The Sustainable Management of Metals: An Analysis of Global Research

The objective of this study was to analyze research trends in the field of sustainable management of metals on a global level between 1993 and 2017. To do so, a bibliometric analysis was carried out on a total of 6967 articles. The results revealed the growing interest in this research field, particularly over the last five year-period during which 63% of all articles were published. The three journals in which most articles had been published were the Journal of Cleaner Production, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, and Chemsuschem. The countries that published the most articles were China, the United States, India, Germany, and the United Kingdom. A sizeable network of collaboration has been established between countries for the joint publication of studies. The main lines of research have been focused on metal decontamination in water and soil, waste management oriented towards reuse and recycling, and the innovation of processes for cleaner and more efficient production. The results revealed the need for comprehensive studies that integrate different disciplines within the same analytical framework, and to promote research that contributes to the different dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic, and social)

Rainwater Harvesting for Agricultural Irrigation: An Analysis of Global Research

Within a context of scarce water resources for agriculture, rainwater harvesting constitutes a promising alternative that has been studied by different disciplines in recent years. This article analyses the dynamics of global research on rainwater harvesting for agricultural irrigation over the last two decades. To do this, qualitative systematic analysis and quantitative bibliometric analysis have been carried out. The results reveal that this line of research is becoming increasingly important within research on irrigation. Environmental sciences and agricultural and biological sciences are the most relevant subject areas. Agricultural Water Management, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, and Irrigation and Drainage are the journals that have published the most articles on the subject. India, China, the United States (USA), South Africa, and the Netherlands are the countries that lead this line of research. Although significant progress has been made in this subject area, it is necessary to increase the number of studies on the capacity of rainwater harvesting systems to cover irrigation needs in different farming contexts, the factors that determine their adoption by farmers, the economic and financial feasibility of their implementation, and their contribution to mitigating global climate change

Forest Ecosystem Services: An Analysis of Worldwide Research

The relevance of forests to sustain human well-being and the serious threats they face have led to a notable increase of research works on forest ecosystem services during the last few years. This paper analyses the worldwide research dynamics on forest ecosystem services in the period from 1998 to 2017. A bibliometric analysis of 4284 articles was conducted. The results showed that the number of published research articles has especially increased during the last five years. In total, 68.63% of the articles were published in this period. This research line experiences a growing trend superior to the general publishing trend on forest research. In spite of this increase, its relative significance within the forest research is still limited. The most productive subject areas corresponded to Environmental Science, Agricultural and Biological Sciences and Social Sciences Economic topics are understudied. The scientific production is published in a wide range of journals. The three first publishing countries are United States, China and the United Kingdom. The most productive authors are attached to diverse research centres and their contributions are relatively recent. A high level of international cooperation has been observed between countries, institutions and authors. The findings of this study are useful for researchers since they give them an overview of the worldwide research trends on forest ecosystem services

Arquitectura multi agente extensible para la administración del correo electrónico

Los sistemas multi agentes son una herramienta importante para construir sistemas complejos que interactúen en ambientes abiertos, como Internet, colaborando para lograr objetivos de diseño. La mayoría de las aplicaciones modernas, en el área de las tecnologías de la información, funcionan en ambientes abiertos, donde determinar si la información disponible es útil o no, es una tarea no trivial. El presente trabajo analiza una arquitectura multi agente, cuya finalidad es facilitar la administración del correo electrónico no deseado, a través de la colaboración entre agentes que trabajen de forma autónoma. En la primera parte se hace referencia al problema y su importancia. En la segunda, se expone el concepto de agente de software inteligente y se describen los tipos de agentes empleados. En la tercera se presenta una arquitectura inicial y otra extendida para solucionar el problema junto con sus características relevantesEje: Inteligencia artificialRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Arquitectura multi agente extensible para la administración del correo electrónico

Los sistemas multi agentes son una herramienta importante para construir sistemas complejos que interactúen en ambientes abiertos, como Internet, colaborando para lograr objetivos de diseño. La mayoría de las aplicaciones modernas, en el área de las tecnologías de la información, funcionan en ambientes abiertos, donde determinar si la información disponible es útil o no, es una tarea no trivial. El presente trabajo analiza una arquitectura multi agente, cuya finalidad es facilitar la administración del correo electrónico no deseado, a través de la colaboración entre agentes que trabajen de forma autónoma. En la primera parte se hace referencia al problema y su importancia. En la segunda, se expone el concepto de agente de software inteligente y se describen los tipos de agentes empleados. En la tercera se presenta una arquitectura inicial y otra extendida para solucionar el problema junto con sus características relevantesEje: Inteligencia artificialRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

