Reseña libro “Ritual y Palabra” de Pedro Morandé

"Ritual y Palabra" se sumerge en el problema del encuentro, la síntesis y el sincretismo cultural latinoamericano buscando responder el "cómo" de ese proceso, de ese encuentro, y el "porqué" del éxito de semejante empresa. En este libro el autor constata la incompatibilidad profunda entre las religiones negras e indígenas y la religión cristiana, dadas las diferencias que hacían que cosas como la existencia de un mediador divino que operase la redención del género humano, o el papel del hombre que el catolicismo le asignaba frente a la divinidad, resultasen prácticamente intraducibles e intransmisibles. El camino a la respuesta frente a este problema será allanado a partir de la distinción introducida entre religiones cúlticas y religiones de la palabra. Las primeras se abandonan a la eficacia de la fe para asegurar la reconciliación del hombre con lo trascendente, mientras que las otras definen su relación con la divinidad a través de la eficacia simbólica de los rituales, operando el sincretismo entre éstas dos formas religiosas especialmente a partir de la institución de la hacienda. En efecto, esta institución mantiene aspectos fundamentales de la economía cúltica indígena, al mismo tiempo que establece relaciones mercantiles entre sus productos, desconocidas para las formas anteriormente existentes del culto, constituyéndose así en síntesis, ‘Polis' del nuevo continente y manteniendo este carácter aún mucho después de su desaparición como unidad productiva de las economías criollas

Discrete choice modelling incorporating attribute thresholds of perception

In this paper we formulate a discrete choice model that incorporates thresholds in the perception of attribute changes. The model considers multiple options and allows changes in several attributes. We postulate that if thresholds exist they could be random, differ between individuals, and even be a function of socio-economic characteristics and choice conditions. Our formulation allows estimation of the parameters of the threshold probability distribution starting from information about choices. The model is applied to synthetic data and also to real data from a stated preference survey. We found that where perception thresholds exist in the population, the use of models without them leads to errors in estimation and prediction. Clearly, the effect is more relevant when the typical size of change in the attribute value is comparable with the threshold, and when the contribution of this attribute in the utility function is substantial. Finally, we discuss the implications of the threshold model for estimation of the benefits of transport investments, and show that where thresholds exist, models that do not represent them can overestimate benefits substantially

On the treatment of repeated observations in panel data: efficiency of mixed logit parameter estimates

Travel demand models are often estimated using cross-sectional data. Although the use of panel data has recently increased in many areas, there are still many aspects that have not been analyzed fully. Some examples of unexplored topics are: the optimal length of panel surveys and the resulting issue of how to model panel data correctly in the presence of repeated observations (for example, several trips per week, by people in a panel with waves every six months) and whether, and to what extent, this affects the efficiency of the estimated parameters and their capability to replicate the true situation. In this paper we analyse this issue and test the effect of including journeys made, with the same characteristics, several times in a week. A broad variety of models accounting for fixed parameters but also for random heterogeneity and correlation among individuals were estimated using each of real and synthetic data. The real data come from the Santiago Panel (2006-2008), while the synthetic data were appropriately generated to examine the same problem in a controlled experiment. Our results show that having more observations per individual increases the probability of capturing effects (different types of heterocedasticity), but having identical observations in a data panel reduces the capability to reproduce true phenomena. Consequently, the definition of panel survey duration requires us to consider the implicit level of routine that is present as represented in the proportion of identical observations

Inertia and shock effects on mode choice panel data: implications of the Transantiago implementation

The mode choice process, especially in the case of commuter trips, reflects the strong tendency people have to simplify the assessment of their options when confronted with successive well-known decisions. Thus, it is common to repeat the “habitual” choice over time involving a potentially important inertia element. However, while inertia effects increase the probability of maintaining the same choice in a stable situation, in a changing environment i.e. one that is disrupted by a radical or significant policy intervention, user behaviour may be affected by a specific response to abrupt changes. Shock effects of this kind could increase the probability of individuals leaving their habitual choices. Temporal effects have been commonly ignored in practical studies, as most demand models to date have been based on cross-sectional data. A few recent studies dealing with panel data have managed to incorporate inertia effects, but there are no studies that have included both inertia and shock effects. To address this, we started by building a data panel around the introduction of a new and radical policy for the conurbation of Santiago de Chile. The final aim was to develop mode choice models incorporating the effects of three main forces involved in the choice process: (1) the relative values of the modal attributes, (2) the inertia effect, and (3) the shock resulting from and abrupt policy intervention. This paper presents the formulation of an inertia-shock model and its application to each of simulated and real data. The results confirm that changing systems should be modelled respecting the presence of both inertia and shock effects, otherwise serious errors in model estimation may arise

Treatment of reference alternatives in stated choice surveys for air travel choice behaviour

Stated Choice (SC) surveys are increasingly being used instead of Revealed Preference (RP) surveys for the study of air travel choice behaviour. In many cases, the choice situations presented in these SC surveys are constructed around an observed trip, where this is often included as one of the alternatives. Classically, these RP alternatives have been treated in the same way as the SC alternatives. The applications presented in this paper show that this potentially leads to biased results, and that it is important to recognise the differences in the nature of the two types of alternative. Additionally, the paper discusses issues caused by respondents who consistently prefer the RP alternative over the SC alternatives, a common phenomenon in such SC data

The Place of Sense Perception in Thirteenth-Century Encyclopaedias

Several studies have approached sense perception in the encyclopaedias of Thomas of Cantimpré, Bartholomew the Englishman and Vincent of Beauvais. Yet a systematic overview and comparison of the arrangement of sense perception in these encyclopaedias is still lacking. The overview offered here shows that all encyclopaedias place sense perception beside expositions on psychology and anatomy. There are, however, significant differences in how they treat the objects of sensation. In the case of Bartholomew and Vincent, I argue, these differences reflect two different readings of Aristotle

The Surreptitious Shift of Power in Public Health… Towards a New Horizon

La presente investigación busca esclarecer, en primer lugar, el solapado desplaza-miento del poder en la esfera de la salud. Se trata de mostrar, desenmascarando el paradójico uso de los conceptos de “gobernanza en salud”, “participación” y “empoderamiento”; la silen-ciosa privatización del poder político en salud a partir de la crítica del Estado de Bienestar (“Gobernanza sanitaria del Banco Mundial” vs. “gobernanza reflexiva en América Latina”). En segundo lugar, se propone repensar la relación entre la salud y el poder desde su diversidad y complejidad; pero suponiendo como condición inexorable la igualdad. En este camino se sugiere ampliar el mismo concepto de salud hacia lo colectivo, lo intercultural, lo ambiental (incluyendo las generaciones futuras). Este concepto de salud se vincula también con el poder popular, expresado en diversas formas de organización colectiva para luchar contra las enfer-medades endémicas y los determinantes sociales regionales. En términos generales, se trata de defender una concepción de salud social, colectiva e intercultural que permita la conjunción de nuevas formas de poder, las cuáles suponen: a- la recuperación del Estado Social de Bienestar y el reconocimiento constitucional de nuevos derechos (derechos de la naturaleza y derechos de diversidad) para la construcción de políticas de salud en sentido amplio, interculturales e interinstitucionales; y, b- la articulación de las citadas políticas públicas distributivas con la representación de los afectados desde condiciones de igualdad, reconociendo sus derechos en pos del “empoderamiento colectivo” de la salud, incluyendo también a las generaciones futuras.The aim of this work is to clarify, in the first place, the surreptitious shift of power in public health within the context of the present information society. This critical analysis about the paradoxical use of the concept of governance in health care (World Bank vs. reflex-ive governance in Latin America) shows how both models cover up the same privatization of political power. Furthermore, it intends to propose paths towards revisiting the connection between health and power from the perspective of its diversity and complexity, albeit presum-ing equality as an inexorable condition. Along this path, it suggests widening the notion of health to include the collective, inter-culture, the environment and future generations. This novel notion of health is connected to popular power, articulated in collective methods of organization against endemic illnesses and regional social determinants. In general terms, the aim is to defend a collective and inter-cultural notion of health that will permit connecting new and diverse styles of power, under equal conditions, which presume: a- recovering the Social Welfare State and acknowledging new rights in the Constitution (e.g. rights of nature and rights of diversity) that will require health care policies, intercultural and inter-institutional; and b- articulating those distributive public policies with representation of all concerned, acknowledg-ing their rights, their popular power and social capital, aiming at the collective empowerment of every person’s health, including intergenerational health

Some consistent finite element formulations of 1-D beam models: a comparative study

A consistent Finite Element formulation was developed for four classical 1-D beam models. This formulation is based upon the solution of the homogeneous differential equation (or equations) associated with each model. Results such as the shape functions, stiffness matrices and consistent force vectors for the constant section beam were found. Some of these results were compared with the corresponding ones obtained by the standard Finite Element Method (i.e. using polynomial expansions for the field variables). Some of the difficulties reported in the literature concerning some of these models may be avoided by this technique and some numerical sensitivity analysis on this subject are presented

Asymmetric preference formation in willingness to pay estimates in discrete choice models

Individuals when faced with choices amongst a number of alternatives often adopt a variety of processing rules, ranging from simple linear to complex non-linear treatment of each attribute defining the offer of each alternative. In this paper we investigate the presence of asymmetry in preferences to test for reference effects and differential willingness to pay according to whether we are valuing gains or losses. The findings offer clear evidence of an asymmetrical response to increases and decreases in attributes when compared to the corresponding values for a reference alternative, where the degree of asymmetry varies across attributes and population segments

Actividad procoagulante del factor tisular plaquetario en pacientes con diabetes mellitus tipo II asociados a eventos cardiovasculares

Tesis (Tecnólogo Médico, mención bioanálisis clínico, inmunohematología y banco de sangre)La diabetes mellitus se asocia al aumento de riesgo de eventos cardiovasculares debido a que produce diversas alteraciones que llevarían a un estado protrombótico, tales como: cambios en la función plaquetaria, daño endotelial, aumento de los mediadores inflamatorios (TNFα, IL-1, IL-6 y otros) y del Factor Tisular plasmático. Dentro de las alteraciones nombradas, una de las principales es la que compromete la función plaquetaria, ya que las plaquetas tienen un rol predominante en la hemostasia, debido a que aportan una barrera física que impide la pérdida de sangre y participan en las etapas iniciales de formación del trombo. El factor tisular tiene un papel crítico en la hemostasia, especialmente en la iniciación de la coagulación. Tradicionalmente se ha considerado a los monocitos o células mononucleares de sangre periférica como fuente predominante de factor tisular, sin embargo, nuevas investigaciones indican la relevancia de las plaquetas en la expresión y aporte de factor tisular activo. Por esta razón estudiamos la actividad procoagulante dependiente de factor tisular plaquetario en pacientes con diabetes mellitus tipo II y que además hayan estado asociados a eventos cardiovasculares, para determinar si la hipercoagulabilidad se debe al aporte de factor tisular circulante por parte de las plaquetas. Se estudiaron 20 pacientes con Diabetes Mellitus tipo II con eventos cardiovasculares, 16 pacientes con diabetes mellitus tipo II sin eventos cardiovasculares y 15 controles sanos, pareados por sexo y edad. A los tres grupos se les determinó la actividad procoagulante dependiente de factor tisular en plaquetas lavadas y generación de trombina en plasma rico en plaquetas activadas con agonistas plaquetarios. Además se realizaron estudios de función 7 plaquetaria, marcadores plasmáticos de activación de la coagulación, inflamación, daño endotelial y estrés oxidativo. No se obtuvo diferencia significativa en marcadores de inflamación, daño endotelial y estrés oxidativo ni en la actividad procoagulante dependiente de factor tisular plaquetario entre ambos grupos. Sin embargo, la medición de generación de trombina, tiempo de lisis del coágulo, función plaquetaria y Anexina V (citometría de flujo) mostró diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los grupos en estudio. El tratamiento con estatinas pudo influir en la escasa diferencia encontrada en los parámetros estudiados para los distintos grupos, ya que estos medicamentos disminuyen tanto los parámetros de inflamación como de APC-TF en plaquetas