Competitive collaboration & market contestability: Cases in Mexican & UK banking (1945-1975)

This research explores the evolution of co-operation among different types of intermediaries in the UK and Mexican financial systems and provides an international comparison. In it we focus on how and why collaboration between commercial banks and non-bank financial competitors emerged in the context of the external innovations that modified the contestability of bank markets. Changes in Mexican banking consider collaboration between commercial banks and small regional banks, with an emphasis on the 1945 to 1975 period. The success of collaboration, between non-bank and non-finance providers to modify competitive capabilities and competitive challenges, in UK deposit markets is the benchmark for co-operation in Mexican banking. Business histories in the UK and Mexico show how some relations emerged out of integration strategies, with the purpose of establishing financial conglomerates. Other banks and non-bank providers in Mexico and the UK sought to create co-operative agreements that developed competitive capabilities and allowed barriers to enter deposit markets to be circumvented. As a result, the research sheds light on the success of collaboration agreements through changes in competitive strength rather than the longevity of the transaction or the formality and structural visibility of the agreements.Comparative Financial Markets (N20), Market Structure (L10), Networks (L22).

Bank Accounting Standards in Mexico. A layman’s guide to changes 10 years after the 1995 bank crisis

After the 1995 crisis, the Mexican banking system experienced significant changes in bank accounting standards. Most of these changes took place between 1996 and 2001, and had a significant impact in the structure and interpretation of financial information of banks. This document explains the major changes on bank accounting, their purpose and structure, and discusses their impact on financial information reported by Mexican banks. It also provides the English equivalent of the major accounting terms used by Mexican banks. The main purpose of this document is to provide a standardized guide to better understand financial information produced before and after the crisis, within the current context of internationalization of Mexican banks' ownership.

The Ascent of Plastic Money:The International Adoption of the Bank Credit Card, 1950-1975

This article studies the genesis and early international expansion of the bank-issued credit card—an American innovation that quickly took hold in western Europe. Empirical evidence undermines the proposition of a single firm building a proprietary network. In fact, it was a constellation of participants that combined three characteristics, namely, a critical mass of both retail customers and retail merchants; the capacity to implement new technological solutions; and the ability to forge resilient collaborations across national borders. The evidence supports the value of collaboration in retail financial services as means of appropriating network externalities. Moreover, other conceptual and empirical studies, especially those based on two-sided markets, neglect the greater implications that initial conditions in this industry have on long-term success

El nacimiento de la tarjeta de credito bancaria an Mexico y Espana, 1966-1975

In this paper we discuss the emergence of the credit card in Mexico (1968) and Spain (1970) to document the importance of the institutional framework for the adoption and takeoff of this innovation in the system of payments. Our research compares the dissemination of a relatively homogeneous product in totally different environments and explains how this innovation was transformed from a technology with a closed system to a global network. With this we also seek to show some lessons in financial history to better understand contemporary phenomena, such as the adoption of innovations that are expected to be disruptive in the retail financial markets

El nacimiento de la tarjeta de credito bancaria an Mexico y Espana, 1966-1975

In this paper we discuss the emergence of the credit card in Mexico (1968) and Spain (1970) to document the importance of the institutional framework for the adoption and takeoff of this innovation in the system of payments. Our research compares the dissemination of a relatively homogeneous product in totally different environments and explains how this innovation was transformed from a technology with a closed system to a global network. With this we also seek to show some lessons in financial history to better understand contemporary phenomena, such as the adoption of innovations that are expected to be disruptive in the retail financial markets

Regret and Therapeutic Decisions in Multiple Sclerosis Care: Literature Review and Research Protocol

