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Article
Publication date: 2 August 2013

María José Pujol, Francisco A. Pujol, Fidel Aznar, Mar Pujol and Ramón Rizo

In this paper the authors aim to show the advantages of using the decomposition method introduced by Adomian to solve Emden's equation, a classical non‐linear equation that…

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Abstract

Purpose

In this paper the authors aim to show the advantages of using the decomposition method introduced by Adomian to solve Emden's equation, a classical non‐linear equation that appears in the study of the thermal behaviour of a spherical cloud and of the gravitational potential of a polytropic fluid at hydrostatic equilibrium.

Design/methodology/approach

In their work, the authors first review Emden's equation and its possible solutions using the Frobenius and power series methods; then, Adomian polynomials are introduced. Afterwards, Emden's equation is solved using Adomian's decomposition method and, finally, they conclude with a comparison of the solution given by Adomian's method with the solution obtained by the other methods, for certain cases where the exact solution is known.

Findings

Solving Emden's equation for n in the interval [0, 5] is very interesting for several scientific applications, such as astronomy. However, the exact solution is known only for n=0, n=1 and n=5. The experiments show that Adomian's method achieves an approximate solution which overlaps with the exact solution when n=0, and that coincides with the Taylor expansion of the exact solutions for n=1 and n=5. As a result, the authors obtained quite satisfactory results from their proposal.

Originality/value

The main classical methods for obtaining approximate solutions of Emden's equation have serious computational drawbacks. The authors make a new, efficient numerical implementation for solving this equation, constructing iteratively the Adomian polynomials, which leads to a solution of Emden's equation that extends the range of variation of parameter n compared to the solutions given by both the Frobenius and the power series methods.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 23 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 May 2019

Lluís Pacheco, Luo Ningsu, Toni Pujol, Jose Ramon Gonzalez and Inès Ferrer

This paper aims to report on a case study concerning the development of sustainable energy partnerships involving engineering faculty and undergraduate students at the University…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to report on a case study concerning the development of sustainable energy partnerships involving engineering faculty and undergraduate students at the University of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.

Design/methodology/approach

Faculty were motivated to seek partnerships with public and private entities in the local area for the purposes of realising mutually beneficial outcomes. The educational programmes of future engineers, when sustainability is considered, are analysed. Education for sustainable development has to include multidisciplinary active learning as a desirable competence. Active learning can be obtained when problems are based on real life because they are most motivating for students. Constructive alignment component is obtained because learning objectives are linked with learning activities related to the needs of public and private entities.

Findings

Through the provision of technical expertise, the adoption and success of renewable energy projects was facilitated on the one hand, while final year undergraduate students benefited in terms of hands-on experience in helping to bring these projects to life, drawing on the knowledge and skills they had acquired throughout their degree programmes. These works are addressed to students by faculty members with the aim of developing and promoting renewable energies. Outcomes from partnerships surpassed expectations; not only were different benefits realised as were initially hoped for, but this success led to partnerships being sustained over time.

Originality/value

Fossil fuel-based energy systems are associated with a myriad of negative environmental and social externalities. It is difficult to overstate the importance of transitioning towards alternative low carbon energy sources for climate change mitigation which are less centralised compared to the status-quo for energy security and energy independence. By actively facilitating the development of decentralised renewable energy sources in Catalonia, the projects reported herein are of significant value in social environmental and educational terms.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 10 April 2018

Karla María Alvarado-Ramírez, Víctor Hipólito Pumisacho-Álvaro, José Ángel Miguel-Davila and Manuel F. Suárez Barraza

The purpose of this paper is to compare the practices of continuous improvement that are applied in medium and large manufacturing and service companies in two Latin American…

3372

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to compare the practices of continuous improvement that are applied in medium and large manufacturing and service companies in two Latin American countries. At the same time, benefits and barriers experienced by these companies with regard to sustainability of continuous improvement are explored.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to generate a comparative study between two Latin American countries, interviews were conducted with managers linked to continuous improvement in medium and large companies in the State of Puebla and the Metropolitan District of Quito, which are important areas in Mexico and Ecuador, respectively. Data were collected by means of document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and direct observation.

Findings

Companies in both countries identify the use of various techniques and/or tools for continuous improvement. The results of the empirical evidence show how the impact of the application of the techniques has been beneficial in economic and human terms. Thus, the exploratory study has permitted the identification of the drivers and inhibitors in the maintenance of continuous improvement.

Research limitations/implications

The research is based on only two areas of the Latin American countries: Mexico and Ecuador. Their results can therefore not be generalized. The approach is applied in a specific environment, namely, the State of Puebla and the Metropolitan District of Quito. This study incorporates the perception of managers, directors, and/or supervisors involved in continuous improvement processes.

Practical implications

This paper seeks to provide analytical input. The study is of great interest to researchers, managers, consultants, and professionals linked to projects of continuous improvement who wish to incorporate continuous improvement practices which are sustainable over time. A new managerial behavior is the basis of continuous improvement, where the training and development of the human resource increases the commitment to achieve organizational changes.

Originality/value

This research makes an empirical contribution to the literature through the understanding of practices of continuous improvement in a Latin American context, highlighting the factors that improve or impede the process of continuous improvement. Particularly in Mexico and Ecuador, the empirical evidence on this subject is still scarce despite the existence of theoretical academic literature.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 22 August 2022

María Muñoz Sanz-Agero and Carl Antonius Lemke Duque

This study provides a new look at the late 19th-century university issue in Spain. Loss of self-government among universities and the state’s centralization brought a conflict…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study provides a new look at the late 19th-century university issue in Spain. Loss of self-government among universities and the state’s centralization brought a conflict between science and religion to the fore in the process of the secularization of knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

We first delve into the anti-Darwinian framework associated with the scientific professionalization process, focusing on the case of the jurist Antonio Hernández Fajarnés (1851–1909). Secondly, we study the idea of the university that emerged from the Ateneo de Madrid, analyzing key speeches from the jurist Francisco Fernández de Henestrosa (1855–s.d.) given in 1887/88 and from the pharmacist José Rodríguez Carracido (1856–1928).

Findings

The study concludes that the Restoration Era in Spain was characterized by a generalized desire – shared by neo-Scholastics, conservatives and liberal rationalists – to improve the public university system. In this context, French influence was no doubt decisive; however, the Humboldtian university idea had already begun to have notable influence.

Originality/value

This article analyzes sources yet unknown to international research, such as the Ateneo de Madrid debates and Spanish university rectors’ inaugural speeches. It opens up a critical examination of the so-called displacement of educational principles in Spain toward a state-centered system of doctrinal moderantismo as opposed to the nation-centered system of the Cádiz liberalism. At the same time, it identifies key pockets of resistance relative to Spanish university transformation toward increased methodological secularization.

Details

History of Education Review, vol. 51 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0819-8691

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Gender and Contemporary Horror in Comics, Games and Transmedia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-108-7

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 9 November 2012

María Teresa Méndez Picazo

506

Abstract

Details

Management Decision, vol. 50 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

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Article
Publication date: 10 April 2018

José Álvarez-García, Amador Durán-Sánchez and María de la Cruz del Río-Rama

Since Masaaki Imai coined the term Kaizen in the mid-1980s, it has been seen as a key element for the competitiveness of Japanese companies, and it is currently a widely discussed…

511

Abstract

Purpose

Since Masaaki Imai coined the term Kaizen in the mid-1980s, it has been seen as a key element for the competitiveness of Japanese companies, and it is currently a widely discussed philosophy and is applied in a wide range of organizations throughout the world. The purpose of this paper is to serve as guidance for researchers who are developing their studies in the field of the Kaizen philosophy, in order to improve their knowledge on the most relevant articles, the most productive authors or the key scientific journals that make up this subject.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to fulfill the proposed objective, a descriptive bibliometric study was carried out with the analysis of citations from 138 articles included in the multidisciplinary database Scopus (Elsevier) until 2016. For the search of documents, a tracking strategy was chosen that allowed for the development of the ad hoc database required to analyze each of the basic variables of the bibliometric indicators.

Findings

The results obtained show a growing interest of the scientific community in its study in the last decade, as shown by the significant increase in citations received by articles, despite the reduction in the number of papers published in the last two years.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitations are derived from the choice of a specific database, as well as the specific search equation.

Originality/value

The study presents an in-depth analysis of the current state of research regarding the Kaizen philosophy through its bibliometric study, providing useful information for academics and professionals by providing a series of significant indicators to measure the bibliographic material.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 1 April 1989

David D. Laitin

The issue of linguistic autonomy is a central one on the agenda of Catalan politics within the Spanish state. In the transition from Francoism, virtually all political groups in…

194

Abstract

The issue of linguistic autonomy is a central one on the agenda of Catalan politics within the Spanish state. In the transition from Francoism, virtually all political groups in Catalonia supported a statute of autonomy (1982) which declares that “Catalan is the official language of Catalonia, as is Castillian, the official language of the entire Spanish State.”

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

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Article
Publication date: 29 October 2021

Gandolfo Dominici

286

Abstract

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 50 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

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Article
Publication date: 27 December 2022

Gracia Rubio Martín, Conrado M. Miguel García, Francisco José González Sánchez and Álvaro Féliz Navarrete

The aim of this work is to explain the final negotiated prices for some of the most famous transfers of football players over the last twelve years (2007–2018).

404

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this work is to explain the final negotiated prices for some of the most famous transfers of football players over the last twelve years (2007–2018).

Design/methodology/approach

The article analyses different values for forwards taken from the sports website Transfermarkt, developing a statistical model based on personal, performance, risk, environmental and popularity variables. From those values, the article finds an explanation for the final prices paid for 20 superstar players based on a combination of real option valuations, incorporating the players' life cycles and game theory.

Findings

The authors find that in a large percentage (70%) of the analysed cases, the price paid was higher than the intrinsic market value resulting from Transfermarkt, implying the existence of monopolistic rents, paid as “growth options” on prices from different negotiating conditions. On occasions, the final prices also exceed the value of the growth option, calculated under neutral bargaining conditions, highlighting the lack of economic viability of important transfers, leading to financial difficulties for the clubs involved.

Originality/value

The algorithm provides more flexibility and realism than previous proposals, based on the life cycle of football players, introducing the uncertainty and volatility of projections through Monte Carlo simulation, the capacity of clubs to bargain a price at any point of the contract and finally, the buyer's ability to transfer the player if his subsequent performance is not as expected.

Details

Managerial Finance, vol. 49 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4358

Keywords

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