Entrepreneurial intention of engineering students: the role of social norms and entrepreneurial self-efficacy

This article belongs to the Special Issue Business, Management, Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Sustainable Development.This paper examines the impact of entrepreneurial education on intention to undertake entrepreneurial activity in the future. The study is based on a sample of 208 engineering students. Specifically, we explore the contingent effect of social norms on the relationship between entrepreneurial education and intention to undertake entrepreneurial activity, as well as the role ofsocial norms on the association between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention. We utilize a comprehensive questionnaire distributed among engineering students. Our findings indicate that entrepreneurial education is positively associated with the intention to undertake entrepreneurial activity, in addition to demonstrating a positive moderation effect role of social norms on the relationship between entrepreneurial self-effcacy and entrepreneurial intention. The study provides empirical support to devise new educational initiatives that can further support students and young entrepreneurs in their current or future entrepreneurial projects.This study has been partially supported by financial aid from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grant# ECO2015-67296-R, MINECO/FEDER) and from the Community of Madrid and European Social Fund (Grant# CM S2015/HUM-3417-INNCOMCON). The APC was founded by University Carlos III of Madrid

<e-Tutor> GE: <e-Tutor> Graphical Editor

En este proyecto de Sistemas Informáticos construimos una herramienta sencilla, que consiste en un editor gráfico para y facilita la creación de tutoriales sin necesidad de tener conocimientos de lenguajes de programación. El editor permite asociar una serie de figuras que, procesadas secuencialmente, generarán un tutorial socrático. Este tipo de tutoriales pueden ser utilizados en multitud de campos, no sólo el informático, siempre dentro de un marco educativo. El desarrollo de GE se apoya en diferentes tecnologías Eclipse, que permiten la construcción de una herramienta gráfica a partir de un modelo de datos. [ABSTRACT] In This Project we have built a simple tool which consists on a graphical editor for that makes it easier to create tutorials without any knowledge in programming languages. The editor permits authors to associate certain figures, that sequentially processed, will generate a socratic tutorial. This kind of tutorials can be used for various matters, not only computing, but always within an educational framework. The development of GE is supported by some Eclipse technologies, which allow building a graphical tool from a data model

Improving Knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals through a Collaborative Learning Methodology and Serious Game

The university is a key agent in the process of transformation towards sustainability within the framework of the 2030 Agenda. This study aims to analyze the usefulness of the collaborative learning methodology through a serious game (SG) in the university environment to increase the level of knowledge and the importance given to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by students. Through ex ante and ex post questionnaires, the degree of variation in the knowledge acquired and importance given to the SDGs was measured. To compare the midrange of these two samples and determine whether differences existed, we applied the Student and Wilcoxon t-tests. The results indicate that the methodology used produced an improvement in knowledge about the SDGs. Therefore, it is concluded that the university should promote this type of workshop and SG activities to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs, both in the Bachelor’s Degree in Primary Education and in degrees of other disciplines. Moreover, we have encouraged active learning of the SDGs through collaborative workshops using the design thinking method and an SG called “The Island”, which, based on certain economic, social and environmental information, puts students in a position to govern resources to meet the needs of its population.We are grateful for the financial support received from Campus Bizia Lab programm -19Peña project and Specialized Group of Educational Innovation Business Professionalism UPV/EHU - HBT ADITUAK 2019/20: 117, both supported by University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

Computational Analysis of the Influence of Dissolution-Diffusion and Specific Binding on Drug Transport in the Arterial Wall following Stent-based Delivery

A computational model of the transport of drugs eluted from a drug-eluting stent (DES) in the arterial wall is developed to study the influence of considering a non-linear model of dissolution-diffusion in the polymeric strut coating of the stent and a non-linear saturable reversible reaction model in the tissue to describe drug specific and non-specific binding

Microplastics in snow of a high mountain national park: El Teide, Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)

Human activities have introduced high amounts of microplastics (MPs) into the atmosphere that can be transported long distances and be later deposited in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems with precipitation (rain or snow). In this work, it has been assessed the presence of MPs in the snow of El Teide National Park (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, 2150–3200 m above sea level) after two storm episodes (January–February 2021). The data set (63 samples) was divided into three groups: i) samples from “accessible areas” (after the first storm episode and in places with a strong previous/recent anthropogenic activity); ii) “pristine areas” (after the second storm episode, in places with no previous anthropogenic activity), and iii) “climbing areas” (after the second storm episode, in places with a soft recent anthropogenic activity). Similar pattern profiles were observed among sampling sites in terms of morphology, colour and size (predominance of blue and black microfibers of 250–750 μm length), as well as in composition (predominance of cellulosic -either natural or semisynthetic-, with a 62.7 %, polyester, 20.9 %, and acrylic, 6.3 %, microfibers); however, significant differences in MPs concentrations were found between samples collected in pristine areas (average concentration of 51 ± 72 items/L) and those obtained in places with a previous anthropogenic activity (average concentration of 167 ± 104 and 188 ± 164 items/L in “accessible areas” and “climbing areas”, respectively). This study shows, for the first time, the presence of MPs in snow samples from a high altitude protected area on an insular territory and suggests that the sources of these contaminants could be atmospheric transport and local human outdoor activitie

Qualitative operational value at risk for an electric utility based on the guidelines of the basel committee

This paper presents a model for determining value at operational risk ?OpVaR? in electric utilities, with the aim to confirm the versatility of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) proposals. The model intends to open a new methodological approach in risk management, paying special attention to underlying operational sources of risk

Detección de riesgos operacionales en empresas del sector eléctrico aplicando las recomendaciones del comité de Basilea

Se aplican las recomendaciones del Comité para la Supervisión Bancaria de Basilea (CBSB) del Banco de Pagos Internacionales (BPI) para la detección de riesgos operacionales (RO) en empresas del sector eléctrico, con la finalidad de establecer su exposición a este tipo de riesgo financiero. Se muestra inicialmente cómo Venezuela puede tener fuentes de riesgos financieros que pueden impactar a niveles elevados en los mercados internacionales, lo cual se establece a partir de indicadores de las principales agencias calificadoras de riesgos. Seguidamente, se detecta en el sector eléctrico venezolano a la filial Corpoelec-EDELCA, como la empresa que se estima con mayor incidencia en los RO del Sistema Interconectado Nacional del país. Este hecho está fundamentado en que produce más del 60% de la energía eléctrica que consume esta nación, así como parte de Brasil y Colombia, además de poseer una amplia red de transmisión y distribución de energía eléctrica. Posteriormente, se realizan encuestas al personal de Corpoelec-EDELCA y se implementa el principio 80/20 de Pareto, hasta concluir que la Central Hidroeléctrica ‘Simón Bolívar’ (Planta Gurí) es la principal fuente de RO del sector eléctrico venezolano. Finalmente, se establecen algunas fuentes de RO en la referida empresa, a partir de datos históricos, con lo que se sientan las bases para estudios ad-hoc dentro de esa organización, con la finalidad de mitigar su incidencia en los sectores eléctrico, industrial y social venezolano

Modelo multicapa para el estudio de difusión de fármacos en arterias a través de dispositivos intravasculares

En el presente estudio se desarrolla un modelo num&eacute;rico multicapa basado en una geometr&iacute;a 2D axisim&eacute;trica para describir el transporte convectivodifusivo de f&aacute;rmacos en el flujo sangu&iacute;neo y a trav&eacute;s de la pared arterial

Recycled wastewater as a potential source of microplastics in irrigated soils from an arid-insular territory (Fuerteventura, Spain)

In this work, the occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in irrigation recycled wastewaters (RWWs) and a desalinated brackish water (DBW) from the arid territory of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain) was studied. Besides, the presence of MPs in two types of soils (sandy-loam and clay-loamy; with no mulch film or fertilization with sewage sludge applied) irrigated with both water qualities was addressed. Results showed the prevalence presence of cellulosic and polyester microfibers (between 84.4 and 100%) of blue and transparent colors (up to 55.6 and 33.3%, respectively), with an average length of 786.9 ± 812.1 μm in the water samples. DBW had the lowest MP concentration (2.0 ± 2.0 items·L−1) while RWW showed concentrations up to 40.0 ± 19.0 items·L−1. Similarities were also observed between the MPs types and sizes found in both soils top layer (0–5 cm), with an average concentration three times greater in soil irrigated with RWW than in soil under DBW irrigation (159 ± 338 vs. 46 ± 92 items·kg−1, respectively). In addition, no MPs were extracted from non-irrigated/non-cultivated soils, suggesting agricultural activities as the unique source of MPs in soils of this arid area. Results show that RWWs constitute a potential source of MPs in irrigated soils that should be considered among other pros and cons linked to the use of this water quality in agricultural arid land