Eco-innovation practices’ adoption in the automotive industry

Eco-innovation is a construct that is gaining increasing interest from academics and researchers since it is commonly considered in the literature as one of the strategies that allow manufacturing companies not only to significantly reduce the negative impacts on the environment but also the generation of pollutants. However, little is known about the adoption of eco-innovation practices in manufacturing companies, particularly in the automotive industry. Therefore, this research has as main objective to fill this gap in the literature and explore the interdependence between eco-innovation of products, processes and management. The study is conducted through a research framework consisting of 3 measurement scales, 14 items and 3 hypotheses and an extensive review of the literature. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 460 companies in the automotive and auto parts industry in Mexico. Data were analyzed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Descriptive Statistics and Structural Equation Modelling. The results obtained show that product eco-innovation, process eco-innovation and management eco-innovation are good indicators for the adoption of eco-innovation practices for companies in the automotive and auto parts industry. The paper addresses a research gap in the academic literature in the eco-innovation field by providing evidence on the interdependence between eco-innovation of products, processes and management and the implementation of their practices in the automotive industry.N/

Do Smart Cities Grow Faster?

Previous studies have found a strong positive correlation between human capital, measured as the share of the adult population with a college degree, and population growth in metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) in the U.S. In this paper, I corroborate that the human capital-growth connection is indeed statistically significant, although much weaker than previously thought. The evidence suggests that the main reason behind this bias lies on endogeneity issues that have not been thoroughly addressed in the literature. In particular, omitting lagged MSA growth in regressions of current MSA growth on human capital overestimates the impact of skills by 100 per cent. Given that past growth has been shown to be one of the main drivers of current MSA growth (Glaeser 1994a), omitting the former variable in growth-education regressions would bias our human capital estimates upwards. Upon further examination, however, I show that MSA-specific fixed effects explain away the alleged impact of past on current growth. This suggests that the individual characteristics of the city that made it grow in the first place, and not lagged MSA growth per se, are what drives future MSA growth. Yet, even after accounting for these MSA-specific fixed effects, the impact of human capital on MSA growth does not disappear: my estimates suggest that a decadal increase of 10 per cent in the share of the adult population with a college degree translates into a rise of between 3 and up to 5 per cent in the MSA population growth rate during the same period. Finally, instrumental variable regressions strongly support the direction from skills to growth, abating potential reverse causality concerns.human capital, urban growth, skills, education, population changes

Actinide chemistry using singlet-paired coupled cluster and its combinations with density functionals

Singlet-paired coupled cluster doubles (CCD0) is a simplification of CCD that relinquishes a fraction of dynamic correlation in order to be able to describe static correlation. Combinations of CCD0 with density functionals that recover specifically the dynamic correlation missing in the former have also been developed recently. Here, we assess the accuracy of CCD0 and CCD0+DFT (and variants of these using Brueckner orbitals) as compared to well-established quantum chemical methods for describing ground-state properties of singlet actinide molecules. The $f^0$ actinyl series (UO$_2^{2+}$, NpO$_2^{2+}$, PuO$_2^{2+}$), the isoelectronic NUN, and Thorium (ThO, ThO$^{2+}$) and Nobelium (NoO, NoO$_2$) oxides are studied.Comment: 8 page

Banking Sector Performance in Latin America: Market Power versus Efficiency

TSince the mid-1990s the banking sector in the Latin American emerging markets has experienced profound changes due to financial liberalisation, a significant increase in foreign investments and greater mergers activities often occurring following financial crises. The wave of consolidation and the rapid increase in market concentration that took place in most countries has generated concerns about the rise in banks’ market power and its potential effects on consumers. This paper advances the existing literature by testing the market power (Structure-Conduct-Performance and Relative Market Power) and efficient structure (X- and scale efficiency) hypotheses for a sample of over 2,500 bank observations in nine Latin American countries over 1997-2005. We use the Data Envelopment Analysis technique to obtain reliable efficiency measures. We produce evidence supporting the efficient structure hypotheses. The findings are particularly robust for the largest banking markets in the region, namely Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Finally, capital ratios and bank size seem to be among the most important factors in explaining higher than normal profits for Latin American banks.Structure-Conduct-Performance; Efficient Structure; Latin American banking; Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA).

