Contexto, concepto y dilemas de la responsabilidad social de las empresas transnacionales europeas: una aproximación sociológica

This study addresses the hypothesis that the increasing importance of corporate social responsibility, and its incorporation into European multinational companies, is a true reflection of some of the most important features of present day social, economic and cultural life. The spread of this phenomenon is studied in the context of globalization, makes reference to its multi-scalar, multi-directional and multi-dimensional structure, and also considers its relationship to the increasing importance multinational companies attach to reputation risk management and corporate image. Below we focus on how this is conceptualized by making a distinction between three different types of responsibility and its relation to four dilemmas; should it be obligatory or voluntary, unilateral or multilateral, applied universally or relatively, or just limited to complying with current law. In addition, other philanthropic or social aspects of the company and its consideration as a regulatory plus are addressed. In line with this array of definitions, different outlooks are presented regarding the risks and opportunities of this new social tool.Este trabajo parte de la hipótesis de que el actual ascenso de la responsabilidad social hoy, y su incorporación en las grandes corporaciones transnacionales europeas, es un fiel producto y expresión de algunos de los rasgos más destacados de la vida social, económica y cultural de nuestros días. Se examina así su expansión en el contexto de globalización, haciendo referencia a su configuración multiescalar, multidireccional y multidimensional, considerando también su relación con la importancia creciente concedida por las empresas transnacionales al riesgo reputacional y a su imagen corporativa. A continuación se aborda el debate relativo a su conceptualización, distinguiendo tres grandes concepciones de la misma, articuladas, a su vez, en torno a cuatro dilemas, relativos a su obligatoriedad o voluntariedad, su unilateralidad o multilateralidad, su aplicación universalista o relativista, o, en fin, su limitación al cumplimiento de la legislación vigente, junto a otros aspectos filantrópicos o de acción social de la empresa, de un lado, o su consideración como plus normativo, de otro. Al hilo de esta pluralidad de definiciones, se esbozan los diferentes discursos sobre los riesgos y oportunidades de esta nueva herramienta social

Output dynamics in an endogenous growth model

The aim of this paper is to analyze whether endogenous growth RBC models are consistent with two stylized facts about U.S. output dynamics. First, GNP growth is positively correlated in the short run and it has a weak negative autocorrelation over longer horizons. Second, GNP appears to have an important trend-reverting component that has a hump-shaped MA representation. In particular, this article considers a stochastic version of Lucas' (1988) model in the absence of externalities in discrete time with two modifications: agents derive utility not only from consumption but also from leisure and labor adjustment costs are included. Results reveal that combining the endogenous character of the engine of growth with labor adjustment costs may help solve the Cogley-Nason (1995) puzzle since it provides a stronger propagation mechanism which, in turn, improves the model's ability to generate realistic output dynamics.real business cycle models, endogenous growth, propagation mechanism

Las diversidades estereotipadas construidas por el patrimonio cultural inmaterial en la Unión Europea

En este artículo se estudia antropológicamente las dimensiones metaculturales y metaidentitarias que definen al patrimonio cultural de la Unión Europea, sobre todo, en su versión inmaterial. Son caracteres que contribuyen de modo decisivo a la construcción de estereotipos, a la negación e invisibilización de la diversidad de los individuos y grupos sociales y a su traducción en términos de desigualdad y exclusión. También se reflexiona sobre los retos que plantea a la Antropología la patrimonialización de la cultura y las identidades de la ciudadanía de la UE. Estos análisis críticos se basan en rasgos generales de las producciones culturales patrimonializadas en la UE, formalmente declaradas por la UNESCO como tales e inscritas en la Lista del Patrimonio Inmaterial de la Humanidad.This article anthropologically studies the meta-identity and metacultural dimensions that characterise cultural heritage, particularly its intangible version, in the European Union. These dispositions decisively contribute to the construction of stereotypes, the negation and invisibilization of individual and social group diversity, and translations of inequality and exclusion. The heritagization of culture and identities of EU citizenry pose challenges to Anthropology, which are also discussed. Critical analyses are based on the generals characteristics of cultural heritage productions in the EU which have been formally declared by UNESCO and registered on their List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Consumption-Leisure Trade-offs and Persistency in Business Cycles

This paper studies whether nonseparabilities between consumption and leisure may help to explain the observed persistence in GNP growth. We consider an extended version of Lucas' (1988) human capital investment model that includes labor adjustment costs and compare its performance under different utility specifications with different degrees of complementarity and substitutability between consumption and leisure. We find that when consumption and leisure are complements the model succeeds in matching not only the autocorrelation of output growth but also the important trend-reverting component found in US data. These results hold even if low adjustment costs of labor are considered. Hence, we conclude that an arguably simple margin not studied previously can provide useful insights into observed business cycle patterns.real business cycle models, endogenous growth, propagation mechanism, persistence

Las raíces pragmáticas y neo-kantianas del teorizar de Thorstein B. Veblen.

