Instrumentos históricos del CSIC: una herramienta para la divulgación científica

Conferencia "Instrumentos históricos del CSIC: una herramienta para la divulgación científica" impartida por Esteban Moreno Gómez en el marco del Curso "Cultura Científica: Divulgación y Comunicación de la Ciencia" los días 13,14 y 15 de Junio de 2016 en Madrid. Organizado por la Vicepresidencia Adjunta de Cultura Científica del Consejo Superior de investigaciones Científicas. Documento en formato PDF de 17 páginas con gráficos e imágenes a color. Plan de Identificación, Recuperación y Conservación de Instrumentos y Aparatos Científicos de Interés Histórico del CSIC.El patrimonio de aparatos científicos del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas nos permite comprender la historia de la institución y la historia de la ciencia en nuestro país. El CSIC ha puesto en marcha un Plan para la Recuperación de Instrumental Científico de Interés Histórico que tiene entre sus objetivos divulgar la actividad científica que se realizaba con estos aparatos y así comprender mejor la necesidad de conservarlos. Durante la charla se explicará en qué consiste este Plan para la Recuperación de Instrumental Científico de Interés Histórico, como se está llevando a cabo y las principales dificultades y obstáculos que van apareciendo.N

Analysis of competitiveness in Colombian family businesses

Purpose: Building on the resource-based view and the configuration theory, the purpose of this study uses a systemic and multidimensional competitiveness index (CI) i.e. that incorporates system constraints among the 10 competitive pillars that form the index to assess the competitiveness level and the connection between competitiveness and economic performance [return on assets (ROA)] in family businesses (FBs). Design/methodology/approach: For the empirical application, the use a unique primary data set drawn from the global competitiveness project (www.gcp.org) that includes information for 77 Colombian FBs for 2017. Cluster analysis is used to evaluate the potential relationship between competitiveness, the configuration of competitive pillars and economic performance (ROA). Findings: The results for the CI show that the main competitive strengths of the analysed firms are related to the introduction of product innovations and networks (suppliers and customers), while the limited use of technologies in their operations and the low online presence are the main competitive weaknesses of these firms. Additionally, the findings of the cluster analysis reveal that different configurations of competitiveness pillars are associated with different performance levels. Therefore, the results contribute to identifying how specific strategies aimed at improving different resources or capabilities contribute to enhance business competitiveness, and ultimately, performance. Originality/value: By using an index number that takes into account the multiple interactions between resources and capabilities, the proposed analysis not only sheds light on the drivers of competitiveness i.e. resources and capabilities, and its connection to performance but also contributes to understanding the boundaries of the businesses’ competitiveness system, as well as the strategies that can potentially enhance competitiveness, and subsequently, business performance.Peer ReviewedPreprin

Gender diversity in the board, women’s leadership and business performance

Purpose: This paper investigates how gender diversity in top management—i.e., boardroom and top management positions—impacts business performance among Colombian public businesses. Design/methodology/approach: Building on the Upper Echelon theory which emphasizes that gender in an important characteristic that influences top management’s decision making, we employ panel data models on a sample of 54 Colombian public businesses for the period 2008-2015 to test the proposed hypotheses relating gender diversity and subsequent business performance. Findings: The results support that gender diversity is positively associated with subsequent business performance. More concretely, we find that the relationship between gender diversity at the top of the corporate hierarchy—in our case, as CEO and in the top management team—and subsequent performance becomes more evident when performance is linked to business operations (ROA), while the positive effect of women’s representation in the boardroom and subsequent performance is significant when performance is measured via shareholder-oriented metrics (ROE). Originality/value: Few studies have addressed the role of gender diversity on performance in developing economies. This study contributes to better understand how gender diversity impacts performance in contexts where women are underrepresented in the top management, and where the appointment of women directors or managers is not driven by regulatory pressures.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Analysis of competitiveness in Colombian family businesses

