Latin American senior executive service: advances and setbacks

En América Latina son escasos los estudios que han abordado sistemáticamente los procesos de institucionalización de sistemas de alta dirección pública. Este artículo presenta un análisis actualizado de la situación de cuatro experiencias latinoamericanas (Argentina, Chile, México y Perú). Dada la inestabilidad de las políticas públicas en la región, resulta oportuno revisar dichas experiencias, para identificar posibles condicionantes y eventuales desafíos de la profesionalización de los altos directivos en la región. En particular, se exploran el grado de institucionalización del sistema de partidos, y los poderes constitucionales y partidarios del Presidente como posibles condicionantes estructurales de los itinerarios de reforma. Se concluye que estos determinantes institucionales por sí solos son insatisfactorios para explicar el derrotero de los cambios administrativos analizados, y que es necesario incorporar otras variables explicativas vinculadas a factores de agencia y culturas administrativas.In Latin America there are scant studies that systematically deal with the processes of institutionalization of systems of senior executive service. This article presents an updated analysis of the situation in four Latin American countries (Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru). Given the instability of public policies in the region, it is appropriate to review these experiences to identify possible determinants and possible challenges of the professionalization of senior executives in the region. In particular, this study explores the degree of institutionalization of the party system, and the constitutional power and party power of the President as possible structural determinants of reform agendas. It is concluded that these institutional determinants alone are an unsatisfactory explanation of the course of the administrative changes analyzed, and that it is necessary to incorporate other explanatory variables linked to factors of agency and administrative culture.Fil: Iacoviello, Mercedes. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Llano, María Mercedes. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Ramos, Conrado. Universidad de la República de Uruguay; Urugua

A new gravitational N-body simulation algorithm for investigation of cosmological chaotic advection

Recently alternative approaches in cosmology seeks to explain the nature of dark matter as a direct result of the non-linear spacetime curvature due to different types of deformation potentials. In this context, a key test for this hypothesis is to examine the effects of deformation on the evolution of large scales structures. An important requirement for the fine analysis of this pure gravitational signature (without dark matter elements) is to characterize the position of a galaxy during its trajectory to the gravitational collapse of super clusters at low redshifts. In this context, each element in an gravitational N-body simulation behaves as a tracer of collapse governed by the process known as chaotic advection (or lagrangian turbulence). In order to develop a detailed study of this new approach we develop the COsmic LAgrangian TUrbulence Simulator (COLATUS) to perform gravitational N-body simulations based on Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) for graphics processing units (GPUs). In this paper we report the first robust results obtained from COLATUS.Comment: Proceedings of Sixth International School on Field Theory and Gravitation-2012 - by American Institute of Physic

Elements for a Psychology of the Captive Subject.

Este artigo reflete sobre a autodestruição do esclarecimento e as relações entre sociologia e psicologia a partir da teoria crítica. Aponta a necessidade do estudo da sociedade para a compreensão do indivíduo contemporâneo. Defende também a importância da investigação da subjetividade para a crítica das mediações sociais.This article reflects upon the enlightenment self-destruction and the relations between Sociology and Psychology according to the critical theory. It indicates the need of the society study in order to promote the understanding of the contemporary individual. It also defends the importance of the subjective investigation to the criticism of the social mediations

Bacterial nitrate assimilation: gene distribution and regulation

In the context of the global nitrogen cycle, the importance of inorganic nitrate for the nutrition and growth of marine and freshwater autotrophic phytoplankton has long been recognized. In contrast, the utilization of nitrate by heterotrophic bacteria has historically received less attention because the primary role of these organisms has classically been considered to be the decomposition and mineralization of dissolved and particulate organic nitrogen. In the pre-genome sequence era, it was known that some, but not all, heterotrophic bacteria were capable of growth on nitrate as a sole nitrogen source. However, examination of currently available prokaryotic genome sequences suggests that assimilatory nitrate reductase (Nas) systems are widespread phylogenetically in bacterial and archaeal heterotrophs. Until now, regulation of nitrate assimilation has been mainly studied in cyanobacteria. In contrast, in heterotrophic bacterial strains, the study of nitrate assimilation regulation has been limited to Rhodobacter capsulatus, Klebsiella oxytoca, Azotobacter vinelandii and Bacillus subtilis. In Gram-negative bacteria, the nas genes are subjected to dual control: ammonia repression by the general nitrogen regulatory (Ntr) system and specific nitrate or nitrite induction. The Ntr system is widely distributed in bacteria, whereas the nitrate/nitrite-specific control is variable depending on the organism

Unpacking Patronage: the Politics of Patronage Appointments in Argentina's and Uruguay's Central Public Administrations

