Which competitive advantages can firms really obtain from ISO14001 certification?

Ten years after the introduction of ISO14001, in this paper we present empirical evidence about the competitive advantages that managers associate to this environmental practice, from a sample of industrial firms located in Spain. The results indicate that the potential competitive advantages are: improvement of the internal efficiency, differentiation advantages, attention to the stakeholders’ requirements, enhancement of the competitive position in the sector and financial savings. Nevertheless managers’ expectations of improving internal efficiency might be the real reason that encourages firms to make the voluntary decision of investing in ISO14001 certificationPeer Reviewe

A simplified model for bottom trawl fishing gears

Computational modeling is a valuable complementary tool to assess behavior of bottom trawl fishing gears. A simplified model of the gear that mainly affects to the net is proposed. The model is constrained to steady towing conditions, flat seabed and gear symmetry. Simulations proportionate a number of relevant outcomes like distribution of tensions at the warp, balance of forces at the otterboards or spread under different haul conditions such as depth or towing speed. In this paper we mainly focuss on the description and implementation of the model. Nevertheless, some preliminar comparison with experimental data is also shown

DISPAR: A tool to model bottom trawl fishing gears

Marine Technology Workshop (Martech05), 17-18 November 2005, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona.-- 1 pageBottom trawl fishing is a relevant extractive economic activity. However, the limitation of resources and the impact on the environment demand for a more rational exploitation in order to render the activity sustainable and productive in a near future. To this purpose it is important to understand and to analyze the behaviour of fishinggears. DISPAR is a collaboration project betweenthe UPC-CTVG and the CSIC aimed to movetowards this direction. [...]Peer Reviewe

Retirement Investing: A New Approach

This paper proposes a new approach to investing for retirement that takes advantage of recent market innovations and advances in finance theory to improve the risk/reward opportunities available to individual investors before and after retirement. The approach introduces three new elements: 1. It uses inflation-protected bonds to hedge a minimum standard of living after retirement; 2. It takes account of a person’s willingness to postpone retirement, and 3. It uses option “ladders” to lever growth in retirement income

Aprendre matemàtiques dissenyant

Matemàtiques per al disseny és una assignatura de l’EPSEVG (UPC). S’hi presenten els fonaments matemàtics del disseny industrial. Explicarem com hem incorporat la metodologia aprendre fent. A banda d’il·lustrar tots els conceptes amb objectes quotidians, basem l’aprenentatge en el treball per projectes. Això permet incorporar la creativitat dels estudiants i afavoreix la seva implicació. A més, hem usat les xarxes socials com a mitjà de comunicació.Postprint (published version

Psoriasis: from pathogenesis to pharmacological and nano-technological-based therapeutics

Research in the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases, such as skin dermatitis and psoriasis, has experienced some relevant breakthroughs in recent years. The understanding of age-related factors, gender, and genetic predisposition of these multifactorial diseases has been instrumental for the development of new pharmacological and technological treatment approaches. In this review, we discuss the molecular mechanisms behind the pathological features of psoriasis, also addressing the currently available treatments and novel therapies that are under clinical trials. Innovative therapies developed over the last 10 years have been researched. In this area, advantages of nanotechnological approaches to provide an effective drug concentration in the disease site are highlighted, together with microneedles as innovative candidates for drug delivery systems in psoriasis and other inflammatory chronic skin diseases.This research was funded by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT) and European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE), under the project reference UIDB/04469/2020 (strategic fund), co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020, granted to EBS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio