The importance of corporate brand identity in business management: An application to the UK banking sector

Corporate brand identity management is a key issue for any organisation. Accordingly, its study is a research field of great interest. This paper seeks to broaden the understanding of this strategic activity and its effects. Specifically, it investigates the concept of corporate brand identity from the employees' perspective in the UK financial banking sector and analyses the link between brand identity management and employees' attitudes and behaviours. Results indicate that organisations should pay special attention to the corporate brand identity management, given its influence on employees' commitment with their organisations, as well as their brand performance and satisfaction

Gamification in sport apps: the determinants of users'' motivation

Purpose: Gamification is a tool with great potential to motivate individuals to increase their physical activity. That is why sport apps for mobile devices, such as Nike+ or Strava, have integrated game elements. There is, however, little evidence of gamification''s effectiveness in this field. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to analyze the impact of game elements included in gamified sports'' apps on the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (i.e. competence, autonomy and relatedness). Similarly, the research analyzes the impact of these needs on autonomous motivation. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve these goals, data were collected from users of gamified sport apps, using an online questionnaire. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings: The results showed that interaction in the app with achievement-related game elements satisfied the needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness; social-related elements satisfied the need for relatedness; and immersion-related elements satisfied the needs for competence and autonomy. Similarly, satisfaction of the needs for autonomy and relatedness while using the app is crucial to experience autonomous motivation. Practical implications: The findings of this study provide guidelines for practitioners and app developers. Originality/value: Based on self-determination theory, the paper provides new insights into the relationship between game elements included in sport apps and individuals'' basic psychological needs and motivation

Flow and business simulation games: A typology of students

In the context of management training business simulation games are increasingly emerging as pedagogical tools for motivating and engaging players actively in the learning experience. Business simulation games provide opportunities for students to enter the flow state. However, few studies have applied flow theory in this specific context. Using data from a two-wave longitudinal study with a sample of 430 students who played a business simulation game, this research draws on the four-channel model of flow to identify subgroups of students based on their levels of skill and challenge and to analyse the evolution of their optimal experience of flow. In addition, it explores whether students in flow achieve higher learning outcomes; in particular, students’ perceived learning, satisfaction and skills development

"Estás de siete meses y...¿vienes ahora?" L'atenció a la salut sexual i reproductiva de la població gitana romanesa.

Aquest article pretén senyalar alguns dels factors socials i culturals que intervenen en l’atenció a la salut sexual i reproductiva de la població gitana romanesa, assentada a l'Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona, a partir del treball etnogràfic realitzat en dos col lectius rrom provinents de diferents localitats de Romania. A través del coneixement assolit en diferents contextos, més específicament en unitats domèstiques i acompanyaments a dones embarassades als serveis sanitaris, volem facilitar una mirada més complexa i respectuosa, que ens permeti deconstruir prejudicis negatius, que sovint apareixen en els espais de consulta, vers aquesta població; com també, considerar la interpretació que els rrom fan de determinats processos com la gestació i la seva medicalització. Així doncs, la finalitat és aportar elements que ajudin a trobar respostes. Que obrin finestres de comprensió a la qüestió que encapçala aquest article: “Estás de siete meses y... ¿vienes ahora?”. Abstract:This article aims to highlight some of the social and cultural factors that may influence the sexual and reproductive health of the Romanian gypsy population whohave settled in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. It is based on ethnographic research carried out with two Rrom groups who arrived from different areas in Romania.Thanks to the knowledge acquired from different situations -mainly in domestic units and taking pregnant women to the health centres-, we mean to develop a more comprehensive and respectful approach, not only to remove the negative prejudice -that may often take place in different health centres- against this group, but also to consider the Rrom's own mentality regarding certain processes like the time of pregnancy or their medication.Therefore, our purpose is to offer guidance and advice that could open paths of understanding in the main issue of this article: "Seven-month pregnant ...and is this your first visit?"

