conclusiones sobre los programas de doctorado y otros aspectos destacables

[spa] El pasado 18 de mayo de 2007, tuvo lugar en Londres el último de los encuentros bienales del Proceso de Bolonia, en el que se reunieron los ministros responsables de la educación superior de los países participantes. En el consiguiente London Communiqué se resumieron las valoraciones de los ministros sobre el estado en el que dicho proceso se halla. Así, se pasó revista a los avances consolidados, a aquellas deficiencias que aún no han recibido la atención necesaria, y a las medidas y estrategias urgentes para su definitiva conclusión. El presente texto da noticia de todas estas cuestiones y, con motivo de ofrecer al lector referencias adicionales sobre el contexto general, incluye una breve síntesis de otros documentos directamente relacionados con los temas más destacados en Londres 2007: los programas de doctorado y la figura del doctorando.

Wood pellet markets in Russia

Bioenergy came to Russia through wood pellets. On account of prevalence of oil and gas in the Russian economy «bioenergy» has come with a great delay. Certainly, there were many woodworking enterprises and even municipal boiler-houses using wood waste and fire wood for energy reception, but this activity was not purposeful. More likely it was connected with necessity of waste recycling and with the organization of heat supply in the remote areas of the country. However, in 2001 was founded the first pellet plant in Russia. The purpose of this work was to analyze wood pellets market in Russia, investigate current situation on the home and export market, evaluates supply and demand development, opportunities for wood pellets manufactures in Russia, the main manufactures in Russian market; cost and prices for wood pellets in Russia. Also the work was intended to give better understanding of the main problems of wood pellets industry in Russia. Besides, this work had updated information about Russian customs and logistic systems.

Towards a lightweight adaptative multicomponential affective recognition system

As part of the Affective Computing research field, the development of automatic affective recognition systems can enhance human-computer interactions by allowing the creation of interfaces that react to the user's emotional state. To that end, this Master Thesis brings affect recognition to nowadays most used human computer interface, mobile devices, by developing a facial expression recognition system able to perform detection under the difficult conditions of viewing angle and illumination that entails the interaction with a mobile device. Moreover, this Master Thesis proposes to combine emotional features detected from expression with contextual information of the current situation, to infer a complex and extensive emotional state of the user. Thus, a cognitive computational model of emotion is defined that provides a multicomponential affective state of the user through the integration of the detected emotional features into appraisal processes. In order to account for individual differences in the emotional experience, these processes can be adapted to the culture and personality of the user.

Piensarjatuotannon hitsauksen robotisointi

Diplomityön tarkoituksena on selvittää hitsauksen robotisointimahdollisuudet vakiintuneelle piensarjatuotteelle. Tarkastelun kohteeksi valittiin maanpäällisen porausyksikön runkopari, joka rakentuu ylä- ja alarungosta. Hitsaus on nykytilanteessa käsinhitsausta ja tuotetta tehdään noin 300 kpl / vuosi. Hitsauksen robotisoinnilla halutaan aikaansaada kustannussäästöä hitsauksen osalta ja tuotantokapasiteetin nousua. Työn teoriaosa voidaan jakaa neljään osaan: hitsaustekniikka, robottihitsattava tuote, robotisoituhitsaus ja investointilaskelmat. Hitsaustekniikassa lähdetään liikkeelle hitsauksen kannalta oleellisimmista perusasioista, jolloin lukijalle syntyy laajempi kokonaiskuva asiasta. Hitsauksen robotisointia suunniteltaessa korostuu tuotteen hitsattavuus. Hyvin suunniteltu tuote mahdollistaa robotisoidun hitsauksen ja luo edellytykset laadukkaalle, taloudelliselle ja tuottavalle hitsaukselle. Robotisoidun hitsauksen osassa rakennetaan kokonaisuus, jolloin lopputuloksena on tehokas robottijärjestelmä. Samalla käsitellään sekä varsinaista hitsausteknistä toteutusta että robottijärjestelmän komponentteja. Investointilaskelmien avulla varmistetaan robottijärjestelmän ja koko tuotantoketjun kannattavuus. Käytännön osuudessa selvitetään robotisoidun hitsauksen mahdollisuudet valitulle tuotteelle ja robotisoinnin aikaansaamat kustannussäästöt. Tuotteen ylärungosta valitaan etuosa tarkempaa CASE tyylistä tarkastelua varten. CASE:ssa käydään läpi etuosan valmistettavuus ja selvitetään robotisoinnista aikaansaamat säästöt. Investointilaskelmien avulla selvitetään käytännön osuudessa robotisoidun hitsauksen kannattavuus tietyille robottijärjestelmille.

