Privatization in Colombia: a plant performance analysis

This paper describes the real sector privatization program in Colombia during the nineties and puts that policy in the context of general market deregulation and promotion of private investment in the provision of public infrastructure and domiciliary public services strategy. The paper evaluates the privatization program in manufacturing and power sector as case studies. It follows the ex-post measuring and econometric analysis of a set of operative and restructuring performance indicators for the privatized firms. For manufacturing, the study sample consists of 30 large manufacturing firms where the Instituto de Fomento Industrial was the founding partner. The main findings suggest that those firms followed a pro-cyclical behavior relative to their private competitors and undertook tight plant operative restructuring. For the power sector the paper studies the impact of the Regulatory Reform on market entry, ownership structure, market competition, and productive efficiency. The measurement of productive efficiency follows a Data Envelope Analysis technique based on a sample of 33 plants that count for 85% of the installed capacity in thermal generation. The sample units are plants that were active before the reform and the entrant ones that started commercial operations after the reform. The results suggest that efficiency scores in thermal generation have improved after the reform and that regulatory policy had a positive effect on productive efficiency. ********************************************************************* El artículo describe el programa de privatización en el sector real de la economía Colombiana durante los años noventa y ubica esta política en un contexto de desregulación de mercados y promoción de la inversión privada en la oferta de infraestructura publica y servicios públicos domiciliarios. El articulo evalúa el programa de privatización en los sectores manufacturero y de generación de energía eléctrica. Se hacen mediciones ex - post y análisis econométrico del desempeño de las firmas privatizadas. En el sector manufacturero la muestra analizada esta compuesta por 30 firmas manufactureras de gran tamaño, donde el Instituto de Fomento Industrial era socio fundador. Los principales resultados sugieren que estas firmas mantuvieron un comportamiento pro - cíclico relativo a su principal competidor privado y desestimaron planes drásticos de reestructuración operativa. Para el grupo de firmas de generación de energía el articulo estudia el impacto de la reforma regulatoria en el proceso de entrada al mercado, estructura de propiedad, competencia de mercado y eficiencia productiva. La medición de eficiencia productiva usa la técnica de Data Envelope Análisis para 33 plantas que representan el 85% de la capacidad instalada en la generación térmica de energía eléctrica. La muestra esta compuesta por plantas que estaban en funcionamiento antes de la reforma y las entrantes que comenzaron su operación comercial después de la reforma. Los resultados sugieren que los niveles de evidencia en la generación térmica a mejorado después de la reforma y que la política regulatoria ha tenido un efecto positivo en la eficiencia productiva.Privatization, Industrial Restructuring, Colombian Power Sector, Regulatory Reform

Privatization in Colombia: A Plant Performance Analysis

This paper describes the privatization program carried out in the productive sector of the Colombian economy during the 1990s. It evaluates privatization within the policy context of general market deregulation and the promotion of private investment in the provision of public infrastructure and domiciliary public services. Two case studies are explored: the manufacturing and power sectors. The paper follows the ex-post measuring and econometric analysis of a set of operative and restructuring performance indicators for the privatized firms. For manufacturing, the study sample consists of 30 large manufacturing firms of which the Instituto de Fomento Industrial was the founding or supporting partner. The main findings suggest that those firms followed pro-cyclical behavior relative to their private competitors and undertook tight plant operative restructuring. For the power sector, the paper studies the impact of regulatory reform on market entry, ownership structure, market competition, and productive efficiency of the privatized holdings. The results suggest that privatization and entry competition in power generation have had a positive effect on the privatized utilities’ efficiency and investment. With respect to thermal generation, the measurement of productive efficiency follows a data envelope analysis technique based on a sample of 33 plants that account for 85% of the installed capacity. The sample units are plants that were active before the reform and new entrants that started business operations after the reform. The main outcome shows that efficiency scores have improved after the reform and that regulatory policy has had a positive effect on productive efficiency.

HeteroGenius: A Framework for Hybrid Analysis of Heterogeneous Software Specifications

Nowadays, software artifacts are ubiquitous in our lives being an essential part of home appliances, cars, cell phones, and even in more critical activities like aeronautics and health sciences. In this context software failures may produce enormous losses, either economical or, in the worst case, in human lives. Software analysis is an area in software engineering concerned with the application of diverse techniques in order to prove the absence of errors in software pieces. In many cases different analysis techniques are applied by following specific methodological combinations that ensure better results. These interactions between tools are usually carried out at the user level and it is not supported by the tools. In this work we present HeteroGenius, a framework conceived to develop tools that allow users to perform hybrid analysis of heterogeneous software specifications. HeteroGenius was designed prioritising the possibility of adding new specification languages and analysis tools and enabling a synergic relation of the techniques under a graphical interface satisfying several well-known usability enhancement criteria. As a case-study we implemented the functionality of Dynamite on top of HeteroGenius.Comment: In Proceedings LAFM 2013, arXiv:1401.056

Programa de derecho internacional

Este programa fue formado por el señor doctor Manuel Pombo, como catedrático que fue de Derecho internacional en el Colegio de San Bartolomé; ha sido adoptado por el señor doctor Manuel Ancízar, profesor de la misma materia en la Universidad Nacional. Contiene: Preliminares - Nación - Estado de paz - Desavenencias internacionales - Estado de guerra - Comercio i navegación - Diplomaci

Corrupted queries in text retrieval

En este artículo proponemos dos alternativas para el tratamiento de consultas degradadas en aplicaciones de Recuperación de Información en español. La primera de ellas es una estrategia basada en n-gramas de caracteres e independiente del conocimiento y recursos lingüísticos disponibles. Como segunda alternativa, proponemos a su vez dos técnicas de corrección ortográfica, integrando una de ellas un modelo estocástico que debe ser entrenado previamente a partir de un texto etiquetado. Con el fin de estudiar su validez, se ha diseñado un marco de pruebas sobre el que se han evaluado ambas aproximaciones.In this paper, we propose two different alternatives to deal with degraded queries on Spanish Information Retrieval applications. The first is based on character n-grams, and has no dependence on the linguistic knowledge and resources available. In the second, we propose two spelling correction techniques, one of which has a strong dependence on a stochastic model that must be previously built from a PoStagged corpus. In order to study their validity, a testing framework has been designed and applied on both approaches for evaluation.Este trabajo ha sido parcialmente subvencionado por el Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia y FEDER (a través de los proyectos de investigación HUM2007-66607-C04-02 y HUM2007-66607-C04-03), y por la Xunta de Galicia (a través de los proyectos 05PXIC30501PN, 07SIN005206PR, INCITE07PXI104119ES y la ”Red Gallega de PLN y RI”)

Escuela de jurisprudencia. programa de las materia de exámen de la clase de prolegómenos del derecho, i derecho romano

Descripción detallada del contenido de los cursos Prolegómenos del derecho i Derecho roman

Os rácios da despesa da “Defesa 2020” e a especificidade dos determinantes da estrutura da despesa dos ramos das Forças Armadas

