Les Jessour dans le Sud-Est tunisien : un système hydro-agricole ancestral dans un milieu aride

Malgré un bilan hydrique largement déficitaire dans le Sud-Est tunisien à climat aride, l'Homme a pu pratiquer l'agriculture en développant la technique des Jessour. Cette technique est confrontée aujourd'hui au risque d'abandon suite aux changements socio-économiques qu'a connus cette région au cours des cinq dernières décennies. Cet article fait le point de l'intérêt hydro-agricole des Jessour et présente les grandes lignes d'une recherche visant à évaluer le bilan hydrique de parcelles utilisant cette technique. Le but est de participer à la conservation de ce savoir-faire ancestral et d'optimiser son utilisation

Green marketing strategy and the firm's performance: The moderating role of environmental culture

Following the natural-resource-based view of the company, this study analyses how green marketing strategy influences different dimensions of organizational performance. In this task, it also studies how the integration of the environmental values within the firm's internal culture determines the effect of green strategies on performance. To meet these aims, the present research collects data from 361 manufacturing firms of a European country. Structural equation modelling with EQS software was the method applied to analyse the information. The findings indicate that green marketing strategy led firms to improve their profitability by optimizing marketing performance and reducing costs. However, dimensions of organizational results, like process performance, are not positively related to economic success. They also reveal that environmentally oriented firms are more likely to achieve a superior operational and marketing performance from environmental practices

Family Vacation Decision Making: The Role of Woman

Most people spend their vacations with their family and decide where, how, and when with their spouses. The woman’s role within the couple has become more and more influential in certain purchase decisions. This influence is strongly related to their lifestyles and values. For the tourism sector and its marketing strategy, it would be very useful to know the role that women play in vacation decisions. So, this article aims to analyze the influence of women’s lifestyles and values on family vacation decisions. The information is based on 300 questionnaires addressed to married or cohabiting women. The results show differences in vacation decisions depending on the profile of the women (professional vs. traditional) and their preferences in activities

How extroversion affects student attitude toward the combined use of a wiki and video recording of group presentations

The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of extroversion on students'' attitude toward the combined use of a wiki and the video recording of oral presentations to improve communication skills using a quantitative approach. The model includes stress because it is considered an important aspect in public speaking situations, especially so in a case like ours where the videos will be available to the class. The students’ enjoyment and the relative advantages of the learning activity are also included because they may have an influence on satisfaction and course recommendation. A survey was carried out among first-year undergraduate students. Using partial least squares methodology, the results suggest that extrovert individuals perceive less stress and more enjoyment when performing this activity, which results in them having a better attitude toward it. A total mediation effect of enjoyment between extroversion and attitude is found. Our findings also confirm that stress acts as a barrier to satisfaction, but it does not create a negative reaction toward the activity. Finally, the results show the mediation effect of attitude between the perceived relative advantages and satisfaction and between enjoyment and satisfaction

La influencia de la filosofía del marketing medioambiental en el resultado empresarial: el papel moderador de las características organizacionales

Este trabajo analiza la relación existente entre la filosofía del marketing medioambiental y los resultados empresariales, estudiando los beneficios provenientes desde el lado de la demanda. Además, se explora si dicha influencia está condicionada por la industria en la que la empresa opera y por su posición en la cadena de valor. Para ello, se lleva a cabo un estudio de mercado con empresas españolas del sector industrial. Los resultados evidencian que el marketing medioambiental contribuye a optimizar los rendimientos comerciales y económicos. Además, esta influencia es mayor en empresas de consumo, si bien la industria no modera dicha relación

Bioinspired Precision Engineering of Three‐Dimensional Epithelial Stem Cell Microniches

Maintenance of the epithelium relies on stem cells residing within specialized microenvironments, known as epithelial crypts. Two‐photon polymerization (2PP) is a valuable tool for fabricating 3D micro/nanostructures for stem cell niche engineering applications. Herein, biomimetic gelatin methacrylate‐based constructs, replicating the precise geometry of the limbal epithelial crypt structures (limbal stem cell “microniches”) as an exemplar epithelial niche, are fabricated using 2PP. Human limbal epithelial stem cells (hLESCs) are seeded within the microniches in xeno‐free conditions to investigate their ability to repopulate the crypts and the expression of various differentiation markers. Cell proliferation and a zonation in cell phenotype along the z‐axis are observed without the use of exogenous signaling molecules. Significant differences in cell phenotype between cells located at the base of the microniche and those situated towards the rim are observed, demonstrating that stem cell fate is strongly influenced by its location within a niche and the geometrical details of where it resides. This study provides insight into the influence of the niche’s spatial geometry on hLESCs and demonstrates a flexible approach for the fabrication of biomimetic crypt‐like structures in epithelial tissues. This has significant implications for regenerative medicine applications and can ultimately lead to implantable synthetic “niche‐based” treatments

Glycerol-based sustainably sourced resin for volumetric printing

Volumetric Additive Manufacturing (VAM) represents a revolutionary advancement in the field of Additive Manufacturing, as it allows for the creation of objects in a single, cohesive process, rather than in a layer-by-layer approach. This innovative technique offers unparalleled design freedom and significantly reduces printing times. A current limitation of VAM is the availability of suitable resins with the required photoreactive chemistry and from sustainable sources. To support the application of this technology, we have developed a sustainable resin based on polyglycerol, a bioderived (e.g., vegetable origin), colourless, and easily functionisable oligomer produced from glycerol. To transform polyglycerol-6 into an acrylate photo-printable resin we adopted a simple, one-step, and scalable synthesis route. Polyglycerol-6-acrylate fulfils all the necessary criteria for volumetric printing (transparency, photo-reactivity, viscosity) and was successfully used to print a variety of models with intricate geometries and good resolution. The waste resin was found to be reusable with minimal performance issues, improving resin utilisation and minimising waste material. Furthermore, by incorporating dopants such as poly(glycerol) adipate acrylate (PGA-A) and 10,12-pentacosadyinoic acid (PCDA), we demonstrated the ability to print objects with a diverse range of functionalities, including temperature sensing probes and a polyester excipient, highlighting the potential applications of these new resins