Comillas Pontifical University

Financial portfolio management investment policies computed quantitatively by modern portfolio theory techniques like the Markowitz model rely on a set of assumptions that are not supported by data in high volatility markets such as the technological sector or cryptocurrencies. Hence, quantitative researchers are looking for alternative models to tackle this problem. Concretely, portfolio management (PM) is a problem that has been successfully addressed recently by Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approaches. In particular, DRL algorithms train an agent by estimating the distribution of the expected reward of every action performed by an agent given any financial state in a simulator, also called gymnasium. However, these methods rely on Deep Neural Networks model to represent such a distribution, that although they are universal approximator models, capable of representing this distribution over time, they cannot explain its behaviour, given by a set of parameters that are not interpretable. Critically, financial investors policies require predictions to be interpretable, to assess whether they follow a reasonable behaviour, so DRL agents are not suited to follow a particular policy or explain their actions. In this work, driven by the motivation of making DRL explainable, we developed a novel Explainable DRL (XDRL) approach for PM, integrating the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) DRL algorithm with the model agnostic explainable machine learning techniques of feature importance, SHAP and LIME to enhance transparency in prediction time. By executing our methodology, we can interpret in prediction time the actions of the agent to assess whether they follow the requisites of an investment policy or to assess the risk of following the agent’s suggestions. We empirically illustrate it by successfully identifying key features influencing investment decisions, which demonstrate the ability to explain the agent actions in prediction time. We propose the first explainable post hoc PM financial policy of a DRL agent.

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are monetary projects of digital public money at different stages of development, whose issuance corresponds to central banks. It is a digital representation of money with fiat currency’s legal nature. Still, like cash, and unlike electronic bank money, it has the guarantee of a central bank and not a deposit guarantee fund. This means that the monetary authority is responsible for the conditions of its issuance, distribution and value, as well as the network or infrastructure that supports its operation and possible programmability, whether retail (rCBDC) or wholesale (wCBDC). Among the most important examples of CBDC projects are the Chinese digital yuan and the digital euro, the latter still undergoing the study (or preparation) phase by the European Central Bank. The objective of this paper is to carry out a conceptual and comparative study on the development of these and other CBDC projects, providing a regulatory analysis of the consequences that the implementation of this new monetary and technological reality will bring to the banking system, as well as the impact that these digital currencies have on the banking market, the protection of users and their relationship with the rest of the Fintech environment. It will also discuss some of the initiatives taking place at the international level, such as the projects within the BIS Innovation Hub to address different issues that will define the final configuration of CBDCs in the near future.

Objective: to cross-culturally adapt and analyze the metric properties of the Adult Difficult Intravenous Access Scale into Brazilian Portuguese. Method: methodological study carried out in two stages: 1) Translation of the scale from the original version in English to Brazilian Portuguese, including an assessment by a committee of nine judges, back-translation and semantic analysis; 2) Analysis of metric properties with 130 adults admitted to a hemodynamics unit in which difficult peripheral venipunctures occurred. Participants were followed up to check for the occurrence of difficult peripheral venipunctures. The instrument’s inter-rater reliability and predictive validity were analyzed. Data collection was carried out from February 2021 to April 2023 in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Results: in the assessment carried out by the committee of judges, the items presented a Content Validity Index above 0.80, after the second round of assessment. Regarding semantic analysis, professionals considered the scale relevant, easy to apply and understand. The Kappa coefficient for individual items ranged between 0.68 and 1.0. For each item scored, adult patients are three times more likely to have difficult peripheral venipuncture. Conclusion: the final version of the scale was considered clear, reliable, and easy to understand. The instrument enables a predictive score of difficult peripheral venipuncture in adults. Descriptors: Validation study; Peripheral Catheterization; Adult; Surveys and Questionnaires; Nursing

Parental Reflective Functioning is considered a critical variable, both for the exercise of parenthood and for child development. For some years now, there has been a need for sufficiently sensitive and effective instruments to explore and evaluate Parental Reflective Functioning. This preliminary study presents the construction and validation of a short version of the Parent Development Interview-Revised, which we call Parent Development Interview-Brief. The main objective of this abbreviation is to maintain the semi-structured nature of the interview while decreasing the time needed to administer it. A multicenter and cross-sectional study with a normative sample of 60 mothers of children under five years of age with normotypical development is presented. To analyze the criterion validity of the Parent Development Interview-Brief, participants completed the Cuestionario de Apego Adulto [Adult Attachment Questionnaire] and the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. The psychometric qualities of the new instrument are discussed, as well as the need for sufficiently sensitive, reliable, and effective tools to tap Parental Reflective Functioning for use in clinical contexts and research.

This study explores residents’ opinions with the aim of understanding their perceptions of tourism in order to implement sustainable tourism practices in a medium-sized city such as Cáceres, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS), in order to mitigate negative impacts such as gentrification and tensions. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis these attitudes are studied and correlated with socio-demographic factors to enable effective planning of urban tourist accommodation. Residents recognize the benefits of tourism, such as economic growth and cultural preservation, but express concerns about the socio-economic and cultural impacts and emphasize the need to balance tourism growth with the needs of residents. The statistical analyses conducted reveal different attitudes towards tourism and highlight the importance of regulating and managing social and cultural impacts. The study argues for sustainable management strategies for tourism and proposes targeted measures to address community concerns and proactively prevent gentrification. By correlating perceptions with socio-demographic factors, it offers insights for the responsible integration of short-term rentals (VRUs) into urban areas.

This article focuses on the study of the specific social vulnerability of migrant minors during their arrival and the corresponding integration processes in the host countries. The analysis focuses on identifying risks of social vulnerability using a conceptual framework based on the notion of social exclusion. Using a multidimensional, processual approach, the construction of vulnerability in households with migrant minors is analysed in comparison with households with non‐migrant minors (in the EU, using Spain as a case study). Despite having an intermediate‐level mean income, and despite economic development in the country, Spain has seen a re‐emergence of child poverty that has had a significant impact on households with minors. The lack of targeted programmes and low levels of investment contributes to one in four minors living below the at‐risk‐of‐poverty line. The economic crisis of 2008 and the COVID‐19 pandemic have worsened the situation, especially in households with migrant minors.

Point-of-interest (POI) recommendations are essential for travelers and the e-tourism business. They assist in decision-making regarding what venues to visit and where to dine and stay. While it is known that traditional recommendation algorithms’ performance depends on data characteristics like sparsity, popularity bias, and preference distributions, the impact of these data characteristics has not been systematically studied in the POI recommendation domain. To fill this gap, we extend a previously proposed explanatory framework by introducing new explanatory variables specifically relevant to POI recommendation. At its core, the framework relies on having subsamples with different data characteristics to compute a regression model, which reveals the dependencies between data characteristics and performance metrics of recommendation models. To obtain these subsamples, we subdivide a POI recommendation data set on New York City and measure the effect of these characteristics on different classical POI recommendation algorithms in terms of accuracy, novelty, and item exposure. Our findings confirm the crucial role of key data features like density, popularity bias, and the distribution of check-ins in POI recommendation. Additionally, we identify the significance of novel factors, such as user mobility and the duration of user activity. In summary, our work presents a generic method to quantify the influence of data characteristics on recommendation performance. The results not only show why certain POI recommendation algorithms excel in specific recommendation problems derived from a LBSN check-in data set in New York City, but also offer practical insights into which data characteristics need to be addressed to achieve better recommendation performance.

Organizational spirituality addresses the complexities of the organizational landscape. It requires the embodiment of spiritual practices within organizations. As one such spiritual practice, spiritual discernment is closely linked to decision-making, a critical aspect of organizational functioning. However, there is a need to establish a clear link between organizational spirituality and spiritual discernment, as this integration provides a way for organizations to begin their spiritual development. This paper presents a conceptual framework that identifies and clarifies the employee-enabling conditions—such as practical wisdom, appreciation of beauty and excellence, and social intelligence—and explains how these conditions facilitate the practice of spiritual discernment. This study advances the field of organizational spirituality by linking organizational spirituality with spiritual discernment, expanding the understanding of how spirituality can be systematically integrated into decision-making processes, and highlighting the role of employee capabilities in this integration.

The book builds off a growing body of literature that connects human rights and pop culture (Dubin et al., 2022). It analyses the intersection between Indian cinema and human rights by bringing together leading academics from varying disciplines, such as Law, Cinema Studies, Literature, and other humanities fields, to explore this intersectionality. The result is a book that offers a comprehensive analysis of Indian cinema and human rights through discussions about how films have reflected upon and portrayed important rights issues in Indian society, as well as the failure of the government to close regulatory and other gaps that perpetuate human rights abuses. The book also more broadly evokes the question of whether governments, policymakers, the United Nations, and other organizations should engage more with film and pop culture as part of a broader strategy to improve compliance and change attitudes that frequently create obstacles towards human rights protection. At the same time, the chapter sets the stage for future research into the role of film elsewhere, such as fast-growing Nollywood film industry, which is quickly sweeping across a continent still very much plagued by human rights violations and patriarchal attitudes.

This paper presents an adaptive high-performance optimization tool for the real-time operation of Renewable-based Virtual Power Plants (RVPPs). The increasing integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) into power systems introduces challenges due to their intermittent nature. Aggregating RES units into RVPPs creates a more controllable and competitive entity for energy market participation. However, real-time operation, particularly for ancillary services like Frequency Containment Reserve and automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve, remains challenging since the offered delivery of such ancillary services needs to be guaranteed at all times. In this paper, the proposed Adaptive High-performance Optimal Real-time operation Algorithm (AHORA) addresses these challenges by executing re-dispatches every four seconds, mitigating internal and external disturbances while ensuring compliance with System Operator requirements. The framework supports both event-driven and periodic activation strategies, enabling dynamic adaptation to system changes. Real-time implementation of the operation framework is carried out using OPAL-RT real-time simulator, verifying the RVPP’s ability to meet the demands of real-time applications effectively. Test results demonstrate that AHORA achieves a minimum of 85% of the required regulation in worst case disturbances and maintains service provision within a stringent 4-second window. The findings demonstrate AHORA’s practical applicability in enhancing the reliability and efficiency of renewable energy integration into modern power grids, providing a robust solution for managing the complexities of RVPP real-time operation.

