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This research aims to understand the formal and informal institutions that exist in the implementation of Indigenous Development Areas (ADIs) in Chile and to consider to what extent these practices reconfigure the distribution of power away from the state and towards indigenous communities. The analysis was framed by two theoretical approaches: new institutionalism, drawing on sociological, historical, and critical institutionalism; and a decolonial perspective expressed on the colonial matrix of power, in particular, knowledge, power, and being. Empirically, the work comprises two case studies from the North and South of Chile, to represent diverse indigenous populations. This research used a qualitative approach, with fifty-nine interviews and four focus groups conducted with policy managers from ADI and from other agencies, and with indigenous peoples. Analysis indicates that the institutional arrangements are strongly defined by the central level of government, limiting the power of local actors to reshape ADI policy. Formal arrangements of ADI tend to be weak in achieving transformative participatory spaces that allow indigenous communities to represent and resolve their demands. The reproduction of traditional indigenous institutions lies mainly in informal arrangements. Although weak, formal institutional arrangements demonstrate durability, maintaining the hierarchies that concentrate the power of decision-making in central government, leaving indigenous communities on the margins of decision-making spaces. Institutional arrangements operate to reproduce the colonial relationships between indigenous communities and the state and do not distribute power between the actors involved.

This dissertation explores the lives of Haitian women in Santiago, the capital of Chile, with a focus on their everyday encounters with Chilean state agents and private employers. It analyses the experiences of Haitian women as they navigate bureaucratic institutions and practices, negotiate their working conditions with employers and public defendants, train as care and domestic workers, seek modes of subsistence as street vendors, and understand themselves as migrant workers and working mothers. I argue that Haitian women’s efforts to transform their lives in a new country reveal the nature of state institutions in Chile, in the context of the legacies of its military dictatorship and the experience of an immigration boom not seen in its recent history. My account is based on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork with Haitian women and their families living in Santiago, state agents involved in migration management and control, and employers of Haitian women. The dissertation uses migration as a case study to contribute to anthropological understandings of states and bureaucracies, work and markets, sameness and difference, and their effects on people’s lives. I begin with an overview of the project’s main themes of migration, states, bureaucracy, legality, and formality, and I reflect on encounters as a critical site through which anthropology can make sense of difference and social change. Chapter two draws on historical and statistical data to show how the relationships between Haitian women and the Chilean state are underpinned by the country’s history of migration, the configuration of racial hierarchies, and the neoliberal foundations of market democracy. Chapter three uses processes of visa application to analyse how Haitian women devise different strategies to ensure residence and labour formality through bureaucratic practices of speculative legality. Chapter four then draws on job-seeking encounters to analyse the consequences of these processes, revealing how gendered and racialised differences produce a landscape of servitude, in which migrants’ value as workers is continuously negotiated. The two successive chapters focus on Haitian women’s encounters with social protection programmes that seek to integrate migrants in the country’s national project. Chapter five explores the relation between human rights discourses and work in the formal economy for the Chilean state. Chapter six describes Haitian women’s experiences of pregnancy in Chile and the contradictory effects the status assigned to motherhood has in Haitian women’s lives. The final chapter follows the experience of Haitian women who have failed to secure formal employment and who make a living as informal and wageless traders in neighbourhood markets. Altogether, encounters between Haitian women and Chileans transform the state’s definitions of migrant legality and labour formality through economic practices of black markets, humanitarian rationales, gendered and racialised moral discourses, intimate body transformations and the normalisation of urban poverty. As a result, this ethnography enables the understanding of state formation and belonging as multi-scalar relations and affective processes that contribute to the anthropological knowledge of states, migration, and intersectional encounters.

This research examines relevant processes of wage determination and labour allocation at the country, sector and organisational levels in an effort to understand their influence in shaping women's relative pay in the highly skilled labour market segment of Argentina and Chile. Our multi-level project follows a mixed-methods research design, which draws on 74 semi-structured interviews in addition to a wide variety of country, sector and firm-level quantitative data sources. First, building on comparative employment systems and industrial relations research, we suggest that Argentina's inclusive wage-setting system and the high statutory minimum wage policy in Chile both exert a positive influence on narrowing the gender pay gap, in addition to distributing earnings more equally at the bottom end of the wage distribution. Second, following existing studies in the field of labour market segmentation theory, we find differences in the career approaches followed by graduates in Argentina and Chile. The unstable economic conditions in Argentina, in combination with an influential and strong sectoral union movement, make it more likely that male and female banking graduates seek shelter in the internal labour market. In Chile, by contrast, the more informal pay negotiations and high discretion management approach in evidence in banks encourage male graduates (in a greater proportion than women) to pursue external labour market opportunities. Third, drawing on past sex segregation debates from gender studies, we find similar segregation processes and outcomes in Argentina and Chile. Women's opportunities are hindered by a lack of transparency in promotion processes at the higher hierarchical levels, which are influenced by gender stereotypes of employers against women. Finally, we build on human resource management studies to analyse the conditions needed to achieve gender equality at the organisational level. We find that the promotion of formalised and transparent HR practices not only contributes to gender pay equity, they are also a key factor in limiting the variability of pay and management discretion.