This study makes the following contributions to the study of the politics of patronage appointments in Latin America: Conceptually it adopts Kopecký, Scherlis, and Spirova's (2008) distinction between clientelistic and nonclientelistic types of patronage politics and widens these authors classification of patrons' motivations for making appointments, specifically as a lens for the study of patronage practices within Latin America’s presidentialist regimes. Analytically, it sets up a new taxonomy of patronage appointments based on the roles that appointees' play vis-à-vis the executive, the ruling party, and the public administration - one that can be used for the comparative study of the politics of patronage. Empirically, it applies this taxonomy to a pilot study of the politics of patronage in Argentina and Uruguay under two left-of-center administrations. Theoretically, it contributes to theory-building by relating the findings of our research to the differences in party systems and presidential powers within the two countries under study, and to agency factors associated with the respective governments' own political projects. The article concludes that differences in patronage practices are a manifestation of two variant forms of exercising governmental power: a hyper-presidentialist, populist one in Argentina and a party-centered, social-democratic one in Uruguay.Este articulo hace las siguientes contribuciones al estudio de la política de los nombramientos de patronazgo en América Latina: En lo conceptual adopta la distinción empleada por Kopecký, Scherlis, and Spirova’s (2008) entre formas clientelares y no clientelares de políticas de patronazgo, como un lente para el estudio específico de prácticas de patronazgo en regímenes presidencialistas en América Latina. En lo analítico, construye una nueva taxonomía de nombramientos de patronazgo basada en los roles que los nombrados cumplen en relación al executivo, el partido gobernante y la administración pública, la cual puede ser usada para el estudio comparado de la política del patronazgo. En lo empírico, aplica la taxonomía a un estudio piloto de la política del patronazgo en Argentina y Uruguay bajo dos administraciones de centro-izquierda. En lo teórico, contribuye a la elaboración de teoría al relacionar los hallazgos de investigación a diferencias en los sistemas de partidos y en los poderes presidenciales en los dos países objeto de estudio, así como factores de agencia asociados a los proyectos políticos de los respectivos gobiernos. El articulo concluye que diferencias en las prácticas de patronazgo son una manifestación de dos formas diferentes de ejercicio del poder gubernamental: una de tipo híper-presidencialista, populista, en Argentina y otra de tipo partido-céntrica, social democrática, en Uruguay

Roles, trust and skills: a typology of patronage appointments

This article contributes to the study of the politics of patronage appointments by creating a typology of patronage roles based on the nature of trust between patrons and appointees and on the skills patrons seek in appointees. Our classification brings together the dispersed literature on patronage roles and can be applied to the study of modalities of patronage across and within countries. We offer preliminary evidence from our study of the politics of patronage appointments in Latin America suggesting that variations in patronage roles can be related to variations in party systems institutionalisation and to the nature of the links between political actors and voters. Finally, we explore whether the categories identified in our empirical study can be found in other settings. We conclude that our typology can contribute to the study of the impact of modalities of patronage on the quality of the public administration and on political governability

Agave Syrup:Chemical Analysis and Nutritional Profile, Applications in the Food Industry and Health Impacts

Agave syrup (AS), a food product made from agave plant sap, is a vegan sweetener that has become popular for replacing conventional sweeteners such as sucrose. As the demand for naturally derived sweeteners has grown in the last decade, this review paper addresses and discusses, in detail, the most relevant aspects of the chemical AS analysis, applications in the food industry, sustainability issues, safety and quality control and, finally, nutritional profile and health impacts. According to our main research outcome, we can assume that the mid-infrared-principal components analysis, high-performance anion exchange chromatography equipped with a pulsed amperometric detector, and thin-layer chromatography can be used to identify and distinguish syrups from natural sources. The main agave–derived products are juice, leaves, bagasse, and fiber. In sustainability terms, it can be stated that certified organic and free trade agave products are the most sustainable options available on the market because they guarantee products being created without pesticides and according to specific labor standards. The Mexican government and AS producers have also established Mexican guidelines which prohibit using any ingredient, sugar or food additive that derives from sources, apart from agave plants, to produce any commercial AS. Due to its nutritional value, AS is a good source of minerals, vitamins and polyphenols compared to other traditional sweeteners. However, further research into the effects of AS on human metabolism is necessary to back its health claims as a natural sugar substitute

Maltitol:Analytical Determination Methods, Applications in the Food Industry, Metabolism and Health Impacts

Bulk sweetener maltitol belongs to the polyols family and there have been several dietary applications in the past few years, during which the food industry has used it in many food products: bakery and dairy products, chocolate, sweets. This review paper addresses and discusses in detail the most relevant aspects concerning the analytical methods employed to determine maltitol’s food safety and industry applications, its metabolism and its impacts on human health. According to our main research outcome, we can assume that maltitol at lower doses poses little risk to humans and is a good alternative to using sucrose. However, it causes diarrhoea and foetus complications at high doses. Regarding its determination, high-performance liquid chromatography proved the primary method in various food matrices. The future role of maltitol in the food industry is likely to become more relevant as processors seek alternative sweeteners in product formulation without compromising health

Los nuevos acuerdos entre políticos y servidores públicos en la alta dirección pública en Chile y Uruguay

Artículo originalEste trabajo analiza recientes intentos por construir una Alta Dirección Pública (ADP) en dos gobiernos de izquierda con instituciones democráticas sólidas en América Latina : Chile y Uruguay. Ambas reformas formaban parte de un paquete más ambicioso de profesionalización y modernización de los respectivos Servicios Civiles, con mayor o menor nfluencia de la Nueva Gestión Pública (NGP). En América Latina las reformas inspiradas en la NGP pretenden impulsar un cambio sustancial en el tradicional acuerdo entre servidores públicos y políticos, que implica pasar de uno basado en la confianza política en sistemas dominados por la lógica de patronazgo, hacia otro basado en la gestión por resultados. En ninguno de los dos casos analizados se constata la consolidación de la promesa que los intentos reformistas conllevaban .Sin embargo el caso chileno tuvo un mayor grado de avance hacia el nuevo acuerdo debido a la existencia de un fuerte consenso político sobre la reforma y existencia de capacidades institucionales para gestionarla, condiciones que en Uruguay estuvieron ausente