Free-and open source software for a course on network management: authoring and enactment of scripts based on collaborative learning strategies

This paper describes a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) case study in engineering education carried out within the context of a network management course. The case study shows that the use of two computing tools developed by the authors and based on Free- and Open-Source Software (FOSS) provide significant educational benefits over traditional engineering pedagogical approaches in terms of both concepts and engineering competencies acquisition. First, the Collage authoring tool guides and supports the course teacher in the process of authoring computer-interpretable representations (using the IMS Learning Design standard notation) of effective collaborative pedagogical designs. Besides, the Gridcole system supports the enactment of that design by guiding the students throughout the prescribed sequence of learning activities. The paper introduces the goals and context of the case study, elaborates onhow Collage and Gridcole were employed, describes the applied evaluation methodology, anddiscusses the most significant findings derived from the case study.

Open source business strategies in the domain of embedded systems

El tema de este estudio es el aumento de la comprensión teórica y empírica de la estrategia de negocio de código abierto en el dominio de sistemas embebidos por investigar modelos de negocios de código abierto, retos, recursos y capacidades operativas y dinámicas.

On optimal monetary and fiscal policy interactions in open economies

This paper studies monetary and fiscal policy interactions in a two country model, where taxes on firms sales are optimally chosen and the monetary policy is set cooperatively.It turns out that in a two country setting non-cooperative fiscal policy makers have an incentive to change taxes on sales depending on shocks realizations in order to reduce output production. Therefore whether the fiscal policy is set cooperatively or not matters for optimal monetary policy decisions. Indeed, as already shown in the literature, the cooperative monetary policy maker implements the flexible price allocation only when special conditions on the value of the distortions underlying the economy are met. However, if non-cooperative fiscal policy makers set the taxes on firms sales depending on shocks realizations, these conditions cannot be satisfied; conversely, when fiscal policy is cooperative, these conditions are fulfilled. We conclude that whether implementing the flexible price allocation is optimal or not depends on the fiscal policy regime.

A structural model of Australia as a small open economy

This paper sets up and estimates a structuralmodel of Australia as a small open economyusing Bayesian techniques. Unlike other recentstudies, the paper shows that a small microfoundedmodel can capture the open economydimensions quite well. Specifically, the modelattributes a substantial fraction of the volatilityof domestic output and inflation to foreigndisturbances, close to what is suggested by unrestrictedVAR studies. The paper also investigatesthe effects of various exogenous shockson the Australian economy.

A medium-scale open economy model of Australia

We estimate an open economy dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE)model of Australia with a number of shocks, frictions and rigidities, matching alarge number of observable time series. We find that both foreign and domesticshocks are important drivers of the Australian business cycle.We also find that theinitial impact on inflation of an increase in demand for Australian commoditiesis negative, due to an improvement in the real exchange rate, though there is apersistent positive effect on inflation that dominates at longer horizons.

Monetary policy and exchange rate volatility in a small open economy

We lay out a small open economy version of the Calvo sticky price model, and show how the equilibrium dynamics can be reduced to simple representation in domestic inflation and the output gap. We use the resulting framework to analyze the macroeconomic implications of three alternative rule-based policy regimes for the small open economy: domestic inflation and CPI-based Taylor rules, and an exchange rate peg. We show that a key difference amongthese regimes lies in the relative amount of exchange rate volatility that they entail. We also discuss a special case for which domestic inflation targeting constitutes the optimal policy, and where a simple second order approximation to the utility of the representative consumer can be derived and used to evaluate the welfare losses associated with the suboptimal rules.

How do very open economies adjust to large immigration flows? Recent evidence from Spanish regions

In recent years, Spain has received unprecedented immigration flows. Between 2001 and 2006 the fraction of the population born abroad more than doubled, increasing from4.8% to 10.8%. For Spanish provinces with above-median inflows (relative to population),immigration increased by 24% the number of high school dropouts while only increasingcollege graduates by 11%. We study different channels by which regional labor markets haveabsorbed the large increase in relative supply of low educated workers. We identify theexogenous supply shock using historical immigrant settlement patterns by country of origin.Using data from the Labor Force Survey and the decennial Census, we find a large expansion ofemployment in high immigration regions. Disaggregating by industry, the absorption operatedthrough large increases in the share of low-educated workers, compared to the same industry inlow-immigration regions. We do not find changes in sectoral specialization. Overall, andperhaps surprisingly, the pattern of absorption is very similar to the one found in the US.

Which inflation to target? A small open economy with sticky wages indexed to past inflation

In a closed economy context there is common agreement on price inflation stabilization being one of the objects of monetary policy. Moving to an open economy context gives rise to the coexistence of two measures of inflation: domestic inflation (DI) and consumer price inflation (CPI). Which one of the two measures should be the target variable? This is the question addressed in this paper. In particular, I use a small open economy model to show that once sticky wages indexed to past CPI inflation are introduced, a complete inward looking monetary policy is no more optimal. I first, derive a loss function from a secondorder approximation of the utility function and then, I compute the fully optimalmonetary policy under commitment. Then, I use the optimal monetary policy as a benchmark to compare the performance of different monetary policy rules. The main result is that once a positive degree of indexation is introduced in the model the rule performing better (among the Taylor type rules considered) is the one targeting wage inflation and CPI inflation. Moreover this rule delivers results very close to the one obtained under the fully optimal monetary policy with commitment.

Feature Extraction from Whole-Sky Ground-Based Images for Cloud-Type Recognition

Several features that can be extracted from digital images of the sky and that can be useful for cloud-type classification of such images are presented. Some features are statistical measurements of image texture, some are based on the Fourier transform of the image and, finally, others are computed from the image where cloudy pixels are distinguished from clear-sky pixels. The use of the most suitable features in an automatic classification algorithm is also shown and discussed. Both the features and the classifier are developed over images taken by two different camera devices, namely, a total sky imager (TSI) and a whole sky imager (WSC), which are placed in two different areas of the world (Toowoomba, Australia; and Girona, Spain, respectively). The performance of the classifier is assessed by comparing its image classification with an a priori classification carried out by visual inspection of more than 200 images from each camera. The index of agreement is 76% when five different sky conditions are considered: clear, low cumuliform clouds, stratiform clouds (overcast), cirriform clouds, and mottled clouds (altocumulus, cirrocumulus). Discussion on the future directions of this research is also presented, regarding both the use of other features and the use of other classification techniques

Intangible Capital: four years of growth as an open-access scientific publication

Con este nuevo número, la revista Intangible Capital, inicia el cuarto volumen avanzando hacia el quinto año de publicación. Como ya es tradición en la revista, iniciamos este nuevo volumen evaluando el anterior y presentando las nuevas direcciones. Como principales aportaciones del 2007, se destacan hechos relevantes como la renovación de convenios para la indexación científica de la revista, el cambio de plataforma a OJS, la inclusión de un nuevo editor, la nueva composición del editorial board, el equipo de revisores, el cambio a un modelo bilingüe de revista, la nueva financiación obtenida y el trabajo que estamos realizando gran número de editores científicos de acceso abierto en España para el reconocimiento por parte de la Comisión Nacional Evaluadora de la Actividad Investigadora.This issue opens the fourth volume of the Intangible Capital journal, which makes its way towards the fifth year of publication. As usually, we start this volume by evaluating the previous one and tracing new directions. Among the main contributions during the year 2007, we consider important to highlight the following aspects: the renewal of the scientific indexation agreements, the platform change to OJS, the appointment of a new editor, new members included in the editorial board, the board of reviewers, the change towards a bilingual model, the new financing obtained and, the last but not the least, the work undertaken together with many scientific editors of open access Spanish journals for obtaining the positive evaluation of the CNEAI (National Commission for the Evaluation of the Research Activity) and thus, being a proof of scientific excellence

An analysis of the currently available calibrations inStromgren photometry by using open clusters

In recent years, several authors have revised the calibrations used to compute physical parameters (tex2html_wrap_inline498, tex2html_wrap_inline500, log g, [Fe/H]) from intrinsic colours in the tex2html_wrap_inline504 photometric system. For reddened stars, these intrinsic colours can be computed through the standard relations among colour indices for each of the regions defined by Strömgren (1966) on the HR diagram. We present a discussion of the coherence of these calibrations for main-sequence stars. Stars from open clusters are used to carry out this analysis. Assuming that individual reddening values and distances should be similar for all the members of a given open cluster, systematic differences among the calibrations used in each of the photometric regions might arise when comparing mean reddening values and distances for the members of each region. To classify the stars into Strömgren's regions we extended the algorithm presented by Figueras et al. (1991) to a wider range of spectral types and luminosity classes. The observational ZAMS are compared with the theoretical ZAMS from stellar evolutionary models, in the range tex2html_wrap_inline506 K. The discrepancies are also discussed.

Aproximació al moviment "open access"

[eng] The article describes the background and current state of the open access (OA) movement. Its objectives --with roots in scientists' traditional desire to disseminate their works, in librarians' concerns about the serials crisis, and in technological advances-- were formally articulated in the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) declaration of 2002. This statement established two strategies for providing access to scientific information without any economic, technical, or legal obstacles: 1) publication of articles in OA journals or 2) deposit by authors of their works in stable institutional or subject-based repositories. The article suggests that this second "route" appears to offer greater possibilities of attaining open access in the short term. However, there still is a lot of work to be done in disseminating the concepts of OA and in training authors regarding procedures for depositing their works: in other words what is needed is a series of promotional activities for overcoming one of today's greatest challenges: author inertia.

The situation of open access institutional repositories in Spain: 2009 report

Introduction. The DRIVER I project drew up a detailed report of European repositories based on data gathered in a survey in which Spain's participation was very low. This created a highly distorted image of the implementation of repositories in Spain. This study aims to analyse the current state of Spanish open-access institutional repositories and to describe their characteristics. Method. The data were gathered through a Web survey. The questionnaire was based on that used by DRIVER I: coverage; technical infrastructure and technical issues; institutional policies; services created; and stimulators and inhibitors for establishing, filling and maintaining their digital institutional repositories. Analysis. Data were tabulated and analysed systematically according responses obtained from the questionnaire and grouped by coverage. Results. Responses were obtained from 38 of the 104 institutions contacted, which had 29 institutional repositories. This represents 78.3% of the Spanish repositories according to the BuscaRepositorios directory. Spanish repositories contained mainly full-text materials (journal articles and doctoral theses) together with metadata. The software most used was DSpace, followed by EPrints. The metadata standard most used was Dublin Core. Spanish repositories offered more usage statistics and fewer author-oriented services than the European average. The priorities for the future development of the repositories are the need for clear policies on access to scientific production based on public funding and the need for quality control indicators. Conclusions.This is the first detailed study of Spanish institutional repositories. The key stimulants for establishing, filling and maintaining were, in order of importance, the increase of visibility and citation, the interest of decision-makers, simplicity of use and search services. On the other hand the main inhibitors identified were the absence of policies, the lack of integration with other national and international systems and the lack of awareness efforts among academia.

A virtual exhibition of open source software for libraries

Frequently the choice of a library management program is conditioned by social, economic and/or political factors that result in the selection of a system that is not altogether suitable for the library’s needs, characteristics and functions. Open source software is quickly becoming a preferred solution, owing to the freedom to copy, modify and distribute it and the freedom from contracts, as well as for greater opportunities for interoperability with other applications. These new trends regarding open source software in libraries are also reflected in LIS studies, as evidenced by the different courses addressing automated programs, repositorymanagement, including the Linux/GNU operating system, among others. The combination of the needs of the centres and the new trends for open source software is the focus of a virtual laboratory for the use of open source software for library applications. It was the result of a project, whose aim was to make a useful contribution to the library community, that was carried out by a group of professors of the School of Library and Information Science of the University of Barcelona, together with a group of students, members of a Working Group on Open Source Software for Information Professionals, of the Professional Library Association of Catalonia.