The emergence of social innovation within the social economy: the case of social enterprises in England

Social enterprises (SEs), such as development trusts (DTs) in England, are contributing to solve some of the world´s most entrenched problems, recurring to innovative ideas and proposals that tend to outperform traditional forms of social intervention. This research seeks to unveil the ways in which such innovative ideas emerge, and to do so, it has borrowed theories from the mainstream innovation literature, from the emerging body of work on social innovation and from existing approaches to understand inter-organisational relationships and networks. An analysis of the perceived meaning of the innovation concept among SE practitioners is provided in first place, to then move onto exploring the starting points, the drivers and the processes that lead to the generation and the subsequent implementation of innovative ideas or solutions. Closer examination of 12 cases of innovative social enterprises allows the identification of five non-exclusive sources from where innovative ideas and solutions emerge within the social economy, namely: an accurate understanding of needs, frustration, inspiration leading to replication, networks of different types and openness or serendipity. The findings included here can help others in the process of developing and implementing new solutions to social problems and they contribute to theory building efforts in the fields of social entrepreneurship and social innovation

Capacidad de la calprotectina fecal para predecir la presencia de actividad endoscópica en pacientes con enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Medicina. Fecha de lectura: 29-03-201

Proposal of new regression formulae for the estimation of age in infant skeletal remains from the metric study of the pars basilaris

In the context of physical and forensic anthropology, when a child’s skeleton is damaged or in poor condition, which is common, many of the metric methods for the estimation of skeletal age cannot be used. In these circumstances, those more resistant bones, such as the pars basilaris, will be most useful. The aims of this study were to test existing methods for estimating skeletal age from the metric study of the pars basilaris and to propose new regression formulae. One hundred fourteen individuals aged between 5 months of gestation and 6 years were analyzed; seven measures were taken from each pars basilaris using a digital caliper. The chronological age was compared with the estimated age using the methods published by Fazekas and Kósa in 1978 and by Scheuer and MacLaughlin in 1994. New regression formulae are proposed, obtained by classical calibration, which include confidence intervals at 50 and 97.5 % to express the error. With both methods, significant differences were observed; the method of Fazekas and Kósa shows a tendency to underestimate the age, and the method of Scheuer and MacLaughlin tends to overestimate it. The proposed formulae represent a good tool for estimating age in many different contexts because they are relatively easy to apply, although other analysis systems, such as Bayesian approach or geometric morphometry, offer more robust and effective results

Employing deep learning for sex estimation of adult individuals using 2D images of the humerus

Biological profile estimation, of which sex estimation is a fundamental first stage, is a really important task in forensic human identification. Although there are a large number of methods that address this problem from different bone structures, mainly using the pelvis and the skull, it has been shown that the humerus presents significant sexual dimorphisms that can be used to estimate sex in their absence. However, these methods are often too subjective or costly, and the development of new methods that avoid these problems is one of the priorities in forensic anthropology research. In this respect, the use of artificial intelligence may allow to automate and reduce the subjectivity of biological profile estimation methods. In fact, artificial intelligence has been successfully applied in sex estimation tasks, but most of the previous work focuses on the analysis of the pelvis and the skull. More importantly, the humerus, which can be useful in some situations due to its resistance, has never been used in the development of an automatic sex estimation method. Therefore, this paper addresses the use of machine learning techniques to the task of image classification, focusing on the use of images of the distal epiphysis of the humerus to classify whether it belongs to a male or female individual. To address this, we have used a set of humerus photographs of 417 adult individuals of Mediterranean origin to validate and compare different approaches, using both deep learning and traditional feature extraction techniques. Our best model obtains an accuracy of 91.03% in test, correctly estimating the sex of 92.68% of the males and 89.19% of the females. These results are superior to the ones obtained by the state of the art and by a human expert, who has achieved an accuracy of 83.33% using a state-ofthe- art method on the same data. In addition, the visualization of activation maps allows us to confirm not only that the neural network observes the sexual dimorphisms that have been proposed by the forensic anthropology literature, but also that it has been capable of finding a new region of interest.European Commission FORAGE (B-TIC-456-UGR20

Sistemas de gestión de la calidad

Los objetivos de este proyecto son: - Observar la evolución del concepto de calidad. - Estudiar los diferentes sistemas de gestión de la calidad y su evolución. - Ver cuáles son las nuevas tendencias en lo que se refiere a la gestión de la calidad. - Realización de un artículo sobre uno de los temas estudiados, que en este caso será los sistemas integrados de gestiónIngeniería Técnica IndustrialIndustria Ingeniaritza Tekniko

