THE ROLE OF HUMAN CAPITAL IN THE INNOVATION MANAGEMENT PROCESS

The high dynamics of contemporary economic conditions, technological progress, and global competition make human capital extremely important in the context of implementing innovations that enable the broadly understood development and competitiveness of an organization. At every stage of the innovation life cycle, human capital, including the knowledge, skills, and experience of employees, plays a key role. This article aims to examine the importance of human capital as a factor supporting creativity and generating ideas, contributing to the creation and implementation of innovative solutions in organizations. It defines the concepts of human capital and innovation and characterizes the results of selected reports of national institutions regarding the analyzed constructs. Moreover, the importance of human capital in the context of organizational innovation and management of innovative processes is emphasized

Indium(II) chloride as a precursor in the synthesis of ternary (Ag–In–S) and quaternary (Ag–In–Zn–S) nanocrystals

A new indium precursor, namely, indium(II) chloride, was tested as a precursor in the synthesis of ternary Ag−In−S and quaternary Ag−In−Zn−S nanocrystals. This new precursor, being in fact a dimer of Cl2In−InCl2 chemical structure, is significantly more reactive than InCl3, typically used in the preparation of these types of nanocrystals. This was evidenced by carrying out comparative syntheses under the same reaction conditions using these two indium precursors in combination with the same silver (AgNO3) and zinc (zinc stearate) precursors. In particular, the use of indium(II) chloride in combination with low concentrations of the zinc precursor yielded spherical-shaped (D = 3.7−6.2 nm) Ag−In−Zn−S nanocrystals, whereas for higher concentrations of this precursor, rodlike nanoparticles (L = 9−10 nm) were obtained. In all cases, the resulting nanocrystals were enriched in indium (In/Ag = 1.5−10.3). Enhanced indium precursor conversion and formation of anisotropic, longitudinal nanoparticles were closely related to the presence of thiocarboxylic acid type of ligands in the reaction mixture. These ligands were generated in situ and subsequently bound to surfacial In(III) cations in the growing nanocrystals. The use of the new precursor of enhanced reactivity facilitated precise tuning of the photoluminescence color of the resulting nanocrystals in the spectral range from ca. 730 to 530 nm with photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) varying from 20 to 40%. The fabricated Ag−In−S and Ag−In−Zn−S nanocrystals exhibited the longest, reported to date, photoluminescence lifetimes of ∼9.4 and ∼1.4 μs, respectively. It was also demonstrated for the first time that ternary (Ag−In− S) and quaternary (Ag−In−Zn−S) nanocrystals could be applied as efficient photocatalysts, active under visible light (green) illumination, in the reaction of aldehydes reduction to alcohols

Innovations in the area of health in selected countries of the European Union on the example of Poland and Germany

Purpose: The aim of the article is to identify and compare various types of product innovations and business processes in the area of health in selected countries of the European Union. The rationale for undertaking research on this subject resulted from the lack of scientific studies on innovation in the health sector. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis was carried out on the basis of two countries, namely Poland and Germany. For this purpose, an analysis of domestic as well as foreign literature was used aimed at proving the originality of the problem undertaken. In addition, the method of comparative analysis aimed at searching for similarities and discrepancies occurring in the phenomena under consideration in the article was used. An analysis of selected indexes and rankings on the implementation of innovations in the field of health globally was also carried out. Findings: The article provides insights into the implemented innovations in the field of health. The results obtained show that innovations in the area of health care are more developed in Germany than in Poland, and also most of them are product innovations. Originality/value: Implementation of innovations in the field of health care is important due to the permanent changes that are taking place on the technological, social and economic levels - not only in a specific country, but all over the world. Most of the findings presented in the article can be used to improve the operation of medical facilities in many areas, as well as to increase the quality of service to patients and improve the comfort of their lives. Keywords: innovation, research and development activities, health care. Category of the paper: A literature review.</jats:p

