Extended conjugated microporous polymers for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) have been used as photocatalysts for hydrogen production from water in the presence of a sacrificial electron donor. The relative importance of the linker geometry, the co-monomer linker length, and the degree of planarisation were studied with respect to the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate

Customer functional value creation through a sustainable entrepreneurial orientation approach

This paper advances a theoretical model to empirically test firms’ behaviour regarding sustainable entrepreneurship, enhancing what researchers have recently proposed at a solely conceptual level; this entails sustainable entrepreneurship being understood as a discipline that reliably allows organizations to successfully respond to sustainable development and market requirements. The authors suggest an integrated approach of dynamic-capabilities, S-D logic and product-service system views, which highlights the managerial predisposition to adopt a strategic position that fosters value in use (instead of regular property value), according to the current school of thoughts engaged with innovation and sustainable development. In this regard, this paper investigates structural influences (direct and indirect) of sustainable entrepreneurial orientation and customer functional value creation in firm performance. Hypotheses are tested using the partial least squares method on a multisectoral sample of 210 companies randomly stratified with proportional allocation. The findings indicate that a sustainable entrepreneurial orientation not only has a positive and direct relationship with firm performance, but also that this relationship improves when it is mediated by customer functional value creation. Further research pathways are provided

Guidelines to design tangible tabletop activities for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is one of the most frequent neurodevelopmental disorders among children. In spite of this, there is a lack of HCI research specifically devoted to these children. This paper describes efforts to transfer previous experience with other neurodiverse children in the field of tangible tabletops to ADHD children. The results of evaluation sessions carried out in conjunction with an ADHD association, complemented with an in-depth study of their special characteristics and needs, have led to a set of guidelines oriented to the design of tangible tabletop activities. These guidelines are mostly general and applicable to the design of any interactive application oriented to ADHD children. They are also appropriate for applications for other neurodiverse children or, in fact, any child from a more inclusive perspective

¿Cómo contribuye el material didáctico multimedia en el aprendizaje de las ciencias?. Un estudio en las clases prácticas de topografía

En este trabajo se comunica la investigación realizada tras la detección de un problema en el aula a nivel universitario. Se ha creado una herramienta virtual a partir de una hipótesis de progresión y analizado los resultados obtenidos a lo largo de 4 cursos, desde un punto de vista cooperativista del desarrollo profesional. El problema detectado en el aula fue la imposibilidad por parte de los discentes, de poder utilizar el instrumental de campo fuera del horario lectivo. La solución adoptada fue la creación de una herramienta virtual, al objeto de paliar el uso in situ, considerando que con la hipótesis se llegaría a solucionar esta deficiencia y se optimizarían las clases prácticas. De los resultados de las evaluaciones se puede concluir la mejora del aprendizaje de los discentes mientras que entre el profesorado universitario es más heterogéneo en su desarrollo profesional

A estética e a diversão como fatores geradores de valor na experiência de consumo em serviços

