Modeling the monetary policy reaction function of the colombian central bank

This paper proposes a simple Ordered Probit model to analyse the monetary policy reactionfunction of the Colombian Central Bank. There is evidence that the reaction function isasymmetric, in the sense that the Bank increases the Bank rate when the gap between observedinflation and the inflation target (lagged once) is positive, but it does not reduce the Bank rate whenthe gap is negative. This behaviour suggests that the Bank is more interested in fulfilling theannounced inflation target rather than in reducing inflation excessively. The forecasting performanceof the model, both within and beyond the estimation period, appears to be particularly good.Monetary policy reaction function, Ordered Probit model, Central Bank independence, Colombia

Neo-liberalism and continuing vocational training governance in the UK: an examination of three theoretical accounts

The paper analyses continuing vocational education and training policies in the UK in the period 1979-2010 with a focus on regulation and governance. It reviews Conservative and Labour party policies to ascertain their principal components and explore their evolution through time. More specifically, the paper reviews the paradoxical existence of three seemingly opposed accounts of recent dynamics in the management of continuing vocational training: one that sees it moving inexorably to the political right, one that emphasises the singularity of social-democratic policies and one that focuses on the difficulties of any movement, towards the political left or right. The paper concludes that while there has been a degree of convergence between right and left, differences remained in terms of their favoured institutional decision-making structures. However, Labour played a two-level game, which combined the establishment of new channels for dialogue and coordination with key stakeholders, with a limited scope for meaningful stakeholder input to policy

Contingentism about individuals and higher-order Necessitism

Según el necesitismo sobre los individuos, necesariamente todo individuo necesariamente existe. Una tesis necesitista análoga atribuye existencia necesaria a propiedades y relaciones. Ambas tesis han sido defendidas por Williamson. Además. Williamson argumenta específicamente contra la conjunción híbrida de contingencismo de primer orden (la negación del necesitismo sobre los individuos) combinado con necesitísmo de orden superior; una combinación que acarrearía problemas adicionales. En este artículo desarrollo una defensa de esa combinación hibrida, incluyendo algunas réplicas a tales objeciones adicionales de Williamson. Consideraciones de parsimonia ontológica e intuiciones pre-teóricas favorecen la concepción híbrida frente al necesitismo en todos los órdenes (defendido por Williamson basándose, principalmente, en consideraciones de simplicidad)

Unha Aproximación ao debate actual sobre cidadanía e o dereito á educación: lembrando a Giner

Ser un ciutadà lliure i actiu no és un assoliment aliè a un context en què cada persona es pot educar en plenitud. Una ciutadania que té iniciativa i es mou amb un conjunt de valors que estimem positius, no sorgeix d'un sistema educatiu descuidat. L'educació és actualment un dret de tothom, sense restricció o minoració a cap col· lectiu, però no n'hi ha prou a enunciar, necessitem que les generacions joves arribin a desenvolupar-se activament en una comunitat i aprenguin a conviure amb altres grups diferents del seu. En aquest article es fa una anàlisi de la construcció de la idea de la ciutadania europea en la seva història recent, i es recupera el pensament de Francisco Giner de los Ríos, especialment pel que fa a la seva idea de la «persona social», molt útil per comprendre la naturalesa del que avui anomenem organitzacions no governamentals i l'acció educadora que realitzen.Being a free, active citizen is not an achievement that is unrelated to a context in which each person can be fully educated. A citizenry that has initiative and moves at the rhythm of a set of values that we esteem positive does not stem from a neglected education system. Education is currently a right for everyone without restriction or diminution in any group, but it is not enough to merely state it, we need the young generations to manage to actively flourish within a community and to learn to live alongside other groups that are different to their own. In this article an analysis is made of the construction of the idea of European citizenry in its recent history, and the thinking of Francisco Giner de los Ríos is recovered, especially as regards his idea of the «social persona» which is most useful to understand the nature of what we now call non-government organisations and the educational action they carry out.Ser un ciudadano libre y activo no es un logro ajeno a un contexto en el que cada persona puede educarse en plenitud. Una ciudadanía que tiene iniciativa y se mueve al ritmo de un conjunto de valores que estimamos positivos, no surge de un sistema educativo descuidado. La educación es actualmente un derecho de todos y todas sin restricción o minoración en ningún colectivo, pero no basta con enunciarlo, necesitamos que las generaciones jóvenes lleguen a desarrollarse activamente en una comunidad y aprendan a convivir con otros grupos diferentes al suyo. En este artículo se hace un análisis de la construcción de la idea de la ciudadanía europea en su historia reciente, y se recupera el pensamiento de Francisco Giner de los Ríos, especialmente en cuanto a su idea de la «persona social», muy útil para comprender la naturaleza de lo que hoy llamamos organizaciones no gubernamentales y la acción educadora que realizan

Els Orígens del pensament educatiu de la Segona República = The origins of the educational philosophy of the second Republic

El projecte educatiu de la Segona República té una llarga gestació que arrenca amb la creació de la Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE), fundada el 1876 per Francisco Giner de los Ríos, després de la restauració monàrquica. La ILE s'incorpora, en un sentit ampli, en el moviment frobelià que en aquells moments impregnava el pensament de la majoria dels pedagogs laics europeus. El deixeble més important de Giner, Manuel B. Cossío, va prendre contacte directe amb aquests corrents de pensament el 1880, en el Congrés Internacional d'Ensenyament de Brussel·les, en què va poder valorar l'impacte que produïen en diversos països europeus les noves idees pedagògiques, especialment a França i Bèlgica. L'assistència de diversos professors de la ILE als congressos europeus que es dugueren a terme entre 1880 i 1889 els implica en un moviment que els serviria per reflexionar sobre les innovacions educatives que desitjaven dur endavant i per començar a assajar-les i establir relacions amb alguns dels seus protagonistes, entre els quals destaquem en aquest article Ferdinand Buisson i James Guillaume. Així mateix, el desenvolupament de la idea d'escola «única» com a resum d'un ideal educatiu civil compartit i allunyat dels dogmes es difongué aviat per Espanya gràcies als esforços d'un altre educador, Lorenzo Luzuriaga, ben connectat amb l'escola nova, que el 1918 va aconseguir que els socialistes assumissin aquesta idea en el seu programa d'instrucció pública. A partir de 1911, un conjunt significatiu de mestres van començar a viatjar per Europa i a difondre un model d'educació en llibertat, actiu i laic, que van intentar desenvolupar plenament en la Segona República.The educational philosophy pursued by the Spanish Second Republic was not improvised in 1931. Like the republican project itself, its development can be traced back to the fall of the First Republic in 1874, which by squashing the influence of the Krausist ideal of social reform, and the Krausist challenge to monolithic Catholic dogma, spurred the creation of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE) by Francisco Giner de los Ríos in 1876. The aims of the ILE adhered broadly to the Fröbelian movement that at that time impregnated the thought of the majority of non-ecclesiastical European educationalists. When Manuel B. Cossío, Giner’s principal disciple, attended the International Teaching Congress held in Brussels in 1880, he entered into direct contact with this movement and was able to appreciate the impact of its ideas in Belgium, France and other European countries. Cossío and other ILE teachers who attended other European teaching congresses between 1880 and 1889 established links with Ferdinand Buisson, James Guillaume and others, and became the chief representatives of the Fröbelian movement in Spain, where in planning the educational innovations that they began to experiment with in their school in Madrid they were mindful of the reforms carried out by Ferry in France and Humbéeck in Belgium. A generation later, a further influx of educational ideas and experience from abroad was promoted by the Junta para Ampliación de Estudios (in the creation of which Giner had played a significant role), which in 1911 organized the first of a series of visits to France and Belgium by primary school teachers; and a few years later Lorenzo Luzuriaga, a product of the ILE who had joined the Escuela Nueva of Núñez de Arenas following 2 years in Germany, was promoting the concept of the «single school» as the expression of a broadly shared, dogma-free educational ideal. By 1918, when this concept was incorporated in the socialist programme, awareness of the promise inherent in a model of independent, active, non-ecclesiastical education was gradually spreading throughout Spain, and this model was to play a conspicuous part in the social achievements of the Second Republic

Theoretical and computational study of nanostructures dispersion on ionic liquids and its mixtures

In this thesis, an exhaustive study of ionic liquids (ILs) and their mixtures in different conditions is presented. These materials present a very interesting set of properties that makes them ideal for multiple applications, e.g. batteries, super-capacitors or as universal solvents. The main aim of this work is to draw a very detailed picture of the behaviour of these dense ionic fluids in presence of structures of different sizes, topologies and materials. To achieve this task, molecular simulations were performed to characterize a wide variety of scenarios such as ILs and their mixtures in presence of relatively small spherical particles or confined between planar interfaces. To complement and to better understand the obtained results, theoretical models are also proposed and validated. In addition, for some systems, the results were supported by experimental measurements, showing in all cases very good agreement with the computational results. Altogether, a very deep understanding of the fundamental properties of ILs is achieved, which brings closer the possibility of studying and understanding dispersions of larger and more complex structures in these media

What do we know when we know a compulsive buying person? Looking at now and ahead

Over the last few decades, research has seamlessly confirmed the marked multicausal nature of compulsive buying, since variables from different realms (e.g., family, social, and contextual domains) have demonstrated their explanatory capacity. However, it has been personality variables that have, to a greater extent, aroused the interest of researchers, leading to what is now a cumbersome richness of personal constructs of different nature that seem to require some arrangement under integrative frameworks. The proposal by McAdams under the suggestive title of “What do we know when we know a person?” is, in this regard, especially attractive and thought-provoking. McAdams approaches us to the person as a whole by establishing three differentiated levels (dispositional traits, personal concerns or characteristics adaptations, life story), and it will be precisely these levels that will become the structure we will use to address the state of the art on compulsive buyers. The location of the multiple personal variables analyzed at each of the levels with a common grammar will allow us to identify what it is known, as well as what remains to be done in each space. Lastly, suggestions for the future are given, with particular emphasis on advancing our understanding of the person from each of the academic vantage points but also the suitability of designing studies that integrate and/or build bridges between dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations, and life narratives. The hope is that research in the coming years satisfactorily integrates the different visions of the person to achieve a more comprehensive, nuanced portrait of a person with compulsive buying problemsS