Information Technology and Competitive Advantage: The Role of the Ownership Structure

This paper analyses the relationship between information technology use (IT) and competitive advantage. Previous empirical research shows that IT improves competitive advantage when it acts together with some human or managerial resources of an intangible nature. In this work we propose a new complementary resource to IT: democratic ownership structure. We empirically analyse whether ownership structure and IT have a positive, combined impact on competitive advantage. Results show that ownership structure is a key element in explaining competitive advantage differences. Nonetheless, we did not find any IT-ownership structure complementary effect

Análisis de aditivos de adherencia en mezclas asfálticas con agregados reciclados de concreto

La generación y manejo de residuos sólidos industriales es considerada un problema ambiental a nivel mundial. Por esta razón, varios estudios se han enfocado en la implementación de Residuos de Construcción y Demolición (RCD) para las capas de pavimento, con énfasis en el uso de Agregados de Concreto Reciclado (RCA). El objetivo de este trabajo es establecer el impacto de algunas de sus propiedades mecánicas al realizar mezclas bituminosas con RCA y la adición porcentual de Cal Hidratada, en donde se diseñó la Mezcla Densa en Caliente (MDC 19), de acuerdo a las especificaciones del Instituto Nacional de Vías – Articulo 450 del 2013. Se realizaron 4 tipos de concreto asfáltico; de control, con RCA, con RCA y 1% de Cal y finalmente, RCA y 2% de Cal. Se determinó el porcentaje óptimo de asfalto para el compuesto por medio del diseño por metodología Marshall (INV-E 748 -13) y la capacidad de carga a través del laboratorio de Tracción Indirecta (RTI) (INV-E 725-13). Al sustituir el rugoso, se respetan los criterios de diseño de asfalto de referencia y se aumenta la carga en el RTI, requiriendo así un ligero aumento del contenido de betún. De igual forma, al reemplazar el 100% del CA que pasa por los tamices 3/4'' (19mm) y 1/2'' (37.5mm) por agregados de RCA, se logró un comportamiento satisfactorio bajo carga mono tónica. Por último, se obtienen valores porcentuales de la resistencia retenida por el ensayo de tracción indirecta para diferentes tipos de agregados reciclados de concreto, junto con estos valores porcentuales relativos al mínimo exigido por el INVIAS en el artículo de especificación general requerido para la aprobación de diseño de mezclas bituminosas. , la información obtenida sugiere que con los resultados es posible pasar el alcance del proyecto con altos valores de adherencia y porcentaje de resistividad superiores a las normativas del Instituto Nacional de Vías.The generation and management of industrial solid waste is considered a global environmental problem. For this reason, several studies have focused on the implementation of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) for pavement layers, with an emphasis on the use of Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCA). The objective of this work is to establish the impact of some of its mechanical properties when making bituminous mixtures with RCA and the percentage addition of Hydrated Lime, where the Hot Dense Mix (MDC 19) was designed, according to the specifications of the Institute Nacional de Vías – Article 450 of 2013. 4 types of asphalt concrete were made; control, with RCA, with RCA and 1% Cal and finally, RCA and 2% Cal. The optimal percentage of asphalt for the compound was determined by means of the Marshall methodology design (INV-E 748 -13) and the load capacity through the Indirect Traction (RTI) laboratory (INV-E 725-13). By substituting the rough, the reference asphalt design criteria are respected and the load on the RTI is increased, thus requiring a slight increase in the bitumen content. Similarly, by replacing 100% of the AC passing through the 3/4'' (19mm) and 1/2'' (37.5mm) sieves with RCA aggregates, satisfactory behavior under monotonic load was achieved. Finally, percentage values ​​of the resistance retained by the indirect tensile test for different types of recycled concrete aggregates are obtained, together with these percentage values ​​relative to the minimum required by INVIAS in the general specification article required for design approval. of bituminous mixtures. , the information obtained suggests that with the results it is possible to pass the scope of the project with high values ​​of adherence and percentage of resistivity higher than the regulations of the National Institute of Roads

