Synopsis of the genus Empicoris (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae) in Chile

The species of Empicoris Wolff, 1811 recorded from Chile are listed, and an identification key for all four species is provided. New distributional records from Chile are added: E. errabundus (Say, 1832) and E. vagabundus (Linnaeus, 1758), the last species is recorded for the first time from the Neotropical Region.Fil: Melo, María Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Limnología "Dr. Raúl A. Ringuelet". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Faundez, Eduardo Iván. Universidad de Magallanes. Instituto de la Patagonia. Laboratorio de Entomología; Chil

Expansions and Contractions in Some Latin American Countries: A view Throught Non-Linear Models

The study of the asymmetric behavior of macroeconomic variables over the business cycles phases has had a long tradition in economics. In this work we find evidence in favor of the hypothesis of having a Star-type nonlinear asymmetric behavoir of the economy activity, over the last two decades, in four Latin American countries: Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. For Venezuela the null hypothesis of a linear process could not be rejected under the method placed by Granger and Terasvirta (1993). Economic activity is proxied by monthly based industrial production indexes. Except for the case of Mexico we arrive to asymmetric representations of the processes. However, evidence of asymmetric behavoir is found according to the impulse response function analysis for all the countries.Real industrial production index, nonlinearties, STAR models, impulse responses

Preliminary Observations on Zelus Obscuridorsis (Stål) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) as Predator of the Corn Leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in Argentina

The corn leafhopper Dalbulus maidis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is an important corn pest in most of tropical and subtropical America. This leafhopper has a rich natural enemy complex of which parasitoids and pathogens are the most studied; knowledge on its predators is limited. We noted the presence of the native assassin bug Zelus obscuridorsis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) predating diverse motile insects, including the corn leafhopper, on corn plants cultivated in household vegetable gardens in San Miguel de Tucumán (Argentina); in order to verify its predatory actions, we exposed lab-bred individuals of D. maidis to adults of Z. obscuridorsis. The predators were starved for 24 h before trials in which the corn leafhopper in different developmental stages were exposed. Zelus obscuridorsis is highly skilled in catching specimens in motion, but it was not able to prey on eggs. The predator was capable to catch and prey on nymphs and adults.Fil: Virla, Eduardo Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucuman. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiologicos; ArgentinaFil: Melo, María Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; ArgentinaFil: Speranza, Stefano. Universita Degli Studi Della Tuscia; Itali

First Record of Zelus obscuridorsis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) as a Predator of the South American Tomato Leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

The South American tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a Neotropical key pest of tomato in South America, and in recent years, it has become established in Europe and Africa. Recently we found the native true bug, Zelus obscuridorsis (Stål, 1860) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), predating diverse mobile insects in household vegetable gardens located in northwestern Argentina. We found that Z. obscuridorsis preys on mobile stages of T. absoluta, i.e., free larvae and adults but not on larvae in their mines, pupae or eggs. This is the first record of a Zelus species as predator of T. absoluta. We discuss the importance of this predator consuming only mobile items, in terms of using little exploited host niches, and its possible relationships with other antagonistic species of T. absoluta.Fil: Speranza, Stefano. Universita Degli Studi Della Tuscia; ItaliaFil: Melo, María Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Entomología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Luna, María Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Virla, Eduardo Gabriel. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Dirección de Zoología. Instituto de Entomología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Recent Behavior of Output, Unemployment, Wages and Prices in Colombia:What went Wrong?

At the end of the last decade, the real activity in Colombia underwent the sharpest recession of the last fifty years. We postulate a non-triangular structural VAR model(Amisano and Giannini, 1997) to describe the dynamics of output, prices, unemployment and wages during the last two decades. The evidence suggests that, in the long-run, monetary policy has been neutral to both output and unemployment while the main reasons for the increase in the latter have been the lack of credibility of monetary policy, the way in which wages are set and the increase in non-wage labor costs.Structural VAR,unemployment,monetary policy, wages, expectations

Recent macroeconomic performance in colombia: what went wrong?

Al finalizar la d�cada anterior la actividad real en Colombia experiment� la m�s aguda recesi�n de los �ltimos 50 a�os. Para explicar este fen�meno, postulamos un modelo VAR estructural no-triangular que describe la din�mica de la producci�n, los precios, el desempleo y los salarios durante las �ltimas dos d�cadas. La evidencia sugiere que, en el largo plazo, la pol�tica monetaria ha sido neutral con respecto al producto y la desempleo, mientras que la principal raz�n para el incremento de �ste �ltimo se explica por la forma en que se han determinado los salarios (formaci�n de expectativas hacia atr�s) y el incremento de los costos no salariales.structural VAR, unemployment, monetary policy, wages, nonwage labour costs, expectations

Motivations and factors influencing member recruitment, maintenance and recommendation in membership associations : the case of AAACM

This thesis aimed at gaining insights on motivations and factors that influence membership recruitment, maintenance and advocacy, followed by the identification of putative criteria for segmentation, in the context of the association of former students of military school (AAACM), a non-for-profit organization that focuses primarily in philanthropy towards this specific community of individuals, and in developing a diverse set of actions, contributing to strengthen bonds between them. Moreover, the information collected was used to identify the main strategic opportunities to pursue and respective drivers to target them. In alignment with the available literature, the results identified three main motivations for joining AAACM, which were social responsibility (expressive), professional interest (career-related) and relationships and leisure (instrumental). By analyzing how these motivations were expressed, five different segments were identified (social creatures, all-rounders, career-driven, indifferent and humanistic), which exhibited different combinations of these motivations. As for member retention factors, trust and satisfaction showed to be directly related to continued fee payment, and their variability among segments was consistent with their fee payment rates. Unfortunately, it was not possible to link any of the studied variables to member recommendation. Finally, these findings were key in uncovering the strategic priorities for AAACM, which consist on raising satisfaction levels in what concerns events and communication, with direct impact in member retention, increase engagement with the career-driven segment, which is clearly underserved and dissatisfied, and explore how trust levels, critical for member retention, can be increased.Esta tese teve como objectivo capturar informação relevante acerca das motivações e factores que influenciam a aquisição e retenção de membros, bem como a recomendação pelos mesmos, seguida da identificação de possíveis critérios para segmentação, no contexto da Associação dos Antigos Alunos do Colégio Militar (AAACM), uma organização sem fins lucrativos, que se foca primariamente na filantropia para a sua comunidade e no desenvolvimento de acções com o propósito de estreitar as ligações entre os Antigos Alunos. Adicionalmente, esta informação foi usada para identificar as principais oportunidades estratégicas a seguir e respectivas tácticas para as capturar. Os resultados demonstraram que as três motivações principais, alinhadas com a literatura, para aderir à AAACM são a responsabilidade social (expressiva), o interesse profissional (relacionada com a carreira) e relacionamentos e lazer (instrumental). Analisando como estas motivações se expressam na população em análise, concluiu-se que existem cinco segmentos distintos (indivíduos sociais, polivalentes, com foco profissional, indiferentes e humanistas), que exibem diferentes combinações destas motivações. Relativamente aos factores de retenção de membros, encontrou-se relação directa entre a confiança e a satisfação, e o pagamento continuado de quotas, sendo que a variabilidade destes factores entre segmentos é consistente com a variabilidade nas taxas de pagamento de quotas. Malogradamente, não foi possível encontrar relação entre as variáveis estudadas e a recomendação pelos membros. Por fim, estas descobertas foram essenciais para identificar as prioridades estratégicas para a AAACM, que consistem no aumento dos níveis de satisfação com eventos e com a comunicação, que têm impacto directo na retenção dos membros, aumentar e direccionar a interacção com o segmento com foco profissional, que está claramente desfalcado e insatisfeito, e explorar formas de aumentar os níveis de confiança, essencial à retenção dos membros

Synopsis of the family Reduviidae (Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha) from Chile

A synopsis of the Reduviidae recorded from Chile is given, including keys to subfamilies, genera, and species, as well as new distributional records. A total of seven subfamilies, 17 genera, and 27 species are here recorded, one represents a new country record: Leogorrus litura (Fabricius); there are also included many distributional data as well as extensions of the ranges of several species.Se presenta una sinopsis de los Reduviidae registrados en Chile, incluyendo claves para subfamilias, géneros y especies chilenas, así como nuevos registros de distribución. Se registraron siete subfamilias, 17 géneros y 27 especies, de los cuales uno representa un nuevo registro para el país: Leogorrus litura (Fabricius); además se incluyen numerosos datos de distribución, así como extensión de los rangos de varias especies.Fil: Melo, María Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Entomología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Faúndez, Eduardo. North Dakota State University. Entomology Department; Estados Unidos. Centro de Estudios en Biodiversidad. Departamento de Zoología Médica; Chil

Sinopsis de la familia Reduviidae (Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha) de Chile

A synopsis of the Reduviidae recorded from Chile is given, including keys to subfamilies, genera, and species, as well as new distributional records. A total of seven subfamilies, 17 genera, and 27 species are here recorded, one represents a new country record: Leogorrus litura (Fabricius); there are also included many distributional data as well as extensions of the ranges of several species.Se presenta una sinopsis de los Reduviidae registrados en Chile, incluyendo claves para subfamilias, géneros y especies chilenas, así como nuevos registros de distribución. Se registraron siete subfamilias, 17 géneros y 27 especies, de los cuales uno representa un nuevo registro para el país: Leogorrus litura (Fabricius); además se incluyen numerosos datos de distribución, así como extensión de los rangos de varias especies.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Sinopsis de la familia Reduviidae (Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha) de Chile

A synopsis of the Reduviidae recorded from Chile is given, including keys to subfamilies, genera, and species, as well as new distributional records. A total of seven subfamilies, 17 genera, and 27 species are here recorded, one represents a new country record: Leogorrus litura (Fabricius); there are also included many distributional data as well as extensions of the ranges of several species.Se presenta una sinopsis de los Reduviidae registrados en Chile, incluyendo claves para subfamilias, géneros y especies chilenas, así como nuevos registros de distribución. Se registraron siete subfamilias, 17 géneros y 27 especies, de los cuales uno representa un nuevo registro para el país: Leogorrus litura (Fabricius); además se incluyen numerosos datos de distribución, así como extensión de los rangos de varias especies.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse