Productivity in Knowledge Worker Teams

The use of Information and Communication Technologies in work pro- cesses has not brought the expected productivity improvement. Some studies even suggest that the always-on model decreases productivity. This article proposes work teams as a new unit for knowledge worker productivity analysis in organizations. Organizations? ability to adopt new analysis measures is analyzed in three case studies

Concepciones erróneas en los museos de historia: una evaluación en el Museo y Parque Arqueológico Cueva Pintada

Este artículo revisa la importancia de las concepciones erróneas para la comprensión de la historia en el ámbito del aprendizaje informal en los museos y exposiciones. Se revisan las investigaciones y reflexiones realizadas en la enseñanza de la historia sobre las concepciones erróneas en el marco de las teorías de cambio conceptual. Se expone una trabajo empírico realizado en el Museo y Parque Arqueológico Cueva Pintada sobre la evaluación de los contenidos relativos a las sociedades canarias prehispánicas. Los resultados muestran que el museo es capaz de transmitir con eficacia una parte sustantiva de conocimiento histórico de una manera atractiva, pero muestra también la existencia de notables distorsiones que deben ser motivo de atención en la exposición y en los programas públicos y educativo

Planificación Integrada de Tiempos (PTI). Mejora de la productividad de trabajadores del conocimiento

Algunos estudios apuntan que el modelo de conexión permanente que traen las TIC dispersa la atención, disminuye la productividad y aumenta el estrés. Esta investigación presenta casos de empresas en los que se estudia la productividad de trabajadores del conocimiento

Multicolor two-photon light-sheet microscopy

International audienceTwo-photon microscopy is the most effective approach for deep-tissue fluorescence cellular imaging; however, its application to high-throughput or high-content imaging is often hampered by low pixel rates, challenging multicolor excitation and potential cumulative photodamage. To overcome these limitations, we extended our prior work and combined two-photon scanned light-sheet..

Encapsulation of Huh-7 cells within alginate-poly(ethylene glycol) hybrid microspheres

Novel calcium alginate poly(ethylene glycol) hybrid microspheres (Ca-alg-PEG) were developed and evaluated as potentially suitable materials for cell microencapsulation. Grafting 5-13% of the backbone units of sodium alginate (Na-alg) with α-amine-ω-thiol PEG maintained the gelling capacity in presence of calcium ions, while thiol end groups allowed for preparing chemically crosslinked hydrogel via spontaneous disulfide bond formation. The combination of these two gelling mechanisms yielded Ca-alg-PEG. Human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (Huh-7) were encapsulated in Ca-alg-PEG and calcium alginate beads (Ca-alg), and cultured for 2weeks under agitation conditions. Immediately after completion of the microencapsulation, the cell viability was 60% and similar in Ca-alg-PEG and Ca-alg. The proliferation of Huh-7 encapsulated in Ca-alg-PEG was slightly higher than in Ca-alg. Accelerated proliferation after 2weeks was observed for the encapsulation in Ca-alg-PEG. The production of albumin confirmed the functionality of the encapsulated Huh-7 cells. The study confirms the suitability of Ca-alg-PEG and the one-step technology for cell microencapsulatio

Human resources policies for strategic csr. The experience of ree (Red Eléctrica de España)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies have a strong link with human resources policies. Not only because employees are one of the main stakeholders and because leaders’ style is directly related to the deployment of the strategy, but also, and with a growing importance, because a company culture aligned with CSR values could be a key competitive factor. The relationships among CSR values, employees’ commitment and productivity is one of the research lines of the GIOS (Grupo de Investigación de Organizaciones Sostenibles, Sustainable Organizations Research Group). Employees’ commitment management is one of the main challenges managers face, particularly in companies with a high proportion of knowledge workers. Many pieces of research indicate the direct relationship between employees’ commitment and company success. In this paper the results of a case study in REE (Red Eléctrica de España) identify some key variables to demonstrate that relationship. Based on commitment construct with the duality of emotional and rational commitment, and on the REE employee satisfaction survey, a direct relationship with organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) variables appears. These OCB variables are an intermediate step with CSR values.From the results analysis of this survey a direct linear relationship can be seen between commitment and organizational citizenship behaviours. The relationships among emotional and rational commitment and OCB are examined separately with the conclusion being reached that there is a strong correlation in both cases. Moreover, the correlation between emotional commitment and OCB is somewhat stronger than that existing between rational commitment and OCB. it can also be seen how emotional commitment increases more strongly than rational commitment as organizational citizenship behaviours are gradually incorporated

In Situ Visualization of Block Copolymer Self-Assembly in Organic Media by Super-Resolution Fluorescence Microscopy

Analytical methods that enable visualization of nanomaterials derived from solution self‐assembly processes in organic solvents are highly desirable. Herein, we demonstrate the use of stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED) and single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) to map living crystallization‐driven block copolymer (BCP) self‐assembly in organic media at the sub‐diffraction scale. Four different dyes were successfully used for single‐colour super‐resolution imaging of the BCP nanostructures allowing micelle length distributions to be determined in situ. Dual‐colour SMLM imaging was used to measure and compare the rate of addition of red fluorescent BCP to the termini of green fluorescent seed micelles to generate block comicelles. Although well‐established for aqueous systems, the results highlight the potential of super‐resolution microscopy techniques for the interrogation of self‐assembly processes in organic media

Claves para la Gestión de Puestos de Trabajo en las Organizaciones en Red.

Las organizaciones viven cambios estratégicos, culturales y organizativos para adaptarse a la sociedad red. La incorporación de las Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación facilita los esquemas de trabajo en red dentro de las organizaciones y entre ellas. En este contexto, hay profesionales desbordados en su puesto de trabajo, por exceso de información, correos electrónicos, llamadas, reuniones, plataformas virtuales. Estos cambios suponen un reto para la organización del trabajo y mejora de productividad. En este artículo se propone un marco de análisis para esta organización del trabajo en puestos caracterizados por el predominio del conocimiento. Finalmente se contrasta con un estudio de caso

Red Eléctrica de España uses integer programming for annual salary revisions

In this paper, we present a mixed-integer linear programming model for determining salary-revision matrices for an organization based on that organization?s general strategies. The solution obtained from this model consists of salary increases for each employee; these increases consider the employee?s professional performance, salary level relative to peers within the organization, and professional group. In addition to budget constraints, we modeled other elements typical of compensation systems, such as equity and justice. Red Eléctrica de España (REE), the transmission agent and operator of the Spanish electricity system, used the model to revise its 2010 and 2011 salary policies, and achieved results that were aligned with the company strategy. REE incorporated the model into the salary management module within its information system, and plans to continue to use the model in revisions of the module