Proyecto AURA: Vivienda social sostenible

El Proyecto Aura nace con el objetivo de desarrollar una línea de investigación enfocada en la vivienda social sostenible dentro de la Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de la Universidad de Sevilla en general y del grupo de investigación HUM-965_TRAnSHUMANCIAS en particular. La invitación recibida para participar en la competición de arquitectura sostenible “Solar Decathlon Latin America & Caribbean 2015”[2] se convierte en la plataforma perfecta para materializar en una propuesta construida, el trabajo desarrollado por el equipo de investigación, en el que también concurren investigadores de otros grupos, tanto de la Universidad de Sevilla, como del extranjero. En esta edición las premisas que tradicionalmente venían siendo los pilares fundamentales de esta competición entre Universidades de todo el mundo, y que orientaban a los equipos en la búsqueda de un prototipo eco-eficiente, dan un giro y se enfocan hacia la reflexión sobre la sostenibilidad en unas condiciones de contorno, situación y localización, muy concretas: El entorno de clima tropical y la problemática de vivienda social y crecimiento urbano en la ciudad de Cali. En esta ponencia, complementaria a la titulada “PROYECTO AURA: VIVIENDA SOCIAL SOSTENIBLE” se describe la estrategia para la caracterización constructiva del proyecto así como la planificación proceso constructivo real llevado a cabo del prototipo para el concurso

Obstetric Outcomes in Women with Rheumatic Disease and COVID-19 in the Context of Vaccination Status

OBJECTIVE: To describe obstetric outcomes based on COVID-19 vaccination status, in women with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) who developed COVID-19 during pregnancy. METHODS: Data regarding pregnant women entered into the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance registry from 24 March 2020-25 February 2022 were analysed. Obstetric outcomes were stratified by number of COVID-19 vaccine doses received prior to COVID-19 infection in pregnancy. Descriptive differences between groups were tested using the chi -square or Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: There were 73 pregnancies in 73 women with RMD and COVID-19. Overall, 24.7% (18) of pregnancies were ongoing, while of the 55 completed pregnancies 90.9% (50) of pregnancies resulted in livebirths. At the time of COVID-19 diagnosis, 60.3% (n = 44) of women were unvaccinated, 4.1% (n = 3) had received one vaccine dose while 35.6% (n = 26) had two or more doses. Although 83.6% (n = 61) of women required no treatment for COVID-19, 20.5% (n = 15) required hospital admission. COVID-19 resulted in delivery in 6.8% (n = 3) of unvaccinated women and 3.8% (n = 1) of fully vaccinated women. There was a greater number of preterm births (PTB) in unvaccinated women compared with fully vaccinated 29.5% (n = 13) vs 18.2%(n = 2). CONCLUSION: In this descriptive study, unvaccinated pregnant women with RMD and COVID-19 had a greater number of PTB compared with those fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Additionally, the need for COVID-19 pharmacological treatment was uncommon in pregnant women with RMD regardless of vaccination status. These results support active promotion of COVID-19 vaccination in women with RMD who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy

A long-period transiting substellar companion in the super-Jupiters to brown dwarfs mass regime and a prototypical warm-Jupiter detected by TESS

We report on the confirmation and follow-up characterization of two long-period transiting substellar companions on low-eccentricity orbits around TIC 4672985 and TOI-2529, whose transit events were detected by the TESS space mission. Ground-based photometric and spectroscopic follow up from different facilities, confirmed the substellar nature of TIC 4672985 b, a massive gas giant, in the transition between the super-Jupiters and brown-dwarfs mass regime. From the joint analysis we derived the following orbital parameters: P = 69.0480+0.0004−0.0005 d, Mp = 12.74+1.01−1.01 MJ, Rp =1.026+0.065−0.067 RJ and e = 0.018+0.004−0.004 . In addition, the RV time series revealed a significant trend at the ∼ 350 m s−1 yr−1level, which is indicative of the presence of a massive outer companion in the system. TIC 4672985 b is a unique example of a transiting substellar companion with a mass above the deuterium-burning limit, located beyond 0.1 AU and in a nearly circular orbit. These planetary properties are difficult to reproduce from canonical planet formation and evolution models. For TOI-2529 b, we obtained the following orbital parameters: P = 64.5949+0.0003−0.0003 d, Mp =2.340+0.197−0.195 MJ, Rp = 1.030+0.050−0.050 RJ and e = 0.021+0.024−0.015 , making this object a new example of a growing population of transiting warm giant planets

Mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2018

In recent decades, the Greenland Ice Sheet has been a major contributor to global sea-level rise1,2, and it is expected to be so in the future3. Although increases in glacier flow4–6 and surface melting7–9 have been driven by oceanic10–12 and atmospheric13,14 warming, the degree and trajectory of today’s imbalance remain uncertain. Here we compare and combine 26 individual satellite measurements of changes in the ice sheet’s volume, flow and gravitational potential to produce a reconciled estimate of its mass balance. Although the ice sheet was close to a state of balance in the 1990s, annual losses have risen since then, peaking at 335 ± 62 billion tonnes per year in 2011. In all, Greenland lost 3,800 ± 339 billion tonnes of ice between 1992 and 2018, causing the mean sea level to rise by 10.6 ± 0.9 millimetres. Using three regional climate models, we show that reduced surface mass balance has driven 1,971 ± 555 billion tonnes (52%) of the ice loss owing to increased meltwater runoff. The remaining 1,827 ± 538 billion tonnes (48%) of ice loss was due to increased glacier discharge, which rose from 41 ± 37 billion tonnes per year in the 1990s to 87 ± 25 billion tonnes per year since then. Between 2013 and 2017, the total rate of ice loss slowed to 217 ± 32 billion tonnes per year, on average, as atmospheric circulation favoured cooler conditions15 and as ocean temperatures fell at the terminus of Jakobshavn Isbræ16. Cumulative ice losses from Greenland as a whole have been close to the IPCC’s predicted rates for their high-end climate warming scenario17, which forecast an additional 50 to 120 millimetres of global sea-level rise by 2100 when compared to their central estimate

Temperature thresholds of ecosystem respiration at a global scale.

Ecosystem respiration is a major component of the global terrestrial carbon cycle and is strongly influenced by temperature. The global extent of the temperature-ecosystem respiration relationship, however, has not been fully explored. Here, we test linear and threshold models of ecosystem respiration across 210 globally distributed eddy covariance sites over an extensive temperature range. We find thresholds to the global temperature-ecosystem respiration relationship at high and low air temperatures and mid soil temperatures, which represent transitions in the temperature dependence and sensitivity of ecosystem respiration. Annual ecosystem respiration rates show a markedly reduced temperature dependence and sensitivity compared to half-hourly rates, and a single mid-temperature threshold for both air and soil temperature. Our study indicates a distinction in the influence of environmental factors, including temperature, on ecosystem respiration between latitudinal and climate gradients at short (half-hourly) and long (annual) timescales. Such climatological differences in the temperature sensitivity of ecosystem respiration have important consequences for the terrestrial net carbon sink under ongoing climate change

Addressing climate change with behavioral science: a global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions’ effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior—several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people’s initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors

Gender-neutral donor deferral policies: experience in Argentina implementing individual risk-assessment policies

Background: In Argentina, with the aim of moving to a safe supportive and inclusive National Blood System, in September 2015 the Ministry of Health stipulated that eligibility criteria for blood donation should only take into account the so-called 'risk practices', focusing on a 'gender-neutral' policy. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the impact of such regulation on the prevalence of STI in the population of blood donors in Argentina, through the analysis of the scientific evidence obtained from 174 074 donors from a large central region of the country, focused on a regional Blood Bank for a 6-year period (pre- and post-entry into force of the regulations). Materials and Methods: To analyse the evolution of prevalence rates of STI, two periods of 3 years each were evaluated: The first period (P1) lasted from 16 September 2012 to 15 September 2015 (prior to the entry into force of the law) and the second one (P2) from 16 September 2015 to 15 September 2018 (after the entry into force of the law). Results: A total of 82 838 subjects were enrolled in P1 and 91 236 in P2. The results show a significantly lower prevalence of HCV (P = 0·029), HBV (P = 0·028) and syphilis (P = 0·001) in P2, while no difference was observed for HIV infection (P = 0·60). Conclusion: This study evidenced that the implementation of a 'gender-neutral' policy based on individual risk-assessment deferral criteria maintained the safety of blood supply and decreased the prevalence of STI among blood donors.Fil: Blanco, Sebastian. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología Dr. J. M. Vanella; Argentina. Fundación Banco Central de Sangre; ArgentinaFil: Carrizo, Luis Horacio. Fundación Banco Central de Sangre; ArgentinaFil: Moyano, Rolando Walter. Fundación Banco Central de Sangre; ArgentinaFil: Mangeaud, Arnaldo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Gallego, Sandra Veronica. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología Dr. J. M. Vanella; Argentina. Fundación Banco Central de Sangre; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentin