Predicting Explorative Behavior by Level of Emotional Reactivity in Bobwhite Quail Neonates (Colinus virginianus)

Tests of emotional reactivity have been used in a broad range of basic and applied research and have been primarily concerned with how rearing conditions, particularly environmental enrichment, can affect reactivity. However, assessment of how emotional reactivity can be altered during testing procedures and how it affects behaviors such as exploration is relatively uncommon. The present study assessed the explorative responses of Northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) neonates under conditions of either elevated or attenuated emotional reactivity during a maze task. Measures of emotional reactivity were compared with measures of exploration to determine their relationship with one another. Chicks that were highly emotionally reactive were generally less willing to explore during the maze task than chicks that were less emotionally reactive. Results indicate that levels of emotional reactivity and approach/avoidance motivation play a role in the speed and amount of exploration that is likely to occur in novel environments.

Sustainable tourism practices through the eyes of the tourist: a case study of a tour operator

This internship report aim was to find out the importance of sustainable tourism practices from a tourist point of view. The research study and internship took place at Back-Roads Touring - a tour operator (based in London) that specializes in small group touring for seniors travellers from Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. Google Forms online questionnaire was used in order to answer the objectives of the study. In total 1322 clients received an online questionnaire out of which 182 filled in the survey. The study had four objectives, however the main focus was to find out which tourism practices ( out of 15 choices) were the most important to the respondents during a Back-Roads Tour and which tourism options (using the same 15 choices) the respondents identify as sustainable tourism options ( objective 2 and 3). The results showed that the respondents valued the most small group touring and having an experienced tour leader, which are the core practices of the company. Furthermore, the respondents were not seeking for more sustainable tourism practices neither willing to donate money to local charities/non- profit organizations. This finding shows that the clients are content with a current model of a tour, are willing to return, however price and quality will be play a key role in the decision. The respondents´ lack of wish to support or donate money to charities /non-profit organizations, could be due to the fact that most of the clients were from middle class thus they did not have enough disposable income. Moreover, one of the objectives of this study was to find out if the clients valued sustainable tourism certification. The results showed that the respondents’ were not aware of the sustainable tourism certification that the company obtained, however slightly over half of the respondents said that the knowledge of the certification has positively influenced them to travel again with a company.

Determinants of Terminal Value in the Evaluation of Companies: A Panel Data Approach to the Context of European Companies.

The uncertainty of the future of a firm has to be modelled and incorporated into the evaluation of companies outside their explicit period of analysis, i.e., in the continuing or terminal value considered within valuation models. However, there is a multiplicity of factors that influence the continuing value of businesses which are not currently being considered within valuation models. In fact, ignoring these factors may cause significant errors of judgment, which can lead models to values of goodwill or badwill, far from the substantial value of the inherent assets. Consequently, these results provided will be markedly different from market values. So, why not consider alternative models incorporating life expectancy of companies, as well as the influence of other attributes of the company in order to get a smoother adjustment between market price and valuation methods? This study aims to provide a contribution towards this area, having as its main objective the analysis of potential determinants of firm value in the long term. Using a sample of 714 listed companies, belonging to 15 European countries, and a panel data for the period between 1992 and 2011, our results show that continuing value cannot be regarded as the current value of a constant or growth perpetuity of a particular attribute of the company, but instead be according to a set of attributes such as free cash flow, net income, the average life expectancy of the company, investment in R&D, capabilities and quality of management, liquidity and financing structure.

Assessing the impact of agricultural drought on maize prices in Kenya with the approach of the SPOT-VEGETATION NDVI remote sensing

The high cost of maize in Kenya is basically driven by East African regional commodity demand forces and agricultural drought. The production of maize, which is a common staple food in Kenya, is greatly affected by agricultural drought. However, calculations of drought risk and impact on maize production in Kenya is limited by the scarcity of reliable rainfall data. The objective of this study was to apply a novel hyperspectral remote sensing method to modelling temporal fluctuations of maize production and prices in five markets in Kenya. SPOT-VEGETATION NDVI time series were corrected for seasonal effects by computing the standardized NDVI anomalies. The maize residual price time series was further related to the NDVI seasonal anomalies using a multiple linear regression modelling approach. The result shows a moderately strong positive relationship (0.67) between residual price series and global maize prices. Maize prices were high during drought periods (i.e. negative NDVI anomalies) and low during wet seasons (i.e. positive NDVI anomalies). This study concludes that NDVI is a good index for monitoring the evolution of maize prices and food security emergency planning in Kenya. To obtain a very strong correlation for the relationship between the wholesale maize price and the global maize price, future research could consider adding other price-driving factors into the regression models.

Potencialidades de exportación de carne de bovino de Colombia, en el marco de un posible tratado de libre comercio con Japón

Este proyecto se enfoca hacia la posibilidad de exportar carne de bovino colombiana a Japón, en el marco de un posible tratado de libre comercio. Japón, es un país asiático que posee alta demanda de la misma, sin embargo, su falta de superficie le impide la producción de carne bovina, volviéndose uno de los mayores importadores (puesto 5) a nivel mundial de este producto. En vista de lo anterior, nace la oportunidad para Colombia de convertirse en un viable exportador de carne bovina hacia el país asiático. Todo esto se debe, a que el país cuenta con ventajas como la superficie y el clima, llevándolo a convertirse en un país agrícola con alto potencial y capacidad de producción de carne de bovino. Al realizar el estudio pertinente, se considera que los mayores exportadores del producto hacia Japón son: Australia, Estados Unidos, Nueva Zelandia, Canadá y México, siendo Australia y Estados Unidos los mayores proveedores de Japón. Por ello, se evaluaron estos países como los principales competidores de Colombia, demostrando altas diferencias, dado que Colombia no cuenta con los requerimientos para exportar carne de bovino hacia Japón, por deficiencias en calidad, precio y cantidad.

Bonnita

Bonnita es una empresa que nace en el año 2015 en el mes de marzo, su actividad económica se clasifica bajo el código CIIU 4751, comercio al por menor de productos textiles en establecimientos especializados, actualmente cuenta con un establecimiento de comercio ubicado en el barrio Kennedy de la ciudad de Bogotá, la inversión realizada para esta empresa se realizo en su totalidad con recursos propios, los resultados obtenidos hasta el momento han llenado la expectativas de los inversionistas y en el mes de agosto del presente año se abrirá una nueva tienda que mejorara las utilidades de la empresa. Las tiendas Bonnita enfocan todo su modelo de negocio a crear una experiencia de compra para su segmento objetivo que son las mujeres entre los 18 y 40 años de edad, de estrato 2 – 3 medio - bajo, por medio de estrategias de merchandising propias, que generan una actitud diferente y mas impulsiva dentro de la tienda, utilizando elementos sensoriales y psicológicos que el consumidor no percibe pero influye en su decisión y manera de comprar, haciendo de esta más rentable para las tiendas Bonnita. El segmento objetivo es grande en la ciudad de Bogotá, los competidores más representativos del mercado emplean modelos de negocio diferentes y no existe un líder en este segmento ya que muchas de estas empresas diversifican con respecto al género al que enfocan sus esfuerzos, Bonnita se dirige únicamente a la mujer, la rotación de sus productos es rápida debido al manejo de inventarios justo a tiempo, lo que permite ser competitivos frente al precio y innovación en los productos.

Conceptos y prácticas de la actividad física que se reproducen en las clases sociales: aproximación desde el enfoque determinantes/ determinación social de la salud

El concepto de actividad física es concebido de diferentes formas. Mostrando que existen varios factores que afectan de manera directa e indirecta la percepción que los sujetos construyen entorno a él, generando así una aproximación a diferentes definiciones de la actividad física desde varias perspectivas y dimensiones, donde predomina una noción netamente biológica. Este estudio pretende analizar, como desde las clases sociales se concibe la actividad física en sus conceptos y prácticas considerando los modelos de determinantes y determinación social para la salud. Con fin de comprender como los autores de la literatura científica conciben la actividad física y la relación con las clases sociales, desde una perspectiva teórica de los determinantes sociales de la salud y la teoría de la determinación social, se realizó una revisión documental y análisis de contenido de los conceptos y prácticas de la actividad física que se han considerado en los últimos 10 años. Para ello se seleccionaron las bases de datos PubMed y BVS (Biblioteca Virtual de Salud) por sus énfasis en publicaciones de salud mundialmente. Mostrando que la actividad física es concebida dominantemente desde una perspectiva biológica que ejerce una mirada reduccionista. Las relaciones entre actividad física y las clases sociales están claramente establecidas, sin embargo, estas relaciones pueden discrepar teniendo en cuenta el concepto de clase social, el contexto y la orientación de los autores y las poblaciones objetos de estudio. Obteniendo como resultado que los estudios documentados, revisados y analizados muestran una clara tendencia al modelo de determinantes; no obstante, algunos estudios en sus análisis se orientan hacia el modelo de determinación social. En cuanto al concepto de clases sociales los autores consideran una combinación de factores culturales y económicos sin atreverse a adoptar un concepto específico.

Estudio de factibilidad de importación de calzado

Este proyecto de investigación es un estudio de factibilidad de importación del calzado para dama desde China para la empresa colombiana Kenzo Jeans a través del cual se evalúan a profundidad estrategias en producto, precio y distribución para que la empresa valore la conveniencia del proceso. El objetivo de esta investigación es generar herramientas y estrategias necesarias para que la empresa logre tener una visión más completa al importar calzado desde China para la distribución en el mercado colombiano. Este estudio se realizó con el fin de brindar información para que la gerencia pueda tomar decisiones correctas, eliminando el desconocimiento que pueda generar mayor incertidumbre al involucrarse en un proceso de importación. Para llevar a cabo este proceso se determinaron unos criterios de evaluación y selección mínimos respecto al diseño del producto, precio, calidad, número de unidades mínimas para realizar el pedido, empaque y etiquetado con el que debían contar los posibles proveedores en China. Esto se realizó a través de un acercamiento a los potenciales proveedores y permitió filtrar a aquellos que podrían cumplir con los criterios exigidos por Kenzo Jeans. Una vez realizado el proceso de clasificación y selección se logró determinar que existe potencial en la importación de calzado de dama desde China. Hecho este proceso se sugiere a Kenzo Jeans realizar contacto directo con estas empresas a través de un posible viaje de negocios.

Coordinated Scheduling of Wind-Thermal Gencos in Day-Ahead Markets

This paper presents a stochastic mixed-integer linear programming approach for solving the self-scheduling problem of a price-taker thermal and wind power producer taking part in a pool-based electricity market. Uncertainty on electricity price and wind power is considered through a set of scenarios. Thermal units are modeled by variable costs, start-up costs and technical operating constraints, such as: ramp up/down limits and minimum up/down time limits. An efficient mixed-integer linear program is presented to develop the offering strategies of the coordinated production of thermal and wind energy generation, aiming to maximize the expected profit. A case study with data from the Iberian Electricity Market is presented and results are discussed to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Bidding Decision of Wind-Thermal GenCo in Day-Ahead Market

This paper deals with the self-scheduling problem of a price-taker having wind and thermal power production and assisted by a cyber-physical system for supporting management decisions in a day-ahead electric energy market. The self-scheduling is regarded as a stochastic mixed-integer linear programming problem. Uncertainties on electricity price and wind power are considered through a set of scenarios. Thermal units are modelled by start-up and variable costs, furthermore constraints are considered, such as: ramp up/down and minimum up/down time limits. The stochastic mixed-integer linear programming problem allows a decision support for strategies advantaging from an effective wind and thermal mixed bidding. A case study is presented using data from the Iberian electricity market.

Bidding strategy of wind-thermal energy producers

This paper presents a stochastic mixed-integer linear programming approach for solving the self-scheduling problem of a price-taker thermal and wind power producer taking part in a pool-based electricity market. Uncertainty on electricity price and wind power is considered through a set of scenarios. Thermal units are modelled by variable costs, start-up costs and technical operating constraints, such as: forbidden operating zones, ramp up/down limits and minimum up/down time limits. An efficient mixed-integer linear program is presented to develop the offering strategies of the coordinated production of thermal and wind energy generation, having as a goal the maximization of profit. A case study with data from the Iberian Electricity Market is presented and results are discussed to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

A general guide to the companies formed for working foreign mines, with their prospectuses, amount of capital, number of shares, names of directors, &c., and an appendix, showing their progress since their formation ... with a table of the extent of their fluctuations in price, up to the present period.

A second pt. was published in 1826, with title: A compendium of useful information relating to the companies formed for working British mines ... A third pt. was published in 1827, with title: A complete view of the joint stock companies formed during the years 1824 and 1825 ... cf. Brit. mus. Catalogue.