STATE INTERVENTIONISM IN THE LATE CLASSIC MAYA PALENQUE POLITY: HOUSEHOLD AND COMMUNITY ARCHAEOLOGY AT EL LACANDON

Archaeological materials from seven excavated households (three commoner, three elite and a super-elite) from El Lacandón, a rural settlement of the Ancient Maya Palenque polity in Chiapas, Mexico; are analyzed to examine how households and communities were articulated and later affected by incorporation into larger sociopolitical entities. The study spans El Lacandón’s foundation in the Late Preclassic period (300 B.C. -A.D. 150), its abandonment as part of its assimilation into the Palenque polity at the beginning of the Classic period (ca. A.D. 150), and its re-foundation as a 2nd level community in the political hierarchy of the Palenque polity at the end of the Late Classic (A.D. 750-850). Economic analyses consider patterns of production and consumption. Obsidian blade manufacturing was organized as a household-level production in both periods, and it was not attached to elite interests during the Late Preclassic, with households of both statuses engaged in paper production, woodworking and paper/cloth imprintings. The pattern changes during the Late Classic, with manufacturing activities restricted to elite households. In terms of consumption, obsidian was available in similar quantities to all households during the Late Preclassic, and became more abundant in elite households during the Late Classic. Ideological patterns of the Late Classic period show that the super-elite household was clearly linked to Palenque’s great tradition expressed in burial practices, according to body position and head orientation. Local elite burials practices were more diverse, which was possibly related to a local little tradition. El Lacandón’s abandonment at the end of the Late Preclassic coincides with the growth of Palenque as a political capital, a pattern frequently observed in cases where rural population moved to growing political capitals. Sociopolitical patterns during the Late Classic were examined by a comparison of civic precinct planning and the differential distribution of elite and commoner households in the districts of the Palenque polity. The analysis concluded that provincial elites exercised less power than the elite of the capital, but were able to negotiate a local identity expressed in Palenque-related elements and also elements of other polities

Strategies for recruiting foster families

Fostering provides children with an opportunity to grow and develop in a family environment until the source of separationfrom their families is resolved, they are adopted or they emancipate on reaching the age of majority. Finding families ready to look after those children is one of the most important challenges for foster care systems in the next decade. This paper aims to review international procedures for the recruitment of foster families. The most successful recruitment interventions are those aimed at the general population, involving experienced foster parents, using all available resources, and sending objective messages about what this decision entails. Previous research also underlines the need for yearly recruitment and sensitization plans, and assessment systems of the strategies used. Several guidelines are offered in this paper for agencies and managers of foster programs

Multi-output Technical Efficiency for Argentinean Dairy Farms Using Stochastic Production and Stochastic Distance Frontiers with Unbalanced Panel Data

Published by Asociación de Economistas Agrarios de ChileArgentina, dairy farms, panel data, stochastic production and stochastic distance frontiers, technical efficiency, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis,

Modelo Integral para la construcción de repositorios Institucionales que alojen recursos educativos abiertos bajo la metodología de sistemas suaves

La educación y el conocimiento no se limita su adquisición en las aulas de manera presencial, ahora gracias a las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC), las universidades, colegios, instituciones, organizaciones gubernamentales y no gubernamentales, pueden expandir la experiencia de enseñanza-aprendizaje, haciendo uso de materiales digitales tanto abiertos como de licenciamiento, con el fin de fomentar, completar y acrecentar las herramientas al discente para la adquisición del conocimiento, siendo incluso la construcción de los mencionados elementos académicos, dirigida hacia un tipo específico de aprendizaje (visual, auditivo, kinestésico, etc.). Claro está que el nivel y el grado académico adquirido por el alumno al que también se le refiere con el nombre de discente en el actual modelo educativo nacional, dependen directamente de él, de su dedicación al estudio y de su rendimiento en el mismo, pero también es de enunciar que mientras más recursos, herramientas y materiales didácticos de enseñanza posea y correctamente utilice, es directamente proporcional al grado de adquisición del conocimiento en comparación con homólogos que carezcan de estos; esto es, mientras el discente tenga más elementos para aprender y si estos son empleados correctamente, la probabilidad de adquirir el conocimiento incrementará. Con la existencia de recursos educativos complementarios en la adquisición del conocimiento por parte de los discentes, sólo necesitan un dispositivo computacional con conexión a Internet, para hacer uso de los mismos y así, obtener mayor provecho de los múltiples instrumentos enfocados a la enseñanza.A pesar que la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México está a la vanguardia al construir Recursos Educativos Abiertos (REA) para ser utilizados por su personal matriculado, no cuenta con ninguna plataforma digital que almacene, clasifique y oferte de manera fácil, concreta, rápida y local, estos materiales, además que la recopilación de los mismos es ambigua y al no estar centralizada, dificulta la divulgación y utilización de los recursos digitales que se tienen. De esta forma no se cumple al ciento por ciento el objetivo de los REA, ya que hoy día únicamente son utilizados por aquellas personas que saben de su existencia y no por las que realmente están interesadas en utilizarlos, consultándolos de un sólo lugar digital. Lo anterior es un problema comparable con el supuesto que en la UAEM se tuvieran los libros de consulta acopiados de manera dispersa, y no en el espacio indicado para su almacenamiento, clasificación y distribución como lo es la Biblioteca Institucional. Esto permite formular las siguientes preguntas: ¿Dónde se centralizan y almacenan los REA desarrollados en los espacios académicos de UAEM? ¿Cómo se distribuyen los REA recopilados en los espacios académicos de la UAEM? ¿Por qué los REA recopilados no están disponibles en alguna plataforma digital

Application of glass and fan shells to a clay soil to increase its mechanical properties

Improving the mechanical properties of a clayey soil is one of the best options to avoid future structural failures in buildings and is cheaper than replacing all the material. Therefore, this article proposes the use of recycled glass and fan shells as reinforcement materials. This article presents an experimental study to evaluate the mechanical properties of a pure and mixed soil. The clay soil was mixed with 7% of glass (PV) and with 3%, 6%, 10%, 12% and 15% of Fan Shells (PCA) duly crushed and passed through sieve #100. Tests of sieve granulometry, sedimentation granulometry, Atterberg limits, modified proctor and drained consolidated direct cut were performed. This allowed comparing all the data obtained and defining the optimal percentage of the mixture in which the clay improves its mechanical properties. According to the tests carried out, the proportion that has 7% glass and 6% Fan Shells has better results because there is an improvement in its dry density from 1,784 g / cm3 to 1,847 g / cm3, its moisture content increases from 9.4% to 12.1%. In addition, its friction angle improves from 28.9 °to 32 °and cohesion from 0.05 kg / cm2 to 0.1 kg / cm2. These results verify that the properties of the clay soil are improved