Gamification and entrepreneurial intentions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how gamification can influence entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of a group of users of an online platform provided by a private company.Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research strategy was used with a sample of 220 respondents. These respondents were tested before and after the gamification experience.Findings – Main findings support literature suggesting a clear effect of attitudes towards behaviour and perceived behavioural control on EI, in line with the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Once the basic assumptions of TPB were confirmed, the authors tested the effects of gamification comparing before and after results. Main findings highlight an increase of these effects after the gamification experience, aligned with the self-determination theory.Practical implications – These findings suggest that gamification is able to influence entrepreneurial behaviours. This contributes to both companies and educators’ knowledge on training for EI with gamification and the use of online platforms to this effect. Recommendations are provided.Originality/value – This is the first study that investigates the impact of gamification on EI and howgamification can influence the different relationships between the antecedents of EI

Servitization strategies from customers’ perspective: the moderating role of co-creation

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the moderating role of co-creation in the implementation of servitization strategies in the pharmaceutical industry in a business-to-business (B-to-B) context. More specifically, this investigation explores the impact of different levels of services (base, intermediate and advanced) on servitization and on performance by using co-creation as a moderating factor. Design/methodology/approach: A research framework was developed and empirically tested in the pharmaceutical sector. Data collection was conducted through the online distribution of questionnaires. The final sample included 219 pharmacy stores, and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings: Main findings suggest that when the level of co-creation of the design of services is high, there are significant effects of servitization on firm performance. The moderating effect of co-creation is illustrated in regard to intermediate and advanced services, but results referring to the impact of intermediate services on servitization appear non-significant with a low degree of co-creation. No significant effects could be found for the impact of base services on performance and servitization for both high and low degrees of co-creation. Findings show an impact of advanced services on performance through the mediating effect of servitization when the degree of co-creation is high. Originality/value: Most research concerning servitization has been done from the perspective of manufacturers and service providers. This study adds value to the literature because it was designed from a customer’s perspective. Moreover, it contributes towards the conceptualization of the servitization research strategy and business models in a B2B context. This is accomplished through the investigation of the moderating effect of co-creation on the impact of the different levels of services on servitization and on performance

Eocene to middle Miocene contourite deposits in Cyprus: A record of Indian Gateway evolution

Acknowledgements This work was funded through the Joint Industry Project (JIP) supported by BP (United Kingdom), ENI (Italy), TOTAL (France), ExxonMobil (United States), Wintershall Dea (Germany) and TGS (United Kingdom) within the framework of “The Drifters” Research Group at Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL), and it is related to the projects CTM 2012-39599-C03, CGL2016-80445-R and CTM2016- 75129-C3-1-R. Financial support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) is gratefully acknowledged (HU 804/11-1). We thank the Cyprus Geological Survey for scientific collaboration and support, in particular Costas Constantinou and Efthymios Tsiolakis. We thank A. Creaser, L. Hyslop (RHUL), D.A.W. Stow (Heriot-Watt University) and A. Viana (PETROBRAS) for valuable help and discussions during field campaigns. We are also grateful to S. Suklap and B. Docherty for their analysis on microfacies during their MSc. in 2016. Thanks to Dr. G. Blackbourn (Blackbourn Geoconsulting) for his petrographic analysis; F. Sierro (Univ. Salamanca, Spain), RPS Energy Ltd and PalaeoVision Ltd for their biostratigraphic analysis of the samples and A. Maestro (IGME, Spain) for the basemap in Fig. 1. A. de la Vara’s contribution is based on work done during her PhD at Utrecht University, supervised by Paul Meijer. We thank the editor, Gabriel Tagliaro and one anonymous reviewer for their positive comments which helped us to improve considerably our manuscript.Bottom current deposits (contourites) form in association with modern-day or ancient oceanic gateways. A paucity of examples in the ancient record and the lack of consensus on diagnostic criteria for differentiating them from other deepwater deposits limit our understanding of how they may record past global oceanic circulation, tectonic events and gateway evolution. This work describes an exceptional example of Eocene to middle Miocene deep-marine deposits located both onshore and offshore deepwater environments around the island of Cyprus. Multidisciplinary approaches were used to discriminate contourite facies associations, propose a sedimentary model, and interpret the relations with regional tectonics and the evolution of the nearby Indian Gateway. Contourite deposits appear in late Eocene to middle Miocene intervals interstratified with pelagic/hemipelagic sediments, turbidites and mass-transport deposits (MTDs). These deepwater deposits developed along a slope basin located on the upper plate of an active margin, evolving from a wide basin formed during a period of tectonic quiescent into a series of shallowing-upward, segmented sub-basins affected by compressional stress. The present study proposes a sedimentary model in which two contourite depositional systems developed: first in the Eocene (dominated by finer-grained contourites), and then during the latest Oligocene to middle Miocene (dominated by coarser-grained contourites). Both systems were buried by extensive marl deposits and record the respective influence of deep (circulating NW) and intermediate (circulating SE) water masses. The long-term evolution of the contourites reflects tectonic events that enhanced subduction processes south of Cyprus as well as exchange between the Neotethys Ocean and the Indian and Atlantic Oceans —until the final closure of the Indian Gateway by the end of the middle Miocene, when a new circulation pattern was established with the formation of the Mediterranean Sea. The contourites described here represent bi-gradational sequences that normally form in association with contouritic drifts, sometimes having the asymmetric top-cut sequence characteristics of plastered drifts and contourite terraces. The coarser (sandy) contourites, formed from the latest Oligocene to middle Miocene, consist of three packages associated with compressive and flexural phases. They pertain to I) Chattian (late Oligocene); II) Aquitanian/Burdigalian (early Miocene) and III) Langhian (middle Miocene). Evidence of enhanced bottom current episodes occurs toward the top of these packages before they are buried by later dominant marl deposits. The sandy contourites thus formed during the compressive phases, whereas the predominately finer-grained units formed during later flexural phases. The intermittent turbidites and MTDs (developed during compressional phases in combination with pelagic/hemipelagic sediments) represent the sediment supply for the contourite deposits after their winnowing and / or reworking. Our research found that the diagnostic criteria for discriminating ancient bottom current deposits from other deepwater deposits are related primarily to variations in sedimentary processes, current behaviour and its velocity, sedimentation rates and paleoenvironmental conditions. This highlights the importance of primary sedimentary structures, microfacies and ichnological features in making determinations at the sedimentary facies scale. Due to their common occurrence, sedimentary thickness (30-40 m), potential porosity and permeability, sandy contourites can form deepwater reservoirs for energy geosciences. In summary, this work demonstrates the role of plate tectonics and oceanic gateways in driving the paleo-oceanic circulation that, in turn, controls sedimentary processes and shapes the morphology of oceanic basins and continental margins. It also allows for comparison with other present-day and ancient continental margin deposits. Future high-resolution approaches and analyses of other geological settings could help resolve the sedimentary architectures of similar deepwater systems in terms of episodic tectonic processes —involving compressive-flexural stress variations. They control the Earth’s surface environment (sea-level, climate and oceanic circulation) over time by influencing sediment supply, packages of strata and types of contourite deposits.Joint Industry Project (JIP) supported by BP (United Kingdom), ENI (Italy), TOTAL (France), ExxonMobil (United States), Wintershall Dea (Germany) and TGS (United Kingdom) within the framework of “The Drifters” Research Group at Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL), and it is related to the projects CTM 2012-39599-C03, CGL2016-80445-R and CTM2016- 75129-C3-1-RDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) is gratefully acknowledged (HU 804/11-1

Assessing Perspective-Taking in Children through Different Formats of Deictic Framing Protocol

The modern behavioral account of human language and cognition known as Relational Frame Theory (RFT) has argued that deictic relations are key repertoires underlying the development of the ability to take the perspective of another individual. Several studies have employed a deictic framing-based test protocol as an assessment of perspective-taking. In recent years, the format of the protocol has been modified in different studies. However, no empirical investigations have compared the original protocol with the new formats. The present chapter reports two studies that investigated whether a deictic relational protocol based on modification from recent research demonstrated better performance versus traditional deictic relations measured, with typically developing children. Results of Study 1 showed that variability in the scenarios proposed by recent research could be the best option, although a series of modifications should be made for the target population. Results of Study 2 showed that a combination of both original and new protocols of deictic relations gave a better performance on the perspective-taking task in the sample used. This chapter supports the need to adapt perspective-taking protocol to the work with children

International Management of Customer Orientation

This study investigates the role of customer orientation of service employees (COSE) and its influence on customer satisfaction and on electronic word of mouth (e-WOM), with a focus on international management. An empirical study was conducted amongst hotel customers with a final valid sample of 265 respondents. Digital capabilities have been included in the COSE model for the first time. Findings indicate that digital capabilities have a positive influence on customer satisfaction that is mediated by COSE. This study has also compared differences between international and national firms and also considered family businesses and non-family businesses. Results show that international hotels have a higher level of COSE than national hotels, mainly due to the technical skills of the employees, and the presence of a higher level of COSE in family businesses (FBs) rather than in non-family businesses (NFBs). Some contributions to academia and to international management have been discussed

