Students’ perceptions about acquisition of competencies of final project in Business Administration. The case of Universidad Loyola Andalucía

El desarrollo y la evaluación de los Trabajos Fin de Grado (TFG) en los planes de estudio están suponiendo todo un reto para el claustro de las universidades. La complejidad del proceso de elaboración del trabajo, la distinta casuística en cuanto a temas, competencias a evaluar y diversidad de profesorado, nos ha llevado a preocuparnos por conocer cuál es la percepción del alumno en relación a su proceso de aprendizaje y adquisición de competencias en esta materia. Un estudio exploratorio, basado en una encuesta realizada a los alumnos de ADE que han defendido su trabajo en el curso 2014-15, en la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales de la Universidad Loyola Andalucía, nos ha permitido poner de manifiesto cuál es la percepción del alumno en relación a todo el proceso del TFG. Su análisis nos ha permitido detectar que el TFG está suponiendo un retraso en la finalización de los estudios de grado, pero que existe un nivel de satisfacción alto con su desarrollo. Así mismo, es de resaltar la correlación que existe entre el interés por el tema a desarrollar y la calificación obtenida.The development and evaluation of the Final Project (FP) in the curriculum are posing a challenge for the university faculty. The complexity of the process of making this FP, the different casuistry regarding possible topics, the different competencies to assess and teachers diversity has led us to worry about knowing what is the perception of students in relation to their learning and skills acquisition in this area. A exploratory study based on a survey of Business Administration’ students who have defended their work in the 2014-15 course at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Loyola University Andalusia, has allowed us to show what is the perception of the student in relation to the whole process of the FP. The analysis revealed that the FP is supposing a delay in the completion of undergraduate studies, but that there is also a high level of satisfaction with the development of the FP. We must also highlight the correlation between interest in the topic to develop and marks obtained in the FP

Los factores del desarrollo socioeconómico y territorial de Marruecos: la aportación de las remesas de sus emigrantes

In this work we approach the socioeconomic, human and territorial development of Morocco from the 1980s, but mainly from the mid 90s, because the migratory flow intensifies and leads to a spectacular increase of income due to the remittances of the Moroccan residents abroad. This flow of capitals acts on several levels, both on micro and macroeconomics, which are interrelated and have a bearing on the economic takeoff, both human and territorial, although the imbalances between urban and rural spheres are enormous. We must add to this the economic policy of the government with the implementation of the Plan of Emergency of 2005, which seeks the specialization and the economies of scale in the industry, and the so called Azur Plan, for the development of tourism, that grows at a fast rate, and which has the objective of making tourism the locomotive of services and of the economy in general.Abordamos en este trabajo el desarrollo socioeconómico, humano y territorial de Marruecos desde la década de los 80 del siglo pasado pero sobre todo a partir de mediados de los 90, porque el flujo migratorio se intensifica y se traduce en un aumento espectacular de los ingresos por remesas de los residentes marroquíes en el extranjero. Este flujo de capitales actúa en varios planos, el micro y el macroeconómico, los cuales, interrelacionados, inciden en el despegue económico, humano y territorial, aunque los desequilibrios entre el medio urbano y el rural son muy grandes. A ello se debe añadir la política económica del gobierno, con la implementación del Plan de Emergencia de 2005, buscando la especialización y las economías de escala en la industria, y el denominado Plan Azur, para el desarrollo del turismo, que crece de una forma rápida, y cuyo objetivo es la conversión del mismo en locomotora de los servicios y de la economía en general.Dans ce travail, nous abordons le développement socio-économique, humain et territorial du Maroc à partir des années 80 du siècle dernier, et plus particulièrement à partir de la moitié des années 90, car on asiste alors a une intensification du flux migratoire qui se traduit par une hausse spectaculaire des revenus par transferts de fonds des marocains résidant à l’étranger. Ce flux de capitaux agit sur plusieurs plans, le microéconomique et le macroéconomique, dont l’interaction a une incidence sur le décollage économique, humain et territorial, malgré de grands déséquilibres entre les milieux urbain et rural. Il faut ajouter à cela la politique économique du gouvernement, avec l’implémentation du Plan d’Urgence de 2005 qui poursuit la spécialisation et les économies d’échelle dans l’industrie, et du dénommé Plan Azur pour le développement du tourisme, en pleine croissance, dont l’objectif est la conversion de celui-ci en élément moteur du secteur service et de l’économie en général

The Impact and Value of a Tourism Product: A Hybrid Sustainability Model

[Abstract] The concepts of social value creation and sustainability are acquiring a growing relevance in the vision shared by the tourism industry’s major stakeholders. Our aim was to determine a hybrid impact-value model capable of measuring tourism product sustainability through the use of indicators and the impact of stakeholder actions during the process of creating and generating products. An initial static vision of sustainability is complemented by a second dynamic vision, based on the measurement of value and change. The proposed model includes the same stakeholders, dimensions and indicators for both approaches. This standardization enhances the robustness of the model and its potential as an analysis instrument. After reviewing the considerable number of possible impact measurement techniques, we opted for the versatile methodology known as Social Return on Investment (SROI)

Implementation of the Dependency Law in Spain. The activities-based cost systems as tools that can facilitate decision-making for the implementation of the Law

The coming into force in 2007 of Law 39/2006 about promotion of personal autonomy and care for people in a situation of dependency has created the right of everyone in these circumstances to be served by public services. This law involves an expansion and complement of the protective action of the State and Social Security System

Spanish hotel chains alignment with the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism

The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET) is the sectorial reference tool in sustainable and value-based management for tourism stakeholders. The objective of this research is to analyze the adoption of the code and the extent of its development so far. The content analysis of 115 Spanish hotel chain web pages allowed us to know the extent to which hotel chains are responding to the GCET's principles. The results show that adherence to the code improves the transparency of hotel chains and the differences found according to the geographic scope of the chains confirm that their actions depend on the socio-economic and cultural context of their setting. This study supports the promotion of this tool as a way to achieve sustainable economic development, since the Code acts as a guide for ethical and sustainable behaviour of organisations, clarifying stakeholders’ expectations

The impact of sectoral guidelines on sustainability reporting in ports: the case of the Spanish ports

This paper aims to analyze the impact of standardized sectoral guidelines on the quality of port authorities’ (PAs) sustainability reporting. Sustainability reporting is a way of meeting stakeholder information demands about the economic, social, and environmental impact of port cluster activities. We claim that such guidelines do not always guarantee the quality of reporting, whenever organizations merely comply with their contents. Our study uses content analysis of the sustainability reports of 25 PAs in Spain, and it constructs two indices to measure the quality of the information disclosed: a quantitative index (the adherence index) and a qualitative index (the quality index). The existence of national port sector guidelines, coupled with regulations requiring sustainability reporting, places the Spanish case in a unique setting to study the implementation of port-specific guidelines for sustainability reporting. Our findings suggest that the provision of social and environmental information should be strengthened, especially considering the environmental impacts of port activities. Cluster analysis is also used to classify the sampled PAs based on our quality index and its influencing factors. Our results highlight the need to incorporate stakeholder engagement and dialogue in sustainability reporting processes, as this results in improved reporting quality. It is hoped that our findings help policymakers, legislators, and standardization bodies in developing their proposals on the content of reports, as well as improving the quality of PA reporting

Promoting Sustainability Transparency in European Local Governments: An Empirical Analysis Based on Administrative Cultures

Nowadays, the transparency of governments with respect to the sustainability of public services is a very interesting issue for stakeholders and academics. It has led to previous research and international organisations (EU, IMF, OECD, United Nations, IFAC, G-20, World Bank) to recommend promotion of the online dissemination of economic, social and environmental information. Based on previous studies about e-government and the influence of administrative cultures on governmental accountability, this paper seeks to identify political actions useful to improve the practices of transparency on economic, social and environmental sustainability in European local governments. We perform a comparative analysis of sustainability information published on the websites of 72 local governments in 10 European countries grouped into main three cultural contexts (Anglo-Saxon, Southern European and Nordic). Using international sustainability reporting guidelines, our results reveal significant differences in local government transparency in each context. The most transparent local governments are the Anglo-Saxon ones, followed by Southern European and Nordic governments. Based on individualized empirical results for each administrative style, our conclusions propose useful policy interventions to enhance sustainability transparency within each cultural tradition, such as development of legal rules on transparency and sustainability, tools to motivate local managers for online diffusion of sustainability information and analysis of information needs of stakeholders

Identifying Motivation of the Local Governments to Improve the Sustainability Transparency