Bornite (Cu5FeS4), was synthesized from the elements. Particulate synthetic bornite was leached in acidified ferric sulphate solution at temperatures ranging from 15° to 90o C. Bornite dissolved in two stages; in the first the bornite easily lost copper by diffusion and transformed, via a nonstoichiometric bornite, to a solid phase with composition Cu3FeS4. In the second stage, the solid phase with composition Cu3FeS4 was converted directly to elemental sulphur. The apparent activation energy for the first stage of the leaching process was determined. The mechanisms and rate controlling steps of the two stages of dissolution are given. The solid phases were studied by x—ray diffraction, electron probe microanalysis, reflectivity dispersion measurements and microscopic examination.

Fundamento y objetivos: La microbiota intestinal influye en la salud de los individuos. Los alimentos son una variable crucial que modulan la composición de la misma por lo que diferentes patrones dietéticos, afectan de diferente forma. Se ha comprobado que la fibra genera cambios beneficiosos. El objetivo del presente estudio era valorar el impacto de un nutracéutico en forma de batido, rico en proteína vegetal, en la microbiota intestinal en participantes con sobrepeso. Métodos: 40 hombres y mujeres se asignaron de forma aleatoria y paralela a 2 grupos en una intervención durante 3 semanas. Ambos grupos consumieron un batido con base de proteína vegetal. El batido del grupo intervención tenía incluidos, además, beta-glucanos, almidón resistente e inulina. Se solicitaron Cuestionarios de Frecuencia de Consumo de Alimentos (CFCA) y Síntomas Gastrointestinales (SGI), muestras de sangre y heces, y medidas antropométricas, al inicio y al final del estudio. Las diferencias en las medidas antropométricas y bioquímicas se calcularon empleando t-test o Mann-Whitney. Las diferencias en patrones microbianos se analizaron mediante Mann-Whitney. Se aplicó el test de correlación de Spearman para analizar la asociación entre frecuencias de consumo de alimentos y microbiota. Resultados: Se encontraron diferencias en las abundancias de taxones bacterianos tras la intervención. Dichas diferencias se asocian en su totalidad a la toma del nutracéutico, ya que se comprobó que no había correlación entre un posible cambio el consumo de alimentos durante la intervención y los cambios en microbiota. Sin embargo, el efecto añadido de los beta-glucanos, inulina y almidón resistente no resultó en un beneficio adicional. Además, no se encontraron diferencias de interés ni en la bioquímica ni en las medidas antropométricas. Conclusiones: Los resultados sugieren que, efectivamente, el batido rico en proteína vegetal modula favorablemente la microbiota. Sin embargo, la literatura actual carece de información sobre ciertos taxones bacterianos que resultan de interés.

Unpredictability, an aspect of early life adversity, creates significant disruptions for children and adolescents’ psychosocial development throughout their lifetime. Despite growing evidence highlighting the importance of predictable caregiving in fostering long-term healthy development, there is still limited understanding of proximal unpredictability within caregiver-child relationships. Given that both early childhood and adolescence are dynamic periods characterized by increasing self-regulation capacities and susceptibility to mental health disorders, this dissertation aimed to address three critical gaps in understanding caregiver unpredictability and its implications for child and youth adjustment: whether it is domain general or specific, the cascade between distal and proximal experiences of unpredictability and the developmental systems most influenced by caregiver unpredictability during childhood and adolescence.Study 1 examined the relations among family instability, maternal and paternal mood unpredictability, and youths' mental health problems in a sample of Mexican-origin families. Using random intercept cross-lagged models to disentangle between- and within-family differences, results showed that family instability was positively related to maternal and paternal mood unpredictability, and that maternal mood unpredictability was positively associated with youths' internalizing problems across adolescence. However, there was little evidence of reciprocal relations, suggesting a lack of transactional associations at the within-family level over time. Study 2 was designed to extend prior research on caregivers’ sensory signal unpredictability with infants, by (1) developing and validating an observational measure of caregiver affective and behavioral unpredictability in early childhood, and (2) exploring its implications for preschoolers’ development of biobehavioral self-regulation. Results demonstrated that caregiver unpredictability was related to only a subset of indices of biobehavioral regulation. At age four, caregiver affective and behavioral unpredictability was linked to greater respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) suppression (i.e., decrease in RSA) during the Day/Night task, and to greater effortful control in a non-linear, inverted U-shape pattern. At age six, children whose caregivers exhibited greater sensory signal unpredictability had stronger RSA suppression during the Day/Night task. Conversely, children whose caregivers demonstrated lower and higher levels of affective and behavioral unpredictability had RSA augmentation relative to children whose caregivers were moderately unpredictable. However, neither sensory signals nor affective or behavioral unpredictability was associated with children's inhibitory control or behavioral adjustment. Together, these studies emphasize the importance of developing and validating methods to capture the dynamic and nuanced nature of caregiver unpredictability, as well as considering its domain specificity. This dissertation also raises questions about the appropriate temporal lens for examining caregiver unpredictability, the significance of developmental timing, and the impact of unique experiences and vulnerabilities among Mexican-origin families living in unpredictable environments. In conclusion, this research program provides valuable insights into the effects of unpredictability on early childhood development and adolescent mental health. Systematic empirical and translational progress in understanding unpredictability will enhance efforts to ensure continuity and stability in children's lives, particularly for families experiencing other environmental adversities that threaten children’s and adolescents’ well-being.

Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS) in the subsurface is an alternative to overcome limitations associated with a fluctuating production of renewable energy sources. The excess energy produced can be converted to hydrogen and stored in porous media. Hydrogen is injected and produced from geological formations via wells. There are several concerns regarding the interactions of hydrogen with the different well components responsible for maintaining proper well integrity, such as cement. This experimental study investigates the interaction between molecular hydrogen and cement Class H. The methodology provides a comparison of experimental tests to highlight the effects hydrogen can have on cement during aging. Samples were cured in two different environments were then characterized using different physical and chemical tests such as Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Porosity and Permeability (PP), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS). Samples exposed to molecular hydrogen exhibited a greater compressive strength in both the short and long terms. Porosity was found to be lower in samples exposed to hydrogen. Similarly, permeability was lower in samples exposed to hydrogen. NMR distributions showed a reduction of larger pores and an increase of smaller pore spaces. The compositional analysis demonstrated that hydrogen presence increases the amount of hydrated product (portlandite and ettringite) formed. The crystalline needle-shaped structure observed in the SEM confirmed the presence of portlandite and ettringite within some of the larger pores. Acoustic velocities showed hydrogen- exposed samples to be stiffer and less flexible. This could be detrimental because, during UHS, cement is exposed to multiple cycles of injection and production. This experimental study showed that molecular hydrogen present could generate the formation of hydrated products, causing a shift in the porosity distribution affecting the mechanical strength of the cement.

This dissertation investigates the empirical content of one of the most basic assumptions in economics: the existence of a preference relation that describes the agent’s decision- making process. As preferences cannot be observed, only choices can be, the relation between preferences and choices, i.e., the study of revealed preferences, is a fundamental question in social sciences. This dissertation broadens our knowledge about revealed preferences by studying two topics: when are choices consistent with a utility function that satisfy some (widely assumed) characteristics, and how can we analyze choices that are not perfectly consistent with any preference relation.Chapter 1 studies when choices that satisfy the Generalized Axiom of Revealed Preferences (GARP) can be described using a strictly concave and differentiable utility function. Strict concavity and differentiability are commonly assumed. They assure that an agent’s behavior presents regularities that make it tractable for analysis. This chapter provides the first necessary and sufficient conditions on demand data for the existence of a strictly concave and differentiable utility. An empirical analysis of laboratory data suggests that such property is substantially more common than what would have been concluded using previously existing methods.Chapters 2 and 3 study the problem of learning about a consumer’s preferences when her choices are an imperfect implementation of such preferences, i.e., when the observed choices fail GARP. Chapter 2 focuses on recovering preferences using partial efficiency, the most widespread tool in the literature. Specifically, it studies whether we can falsify that the agent’s utility function generates a (single-valued) differentiable demand function. A differentiable demand function presents several advantages from an analytical standpoint and is usually assumed in theoretical and empirical work. If an agent’s choices are not a perfect implementation of her preferences, then a differentiable demand function cannot be falsified. Hence such utility can be falsified only if the observed choices satisfy the Generalized Axiom of Revealed Preferences but fail its strong version. An empirical implementation of this test on laboratory data finds that we cannot falsify the existence of a utility function generating a differentiable demand for any subject. Therefore assuming such demand does not provide an empirical cost.Chapter 3 presents a new method to learn about an agent’s preferences when her choices are an imperfect implementation of such preferences. Previous methods rely on intuitive motivations but lack basic statistical properties; in particular, they do not assure the recovery of the agent’s underlying preference. This chapter presents the first method that asymptotically recovers the agent’s preference relation, i.e., that is statistically consistent, under imperfect implementation. Empirical analysis shows that this method presents a higher correlation (when compared with existing alternatives) between its measure of decision-making quality and its out-of-sample accuracy. This result suggests that the question about which preferences we measure distance from choices is not innocuous. The last part of this chapter shows the generality of the proposed method by showing that its properties also apply in a vast class of choice environments beyond the classical consumer problem.

