Places making: participatory construction of scientifi c culture cities

In the framework of the European project Platform of Local Authorities and Communicators Engaged in Science (PLACES), we analyse the articulations between scientifi c communication, public perception of science, processes of citizen participation and apropiation of space, based on a case study of the inhabitants of Teruel city, Autonomous Community of Aragon, Spain. On the interrelationships between these issues, there are a number of contradictions, such as the difference between a high interest for information about science and technology and a low level of recognition and interaction with local institutions involved in those activities, the complex conceptualization of scientifi c space in relation to the “public-private” pair, or an articulation of a claiming civic rethoric and an insuffi cient co-responsibility. We conclude that, in a local context, the dimension of territoriality and, in particular, the identifi cation with the town, is a central mediation for activating citizen participation as part of processes of appropriation of space for setting up cities of scientifi c culture.

Density functional and Monte Carlo studies of sulfur. I. Structure and bonding in S-n rings and chains (n=2-18) (vol 118, pg 9257, 2003)

Density functional calculations have been performed for ring isomers of sulfur with up to 18 atoms, and for chains with up to ten atoms. There are many isomers of both types, and the calculations predict the existence of new forms. Larger rings and chains are very flexible, with numerous local energy minima. Apart from a small, but consistent overestimate in the bond lengths, the results reproduce experimental structures where known. Calculations are also performed on the energy surfaces of S8 rings, on the interaction between a pair of such rings, and the reaction between one S8 ring and the triplet diradical S8 chain. The results for potential energies, vibrational frequencies, and reaction mechanisms in sulfur rings and chains provide essential ingredients for Monte Carlo simulations of the liquid–liquid phase transition. The results of these simulations will be presented in Part II.

the social economy as an alternative of self employment. profile of the entrepreneur in the andalusian labour companies

This paper provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the profile of the entrepreneur who decides to start business through a labor society in the context of the Autonomous Community of Andalucia. Thus, first the Social Economy is presented as an important alternative to creating and promoting employment, which seeks to combine economic and social objectives in the development of activities. Subsequently, focusing on labor companies, updated its importance in the regional economy for later data and through the analysis of two samples are available, set the attributes or most significant characteristics of these entrepreneurs.

Art as an educative and social tool

Since remote times, certain sectors of society have been exposed to inequality and vulnerability, where adequate intervention processes have become conspicuous because of their absence. Nowadays, current societies have the responsibility of contributing, based on their experience and knowledge, with more efficient policies and programs that improve the life quality of the most disadvantaged. It is here where art and its different tools play a very important role, not only on a physical level, but also as an education tool that allows the development of emotional, mental and communicative skills. The aim of this paper is to make clear the potential of art as an instrument of social and educational intervention. It starts by showing worldwide-collected experience related to education and arts, and then, it acquaints the reader with two parallel intervention projects that worked with youths under social vulnerability conditions. These interventions were developed based on a qualitative research (Grounded theory), using as methodology “The Artistic Mediation” with emphasis on body language. This methodology helped researchers to get close to the participants and to know their experiences and emotions. At the same time, it was possible to evidence the positive effects of educative interventions through art. These workshops were based on an artistic methodology especially focused on body language. Data in this work is qualitative, and as such, it permits a special approach to the personal and emotional experiences of the participants; clearly showing the positive effects of the referenced practice on them.

Nitrogen-15 and Oxygen-18 Natural Abundance of Potassium Chloride Extractable Soil Nitrate Using the Denitrifier Method

In agroecosystems, most isotopic investigations of NO3- involve the use of tracers that are artificially enriched in 15N. Although the dual isotope composition of NO3-— d15N and d18O is especially beneficial for understanding the origin and fate of NO3-, its use for KCl-extractable soil NO3- has been hampered by the lack of a suitable analytical technique. Our objective was to test whether the denitrifier method, whereby NO3- is reduced to N2O before mass spectrometric analysis, can be used to determine the N and O isotopic composition of NO3- from 2 M KCl soil extracts. Several internationally accepted NO3- standards were dissolved in 2 M KCl, the conventional extractant for soil inorganic N, and inoculated with the bacterial strain Pseudomonas aureofaciens (ATCC no. 13985). The standard deviation of the NO3- standards analyzed did not exceed 0.2‰ for d15N and 0.3‰ for d18O values. After appropriate corrections, differences between our measured and consensus d15N and d18O values of standard NO3- generally were within the standard deviations given for the consensus values. Both d15N and d18O values were reproducible among separate analytical runs. The method was also tested on genuine 2 M KCl extracts from unfertilized and fertilized soils. Depending on N fertilization, the soils had distinct d15N and d18O values, which were attributed to amendment with NH4NO3 fertilizer. Hence, our data indicate that the denitrifier method provides a fast, reliable, precise, and accurate way of simultaneously analyzing the natural abundances of 15N and 18O in KCl-extractable soil NO3-.

SuperWASP-N extrasolar planet candidates between 18 <RA <21h

The SuperWASP-I (Wide Angle Search for Planets-I) instrument observed 6.7 million stars between 8 and 15mag from La Palma during the 2004 May-September season. Our transit-hunting algorithm selected 11626 objects from the 184442 stars within the RA (right ascension) range 18-21h. We describe our thorough selection procedure whereby catalogue information is exploited along with careful study of the SuperWASP data to filter out, as far as possible, transit mimics. We have identified 35 candidates which we recommend for follow-up observations.