El mantenimiento de los bienes culturales como garantía para su conservación

La conservación del Patrimonio se debe basar fundamentalmente en la preservación. Cuando se trata de obras expuestas a la intemperie no resulta viable implantar medidas preventivas que permitan controlar las condiciones ambientales que influyen de manera determinante en el desarrollo de los procesos de deterioro. En estos casos, la conservación preventiva se debe centrar en mantener en buen estado los materiales de construcción y los elementos arquitectónicos, tanto estructurales como funcionales o de protección y en la aplicación de programas de mantenimiento. Este tipo de actuaciones permiten la detección precoz de los daños evitando un agravamiento de la patología y son, además, un mecanismo que rentabiliza las inversiones económicas que las instituciones encargadas de la tutela de los bienes culturales dedican a su restauración. Por otra parte, las labores de control y mantenimiento permiten evaluar la idoneidad de los tratamientos y de las soluciones adoptadas.The Conservation of Cultural Heritage must be based mainly upon preservation. When it comes to in situ outdoor works, it is not possible to apply preventive measures to control the environmental conditions that influence the deterioration process. In these cases, preventive conservation must be focused on maintaining both the structural and functional construction materials and the architectonical elements in a good state, or in protection and also implementation of maintenance programs. These kinds of actions will allow the early detection of damage, avoiding the worsening of the pathology. They will also make profitable the economic investment made for the restorations works by institutions responsible for the protection of cultural heritage. On the other hand, control and maintenance actions allow the assessment of the suitability of the adopted treatments and solutionsA conservação do Património deve-se basar fundamentalmente na preservação. Quando se está a tratar de obras expostas à intemperie, não resulta viável implantar medidas preventivas que permitam controlar as condições ambientais que influiem de maneira determinante no desenvolvimento dos processos de deterioração. Nestes casos, a conservação preventiva deve-se centrar em manter em bom estado os materiais de construção e os elementos arquitectónicos, tanto estructurais como funcionais ou de protecção, e na aplicação de programas de manutenção. Este tipo de actuações permitem a detecção precoz dos danos, evitando um agravamento da patologia e, além disso, são um mecanismo que rentabiliza as inversões económicas que as instituções encarregadas da tutela dos bens culturais dedicam à sua restauração. Por outro lado, as labores de controlo e manutenção permitem avaliar a idoneidade dos tratamentos e das soluções adotada

Methodology for the Structural integrity assessment of the "Constitución de 1812" Bridge, over the Bay of Cádiz (Cádiz, Spain)

In keeping with the requirements of the latest standards for calculating structures and bridges in Spain, EHE 2008 and EAE 2011, the inspection and maintenance plan developed for the "Constitución de 1812? bridge, over the Cádiz bay, includes a section dedicated to the inspection of cracks that can appear in the steel deck. The estimation of the critical sizes of such cracks was made by completing a structural integrity assessment of the bridge deck based on the BS7910 standard, obtaining a critical size of only 6 mm in certain structural details. These crack sizes cannot be detected by visual inspection, which is in practice the inspection method used in bridges. Thus, an alternative methodology for the structural integrity assessment of bridges is proposed, with the aim of applying it to the ?Constitución de 1812? bridge. The approach is based on the use of more refined (less conservative) calculation options according to the BS7910 standard, and on the consideration of structural redundancy criteria.The authors of this work would like to express their gratitude to the University of Cantabria for the financial support of the project “Aplicación de Técnicas de Integridad Estructural y Fiabilidad de Materiales en la Determinacion del Ciclo de Vida de Puentes Metalicos y Mixtos” (03.DI09.649), a programme of industrial doctorates, on the results of which this paper is based

Multifractal analysis of discretized X-ray CT images for the characterization of soil macropore structures

