Los determinantes de la cooperación de pequeñas y medianas empresas para la innovación tecnológica

[ES]La importancia de la colaboración para la innovación se ha recogido en la literatura pero la mayoría de los estudios se centran en grandes empresas, dejando un vacio en el estudio de las pequeñas y medianas empresas. Este trabajo estudia los determinantes de las Pymes para la cooperación en innovación tecnológica. Se contempla que las fuentes de información influyen en la elección del socio de la cooperación y que la cooperación es una manera de reducir las barreras que la empresa considera importante a la hora de innovar. Los resultados del estudio indican que las empresas que cooperan en la innovación tienden a tener como fuentes de información a las universidades y centros tecnológicos.

Could innovative teams provide the necessary flexibility to compete in the current context?

[EN] In the modern era firms should look for a sustainable and profitable business model. They operate in highly volatile and competitive markets. Innovation is a key element that allows firms to survive in these complex environments. Accordingly, some companies are developing human resource models that align to the actual competitive context. For instance, they establish democratic systems, flexible work practices, they focus on responsibility and initiative and increase the self-control of team members. In this framework, firms tend to use resources such as creativity, capacity for innovation or development of human talent. Therefore, innovative teams are able to adapt and react to turbulent, complex and dynamic environments, which allow them to handle in a more efficient way several subtasks. This fact gives rise to a higher effectiveness in the activities of firms. This paper analyze the characteristics and performance of multifunctional teams, virtual teams, open-innovation teams and self-managing teams. It also study the case of Semco, a company that is characterized by its innovative practices in human resources management and focus on responsibility and initiative and increase the self-control of team members.

Modeling Innovative Power Take-Off Based on Double-Acting Hydraulic Cylinders Array for Wave Energy Conversion

One of the key systems of a Wave Energy Converter for extraction of wave energy is the Power Take-Off (PTO) device. This device transforms the mechanical energy of a moving body into electrical energy. This paper describes the model of an innovative PTO based on independently activated double-acting hydraulic cylinders array. The model has been developed using a simulation tool, based on a port-based approach to model hydraulics systems. The components and subsystems used in the model have been parameterized as real components and their values experimentally obtained from an existing prototype. In fact, the model takes into account most of the hydraulic losses of each component. The simulations show the flexibility to apply different restraining torques to the input movement depending on the geometrical configuration and the hydraulic cylinders on duty, easily modified by a control law. The combination of these two actions allows suitable flexibility to adapt the device to different sea states whilst optimizing the energy extraction. The model has been validated using a real test bench showing good correlations between simulation and experimental tests.

Involvement of rural women in aquaculture: an innovative approach

Although women have proved to be competent in adopting new aquaculture technologies, their role is very much restricted and often ignored. One of the major reasons is the location of aquaculture sites and several sociocultural taboos against women who strive to earn for their family’s subsistence in rural areas. There is a gender bias in many aquaculture activities. To ensure that women utilize their full potential in profitable activities like aquaculture, it is necessary to provide capacity building support to rural women, which will eventually lead to their empowerment. In countries like India, the technology provided to women must take into account cultural aspects. One such project - backyard ornamental fish breeding and management - has been found to offer immense scope for improving the livelihood of rural women. This paper gives some practical tips for dissemination of technology in the rural sector, particularly to rural women.

Impact of the introduction of apple snails and their control in Japan

The apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata, was imported into Japan and cultured extensively for food in the early 1980s. Not long after, escaped or discarded snails became feral and started feeding on rice seedlings and other aquatic plants. This was especially noted in Kyushu in southern Japan. Snails are still proliferating, but the area of damaged rice is not increasing as fast, mainly because of the success of snail control. Currently, the most effective methods of avoiding damage to rice are keeping water shallow, transplanting older seedlings and, in some cases, using molluscicides or repellents. However, these methods have almost no effect on damage by snail feeding when rice fields are flooded. The apple snail is believed to be the most important obstacle to the spread of direct-sowing culture of rice in Kyushu. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has launched a national project for the integrated management of the snail under direct sowing culture of rice in Kyushu. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has launched a national project for the integrated management of the snail under direct-sowing rice culture. Some recent results from this project are briefly reviewed in this paper.