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This study aims to examine the formal and metric properties of Gil et al.’s (2000) scale of attitudes toward organic products, which is the most popular scale to measure these attitudes.

The sample consisted of 4,992 household shoppers living in Hong Kong, Germany, Norway, Spain and the UK. The questionnaire was distributed using a third-party consumer panel, and the fieldwork was conducted using computer-assisted Web interviewing. The approach was based on confirmatory factor analysis and measurement of invariance, as well as format analysis using a wording-syntactic and semantic descriptive method.

The scale reflects an attitude-toward-object model approach. Its use has been heavily varied (in terms of wording, item semantics and the attributes to be measured). A two-factor structure that meets the metric conditions (reliability and validity) is found. However, the analysis of invariance shows that the scale behaves differently in different countries.

This scale offers a good starting point for measuring attitudes toward organic products. However, it requires refinement to adapt to consumer evolution and improve its metric validity. Verification of its applicability in cross-national studies is recommended.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that assesses the format and quantitative characteristics of this scale on a cross-national level. For scholars and companies with international interests, preventing the use of scales with poor properties at the transnational level can improve the design of future studies and save money through a more informed choice of attitudinal scale.

Este estudio examina las propiedades formales y métricas de la escala de actitudes hacia los productos orgánicos de Gil et al. (2000), que es la escala más popular para medir estas actitudes.

La muestra incluye 4.992 compradores principales en hogares de Hong Kong, Alemania, Noruega, España y el Reino Unido. El cuestionario se distribuyó utilizando un panel de consumidores, y el trabajo de campo se llevó a cabo mediante entrevistas online asistidas por ordenador. El enfoque se basó en un análisis factorial confirmatorio y en la invariancia de las medidas, así como en un análisis del formato utilizando un método descriptivo de redacción-sintáctico-semántico.

La escala refleja un enfoque de actitud basada en el objeto. Su uso ha sido muy variado (en redacción, semántica de sus redacciones y los atributos que mide). Se encuentra una estructura de dos factores que cumple con las condiciones métricas (fiabilidad y validez). Sin embargo, el análisis de invariancia muestra que la escala se comporta de manera diferente en distintos países.

Esta escala ofrece un buen punto de partida para medir las actitudes hacia los productos orgánicos, pero requiere un refinamiento para adaptarse a la evolución del consumidor y para mejorar su validez métrica. Se recomienda verificar su aplicabilidad en los estudios internacionales comparados.

Este es el primer estudio que evalúa el formato y las características cuantitativas de esta escala a nivel internacional. Para los académicos y las empresas con intereses internacionales, evitar el uso de escalas con propiedades deficientes a nivel transnacional puede mejorar el diseño de futuros estudios y ahorrar dinero a través de una elección más informada de la escala actitudinal.

Actitudes, Productos orgánicos, Estudio transnacional, Análisis factorial confirmatorio, Validación de la escala

Artículo de investigación.

The power systems behavior is nonlinear, and this is reflected in that the measurement signals are composed by multi-components. Thus, this paper aims to present a method for analyzing multi-component signals that allow calculating signal parameters such as frequency, damping constant, amplitude and phase for each component, as well as determining the direct current component.

The method proposed is based in the Z-transform of a damped sinusoidal signal with direct current. Only the Z-transform poles are used to form equation systems which are used to obtain frequency and damping. Then, the amplitude, the phase and the direct current component are determined by the above results.

The method is able to determine frequencies, damping constants, phases and amplitudes of the different modal components of a signal using only a few measurements. Moreover, the method does not require filter banks tuned with some previous knowledge of signal’s characteristics. The presented test cases of field measured signals show the good performance of the proposed method, which is able to obtain the parameters of interest with a very short observation window.

One quality of this method is that it has a very short delay to reach the first solution and from there you get one result each sample; the delay time is equivalent to 2 + 4C samples where C is the number of components in the signal. Finally, it is concluded that because of the small number of samples that are needed and the low algorithmic complexity of the methodology, the method is apt to make applications in real time.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the current state of logistics practices in healthcare organizations in Bogota, Colombia.

The assessment is based on case study research using open interviews, focused interviews, a questionnaire and direct observations as sources of evidence. Seven Colombian health care settings are analyzed: four public hospitals and three private clinics. Cross-case analysis allows the identification of patterns regarding supply management, inventory management, replenishment and use of information and communication technologies.

Manual procedures, poor planning, little recognition from top management and a lack of specialized personnel characterize the current situation. Innovative practices with a potential to improve the efficacy of logistics activities are rare, particularly in public hospitals.

Future research could replicate this study in other Colombian cities, in order to generalize the results to the whole country. It could also be interesting to document successful and less successful implementations of innovative logistics practices in Colombian hospitals to guide and promote their adoption.

The small number of cases considered, and the fact that the research is concentrated in one city, limits the generalizability of the results.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to explore the state of healthcare logistics practices in Colombia.

Este artículo explora el estado actual de las prácticas logísticas en los hospitales de Bogotá, Colombia.

La evaluación se basa en la investigación de un estudio de caso utilizando entrevistas abiertas, entrevistas centradas, un cuestionario y observaciones directas como fuentes de evidencia. Se analizan siete establecimientos de salud colombianos: cuatro hospitales públicos y tres clínicas privadas. El análisis cruzado de casos permite la identificación de patrones relacionados con la gestión del abastecimiento, la gestión de inventarios, la reposición y el uso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC).

Los procedimientos manuales, la mala planificación, el escaso reconocimiento de la alta dirección y la falta de personal especializado caracterizan la situación actual. Las prácticas innovadoras con un potencial para mejorar la eficacia de las actividades logísticas son raras, particularmente en los hospitales públicos.

Este estudio se podría replicar en otras ciudades colombianas, con el fin de generalizar los resultados a todo el país. También podría ser interesante documentar implementaciones exitosas y menos exitosas de prácticas logísticas innovadoras en hospitales colombianos para guiar y promover su adopción.

El pequeño número de casos considerados, y el hecho de que la investigación se concentra en una ciudad, limita la generalización de nuestros resultados.

Según nuestro conocimiento, esta investigación es la primera en explorar el estado de las prácticas de logística hospitalaria en Colombia.

Most systems have a non-linear (NL) behavior and measured signals reflect this non-linearity such that in general they are composed with more than one sinusoidal component. NL analysis methods represent an option for analyzing such signals, however these methods have been developed for single frequency signals, this forces to implement a components separation procedure before performing the signal analysis. The purpose of this paper is to present a new method for analyzing multi-component signals that allows calculating amplitude, frequency and damping constants of the contained sinusoidal components. The method is able to simultaneously identify the different components within a detection bandwidth without previous separation of mono-components, as needed for most methods in used today.

The method proposed in this work characterizes sinusoidal signals determining their amplitude, frequency and damping constant. This method is based on transforming from the time domain to the z-domain an oscillatory signal that may or may not possess damping. Since frequency and damping of a signal can be determined knowing its z-domain poles, using the signal in z-transform domain an equations system to find the signal poles can be written.

From the results it can be concluded that the proposed method is reliable and consistent. One quality of the method is its short delay, when the procedure starts there is a delay equal to the time needed to accumulate four samples for each detectable frequency in order to perform the first calculation, after this, the algorithm can deliver a result at each sampling instant. This short delay and the low complexity of the algorithm can permit using the method in real time applications.

The proposed method is able to determine frequencies, damping constants and amplitudes of the components of a signal without a previous separation of mono-components, in contrast with other methods that require filter banks tuned using a previous knowledge of the signal. Moreover unlike techniques such as the Hilbert-Huang Transform the proposed method can be applied to signals with components having very close frequencies.

The purpose of this paper is to look at how water management reflects patriarchal considerations or gender biases that inflict a penalty upon Mexican women and enumerates recommendations that can both ameliorate water management across Mexico.

Peer-reviewed scholarly materials, carefully vetted for empirical worth, for the clarity and soundness of their research methodologies, and for their capacity to account for confounding or complicating factors, are reviewed. Special attention is given to studies, found in academic databases such as EBSCOHost, conducted in the years 2013–2018.

The Mexican state has finally made some progress in recognizing the hurdles women face in attaining educational equality, but there is not yet the universal application and comity that would ensure appropriate levels of representation in all communities. Mexico will have to do more to compel local actors to give greater credence to the voices of women.

There is a need for further primary research to more comprehensively capture what actions women are taking to carve out a large policy-making space for themselves in a country that has only quite recently begun to realize the contributions women can make to forward-looking water governance policy.

The uneasy confluence between water governance and gender within the Mexican context is an area of growing concern to those interested in how water management systems and protocols shape broader social justice and equality developments across Mexico.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an agile methodology for the development of food products that has two key characteristics: (1) consumers are included as co-creators and (2) the assessment of environmental impacts plays a central role.