Sin resume

A Differentiable Generative Adversarial Network for Open Domain Dialogue

Paper presented at the IWSDS 2019: International Workshop on Spoken Dialogue Systems Technology, Siracusa, Italy, April 24-26, 2019This work presents a novel methodology to train open domain neural dialogue systems within the framework of Generative Adversarial Networks with gradient-based optimization methods. We avoid the non-differentiability related to text-generating networks approximating the word vector corresponding to each generated token via a top-k softmax. We show that a weighted average of the word vectors of the most probable tokens computed from the probabilities resulting of the top-k softmax leads to a good approximation of the word vector of the generated token. Finally we demonstrate through a human evaluation process that training a neural dialogue system via adversarial learning with this method successfully discourages it from producing generic responses. Instead it tends to produce more informative and variate ones.This work has been partially funded by the Basque Government under grant PRE_2017_1_0357, by the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU under grant PIF17/310, and by the H2020 RIA EMPATHIC (Grant N: 769872)

La representación del poder y el poder de la representación: la política cultural en los museos de Antropología y la creación del Museo del Traje

This essay analizes the development, cultural politics and symbolism that lies beyond the substitution of the National Museum of Anthropology (branch of Spanish Cultures) into the Custom Museum. This resolution and the alleged reasons to get at this substitution point out several concepts which are worthwhile to be analized through an anthropological perspective: cultural diversity, a view of the past and the present, processes of change, ethnography and the use and representation of culture. In such a substitution there are meaningful ideological changes at different levels which point out not only to the cultural policy of a National Party but, more deeply, to new forms of life and thought of modern Spanish society, and tendencies, values and characteristics of the world we live in. They are the new values about the body and comsumption coming from the realm of fashion, the highlight of the cover in stead of the whole human being, the importance of the yellow press and the processes of elite magnification. There are interesting anthropological matters in and out of such museums and a discussion on the relationship of those with civil society.Este ensayo analiza la trayectoria, la política cultural y el simbolismo subyacentes en la sustitución del Museo Nacional de Antropología, destinado a las culturas del Estado español, por el Museo del Traje. Las decisiones tomadas y los argumentos empleados para llevar a cabo esta sustitución evidencian concepciones que merecen ser analizadas desde una perspectiva antropológica y que aluden a la diversidad cultural, la visión del presente y del pasado y de los procesos de cambio, la etnografía y su uso y las representaciones de la cultura. En tal sustitución se definen transformaciones ideológicas muy significativas a varios niveles, en las que están envueltas no sólo la política cultural de un determinado partido sino también, y más profundamente, nuevas formas de pensar y vivir de la propia sociedad, ciertas tendencias, valores y características del mundo en que vivimos. Se trata de los nuevos valores en torno al cuerpo y al consumo que expresa la omnipresencia de la moda, de la primacía del envoltorio frente al ser humano integral, del fenómeno de la sociedad «del corazón», tan presente cotidianamente en los medios de comunicación, y de los procesos de enaltecimiento y distinción de las élites. En esa trayectoria subyacen cuestiones importantes que atañen al desarrollo de la antropología dentro y fuera de tales museos y a la relación de éstos con la sociedad civil

Consumption-Leisure Trade-offs and Persistency in Business Cycles

This paper studies whether nonseparabilities between consumption and leisure may help to explain the observed persistence in GNP growth. We consider an extended version of Lucas' (1988) human capital investment model that includes labor adjustment costs and compare its performance under different utility specifications with different degrees of complementarity and substitutability between consumption and leisure. We find that when consumption and leisure are complements the model succeeds in matching not only the autocorrelation of output growth but also the important trend-reverting component found in US data. These results hold even if low adjustment costs of labor are considered. Hence, we conclude that an arguably simple margin not studied previously can provide useful insights into observed business cycle patterns.Financial support from Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (SEJ2005-08269) and the Department of Education of the Basque Government (IT-334-07) is gratefully acknowledged

DRAWING CHILLIDA AND OTEIZA¿S SCULPTURES

[EN] Under the pretext of surveying some sculptures of Chillida and Oteiza, and thus contribute to its planimetric drawing, the author asks himself whether the drawing is part of the creative process of each sculptor. On the other hand, the way we tackle the drawing of the sculptures, helps us to understand the complexity, not only of the theoretical thinking of its creators, but the rigor that a strict architectural survey means.[ES] Con el pretexto de levantar con fidelidad algunas esculturas de Chillida y Oteiza, y contribuir así a su dibujado planimétrico, el autor se cuestiona si el dibujo forma parte del proceso creativo de cada escultor. Por otra parte, la manera en que abordamos el dibujo de las esculturas ya acabadas, nos ayuda a comprender la complejidad, no sólo del pensamiento teórico de sus artífices, sino del rigor que supone un estricto levantamiento arquitectónico.Álvarado Tordesillas, A. (2012). DIBUJANDO ESCULTURAS DE CHILLIDA Y OTEIZA. EGA. Revista de Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica. 17(19):212-221. doi:10.4995/ega.2012.1373SWORD2122211719Álvarez, S., 2003. Jorge Oteiza: pasión y razón. San Sebastián: Nerea.Barañano, K. M. de, 1999. Chillida: escala humana. Gijón: Caja de Ahorros de Asturias.Chillida, E., 1994. Preguntas. Madrid: Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.Montes, C., 2006. Cicerón y la cultura artística del Renacimiento. Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid.Rowell, M. y Badiola, T., 2004. Oteiza: mito y modernidad. Bilbao: Museo Guggenheim