TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY IN THE RETAIL FOOD INDUSTRY: THE INFLUENCE OF INVENTORY INVESTMENT, WAGE LEVELS, AND AGE OF THE FIRM

The objective of this paper is to estimate technical efficiency in retailing; and the influence of inventory investment, wage levels, and firm age on this efficiency. We use the output supermarket chains¿ sales volume, calculated isolating the retailer price effect on its sales revenue. This output allows us to estimate a strictly technical concept of efficiency. The methodology is based on the estimation of a stochastic parametric function. The empirical analyses applied to panel data on a sample of 42 supermarket chains between 2000 and 2002 show that inventory investment and wage level have an impact on technical efficiency. In comparison, the effect of these factors on efficiency calculated through a monetary output (sales revenue) shows some differences that could be due to aspects related to product prices. El objetivo de este trabajo se centra en la estimación de la eficiencia técnica en distribución comercial minorista, así como en analizar la influencia que la inversión en existencias, el nivel de salarios y la edad de la empresa tienen sobre dicha eficiencia. A tal efecto, se utiliza un output que pretende aislar el efecto de los precios de cada cadena de supermercados analizada, lo que permite estimar un concepto de eficiencia estrictamente técnico. La metodología se basa en la estimación de una frontera paramétrica de naturaleza estocástica. Los resultados de la aplicación empírica sobre una muestra de 42 cadenas de supermercados que operan en España entre 2000 y 2002 muestran que la inversión en existencias y el nivel de salarios ejercen una influencia positiva sobre la eficiencia. Por comparación, el efecto de estos factores sobre la eficiencia económica muestra algunas diferencias que podrían ser atribuidas al efecto de los precios aplicados por los distribuidores.Eficiencia, distribución comercial minorista, supermercados efficiency, retailing, supermarkets.

SPANISH COMPANY FOREIGN MARKET ENTRY

The aim of this paper is to analyse the determinants of diversification mode (acquisition versus greenfield) through foreign direct investment considering various theories, such as those of mergers and acquisitions, transaction costs, the learning organisation, the institutional context of the company and the cultural environment of the host country, and to analyse the determinants of entry mode combining diversification mode with ownership structure decision (greenfield wholly-owned subsidiaries, greenfield joint ventures, full acquisition and partial acquisition) and proposing various research hypotheses. The methodology used estimates various binomial and multinomial logit models, over a sample of 141 Spanish manufacturing companies between 1998 and 2000, finding that entry mode into a foreign country through direct investment is mainly explained by related diversification, international and local experience, advertising intensity, cultural distance, company size and ownership structure. El propósito de este trabajo consiste en analizar, por un lado, los determinantesdel modo de diversificación (adquisición versus desarrollo interno) de la inversióndirecta en el exterior considerando diversas aproximaciones teóricas, como las defusiones y adquisiciones, costes de transacción, del aprendizaje organizativo, así comodel contexto institucional de la empresa y del entorno cultural del país receptor. Por otrolado, se examinan los determinantes de la inversión directa exterior combinando elmodo de diversificación con la estructura de la propiedad empresarial (adquisición total,adquisición parcial, filial de plena propiedad y filial de propiedad compartida)proponiendo diversas hipótesis de investigación. La metodología aplicada estimadiversos modelos logit, binomial y multinomial, sobre 141 empresas españolasmanufactureras entre 1998 y 2000, detectando que el modo de entrada medianteinversión directa exterior viene explicada por la diversificación relacionada, laexperiencia internacional y local de la empresa, la intensidad publicitaria, la distanciacultural, así como por el tamaño y estructura de la propiedad de la empresa.marketing internacional, modo de entrada, inversión directa en el exterior, joint-venture, adquisición. international marketing, entry mode, foreign direct investment, jointventure, acquisition

