Building Power from Below: Chilean Workers take on Walmart

[Excerpt] A story that involves as its main players workers and Walmart does not usually have a happy ending for labor, so the counternarrative offered by Building Power from Below is must reading for activists and union personnel as well as scholars. In 2008 Walmart acquired a controlling share in a large supermarket chain in Santiago, Chile. As part of the deal Walmart had to accept the unions that were already in place. Since then, Chilean retail and warehouse workers have done something that has seemed impossible for labor in the United States: they have organized even more successful unions and negotiated unprecedented contracts with Walmart. In Building Power from Below, Carolina Bank Muñoz attributes Chilean workers’ success in challenging the world’s largest corporation to their organizations’ commitment to union democracy and building strategic capacity. Chilean workers have spent years building grassroots organizations committed to principles of union democracy. Retail workers’ unions have less structural power, but have significant associational and symbolic power. Their most notable successes have been in fighting for respect and dignity on the job. Warehouse workers by contrast have substantial structural power and have achieved significant economic gains. While the model in Chile cannot necessarily be reproduced in different countries, we can gain insights from the Chilean workers’ approaches, tactics, and strategies

‘Ethical Novelty’: new insights into economic change

Agents’ knowledge combines their perception of what reality is with their conception of what reality should be. “Ethical dynamics” refers to the evolution in the latter conception. This is a key element to explain changes in agents’ objectives of action, which usually do not result simply from interaction or “cognitive dynamics”. “Ethical novelties” are important sources of economic change. They consist of changes in the structure of action objectives which result from ethical dynamics.knowledge; action plan; ethical novelty; cognitive and ethical dynamics; economic change

Teaching skills in virtual and blended learning environments

Universities are currently immersed in what is known as the process of European convergence to create the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The aim is to establish a standardized, compatible and flexible European university system that enables graduates and undergraduates to move easily from one institution to another within Europe. As a result of evaluation mechanisms, the system will be transparent and of high quality, which will make it attractive and competitive internationally in a globalized world. In this paper, we focus on two distance learning modes that will become more important as a result of this change in universities: e-learning and b-learning. These basically involve the virtualization of learning processes through the use of computer equipment. We carried out a qualitative study using the case study method. The results indicate that teaching staff use information and communication technology (ICT) to improve student learning. Similarly, a high percentage (78%) of lecturers use some form of digital platform as a support for teaching. In conclusion, training policies should strengthen university teachers’ skills in the use of ICT equipment, tools and resources related to blended and virtual learning

Características del comportamiento epidemiológico de los casos de sífilis gestacional - congénita, Pereira 2012-2014

El grado de desarrollo de un país, se evalúa en la calidad de vida de su población, en especial de las mujeres, niños y niñas, ya que son los cimientos del desarrollo social, cultural, económico de la sociedad actual y del futuro. La Sífilis Gestacional – Sífilis Congénita (SG-SC), conforma un problema de salud pública por el impacto directo a población priorizada, que son las mujeres gestantes y los recién nacidos, identificando para la sífilis gestacional un tratamiento asequible, eficaz y de bajo costo. La sífilis gestacional es una enfermedad prevenible y curable, su alta incidencia se relaciona con las barreras de accesibilidad, calidad, oportunidad, pertinencia y seguridad de la prestación de los servicios de salud, desde el diagnostico, pasando por la atención, tratamiento y seguimiento de la enfermedad

EFL teaching to school students with Asperger Syndrome: perceptions from the school community

