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Governments are increasingly relying on private participation projects and foreign ownership to access technology and capital in infrastructure projects. As a result, the ubiquity of these projects...

Soft computing techniques can be particularly useful for industrial and environmental enterprises. Companies in these sectors face a wide diverse of challenges in their different operations, most o...

This study analyzes foreign direct investment flows from southern European countries to one of two nearby developing regions: north African countries and new European Union member states in central and eastern Europe. As expected, good economic perspectives, human capital, and development of infrastructures attract greater investment flows. However, greater levels of political risk, measured through scales of political discretion, corruption, and economic freedom, do also attract higher inflows. Despite the fact that one might expect global flows to fall as a consequence of political risk, those from the countries in the sample increase, because they come from firms that are searching for a market niche where they can take advantage of their political capabilities.

This study seeks to analyse the impact of political risk variables in the location strategy of Spanish Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) in Europe. Evidence is obtained from the relevance of lower political constraints to attract investments, but the results also highlight the importance of cultural and geographical proximity, which may overtake inconveniences derived from higher corruption or lower economic-freedom levels. Population, low unemployment rates and previous international experience in countries all around the world are also found to play a key role as determinants of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) location for Spanish firms.

The present paper, drawing from the perspective of social cognition, examines and evaluates an intervention based on social-cognitive perspective-taking on the reduction of stereotyping and prejudice in older adults. Data were collected in a sample of Spanish participants with a mean age of 63.2 years. The intervention, aimed at reducing prejudice and stereotyping, was based on mental imagery and tested different variables that could moderate perspective-taking effectiveness. Main effects were not found in ANOVAs, but the interaction effects reveal that the intervention was effective for some participants, particularly for those with higher scores in agreeableness, differential attribution, and some values. Conclusions are applied to the field of university programs for older adults.

This paper discusses the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), its creation, its guidelines, and its inherently innovative potential. It looks closely at the theoretical proposals, the innovative regulations and institutional practices in the process of academic change that relate to teaching, research and management. It also describes the emergence of creative processes in quality assurance and methodological renewal. These bring new professional challenges and educational opportunities to the fore; challenges which raise ethical issues for those involved in these approaches to universities in Spain and the European Union.

The reproductive potential and population growth of the 50th generation of ‘Cnephasia’ jactatana Walker, reared on a general purpose diet (Singh 1983) in the laboratory, were studied at 20 ± 2°C, 75 ± 5% RH and at 16L : 8D photoperiod. Daily fecundity ranged from 0.9 to 18.14 females/female/d. Fifty percent of eggs were laid within 6 d after emergence and first adult mortality occurred 8 d after emergence.The intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm ) for this moth was 0.0847 females/female/d. Theoretically, the ‘C.’ jactatana population would double in 8.2 d and increase about 92 times (Ro ) in a generation (T = 53 d).

Wiseana larvae are a serious pest of pasture in New Zealand but can be difficult to rear in the laboratory for research purposes. A method is described whereby field‐collected larvae were successfully raised to adults. Larvae were reared individually at 5, 10, 15, and 20°C in petri dishes containing moistened bark and were fed with a semi‐synthetic diet based on white clover and carrot. Survival to both pupation and adulthood was greatest at 15°C, at which about 46% of field‐collected larvae pupated and 39% developed to adults.

The oviposition behaviour of ‘Cnephasia’ jactatana Walker, a pest of Hayward kiwifruit, was investigated in the laboratory. Almost 95% of eggs were deposited on the upper side of leaves with the remainder on twigs. No eggs were laid on fruits or flowers. When given a choice, ‘C.’ jactatana laid significantly more eggs on mature than on young leaves of Hayward (green) and laid significantly more and larger egg masses on Hayward than on Hort16A (gold) leaves. Females preferred a smooth to hairy leaf surface for oviposition.

Mass rearing (MR) and individual rearing (IR) systems for the production of ‘Cnephasia’ jactatana were evaluated in the laboratory using the attributes of larval survival, pupal weight, emergence rate, fecundity and fertility.The IR system gave a significantly lower larval mortality rate and higher adult emergence rate than the MR system. Insects from the IR were heavier and presented higher fecundity and fertility than those from the MR. Adults from the IR emerged within 7 d while emergence from the MR took up to 15 d. The IR system is recommended for the production of insects for research.