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The Influence of Gender Discrimination and Gender Equality on Corporate Tax Aggressiveness
Get PDFIn this paper, we examine whether gender diversity on board audit committees promotes socially responsible corporate tax behavior by analyzing the influence of female directors on aggressive tax strategies. We explore this relationship through the complementary lenses of agency and resource dependence theories. We hypothesize and find that gender discrimination in board appointments, gender-diverse committees, and the expertise of female directors play a decisive role in shaping their contribution to addressing tax-risk issues at the audit committee level. Our findings indicate that the presence of female directors on the audit committee significantly reduces corporate tax aggressiveness in gender-diverse and female-dominant environments, with the effect further enhanced by female expertise. Furthermore, we uncover that this effect disappears in firms exhibiting gender-discriminatory practices, where the presence of female directors is instead associated with increased tax aggressiveness. These findings suggest that gender discrimination and women's self-selection into less tax-aggressive firms may act as confounding factors when assessing the impact of female directors on corporate tax behavior.info:eu-repo/semantics/updatedVersio
Halal Certification in Spain: A Pathway to Social Integration and Cultural Understanding in a Globalized World
Get PDFTFG del Grau en Relacions Internacionals tutoritzat per Valeria Bello and Laura SalzanoThis research explores the role of halal certification in promoting intercultural understanding and social integration within the Spanish context. While commonly perceived solely as a religious label, halal certification encompasses broader values such as ethical consumption, health, and sustainability. Using a mixed-methods approach by combining ethnographic interviews and quantitative surveys, this study examines how halal-certified products are viewed and accessed by both Muslim and non-Muslim communities in diverse neighborhoods of Barcelona. Findings reveal that halal certification not only strengthens the visibility of Muslim culture but also fosters mutual respect, reduces prejudice, and creates opportunities for cultural exchange. The results suggest that halal certification can serve as a practical and symbolic tool for building bridges between communities in an increasingly globalized and pluralistic society
Prescripción de actividad física y ejercicio físico en atención primaria: situación actual y retos de implementación
No full textEste artículo analiza el estado actual de la prescripción de actividad física en atención primaria, identificando las barreras estructurales, profesionales y sociales que dificultan su implementación clínica. Aunque la evidencia sobre los beneficios del ejercicio físico en la prevención y tratamiento de múltiples enfermedades es sólida, su integración en la práctica diaria de los equipos de atención primaria sigue siendo limitada. El artículo revisa definiciones clave, directrices internacionales, factores que condicionan la adherencia terapéutica, y casos clínicos como cáncer, sarcopenia y dolor crónico. Se identifican oportunidades para mejorar la prescripción efectiva desde atención primaria mediante estrategias interdisciplinares, herramientas tecnológicas, guías clínicas y formación continuada. La prescripción de actividad física debe evolucionar desde una recomendación genérica hacia una intervención estructurada, individualizada y sostenida, alineada con los objetivos de salud poblacional y la Agenda 2030. Transformar esta práctica es una necesidad urgente para abordar el creciente impacto del sedentarismo en nuestra sociedad.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Preliminary results of an acoustic description of broiler chickens vocalizations in a commercial hatchery
Get PDFIn the last decade, the poultry sector has been undergoing a transformation towards the paradigm of Industry 4.0, integrating automation, biosensors, and data processing. Broiler chicks hatch within a highly controlled industrial environment, facilitating extensive digitization and comprehensive data collection. Post-hatch performance of broiler chickens can be affected by conditions during the incubation period, particularly at the hatching stage, resulting in reduced growth rates and weight loss. Chicken vocalizations are reliable indicators of their stress levels and overall well-being. This preliminary study presents an acoustic analysis of the temporal and frequency features extracted from vocalizations produced by broiler chickens in a commercial hatchery. The main focus is on the interval between the initial and final vocalizations, which precedes the removal of the chickens from the machine. This preliminary study aims to describe vocalizations of chicks during the hatching phase in an industrial environment exploring the potential of acoustic indicators and vocal activity patterns. A distinctive pattern in feature selection led to the determination of low and high vocal activity zones with a significant difference, while regions with high vocal activity levels were associated with a higher number of vocalizations and an increased spectral centroid.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Implementation of Education for Sustainable Development in Higher Education: Engineering Studies
Get PDFThis article aims to identify and analyze various models developed in Europe over the past 20 years for the immediate and effective implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in higher education, with a particular focus on engineering studies. The models are examined in correlation with reference examples from different countries and universities, along with the strategies employed to integrate sustainable development (SD).
From the research conducted, comparative tables have been created to evaluate the barriers, accelerators, advantages, and disadvantages of various implementation strategies. The authors emphasize the importance of actionable outcomes, highlighting two key points: first, the necessity of integrated action and maximizing the participation of the university community and its stakeholders; second, the need for engineering curricula to incorporate critical concepts and SDGs, alongside the creation of curricular spaces that foster high-level competencies and enable transdisciplinary learning.
Additionally, the study underscores the importance of supporting educators in this process. Establishing accompaniment teams and providing collaborative spaces for dialogue and adjustment are critical to accommodating diverse perspectives and implementation paces. Drawing from prior research and publications, the practical approach developed here reaffirms
the feasibility of ESD implementation, providing reassurance to stakeholders about its practicality and impact.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Dating Violence in Chilean Adolescents: meanings, ways of manifesting and directionality, from a gender and inclusivity perspective
Get PDFBackground
Dating violence (DV) is recognized as a public health problem, so there is still a need to delve deeper into the different perceptions of adolescents about DV, specifically considering the diversity of gender and context. .
Purpose
This study has been in order to explore the phenomenon of DV from the perspective of Chilean adolescents, in order to identify its meaning, describe types and manifestations and explore the directionality of violence while considering the gender of the participants.
Methods
A sample of 65 adolescents aged between 10 and 19 were recruited from schools mainly in the Araucanía and regions of Metropolitan and distributed into 10 focus groups stratified by gender and age. A qualitative methodology with a phenomenological approach was used. Content analysis was performed stratified by age group (10–14 years and 15–19 years) and gender identity.
Results
Adolescents referred to new concepts based on DV. They achieved this at a young age, making distinctions such as relationships with violence, unhealthy relationships and toxic relationships. At the same time, they showed a less heteronormative view of the couple, identifying that violence in couples can be exercised bidirectionally and recognizing a broader spectrum of violent behaviours – such as “funas” or sending “the pack” – which are also associated with serious consequences such as suicidality.
Conclusion
Adolescents handle a lot of information and are aware that DV should not be normalized or tolerated. They take into account the vulnerability of the female gender, but also that of the male gender and gender diversity. They also know multiple ways in which DV can be exerted, some of which are serious and not described in the literature. Understanding their perspective is essential for implementing intervention programmes that can help to address and prevent DV transversally.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Association between changes in physical performance and changes in biomarkers during a physical activity intervention in older adults: an exploratory study
Get PDFPhysical activity (PA) and lower amount of sedentary behaviour (SB) have both been associated with decreased risk of major non-communicable diseases and premature all-cause mortality in older adults. However, it is still not clear which exact underlying mechanisms lead to the observed health improvements. We therefore investigated the relation of increased PA and reduced SB with several blood biomarkers to get information on potential underlying pathophysiological pathways in older adults.
Three hundred and thirty-nine community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older with low levels of PA and/or high levels of SB were recruited in Germany and the UK as part of the SITLESS study. Accelerometer-measured PA and SB, physical function by the short physical performance battery (SPPB) and blood parameters, including inflammatory, metabolic, cardiac, among other markers, were assessed at baseline and after a 16 weeks physical activity intervention. The association of changes in the physical function and physical activity parameters with changes in blood biomarkers over this period was assessed with median regression adjusting for potential confounders.
Gait speed and PA markers changed only slightly from baseline to follow-up with no difference for the SPPB total score. In adjusted analyses, we found some associations of these changes with changes in TNF-alpha, IGF-1, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, cystatin C, and troponins, partly also in an unexpected direction (with TNF-alpha, IGF-1 and triglycerides). No associations with changes in hs-CRP, IL-6, total cholesterol, HDL, transferrin, GDF-15, and NT-proBNP were found.
We found some plausible pattern describing associations between changes in physical function and PA or SB with some of the selected biomarkers, namely TNF-alpha, troponins and most convincingly in cystatin C. However, small changes in physical function and PA outcomes during a 16-week intervention and limited sample size may limit the power of our study.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Inclusive B-meson flavour-tagging algorithm at LHCb
Get PDFA new algorithm is developed to identify the flavour of neutral B mesons at production in pp collisions by utilising all tracks from the hadronisation process. The algorithm is calibrated separately for B0 and Bs0 mesons using B0 → J/ψK+π− and Bs0→Ds−π+ decays from pp collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. This new algorithm improves the tagging power by 35% for B0 mesons and 20% for Bs0 mesons when compared to the combined performance of the existing LHCb flavour-tagging algorithms.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Non-thermal plasma CO2 conversion enhanced by CeO2-doped BaTiO3 and internal electrode cooling
Get PDFThis work investigates the combined impact of using cerium oxide (CeO2) as a catalyst and internal electrode cooling on CO2 conversion into CO in a non-thermal plasma reactor packed with barium titanate (BaTiO3). BaTiO3 is successfully modified with CeO2 via a wetness impregnation method, yielding samples with 0%, 3%, 17%, and 57% CeO2 loadings. It is observed that a low CeO2 loading of 3% increased the CO2 conversion and energy efficiency by up to 38% compared to the undoped BaTiO3, while higher loadings (17% and 57%) led to reduced performance. The use of a cooling strategy through the inner electrode, using air convection (passive cooling) or water flow (active cooling), increases both CO2 conversion and energy efficiency by strengthening plasma generation and reducing the recombination of CO and O2. Specifically, conversion increases from 18% without cooling to 36% with passive cooling, and further to 47% when combined with 3% CeO2 doping and active water cooling. In parallel, the energy efficiency increases from 0.3 - 2% (undoped, uncooled) to 0.5 - 16% with 3% CeO2 doping under both passive and active internal cooling.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Angular analysis of the decay Bs0→ ϕe+e−
Get PDFAn angular analysis of the decay Bs0→ ϕe+e− is presented, using proton-proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and 2018 at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV. The combined dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1. Observables are determined by fitting time-integrated projections of the angular distribution in three bins of dielectron mass squared, q2, corresponding to [0.1, 1.1], [1.1, 6.0] and [15.0, 19.0] GeV2/c4. The results are compatible with predictions based on the Standard Model of particle physics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio