The internet: strategy and boundaries of the firm

Many advantages have been ascribed to the Internet. Although it lacks the necessary elements to be regarded as a strategic resource, the Internet seems to be a useful tool to provide support for business strategies.In this work we discuss how the Internet can be used to support the development of capabilities and define firm boundaries. Using a sample of Spanish firms, empirically analysed, we find positive relationships between the use of the Internet and product differentiation, as well as the introduction of organizational changes. In addition, we present evidence that the Internet reduces both internal coordination costs and transaction costs as a result of the positive relationships found between the use of the Internet, the degree of vertical integration and the establishment of technological agreements with suppliers and customers

The Sociology of Elite Distinction. From Theoretical to Comparative Perspectives. Jean-Pascal Daloz

Sin resume

Test item taxonomy based of functional criteria

There are many taxonomies that try to classify and apply some consistency to the very many item types currently in existence. They all have various limitations, however, such as ambiguous classification criteria, little discrimination between format types, and referring almost exclusively to pen-and-paper or screen-based items. This paper aims to overcome these limitations by proposing a new item format taxonomy based on functional criteria. Current classifications are reviewed, the criteria they are based on are examined and their limitations are identified. The proposed alternative classification identifies four essential components of items according to function: the structure of the included content, the device used for transmission of the question to the examinee, the device for receiving the response, and the instructions to the examinee about how to understand and respond to the item. The combination of different facets of these four components allows any format of item to be classified, both existing formats and those that may appear in the future. In addition to systematically and coherently classifying items, this new taxonomy may also be of great utility in the construction and research of new items. The proposed model is illustrated by examples showing how specific items are classified, using a checklist as a guide.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España PSI2014-56114-PMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad de España PSI2017-85724-

On the stability of θ\theta-methods for DDEs and PDDEs

In this paper, the stability of $\theta$-methods for delay differential equations is studied based on the test equation $y'(t)=-A y(t) + B y(t-\tau)$, where $\tau$ is a constant delay and $A$ is a positive definite matrix. It is mainly considered the case where the matrices $A$ and $B$ are not simultaneosly diagonalizable and the concept of field of values is used to prove a sufficient condition for unconditional stability of these methods and another condition which also guarantees their stability, but according to the step size. The results obtained are also simplified for the case where the matrices $A$ and $B$ are simultaneously diagonalizable and compared with other similar works for the general case. Several numerical examples in which the theory discussed here is applied to parabolic problems given by partial delay differential equations with a diffusion term and a delayed term are presented, too.Comment: 17 pages, 21st IMACS World Congres

The Economic Geography of Most North‐Western Region of Spain: Galicia and the Effect of Market Access on Regional Development Levels

This chapter estimates the nominal wage equation of the geographical economics literature using data on the Galician regions over the period 2003–2013. The results of the estimations show the existence of a spatial wage structure across the Galician regions with a clear West‐East gradient. Additionally, we have controlled for the inclusion of potential covariates that might be influencing the levels of regional per capita income such as educational attainment levels and technological levels. The results are robust to these alternative estimation

Tartessian stelae: funerary slabs, ethnic markers or representations of warrior deities?

Este trabajo pretende revisar un aspecto arqueológico singular y controvertido del Bronce Final del SW peninsular: las estelas decoradas o estelas de guerreros. Se analizan distintas hipótesis vertidas sobre estos monumentos, ofreciendo nuevas interpretaciones sobre su contexto arqueológico e iconografía, proponiendo una lectura en clave mítica y religiosa de las imágenes antropomorfas y los símbolos que las acompañan.This work claim to revise one archaeological and singular aspect of the Final Bronze in the South West of the Iberian Peninsula: the decorated steles or steles of warriors. We analyse different hypotheses about these monuments, offering new interpretations about its archaeological contexts and also about its iconography, making one lecture in mythical and religious key about the human images and its symbols