Los conceptos de salud financiera, riesgo y epidemiología en los estados financieros de las compañías del sector de extracción de petróleo crudo y gas natural en Colombia

El presente proyecto tiene como objeto identificar cuáles son los conceptos de salud, enfermedad, epidemiología y riesgo aplicables a las empresas del sector de extracción de petróleo y gas natural en Colombia. Dado, el bajo nivel de predicción de los análisis financieros tradicionales y su insuficiencia, en términos de inversión y toma de decisiones a largo plazo, además de no considerar variables como el riesgo y las expectativas de futuro, surge la necesidad de abordar diferentes perspectivas y modelos integradores. Esta apreciación es pertinente dentro del sector de extracción de petróleo y gas natural, debido a la creciente inversión extranjera que ha reportado, US$2.862 millones en el 2010, cifra mayor a diez veces su valor en el año 2003. Así pues, se podrían desarrollar modelos multi-dimensional, con base en los conceptos de salud financiera, epidemiológicos y estadísticos. El termino de salud y su adopción en el sector empresarial, resulta útil y mantiene una coherencia conceptual, evidenciando una presencia de diferentes subsistemas o factores interactuantes e interconectados. Es necesario mencionar también, que un modelo multidimensional (multi-stage) debe tener en cuenta el riesgo y el análisis epidemiológico ha demostrado ser útil al momento de determinarlo e integrarlo en el sistema junto a otros conceptos, como la razón de riesgo y riesgo relativo. Esto se analizará mediante un estudio teórico-conceptual, que complementa un estudio previo, para contribuir al proyecto de finanzas corporativas de la línea de investigación en Gerencia.

Reflexiones economicistas sobre la izquierda y la derecha

Este documento está compuesto por cuatro secciones de las cuales esta introducción es la primera. En la segunda sección se analiza la visión que diferentes individuos pueden tener acerca del problema de la desigualdad y las implicaciones que estas diferencias tienen sobre el ideal de política re-distributiva. En la tercera sección se presenta una revisión analítica de la literatura económica que se ocupa de las relaciones entre distribución del ingreso y crecimiento económico. Finalmente, en la última sección se presentan algunas conclusiones.

The effects of information and communication technologies on the banking sector and the payments system

This dissertation studies the effects of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on the banking sector and the payments system. It provides insight into how technology-induced changes occur, by exploring both the nature and scope of main technology innovations and evidencing their economic implications for banks and payment systems. Some parts in the dissertation are descriptive. They summarise the main technological developments in the field of finance and link them to economic policies. These parts are complemented with sections of the study that focus on assessing the extent of technology application to banking and payment activities. Finally, it includes also some work which borrows from the economic literature on banking. The need for an interdisciplinary approach arises from the complexity of the topic and the rapid path of change to which it is subject. The first chapter provides an overview of the influence of developments in ICT on the evolution of financial services and international capital flows. We include main indicators and discuss innovation in the financial sector, exchange rates and international capital flows. The chapter concludes with impact analysis and policy options regarding the international financial architecture, some monetary policy issues and the role of international institutions. The second chapter is a technology assessment study that focuses on the relationship between technology and money. The application of technology to payments systems is transforming the way we use money and, in some instances, is blurring the definition of what constitutes money. This chapter surveys the developments in electronic forms of payment and their relationship to the banking system. It also analyses the challenges posed by electronic money for regulators and policy makers, and in particular the opportunities created by two simultaneous processes: the Economic and Monetary Union and the increasing use of electronic payment instruments. The third chapter deals with the implications of developments in ICT on relationship banking. The financial intermediation literature explains relationship banking as a type of financial intermediation characterised by proprietary information and multiple interactions with customers. This form of banking is important for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises. We discuss the effects of ICT on the banking sector as a whole and then apply these developments to the case of relationship banking. The fourth chapter is an empirical study of the effects of technology on the banking business, using a sample of data from the Spanish banking industry. The design of the study is based on some of the events described in the previous chapters, and also draws from the economic literature on banking. The study shows that developments in information management have differential effects on wholesale and retail banking activities. Finally, the last chapter is a technology assessment study on electronic payments systems in Spain and the European Union. It contains an analysis of existing payment systems and ongoing or planned initiatives in Spain. It forms part of a broader project comprising a series of country-specific analyses covering ten European countries. The main issues raised across the countries serve as the starting point to discuss implications of the development of electronic money for regulation and policies, and in particular, for monetary-policy making.

The effects of minimal tillage, contour cultivation, in-field vegetative barriers and crop residues on phosphorus and sediment yields

Runoff, sediment, total phosphorus and total dissolved phosphorus losses in overland flow were measured for two years on unbounded plots cropped with wheat and oats. Half of the field was cultivated with minimum tillage (shallow tillage with a tine cultivator) and half was conventionally ploughed. Within each cultivation treatment there were different treatment areas (TAs). In the first year of the experiment, one TA was cultivated up and down the slope, one TA was cultivated on the contour, with a beetle bank acting as a vegetative barrier partway up the slope, and one had a mixed direction cultivation treatment, with cultivation and drilling conducted up and down the slope and all subsequent operations conducted on the contour. In the second year, this mixed treatment was replaced with contour cultivation. Results showed no significant reduction in runoff, sediment losses or total phosphorus losses from minimum tillage when compared to the conventional plough treatment, but there were increased losses of total dissolved phosphorus with minimum tillage. The mixed direction cultivation treatment increased surface runoff and losses of sediment and phosphorus. Increasing surface roughness with contour cultivation reduced surface runoff compared to up and down slope cultivation in both the plough and minimum tillage treatment areas, but this trend was not significant. Sediment and phosphorus losses in the contour cultivation treatment followed a very similar pattern to runoff. Combining contour cultivation with a vegetative barrier in the form of a beetle bank to reduce slope length resulted in a non-significant reduction in surface runoff, sediment and total phosphorus when compared to up and down slope cultivation, but there was a clear trend towards reduced losses. However, the addition of a beetle bank did not provide a significant reduction in runoff, sediment losses or total phosphorus losses when compared to contour cultivation, suggesting only a marginal additional benefit. The economic implications for farmers of the different treatment options are investigated in order to assess their suitability for implementation at a field scale.

Improving the efficiency of energy utilization in cattle

The efficiency of energy utilisation in cattle is a determinant of the profitability of milk and beef production, as well as their environmental impact. At an animal level, meat and milk production by ruminants is less efficient than pig and poultry production, in part due to lower digestibility of forages compared with grains. However, when compared on the basis of human-edible inputs, the ruminant has a clear efficiency advantage. There has been recent interest in feed conversion efficiency (FCE) in dairy cattle and residual feed intake, an indicator of FCE, in beef cattle. Variation between animals in FCE may have genetic components, allowing selection for animals with greater efficiency and reduced environmental impact. A major source of variation in FCE is feed digestibility, and thus approaches that improve digestibility should improve FCE if rumen function is not disrupted. Methane represents a substantial loss of digestible energy from rations. Major determinants of methane emission are the amount of feed consumed and the proportions of forage and concentrates fed. In addition, feeding fat has long been known to reduce methane emission. A myriad of other supplements and additives are currently being investigated as mitigators of methane emission, but in many cases compounds effective in sheep are ineffective in lactating dairy cows. Ultimately, the adoption of ‘best practice’ in diet formulation and management may be the most effective option for reducing methane. In assessing the efficiency of energy use for milk and meat production by cattle, and their environmental impact, it is imperative that comparisons be made at a systems level, and that the wider social and economic implications of mitigation policy are considered.

Conceptualizing change in the Portuguese footwear industry: regional voices and cognitive spaces of agency

Expanding national services sectors and global competition aggravate current and perceived future market pressures on traditional manufacturing industries. These perceptions of change have provoked a growing intensification of geo-political discourses on technological innovation and ‘learning’, and calls for competency in design among other professional skills. However, these political discourses on innovation and learning have paralleled public concerns with the apparent ‘growth pains’ from factory closures and subsequent increases in unemployment, and its debilitating social and economic implications for local and regional development. In this respect the following investigation sets out to conceptualize change through the complementary and differing perceptions of industry and regional actors’ experiences or narratives, linking these perceptions to their structure-determined spheres of agent-environment interactivity. It aims to determine whether agents’ differing perceptions of industry transformation can have a role in the legitimization of their interests in, and in sustaining their organizational influence over the process of industry-regional transformation. It argues that industry and regional agent perceptions are among the cognitive aspects of agent-environment interactivity that permeate agency. It stresses agents’ ability to reason and manipulate their work environments to preserve their self-regulating interests in, and task representative influence over the multi-jurisdictional space of industry-regional transformation. The contributions of this investigation suggest that agents’ varied perceptions of industry and regional change inform or compete for influence over the redirection of regional, industry and business strategies. This claim offers a greater appreciation for the reflexive and complex institutional dimensions of industry planning and development, and the political responsibility to socially just forms of regional development. It positions the outcomes of this investigation at the nexus of intensifying geo-political discourses on the efficiency and equity of territorial development in Europe.