Nos últimos anos, tanto acadêmicos como profissionais de marketing têm posto em evidência a importância e o interesse que pressupõe a criação de valor na experiência de consumo em serviços, caracterizando-se como fonte de vantagem competitiva. A maioria dos trabalhos empíricos desenvolvidos concentrou-se na geração de valor através de elementos funcionais e utilitários, tais como a qualidade e o preço. Mais além destes, começam a ser pesquisados alguns aspectos ambientais de caráter emocional ou hedonista que também contribuem à criação de valor para o consumidor, como têm destacada alguns trabalhos recentes. O presente estudo aprofunda neste campo, demonstrando a importância dos elementos hedonistas de estética e diversão, associados à atmosfera do estabelecimento, como fatores geradores de valor na experiência de consumo em serviços. Através do estabelecimento de um modelo de equações estruturais, desenvolve-se e se valida uma escala de valor hedonista, e analisa-se em que medida contribui à formação de outras variáveis já relacionadas anteriormente com a criação de valor funcional, como são a satisfação e a lealdade do consumidor.Les académiciens tout comme les professionnels du marketing ont mis en évidence dans les dernières années l'importance et l'intérêt que suppose la création de valeur dans l'expérience de consommation en services, formant une source d'avantage compétitif. La plupart des travaux empiriques développés se sont centrés sur la génération de valeur par le biais d'éléments fonctionnels et utilitaristes, comme la qualité et le prix. Pour aller plus loin, une recherche commence sur certains aspects environnementaux de caractère émotionnel ou hédoniste qui contribuent également à la création de valeur pour le consommateur, comme certains travaux récents l'ont démontré. Cette étude approfondit dans ce domaine et démontre l'importance des éléments hédonistes d'esthétique et de diversion, en association avec l'atmosphère de l'établissement, facteurs générateurs de valeur dans l'expérience de consommation en services. Une échelle de valeur hédoniste est développée et validée par l'établissement d'un modèle d'équations structurelles, et la contribution à la formation d'autres variables déjà mises en relation antérieurement avec la création de valeur fonctionnelle est analysée, comme la satisfaction et la loyauté du consommateur.En los últimos años, tanto académicos como profesionales del marketing han puesto en evidencia la importancia y el interés que supone la creación de valor en la experiencia de consumo en servicios, configurándose como fuente de ventaja competitiva. La mayoría de los trabajos empíricos desarrollados se han centrado en la generación de valor a través de elementos funcionales y utilitaristas, tales como la calidad y el precio. Más allá de estos, comienzan a investigarse algunos aspectos ambientales de carácter emocional o hedonista que también contribuyen a la creación de valor para el consumidor, como han puesto de manifiesto algunos trabajos recientes. En el presente estudio se profundiza en este campo, demostrando la importancia de los elementos hedonistas de estética y diversión, asociados a la atmósfera del establecimiento, como factores generadores de valor en la experiencia de consumo en servicios. A través del planteamiento de un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales, se desarrolla y valida una escala de valor hedonista, y se analiza en qué medida contribuye a la formación de otras variables ya relacionadas anteriormente con la creación de valor funcional, como son la satisfacción y la lealtad del consumidor.Both academics and professionals in marketing have demonstrated, during the last few years, the importance of and an interest in value being created when services are consumed, thereby creating a source of competitive advantage. Most work to date has focused on producing value through functional and utilitarian elements such as quality and price. A start has also been made on investigating some emotional or hedonistic environmental aspects which also contribute towards creating value for the consumer, as shown in some recent work. The present study goes deeper into this field, demonstrating the importance of the hedonistic elements of aesthetics and entertainment (associated with the establishment setting) as value-producing factors when services are being consumed. A scale of hedonistic value was developed and validated by proposing a structural equations' model and analysing how this could contribute towards forming other variables already related to creating functional value, such as satisfaction and consumer loyalty

The potential of groundwater-dependent ecosystems to enhance soil biological activity and soil fertility in drylands

Water availability controls the functioning of dryland ecosystems, driving a patchy vegetation distribution, unequal nutrient availability, soil respiration in pulses, and limited productivity. Groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are acknowledged to be decoupled from precipitation, since their vegetation relies on groundwater sources. Despite their relevance to enhance productivity in drylands, our understanding of how different components of GDEs interconnect (i.e., soil, vegetation, water) remains limited. We studied the GDE dominated by the deep-rooted phreatophyte Ziziphus lotus, a winter-deciduous shrub adapted to arid conditions along the Mediterranean basin. We aimed to disentangle whether the groundwater connection established by Z. lotus will foster soil biological activity and therefore soil fertility in drylands. We assessed (1) soil and vegetation dynamics over seasons (soil CO2 efflux and plant activity), (2) the effect of the patchy distribution on soil quality (properties and nutrient availability), and soil biological activity (microbial biomass and mineralization rates) as essential elements of biogeochemical cycles, and (3) the implications for preserving GDEs and their biogeochemical processes under climate change effects. We found that soil and vegetation dynamics respond to water availability. Whereas soil biological activity promptly responded to precipitation events, vegetation functioning relies on less superficial water and responded on different time scales. Soil quality was higher under the vegetation patches, as was soil biological activity. Our findings highlight the importance of groundwater connections and phreatophytic vegetation to increase litter inputs and organic matter into the soils, which in turn enhances soil quality and decomposition processes in drylands. However, biogeochemical processes are jeopardized in GDEs by climate change effects and land degradation due to the dependence of soil activity on: (1) precipitation for activation, and (2) phreatophytic vegetation for substrate accumulation. Therefore, desertification might modify biogeochemical cycles by disrupting key ecosystem processes such as soil microbial activity, organic matter mineralization, and plant productivity.This research was developed in the framework of the LTSER Platform “The Arid Iberian South East LTSER Platform — Spain (LTER_ EU_ES_027)” and supported by the European project LIFE Adaptamed (LIFE14349610 CCA/ES/000612). MTT and BRL were financially supported by a FPU Predoctoral Fellowship of the Spanish Government (16/02214 and 17/01886). EG was supported by the European Research Council (ERC Grant agreement 647038 [BIODESERT])

