Partial correlation : Network analysis

The final year project came to us as an opportunity to get involved in a topic which has appeared to be attractive during the learning process of majoring in economics: statistics and its application to the analysis of economic data, i.e. econometrics.Moreover, the combination of econometrics and computer science is a very hot topic nowadays, given the Information Technologies boom in the last decades and the consequent exponential increase in the amount of data collected and stored day by day. Data analysts able to deal with Big Data and to find useful results from it are verydemanded in these days and, according to our understanding, the work they do, although sometimes controversial in terms of ethics, is a clear source of value added both for private corporations and the public sector. For these reasons, the essence of this project is the study of a statistical instrument valid for the analysis of large datasets which is directly related to computer science: Partial Correlation Networks.The structure of the project has been determined by our objectives through the development of it. At first, the characteristics of the studied instrument are explained, from the basic ideas up to the features of the model behind it, with the final goal of presenting SPACE model as a tool for estimating interconnections in between elements in large data sets. Afterwards, an illustrated simulation is performed in order to show the power and efficiency of the model presented. And at last, the model is put into practice by analyzing a relatively large data set of real world data, with the objective of assessing whether the proposed statistical instrument is valid and useful when applied to a real multivariate time series. In short, our main goals are to present the model and evaluate if Partial Correlation Network Analysis is an effective, useful instrument and allows finding valuable results from Big Data.As a result, the findings all along this project suggest the Partial Correlation Estimation by Joint Sparse Regression Models approach presented by Peng et al. (2009) to work well under the assumption of sparsity of data. Moreover, partial correlation networks are shown to be a very valid tool to represent cross-sectional interconnections in between elements in large data sets.The scope of this project is however limited, as there are some sections in which deeper analysis would have been appropriate. Considering intertemporal connections in between elements, the choice of the tuning parameter lambda, or a deeper analysis of the results in the real data application are examples of aspects in which this project could be completed.To sum up, the analyzed statistical tool has been proved to be a very useful instrument to find relationships that connect the elements present in a large data set. And after all, partial correlation networks allow the owner of this set to observe and analyze the existing linkages that could have been omitted otherwise.

La discriminación laboral y la gestión de la diversidad de los recursos humanos

[spa] Este estudio se basa en dos cuestiones de actualidad, por una parte: 'La discriminación en el ámbito del trabajo' en la que se estudia la normativa y la doctrina tanto Comunitaria como española, la defensa de la 'no discriminación' y el 'Principio de igualdad', así como las modalidades discriminatorias que se dan en las relaciones laborales. Por otra parte 'La gestión de la diversidad en los recursos humanos' donde se trata de los valores corporativos, el código ético, planes de igualdad y ventajas en la gestión de la diversidad. Cuestiones que la empresa del S. XXI, tendrá que abordar de acuerdo con los nuevos tiempos.

Trencant espais fixes: programa de prevenció contra l'homo / trans fòbia a l'escola

“Trencant espais fixes: Programa de prevenció contra l’(homo/trans)fòbia a l’escola” és un programa finançat per l’Ajuntament de Barcelona que pren per objectiu prevenir i suprimir l’opressió que reben gais, lesbianes, transsexuals i bisexuals (LGTB) dins del centre educatiu, així com també d’aquells nens i nenes que transgredeixin les normes socials hegemòniques de gènere (establertes dins d’un sistema catalogat com a sexista, patriarcal i heteronormatiu), a través de la formació i apoderament dels docents dels centres educatius públics i concertats dels diferents districtes de Barcelona –fent ús de la prevenció primària, secundària i terciària-. Es pretén fer incís a l’educació de la diversitat afectivo-sexual, a les manifestacions sexistes, al sistema sexe-gènere-desig, als estereotips i prejudicis establerts en la societat i a les diverses dinàmiques de violència, desigualtat i relacions de poder, a fi de sensibilitzar, conscienciar i proporcionar eines als docents per prevenir i poder fer front a les diferents manifestacions discriminatòries a raó d’orientació sexual o identitat de gènere. S’utilitza una metodologia dinàmica i participativa, estructurada en tres sessions de 2,5h en cadascun dels centres educatius inscrits en el programa (a demanda del centre), el qual pren com a principis rectors la perspectiva integral del gènere, la intervenció preventiva, la transversalitat educativa, el procés participatiu i, finalment, l’interseccionalitat de factors identitaris d’una persona. Es pren consideració al Codi Ètic i Deontològic de la professió de Treball Social, ja que el present programa es caracteritza pel seu caràcter sensible i influent en la vida de les persones. Aquets fet suposa certes limitacions pels dinamitzadors dels tallers/sessions, ja sigui per la pròpia sensibilitat o per la manca de participació o de cohesió del grup destinatari.

