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Corporate entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial orientation: The impact on managing capabilities for innovation
No full textIn last decades, Corporate Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Orientation have been considered as important sources of sustainable competitive advantages and economic growth. Most empirical studies show a high relationship between both concepts, and have attracted an increasing attention in the field of strategic management and entrepreneurship. This study is the preliminary conceptual research result of doctoral dissertation, toward developing the needed theoretical base in single case study design in a Colombian company of the automotive sector. The objective of this article is to analyze the relationships between two constructs and the impact on managing capabilities for innovation. Findings reveal the importance of institutional factors (strategy, structure and culture) in relation to entrepreneurial orientation (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking) as key elements that foster the ability to capture opportunities in entrepreneurial firms. Finally, results contribute to develop the existing literature and provide new insights to managers who make decisions to promote entrepreneurship within organizations. © 2018 Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering and Technology, Inc. (PICMET)
Evaluation and prioritization model of green projects according to supply and demand of resources, an integration between systems dynamics and participatory modeling [Modelo de evaluación y priorización de proyectos verdes según oferta y demanda de recursos, una integración entre la dinámica de sistemas y el modelado participativo]
No full textThis research framed in the context of the post-conflict in Colombia, presents a model of systems dynamics for decision-making in the evaluation and prioritization of green projects, based on the dynamics of variables such as the supply and demand of natural water resources and of the soil and likewise, with the participation of the inhabitants through the methodology of participatory modeling. The results obtained through this model of sustainable development show that it is not only possible to control the natural resources of water and soil by creating an alert called reserve margin, but also it is possible to maximize investments in social, environmental or economic projects, previously prioritized through the 'citizen factor', so that they certainly respond to the needs or expectations of the community involved. © 2020 AISTI
Representational distance between expert narration and local accounts: A reflection on the politics of evidence in the field of memory in Colombia [Distância representacional entre a narrativa especializada e os relatos locais: Uma reflexão sobre as políticas da evidência no campo da memória na Colômbia] [Distancia representacional entre la narración experta y los relatos locales: Una reflexión sobre las políticas de la evidencia en el campo de la memoria en Colombia]
No full textThe paper analyzes the epistemological limits of the narration resulting from the specialized work on memory. It is based, on the one hand, on fieldwork carried out in the stilt villages of Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (Colombia) between 2017 and 2018. The focus of the fieldwork was the local reception of the National Centre for Historical Memory (CNMH) report, published in 2014, on the paramilitary massacres that had occurred in that area. And, on the other, on the research team’s participation in the writing of the CNMH report on anti-personnel mines in 2017. The strength of the text, a dialectical exercise between the anthropology of violence and the hermeneutical phenomenology, rests on it being a self-critical piece of work written from within the expert system. We propose the existence of a necessary representational distance (not contingent) between the account as a form of local expression and its translation into a narration that is projected outside the context in which local stories are produced. The article concludes that, beyond the very experience of violence represented in such accounts, it is the logic of the expert system that draws the contours of the politics of evidence in the field of memory. © 2020, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota Colombia. All rights reserved
Perspectivism and identity: Literature, interpretation and appropriation of personal identity [Perspectivismo e identidad: Literatura, interpretación y apropiación de la identidad personal]
No full textThe two questions this paper deals with an approach to Nietzsche's texts. The first one is:how can be read the Nietzsche's sentence that there are no facts, only interpretations? And the second one is: what can be proposed instead of the subject to think personal identity? This approach is divided in four parts, each one answering a question and taking into account the conflict of interpretation and the ubiquity of language; the consequences of perspectivism for personal identity; the construction of identity as a half-way process between discovering and creating; and the aesthetical proposal of personal identity as an ethic option different to traditional morals. © 2018 Universidad de Murcia Servicio de Publicaciones. All rights reserved
Assessment of low-cost cartridge filters for implementation in household drinking water treatment systems
No full textIn regions where houses are sparsely located, traditional centralized water treatment plants are not economically feasible, with household water treatment (HWT) systems commonly used to provide potable water for a range of household activities. Filtration prior to disinfection is essential, and due to their ease of use and small footprint, cartridge filters are commonly employed. In this work, readily available commercial filter types (spun, wound and pleated) of different micron ratings (10, 5 and 1) were tested for the removal of turbidity either alone or in series via simulated large volume pilot trials. Water with an initial turbidity of 40 ± 10 NTU was prepared using fine test dust (ISO 12103-1, A2) with the turbidity removal efficiency, pressure drop, total capacity and lifespan of the filters evaluated. To increase useable filter lifetime upon reaching the 1 bar pressure limit, a series of washing steps were employed to regenerate the filters. Whilst pleated filters could be efficiently cleaned, spun and wound filters could not, and were discarded after single use. In pilot trials, the volume of turbid water filtered varied from 0.85 m3 with a 1 micron wound filter to 6 m3, with 5 and 1 micron pleated filters in series, which following regeneration could be used for three filtration cycles. For pleated filters, turbidity removal efficiency improved over time as a cake built up resulting in the effluent turbidity reaching acceptable quality (<5 NTU). This criterion continued to be achieved with repeated cycles of washed pleated filters, thereby significantly reducing the cost and improving sustainability of the HWT system. Field trials were carried out with a similar HWT system (5 and 1 micron spun filters) installed in households of rural communities in Curiti, Colombia. Turbidity was effectively removed from natural water (reduction to <1.2 NTU) with improved efficacy in comparison to synthetic water samples due to the large particle size distribution observed in the natural water. © 2020 Elsevier Lt
