Towards an appropriate comprehension of innovation sources in agrifood cooperatives

The existing typologies of innovation sources rely on classification criterions which are excessively generalist and developed under the consideration of private owned organisations. The present paper seeks to shed light on the special structural and operative features of agrifood cooperatives demanding a more comprehensive classification of innovation sources. A sample from the agrifood cooperative industry was selected as the scenario of the empirical research. Findings reveal a classification proposal of innovation sources into four differentiated groups (managers, technology, market and normative context) with regard to the management orientation of change (strategic vs. technical/legal) and the strength motivating the innovation (internal vs. external).Agrifood cooperatives, innovation sources, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q13.,

Effects of Learning from Distributors on Manufacturers’ Exploitation and Exploration Innovation Strategies in Food and Beverages Industry

The relevance of innovation as source of competitive advantage is clearly justified in the literature (Adner and Kapoor, 2010; Song and Thieme, 2009). In particular, knowledge, as well as all items related to organizational learning, represents a main factor contributing to the innovation success (i.e., Song and Parry, 1997). In this sense, different authors have emphasized the importance that external sources of knowledge possess for the development and success of the innovation capability (Li and Tang, 2010; Spithoven et al., 2010).The globalization of manufacturing companies is closely linked to the globalization of distribution activities (Mattsson, 2003). It can be said that globalization of retailers drives globalization of manufacturing companies. So the latter will be influenced by the supply conditions of the target markets, the possibilities to supply new markets, or the possible threat to be replaced by alternative suppliers (Ruiz, 2000, Etemad, 2004).At the same time, supply chains have progressively become more international and complex (Monczka and Trent, 2005), representing principal sources of competitive advantage in terms of availability of technological and organizational competencies and access to minor operative costs (Pagano, 2009). The international supply tends increasingly to be considered as a strategic tool chasing to take advantage of the previous advantages. Consequently, organizations should promote this critical organizational relational capability (Kotabe and Murray, 2004)

Advanced therapies for the treatment of hemophilia: future perspectives

Monogenic diseases are ideal candidates for treatment by the emerging advanced therapies, which are capable of correcting alterations in protein expression that result from genetic mutation. In hemophilia A and B such alterations affect the activity of coagulation factors VIII and IX, respectively, and are responsible for the development of the disease. Advanced therapies may involve the replacement of a deficient gene by a healthy gene so that it generates a certain functional,structural or transport protein (gene therapy); the incorporation of a full array of healthy genes and proteins through perfusion or transplantation of healthy cells (cell therapy); or tissue transplantation and formation of healthy organs (tissue engineering). For their part, induced pluripotent stem cells have recently been shown to also play a significant role in the fields of cell therapy and tissue engineering.Hemophilia is optimally suited for advanced therapies owing to the fact that, as a monogenic condition, it does not require very high expression levels of a coagulation factor to reach moderate disease status. As a result, significant progress has been possible with respect to these kinds of strategies, especially in the fields of gene therapy (by using viral and non-viral vectors) and cell therapy (by means of several types of target cells). Thus, although still considered a rare disorder, hemophilia is now recognized as a condition amenable to gene therapy, which can be administered in the form of lentiviral and adeno-associated vectors applied to adult stem cells, autologous fibroblasts, platelets and hematopoietic stem cells; by means of non-viral vectors; or through the repair of mutations by chimeric oligonucleotides. In hemophilia, cell therapy approaches have been based mainly on transplantation of healthy cells (adult stem cells or induced pluripotent cell-derived progenitor cells)in order to restore alterations in coagulation factor expression

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Therapeutic Applications in Monogenic and Metabolic Diseases, and Regulatory and Bioethical Considerations

Depto. de Genética, Fisiología y MicrobiologíaFac. de Ciencias BiológicasTRUEpu

Introducing Cooperative Learning through Multiple Intelligences in a Bilingual School

