Distributed ledger technology (DLT) : introduction

Artículo de revistaDistributed ledger technology is attracting the attention of the financial sector, both owing to its use in transactions with crypto-assets and to the proliferation of initiatives which have the potential to increase the efficiency, transparency, speed and resilience of processes underlying financial transactions. This article aims to introduce this technology, describing a series of basic issues surrounding it and attempting to identify opportunities and intrinsic limitations. Additionally, it addresses possible applications in the financial sector and outlines some of the main challenges which its use poses for the authoritie

Privacy, labour and law

En el presente trabajo, se buscan analizar -desde una dimensión estrictamente jurídicados problemas actuales que presenta el cruce entre trabajo y privacidad: por un lado, la determinación del ambito protegido del derecho a la privacidad, es decir, el contenido de este derecho al interior de la relación de trabajo; así, se sostendrá una concepción dogmática amplia, entendiendo la misma no sólo como secreto sino también como derecho de autodeterminación. Por otro lado, cuáles son los límites de la privacidad, a efectos de resolver los eventuales conflictos que el ejercicio de este derecho genere con los poderes jurídicamente reconocidos al empleador.This work analyses -from a strictly legal dimension- two current problems that the confrontation between work and privacy presents: on the one hand, the determination of the protected area of the right to privacy, that is, the content of that right within a labour relationship; thus, a dogmatic wide conception will be sustained, understanding it not only as a secret but also as a right of self-determination. On the other hand, what are the limits of privacy, in order to solve the possible conflicts between this right and those that are recognized to the employer

Libertad de expresión: apuntes sobre su reconocimiento y contenido en el trabajo.

This paper analyzes freedom of expression in the field of employment relationships and its limits with emphasis on Chilean law.Este trabajo analiza la libertad de expresión en el ámbito de las relaciones de trabajo y sus límites con énfasis en el derecho chilen

PRIVACIDAD, TRABAJO Y DERECHOS FUNDAMENTALES

En este trabajo se sostendrá que la incorporación de la privacidad al interior de la relación laboral -como consecuencia del efecto horizontal de los derechos fundamentales- es un hecho relevante para los derechos de los trabajadores en general, pero que la introducción de la privacidad de la mano de una concepción dogmática amplia -entendiendo la misma no sólo como secreto sino también como derecho de autodeterminación- es un hecho, además, especialmente significativo para la sociedad en su conjunto, en cuanto vigoriza y aumenta el pluralismo y la disidencia social

Gestión del conocimiento en intranets corporativas: desarrollo de un modelo de diseño

Intranets are considered as tools for corporative knowledge management. Their basic features, types, advantages and disadvantages, factors of success in their development, limitations and challenges that their effective implementation faces are analyzed. Intranet design must put the users in the first stageSe analizan las intranets como instrumento de gestión del conocimiento corporativo. Se presentan su características principales, su tipología, sus ventajas e inconvenientes, los factores de éxito en su desarrollo, sus limitaciones y los retos a los que se enfrenta su implementación eficaz. El diseño de la intranet ha de hacerse pensando más en los usuarios que en la tecnología. (A

Factores químicos, físico-químicos y físicos determinantes de los caracteres, propiedades y dinámica de la porosidad de los suelos