Effects of Liposomes Contained in Thermosensitive Hydrogels as Biomaterials Useful in Neural Tissue Engineering

Indexación: Scopus.Advances in the generation of suitable thermosensitive hydrogels for the delivery of cells in neural tissue engineering demonstrate a delicate relationship between physical properties and capabilities to promote cell proliferation and differentiation. To improve the properties of these materials, it is possible to add liposomes for the controlled release of bioactive elements, which in turn can affect the physical and biological properties of the hydrogels. In the present investigation, different hydrogels based on Pluronic F127 have been formulated with the incorporation of chitosan and two types of liposomes of two different sizes. The rheological and thermal properties and their relation with the neurite proliferation and growth of the PC12 cell line were evaluated. Our results show that the incorporation of liposomes modifies the properties of the hydrogels dependent on the concentration of chitosan and the lipid type in the liposomes, which directly affect the capabilities of the hydrogels to promote the viability and differentiation of PC12 cells. © 2017 by the authors.http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/10/10/112

"Estás de siete meses y...¿vienes ahora?". L'atenció a la salut sexual i reproductiva de la població gitana romanesa

Una part important de la informació presentada en el text prové de la recerca etnogràfica sobre població rrom del projecte d'investigació, "Desigualtats Socioeconòmiques i Diferència Cultural a l'Àmbit de la Salut a Barris d'Actuació Prioritària de Catalunya" (UAB - Departament de Salut de la Generalitat de Catalunya) dirigit per la Dra. Teresa San Román; i de la recerca de Màster, "Aproximació a la població rrom romanesa immigrada a Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona: identitat, gènere i família en l'atenció a la salut sexual i reproductiva." (Sàez, M. 2009); a més d'incloure la informació etnogràfica recollida posteriorment, a partir del treball d'investigació doctoral de Meritxell Sàez.Aquest article pretén senyalar alguns dels factors socials i culturals que intervenen en l'atenció a la salut sexual i reproductiva de la població gitana romanesa, assentada a l'Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona, a partir del treball etnogràfic realitzat en dos col2lectius rrom provinents de diferents localitats de Romania. A través del coneixement assolit en diferents contextos, més específicament en unitats domèstiques i acompanyaments a dones embarassades als serveis sanitaris, volem facilitar una mirada més complexa i respectuosa, que ens permeti deconstruir prejudicis negatius, que sovint apareixen en els espais de consulta, vers aquesta població; com també, considerar la interpretació que els rrom fan de determinats processos com la gestació i la seva medicalització. Així doncs, la finalitat és aportar elements que ajudin a trobar respostes. Que obrin finestres de comprensió a la qüestió que encapçala aquest article: "Estás de siete meses y… ¿vienes ahora?".This article aims to highlight some of the social and cultural factors that may influence the sexual and reproductive health of the Romanian gypsy population who have settled in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. It is based on ethnographic research carried out with two Rrom groups who arrived from different areas in Romania. Thanks to the knowledge acquired from different situations -mainly in domestic units and taking pregnant women to the health centres-, we mean to develop a more comprehensive and respectful approach, not only to remove the negative prejudice -that may often take place in different health centres- against this group, but also to consider the Rrom's own mentality regarding certain processes like the time of pregnancy or their medication. Therefore, our purpose is to offer guidance and advice that could open paths of understanding in the main issue of this article: "Seven-month pregnant ...and is this your first visit?"

Corrigendum: Museomics Unveil the Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Neglected Juan Fernandez Archipelago Megalachne and Podophorus Endemic Grasses and Their Connection With Relict Pampean-Ventanian Fescues

In the original article, there was amistake in Table 1, Figures 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B and 5, Supplementary Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 2A, 2B, 2C and 3, and Supplementary Tables 1 and 2A as published. The name and authorship of Festuca fontqueri St-Yves were misspelled as Festuca fontqueriana (St-Yves) Romo. In addition, the GenBank accession codes of ITS, trnLF and trnTL DNA sequences of Avena fatua, Oryza sativa, Poa alpina, Secale cereale and Triticum aestivum were wrong in Supplementary Table 1. The corrected Table 1, Figures 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B and 5 appear below and corrected Supplementary Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 2A, 2B, 2C and 3, and Supplementary Tables 1 and 2A are published. The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated. © 2021 Moreno-Aguilar, Arnelas, Sánchez-Rodríguez, Viruel and Catalán