An Analysis of Global Research Trends on Greenhouse Technology: Towards a Sustainable Agriculture

Greenhouse farming is an agricultural management system that has demonstrated its efficiency in intensifying food production. These systems constitute a feasible alternative for ensuring food supply, which is one of the greatest challenges faced by humankind in the twenty-first century. Technology has been able to meet the challenges related to greenhouse farming in both contributing to overcoming its limitations, correcting adverse impacts and ensuring system sustainability. The objective of this article is to analyse the global research trends in greenhouse technology over the last two decades, in order to identify the main driving agents, the most outstanding research lines and possible gaps in the literature. Different methodologies have been used for the analysis; both quantitative and qualitative. The principal results show that there are different relevant lines of research related to different aspects of greenhouse farming: the use of water for irrigation, the design of the optimum structure of the greenhouse, conserving the soil in the best growing conditions, energy consumption of the system as a whole, climate control within the facility and pest control. The research is characterized by the being composed largely of ad hoc studies, which hinders the international collaboration between researchers and institutions. The research approach has shifted from being focused on increasing production and cost savings to aspects related to resource conservation and sustainability

Sustainable Irrigation in Agriculture: An Analysis of Global Research

Irrigated agriculture plays a fundamental role as a supplier of food and raw materials. However, it is also the world’s largest water user. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of studies analyzing agricultural irrigation from the perspective of sustainability with a focus on its environmental, economic, and social impacts. This study seeks to analyze the dynamics of global research in sustainable irrigation in agriculture between 1999 and 2018, including the main agents promoting it and the topics that have received the most attention. To do this, a review and a bibliometric analysis were carried out on a sample of 713 articles. The results show that sustainability is a line of study that is becoming increasingly more prominent within research in irrigation. The study also reveals the existence of substantial differences and preferred topics in the research undertaken by different countries. The priority issues addressed in the research were climatic change, environmental impact, and natural resources conservation; unconventional water resources; irrigation technology and innovation; and water use efficiency. Finally, the findings indicate a series of areas related to sustainable irrigation in agriculture in which research should be promoted

Management System for Harvest Scheduling: The Case of Horticultural Production in Southeast Spain

This article analyzes the programming of farm production, understood not only as the choice among several crops, but also as their temporal distribution. The empirical study takes as a reference the horticultural sector in southeast Spain, since this area constitutes the highest concentration of small-scale farm production in Europe, where the climatic conditions allow the possibility of several harvests in year-round production, as well as several alternative crops. Firstly, we study the production programming for an individual farmer, under the assumption that their decisions do not affect the balance of market prices. In this case a modified Markowitz model is used for the scheduling of crop marketing. Secondly, we study the sales arrangements for a farming-marketing cooperative, under the assumption that their sales volume is such that the entity is capable of altering the market balance. A model of monthly revenues and margins is proposed, and the results show a clear improvement in both margins and revenues if the harvest is programmed in this way

Retail price rigidity in perishable food products: a case study

Why are retailers less likely to vary sale prices of food products when the price paid to the farmer falls than when it rises? As far as perishable goods are concerned, this behavior is usually related to the retailer’s bargaining power. With a view to analyzing the question in greater depth, this study presents a simplified framework considering an ideal scenario in which the retailer wishes to maintain balanced profits due to external pressures or other factors, such as a competitive distribution market. In the face of changing supply, the price-fixing decision of the distributor may also depend on the risk, measured by the relationship between demand elasticity and variable costs, as a result of uncertainty in consumer response to price variations. The simulation of these scenarios is carried out taking as reference the Spanish tomato market. The results of these applications allow to see that despite a relaxation of bargaining power, price asymmetry is not avoided. This work shows the difficulty for suppliers and retailers to reach agreements which could result in competitive advantages

La internacionalización del cluster del mármol de Almería y la multinacional Cosentino

En la década de los ochenta del pasado siglo se configuró en la comarca de Macael (Almería) un cluster industrial en torno a la extracción y elaboración del mármol. En el seno de este cluster se han seguido dos estrategias diferentes para abordar el proceso de internacionalización. Por una parte, las pymes han optado por la integración vertical a través de la cooperación intracluster. Y por otra, la multinacional Cosentino ha seguido una estrategia basada en la creación de productos exclusivos, la inversión en marketing y el control del canal de distribución.In the 1980s, an industrial cluster around the marble extraction and processing arose in the region of Macael in Almería (Southeast of Spain). Within this cluster, two main strategies for internazionalition have been followed. On the one hand, small and medium enterprises have integrated themselves vertically through an intracluster cooperation. On the other hand, the international enterprise Cosentino has specialized its strategy on the creation of exclusive products, marketing investment and the control of the distribution channel