New perspectives and new scenarios of contemporary British theater

En este artículo se analizan las nuevas tendencias del teatro británico contemporáneo. En particular prestamos atención a los movimientos y autores más representativos surgidos a partir de 1995, como es el caso del “teatro verbatim” y el denominado “teatro in-yer-face”. Ello nos obliga a llevar a cabo un estudio retrospectivo en el que incluiremos elementos fundamentales en el desarrollo de las nuevas corrientes, como es el renacimiento del teatro británico acaecido a mediados de la década de los cincuenta, la realidad social heredada de la era Thatcher y los acontecimientos político-sociales de ámbito nacional e internacional que acapararon la atención pública en los últimos años del siglo XX y en los primeros del nuevo milenio.The aim of this research is to examine the different tendencies in the contemporary British drama. More significantly we focus on the most representative trends and playwrights that emerged around 1995, that is the case of “verbatim drama” and the so-called “in-yer-face theatre”. This fact leads us to a retrospective look over the main elements involved in how British drama has flourished outstandingly, such as the renaissance of British theatre happened in the mid-1950s, the post-Thatcher social reality and the current socio-political events at national and international levels

Optimization of multi-stage thickening of biomass in a demonstrative full–scale microalgae-based wastewater treatment system

This study gathers the results of the operation and optimization of the thickening of microalgal biomass produced at demonstrative scale in photobioreactors fed with agricultural runoff and domestic wastewater. The optimization was conducted during two months. The system consisted in two gravity thickeners connected in series in a multi-stage approach. The objective of thickening was to concentrate the microalgae grown in photobioreactors (total solids (TS) concentration of 0.1–1 g/L) into a biomass with 20 g/L of TS, which was considered optimal for the subsequent anaerobic digestion process. First, the utilization of one single thickener alone allowed to achieve a concentration factor (CF) of 1.9 and recovery efficiency (RE) of 28%. However, the final concentration of TS in the thickened biomass (6.4 g/L) was still much lower than the target concentration. The installation of the second thickener connected in series with the first one significantly improved the overall performance. Indeed, a TS concentration of 26.5 g/L was finally achieved, with an overall CF of 3.6. The results of the study suggest that the multi-stage thickening process is a suitable strategy and it is highly advisable to achieve a successful microalgal biomass thickening at full-scale. In addition, other three points have been identified as key factors to be taken into account for biomass tickening: proper adjustment of the purge flowrate, coordination between purges times and volumes in the different stages, and proper adjustment of the operation of the scrapers.The authors would like to thank the European Commission (INCOVER, GA 689242) and the Government of Catalonia (Consolidated Research Group 2017 SGR 1029) for their financial support. E. Uggetti and R. Díez-Montero would also like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Economy for their research grants (RYC2018-025514-I and IJC2019-042069-I, respectively).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Marketing relacional y relaciones públicas: Algunas reflexiones

Partiendo de los conceptos de orientación al mercado, marketing relacional y relaciones publicas analizamos as similitudes y diferencias que plantean. Por una parte, las RRPP han recibido un escaso tratamiento por los académicos de marketing y su enfoque actual es desconocido. Los teóricos de comunicación social por otra parte, no suelen conocer en profundidad el marketing y las nuevas tendencias de esta disciplina reflejadas en los conceptos de orientación al mercado y marketing relacional. Esta ponencia propone que los enfoques de orientación al mercado, marketing relacional y RRPP no son muy distantes

Eficiencia de las unidades propias vs. franquiciadas. Estudio según el nivel de internacionalización del franquiciador

El objetivo de este trabajo, centrado en el sistema de franquicia español, gira en torno a las siguientes cuestiones: ¿Qué unidades de las redes de franquicia son más eficientes: las propias o las franquiciadas? ¿influye el nivel de internacionalización del franquiciador en la eficiencia de las unidades propias vs. franquiciadas? Para responder a estos interrogantes, no resueltos en la literatura científica sobre franquicia, se desarrolla un marco teórico y se proponen una serie de hipótesis empleando los fundamentos de la Teoría de la Agencia, la Teoría de las Escasez de Recursos y la Teoría de las Señales. En los análisis, a partir de los datos de la totalidad de la población de franquicias en 2015 -1.232 franquicias-, se emplean tres indicadores de eficiencia: ventas/unidad (V/U), ventas/empleado (V/E) y empleados/unidad (E/U), dividiéndose la información en dos subgrupos: unidades propias (UP) y unidades franquiciadas (UF). Test de medias de carácter no paramétrico se emplean para la comparación de los dos grupos. Los resultados demuestran la mayor eficiencia de las UP frente a las UF, siendo estos resultados generalizables a todo el sistema de franquicia español y ello con independencia del nivel de internacionalización de la cadena franquiciadora.The aim of this paper, focused on the Spanish franchise system, centers on the following questions: What units franchise networks are more efficient: one's own or franchised? Does the level of internationalization of the franchisor influence the efficiency of the own units vs. franchisees? To answer these questions, unresolved in the scientific literature on franchise, a theoretical framework is developed and a number of hypotheses are proposed using the fundamentals of Agency Theory, Resource Scarcity Theory and Signaling Theory. In the analysis, data from the total population of franchises in 2015 -1.232 franchisee - three efficiency indicators are used: sales/unit (V/U), sales/employee (V/E) and employees/unit (E/U), dividing the information into two subgroups: own units (UP) and franchised units (UF). Means test nonparametric character are used for comparison of two groups. The results show the increased efficiency of UP against the UF, and these results are generalizable to the total Spanish franchising system and this regardless of the level of internationalization of the franchising chain