De lo expuesto en los apartados anteriores se deduce la gran importancia edafológica y agronómica que reviste el estudio de la porosidad del suelo, así como el de sus relaciones directas o indirectas con otras características químicas, físico-químicas y físicas que condicionan su comportamiento, en especial como medio en el que se desarrollan y crecen las plantas. Por ello se creyó conveniente iniciar una investigación que pudiera aportar los conocimientos básicos suficientes acerca de la porosidad de una serie de suelos típicos de la región de Andalucía Occidental y a un nivel de detalle que permitiera evaluar su incidencia sobre algunas características físicas, en particular las referentes a la retención de humedad. Esta propiedad es decisiva para la economía del agua, factor de la máxima importancia en dicha región dada su especial climatología y al que se han dedicado ya una serie de trabajos, diversos puntos de vista (MARTIN ARANDA y col., 1974, 1975). La selección de perfiles, así como el muestreo de los mismos, se llevó a cabo con el criterio que se detalla en el Capítulo 2. Para la caracterización cuantitativa de la porosidad, así como de sus diversas fracciones, ha sido necesaria la puesta a punto de determinadas técnicas, para completar la metodología necesaria en un trabajo de esta naturaleza. A este aspecto concreto se ha dedicado la fase preliminar del trabajo experimental. El estudio ha comprendido asimismo el análisis de las propiedades químicas y físico-químicas al objeto de establecer relacionas cualitativas y cuantitativas con la porosidad. Se ha prestado especial atención a la caracterización mineralógica de la fracción arcilla, factor que, como ya se ha comentado, decide en gran medida el comportamiento físico del suelo. Por otro lado, y con el fin de poder relacionar la porosidad de las propiedades de ella dependientes, se ha llevado a cabo una serie de análisis que ha supuesto, igualmente, la inclusión de técnicas normalmente no utilizadas hasta ahora en la caracterización de nuestros suelos, como han sido las de determinación de la expansión-contracción y la de estabilidad estructural. La determinación de los caracteres de la porosidad y propiedades dependientes se ha realizado durante un periodo en el que se ha tenido ocasión de disponer de distintas situaciones de humedad, incluyendo dos épocas extremas y bien definidas dentro del ciclo anual de humectación-desecación. En la primera fase del trabajo se tuvo en cuenta principalmente la situación en que los suelos se encontraban a capacidad de campo, como punto de referencia reproducible y esencial a efectos comparativos, por ser el normalmente aceptado a estos fines, precediendo en una fase ulterior a considerar la situación de máxima desecación. De esta forma, se pudo tener constancia, entre otros factores, de la variación máxima de la porosidad, es decir, de su dinámica natural, independientemente de las causas concurrentes en cada caso particular. En los capítulos que siguen se da cuenta de la metodología analítica empleada en el estudio de los diversos perfiles, así como de los resultados más sobresalientes obtenidos. Se hace finalmente un comentario sobre el alcance práctico del trabajo en relación con la fertilidad de los suelos considerados, y de manera muy especial con el aprovechamiento óptimo de las reservas de agua para diferentes cultivos, de común dedicación en el área experimental

Water balance simulation of a dryland soil during fallow under conventional and conservation tillage in semiarid Aragon, Northeast Spain

The definitive version is available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01671987In Central Aragon, winter cereal is sown in the autumn (November–December), commonly after a 16–18 months fallow period aimed at conserving soil water. This paper uses the Simple Soil–Plant–Atmosphere Transfer (SiSPAT) model, in conjunction with field data, to study the effect of long fallowing on the soil water balance under three tillage management systems (conventional tillage, CT; reduced tillage, RT; and no-tillage, NT). This was on the assumption that soil properties would remain unchanged during the entire fallow season. Once the model was validated with data obtained before primary tillage implementation, the differences between simulated and observed soil water losses for the CT and RT treatments could be interpreted as the direct effect of the soil tillage system. The model was calibrated and validated in a long-term tillage experiment using data from three contrasting long-fallow seasons over the period 1999–2002, where special attention was paid to predicting soil hydraulic properties in the pre-tillage conditions. The capacity of the model to simulate the soil water balance and its components over long fallowing was demonstrated. Both the fallow rainfall pattern and the tillage management system affected the soil water budget and components predicted by the model. The model predicted that about 81% of fallow seasonal rainfall is lost by evaporation in long-fallow periods with both a dry autumn in the first year of fallow and a rainfall above normal in spring. Whereas, when the fallow season is characterised by a wet autumn during the first year of fallow the model predicted a decrease in soil water evaporation and an increase in water storage and deep drainage components. In this case, the predicted water lost by evaporation was higher under NT (64%) than under RT (56%) and CT (44%). The comparison between measured and simulated soil water loss showed that the practice of tillage decreased soil water conservation in the short term. The long-term analysis of the soil water balance showed that, in fallow periods with a wet autumn during the first year of fallow, the soil water loss measured under CT and RT was moderately greater than that predicted by the model.This research was supported by the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología of Spain (grants AGF98-0261-CO2-02 and AGL2001-2238-CO2-01 and PNFPI pre-doctoral fellowship awarded to the first author) and the European Union (FEDER funds).Peer reviewe

Water balance simulation of a dryland soil during fallow under conventional and conservation tillage in semiarid Aragon, Northeast Spain

The definitive version is available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01671987In Central Aragon, winter cereal is sown in the autumn (November–December), commonly after a 16–18 months fallow period aimed at conserving soil water. This paper uses the Simple Soil–Plant–Atmosphere Transfer (SiSPAT) model, in conjunction with field data, to study the effect of long fallowing on the soil water balance under three tillage management systems (conventional tillage, CT; reduced tillage, RT; and no-tillage, NT). This was on the assumption that soil properties would remain unchanged during the entire fallow season. Once the model was validated with data obtained before primary tillage implementation, the differences between simulated and observed soil water losses for the CT and RT treatments could be interpreted as the direct effect of the soil tillage system. The model was calibrated and validated in a long-term tillage experiment using data from three contrasting long-fallow seasons over the period 1999–2002, where special attention was paid to predicting soil hydraulic properties in the pre-tillage conditions. The capacity of the model to simulate the soil water balance and its components over long fallowing was demonstrated. Both the fallow rainfall pattern and the tillage management system affected the soil water budget and components predicted by the model. The model predicted that about 81% of fallow seasonal rainfall is lost by evaporation in long-fallow periods with both a dry autumn in the first year of fallow and a rainfall above normal in spring. Whereas, when the fallow season is characterised by a wet autumn during the first year of fallow the model predicted a decrease in soil water evaporation and an increase in water storage and deep drainage components. In this case, the predicted water lost by evaporation was higher under NT (64%) than under RT (56%) and CT (44%). The comparison between measured and simulated soil water loss showed that the practice of tillage decreased soil water conservation in the short term. The long-term analysis of the soil water balance showed that, in fallow periods with a wet autumn during the first year of fallow, the soil water loss measured under CT and RT was moderately greater than that predicted by the model.This research was supported by the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología of Spain (grants AGF98-0261-CO2-02 and AGL2001-2238-CO2-01 and PNFPI pre-doctoral fellowship awarded to the first author) and the European Union (FEDER funds).Peer reviewe

Saltation transport on a silt loam soil in northeast Spain

16 Pags., 4 Tabls., 4 Figs. The definitive version is available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-145XThe Ebro River valley in Northeast Spain experiences regularly strong west-northwest winds that are locally known as cierzo. When the cierzo blows, wind erosion may potentially occur on unprotected agricultural lands. In this paper the first results of field measurements of soil characteristics and saltation transport in the Ebro River valley near Zaragoza are presented. An experiment was conducted on a silt loam soil in the summers of 1996 and 1997. Two plots of 135×180 m were both equipped with a meteorology tower, three saltiphones (acoustic sediment sensors) and ten sediment catchers. The plots were different with respect to tillage practices. One plot received mouldboard ploughing followed by a pass of a compacting roller (conventional tillage—CT), whereas the other plot only received chisel ploughing (reduced tillage—RT). Soil characterizations indicated that soil erodibility was significantly higher in the CT plots than in the RT plots. Consequently, no significant saltation transport was observed in the RT plots during both seasons. In the CT plot, four saltation events were recorded during the 1996 season and nine events during the 1997 season. Most events were preceded by rainfall during the previous one or two days, which reduced saltation transport significantly. It is concluded that the occurrence of wind erosion in the Ebro River valley depends on the timing and type of tillage, distribution of rainfall and soil-surface crusting.The WELSONS project is funded by the European Union under Contract No. ENV4‐CT95‐0182. Peer reviewe