Para investigar a la vejez: desafíos y alternativas durante el trabajo de campo

El presente ensayo ofrece una reflexión metodológica sobre las dificultades enfrentadas durante el trabajo de campo cuando los informantes clave son individuos con discapacidades biológicas o mentales, como es el caso de los ancianos. La intención es abrir el debate metodológico acerca de cómo se hace investigación cualitativa en el campo del envejecimiento. La primera parte se centra en el fenómeno de la exclusión de ancianos con mayor grado de deterioro, al seleccionar a los informantes. La segunda parte describe algunas situaciones por las que se dificulta la entrevista con este tipo de ancianos, lo que origina la pérdida de informantes. Por último, se alude a las condiciones de discapacidad biológica o mental que afectan el desarrollo de una entrevista en los cánones tradicionales prescritos en los textos metodológicos y las alternativas para enfrentarlas

Evolutionary multi-stage financial scenario tree generation

Multi-stage financial decision optimization under uncertainty depends on a careful numerical approximation of the underlying stochastic process, which describes the future returns of the selected assets or asset categories. Various approaches towards an optimal generation of discrete-time, discrete-state approximations (represented as scenario trees) have been suggested in the literature. In this paper, a new evolutionary algorithm to create scenario trees for multi-stage financial optimization models will be presented. Numerical results and implementation details conclude the paper

How to Create an Innovation Accelerator

Too many policy failures are fundamentally failures of knowledge. This has become particularly apparent during the recent financial and economic crisis, which is questioning the validity of mainstream scholarly paradigms. We propose to pursue a multi-disciplinary approach and to establish new institutional settings which remove or reduce obstacles impeding efficient knowledge creation. We provided suggestions on (i) how to modernize and improve the academic publication system, and (ii) how to support scientific coordination, communication, and co-creation in large-scale multi-disciplinary projects. Both constitute important elements of what we envision to be a novel ICT infrastructure called "Innovation Accelerator" or "Knowledge Accelerator".Comment: 32 pages, Visioneer White Paper, see http://www.visioneer.ethz.c

Biodegradable metal heart stent: characteristics, material options and preliminary testing method

Coronary artery disease is a situation where the arteries are affected by the accumulation and build-up of plaque on their walls. The treatment is by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCT) where the plaque is flattened to the walls and a stent is placed to hold up the arteries at the affected area. However, since the heart stent is a foreign object inserted inside the human body, there are many considerations that come into the picture. The considerations include material selection, design, its interaction with the surroundings, and the ability of the device to carry on its task without failing and without causing more issues which may bring more harm to the patient. The discussion starts with the different evolutions of the heart stent and the issues normally related with each generation of heart stent. The focus will then turn to the characteristics that were deemed important for a third generation heart stent which is the biodegradable heart stent. The three main metal options, i.e. magnesium, zinc and ferum, are also discussed. From the attributes it can be seen that each metal has its own positive and negative aspects. The paper finally ends with a discussion of some methods of characterising the heart stent to understand its reaction with the human body, as a preliminary to how it will perform before the testing escalates to animals and human case studies. The biodegradable heart stent can be the future technology of heart stents that will not give side issues (such as thrombosis), which are usually associated with stents. More research will be needed to solve the issues and produce a workable third generation heart sten

The sociomaterial negotiation of social entrepreneurs’ meaningful work

This research examines the implications of digital technology use for the constitution of meaningful work. Adopting a sociomaterial perspective, we argue that meaningful work emerges as individuals grapple with the unanticipated outcomes of their interactions with technology. This process was explored through video diaries and interviews with social entrepreneurs, capturing moments of their everyday meaning-making and encouraging reflexivity. Meaningful work is constructed as a complex negotiation between social entrepreneurs and their digital devices. Accounting for their sociomaterial practice led participants to reaffirm their work as uniquely meaningful, produce more nuanced accounts of meaningfulness and/or make pragmatic adjustments to their meaning making. Whilst authenticity was a key meta-narrative in these accounts, it also produced tensional knots which, in their unravelling, required the adoption of more practicable meanings of work. The paper concludes by urging scholars to de-centre the human from their analysis to provide a more complete account of meaningful work