Cavlectometry: Towards Holistic Reconstruction of Large Mirror Objects

We introduce a method based on the deflectometry principle for the reconstruction of specular objects exhibiting significant size and geometric complexity. A key feature of our approach is the deployment of an Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) as pattern generator. To unfold the full power of this extraordinary experimental setup, an optical encoding scheme is developed which accounts for the distinctive topology of the CAVE. Furthermore, we devise an algorithm for detecting the object of interest in raw deflectometric images. The segmented foreground is used for single-view reconstruction, the background for estimation of the camera pose, necessary for calibrating the sensor system. Experiments suggest a significant gain of coverage in single measurements compared to previous methods. To facilitate research on specular surface reconstruction, we will make our data set publicly available

Living up to expectations: how job training made women better off and men worse off

We study the interaction between job and soft skills training on expectations and labor market outcomes in the context of a youth training program in the Dominican Republic. Program applicants were randomly assigned to one of 3 modalities: a full treatment consisting of hard and soft skills training plus an internship, a partial treatment consisting of soft skills training plus an internship, or a control group. We find strong and lasting effects of the program on personal skills acquisition and expectations, but these results are markedly different for young men and young women. Shortly after completing the program, both male and female participants report increased expectations for improved employment and livelihoods. This result is reversed for male participants in the long run, a result that can be attributed to the program’s negative short-run effects on labor market outcomes for males. While these effects seem to dissipate in the long run, employed men are substantially more likely to be searching for another job. On the other hand, women experience improved labor market outcomes in the short run and exhibit substantially higher levels of personal skills in the long run. These results translate into women being more optimistic, having higher self-esteem and lower fertility in the long run. Our results suggest that job-training programs of this type can be transformative – for women, life skills mattered and made a difference, but they can also have a downside if, like in this case for men, training creates expectations that are not met.Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociale

Living up to expectations: how job training made women better off and men worse off

We study the interaction between job and soft skills training on expectations and labor market outcomes in the context of a youth training program in the Dominican Republic. Program applicants were randomly assigned to one of 3 modalities: a full treatment consisting of hard and soft skills training plus an internship, a partial treatment consisting of soft skills training plus an internship, or a control group. We find strong and lasting effects of the program on personal skills acquisition and expectations, but these results are markedly different for young men and young women. Shortly after completing the program, both male and female participants report increased expectations for improved employment and livelihoods. This result is reversed for male participants in the long run, a result that can be attributed to the program’s negative short-run effects on labor market outcomes for males. While these effects seem to dissipate in the long run, employed men are substantially more likely to be searching for another job. On the other hand, women experience improved labor market outcomes in the short run and exhibit substantially higher levels of personal skills in the long run. These results translate into women being more optimistic, having higher self-esteem and lower fertility in the long run. Our results suggest that job-training programs of this type can be transformative – for women, life skills mattered and made a difference, but they can also have a downside if, like in this case for men, training creates expectations that are not met.Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociale

Living up to expectations: how job training made women better off and men worse off

We study the interaction between job and soft skills training on expectations and labor market outcomes in the context of a youth training program in the Dominican Republic. Program applicants were randomly assigned to one of 3 modalities: a full treatment consisting of hard and soft skills training plus an internship, a partial treatment consisting of soft skills training plus an internship, or a control group. We find strong and lasting effects of the program on personal skills acquisition and expectations, but these results are markedly different for young men and young women. Shortly after completing the program, both male and female participants report increased expectations for improved employment and livelihoods. This result is reversed for male participants in the long run, a result that can be attributed to the program’s negative short-run effects on labor market outcomes for males. While these effects seem to dissipate in the long run, employed men are substantially more likely to be searching for another job. On the other hand, women experience improved labor market outcomes in the short run and exhibit substantially higher levels of personal skills in the long run. These results translate into women being more optimistic, having higher self-esteem and lower fertility in the long run. Our results suggest that job-training programs of this type can be transformative – for women, life skills mattered and made a difference, but they can also have a downside if, like in this case for men, training creates expectations that are not met.Fil: Acevedo, Paloma. InterAmerican Development Bank; Estados UnidosFil: Cruces, Guillermo Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Departamento de Ciencias Económicas. Centro de Estudios Distributivos Laborales y Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Gertler, Paul. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Martinez, Sebastian. Inter American Development Bank; Estados Unido

