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The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary analysis of the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in state climate science assessment (CSA) and state climate adaptation plan (CAP) development in the USA.

This study uses a content review of US state government and land grant (LG) university websites, including 36 CSAs and CAPs. These data informed the development of a tiered conceptual model of HEI engagement in state climate action planning. The conceptual model is evaluated through the lens of coproduction within knowledge networks.

HEI contributions to state-level climate action planning in the USA are highly variable, ranging from minimal engagement to defined roles in the development and implementation of robust state CAPs. Novel approaches to optimize effective exchange between scientists and decision-makers that also increase the engagement of academia are needed.

This study advocates for and provides a replicable example of HEI engagement in the development of mechanisms that increase the connectivity of in-state climate networks. Such mechanisms optimize information sharing and engagement, consequently building sustained capacity for in-state collaboration at the science–policy interface.

HEIs, particularly LG universities, are a stable source of state-specific climate science and expert assistance that persist beyond national and state political cycles. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to examine their unique contributions to climate science policy development and implementation. It investigates specifically the relationships and interactions between HEIs and state governments in the USA and offers a detailed case study from the state of Maine.

This chapter is devoted to sustainable human resource management that leads to sustainable competitiveness. It features the ways human resources can be managed to carry out sustainable goals and the impact of sustainability on employees' attitudes and behaviours. The aim of this study is to explore the complex objectives of sustainability and human resource management and empirically investigate the dynamic relationship between human resources in science and technology and sustainable competitiveness in the case of 35 European countries. Our contribution emphasizes this interrelationship and its causality. For this research, we applied a vector auto-regression (VAR) model, and the Granger causality method to examine the relationship between human resources in science and technology and sustainable competitiveness. A panel data included 314 observations between 2012 and 2021. The panel VAR for analysing the impulse response function was enriched with the 5% and 95%, using Monte Carlo simulations. The research results revealed bidirectional causality in the European countries between human resources in science and technology and sustainable competitiveness. Human resources in science and technology trigger sustainable competitiveness and vice versa. As an element of originality, our study demonstrates that human resources in science and technology contribute to sustainable performance, and, on the other hand, a more competitive and sustainable environment contributes to the development of human resources in science and technology. Thus, the chapter outlines the role of human resources in science and technology with regard to sustainable human resource management (HRM), and how to navigate these objectives so that they can positively influence sustainable competitiveness.

I begin by examining some ways in which organisations have attempted to improve their recruitment and selection procedures to minimise bias and unfair discrimination, and focus on the assessment centre as a potentially useful technique in this respect, especially for managerial selection. I go on to examine the assessment centre in more detail, including its origins, construction and uses, before discussing the strong evidence for its validity as a selection and assessment procedure. I then describe some recent British innovations in assessment centre design and practice, especially in its use for management and organisation development purposes, before discussing some of my own recent research, in collaboration with Ivan Robertson and Usha Rout, on participants' attitudes towards the use of assessment centres for selection and development purposes, including gender differences in attitudes.

This study aims to present a new numerical model for the simulation of water flow through porous media of anisotropic character, based on the network simulation method and with the use of the free code Ngspice.

For its design, it starts directly from the flow conservation equation, which presents several advantages in relation to the numerical simulation of the governing equation in terms of the potential head. The model provides very precise solutions of streamlines and potential patterns in all cases, with relatively small meshes and acceptable calculation times, both essential characteristics when developing a computational tool for engineering purposes. The model has been successfully verified with analytical results for non-penetrating dams in isotropic media.

Applications of the model are presented for the construction of the flow nets, calculation of uplift pressures, infiltrated flow and average exit gradient in anisotropic scenarios with penetrating dams with and without sheet piles, being all this output information part of the decision process in ground engineering problems involving these retaining structures.

This study presents, for the first time, a numerical network model for seepage problems that is not obtained from the Laplace's governing equation, but from the water flow conservation continuity equation.

In recent years, a process of reform and innovation in higher education has been witnessed. A change in the evaluation of student learning in universities is necessary for new teaching-learning proposals to be developed. The authors propose implementing a learning assessment process based on the idea of participatory evaluation, verifying the benefits of this method in the acquisition of cross-disciplinary skills.

The method implemented follows the principles of action research.

The Kahoot! app has an effect on the teaching-learning process and on the training skills and academic performance measured through the student’s grades.

This paper presents an innovation proposal that aims to observe how students acquire more competences.

This chapter analyses the development of oleotourism through the use of local resources in a democratised decision-making process. It explains that the production of olive oil is making a novel contribution to the tourism industry. The authors suggest that oleotourism is also offering opportunities for stakeholder engagement. Therefore, the authors identify key elements that serve as drivers for the development of oleotourism in Jaén. They put forward a framework that can lead to a democratised decision-making process that is intended to support the stakeholders of oleotourism.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ability of the computer vision system (CVS) to evaluate the colour of poultry meat. The advantages of the CVS over traditional methods were also explored.

The research was carried out on m. pectoralis major samples of three animals for each of the following four species: chicken, turkey, duck and goose. The total colour difference (ΔE) and the degree of difference of hue, chroma and lightness between the methods were calculated. In addition, a trained panel of 14 people was used to carry out three different similarity tests analysed using χ² one sample test and one-way ANOVA. The correlation coefficient between CVS and colourimeter measures was evaluated using the Spearman rank correlation test.

The total colour difference (ΔE) between the methods employed was so large that the generated colour(s) could be considered more opposite than similar. The CVS-generated colour chips were more similar to the sample of the meat products visualised on the monitor compared to colourimeter-generated colour chips in all (100 per cent) individual trials performed. The use of the colourimeter for colour evaluation of lighter coloured poultry meat (chicken and turkey) was unrepresentative.

In this study, a CVS was developed to measure the colour of poultry meat as an alternative to conventional colourimeters.

The research has demonstrated that the use of a CVS should be considered a superior alternative to the traditional method for measuring colour of chicken, turkey, duck and goose meat.

Riding high on its Beacon status, Warrington Borough Council has been quick to learn the lessons from the 2008 Ibsen report to make substantial improvements in service for its users, despite not being an individual budgets pilot area. Here, Ivan West explains how the local authority has developed its social care marketplace by working with partners, focusing on outcomes and enhancing the role of information to help guide users through this brave new world.

The purpose of this research paper is to establish the impact of process and service innovation on non-financial and financial performance in the tourism sector, as well as to explain the mediating role of organizational learning.

A quantitative approach was used, based on partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), Smart PLS 4.0 software. The sample consisted of 426 establishments in the tourism sector in Zone I, Ecuador. Online surveys were employed to collect data, yielding 118 responses, to assess the impact of innovation on business performance from 2020 to 2022.

Process and service innovation positively and significantly affect non-financial and financial performance, respectively. Organizational learning mediates the relationship between process innovation and disservice. The relationship between non-financial and financial performance could not be confirmed. The model explains 53.10% of non-financial performance and 26.10% of financial performance.

The relationship between innovation and performance in the tourism sector has been studied in several developed economies, while little has been studied in developing countries. This work contributes to an empirical discussion including a mediating variable in the innovation–performance relationship in the Latin American context.

El propósito de esta investigación es establecer el impacto de la innovación de procesos y servicios en el desempeño no financiero y financiero en el sector turístico, así como explicar el papel mediador del aprendizaje organizacional.

Se utilizó un enfoque cuantitativo, basado en el software PLS SE M, Smart PLS 4.0. La muestra estuvo constituida por 426 establecimientos del sector turístico de la Zona I, Ecuador. Se aplicaron encuestas en línea para recopilar datos, que arrojaron 118 respuestas, para evaluar el impacto de la innovación en el desempeño empresarial de 2020 a 2022.

La innovación de proceso y de servicio afecta positiva y significativa al desempeño no financiero y financiero, respectivamente. El aprendizaje organizacional media la relación entre innovación de proceso y des servicio. No se pudo confirmar la relación entre desempeño no financiero y financiero. El modelo explica el 53.10% del desempeño no financiero y el 26.10 del desempeño financiero.

La relación entre innovación y rendimiento en el sector turístico se ha estudiado en varias economías desarrolladas, mientras que en los países en desarrollo se ha estudiado poco. Este trabajo contribuye a una discusión empírica incluyendo una variable mediadora en la relación innovación-desempeño en contexto latinoamericano.