This article presents an instrument that measures corporate social responsibility based on community perception. We took a sample of350 people from Arequipa, Peru and applied a 50-item inventory. Factor analysis established the existence of three factors with optimum evidence of validity related to internal structure and with reliable scores: benefits of corporate social responsibility at the local level (α= .866), individual benefits of corporate social responsibility (α= .802), and environmental affairs (α= .739). We also eliminated six items that did not saturate in the three factors found. The structure of the test and the design process are analyzed at the end of this study.
This research seeks to fill the void of objective instruments for measuring business to customer (B2C), product-based, electronic transactions by developing the ‘E- commerce level index’ (ECLI), a tool working with different categories of variables related to what a company must have in its web page in order to allow proper development of commercial transactions via electronic means, especially cross- border transactions. The ECLI is then applied to thirty apparel and cosmetics firms in the United States, Brazil, and Colombia. The U.S. firms have the highest ECLI rating in both industries, followed by Brazil and Colombia, consecutively. When analyzed by transaction stage, the overall ratings are in the same order; however, each country demonstrates distinct strengths and weaknesses by industry and by transaction process.
In order to improve processes, there are many models that offer to adopt the best practices for software development, which make it possible to have control, facilitate management, and continuous improvement of processes. Many companies have tried to adopt improvement models, but have failed because there is no guide to instruct companies on how to select a model. Hence, they end up choosing the most common models in the industry, which may not necessarily be the best fit based on the company's situation and characteristics and thus fail to achieve the main objective of improving processes. To meet this need, a recommendations guide is proposed to select a process improvement model with the purpose of providing a tool that makes it possible to select improvement models that best fit the company needs and avoid those which would not be convenient considering the current situation of the company. The choice of improvement model is of vital importance to the company, for if it is not correctly selected taking into account advantages and disadvantages and considering the company's characteristics and objectives, it could become harmful to the company rather than a means of improvement.
In response to the need of engineering careers for permanent updates within this world of drastic technological changes, this study analyzes the development of competencies and skills during the education of future professionals in the fields of electronic and control engineering. The developments in electronics and control are currently centered on the integration of mechanical, electronic, and computer information systems applied to robotics and to integrated production systems. Thus, teaching materials and educational training modules are developed. The topics to be developed include industrial controllers, applied robotics, communication networks, supervision software, and technology-integrating devices. Based on practical situations organized from what is known as the "laboratory of applied technologies", questions will be formulated that favor a wide exposition of the knowledge of the students; then, new situations of growing complexity continue that are compatible with the level of the students to promote the evolution of the initial models; finally, conclusions, knowledge structures, and application activities are established. The study describes a series of devices (materials and methods) to improve education in applied technologies in the field of electronic and control engineering for university students through in-context experiences. These experiences are expected to favor the comprehension of basic concepts of science and technology in an integrated educational framework.
In the present study, a multivariate statistical analysis of the key factors that explain the variability of seasonal adjustment factor K, which is determined to correct the duration of the project activities of high-rise construction, with the goal of improving the operational management of such projects regarding deadlines. The buildings considered in this study include housing projects with a height of at least five floors in the region of Coquimbo, Chile. For this, a bibliographic research and personal interview is conducted in order to determine preliminary factors of interest. Then, factor analysis and multi-criteria methodology is applied to a panel of experts and professionals surveyed in order to obtain a series of indicators to select variables with a high contribution coefficient. In light of this, the results show that the seasonal adjustment factor K is mainly explained by five internal factors and five external factors, which are described in the following key areas: personnel at work in the field, availability of materials and equipment, project developer, relationships with suppliers, and regulatory changes. Thus, the management performed on these variables will have a positive impact by improving the aim of finishing the project within the scheduled deadlines.