Competency-based Learning in a Real and Multicultural Marketing Consultancy Project

AbstractThe European Higher Education Area proposes a reformulation of the teaching methodologies based on the education–learning teaching methodologies, oriented to a continuous process of acquisition of competences that improve the professional profile. The great variety of courses and universities involved in the framework of the European Higher Education Area are concerned to know the satisfaction level of students and how it is possible to attend to their needs. The present work provides empirical evidence of how satisfaction improves the perception of acquired competences of the marketing students who had followed the methodology of the International Virtual Consulting Firm (IVCF). It is an innovative project about an international educational program designed to bring college students closer to the skills required by companies to facilitate their entry into the labour market. The universities can use these results to incorporate similar methodologies in their study plans and to improve the attractiveness of their marketing studies

Competency-based learning in a real and multicultural marketing consultancy project

The European Higher Education Area proposes a reformulation of the teaching methodologies based on the education-learning teaching methodologies, oriented to a continuous process of acquisition of competences that improve the professional profile. The great variety of courses and universities involved in the framework of the European Higher Education Area are concerned to know the satisfaction level of students and how it is possible to attend to their needs. The present work provides empirical evidence of how satisfaction improves the perception of acquired competences of the marketing students who had followed the methodology of the International Virtual Consulting Firm (IVCF). It is an innovative project about an international educational program designed to bring college students closer to the skills required by companies to facilitate their entry into the labour market. The universities can use these results to incorporate similar methodologies in their study plans and to improve the attractiveness of their marketing studies

Escala de Familismo: Análise Fatorial Confirmatória numa Amostra de Cuidadores de Idosos

El objetivo del presente estudio fue traducir y confirmar la estructura factorial de la Escala de Familismo a la versión del portugués brasileño. La muestra incluyó a 716 cuidadores brasileños que cuidaron de sus propios padres ancianos con enfermedad de Alzheimer. Las medidas incluyeron la Escala de Familismo, la Escala de Obligación Filial, la Escala de Satisfacción con la Vida y el Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D). El cuestionario se rellenó en línea, de manera individual, utilizando la herramienta de software de encuestas en línea Qualtrics. El análisis factorial confirmatorio (AFC) se utilizó para examinar la estructura factorial. Un modelo modificado demostró un adecuado ajuste (RMSEA =.063, CFI =.912). Se sostuvieron las hipótesis que implican la convergencia y la divergencia de validez de las variables relevantes. Estos resultados respaldan el uso de la Escala de Familismo modificada de doce ítems y tres factores, que tiene propiedades psicométricas aceptables en una muestra de cuidadores brasileños de personas con enfermedad de Alzheimer.O objetivo deste estudo foi traduzir e confirmar a estrutura fatorial da Escala de Familismo na versão da língua portuguesa brasileira. A amostra incluiu 716 cuidadores brasileiros que cuidavam de seus próprios pais idosos com doença de Alzheimer. As medidas incluíram a Escala de Familismo, Escala de Obrigação Filial, Escala de Satisfação com a Vida e a Center for Epidemiologic StudiesDepression (CES-D). O questionário foi preenchido on-line e respondido individualmente usando a ferramenta de software de pesquisa da Qualtrics. A análise fatorial confirmatória (AFC) foi utilizada para examinar a estrutura fatorial. Um modelo modificado demonstrou um ajuste adequado (RMSEA = .063, CFI = .912). Hipóteses envolvendo convergência e divergência de validade de variáveis relevantes foram suportadas. Estes resultados apoiam o uso da Escala de Familismo modificada em doze itens e três fatores, que tem propriedades psicométricas aceitáveis em uma amostra de cuidadores brasileiros de pessoas com doença de Alzheimer.The objective of this study was to translate and confirm the factor structure of the Familism Scale in the Brazilian Portuguese version. The sample included 716 Brazilian caregivers providing care to their own aging parents with Alzheimer’s Disease. The measures included the Familism Scale, the Filial Obligation Scale, the Life Satisfaction scale and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (CES-D). The questionnaire was individually filled online with use of the survey software package Qualtrics. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to examine the factor structure. The modified model demonstrated adequate fit (RMSEA = .063, CFI = .912). The hypotheses concerning convergence and divergence of validity from relevant variables were corroborated. These results support the use of the modified Familism Scale including twelve items and two factors with acceptable psychometric properties in a sample of Brazilian caregivers with Alzheimer’s Disease