Purpose: Building on the resource-based view and the configuration theory, the purpose of this study uses a systemic and multidimensional competitiveness index (CI) i.e. that incorporates system constraints among the 10 competitive pillars that form the index to assess the competitiveness level and the connection between competitiveness and economic performance [return on assets (ROA)] in family businesses (FBs). Design/methodology/approach: For the empirical application, the use a unique primary data set drawn from the global competitiveness project (www.gcp.org) that includes information for 77 Colombian FBs for 2017. Cluster analysis is used to evaluate the potential relationship between competitiveness, the configuration of competitive pillars and economic performance (ROA). Findings: The results for the CI show that the main competitive strengths of the analysed firms are related to the introduction of product innovations and networks (suppliers and customers), while the limited use of technologies in their operations and the low online presence are the main competitive weaknesses of these firms. Additionally, the findings of the cluster analysis reveal that different configurations of competitiveness pillars are associated with different performance levels. Therefore, the results contribute to identifying how specific strategies aimed at improving different resources or capabilities contribute to enhance business competitiveness, and ultimately, performance. Originality/value: By using an index number that takes into account the multiple interactions between resources and capabilities, the proposed analysis not only sheds light on the drivers of competitiveness i.e. resources and capabilities, and its connection to performance but also contributes to understanding the boundaries of the businesses’ competitiveness system, as well as the strategies that can potentially enhance competitiveness, and subsequently, business performance

Analysis of competitiveness in colombian family businesses

Building on the resource-based view and the configuration theory, the purpose of this study uses a systemic and multidimensional competitiveness index (CI) i.e. that incorporates system constraints among the 10 competitive pillars that form the index to assess the competitiveness level and the connection between competitiveness and economic performance [return on assets (ROA)] in family businesses (FBs)

La importancia de la formación de los maestros en la alfabetización científica de la sociedad

Conferencia "La importancia de la formación de los maestros en la alfabetización científica de la sociedad" impartida por Esteban Moreno Gómez en el marco del Curso "Cultura Científica: Divulgación y Comunicación de la Ciencia" los días 13,14 y 15 de Junio de 2016 en Madrid. Organizado por la Vicepresidencia Adjunta de Cultura Científica del Consejo Superior de investigaciones Científicas. Documento en formato PDF de 24 páginas con gráficos e imágenes a color. Esteban Moreno Gómez desarrolla y coordina los contenidos del Museo Virtual de la Ciencia del CSIC y del portal El CSIC en la Escuela. Colabora como profesor en los cursos de formación científica y es autor de diversos trabajos de investigación en el aula y de varias publicaciones de didáctica de la ciencia. Es licenciado en Ciencias Geológicas por la Universidad Complutense de Madrid y desde 2001 trabaja en el CSIC en el grupo El CSIC en la Escuela.La principal razón de ser de los programas de Cultura Científica es conseguir que una parte mayoritaria de la sociedad desarrolle un interés mínimo sobre las distintas ramas de la ciencia y la tecnología. Para ello se intenta aumentar la calidad y cantidad de la información que, sobre ciencia, tiene el ciudadano, capacitándole así para que pueda tomar decisiones en base a criterios objetivos. Es este un fin que comparte con el mundo de la Educación, pero la principal diferencia reside en que el público objetivo de la Educación son los niños, mientras que los esfuerzos por aumentar la Cultura Científica van dirigidos principalmente a adultos. El CSIC en la Escuela es un programa para la actualización de los conocimientos de ciencia y tecnología del profesorado no universitario. Científicos y maestros trabajan juntos con el objetivo de conseguir la alfabetización científica de la sociedad desde la escuela. Es un proyecto que se suma a los esfuerzos de otras líneas de Cultura Científica pero centrándose en los maestros, quienes han sido, son y serán verdaderos motores de cambio de la sociedad.N

Una descripción del experimento de los Curie

Artículo en PDF de 9 páginas con ilustraciones a color. Material complementario al Laboratorio Curie publicado en el Museo Virtual de la Ciencia del CSIC.Describimos brevemente los antecedentes y el paradigma científico que rodearon las experiencias de los Curie a principios del siglo XX. Realizamos un estudio del equipamiento utilizado en el laboratorio de Marie Curie con los esquemas de funcionamiento de los distintos instrumentos de medida y, a modo de ejemplo, recreamos un proceso típico de medida de los realizados por Marie Curie. Esta publicación se complementa con el Laboratorio Curie publicado en el Museo Virtual de la Ciencia del CSIC.N

Aprendizaje de la ciencia, metamodelos y metacognición

Documento PDF de 24 páginas con 10 imágenes a color. Serie el CSIC en la Escuela. Diseño, maquetación e ilustraciones: Alejandro Martínez de Andrés. Sobre los autores: http://www.csicenlaescuela.csic.es/A lo largo de los tres últimos años, a través de estudios, seminarios y cursos de preparación sobre la enseñanza de la ciencia para profesores de las primeras etapas educativas, hemos llegado a la conclusión de que la idea de método científico que se maneja en las aulas corresponde básicamente a la enunciada por Francis Bacon en el siglo xvii. La visión que se desprende de esta idea, que solo hay un método y que corresponde a una actividad aislada del investigador, no es la más apropiada para comprender la verdadera naturaleza de la ciencia: una compleja actividad social, realmente multicultural, que tiene lugar a nivel mundial. En este trabajo discutimos las características del quehacer científico, describimos el método baconiano e introducimos las principales ideas de la naturaleza de la ciencia que debe conocer el docente. Estas ideas deben estar presentes en el alumno desde los primeros años de escolarización, de manera que en el proceso general de alfabetización se incluya lo que se ha llamado alfabetización científica. La segunda parte de este artículo describe distintas teorías del conocimiento y del aprendizaje, y concluye con una propuesta, basada en nuestra experiencia, para que el docente diseñe un itinerario de aprendizaje sobre un modelo científico. Nuestra proposición utiliza y relaciona la escala de destrezas de los hermanos Dreyfus y las etapas del desarrollo cognitivo de Piaget. Para ello, diferenciamos el conocimiento basado en reglas, del conocimiento basado en modelos.Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Fundación BBVA.Peer reviewe

Transition in-and-out of exporting and its impact on employment growth

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how different strategic choices related to the transitions in-and-out of exporting (export entry, export persistence, export exit) impact employment growth in Romanian small- and medium-sized businesses. Design/methodology/approach Using linear regression models on a sample of 566 Romanian SMEs, The authors model employment growth as a function of three different dimensions of foreign market participation: export entry, persistence and exit. Findings Results indicate that exporting is positively associated with employment growth. The findings reveal that the different strategic choices linked to exporting have a differentiating impact on employment growth: while employment growth is more pronounced among new exporters which points to the presence of an impulse effect of exporting, businesses that interrupt their exporting activities report employment losses. Research limitations/implications This study underlines the relevance of distinguishing the specific impact of the different export behaviours related to the transitions in-and-out of exporting. Practical implications The results of the study fuel the debate on the relevance of promoting policies that encourage exporting among small businesses operating in emerging economies. Originality/value This study presents an original analysis of the distinctive effect that different forms of export behaviour related to the transitions in-and-out of exporting have on employment growth. The relevance of this study not only flows from the particular empirical design that simultaneously evaluates different export choices and their specific impact on employment growth.Peer ReviewedPostprint (updated version

A non-parametric analysis of competitiveness efficiency: The relevance of firm size and the configuration of competitive pillars

This study employs a DEA model with a single constant input to analyze the competitiveness performance of a unique sample of 103 knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) firms from Hungary, Spain, Colombia and Costa Rica for the year 2017. Also, we assess how the configuration of competitive pillars—strengths and weaknesses—impacts efficiency and how firm size moderates this relationship. The mean efficiency scores by which the competitiveness output can be optimized is 47.43%. The results suggest that the configuration of competitive pillars has important implications for efficiency analyses. For small businesses, competitive-enhancing actions should focus on mitigating competitive weaknesses that are detrimental to efficiency. Also, a configuration of competitive pillars in which one or various competitive strengths prevail is more beneficial for small businesses. Managerial tools such as the proposed competitiveness measure may offer useful information on what strategic actions can contribute to optimize business competitiveness