Reflexiones sobre la gestión de los servicios urbanos del agua: un recorrido histórico del caso español

In a first research study – Analysis of urban water management in historical perspective: evidence for the Spanish case – the cyclical trend in the urban water management services since the mid-nineteenth century was studied by the author. It was observed that most important periods of public management were replaced by periods in which private management dominates the situation and vice versa. The aim of this study focuses on the main causes that have led to processes of reprivatization of urban water services since the last quarter of the twentieth century, taking into account several published papers in this research area which have been revised. The final goal will be to reflect about these main explanatory factors behind reprivatization processes.En un primer trabajo —Analysis of urban water management in historical perspective: evidence for the Spanish case― estudiamos la existencia de una tendencia cíclica en la gestión del servicio urbano de aguas desde mediados del siglo XIX. Observamos que los periodos de mayor participación pública eran reemplazados por periodos de gestión privada y viceversa. El presente trabajo quiere estudiar las principales causas de los procesos de reprivatización del servicio urbano de aguas, desde el último cuarto del siglo XX, a partir de la revisión de una serie de trabajos publicados sobre este tema de investigación. El objetivo es reflexionar sobre las principales causas capaces de explicar dichos procesos

Reflections on urban water services management: A historic journey of Spanish case

En un primer trabajo —Analysis of urban water management in historical perspective: evidence for the Spanish case― estudiamos la existencia de una tendencia cíclica en la gestión del servicio urbano de aguas desde mediados del siglo XIX. Observamos que los periodos de mayor participación pública eran reemplazados por periodos de gestión privada y viceversa. El presente trabajo quiere estudiar las principales causas de los procesos de reprivatización del servicio urbano de aguas, desde el último cuarto del siglo XX, a partir de la revisión de una serie de trabajos publicados sobre este tema de investigación. El objetivo es reflexionar sobre las principales causas capaces de explicar dichos procesos.In a fi rst research study – Analysis of urban water management in historical perspective: evidence for the Spanish case – the cyclical trend in the urban water management services since the mid-nineteenth century was studied by the author. It was observed that most important periods of public management were replaced by periods in which private management dominates the situation and vice versa. The aim of this study focuses on the main causes that have led to processes of reprivatization of urban water services since the last quarter of the twentieth century, taking into account several published papers in this research area which have been revised. The fi nal goal will be to refl ect about these main explanatory factors behind reprivatization processes

The cyclical trend of local public service governance: evidence from urban water management in Spain

The level of public and private involvement in economic activity in societies has changed over time. One may talk about the existence of a cyclical trend in which the most important periods of public governance are replaced by periods in which private management dominates the situation. This phenomenon may also be observed in local areas. Some authors have pointed out the existence of an alternation in the provision of municipal services, resulting in periods dominated by governance compared to other stages dominated by private management. In order to illustrate this cyclical trend at local level, this paper intends to analyze the evolution of the governance of the Spanish water supply since the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Recent evidence from the industry suggests the possibility that we may currently be witnessing a further change in the trend.: Local Government, urban water supply, privatization, municipalization

A Critical Review of Homo Economicus from Five Approaches

Neoclassical economics is based on and structured around the notion of homo economicus. The theory of consumer choice, the theory of the firm, industrial organization, and welfare theorems all require the assumption that agents act in accordance with the scheme of individualistic rational optimization. In this context, our contribution is threefold. First, we delimit the notion of homo economicus according to five characteristics or dimensions. Second, we critically review this anthropological scheme from five distinct approaches, namely, behavioral economics, institutional economics, political economy, economic anthropology, and ecological economics. Third, we conclude that the scheme of homo economicus is clearly inadequate and deficient. However, despite its inadequacies, it remains one of the fundamental pillars of the neoclassical paradigm in economics, which allows us to discuss why we have not yet overcome this paradigm

Economics Students: Self-Selected in Preferences and Indoctrinated in Beliefs

There is much debate as to why economics students display more self-interested behavior than other students: whether homo economicus self-select into economics or students are instead “indoctrinated” by economics learning, and whether these effects impact on preferences or beliefs about others’ behavior. Using a classroom survey (n\u3e500) with novel behavioral questions we show that, compared to students in other majors, econ students report being: (i) more self-interested (in particular, less compassionate or averse to advantageous inequality) already in the first year and the difference remains among more senior students; (ii) more likely to think that people will be unwilling to work if unemployment benefits increase (thus, assuming others are motivated primarily by self-interest), but only among senior students. These results suggest self-selection in preferences and indoctrination in beliefs

The cyclycal trend of local public service governance: evidence from urban water management in Spain

The level of public and private involvement in economic activity in societies has changed over time. One may talk about the existence of a cyclical trend in which the most important periods of public governance are replaced by periods in which private management dominates the situation. This phenomenon may also be observed in local areas. Some authors have pointed out the existence of an alternation in the provision of municipal services, resulting in periods dominated by governance compared to other stages dominated by private management. In order to illustrate this cyclical trend at local level, this paper intends to analyze the evolution of the governance of the Spanish water supply since the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Recent evidence from the industry suggests the possibility that we may currently be witnessing a further change in the trend

Patience predicts cooperative synergy: the roles of ingroup bias and reciprocity

Patience—low delay discounting—has been shown to predict cooperative behavior in environments where cooperation conflicts with competitive aspirations. Indeed, impatience seems to be associated to a greater concern for the latter (i.e., for the individual’s relative standing). But what about intergroup-competition situations, where competitive sentiments against outgroups can trigger ingroup cooperation? We analyze the connection between delay discounting and performance in two problem-solving tasks with either individual or intergroup-competition incentives. We find a positive relationship between the mean patience of the members of a group (both when using long-term discounting and short-term discounting, also known as present bias) and the within-group cooperative synergy during intergroup competition. Further exploratory analyses based on a follow-up social preferences task suggest that, for long-term discounting, this result may be explained by patient (vs. impatient) individuals’ propensity to be initially cooperative and to subsequently treat group members based on reciprocal fairness instead of strict equality. For short-term discounting, or present bias, our exploratory analyses do not yield any significant result, meaning that we are unable to provide a social-preferences-based explanation to the higher synergy observed in groups with less present biased individuals

Proyecto de Innovación Docente 22-97: Creación de vídeos docentes y materiales de apoyo para aplicar el modelo de aula invertida (flipped classroom) en la asignatura Economía del Medio Ambiente

Este proyecto persigue los siguientes objetivos: (1) El fomento del trabajo autónomo de los estudiantes, al convertirse en responsables de las tareas previas (en este proyecto, el visionado de videos) antes de las sesiones síncronas. (2) El aumento de la motivación en relación con el aprendizaje a partir de la diversificación de las propuestas didácticas de trabajo en el aula en sustitución de la clase magistral; (3) El aumento de la interacción y la colaboración de los estudiantes durante el trabajo en clase. Para conseguir los objetivos anteriores este proyecto se plantea la elaboración de materiales multimedia para facilitar la adopción de la metodología del aula invertida, presentando el contenido más teórico a través de videos visionados fuera del aula (asíncrono) y quedando el tiempo de clase para el trabajo práctico (síncrono), es decir, la resolución de casos, trabajos grupales, debates, puzzle de Aronson, elaboración de mapas conceptuales, etc. La metodología de clase inversa propuesta en este proyecto permite que el alumnado sea protagonista de su propio aprendizaje, favorece la consolidación del conocimiento y la diversidad de las actividades realizadas en el aula, consigue un aprendizaje más profundo y perdurable en el tiempo, mejora el desarrollo de las competencias por el trabajo individual y colaborativo, e incrementa la motivación del alumnado. Por otra parte, y en relación con los materiales audiovisuales que se propone crear para acercar al alumno a las competencias teóricas básicas, al tratarse de videos cortos no exigen su visionado obligatoriamente en un PC, pudiendo utilizar el alumno tabletas o teléfonos móviles. De este modo, pueden consultarse desde cualquier ubicación, adaptándose en mayor grado a las prácticas y al lenguaje audiovisual de la población joven

Sobrepeso, obesidad y riesgo cardiovascular en la transición menopáusica

Introduction: the hormonal decline that is characteristic of the menopause, in conjunction with the associated weight gain, is considered a determinant factor of cardiovascular risk. Objetive: to examine weight status in relation to clinical symptoms during the menopausal transition, in women referred from primary care to an endocrinology specialist, to determine potential cardiovascular risk profiles. Method: observational analytic cross-sectional study, conducted with data from medical records created at time of referral. Study population: 805 women aged 40 years or older, a sufficient number of subjects and medical records for cardiovascular risk to be estimated. Results: hierarchic cluster analysis distinguished four clusters. The prevalence of obesity in each one exceeded 60%. The highest mean cardiovascular risk was observed in women who were older and presented obesity and hypertension. In younger age groups, the risk was low, rising to levels similar to those of the older women by the age of 65 years. Conclusion: these results suggest that preventive and therapeutic monitoring of obesity and modifiable risk factors should be conducted during the menopausal transition, to reduce the risk attributable to these factors, a risk that increases with time.Introducción: el declive hormonal característico de la menopausia, junto al aumento ponderal añadido, está considerado como un factor determinante de riesgo cardiovascular. Propósito: examinar la situación ponderal en relación con la sintomatología clínica, durante la transición menopáusica, en mujeres derivadas desde atención primaria a la especialidad de endocrinología, para describir los posibles perfiles de riesgo cardiovascular. Método: se realizó un diseño observacional, analítico, de corte transversal, con los datos registrados en las historias clínicas en el momento de la derivación. 805 mujeres con 40 y más años de edad disponían de los registros necesarios para la estimación del riesgo cardiovascular. Resultados: la agrupación jerárquica distingue cuatro grupos. La frecuencia de obesidad en todos ellos superó el 60%, observándose los mayores promedios de riesgo cardiovascular en las mujeres de mayor edad y elevada frecuencia de obesidad e hipertensión arterial. En los grupos de menor edad, la estimación del riesgo fue baja, incrementándose hasta niveles similares a los de mayor edad, al proyectarlo a 65 años. Conclusión: estos resultados sugieren la necesidad de un seguimiento preventivo y terapéutico de la obesidad y los factores de riesgo modificables durante la transición menopáusica, para reducir el riesgo atribuible a dichos factores con el paso de los años

Experiencia de mentorización entre docentes universitarios

Los profesores universitarios son los únicos profesionales de la educación reglada, en España, que no reciben una formación específica para el desarrollo de su actividad. La implantación de programas y planes de asesoramiento y mentoría para profesores noveles ofrece una excelente oportunidad para iniciarse en el ejercicio de la docencia universitaria. Este tipo de programas reduce incertidumbres y favorece el logro de los niveles de calidad y excelencia que ha de exigirse en la enseñanza universitaria. En esta comunicación se explica una experiencia de asesoría a profesores noveles desarrollada en la Facultad de Ciencias Políticas de la Universidad de Granada durante el curso 2009-2010