E-inclusion and social welfare in Spain: a gender perspective

The available data show that men use the Internet in greater proportions and with more intensity than women. However, women tend to perform more socially efficient activities than men, as if the traditional division of work were translated to the virtual world, In other words, some women’s use of the Internet (mainly related to health, education or family matters) seems to have a greater degree of functionality in terms of social wellbeing. On the contrary, men outperform women in leisure (sports, games, newspapers) and consumption. In this context, this paper discusses the possible advantages of incorporating women into the Internet community due to the different ways in which they use Internet compared to men. Following the statement made by Huyer and Westholm (2000) that “without data, there is no visibility and, without visibility, there is not priority”; our findings are based on the analysis of statistical data. From this source we built our own quantitative indicators that bring to light gender differences in terms of access and Internet use

Activos culturales y desarrollo sostenible: la importancia económica del Patrimonio Cultural

En este artículo se valora la condición del Patrimonio Cultural como capital que da origen a un importante flujo de retornos económicos que compensan ampliamente el esfuerzo que se realiza en preservarlo. En concreto, se ofrecen datos respecto a España desde la perspectiva de la demanda agregada que aproximan una estimación de los impactos económicos directos e indirectos derivados de la puesta en valor de los bienes integrantes del Patrimonio Cultual. Los resultados obtenidos vuelven a poner de manifiesto la relevancia del turismo cultural en la materialización de dichos retornos económicos y como catalizador, en última instancia, de actividades que redundan en el desarrollo socioeconómico sostenible de múltiples territorios

Un análisis económico de la conservación del patrimonio histórico de España

En este artículo se valora tanto el esfuerzo en preservación del Patrimonio Histórico, realizado fundamentalmente por las Administraciones Públicas, como la aportación que al conjunto de la economía hace el turismo cultural, llegando a contrastar la importancia que ambas actividades tienen para la misma. El Patrimonio Histórico, como capital cultural, da origen a un importante flujo de retornos económicos que compensan ampliamente el esfuerzo que se realiza en preservarloIn this article we evaluate in one hand, the economic efforts to preserve Heritage, mostly funded by the Public Administration, and in the other the contribution to the economy of cultural tourism, also comparing both the activities economic impact. Heritage, as cultural capital, produces more than enough income by itself to compensate for the cost of its preservation.Fac. de Ciencias Políticas y SociologíaTRUEpu

Li-Po Battery Charger Based on the Constant Current/Voltage Parallel Resonant Converter Operating in ZVS

Battery requirements for electrical vehicles are continuously becoming more demanding in terms of energy density and reliability. Nowadays, batteries for drones must be able to supply 100 A for 15 min, not to mention the specifications required for batteries in electrical vehicles. These specifications result in more stringent specifications for battery chargers. They are required to be more efficient, flexible, and, as with any another power equipment, to have reduced size and weight. Since the parallel resonant converter can operate as a current source and as a voltage source, this paper presents a battery charger power stage for lithium ion polymer batteries, based on the above topology, operating in zero voltage switching mode, and implementing frequency and duty cycle control

A detailed chemistry model for transient hydrogen and carbon monoxide catalytic recombination on parallel flat Pt surfaces implemented in an integral code

A detailed chemistry model has been adapted and developed for surface chemistry, heat and mass transfer between H2/CO/air/steam/CO2 mixtures and vertical parallel Pt-coated surfaces. This model is based onto a simplified Deutschmann reaction scheme for methane surface combustion and the analysis by Elenbaas for buoyancy-induced heat transfer between parallel plates. Mass transfer is treated by the heat and mass transfer analogy. The proposed model is able to simulate the H2/CO recombination phenomena characteristic of parallel-plate Passive Autocatalytic Recombiners (PARs), which have been proposed and implemented as a promising hydrogen-control strategy in the safety of nuclear power stations or other industries. The transient model is able to approach the warm-up phase of the PAR and its shut-down as well as the dynamic changes within the surrounding atmosphere. The model has been implemented within the MELCOR code and assessed against results of the Battelle Model Containment tests of the Zx series. Results show accurate predictions and a better performance than traditional methods in integral codes, i.e., empirical correlations, which are also much case-specific. Influence of CO present in the mixture on the PAR performance is also addressed in this paper

Business Intelligence Expert System on SOX Compliance over the Purchase Orders Creation Process