The shift from fossil fuel to electric based propulsion in the waterborne transport sector has been sped up by recent policies aiming to reduce the sector emissions. This trend creates highly electrified vessels, with needs for energy storage systems (ESS) to satisfy the power demand affordably and to increase the on-board grid reliability and efficiency. Initial industry efforts have been put in the study and integration of high energy density ESS solutions, mainly electrochemical batteries. However, other innovative ESS, with different capabilities, have not been yet fully addressed. It is the case of Fast Response Energy Storage Systems (FRESS), such as Supercapacitors, Flywheels, or Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) devices. The EU granted project, POwer StoragE IN D OceaN (POSEIDON) will undertake the necessary activities for the marinization of the three mentioned FRESS. This study presents the design process followed in the POSEIDON project for the definition of an SMES suitable for maritime operation. First, the boundary conditions imposed by the marine environment, and the potential on-board applications of the SMES will be established. Next, the technological options: superconducting material, cooling system, coil fabrication and magnet topology which have been selected for this specific system will be presented.

Biophilic workplace design has been proposed as an effective strategy to increase employee well-being in open-plan offices. To expand our understanding of why and for whom indoor nature exposure increases well-being, the aim of this study was to evaluate vigor as a mediator and to examine whether nature relatedness is a direct antecedent of nature exposure or a moderator of the relationship between exposure to nature and vigor. Based on longitudinal data obtained from a two-wave panel design with white-collar workers in open-plan offices (Study 1, n = 345; Study 2, n = 291), using a rival model strategy and two dependent variables, i.e., job well-being and overall well-being, this study revealed that nature relatedness is a direct antecedent of nature exposure and that vigor mediates the relationship between nature exposure and the examined outcomes. These results indicate that although natural exposure increases employee well-being, the effects are indirectly driven by employees’ connection with nature. These findings have implications for the implementation of biophilic workplace design.

Corporate compliance with human rights has received little attention in the management literature. This papersaims to shed some light on this issue, by examining business recognition of Human Rights; in particular howcompanies state their own commitment with the Human Rights; the policies and procedures in place to ensurecompliance, including mechanisms of control and enforcement; and corporate performance vis-à-vis humanrights. Corporate Social Responsibility reports of Spanish IBEX-35 companies were used as the main source ofinformation. We conclude that companies have, at most, a formal commitment to certain human rights (labour,consumer protection and environment). External drivers such as financial markets and reputational hazards arekeys to explain differences among companies.

Despite widespread organizational interest in digital technologies (DT), digital transformation projects often fail largely due to employee resistance. However, research on this resistance is fragmented and lacks integration, providing only partial explanations of the phenomenon. To address this gap, this integrative review aims to identify barriers to DT adoption in the workplace. Sixty-three papers met the eligibility criteria and underwent rigorous analysis. The factors thus identified reveal that resistance originates from workers’ perceived job vulnerability. This explanation, however, is limited because of the assumptions it makes concerning the functions of technologies and the resources provided by jobs. By shifting the conceptualization of digital technologies from neutral tools to agents with causal powers and acknowledging the multifaceted nature of job resources, this review proposes a reconceptualization of resistance. Drawing from theories of social conflict, it integrates previous work to develop a three-stage model of resistance that reflects how perceived threats to resources influence employees’ perceptions, emotional responses, and subsequent actions in the workplace. Building on this model, we propose a comprehensive framework that uses four pathways to explain how resistance may unfold in the workplace. Furthermore, we propose several research directions to guide future investigations. In light of these findings, this integrative review also presents various theoretical and managerial implications.

This study investigated how children’s punishment affective states change over time, as well as when children begin to prioritise intentions over outcomes in their punishment decisions. Whereas most prior research sampled children from Anglo-America or Northwestern Europe, we tested 5- to 11-year-old children from Colombia and Spain (N = 123). We focused on punishment behaviour in response to ostensibly real moral transgressions, rather than punishment recommendations for hypothetical moral transgressions. We employed moral scenarios involving disloyalty (group-focused moral domain) and unfairness (individual-focused moral domain). Regarding punishment affective states, on average children did not derive much enjoyment from administering punishment, nor did they anticipate that punishment would feel good. Thus, children did not make the same emotional forecasting error adults commonly commit. Regarding the cognitive integration of outcomes and intentions, children began to punish failed intentional transgressions more harshly than accidental transgression, in both disloyalty and unfairness scenarios, much earlier than in previous behavioural studies: around 7 years of age rather than in late adolescence. This could be due to the lower processing demands and higher intention salience of our paradigm. Exploratory analyses revealed that children showed higher concern for disloyalty than unfairness. Punishment of disloyalty remained relatively stable in severity with increasing age, while punishment of unfairness decreased in severity. This suggests that the relative importance of moral concerns for the individual vs. the group may shift because of culture-directed learning processes.