A multiple-trait analysis of ecohydrological acclimatisation in a dryland phreatophytic shrub

Water is the main limiting factor for groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) in drylands. Predicted climate change (precipitation reductions and temperature increases) and anthropogenic activities such as groundwater drawdown jeopardise the functioning of these ecosystems, presenting new challenges for their management. We developed a trait-based analysis to examine the spatiotemporal variability in the ecophysiology of Ziziphus lotus, a long-lived phreatophyte that dominates one of the few terrestrial GDEs of semiarid regions in Europe. We assessed morpho-functional traits and stem water potential along a naturally occurring gradient of depth-to-groundwater (DTGW, 2–25 m) in a coastal aquifer, and throughout the species-growing season. Increasing DTGW and salinity negatively affected photosynthetic and transpiration rates, increasing plant water stress (lower predawn and midday water potential), and positively affected Huber value (sapwood cross-sectional area per leaf area), reducing leaf area and likely, plant hydraulic demand. However, the species showed greater salt-tolerance at shallow depths. Despite groundwater characteristics, higher atmospheric evaporative demand in the study area, which occurred in summer, fostered higher transpiration rates and water stress, and promoted carbon assimilation and water loss more intensively at shallow water tables. This multiple-trait analysis allowed us to identify plant ecophysiological thresholds related to the increase in salinity, but mostly in DTGW (13 m), and in the evaporative demand during the growing season. These findings highlight the existence of tipping points in the functioning of a long-lived phreatophyte in drylands and can contribute to the sustainable management of GDEs in southern Europe, paving the way for further studies on phreatophytic species

Quality of student–faculty interaction at university: an empirical approach of gender and ICT usage