Franchisor types in portuguese franchising

The identification of the existence of strategic groups within Portuguese franchising constitutes the main aim of the present paper. An empirical study starting from 128 franchising chains operating in Portugal was carried out. The results reveal the existence of five perfectly differentiated strategic groups {franchisor types), which are described starting from the strategic variables that define them. Our main contribution is that the results obtained in the Portuguese franchising system are similar to precedent studies in Canada, USA and Spain. That result suggests a tendency toward the globalization of franchisor types

Influence of liquid-to-biogas ratio and alkalinity on the biogas upgrading performance in a demo scale algal-bacterial photobioreactor

The influence of the liquid-to-biogas ratio (L/G) and alkalinity on methane quality was evaluated in a 11.7 m3 outdoors horizontal semi-closed tubular photobioreactor interconnected to a 45-L absorption column (AC). CO2 concentrations in the upgraded methane ranged from <0.1 to 9.6% at L/G of 2.0 and 0.5, respectively, with maximum CH4 concentrations of 89.7% at a L/G of 1.0. Moreover, an enhanced CO2 removal (mediating a decrease in CO2 concentration from 9.6 to 1.2%) and therefore higher CH4 contents (increasing from 88.0 to 93.2%) were observed when increasing the alkalinity of the AC cultivation broth from 42 ± 1 mg L−1 to 996 ± 42 mg L−1. H2S was completely removed regardless of the L/G or the alkalinity in AC. The continuous operation of the photobioreactor with optimized operating parameters resulted in contents of CO2 (<0.1%–1.4%), H2S (<0.7 mg m−3) and CH4 (94.1%–98.8%) complying with international regulations for methane injection into natural gas grids.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Lógica dominante, comportamiento estratégico emprendedor y rendimiento de la organización

La lógica dominante es un fenómeno de reciente estudio en el ámbito organizacional, siendo escasa las aportaciones existentes. En este contexto, la presente investigación tiene una doble finalidad. Por un lado, delimitar, basándonos en la revis ión de la literatura relevante, el concepto de lógica dominante y por otro, proponer un modelo conceptual donde se reflejen sus determinantes y como puede condicionar el comportamiento estratégico de la empresa y en consecuencia el rendimiento de la organizaciónThe dominant logic is a phenomenon of recent study in the organizational field, thus there are few contributions. In this context, the present investigation has a double purpose. On the one hand, to delimit the concept of dominant logic with the revision of relevant literature. On the other hand, to propose a conceptual model that reflects its determinants and how it conditions the business strategic behavior and, consequently, the organizational performanc

Advanced biokinetic and hydrodynamic modelling to support and optimize the design of full-scale high rate algal ponds

High rate algal ponds (HRAP) are known for their suitability to treat wastewater and to produce microalgal biomass, which can be converted into bioproducts. However, full-scale application of HRAP is still limited to few cases, and design procedures are not consolidated or standardized. In this study, a demonstrative-scale HRAP system for secondary wastewater treatment to be implemented in India (treatment capacity of 50 m3·d-1) has been designed combining conventional dimensioning techniques and advanced modelling tools. The objective of the study was to assist, verify and optimize the conventional dimensioning of the secondary HRAP by means of simulations predicting the behaviour of the system in the specific local conditions under different configurations and operational strategies. Biokinetic modelling and hydrodynamic analysis using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) were carried out. The simulations performed with the biokinetic model showed that the optimal hydraulic retention time to enhance nutrient removal and biomass production is 4 days. For the hydrodynamic modelling, a 3D model of the HRAP was built to simulate the hydrodynamic behaviour of 36 different designs. Simulations allowed quantifying the presence of low velocity zones as well as the land use efficiency of the different designs in terms of the useful area vs. the total occupied area. Two baffles and tear-shapes with a diameter equal to ¼ of the channel width was the most efficient configuration. Moreover, a technical–economic assessment of the system was carried out, resulting in an investment cost of 483 € per population equivalent and an operational cost of 0.19 € per m3 of treated wastewaterAuthors would like to thank the European Commission for the financial support (PAVITR project, GA 821410) and the Department of Sciences and Technology from Government of India for the financial support (GA DST/IMRCD/India-EU/Water Call2/PAVITR/2018). Authors are also grateful to the Government of Catalonia (Consolidated Research Group 2017 SGR 1029). E. Uggetti and R. Díez-Montero would also like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Economy for their research grants (RYC2018-025514-I and IJC2019-042069-I, respectively).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

El empleo de nuevas tecnologías en el aprendizaje de técnicas cuantitativas

El objetivo del presente trabajo consiste en poner de manifiesto la importancia de la utilización de las Nuevas Tecnologías en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Presentamos una experiencia docente basada en el empleo de programas informáticos propios y el uso de demostraciones (DEMOS) interactivas. Esto puede ayudar a profesores y alumnos a impartir o asimilar de mejor forma los contenidos prácticos de las asignaturas universitarias. Exponemos las principales ventajas del método de enseñanza empleado, así como del uso de programas informáticos ad hoc frente a paquetes de programas adquiridos en el mercado.The objective of this paper is to highlight the importance of using New Technologies in teachinglearning process. We present a teaching experience based on own software and interactive Demos. This activity may help teachers and students to teach or assimilate the practical contents of university subjects. We expose the main advantages of the learning method, as well as the utilization of ad hoc software in front of commercial software