Tesis (Profesor de Inglés para la Enseñanza Básica y Media y al grado académico de Licenciado en Educación)The present study investigated the perceptions of the school community regarding EFL teaching to Asperger (AS) Students within the mainstream classroom. This single case study was conducted in a public School in La Florida in Santiago de Chile. Three teachers and one mother from the school participated in a single oral interview. The data sources were three individual semi-structured interviews, designed for the different participants of our study. Overall, the results revealed that the school community plays an important role in AS students’ EFL learning process as each of them contribute in aspects of his or her education. Teachers feel they need to have more support from the Ministry of Education and there is lack of information about how to manage AS students in the EFL mainstream classroom. Special educational needs teachers (SEN teacher henceforth) suggest schools to have at least one SEN teacher present in a classroom when a subject is taught, which in this case would be English as a foreign language. Last but not least, parents suggest and urge teachers to take responsibility in their education and training, and prepare themselves and study specific courses that would help them to better teach and work with AS students and other SEN children. If the participants were unanimously in accord, it would be most beneficial for the AS students English learning process. In Chile, there is a Law that establishes an equality of conditions for those individuals who possess, at least, one type of disability in the physical, mental, psychic, intellectual, or sensory; whether temporary or permanent, is considered disabled.El presente estudio busca investigar la enseñanza del Inglés a niños con Asperger dentro del aula convencional. Nuestro objetivo es recolectar información acerca de las percepciones que la comunidad escolar tiene respecto a este asunto. Este estudio de caso se llevó a cabo en un colegio público de la Florida. Tres profesores y una madre pertenecientes a la comunidad escolar participaron en una entrevista oral. La recolección de datos fue por medio de tres entrevistas semi estructuradas, diseñadas de acuerdo a los diferentes participantes de nuestro estudio. En general, los resultados revelaron que la comunidad escolar desempeña un papel importante en el proceso de aprendizaje de Inglés como Idioma Extranjero (IIE) de los estudiantes con SA, ya que cada uno de ellos contribuye en aspectos de su educación.. Los maestros sienten que necesitan tener más apoyo del Ministerio de Educación y no hay información sobre cómo administrar a los estudiantes con SA en el aula convencional de IIE. Los educadores diferenciales sugieren que las escuelas tengan al menos un(a) educador(a) diferencial presente en el aula cuando se enseña una materia, que en este caso sería IIE. Por último, pero no menos importante, los apoderados sugieren e instan a los maestros a que asuman responsabilidad en su educación y capacitación, y se preparen y estudien cursos específicos que les ayuden a enseñar y trabajar de mejor forma con estudiantes con SA y otros niños con necesidades especiales. Si los participantes unánimemente están de acuerdo, sería lo más beneficioso para el proceso de aprendizaje de inglés de los estudiantes con síndrome de Asperger. En Chile, existe una Ley que establece una igualdad de condiciones para aquellos individuos que posean, al menos, un tipo de discapacidad en lo físico, mental, psíquico, intelectual, o sensorial; ya sea de carácter temporal o permanente, es considerado discapacitado

Trematodes modulate aquatic food webs by altering host feeding behaviour

Parasiten können den Energietransfer in Lebensgemeinschaften über trophische Kaskaden beeinflussen, indem sie Änderungen in den Konsumenten-Ressourcen-Interaktionen induzieren. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Rolle von Trematoden auf das Freßverhalten ihrer Wirte auf zwei trophischen Ebenen untersucht. Vier verschiedene Süßwasserschnecken-Trematoden-Systeme wurden verwendet, um zu testen, ob ein allgemeines Muster für die Auswirkung von Infektionen auf die Grazingaktivität von Schnecken auf das Periphyton nachgewiesen werden kann. Die Grazingraten auf Periphyton bei infizierten Schnecken entweder höher, niedriger oder ähnlich denen derjenigen von nicht infizierten Artgenossen. Augenparasiten können die Leistungsfähigkeit ihres Wirtes beeinträchtigen, was die Auswirkungen auf das Erkennen von Beutetieren, Raubtieren und Artgenossen hat. Mit Tylodelphys clavata experimentell infizierte Flussbarsche wurden mit zwei verschiedenen Beutetierarten eingesetzt, um das Fraßverhalten in Konkurrenz mit nicht infizierten Artgenossen zu untersuchen. Die Entfernung, aus der infizierte Fische die beiden Beutetierarten attackierten, war im Vergleich zu nicht infizierten Artgenossen signifikant kürzer. Die Tendenz war, dass nicht infizierte Fische mehr von den verfügbaren Beutetieren verzehrten. Um zu prüfen, ob der Fisch als Kompensation seine Beutepräferenz verändert, wurde die Beutezusammensetzung von Flussbarschen aus dem Müggelsees mittels Mageninhalts- und Stabilisotopenanalysen untersucht. Beide Methoden ergaben, dass sich die Fische mit zunehmender Intensität der Infektion selektiver ernährten, während sich geringer infizierte Fische Generalisten herausstellten. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie bestätigen, dass Trematoden eine wichtige Rolle in Nahrungsnetzen spielen können, indem sie das Freßverhalten ihres Wirtes verändern. Darüber hinaus können Trematoden so die Stärke der Interaktion ihrer Wirte mit anderen Arten auf verschiedenen trophischen Ebenen beeinflussen.Parasites can influence energy transfer through communities via trophic cascades by inducing alterations on consumer-resource interactions. This study evaluated the role of trematodes on their host’s feeding behaviour at two trophic levels. Four different freshwater snail–trematode systems were used to test whether a general pattern can be detected for the impact of infections on snail periphyton grazing activity. Mass-specific periphyton grazing rates of infected snails were higher, lower, or similar to rates of non-infected conspecifics. The variation across systems may result from differences on how the parasites use the resources of the snail and thus affect its energy budget. Eye parasites can impair their host’s sensory performance with important consequences for the detection of prey, predators and conspecifics. European perch experimentally infected with Tylodelphys clavata were used to evaluate their feeding behaviour under competition with non-infected conspecifics, for two different prey species (Asellus aquaticus and Daphnia magna). The distance at which infected fish attacked both prey species was significantly shorter in comparison to non-infected conspecifics. Additionally, infected fish had more unsuccessful attacks and there was a general tendency that non-infected fish consumed more of the available prey. To evaluate whether fish alter their prey preference as a compensatory mechanism, perch from Lake Müggelsee were sampled and their diet was evaluated using both stomach content and stable isotope analyses. Both methods indicated that with increasing infection intensity fish had a more selective diet, while less intensively infected fish appeared to be generalist feeders. The results from this study confirm that trematodes can play a relevant role within food webs by altering their hosts’ feeding behaviour. Furthermore, in this way trematodes can affect the interaction strengths of their hosts with other species at various trophic levels

