Iconografia de P��l & Ploma

Treball de recerca realitzat per alumnes d'ensenyament secundari i guardonat amb un Premi CIRIT per fomentar l'esperit cient��fic del Jovent l'any 2009. Aquesta recerca ha consistit en fer una base de dades a partir de la iconografia de la revista modernista ''P��l&Ploma''. Es tracta de fer un inventari de les il���lustracions que hi surten des de la primera publicaci�� -3 de juny de 1899- fins a la n��mero 76, publicat el 15 de maig de 1901. S���ha fet una fitxa de cadascuna de les imatges on s���hi recull: el nom de l'autor, el t��tol de l'obra, el n��mero de la revista i la p��gina on apareix, la t��cnica utilitzada i un petit comentari. A m��s, inclou una introducci�� general sobre la revista i una fitxa bibliogr��fica de cada artista que hi participa.

Some Considerations Concerning Regulation and Competition in the Port Sector

The aim of this paper is to discuss the circumstances in which the process of competition between ports takes place in Spain ��� circumstances arising from the way the port system is currently set up and from the regulations governing it. The importance of this matter lies both in the fact that intensified competition between ports is the way to set about boosting the efficiency of the Spanish port sector and in the relevance of this business to the economies of the regions in which the ports are located. It is precisely for this reason that the reform instituted in 1992 aimed to combine balanced development of the national port system with the defence of the interests of autonomous regions. To this end the current regulatory framework provides for the possibility of port authorities drawing up their own competitive strategies, but makes their implementation conditional upon approval of their business plan by the Spanish state port authority. The latter body coordinates the national port system to ensure the guidelines set by the central government authorities are followed in the field of transport. However, the scale of the differences which exist among both the size of facilities and their relevant markets on the one hand, and the financial and economic circumstances of each of them on the other, suggest that each port authority's needs must be very different. Consequently, their competitive strategies must also be very different. It is therefore valid to ask whether coping with this diversity calls for different guidelines to regulate their freedom of action. Key words: Competition, regulation, port sector JEL classification numbers: L1, L5, L9

Parental education and family characteristics: educational opportunities across cohorts in Italy and Spain

Drawing on data contained in the 2005 EU-SILC, this paper investigates the disparities in educational opportunities in Italy and Spain. Its main objective is to analyse the predicted probabilities of successfully completing upper-secondary and tertiary education for individuals with different parental backgrounds, and the changes in these probabilities across birth cohorts extending from 1940 to 1980. The results suggest that the disparities in tertiary education opportunities in Italy tend to increase over time. By contrast, the gap in educational opportunity in Spain shows a marked decrease across the cohorts. Moreover, by using an intuitive decomposition strategy, the paper shows that a large part of the educational gap between individuals of different backgrounds is ���composed��� of the difference in the endowment of family characteristics. Specifically, it seems that more highly educated parents are more able to endow their children with a better composition of family characteristics, which accounts for a significant proportion of the disparities in educational opportunity.

Language knowledge and earnings in Catalonia

This paper investigates the economic value of Catalan knowledge for national and foreign first- and second-generation immigrants in Catalonia. Specifically, drawing on data from the ���Survey on Living Conditions and Habits of the Catalan Population (2006)���, we want to quantify the expected earnings differential between individuals who are proficient in Catalan and those who are not, taking into account the potential endogeneity between knowledge of Catalan and earnings. The results indicate the existence of a positive return to knowledge of Catalan, with a 7.5% increase in earnings estimated by OLS; however, when we account for the presence of endogeneity, monthly earnings are around 18% higher for individuals who are able to speak and write Catalan. However, we also find that language and education are complementary inputs for generating earnings in Catalonia, given that knowledge of Catalan increases monthly earnings only for more educated individuals.

Respuesta no lineal y criterios de dise��o de puentes arco espaciales

El desarrollo m��s reciente de los puentes arco ha llevado a una nueva tipolog��a: los ���puentes arco espaciales���. Se entiende por puente arco espacial todo puente arco en el que, por su configuraci��n geom��trica y estructural, las cargas gravitatorias generan esfuerzos no contenidos en el plano del arco. Por un lado, aparecen para satisfacer las necesidades funcionales cuando estructuras en arco resultan las m��s adecuadas para sostener tableros curvos y evitar as�� apoyos intermedios. Desde un punto de vista est��tico, surgen como demanda de los nuevos puentes en entornos urbanos, buscando, no s��lo una forma cuidada, sino persiguiendo convertirse en emblemas de la ciudad a partir de la originalidad y la innovaci��n. Su proyecto y construcci��n es posible gracias a las grandes posibilidades que ofrecen los nuevos m��todos de c��lculo y dibujo por ordenador, en los que, a trav��s del incremento de memoria y rapidez, cada vez se emplean programas m��s completos y nuevas modelizaciones, m��s cercanas a la realidad. No menos importante es el desarrollo de los medios auxiliares de construcci��n y de las herramientas de CAD/CAM, que convierte en construibles por control num��rico formas de manufactura impensables. Ello trasciende en infinitas posibilidades de dise��o y estructura. Sin embargo, el dise��o y construcci��n de estas nuevas tipolog��as no ha estado acompa��ado por el avance en el estado del conocimiento fundamentado en la investigaci��n, ya que se han desarrollado pocos estudios que explican parcialmente la respuesta estructural de estos puentes. Existe, por lo tanto, la necesidad de profundizar en el estado del conocimiento y clarificar su respuesta estructural, as�� como de plantear, finalmente, criterios de dise��o que sirvan de apoyo en las fases de concepci��n y de proyecto a estas nuevas tipolog��as.

School composition effects in Spain

Drawing on PISA data of 2006, this study examines the impact of socio-economic school composition on science test score achievement for Spanish students in compulsory secondary schools. We define school composition in terms of the average parental human capital of students in the same school. These contextual peer effects are estimated using a semi-parametric methodology, which enables the spillovers to affect all the parameters of the educational production function. We also deal with the potential problem of self-selection of student into schools, using an artificial sorting that we argue to be independent from unobserved student���s abilities. The results indicate that the association between socio-economic school composition and test score results is clearly positive and significantly higher when computed with the semi-parametric approach. However, we find that the endogenous sorting of students into schools plays a fundamental role, given that the spillovers are significantly reduced when this selection process is ruled out from our measure of school composition effects. Specifically, the estimations suggest that the contextual peer effects are moderately positive only in those schools where the socio-economic composition is considerably elevated. In addition, we find some evidence of asymmetry of how the external effects and the sorting process actually operate, which seem affect in a different way males and females as well as high and low performance students.

Les communaut��s bulu contre la plantation industrielle HEVECAM au Cameroun

In 1975 the Kribi region (Southern Cameroon) became host of the rubber plantation HEVECAM, the third largest employer in Cameroon. The establishment of the plantation has been preceded by the expropriation of customary land and by the destruction of the rainforest used by local populations. As a result, conflicts ��� mostly latent ��� pitting neighbouring Bulu communities against the plantation have occurred, especially during the last few years. Drawing on fieldwork data as well as on anthropological, economic and historical materials, I try to explore a new way of looking at such environmental conflicts by arguing that they reflect the struggle between two distinct institutional logics with different impacts on the environment, i.e. the logic of property versus the one of possession. In short, the logic of possession corresponds to a multi-functional community-based forest management, while the logic of property gave birth to the commercial monoculture model, the highest stage of the transformation of an ecosystem in order to match the requirements of property. It is argued that the conflict between the logic of possession and the logic of property is at the heart of many cases of ���environmentalisms of the poor��� that arise in reaction to ���development���.

A correlation sensitivity analysis of non-life underwriting risk in solvency capital requirement estimation

This paper analyses the impact of using different correlation assumptions between lines of business when estimating the risk-based capital reserve, the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR), under Solvency II regulations. A case study is presented and the SCR is calculated according to the Standard Model approach. Alternatively, the requirement is then calculated using an Internal Model based on a Monte Carlo simulation of the net underwriting result at a one-year horizon, with copulas being used to model the dependence between lines of business. To address the impact of these model assumptions on the SCR we conduct a sensitivity analysis. We examine changes in the correlation matrix between lines of business and address the choice of copulas. Drawing on aggregate historical data from the Spanish non-life insurance market between 2000 and 2009, we conclude that modifications of the correlation and dependence assumptions have a significant impact on SCR estimation.