Global-referenced navigation grids for off-road vehicles and environments

[EN] The presence of automation and information technology in agricultural environments seems no longer questionable; smart spraying, variable rate fertilizing, or automatic guidance are becoming usual management tools in modern farms. Yet, such techniques are still in their nascence and offer a lively hotbed for innovation. In particular, significant research efforts are being directed toward vehicle navigation and awareness in off-road environments. However, the majority of solutions being developed are based on occupancy grids referenced with odometry and dead-reckoning, or alternatively based on GPS waypoint following, but never based on both. Yet, navigation in off-road environments highly benefits from both approaches: perception data effectively condensed in regular grids, and global references for every cell of the grid. This research proposes a framework to build globally referenced navigation grids by combining three-dimensional stereo vision with satellite-based global positioning. The construction process entails the in-field recording of perceptual information plus the geodetic coordinates of the vehicle at every image acquisition position, in addition to other basic data as velocity, heading, or GPS quality indices. The creation of local grids occurs in real time right after the stereo images have been captured by the vehicle in the field, but the final assembly of universal grids takes place after finishing the acquisition phase. Vehicle-fixed individual grids are then superposed onto the global grid, transferring original perception data to universal cells expressed in Local Tangent Plane coordinates. Global referencing allows the discontinuous appendage of data to succeed in the completion and updating of navigation grids along the time over multiple mapping sessions. This methodology was validated in a commercial vineyard, where several universal grids of the crops were generated. Vine rows were correctly reconstructed, although some difficulties appeared around the headland turns as a consequence of unreliable heading estimations. Navigation information conveyed through globally referenced regular grids turned out to be a powerful tool for upcoming practical implementations within agricultural robotics. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The author would like to thank Juan Jose Pena Suarez and Montano Perez Teruel for their assistance in the preparation of the prototype vehicle, Veronica Saiz Rubio for her help during most of the field experiments, Ratul Banerjee for his contribution in the development of software, and Luis Gil-Orozco Esteve for granting permission to perform multiple tests in the vineyards of his winery Finca Ardal. Gratitude is also extended to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for funding this research through project AGL2009-11731.Rovira Más, F. (2011). Global-referenced navigation grids for off-road vehicles and environments. Robotics and Autonomous Systems. 60(2):278-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2011.11.007S27828760

Los frentes fluviales de París y Londres en la pintura del siglo XIX

Así como París y Londres se miran en sus ríos los artistas escogen éstos como observatorios privilegiados para mejor captar el paisaje y con su especial sensibilidad nos ayudan a comprender el proceso decimonónico de cambio y de modernización de los frentes urbano-fluviales y el papel del Sena y del Támesis como ejes estructurantes

Modelo para el desarrollo de un sistema de inteligencia organizacional en la delegación del Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente en Holguín

An organizational intelligence management model adapted to the characteristics of the Delegation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment in Holguín is founded and proposed in order to contribute to the continuous improvement of its management, and to the promotion of its informational culture. The components of this model are individuals and groups, the processes in which they participate, the methods and means they make use of to carry out the processes and to relate among themselves, as well as their own interpersonal and intergroup relations within the Delegation, and the interorganizational relations. These components are revitalized according to the functioning principles, which contemplate learning capacity, and the promotion and development of the shared values. The importance of the spaces for the creation of capacities, the methods and means used to this end, and the relations established are stressed. The integral approach of innovation is assessed. The contextualized model is implemented through the phases of the expanded information cycle. There are no antecedents in the country about the design of an organizational intelligence development model, neither of its application adapted to the characteristics of a provincial delegation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment. Their development fully responds to the national policies and guidelines of science, technology and environment management, and even to a more extensive context of the Cuban organizations

Analysis of the financial statements of the ceramic industry

Treball Final de Grau en Finances i Comptabilitat. Codi: FC1049. Curs: 2014/2015This dissertation consists of a study on the Spanish ceramic sector, a study in which the ceramic industry is analyzed from different perspectives. First of all, the ceramic industry in the global market is examined in order to obtain the position Spain ranks compared to other countries; second, this thesis focuses on the national level and, next, the subsectors that make up this industry are examined: the subsector of glaze and that of ceramic tiles. At this point, the focus of this study changes from observing both subsectors as somewhat complementary to obtaining a competitive vision between both of them, carrying out a comparative study of the composition of their annual accounts, profitability and liquidity in order to discover which is the most beneficial subsector, and, therefore, which is the one that contributes to a greater extent to the favorable position of the Spanish ceramic sector in the global market

