Equity in the mobility of students in the Erasmus program: Case study of the University of Málaga

The aim of this paper is to know which are the factors related to equity that condition students for the application, or not, for a scholarship within the ERASMUS program. The main study is carried out in 6 Spanish Universities, among which is the University of Malaga, which has the highest number of data collected. The participants sample consists of non-applicant and applicant students for a scholarship within the ERASMUS program. The latter are divided among those who have not begun their stay yet; those who have already begun it; and, students who have completed their stay in foreign country. All of them have been given an online questionnaire designed in its entirety for the project. The results obtained shows that in a large part of the items related to concerns about the stay abroad are related to the economic possibilities of the students to cover the expenses in the country of destinationEl objetivo de este trabajo es conocer cuáles son los factores relacionados con la equidad que condicionan a los estudiantes para la solicitud, o no, de una beca dentro del programa ERASMUS. El estudio principal se desarrolla en 6 Universidades Españolas, entre las que se encuentra la Universidad de Málaga, la cual cuenta con mayor número de datos recogidos. La muestra participante se compone de estudiantes no solicitantes y solicitantes de una beca dentro del programa ERASMUS. Éstos últimos están divididos entre quienes aún no han empezado su estancia; aquellos que ya la han comenzado; y los estudiantes que ya han finalizado la estancia. A todos ellos se les ha pasado un cuestionario online diseñado en su totalidad para el proyecto. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que en gran parte de los ítems referidos a preocupaciones sobre la estancia en el extranjero están relacionadas con las posibilidades económicas de los estudiantes para cubrir los gastos en el país de destinoEl presente trabajo se encuadra en el marco del proyecto I+D+I “Equidad y Movilidad Universitaria en el nuevo marco del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior: Análisis del Índice de Elegibilidad ERASMUS a la luz de factores socioeconómicos (Ref.:EDU 2012-36739) dirigido por Javier M. Valle en el seno del Grupo de Investigación sobre Políticas Educativas Supranacionales (GIPES) de la Universidad Autónoma de Madri

Jamaica Technical Manual: Conceptual Framework and Software Documentation

The scope and purpose of this manual for Jamaica are the same as those of the technical manual for Honduras: it provides the basic tools for successfully using and managing the Food Aid and Food Security Analysis System. The manual includes instructions for conducting various policy analyses using this analytical system as well as worksheet documentation of the FAFSAS model

A task force for diagnosis and treatment of people with Alzheimer’s disease in Latin America

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) represents a substantial burden to patients, their caregivers, health systems, and society in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This impact is exacerbated by limited access to diagnosis, specialized care, and therapies for AD within and among nations. The region has varied geographic, ethnic, cultural, and economic conditions, which create unique challenges to AD diagnosis and management. To address these issues, the Americas Health Foundation convened a panel of eight neurologists, geriatricians, and psychiatrists from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru who are experts in AD for a three-day virtual meeting to discuss best practices for AD diagnosis and treatment in LAC and create a manuscript offering recommendations to address identified barriers. In LAC, several barriers hamper diagnosing and treating people with dementia. These barriers include access to healthcare, fragmented healthcare systems, limited research funding, unstandardized diagnosis and treatment, genetic heterogeneity, and varying social determinants of health. Additional training for physicians and other healthcare workers at the primary care level, region-specific or adequately adapted cognitive tests, increased public healthcare insurance coverage of testing and treatment, and dedicated search strategies to detect populations with gene variants associated with AD are among the recommendations to improve the landscape of AD

Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries

People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from mating market and parasite stress perspectives, in a large cross-cultural sample. We also test hypotheses drawn from other influential and non-mutually exclusive theoretical frameworks, from biosocial role theory to a cultural media perspective. Survey data from 93,158 human participants across 93 countries provide evidence that behaviors such as applying makeup or using other cosmetics, hair grooming, clothing style, caring for body hygiene, and exercising or following a specific diet for the specific purpose of improving ones physical attractiveness, are universal. Indeed, 99% of participants reported spending >10 min a day performing beauty-enhancing behaviors. The results largely support evolutionary hypotheses: more time was spent enhancing beauty by women (almost 4 h a day, on average) than by men (3.6 h a day), by the youngest participants (and contrary to predictions, also the oldest), by those with a relatively more severe history of infectious diseases, and by participants currently dating compared to those in established relationships. The strongest predictor of attractiveness-enhancing behaviors was social media usage. Other predictors, in order of effect size, included adhering to traditional gender roles, residing in countries with less gender equality, considering oneself as highly attractive or, conversely, highly unattractive, TV watching time, higher socioeconomic status, right-wing political beliefs, a lower level of education, and personal individualistic attitudes. This study provides novel insight into universal beauty-enhancing behaviors by unifying evolutionary theory with several other complementary perspectives

How do firms comply with international sustainability standards? Processes and consequences of adopting the global reporting initiative

This paper addresses the issue of the influence of global governance institutions, particularly international sustainability standards, on a firm’s intra-organizational practices. More precisely, we provide an exploratory empirical view of the impact of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on a multinational corporation’s (MNC) corporate social responsibility (CSR) management practices. We investigate standard compliance by comparing the stated intention of the use of the GRI with its actual use and the consequent effects within the firm. Based on an in-depth case study, our findings illustrate the processes and consequences of the translation of the GRI within the organization. We show that substantive standard adoption can lead to unintended consequences on CSR management practices, specifically it can influence the management structure and CSR committee function; the choice of CSR activities, the relationships between subsidiaries, the temporal dimension of CSR management, and the interpretation of CSR performance. We also highlight the need to look at the relationship dynamics (or lack of) between standards. Finally we illustrate and discuss the role of reporting and its influence on management in order to better understand the internal issues arising from compliance with standards

Sources of stakeholder salience in the responsible investment movement: why do investors sign the Principles for Responsible Investment?

Since its inception in 2006, the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have grown to over 1300 signatories representing over $45 trillion. This growth is not slowing down. In this paper, we argue that there is a set of attributes which make the PRI salient as a stakeholder and its claim to sign the six PRI important to institutional investors. We use Mitchell et al.’s (Acad Manag Rev 22:853–886, 1997) theoretical framework of stakeholder salience, as extended by Gifford (J Bus Eth 92:79–97, 2010). We use as evidence confidential data from the annual survey of signatories carried out by the PRI in a 5-year period between 2007 and 2011. The findings highlight pragmatic and organizational legitimacy, normative and utilitarian power, and management values as the attributes that contribute most to the salience of the PRI as a stakeholder