Dynamic capacities and the influence on the innovative potential of urban hotels

The irruption in the theory of intangible assets, as one of the essential resources of the contemporary organization, places innovation management at the center of organizational strategies. Several approaches are used to study innovation from a business perspective; however, the Theory of Resources and Capacities gains strength to understand the organization. It specializes in knowledge management, the dynamics approach, and the capacity for innovation. That is why this article analyzes the state of development of dynamic capabilities in hotels in the city of the destination Havana and its effect on their innovative performance. For this, the emotional capacities are defined, and the indicators to be measured are established, taking into account the particularities of the accommodation activity. As a result, it is possible to determine the state of the dynamic capacities, and the influence of these on the innovative performance of the hotels studied is analyzed. As well as the viability of the Theory of Resources and Capacities to promote innovation in hotels

Value Modeling and Trade-Off Analysis of the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit

The Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS) is a powered, armored exoskeleton designed to enhance an operator’s survivability, lethality, and mobility. The suit is a SOCOM initiative using rapid acquisition practices with a functional prototype expected in 2018. Value modeling allows the TALOS design teams to rapidly perform design trade analysis while ensuring that the proposed system is in-line with the operator’s needs. A stochastic value model was built for the power subsystem through an analysis of the requirements to develop value hierarchies, swing-weight matrices, and value functions. An Excel based tool performed trade-off analysis to determine the best design solution. This tool accounts for uncertainty in raw data values to create distributions in the cost and value of each design alternative, which is critical for assessing risk. The model was expanded to other subsystems as well as the suit as a whole

Bobwhite Response to Cattle Grazing in South Texas

Range management practices to improve habitat for wildlife by reducing brush and increasing herbaceous plants, coupled with reduced stocking rates, can lead to dense stands of dominant grasses, such as four-flower trichloris (Trichloris pluriflora). This monoculture of trichloris creates dense vegetation unsuitable for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite), reduces plant species diversity, and alters ecosystem functions. The objectives of this study are to 1) evaluate the effects of a proper cattle grazing regime to improve bobwhite habitat and 2) develop a management guide documenting how cattle grazing can be used as a tool to reduce the density and cover of dominant grasses and thereby allow higher plant species richness. The study is taking place in Duval County, Texas, USA, between 2 pastures with a combined area of 2,500 ha. One pasture serves as the control (1,337 ha) while the other (1,109 ha) is grazed to maintain a stubble height of 30–40 cm. We placed 10 grazing exclosures and 10 25-m transects within each treatment to determine botanical composition and cover. Double sampling is conducted monthly to determine forage standing crop. Forage standing crop, plant species richness, total ground cover, and forage utilization will be estimated. We hypothesize that 1) the grazed pasture will contain more bobwhites than the nongrazed pasture, 2) plant species richness will be greater in the grazed pasture, and 3) grazing will reduce the cover of trichloris. In 2020, plant species richness varied among sampling periods and was recorded as 7.5 species/transect and 4.8 species/transect higher in the nongrazed control compared to the grazed pasture in June and August, respectively. After the end of the first year of grazing, however, there was no statistical difference in plant species richness between the 2 pastures, a result that does not coincide with our second hypothesis. Litter cover did not vary among sampling periods in the nongrazed pasture but changed in the grazed pasture. Litter cover was 9.4%, 14.3%, 14.6%, and 8.9% higher in the grazed pasture than in the nongrazed pasture in May, August, September, and December 2020, respectively. Bare ground cover changed throughout sampling periods in the nongrazed and grazed pastures. Bare ground cover was 22%, 18%, and 22% higher in the grazed pasture than in the nongrazed pasture in May, September, and December 2020, respectively. Trichloris cover did not change throughout the sampling period in the grazed pasture but varied in the nongrazed pasture. Trichloris cover was 31%, 20%, 37.5%, and 35.3% higher in the nongrazed pasture than in the grazed pasture in May, August, September, and December 2020, respectively; these results support our third hypothesis. We began the cattle grazing in May 2020 with a herd of 228 mother cows placed in the grazing treatment. After 109 days of grazing, the pasture reached the target stubble height and the herd was removed. In 2021 we began grazing in June with a herd of 337 stocker calves. Vegetation growth outpaced what the calves could eat, so we removed them after 56 days and added 300 bred cows. These mother cows grazed for another 96 days until the current utilization rate was met. We completed aerial surveys for both 2020 and 2021, and the results indicate that bobwhite density on the grazed pasture was about 80% higher in 2020 and 25% higher in 2021 compared to the nongrazed pasture. These findings are consistent with our first hypothesis. In theory, by reducing the trichloris cover and increasing bare ground, we are creating more usable space for bobwhites; consequently, we are recording more bobwhites in the grazed pasture. The results are preliminary, but our study has the potential to shed light on bobwhite responses to proper cattle grazing and in turn to inform decisions about managing bobwhite habitat across South Texas