La pesca artesanal en el Mar Menor

En número dedicado a: Murci

Mejorando la comprensión de termoquímica de profesores de física y química en formación a través de la implementación de una secuencia de enseñanza

El objetivo de este trabajo trata de mostrar como la implementación de una propuesta innovadora de Termoquímica en una clase de futuros profesores de Física y Química, mejora sus conocimientos de la materia. Esta innovación estaba basada en el modelo de aprendizaje como investigación orientada que, en forma de secuencia de enseñanza, se aplicó durante 12 clases de 2 horas a grupos de estudiantes matriculados en 2004-2005 y 2005-2006, en la asignatura universitaria de Didáctica de las Ciencias. Para evaluar la eficacia del tratamiento didáctico, se elaboró un diseño pretest-postest que se aplicó para ver si se habían reducido los errores conceptuales del pretest y si había mejorado su conocimiento termoquímico teniendo en cuenta la máxima mejora posible. Los resultados confirmaron que se había favorecido el aprendizaje de los futuros profesores

Authority, Sexual Maturity, Homosexuality, ‘Canes’, ‘Cudgels’, ‘Swords’ and ‘Staffs’ in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s «My Kinsman, Major Molineux»

In this paper I endeavour to revise the psychological approach employed by many literary critics to analyse Nathaniel Hawthorne ’s short story “My Kinsman, Major Molineux ”. I pay special attention to the relevance of the symbolism of the names of the tools and weapons which the different characters of the story brandish to emphasise their sense of authority, sexual maturity and adulthood in public. The images of these weapons and tools appear to represent Freudian phallic symbols, a fact that contributes to reaffirming the validity of the psychological approach for this story. This present study concentrates on the relationship between the theme of authority and the theme of adulthood, as well as on the analysis of the psychological evolution that the protagonist, Robin, goes through in order to achieve what both Hawthorne and the very protagonist believe sexual maturity and adulthood consist of. I also speculate on the possibility that, consciously or unconsciously, Hawthorne could have had the idea of ridiculing the image of the uncle figure in “My Kinsman, Major Molineux ”. Some biographers and critics have said that Hawthorne went through the humiliation of being sexually abused by his uncle Robert Manning when he was a young boy. Hawthorne could have used this short story to take his personal revenge. En este artículo se pretende hacer una revisión del enfoque psicológico utilizado por muchos críticos para analizar el cuento “My Kinsman, Major Molineux ” de Nathaniel Hawthorne. Se presta especial atención a la importancia del simbolismo de los nombres de las herramientas y armas que empuñan los distintos personajes del cuento para reafirmar públicamente su sentido de autoridad, su madurez sexual y su condición de adulto. Las imágenes que parecen transmitir tales armas y herramientas representan símbolos fálicos, un hecho que contribuye a confirmar la validez del enfoque psicológico para este cuento. El presente estudio se centra en las relaciones existentes entre el tema de la autoridad y el tema de la madurez, así como en el análisis de la evolución que su protagonista, Robin, sufre hasta alcanzar lo que tanto para Hawthorne como para el mismo protagonista constituye la madurez sexual y cronológica. Asimismo se contempla la posibilidad de que a nivel consciente o inconsciente Hawthorne pudiera haber tenido la intención de ridiculizar la figura del tío en “My Kinsman, Major Molineux ”. Algún biógrafo y crítico ha afirmado que el joven Hawthorne llegó a sufrir la humillación de sufrir abusos sexuales por parte de su tío carnal Robert Manning y que podría haber hecho uso de este cuento para vengarse de la afrenta