Search results for "BENEFIT"
showing 10 items of 471 documents
Sustainable and Conventional Banking in Europe
2020
At the end of the 20th century a new banking model, the so-called ethical banking, emerged becoming the maximum exponent of a socially responsible investment. The financial crisis in 2008 led to a distrust of the conventional financial system and consequently investors began to look with interest this new banking, which only invests in ethical activities and products, with social and environmental criteria, total transparency and a democratic management. The aim of this article is to analyze the economic structure of ethical banking, compared to that of conventional banking, by paying attention to its liquidity, coverage and solvency. Specifically, We compare the financial statements of Tri…
Composite indicator of financial development in a benefit-of-doubt approach
2013
We use data by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to build a Composite Financial Development Index (CFDI) alternative to the WEF financial index. Unlike the WEF index, the CFDI optimally combines seven dimensions with non‐fixed weights determined endogenously without recourse to subjective opinions of experts. The CFDI is obtained by applying a Data Envelopment Analysis linear programming model with proportion restrictions on weights calculated in a Benefit‐of‐Doubt approach. In this way, the CFDI scores allow us to group 60 countries by different levels of financial development identifying dimensions that contribute to good or poor financial performances, taking into account the different char…
Nonthermally driven volatilome evolution of food matrices: The case of high pressure processing
2020
Abstract Background The adoption of innovative nonthermal processing as alternatives to conventional heating techniques in the food industry is mainly relied on their tremendous potential to simultaneously achieve preservation purposes and the maintenance of fresh-like characteristics and health benefits of final products. With increasing evaluation for the applicability of nonthermal processing, there remains, however, a great challenge for keeping the balance between the efficiency of microbial/enzymatic inactivation and the maintenance of sensory and nutritional characteristics. Accordingly, a timely summarization and elucidation of the response pattern and mechanism of related quality p…
Impact of conventional and non-conventional processing on prickly pear ( Opuntia spp.) and their derived products: From preservation of beverages to …
2017
Abstract Background In recent years, both food researchers and food industry have shown growing interest in Opuntia fruits, as they constitute a good source of phytochemicals such as phenolics, vitamin C, vitamin E, polysaccharides and betalains. Many of these compounds have shown antioxidant, anti-cancer, antiatherosclerotic and/or hepatoprotective properties. Moreover, the fruit is also a source of dietary fibers, which promote bowel transit, thus preventing constipation. Scope and approach Due to these properties, Opuntia fruits are considered as functional products offering numerous health benefits when are consumed as fresh or processed product. However, these compounds can lose their …
Strengthening SMEs’ innovation culture through collaborations with public research organizations. Do all firms benefit equally?
2017
The purpose of this paper is to explore whether collaborating with public research organizations (PROs) contributes to strengthening the innovation culture of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). We examine to what extent their innovation culture is reinforced by collaborations with research organizations and investigate the type of organizational strategies that enhance this effect of collaboration. The empirical study is based on a survey of firms that collaborate with the largest Spanish PRO, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Our results indicate that SMEs differ greatly in their capacity to strengthen their innovation culture through collaboration with research organizatio…
Parasites in sympatric populations of native and invasive freshwater bivalves
2021
An increasing threat to local, native freshwater mussels (Unionida)—an ecologically important but globally alarmingly declining group— is the invasion by exotic bivalves. The Enemy Release Hypothesis predicts that introduced species should benefit from enemy-mediated competition because they are less likely to be harmed by natural enemies, such as parasites, than their native competitors. We investigated within-site differences in parasitism between sympatric native (tot. five spp.) and invasive (tot. three spp.) bivalves in eight northern European waterbodies, which harboured totally 15 parasite taxa. In paired comparisons using within-site averages, the mean number of parasite species in …
The Power of Science Communication
2014
The study will investigate the concepts of science communication and its benefits. Being good communicators in general will help scientists to be better science communicators in order to: • help the public understand science as part of their real lives, • see not only the importance of the science and its source of pleasure and wonder, but also to be able to make decisions about it as citizens, policymakers, funders, etc. • help in educating citizenry, concerned about the threats facing our planet to better shape the direction of political and policy decisions, because how scientists communicate this information may have measurable conservation impacts on the future of our planet. More than…
Sustainable Infrastructure Projects: Systemic versus Traditional Delivery Models
2021
Sustainability involves multiple environmental, technical, social and economic factors, and such complex analysis requires systemic solutions. Delivery models are key to achieving system benefits and enhancing sustainable development in infrastructure investments. They define the phases of a project, incentive structures, risk sharing and the relationships among the actors in it. They are usually developed early in the project and determine the project dynamics and outcomes. We compared traditional delivery models with systemic ones. We identified and illustrated elements that differ between them through two cases. The contribution is an increased understanding of how systemic infrastructur…
Sustainable development of apple snack formulated with blueberry juice and trehalose
2021
Novel products that carry concrete and relevant health benefits, with texture and flavor not substantially different from already available products, are generally well accepted by consumers. Vacuum impregnation is a non-thermal technology that allows the enrichment of fruit with different ingredients in solution. The characteristic of the resulting product is a combination of both the solid matrix and the impregnation solution. This work aimed at: (i) evaluating the effect of trehalose on anthocyanin retention after drying of apple snacks vacuum impregnated with blueberry juice
Application of the International classification of functioning, disability and health in Taiwan : victory of the medical model
2017
AbstractSince July 2012, eligibility for disability benefits and services in Taiwan has been assessed based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. This study examines disabled people’s experiences of this new assessment system: does it incorporate the social model or a multidimensional understanding of disability and assess the needs of disabled people adequately? In-depth interviews were employed with 24 disabled persons to answer these questions from the perspective of disabled people. The findings show that the new assessment model is still medicalised: social roles and social participation are not considered, the assessment process is dominated by pro…