Auxiliary Companies of the Horticultural Sector as a Competitiveness Element: The Case of Almeria (Spain)

The horticultural model of Almeria (Spain) based on the operation of greenhouses is an international reference and has been considered as an economic miracle. Alongside this agricultural development has been the deployment of the diverse productive activity of auxiliary companies. The objective of this article is to understand how these companies operate and analyze their factors of competitiveness, competing needs, and future competitive improvements, taking as reference four of the most important subsectors (machinery, greenhouse infrastructure, plastics, and seeds). The Delphi method was used and through a panel of experts the conditioning factors of each of the variables to be analyzed (factors, needs, and competitiveness improvements) was chosen. Of the 120 companies that were sent questionnaires, 72 participated. The sectors that make up the auxiliary companies are heterogeneous and therefore the results obtained have differed among them. The synergies between the greenhouse crops and the auxiliary companies are an example of diversification of productive activity that can be extrapolated to other production areas worldwide. The future of the auxiliary companies is linked to that of the intensive agriculture and the key variables must be underscored by competitiveness and sustainability

Responsabilidad social de las empresas carboníferas: percepción de los pobladores del municipio Chiriguaná, Colombia

El propósito de la investigación, fue analizar la responsabilidad social de las empresas carboníferas según la percepción de los pobladores del municipio Chiriguaná, el Cesar, Colombia, utilizando el enfoque cualitativo combinando la tradición fenomenológica, entrevistas no estructuradas y revisión documental, derivando en la hermenéutica de los resultados, encontrando que en la percepción de los entrevistados las empresas están desvinculadas de la realidad de la población, así sus acciones de responsabilidad social no satisfacen las verdaderas necesidades existentes. Se concluye que las empresas deben realizar un diagnóstico exhaustivo de las necesidades de la población, en materia de responsabilidad social, y con base a ello implementar acciones que las satisfagan adecuadamente, mejorando la percepción que tienen los pobladores del municipio Chiriguaná sobre estas empresasThe purpose of the research was to analyze the social responsibility of the coal companies according to the perception of the inhabitants of the municipality of Chiriguaná, Cesar, Colombia, using the qualitative approach combining the phenomenological tradition, unstructured interviews and documentary review, deriving in the hermeneutics of the results, finding that in the perception of the interviewees the companies are disconnected from the reality of the population, thus their actions of social responsibility do not satisfy the real existing needs. It is concluded that companies must make a thorough diagnosis of the needs of the population, in terms of social responsibility, and based on this implement actions that adequately meet them, improving the perception that the inhabitants of the municipality Chiriguaná have about these companie

El cine: una alternativa de aprendizaje

The role of ICTs in the evolution of the teaching-learning process has been key to the paradigm of promoting student creativity and innovation in the classroom and the language used by professors. The literature has demonstrated that cinema is an effective tool to teach contents because it expands the perception, complexity, and contextual reality of students. Besides, it enables to improve their critical skills and their ability to connect theory and practice. This article examines cinema as an ally of students and professors due to its very nature: it has its own language to connect the senses, emotions, and values that compose a well-rounded education and promote a more active participation in the classroom. Based on a cross-disciplinary literature review, this study aims at proposing educational guidelines to evaluate the relevance of adopting an appropriate method with scientific rigor to use movies for academic purposes. From the standpoint of educational innovation, the objective is to adapt models that students and professors will embrace, thus avoiding an empirical use.La incursión de las TIC en la renovación de los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje ha sido clave en el paradigma de impulsar la creatividad e innovación de los estudiantes en el aula y el lenguaje utilizado por los docentes. La literatura ha demostrado que el cine es una herramienta eficaz en la enseñanza de contenidos, porque eleva los niveles de percepción, complejidad y realidad contextual del estudiante y permite una ampliación de su capacidad crítica y la habilidad de conexión entre la teoría y práctica. Este artículo examina al cine como un aliado para el estudiante y el docente, desde su naturaleza de tener un lenguaje propio para conectar los sentidos, lo mismo que las emociones y valores que hacen parte de un aprendizaje integral y generan una participación más activa en el aula. El objetivo de esta investigación, basada en un análisis documental interdisciplinar, es proponer una guía didáctica apoyada por la literatura, que valide la pertinencia de realizar una metodología con rigor científico y apropiada al usar películas en contenidos académicos y, desde la perspectiva de innovación educativa, adaptar modelos que trasciendan en los estudiantes y docentes para evitar su uso de manera empírica

A Look at the Past, Present and Future Research Trends of Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture

Technification in agriculture has resulted in the inclusion of more efficient companies that have evolved into a more complex sector focused on production and quality. Artificial intelligence, one of the relevant areas of technology, is transforming the agriculture sector by reducing the consumption and use of resources. This research uses a bibliometric methodology and a fractional counting method of clustering to analyze the scientific literature on the topic, reviewing 2629 related documents recorded on the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The study found significant results regarding the most relevant and prolific authors (Hoogenboom), supporting research organizations (National Natural Science Foundation of China) and countries (U.S., China, India, or Iran). The identification of leaders in this field gives researchers new possibilities for new lines of research based on previous studies. An in-depth examination of authors’ keywords identified different clusters and trends linking Artificial Intelligence and green economy, sustainable development, climate change, and the environment

Nonconventional Wastewater Treatment for the Degradation of Fuel Oxygenated (MTBE, ETBE, and TAME)

Catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) is a nonconventional wastewater treatment, consisting of oxygen pressure releasing inside a reactor in order to degrade organic compounds dissolved in water, using a solid catalyst in the presence of an activated O2 species, usually at temperatures ranges of 125–250°C and pressures of 10–50 bar. CWAO can reduce operating costs of conventional treatment due to the use of ideal catalyst that is able to improve reaction conditions at temperatures and pressures as mild as possible, simultaneously setting high catalytic activity and long-term stability of heterogeneous catalysts. Oxygenated fuels are gasoline additives in reformulated gasoline and oxyfuels. In the beginning, they provided an alternative solution of environmental problems, such as greenhouse gas emissions and octane enhancement, caused by fossil fuel use. The oxygenated fuels frequently used are methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE), and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME). However, there is environmental impact from oxygenated fuel hydrocarbons related to widespread contamination of groundwater and other natural waters. Our research group developed a wide study in order to evaluate several catalysts (Ru, Au, Cu, and Ag supported on Al2O3, Al2O3-CeO2, and TiO2-CeO2) and to obtain the best for the efficiency of the oxidation process