Purpose—This paper studies the relationship of gender and ICT usage as significant variables in the formation of perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty to educational institutions, and in the quality of the student-faculty interaction to discuss how these variables determine the bond between students and the University, in order to improve this interaction. Design/methodology/approach—The empirical research designed to test the proposed model was conducted in two Spanish universities (a random sample of 1000 graduates—500 from each university—from two academic years, all areas of knowledge and proportional for men/women). They were individually interviewed by personnel of an external market research institute, using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview). For the measurement of the latent variables in the proposed model, we use an 11-point Likert scale (adapted to the particular context of the present study by means of several in-depth interviews with students and academics). ICT usage—classified in communication, author and administration tools, supporting the teaching, research and administrative management processes of the educational service—was measured with a scale of 7 items, which cover the main ICT used by students during their learning process and checked by an expert panel. These items were also examined more rigorously to validate their psychometric properties with the estimation of a confirmatory factor analysis via the maximum-likelihood method of structural equation modeling with LISREL 8.5. The evaluation of discriminant validity was testing by the AVE for each construct, which exhibited all of the constructs, discriminant validity in the model. Moreover, it was also verified through analysis of the confidence interval for the correlation coefficient between ICT usage and quality of interaction, and performing a model with construct correlations constrained to 1.00 was compared to an unconstrained model. Findings—Internal consistency of the scales and the results for discriminant validity allowed the estimation of the structural model, confirming the proposed hypothesis. Thus, ICT usage shows a positive influence on the quality of the student-faculty interaction, and there are significant differences in the quality of interaction by gender, since this one is higher in women than in men. Research limitations/implications—The proposed model and associated measurement instruments can reliably and consistently be applied for higher educational institutions, providing useful information for strategic decisions of universities. It would be interesting to replicate and extend this study to other contexts, including other related and moderating variables. Practical implications—These results have several academic and managerial implications for universities and nonprofit organizations. The findings show that the level of the student’s ICT usage contributes to create and maintain the link or closeness between students and their University. Successful ICT integration is clearly related to the learning process in terms of the student-professor relationship, and that there are differences in the way men and women develop their academic relationships. Originality/Value—This study contributes to the development of educational literature, providing a scale of the quality of the interaction in this context, which has never been tested before in this field. The same happens with the analysis of the effects of using ICT in the student perception of that interaction, as well as differences between men and women, tested for the first time in this context.Studentų ir dėstytojų sąveika turi teigiamą poveikį studentų suvokimo apie universiteto vertybes universitete formavimui, savęs identifikavimuisi su universitetu ir lojalumu jam. Todėl labai svarbu analizuoti santykius, besiformuojančius tarp studentų ir universiteto kaip specifinės paslaugos teikėjo. Atlikus aprašomąjį tyrimą dviejuose Ispanijos universitetuose, šiame straipsnyje analizuojami ryšiai tarp lyties ir IRT naudojimo, kaip svarbaus informacijos apie vertybių suvokimą, pasitenkinimą ir lojalumą švietimo institucijoms, studentų ir dėstytojų sąveikos veiksnio. Straipsnyje diskutuojama, kaip šie veiksniai daro poveikį santykiui, egzistuojančiam tarp studentų ir universiteto, ir kaip pagerinti jų sąveiką

A computational system for the Heuristic Forecasting of Fire Risk

5 pages, 5 figures.-- Communication presented at the 6th World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics and 8th International Conference on Information System Analysis and Synthesis (SCI/ISAS 2002, Orlando, Florida, Jul 14-18, 2002).This article describes a computational system which forecasts the potential risk of forest fires, by processing a set of meteorological variables so as to produce a fire weather risk index. The system also studies a set of area characteristics, which provides us with long-term static information on potential fire risk. This area-specific information constitutes the interpretation context and can be used to refine the results computed from the weather index

A data-driven methodological routine to identify key indicators for social-ecological system archetype mapping

The spatial mapping of social-ecological system (SES) archetypes constitutes a fundamental tool to operationalize the SES concept in empirical research. Approaches to detect, map, and characterize SES archetypes have evolved over the last decade towards more integrative and comparable perspectives guided by SES conceptual frameworks and reference lists of variables. However, hardly any studies have investigated how to empirically identify the most relevant set of indicators to map the diversity of SESs. In this study, we propose a data-driven methodological routine based on multivariate statistical analysis to identify the most relevant indicators for mapping and characterizing SES archetypes in a particular region. Taking Andalusia (Spain) as a case study, we applied this methodological routine to 86 indicators representing multiple variables and dimensions of the SES. Additionally, we assessed how the empirical relevance of these indicators contributes to previous expert and empirical knowledge on key variables for characterizing SESs. We identified 29 key indicators that allowed us to map 15 SES archetypes encompassing natural, mosaic, agricultural, and urban systems, which uncovered contrasting land sharing and land sparing patterns throughout the territory. We found synergies but also disagreements between empirical and expert knowledge on the relevance of variables: agreement on their widespread relevance (32.7% of the variables, e.g. crop and livestock production, net primary productivity, population density); relevance conditioned by the context or the scale (16.3%, e.g. land protection, educational level); lack of agreement (20.4%, e.g. economic level, land tenure); need of further assessments due to the lack of expert or empirical knowledge (30.6%). Overall, our data-driven approach can contribute to more objective selection of relevant indicators for SES mapping, which may help to produce comparable and generalizable empirical knowledge on key variables for characterizing SESs, as well as to derive more representative descriptions and causal factor configurations in SES archetype analysis