Spatial Distribution and Socio-Economic Impacts of International Retirement Migration in the City of Cotacachi, Ecuador

International Retirement Migration (IRM) is a growing phenomenon in the Global South. Changes in transportation and new communication technologies associated with globalization have shortened distances and made it possible to own land and buy homes in remote destinations. Countries such as Ecuador are part of this process and are considered in recent years as one of the favorite places to retire in the world, largely due to the low cost of living and real estate prices. Against this background and using the case study of the Andean city of Cotacachi (Ecuador), this dissertation analyzes the economic and socio-spatial effects of the development of high-cost real-estate properties for North American retirees around indigenous communities. In order to understand the IRM-related effects, this study contextualizes and discusses them in light of the highly uneven postcolonial land distribution. Toward this end, this dissertation employs an innovative mixed-methods approach that combines the use of quantitative techniques such as satellite imagery analysis, data collection on land and housing prices, with qualitative methods, like participatory mapping workshops, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders. On the one hand, the use of high-resolution satellite imagery combined with participatory mapping techniques provided a detailed understanding of the spatial and temporal transformations of foreign-owned properties in the city. Quantitative and qualitative research, on the other hand, provided empirical insights on the economic and social effects of IRM-related real-estate development on indigenous populations. Three academic papers form the main body of this dissertation. Paper 1 maps and analyses the spatio-temporal growth of foreign-owned properties. Paper 2, goes further and discusses the economic and social effects of IRM on indigenous communities, particularly with regard to access to land and local housing and Paper 3, examines the social practices of the foreign retired population and how these practices influence the level of interaction between the two groups. The findings of this dissertation addressed methodological, empirical, and conceptual gaps in the research literature on IRM. Triangulation of data based on satellite imagery analysis with field research data contributed to the representation of the spatio-temporal dynamics of IRM-related real-estate development. Beyond the spatial dimension and from a critical geographical perspective, the research demonstrated how transnational real-estate market related to IRM, coupled with local socio-structural factors such as highly uneven postcolonial land distribution, deepens existing inequalities in indigenous populations, marginalizing access to land and fostering socio-spatial fragmentation

The ant colony metaphor for multiple knapsack problem

This paper presents an Ant Colony (AC) model for the Multiple Knapsack Problem (MKP). The ant colony metaphor, as well as other evolutionary metaphors, was applied successfully to diverse heavily constrained problems. An AC system is also considered a class of multiagent distributed algorithm for combinatorial optimisation. The principle of an AC system is adapted to the MKP. We present some results regarding its performance against known optimum for different instances of MKP. The obtained results show the potential power of this particular evolutionary approach for optimisation problems.Eje: Workshop sobre Aspectos Teoricos de la Inteligencia ArtificialRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

The ant colony metaphor for multiple knapsack problem

This paper presents an Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO) model for the Multiple Knapsack Problem (MKP). The ACO algorithms, as well as other evolutionary metaphors, are being applied successfully to diverse heavily constrained problems: Travelling Salesman Problem, Quadratic Assignment Problem and Bin Packing Problem. An Ant System, the first ACO algorithm that we presented in this paper, is also considered a class of multiagent distributed algorithm for combinatorial optimisation. The principle of an ACO Algorithm is adapted to the MKP. We present some results regardin its perfomance against known optimun for different instances of MKP. The obtained results show the potential power of this particular evolutionary approach for optimisation problems.Facultad de Informátic

Un muestrario de quehaceres textos para el debate de Hacer cosas con revistas

On July 27, 2023—in the framework of the 6th edition of the Congress of Intellectual History of Latin America (CHIAL)—Doing things with magazines was presented. Political and cultural publications from anarchism to the New Left (2022). Edited by Tren en Movimiento and the Center for Documentation and Research of Left-Wing Culture (CeDInCI), the book is the product of a collective work that brings together a total of ten investigations on different Latin American periodicals of the 20th century, prepared by different researchers from the CeDInCI. Prologue by Horacio Tarcus and Laura Fernández Cordero (who coordinated the general edition of the book) Doing things with magazines was presented and put up for debate at the VI CHIAL by Liliana Weinberg, Marcelo Ridenti and Regina Crespo. Each of his interventions are transcribed in this text.El 27 de julio del año 2023 —en el marco de la 6ta edición del Congreso de Historia Intelectual de América Latina (CHIAL)— se presentó Hacer cosas con revistas. Publicaciones políticas y culturales del anarquismo a la Nueva Izquierda (2022). Editado por Tren en Movimiento y el Centro de Documentación e Investigación de la Cultura de Izquierdas (CeDInCI), el libro es producto de un trabajo colectivo que reúne un total de diez investigaciones sobre distintas publicaciones periódicas latinoamericanas del siglo XX, elaboradas por distintos investigadores del CeDInCI. Prologado por Horacio Tarcus y Laura Fernández Cordero (quien coordinó la edición general del libro) Hacer cosas con revistas fue presentado y puesto a debate en el VI CHIAL de la mano de Liliana Weinberg, Marcelo Ridenti y Regina Crespo. En el presente texto se transcriben cada una de sus intervenciones