Demolition and construction waste characterization for potential reuse identification [Caracterización de residuos de demolición y construcción para la identificación de su potencial de reúso]
No full textConstruction and demolition waste (CDW) have become a constant problem due to its volume of production and the lack of space for its final disposal. Several management strategies have been proposed to solve this problem as the reduction in the source of generation or the reuse as raw material. Nonetheless, for many cases this process is not consistent because CDW nature and its properties are not considered as an important variable in the identification of its possible reutilization. For this paper, an example of the potential reuse identification with regards to construction and demolition waste of Medellin city is presented. For this purpose, the physical, mineralogical and energetic properties were determined, as well as the specific amount of production. The results showed that the greatest potential reuse for CDW is associated to excavation waste and block masonry. Furthermore, based on the latter, a reuse model consisting in a soil-cement plate with 95% CDW was established. © The author; licensee Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Hydrogenic Impurity States in a Delta-Layer Within Quantum Wells in a Transversal Electric Field
No full textThe effect of a transversal electric field on the impurity binding energy and the energy differences between the space-quantized subbands of center delta-doped SiGe/Si quantum well structure is studied numerically with a self-consistent method. The result is explained in terms of the concurrent effects of impurity ionization and the applied field. The predicted phenomenon can be used to tune the energy distances and, accordingly, the working frequencies of possible optical devices. © 2020 IEEE
Exploring governance for sustainability in contexts of violence: The case of the hydropower industry in Colombia
No full textBackground: The hydropower industry in Colombia is developing in contexts of violence because of armed conflict. The companies that drive hydropower development are usually large and benefit today from lessons that have been learned around the world. However, there is little understanding of how these good management practices are addressed in contexts of violence. This paper contributes to the filling of a knowledge gap between the energy business practices and the local implications of the armed conflict. Large companies would have to incorporate a holistic view of the power generation business that connects financial performance with both environmental protection and social equity. The governance of business sustainability is analyzed within violence, drawing upon a case study from the hydropower industry to explore emergent issues, dominant players, and tools that may provide solutions. Methods: The case study method is based on the hermeneutical analysis of 16 in-depth interviews with employees from the energy sector, the public municipalities, and local leaders. The interviews were coded and occurrence rates were used as ranking criteria. Two co-occurrence matrices were constructed in order to estimate the ranking of the interests of the players and the tools of action they prefer. Results: The results exhibited conventional problems such as climate change, dwindling biodiversity, and the deteriorating condition of natural resources, in addition to the characteristic difficulties of armed conflicts, such as illegality, distrustfulness, and lack of opportunity for local populations. In view of both the weakness of the state and the scarcity of social capital, energy companies emerge as a central player in association with nongovernmental organizations. The tools used are more geared toward planning than they are toward joint action and evaluation. Conclusions: It was concluded that the management of hydropower stations in the contexts of violence requires companies to orient their actions toward results and evaluate the impact of its management. Such management must be based on transformational relationships aimed at reducing the existing asymmetry between players and distributing the costs and benefits of the hydropower station more equitably. © 2018 The Author(s)
Genetic Algorithms for the Picker Routing Problem in Multi-block Warehouses
No full textThis article presents a genetic algorithm (GA) to solve the picker routing problem in multiple-block warehouses in order to minimize the traveled distance. The GA uses survival, crossover, immigration, and mutation operators, and is complemented by a local search heuristic. The genetic algorithm provides average distance savings of 13.9% when compared with s-shape strategy, and distance savings of 23.3% when compared with the GA with the aisle-by-aisle policy. We concluded that the GA performs better as the number of blocks increases, and as the percentage of picking locations to visit decreases. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) for contactless heart rate monitoring using a single monochrome and color camera
No full textHuman vital signs are essential information that are closely related to both physical cardiac assessments and psychological emotion studies. One of the most important data is the heart rate, which is closely connected to the clinical state of the human body. Modern image processing technologies, such as Remote Photoplethysmography (rPPG), have enabled us to collect and extract the heart rate data from the body by just using an optical sensor and not making any physical contact. In this paper, we propose a real-time camera-based heart rate detector system using computer vision and signal processing techniques. The software of the system is designed to be compatible with both an ordinary built-in color webcam and an industry grade grayscale camera. In addition, we conduct an analysis based on the experimental results collected from a combination of test subjects varying in genders, races, and ages, followed by a quick performance comparison between the color webcam and an industry grayscale camera. The final calculations on percentage error have shown interesting results as the built-in color webcam with the digital spatial filter and the grayscale camera with optical filter achieved relatively similar accuracy under both still and exercising conditions. However, the correlation calculations, on the other hand, have shown that compared to the webcam, the industry grade camera is superior in stability when facial artifacts are presented. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020