Introducirse en el mundo laboral es costoso y uno de los primeros obstáculos es el déficit competencial que, en ocasiones, presentan los universitarios. Para subsanar el exceso de una teoría descontextualizada, el EEES (Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior) ha auspiciado un cambio metodológico que fomenta una docencia más práctica, ya que el aprendizaje más efectivo es activo y está conectado con la experiencia. De este modo, la enseñanza universitaria se enfoca, entre otros aspectos, en la consecución de resultados de aprendizaje en forma de competencias asociadas al mercado laboral. En este contexto se están ensayando en la universidad [española] metodologías más prácticas y aplicadas, entre ellas, el Aprendizaje-Servicio. El objetivo de este trabajo es conocer si para los empleadores participantes en nuestro estudio, los universitarios que participan en actividades de Aprendizaje-Servicio desarrollan el perfil competencial que buscan, haciéndoles candidatos más atractivos en los procesos de selección, mejorando en consecuencia su empleabilidad. Para ello, se desarrolló una investigación cualitativa genérica. Se realizaron tres grupos focales en los que participaron por muestreo intencional trece empleadores de egresados de distintas facultades de la universidad, pertenecientes a distintos sectores. La guía temática incluía preguntas sobre las competencias más demandadas por los empleadores, el Aprendizaje-Servicio y su influencia en el perfil profesional. La transcripción textual fue analizada mediante análisis de contenido inductivo por dos investigadores. En el apartado de resultados y discusión se constató que, para los empleadores consultados, los alumnos que participan en actividades de Aprendizaje- Servicio en la universidad, desarrollan algunas de las competencias profesionales más demandadas en el mundo laboral, incidiendo positivamente en su empleabilidad.

El informe Brundtland define el desarrollo sostenible como "aquel que satisface las necesidades de la generación presente sin comprometer las de las generaciones futuras". Alude a un deseable legado intergeneracional que promueva el crecimiento económico para luchar contra el hambre y la pobreza sin comprometer el medio ambiente

Abstract: The mining industry of today demands large-scale extraction methods, and caving has become the preferred underground mining technique because of high production rates, low mining costs, and low waste production. Moreover, there is a current growth of concerns about the effects of uncertainty and risk in mine design, safety, and production schedules. Companies are then moving away from traditional approaches to adopt techniques that quantify uncertainty and optimize critical processes to succeed. One key engineering factor for the success of a block caving is the drawpoint spacing layout, that is designed prior to operation. The current guides to design this important element remains controversial due to uncertainty influenced by different aspects of caving, but most importantly by the block model. Grade modeling is the basis of mine design and planning and plays an important role in the prediction of financial outcomes. Conventional layout design calculates layouts based on deterministic modeling that generates a single model of economic value and therefore is not capable of accounting for uncertainty. In contrast, stochastic orebody modeling allows for quantifying uncertainty by generating multiple equiprobable models which can be integrated into an optimization process. There are currently well-studied procedures to optimize mine designs using orebody uncertainty in open-pit mines, but little work is done in block caving. This research provides a methodology in which uncertainty from the block model is assessed with SGS to determine the optimal drawpoint spacing and level of extraction. Multiple models are used in a transfer function to provides a summary of responses and then select the optimal option. The approach is supported by block caving definitions and explained with conceptual examples. A copper-gold caving project is used to demonstrate the methodology using Gaussian simulation and a signed distance function. Data for the study is from 37 drill holes and assays is composited to 10 m with copper-gold mineralization. Fifteen potential layouts are selected. Optimizing the drawpoint spacing gives 30 × 13 layout as the optimal one, and the optimal extraction level is 440 m. Tonnage uncertainty is added to the case study. The variability of domain boundaries is incorporated into the work. A set of twenty implicit models with simulated grades are used to evaluate boundary uncertainty. The tonnage uncertainty confirms that the 31 × 14 layout and 31 × 15 present lower risk compared to the optimal 30 × 13 layout.

El texto a presentar busca demostrar las diferencias en esencia e intención entre la fotografía y la Arquitectura Moderna basándose en dos características principales: por una parte, las naturalezas imitativa y abstracta que distinguen particularmente a cada una de estas disciplinas, y por otra, las propias –y opuestas– voluntades de capturar y exponer un fenómeno a través de dimensiones espaciales, temporales y motrices diferentes.

El texto aborda de manera detallada las diversas tradiciones, consagradas y laicas, que han predominado en la historiografía sobre la Iglesia católica en México. Se efectúa un recuento de las historiografías, publicadas por diferentes autores, para no ignorar los esfuerzos realizados para sistematizar las trayectorias de los estudios sobre la Iglesia. Para facilitar el análisis y comprensión de las publicaciones de los últimos 50 años, la narrativa se articuló en torno a ejes, tanto temáticos como cronológicos. Esa metodología permitió presentar los avances historiográficos, del siglo xvi al xxi, y las grandes lagunas que todavía existen.

Esta comunicación se enmarca en el contexto del proyecto de investigación nacional “Aprendizaje-Servicio e Innovación en la Universidad. Un programa para la mejora del rendimiento académico y el capital social de los estudiantes”. Este estudio, que se está llevando a cabo entre seis universidades españolas, pretende averiguar la vinculación entre el desarrollo de competencias sociales en la universidad y la inserción profesional de los estudiantes

El objetivo general de este proyecto se divide en dos partes; por un lado, comparar las bicicletas de doble suspensión de 26’’ y 29’’ de una forma objetiva, y por otro, optimizarla eficiencia del pedaleo de la bicicleta Orbea Occam 29’’. Analizando de forma objetiva las ventajas y desventajas de cada una de las bicicletas y ver cómo responden en diversas situaciones ya sea en llano, en pendiente, bajando y subiendo un escalón o pasando por baches. De esta forma transformaremos las sensaciones de los ciclistas en números. La primera parte del proyecto se divide en los siguientes objetivos parciales: 1. Analizar las ventajas y desventajas de una bicicleta de 29’’ haciendo un análisis matemático manual. 2. Mejorar el Software añadiendo a la base de datos una bicicleta de 29’’. 3. Analizar con el programa Advanced Dynamics las ventajas y desventajas estudiadas de forma teórica anteriormente. La segunda parte, con el software mejorado, consta de: 4. Optimizar con el Software la cinemática del cuadrilátero trasero de la bicicleta añadida en la primera parte del proyecto. El objetivo es mejorar en la eficiencia de pedaleo.

Boundary conditions play a key role in the evolution and morphology of flame fronts, especially when combustion occurs in narrow chambers. The burning intensity and the flame-generated flow can be significantly modified by the momentum and energy transferred at the walls, which are further modified by the exothermal nature of the process. In this work, the effect of the wall roughness and thermal conditions on the flame propagation is explored. Specifically, conduits with and without obstacles, having adiabatic or isothermal walls, are investigated.;Wall friction constitutes one of the main reasons of spontaneous flame acceleration in narrow pipes. Although this phenomenon has been intensely studied, the researchers have focused on the mechanistic scenario of the combustion intensification, induced by the wall friction, putting less emphasis on the heat exchanged at the walls. In this study, besides the adiabatic condition, the surfaces have been kept at multiple constant temperatures in order to explore the wall thermal effects on the burning process, recognizing its potential to diminish or even quench the reaction.;Moreover, the inclusion of solid obstacles at the pipe walls provides a mechanism of extremely fast flame acceleration, which is driven by an intense jet-flow generated by the delayed combustion occurring between obstacles. In this work, the flame dynamics promoted in the obstructed configuration is analyzed, comparing the attained acceleration rates to other mechanisms such as that generated by the wall friction and the so-called finger flame evolution.;For this purpose, a parametric study provided by extensive fully-compressible numerical simulations of the combustion and hydrodynamic equations is performed. The geometry is primary given by 2D channels, although cylindrical 'smooth' tubes have been also considered. The wall conditions include non-slip walls and slip walls with obstacles; adiabatic and isothermal, with the fuel characterized by the thermal expansion coefficient. Four regimes of flame propagation in isothermal 'smooth' channels have been identified, for flames propagating a distance around 100-150 times the flame thickness: (i) no flame propagation or extinction; (ii) linear flame velocity; (iii) almost-constant flame propagation speed; and (iv) oscillating flame velocity. In the obstructed configuration, the developing of turbulent and laminar combustion regimes at the early stages of the process have been identified in relation to the obstacles size and spacing, including a finger flame-like limit when small enough obstacles are in place.