Diseño del sistema de distribución del afluente en unidades de tratamiento de aguas residuales domésticas

The efficient treatment of domestic wastewater is associated with good operational practices in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and the proper design of each treatment unit, which ensures the correct hydraulic performance of each WWTP. For this reason, the objective of this article was to study the design of the multiple influent distribution systems of a high-rate primary sedimentary, a UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) reactor, and an up-flow anaerobic filter (FAFA) in the WWTPs of the municipalities of San Carlos and San Roque, and in the township of Santiago, respectively, located in Antioquia-Colombia. For this purpose, the methodology proposed by Hudson in 1981 was used to evaluate the performance of the current design and, subsequently, a pre-dimensioning was carried out to distribute the flow uniformly, to have velocities within the ranges recommended by the literature, and to obtain the total head loss generated by the distribution manifold in each treatment unit evaluated. It was found that the existing design is not efficient and that the new pre-dimensioning ensures homogeneous flow distribution and provides velocities that contribute positively to the treatment process. The study concludes that the smaller the number of orifices and the larger the pipe diameter, the more uniform the flow distribution, and that the total head loss depends on both the velocity head and the head loss coefficient. The diameter of the orifice was the predominant parameter to control the inlet velocity of the treatment units.El tratamiento eficiente de las aguas residuales domésticas está asociado a las buenas prácticas operacionales en las plantas de tratamiento de agua residual (PTAR) y al diseño adecuado de cada unidad de tratamiento, con lo cual se asegura el correcto funcionamiento hidráulico de cada PTAR. Por tal motivo, el objetivo de este artículo fue estudiar el diseño de los múltiples sistemas de distribución del afluente de un sedimentador primario de alta tasa, un reactor UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) y un filtro anaerobio de flujo ascendente (FAFA) en las PTAR de los municipios de San Carlos y San Roque, y en el corregimiento de Santiago, respectivamente, ubicados en Antioquia-Colombia. Para ello, se utilizó la metodología propuesta por Hudson en 1981 para evaluar el funcionamiento del diseño actual y, posteriormente, se realizó un predimensionamiento que permitiera distribuir el caudal uniformemente, tener velocidades dentro de los rangos recomendados por la literatura y obtener la pérdida de carga total generada por el múltiple de distribución en cada unidad de tratamiento evaluada. Se evidenció que el diseño existente no es eficiente y que el nuevo predimensionamiento asegura la distribución homogénea del caudal y proporciona velocidades que contribuyen positivamente al proceso de tratamiento. El estudio concluye que a menor número de orificios y mayor diámetro de tubería se presenta una distribución uniforme del caudal, además que la pérdida de carga total depende, tanto de la cabeza de velocidad, como del coeficiente de pérdida de carga. El diámetro del orificio fue el parámetro predominante para controlar la velocidad de entrada a las unidades de tratamiento

The neutron time-of-flight facility n-TOF at CERN: Phase II

Neutron-induced reactions are studied at the neutron time-of-flight facility n-TOF at CERN. The facility uses 6∼ns wide pulses of 20 GeV/c protons impinging on a lead spallation target. The large neutron energy range and the high instantaneous neutron flux combined with high resolution are among the key characteristics of the facility. After a first phase of data taking during the period 2001-2004, the facility has been refurbished with an upgraded spallation target and cooling system for a second phase of data taking which started in 2009. Since 2010, the experimental area at 185 m where the neutron beam arrives, has been modified into a worksector of type A, allowing the extension of the physics program to include neutron-induced reactions on radioactive isotopes

Mysticism and aesthetics: expansion, gravity, weight, empty, weghtlessness on artwork

En el trabajo propuesto busco desarrollar un estudio, análisis y relación o identificación que los conceptos GRAVEDAD, PESO, VACÍO, NADA, EXPANSIÓN, INGRAVIDEZ, tienen en las obra de arte y concretamente en el desarrollo plástico. Es mi deseo comprobar cómo son directa y/o indirectamente estos conceptos el hilo conductor que unen, porque están presentes en distintas disciplinas del conocimiento y también en distintas culturas, la formas de concebir la creación a lo largo de la historia.The proposed work aimed to develop a study, analysis and identification relationship or concept that gravity, weight, empty, nothing, EXPANSION, weightlessness, have in the artwork and development specifically in plastic. It is my desire to see how they are directly and / or indirectly these concepts linking the thread, because they are present not only different disciplines of knowledge but also to different cultures and ways of understanding the structure of the world throughout history.4ª Edición del Máster Universitario en Dibujo: Creación, producción y difusió