PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the production function nexus between higher education practice and the development of innovation‐related competencies by university graduates in Spain. The research hypothesis is the presence of statistically significant relationships between the development of innovational competencies and the modes of teaching and learning used in higher education practice.Design/methodology/approachThe relationships are modeled through a set of stochastic frontier and variance component equations with the development of each competency as the dependent variable. The main explanatory variables capture the prevalence of diverse teaching/learning modes and the behavior of graduates during their studies. Controls for individual and study programs are also included. Data comes from the European graduate survey REFLEX and includes about 5,500 records.FindingsEstimates show evidence of significant marginal effects of the teaching and learning modes and the development of specific competencies by graduates. Proactive methods in general, and problem‐based learning in particular, appear as the most effective classroom practices to develop the competencies required to innovate in the workplace.Research limitations/implicationsTo guide the implementation of reforms in higher education, more must be learned about possible trade‐offs between the diverse types of resources involved and the outcomes obtained. Resources should be examined in terms of their relative costs and the results interpreted with regard to their value to individuals and society.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to explore quantitatively the influence of higher education practice on the development of the capabilities required to innovate in the workplace.

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In this paper we study the asymptotic behaviour of solutions of a first-order stochastic lattice dynamical system with an additive noise.We do not assume any Lipschitz condition on the nonlinear term, just a continuity assumption together with growth and dissipative conditions, so that uniqueness of the Cauchy problem fails to be true.Using the theory of multi-valued random dynamical systems we prove the existence of a random compact global attractor.

The way in which the extensive use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has influenced the incidence of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) among human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients is not yet understood. The present study assessed whether the incidence of symptomatic VL in HIV-infected patients has decreased since the introduction of HAART. Likewise, the role of other potential risk factors for VL was also analyzed. Therefore, 479 HIV-1-infected patients receiving antiretroviral treatment, according to the available drugs at each moment, were prospectively followed from April 1989 to June 2000 in two university hospitals in southern Spain. A bone marrow aspiration was performed when patients showed symptoms suggestive of kala-azar. A diagnosis of VL was made when Leishmania amastigotes were seen in Giemsa-stained samples or promastigotes were cultured in specific media. The median follow-up time was 1,380 [8 to 4,536] days. Twenty-one patients were diagnosed with symptomatic VL. The density of incidence of VL has decreased 64.8% as of January 1997, when HAART began to be used extensively in our area. The use of HAART was the main independent factor associated with VL; this therapy was a protective factor (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.02 to 0.15). CDC clinical category C at entry in the cohort (HR, 4.08; 95% CI, 1.46 to 11.35) and CD4؉ cell counts below 300 cells/mm 3 during the follow-up (HR, 3.96; 95% CI, 1.56 to 10.01) were also independently associated with kala-azar. A VL diagnosis prior to follow-up and low compliance with antiretroviral therapy were not independently associated with symptomatic VL, although statistical significance was almost reached (P ‫؍‬ 0.1 and P ‫؍‬ 0.08, respectively). In summary, the use of HAART has led to a fall in the incidence of symptomatic VL in HIV-infected patients. The main risk factor associated with kala-azar emergence in patients infected with HIV is deep immunosuppression.