Entre seguridad humana y estatal: ¿ofrece la Unión Europea una respuesta coherente a los desafíos de seguridad en Centroamérica, Colombia y Venezuela?

Centroamérica, Colombia y Venezuela enfrentan importantes desafíos de seguridad. Pese al discurso de seguridad humana en su política hacia América Latina, la Unión Europea (UE) ha tenido aproximaciones diferentes a los tres conflictos: desde el nexo seguridad-desarrollo en Centroamérica y un compromiso de cooperación combinado con la “securitización” del conflicto en Colombia, hasta una política de sanciones y diplomacia en Venezuela. Metodología: mediante una perspectiva comparada y un marco analítico común de análisis de contenido cualitativo, el artículo plantea la pregunta: ¿qué concepto de seguridad, estatal o humana, está detrás de las políticas de la UE hacia estos países y con qué grado de coherencia se implementa? Conclusiones: se demuestra que la UE hace un manejo poco coherente del nexo seguridad-desarrollo hacia los países seleccionados debido a inconsistencias internas y externas, en este caso sobre todo de cara a EE. UU. como principal donante de la región y “socio” transatlántico. Originalidad: el artículo deconstruye la imagen de la UE como socio de desarrollo comprometido con la seguridad humana. Aunque la política de la UE sigue estando más enfocada en afrontar las causas como la desigualdad y la pobreza que las consecuencias de la inseguridad, la política del nexo seguridad-desarrollo refleja una cierta securitización del desarrollo a la hora de cooperar con países en conflicto y Estados frágiles considerados potenciales “amenazas” a la seguridad, como Colombia o Venezuela

CSR Business as Usual? The Case of the Tobacco Industry

Tobacco companies have started to position themselves as good corporate citizens. The effort towards CSR engagement in the tobacco industry is not only heavily criticized by anti-tobacco NGOs. Some opponents such as the the World Health Organization have even categorically questioned the possibility of social responsibility in the tobacco industry. The paper will demonstrate that the deep distrust towards tobacco companies is linked to the lethal character of their products and the dubious behavior of their representatives in recent decades. As a result, tobacco companies are not in the CSR business in the strict sense. Key aspects of mainstream CSR theory and practice such as corporate philanthropy, stakeholder collaboration, CSR reporting and self-regulation, are demonstrated to be ineffective or even counterproductive in the tobacco industry. Building upon the terminology used in the leadership literature, the paper proposes to differentiate between transactional and transformational CSR arguing that tobacco companies can only operate on a transactional level. As a consequence, corporate responsibility in the tobacco industry is based upon a much thinner approach to CSR and has to be conceptualized with a focus on transactional integrity across the tobacco supply chain

Magnetic field effects on the vestibular system: calculation of the pressure on the cupula due to ionic current-induced Lorentz force

Large static magnetic fields may be employed in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). At high magnetic field strengths (usually from about 3 tesla and above) it is possible for humans to perceive a number of effects. One such effect is mild vertigo. Recently, Roberts et al (Current Biology 21:1635-1640 2011) proposed a Lorentz-force mechanism resulting from the ionic currents occurring naturally in the endolymph of the vestibular system. In the present work a more detailed calculation of the forces and resulting pressures in the vestibular system is carried out using a numerical model. Firstly, realistic 3D finite element conductivity and fluid maps of the utricle and a single semi-circular canal containing the current sources (dark cells) and sinks (hair cells) of the utricle and ampulla were constructed. Secondly, the electrical current densities in the fluid are calculated. Thirdly, the developed Lorentz force is used directly in the Navier-Stokes equation and the trans-cupular pressure is computed. Since the driving force field is relatively large in comparison with the advective acceleration, we demonstrate that it is possible to perform an approximation in the Navier-Stokes equations that reduces the problem to solving a simpler Poisson equation. This simplification allows rapid and easy calculation for many different directions of applied magnetic field. At 7 tesla a maximum cupula pressure difference of 1.6 mPa was calculated for the combined ampullar (0.7 μA) and utricular (3.31 μA) distributed current sources, assuming a hair-cell resting current of 100 pA per unit. These pressure values are up to an order of magnitude lower than those proposed by Roberts et al using a simplistic model and calculation, and are in good agreement with the estimated pressure values for nystagmus velocities in head rotation/caloric experiments. This modeling work supports the hypothesis that the Lorentz force mechanism is a significant contributor to the perception of magnetic field induced vertigo