A Reforma “Defesa 2020”, estabeleceu medidas de racionalização de estruturas e recursos das Forças Armadas e apontou, como uma das áreas de melhoria, o equilíbrio das despesas entre os vários agregados orçamentais, colocando o limite de efetivos militares entre 30.000 e 32.000. O objeto de estudo deste trabalho centra-se nos determinantes da estrutura da despesa dos ramos das Forças Armadas. Analisa-se a estrutura da despesa dos ramos das Forças Armadas portuguesas e de dez países membros da Organização do Tratado do Atlântico Norte para se chegar ao objetivo geral da investigação de propor medidas que contribuam para a melhoria dos rácios da despesa da “Defesa 2020”. A metodologia seguida foi sustentada no processo de raciocínio indutivo e por uma estratégia mista. No desenho de pesquisa utilizou-se o Estudo de Caso sustentado em múltiplas fontes documentais e em cinco entrevistas semiestruturadas. Como resultado do estudo conclui-se que é indispensável aumentar a despesa com a defesa, em particular nos agregados de operação e manutenção e de investimento, e cumprir o compromisso de investimento em defesa firmado na cimeira de Gales em 2014. Também, a racionalização de estruturas e reorganização do dispositivo são aspetos que poderão ainda ser implementados ou revistos.The “Defence 2020” Reform established measures to rationalise structures and resources of the portuguese Armed Forces and pointed out, as one of the areas of improvement, the balance of defence expenditure between the various budget aggregates, placing the limit of military personnel between 30,000 and 32,000. The object of study of this research focuses on the determinants of the expenditure ratios of the Armed Forces services. Analyses the expenditure ratios of the Portuguese Armed Forces services and of ten member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to achieve the general objective of the investigation to propose measures that contribute to the improvement of the expenditure ratios of "Defence 2020". The methodology followed was supported by the inductive reasoning process and by a mixed strategy. In the research design, the Case Study was used based on multiple documentary sources and in five semi-structured interviews. As a result of the study, it is concluded that it is essential to increase defence expenditure, in particular, the operations and maintenance and the investment aggregates, and to meet the defence investment Pledge signed at the Wales summit in 2014. Also, the rationalization of structures and basing reorganization are aspects that can still be implemented or reviewed.N/

A democracia na União Europeia em crise : o caso da Grécia (2009-2015)

A União Europeia encontra-se numa encruzilhada provocada por uma crise multifacetada (económica, financeira, política e social), com início em 2007/2008 com a pior crise económica desde a década de 30 na Europa. A crise revelou problemas com diversas origens e consequências, e cujo desfecho se afigura ainda hoje imprevisível, constituindo um incontornável desafio ao futuro da União Europeia. Além da crise económica e da crise das dívidas soberanas, verifica-se uma preocupante crise da democracia europeia, a somar à já amplamente debatida questão do défice democrático. A crise e as respostas à mesma conduziram à imposição de políticas e medidas de austeridade, que acarretaram significativas interferências atípicas no normal funcionamento da democracia, desde logo pela adoção de procedimentos e o surgimento de novos atores na gestão da crise à margem do jogo democrático. Em Outubro de 2009, o governo grego reconhece a situação de insustentabilidade financeira do país, colocando em suspense toda a zona euro, sendo o primeiro Estado membro a recorrer a assistência financeira externa sob severas condições e com impactos fortemente negativos no seu Estado de bem-estar social. Pretendemos saber e compreender o estado da democracia na União Europeia no contexto da crise, a partir do estudo de caso sobre a democracia grega no contexto da crise, delimitado ao período compreendido entre 2009 e 2015. Com o mesmo objetivo será feita uma análise do apoio dos Cidadãos gregos à democracia, da sua satisfação com o funcionamento da democracia, da sua confiança nas instituições e participação nas eleições, numa perspetiva diacrónica, ao nível da União Europeia e do Estado Grego.The European Union is at a crossroad due to a multifaceted crisis (economic, financial, political and social), which started in 2007/2008 with the worst economic crisis since the 1930s in Europe. The crisis has revealed problems with different origins and consequences, and whose outcome is still unpredictable today, becoming an inevitable challenge to the future of the European Union. Apart from the economic crisis and the sovereign debt crisis, there is an alarming crisis of European democracy, together with the already widely debated issue of the democratic deficit. The crisis and its responses have led to the imposition of austerity policies and measures, which caused significant atypical interference in the normal functioning of democracy, from the adoption of procedures and the emergence of new actors in crisis management, outside the democratic game. In October 2009, the Greek government acknowledged the financially unsustainable situation of its country, keeping the whole euro area in suspense. It was the first member state to turn to external financial assistance under severe conditions with heavily and negative impact on its social welfare state. We want to know and understand the state of democracy in the European Union in the context of the crisis, starting from the case study on Greek democracy in the context of the crisis, delimited between 2009 and 2015. At the same time we will analyse the Greek citizens’ support to the democracy, their satisfaction with the functioning of democracy, their confidence in the institutions and participation in the elections, with a diachronic perspective at the level concerning the European Union and the Greek State

Plan de viabilidad de la implantación de una promotora de viviendas asequibles en España

[ES] El acceso a la vivienda es cada vez más difícil para la juventud española, no es un secreto que los jóvenes tardan más en emanciparse, en 2013 los jóvenes que vivían con sus padres con edades comprendidas entre 25 y 29 era de un 48.5 % y aquellos con de edades entre 30 y 34, tenían un 20.5 %, mientras que en 2019 ese porcentaje ha aumentado un 4 % en ambos casos. Tras la nueva crisis sanitaria, no hay expectativas de que esta cifra se reduzca sin un cambio sustancial en la economía española, es por ello qué, este proyecto consiste en la realización de un plan de viabilidad para la creación de una promotora cuya política de empresa sea la ejecución de viviendas asequibles para los jóvenes con edades comprendidas entre 25 y 34 años y que no posean una propiedad. Se inicia el modelo a partir de una promotora existente que lleva aplicando la misma política durante los últimos 10 años en Londres llamada PocketLiving y que nos servirá de guía para analizar los precios asequibles y aprender una metodología de construcción que no abunda en el territorio español. Finalmente se hará un análisis económico-financiero para conocer la viabilidad y rentabilidad del proyecto, que incluirá la previsión de ingresos y los gastos desde la creación, ejecución y desarrollo de la actividad de la promotora en la ciudad de Valencia y Madrid.Pombo Contreras, CM. (2021). Plan de viabilidad de la implantación de una promotora de viviendas asequibles en España. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/183471TFG

A misericórdia : atributo de Deus e compromisso ético

A presente dissertação de mestrado trata-se de uma reflexão sobre a misericórdia como atributo de Deus e o modo como esta é imperativo para o agir humano. Poderíamos ter privilegiado uma outra categoria, igualmente válida, contudo, pareceu-nos ser este um conceito síntese, na medida em que ocupa um lugar central na mensagem cristã. A misericórdia não é apenas mais uma característica de Deus. Deus é misericórdia! Por isso apresenta-se como a chave do Evangelho, da vida cristã e traduz a vocação da Igreja. O percurso deste nosso pensamento inicia-se com a apresentação das perspetivas filosóficas e cristãs acerca da misericórdia. Num segundo momento analisamos os vocábulos bíblicos que são traduzidos por misericórdia. Em momento subsequente, de modo exaustivo e centrado na Sagrada Escritura, abordamos a questão da misericórdia como atributo divino que se desvela plenamente na vida e pessoa de Jesus Cristo, o Filho de Deus encarnado. Em fases posteriores, com recurso ao Magistério da Igreja, mostramos a face institucional, social e política da misericórdia. A Igreja, comunidade eclesial, Corpo Místico de Cristo, é a manifestação da misericórdia divina no mundo, quando pelo seu anúncio e serviço, se torna um “hospital de campanha” que trata das feridas dos homens de hoje.This master's dissertation is a reflection on mercy as an attribute of God and the way it is imperative for human action. We could have privileged another category, equally valid, but it seems to us that this is a synthesis concept, since it occupies a central place in the Christian message. Mercy is not just another feature of God. God is Mercy! This is why it is presented as the key to the Gospel and the Christian life and reflects the vocation of the Church. The course of our thinking begins with the presentation of philosophical and christian perspectives, which denotes that this concept is not exclusively theological. In a second moment we analyze the biblical words that are translated by mercy, which helps us to realize that man says God according to his experience and relationship with the divinity. In a subsequent moment, exhaustively and centered on Sacred Scripture, we address the question of mercy as a divine attribute that is fully revealed in the life and person of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God. In later phases, using the Magisterium of the Church, we show the institutional, social and political face of mercy. The Church, the ecclesial community, the mystical body of Christ, is the manifestation of divine mercy in the world when, through its proclamation and service, it becomes a “field hospital” that deals with the wounds of men today