Políticas públicas que modifican los hábitos de consumo como estrategia de protección medioambiental

Los seres humanos están causando alteraciones profundas en el planeta, llevándolo a escenarios cercanos a una gran crisis ambiental y hasta el colapso para ciertos sectores de la población, si las condiciones tecnológicas, de acceso a recursos, de incremento poblacional y de niveles de consumo se mantienen. Los responsables del consumo que no respeta los límites biofísicos del planeta son los consumidores, no la industria o el comercio, es por esto, que se vuelve necesario modificar los hábitos de consumo. Esta investigación pretende comprender cómo se pueden cambiar los hábitos de consumo a través de políticas públicas para reducir el impacto sobre el medioambiente. La discusión teórica vincula a las políticas públicas sobre consumo sustentable con los temas de poder y participación ciudadana, partiendo del supuesto que cambios profundos solo son posibles a través de la organización y politización de los consumidores, transformados en ciudadanos. En este referencial teórico se cuestiona la concepción de que un futuro para todos es contradictorio con los preceptos de la sociedad de consumo, imperante en el mundo contemporáneo y que privilegia la rentabilidad económica, el inmediatismo y la individualidad; presentando al decrecimiento como una alternativa política a los modelos desarrollistas y materialistas basados em el consumo y el desarrollo. El carácter de la investigación está enmarcado en la teoría crítica, mediante un abordaje cualitativo. El tipo de investigación es un estudio de caso múltiple que analiza dos instrumentos de política pública implementados en el archipiélago de Galápagos, provincia ecuatoriana de gran biodiversidad y potencial turístico. La investigación se centra en el análisis de la regulación que restringue el ingreso de vehículos a Galápagos y la prohibión de uso de productos plásticos desechables en esta provincia. La investigación arrojó que la formulación e implementación de políticas públicas que limitan el consumo en Galápagos deben considerar la gestión de la resistencia y de los factores de conflicto percibidos en la población, en las instituciones públicas y en su proceso de ejecución; con la existencia de condiciones estructurales vinculadas a la oferta de alternativas, incentivos, infraestructura física pública, información y educación, dentro de un proceso planificado que permita acuerdos, participación social e incidencia; y con las distorsiones detectadas en su implementación, principalmente en el incumplimiento de la normativa por parte de la ciudadanía y de los funcionarios públicos responsables de su cumplimiento

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

La ética Ambiental de las Organizaciones en el Posmodernismo

It is impossible to understand organizations and their actions with the same tools and visions that wereused in the industrial age, since there are many new variables that influence them. New theories havebeen generated to approach this question, not only different but even contradictory. The philosophicalmodel in force, the Postmodernism, is both defended and disputed passionately. This paper analyzesthe concept that organizations have about their relationship and responsibility with nature, at a time inwhich people cannot be indifferent to damaging nature. Environmental practices in this post-industrialage are diverse in number and in their impact on environmental problems. However, most are framed ina totally anthropocentric ethic that privileges the man with the ability to consume and considers partiallythose elements that can be useful to some degree. Still we do not understand the urgency of consideringthe environmental variable in everyday life and in the vision of all organizations. Some believe that if westart today, perhaps it is too late.No se puede entender a las organizaciones y a sus actuaciones con las mismas herramientas y visiones que se utilizaban en la época industrial.Son múltiples las nuevas variables que influyen en ellas y para comprenderlas se han generado nuevas teorías, no solo diversas sino inclusive contradictorias.Se enfrenta con pasión la defensa y el cuestionamiento del modelo filosófico que se dice vigente, la posmodernidad. Este trabajo pretende analizar la concepción que tienen las organizaciones acerca de su relación y responsabilidad con la naturaleza, en un momento en el cual ya no se puede ser indiferente al daño causado al entorno natural. Las prácticas ambientales en esta época posindustrial son diversas en número y en su impacto sobre los problemas ecológicos.Sin embargo, la gran mayoría están enmarcadas en una ética totalmente antropocéntrica que privilegia al hombre con capacidad de consumo y que considera parcialmente a aquellos elementos que le pueden significar de utilidad en algún grado. Todavía no comprendemos la urgencia de considerar a la variable ambiental en el quehacer cotidiano y en la visión de todas las organizaciones. Varios creen que aunque comencemos hoy, quizás ya es demasiado tarde

RIED. Revista iberoamericana de educación a distancia

Resumen basado en el de la publicaciónLa tecnología ha penetrado en todas las actividades humanas de forma positiva, pero también ha dejado dudas sobre su impacto en la sociedad debido al tiempo dedicado a ella, especialmente por los jóvenes. Actividades como la lectura, las tareas escolares o la educación autónoma van siendo relegadas por otras ligadas a la comunicación virtual y al ocio. La investigación realizada en la ciudad de Quito, en Ecuador, encontró que los jóvenes de entre 12 y 18 años dedican por día, en promedio, siete horas cincuenta minutos a ver la televisión, el ordenador, las consolas de videojuegos, los reproductores de música, al teléfono celular y al teléfono fijo.EC

Use of technology: determination of time that young people between 12 and 18 use technological equipment