ABSTRACT The turnout is low in elections in general and in the European Parliament elections in particular. This situation reflects the more widespread phenomenon of disenchantment with democracy and its institutions, which is particularly prevalent among young people. In view of this situation, in September 2008 we decided to research into university students’ participation in the elections to the European Parliament to be held in June 2009. The study was designed in three phases, in which different questionnaires were administered. This article presents the results obtained after the third questionnaire. On the basis of these data, the aim of this article is, on the one hand, to research into the possible reasons why young people decided to vote or abstain in the European Parliament elections. On the other hand, it also shows how low levels of participation are a social problem which ought to be seen against an educational background.

A Most Endangered list is a common programmatic tool used by historic preservation advocacy groups. These lists allow the organizations to focus their support on a small, representative selection of threatened historic resources. While these programs are widely accepted and implemented, there has been no formal investigation into their use or study of the subtle differences that make each program unique. This thesis analyzes statewide Most Endangered programs with the goal of determining if there are variables that can enhance the program’s effectiveness at accomplishing the organization’s goals. Organizations that wish to examine the usability or effectiveness of their Most Endangered programs do not have easy access to the information that is needed for an objective analysis. This is the current situation at Preservation Texas, Texas’ statewide preservation advocacy organization. The staff there is currently evaluating the organization’s Most Endangered program, making this document a timely and useful tool for their use. This thesis seeks to provide a base from which Preservation Texas, or any preservation advocacy organization, can begin to examine their own program’s operations. For this project I performed research on statewide Most Endangered programs at both macro and micro levels. An initial investigation of the web-presence of these programs enabled me to make broad determinations about their operations. I then selected five of these organizations for a closer study. Through interviews and additional research, it was possible for me to begin to compare and contrast the programs while analyzing their differences from an impartial perspective. Through this careful study, I developed a list of eight criteria that are indicative of an effective Most Endangered program. In the final chapter I use these eight criteria to analyze Most Endangered programs, specifically the one operated by Preservation Texas. By applying my research and observations, I am able to reach constructive conclusions about the operations and functions of Preservation Texas’ Most Endangered program. While this thesis was written for the benefit of a specific organization, the findings are applicable to any organization that has, or is thinking about starting, a Most Endangered list.

Motivated by the experimental measurement of transport properties such as electrical and hall conductivity, thermopower and Nernst, I present a study of longitudinal and transverse transport in graphene for the dilute limit of impurities. The temperature and carrier density dependence in this system display a number of anomalous properties that can be related to three effects: 1) emergence of &ldquo chirality &rdquo, 2) vanishing density of states at the chemical potential in the ideal undoped (zero gate voltage) systems and 3) nature of scattering. In an attempt to theoretically understand these anomalous transport properties, I use the theory of quantum transport in a two-dimensional system with Unitary(lattice vacancy) and screened Coulomb(charge impurity in the underlining substrate) scatterers. I show for a system such as graphene, the type of scattering potential has a profound effect on all transport properties, even though both types of potentials induce low energy states that yield a finite density of states at zero energy. My results are compared with experimental data for both types of scatterer and I show for a single set of impurity parameters all transport properties can be reproduced to agree qualitative with the features observed in experimental data. Parts of this work have been submitted to Physical Review B and are currently in the review process.

In recent years there has been increasing international concern in Western democracies regarding the lack of social commitment among young people, which is reflected, for instance, in the general indifference to established politics and low electoral turnout in this sector of the population. A series of surveys were administered to students at the University of Navarra over the course of the last academic year with the aim of estimating their intention to vote in the 2009 European parliamentary elections. The purpose of this chapter is to present and analyze some of the results obtained. The project's underlying goal is to assess the role that adequate forms of civic education may play in fostering civic commitment among university students.