Vegetation and Arthropod Responses to Brush Reduction by Grubbing and Stacking

Grubbing is a mechanical brush-reduction technique that allows targeting of mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and huisache (Vachellia farnesiana) and can be used to open lanes for hunting northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). Follow-up treatments of stacking allow the piling up of downed brush. We initiated this study on the Santa Gertrudis Division of the King Ranch, Inc., Texas, to determine effects of grubbing and stacking on vegetation and arthropod communities important to bobwhite. We hypothesized that grubbing and stacking would be able to selectively remove mesquite and huisache while leaving mixed brush species largely intact. We hypothesized that soil disturbance treatments would lead to improved brooding, feeding, and nesting habitat for bobwhite through an increase in herbaceous food plants, arthropods, and nesting cover. We sampled vegetation prior to treatment during July 2012 and posttreatment during November 2012, March 2013, and July 2013. We sampled arthropods before treatment in July 2012 and monthly posttreatment until July 2013, a year marked by extreme drought in South Texas. We detected a positive response of bobwhite food grasses and/or sedges 1 year after initial treatments but detected no treatment effect on bobwhite food forbs. We detected no effects of treatments on nesting cover. Grubbing and stacking did not affect total Insecta abundance; however, Insecta biomass and Arachnida abundance and biomass responded both positively and negatively to treatments. To better understand the effects of grubbing and stacking, replication of this study during years of average and above average precipitation should be conducted

2012-2013 Mostly Music: Debussy

https://spiral.lynn.edu/conservatory_mostlymusic/1016/thumbnail.jp

The impact of supportive nursing care on the needs of men with prostate cancer: a study across seven European countries

Background: prostate cancer is for many men a chronic disease with a long life expectancy after treatment. The impact of prostate cancer therapy on men has been well defined, however, explanation of the consequences of cancer treatment has not been modelled against the wider variables of long-term health-care provision. The aim of this study was to explore the parameters of unmet supportive care needs in men with prostate cancer in relation to the experience of nursing care. Methods: a survey was conducted among a volunteer sample of 1001 men with prostate cancer living in seven European countries. Results: at the time of the survey, 81% of the men had some unmet supportive care needs including psychological, sexual and health system and information needs. Logistic regression indicated that lack of post-treatment nursing care significantly predicted unmet need. Critically, men's contact with nurses and/or receipt of advice and support from nurses, for several different aspects of nursing care significantly had an impact on men's outcomes. Conclusion: Unmet need is related not only to disease and treatment factors but is also associated with the supportive care men received. Imperative to improving men's treatment outcomes is to also consider the access to nursing and the components of supportive care provided, especially after therapy

PINGS: the PPAK IFS Nearby Galaxies Survey

We present the PPAK Integral Field Spectroscopy (IFS) Nearby Galaxies Survey: PINGS, a 2-dimensional spectroscopic mosaicking of 17 nearby disk galaxies in the optical wavelength range. This project represents the first attempt to obtain continuous coverage spectra of the whole surface of a galaxy in the nearby universe. The final data set comprises more than 50000 individual spectra, covering in total an observed area of nearly 80 arcmin^2. In this paper we describe the main astrophysical issues to be addressed by the PINGS project, we present the galaxy sample and explain the observing strategy, the data reduction process and all uncertainties involved. Additionally, we give some scientific highlights extracted from the first analysis of the PINGS sample.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 26 pages, 14 figures (some in low resolution), 3 table