This paper examines the sustainability transparency of governments, i.e., the disclosure of information on the sustainability of their actions. To do so, we identify contributory factors to the online disclosure of environmental, social, economic and general information by local governments in Nordic countries. Linear regression analysis was used to identify factors infl uencing the online dissemination of government information on sustainability; a factor analysis, as a precursor to linear regression, led us to reduce 14 explanatory variables to four factors: fi nancial risk, demography, professional qualifi cations and local government resources. The results obtained show that local fi - nancial priorities have a greater impact on the sustainability-related content of governmental websites than does concern for the needs of the population. Furthermore, an organization’s disclosure of its fi nancial risks, together with greater awareness of stakeholders’ demands, could promote transparency in the fi eld of environmental, social and economic sustainability, while local demographic characteristics could foster the publication of information on environmental sustainability.This study was carried out with the assistance of a research project funded by the Regional Government of Andalusia (Ref. P11-SEJ-7700) and that of two projects funded by the National Research Plan, Nos. ECO2010-17463-ECON and ECO2010-20522-ECON

Bioactive compounds content and total antioxidant activity of two savoy cabbages

Se han identificado, cuantificado y comparado los compuestos bioactivos, así como la actividad antioxidante in vitro, de dos cultivos de repollo, Dama y Leticia, cultivados en el oeste de España. Encontramos que el cv. Dama, presentado en general, mejora los resultados en comparación con el cv. Leticia. El cv. Dama presentó una mayor concentración de clorofila (2,26 mg / 100 g de peso en fresco), un contenido fenólico total (102,71 mg de equivalente de ácido clorogénico / 100 g en peso fresco) y unos glucosinolatos totales intactos (195,22 μmol de equivalente de sinigrina / 100 g de peso fresco). Así, el cv. Dama exhibió unos valores más altos de actividad antioxidante in vitro.The bioactive compounds, as well as the in vitro antioxidant activity of two Savoy cabbage cultivars, Dama and Leticia, grown in west of Spain under similar conditions were identified, quantified and compared. We found that cv. Dama presented in general betters results when compared with cv. Leticia. Cv. Dama presented higher concentrations of chlorophyll a (2.26 mg/100 g fresh weight), total phenolic content (102.71 mg of chlorogenic acid equivalent/100 g fresh weight) and total intact glucosinolates (195.22 μmol of sinigrin equivalent/100 g fresh weight). Thus, cv. Dama exhibited higher values of in vitro antioxidant activity.María Fernanda Fernández León agradece la ayuda prestada por el Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria (INIA) Trabajo parcialmente patrocinado por la Junta de Extremadura y Fondos FEDER. Proyecto GR10006 Los autores agradecen el estudio de campo realizado en la Finca La Orden-Valdesequera (Junta de Extremadura) a partir de muestras de colpeerReviewe

Kinetic synergistic effect in co-pyrolysis of Eucalyptus globulus with high and low density polyethylene

The pyrolysis of Eucalyptus globulus (EG) with different blends of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) by thermogravimetry has been studied. ASTM-E1641-16 standard method has been used to evaluate the kinetics during the pyrolysis of the studied blends. For all feedstocks (EG, HDPE and LDPE) and blends studied, the relative content (%) of the volatile organic compound has been determined by GC–MS analysis. Different synergistic effects on the activation energy of EG blends with HDPE and LDPE have been found. EG-HDPE blends showed a minimum activation energy (Ea) (125 kJ mol−1) at the 80% EG–20% HDPE ratio, while the minimum Ea value for EG-LDPE blends was found at the 60% EG–40% LDPE ratio (135 kJ mol−1) has been identified. To test which components exert a greater synergistic effect, mixtures of HDPE and LDPE with the main components of eucalyptus (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) have also been studied. However, no synergistic effects on the pyrolysis of cellulose have been detected. Moreover, in hemicellulose and lignin with both types of polyethylene mixtures, a significant decrease in Ea has been appreciated. The lowest Ea values for 60% cellulose–40% HDPE (167 kJ mol−1) and 60% lignin–40% HDPE (140 kJ mol−1) has been calculated. On the other hand, minimum values for 40% cellulose–60% LDPE (166 kJ mol−1) mixture and for 40% lignin–60% LDPE (168 kJ mol−1) mixture have been detected. Thus, the decrease in both Ea and the Arrhenius pre-exponential factor on the eucalyptus-polyethylene blends to the presence of hemicellulose and lignin can be attributed. Moreover, during the co-pyrolysis of HDPE-EG mixtures, n-paraffins, ketones, phenols and sugars are the main VOCs identified. In contrast, in LDPE-EG mixtures, only n-paraffins (55%) and olefins (44%) have been identified.This study received financial support from Green Asphalt project (ref. 802C1800001) co-funded 80% by FEDER European Programme and 20% by the Regional Government of Andalusia (Agency for Innovation and Development of Andalusia (IDEA) and (Operational Programme FEDER Andalusia 2014–2020, Project UHU–1255540), Spain. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Huelva / CBU