Lattice-Based proof of a shuffle

In this paper we present the first fully post-quantum proof of a shuffle for RLWE encryption schemes. Shuffles are commonly used to construct mixing networks (mix-nets), a key element to ensure anonymity in many applications such as electronic voting systems. They should preserve anonymity even against an attack using quantum computers in order to guarantee long-term privacy. The proof presented in this paper is built over RLWE commitments which are perfectly binding and computationally hiding under the RLWE assumption, thus achieving security in a post-quantum scenario. Furthermore we provide a new definition for a secure mixing node (mix-node) and prove that our construction satisfies this definition.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A Client mobile application for Chinese-Spanish statistical machine translation

This show and tell paper describes a client mobile application for Chinese-Spanish machine translation. The system combines a standard server-based statistical machine translation (SMT) system, which requires online operation, with different input modalities including text, optical character recognition (OCR) and automatic speech recognition (ASR). It also includes an index-based search engine for supporting off-line translation.Postprint (published version

Comparison of TQM and ISO 9000 effects in company performance: an empirical study in spanish companies

The effect of Total Quality Management (TQM) and ISO 9000 on performance has been extensively analysed by researchers, but this sort of research has usually been developed in separated cells. However, there are few articles analysing the effect of both systems within the same sample of companies. Our paper analyses both the effect of a TQM system and the ISO 9000 implementation in company performance. A structured questionnaire using the Flynn et al. (1994) scale for measuring TQM has been used to get the data. A postal survey to nearly 3000 industrial Spanish companies with more than 100 employees was sent. This questionnaire was answered by 713 quality managers. The results show a positive relationship between TQM application and hard and soft results while only an improvement in hard results after the ISO 9000 implementation has been found

Sistemas de gestión de calidad y resultados empresariales: una justificación desde las teorías institucional y de recursos y capacidades

ResumenDespués de dos décadas en las que la gestión de calidad se ha incorporado al vocabulario de los directivos, esta materia sigue teniendo una importancia significativa en la investigación acerca de organización de empresas. Concretamente, la Gestión de Calidad Total (GCT) y la norma ISO 9000 son las dos áreas que más se han estudiado. A pesar de sus grandes diferencias, estos dos sistemas han sido en ocasiones confundidos en el mundo empresarial. La presente investigación es una nueva contribución al conocimiento de la relación existente entre GCT e ISO 9000 basada en un estudio empírico. Mientras estudios anteriores han analizado ambos sistemas separadamente, este trabajo lo hace conjuntamente utilizando una misma muestra. Para profundizar en el estudio de su efecto en los resultados se han tomado como base dos teorías organizativas, la teoría institucional y la de recursos y capacidades. Los datos para la investigación se han obtenido de una amplia muestra de empresas industriales españolas. Se utilizan datos subjetivos de corte transversal y objetivos longitudinales. Las conclusiones ofrecen nueva evidencia de las ventajas de la implantación de un sistema de GCT y reflejan las consecuencias implantar un sistema de gestión de calidad únicamente debido a presiones externas.AbstractAfter more than two decades since it became part of managers’ everyday lexicon, quality management is still an integral part of research in management. In particular, Total Quality Management (TQM) and ISO 9000 have taken the centre stage. However, they have been commonly confused in the business environment as to what the differences are. This research is a new contribution to the knowledge on the relationships of TQM and ISO 9000 based on recent empirical data. While past studies have considered them separately, we study them together in one study. We have partly based our study in two organizational theories to explain different effects in performance: institutional theory. and resource based view. The data for this research has been obtained from a large sample of Spanish industrial companies. Longitudinal objective data has also been used. Our conclusion offers newly found support to the advantages of adopting a TQM policy and reflects on the consequences of implementing a quality management system mainly driven by external pressures

Using collocation segmentation to augment the phrase table

This paper describes the 2010 phrase-based statistical machine translation system developed at the TALP Research Center of the UPC1 in cooperation with BMIC2 and VMU3. In phrase-based SMT, the phrase table is the main tool in translation. It is created extracting phrases from an aligned parallel corpus and then computing translation model scores with them. Performing a collocation segmentation over the source and target corpus before the alignment causes that di erent and larger phrases are extracted from the same original documents. We performed this segmentation and used the union of this phrase set with the phrase set extracted from the nonsegmented corpus to compute the phrase table. We present the con gurations considered and also report results obtained with internal and o cial test sets.Postprint (published version

The impact of the strategic factor in knowledge management projects in the consulting industry

Los proyectos de Gestión del Conocimiento en el sector de la consultoría se han convertido en una necesidad para conseguir ventajas competitivas sostenibles en el tiempo. Entre todos los factores que influyen en el éxito de un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento, los factores estratégicos tienen un peso decisivo según la literatura existente. A pesar de que muchos estudios anteriores han destacado el papel del factor estratégico para lograr el éxito de un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento, pocos lo han cuantificado. El objetivo de este artículo se centra, en identificar los elementos que configuran el factor estratégico y de cuantificar su contribución en la maximización de beneficios. La metodología de la investigación se basa en los modelos de ecuaciones estructurales para validar las hipótesis. Los resultados confirman la importancia de la dimensión estratégica en un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento en las empresas de consultoríaThe projects of Knowledge Management in the consulting industry have become a necessity to obtain sustainable competitive advantages. Between all the factors that influence in the success of a Knowledge Management project, the strategic ones have a decisive weight according to existing literature. Although many studies raise the issue of strategy’s influence on Knowledge Management success, few have measured them. This paper aims to identify the elements that configure the strategic dimension and measure its contribution in order to maximize the profit. The research methodology is based on a Structural Equation Model to validate the hypothesis. The findings highlight the huge influence of strategy in Knowledge Management project’s success in the consultancy industryPeer Reviewe

Revolving rivers in sandpiles: from continuous to intermittent flows

In a previous paper [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 014501 (2003)], the mechanism of "revolving rivers" for sandpile formation is reported: as a steady stream of dry sand is poured onto a horizontal surface, a pile forms which has a river of sand on one side owing from the apex of the pile to the edge of the base. For small piles the river is steady, or continuous. For larger piles, it becomes intermittent. In this paper we establish experimentally the "dynamical phase diagram" of the continuous and intermittent regimes, and give further details of the piles topography, improving the previous kinematic model to describe it and shedding further light on the mechanisms of river formation. Based on experiments in Hele-Shaw cells, we also propose that a simple dimensionality reduction argument can explain the transition between the continuous and intermittent dynamics.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Phys Rev

Eugenio Montero Ríos: o xurisconsulto e o político na Compostela do seu tempo

Proxecto expositivo sobre Eugenio Montero RiosEugenio Montero Ríos (Santiago de Compostela, 1832- Madrid, 1914). Logrou todos os cargos aos que podía aspirar calquera dos oligarcas do momento: ministro de Gracia y Justicia en varias ocasións (tres delas no Sexenio) e de Fomento, deputado polo distrito de Santiago de Compostela entre 1886 e 1891, senador vitalicio desde 1889, presidente do Senado en cinco ocasiones, entre 1893 e 1913, presidente do Consejo de Instrucción Pública (1887), do Tribunal Superior de Justicia (1888) e presidiu a Comisión del Tratado de París (1898). Ademais, converteuse no xefe do Partido Liberal, tras a morte de Sagasta en 1903, ao lograr a presidencia do Goberno en 1905. Este proxecto expositivo está baseado no estudio, recompilación e organización dos elementos necesarios para dar unha “semblanza” de tal personaxe, xurisconsulto e o político, e a súa relación coa Compostela do seu tempo. Exposición e publicación promovida polo Ateneo Compostelano, a Cámara de Comercio de Santiago de Compostela, o Colexio de Avogados de Santiago, o Concello de Santiago de Compostela, a Real Sociedade Económica de Amigos do Pais, a Universidade de Santiago de Compostela e a Xunta de Galicia coa Dirección Xeral de Xustiza

ISO 9000/1994, ISO 9001/2000 and TQM: The performance debate revisited

The debate about the impact of ISO 9000/1994 on performance has been waging since its inception. While there is a general agreement regarding the positive impact of TQM on performance, there has been less agreement among the academics about the impact of ISO 9000/1994. Perhaps in response to such debate, the new ISO 9001/2000 has appeared purporting to be more in line with the TQM philosophy. As of now, how this 2000 version actually affects performance is yet to be explored. In this study, we compare the implementation of ISO 9000/1994 and ISO 9001/2000 as representing two different efforts to implement quality management practices. We evaluate its impact on company performance with a sample of 713 Spanish industrial companies. We also examine if the 2000 version of ISO is taking us closer to the implementation of TQM. Further, we depart from the past studies methodologically by considering performance as a formative construct rather than a reflective construct. Based on the mean and covariance structural (MACS) analyses, we conclude that ISO 9001/2000 certified companies do not perform noticeably better than ISO 9000/1994 or non-certified companies. However, we find that ISO 9001/2000 certified companies apply TQM at a higher level than ISO 9000/1994 certified companies, but whether they actually perform better is less clear.We would like to thank the Fundacio ́nSe ́neca andFundacio ́n Cajamurcia for financial support. We alsoacknowledge two anonymous referees and the associateeditor for valuable comments and insight