Actividades de ocio-tiempo libre y paseo fuera del hogar en ancianos de la provincia de Guadalajara

ObjetivoConocer cuáles son las actividades de ocio-tiempo libre y paseo diario en ancianos de la provincia de Guadalajara, en la hipótesis que éstas son susceptibles de mejorarse.DiseñoSe trata de un estudio descriptivo, transversal, de base poblacional.EmplazamientoEfectuado en el ámbito comunitario, en el marco de la atención primaria.ParticipantesPersonas mayores de 65 años, sin deterioro cognitivo y residentes en la comunidad, seleccionados de modo aleatorio a partir de bases de datos poblacionales. La muestra finalmente estudiada está compuesta en el medio rural por 192 varones y 196 mujeres. En el medio urbano por 172 varones y 220 mujeres.IntervencionesCada persona era entrevistada en su domicilio o en el centro de salud según sus preferencias mediante cuestionario, previamente sometido a estudio de estabilidad en las respuestas mediante coeficiente kappa test-retest. Efectuamos cribado de deterioro cognitivo mediante test de Pfeiffer.Resultados principalesCaminan menos de media hora al día en el medio rural un 43,6% (IC, 38,6-48,7) de los ancianos y el 34,4% (IC, 29,8-39,4) en el medio urbano. En el caso de los varones, un 24,7% (IC, 20,4-29,6) y en las mujeres el 51,4% (IC, 46,5-56,3). Las diferencias son significativas en ambos casos. No tienen aficiones en el medio rural un 12,1% (IC, 9,1-15,9) de los ancianos y el 9,4% (IC, 6,8-12,9) en el urbano. En el caso de los varones, un 11,3% (8,3-15,1) y el 10,1% (IC, 7,5-13,5) en las mujeres. No existen diferencias significativas.ConclusionesEs necesario fomentar las actividades de ocio-tiempo libre, pero sobre todo el paseo diario superior a media hora en las personas mayores de 65 años de la provincia de Guadalajara.ObjectiveTo find out what elderly people in the province of Guadalajara do in their leisure/free time and daily walking, in the supposition that these can be improved.DesignThis was a descriptive, crossover study based on a population-group.SettingAt community level, in the primary care context.ParticipantsPeople over 65 without cognitive deterioration and resident in the community, selected at random on the basis of population data bases. The sample finally studied was made up of 192 men and 196 women from the country-side, and 172 men and 220 women from an urban background.InterventionsEveryone was interviewed at home or the health centre according to their preferences through a questionnaire, which had undergone a stability study of the replies beforehand through the kappa test-retest coefficient. We screened cognitive deterioration through the Pfeiffer test.Main resultsIn the country, 43.6% of elderly people (CI: 38.6-48.7) walked under half an hour a day; in the urban context, 34.4% (CI: 29.8-39.4) did so. 24.7% of men (CI: 20.4-29.6) did so; and 51.4% of women (CI: 46.5-56.3). The differences were significant in the two cases. 12.1% (CI: 9.1-15.9) of elderly people in the country had no hobbies, and 9.4% (CI: 6.8-12.9) in the town. Among men and women, this broke down as 11.3% (CI: 8.3-15.1) and 10.1% (CI: 7.5-13.5), respectively. There were no significant differences.ConclusionsLeisure and free time activities among people over 65 in the province of Guadalajara must be fostered; but above all a daily walk for over half an hour must be encouraged

Optimising ‘cash flows’:Converting corporate finance to hard currency

Following recent works that have underlined the increasing search for liquidity in economic exchange, this article studies how illiquid forms of money are converted into liquid forms by corporate finance actors. In the name of ‘shareholder value’, the various forms of value generated by companies (such as ‘trade credit’) tend to be increasingly transformed into liquid forms of money that are easily distributable to shareholders (‘cash flows’). Describing this phenomenon as an example of what anthropologists of money call ‘conversion’, this paper highlights how such a conversion process was necessary for the historical development of ‘shareholder value’ policies in corporate finance. Considering documentary sources and interviews with consultants, auditors, and private equity fund managers involved in ‘cash flow’ optimisation practices, this paper details this conversion phenomenon and shows how it has relied on the historical elaboration of specific metrological, technical, legal, and moral norms

On the Ethics of Trade Credit: Understanding Good Payment Practice in the Supply Chain

In spite of its commercial importance and signs of clear concern in public policy arenas, trade credit has not been subjected to systematic, extended analysis in the business ethics literature, even where suppliers as a stakeholder group have been considered. This paper makes the case for serious consideration of the ethics of trade credit and explores the issues surrounding slow payment of debts. It discusses trade debt as a kind of promise, but— noting that not all promises are good ones—goes on to develop an analysis of the ethics of trade credit grounded in an understanding of its fundamental purpose. Making a distinction between ‘‘operating’’ trade credit and ‘‘financial’’ trade credit, the paper provides an account of the maximum period for which it is appropriate for one company to delay payment to another from which it has purchased goods or services. The concern of commentators and policy makers that companies should not take too long to pay their debts is affirmed, but the understanding of what timely payment means is significantly finessed, with one conclusion being that, if debts have not already been settled according to acceptable standard terms of trade, cash should pass quickly back along the supply chain once the customer in the final product market has paid. The analysis has implications not only for companies that take credit but also for external parties that seek to rate companies or set regulations according to speed of payment—an approach that is shown to be misleadingly simplistic, albeit well intentioned. A corresponding important responsibility for suppliers, not to extend excessive credit (and thus act as a quasi-bank), also follows from the analysis developed. Having provided a novel analysis of an important business problem, the paper then discusses some of the related practical issues and makes suggestions for further research

Towards the identification of a new taphonomic agent: An analysis of bone accumulations obtained from modern Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) nests

This paper presents the results of a study of bones recovered in various current Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) nests in a Mediterranean region of the Iberian Peninsula. The Egyptian vulture, a diurnal, scavenging, rupicolous bird of prey, is one of four vulture species that currently inhabit the Iberian Peninsula. An analysis of the remains found in the nests confirms that it has a heterogeneous diet that includes remains from human activities (butchery and food production) and the carcasses of dead animals, although it is possible that they also prey on small-sized taxa. The taphonomic study determines these birds" capability of transporting, accumulating and altering bone remains. Some of the elements show marks caused by beak and/or claw impacts brought about primarily during feeding, which have characteristic typologies. Despite the fact that this is not a bone-eating vulture, it can also be seen that some bones are swallowed. The characteristics of the bone set studied here are important for establishing the origin of bone accumulations on archaeological sites

FDI in hot labour markets: The implications of the war for talent

This paper highlights an inherent contradiction that exists within investment promotion activities in rich countries. Since the financial crisis, many inward investment agencies have shifted their activities from job creation per se to seeking to attract investment in high-tech activities. Such knowledge-intensive sectors are engaged in what has become referred to as “the war for talent”, so locations need to understand their value proposition to firms, especially where labour is tight. This paper explores the implications of this, in terms of the impact on employment and earnings of high skilled labour. We show that, because skill shortages already exist in many of these sectors, seeking to attract inward investment in these sectors simply causes the earnings of such workers to be bid up, and employment in the incumbent sector to fall. We highlight the over-riding importance that firms place on the availability of skilled labour when determining locations, and how policies which promote labour market flexibility, particularly through investment in skills to address skill shortages, can significantly mitigate the adverse effects, which tend to be more keenly felt in poorer regions of Europe where skilled labour is in even shorter supply

Non-target detection of the contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in sewage sludge

Trabajo presentado en la European Geosciences Union General Assembly (EGU), celebrado en Viena (Austria), del 8 al 13 de abril de 2018The human activity generate anthropogenic compounds that end up in the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In these plants, part of them could be retained in the sewage sludge. The study of the presence of contaminants in this sludge involve a great challenge due to its high organic matter content. This is the reason why this sample has not been as widely study as the influent and effluent water of the WWTP. However, in Spain, similarly to other European countries, the 80% of the sewage sludge is used as a fertilizer for the crops, being of great interest to know the different compounds present in them and asses the environmental risk of their utilization. The sludge samples are from 8 WWTPs next to the natural park of the Albufera in Valencia. Samples were extracted using a Methanol-McIlvaine Buffer (4.1) mixture and assisted by ultrasound, the supernatant was cleaned up by the solid phase extraction (SPE) using StrataTMX cartridges and then the analytes were eluted with methanol at gravity flow. Samples were analyzed using a suspected screening workflow with a liquid chromatography triple quadrupole time-of-flight (LC-QqTOF), providing high quality information about the different compounds present in the sludge. As overall results, 50 different compounds were identified with high degree of confidence. Pharmaceuticals were the most relevant group with 31 compounds identified. Furthermore, human metabolites were present all the samples, including, nucleotides (adenosine triphosphate), amino acids (phenylalanine) or peptides (leucine-phenylalanine). Other compounds were tentative identify by the accurate mass, but are pending of confirmation by the product ion mass spectrum. Further study is still needed to obtained more data about them. In conclusion, this method is suitable to identify emerging contaminants in sewage sludge, and the non-target techniques provide information of their potential environmental risk in the areas where they are utilizedThis work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through Eco2TOOL-DSS project (CGL2015-64454-C2-1-R, http://www.eco2tools.es). R. Álvarez also knowledge the same institutions for his FPI grant BES-2016-078612.Peer reviewe

The systemic governance influence of expectation documents: evidence from a universal owner

We examine expectation documents’ effectiveness as an activism tool. We use the release by the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund of a corporate governance expectation document as a natural experiment. We introduce a novel, three-way analytical decomposition of the firms, the fund, and their joint response to this document. Firms’ governance practices adapt to the fund’s new portfolio-wide governance preferences, with heterogeneous responses across ownership and firm characteristics. The fund’s investment policies also change, even at the expense of financial returns. Overall, our research demonstrates the potential effectiveness of expectation documents as an emerging low-cost activism tool for universal investors