Skuteczność działania handlowych antyzbrylaczy na nawozy saletrzane

Ammonium nitrate is the primary component used in the production of ammonium nitrate fertilizers. However, it has certain undesirable physicochemical properties such as hygroscopicity and phase transition at room temperature, which results in an undesirable phenomenon of caking. Caking changes the properties of the fertilizer thereby contributing to material loss. This, in turn, causes economic losses to both the manufacturer and the end-user. Anticaking agents are currently the most effective way to prevent fertilizers from caking. Finished granules of fertilizer are sprayed with anticaking agents in appropriate quantities, depending on the type of fertilizer and the anticaking agent. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of commercial anticaking agents for use with ammonium nitrate fertilizers (Salmag® and ZAKsan®) and to evaluate the compressive strength of fertilizer granules coated with the anticaking agent. We evaluated a method to test the effectiveness of anticaking agents, which enables the effective selection of appropriate anticaking agents for various types of fertilizers.Azotan amonu to główny związek do produkcji nawozów saletrzanych. Azotan amonu posiada jednak pewne właściwości fizykochemiczne takie jak: higroskopijność, rozpuszczalność w wodzie czy zachodzące w nim przemiany fazowe, które wpływają na to, że nawozy saletrzane ulegają niepożądanemu zjawisku zbrylania. Skutkuje to zmianą właściwości użytkowych nawozów i przyczynia się do strat materiałowych. To z kolei prowadzi do dodatkowych, niepotrzebnych kosztów zarówno u producenta, jak i końcowego odbiorcy. Antyzbrylacze są obecnie najskuteczniejszym sposobem przeciwdziałania zbrylaniu nawozów. Gotowe granule nawozu natryskuje się antyzbrylaczami w odpowiedniej ilości w zależności od typu nawozu jak i od konkretnego antyzbrylacza. Celem przeprowadzonych badań była ocena skuteczności przeciwdziałania zbrylaniu sześciu handlowych antyzbrylaczy dla nawozów saletrzanych (Salmag® i ZAKsan®) oraz ocena odporności na ściskanie granul badanych nawozów pokrytych testowanymi antyzbrylaczami. W pracy przedstawiono metodę oceny skuteczności przeciwdziałania zbrylaniu nawozów, która umożliwia skuteczny dobór odpowiednich antyzbrylaczy dla różnych typów nawozów

From Ag₂S to luminescent Ag–In–S nanocrystals <i>via</i> an ultrasonic method – an <i>in situ</i> synthesis study in an NMR tube

Taking advantage of “mild” preparation conditions we have been able for the first time to perform the synthesis of Ag2S and luminescent AgInS2 nanocrystals in an NMR tube.</p

Synthesis of CuFeS_2−xSe_x – alloyed nanocrystals with localized surface plasmon resonance in the visible spectral range

When going from Cu1.00Fe1.00S1.80 nanocrystals to alloyed Cu1.00Fe1.08S0.56Se1.42 nanocrystals a shift of the plasmonic peak is observed from 486 nm to 408 nm.</p

Highly Luminescent Ag–In–Zn–S Quaternary Nanocrystals: Growth Mechanism and Surface Chemistry Elucidation

The presented research is focused on the synthesis of alloyed Ag–In–Zn–S colloidal nanocrystals from a mixture of simple metal precursors such as AgNO3, InCl3, zinc stearate combined with 1-dodecanethiol (DDT), 1-octadecene (ODE), and sulfur dissolved in oleylamine (OLA). In particular, the focus is on the effect of the solvent (ODE vs 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB)) and the type of sulfur precursor (S/OLA vs S/n-octylamine (OCA)) on the metal precursors reactivates and on the chemical composition, crystal structure, and luminescent properties of the resulting nanocrystals. The replacement of ODE by DCB as a solvent lowers the reactivity of metal precursors and results in a 3-fold decrease of the photoluminescence quantum yields (Q.Y.) values (from 67% to 21%). This negative effect can be fully compensated by the use of S/OCA as a source of sulfur instead of S/OLA (Q.Y. increases from 21% to 64%). NMR studies of the isolated organic phase indicate that the S/OLA precursor generates two types of ligands being products of (Z)-1-amino-9-octadecene (OLA) hydrogenation. These are “surface bound” 1-aminooctadecane (C18H37NH2) and crystal bound, i.e., alkyl chain covalently bound to the nanocrystal surface via surfacial sulfur (C18H37-NH-S crystal). Highly luminescent Ag–In–Zn–S nanocrystals exhibit a cation-enriched (predominantly indium) surface and are stabilized by a 1-aminooctadecane ligand, which shows more flexibility than OLA. These investigations were completed by hydrophilization of nanocrystals obtained via exchange of the primary ligands for 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid, (MUA) with only a 2-fold decrease of photoluminescence Q.Y. in the most successful case (from 67% to 31%). Finally, through ligand exchange, an electroactive inorganic/organic hybrid was obtained, namely, Ag–In–Zn–S/7-octyloxyphenazine-2-thiol, in which its organic part fully retained its electrochemical activity