Making Explosive Cocktails: recipes and costs for 26 Crises from 1823 to 2003

Crises, like “explosive cocktails” are made by mixing powerful ingredients. Argentina has made 26 “explosive cocktails” since 1823. How many ingredients are needed to make an “explosive cocktail”? Which are these ingredients? Which is the most expensive mix? This paper attempts to identify the different recipes that ended up in economic crisis throughout argentine economic history by means of the regression tree analysis technique. The paper also measures Argentina’s crises costs in terms output losses. We follow the methodology used by the IMF (1998), that is, computing cumulative output lost relative to trend. It is found that there are four explosive mixes, having Fiscal Deficit, Real Exchange Rate Overvaluation, Bank Deposit growth rate decline and the ratio of External Debt to Exports as the key ingredients. The most frequent crises are those having high fiscal deficit; though average cost is higher for crises mixing moderate fiscal with strong decline in Real Bank Deposits, presumably entailing banking crises.Currency Crises, Regression Tree Analysis, Crises Costs

Robust bootstrap: an alternative to bootstrapping robust estimators

There is a vast literature on robust estimators, but in some situations it is still not easy to make inferences, such as confidence regions and hypothesis testing. This is mainly due to the following facts. On one hand, in most situations, it is difficult to derive the exact distribution of the estimator. On the other one, even if its asymptotic behaviour is known, in many cases, the convergence to the limiting distribution may be rather slow, so bootstrap methods are preferable since they often give better small sample results. However, resampling methods have several disadvantages including the propagation of anomalous data all along the new samples. In this paper, we discuss the problems arising in the bootstrap when outlying observations are present. We argue that it is preferable to use a robust bootstrap rather than to bootstrap robust estimators and we discuss a robust bootstrap method, the Influence Function Bootstrap denoted IFB. We illustrate the performance of the IFB intervals in the univariate location case and in the logistic regression model. We derive some asymptotic properties of the IFB. Finally, we introduce a generalization of the Influence Function Bootstrap in order to improve the IFB behaviour.Fil: Amado, Conceicao. Universidade de Lisboa; PortugalFil: Bianco, Ana Maria. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Cálculo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Boente Boente, Graciela Lina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Investigaciones Matemáticas "Luis A. Santalo". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Matemáticas "Luis A. Santalo"; ArgentinaFil: Pires, Ana M.. Universidade de Lisboa; Portuga

Podcasts. Recurso didáctico de mejora en la comprensión oral de la lengua inglesa

In this paper, we intend to prove the validity of podcast as a self-learning tool for first-year students of English at the University of Salamanca. This shall help in checking whether additional work results in an improvement of students' oral comprehension. This has been assessed by using either Dialang software and Pretest/Postest design, the former being based on the Common European Framework of Reference for the Languages. This research shows that the teacher can influence on the choice of activities to be carried outside the fixed lecture time, by means such as promoting the use of podcasts, which has become a helpful tool for the improvement of students' oral comprehension.Este artículo propone la utilización de podcasts como herramienta de autoaprendizaje por parte de los estudiantes de primer curso de Filología Inglesa de la Universidad de Salamanca. El propósito es comprobar si el trabajo extra por parte de los alumnos permite una mejora de la comprensión oral. Para la evaluación se utiliza el programa Dialang porque es el sistema de evaluación lingüística más importante basado en el Common European Frame of Reference for the Languages: Learning, Education, Evaluation (Council of Europe, 2001) y un diseño Pretest/Posttest. Con esta investigación se puede intervenir, relevantemente, en las actividades que los estudiantes realizan fuera de las horas de clases presenciales demostrando que el uso de los podcasts contribuye de forma sustancial a mejorar la comprensión oral de los alumnos

Activity systems as cultural, cognitive and linguistic contexts for improving reading and writing practices in rural schools

This article aims to explore pedagogical materials that were elaborated to build bridges between the language and knowledge children develop in their homes and in school-based learning. Different studies made in rural contexts point to a considerable gap between processes of learning at home and those promoted at rural schools, a gap that causes high school failure rate in rural communities (Heredia & Bixio, 1991; Borzone & Rosemberg, 2000). In a framework that integrates socio-cultural theory and cognitive psychology, Amado (2010) explored knowledge involved in activity systems developed by peasants who live in Copacabana, a rural community in Cordoba, Argentina. On the basis of this re-search, ethnographically based reading books were designed for children who live in rural communities. These materials present the stories of children and recreate real events and forms of language that people employ to communicate in their speech community. The subjects, knowledge, manner of inter-action and dialect used in the stories are selected in the light of previous research in the community and the learning contents proposed by the official curriculum. When knowledge that children acquire at home is not considered at school, they do not have adequate access to decontextualized knowledge. For that reason, ethnographically based books integrate different concepts, language varieties and dis-course forms in order to promote children’s development in different socio-cultural milieux.Fil: Amado, Bibiana María del Carmen. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Lenguas. Centro de Invest.Linguisticas; ArgentinaFil: Borzone, Ana Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones En Psicología Matemática y Experimental Dr. Horacio J.a Rimoldi; Argentin

Long-range projection neurons of the mouse ventral tegmental area: A single-cell axon tracing analysis

Pathways arising from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) release dopamine and other neurotransmitters during the expectation and achievement of reward, and are regarded as central links of the brain networks that create drive, pleasure, and addiction. While the global pattern of VTA projections is well-known, the actual axonal wiring of individual VTA neurons had never been investigated. Here, we labeled and analyzed the axons of 30 VTA single neurons by means of single-cell transfection with the Sindbis-pal-eGFP vector in mice. These observations were complemented with those obtained by labeling the axons of small populations of VTA cells with iontophoretic microdeposits of biotinylated dextran amine. In the single-cell labeling experiments, each entire axonal tree was reconstructed from serial sections, the length of terminal axonal arbors was estimated by stereology, and the dopaminergic phenotype was tested by double-labeling for tyrosine hydroxylase immunofluorescence. We observed two main, markedly different VTA cell morphologies: neurons with a single main axon targeting only forebrain structures (FPN cells), and neurons with multibranched axons targeting both the forebrain and the brainstem (F + BSPN cells). Dopaminergic phenotype was observed in FPN cells. Moreover, four “subtypes” could be distinguished among the FPN cells based on their projection targets: (1) “Mesocorticolimbic” FPN projecting to both neocortex and basal forebrain; (2) “Mesocortical” FPN innervating the neocortex almost exclusively; (3) “Mesolimbic” FPN projecting to the basal forebrain, accumbens and caudateputamen; and (4) “Mesostriatal” FPN targeting only the caudateputamen. While the F + BSPN cells were scattered within VTA, the mesolimbic neurons were abundant in the paranigral nucleus. The observed diversity in wiring architectures is consistent with the notion that different VTA cell subpopulations modulate the activity of specific sets of prosencephalic and brainstem structuresThe project was supported by Grants from the Fundación Eugenio Rodríguez Pascual, the Spanish MINECO (BFU2010-19695) and the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 604102 (Human Brain Project

VIBRATIONAL SPECTROSCOPY (FTIR-ATR AND FT-RAMAN) - A Rapid and Useful Tool for Phycocolloid Analysis

The wide industrial application of phycocolloids (e.g. alginates, agar and carrageenans) is based on their particular properties to form gels in aqueous solution. Recently, new spectroscopic techniques have provided more accurate identification of the natural composition of the polysaccharides produced by these seaweeds. With the combination of two spectroscopic techniques (FTIR-ATR and FT-Raman) it is possible to identify the principal seaweed colloids in ground seaweed samples as in extracted material. Since the seaweed samples receive the minimum of handling and treatment (e.g. they are simply dried and ground), the composition determined represents, as accurately as possible, the native composition of the phycocolloids

The invisible villages: Up-to-date Images of Settlement in Spain

The role played by photography in the creation of icons as well as in the dissemination of architecture has been fundamental since the early days of the Modern Movement. Both iconic Kindel’s images of settlement villages in Spain and other archival photographs —created during Franco´s dictatorship for greater propaganda purposes— sparked our curiosity and instilled in us the necessity to see with our own eyes those architectures which have remained not only unknown for a non-specialised public, but also somehow invisible outside strictly academic realms. Urban planners that would later become key figures in the Spanish architecture of modernity carried out these innovative, experimental projects on the basis of the observation of the popular and the anonymous, consciously departing from the grandiose rhetoric of the time. We believe it is necessary to examine what has become of the INC’s colonisation programme, and thus highlight a fundamental episode in our recent history which brought about the main migratory movement in 20th-century Spain. Such a task seems to us particularly significant at this point in time in which architecture is being redefined (as was the case with Spanish architecture in the 50s and the 60s), and sustainability and the social function of architecture are highly topical subjects. In this vein we have revisited these settlements and we have documented, with a contemporary gaze, the legacy left by the construction of a new memory upon the already colonised architecture. It is our aim to make visible and announce such legacy to the general public as well as to its own inhabitants, so that these villages cease to be mirages amidst a transformed landscape

Effects of a vocational psychological intervention on career adaptability

A intervenção psicológica vocacional deve proporcionar oportunidades para o desenvolvimento de conhecimentos e competências vocacionais, permitindo aos alunos, a implementação de decisões esclarecidas de carreira. Neste sentido, implementou-se um programa de intervenção psicológica vocacional em grupo, destinado a alunos do 9º ano de escolaridade, constituído por um total de sete sessões, das quais cinco decorreram com os alunos e duas com os pais ou encarregados de educação de cada aluno. Participaram voluntariamente 18 rapazes e 22 raparigas (n = 40), entre os 13 e os 16 anos (M = 14.08, DP = 0.47), alunos de uma escola pública do norte de Portugal. Utilizou-se a Escala sobre a Adaptabilidade, num design de pré e pósteste. Os resultados evidenciaram diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre a fase anterior à intervenção e a fase posterior à intervenção na adaptabilidade global, bem como nas quatro dimensões que a constituem. Estes resultados suportam a importância da intervenção psicológica vocacional no aumento da confiança dos alunos em competências chave de carreira. Conclui-se acerca dos efeitos positivos de intervenções que promovam o desenvolvimento vocacional dos jovens, evidenciando-se a importância do desenvolvimento de ofertas neste âmbito, particularmente nas escolas.Career psychological intervention should provide opportunities for the development of career knowledge and skills, allowing students to implement informed decisions. In this sense, we implemented a career group intervention program designed for 9th grade students, consisting of seven sessions, five of which were with the students and two with the parents and each respective child. Eighteen boys and 22 girls (n = 40), students of a public school in the north of Portugal, with ages between 13 and 16 years old (M = 14.08, SD = 12.47), participated voluntarily in the program. The Adaptability Scale was used in a pre and post-test design. The results indicated the existence of statistically significant differences between pre and post-test in the scores of the global composite adaptability scale and of each of its four dimensions. These results support the importance of career intervention in the increment of students’ confidence in their career skills and attitudes. We conclude about the positive effects of career interventions, supporting the importance of the development of offers in this field, particularly in schools.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Recovery from neurological sequelae secondary to oncological brain surgery in an adult growth hormone-deficient patient after growth hormone treatment

[Abstract] Objective: To report an unusual case of significant neurological recovery in a 26-year-old growth hormone-deficient female patient with significant neurological sequelae resulting from brain surgery at 11 years of age. Design: Case report. Results: Most of the neurological sequelae present at admission recovered after 8 months of combined growth hormone administration and kinesitherapy/speech therapy. These include an increase in tongue size and mobility and in the amount and quality of saliva, improvement in vocal cords function, recovery of oesophageal peristalsis and disappearance of sleep apnoea. Conclusion: Since the patient had undergone intensive physical rehabilitation for a 15-year period with no significant improvement, it is tempting to speculate that the correction of growth hormone deficiency improved her rehabilitation. Therefore, we propose that growth hormone treatment, combined with the adequate kinesitherapy, may be a useful therapy for effective recovery from some neurological deficits in patients with growth hormone deficiency