Recomanacions per a la implementació de mesures de conciliació en el sector comercial detallista espanyol

El present TFG té per objecte plantejar una sèrie de recomanacions per incentivar i facilitar la implementació de mesures de conciliació en empreses del sector comercial detallista espanyol. En primer lloc, es presenta una breu radiografia del sector comercial detallista a Espanya amb l'objectiu de detectar les necessitats principals dels seus treballadors en termes de conciliació. L'anàlisi centra l'observació en les dades més rellevants a nivell sectorial, en els factors de l'entorn que afecten aquest sector, en la legislació vigent aplicable i en la seva evolució històrica. A continuació, s'exposa la importància dels recursos humans en les empreses: un dels seus principals avantatges competitius. Analitzar l'estructura organitzativa actual de les empreses del citat sector permetrà confirmar la importància de la gestió del capital humà a través de la motivació. Posteriorment, es mostra un anàlisi sobre el concepte de conciliació com a eina de gestió de persones així com de retenció de talent. L'estudi realitza una breu visió històrica, per després fer un anàlisi de les seves característiques principals, una visió de la legislació vigent, un anàlisi de les principals mesures existents, una comparativa cost-benefici de la seva implementació i un estudi sobre el paper que juguen les TIC en aquest entorn.El presente Trabajo Final de Grado tiene por objeto plantear una serie de recomendaciones para incentivar y facilitar la implementación de medidas de conciliación en empresas del sector comercial detallista español. En primer lugar, se presenta una breve radiografía del sector comercial detallista en España con el objetivo de detectar las principales necesidades de sus trabajadores en términos de conciliación. El análisis centra su observación en los datos más relevantes a nivel sectorial, en los factores del entorno que afectan a este sector, en la legislación vigente aplicable y en su evolución histórica. A continuación, se expone la importancia de los recursos humanos en las empresas: una de sus principales ventajas competitivas. Analizar la estructura organizativa actual de las empresas del citado sector permitirá confirmar la importancia de la gestión del capital humano a través de la motivación. Posteriormente, se muestra un análisis sobre el concepto de conciliación como herramienta de gestión de personas así como de retención de talento. El estudio realiza una breve visión histórica, para posteriormente hacer un análisis de sus características principales, una visión de la legislación vigente, un análisis de las principales medidas existentes, una comparativa coste-beneficio de su implementación y un estudio sobre el papel que juegan las TIC en este entorno.The aim of this Bachelor's Final Thesis is to lay out a set of recommendations to foster and facilitate the implementation of work and family balancing measures by companies of the Spanish retail sector. First, a brief analysis of the retail sector in Spain was performed in order to detect the main work and family balancing needs of its employees. This analysis focused on the observation of the most relevant data of the sector, the environmental factors that could alter the sector, the current legislation and its evolution throughout history. Second, the importance of human resources in companies was introduced as one of their main competitive assets. An analysis of the current organizational structure of the retail companies allowed to confirm that motivation plays a crucial role on management of their human resources. Next, the concept of work and family balance was explored as a tool for managing people and preserving their talent. This study included a brief historical research, which was used, afterwards, to infer its main features, evaluate the current legislation, analyze the most important existing measures, elaborate a cost-benefit analysis for its implementation and delve into the role played by IT in this environment

Nuevas tendencias en la comunicación de los programas de marketing con causa en España

The communication strategies of programs of causerelated marketing have improved substantially in recent years, moving from simple communication tactics or actions towards the beginnings of genuine communication strategies of cause-related marketing programs which are carefully planned. Thus, this article attempts to explain the evolution of the communication of programs of cause-related marketing and to highlight the new trends in advertising communications which both companies and non-profit organizations have been adopting, in recent years, to carry out this type of marketing strategy. Carolina Sorribas Morales es doctora en Publicidad y Relaciones Públicas y miembro del Grup de Recerca en Estratègia i Creativitat Publicitàries de la Facultat de Comunicació Blanquerna (URL). KEY WORDS: cause-related marketing, communication strategy. PALABRAS CLAVE: marketing con causa, estrategia de comunicación

Development of the Intercultural Citizenship in EFL 8th grade students

Developing cultural awareness and intercultural citizenship competences in high school students has become a challenge for English language educators as this task is generally associated to the foreign language class. Language and culture are interwoven and cannot be separated (Brown, 2001), therefore culture has become a topic of study in the foreign language class. This fact has become a challenge for language teachers as they may be missing valuable learning opportunities in the classroom when tackling this aspect with their students. Conducting research on how English language teachers can develop these competences in the class is therefore a necessity in the field and the main objective of this research. The objective of the study presented here is to determine how the implementation of a pedagogical sequence could influence the development of intercultural citizenship in EFL students. In order to do that, we designed a pedagogical sequence using the Intercultural Encounters model Lave and Wenger (1991) based on Byramos model of intercultural communicative competence (1997). Data was collected through the application of surveys, focus groups and studentsÕ reflections. Results showed that the pedagogical sequence implemented seemed to have helped students develop their intercultural competences as they have reported more empathy to the new culture and respect for the difference. Results also showed that teachers should follow a series of stages in order to design appropriate sequences. These stages should include contextualization, interactive and action-taking activities and student reflection on what has been done. It is hoped that these findings will contribute to the worldwide discussion about the pedagogical decisions needed to develop intercultural competences

Development and Application of an Experimental Model for the Fluid Coking Process

Liquid injection into a fluidized bed is used in industrial applications such as the Fluid CokingTM process for heavy oil thermal cracking. Poor initial liquid-solid contact results in the formation of agglomerates that limit heat and mass transfer processes, reduce the yield of valuable compounds and create operating problems. The present study develops a new experimental model to simulate the complex phenomena that occur when heavy oil is injected in a Fluid Coker through two-phase nozzles. The model is applied in a pilot scale fluidized bed using scaled-down industrial spray nozzles. The experimental results indicate that agglomerate formation slows down liquid vaporization and that process conditions, such as bed hydrodynamics and temperature, have a significant impact on agglomerate properties. The experimental results also suggest how to modify spray nozzles to improve their performance in Fluid Cokers. Important information is provided for the development of the theoretical models that are needed to better understand the effect of agglomerating phenomena on bitumen upgrading

Experiential learning in the COVID-19 Era: Challenges and Opportunities for ESOL teacher educators

Spring 2020, or the COVID-19 pivot, will be forever remembered as the semester that took educators by surprise. The challenges educators faced were numerous and they varied extensively depending on different variables like student level, subject, institutional support, among others. This article chronicles the journey of a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) educator teaching a TESOL methodologies course that used experiential learning in the form of classroom observations and reflections. Through vignettes of her experiences and those of her students, as they navigated the challenges of completing field-work during the COVID-19 pandemic, the educator discusses areas of strength and areas for improvement in using experiential learning to prepare teachers, including those who teach writing directly and those who teach writing as a language skill. Central to this discussion are the ideas that a) preparing teachers requires flexibility—sometimes not easily afforded by experiential learning assignments—and b) willingness to remain truthful to one’s teaching objectives and teaching philosophy is essential, even in light of challenging circumstances