La història contemporània de la llengua catalana com a paradoxa

En aquest article ens proposem demostrar que la història del català del segle XVI ençà està caracteritzada per tres fenòmens sense els quals no podem entendre tampoc la situació actual: reculada en els usos socials de la llengua, baixa cohesió de la comunitat lingüística, i augment de la variació interna i les interferències. Aquestes tres constants, però, s'han corregit en part des de finals del XIX, segons l'àmbit i el territori. Al nostre parer, allò que singularitza el català entre les llengües europees és aquesta combinació paradoxal de reculades i recuperacions durant l'edat contemporània. This paper aims to demonstrate that the history of Catalan from the 16th century onwards is characterized by three phenomena without which the current situation of this language cannot be understood. These three phenomena are regression in social practices, low cohesion of the language community and increase of its internal variation as well as interferences. Nevertheless, those phenomena have been partially mitigated from the late 19th century depending on the domain and area concerned. In our view, what singles out Catalan among all European languages is this paradoxical combination of setbacks and recoveries in the late modern age.

Market of biomass fuels in Finland : IEA Bioenergy Task 40 and EUBIONET III - Country report of Finland 2009

This study considered the current situation of solid and liquid biomass fuels in Finland. The fact that industry consumes more than half of the total primary energy, widely applied combined heat and power production and a high share of solid biomass fuels in the total energy consumption are specific to the Finnish energy system. Wood is the most important source of bioenergy in Finland, representing 20% of the total energy consumption in 2007. Almost 80% of the woodbased energy is recovered from industrial by-products and residues. As a member of the European Union, Finland has committed itself to the Union’s climate and energy targets, such as reducing its overall emissions of green house gases to at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020, and increasing the share of renewable energy in the gross final consumption. The renewable energy target approved for Finland is 38%. The present National Climate and Energy Strategy was introduced in November 2008. The strategy covers climate and energy policy measures up to 2020, and in brief thereafter, up to 2050. In recent years, the actual emissions have exceeded the Kyoto commitment and the trend of emissions is on the increase. In 2007, the share of renewable energy in the gross final energy consumption was approximately 25% (360 PJ). Without new energy policy measures, the final consumption of renewable energy would increase to 380 PJ, which would be approximately only 31% of the final energy consumption. In addition, green house gas emissions would exceed the 1990 levels by 20%. Meeting the targets will need the adoption of more active energy policy measures in coming years. The international trade of biomass fuels has a substantial importance for the utilisation of bioenergy in Finland. In 2007, the total international trading of solid and liquid biomass fuels was approximately 77 PJ, of which import was 62 PJ. Most of the import is indirect and takes place within the forest industry’s raw wood imports. In 2007, as much as 21% of wood energy was based on foreign-origin wood. Wood pellets and tall oil form the majority of export streams of biomass fuels. The indirect import of wood fuels peaked in 2006 to 61 PJ. The foreseeable decline in raw wood import to Finland will decrease the indirect import of wood fuels. In 2004– 2007, the direct trade of solid and liquid biomass fuels has been on a moderate growth path. In 2007, the import of palm oil and export of bio-diesel emerged, as a large, 170 000 t/yr biodiesel plant came into operation in Porvoo.

Competitors' Financial Performance Monitoring Model

The objective of the thesis was to develop a competitors’ financial performance monitoring model for management reporting. The research consisted of the selections of the comparison group and the performance meters as well as the actual creation of the model. A brief analysis of the current situation was also made. The aim of the results was to improve the financial reporting quality in the case organization by adding external business environment observation to the management reports. The comparison group for the case company was selected to include five companies that were all involved in power equipment engineering and project type business. The most limiting factor related to the comparison group selection was the availability of quarterly financial reporting. The most suitable performance meters were defined to be the developments of revenue, order backlog and EBITDA. These meters should be monitored systematically on quarterly basis and reported to the company management in a brief and informative way. The monitoring model was based on spreadsheet construction with key characteristics being usability, flexibility and simplicity. The model acts as a centered storage for financial competitor information as well as a reporting tool. The current market situation is strongly affected by the economic boom in the recent years and future challenges can be clearly seen in declining order backlogs. The case company has succeeded well related to its comparison group during the observation period since its business volume and profitability have developed in the best way.

Marketing of Lappeenranta University of Technology energy auditing services

The objective of this study was to find out how LUT Energy should start marketing its energy audit services, what would be the optimal pricing policy for its services and how LUT Energy could manage customer expectations towards quality of its auditing services. In order to answer these questions, a quantitative survey questionnaire was sent by e-mail to 56 companies from the regions of South Karelia and Kymenlaakso. The empirical data of the study was the answers and opinions of the companies, previous researches about energy efficiency and articles and presentations about the current situation in the energy efficiency market. The results of the study were that there is a great potential for energy audit services and also the legislation requires companies to improve their energy efficiency. To start marketing its services, LUT Energy should first clarify its service concept and divide its service offering into two offers. It should also clarify the marketing message it wants to send its customers and then do the marketing with the help of three-way-model. The best pricing policy for the service would be that the price is proportioned to the future savings. In order to ensure the quality of its services, LUT Energy has to make sure that both dimensions of the quality are managed properly and to fade out customer expectations towards the quality the auditing work has to be monitored.

Gambling in Spain: update on experience, research and policy

AIMS: To describe the current situation of gambling in Spain, sketching its history and discussing the regulations and legislation currently in force within the framework of the European Union (EU), and to review the epidemiology of gambling in Spain, the self-help groups and professional treatments available, and their potential effectiveness. METHODS: A systematic computerized search was performed in three databases (EMBASE, PubMed and PsychINFO, including articles and chapters) and the reference lists from previous reviews to obtain some of the most relevant studies published up to now on the topic of pathologic gambling in Spain. RESULTS: Similar to other EU countries, Spain has a high prevalence of pathologic gambling, focused on specific culturally bounded types of gambling. Expenditure in online gaming has risen significantly in the last few years, prompting the Spanish government to draft new legislation to regulate gaming. CONCLUSIONS: The gaming industry is expected to be one of the fastest growing sectors in Spain in the coming years owing to the rise of new technologies and the development of online gaming

Les captacions d'aigua destinada al consum humà al Principat d'Andorra: Anàlisi del marc jurídic actual, definició del procediment d'autorització i sistema d'informació geogràfic sobre les captacions i els perímetres de protecció associats

RESUM L’aigua és un recurs limitat necessari per a l’establiment de qualsevol forma de vida sobre la Terra. Aquest recurs, es veu regit pel cicle hidrològic i durant les diferents fases del seu cicle, l’aigua pot ser captada per ser aprofitada per l’ésser humà. En els darrers anys, la necessitat d’aigua per a la població ha estat incrementada provocant un impacte negatiu sobre aquest recurs. Per aquest motiu sorgeix la necessitat de crear polítiques globals per protegir l’aigua que vagin encaminades a minimitzar l’efecte negatiu provocat per l’home. Tota captació d’aigua destinada al consum humà ha de garantir uns paràmetres de qualitat i per tal de poder aconseguir aquest objectiu amb eficàcia és imprescindible l’aplicació d’una eina legal molt important: els perímetres de protecció. A l’article 6 de la Llei de policia i protecció de les aigües del 31 de juliol del 1985, s’estableix que tota captació d’aigua potable haurà de quedar aïllada mitjançant un perímetre de protecció, a l’interior del qual no podrà dur-se a terme cap activitat sense prèvia autorització de Govern. Els objectius principals d’aquest estudi son recopilar la informació existent en referència a les captacions d’aigua i els seus respectius perímetres de protecció, elaborar una base de dades que pugui contenir tota la informació existent i elaborar cartografia especifica amb la finalitat de realitzar una diagnosi de la situació actual de les captacions i perímetres associats i identificar els principals riscos potencials existents en aquestes àrees. Entre les conclusions mes rellevants obtingudes amb aquest treball, cal destacar que s’ha constatat que algunes activitats antròpiques potencialment contaminants es troben situades en zones properes a les captacions destinades a consum humà, inclòs dins dels seus perímetres de protecció, amb el conseqüent risc que aquesta situació comporta.

La Salut als diaris digitals, una qüestió de salut digital: les notícies de salut en els diaris digitals en llengua catalana: exploració i assaig metodològic per a l'anàlisi descriptiva

En l’actual context de la societat de la informació, les noves tecnologies de la comunicació i, específicament, el fenomen d’Internet, adquireixen una importància rellevant en tots els sectors socials i fan replantejar la comunicació de masses. Les característiques que ofereixen els mitjans digitals (multimedialitat, hipertextualitat, interactivitat) comporten una nova forma d’estructurar i llegir la informació. Així, capçaleres i periodistes s’han d’actualitzar en la producció de la informació i en la seva transmissió, i l’usuari ha d’aprendre noves formes de lectura per adaptar-se al nou paradigma comunicacional. D’altra banda, la societat del benestar en què vivim reclama cada cop més als mitjans de comunicació generals i també específicament als digitals que parlin de temes de salut. Aquests mitjans esdevenen fonts principals d’aquest tipus d’informació, després del metge, per a la gestió autònoma de la pròpia salut. És a partir d’aquesta convergència de mitjans digitals, periodisme i salut, de la necessitat d’explorar la situació actual i del desig d’aportar coneixements per a la millora de la pràctica professional del periodisme, que es desenvolupa el treball que es presenta en aquesta memòria. El projecte que es presenta és una anàlisi restrospectiva i descriptiva de les notícies de salut que es produeixen durant un mes als diaris digitals que publiquen en llengua catalana: El Periódico de Catalunya, l’Avui, i LaMalla.net.

Desenvolupament d'una aplicació per a la creació de pressupostos on-line

En aquests moments, el mercat no es troba en una bona situació, per aquest motiu les empreses han de buscar noves maneres de créixer, expandir-se i noves formes d’interactuar amb els clients. La idea original d’aquest projecte sorgeix de la necessitat de disposar d’una manera diferent de promocionar-se i oferir nous serveis a través d’internet mitjançant una pàgina web. Degut a la situació actual, el preu és un aspecte molt important i influent a l’hora de realitzar una obra. Per aquest motiu es va pensar que seria molt interessant que el client pogués demanar de forma fàcil i ràpida un pressupost, i a l’instant tingués un preu orientatiu del que li pot costar la obra. D’aquesta manera l’interessat s’estalvia i agilitza molts passos previs abans de començar una obra. Després d’analitzar quina era la millor manera de portar a terme el projecte informàtic, s’ha determinat que la pàgina web es desenvoluparà utilitzant els llenguatges HTML i PHP combinant-lo amb el framework CodeIgniter. El disseny de la web es realitzarà mitjançant fulles d’estil CSS conjuntament amb el framework BootStrap. Per realitzar l’aplicació web que realitza els pressupostos s’utilitzarà AJAX i jQuery perquè d’aquesta manera el procés sigui dinàmic. L’entorn de desenvolupament escollit és el NetBeans i per provar el projecte s’utilitza el XAMPP. Un usuari només necessitarà un navegador i connexió a internet per fer servir totes les funcions de la web. Podrà realitzar pressupostos, concertar visites, contactar i per suposat veure tota la part informativa de la pàgina

Tuote- ja tilaustietojen hallinta tukkukaupan toimitusketjussa

Työn tavoitteena on selvittää, millaisia tuote-ja tilaustietojen hallinnan malleja tukkukaupan toimitusketjussa on käytössä. Kaupan alan tilaus-toimitusketju on hyvin tietointensiivinen prosessi, ja siksi kiinnostava tiedon hallinnan näkökulmasta. Työssä perehdytään kolmen Suomessa toimivan caseyrityksen käytäntöihin päivittäistavara- kaupan, lääketukkukaupan ja sähkötarviketukkukaupan alalta. Toimitusketjun keskipisteenä on tässä työssä tukkukaupan organisaatio. Tiedon välitystä tarkastellaan tukkukaupan organisaation ja sen asiakkaiden välillä (B2B) ja toisaalta tukkukaupan ja sen ensimmäisen tason päämiesten / tavarantoimittajien välillä. Tutkimuksen keskeistä aineistoa ovat henkilökohtaiset haastattelut. Lisäksi tutkimuskysymyksiin etsittiin vastauksia myös alan kirjallisuudesta. Työ antaa yleiskuvaa tukkukaupan organisaatioiden tuote- ja tilaustietojen hallinnan nykytilasta ja kehityskohteista. Työ tarjoaa myös vertailupohjaa tuote- ja tilaustietojen hallinnan kehittämistä suunnitteleville muille organisaatioille. Kaikilla tarkastelluilla toimialoilla tuote- ja tilaustietojen hallintaa ohjaa pyrkimys kustannustehokkaaseen toimintatapaan. Tuotetietojen hallinnassa ensiarvoisen tärkeää on tuotetiedon nopea saatavuus, luotettavuus ja virheettömyys toimialasta riippumatta. Päivittäistavarakaupan tuotetietojen keskitettyä hallintaa voi perustellusti esittää malliksi myös muille kaupan aloille. Yhteistyökumppaneiden suuri määrä ja kasvavat tietovirrat korostavat transaktioiden prosessoinnin merkitystä toimitusketjussa.

Enhancing Customer Knowledge and Its Sharing At a Paper Production Line

This study has been made for specific paper production line at an international forest industry company in Finland. The main purpose for the study was a need to examine the current situation of the customer knowledge and its’ sharing at case production line, recognize the problems in it and finally, find out the improvement actions. The study is composed of theoretical and empirical parts. In theoretical part, knowledge management and information sharing in addition to customer knowledge management are presented. Empirical data from case production line was collected by using survey questionnaires. The results are analyzed in discussion and conclusions and finally, study ends with summary which includes recommendations. Based on the study, the amount and quality of customer knowledge and gaining and transferring the customer knowledge were found as the main challenges. The proposed solutions were discovered from moving towards more dynamic operating environment and in the area of customer knowledge management, especially from the communities of creation.