A correct statistical model of soil pore structure can be critical for understanding flow and transport processes in soils, and creating synthetic soil pore spaces for hypothetical and model testing, and evaluating similarity of pore spaces of different soils. Advanced visualization techniques such as X-ray computed tomography (CT) offer new opportunities of exploring heterogeneity of soil properties at horizon or aggregate scales. Simple fractal models such as fractional Brownian motion that have been proposed to capture the complex behavior of soil spatial variation at field scale rarely simulate irregularity patterns displayed by spatial series of soil properties. The objective of this work was to use CT data to test the hypothesis that soil pore structure at the horizon scale may be represented by multifractal models. X-ray CT scans of twelve, water-saturated, 20-cm long soil columns with diameters of 7.5 cm were analyzed. A reconstruction algorithm was applied to convert the X-ray CT data into a stack of 1480 grayscale digital images with a voxel resolution of 110 microns and a cross-sectional size of 690 × 690 pixels. The images were binarized and the spatial series of the percentage of void space vs. depth was analyzed to evaluate the applicability of the multifractal model. The series of depth-dependent macroporosity values exhibited a well-defined multifractal structure that was revealed by singularity and Rényi spectra. The long-range dependencies in these series were parameterized by the Hurst exponent. Values of the Hurst exponent close to one were observed indicating the strong persistence in variations of porosity with depth. The multifractal modeling of soil macropore structure can be an efficient method for parameterizing and simulating the vertical spatial heterogeneity of soil pore space

Sociocultural and environmental benefits from family orchards in the Central Highlands of Mexico

Es un artículo publicado en la revista francesa de Bois et Forets des Tropiques, resultado de la investigación de Maestría en Ciencias Ambientales.El objetivo de este estudio era analizar las percepciones de los agroecosistemas, en su dimensión sociocultural y ambiental, entre los propietarios de huertos familiares ubicados en la zona de transición ecológica del Estado de México. La metodología comprendía tres etapas: 1) caracterización geográfica de localidades y agroecosistemas; 2) análisis de los beneficios sociales de los huertos; y 3) evaluación del potencial de los huertos y problemas encontrados. La investigación se llevó a cabo en doce localidades de tres municipios del Estado de México mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas completadas con observaciones directas de campo. Los huertos familiares proporcionan múltiples beneficios sociales, ambientales, ecológicos y culturales: contribuyen al bienestar de las familias procurando alimentos, condimentos y plantas ceremoniales para autoconsumo, venta o trueque. Asimismo, estos huertos proporcionan leña, madera de construcción, postes para vallas y adornos. Así pues, los huertos familiares deben ser considerados como agroecosistemas de gran importancia con un funcionamiento basado en complejas relaciones entre todos sus componentes. Los beneficios socioculturales y ambientales de estos agroecosistemas productivos multifuncionales pueden contribuir de modo significativo al éxito de las estrategias de cohesión social y seguridad alimentaria en medios rurales, ayudando al mismo tiempo a preservar los recursos naturales de la regiónCONACY

LIVELIHOOD STRATEGY IN THE RURAL AREA OF THE MEXICAN CENTRAL HIGHLANDS: THE FAMILY VEGETABLE GARDEN

Resultado de la investigación realizada por el alumno durante la Maestría en Ciencias AmbientalesEn tres municipios ubicados en la zona de transición ecológica del Estado de México se investigó la práctica tradicional campesina del huerto familiar como estrategia que contribuye a la seguridad alimentaria. La agricultura campesina forma parte de las estrategias de vida familiar del medio rural y coadyuva a enfrentar eventos climáticos extremos a nivel regional. Mediante observación en campo y entrevistas semiestructuradas con 180 poseedores de huerto se indagaron los beneficios ambientales, sociales y económicos que ellos perciben, así como la utilización que hacen de los productos de origen vegetal y animal, su aprovechamiento en la alimentación y generación de ingresos. Se identificaron 134 especies arbóreas o arbustivas; 54 de herbáceas u hortalizas y 13 de animales. Las especies son usadas por las familias para su alimentación y como condimento o en usos medicinal o ritual. Los principales productos que se obtienen del huerto son frutos, hojas, flores, carne, leche y huevo; su destino principal es para el autoconsumo; los excedentes se destinan a la venta e intercambio, como una alternativa para complementar la dieta. Estos agroecosistemas contribuyen a conservar la biodiversidad regional, favorecen la seguridad alimentaria familiar y proporcionan servicios ambientales y beneficios sociales.CONACY