Casimir interaction at liquid nitrogen temperature: Comparison between experiment and theory

We have measured the normalized gradient of the Casimir force between Au-coated surfaces of the sphere and the plate and equivalent Casimir pressure between two parallel Au plates at T=77K. These measurements have been performed by means of dynamic force microscope adapted for operating at low temperatures in the frequency shift technique. It was shown that the measurement results at T=77K are in a very good agreement with those at T=300K and with computations at T=77K using both theoretical approaches to the thermal Casimir force proposed in the literature. No thermal effect in the Casimir pressure was observed in the limit of experimental errors with the increase of temperature from T=77K to T=300K. Taking this into account, we have discussed the possible role of patch potentials in the comparison between measured and calculated Casimir pressures.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

On differential equations associated with perturbations of orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle

In this contribution, we propose an algorithm to compute holonomic second-order differential equations satisfied by some families of orthogonal polynomials. Such algorithm is based in three properties that orthogonal polynomials satisfy: a recurrence relation, a structure formula, and a connection formula. This approach is used to obtain second-order differential equations whose solutions are orthogonal polynomials associated with some spectral transformations of a measure on the unit circle, as well as orthogonal polynomials associated with coherent pairs of measures on the unit circle.Comunidad de MadridUniversidad de Alcal

Eliciting real-life social networks: a guided tour

This paper surveys some of the mechanisms that have been proposed by the experimental literature to elicit social networks. These mechanisms differ in their incentive structures, as well as the means of reward they employ. We compare these elicitation devices on the basis of the estimated differences in the characteristics of the induced networks, such as the number of (mutual) links, correspondence and accuracy. Our main conclusion is that the elicited network architecture is itself dependent on the structure (and the nature) of the incentives. This, in turn, provides the social scientist with guidelines on the most appropriate device to use, depending on her research objectives

Beyond Lean Manufacturing and Sustainable Performance: Are the Circular Economy practices worth pursuing?

Purpose - The need to improve sustainability in manufacturing firms, which would allow them to reduce the emission of pollutants and the generation of industrial waste, has stimulated the adoption of Circular Economy (CE) alongside lean manufacturing practices to significantly improve the sustainable performance of organizations. However, empirical evidence provided in previous studies and that has related the practices of lean manufacturing, CE, and sustainable performance does not allow establishing an interconnection between these three concepts. Therefore, this paper fills this gap in the literature by exploring the relationship between these three concepts. Design/methodology/approach - A quantitative study in which data was collected from 460 managers working in the automotive industry in Mexico was conducted. The data allowed the testing and validation of four hypotheses through the use of partial least squares structural equation modelling. Findings - The results obtained suggest that lean manufacturing practices have a significant positive influence both on sustainable performance and CE. In turn, the results also demonstrate the existence of a significant positive relationship between Circular Economy and the sustainable performance of manufacturing firms in the automotive industry as well as that CE has a positive role in mediating the interconnection between lean manufacturing practices and sustainable performance. Originality – This is one of the first studies that have investigated the relationship between lean manufacturing, CE, and sustainable performance, particularly, in the automotive sector. Practical implications – The results obtained from the present study will allow entrepreneurs in the automotive industry and industry professionals as well as government authorities to formulate more effective policies and strategies to support the improvement of environmental sustainability performance in the manufacturing sector

Special Olympics Fitness Assessment Project

Fitness is an important aspect of the Special Olympics mission. Physical activity, adequate nutrition, and hydration enhance athletes’ sports performance and improve health and overall quality of life. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is under a service contract, assist Special Olympics International in data collection to evaluate the effectiveness of their Fit 5 program intervention. Analyze the health and fitness status of the Rio Grande Valley Special Olympics Athletes and the effectiveness of the Fit 5 program in the area. METHODS: Participant eligibility were current special Olympic athletes aged 18 and older in the Rio Grande Valley area. Forty-six special Olympic athletes (Mean±SD; 25.5±7yrs; 33±9kg/m2; 20 male) participated in the study; they completed a six-week exercise intervention consisting of 2 exercise sessions per week delivered remotely. The exercise sessions followed the Fit5 guidelines for endurance, strength, flexibility, and balance exercise recommendations. Three different measurements and surveys were taken: at the beginning of the implementation, after the six-week exercise intervention, and a month after. Special Olympics approved all surveys and exercises. Data were considered for statistical analysis if the participants completed the three measurements and surveys. Data collected included demographic information, healthy habits survey, resting heart rate, blood pressure, BMI, waist circumference, pushup and curl up endurance test, recovery heart rate for a step test, and a single leg balance test. One Way ANOVA was performed to compare the measurement in the three-time instances. RESULTS: Nine participants (25.77±5.8yrs; 36.9±7.8kg/mg2;3 male) completed the three sessions. There were small improvements in waist circumference and blood pressure, but One Way ANOVA showed no significant difference by the exercise interventions. CONCLUSION: Special Olympic Athletes in The Rio Grande Valley Area are an underserved population that can benefit from structured exercise implementations such as Fit5. Future interventions should aim to increase the exercise session and the retention of participants