Technology has penetrated in all human activities in a positive way, but there are many questions about the impact on society due to the significant time devoted to it, especially by young people. Activities such as reading, homework or self-education are relegated by others linked to virtual communication and entertainment. The research underlying this article, undertaken in Quito, Ecuador, has established that young people between 12 and 18 years old spend on average 7h50 per day using the television, computer, video game consoles, music players, mobile phones and landlines. The intensive use of these devices shows that the behavior of young people and the strategies to reach them have changed. It is necessary to understand this new reality

Estudio Exploratorio del Potencial de Generación de Energía Eólica y Fotovoltaica en el Distrito Metropolitano de Quito

Renewable energy is an alternative to electricity generation that us es fos s il fuels , which contributes s ignifi-cantly to control environmental degradation, es pecially the mitigation of climate change. This study presentsthe main res ults of an exploratory research on the potential of energy generation from wind and solar re-sources in the Distrito Metropolitano de Quito. Results are bas ed on exis ting secondary and primary datacollected through pyranometers and anemometers at different s ites along the city. Theres ults demons tratethe feas ibility of generating photovoltaic energy in the Distrito Metropolitano de Quito, either for domestic ormas s ive s cale, and that wind energy generation is possible us ing turbines of low powerLa energía renovable es una alternativa a la generación de electricidad que utiliza combustibles fósiles y que aporta de forma importante a la disminución de la degradación ambiental, principalmente a la mitigación del cambio climático. Se presentan los principales resultados de una investigación exploratoria acerca del potencial de generación de energía a partir del recurso eólico y solar en el Distrito Metropolitano de Quito. Esto se hace con base en la información secundaria existente y en la primaria recolectada a través de piranómetros y anemómetros en diferentes lugares de la ciudad. Los resultados demuestran que es posible la generación fotovoltaica en el Distrito Metropolitano de Quito, ya sea a escala doméstica o a gran escala, y que la generación eólica es posible utilizando aerogeneradores de baja potencia

Human activities shape global patterns of decomposition rates in rivers

Rivers and streams contribute to global carbon cycling by decomposing immense quantities of terrestrial plant matter. However, decomposition rates are highly variable and large-scale patterns and drivers of this process remain poorly understood. Using a cellulose-based assay to reflect the primary constituent of plant detritus, we generated a predictive model (81% variance explained) for cellulose decomposition rates across 514 globally distributed streams. A large number of variables were important for predicting decomposition, highlighting the complexity of this process at the global scale. Predicted cellulose decomposition rates, when combined with genus-level litter quality attributes, explain published leaf litter decomposition rates with high accuracy (70% variance explained). Our global map provides estimates of rates across vast understudied areas of Earth and reveals rapid decomposition across continental-scale areas dominated by human activities

The DUNE Far Detector Vertical Drift Technology, Technical Design Report

International audienceDUNE is an international experiment dedicated to addressing some of the questions at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics, including the mystifying preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe. The dual-site experiment will employ an intense neutrino beam focused on a near and a far detector as it aims to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and to make high-precision measurements of the PMNS matrix parameters, including the CP-violating phase. It will also stand ready to observe supernova neutrino bursts, and seeks to observe nucleon decay as a signature of a grand unified theory underlying the standard model. The DUNE far detector implements liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) technology, and combines the many tens-of-kiloton fiducial mass necessary for rare event searches with the sub-centimeter spatial resolution required to image those events with high precision. The addition of a photon detection system enhances physics capabilities for all DUNE physics drivers and opens prospects for further physics explorations. Given its size, the far detector will be implemented as a set of modules, with LArTPC designs that differ from one another as newer technologies arise. In the vertical drift LArTPC design, a horizontal cathode bisects the detector, creating two stacked drift volumes in which ionization charges drift towards anodes at either the top or bottom. The anodes are composed of perforated PCB layers with conductive strips, enabling reconstruction in 3D. Light-trap-style photon detection modules are placed both on the cryostat's side walls and on the central cathode where they are optically powered. This Technical Design Report describes in detail the technical implementations of each subsystem of this LArTPC that, together with the other far detector modules and the near detector, will enable DUNE to achieve its physics goals

The DUNE Far Detector Vertical Drift Technology, Technical Design Report

International audienceDUNE is an international experiment dedicated to addressing some of the questions at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics, including the mystifying preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe. The dual-site experiment will employ an intense neutrino beam focused on a near and a far detector as it aims to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and to make high-precision measurements of the PMNS matrix parameters, including the CP-violating phase. It will also stand ready to observe supernova neutrino bursts, and seeks to observe nucleon decay as a signature of a grand unified theory underlying the standard model. The DUNE far detector implements liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) technology, and combines the many tens-of-kiloton fiducial mass necessary for rare event searches with the sub-centimeter spatial resolution required to image those events with high precision. The addition of a photon detection system enhances physics capabilities for all DUNE physics drivers and opens prospects for further physics explorations. Given its size, the far detector will be implemented as a set of modules, with LArTPC designs that differ from one another as newer technologies arise. In the vertical drift LArTPC design, a horizontal cathode bisects the detector, creating two stacked drift volumes in which ionization charges drift towards anodes at either the top or bottom. The anodes are composed of perforated PCB layers with conductive strips, enabling reconstruction in 3D. Light-trap-style photon detection modules are placed both on the cryostat's side walls and on the central cathode where they are optically powered. This Technical Design Report describes in detail the technical implementations of each subsystem of this LArTPC that, together with the other far detector modules and the near detector, will enable DUNE to achieve its physics goals