Imagen y segmentación en un destino turístico de Patrimonio de la Humanidad: el caso de la ciudad de Tarragona

ABSTRACT: El proceso de decisión de compra del consumidor turístico viene condicionado en gran medida por la imagen que éste tiene de los diferentes destinos que configuran su campo de elección. En un mercado turístico internacional altamente competitivo, los responsables de las políticas de desarrollo y promoción de los destinos buscan estrategias de diferenciación que les permitan posicionarse en los segmentos de mercado más adecuados para su producto, con el fin de conseguir mejorar su poder de atracción de visitantes e incrementar o consolidar los beneficios económicos que la actividad turística genera en su territorio. En este sentido, el objetivo principal que nos planteamos en este trabajo es el análisis empírico de los factores que determinan la formación de la imagen de la ciudad de Tarragona como destino turístico de patrimonio cultural. Sin duda, la declaración como Patrimonio Mundial por parte de la UNESCO, en el año 2000, del conjunto artístico y monumental con el que cuenta la ciudad de Tarragona, supuso un importante reconocimiento internacional de la calidad de los elementos culturales y patrimoniales que ofrece la Ciudad a todos los visitantes que la escogen como destino turístico. También representa una oportunidad estratégica para impulsar la promoción turística de la Ciudad y su consolidación como destino singularizado por sus características culturales y patrimoniales. Nuestro trabajo se basa en la utilización de técnicas estructuradas para identificar los factores que determinan los componentes de la imagen turística de Tarragona y que influyen de manera decisiva en el proceso de elección del destino por parte de sus visitantes. Además de poder conocer la imagen turística global de Tarragona, consideramos que la heterogeneidad de sus visitantes requiere un estudio más detallado que nos permita segmentar la tipología de los visitantes. La información que nos aportan estos resultados nos han de permitir comparar la imagen percibida por los turistas que visitan Tarragona, con los objetivos de diseño de producto y promoción del destino que tienen los responsables de la política turística local. Key words: Imagen de destino turístico; análisis factorial; análisis cluster; política turística local.

Is there Descriminatory Mortgage Pricing against Immigrants in the Spanish Lending Market?

In this paper, we investigate whether evidence of discriminatory treatment against immigrants in the Spanish mortgage market exists. More specifically, we test whether, ceteris paribus, immigrant borrowers tend to be charged with higher interest rates on their mortgages than their Spanish born counterparts. To do so, we use a unique dataset on granted mortgages that contains information not only regarding the conditions of the loan but also the socio-economic characteristics of the mortgagors. We observe that immigrants are systematically charged with higher interest rates. We apply the well known Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to measure the extent to which this disparate treatment of lenders in mortgage pricing against immigrants is due to discrimination. Our results indicate that approximately two thirds of the gap in the interest rate between Spanish born and immigrant borrowers can be attributed to discriminatory treatment. Key words: Immigration, discrimination, mortgage pricing, housing market. JEL codes: R21, G21, J14

« L'esthétique du chant dans la piété calviniste aux premiers temps de la Réforme (1536-1545) »

Contrairement aux idées reçues, l'esthétique assume bien une fonction dans les formes rituelles adoptées par les Eglises issues de la Réforme calviniste. Mais il revient moins à l'image, considérée avant tout comme une source de distraction, qu'à la musique de porter cette dimension dans la piété réformée. Retraçant la formation de la pensée calvinienne sur la question des rapports entre culte et musique entre 1536 et 1543, cette étude montre comment le théologien en vient durant ces années à considérer que le chant des psaumes permet de concilier dans la dévotion, un processus cognitif, guidé par le sens des paroles, et un mouvement affectif, suscité par la mélodie. C'est, aux yeux de Calvin, de la jonction de ces deux dynamiques que naît l'élévation spirituelle à laquelle le culte doit conduire. Notwithstanding common belief, aesthetics had an important function in ritual forms implemented by Reformed Calvinist Churches. The impact of aesthetics on reformed piety rested less on images, considered to be a source of distraction, than on music. By reconsidering the evolution of Calvin's thoughts on the relationship between music and religious services between 1536 and 1543, this study reveals how Calvin came to consider that by singing the psalms, Christians could conciliate in prayer a cognitive process which was to be guided by both the meaning of the words and the emotions triggered by the tune. For Calvin, the spiritual elevation to which religious services should lead was to emerge from the conjunction of these two impetuses.

« The Aesthetics of Song in Calvinist Piety in the Early Reformation (1536-1545) »

Contrary to common belief, aesthetics had an important function in ritual forms implemented by Reformed Calvinist Churches. The impact of aesthetics on Reformed piety rested less on images, considered to be a source of distraction, than on music. By reconsidering the evolution of Calvin's thoughts on the relationship between music and religious services between 1536 and 1543, this study reveals how Calvin came to consider that, by singing psalms, Christians in their devotion could conciliate both a cognitive process guided by the meaning of the words and an affective response triggered by the tune. For Calvin, the spiritual elevation to which religious services should lead was to emerge from the conjunction of these two impetuses.

Traduir la Terra Mitjana: la traducció de referents culturals i jocs de paraules en "El Senyor dels anells"

RESUM: En aquest treball de recerca s’han analitzat els referents culturals i els jocs de paraules que apareixen en l’obra El senyor dels anells. Com a reflexió inicial em baso en la hipòtesi que la caracterització de hòbbits, ents i homes, tres races que apareixen en la Terra Mitjana, el món secundari creat per Tolkien, es nodreix, a banda d’altres elements, de jocs de paraules i referents culturals britànics. És fonamental que aquesta afirmació sigui tinguda en compte en l’acte de traducció per respectar la intenció de J. R. R. Tolkien, que en aquesta obra buscava també la creació d’una mitologia britànica versemblant, com si de veritat la Terra Mitjana hagués constituït el passat real del nostre planeta amb els avantpassats britànics com a protagonistes. La composició d’aquest estudi es divideix en: (1) característiques de la literatura fantàstica; (2) aspectes relacionats amb l’autor des de dues vessants: l’una com a acadèmic i l’altra com a escriptor i creador; (3) teoria de la traducció de referents culturals i de jocs de paraules; i (4) corpus de 144 termes extrets del text de sortida analitzats i traduïts a partir de fitxes de traducció. Puc concloure que s’ha demostrat la hipòtesi que em plantejava: els referents culturals i els jocs de paraules són recursos actius en El senyor dels anells i una bona anàlisi d’aquests camps és pertinent per comprendre la magnitud de l’imaginari de J. R. R. Tolkien i realitzar una traducció respectuosa amb la intencionalitat de l’autor. El senyor dels anells és una fairy-story, una obra de fantasia, una fugida de la realitat consensuada (Tolkien no s’amaga d’aquesta fugida i la veu positiva) en què els elements propis del món primari (la cultura britànica i comunitats antigues com l’anglosaxona, la celta o l’escandinava) i del món secundari (els personatges que habiten la Terra Mitjana en el marc temporal de la Tercera Edat) funcionen d’acord amb els principis dels dos móns. Considero que el procés seguit tant en la metodologia, com en l’elaboració dels continguts, com en la traducció dels termes analitzats a través de les fitxes és positiu i útil. Aquesta sistematització del procés i el resultat final poden ser rellevants per a la comunitat traductora, tant per al futur traductor com per al professional.

The expression of nuclear 3,5,3' triiodothyronine receptors is induced in Schwann cells by nerve transection.

The effects of thyroid hormones on the nervous system are mediated by the presence of nuclear T3 receptors (NT3R). In this study, the expression of NT3R was investigated in spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia (DRG), or sciatic nerve of adult rats after immunostaining with a 2B3-NT3R monoclonal antibody which recognizes both alpha and beta types of NT3R. The specificity of this monoclonal antibody was confirmed by Western blots. The 2B3-NT3R monoclonal antibody recognized one band corresponding to a molecular weight of 57 kDa in extract of spinal cord or DRG. No staining was observed on immunoblot of intact sciatic nerve. In the spinal cord, the nuclei of the neurons and glial cells including both astrocytes and oligodendrocytes exhibited 2B3-NT3R immunoreactivity. While all the nuclei of the DRG sensory neurons expressed the NT3R, all the nuclei of the satellite and Schwann cells were devoid of any immunoreaction. In the sciatic nerve, the nuclei of the Schwann cells also lacked 2B3-NT3R-immunoreactivity. After sciatic nerve transection in vivo, Schwann cell nuclei, which never expressed NT3R in intact nerves of adult rats, displayed a clear 2B3-NT3R immunoreaction in proximal and distal stumps adjacent to the section. Double immunostaining with antibodies raised to 3-sulfogalactosylceramide or S100 confirmed that most of the NT3R containing nuclei belong to Schwann cells. In dissociated cell cultures grown in vitro from sciatic nerves, Schwann cells exhibited 2B3-NT3R immunoreactivity. These data suggest that the inhibition of NT3R expression in Schwann cells ensheathing axons in intact nerve is reversed when the axons are degenerating or lacking.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

La sintaxis del lenguaje de los textos científicos: los tipos oracionales y los giros de participio y gerundio: estudio de un corpus ruso-español de textos médicos

Aquest treball analitza, mitjançant un petit corpus de textos mèdics especialitzats publicats en llengua espanyola d'Espanya (13.470 paraules) i llengua russa (12.318 paraules), els usos i freqüències dels tipus oracionals i dels girs de participi i gerundi en el llenguatge científic. L'objectiu del treball és descriure aquests aspectes sintàctics de la prosa científica original en aquestes dues llengües per tal de conèixer i evitar els calcs sintàctics en la traducció dels textos mèdics. Una sintaxi sense calcs ajuda a adequar el text meta a les expectatives del lector, en aquest cas l'especialista mèdic

Variability of gait patterns during unconstrained walking assessed by satellite positioning (GPS).

It is established that the ratio between step length (SL) and step frequency (SF) is constant over a large range of walking speed. However, few data are available about the spontaneous variability of this ratio during unconstrained outdoor walking, in particular over a sufficient number of steps. The purpose of the present study was to assess the inter- and intra-subject variability of spatio-temporal gait characteristics [SL, SF and walk ratio (WR=SL/SF)] while walking at different freely selected speeds. Twelve healthy subjects walked three times along a 100-m athletic track at: (1). a slower than preferred speed, (2). preferred speed and (3). a faster than preferred speed. Two professional GPS receivers providing 3D positions assessed the walking speed and SF with high precision (less than 0.5% error). Intra-subject variability was calculated as the variation among eight consecutive 5-s samples. WR was found to be constant at preferred and fast speeds [0.41 (0.04) m.s and 0.41 (0.05) m.s respectively] but was higher at slow speeds [0.44 (0.05) m.s]. In other words, between slow and preferred speed, the speed increase was mediated more by a change in SF than SL. The intra-subject variability of WR was low under preferred [CV, coefficient of variation = 1.9 (0.6)%] and fast [CV=1.8 (0.5)%] speed conditions, but higher under low speed condition [CV=4.1 (1.5)%]. On the other hand, the inter-subject variability of WR was 11%, 10% and 12% at slow, preferred and fast walking speeds respectively. It is concluded that the GPS method is able to capture basic gait parameters over a short period of time (5 s). A specific gait pattern for slow walking was observed. Furthermore, it seems that the walking patterns in free-living conditions exhibit low intra-individual variability, but that there is substantial variability between subjects.

Oxidative and nonoxidative glucose metabolism following graded doses of oral glucose in man.

The oxidative and nonoxidative glucose metabolism represent the two major mechanisms of the utilization of a glucose load. Eight normal subjects were administered oral loads of 50, 100 and 150 g glucose and gas exchange measurements were performed for eight hours by means of computerized continuous indirect calorimetry. The glycemic peaks were almost identical with all three doses with a rise to between 141 and 147 mg/dl at 60 min. The fall back to basal level was reached later with the high than with the low glucose doses. The glucose oxidation rate rose to values between 223 and 253 mg/min after the three glucose doses, but while falling immediately after the peak at 120 min following the 50 g load, the glucose oxidation rate remained at its maximum rate until 210 min for the 100 g glucose load and plateaued up to 270 min for the 150 g glucose dose. The oxidation rates then fell gradually to reach basal levels at 270, 330 and 420 min according to the increasing size of the load. Altogether 55 +/- 3 g glucose were oxidized during the 8 hours following the 50 g glucose load, 75 +/- 3 g after the 100 g load and 80 +/- 5 g after the 150 g load. The nonoxidative glucose disposal, which corresponds essentially to glucose storage, varied according to the size of the glucose load, with uptakes of 20 +/- 1, 60 +/- 1 and 110 +/- 1 g glucose 180 min after the 50, 100 and 150 g glucose loads respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Research in psychopathology: epistemologic issues.

Etiologic research in psychiatry relies on an objectivist epistemology positing that human cognition is specified by the "reality" of the outer world, which consists of a totality of mind-independent objects. Truth is considered as some sort of correspondence relation between words and external objects, and mind as a mirror of nature. In our view, this epistemology considerably impedes etiologic research. Objectivist epistemology has been recently confronting a growing critique from diverse scientific fields. Alternative models in neurosciences (neuronal selection), artificial intelligence (connectionism), and developmental psychology (developmental biodynamics) converge in viewing living organisms as self-organizing systems. In this perspective, the organism is not specified by the outer world, but enacts its environment by selecting relevant domains of significance that constitute its world. The distinction between mind and body or organism and environment is a matter of observational perspective. These models from empirical sciences are compatible with fundamental tenets of philosophical phenomenology and hermeneutics. They imply consequences for research in psychopathology: symptoms cannot be viewed as disconnected manifestations of discrete localized brain dysfunctions. Psychopathology should therefore focus on how the person's self-coherence is maintained and on the understanding and empirical investigation of the systemic laws that govern neurodevelopment and the organization of human cognition.