How The 1996 Hotel Majestic agreement may explain a future PP/CiU relationship in Madrid

Some historians have argued that 1996 marked a ���second transition��� for Spain because of the return to power of the political right in Madrid and that the relationship and eventual pact between the Partido Popular (PP) and Converg��ncia i Uni�� (CiU) meant that the state could finally escape the ghosts of its Francoist past. For this research, face-to-face interviews were conducted with Catalan Members of Parliament who served under either Jos�� Mar��a Aznar or Jordi Pujol in Madrid or Barcelona. Drawing upon both interviews and other evidence, including the analysis of election results and the 1996 Hotel Majestic Agreement, the research seeks to provide a better understanding of the previous relationships between the PP and CiU and their leaders in order to understand what lessons might be learnt that would contribute to anticipating and explaining possible future negotiations between the two parties. This is attempted by first examining the potential costs and benefits of political pacts between centre (Madrid) and periphery (Barcelona). Secondly, due to many interviewees making reference to Salvador Espriu���s work La Pell de Brau, the three routes of Espriu���s Catalan nationalism are put into the context of the political pacts. Finally, the likelihood of future agreements between PP and CiU are hypothesized, not only how those agreements may (or may not) come about, but also, what might the result of those negotiations be. Ultimately, it is concluded that the benefits of the Hotel Majestic Agreement outweighed the costs, thus leaving the door open for future negotiations, even if some of those interviewed disagreed.

Driving competition in local gasoline markets

Relevant market definition is still a key element of economic analysis of competition in the gasoline market. It is particularly difficult to handle when competition is local and market power is geographically constrained like is the case in the gasoline market. We analyse how the application of the hypothetical monopolist or Small but Significant Non-Transitory Increase in Prices (SSNIP) test performs for defining isochrones using only information on prices and distance among competitors. We conclude that geographic information systems can be very successfully used to define more precisely relevant geographic market in the gasoline retailing. The application to the Spanish gasoline market concludes that geographic relevant market is composed by 5-6 minutes of travel time. Localised market power should be taken into account when analysing the adverse effects of mergers and entry regulations in gasoline retailing. Only drawing small enough isochrones will drive competition in local markets because it is just close rivals that compete effectively with each other.

Estudio de accesibilidad de sitios Weborientados al comercio electr��nico y a laprestaci��n de servicios

An��lisi de diverses p��gines que tinguin com a finalitat el comer�� electr��nic o la prestaci�� de serveis, de cara a trobar els principals problemes a qu�� s'enfronten les persones amb discapacitat en utilitzar aquests llocs i extreure conclusions per proposar possibles procediments de desenvolupament dels mateixos que facilitin la seva accessibilitat / usabilitat final.

Modificaci�� d'un sistema de generaci�� de grafisme per televisi�� amb la incorporaci�� d'objectes generats amb OpenGL

Els objectius inicials d'aquest projecte eren la incorporaci�� d'OpenGL a l'eina ja existent de generaci�� de grafisme per televisi��. Com que l'aplicador ja dissenyat es basava en un redu��t tipus d'objectes sobre els quals es podien aplicar diferents par��metres i agrupar-los de diferents maneres, calia trobar un nou tipus d'objecte que tingu��s alguna particularitat que el fes prou atractiu per a incorporar-lo a l'aplicaci��. El resultat va ser un objecte poli��dric per a poder-hi mapar diferents textures i un text aplicant-hi una ombra en tres dimensions segons la posici�� del dibuix.

Xifratge d'arxius

Actualment l'��s de la criptografia ha arribat a ser del tot generalitzat, tant en els processos de transmissi�� i intercanvi segur d'informaci��, com en l'emmagatzematge secret de dades. Es tracta d'una disciplina els fonaments te��rics de la qual s��n en l'��lgebra i en el C��lcul de Probabilitats. La programaci�� d'interf��cies gr��fiques s'ha realitzat en Java i amb la manipulaci��, tot i que molt elemental, de documents XML.

Sistemes d'Informaci�� Geogr��fica i arqueologia : el riu Llobregat i la seva relaci�� amb el territori a l'��poca romana.

L'objectiu del Treball ��s establir una relaci�� entre l'antic tra��at del riu Llobregat al seu pas per diverses poblacions de Catalunya enclavades a la Comarca del Baix Llobregat i els jaciments arqueol��gics datats a l'��poca romana amb la perspectiva de la utilitzaci�� de la via fluvial com element de transport.Per a l'an��lisi de les ubicacions de les diferents entitats geogr��fiques s'utilitza una eina de programariespec��fica: Sistema d'Informaci�� Geogr��fica (SIG) amb la qual es construir�� el nostre sistema derefer��ncia per extreure les conclusions oportunes.

Paint on whiteboard desktop

Es un proyecto para la creaci��n de una herramienta aplicable al uso de pizarras digitales. Pintar sobre el escritorio o aplicaciones abiertas.