The Analysis of ‘Leading Sectors’: A Long term view of 18 Latin American economies

In the 1950s and 60s, in Latin America structuralism was considered as the preeminent form of analysis of economic development and growth. Nowadays, in contrast, as a mode of analysis structuralism is distinctly unfashionable, and has been superceded by newer endogenous growth theories, which build on earlier neoclassical contributions. Beyond broad endorsements of enhancing human capital, promoting infrastructure provision and the importance of sustaining investment levels, it is arguable whether endogenous growth theories been able to shed much light on the dynamics of growth. This paper revindicates the utility of structuralist analysis in the analysis of Latin American growth patterns. Through some simple empirical tests, it explores the relationship between economic growth and structural performance. Using as high a level of disaggregation as the data allows, we use dynamic panel data analysis together with a steady state model to calculate the elasticities of sectoral growth to overall output. The implications for resource allocation and policies to promote particular sectors are discussed.Growth, Structural Change, Latin America, Kaldor Growth Laws, Economic Development

EXPLORING LATINX PARENTS’ EXPERIENCES WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION: DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY-BASED WORKSHOP TO EMPOWER LATINX PARENTS OF CHILDREN IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

Parent involvement has been found to be predictive of successful student learning. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), parents are required to be active participants in the development of their child’s special education. Latinx parents of children in special education face various challenges when it comes to parent involvement. A sample size of seven Latinx mothers with children in special education participated in this study, whose aim was to examine Latinx parents’ experiences in navigating the special education process and to identify and explore culturally responsive interventions that can increase parents’ participation and advocacy for their children with disabilities. An eight-week study was conducted during a weekly workshop that focused on various topics: (a) understanding special education, (b) increasing knowledge about services available to support children’s academic progress, (c) communicating and working collaboratively to increase family–school partnerships, and (d) learning strategies to improve advocacy and participation. In order to understand the experiences of the participants, I used Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework was used to examine the intersectionality of race, language, disability, education, and cultural subjugation specific to Latinx parents in special education. The purpose of this study is to aid Latinx parents with foundational knowledge about the special education system, to create opportunities to increase their social capital in a community-based workshop setting. The analysis revealed that when Latinx parents are informed about how the special education system works, they show a commitment to learn about resources, access information, engage in transformation ways, become advocates, and learn to empower each other. Understanding the barriers that prevent Latinx parents from participating in their child’s special education process can help inform practices and future research

City of Guadalupe Cultural Arts & Education Center Veterans Memorial Wall

As a student in Construction Management, the importance of firsthand experience in the construction industry should not be taken lightly. The responsibility of every construction manager is to learn how to take a project from concept to reality. The primary five elements of construction management entail project programming, design development, material specifications, estimating, and scheduling. This paper documents the construction management process related to a Veterans Memorial Wall. Through coordination with the project stakeholders (i.e. property owners, engineer consultants, material fabricators, and vendors) a fully immersive construction management experience is gained. One of the stakeholder requirements was to establish a reasonable budget based on an unknown range that needed to be established. Common knowledge among construction managers is the three controlling variables of time, quality, and budget. A project like the Veterans Memorial Wall has an emotional component that enables the project budget to sit within the moderate to luxury bracket because important people are being remembered. As a result of that bracket, quality tends to reside on the high side and therefore, a longer timeline is required to meet the level of quality. Mounting a granite slab may appear simple in concept; however challenging steps are required for successful execution

A construction of continuous-time ARMA models by iterations of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes

We present a construction of a family of continuous-time ARMA processes based on p iterations of the linear operator that maps a Lévy process onto an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. The construction resembles the procedure to build an AR(p) from an AR(1). We show that this family is in fact a subfamily of the well-known CARMA(p,q) processes, with several interesting advantages, including a smaller number of parameters. The resulting processes are linear combinations of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes all driven by the same L´evy process. This provides a straightforward computation of covariances, a state-space model representation and methods for estimating parameters. Furthermore, the discrete and equally spaced sampling of the process turns to be an ARMA(p, p-1) process. We propose methods for estimating the parameters of the iterated Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process when the noise is either driven by a Wiener or a more general Lévy process, and show simulations and applications to real data.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A construction of continuous-time ARMA models by iterations of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes

We present a construction of a family of continuous-time ARMA processes based on p iterations of the linear operator that maps a Lévy process onto an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. The construction resembles the procedure to build an AR(p) from an AR(1). We show that this family is in fact a subfamily of the well-known CARMA(p,q) processes, with several interesting advantages, including a smaller number of parameters. The resulting processes are linear combinations of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes all driven by the same L´evy process. This provides a straightforward computation of covariances, a state-space model representation and methods for estimating parameters. Furthermore, the discrete and equally spaced sampling of the process turns to be an ARMA(p, p-1) process. We propose methods for estimating the parameters of the iterated Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process when the noise is either driven by a Wiener or a more general Lévy process, and show simulations and applications to real data.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Social Responsibility Networks (SRN): The Role of the International Civil Society in Redressing the Negative Effects of Globalization at the Local Level

There is both theoretical and empirical evidence which indicates that the processes of globalization have intensified the onset of social exclusion and environmental problems. Globalized processes may also exacerbate inequalities that, in order to be readdressed, require transnational, transparent, accountable and participative governance systems, with an active and recognised contribution by the local community in the amelioration of these problems. This paper focuses on transnational participation of civil society actors as well as private corporations and state agencies, which together provide a platform for the development of a broader scope for corporate social responsibility (CSR).Evidencias, tanto teóricas como empíricas, indican que la globalización de la economía ha intensificado la exclusión social, los problemas medio ambientales y ha exacerbado desigualdades en materia social y laboral. Para revertir estas situaciones se requiere de sistemas transnacionales de gobernabilidad legítimos y transparentes, que cuenten con la participación activa y reconocida de los trabajadores. Este documento se basa en una investigación empírica en la cual se presenta un modelo de participación transnacional de los actores de la sociedad civil (incluyendo los sindicatos y otras organizaciones de trabajadores), así como también las corporaciones privadas y las agencias gubernamentales. De esta manera se desarrolla una plataforma que opera como un sistema de responsabilidad social cuyo alcance sobrepasa a la responsabilidad social empresarial (RSE)

Social Responsibility Networks (SRN): The Role of the International Civil Society in Redressing the Negative Effects of Globalization at the Local Level

There is both theoretical and empirical evidence which indicates that the processes of globalization have intensified the onset of social exclusion and environmental problems. Globalized processes may also exacerbate inequalities that, in order to be readdressed, require transnational, transparent, accountable and participative governance systems,  with an active and recognised contribution by the local community in the amelioration of these problems.This paper focuses on transnational participation of civil society actors as well as private corporations and state agencies, which together provide a platform for the development of a broader scope for corporate social responsibility (CSR).Evidencias, tanto teóricas como empíricas, indican que la globalización de laeconomía ha intensificado la exclusión social, los problemas medio ambientales y haexacerbado desigualdades en materia social y laboral. Para revertir estas situacionesse requiere de sistemas transnacionales de gobernabilidad legítimos y transparentes,que cuenten con la participación activa y reconocida de los trabajadores.Este documento se basa en una investigación empírica en la cual se presentaun modelo de participación transnacional de los actores de la sociedad civil(incluyendo los sindicatos y otras organizaciones de trabajadores), así como tambiénlas corporaciones privadas y las agencias gubernamentales. De esta manera se desarrolla una plataforma que opera como un sistema de responsabilidad socialcuyo alcance sobrepasa a la responsabilidad social empresarial (RSE).

Exploration, Science, and Society in Venezuela's Cave Landscape.

Geographic knowledge has played a key role in the formation of empires and nations. As maps and monuments, it has helped define imperial and national identities and territories. In the case of the Venezuelan cave landscape, however, it is not the state that performs its exploration or manages its knowledge, but a group of civilians—mostly friends among them, many not even career scientists. For over 40 years, the members of the Sociedad Venezolana de Espeleología (Venezuelan Speleological Society), have practiced speleology, or cave science, as an amateur pursuit. This has involved exploring, mapping, and cataloguing caves all over the country into a national registry that the group publishes. Once mapped, caverns become spaces for and objects of science, whether in geology, biology, or archeology. Based on research carried out in 2007 and 2008, this dissertation examines the activities of the Venezuelan Speleological Society, from ethnographic and historical perspectives. By analyzing the relations between scientific practice, sociality, and landscape, I argue that the production of speleological knowledge must be considered in dialectic with the production of the Society itself. For most of its members, cave science primarily is about experience and relatedness: exploring and mapping caverns as a collective pursuit. It is in this context that the national speleological project is produced, gains meaning, and is maintained over time. This highlights the importance of collective experience and relatedness, along with norms and trust, in scientific practice. Moreover, by going beyond the field and laboratories, this project exposes a broader, more intimate, and also more dynamic geography of science. At the same time, understanding speleological practice begs appreciating caves’ intense symbolic and material qualities that come into being as humans traverse their passages. Representing caverns requires their exploration, since there is no technology that can accurately map them from the surface. This grants an anachronistic second life to exploration often dismissed as a thing of the past. Finally, in the case of Venezuela, speleological practice points to unexplored ways citizens may reconfigure and even challenge state-orchestrated relations between nature, nation, and their histories.Ph.D.AnthropologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91583/4/Perez_2012_Diss_UM_Vnzla_Caves_REV.pd

Mental Health Services for Single Homeless Mothers with Children

Single mothers with young children living in poverty often experience various disadvantages, especially when they have mental health issues. They are a vulnerable population and face challenges such as poverty, homelessness, and low paying jobs. Homeless mothers and their children often have difficulty in finding means to survive and obtaining basic needs. The purpose of this study was to explore the quality and availability of mental health resources to homeless mother and their children. Ten participants were chosen outside of a homeless shelter in the City of Riverside. The study was a qualitative design conducted through face-to-face interviews. This study found that most participants in the study have utilized mental health services in their life and most found the services adequate. However, when asked what services they needed the most, more than half of the participants stated needing housing, employment, and food. Less than half of the participants stated needing more mental health services like therapy or rehabilitation services. The study also revealed that half of the participants utilized mental health services for their children and another half have not. With regards to working with a social worker, only four of the ten participants have done so and said they were helpful. Although one stated it was a failure, the remaining five have never worked with a social worker or cannot recall doing so. As a social worker, it can be recommended to actively provide housing and employment resources for their clients that are in need of basic necessities to survive. Another recommendation is for the social worker to acquire their clients’ perception of their needs and working from there to obtain those needs