Paying the Price of Sweetening Your Donation: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment

Using a natural field experiment in a recreational site, a public good almost fully dependent on voluntary donations, we explored the crowding-out effect of gift rewards. First, we investigated whether receiving a map in appreciation of a donation crowded out prosocial behavior and found no significant effect of giving the map. Second, we explored the effect of adding the map to a treatment designed to increase donations. Interestingly, when the gift was combined with our attempt to trigger reputational and self image motives, the probability of donating decreased significantly, compared to the social reference treatment alone.crowding-out, donation, natural field experiment, reciprocity

Choice Experiments in Enviromental Impact Assessment: The Toro 3 Hydroelectric Project and the Recreo Verde Tourist Center in Costa Rica

Choice experiments, a stated preference valuation method, are proposed as a tool to assign monetary values to environmental externalities during the ex-ante stages of environmental impact assessment. This case study looks at the impacts of the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity’s Toro 3 hydroelectric project and its affects on the Recreo Verde tourism center in San Carlos, Costa Rica. Compared to other valuation methods (e.g., travel cost and contingent valuation), choice experiments can create hypothetical but realistic scenarios for consumers and generate restoration alternatives for the affected good. Although they have limitations that must be taken into account in environmental impact assessments, incorporating economic parameters—especially resource constraints and tradeoffs—can substantially enrich the assessment process.stated-preference, economic valuation, choice experiments, hydropower, tourism, Costa Rica

Determinación de la tasa de descuento para evaluar la rentabilidad de un emprendimiento local de secado de frutas y vegetales

Proyecto de Graduación (Maestría en Administración de Empresas con énfasis en Finanzas) Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. Escuela de Administración de Empresas, 2017.This project is a consequence of a previous Pre - feasibility and Marketing strategy studies developed by the authors for several courses of the Master in Business Admistration´s program. It offers to the reader a guide for obtaining an appropriate discount rate according to its industry and country. This will be useful for discount the net cash flows and give more quality to the finance information for the investor of an entrepreneur business located in Costa Rica, to achieve better decisions. The main objective was to define an optimums discount rate, structured by theoretical and methodological frameworks to achieve a final model conformed by indicators that allows conclude and give advices to both, our readers and potential investors. The theoretical framework embraces elements related to three main columns: the dehydrated food techniques, the capital cost and the financial valuation of projects. The financial analysis of the entrepreneur project using indicators such as: payback period, net present value, annualized cost-benefit, among others. The methodological strategy allowed obtain a final sampling of five corporations with similar products to those of the enterprise, all of them located in the United States of America. Its financial statements were analyzed and a finally a weighted average cost of capital was obtained specifically for this project. It concludes that the present projects represents a guide for establishing the optimums discount rate for an entrepreneurship, even related with different industries, because it gives a general guide for de analyst

Farmers’ Adaptation to Climate Change: A Framed Field Experiment

The risk of losing income and productive means due to adverse weather can differ significantly among farmers sharing a productive landscape and is, of course, hard to estimate or even “guesstimate” empirically. Moreover, the costs associated with investments in adaptation to climate are likely to exhibit economies of scope. We explore the implications of these characteristics on Costa Rican coffee farmers’ decisions to adapt to climate change, using a framed field experiment. Despite having a baseline of high levels of risk aversion, we still found that farmers more frequently chose the safe options when the setting is characterized by unknown risk (that is, poor or unreliable risk information). Second, we found that farmers, to a large extent, coordinated their decisions to secure a lower adaptation cost and that communication among farmers strongly facilitated coordination.risk, ambiguity, technology adoption, climate change, field experiment

Quantificação automatizada de Ki-67 em tecido epitelial gástrico com base na razão de área dos núcleos celulares

The objective was to develop an automated algorithm for the estimation of a protein (Ki-67) index based on cell nuclei area ratio of gastric epithelial tissue cells; for this purpose, digital histopathology images were used. An expert manually annotated each region of interest of the images. A proportion of Ki-67 positive and negative cells within that region was used to obtain the color distribution of the corresponding pixels. The histogram of each color distribution was modeled as a Gaussian and, later, thresholded for segmentation and classification. Finally, the Ki-67 index was estimated as the ratio between the segmented positive area of the nuclei divided by the total area of the positive and negative nuclei. The automated method has a strong correlation of 0.725 and a root mean square error of 0.293 when compared to the manual method, which gives certainty that the automated method can be used to analyze the proliferation rate. Furthermore, compared to manual classification, the presented method automatically classifies every image in the same Ki-67 category: low, intermediate, and high. Despite the small sample size, the utility of the presented method was demonstrated. However, the low number of scored images did not allow for thoroughly sampling the ranges of pixel values and intensities observed by pathologists, which will be addressed in future work.El objetivo era desarrollar un algoritmo automatizado para la estimación de un índice de proteína (Ki-67), basado en la razón del área del núcleo celular de las células del tejido epitelial gástrico, utilizando imágenes digitales de histopatología. Cada región de interés de las imágenes fue anotada manualmente por un experto. Se utilizó una proporción de células Ki-67 positivas y negativas dentro de esa región para obtener la distribución de color de los píxeles correspondientes. El histograma de cada distribución de color se modeló como una Gaussiana y luego se estableció un umbral para la segmentación y clasificación. Finalmente, el índice Ki-67 se estimó como la relación entre el área positiva segmentada de los núcleos dividida por el área total de los núcleos positivos y negativos. El método automatizado tiene una fuerte correlación de 0,725 y un error cuadrático medio de 0,293, en comparación con el método manual, lo que da certeza de que el método automatizado se puede utilizar para analizar la tasa de proliferación. Además, en comparación con la clasificación manual, el método presentado clasifica automáticamente cada imagen en la misma categoría Ki-67: baja, intermedia y alta. A pesar del pequeño tamaño de la muestra, se demostró la utilidad del método presentado. Sin embargo, el bajo número de imágenes puntuadas no permitió muestrear completamente los rangos de valores de píxeles y las intensidades observadas por los patólogos, lo cual será abordado en un trabajo futuro.[Objetivo] O objetivo foi desenvolver um algoritmo automatizado para a estimativa de um índice de proteína (Ki-67) baseado na razão da área do núcleo celular das células do tecido epitelial gástrico, utilizando imagens digitais de histopatologia. [Metodologia] Cada região de interesse nas imagens foi anotada manualmente por um especialista. Foi usada uma proporção de células Ki-67 positivas e negativas dentro dessa região para obter a distribuição de cores dos pixels correspondentes. O histograma de cada distribuição de cores foi modelado como uma Gaussiana e, em seguida, foi definido um limite para a segmentação e a classificação. Por fim, o índice Ki-67 foi estimado como a relação entre a área positiva segmentada dos núcleos dividida pela área total dos núcleos positivos e negativos. [Resultados] O método automatizado apresenta forte correlação de 0,725 e erro quadrático médio de 0,293, em relação ao método manual, o que dá certeza de que o método automatizado pode ser utilizado para analisar a taxa de proliferação. Além disso, em comparação com a classificação manual, o método apresentado classifica automaticamente cada imagem na mesma categoria Ki-67: baixa, média e alta. [Conclusões] Apesar do pequeno tamanho da amostra, foi demonstrada a utilidade do método apresentado. No entanto, o baixo número de imagens pontuadas não permitiu a amostragem completa das faixas de valores de pixels e intensidades observadas pelos patologistas, o que será abordado em trabalhos futuros

eSports in times of a global pandemic: opportunities and future challenges when transforming gaming into a sport in Costa Rica

In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the world has undergone a series of drastic changes. Due to this, postponement and cancellation of multiple annual big sports events have been announced, giving way to new digital alternatives that follow government isolation provisions. eSports has shown to be a rapidly evolving alternative to maintain the sportsmanship and passion that sports bring to the general population. In Costa Rica, like everywhere else, this sport has seen accelerated growth with a high rate of evolution. In this regard, the country faces significant challenges to promote future eSports events, professional development, and the creation of an organizational structure for its optimal practice. This paper aims to analyze how the global pandemic exposes the need to direct the attention to digital sports alternatives such as eSport and the future challenges that Costa Rica will face to develop it in an effective and efficient way.Como resposta à pandemia relacionada com a COVID-19, o mundo sofreu uma série de mudanças drásticas. Devido a isso, foram anunciados adiamentos e cancelamentos de múltiplos eventos esportivos de grande porte levados a cabo anualmente, abrindo espaço para novas alternativas digitais que respondem às disposições governamentais no que diz respeito ao isolamento. Os Esportes Eletrônicos ou eSports demonstram ser uma alternativa em rápida evolução para manter o espírito esportivo e a paixão que os esportes provocam na população em geral. Na Costa Rica, esse esporte começou a crescer, assim como aconteceu em todo o mundo, e acelerou com uma alta taxa de evolução. Neste sentido, o país enfrenta grandes desafios para sua promoção, incluindo a de futuros eventos, o desenvolvimento de profissionais e a criação de uma estrutura organizacional para que a prática seja adequada. Este manuscrito busca analisar como a pandemia global expõe a necessidade de estar alerta às alternativas esportivas digitais como o eSport e aos desafios futuros enfrentados pela Costa Rica para desenvolvê-las efetiva e eficientemente.En respuesta a la pandemia relacionada con COVID-19, el mundo ha sufrido una serie de cambios drásticos. Debido a ellos, se han anunciado aplazamientos y cancelaciones de múltiples grandes eventos anuales en los deportes, las cuales dan paso a nuevas alternativas digitales que responden a las disposiciones de aislamiento del gobierno. Los eSports se muestran como una alternativa en rápida evolución para mantener el espíritu deportivo y la pasión que los deportes provocan en la población en general. En Costa Rica, este deporte ha comenzado su crecimiento, tal como sucedió en todo el mundo, y se ha acelerado con una alta tasa de evolución. En este sentido, el país enfrenta grandes desafíos para su promoción, incluyendo la de futuros eventos, el desarrollo de profesionales y la creación de una estructura organizacional para su práctica óptima. Este manuscrito busca analizar cómo la pandemia global expone la necesidad de poner atención a las alternativas deportivas digitales como el eSport y los desafíos futuros que enfrenta Costa Rica al tratar de desarrollarlo de manera efectiva y eficient

Cuba socialista. De la traducción y sus secuelas

Resumen: Este ensayo propone un acercamiento a la literatura socialista en español que era consumida en Cuba en las décadas del sesenta al noventa y, siguiendo las teorías de la traducción de Itamar Evan-Zohar, intenta dilucidar el papel periférico y central que esa literatura tuvo en la conformación del polisistema literario cubano. ¿Hasta qué punto esa literatura tuvo una función utilitaria para impulsar una ideología de estado?  ¿Cómo se relaciona la llegada de la literatura socialista a la isla con una tradición de la traducción en Cuba que ha sido fundamental en la creación de una noción de la nación desde las letras? Estas son las interrogantes principales que guían estas notas que no intentan ser conclusión, sino punto de partida para un debate sobre una identidad cubana siempre en transición.  This paper proposes an approach to the socialist literature in Spanish that was consumed in Cuba from the sixties to the nineties and, following the theories of translation of Itamar Evan-Zohar, attempts to elucidate the peripheral and central role that such literature had on the conformation of a Cuban literary polysystem. To what extent this literature had a utilitarian function to promote an ideology of state? How the arrival to the island of socialist literature relates to a tradition of translation in Cuba which has been instrumental in creating a notion of the nation within the Republic of the letters? These are the main questions that guide these notes –not intended as a conclusion, but a starting point for a debate on a Cuban identity that is always in transition

Trends in Bilateral and Multilateral Funding

Trends in Bilateral and Multilateral Funding is part of the 2009-2010 FundHer Research Update brief series, produced by AWID's "Where is the Money for Women's Rights" Action-Research Initiative. The purpose of the series is to provide up to date information on important trends in different funding sectors, including preliminary data on the impact of the financial crisis and economic recession and to explore the implications for resource mobilization for gender equality and women's organizing. The research presented in this brief series draws on interviews held with relevant actors from various donor sectors, desk research and comparative analysis from past AWID surveys of women's organizations regarding the funding landscape

Guía para la gestión de proyectos de la empresa Oscar Araya Construcciones

Proyecto de Graduación (Licenciatura en Ingeniería en Construcción) Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Ingeniería en Construcción, 2015.In this project, a management guide in the costs, risks, and adquisitions areas is devised for the company Oscar Araya Construcciones. For the devising of this project, the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) was taken as a reference. To start, a study was done on the current state of the company. Due to the lack of procedures, the decision to develop the management guide was taken. In order to develop it, the procedures or personnel used by the company were not taken into account. The tools generated in Guide of Project management offer to the company the knowledge necessary for the project development.Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica; Empresa Oscar Araya Construcciones