Uno de los objetivos básicos de este trabajo es resaltar la importancia del trabajo cooperativo y las inteligencias múltiples en el aula. El segundo objetivo es hacer una propuesta de adaptación al aprendizaje cooperativo a través del trabajo con inteligencias múltiples en una escuela bilingüe. En el trabajo se analizan los principios generales del aprendizaje bilingüe, del aprendizaje cooperativo y del uso de las inteligencias múltiples en el aula, y se introducen pequeñas modificaciones a la metodología habitual y teniendo en cuenta estas inteligencias múltiples que los alumnos poseen, para prepararles para la introducción del trabajo cooperativo prevista para el próximo curso.Grado en Educación Primari

Properties of Lipschitz quotient mappings on the plane

In the present work, we are concerned with the relation between the Lipschitz and co-Lipschitz constants of a mapping f : ℝ2 → ℝ2 and the cardinality of the inverse image of a point under the mapping f, depending on the norm on ℝ2. It is known that there is a scale of real numbers 0 < ... < Pn <…< P1 < 1 such that for any Lipschitz quotient mapping from the Euclidean plane to itself, if the ratio between the co-Lipschitz and Lipschitz constants of f is bigger than Pn, then the cardinality of any fibre of f is less than or equal to n. Furthermore, it is proven that for the Euclidean case the values of this scale are Pn = 1/n + 1) for each n ∈ ℕ and that these are sharp. A natural question is: given a normed space (ℝ2 , II · II) whether it is possible to find the values of the scale 0 pn II · II implies #f- 1 (x) ≤ n for all x ∈ ℝ2. In this work we prove that the same "Euclidean scale", Pn = 1/(n+1), works for any norm on the plane. Here we follow the general idea in a previous paper by Maleva but verify details carefully. On the other hand, the question whether this scale is sharp leads to different conclusions. We show that for some non-Euclidean norms the "Euclidean scale" is not sharp, but there are also non-Euclidean norms for which a Lipschitz quotient exists satisfying max# f - 1(x) = 2 and c/L = 1/2

Percepción de conductas comunicativas racistas: un estudio con estudiantes de ELE de un Aula de Enlace

There are more minors arriving in Spain without any knowledge of the language than we are used to considering, and they form a special paradigm in the world of ELE. As they are of compulsory school age, the regional governments have proposed some initiatives for the incorporation and inclusion of these students, as is the case of the Aulas de Enlace in Madrid. The odyssey for many of these children begins at this point when they have to learn the language at an accelerated pace in order to join a new educational system and fight for their future. With all of the above, an even greater difficulty arises: racist discrimination. Racist communicative behaviours are part of our collective consciousness and are materialised through discourse and non-verbal communication (Van Dijk, 2010). A research study was designed to find out whether there are differences in the perception of racist communicative behaviours between a group of Spanish learners in an Aula de Enlace and a group of Spanish students from the same school and of the same age, in view of impolite euphemisms, pragmatic traits and non-verbal communication. For this purpose, two parallel questionnaires have been created which pose different types of situations and questions to ascertain the students' opinions. Thus, it should be borne in mind that the data obtained are not the result of a real and studied corpus of the language but of the perception of the informants, underlining the revalorising capacity of a language on its non-discriminatory use in the field of ethnic and cultural difference.Los menores de edad que llegan a España sin tener nociones de la lengua son más de los que acostumbramos a considerar y conforman un paradigma especial en el mundo de ELE. Al estar en edad educativa obligatoria, los gobiernos autonómicos han propuesto algunas iniciativas para la incorporación e inclusión de estos alumnos, como es el caso de las Aulas de Enlace en Madrid. La odisea para muchos de estos menores empieza en este punto en el que tienen que aprender el idioma a un ritmo acelerado para incorporarse a un sistema educativo nuevo y luchar por su futuro. Con todo lo anterior, aparece una dificultad aún mayor: la discriminación racista. Y es que las conductas comunicativas racistas forman parte de nuestra conciencia colectiva y se materializan mediante el discurso y la comunicación no verbal (Van Dijk, 2010). Se ha diseñado una investigación para conocer si existen diferencias en la percepción de los comportamientos comunicativos racistas entre un grupo de aprendientes de español de un Aula de Enlace y un grupo de estudiantes españoles del mismo centro y la misma edad, atendiendo a los eufemismos descorteses, rasgos pragmáticos y comunicación no verbal. Para ello, se han creado dos cuestionarios paralelos que plantean distintos tipos de situaciones y cuestiones para conocer la opinión de los alumnos. Así, debe tenerse en cuenta que los datos obtenidos no son fruto de un corpus real y estudiado de la lengua sino de la percepción de los informantes, subrayando la capacidad revalorizadora de una lengua sobre su uso no discriminador en el ámbito de la diferencia étnica y cultural

