Perceptions of pre-service teachers on seismic risk and their implications for science education: a comparative study between Spain and Portugal

Abstract

This study investigated the importance given by two groups of pre-service teachers of primary education from Spain and Portugal to seismic risk in a framework of different natural risks, both in personal terms and as future teachers. A questionnaire was used for data collection. Some questions about the seismic phenomenon were also included. The sample groups consisted of 110 students from an institution in Spain and 121 from one in Portugal. Both institutions are in cities affected by the historic Lisbon earthquake of 1755. The results showed that the risk of forest fire was the first choice for classroom study in both cases. The Spanish group was also more focused on the importance of other risks like flood and drought. The Portuguese group showed a greater concern with seismic risk, frequently referring to their own historic earthquake of 1755. A few gaps in knowledge concerning earthquake prediction and comparing seismic risk in different regions of their own countries were also found. In accordance with the results, it is suggested that training courses for primary school teachers should include Disaster Risk Education in Science Education for a better understanding of the impact of various hazards and a greater concern with seismic risk due to its particular features, especially in regions where the seismic pattern is characterized by long seismic cycles with major earthquake episodes.     

Tax incentives… or subsidies for business R&D?

We study whether firms’ actual use of R&D subsidies and tax incentives is correlated with financing constraints -internal and external- and appropriability difficulties and investigate whether both tools are substitutes. We compare the use of both policies by SMEs and by large firms and find significant differences both across instruments and across firm size. For SMEs, financing constraints are negatively correlated with the use of tax of credits, while they are positively associated with the likelihood of receiving a subsidy. The use of legal methods to protect intellectual property is positively correlated with the probability of using tax incentives, but not with the use of subsidies. For large firms external financing constraints are correlated with instrument use, but results regarding appropriability are ambiguous. Our findings suggest that (1) direct funding and tax credits are not perfect substitutes in terms of their ability to reach firms experiencing barriers associated to market failures; (2) one size may not fit all in innovation policy when the type or intensity of market failure differs across firm size, and (3) subsidies may be better suited than tax credits to encourage firms, especially young knowledge-based firms, to start doing R&D.     

The transmission mechanism in a changing world

The paper aims to identify those factors that cause changes in the speed and strength of the international transmission of output shocks from the USA to specified European economies. These factors are identified through the use of generalized impulse response functions conditioned on histories defined by an abrupt transition VAR. The chosen transition variables comprise changes in exchange rates, financial prices, international capital flows, trade links and monetary policy instruments. Besides the identification of asymmetric responses, the proposed model is useful in analyzing the strong effect of the recent US recession on the European economies and changes in business cycle synchronization over time. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Importance of Internal Resources and Capabilities and Destination Resources to Explain Firm Competitive Position in the Spanish Tourism Industry

This study draws on the Resource‐Based View to analyze the effects of distinctive competences in tourism firms and location in a tourism district on competitive position, and explores the moderating effects of the tourism destination. Multiple linear regression was used to test the research hypotheses on a sample of 1019 Spanish tourism firms. Results reveal that financial resources and dynamic and production capabilities favor a better competitive position for tourism firms in general; however, coordination and marketing capabilities are key factors for firms embedded in a tourism district, while dynamic capabilities have a negative effect in this case. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ramsey policies in a small open economy with sticky prices and capital

This paper analyzes jointly optimal fiscal and monetary policies in a small open economy with capital and sticky prices. We allow for trade in consumption goods under perfect international risk-sharing. We consider balanced-budget fiscal policies where authorities use distortionary taxes on labor and capital together with monetary policy using the nominal interest rate. First, as long as a symmetric equilibrium is considered, the steady state in an open economy is isomorphic to that of a closed economy. Second, sticky prices’ allocations are almost indistinguishable from flexible prices allocations both in open and closed economies. Third, the open economy dimension delivers results that are qualitatively similar to those of a closed economy but with significant quantitative changes. Tax rates are both more volatile and more persistent to undo the distortions implied by terms of trade fluctuations.     

Effects of database choice on international accounting research

Data availability is one of the traditional obstacles confronting researchers carrying out international empirical studies in accounting. In recent years several databases have claimed to offer comprehensive coverage of accounting and financial data of firms worldwide. We analyse whether the choice of database has an effect on the results of empirical studies. We find that the results of a simple empirical adaptation of the Ohlson (1995 ) model for fourteen member states of the European Union change significantly depending on the database chosen (Datastream, Global Vantage, Company Analysis, Worldscope, Thomson Financial, Financials and BvD Osiris). These differences are mainly attributable to differences in the samples across databases. When we match observations across all databases the differences persist but are much less pronounced. Our main conclusion is that database choice matters, as it leads to different results when the same research design is used.     

The persistence of unemployment and the natural rate in Spain

The concept of the natural rate of unemployment is central to policy making because it indicates the capability of an economy to increase the growth of employment without increasing inflation. Since it is a nonobservable variable, an empirical counterpart must be estimated. The methodology used is based on a system of simultaneous equations that combines nominal developments (wage and price data) with the structural and institutional features (real data) of the economy. Hence, estimates of the natural rate and potential output which are consistent between themselves are obtained. They are both robust in terms of their relationship to actual wage and price inflation and comprehensive in terms of their underlying structural determinants.     

Does indigenous and campesino traditional agriculture have anything to contribute to food sovereignty in Latin America? Evidence from Chile,Peru, Ecuador,Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico

The current challenge for world agriculture is to provide food for a growing population, within a context of environmental degradation and economic inequality. The challenge is how to produce accessible, healthy, diverse, nutritious, safe and abundant food in a way that is sustainable, allowing farmers to exert food sovereignty while at the same time addressing ecosystem conservation. The aim of this study is to explore the potential contribution of traditional agriculture to food sovereignty and also to understand the challenges that indigenous communities are facing today. Our case studies are from six Latin-American countries: Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico, where we carried out semi-structured, guided visits and field observations. Our results shed light on how traditional agricultural knowledge, techniques and practices can contribute to these issues, but also to the need of protecting and recovering the cultural and ecological heritage. There is a need to resolve public management issues, related to development investment, technological packages, cultural loss and gender. If these are not addressed, the potential contribution of ancient agricultural knowledge will fail to contribute to strengthen food sovereignty and maintain the local markets, which are also places for seed exchange, knowledge sharing and social networking.     

The virtuous circle of human resource investments: A precrisis and postcrisis analysis

We propose a dynamic model of positive feedback between human resource (HR) investments and companies' economic performance. The model assumes that HR investment increases profitability through labor productivity and, in turn, profitability improves HR investment through organizational slack. Based on data from a sample of 2,497 industrial companies over a 7‐year period (2005–2011), longitudinal analysis corroborates the existence of a two‐way relationship between HR investment and profitability over time. However, the emergence of an economic crisis weakens this feedback, identifying the effect of organizational slack on HR investment as the weakest causal chain link. In a postcrisis period, HR investment is not such a high priority for managers.