From the street to the store. The formalization of street vendors in Quito, Ecuador

__Abstract__ With the support of local and international organisations, the municipality of Quito, Ecuador, relocated approximately 6000 street vendors from the streets to eleven Popular Commercial Centres. The research examines the extent to which formalisation has al-tered their working and living conditions from the perspective of the decent work framework. Fieldwork was carried out in one of the commercial centres through surveys and interviews with the relocated vendors, representatives of their associations, and lo-cal government officials. The study found that it is not obvious that the working and living conditions will automatically improve with formalisation. While some aspects have improved (i.e. labour, employment, work and skills use and upgrading), others have worsened (i.e. jobs, income and representation)

Explosive Synchronization Transitions in Scale-free Networks

The emergence of explosive collective phenomena has recently attracted much attention due to the discovery of an explosive percolation transition in complex networks. In this Letter, we demonstrate how an explosive transition shows up in the synchronization of complex heterogeneous networks by incorporating a microscopic correlation between the structural and the dynamical properties of the system. The characteristics of this explosive transition are analytically studied in a star graph reproducing the results obtained in synthetic scale-free networks. Our findings represent the first abrupt synchronization transition in complex networks thus providing a deeper understanding of the microscopic roots of explosive critical phenomena.Comment: 6 pages and 5 figures. To appear in Physical Review Letter

Optimizing tip-surface interactions in ESR-STM experiments

Electron-spin resonance carried out with scanning tunneling microscopes (ESR-STM) is a recently developed experimental technique that is attracting enormous interest on account of its potential to carry out single-spin on-surface resonance with subatomic resolution. Here we carry out a theoretical study of the role of tip-adatom interactions and provide guidelines for choosing the experimental parameters in order to optimize spin resonance measurements. We consider the case of the Fe adatom on a MgO surface and its interaction with the spin-polarized STM tip. We address three problems: first, how to optimize the tip-sample distance to cancel the effective magnetic field created by the tip on the surface spin, in order to carry out proper magnetic field sensing. Second, how to reduce the voltage dependence of the surface-spin resonant frequency, in order to minimize tip-induced decoherence due to voltage noise. Third, we propose an experimental protocol to infer the detuning angle between the applied field and the tip magnetization, which plays a crucial role in the modeling of the experimental results.Comment: 10 pages, 5 Figure

Acaparamiento de tierras y acumulación capitalista: aspectos clave en América Latina

__Abstract__ We introduce this special issue by explaining seven characteristics of land grabbing in Latin America. These features are not unique to the region. By highlighting them – arguing, for instance, that a key aspect in Latin America is intra-regional land grabbing driven by (trans)Latina companies – we hope to inspire new cross-regional comparisons to understand the dynamics of “global” land grabbing. Our focus on Latin America challenges some problematic generalisations in the literature, for instance, that land grabs occur mainly in fragile states. We interrogate the relationship between land grabbing and the “foreignisation” narrative, and the need to revisit the broader question of land concentration. Thus we build upon the literature locating land grabs and the land question within the political economy of global capitalism

Breit interaction effects in relativistic theory of the nuclear spin-rotation tensor

In this work, relativistic effects on the nuclear spin-rotation (SR) tensor originated in the electronnucleus and electron-electron Breit interactions are analysed. To this end, four-component numerical calculations were carried out in model systems HX (X=H,F,Cl,Br,I). The electron-nucleus Breit interaction couples the electrons and nuclei dynamics giving rise to a purely relativistic contribution to the SR tensor. Its leading order in 1/c is of the same value as that of relativistic corrections on the usual second order expression of the SR tensor considered in previous work [I. A. Aucar, S. S. Gómez, J. I. Melo, C. G. Giribet, and M. C. Ruiz de Azúa, J. Chem. Phys. 138, 134107 (2013)], and therefore it is absolutely necessary to establish its relative importance. For the sake of completeness, the corresponding effect originating in the electron-electron Breit interaction is also considered. It is verified that in all cases these Breit interactions yield only very small corrections to the SR tensors of both the X and H nuclei in the present series of compounds. Results of the present work strongly suggest that in order to achieve experimental accuracy in the theoretical study of the SR tensor both electron-nucleus and electron-electron Breit effects can be safely neglected.Fil: Aucar, Ignacio Agustín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Nordeste. Instituto de Modelado e Innovación Tecnológica; ArgentinaFil: Gomez, Sergio Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Nordeste. Instituto de Modelado e Innovación Tecnológica; ArgentinaFil: Giribet, Claudia Gloria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; ArgentinaFil: Ruiz de Azua, Martin Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; Argentin

Basketball game-related statistics that discriminate between teams season-long success

The aim of the present study was to identify the game-related statistics that discriminate between season-long successful and unsuccessful basketball teams participating in the Spanish Basketball League (LEB1). The sample included all 145 average records per season from the 870 games played between the 2000-2001 and the 2005-2006 regular seasons. The following game-related statistics were gathered from the official box scores of the Spanish Basketball Federation: 2- and 3-point field-goal attempts (both successful and unsuccessful), free-throws (both successful and unsuccessful), defensive and offensive rebounds, assists, steals, turnovers, blocks (both made and received), and fouls (both committed and received). To control for season variability, all results were normalized to minutes played each season and then converted to z-scores. The results allowed discrimination between best and worst teams' performances through the following game-related statistics: assists (SC=0.47), steals (SC=0.34), and blocks (SC=0.30). The function obtained correctly classified 82.4% of the cases. In conclusion, season-long performance may be supported by players' and teams' passing skills and defensive preparation

La acción social empresarial como instrumento de Justicia Social: la empresa como garante de los Derechos Humanos

La Justicia Social y los Derechos Sociales son la filosofía de valores presentes en el modelo social internacional y la Responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC) que ofrece una alternativa al enfoque de protección de los Derechos Humanos desde la perspectiva de las cuestiones socioeconómicas. Suponen un avance conforme a la filantropía o el marketing social y nos permite incluir en sus metodologías y acciones el modelo de la Base de la Pirámide (BdP). A lo largo del presente trabajo se recoge la vinculación entre la RSC, los negocios inclusivos y los de Base de la Pirámide en la lucha contra la exclusión social y como forma de trabajo para garantizar los Derechos Humanos en el mundo empresarial y el papel que tiene el trabajador social en el mundo empresarial como agente de desarrollo de la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa tanto a nivel interno como externo.Social Justice and social rights are the philosophy of values present in the international social model and the social responsibility corporate (CSR) that offers an alternative to the approach for the protection of human rights from the perspective of the socioeconomic issues, supposing an advance pursuant to philanthropy or social marketing and allows us to include in its methodologies and actions the Base of the pyramid (BoP). Along the present work includes linking CSR, inclusive businesses and those of BdP in the fight against social exclusion and as a form of work to secure human rights in the business world and the role of the social worker in the business world as an agent of development of CSR has both internally and externally

The Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. An analysis of the most relevant frames in the Spanish press

The accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan on 11 March 2011 unleashed an environmental, economic, political and humanitarian crisis whose effects are still felt today. This study analyses press coverage of the incident by three Spanish daily newspapers, Abc, El País and La Vanguardia, to determine the prevalent frames in the news articles on the disaster. Content analysis based on the stories published between March and May 2011 suggests that the most ubiquitous frames were human interest, economic consequences, political conflict, damage and environmental risks.El accidente de la central nuclear de Fukushima (Japón), producido el 11 de marzo de 2011, desencadenó una crisis medioambiental, económica, política y humanitaria cuyos efectos todavía perduran. En este trabajo se aborda la cobertura del suceso por parte de los diarios españoles Abc, El País y La Vanguardia, con el propósito de determinar los frames predominantes en los textos informativos e interpretativos asociados a él. Del análisis de contenido aplicado a las piezas publicadas por las tres cabeceras entre marzo y mayo de 2011, emergen cinco enfoques: interés humano, consecuencias económicas, conflicto político, daños y riesgos medioambientales

Transmission through a quantum dot molecule embedded in an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer

We study theoretically the transmission through a quantum dot molecule embedded in the arms of an Aharonov-Bohm four quantum dot ring threaded by a magnetic flux. The tunable molecular coupling provides a transmission pathway between the interferometer arms in addition to those along the arms. From a decomposition of the transmission in terms of contributions from paths, we show that antiresonances in the transmission arise from the interference of the self-energy along different paths and that application of a magnetic flux can produce the suppression of such antiresonances. The occurrence of a period of twice the quantum of flux arises to the opening of transmission pathway through the dot molecule. Two different connections of the device to the leads are considered and their spectra of conductance are compared as a function of the tunable parameters of the model.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Study of the chlorfenvinphos pesticide removal under different anodic materials and different reactor configuration

The present manuscript focuses on the study of the electrochemical oxidation of the insecticide Chlorfenvinphos (CVP). The assays were carried out under galvanostatic conditions using boron-doped diamond (BDD) and low-cost tin dioxide doped with antimony (Sb-doped SnO2) as anodes. The influence of the operating variables, such as applied current density, presence or absence of a cation-exchange membrane and concentration of supporting electrolyte, was discussed. The results revealed that the higher applied current density the higher degradation and mineralization of the insecticide for both anodes. The presence of the membrane and the highest concentration of Na2SO4 studied (0.1 M) as a supporting electrolyte benefited the oxidation process of CVP using the BDD electrode, while with the ceramic anode the elimination of CVP was lower under these experimental conditions. Although the BDD electrode showed the best performance, ceramic anodes appear as an interesting alternative as they were able to degrade CVP completely for the highest applied current density values. Toxicity tests revealed that the initial solution of CVP was more toxic than the samples treated with the ceramic electrode, while using the BDD electrode the toxicity of the sample increased