Agroecological Traditional Peasant Knowledge in Mexico

The aim of the paper is to present an application of a theoretical and methodological model for the systematization of peasant knowledge about a traditional agriculture practice of family orchards. It is a proposal that involves social participation, community organization and environmental education at three rural localities in the State of Mexico. The methodology applied includes participatory workshops, for obtaining ecological knowledge from farmers related to family orchards and agroecosystems management. The collected information was analyzed to identify aspects related to origin, application, transformation and transmission of traditional knowledge. The last step for knowledge systematization consisted of an important reflection that includes confrontation of the empirical experience with current theoretical approaches. The importance of this research, related to knowledge associated with family orchards, is due to their function of providing products for family subsistence. Because they allow “in situ” germplasm conservation, they favor family integration, foster community relationships, and bring environmental goods and services. Their management is based on vernacular and rational experience of using available natural resources, and represents an alternative for sustainable local development. However, these systems are subject to a disappearance process caused by urban growth, social migration, loss of traditional knowledge about orchard management, and lack of maintenance activities, among other problems that lead to abandonment. The study is based on the theoretical framework of agroecology, environmental education and knowledge systematization

An integrative model of destination brand equity and tourist satisfaction

This paper develops an integrative model that includes the dimensions of destination brand equity (i.e. awareness, image, quality and loyalty), as well as a key behavioural variable that is tourist satisfaction. In particular, our paper aims to contribute to the literature: (1) by examining the relationships between the dimensions of destination brand equity, which is not a deeply investigated issue so far; and (2) by adding tourist satisfaction, a key concept in loyalty formation, to the variables usually considered in destination brand equity models. The model was tested in two samples, national and international tourists visiting a destination in Spain, in order to also explore the role of the geographical and cultural distance between tourist and destination. Our results from a multi-group analysis indicate: (1) a robust link between ?quality-satisfaction-loyalty? in both samples of tourists; (2) a chain of effects among awareness, image (separately considering the cognitive and affective dimensions) and perceived quality, although with the presence of some significant difference between both samples of tourists; and (3) a positive influence of cognitive image on affective image in both cases

Explaining the adoption of social networks sites for sharing user-generated content: A revision of the UTAUT2.

ABSTRACT: Despite the outstanding growth of social network sites in recent years, more research is needed to better understand how users' intentions to share their experiences with products and brands are formed through these applications. With this in mind, this study takes the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) as a reference and develops an extended model by considering the substitution of ?price value? with ?privacy concerns?, since social network sites are free applications, with no economic cost to users but with potential problems of self-disclosure. Our model also includes the interrelations between the explanatory variables postulated in the UTAUT2, an issue that is not considered in its original formulation. This approach is empirically tested through a quantitative study in the tourism industry, where social network sites have significant influence. The results from a sample of 537 tourists show that there are three main drivers of users' intentions to use social network sites to publish content about their experiences: performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, and habit. Additionally, our results support the existence of interrelations between the explanatory variables. Finally, three of the factors studied (i.e., facilitating conditions, social influence, and privacy concerns) do not have any influence on the intention to use social network sites to share content

