A multi-scale analysis of transforming agricultural markets in the context of globalization: implications for natural resources, food prices and rural poverty in Latin America

Vivimos una época en la que el mundo se transforma aceleradamente. La globalización está siguiendo un curso imparable, la población mundial así como la población urbana siguen creciendo, y en los países emergentes los ingresos promedios aumentan, resultando en un cambio también acelerado de las dietas y hábitos alimentarios. En conjunto esos factores están causando un aumento fundamental de la demanda de alimentos. Junto con la apertura de los mercados agrícolas, estos procesos han provocado un crecimiento del comercio internacional de alimentos durante la última década. Dado que muchos países de América Latina están dotados de abundancia de recursos naturales, estas tendencias han producido un crecimiento rápido de las exportaciones de bienes primarios desde América Latina al resto del mundo. En sólo 30 años la participación en el mercado agrícola de América Latina casi se ha duplicado, desde 10% en 1980 a 18% en 2010. Este aumento del comercio agrícola ha dado lugar a un debate sobre una serie de cuestiones cruciales relacionadas con los impactos del comercio en la seguridad alimentaria mundial, en el medio ambiente o en la reducción de la pobreza rural en países en desarrollo. Esta tesis aplica un marco integrado para analizar varios impactos relacionados con la transformación de los mercados agrícolas y los mercados rurales debidos a la globalización y, en particular, al progresivo aumento del comercio internacional. En concreto, la tesis aborda los siguientes temas: En primer lugar, la producción mundial de alimentos tendrá que aumentar considerablemente para poder satisfacer la demanda de una población mundial de 9000 millones personas en 2050, lo cual plantea grandes desafíos sobre los sistemas de la producción de alimentos. Alcanzar este logro, sin comprometer la integridad del medio ambiente en regiones exportadoras, es un reto aún mayor. En este contexto, la tesis analiza los efectos de la liberalización del comercio mundial, considerando distintas tecnologías de producción agraria, sobre unos indicadores de seguridad alimentaria en diferentes regiones del mundo y sobre distintos indicadores ambientales, teniendo en cuenta escalas diferentes en América Latina y el Caribe. La tesis utiliza el modelo “International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT)” – un modelo dinámico de equilibrio parcial del sector agrícola a escala global – para modelar la apertura de los mercados agrícolas así como diferentes escenarios de la producción hasta el año 2050. Los resultados del modelo están vinculados a modelos biofísicos para poder evaluar los cambios en la huella hídrica y la calidad del agua, así como para cuantificar los impactos del cambio en el uso del suelo sobre la biodiversidad y los stocks de carbono en 2050. Los resultados indican que la apertura de los mercados agrícolas es muy importante para mejorar la seguridad alimentaria a nivel mundial, sin embargo, produce también presiones ambientales indeseables en algunas regiones de América Latina. Contrastando dos escenarios que consideran distintas modos de producción, la expansión de la tierra agrícola frente a un escenario de la producción más intensiva, se demuestra que las mejoras de productividad son generalmente superiores a la expansión de las tierras agrícolas, desde un punto de vista económico e ambiental. En cambio, los escenarios de intensificación sostenible no sólo hacen posible una mayor producción de alimentos, sino que también generan menos impactos medioambientales que los otros escenarios futuros en todas sus dimensiones: biodiversidad, carbono, emisiones de nitratos y uso del agua. El análisis muestra que hay un “trade-off” entre el objetivo de alcanzar la sostenibilidad ambiental y el objetivo de la seguridad alimentaria, independiente del manejo agrícola en el futuro. En segundo lugar, a la luz de la reciente crisis de los precios de alimentos en los años 2007/08, la tesis analiza los impactos de la apertura de los mercados agrícolas en la transmisión de precios de los alimentos en seis países de América Latina: Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, México y el Perú. Para identificar las posibles relaciones de cointegración entre los índices de precios al consumidor de alimentos y los índices de precios de agrarios internacionales, sujetos a diferentes grados de apertura de mercados agrícolas en los seis países de América Latina, se utiliza un modelo simple de corrección de error (single equation error correction). Los resultados indican que la integración global de los mercados agrícolas ha dado lugar a diferentes tasas de transmisión de precios en los países investigados. Sobre todo en el corto plazo, las tasas de transmisión dependen del grado de apertura comercial, mientras que en el largo plazo las tasas de transmisión son elevadas, pero en gran medida independientes del régimen de comercio. Por lo tanto, durante un período de shocks de precios mundiales una mayor apertura del comercio trae consigo más inestabilidad de los precios domésticos a corto plazo y la resultante persistencia en el largo plazo. Sin embargo, estos resultados no verifican necesariamente la utilidad de las políticas comerciales, aplicadas frecuentemente por los gobiernos para amortiguar los shocks de precios. Primero, porque existe un riesgo considerable de volatilidad de los precios debido a cambios bruscos de la oferta nacional si se promueve la autosuficiencia en el país; y segundo, la política de proteccionismo asume el riesgo de excluir el país de participar en las cadenas de suministro de alto valor del sector agrícola, y por lo tanto esa política podría obstaculizar el desarrollo económico. Sin embargo, es indispensable establecer políticas efectivas para reducir la vulnerabilidad de los hogares a los aumentos repentinos de precios de alimentos, lo cual requiere una planificación gubernamental precisa con el presupuesto requerido disponible. En tercer lugar, la globalización afecta a la estructura de una economía y, por medios distintos, la distribución de los ingreso en un país. Perú sirve como ejemplo para investigar más profundamente las cuestiones relacionadas con los cambios en la distribución de los ingresos en zonas rurales. Perú, que es un país que está cada vez más integrado en los mercados mundiales, consiguió importantes descensos en la pobreza extrema en sus zonas rurales, pero a la vez adolece de alta incidencia de pobreza moderada y de desigualdad de los ingresos en zonas rural al menos durante el periodo comprendido entre 2004 y 2012. Esta parte de la tesis tiene como objetivo identificar las fuerzas impulsoras detrás de estas dinámicas en el Perú mediante el uso de un modelo de microsimulación basado en modelos de generación de ingresos aplicado a nivel los hogares rurales. Los resultados indican que la fuerza principal detrás de la reducción de la pobreza ha sido el crecimiento económico general de la economía, debido a las condiciones macroeconómicas favorables durante el periodo de estudio. Estos efectos de crecimiento beneficiaron a casi todos los sectores rurales, y dieron lugar a la disminución de la pobreza rural extrema, especialmente entre los agricultores de papas y de maíz. En parte, estos agricultores probablemente se beneficiaron de la apertura de los mercados agrícolas, que es lo que podría haber provocado un aumento de los precios al productor en tiempos de altos precios mundiales de los alimentos. Sin embargo, los resultados también sugieren que para una gran parte de la población más pobre existían barreras de entrada a la hora de poder participar en el empleo asalariado fuera de la agricultura o en la producción de cultivos de alto valor. Esto podría explicarse por la falta de acceso a unos activos importantes: por ejemplo, el nivel de educación de los pobres era apenas mejor en 2012 que en 2004; y también las dotaciones de tierra y de mano de obra, sobre todo de los productores pobres de maíz y patata, disminuyeron entre 2004 y 2012. Esto lleva a la conclusión de que aún hay margen para aplicar políticas para facilitar el acceso a estos activos, que podría contribuir a la erradicación de la pobreza rural. La tesis concluye que el comercio agrícola puede ser un importante medio para abastecer una población mundial creciente y más rica con una cantidad suficiente de calorías. Para evitar adversos efectos ambientales e impactos negativos para los consumidores y de los productores pobres, el enfoque debe centrarse en las mejoras de la productividad agrícola, teniendo en cuenta los límites ambientales y ser socialmente inclusivo. En este sentido, será indispensable seguir desarrollando soluciones tecnológicas que garanticen prácticas de producción agrícola minimizando el uso de recursos naturales. Además, para los pequeños pobres agricultores será fundamental eliminar las barreras de entrada a los mercados de exportación que podría tener efectos indirectos favorables a través de la adopción de nuevas tecnologías alcanzables a través de mercados internacionales. ABSTRACT The world is in a state of rapid transition. Ongoing globalization, population growth, rising living standards and increasing urbanization, accompanied by changing dietary patterns throughout the world, are increasing the demand for food. Together with more open trade regimes, this has triggered growing international agricultural trade during the last decade. For many Latin American countries, which are gifted with relative natural resource abundance, these trends have fueled rapid export growth of primary goods. In just 30 years, the Latin American agricultural market share has almost doubled from 10% in 1980 to 18% in 2010. These market developments have given rise to a debate around a number of crucial issues related to the role of agricultural trade for global food security, for the environment or for poverty reduction in developing countries. This thesis uses an integrated framework to analyze a broad array of possible impacts related to transforming agricultural and rural markets in light of globalization, and in particular of increasing trade activity. Specifically, the following issues are approached: First, global food production will have to rise substantially by the year 2050 to meet effective demand of a nine billion people world population which poses major challenges to food production systems. Doing so without compromising environmental integrity in exporting regions is an even greater challenge. In this context, the thesis explores the effects of future global trade liberalization on food security indicators in different world regions and on a variety of environmental indicators at different scales in Latin America and the Caribbean, in due consideration of different future agricultural production practices. The International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT) –a global dynamic partial equilibrium model of the agricultural sector developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)– is applied to run different future production scenarios, and agricultural trade regimes out to 2050. Model results are linked to biophysical models, used to assess changes in water footprints and water quality, as well as impacts on biodiversity and carbon stocks from land use change by 2050. Results indicate that further trade liberalization is crucial for improving food security globally, but that it would also lead to more environmental pressures in some regions across Latin America. Contrasting land expansion versus more intensified agriculture shows that productivity improvements are generally superior to agricultural land expansion, from an economic and environmental point of view. Most promising for achieving food security and environmental goals, in equal measure, is the sustainable intensification scenario. However, the analysis shows that there are trade-offs between environmental and food security goals for all agricultural development paths. Second, in light of the recent food price crisis of 2007/08, the thesis looks at the impacts of increasing agricultural market integration on food price transmission from global to domestic markets in six Latin American countries, namely Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. To identify possible cointegrating relationships between the domestic food consumer price indices and world food price levels, subject to different degrees of agricultural market integration in the six Latin American countries, a single equation error correction model is used. Results suggest that global agricultural market integration has led to different levels of price path-through in the studied countries. Especially in the short-run, transmission rates depend on the degree of trade openness, while in the long-run transmission rates are high, but largely independent of the country-specific trade regime. Hence, under world price shocks more trade openness brings with it more price instability in the short-term and the resulting persistence in the long-term. However, these findings do not necessarily verify the usefulness of trade policies, often applied by governments to buffer such price shocks. First, because there is a considerable risk of price volatility due to domestic supply shocks if self-sufficiency is promoted. Second, protectionism bears the risk of excluding a country from participating in beneficial high-value agricultural supply chains, thereby hampering economic development. Nevertheless, to reduce households’ vulnerability to sudden and large increases of food prices, effective policies to buffer food price shocks should be put in place, but must be carefully planned with the required budget readily available. Third, globalization affects the structure of an economy and, by different means, the distribution of income in a country. Peru serves as an example to dive deeper into questions related to changes in the income distribution in rural areas. Peru, a country being increasingly integrated into global food markets, experienced large drops in extreme rural poverty, but persistently high rates of moderate rural poverty and rural income inequality between 2004 and 2012. The thesis aims at disentangling the driving forces behind these dynamics by using a microsimulation model based on rural household income generation models. Results provide evidence that the main force behind poverty reduction was overall economic growth of the economy due to generally favorable macroeconomic market conditions. These growth effects benefited almost all rural sectors, and led to declines in extreme rural poverty, especially among potato and maize farmers. In part, these farmers probably benefited from policy changes towards more open trade regimes and the resulting higher producer prices in times of elevated global food price levels. However, the results also suggest that entry barriers existed for the poorer part of the population to participate in well-paid wage-employment outside of agriculture or in high-value crop production. This could be explained by a lack of sufficient access to important rural assets. For example, poor people’s educational attainment was hardly better in 2012 than in 2004. Also land and labor endowments, especially of (poor) maize and potato growers, rather decreased than increased over time. This leads to the conclusion that there is still scope for policy action to facilitate access to these assets, which could contribute to the eradication of rural poverty. The thesis concludes that agricultural trade can be one important means to provide a growing and richer world population with sufficient amounts of calories. To avoid adverse environmental effects and negative impacts for poor food consumers and producers, the focus should lie on agricultural productivity improvements, considering environmental limits and be socially inclusive. In this sense, it will be crucial to further develop technological solutions that guarantee resource-sparing agricultural production practices, and to remove entry barriers for small poor farmers to export markets which might allow for technological spill-over effects from high-value global agricultural supply chains.

Aplicación de la metodología ISA al análisis de la secuencia de pérdida del sistema de agua de refrigeración de componentes en una central nuclear con reactor de agua a presión

La metodología Integrated Safety Analysis (ISA), desarrollada en el área de Modelación y Simulación (MOSI) del Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN), es un método de Análisis Integrado de Seguridad que está siendo evaluado y analizado mediante diversas aplicaciones impulsadas por el CSN; el análisis integrado de seguridad, combina las técnicas evolucionadas de los análisis de seguridad al uso: deterministas y probabilistas. Se considera adecuado para sustentar la Regulación Informada por el Riesgo (RIR), actual enfoque dado a la seguridad nuclear y que está siendo desarrollado y aplicado en todo el mundo. En este contexto se enmarcan, los proyectos Safety Margin Action Plan (SMAP) y Safety Margin Assessment Application (SM2A), impulsados por el Comité para la Seguridad de las Instalaciones Nucleares (CSNI) de la Agencia de la Energía Nuclear (NEA) de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE) en el desarrollo del enfoque adecuado para el uso de las metodologías integradas en la evaluación del cambio en los márgenes de seguridad debidos a cambios en las condiciones de las centrales nucleares. El comité constituye un foro para el intercambio de información técnica y de colaboración entre las organizaciones miembro, que aportan sus propias ideas en investigación, desarrollo e ingeniería. La propuesta del CSN es la aplicación de la metodología ISA, especialmente adecuada para el análisis según el enfoque desarrollado en el proyecto SMAP que pretende obtener los valores best-estimate con incertidumbre de las variables de seguridad que son comparadas con los límites de seguridad, para obtener la frecuencia con la que éstos límites son superados. La ventaja que ofrece la ISA es que permite el análisis selectivo y discreto de los rangos de los parámetros inciertos que tienen mayor influencia en la superación de los límites de seguridad, o frecuencia de excedencia del límite, permitiendo así evaluar los cambios producidos por variaciones en el diseño u operación de la central que serían imperceptibles o complicados de cuantificar con otro tipo de metodologías. La ISA se engloba dentro de las metodologías de APS dinámico discreto que utilizan la generación de árboles de sucesos dinámicos (DET) y se basa en la Theory of Stimulated Dynamics (TSD), teoría de fiabilidad dinámica simplificada que permite la cuantificación del riesgo de cada una de las secuencias. Con la ISA se modelan y simulan todas las interacciones relevantes en una central: diseño, condiciones de operación, mantenimiento, actuaciones de los operadores, eventos estocásticos, etc. Por ello requiere la integración de códigos de: simulación termohidráulica y procedimientos de operación; delineación de árboles de sucesos; cuantificación de árboles de fallos y sucesos; tratamiento de incertidumbres e integración del riesgo. La tesis contiene la aplicación de la metodología ISA al análisis integrado del suceso iniciador de la pérdida del sistema de refrigeración de componentes (CCWS) que genera secuencias de pérdida de refrigerante del reactor a través de los sellos de las bombas principales del circuito de refrigerante del reactor (SLOCA). Se utiliza para probar el cambio en los márgenes, con respecto al límite de la máxima temperatura de pico de vaina (1477 K), que sería posible en virtud de un potencial aumento de potencia del 10 % en el reactor de agua a presión de la C.N. Zion. El trabajo realizado para la consecución de la tesis, fruto de la colaboración de la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Minas y Energía y la empresa de soluciones tecnológicas Ekergy Software S.L. (NFQ Solutions) con el área MOSI del CSN, ha sido la base para la contribución del CSN en el ejercicio SM2A. Este ejercicio ha sido utilizado como evaluación del desarrollo de algunas de las ideas, sugerencias, y los algoritmos detrás de la metodología ISA. Como resultado se ha obtenido un ligero aumento de la frecuencia de excedencia del daño (DEF) provocado por el aumento de potencia. Este resultado demuestra la viabilidad de la metodología ISA para obtener medidas de las variaciones en los márgenes de seguridad que han sido provocadas por modificaciones en la planta. También se ha mostrado que es especialmente adecuada en escenarios donde los eventos estocásticos o las actuaciones de recuperación o mitigación de los operadores pueden tener un papel relevante en el riesgo. Los resultados obtenidos no tienen validez más allá de la de mostrar la viabilidad de la metodología ISA. La central nuclear en la que se aplica el estudio está clausurada y la información relativa a sus análisis de seguridad es deficiente, por lo que han sido necesarias asunciones sin comprobación o aproximaciones basadas en estudios genéricos o de otras plantas. Se han establecido tres fases en el proceso de análisis: primero, obtención del árbol de sucesos dinámico de referencia; segundo, análisis de incertidumbres y obtención de los dominios de daño; y tercero, cuantificación del riesgo. Se han mostrado diversas aplicaciones de la metodología y ventajas que presenta frente al APS clásico. También se ha contribuido al desarrollo del prototipo de herramienta para la aplicación de la metodología ISA (SCAIS). ABSTRACT The Integrated Safety Analysis methodology (ISA), developed by the Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN), is being assessed in various applications encouraged by CSN. An Integrated Safety Analysis merges the evolved techniques of the usually applied safety analysis methodologies; deterministic and probabilistic. It is considered as a suitable tool for assessing risk in a Risk Informed Regulation framework, the approach under development that is being adopted on Nuclear Safety around the world. In this policy framework, the projects Safety Margin Action Plan (SMAP) and Safety Margin Assessment Application (SM2A), set up by the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) of the Nuclear Energy Agency within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), were aimed to obtain a methodology and its application for the integration of risk and safety margins in the assessment of the changes to the overall safety as a result of changes in the nuclear plant condition. The committee provides a forum for the exchange of technical information and cooperation among member organizations which contribute their respective approaches in research, development and engineering. The ISA methodology, proposed by CSN, specially fits with the SMAP approach that aims at obtaining Best Estimate Plus Uncertainty values of the safety variables to be compared with the safety limits. This makes it possible to obtain the exceedance frequencies of the safety limit. The ISA has the advantage over other methods of allowing the specific and discrete evaluation of the most influential uncertain parameters in the limit exceedance frequency. In this way the changes due to design or operation variation, imperceptibles or complicated to by quantified by other methods, are correctly evaluated. The ISA methodology is one of the discrete methodologies of the Dynamic PSA framework that uses the generation of dynamic event trees (DET). It is based on the Theory of Stimulated Dynamics (TSD), a simplified version of the theory of Probabilistic Dynamics that allows the risk quantification. The ISA models and simulates all the important interactions in a Nuclear Power Plant; design, operating conditions, maintenance, human actuations, stochastic events, etc. In order to that, it requires the integration of codes to obtain: Thermohydraulic and human actuations; Even trees delineation; Fault Trees and Event Trees quantification; Uncertainty analysis and risk assessment. This written dissertation narrates the application of the ISA methodology to the initiating event of the Loss of the Component Cooling System (CCWS) generating sequences of loss of reactor coolant through the seals of the reactor coolant pump (SLOCA). It is used to test the change in margins with respect to the maximum clad temperature limit (1477 K) that would be possible under a potential 10 % power up-rate effected in the pressurized water reactor of Zion NPP. The work done to achieve the thesis, fruit of the collaborative agreement of the School of Mining and Energy Engineering and the company of technological solutions Ekergy Software S.L. (NFQ Solutions) with de specialized modeling and simulation branch of the CSN, has been the basis for the contribution of the CSN in the exercise SM2A. This exercise has been used as an assessment of the development of some of the ideas, suggestions, and algorithms behind the ISA methodology. It has been obtained a slight increase in the Damage Exceedance Frequency (DEF) caused by the power up-rate. This result shows that ISA methodology allows quantifying the safety margin change when design modifications are performed in a NPP and is specially suitable for scenarios where stochastic events or human responses have an important role to prevent or mitigate the accidental consequences and the total risk. The results do not have any validity out of showing the viability of the methodology ISA. Zion NPP was retired and information of its safety analysis is scarce, so assumptions without verification or approximations based on generic studies have been required. Three phases are established in the analysis process: first, obtaining the reference dynamic event tree; second, uncertainty analysis and obtaining the damage domains; third, risk quantification. There have been shown various applications of the methodology and advantages over the classical PSA. It has also contributed to the development of the prototype tool for the implementation of the ISA methodology (SCAIS).

VHDL-based system design of a cognitive sensorimotor loop (CSL) for haptic Human-Machine Interaction (HMI)

This document is a summary of the Bachelor thesis titled “VHDL-Based System Design of a Cognitive Sensorimotor Loop (CSL) for Haptic Human-Machine Interaction (HMI)” written by Pablo de Miguel Morales, Electronics Engineering student at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM Madrid, Spain) during an Erasmus+ Exchange Program at the Beuth Hochschule für Technik (BHT Berlin, Germany). The tutor of this project is Dr. Prof. Hild. This project has been developed inside the Neurobotics Research Laboratory (NRL) in close collaboration with Benjamin Panreck, a member of the NRL, and another exchange student from the UPM Pablo Gabriel Lezcano. For a deeper comprehension of the content of the thesis, a deeper look in the document is needed as well as the viewing of the videos and the VHDL design. In the growing field of automation, a large amount of workforce is dedicated to improve, adapt and design motor controllers for a wide variety of applications. In the specific field of robotics or other machinery designed to interact with humans or their environment, new needs and technological solutions are often being discovered due to the existing, relatively unexplored new scenario it is. The project consisted of three main parts: Two VHDL-based systems and one short experiment on the haptic perception. Both VHDL systems are based on a Cognitive Sensorimotor Loop (CSL) which is a control loop designed by the NRL and mainly developed by Dr. Prof. Hild. The CSL is a control loop whose main characteristic is the fact that it does not use any external sensor to measure the speed or position of the motor but the motor itself. The motor always generates a voltage that is proportional to its angular speed so it does not need calibration. This method is energy efficient and simplifies control loops in complex systems. The first system, named CSL Stay In Touch (SIT), consists in a one DC motor system controller by a FPGA Board (Zynq ZYBO 7000) whose aim is to keep contact with any external object that touches its Sensing Platform in both directions. Apart from the main behavior, three features (Search Mode, Inertia Mode and Return Mode) have been designed to enhance the haptic interaction experience. Additionally, a VGA-Screen is also controlled by the FPGA Board for the monitoring of the whole system. This system has been completely developed, tested and improved; analyzing its timing and consumption properties. The second system, named CSL Fingerlike Mechanism (FM), consists in a fingerlike mechanical system controlled by two DC motors (Each controlling one part of the finger). The behavior is similar to the first system but in a more complex structure. This system was optional and not part of the original objectives of the thesis and it could not be properly finished and tested due to the lack of time. The haptic perception experiment was an experiment conducted to have an insight into the complexity of human haptic perception in order to implement this knowledge into technological applications. The experiment consisted in testing the capability of the subjects to recognize different objects and shapes while being blindfolded and with their ears covered. Two groups were done, one had full haptic perception while the other had to explore the environment with a plastic piece attached to their finger to create a haptic handicap. The conclusion of the thesis was that a haptic system based only on a CSL-based system is not enough to retrieve valuable information from the environment and that other sensors are needed (temperature, pressure, etc.) but that a CSL-based system is very useful to control the force applied by the system to interact with haptic sensible surfaces such as skin or tactile screens. RESUMEN. Este documento es un resumen del proyecto fin de grado titulado “VHDL-Based System Design of a Cognitive Sensorimotor Loop (CSL) for Haptic Human-Machine Interaction (HMI)” escrito por Pablo de Miguel, estudiante de Ingeniería Electrónica de Comunicaciones en la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM Madrid, España) durante un programa de intercambio Erasmus+ en la Beuth Hochschule für Technik (BHT Berlin, Alemania). El tutor de este proyecto ha sido Dr. Prof. Hild. Este proyecto se ha desarrollado dentro del Neurorobotics Research Laboratory (NRL) en estrecha colaboración con Benjamin Panreck (un miembro del NRL) y con Pablo Lezcano (Otro estudiante de intercambio de la UPM). Para una comprensión completa del trabajo es necesaria una lectura detenida de todo el documento y el visionado de los videos y análisis del diseño VHDL incluidos en el CD adjunto. En el creciente sector de la automatización, una gran cantidad de esfuerzo está dedicada a mejorar, adaptar y diseñar controladores de motor para un gran rango de aplicaciones. En el campo específico de la robótica u otra maquinaria diseñada para interactuar con los humanos o con su entorno, nuevas necesidades y soluciones tecnológicas se siguen desarrollado debido al relativamente inexplorado y nuevo escenario que supone. El proyecto consta de tres partes principales: Dos sistemas basados en VHDL y un pequeño experimento sobre la percepción háptica. Ambos sistemas VHDL están basados en el Cognitive Sesnorimotor Loop (CSL) que es un lazo de control creado por el NRL y cuyo desarrollador principal ha sido Dr. Prof. Hild. El CSL es un lazo de control cuya principal característica es la ausencia de sensores externos para medir la velocidad o la posición del motor, usando el propio motor como sensor. El motor siempre genera un voltaje proporcional a su velocidad angular de modo que no es necesaria calibración. Este método es eficiente en términos energéticos y simplifica los lazos de control en sistemas complejos. El primer sistema, llamado CSL Stay In Touch (SIT), consiste en un sistema formado por un motor DC controlado por una FPGA Board (Zynq ZYBO 7000) cuyo objetivo es mantener contacto con cualquier objeto externo que toque su plataforma sensible en ambas direcciones. Aparte del funcionamiento básico, tres modos (Search Mode, Inertia Mode y Return Mode) han sido diseñados para mejorar la interacción. Adicionalmente, se ha diseñado el control a través de la FPGA Board de una pantalla VGA para la monitorización de todo el sistema. El sistema ha sido totalmente desarrollado, testeado y mejorado; analizando su propiedades de timing y consumo energético. El segundo sistema, llamado CSL Fingerlike Mechanism (FM), consiste en un mecanismo similar a un dedo controlado por dos motores DC (Cada uno controlando una falange). Su comportamiento es similar al del primer sistema pero con una estructura más compleja. Este sistema no formaba parte de los objetivos iniciales del proyecto y por lo tanto era opcional. No pudo ser plenamente desarrollado debido a la falta de tiempo. El experimento de percepción háptica fue diseñado para profundizar en la percepción háptica humana con el objetivo de aplicar este conocimiento en aplicaciones tecnológicas. El experimento consistía en testear la capacidad de los sujetos para reconocer diferentes objetos, formas y texturas en condiciones de privación del sentido del oído y la vista. Se crearon dos grupos, en uno los sujetos tenían plena percepción háptica mientras que en el otro debían interactuar con los objetos a través de una pieza de plástico para generar un hándicap háptico. La conclusión del proyecto fue que un sistema háptico basado solo en sistemas CSL no es suficiente para recopilar información valiosa del entorno y que debe hacer uso de otros sensores (temperatura, presión, etc.). En cambio, un sistema basado en CSL es idóneo para el control de la fuerza aplicada por el sistema durante la interacción con superficies hápticas sensibles tales como la piel o pantallas táctiles.

La incuestionabilidad del riesgo: vulnerabilidad social y riesgo sísmico en municipios turísticos

Los estudios sobre la vulnerabilidad social han ampliado la gestión de los riesgos naturales tradicionalmente direccionada a la amenaza natural y soluciones tecnológicas. Sin embargo la visión dominante se mantiene hegemónica sin un análisis adecuado de las causas que originan vulnerabilidad social. Este artículo propone un nuevo argumento, organizado en torno al concepto de la incuestionabilidad del riesgo, entendido como la incapacidad cultural y política de objetar el modelo socioeconómico imperante en donde residen las causas de fondo productoras de riesgo. Para concretar el concepto, a modo de ejemplo, se analizan el Plan de Actuación Municipal frente al Riesgo Sísmico de la ciudad de Torrevieja.

NBU Digital Collection “Bulgarian Cultural Heritage Materials”

Our experience in maintaining digital collections is described, which urged us to go deep in the process and build centralized digitalization policy. It instigated developing new strategy, adopting new technological solutions and staff training. The emphasis falls is placed on our digital collection “Bulgarian Cultural Heritage Materials” as an example of a focused digitization at the New Bulgarian University (NBU) Library and our answer to modern trends in launching digital collections. Our future digitization plans are also discussed.

3D Laser Scanning for Digital Preservation and Dissemination of Cultural Heritage Main scanned objects - Four Temples of Different Religions in Sofia

The project demonstrates the use of modern technologies for preservation and presentation of the cultural and historical heritage. The idea is a database of cultural and historical heritage sites to be created applying three dimensional laser scanning technology and a combination of geodetic and photogrammetric methods and shooting techniques. For the purposes of carrying out this project, we have focused on some heritage sites in the central part of Sofia. We decided to include these particular buildings because of the fact that there is hardly another city in the world where within a radius of 400 m are located four temples of different religions - Jewish, Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic. In the recent years, preservation of cultural heritage has been increasingly linked to objectives of sustainable development. Today, it has become clear that cultural heritage is also an economic resource that should be used for further economic development (through compulsory preservation of its authentic cultural values). There has been a more active public debate on the role of cultural heritage, regarding the following topics: improving the quality of life through development of cultural tourism, leading to an increase of the employment rate, constantly improving the business climate, etc. Cultural heritage preservation is becoming one of the priority objectives of the urban development policy. The focus has been shifted to new ways of preservation, mainly combinations of sophisticated technological solutions and their application for the purposes of preservation and dissemination of the cultural heritage.

Participatory research with older adults with AMD:co-designing a SMART diet diary app

The global population of people aged 60 years and older is growing rapidly. In the UK, there are currently around 10 million people aged 65 and over, and the number is projected to rise by 50% in the next 20 years (RNIB, 2013). While ongoing advances in information technology (IT) are undoubtedly increasing the scope for IT to enhance and support older adults' daily living, the digital divide between older and younger adults - 43% of people below the age of 55 own and use a smartphone, compared to only 3% of people aged 65 and over (AgeUK, 2013) - raises concerns about the suitability of technological solutions for older adults, especially for older adults with impairments. Evidence suggests that sympathetic design of mobile technology does render it useful and acceptable to older adults: the key issue is, however, how best to achieve such sympathetic design when working with impaired older adults. We report here on a case study in order to outline the practicalities and highlight the benefits of participatory research for the design of sympathetic technology for (and importantly with) older adults with impairments.

A longitudinal evaluation of the acceptability and impact of a diet diary app for older adults with age-related macular degeneration

Ongoing advances in technology are increasing the scope for enhancing and supporting older adults’ daily living. The digital divide between older and younger adults raises concerns, however, about the suitability of technological solutions for older adults, especially for those with impairments. Taking older adults with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) as a case study, we used user-centred and participatory design approaches to develop an assistive mobile app for self-monitoring their intake of food [12,13]. In this paper we report on findings of a longitudinal field evaluation of our app that was conducted to investigate how it was received and adopted by older adults with AMD and its impact on their lives. Demonstrating the benefit of applying inclusive design methods for technology for older adults, our findings reveal how the use of the app raises participants’ awareness and facilitates self-monitoring of diet, encourages positive (diet) behaviour change, and encourages learning.

Co-designing a SMART diet diary application with older adults with AMD

The global population of people aged 60 years and older is growing rapidly. In the UK, there are currently around 10 million people aged 65 and over, and the number is projected to rise by 50% in the next 20 years (RNIB, 2013). While ongoing advances in information technology (IT) are undoubtedly increasing the scope for IT to enhance and support older adults’ daily living, the digital divide between older and younger adults – 43% of people below the age of 55 own and use a smartphone, compared to only 3% of people aged 65 and over (AgeUK, 2013) – raises concerns about the suitability of technological solutions for older adults, especially for older adults with impairments. Evidence suggests that sympathetic design of mobile technology does render it useful and acceptable to older adults: the key issue is, however, how best to achieve such sympathetic design when working with impaired older adults. We report here on a case study in order to outline the practicalities and highlight the benefits of participatory research for the design of sympathetic technology for (and importantly with) older adults with impairments.