In collaboration with a French small-to-mid-size enterprise, a research-intervention approach was used to test the agile methodology designed, which features three iterative runs of food product development. In each run, prototypes were presented and modified with consumers during focus groups. Life cycle analysis assessed the relative environmental impacts of the prototypes. The research data from consumers were mainly qualitative.

The main result of this work is the implementation of a methodology to develop new food products in an efficient way by integrating consumers' insights and environmental concerns simultaneously. The method was successful in integrating consumers as co-creators and in drawing attention to the potential environmental effects of different prototypes for the decision-making process.

The research is based on a single case study. Thus, generalisation to other companies is limited. The authors invite further research focussed on different types of companies. The methodology and the tools could be modified to suit a variety of contexts.

This work addresses the need for guidelines to integrate consumers and environmental considerations into the food development process by testing an agile methodology with a company. It contributes to the scope of sustainable and consumer-oriented food innovation management.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the current relationship between factors such as desire and viability and entrepreneurial intention, using the Business Event Model as a point of analysis, as well as to understand the influence of gender as a moderating effect on entrepreneurial intention.

A total of 278 students from the Faculty of Education Sciences (University of Seville) were invited to participate with students carrying out degrees in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.

There is a positive and similar relationship between desire and viability due to gender-related reasons. In the same way, this study presents a positive relationship in men and women, between desire and viability, desire and entrepreneurial intention and viability and entrepreneurial intention.

The public policies of the university should be oriented to the promotion of the desire perceived in women, carrying out sessions or training courses, where the speakers could be women leaders of companies. In addition, public policies should promote the perceived viability of men through training by providing technical resources on the operation of a company.

This study provides theoretical knowledge on the entrepreneurial intentions of students at the University of Seville and therefore may help to improve policies aimed at promoting entrepreneurship.

This study provides clear practical implications for the management of students, and the findings facilitate the improvement of university policies designed to promote entrepreneurship in this type of student.

This paper aims to present a methodology for analysing the extent to which students of a university degree perceive that they have received a good education for sustainable development (ESD). The methodology enables us to quantify this perception, which, in turn, allows us to determine: to what extent the objectives related to ESD are achieved in the degree, and to compare the learning in ESD perceived by students of different degrees. The methodology is applied to nine engineering degrees and nine education degrees in the Spanish university system.

ESD is analysed from the students’ learning perception. This perception is measured by comparing the responses of first- and fourth-year students to a questionnaire about their sustainability competencies. Two indicators have been designed to analyse the results. The first indicator, learning increase, measures the declared learning difference between fourth- and first-year students. The second indicator, learning percentage, measure the amount of learning as reported by fourth-year students compared to how much they could have learned.

The results show that the average learning percentage perceived by students is higher in engineering degrees (33%) than in education degrees (27%), despite the fact that the average learning increase declared by students at the end of their studies in both areas of knowledge is similar (66%). Engineering students report having achieved higher learning than education students in all sustainability competencies, with the exception of ethics.

This paper analyses ESD from the student’s perspective. Furthermore, to the knowledge of the authors, this is the first study that compares the perception of ESD between engineering and education students. This comparison allows us to determine the different approaches that university Professors take to ESD according to the discipline they teach.

Heavy rainfall is one of the main causes of the degradation of historic rammed Earth architecture. For this reason, ensuring the conservation thereof entails understanding the factors involved in these risk situations. The purpose of this study is to research three past events in which rainfall caused damage and collapse to historic rammed Earth fortifications in Andalusia in order to analyse whether it is possible to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.

The three case studies analysed are located in the south of Spain and occurred between 2017 and 2021. The hazard presented by rainfall within this context has been obtained from Art-Risk 3.0 (Registration No. 201999906530090). The vulnerability of the structures has been assessed with the Art-Risk 1 model. To characterise the strength, duration, and intensity of precipitation events, a workflow for the statistical use of GPM and GSMaP satellite resources has been designed, validated, and tested. The strength of the winds has been evaluated from data from ground-based weather stations.

GSMaP precipitation data is very similar to data from ground-based weather stations. Regarding the three risk events analysed, although they occurred in areas with a torrential rainfall hazard, the damage was caused by non-intense rainfall that did not exceed 5 mm/hour. The continuation of the rainfall for several days and the poor state of conservation of the walls seem to be the factors that triggered the collapses that fundamentally affected the restoration mortars.

A workflow applied to vulnerability and hazard analysis is presented, which validates the large-scale use of satellite images for past and present monitoring of heritage structure risk situations due to rain.