Seguridad ciudadana, globalización y la legitimidad del ejercicio del poder

The purpose of this study is to elucidate how the Colombian criminal policy, with its shift to public safety, due to international policy guidelines and strategies geopolitical power centers of the global economy, mainly (but not exclusively) US This policy has led to problems at three levels: a first level, which shows problems of legitimacy; a second level of adequacy of means to ends, and a third level of collateral problems in implementing security policies. To do this we, first, a contextualization of the implementation of public policies in peripheral countries; in a second moment, a cursory approach to the criminal policies of the state in the twenty-first century; then it deepens in the design and implementation of the policy of Public Safety, and will end with the approach and explanation of the problems caused by the implementation of this policy.El propósito del presente trabajo es elucidar cómo la política criminal colombiana, con su giro hacia la seguridad ciudadana, obedece a lineamientos políticos internacionales y a estrategias geopolíticas de los centros de poder de la economía globalizada, principalmente (aunque no exclusivamente) de EE.UU. Esta política ha generado problemas en tres niveles: un primer nivel, que evidencia problemas de legitimación; un segundo nivel, de adecuación de los medios a los fines, y un tercer nivel, de problemas colaterales en la aplicación de las políticas de seguridad. Para ello haremos, primero, una contextualización de la aplicación de políticas públicas en los países periféricos; en un segundo momento, una aproximación somera a las políticas criminales del Estado en el siglo XXI; luego se profundizará en la concepción y aplicación de la política de Seguridad Ciudadana, y se terminará con el planteamiento y explicación de los problemas que genera la aplicación de esta política

Phenology and mortality of embryos in a Colombian population of Nymphargus grandisonae (Anura: Centrolenidae)

Fenologia e mortalidade de embriões em uma população colombiana de Nymphargus grandisonae (Anura: Centrolenidae). Estudos de fenologia e história natural dos anuros fornecem informações úteis para sua conservação. Isso é particularmente importante nos cenários atuais de doenças emergentes, altas taxas de desmatamento e mudanças climáticas. Monitoramos a época de reprodução da perereca-de-vidro Nymphargus grandisonae (Centrolenidae) e sua relação com a precipitação e a temperatura ambiental durante quatro anos em uma população localizada nos Andes Centrais da Colômbia, América do Sul. Além disso, registramos as causas de mortalidade nas desovas dessa espécie. Quantificamos a infestação por larvas de moscas e seus efeitos na sobrevivência dos embriões. Descobrimos que a atividade reprodutiva de N. grandisonae (número de machos vocalizando) foi sazonal e ocorreu nos meses de maior precipitação. A principal causa de mortalidade embrionária nas desovas esteve associada à infestação por uma mosca do gênero c.f. Cladochaeta (Drosophilidae). A sobrevivência de embriões em desovas infestadas foi significativamente menor do que naquelas não infestadas pelas larvas da mosca. Nossos achados fornecem dados básicos para o monitoramento da dinâmica populacional de anuros na região Andina usando a perereca-de-vidro N. grandisonae como modelo de estudo.Phenology and mortality of embryos in a Colombian population of Nymphargus grandisonae (Anura: Centrolenidae). Studies of phenology and natural history of anurans provide information useful for its conservation. This is particularly important in current scenarios of emergent diseases, high rates of deforestation, and climate change. We recorded the timing of breeding of the Glass Frog Nymphargus grandisonae and its relationship to precipitation and environmental temperature for four years in a population located in the Central Andes of Colombia, South America. In addition, we recorded the causes of mortality in egg clutches of this species. We quantified infestation by fly larvae and its impact on the survival of embryos. We found that the reproductive activity of N. grandisonae (number of males calling) was seasonal and occurred in months with highest precipitation. The main cause of embryo mortality in clutches was associated with the infestation by a spittlebug fly of the genus c.f. Cladochaeta (Drosophilidae). The survival of embryos in infested clutches was significantly lower than in those clutches not infested by fly larvae. Our results provide baseline data for the monitoring of anuran population dynamics in the Andean region using the glass frog N. grandisonae as a model system

Determinantes de la demanda por educación superior en Colombia.

Este artículo estudia los factores que en Colombia determinan la decisión de las personas de ingresar a la educación superior. Se utiliza información del Ministerio de Educación Nacional, del Instituto Colombiano de Crédito Educativo y Estudios Técnicos en el Exterior (Icetex) y de la Encuesta Continua de Hogares (ECH) para estimar un modelo de datos de panel al nivel de cada institución de educación superior (IES), para las 13 principales ´áreas metropolitanas, en el período 2000-2006. Los principales resultados del estudio sugieren que la oferta educativa tiene una gran influencia sobre las tasas de matrícula en las IES, particularmente en el sector publico. A su vez, la dinámica del empleo, especialmente el de las personas con educación secundaria, desempeña un papel significativo en las decisiones de los individuos para ingresar a los estudios superiores y en la escogencia del nivel educativo

Towards an integrated framework to measure user engagement with interactive or physical products

Building great products or services is not easy; users want products and services that exceed their expectations and evolve with their needs; it is not just about building the right features. Knowing the user engagement (UE) towards a physical, virtual product or service can give valuable information that could be used as feedback for the design, enhancing its chances of success. In the context of user-centered design, UE is the assessment of the user experience characterized by the study of the individual’s cognitive, affective, and behavioral response to some stimulus, such as a product, a service, or a website. UE considers not only the users’ requirements and wishes but also their perceptions and reactions during and after an interaction with a product, system, or service. Many studies looking to quantify the UE are available. Still, a framework that provides a generic view of the most commonly used methods and metrics to measure UE does not yet exist in the literature. Aiming to understand the UE better, in this research, we developed a conceptual framework summarizing the available metrics and techniques used across different contexts, including good practices of self-report methods and physiological approaches. We expect this study will allow future researchers, developers, and designers to consider the UE as one of the most prominent product/service success indicators and use this guideline to find the more appropriate method, technique, and metric for its measurement

Responsabilidad laboral empresarial en la Asociación de Cultivad ores de caña de azúcar de Colombia, frente a la crisis laboral del gremio cortero

Introducción: se pretende analizar el sector agroindustrial, específicamente el renglón económico del azúcar, ya que por parte de los corteros de caña se evidencian diferentes manifestaciones de inconformidad a las condiciones laborales que ofrecen los ingenios del país, presididos por la Asociación de Cultivadores de Caña de Azúcar de Colombia (ASOCAÑA). Metodología: el objetivo del presente trabajo es describir el nivel de aplicabilidad de Responsabilidad Laboral Empresarial (RLE) que se lleva a cabo en ASOCAÑA, tomando como referencia la crisis laboral del gremio cortero, por medio de cuestionarios y entrevistas semi-estructuradas. Resultados: se evidencia que por causa del modelo neoliberal implementado a comienzo de los 90, aumentaron ignificativamente los empleos indirectos e informales en Colombia.Conclusió: por causa de la globalización, algunas empresas en busca de estrategias competitivas redujeron costos en cuanto a sus trabajadores, impulsando así la precariedad laboral

El rol de profesionales educativos y psicólogos frente a situaciones conflictivas escolares

En Colombia, la corte constitucional aboga por los colegios y su decisión de no estar obligados a conservar a todo estudiante que en reiteradas ocasiones reincida en indisciplina, bajo rendimiento académico, agresión, daño al plantel o a terceros entre otros factores, como se contempla en la sentencia T-671/03. A pesar de que dichas directrices legales se presentaron y aprobaron en pro de la educación y su esperada mejora progresiva, las poblaciones estudiantiles involucradas parecen estar siendo aisladas y excluidas de las entidades educativas sin garantía alguna de acompañamiento o resolución de problemáticas, generando una crisis que aborda el plano individual del estudiante y se proyecta a lo colectivo, trascendiendo los márgenes del sistema educativo nacional mientras dichas problemáticas se extrapolan a la sociedad. A partir de lo anteriormente mencionado, emerge el objetivo general de esta investigación: buscar la voz de quienes desempeñan roles institucionales propios del modelo educativo tradicional y asumen el manejo de la resolución de problemas y sus causas en el ambiente escolar. Los resultados dieron cuenta de que varios tipos de conflicto como el acoso en redes sociales y la agresión física se posicionan sobre otros tipos de problemáticas, de una mayor presencia de orientadores que de psicólogos educativos en entidades educativas públicas, de estructuras y mecanismos sólidos consignados en los manuales de convivencia obedeciendo a las leyes de educación para hacer frente a las situaciones problema entre otros.In Colombia, the constitutional court advocates for schools and their decision to not be bound to keep in their classrooms every student who repeatedly relapses indiscipline, low academic performance, aggression or damage to the campus or to others among other factors, as contemplated in the judgement T-671/03. Despite those judicial guidelines were presented and approved in favor of education and its expected gradual improvement, the student groups involved seems to be isolated and excluded of educational institutions without any warranty of accompaniment nor conflict resolution, generating a crisis that boards student’s individual projects to collective goals, beyond the educational system margins therefore endangering society. Starting from above mentioned, the general objective of this research emerges as: look for the voice of those who performs institutional roles of the traditional educational pattern and assume the management of problem resolution and its causes in school environment. Results showed that several kinds of conflict as cyberbullying and physical aggression are positioned over other types of problems, of a higher presence of educational advisors than educational psychologists in public schools, structures and solid mechanisms consigned in the school coexistence manual in accordance with education law to deal with problem situations among other things.Psicólogo (a)Pregrad