An update on the characteristics of patients attending the Kooyong Low Vision Clinic

BACKGROUND: Since 1972, the Australian College of Optometry has worked in partnership with Vision Australia to provide multidisciplinary low-vision care at the Kooyong Low Vision Clinic. In 1999, Wolffsohn and Cochrane reported on the demographic characteristics of patients attending Kooyong. Sixteen years on, the aim of this study is to review the demographics of the Kooyong patient cohort and prescribing patterns. METHODS: Records of all new patients (n = 155) attending the Kooyong Low Vision Clinic for optometry services between April and September 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Median age was 84.3 years (range 7.7 to 98.1 years) with 59 per cent female. The majority of patients presented with late-onset degenerative pathology, 49 per cent with a primary diagnosis of age-related macular degeneration. Many (47.1 per cent) lived with their families. Mean distance visual acuity was 0.57 ± 0.47 logMAR or approximately 6/24. The median spectacle-corrected near visual acuity was N8 (range N3 to worse than N80). Fifty patients (32.3 per cent) were prescribed new spectacles, 51 (32.9 per cent) low vision aids and five (8.3 per cent) were prescribed electronic magnification devices. Almost two-thirds (63.9 per cent) were referred for occupational therapy management and 12.3 per cent for orientation and mobility services. CONCLUSIONS: The profile of patients presenting for low-vision services at Kooyong is broadly similar to that identified in 1999. Outcomes appear to be similar, aside from an expected increase in electronic devices and technological solutions; however, the nature of services is changing, as treatments for ocular diseases advance and assistive technology develops and becomes more accessible. Alongside the aging population and age-related ocular disease being the predominant cause of low vision in Australia, the health-funding landscape is becoming more restrictive. The challenge for the future will be to provide timely, high-quality care in an economically efficient model.

A technológiák szerepe a tudásmenedzsment folyamatok támogatásában (The role of technologies in the support of knowledge management processes)

Az elmúlt évtized folyamán a szervezetek számára a tudás kiemelt stratégiai erőforrássá vált. A tudás kezelésére irányuló törekvések alapvetően az szervezeti megoldásokat, illetve az technológiai-informatikai megoldásokat középpontba helyező megközelítésre oszthatóak. A technológiai szerepéről mind a kutatók, mind a gyakorlati szakemberek között megoszlanak a vélemények, ugyanakkor a lehetőségeket legtöbbször nem is ismerik a döntéshozók és vezetők. Az információs és kommunikációs technológiák (ICT) legnagyobb szerepe abban van, hogy radikálisan csökkentik a tudás megosztását és átadását gátló tényezők hatását. ______ The author in his essay examines how the knowledge-based companies use the numerous technologies avaible to support knowledge management processes. He comes to the conclusion that the use of this technologies are restricted even at companies which are not averse to technological solutions.

Nerve localization techniques for peripheral nerve block and possible future directions

Ultrasound guidance is now a standard nerve localization technique for peripheral nerve block (PNB). Ultrasonography allows simultaneous visualization of the target nerve, needle, local anesthetic injectate and surrounding anatomical structures. Accurate deposition of local anesthetic next to the nerve is essential to the success of the nerve block procedure. Unfortunately, due to limitations in the visibility of both needle tip and nerve surface, the precise relationship between needle tip and target nerve is unknown at the moment of injection. Importantly, nerve injury may result both from an inappropriately placed needle tip and inappropriately placed local anesthetic. The relationship between the block needle tip and target nerve is of paramount importance to the safe conduct of peripheral nerve block. This review summarizes the evolution of nerve localization in regional anesthesia, characterizes a problem faced by clinicians in performing ultrasound guided nerve block and explores the potential technological solutions to this problem.

The use of e-voting as a new tool of e-participation in modern democracies

Finding the answer to the question of the role of electronic voting in a modern country consti - tutes an important part of researches into electronic democracy. The recent dynamic development of in - formation and communication technologies (ICT) and mass media have been leading to noticeable changes in functioning of contemporary countries and societies. ICT is beginning to play a greater and greater role and filter down to almost every field of contemporary human life – including politics. Elec - tronic voting represents one of the more and more popular forms of so called e-democracy, and is an in - teresting research subject in the context of mechanisms for implementing this form of participation in elections, its legitimization, specific technological solutions for e-voting and their effectiveness as well as unintended consequences. The main subject of this text is the use of electronic voting ( e-voting )asone of the forms of electronic democracy . The article attempts to answer the following research questions: First, what is the impact of ICT on the political processes – particularly on the voting procedures? Sec- ondly, what is the essence of electronic voting and what are its main features? Finally, what are the e-voting experiences in the European countries? The text is devoted rather to general remarks on e-voting, and does not constitute a complete analysis of the issue. It is intended to be a contribution to the further considerations.

Proposta de modelo de interação da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte e empresas do setor de petróleo

Operational procedures may negatively interfere in negotiation and execution regarding universities and business companies. In some cases it may even derail business interaction. Thus, aiming to overcome this and other barriers a university-industry interaction model was structured. The model enhances the appropriation of technological solutions on behalf of enterprises, as well as aim to improve the quality of teaching and research done at the university. In order to conduct a case study, sampling considering the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) was made as well as the Oil and Gas sector. For data collection questionnaires, classroom observation, document analysis, semi-structured interviews were used. The study describes the companies as well as the internal organization of UFRN in their interaction context. The diagnosis related to past interactions as well as the expectations of the companies and the university s internal subjects regarding the university-industry relationship were also studied. Thus, specific questionnaires were applied for the three types of groups: researchers, managers and business companies. These subjects pointed out that the great deal of barriers they identified were related to issues regarding the university internal management. Given these barriers, the critical factors were then identified in order to overcome this reality. Among the nine critical factors only one belongs to the macro environment, while the remaining factors are related to organizational issues present in the university context. It was possible to formulate a university-business interaction model one the researched focused on the case study results and contribution from a theoretical framework that was enabled trough literature review. The model considers all business collaboration mechanisms; it focuses on a particular strategic productive sector and provides a co-evolution vision over time, according to the sector´s development strategy. The need for institutionalizing the relationship with the companies involved is pointed out. The proposed model considers all the critical factors identified by the research; it aims long-term relationship with the company and integrates teaching, research and extension actions. The model implementation was also considered. It was seen that it must be done in three phases. The phases will be defined by the level of maturity in the relationship between the university and the companies. Thus, a framework was developed in order to assess the interaction level regarding company institutionalization. Whilst structuring the model was a concern with replication came up. It was pointed out that this model should not only serve to this specific case study situation. So the final result is a model of university-industry relationship appropriate in the first instance, for UFRN, but has applicability, in general, to any Brazilian university