Sports and journalism ethics: the coverage of 2012 London Olympics in the British, North-American and Spanish press

Sports and journalism ethics: the coverage of 2012 London Olympics in the British, North-American and Spanish press is a research focused on analysing the treatment that the quality press of three countries (United Kingdom, United States of America and Spain) will carry out in the London Olympic Games. Through a solid methodological approach based on the combination of the qualitative content analysis and qualitative indepth interviews, the investigation will study if the media provide a quality coverage,that is, if they adequate their pieces to the fundamental principles of journalistic deontology (truth, justice, freedom and social responsibility). Furthermore, the research will assess if the selected media comply with the prescriptions established in the ethical codes, stylebooks, newsroom statutes and national and international recommendations about journalism ethics, ranging from each media’s guidelines to key transnational codes established by the UNESCO, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) orthe Council of Europe.

A comparison of full-rate full-diversity 2x2 space-time codes for WiMAX systems

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques have become an essential part of broadband wireless communications systems. For example, the recently developed IEEE 802.16e specifications for broadband wireless access include three MIMOprofiles employing 2×2 space-time codes (STCs), and two of these MIMO schemes are mandatory on the downlink of Mobile WiMAX systems. One of these has full rate, and the other has full diversity, but neither of them has both of the desired features. The third profile, namely, Matrix C, which is not mandatory, is both a full rate and a full diversity code, but it has a high decoder complexity. Recently, the attention was turned to the decodercomplexity issue and including this in the design criteria, several full-rate STCs were proposed as alternatives to Matrix C. In this paper, we review these different alternatives and compare them to Matrix C in terms of performances and the correspondingreceiver complexities.

Outage thresholds of LDPC codes over nonergodic block-fading channels

This paper derives approximations allowing the estimation of outage probability for standard irregular LDPC codes and full-diversity Root-LDPC codes used over nonergodic block-fading channels. Two separate approaches are discussed: a numerical approximation, obtained by curve fitting, for both code ensembles, and an analytical approximation for Root-LDPC codes, obtained under the assumption that the slope of the iterative threshold curve of a given code ensemble matches the slope of the outage capacity curve in the high-SNR regime.

On iterative performance of LDPC and Root-LDPC codes over block-fading channels

This paper presents our investigation on iterativedecoding performances of some sparse-graph codes on block-fading Rayleigh channels. The considered code ensembles are standard LDPC codes and Root-LDPC codes, first proposed in and shown to be able to attain the full transmission diversity. We study the iterative threshold performance of those codes as a function of fading gains of the transmission channel and propose a numerical approximation of the iterative threshold versus fading gains, both both LDPC and Root-LDPC codes.Also, we show analytically that, in the case of 2 fading blocks,the iterative threshold root of Root-LDPC codes is proportional to (α1 α2)1, where α1 and α2 are corresponding fading gains.From this result, the full diversity property of Root-LDPC codes immediately follows.

The ethics of creative accounting

The term 'creative accounting' can be defined in a number ofways. Initially we will offer this definition: 'a processwhereby accountants use their knowledge of accounting rulesto manipulate the figures reported in the accounts of abusiness'.To investigate the ethical issues raised by creativeaccounting we will:- Explore some definitions of creative accounting.- Consider the various ways in which creative accounting can be undertaken.- Explore the range of reasons for a company's directors to engage in creative accounting.- Review the ethical issues that arise in creative accounting.- Report on surveys of auditors' perceptions of creative accounting in the UK, Spain and New Zealand.

Perceptual mapping of practical ethics along the value chain: A multiple correspondence analysis with industry and cultural indices as supplementary variables

This paper presents findings from a study investigating a firm s ethical practices along the value chain. In so doing we attempt to better understand potential relationships between a firm s ethical stance with its customers and those of its suppliers within a supply chain and identify particular sectoral and cultural influences that might impinge on this. Drawing upon a database comprising of 667 industrial firms from 27 different countries, we found that ethical practices begin with the firm s relationship with its customers, the characteristics of which then influence the ethical stance with the firm s suppliers within the supply chain. Importantly, market structure along with some key cultural characteristics were also found to exert significant influence on the implementation of ethical policies in these firms.

The ethics of creative accounting: Some Spanish evidence

'Creative accounting' involves accountants in making accounting policy choices or manipulating transactions in such a way as to give the impression in the accounts that they prefer. While regarded as unethical by most observers, a defence of creative accounting can be based on the ability of the users of accounts to identify bias in accounting policy choices and make appropriate adjustments.In this paper we take the example of the Barcelona Football Club where the club management made three key accounting policy choices that presented a favourable position, and a supporters' club presented an alternative report choosing three alternative accounting policies that presented an unfavourable position. We presented each of these financial reports to one of two groups of Spanish bank loan offices, with supporting notes making the impact of the accounting policy choices clear. We found that the more favourable set of accounts was significantly more likely to attract a positive response to a loan request.This result undermines the defence for creative accounting, based on the ability of users to identify manipulation.

The Ismenodora of Plutarch's Eroticus. (Has Western Culture "sexualized" -i. e. "masculinized"- Ethics?)

The aim of this article is to show, by means of an accurate philological analysis of Plautarch's Eroticus, how Western Ethics has been clearly sexualized. Indeed, the specific features of masculine bodies become the suitable ones to define what is really ethical, while the specific features of feminine bodies become in their turn the suitable ones to define what is by no means ethical.

Oscar Wilde. 'Camma', a severe and hedonic aesthetic correction of Plutarch's ethics

The aim of this article is to present an accurate analysis of O. Wilde's poem 'Camma' by referring it to its Greek model: that Camma both in Plutarch's Amatorius (Eroticus) and Mulierum Virtutes. It is precisely this accurate reading which permits us to verify how Plutarch's Ethics is corrected from the parameters of the hedonism which is peculiar to O. Wilde's aestheticism, thus turning Camma into a symbol of a pleasant life.

Discriminant ECOC: a heuristic method for application dependent design of error correcting output codes

We present a heuristic method for learning error correcting output codes matrices based on a hierarchical partition of the class space that maximizes a discriminative criterion. To achieve this goal, the optimal codeword separation is sacrificed in favor of a maximum class discrimination in the partitions. The creation of the hierarchical partition set is performed using a binary tree. As a result, a compact matrix with high discrimination power is obtained. Our method is validated using the UCI database and applied to a real problem, the classification of traffic sign images.

Performance Analysis of Two Quantum Reaction Dynamics Codes: Time-Dependent and Time-Independent Strategies

The computer simulation of reaction dynamics has nowadays reached a remarkable degree of accuracy. Triatomic elementary reactions are rigorously studied with great detail on a straightforward basis using a considerable variety of Quantum Dynamics computational tools available to the scientific community. In our contribution we compare the performance of two quantum scattering codes in the computation of reaction cross sections of a triatomic benchmark reaction such as the gas phase reaction Ne + H2+ %12. NeH++ H. The computational codes are selected as representative of time-dependent (Real Wave Packet [ ]) and time-independent (ABC [ ]) methodologies. The main conclusion to be drawn from our study is that both strategies are, to a great extent, not competing but rather complementary. While time-dependent calculations advantages with respect to the energy range that can be covered in a single simulation, time-independent approaches offer much more detailed information from each single energy calculation. Further details such as the calculation of reactivity at very low collision energies or the computational effort related to account for the Coriolis couplings are analyzed in this paper.

Construction and performance of network codes

El principal objectiu d'aquest treball és implementar i exposar una descripció teòrica per a diferents esquemes de Physical Layer Network Coding. Utilitzant un esquema bàsic com a punt de partida, el projecte presenta la construcció i l'anàlisis de diferents esquemes de comunicació on la complexitat va augmentant a mesura que anem avançant en el projecte. El treball està estructurat en diferents parts: primer, es presenta una introducció a Physical Layer Network Coding i a Lattice Network Codes. A continuació, s'introdueixen les eines matemàtiques necessàries per entendre el CF System. Després, s'analitza i implementa el primer esquema bàsic. A partir del qual, implementem una versió vectorial del CF System i una versió codificada amb un Hamming q-ari. Finalment, s'estudien i implementen diferents estratègies per millorar la matriu de coeficients A.