Decision making; Multiple sclerosis; NeurologistsToma de decisiones; Esclerosis múltiple; NeurólogosPresa de decisions; Esclerosi múltiple; NeuròlegsBackground: Decisions based on erroneous assessments may result in unrealistic patient and family expectations, suboptimal advice, incorrect treatment, or costly medical errors. Regret is a common emotion in daily life that involves counterfactual thinking when considering alternative choices. Limited information is available on care-related regret affecting healthcare professionals managing patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: We reviewed identified gaps in the literature by searching for the combination of the following keywords in Pubmed: “regret and decision,” “regret and physicians,” and “regret and nurses.” An expert panel of neurologists, a nurse, a psychiatrist, a pharmacist, and a psychometrics specialist participated in the study design. Care-related regret will be assessed by a behavioral battery including the standardized questionnaire Regret Intensity Scale (RIS-10) and 15 new specific items. Six items will evaluate regret in the most common social domains affecting individuals (financial, driving, sports—recreation, work, own health, and confidence in people). Another nine items will explore past and recent regret experiences in common situations experienced by healthcare professionals caring for patients with MS. We will also assess concomitant behavioral characteristics of healthcare professionals that could be associated with regret: coping strategies, life satisfaction, mood, positive social behaviors, occupational burnout, and tolerance to uncertainty. Planned Outcomes: This is the first comprehensive and standardized protocol to assess care-related regret and associated behavioral factors among healthcare professionals managing MS. These results will allow to understand and ameliorate regret in healthcare professionals.This study protocol was funded by the Medical Department of Roche Farma Spain (SL42129)

The robot programming network

The Robot Programming Network (RPN) is an initiative for creating a network of robotics education laboratories with remote programming capabilities. It consists of both online open course materials and online servers that are ready to execute and test the programs written by remote students. Online materials include introductory course modules on robot programming, mobile robotics and humanoids, aimed to learn from basic concepts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to more advanced programming skills. The students have access to the online server hosts, where they submit and run their programming code on the fly. The hosts run a variety of robot simulation environments, and access to real robots can also be granted, upon successful achievement of the course modules. The learning materials provide step-by-step guidance for solving problems with increasing level of dif- ficulty. Skill tests and challenges are given for checking the success, and online competitions are scheduled for additional motivation and fun. Use of standard robotics middleware (ROS) allows the system to be extended to a large number of robot platforms, and connected to other existing tele-laboratories for building a large social network for online teaching of robotics.Support of IEEE RAS through the CEMRA program (Creation of Educational Material for Robotics and Automation) is gratefully acknowledged. This paper describes research done at the Robotic Intelligence Laboratory. Support for this laboratory is provided in part by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (DPI2011-27846), by Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEOII/2014/028) and by Universitat Jaume I (P1-1B2011-54)

Multifactorial risk index for oral cancer

Groups of 53 patients with oral cancer and 100 controls who were attended at the Dentistry College (Córdoba, Argentina) between 2009 and 2013 were examined by trained professionals. Age, gender, body mass index, smoking, involuntary smoking, alcohol consumption, hot beverages, chronic mechanical irritation of the oral mucosa, oral potentially malignant disorders, oral candidiasis, human papillomavirus, tooth loss, illfitting dentures, diet, environmental carcinogens, arsenic in drinking water, and cancer family history were recorded. Model 1 (M1) was built with statistically significant variables, Model 2 (M2) was built with statistically significant variables not acquired through clinical examination; both were analyzed with a c2 test. Model 3 (M3) was built with statistically significant variables through multivariate logistic regression analysis. For each variable a value of a whole number corresponding to the OR was assigned. Also, for each individual a total value was obtained by the sum of registered variables. The sample was split into 2 groups according to the median of total value, which were analyzed with a c2 test.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212440314001527Fil: Piemonte, Eduardo David. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Estomatología A; Argentina.Fil: Castillo, Graciela del Valle. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra Química Biológica B; Argentina.Fil: Belardinelli, Paola Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Estomatología B; Argentina.Fil: Brunotto, Mabel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra Biología Celular A; Argentina.Fil: Lazos, Jerónimo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Estomatología A; Argentina.Fil: Secchi, Dante Gustavo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Estomatología A; Argentina.Fil: Talavera, Angel Daniel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Estomatología A; Argentina.Fil: Lanfranchi Tizeira, Héctor Eduardo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología; Argentina.Otras Ciencias de la Salu

Sistemas para la medición, visualización y registro de la radiación solar

SE DISEÑÓ UN SISTEMA PARA LA MEDICIÓN DE LA RADIACIÓN SOLARLa luz solar es esencial para la vida, una exposición moderada a la radiación ultravioleta contribuye a la síntesis de vitamina D, pero exponerse mucho puede ser dañino para la piel, ojos y el sistema inmunitario. Uno de los mayores problemas al exponerse al sol es el cáncer de piel. En México ocurren alrededor de 1,000 casos anuales; los estados con mayor registro de muertes por cáncer son: Ciudad de México, Estado de México, Veracruz y Jalisco [1]. De acuerdo con la doctora Minerva Gómez, Presidenta de la Fundación Mexicana de Dermatología (FMD), este tipo de cáncer ocupa el segundo lugar en frecuencia en nuestro país: el primero en el caso de los hombres, y el segundo respecto a las mujeres [2]. La exposición directa al sol es una amenaza para todas las personas, de manera particular para los menores de edad, por ello es importante contar con medidas preventivas oportunas. La idea de este proyecto es proporcionar a las personas información en tiempo real de la radiación solar a la que se exponen, esto mediante dispositivos que permitan medir el nivel de radiación ultra violeta (UV) y mostrar visualmente la mediación. La propuesta realiza mediciones con múltiples sensores, y mediante un algoritmo ad-hoc mejora el nivel de precisión, el algoritmo también determina el correcto funcionamiento de sensores, haciendo al sistema más confiable; adicionalmente, se guarda un registro de las mediciones, lo cual podrá ser útil para análisis a largo plazo. Todo es implementado usando dispositivos de bajo costo

Evaluación de la sustentabilidad del turismo en Áreas Naturales Protegidas: propuesta de un modelo para el Parque Nacional Bahía de Loreto

Sustainable development is a process that needs to be monitored and evaluated through indicators and indexes, its selection and application depends on the objective of the research, as well as the study area. In Mexico, the Natural Protected Areas (NPA) represent one of the main destinations for ecotourism activities, an example is Parque Nacional Bahía de Loreto (PNBL). The application of management policies and regulations in the NPA requires updated information about the sustainable status of the system. In this sense, one of the aims of this study was to conduct a review of the systems of indicators and indexes that have been proposed to evaluate the sustainability of tourism in NPA. As a second goal, a model is proposed to evaluate the sustainability of tourism in the PNBL, composed of two indexes. The first one based on a multivariate statistical analysis to evaluate the destination's tendency towards the reach of sustainability within a time period; four dimensions were selected: socioeconomic, tourist, environmental and technological. The second index focuses on perceptions based on the community residents’ perceptions, tourist companies and tourists; the indicators were classified in social and environmental dimension. The proposed model will evaluate the sustainability of an NPA with tourist use in a new and integral method, considering all the components involved in the goals of sustainable tourism. Both objective and subjective indicators application offer an advantage over other indexes, since it considers the opinion of the sectors involved in addition to the hard data generated through monitoring and censuses. The indexes proposed here will allow identifying problems or risks, as well as redefining and creating new targets for the PNBL Management Program.El desarrollo sustentable es un proceso que requiere ser monitoreado y evaluado a través de indicadores e índices, su selección y aplicación depende del objetivo de la investigación, así como del área de estudio. En México, las Áreas Naturales Protegidas (ANP) representan uno de los principales destinos para realizar actividades de ecoturismo, un ejemplo es el Parque Nacional Bahía de Loreto (PNBL). La aplicación de políticas y regulaciones de manejo en las ANP requieren de información actualizada sobre el estado de sustentabilidad del sistema. En este sentido, uno de los objetivos del presente estudio fue realizar una revisión de los sistemas de indicadores e índices que se han propuesto para evaluar la sustentabilidad del turismo en ANP. Como segundo objetivo se propone un modelo para evaluar la sustentabilidad del turismo en el PNBL, compuesto por dos índices. El primero basado en un análisis estadístico multivariado que permite evaluar la tendencia del destino hacia el alcance de la sustentabilidad dentro de un periodo de tiempo; el cual consiste en cuatro dimensiones: socioeconómica, turística, ambiental y tecnológica. El segundo índice es de percepción y se basa en la opinión de la comunidad residente, empresas turísticas y de los turistas; los indicadores se clasificaron en la dimensión social y ambiental. El modelo propuesto permitirá evaluar de manera novedosa e integral la sustentabilidad de un ANP con uso turístico, considerando todos los componentes involucrados en los objetivos del turismo sustentable. La aplicación de indicadores, tanto objetivos como subjetivos, ofrece una ventaja respecto a otros índices, ya que considera la opinión de los sectores involucrados además de los datos duros generados a través de monitoreos y censos. Los índices aquí propuestos permitirán identificar problemas o riesgos, así como redefinir y crear nuevos objetivos para el Programa de Manejo del PNBL