Improving the detection of the transport mode in the MobilitApp Android application

Millorar els algorismes de detecció del medi de transport dels ciutadans de l'Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona.El objetivo ha sido el de mejorar la aplicación MobilitApp ya existente, para ello se han añadido dos módulos. El primer módulo que se ha añadido ha sido un detector de accidentes. Debido a que en los anteriores trabajos se estaba tratando con el acelerómetro, nos pareció interesante intentar sacar más provecho al acelerómetro e incluir la funcionalidad de poder detectar cuando el móvil ha sufrido un impacto. Una vez el impacto ha sido detectado se envía un mensaje de emergencia. El segundo módulo consiste en un podómetro, MobilitApp cuenta los pasos del usuario y se presenta junto a una aproximación de la distancia recorrida y del número de calorías quemadas. Como último paso, hemos realizado un análisis sobre las gráficas que se han obtenido de los usuarios tomadas del acelerómetro sobre metro o tren, y hemos comprobado su parecido con una señal sinusoidal. Esta característica ayudará en futuros trabajos para identificar mejor el tipo de sistema de transporte utilizado por el usuario. Además, sería de gran ayuda para ahorrar batería ya que la señal GPS sería menos utilizada.This study aims to improve an existing application for citizen mobility analytics: MobilitApp. Two modules were added to the app in order to develop the desired functionalities. The first module has been added is an accident detector. Because of the previous work involves dealing with the accelerometer, it seemed interesting to try to get more out of the accelerometer and include the functionality to detect when the phone has suffered an impact. Once the impact has been detected, an emergency message is sent. The second module consists of a pedometer, MobilitApp counts the number of the user’s steps and presents them with an approximation of the distance walked and the number of calories burned. As a last step, we have made an analysis of the graphs that have been obtained from the user’s accelerometers travelling on train or subway, and we have checked their resemblance to a sinusoidal signal. This feature will help in future works to better identify the type of public transportation system being used by the user. Besides, it would help to save battery since the GPS signal will be less used.L’objectiu ha estat el de millorar l’aplicació MobilitApp ja existent, per això s’han afegit dos mòduls. El primer mòdul que s’ha afegit ha estat un detector d’accidents. A causa que en els anteriors treballs s’estava tractant amb l’acceleròmetre, ens va semblar interessant intentar treure més profit a l’acceleròmetre e incloure la funcionalitat de poder detectar quan el mòbil ha patit un impacte. Un cop l’impacte ha estat detectat s’envia un missatge d’emergència. El segon mòdul consisteix en un podòmetre, MobilitApp compte els passos de l’usuari i se’ls presenta amb una aproximació de la distància recorreguda y de les calories cremades. Com a últim pas, em fet un anàlisi sobre les gràfiques que s’han obtingut dels usuaris preses de l’acceleròmetre sobre metro o tren, i hem comprovat la seva semblança amb una senyal sinusoïdal. Aquesta característica ens ajudarà en treballs futurs per identificar millor el tipus de sistema de transport utilitzat per l’usuari. A més, seria de gran ajuda per estalviar bateria ja que el senyal GPS seria menys utilitzat

Rebalancing Oil Contracts in Venezuela

During the last decade, the Venezuelan government has pursued a reform of the legal regime of hydrocarbons tailored to its interests as an oil producing country. However, the ongoing consequences of the global economic recession which negatively impacted the Venezuelan economy, call into question the suitability of such scheme. Confronting the challenge of attracting foreign investment, the methods of awarding contracts used by the Venezuelan Government have contributed to the approval of a series of incentives which are rebalancing the contractual conditions for new oil ventures. Royalty and tax reductions, access to international arbitration and the protection granted through bilateral investment treaties are producing major changes in the regulatory framework of oil contracts. This scenario may lead to a new investment cycle in the Venezuelan oil industry for the development of heavy crude oil projects in the Orinoco belt. Nevertheless, the incentives may result in an effective decision only if some fiscal and contract stability is granted to foreign investors

Rebalancing Oil Contracts in Venezuela

During the last decade, the Venezuelan government has pursued a reform of the legal regime of hydrocarbons tailored to its interests as an oil producing country. However, the ongoing consequences of the global economic recession which negatively impacted the Venezuelan economy, call into question the suitability of such scheme. Confronting the challenge of attracting foreign investment, the methods of awarding contracts used by the Venezuelan Government have contributed to the approval of a series of incentives which are rebalancing the contractual conditions for new oil ventures. Royalty and tax reductions, access to international arbitration and the protection granted through bilateral investment treaties are producing major changes in the regulatory framework of oil contracts. This scenario may lead to a new investment cycle in the Venezuelan oil industry for the development of heavy crude oil projects in the Orinoco belt. Nevertheless, the incentives may result in an effective decision only if some fiscal and contract stability is granted to foreign investors

Resurrection of the sea pen genus Ptilella Gray, 1870 and description of Ptilella grayi n. sp. from the NE Atlantic (Octocorallia: Pennatulacea)

The order Pennatulacea covers a group of specialized and morphologically distinct octocorals found in all oceans from intertidal areas to more than 6000 m in depth. Sea pens constitute an important structural component in marine soft-bottom communities by increasing the complexity of these environments. Despite being both morphologically distinctive and ecologically important, the taxonomy and systematics of sea pens is still poorly understood. Recent molecular studies have shown the existence of convergent morphological features, making the current familial distribution of genera unstable. The genus Pennatula Linnaeus, 1758 was one of the first described octocoral genera. It is the type genus of its family, Pennatulidae. Colonies of this genus have a characteristic morphology. Recent sampling efforts in the northeastern Atlantic have provided a number of colonies initially attributable to the genus Pennatula. Both morphological and molecular (mtMutS, Cox1 and 28S genes) study of this material supports the polyphyletic nature of this genus and the need to resurrect the genus Ptilella Gray, 1870 to accommodate these and other species. A new species, Ptilella grayi n. sp., is described and illustrated. The species Pennatula bayeri is proposed to be a junior synonym of Pennatula bellissima (here also considered in the genus Ptilella)

Public policy regarding access to higher education for low socio¬economic strata

Se presentan los preliminares y una división de capítulos donde se desarrolla el tema. Empieza con las categorías teórico-metodológicas utilizadas para el análisis de las políticas, continúa con una caracterización de la política pública de acceso a la educación superior en Colombia y se enuncian los campos y las condiciones de acceso a la educación superior según el marco normativo.The preliminary section and a division of chapters where the topic is developed are presented. Then, the theoretical and methodological categories used for the policy analysis are shown and it continues with a characterization of the public policy on access to higher education in Colombia. After, the fields and conditions for such access according to the policy framework are mentioned. In this paper, it was proposed to examine the formulated and implemented current public policy regarding the access to higher education of low socioeconomic strata

Variabilidad subindividual en plumas de mar (Octocorallia: Pennatulacea)

Comparisons between plants and sessile modular colonial invertebrates offer interesting parallelisms between plant and animal body plans after millions of years of divergent evolution. Among these parallelisms might be the existence and distribution of intraindividual heterogeneity in organ traits, also named subindividual variability. Subindividual variability is quantitatively important and has many consequences for plant individuals, populations and communities, and for animal consumers as well. However, could a similar process of subindividual variability occur in sea pens, which have a modular architecture similar to that of plants? In the literature of marine invertebrates very little is known about the presence and magnitude of subindividual variability in modular organisms. This study provides for the first time a quantitative assessment of subindividual variability in sea pens, analysing certain biometric features of reiterated structures that presumably have some ecological function, and offers an initial comparison of quantitative levels of subindividual variation between plants and sea pens.Las comparaciones entre plantas e invertebrados coloniales modulares sésiles ofrecen interesantes paralelismos entre los planes corporales de las plantas y los animales, tras millones de años de evolución divergente. Entre estos paralelismos podría estar la existencia y distribución de la heterogeneidad intraindividual en los rasgos de los órganos, también denominada variabilidad subindividual. La variabilidad subindividual es importante cuantitativamente y tiene múltiples consecuencias para las plantas individuales, las poblaciones y las comunidades, así como para los animales consumidores. Mas, ¿podría ocurrir un proceso similar de variabilidad subindividual en plumas de mar, que tienen una arquitectura modular similar a la de las plantas? En la literatura de invertebrados marinos se sabe muy poco sobre la presencia y la magnitud de la variabilidad subindividual en los organismos modulares. Este estudio proporciona por primera vez una evaluación cuantitativa de la variabilidad subindividual en las plumas de mar, analizando ciertas características biométricas de estructuras reiteradas que presumiblemente tienen alguna función ecológica, y ofrece una primera comparación de los niveles cuantitativos de variación subindividual entre las plantas y las plumas de mar

TOURISM AS A TOOL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: IDENTIFICATION OF DETERMINING FACTORS

Currently, a significant number of countries are betting on tourism as an economic activity on which to base their economic development, given that most international organizations recognize that tourism can become a tool for economic development, especially in less developed countries. However, on the part of the scientific literature there is no defined current on the capacity of tourism to become an instrument with which to improve the living conditions of the population residing in receiving countries. In this sense, in the scientific literature there are numerous investigations that have dealt with analysing the relationship between tourism and economic growth, a large part of these works coinciding that there is a causal relationship between both variables, but the same does not happen when the relationship between tourism and economic development. Among works that have analysed this relationship, there is no uniform current on the relationships that exist between tourism and economic development, being different the variables that have been used in these works to measure tourism and economic development, and being applied in different areas of analysis. Indeed, since the appearance of the first works that have analysed the relationship between tourism and economic development, approximately ten years ago, a large number of investigations have emerged on this relationship, for which it is interesting to carry out an evaluation of the main models econometrics that have been used, as well as the main empirical findings that have been reached in this work. In this context, this work highlights a comprehensive review of a large number of peer-reviewed articles that analyse the relationship between tourism and economic development, providing a general description of the theoretical framework that supports the relationship between these two variables, as well as the main results that have been obtained in these works, which will allow establishing the position of the scientific literature regarding the capacity of tourism as an instrument of economic development. This work, therefore, contributes to the scientific literature by answering the question: what is the relationship between tourism and economic development

A synthetic indicator of corruption for Latin America: a global vision

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop an overview of the phenomenon of corruption in Latin America and to propose a synthetic aggregate indicator to compress most of the statistical information available on corruption for Latin American countries. Methodology: The indicator of corruption was obtained through factor analysis, applying the principal components methodology. Findings: The authors have managed to obtain a single component that reproduces and synthesizes 86% of all the information about corruption in Latin America gathered by prestigious institutions. Originality/Value: The creation of a new indicator that gathers methodologies to measure corruption in Latin American countrie

Aportaciones de Paul Otlet a la bibliotecología actual

An overview of Paul Otlet's work is proposed