Soporte de Herramientas GNU/Linux para educación especial

The aim of this study limit is to analyze the different learning software tools for groups in need of attention special and disability that exist in the market so exclusive and cost recorded consulting and licensing, and compare them with the tools repository of Open Source Software Community without loss of performance and efficiency. Our engineering knowledge should always help the most in need.

Contribution to Asterisk Open Source Project

With this final master thesis we are going to contribute to the Asterisk open source project. Asterisk is an open source project that started with the main objective of develop an IP telephony platform, completely based on Software (so not hardware dependent) and under an open license like GPL. This project was started on 1999 by the software engineer Mark Spencer at Digium. The main motivation of that open source project was that the telecommunications sector is lack of open solutions, and most of the available solutions are based on proprietary standards, which are close and not compatible between them. Behind the Asterisk project there is a company, Digum, which is the project leading since the project was originated in its laboratories. This company has some of its employees fully dedicated to contribute to the Asterisk project, and also provide the whole infrastructure required by the open source project. But the business of Digium isn't based on licensing of products due to the open source nature of Asterisk, but it's based on offering services around Asteriskand designing and selling some hardware components to be used with Asterisk. The Asterisk project has grown up a lot since its birth, offering in its latest versions advanced functionalities for managing calls and compatibility with some hardware that previously was exclusive of proprietary solutions. Due to that, Asterisk is becoming a serious alternative to all these proprietaries solutions because it has reached a level of maturity that makes it very stable. In addition, as it is open source, it can be fully customized to a givenrequirement, which could be impossible with the proprietaries solutions. Due to the bigness that is reaching the project, every day there are more companies which develop value added software for telephony platforms, that are seriously evaluating the option of make their software fully compatible withAsterisk platforms. All these factors make Asterisk being a consolidated project but in constant evolution, trying to offer all those functionalities offered by proprietaries solutions. This final master thesis will be divided mainly in two blocks totally complementaries. In the first block we will analyze Asterisk as an open source project and Asterisk as a telephony platform (PBX). As a result of this analysis we will generate a document, written in English because it is Asterisk project's official language, which could be used by future contributors as an starting point on joining Asterisk. On the second block we will proceed with a development contribution to the Asterisk project. We will have several options in the form that we do the contribution, such as solving bugs, developing new functionalities or start an Asterisk satellite project. The type of contribution will depend on the needs of the project on that moment.

Doctors without borders: The returns to an occupational license for Soviet immigrant physicians in Israel

Re-licensing requirements for professionals that move across borders arewidespread. In this paper, we measure the returns to an occupationallicense using novel data on Soviet trained physicians that immigrated toIsrael. An immigrant re-training assignment rule used by the IsraelMinistry of Health provides an exogenous source of variation inre-licensing outcomes. Instrumental variables and quantile treatmenteffects estimates of the returns to an occupational license indicate excesswages due to occupational entry restrictions and negative selectioninto licensing status. We develop a model of optimal license acquisitionwhich suggests that the wages of high-skilled immigrant physicians in thenonphysician sector outweigh the lower direct costs that these immigrantsface in acquiring a medical license. Licensing thus leads to lower averagequality of service. However, the positive earnings effect of entry restrictionsfar outweighs the lower practitioner quality earnings effect that licensinginduces.

Intellectual property rights and efficient firm organization

I show that intellectual property rights yield static efficiency gains, irrespective oftheir dynamic role in fostering innovation. I develop a property-rights model of firmorganization with two dimensions of non-contractible investment. In equilibrium, thefirst best is attained if and only if ownership of tangible and intangible assets is equallyprotected. If IP rights are weaker, firm structure is distorted and efficiency declines:the entrepreneur must either integrate her suppliers, which prompts a decline in theirinvestment; or else risk their defection, which entails a waste of her human capital. Mymodel predicts greater prevalence of vertical integration where IP rights are weaker,and a switch from integration to outsourcing over the product cycle. Both empiricalpredictions are consistent with evidence on multinational companies. As a normativeimplication, I find that IP rights should be strong but narrowly defined, to protect abusiness without holding up its potential spin-offs.

Quality safeguards and regulation of online pharmacies

Using econometric evidence, this article confirms that distribution ofmedicines online is split into two market segments of very diversequality, and identifies the factors that drive quality and qualityassurance in this activity. Unlike fraudulent, rogue, websites, whichoffer scant guarantees and usually sell just a few medicines withoutprescription, online pharmacies offering insurance coverage and linkedto conventional pharmacies typically sell a wholerange of drugs, require third-party medical prescriptions and provideabundant information to patients. It is shown that, where onlinepharmacies are allowed to act legally, market forces enhance quality,as private insurers require professional standards, and specialized thirdparties make a business of certifying them. Furthermore, older onlinepharmacies and those running conventional operations offer higherquality, probably because of reputational investments. Overall, this evidence supports licensing online pharmacies, especiallyconsidering that prohibiting them is ineffective against fraudulent sites.

Bundling electronic journals and competition among publishers

Site licensing of e-journals has been revolutionizing the way academicinformation is distributed. However, many librarians are concerned aboutthe possibility that publishers might abuse site licensing by practicingbundling. In this paper, we analyze the private and social incentives forthe publishers to use bundling in the context of STM electronic journalmarket. In the short run in which the number of journals is exogenouslygiven, we find a strong conflict between the two incentives: each publisherfinds bundling optimal and bundling increases the industry profit butreduces social welfare. However, in the long run we find that publishersmight have higher incentives to introduce new journals under bundlingthan without bundling and, in this case, bundling can reduce the industryprofit while increasing social welfare. Finally, we examine publishers incentive to provide links to the websites of the rival publishers underbundling and show that even asymmetric publishers have incentive tointerconnect.

External technology sources: Embodied or disembodied technology acquisition

This paper analyzes the choice between different innovationactivities of a firm. In particular, we study the technologyacquisition decision of the firm, i.e. its technology BUYdecision as part of the firm's innovation strategy. We take a closer look at the different types of external technologyacquisition where we distinguish two broad types of technologybuy decisions. On the one hand, the firm can acquire new technology which is embodied in an asset that is acquired suchas new personnel or (parts of) other firms or equipment. On the other hand, the firm can obtain new technology disembodiedthrough a licensing agreement or by outsourcing the technologydevelopment from an R&D contractor or consulting agency. Through a series of Probit regressions, we discuss variables that might affect external technology acquisition choices of the firm andpay special attention to the firm's abilities to scan the market for technology and to absorb the technology acquired. Furthermore, we analyze the effect of different appropriationregimes on the decision of the firm to source technology.

Los criterios de valoración tributarios de los precios de transferencia

Aquest treball té com a objectiu l'estudi de la correcta determinació dels preus de transferència, mitjançant els quals una empresa transmet els seus béns materials i actius intangibles o presta serveis a empreses associades. En primer lloc, s'han revisat els fonaments teòrics de l'aplicació dels preus de transferència a nivell internacional establerts per les Directrius de la OCDE i el Fòrum Conjunt sobre Preus de Transferència a la Unió Europea., sempre anomenant les particularitats que atorga la legislació espanyola en la matèria. Seguidament, s'analitzen els diferents mètodes existents per a la determinació dels preus de transferència, il·lustrats amb diversos exemples, i l'anàlisi de comparabilitat que es deurà realitzar al buscar operacions vinculades comparables que permetin la fixació dels preus de transferència. A continuació, es descriuen els procediments administratius que s'utilitzen per intentar reduir i resoldre les controvèrsies que puguin sorgir en aqusta matèria, així com les obligacions de documentació que recauen sobre els contribuents. Finalment, s'exposen algunes reflexions i conclusions sobre els aspectes positius i negatius d'aquesta regulació

La Interpretación del paisaje como instrumento de comunicación con la sociedad. Aportaciones de la semiótica y de los procesos de participación pública

La recién creada Ley del Paisaje de Catalunya responde, en primer lugar, a una nueva toma en consideración del paisaje como activo físico y cultural a preservar. El Observatorio del Paisaje de Catalunya es el ente encargado de gestionar dicha ley, mediante la redacción de los denominados Catálogos del Paisaje. Resulta especialmente interesante ahondar en el apartado que hace referencia a la delimitación de los valores simbólicos e identitarios del paisaje, los cuales serán implementados mediante procesos de participación pública, vehiculados, en su mayor parte, a través de Internet y de entrevistas a agentes sociales interesados (stakeholders). La semiótica, por su parte, se consolida como la ciencia general de los signos y representa, en este caso, un auténtico descodificador de la capacidad de evocación comunicativa del paisaje hacia la población. Esta comunicación dará a conocer los procesos –en esencia comunicacionales- mediante los cuales se ha intentado hacer aflorar los valores intangibles de los paisajes de Catalunya.

La comunicología y el estudio transversal del paisaje. Articulaciones conceptuales y propuesta de indicadores comunicativos para la evaluación de los paisajes

La gestión y evaluación del paisaje exige la necesaria convergencia de disciplinas en aras de delimitar los valores que la propia sociedad otorga al paisaje. El establecimiento de metodologías de análisis de tipo cualitativo parece satisfacer, en la mayoría de los casos, las necesidades de la comunidad científica en relación con la catalogación del paisaje. Las dificultades surgen cuando lo que pretende es clasificar el paisaje a partir de indicadores más de tipo cualitativo, lo que implica, sin lugar a dudas, la búsqueda de disciplinas que aporten más luz al ya de por sí complejo estudio de los denominados como valores intangibles del paisaje. La Comunicología representa, en este sentido, un aporte disciplinario novedoso, sobre todo en el sentido de intentar habilitar un lenguaje del paisaje, a partir del cual fijar los cimientos de su interpretación simbólica e identitaria. Así, las contribuciones teóricas del interaccionismo simbólico, de la ecología humana, de la psicología cognitiva o de la semiótica visual, entre otras, permiten vislumbrar las posibilidades de estudio del paisaje desde un punto de vista comunicológico. En este ensayo se sitúan los indicadores de evaluación de los paisajes en la órbita de la aportación disciplinar de la Comunicología. De ahí se abre un horizonte de posibilidades infinitas para el que se podría denominar como “abordaje comunicológico del paisaje”, con especiales sinergias en la concepción del paisaje como elemento activo de comunicación.

Marcas territoriales y desarrollo local en la Cataluña interior. Estudio de caso: Territoris serens (el Lluçanès)

La denominada «reestructuración rural» pasa ineludiblemente por la transformación de la economía de sector primario que tradicionalmente ha sustentado al campo. En los últimos tiempos, se experimenta una clara tercerización de la economía rural, en muy buena medida capitalizada por la industria turística. En este sentido, surge la necesidad de repensar la ruralidad, de construirla socialmente a partir de la proyección de imaginarios comunicados interna y externamente mediante la ayuda de marcas territoriales. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo prioritario explorar de qué forma la marca espacial Territoris serens permite la creación de una imagen competitiva para la agrupación territorial del Lluçanès, por medio de la difusión de relatos asociados a diversos valores intangibles encabezados por la serenidad, el paisaje y, por ende, la identidad territorial. La revisión de la literatura referida a marcas de territorio, el análisis de la producción documental vinculada a Territoris serens y la organización de un grupo focal de discusión permitirá dirimir el proceso de transformación de territorios en marcas, en aras de conseguir, en nombre de la competitividad, un renovado y posmoderno «sentido de lugar

Memoria de la elaboración de subtítulos para "Babel", primer capítulo de la serie documental Fry's Planet Word

This work tries to identify some of the skills an audio visual translator must develop, from a practical point of view, in order to pursue a career in this field, putting the stress on mastering subtitling-specific software. This report describes trial and error process during the making of the subtitles for a documentary and identifies some of the difficulties we might encounter while working on an assignment of this kind if we work with free licensing software. Moreover, it tries to contribute with some answers to these issues.

Benchmarking for routines and organizational knowledge

We use best practice benchmarking rationales to propose a dynamic research design that accounts for the endogenous components of across-firms heterogeneous routines to study changes in performance and their link to organizational knowledge investments. We thus contribute to the operationalization of management theoretical frameworks based on resources and routines. The research design employs frontier measures that provide industry-level benchmarking in organizational settings, and proposes some new indicators for firm-level strategic benchmarking. A profit-oriented analysis of the U.S. technology industry during 2000-2011 illustrates the usefulness of our design. Findings reveal that industry revival following economic distress comes along with wider gaps between best and worst performers. Second stage analyses show that increasing intangibles stocks is positively associated with fixed target benchmarking, while enhancing R&D spending is linked to local frontier progress. The discussion develops managerial interpretations of the benchmarking measures that are suitable for control mechanisms and reward systems.

Bibliotecas: el largo camino del estado natural a la cooperación

A partir de la definición que de la cooperación ofrece la ciencia económica, este trabajo presenta el marco teórico-práctico de la cooperación entre bibliotecas. En primer lugar se presenta una base filosófica, utilizando la teoría del pacto social de Hobbes como modelo explicativo. En segundo, fundamentado en la Biblioteconomía tomada desde una perspectiva conceptual e histórica, se muestra el protagonismo de los bibliotecarios y de las asociaciones profesionales así como las razones económicas o tangibles, e intangibles o de infraestructura que mueven a las bibliotecas a cooperar. La descripción y análisis de experiencias cooperativas en tiempo de crisis muestra la evolución de estas prácticas.