Study of the impact federated erubrics on assessing competences in the practicum

Presentation Research of the Practicum and externships has a long history and involves important aspects for analysis. For example, the recent changes taking place in university grades allot more credits to the Practicum course in all grades, and the Company-University collaboration has exposed the need to study in new learning environments. The rise of ICT practices like ePortfolios, which require technological solutions and methods supported by experimentation, study and research, require particular examination due to the dynamic momentum of technological innovation. Tutoring the Practicum and externships requires remote monitoring and communication using ePortfolios, and competence-based assessment and students’ requirement to provide evidence of learning require the best tutoring methods available with ePortfolios. Among the elements of ePortfolios, eRubrics emerge as a tool for design, communication and competence-assessment. This project aims to consolidate a research line on eRubrics, already undertaken by another project -I+D+i [EDU2010-15432]- in order to expand the network of researchers and Centres of Excellence in Spain and other countries: Harvard University in USA, University of Cologne in Germany, University of Colima in Mexico, Federal University of Parana, University of Santa Catarina in Brasil, and Stockholm University in Sweden(1). This new project [EDU2013-41974-P](2) examines the impact of eRubrics on tutoring and on assessing the Practicum course and externships. Through technology, distance tutoring grants an extra dimension to human communication. New forms of teaching with technological mediation are on the rise and are highly valuable, not only for formal education but especially in both public and private sectors of non-formal education, such as occupational training, unemployed education and public servant training. Objectives Obj. 1. To analyse models of technology used in assessing learning in the Practicum of all grades at Spanish Faculties of Education. Obj. 2. To study models of learning assessment measured by eRubrics in the Practicum. Obj. 3. To analyse communication through eRubrics between students and their tutors at university and practice centres, focusing on students’ understanding of competences and evidences to be assessed in the Practicum. Obj. 4. To design assessment services and products, in order to federate companies and practice centres with training institutions. Among many other features, it has the following functions CoRubric(3) 1. The possibility to assess people, products or services by using rubrics. 2. Ipsative assessment. 3. Designing fully flexible rubrics. 4. Drafting reports and exporting results from eRubrics in a project. 5. Students and teachers talk about the evaluation and application of the criteria Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used The project will use techniques to collect and analyse data from two methodological approaches: 1. In order to meet the first objective, we suggest an initial exploratory descriptive study (Buendía Eisman, Colás Bravo & Hernández Pina, 1998), which involves conducting interviews with Practicum coordinators from all educational grades across Spain, as well as analysing the contents of the teaching guides used in all educational grades across Spain. 55 academic managers were interviewed from about 10 faculties of education in public universities in Spain (20%), and course guides 376 universities from 36 public institutions in Spain (72%) are analyzed. 2. In order to satisfy the second objective, 7 universities have been selected to implement the project two instruments aimed at tutors practice centers and tutors of the faculty. All instruments for collecting data were validated by experts using the Delphi method. The selection of experts had three aspects: years of professional experience, number and quality of publications in the field (Practicum, Educational Technology and Teacher Training), and self-rating of their knowledge. The resulting data was calculated using the Coefficient of Competence (Kcomp) (Martínez, Zúñiga, Sala & Meléndez, 2012). Results in all cases showed an average experience of more than 0.09 points. The two instruments of the first objective were validated during the first half of 2014-15 year, data collected during the second half. And the second objective during the first half of 2015-16 year and data collection for the second half. The set of four instruments (two for each objective 1 and 2) have the same dimensions as each of the sources (Coordinators, course guides, tutors of practice centers and faculty) as they were: a. Institution-Organization, b. Nature of internships, c. Relationship between agents, d. Management Practicum, e. Assessment. F. Technological support, g. Training and h. Assessment Ethics. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings The first results respond to Objective 1, where we find different conclusions depending on each of the six dimensions. In the case of internal regulations governing the organization and structure of the practicum, we note that most traditional degrees (Elementary and Primary grades) share common internal rules, in particular development methodology and criteria against other grades (Pedagogy and Social Education ). It is also true that the centers of practices in last cases are very different from each other and can be a public institution, a school, a company, a museum, etc. The memory with a 56.34% and 43.67% daily activities are more demands on students in all degrees, Lesson plans 28.18% 19.72% Portfolio 26.7% Didactic units and Others 32,4%. The technical support has been mainly used the platform of the University 47.89% and 57.75% Email, followed by other services and tools 9.86% and rubric platforms 1.41%. The assessment criteria are divided between formal aspects of 12.38%, Written expresión 12.38%, treatment of the subject 14.45%, methodological rigor of work 10.32%, and Level of argument Clarity and relevance of conclusions 10.32%. In general terms, we could say that there is a trend and debate between formative assessment against a accreditation. It has not yet had sufficient time to further study and confront other dimensions and sources of information. We hope to provide more analysis and conclusions in the conference date.