Is Violence Against Union Members in Colombia Systematic and Targeted?

Violence against union members in Colombia has been at the center of a debate for several years now. Union leaders and NGOs in Colombia and abroad continuously argue that free trade agreements with Colombia should be blocked based on the failure of the current Colombian government to protect union members from targeted killings. We first look at the evolution over time of the indicators for violence against union members and union leaders. In particular we show (using different indicators and data sources) that violence against unionists in Colombia has steadily declined over the last seven years. Then, we use available panel data to study the determinants of violence against union members and union leaders. We make special emphasis on testing the claim that a greater intensity in the characteristic activities of unions leads to more violence against union members and union leaders. Using different data sets, data sources and estimation methods, we find no statistical evidence supporting this claim. These results suggest that, on average, violence against unionists in Colombia is neither systematic nor targeted.Violence, Targeted Killings, Unions, Union Activity

Variable Hardy Spaces

We develop the theory of variable exponent Hardy spaces. Analogous to the classical theory, we give equivalent definitions in terms of maximal operators. We also show that distributions in these spaces have an atomic decomposition including a "finite" decomposition; this decomposition is more like the decomposition for weighted Hardy spaces due to Stromberg and Torchinsky than the classical atomic decomposition. As an application of the atomic decomposition we show that singular integral operators are bounded on variable Hardy spaces with minimal regularity assumptions on the exponent function

Revisión sistemática de hepatotoxicidad inducida por antiepilépticos en caninos

La epilepsia idiopática es uno de los trastornos neurológicos más comunes en perros, para ello se utilizan fármacos denominados antiepilépticos (AEDs, antiepileptic drugs). La mayoría de estos medicamentos son metabolizados por el hígado, sea en mayor o menor medida, y su uso crónico puede generar hepatotoxicidad. El objetivo de esta revisión es por lo tanto tomar los puntos más importantes de la literatura científica en los últimos años en relación con la hepatotoxicidad en caninos, los mecanismos principales responsables de la hepatotoxicidad y como los fármacos más utilizados para el control de la epilepsia (fenobarbital, levetiracetam y bromuro de potasio) se relacionan con éstos

An Investigation and Analysis of the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex in a Vibration Environment

Forty years of innovations have greatly improved Helmet-Mounted Displays (HMDs) and their integration into military systems. However, a significant issue with HMDs is the effect of vibration and the associated Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR). When a human’s head is subject to low-frequency vibration, the VOR stabilizes the eye with respect to objects in the external environment. However, this response is inappropriate in HMDs as the display moves with the user’s head and the VOR blurs the image as it is projected on the human retina. Current compensation techniques suggest increasing the size of displayed graphics or text to compensate for the loss of perceived resolution, which reduces the benefit of advanced high-definition HMDs. While limited research has been done on the VOR in real world settings, this research sought to understand and describe the VOR in the presence of head slued imagery as a function of whole body low-frequency vibration. An experimental HMD was designed and developed to allow a user to perform visual tasks, while also recording and tracking eye movements via video recording and EOG. A human subject experiment was executed to collect initial data on the effect of vibration on eye movements while performing simple tasks chosen to isolate specific eye motions. The results indicate that when fixating on a stationary target, the magnitude of eye movement was greatest at 4-6 Hz of, before steadily decreasing beyond this range. The addition of motion to this target increased the magnitude at 4-6 Hz. The findings are consistent with previous research, which has found a decline in visual performance in this frequency range

Chronic superficial keratitis.

Introducción: La queratitis superficial crónica del ovejero alemán es una enfermedad inflamatoria acelerada por estímulos irritativos como la radiación ultravioleta y el polvo, presenta un pronóstico favorable para la visión y el confort ocular a partir de un abordaje diagnóstico precoz y un adecuado plan terapéutico. Se han planteado múltiples opciones de tratamiento para la condición, demostrándose que los colirios antiinflamatorios e inmunomoduladores tienen gran efectividad. Paciente y métodos: el presente artículo muestra el caso clínico de un canino de 5 años con queratitis superficial crónica. Conclusiones: La prednisolona y ciclosporina tópica, además de prevención de radiación ultravioleta produjeron mejoría clínica del paciente.Introduction: Chronic superficial keratitis is an inflammatory disease in canines, especially German Shepherds, that progresses by irritative stimuli such as ultraviolet radiation and dust. It presents a favorable prognosis for vision and eye comfort from an early diagnosis approach and an adequate therapeutic plan. Multiple treatment options have been proposed demonstrating that anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory eye drops are highly effective. Patient and methods: Herein we report the clinical case of a 5-year-old German Shepherd with chronic superficial keratitis. Conclusion: topical prednisolone and cyclosporine and avoidance of ultraviolet radiation resulted in clinical improvement of this patient

Human rights at crossroads: North American trade policies and their impact on human rights in Indonesia

Nowadays, trade is the engine running the world. Commercial relations drag a plethora of issues that make them more relevant: today, trade is not an isolated interaction, but instead it is connected to issues like environmental matters, political conditions, ethical dilemmas, and human rights concerns that put international trade relations at their most complex state.In such levels of complexity, should The United States and Canada as two of the economic leaders of modern times, become more involved in the internal affairs of their partners or should they play fools in favor of trade relations? Furthermore, as the world’s economies turn towards Asia, should they interfere with human rights issues on these countries or should they just look away? Business is not just business, but more likely countries will put trade first and human rights second. The U.S and Canada have done something similar in their past relations with Indonesia, a country in Southeast Asia with a very interesting history, a tumultuous record of political stability, and a stained record on human rights

Técnicas y herramientas para la gestión de las comunicaciones en equipos virtuales durante la ejecución de proyectos globales

Uno de los factores de éxito más importantes en la gerencia de proyectos es la gestión de las comunicaciones ya que se tiene identificado que uno de cada cinco proyectos fracasa debido a una mala gestión en esta área -- Este factor toma aún mayor importancia cuando los proyectos tienen como características principales que son globales y los equipos son virtuales dadas las dificultades que traen consigo este tipo de proyectos, especialmente en la gestión de las comunicaciones -- En este trabajo se presenta una recopilación de las diferentes técnicas y herramientas que, según el concepto de varios autores, son comúnmente utilizadas para la gestión de las comunicaciones durante la ejecución de proyectos globales con equipos virtuales -- Con la información recopilada se hace finalmente una propuesta de un conjunto de técnicas y herramientas que pueden ser utilizadas por los gerentes de proyectos para la gestión de las comunicaciones durante la ejecución de este tipo de proyectos -- Este conjunto de técnicas y herramientas se deja como una hipótesis propuesta para una futura investigación que verifique su efectividad en ambientes reales de ejecución de proyectos globales con equipos virtuale