Topographical Organization of the Pedunculopontine Nucleus

Neurons in the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) exhibit a wide heterogeneity in terms of their neurochemical nature, their discharge properties, and their connectivity. Such characteristics are reflected in their functional properties and the behaviors in which they are involved, ranging from motor to cognitive functions, and the regulation of brain states. A clue to understand this functional versatility arises from the internal organization of the PPN. Thus, two main areas of the PPN have been described, the rostral and the caudal, which display remarkable differences in terms of the distribution of neurons with similar phenotype and the projections that originate from them. Here we review these differences with the premise that in order to understand the function of the PPN it is necessary to understand its intricate connectivity. We support the case that the PPN should not be considered as a homogeneous structure and conclude that the differences between rostral and caudal PPN, along with their intrinsic connectivity, may underlie the basis of its complexity

Aplicación de una guía metodológica matemática para la clasificación que afiance el concepto de número en la ludoteca de la carrera de Parvularia de la universidad técnica de Cotopaxi en el sector Eloy Alfaro, del cantón Latacunga de la provincia de Cotopaxi durante el período 2011-2012.

The application of the methodological guide for the mathematical classification that will underpin the concept of number in the play of the career for kinder garden of the Technical University of Cotopaxi plays a very important role in the integral development of the infants thus depend on that form individuals who are able to overcome and cope with security in the environment that surrounds them. The methodological guide will provide a mathematical aid both the teachers, toddlers and students of the career for kinder garden by transmitting the knowledge as well in a clear and accurate manner. Where boys and girls will have an idea of what that number means learning both its form and its symbology. Promoting the understanding and appreciation of early is what he wants to call number and inwhat ways we can classify them with the objects according to their color, shape, size, etc. towhich it is believed useful and relevant to do the research in the daily life of education. Thepresent work aims at the implementation of the methodological mathematical guide for themathematical classification that will underpin the concept of number in the play of the careerfor kindergarten of the Technical University of Cotopaxi in the sector Eloy Alfaro, Latacungacity of Cotopaxi province during the period 2011-2012. To achieve a meaningful and lastinglearning within the teaching-learning process.La aplicación de la guía metodológica matemática para la clasificación que afiance el concepto de número en la Ludoteca de la carrera de Educación Parvularia de la Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi juega un papel muy importante en el desarrollo integral de los infantes por ello dependen que se formen individuos que estén en capacidad de superarse y desenvolverse con seguridad en el medio que le rodea. La guía metodológica matemática brindó una ayuda tanto a maestros/as, párvulos y estudiantes de la Carrera de Educación Parvularia transmitiendo los conocimientos de una manera clara y precisa. Donde los niños y las niñas reconocieron una idea de lo que quiere decir número aprendiendo tanto su forma y su simbología. Fomentando el entendimiento y la apreciación temprana de lo quiere decir número y de qué maneras podemos clasificarlos con los objetos según su color, forma, tamaño, etc. Para lo cual se cree útil y relevante realizar esta investigación en la vida cotidiana de la educación. El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo la aplicación de la guía metodológica matemática alcanzando un aprendizaje significativo y duradero dentro del proceso enseñanza aprendizaje. La Guía Metodológica Matemática presentó la visión de una población que sabe utilizar los conocimientos matemáticos, donde se comprende el conjunto de aprendizajes que se espera brindar a los infantes en los cuatro periodos escolares para conducirlos a altos niveles de alfabetización matemática. Se organizó en: 1. Sentido numérico y pensamiento algebraico. Forma, espacio y medida. 3. Manejo de la información. Actitud hacia el estudio de las matemáticas. Su progresión se entendió como: Transitar del lenguaje cotidiano a un lenguaje matemático para explicar los procedimientos y resultados que nos ayudaron. Ampliar y profundizar los conocimientos, de manera que se favoreció la comprensión y el uso eficiente de las herramientas matemáticas