West African monsoon 2012

Living up to its reputation as a highly variable climate system, the West African Monsoon (WAM) 2012 contrasted strikingly with the previous year. In 2011, the West African rainy season was delayed, patchy, and irregular. In 2012, whilst it was anomalously wet in many area, the Guinea coastal countries and some crucial agricultural regions remained very dry, persisting from the previous year. As a result, 2012 generated the third big food crisis to hit the region in the last seven years. The 2012 WAM forecast, observed climate conditions and the ongoing socio-economic implications for the region are reviewed here.

Novel and effective treatment modality for medically unexplained symptoms

Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) confound physicians, and the incidence and prevalence of these conditions is poorly documented.  This is not least due to the complex nature of MUS and mimicry of morbidity with conditions that have common clinical assessment and treatment modalities, e.g. migraine headaches which stress headaches commonly are misdiagnosed as.  Effective treatment modalities for MUS have been more or less non-existent.  In the following we present a modality for the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of MUS that in our experience leads to cure, at least in better than half of these cases measured in terms of allowing the individual back to work.  These results are at least twice as high as those described hitherto (see below), and yet, our treatment modality is beset with many obstacles, not the least of which is the intrasigence of a system that will not and/or can not understand why this modality is so much better than what they are able to offer.  The most importance obstacle is financing, as this modality requires long term and committed financing to work.  The economic implications of not dealing with these issues are described.

Implementing climate change policies consistent with integrated coastal zone management : a case study of Victoria, Australia

Whilst the proliferation of publications on climate change science is remarkable and makes the updating of responses to impacts of climate change on coastal environments daunting, the area of policy responses is even more confusing and complex. This is because policy responses do not need to consider the science of climate change alone but also have to weigh up the social and economic implications of the impact of climate change on coastal communities. In a federated nation such as Australia this has the added complication of three tiers of Government (Federal, State and local) having to interact in order to co-ordinate any policy responses. These complications should be aided by the internationally accepted concept of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) which has been prevalent in Australian coastal planning and management for several decades. This paper uses the State of Victoria, Australia as a case study of how Governments are responding to these challenges through using the principles of ICZM. The paper will review recent inquires and investigations in Australia and canvas the policy responses to these reviews, concentrating on the State of Victoria. The paper analyses how consistent these evolving policy responses are with ICZM and suggests lessons for other jurisdictions arising from the Victorian experience.

Depression as a predictor of work resumption following myocardial infarction (MI): a review of recent research evidence

Background Depression often coexists with myocardial infarction (MI) and has been found to impede recovery through reduced functioning in key areas of life such as work. In an era of improved survival rates and extended working lives, we review whether depression remains a predictor of poorer work outcomes following MI by systematically reviewing literature from the past 15 years.

Methods Articles were identified using medical, health, occupational and social science databases, including PubMed, OVID, Medline, Proquest, CINAHL plus, CCOHS, SCOPUS, Web of Knowledge, and the following pre-determined criteria were applied: (i) collection of depression measures (as distinct from 'psychological distress') and work status at baseline, (ii) examination and statistical analysis of predictors of work outcomes, (iii) inclusion of cohorts with patients exhibiting symptoms consistent with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), (iv) follow-up of work-specific and depression specific outcomes at minimum 6 months, (v) published in English over the past 15 years. Results from included articles were then evaluated for quality and analysed by comparing effect size.

Results Of the 12 articles meeting criteria, depression significantly predicted reduced likelihood of return to work (RTW) in the majority of studies (n = 7). Further, there was a trend suggesting that increased depression severity was associated with poorer RTW outcomes 6 to 12 months after a cardiac event. Other common significant predictors of RTW were age and patient perceptions of their illness and work performance.

Conclusion Depression is a predictor of work resumption post-MI. As work is a major component of Quality of Life (QOL), this finding has clinical, social, public health and economic implications in the modern era. Targeted depression interventions could facilitate RTW post-MI.