Museomics Unveil the Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Neglected Juan Fernandez Archipelago Megalachne and Podophorus Endemic Grasses and Their Connection With Relict Pampean-Ventanian Fescues

Oceanic islands constitute natural laboratories to study plant speciation and biogeographic patterns of island endemics. Juan Fernandez is a southern Pacific archipelago consisting of three small oceanic islands located 600–700 km west of the Chilean coastline. Exposed to current cold seasonal oceanic climate, these 5.8–1 Ma old islands harbor a remarkable endemic flora. All known Fernandezian endemic grass species belong to two genera, Megalachne and Podophorus, of uncertain taxonomic adscription. Classical and modern classifications have placed them either in Bromeae (Bromus), Duthieinae, Aveneae/Poeae, or Loliinae (fine-leaved Festuca); however, none of them have clarified their evolutionary relationships with respect to their closest Festuca relatives. Megalachne includes four species, which are endemic to Masatierra (Robinson Crusoe island) (M. berteroniana and M. robinsoniana) and to Masafuera (Alejandro Selkirk island) (M. masafuerana and M. dantonii). The monotypic Podophorus bromoides is a rare endemic species to Masatierra which is only known from its type locality and is currently considered extinct. We have used museomic approaches to uncover the challenging evolutionary history of these endemic grasses and to infer the divergence and dispersal patterns from their ancestors. Genome skimming data were produced from herbarium samples of M. berteroniana and M. masafuerana, and the 164 years old type specimen of P. bromoides, as well as for a collection of 33 species representing the main broad- and fine-leaved Loliinae lineages. Paired-end reads were successfully mapped to plastomes and nuclear ribosomal cistrons of reference Festuca species and used to reconstruct phylogenetic trees. Filtered ITS and trnTLF sequences from these genomes were further combined with our large Loliinae data sets for accurate biogeographic reconstruction. Nuclear and plastome data recovered a strongly supported fine-leaved Fernandezian clade where Podophorus was resolved as sister to Megalachne. Bayesian divergence dating and dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis range evolution analyses estimated the split of the Fernandezian clade from its ancestral southern American Pampas-Ventanian Loliinae lineage in the Miocene-Pliocene transition, following a long distance dispersal from the continent to the uplifted volcanic palaeo-island of Santa Clara-Masatierra. Consecutive Pliocene-Pleistocene splits and a Masatierra-to-Masafuera dispersal paved the way for in situ speciation of Podophorus and Megalachne taxa

Barcelona: una ciberciudad en tránsito

El auge de las nuevas tecnologías en el contexto urbano provoca que centremos nuestra atención en unos espacios urbanos que permiten la interconexión y el movimiento de las personas en las ciberciudades actuales. Esta es la intención del presente trabajo. Así pues, en un primer momento y a través de un ejemplo, presentamos una realidad urbana que pone de manifiesto la influencia que la tecnología tiene sobre la urbe y sobre todo como la tecnología mediatiza nuestras formas de relacionarnos, de interaccionar, de movernos, etc. En definitiva, en este artículo vamos a analizar, en el segundo apartado, la ciberciudad actual - o la ciudad del presente- a través de algunos espacios urbanos donde la tecnología está muy presente. En el tercer apartado presentamos lo que nosotros denominamos como espacios de sociabilidad transitoria como espacios característicos de las urbes actuales. A continuación, exponemos tres ejemplos estos espacios en el contexto de Barcelona. Por último, en el quinto apartado explicamos nuestro método de trabajo para investigar las ciberciudades: la etnografía urbana. Para ello, hacemos una definición inicial de un posible lugar donde realizar nuestra práctica etnográfica: el metro de Barcelona. El artículo queda completado a través de una lectura inicial del diario de campo, producto del inicio de la investigación y con una serie de conclusiones iniciales sobre dicha investigación y sobre la forma de concebir la ciudad estudiada en relación al concepto de la ciberciuda