Kinship care in Chile: experiences of grandparents and grandchildren

In Chile, grandparents make up by far the largest proportion of foster carers. Research on the topic is mainly from Western countries and it has been predominantly quantitative. Research carried out in Chile is about children in formal kinship care placements, and little is known about those in informal arrangements. Research on children’s perspectives of kinship care is also scarce. This thesis aims to explore the experiences of grandparents and their grandchildren, living in both formal and informal kinship care arrangements in Chile. In-depth qualitative interviews were carried out with grandparents and their grandchildren, separately, in two Chilean locations. The sample included 18 families comprising grandparents (N= 20) and grandchildren between 7 and 16 years of age (N=21). To facilitate the interviews with children, visual methods and interactive approaches were used. Thematic and narrative analysis were used as a complementary way of analysing the data The thesis applies concepts of care as a social process. Grandmothers are the main carers of the children, and they had to negotiate the normative positions of being both parents and grandparents. They expressed positive feelings about being their grandchildren’s carers and saw it as a second chance to do things differently and make up for their previous parenting mistakes. Grandchildren mainly felt positively about their lives with their grandparents. They felt thankful to their grandparents for taking care of them. However, they also showed their concerns about the future and felt anxious about the grandparents’ health. With time and through practices of care and love the grandparents become their grandchildren’s parents, and grandchildren become their grandparent’s children. These processes of becoming created conflict and contradictions for the grandmothers and the grandchildren, especially in relation to the place of the birth mothers in these children’s lives

Vivencias de sexualidades de mujeres adultas en situación de discapacidad física adquirida

Tesis (Magíster en Terapia Ocupacional, Mención Salud Física)La siguiente tesis busca introducir una temática social interesante de abordar desde la terapia ocupacional, referida a las sexualidades de mujeres adultas con discapacidad física adquirida, con el objetivo de comprender las vivencias de éstas. Es desde los discursos de las propias mujeres en dicha situación, que podemos interiorizarnos en la reconstrucción de sí mimas, la valoración como mujer, el reconocimiento del cuerpo nuevo, y las vivencias de sexualidades luego de adquirir la discapacidad. Lo anteriormente mencionado será llevado a cabo por medio de la investigación cualitativa de tipo exploratorio, específicamente utilizando el enfoque de Fenomenología. Vivencias a las cuales nos aproximaremos mediante el empleo de la técnica de recolección de información correspondiente a la entrevista individual en profundidad. A modo de conclusión, las vivencias de sexualidades de mujeres que se encuentran en situación de discapacidad física no se encuentran tan solo influenciadas por la situación de discapacidad, sino que al mismo tiempo cobra gran relevancia la crianza respecto a las sexualidades otorgadas en el núcleo familiar, situación sentimental y nivel de aceptación de la pareja, etapa del ciclo vital en que se encuentran y concepción/ aceptación del propio cuerpo.The following thesis seeks to introduce an interesting social issues to address from occupational therapy, based on sexualities of adult women with physical disabilities acquired, with the objective of understanding the experiences of these. IIt Is from the speeches of women themselves in this situation, we can internalize in rebuilding itself mimas, valuation and women, recognition of the new body, and the experiences of sexualities after acquiring disability. The foregoing will be conducted through exploraty qualitative research, specifically used in Phenomenology approach. Experiences to wich we approach through the use of the collection technique corresponding to the individual interview in depth information. In conclusion, the experiences of sexualities of women in situations of physical disability are not only influenced by disability status, but at the same time becomes very relevant raising about sexualities granted in the family, sentimental situation and level of acceptance of the couple, life cycle stage thay are in and design/ acceptance of own body

Stripping voltammetric determination of cadmium in sea water using a carbon paste electrode modified with alginic acid from brown algae

Cadmium concentration in an aqueous medium is quantified using an alginic acid-modified carbon paste electrode. The working electrode was prepared using a homogeneous mixture of graphite powder, alginic acid (AA) and mineral oil. Square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) using this modified electrode showed one small well-resolved anodic wave for the oxidation of AA at -0.05 V. This signal shifts toward less positive potential and peak current increases in the presence of CdII. After optimizing the experimental conditions, the anodic peak current of CdII-AA was linearly related to its concentration up to ca. 30.0 µg L-1, with a detection limit of 0.9 µg L-1 at pH 2.0 (HNO3. t acc = 60 s, Eacc = -0.80 V). The method was validated by determining CdII in spiked synthetic sea water (ASTM D665). The modified electrode showed good stability and repeatability