Ultrasound (US)-assisted extraction has been widely used for metal ion extraction in plants due to its unique properties of decreased extraction time, minimal contamination, low reagent consumption and low cost. However, very few papers present a sound comparison between probe-focussed sonication and conventional stirring in the evaluation of metal ion extraction in plants. In this study, ultrasonic-assisted digestion has been evaluated and compared to magnetic stirring for total copper and cadmium determination by atomic absorption spectrometry in biological samples (plants, plankton and mussels). The same experimental conditions of sample amount and particle size, extractant solution and extraction time were applied for both ultrasound and magnetic stirring-assisted extraction methods in order to truly compare their effect on metal ion solubilisation. To gain further insight in this issue, dried and fresh plants were tested. The results obtained indicated that osmotic tension in cell walls, produced when dried and powdered samples were immersed in the extractant solution, had an important contribution to metal ion solubilisation, the enhancement due to US for the same purpose being negligible.

En este artículo se concentran algunas acciones exitosas del III Plan de Igualdad de la Universidad de Deusto (País Vasco, España) como ejemplos de innovación social y mecanismos de transformación institucional. El trabajo presenta el proceso de diseño y elaboración del Plan y la incidencia que en él tuvo la concesión y puesta en marcha del proyecto europeo H2020 Gender Equality Actions in Research Institutions to Transform Gender Roles (GEARING-Roles). Se han seleccionado como ejemplos destacados dos acciones del plan: la Guía para la introducción de la perspectiva de género en docencia e investigación y el programa de mentorazgo FELISE, dirigido a jóvenes investigadoras. Asimismo, en el artículo se reflexiona sobre algunos de los retos que el plan tuvo que afrontar y cómo se resolvieron; en concreto, se exponen las herramientas para la detección y superación de las resistencias formales e informales, así como la experiencia del Humorarium como mecanismo de afrontamiento.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the public policies adopted to cope with the ensuing crisis had a significant impact on higher education and research institutions, and this captured the attention of numerous scholars. However, most of the analyses, especially those adopting a gender perspective, have focused on the impact of the pandemic on women as individuals (individual capabilities), while little attention has been paid to the impact on institutions and processes of structural change (collective capabilities). The capabilities approach (CA) is useful for analysing gender inequalities in higher education, and has also been used to examine the impact of the crisis on certain groups and situations. Based on the adaptation of this approach by Robeyns (2003) and Baser and Morgan (2008) to emphasise the importance of collective capabilities for individuals, institutions and society at large, this paper examines the institutional impact of the pandemic by drawing from the experiences of the six institutions in the GEARING-Roles project implementing gender equality plans (GEPs). To this end, we combine desk research of secondary sources with qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with representatives of the GEP implementers and observations of project meetings carried out between April 2020 and June 2022. Our findings indicate a considerable impact on the collective capabilities of the change agents in the participating institutions, which stem mainly from a lack of institutional commitment to the gender equality agenda, mobility restrictions and limited social relations. However, some positive elements also emerge, such as the teams’ exceptional capacity to adapt to adverse circumstances.

Classificação JEL: L60, L80, C80Resumo: o trabalho aborda o aumento da importância dos serviços nas últimas décadas, a partir da internacionalização da fragmentação da produção, destacando três funcionalidades assumidas pelos mesmos: o de conectores dos blocos produtivos dispersos geograficamente, o de participantes ativos das etapas de produção (offshoring de serviços) e o de agregadores de valor às manufaturas. Um impacto relevante desses papeis é a crescente interdependência entre manufatura e serviços, o que pode ser comprovado em evidências empíricas de diversos países e sob a ótica do emprego, do produto e do comércio internacional segundo o valor adicionado. Essa tendência gera questionamentos para o estudo da Indústria, sendo que o trabalho destaca três: i) a necessidade de uma revisão da literatura de desindustrialização; ii) oportunidade de discussão sobre os fatores e políticas geradoras de desenvolvimento para os países; iii) limitações do estudo empírico, ainda calcado em estatísticas baseadas na divisão entre manufatura e serviços.Abstract: the paper discuss the increasing importance of services in recent decades, starting in the period of internationalization of fragmentation production, highlighting three features used by service sectors: the connectors of production blocks geographically dispersed, the active actors of the production steps (offshoring services) and to incorporate value to manufacturing. A significant impact of these roles is the increasing interdependence between manufacturing and services, which can be showed on empirical evidence from different countries and from the perspective of employment, output and trade in value added. This trend raises questions for the study of the industry, especially in three main issues: i) the need for a review of deindustrialization literature s; ii) discussion opportunity on the factors and development generating policies for countries; iii) the empirical study also underpinned by statistics based on the division between manufacturing and service.