The objective of this work is to define a decision support system over SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) compatibility and quality of the Purchase Orders Creation Process based on Artificial Intelligence and Theory of Argumentation knowledge and techniques. This proposed model directly contributes to both scientific research artificial intelligent area and business practices. From business perspective it empowers the use of artificial intelligent models and techniques to drive decision making processes over financial statements. From scientific and research area the impact is based on the combination of 1) an Information Seeking Dialog Protocol in which a requestor agent inquires the business case; 2) a Facts Valuation based Protocol in which the previously gathered facts are analyzed; 3) the already incorporated initial knowledge of a human expert via initial beliefs; 4) the Intra-Agent Decision Making Protocol based on deductive argumentation; and 5) the semi automated Dynamic Knowledge Learning Protocol. Last but not least the suggested way of integration of this proposed model in a higher level multiagent intelligent system in which a Joint Deliberative Dialog Protocol and an Inter-Agent Decision Deductive Argumentation Making Protocol are described

Decision Making Intelligent Agent on SOX Compliance over the Imports Process

The objective of this work is to define a decision support system over SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) compatibility of the Imports Process based on Artificial Intelligence and Theory of Argumentation knowledge and techniques measuring at the same time the quality of how things were done on this specific process of the analyzed business case. SOX Law in effect nowadays is worldwide facto standard for financial and economical operations of private sector with the main objective to protect investors of private sector and promote the financial health of private companies. In this framework we have developed a decision support intelligent expert model to help SOX control bodies, companies and auditors to support their SOX compliance decisions based on well founded bases like Artificial Intelligence and Theory of Argumentation. The model here presented incorporates several key concepts like pre-existing expert knowledge base, a formalized and structure way to evaluate an existing business case focusing on the Imports Process, a semi automated fuzzy dynamic knowledge learning protocol and an structure method to evolve based on the facts of the business case and suggest an specific decision about the SOX compatibility of the specific business case

Argumentative SOX Compliant and Quality Decision Support Intelligent Expert System over the Suppliers Selection Process

The objective of this paper is to define a decision support system over SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) compatibility and quality of the Suppliers Selection Process based on Artificial Intelligence and Argumentation Theory knowledge and techniques. The present SOX Law, in effect nowadays, was created to improve financial government control over US companies. This law is a factor standard out United States due to several factors like present globalization, expansion of US companies, or key influence of US stock exchange markets worldwide. This paper constitutes a novel approach to this kind of problems due to following elements: (1) it has an optimized structure to look for the solution, (2) it has a dynamic learning method to handle court and control gonvernment bodies decisions, (3) it uses fuzzy knowledge to improve its performance, and (4) it uses its past accumulated experience to let the system evolve far beyond its initial state

Decision Making Intelligent Agent on SOX Compliance over the Goods Receipt Processs

The objective of this work is to define a decision support system over SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) compatibility of the Goods Receipt Process based on Artificial Intelligence and Theory of Argumentation knowledge and techniques measuring at the same time the quality of how things were done on this specific process of the analyzed business case. SOX Law in effect nowadays is worldwide facto standard for financial and economical operations of private sector with the main objective to protect investors of private sector and promote the financial health of private companies. In this framework we have developed a decision support intelligent expert model to help SOX control bodies, companies and auditors to support their SOX compliance decisions based on well founded bases like Artificial Intelligence and Theory of Argumentation. The model here presented incorporates several key concepts like pre-existing expert knowledge base, a formalized and structure way to evaluate an existing business case focusing on the Goods Receipt Process, a semi automated fuzzy dynamic knowledge learning protocol and an structure method to evolve based on the facts of the business case and suggest an specific decision about the SOX compatibility of the specific business case

Caracterización de los carritos de transporte de niños para su uso en autobuses y autocares

Dentro del proyecto “Determinación de los requisitos de Accesibilidad y Seguridad en la Utilización de CARritos de niños en vehículos de Transporte Público (ASUCAR)”, subvencionado mediante el subprograma TRACE del Plan Nacional de Investigación y Ciencia 2008-2011 y en el que colaboran las Universidades Politécnica de Valencia (UPV) y de Madrid (UPM), así como las Empresas Municipales de Transporte de Valencia y Madrid, se está estudiando la manera de definir las condiciones de transporte de personas que viajen con niños de forma que se garantice tanto su accesibilidad, como su seguridad durante el transporte y la del resto de los usuarios. Una fase importante de este proyecto es la caracterización de los carritos de transporte de niños y el análisis de los parámetros físicos más importantes para su estabilidad en el interior de un vehículo. Para ello, los carritos se han clasificado por familias atendiendo a su diseño general y se han registrado su masa, dimensiones de apoyo, dimensiones máximas y posición del c.d.g. con y sin niño sentado. Posteriormente, estos parámetros serán relacionados con los valores de solicitaciones sobre el carrito en maniobras de aceleración, frenado y paso por curva de un autobús. Estos valores se transformarán en condiciones de contorno para el diseño de los sistemas de retención de los carritos en los vehículos