Gender differences in reading comprehension achievement in English as a foreign language in Compulsory Secondary Education

Resumen basado en el de la publicación. Resumen en inglés

Teaching English as a foreign language in accordance with social-constructivist pedagogy

Resumen basado en el de la publicación. Resumen en inglés

First year students??? construction of an academic identity in English as a foreign language

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Students reflections on pedagogical translation in Spanish as a foreign language

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

If I has a lot of money... : learner errors in foreign language writing

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The use of oral presentations in Higher Education : CLIL vs. English as a foreign language

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Measuring sustained superior performance at the firm level

This paper proposes a two-dimensional Strategic Performance Measure (SPM) to evaluate the achievement of sustained superior performance. This proposal builds primarily on the fact that, under the strategic management perspective, a firm's prevalent objective is the pursuit of sustained superior performance. Three basic conceptual dimensions stem from this objective: relativity, sign dependence, and dynamism. These are the foundations of the SPM, which carries out a separate evaluation of the attained superior performance and of its sustainability over time. In contrast to existing measures of performance, the SPM provides: (i) a dynamic approach by considering the progress or regress in performance over time, and (ii) a cardinal measurement of performance differences and its changes over time. The paper also proposes an axiomatic framework that a measure of strategic performance should comply with to be theoretically and managerially sound. Finally, an empirical illustration of the Spanish banking sector during 1987-1999 is herein provided by discussing some relevant case

The School of Museology Celje: regular, continuous, topical, quality form of education

At the School of Museology, a project with ten years of tradition, we carry out module-based programmes to educate and qualify different target audiences working in the filed of cultural heritage. Our development and realization of educational programmes and training courses directed at practical applicability, including life-long learning of adults, topic complementarity with related professional and scientific fields, connection with universities offering undergraduate and postgraduate studies of heritages, promotion of theoretical museological discourses raising awareness of the meaning of cultural heritage, firm placement in an international network of related institutions and promotion of international relations with special emphasis on neighbouring countries. We encourage project partnership and cooperate with different domestic and foreign associates in forming and carrying out programmes.

Key Issues on the Brazilian Foreign Policy (Coyuntura)

El artículo trata sobre diferentes visiones de la política exterior brasilera. Primero introduce las principales directivas de la política exterior: desarrollo económico y social, así como delimitación limítrofe con los países de América del Sur. La segunda establece la situación de las relaciones de Brasil luego de la guerra fría, con algunos países y regiones en el mundo: Estados Unidos, Unión Europea, América Latina, China, África, India y otras regiones. Finalmente se refiere a los intereses nacionales brasileros en las Naciones Unidas en campos como energía, medio ambiente y defensa.

Breaking down the barriers to firm growth in Europe: The fourth EFIGE policy report. Bruegel Blueprint 18, 28 August 2012

Large firms contribute disproportionately to the economic performance of countries: they are more productive, pay higher wages, enjoy higher profits and are more successful in international markets. The differences between European countries in terms of the size of their firms are stark. Firms in Italy and Spain, for example, are on average 40 percent smaller than firms in Germany. The low average firm size translates into a chronic lack of large firms. In Italy and Spain, a mere 5 percent of manufacturing firms have more than 250 employees, compared to a much higher 11 percent in Germany. Understanding the roots of these differences is key to improving the economic performance of Europe’s lagging economies. So why is there so much variation in firm size in different European countries? What are the barriers that keep firms in some countries from growing? And which policies are likely to be most effective in breaking down those barriers? This policy report aims to answer these questions by developing a quantitative model of the seven European countries covered by the EFIGE survey (Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and the UK). The EFIGE survey asked 14,444 firms in those countries about their performance, their modes of internationalisation, their staffing decisions, their financing structure, and their competitive environment, among other topics.

Unleashing Competition in EU Business Services. CEPS Policy Brief No. 284, 24 September 2012

In most EU member states, the business services industry has booked no productivity growth during the last two decades. The industry’s performance in the other member states was weaker than that of its US counterparts. Exploring what may be causing this productivity stagnation, this policy brief reports that weak competition has contributed to the continuing malaise in European business services. The study analyzed the persistence (over time) of firm-level inefficiencies. The evidence further suggests that competition between small firms and large firms in business services is weak. Markets for business services work best in countries with flexible regulation on employment change and with low regulatory costs for firms that start up or close down a business. Countries that are more open to foreign competition perform better in terms of competitive selection and productivity. The policy simulations in this paper show that greater import openness strengthens competition in business services markets. The largest positive impact comes from lower regulatory barriers for growing and shrinking firms. More particularly, competitive selection would be fostered by a reduction of administrative and regulatory costs related to labour contracts, bankruptcy and start-up requirements. A key element of the European Commission’s Europe-2020 strategy is the Single European Market for Services. Business services form one of the largest industries in Europe – and given its productivity stagnation, it deserves to be a priority target of the Europe-2020 strategy. Improving the way the business services market functions may have large positive knock-on effects for the EU economy.