Residents' attitudes and behavioural support for tourism in host communities

ABSTRACT: In our study of the "perceptions-attitudes-behaviours" sequence, we explain how resident perceptions of tourism's impacts on host communities influence not only their attitudes towards tourism, but also their attitudes towards tourists - i.e. a new variable that has recently been introduced in literature. Moreover, we introduce the behavioural support, a concept that denotes a higher level of involvement and engagement of residents with their communities in comparison with the traditional attitudinal support. Our results indicate: (1) the residents' perception of the positive economic and cultural impacts of tourism are the main variables influencing their attitudes towards tourism and tourists; and (2) both types of attitudes influence on behavioural support for tourism in host communities

Conocimiento tradicional del huerto familiar en el Altiplano Central Mexicano

Los agroecosistemas son una estrategia implementada para el manejo de recursos naturales (Altieri, 2009: 71), donde realizan prácticas de producción y conservación (Garnatje et al., 2011: 73; Montañez et al., 2014: 102). Su funcionamiento se sustenta en el conocimiento tradicional, estrechamente relacionado con la cosmogonía de las comunidades, su finalidad es fortalecer el manejo de plantas, semillas, animales y formas de organización (Toledo et al., 2008: 350; Calvet- Mir et al., 2014: 2). Por esta razón, el conocimiento tradicional favorece que el sistema de producción promueva la diversidad y se acumule conocimiento acerca del ambiente, la biodiversidad, así como el contexto local. Algunos ejemplos de estos agroecosistemas son el huerto familiar, la milpa y el cultivo de café bajo sombra (Colín et al., 2012: 13; Cahuich et al., 2014: 157; Montañez et al., 2014: 104; Santana et al., 2015: 407). En el caso particular de los huertos familiares, son una práctica desarrollada por generaciones, en estos agroecosistemas ocurren procesos sociales, culturales, ecológicos y agronómicos (Rivas, 2014: 4). En México son llamados traspatios, solares y huertos caseros. Se caracterizan por estar cerca de la casa (Rivas y Rodríguez, 2013: 7), su composición florística, arreglo espacial, así como el aprovechamiento de las especies dependen de las características del terreno, circunstancias de vida y necesidades de las personas (García et al., 2016a: 31; García et al., 2016b: 624). En los huertos se cultivan una amplia diversidad de árboles, arbustos y herbáceas, su importancia ecológica es la conservación de agrobiodiversidad in situ (Van der Wal et al., 2011: 5). Debido a que las actividades humanas influyen en las plantas cultivadas que existe en el huerto familiar, propician el desarrollo de especies silvestres por medio de su siembra fomentada o tolerada (Calvet-Mir et al. 2014: 6). Por lo general, las mujeres definen lo que se cultiva en los huertos, puesto que en muchas sociedades son las principales responsables de la alimentación y de la salud familiar. Esto propicia la adaptación de las especies al contexto local, a las condiciones ambientales, así como a las técnicas de cultivo. Los productos obtenidos de origen vegetal como animal satisfacen necesidades básicas de alimentación familiar (Montañez et al., 2014: 101; Salazar et al., 2015: 2). En este sentido, son fuente de alimentos e ingresos durante todo el año, aún sin hacer uso de insumos agrícolas sofisticados (FAO, 2015: 30; Toledo, 2005: 17). Por lo tanto son importantes para las familias de escasos recursos económicos (Mariaca, 2012: 10; White et al., 2013: 175; Juan et al., 2013: 18). En los municipios de Malinalco, Tenancingo y Villa Guerrero, Estado de México se presentan los Agroecosistemas con Huerto Familiar (AEHF), sin embargo, el proceso de urbanización, el crecimiento de la familia, la división del terreno para construcción, el abandono por causa de la migración, la pérdida de conocimientos para el manejo del huerto, la falta de mecanismos de transmisión pone en riesgo su continuidad (Chablé et al., 2015: 35; García et al., 2016b: 639). El objetivo principal fue analizar el conocimiento tradicional acerca de los huertos familiares que poseen los habitantes de las localidades rurales de Colonia Juárez (Malinalco), El Carmen (Tenancingo) y Progreso Hidalgo (Villa Guerrero)