Las grandes empresas, las firmas focales y el valor añadido global

El artículo comienza presentando una evidencia empírica de la actuación económica de las empresas más importantes que cotizan en bolsa, llamadas en este artículo VLE (very large entreprises). Esta evidencia sugiere que estas empresas contribuyen en gran proporción al crecimiento macroeconómico. En la segunda parte del artículo se plantea, entre las muchas causas potenciales que pueden explicar este hecho, una hipótesis basada en el papel que pueden jugar las VLE dentro de las firmas focales, dando lugar a Cadenas de Valor Globales. La peculiaridad de una firma focal radica en que organiza el trabajo de otras empresas, involucradas todas ellas en eslabones de producción y distribución de la misma cadena. En consecuencia, la actuación económica de las compañías más importantes podría capturar una porción de esfuerzo y hacer realidad su actuación gracias a sus pequeños colaboradores, ya sean proveedores o distribuidores._______________________The paper starts by presenting the empirical evidence on to the economic performance of largest among the stock exchange listed firms, named in this paper VLE (very large enterprises). This evidence suggests that these very large firms contribute a significant proportion of macro-economic growth. Among many potential explanation of this situation, one hypothesis is explored in the second part of the paper, namely the role of “focal firm” that many of the VLE may play within existing and emerging Global Value Chains. The peculiarity of a “focal firm” is that it organises the work of other enterprises involved both in the production and distribution portions of the chain. In consequence, the economic performance of the largest may well capture a portion of effort and performance realized by its smaller partners, be it suppliers or distributors

Potential for measuring the longitudinal and lateral profile of muons in TeV air showers with IACTs

Muons are copiously produced within hadronic extensive air showers (EAS) occurring in the Earth's atmosphere, and are used by particle air shower detectors as a means of identifying the primary cosmic ray which initiated the EAS. Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), designed for the detection of gamma-ray initiated EAS for the purposes of Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray astronomy, are subject to a considerable background signal due to hadronic EAS. Although hadronic EAS are typically rejected for gamma-ray analysis purposes, single muons produced within such showers generate clearly identifiable signals in IACTs and muon images are routinely retained and used for calibration purposes. For IACT arrays operating with a stereoscopic trigger, when a muon triggers one telescope, other telescopes in IACT arrays usually detect the associated hadronic EAS. We demonstrate for the first time the potential of IACT arrays for competitive measurements of the muon content of air showers, their lateral distribution and longitudinal profile of production slant heights in the TeV energy range. Such information can provide useful input to hadronic interaction models.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

A likelihood method to cross-calibrate air-shower detectors

We present a detailed statistical treatment of the energy calibration of hybrid air-shower detectors, which combine a surface detector array and a fluorescence detector, to obtain an unbiased estimate of the calibration curve. The special features of calibration data from air showers prevent unbiased results, if a standard least-squares fit is applied to the problem. We develop a general maximum-likelihood approach, based on the detailed statistical model, to solve the problem. Our approach was developed for the Pierre Auger Observatory, but the applied principles are general and can be transferred to other air-shower experiments, even to the cross-calibration of other observables. Since our general likelihood function is expensive to compute, we derive two approximations with significantly smaller computational cost. In the recent years both have been used to calibrate data of the Pierre Auger Observatory. We demonstrate that these approximations introduce negligible bias when they are applied to simulated toy experiments, which mimic realistic experimental conditions.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Trust and Ethics in Finance : Innovative ideas from the Robin Cosgrove Prize

The values that guide finance professionals and the core role played by trust in the modern finance industry have been the dominant themes of the best papers submitted for the Robin Cosgrove Prize since it was launched in 2006. Inviting young people to submit innovative ideas to advance ethical approaches to the world of finance in its many manifestations has stimulated a global debate on the role of ethics and integrity in finance. It is important to note that the prize was launched before the topic of ethics in finance became fashionable. It is not a reactive exercise to the current crisis. The aim is to prompt a shift in thinking throughout the world of finance – the fresh ideas submitted for the prize have global relevance. The twenty-three essays in this volume come from young researchers on six continents; their innovative ideas will contribute to future-oriented ethical solutions

Postal financial services, development and inclusion: Building on the past and looking to the future

Post offices, inherited from the Industrial Revolution, were monolithic telephone and postal administrations. They were intimately linked to the fabric of nations and made significant contributions to state finances. From the 1960s onwards, integrators, such as UPS and FEDEX, started offering end-to-end express services, thus challenging the postal monopoly in new high added value services. Gradually, the liberalization paradigm gained ground. Telecommunications and sometimes financial services were spun off from postal operations. More recently, new policies and priorities started to emerge especially on the development agenda where financial inclusion has become a top priority in the developing world. The question to be addressed is which role, if any, the posts play or could play in ensuring inclusion. Despite an exceptionally scarce research in the field, this paper provides an overview of how these shifts in paradigm have affected postal policy, the postal financial services regulatory framework, the status of the organizations delivering those services and the offerings themselves in developing as well as in developed countries. After a research review, including the regulatory dimension, the paper focuses on how postal financial services institutions in their legal framework have developed bringing to the fore a panorama of a dozen of promising transformations of financial postal services in developing countries

The Determinants Of Human Wellbeing In Professional Activities

The article discusses the issue of person's attitude towards success in his professional activities, which are the value of human labor and his wellbeing in professioanl activity. Personal attitude and substantial components of socio-psychological factors of attitude development provides the field of welfare of the employee. It focuses on the implementation of efficient technologies of formation attitude towards success in the process of training and retraining. The object of the research was the OJSC Evrazruda candidate pool members studying at the Evraz Siberia Regional Staff Training Center, as well as a group of experts (engineer, metallurgists). The techniques of V. K. Gerbachevsky, V. V. Stolin, S. R. Panteleyev, H. J. Eysenck, M. Rokeach, N. M. Peysakhov and J. Rotter were used in the research. The study showed the interconnection of a person's attitude with the dominant features of the component structure of motivational, volitional and self-consciousness factors. They are the determinants of wellbeing and quality of life in professional activity

Magnetic transitions in Pr2NiO4 single crystal

The magnetic properties of a stoichiometric Pr2NiO4 single crystal have been examined by means of the temperature dependence of the complex ac susceptibility and the isothermal magnetization in fields up to 200 kOe at T=4.2 K. Three separate phases have been identified and their anisotropic character has been analyzed. A collinear antiferromagnetic phase appears first between TN = 325 K and Tc1 = 115 K, where the Pr ions are polarized by an internal magnetic field. At Tc1 a first modification of the magnetic structure occurs in parallel with a structural phase transition (Bmab to P42/ncm). This magnetic transition has a first‐order character and involves both the out‐of‐plane and the in‐plane spin components (magnetic modes gx and gxcyfz, respectively). A second magnetic transition having also a first‐order character is also clearly identified at Tc2 = 90 K which corresponds to a spin reorientation process (gxcyfz to cxgyaz magnetic modes). It should be noted as well that the out‐of‐phase component of χac shows a peak around 30 K which reflects the coexistence of both magnetic configurations in a wide temperature interval. Finally, two field‐induced transitions have been observed at 4.2 K when the field is directed along the c axis. We propose that the high‐field anomaly arises from a metamagnetic transition of the weak ferromagnetic component, similarly to La2CuO4