Firm Size and Regional Linkages. A Typology of Manufacturing Establishments in Southern Spain

Regions with different levels of development are characterized by different enterprise compositions according to firm size and regional productive linkages. Using these two variables and two additional ones -the technological level and the position in the value chain-, the composition of the industrial sector in any region can be studied. In this respect, a new theoretical enterprise typology is proposed in this paper as a powerful analytical tool. Furthermore, an empirical work is carried out using a data set from the survey done to estimate the regional input-output table of Andalusia, a backward region in southern Spain. Thus, the theoretical enterprise typology is applied to the industry in Andalusia, so that some strengths and weaknesses of the regional economy are identified

Dimensión empresarial, encadenamientos productivos y calidad del tejido empresarial. Un análisis de la industria en Andalucía

En este trabajo se contrasta la influencia del tamaño empresarial sobre la intensidad de los encadenamientos productivos regionales a partir de datos procedentes de la encuesta realizada por el Instituto de Estadística de Andalucía entre los establecimientos industriales andaluces para la estimación de las tablas input-output regionales. Así mismo, se propone una tipología empresarial basada en la estructura espacial de los encadenamientos que permite identificar diversos modelos empresariales con diferente repercusión sobre el desarrollo endógeno del territorio. Finalmente, se aplica dicha tipología a los establecimientos industriales en Andalucía, obteniendo así una aproximación a la calidad del tejido empresarial andaluz.In this paper, we test the influence of firm size on the intensity of regional productive linkages. The study is based in data from the survey made by the Statistical Institute of Andalusia in order to estimate the regional input-output table. Furthermore, we propose an entrepreneurial typology based in the spatial structure of firm’s productive linkages. This classification makes possible to identify several entrepreneurial patterns with different impacts on endogenous development of a territory. Finally, we apply this typology to industrial plants in Andalusia, so that we can approach to the quality of the andalusian entrepreneurial tissue

Encadenamientos productivos, externalidades y crecimiento regional: Una tipología de comportamiento empresarial

La idea de articulación productiva se aplica en el estudio de las relaciones intersectoriales atendiendo a la importancia estratégica de ciertas ramas productivas dotadas de una particular capacidad de empuje o arrastre. No obstante, la observación de los encadenamientos productivos se puede realizar también a escala microeconómica, adoptando como unidad de análisis la empresa en lugar del sector productivo. Este enfoque permite identificar patrones diversos de comportamiento empresarial en función de la lógica espacial de sus aprovisionamientos y ventas. En este trabajo se propone una tipología de modelos empresariales, como herramienta conceptual aplicable en la caracterización del tejido empresarial en un ámbito espacial determinado, que aquí se identifica con una economía regional

Actividad emprendedora en los inmigrantes. Influencia del guanxi sobre el desarrollo de los negocios chinos

Este trabajo trata sobre el estudio de la actividad emprendedora de los inmigrantes chinos en Andalucía. En particular, se analizan los factores que influyen en el dinamismo de los negocios de inmigrantes chinos en esta comunidad autónoma en términos del crecimiento de las ventas y de sus aproximaciones a la innovación. El estudio presta singular atención al papel que desempeña el capital social como factor favorecedor del desarrollo de estos negocios chinos. A este respecto, en el caso de la comunidad china se pone de manifiesto la influencia clave del ‘guanxi’. El guanxi puede ser definido como una conexión personal e informal entre dos individuos delimitada por un contrato moral implícito que obliga al cumplimiento de normas sociales, como mantener una relación de colaboración a largo plazo o un compromiso mutuo de lealtad, unido a ciertas obligaciones.El análisis empírico se basa en una encuesta realizada en 2012 entre inmigrantes chinos en Andalucía. Asimismo, se comparan las características de los negocios chinos con las empresas de empresarios autóctonos a partir de otra encuesta realizada para el conjunto del tejido empresarial andaluz

Prevalence of tobacco consumption among young physicians at a regional university hospital in southern Spain: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction The aim of the study is to analyse the prevalence of smoking among resident physicians at a regional university hospital. In addition, we examined the trends in the smoking behaviour of physicians in relation to results obtained in other studies carried out previously at this hospital, as well as those published nationally and internationally Method A cross-sectional observational study evaluating tobacco consumption in young physicians was carried out at the level of secondary healthcare in a regional university hospital in Cordoba, Spain. All the study subjects were resident physicians who underwent a mandatory preliminary occupational health examination between 2012 and 2016. There was no sampling selection as anyone who took this examination was considered to be within the target population. We calculated the proportions of smokers, former smokers and non-smokers, with 95% CIs. Univariate and multivariate analyses (binary logistic regression) were used to analyse the results (P<0.05). Results The response rate was 99.4%, with a sample size of 324 out of a possible 326 physicians. The average age was 28.6±3.7—DT—(95% CI 28.2 to 29.0), and 62.3% (202/324; 95% CI 57.3 to 67.2) were women. Smoking prevalence was 6.5% (21/324; 95% CI 3.5 to 9.3) with a further 5.2% (17/324; 95% CI 2.7 to 7.8) being ex-smokers. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of tobacco consumption according to age (P=0.266), sex (9.0% for men and 5.0% for women; P=0.128), medical specialty (P=0.651) or year of residency (P=0.975). A 52.7% decline in the number of young physician smokers was noted between 1986 and 2016 (95% CI −44.0 to −63.5), together with a 64.4% increase in non-smokers (95% CI 55.2 to 77.3). Conclusions We observed a significantly low prevalence of tobacco use among trainee physicians in the cohort, an effect of new antismoking laws, with positive role model implications for new physicians and medical students.post-print285 K

Big Data Analytics for Discovering Electricity Consumption Patterns in Smart Cities

New technologies such as sensor networks have been incorporated into the management of buildings for organizations and cities. Sensor networks have led to an exponential increase in the volume of data available in recent years, which can be used to extract consumption patterns for the purposes of energy and monetary savings. For this reason, new approaches and strategies are needed to analyze information in big data environments. This paper proposes a methodology to extract electric energy consumption patterns in big data time series, so that very valuable conclusions can be made for managers and governments. The methodology is based on the study of four clustering validity indices in their parallelized versions along with the application of a clustering technique. In particular, this work uses a voting system to choose an optimal number of clusters from the results of the indices, as well as the application of the distributed version of the k-means algorithm included in Apache Spark’s Machine Learning Library. The results, using electricity consumption for the years 2011–2017 for eight buildings of a public university, are presented and discussed. In addition, the performance of the proposed methodology is evaluated using synthetic big data, which cab represent thousands of buildings in a smart city. Finally, policies derived from the patterns discovered are proposed to optimize energy usage across the university campus.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2014-55894-C2-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2017-88209-C2-RJunta de Andalucía P12-TIC-172

Sistema de predicción por conjuntos a corto plazo sobre la Península Ibérica y Baleares

A short-range ensemble precipitation forecast system has been constructed over the Iberian Peninsula and Balearics by means of the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research Model (MM5). The ensemble system onsists of ten members, each run with a different combination of two different initial conditions from global models, IFS-ECMWF and GFS-NCEP, and five different subgrid-scale physics configurations for one month period, October 2006. The mesoscale verification is made by using observational precipitation data of the Spanish Climatic Network. The created short-range ensemble shows high spread-skill correlation values for daily precipitation. However, the asymmetric shape of the rank histogram indicates some underdispersion, suggesting a biased behaviour. The Talagrand shows as well the underdispersive effect because of its asymmetric distribution. The Relative Operating Characteristic curve shows a very outstanding area indicating the good discrimination capacity. The reliability diagrams are also indicative of the good reliability of the forecasting system, depicting in general good agreement between forecast probability and the mean observed frequency. Because of that, the verification proves the usefulness of the forecasting system over the study area.This work has been partially supported by the research projects CGL2007- 61328/CLI and UE Safewind G.A. No. 213740

Ajuste psicológico y clasificación de mujeres cuidadoras de nietos y nietas y/o ascendientes en función de su inteligencia emocional

El envejecimiento de la población y la cultura actual en torno a los cuidados han propiciado un aumento del número de abuelas cuidadoras, ya sea de sus nietos o nietas, de sus ascendentes, o incluso de ambas generaciones simultáneamente. Con el objetivo de conocer más en profundidad las consecuencias psicológicas de este fenómeno, se llevaron a cabo entrevistas estructuradas a 115 mujeres del suroeste de España que eran abuelas, a la vez que hijas o nueras de una generación anterior. Se ha realizado un análisis de cluster bietápico para clasificar a estas mujeres según su inteligencia emocional. Las mujeres han quedado distribuidas casi al 50% en dos grupos claramente diferenciados. El primer grupo, caracterizado por mayor flexibilidad, tolerancia al estrés y control de los impulsos, aglutina una mayor proporción de mujeres residentes en entornos urbanos y con mayor nivel de estudios, y muestra niveles significativamente más altos de salud psicológica y felicidad. En cambio, el segundo grupo de mujeres, caracterizadas por menor inteligencia emocional, obtiene puntuaciones significativamente más altas en estrés y ansiedad. Este estudio pone de manifiesto la importancia de incluir la promoción de estas habilidades de inteligencia emocional en programas de prevención y promoción de la salud en este colectivo.The aging of the population and the current culture of caregiving have led to an increase in the number of grandmothers who care for their grandchildren, their ancestors, or even both generations simultaneously. In order to know more deeply the psychological consequences of this phenomenon, 115 structured interviews were conducted with women from southwestern Spain who were grandmothers and, at the same time, who were daughters or daughters-in-law from a previous generation. A two-stage cluster analysis was performed to classify these women according to their emotional intelligence. Women have been distributed almost 50% in two clearly differentiated groups. The first group, characterized by higher flexibility, stress tolerance and impulse control, brings together a greater proportion of women living in urban environments and with a higher level of studies, and shows significantly higher levels of psychological health and happiness. In contrast, the second group of women, characterized by lower emotional intelligence, scores significantly higher in stress and anxiety. This study highlights the importance of including the promotion of these emotional intelligence skills in prevention and health promotion programs in this collective of women