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Differences in management quality are an important contributor to productivity differences across countries. A key question is how to best improve poor management in developing countries. This paper tests two different approaches to improving management in Colombian auto parts firms. The first uses intensive and expensive one-on-one consulting, while the second draws on agricultural extension approaches to provide consulting to small groups of firms at approximately one-third of the cost of the individual approach. Both approaches lead to improvements in management practices of a similar magnitude (8-10 percentage points), so that the new group-based approach dominates on a cost-benefit basis. Moreover, the paper finds some evidence that the group-based intervention led to increases in firm size over the next three years, while the impacts on firm outcomes are smaller and statistically insignificant for the individual consulting. The results point to the potential of group-based approaches as a pathway to scaling up management improvements.

Employment --- Management --- Private Sector Development --- Scaling-Up Interventions

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Changes in land use and land cover can have many drivers, including population growth, urbanization, agriculture, demand for food, evolution of socio-economic structure, policy regulations, and climate variability. The impacts of these changes on water resources range from changes in water availability (due to changes in losses of water to evapotranspiration and recharge) to degradation of water quality (increased erosion, salinity, chemical loadings, and pathogens). The impacts are manifested through complex hydro-bio-geo-climate characteristics, which underscore the need for integrated scientific approaches to understand the impacts of landscape change on water resources. Several techniques, such as field studies, long-term monitoring, remote sensing technologies, and advanced modeling studies, have contributed to better understanding the modes and mechanisms by which landscape changes impact water resources. Such research studies can help unlock the complex interconnected influences of landscape on water resources in terms of quantity and quality at multiple spatial and temporal scales. In this Special Issue, we published a set of eight peer-reviewed articles elaborating on some of the specific topics of landscape changes and associated impacts on water resources.

History of engineering & technology --- LID practices --- watershed scale --- impervious area --- peak flow --- surface runoff --- shallow subsurface runoff and infiltration --- evapotranspiration --- stream temperature --- SWAT --- Marys River watershed --- soil temperature --- solar energy --- watershed model --- landscape scale --- VELMA --- bank erosion --- landscape metrics --- diversity --- Sajó River --- UAV --- spatial configuration units --- best management practices (BMPs) --- spatial optimization --- hydrologic response units (HRUs) --- hydrologically connected fields --- slope positions --- watershed process simulation --- DMMF --- landscape configuration --- landscape ecology --- hydrology --- scaling-up conservation agriculture --- drip irrigation --- groundwater potential --- sustainable intensification --- Ethiopia --- flood analysis --- hydrologic modeling --- hydrodynamic modeling --- HEC-RAS --- flood zone delineation --- landscape change --- water resources analysis --- water modeling --- impact assessment

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The conversion and storage of renewable energy sources is key to the transition from a fossil-fuel-based economy to a low-carbon society. Many new game-changing materials have already impacted our lives and contributed to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, such as high-efficiency photovoltaic cells, blue light-emitting diodes, and cathodes for Li-ion batteries. However, new breakthroughs in materials science and technology are required to boost the clean energy transition. All success stories in materials science are built upon a tailored control of the interconnected processes that take place at the nanoscale, such as charge excitation, charge transport and recombination, ionic diffusion, intercalation, and the interfacial transfer of matter and charge. Nanostructured materials, thanks to their ultra-small building blocks and the high interface-to-volume ratio, offer a rich toolbox to scientists that aspire to improve the energy conversion efficiency or the power and energy density of a material. Furthermore, new phenomena arise in nanoparticles, such as surface plasmon resonance, superparamegntism, and exciton confinement. The ten articles published in this Special Issue showcase the different applications of nanomaterials in the field of energy storage and conversion, including electrodes for Li-ion batteries and beyond, photovoltaic materials, pyroelectric energy harvesting, and (photo)catalytic processes.

nanoparticle --- nanoalloy --- catalyst --- CO2 reduction --- hydrocarbon --- synthetic fuel --- iron --- cobalt --- perovskite solar cell --- hole transport layer --- CuCrO2 nanoparticles --- thermal stability --- light stability --- aluminum ion batteries --- reduced graphene oxide --- tin dioxide --- 3D electrode materials --- mechanical properties --- TiO2 --- azo dye --- wastewater treatment --- photocatalysis --- sodium formate --- dry etching --- black silicon --- photovoltaics --- plasmonics --- heterogeneous catalysis --- nanoparticles --- single molecule localization --- super-resolution microscopy --- surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy --- Li-ion batteries --- anodes --- intermetallics --- silicon --- composites --- nanomaterials --- coating --- mechanochemistry --- zinc sulfide --- wurtzite --- co-precipitation synthesis --- solvent recycling --- green synthesis --- scaling up --- pilot plant --- chalcopyrite compounds --- nanocrystals --- hydrothermal --- spin coating --- EIS --- conductivity --- lithium-ion batteries --- SnO2 --- nanoarray --- anode --- high-rate --- n/a

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The conversion and storage of renewable energy sources is key to the transition from a fossil-fuel-based economy to a low-carbon society. Many new game-changing materials have already impacted our lives and contributed to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, such as high-efficiency photovoltaic cells, blue light-emitting diodes, and cathodes for Li-ion batteries. However, new breakthroughs in materials science and technology are required to boost the clean energy transition. All success stories in materials science are built upon a tailored control of the interconnected processes that take place at the nanoscale, such as charge excitation, charge transport and recombination, ionic diffusion, intercalation, and the interfacial transfer of matter and charge. Nanostructured materials, thanks to their ultra-small building blocks and the high interface-to-volume ratio, offer a rich toolbox to scientists that aspire to improve the energy conversion efficiency or the power and energy density of a material. Furthermore, new phenomena arise in nanoparticles, such as surface plasmon resonance, superparamegntism, and exciton confinement. The ten articles published in this Special Issue showcase the different applications of nanomaterials in the field of energy storage and conversion, including electrodes for Li-ion batteries and beyond, photovoltaic materials, pyroelectric energy harvesting, and (photo)catalytic processes.

Research & information: general --- Physics --- nanoparticle --- nanoalloy --- catalyst --- CO2 reduction --- hydrocarbon --- synthetic fuel --- iron --- cobalt --- perovskite solar cell --- hole transport layer --- CuCrO2 nanoparticles --- thermal stability --- light stability --- aluminum ion batteries --- reduced graphene oxide --- tin dioxide --- 3D electrode materials --- mechanical properties --- TiO2 --- azo dye --- wastewater treatment --- photocatalysis --- sodium formate --- dry etching --- black silicon --- photovoltaics --- plasmonics --- heterogeneous catalysis --- nanoparticles --- single molecule localization --- super-resolution microscopy --- surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy --- Li-ion batteries --- anodes --- intermetallics --- silicon --- composites --- nanomaterials --- coating --- mechanochemistry --- zinc sulfide --- wurtzite --- co-precipitation synthesis --- solvent recycling --- green synthesis --- scaling up --- pilot plant --- chalcopyrite compounds --- nanocrystals --- hydrothermal --- spin coating --- EIS --- conductivity --- lithium-ion batteries --- SnO2 --- nanoarray --- anode --- high-rate --- nanoparticle --- nanoalloy --- catalyst --- CO2 reduction --- hydrocarbon --- synthetic fuel --- iron --- cobalt --- perovskite solar cell --- hole transport layer --- CuCrO2 nanoparticles --- thermal stability --- light stability --- aluminum ion batteries --- reduced graphene oxide --- tin dioxide --- 3D electrode materials --- mechanical properties --- TiO2 --- azo dye --- wastewater treatment --- photocatalysis --- sodium formate --- dry etching --- black silicon --- photovoltaics --- plasmonics --- heterogeneous catalysis --- nanoparticles --- single molecule localization --- super-resolution microscopy --- surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy --- Li-ion batteries --- anodes --- intermetallics --- silicon --- composites --- nanomaterials --- coating --- mechanochemistry --- zinc sulfide --- wurtzite --- co-precipitation synthesis --- solvent recycling --- green synthesis --- scaling up --- pilot plant --- chalcopyrite compounds --- nanocrystals --- hydrothermal --- spin coating --- EIS --- conductivity --- lithium-ion batteries --- SnO2 --- nanoarray --- anode --- high-rate