Challenges to providing work integrated learning to international business students at Australian universities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a three-year Australian study of international business and accounting students and the transition to employment. For international students seeking to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive global labour market, foreign work experience is now an integral part of the overseas study “package”. Work-integrated learning (WIL) is seen to provide critical “employability” knowledge and skills, however, international students have low participation rates. The high value placed on WIL among international students poses challenges for Australia as well as opportunities. Understanding the issues surrounding international students and WIL is closely linked to Australia’s continued success in the international education sector which has broad, long-term, social and economic implications.Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on 59 interviews with a range of stakeholders including international students, universities, government, employers and professional bodies. Central to the paper is an in-depth case study of WIL in the business and accounting discipline at one Australian university.Findings – Providing international students with access to discipline-related work experience has emerged as a critical issue for Australian universities. The study finds that enhancing the employability skills of internationals students via integrated career education, a focus on English language proficiency and “soft skills” development are central to success in WIL. Meeting the growing demand for WIL among international students requires a multipronged approach which hinges on cooperation between international students, universities, employers and government.Originality/value – This project aims to fill a critical knowledge gap by advancing theories in relation to international students and WIL. While there is a significant body of research in the fields of international education and WIL, there is an absence of research exploring the intersection between the two fields. The study will contribute to the advancement of knowledge in both fields by exploring the emerging issue of WIL and international students.

Desregulamentação dos mercados de trabalho e desemprego nas economias capitalistas avançadas

O objetivo desta pesquisa é determinar a relevância dos fatores micro e macroeconômicos para o presente nível de desemprego em algumas economias capitalistas avançadas. Através de tais resultados, será possível estabelecer a relevância da hipótese convencional de que tais níveis de desemprego podem ser explicados por rigidez nos mercados de trabalho, bem como suas implicações de política econômica.

Impactos causados pela privatização no ambiente de trabalho, relações interpessoais e perfil profissional : o caso Embratel

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi verificar o impacto da privatização no ambiente de trabalho, relações interpessoais e perfil profissional dos empregados da Embratel. Para tanto, estudou-se a trajetória da empresa no contexto de estatal, a transição e processo de consolidação como empresa privada de um segmento altamente competitivo. O pnmelro capítulo apresenta a história das comunicações no Brasil, as implicações político-econômicas, o surgimento e desenvolvimento da Embratel. O segundo capítulo estuda cultura organizacional e sua importância na viabilização da gestão de recursos humanos. O terceiro capítulo analisa as formações grupais e as relações interpessoais no ambiente de trabalho. O quarto capítulo investiga as novas políticas de recursos humanos e os elementos que constituem o perfil profissional demandado pelo mercado. O capítulo cinco estuda clima organizacional e interfaces com a motivação e satisfação no trabalho. O sexto capítulo analisa a gestão de recursos humanos na Embratel ao longo de sua existência como estatal e a partir da privatização. O sétimo capítulo apresenta e analisa a pesquisa de clima organizacional realizada na empresa em 2000. Dentre os principais aspectos estudados verifica-se: a Embratel iniciou seu processo de modernização antes da privatização e essa veio acelerar e apresentar novos rumos para a empresa. Sua gestão era até então prejudicada pelo excesso de normas e atendimento a interesses políticos, o que lhe conferia pouca agilidade. A relação do empregado com a empresa se modificou. A nova visão e as modernas políticas de recursos humanos hoje oferecem suporte para a efetivação das mudanças desejadas e necessárias, mas também exige alto grau de adaptabilidade de todos.

A onda do turismo na cidade do sol: a reconfiguração urbana de Natal

Space reading of Natal City and its reconfiguration from the intensification of tourist activity and the expansion of the services' sector, transiting, primarily, through the geography, the social sciences, the economy, in one main approach that is unaware of science's traditional limitations and recognizes the complexity that involves current world. In face of this agreement it analyzes the social-economic implications that remodel the spaces under the new economic view of services' sector, commanded by the tourism, in an intense process of city's reconfiguration, concentrating in three great axles and their irrigation ways. These changes were about the public-private relation (by the public politics) in the formation of new spaces and in the remodeling of the city's old areas, which, together, had contributed to the tourist activity's appropriation, returning it in a social-economic mosaic that owns obvious reflexes in its space. This fragmentation in the urbane cloth of Natal is expressed by social nature and economic points and, in the scenery, is manifested through the modern forms of city's space occupation by the local elites and services' sector, evidencing their status' district, as well as selecting those areas with bigger capacity to reply to the capital

América Latina y el Caribe: la propiedad intelectual después de los tratados de libre comercio

Incluye Bibliografía