El paradigma de la ciencia política y la administración pública: retos a los que se enfrentan en el siglo XXI

En el presente artículo se plantean los retos a los que se enfrentan dos disciplinas fundamentales para entender el quehacer político y gubernamental, ante una sociedad cada vez más plural y demandante de cara al siglo XXI. Entender a la ciencia política y a la administración pública frente al sistema capitalista en el cual ambas nacen y se desarrollan, entrelaza necesariamente la evolución de la ciencia política en distintas épocas, donde se localiza también el surgimiento de la administración pública como disciplina científica. Este recorrido histórico tiene el fin de identificar sus principales transformaciones y aquellas que son necesarias para consolidar a la ciencia política y a la administración pública como disciplinas útiles y valiosas para las nuevas sociedades

Reseña de "Homo Academicus" de Pierre Bourdieu

En la actualidad, las ciencias sociales han ampliado su objeto de estudio con la intención de consolidarse como disciplinas que puedan influir en su entorno inmediato, objetivizándolo, para lograr una aproximación a diversos temas y, a su vez, un acercamiento hacia su propia identidad como investigadores. Tal es el caso de Pierre Bourdieu, quien entre 1968 y 1987 elaboró un estudio sociológico sobre su propio ámbito: el campo universitario. Su Homo Academicus pretende mostrar al campo universitario como un espacio de constante lucha, de desigualdades, de competencias y de formas de dominación institucionalizadas y por todos aceptadas y reproducidas, hasta identificar y analizar el momento donde se pone en riesgo la continuidad de los patrones institucionales dominantes

Constructive Proofs or Constructive Statements?

A question raised at previous MAP meetings is the following. Is Sergeraert\u27s "Constructive Algebraic Topology" (CAT, in short) really constructive (in the strict logical sense of the word "constructive")? We have not an answer to that question, but we are interested in the following: could have a positive (or negative) answer to the previous question an influence in the problem of proving the correctness of CAT programs (as Kenzo)? Studying this problem, we have observed that, in fact, many CAT programs can be extracted from the statements (that is, from the specification of certain objects and constructions), without needing an extraction from proofs. This remark shows that the logic used in the proofs is uncoupled with respect to the correctness of programs. Thus, the first question posed could be quite irrelevant from the practical point of view. These rather speculative ideas will be illustrated by means of some elementary examples, where the Isabelle code extraction tool can be successfully applied

Multiple photon Hamiltonian in linear quantum optical networks

We give an alternative derivation for the explicit formula of the effective Hamiltonian describing the evolution of the quantum state of any number of photons entering a linear optics multiport. The description is based on the effective Hamiltonian of the optical system for a single photon and comes from relating the evolution in the Lie group that describes the unitary evolution matrices in the Hilbert space of the photon states to the evolution in the Lie algebra of the Hamiltonians for one and multiple photons. We give a few examples of how a group theory approach can shed light on some properties of devices with two input ports.Comment: 6 pages. Comments welcom

Fundamental concepts required by electromechanical technology graduates for entry-level employment in related industry

The objective of this study was to determine the fundamental electromechanical concepts needed by electromechanical technology graduates to perform efficiently at the entry-level employment in related industry. An extensive review of the literature indicated that it was necessary to prepare electromechanical technologists with emphasis given to the area of electrical/electronics technology, mechanical technology, fluids, and fiber optics. Thusly prepared, these graduates would be able to service modern industrial equipment and would have greater opportunities in the job market than at present. A Likert format questionnaire was developed to gather the necessary data. The survey instrument consisted of 91 concept statements grouped under four area headings: electrical/electronics, mechanical, fluids, and fiber optics. Each concept statement was followed by a scale section in order to ascertain the degree of importance of each concept to the respondent\u27s job. The population targeted for this study consisted of all the affiliates of the Instrument Society of America (ISA) working in the fields of computer, instrumentation, automation, and robotics, in the United States. The randomly selected sample was made up of 589 members with the majority (479 or 81.32%) coming from the states of Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Michigan, Louisiana, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Of the 589 questionnaires mailed, 329 (55.85%) were returned. Of these, 4 were incomplete and the remaining 325 (55.18%) questionnaires became the basis for this study. The collected data were analyzed at the Academic Computing Services at the University of Northern Iowa, using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSSX). Mean values and standard deviations for each concept was determined as well as the grand mean value. The results of the study were presented in tabular form. Forty-one concept statements were rated with a mean value equal to or greater than the grand mean value (2.80). The area of electrical/electronics technology had the highest number of important concept statements with 26 (63.41%) concepts, followed by the area of fluids with 10 (24.39%) concepts, next the area of mechanical technology with 4 (9.76%) concepts, and finally the area of fiber optics with 1 (2.44%) concept. The results of this study were: (1) There is a need for electromechanical technologists to function effectively in the fields of computer, instrumentation, automation, and robotics. (2) Electromechanical technology programs should place most emphasis in the area of electrical/electronics technology followed by the area of fluids. (3) Contrary to the findings of the survey of literature, the area of fiber optics has been shown by this study to be of low importance for today\u27s electromechanical technologists