Closing the gap between business undergraduate education and the organisational environment: A Chilean case study applying experiential learning theory

In response to the continuous changes in Latin American higher education and the increasing demands for better prepared professionals, the Learning Connected to the Organisational Environment method was introduced in the course of Marketing at one public University in Chile. This was aimed as an integrated approach to education, providing pedagogical and social value by connecting organisations and real challenges with the learning objectives. This paper describes its design, implementation and initial impact on students’ learning process. Results on the impact of the LCOE method show that students valued learning with this new initiative (n = 158) and showed higher performance and improved quality of their written reports, along with higher evaluations of the teaching staff compared to students in the same course learning with traditional methods (n = 158). Discussion is centred on the value of this initiative and on suggestions for transference and future research

The Determinants of Corporate Risk in Emerging Markets: An Option-Adjusted Spread Analysis

This study explores the determinants of corporate bond spreads in emerging market economies. Using a largely unexploited dataset, the paper finds that corporate bond spreads are determined by firm-specific variables, bond characteristics, macroeconomic conditions, sovereign risk, and global factors. A variance decomposition analysis shows that firm-level characteristics account for the larger share of the variance. In addition, the paper finds two asymmetries. The first is in line the sovereign ceiling “lite” hypothesis which states that the transfer of risk from the sovereign to the private sector is less than 1 to 1. The second is consistent with the popular notion that panics are common in emerging markets where investors are less informed and more prone to herding.

Giant magnetoimpedance in Vitrovac amorphous ribbons over [0.3-400 MHz] frequency range

Giant magneto impedance (GMI) effect for as-cast Vitrovac$^{\textrm{\scriptsize\textregistered}}$ amorphous ribbons (Vacuumschmelze, Germany) in two configurations (parallel and normal to the ribbon axis) is studied over the frequency range [0.3-400 MHz] and under static magnetic fields -160 Oe $< H_{dc} <$+160 Oe. A variety of peak features and GMI ratio values, falling within a small field range, are observed and discussed.Comment: Paper submitted to International Conference on Magnetism 2003 (ICM Rome 2003

Bosonized supersymmetry from the Majorana-Dirac-Staunton theory and massive higher-spin fields

We propose a (3+1)D linear set of covariant vector equations, which unify the spin 0 ``new Dirac equation'' with its spin 1/2 counterpart, proposed by Staunton. Our equations describe a spin (0,1/2) supermultiplet with different numbers of degrees of freedom in the bosonic and fermionic sectors. The translation-invariant spin deegres of freedom are carried by two copies of the Heisenberg algebra. This allows us to realize space-time supersymmetry in a bosonized form. The grading structure is provided by an internal reflection operator. Then the construction is generalized by means of the Majorana equation to a supersymmetric theory of massive higher-spin particles. The resulting theory is characterized by a nonlinear symmetry superalgebra, that, in the large-spin limit, reduces to the super-Poincare algebra with or without tensorial central charge.Comment: 21 pages; refs added, version accepted for publication in Physical Review

Metal-to-glass ratio and the Magneto-Impedance of glass-covered CoFeBSi microwires at high frequencies

High frequency [1-500 MHz] measurements of the Magneto-Impedance (MI) of glass-covered Co$_{69.4}$Fe$_{3.7}$B$_{15.9}$Si$_{11}$ microwires are carried out with various metal-to-wire diameter ratios. A twin-peak, anhysteretic behaviour is observed as a function of magnetic field. A maximum in $\Delta Z/Z$ appears at different values of the frequency $f$, 125, 140 and 85 MHz with the corresponding diameter ratio $p$ = 0.80, 0.55 and 0.32. We describe the measurement technique and interpret our results with a thermodynamic model that leads to a clearer view of the effects of $p$ on the maximum value of MI and the anisotropy field.Comment: 5 pages and 6 figure