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On the communication problems of virtual reality: responsiveness, timeliness, and effectiveness
No full textData de publicació electrònica: 09-09-2025In this article, we explore communication problems in virtual reality (VR) systems from the perspective of wireless networking. Our starting point is that the dynamics of real-time interaction between the physical and virtual worlds cannot be fully captured by the frame rate. Particularly, the frame rate can be very high, but the actual user experience can be disappointing. We argue that the key idea is to think of VR as the mediator of the senses, especially vision, rather than a conventional video streaming application. This is indeed a remarkable opportunity to recall Weaver's classification and define three fundamental problems in VR systems: i) responsiveness, ii) timeliness, and iii) effectiveness. Responsiveness refers to the delay between an action in the physical world and its display in the virtual world. Timeliness is related to the frequency of updates imposed by the frame rate. Effectiveness considers the visual content of a video frame and its likelihood of extrapolation. Our framework offers a concise and objective description of VR systems, that allows us to evaluate performance, identify potential issues, and design impactful solutions.This work was partially funded by Wi-XR PID2021-123995NB-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER,UE), and by MCIN/AEI under the Maria de Maeztu Units of Excellence Programme (CEX2021-001195-M)
Money talks? The effectiveness of sanctions in the ‘rule of law’ conflict in the European Union
No full textThe European Union (EU) responded to democratic backsliding in Hungary and Poland by implementing a sanctions toolbox, which includes the Article 7 Treaty on European Union (TEU) mechanism, infringement procedures and funding conditionality. Whilst the Article 7 TEU procedure has been extensively studies and found to be ineffective, the efficacy of infringement procedures and the recently introduced funding conditionality – comprising the Conditionality Regulation, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Common Provisions Regulation – remains less understood. Drawing on the sanctions scholarship, we identify two central determinants for sanction effectiveness: the credibility of sanctions imposition and their economic costs. We then explore how they influence the effectiveness of the sanction mechanisms introduced by the EU by testing four hypotheses. The findings indicate that both infringement procedures and funding conditionality are only partially effective. This comparative analysis enhances our understanding of coercive mechanisms that can mitigate decline in democratic governance.This work was conducted within the framework of projects PID2021-126765NB-I00 of the MICIN and AICO/2021/099 of the GVA and was supported by the European Commission's EU-VALUES Jean Monnet Network (EU Research and Education Network on Foreign Policy Issues: Values and Democracy) (101127854)
La materialización de la fe islámica: Estudio material, textual e iconográfico de seis certificados de peregrinación a La Meca y Medina (ss. XV-XVI)
No full textEsta Tesis Doctoral presenta la edición y el estudio global de seis certificados de peregrinación a los lugares santos de La Meca y Medina, datados entre los ss. XV y XVI. La particularidad de esta tipología documental radica en que la modalidad de peregrinación acreditada es la delegación, cuyo origen legal analizaremos en esta Tesis Doctoral. En este sentido, este trabajo se aleja de la perspectiva devocional con la que los certificados han sido descritos, y propone que el papel desempeñado por estos documentos estaría relacionado con la jurisprudencia islámica sobre la herencia. Los manuscritos aquí estudiados serán analizados comparativamente, lo que nos permite ofrecer una panorámica general de la evolución de esta tipología desde tres perspectivas diferentes: materialidad, textualidad e iconografía. El objetivo de este trabajo es avanzar en el conocimiento de los motivos que suscitaron la aparición de los certificados y complementar el trabajo de edición y estudio de manuscritos inéditos conforme a los criterios de la Papirología.This PhD Dissertation presents the edition and global study of six pilgrimage certificates to the holy places of Mecca and Medina, dated between the 15th and 16th centuries. The particularity of this documentary typology lies in the fact that they attest delegated pilgrimages, whose legal origin is analyzed in this work. In this sense, this Dissertation differs in perspective from the devotional approach commonly used to study previously described certificates, and propose that the role played by these documents would be related to the Islamic jurisprudence on inheritance law. The comparative analysis, on the other hand, allows us to offer a general overview of the evolution of this typology from three different perspectives: materiality, textuality, and iconography. The main aim of this work is shed light on our knowledge of this kind of documents, explore the reasons for their emergence and implement the methodology of editing and studying unpublished manuscripts according to the criteria proposed by Papyrology.Programa de doctorat en Humanitat
The collapse of mercantilism: anglo-hispanic trans-Pacific ventures in Asia at the end of the Spanish empire (1815-30)
No full textEarly modern connections between the Pacific shores of the Spanish Empire have been assessed in previous studies and yet, studies on the subsequent developments during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are scant. This particularly applies to the consequences of the commercial developments at the end of the Manila Galleon and the collapse of the Spanish Empire in America. Through the analysis of the professional networks of Francisco Xavier de Ezpeleta, and Juan Nepomuceno Machado, which stretched from Asia to Mexico at the time, this paper proposes some preliminary conclusions about trans-Pacific links. It focuses on the study of networks and connections, and builds upon archival sources - mostly from the Jardine Matheson Archive, in Cambridge. In the transition from the eighteenth to the nineteenth centuries, actors who made up Hispanic trading networks in what remained of the crumbling Spanish Empire, reorganised to benefit from opportunities as mercantilist limitations came to an end. In so doing, by the 1820s, Hispanic traders allied with the forebears of the British firm of Jardine, Matheson & Co., and controlled the resulting networks. This paper points to Hispanic trans-Pacific connections during the development of European private trade between East Asia and the Mexican Pacific. Ties between British and Hispanic merchants are key for the analysis of the opium trade and Western imperialism in East Asia, and the development of British commercial hegemony in Latin America in the nineteenth century
Estrelles del futur: anàlisi i predicció de talent futbolístic
No full textDirectora: Dolors Sala BatlleTreball de fi de Grau en Enginyeria InformàticaAquest treball presenta "Estrelles del Futur", una aplicació web desenvolupada per a l'anàlisi i predicció de talent en futbolistes joves. Mitjançant una arquitectura client-servidor i utilitzant les dades obertes de StatsBomb, el projecte ofereix eines de visualització interactives i un sistema de scouting basat en aprenentatge automàtic. La metodologia principal implementa un model per estimar el potencial màxim que un jugador assolirà en la seva carrera, una variable objectiva generada a través d'una mètrica heurística pròpia basada en la correlació de KPI. La contribució més innovadora és la capacitat que té l'usuari de construir i entrenar els seus propis models predictius, definint el talent segons la seva filosofia de joc. El model final, validat amb una metodologia temporal estricta, demostra una capacitat predictiva significativa i identifica qualitativament jugadors que posteriorment han assolit l'elit mundial, validant la viabilitat de l'eina.Este trabajo presenta "Estrelles del Futur", una aplicación web desarrollada para el análisis y la predicción de talento en futbolistas jóvenes. Mediante una arquitectura cliente-servidor y utilizando los datos abiertos de StatsBomb, el proyecto ofrece herramientas de visualización interactivas y un sistema de scouting basado en aprendizaje automático. La metodología principal implementa un modelo para estimar el potencial máximo que un jugador alcanzará en su carrera, una variable objetiva generada a través de una métrica heurística propia basada en la correlación de KPI. La contribución más innovadora es la capacidad del usuario para construir y entrenar sus propios modelos predictivos, definiendo el talento según su filosofía de juego. El modelo final, validado con una metodología temporal estricta, demuestra una capacidad predictiva significativa e identifica cualitativamente a jugadores que posteriormente han alcanzado la élite mundial, validando la viabilidad de la herramienta.This project introduces "Estrelles del Futur", a web application developed for the analysis and prediction of talent in young football players. Using a client-server architecture and leveraging StatsBomb's open data, the project provides interactive visualization tools and a machine learning-based scouting system. The core methodology implements a model to estimate the peak career potential a player will achieve, a target variable generated through a custom heuristic metric based on KPI correlation. The most innovative contribution is the user's ability to build and train their own predictive models, defining talent according to their game philosophy. The final model, validated with a strict methodology, demonstrates significant predictive power and qualitatively identifies players who later reached the world-class elite, thus validating the tool's viability
Free tuition in the Chilean higher education system
No full textTreball fi de màster de: Master's Degree in Specialized Economic Analysis: Economics of Public Policy Program. Curs 2024-2025Tutors: Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell; Joan LlullFree tuition policies aim to expand access, but their broader effects remain debated. Chile’s 2016 Gratuidad reform made university free for students in the lowest six income deciles. Using administrative records, we estimate its intention-to-treat impact on enrollment and dropout rates via staggered difference-in-differences and discrete-time hazard models. Eligibility leads to a 4 percentage point increase in on-time university enrollment and a 9-point increase in deferred enrollment. While the former gains are offset by declines at non-participating institutions, the latter reflects net enrollment growth. Once enrolled, first-year dropout falls by 3–5 points, with smaller effects in later years. A Theil-entropy decomposition reveals an unintended, policy-induced increase in institutional segregation, as higher-income students increasingly enroll in non-covered universities while lower-income students concentrate in those included in the policy.Las políticas de gratuidad buscan ampliar el acceso a la educación superior, aunque sus efectos más amplios siguen siendo objeto de debate. La reforma de Gratuidad implementada en Chile en el año 2016 eliminó el arancel universitario para estudiantes pertenecientes a los seis primeros deciles socioeconómicos. Utilizando registros administrativos, estimamos el efecto intención-de-tratamiento de la gratuidad sobre la matrícula y la deserción, mediante un diseño de diferencias-en-diferencias y modelos de riesgo discreto. La elegibilidad se asocia a un aumento de 4 puntos porcentuales en la matrícula universitaria inmediata y de 9 puntos en la matrícula diferida. Mientras que el primer efecto se ve compensado por disminuciones en instituciones no adheridas, el segundo refleja un crecimiento neto en la matrícula. Una vez matriculados, la deserción en el primer año disminuye entre 3 y 5 puntos porcentuales, con efectos decrecientes en los años posteriores. Un análisis de descomposición de entropía de Theil revela un aumento no intencionado de la segregación institucional inducido por la política: estudiantes de mayores ingresos tienden a concentrarse en universidades fuera del alcance de la reforma, mientras que sus pares de menores ingresos se agrupan en instituciones cubiertas por ella
Optimizing the research ethics committee’s assessment of biomedical research proposals
No full textTreball de Fi de Grau en Enginyeria Biomèdica. Curs 2024-2025
Tutor: Jérôme NoaillyResearch Ethics Committees (REC) are under significant pressure as the volume of Biomedical Research Proposals (BRP) grows, the escalating complexity of scientific knowledge due to the advent of Artificial Intelligence, and the proliferation of immature proposals submitted for evaluation. This study introduces Pre-Val-AI-THICS, an artificial intelligence-based prevalidation tool and an ontology, designed to optimize the review of BRP by REC at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona (HCB). The work employed a sequential methodology comprising an initial analysis of REC evaluation workflows
followed by the design and feasibility assessment of the tool during a hackathon event. It culminated in the development of a proof of concept integrating both automated extraction of contents and AI-assisted review capabilities. The Pre-Val-AI-THICS system consists of two primary components: a Python-based module utilizing regular expressions for BRP content extraction and verifying compliance with the HCB’s standardized template, and an AI module leveraging Chain-of-Thought prompt engineering with Llama 3.2 3B, to detect and suggest corrections related to data management and study design inconsistencies. Complementing these components, a preliminary BRP ontology was constructed using Protégé to formalize key concepts and relationships inherent in
BRP evaluation. It was demonstrated that Pre-Val-AI-THICS effectively identified recurrent data management and structural errors, providing actionable recommendations to enhance protocol quality prior to REC submission. While the ontology remains in a nascent stage, it is envisioned as a foundation for the future development of a knowledge graph supporting standardized representation and evaluation of BRP across diverse committees. Overall, the findings underscore the potential of AI-driven prevalidation tools to streamline REC workflows, reduce administrative burden, and improve the
consistency and rigor of ethical assessments. Further research will focus on advancing ontology-driven navigation and interoperability to enable comprehensive, semantically enriched access to BRP content and evaluation criteria
Mechanical remodeling of nuclear biomolecular condensates
No full textOrganism health relies on cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. These universal processes depend on cytoplasmic reorganization driven notably by the cytoskeleton and its force-generating motors. Their activity generates forces that mechanically agitate the cell nucleus and its interior. New evidence from reproductive cell biology revealed that these cytoskeletal forces can be tuned to remodel nuclear membraneless compartments, known as biomolecular condensates, and regulate their RNA processing function for the success of subsequent cell division that is critical for fertility. Both cytoskeletal and nuclear condensate reorganization are common to numerous physiological and pathological contexts, raising the possibility that mechanical remodeling of nuclear condensates may be a much broader mechanism regulating their function. Here, we review this newfound mechanism of condensate remodeling and venture into the contexts of health and disease where it may be relevant, with a focus on reproduction, cancer, and premature aging