Feeding and decoration preferences of the epialtidae crab Acanthonyx scutiforms

Estudos sobre preferência alimentar de herbívoros marinhos são muito importantes para o melhor entendimento da importância biológica e ecológica destes organismos. Caranguejos majídeos são usualmente herbívoros que se camuflam com pedaços de macroalgas e outros materiais para evitar a predação. Para entender melhor os mecanismos de escolha de alimento e decoração do caranguejo decorador Acanthonyx scutiformis, foram realizados dois ensaios de múltipla escolha usando macroalgas frescas e alimentos artificiais contendo extratos brutos das macroalgas Osmundaria obtusiloba, Plocamium brasiliense, Sargassum sp. e Dictyota menstrualis, oferecidas simultaneamente a esta espécie de caranguejo. Em ambos ensaios, a macroalga mais consumida foi O. obtusiloba, seguida por P. brasiliense e Sargassum sp., enquanto D. menstrualis foi menos consumida. É sugerido que A. scutiformis é um consumidor generalista, mas com alguma preferência pela macroalga vermelha perenial O. obtusiloba e a macroalga quimicamente defendida P. brasiliense. Observações sobre o comportamento decorador revelaram a preferência de A. scutiformis por P. brasiliense. Este comportamento decorador pode ser interpretado como um mecanismo para evitar predadores generalistas, uma vez que as preferências por consumo e decoração não foram relacionadas e o caranguejo usou somente pequenos pedaços de algas quimicamente defendidas.Studies on the feeding preferences of marine herbivores are very important for our better understanding of the biology and the ecological role of these organisms. Members of the family Epialtidae are usually herbivores that mask themselves with pieces of seaweed and other materials to avoid predation. In order to better understand the mechanisms of food and decorating choices of the decorator crab Acanthonyx scutiformis, two multiple-choice feeding assays were performed using fresh seaweeds and artificial food containing crude extracts of the four seaweeds Osmundaria obtusiloba, Plocamium brasiliense, Sargassum sp., and Dictyota menstrualis, offered simultaneously to this crab species. In both assays the seaweed most consumed was O. obtusiloba, followed by P. brasiliense and Sargassum sp., while D. menstrualis was the least consumed. It is suggested that A. scutiformis is a generalist feeder, but with some preference for the perennial red seaweed O. obtusiloba and the chemically-defended seaweed P. brasiliense. Decorating behavior observations revealed the preferences of A. scutiformis by P. brasiliense. This decorating behavior can be interpreted as a mechanism to avoid generalist predators, since feeding and decorating preference were not associated and the crab used only small pieces of chemically defended algae

Gaseous Biofuels to Sustainable Mobility

In an energy transition scenario, setting the target date for the year 2050, during which the master lines are established to achieve a 100% renewable energy generation system (both stationary, thermal and mobility and transportation), all studies indicate that this will be based on the so-called renewable energy mix. In relation to energy sources for transport, in this scenario, everything is foreseen the coexistence of fossil energies (natural gas and propane or autogas) to the detriment in favour of other fuels and energies from renewable sources, such as electricity (batteries) and gases of renewable origin (biomethane, hydrogen, and synthesis gas). That renewable gases have, beyond the significant reductions in pollutant emissions, is the complementarity they have with renewable energy sources such as solar and biogas, as will be seen later in the sections dedicated to the generation and production technologies of each of these fuels, where renewable energy sources play a fundamental role

Salir del sitio : Una travesía compartida entre arqueólogos y antropólogos

Fruto de la influencia de la denominada “Nueva Arqueología”, a fines de los años setenta y comienzos de los ochenta cobra fuerza la idea de “salir del sitio arqueológico” y encarar investigaciones de “carácter regional” que permitieran dar cuenta de la complejidad del comportamiento humano del pasado a una escala más amplia que la del sitio. Sin embargo, la metáfora que titula esta nota refiere a otra cuestión. No remite a una dimensión espacial sino a la búsqueda de una mirada que tome en consideración el lugar que ocupa la evidencia arqueológica y los relatos construidos a partir de ella en las prácticas sociales del presente. En ese sentido, nuestro interés en este escrito es relatar la experiencia de trabajo compartida entre arqueólogos y antropólogos sociales en proyectos de investigación que comenzaron hacia fines de los años noventa en el norte de Patagonia y supusieron “salir del sitio arqueológico” pero bajo esta otra acepción.Sociedad Argentina de Antropologí

Salir del sitio : Una travesía compartida entre arqueólogos y antropólogos

Fruto de la influencia de la denominada “Nueva Arqueología”, a fines de los años setenta y comienzos de los ochenta cobra fuerza la idea de “salir del sitio arqueológico” y encarar investigaciones de “carácter regional” que permitieran dar cuenta de la complejidad del comportamiento humano del pasado a una escala más amplia que la del sitio. Sin embargo, la metáfora que titula esta nota refiere a otra cuestión. No remite a una dimensión espacial sino a la búsqueda de una mirada que tome en consideración el lugar que ocupa la evidencia arqueológica y los relatos construidos a partir de ella en las prácticas sociales del presente. En ese sentido, nuestro interés en este escrito es relatar la experiencia de trabajo compartida entre arqueólogos y antropólogos sociales en proyectos de investigación que comenzaron hacia fines de los años noventa en el norte de Patagonia y supusieron “salir del sitio arqueológico” pero bajo esta otra acepción.Sociedad Argentina de Antropologí

The infrared and molecular environment surrounding the Wolf-Rayet star WR 130

We present a study of the molecular CO gas and mid/far-infrared radiation arising from the environment surrounding the Wolf-Rayet (WR) star 130. We use the multiwavelength data to analyse the properties of the dense gas and dust, and its possible spatial correlation with that of young stellar objects (YSOs). We use 12CO J=1-0 data from the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory survey as tracer of the molecular gas, and mid/far-infrared data from the recent Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and Herschel space surveys to study the dust continuum radiation and to identify a population of associated candidate YSOs. The spatial distribution of the molecular gas shows a ring-like structure very similar to that observed in the H I gas, and over the same velocity interval. The relative spatial distribution of the H I and CO components is consistent with a photodissociation region. We have identified and characterized four main and distinct molecular clouds that create this structure. Cold dust is coincident with the dense gas shown in the CO measurements. We have found several young stellar object candidates that lie along the regions with the highest gas column density, and suggest that they are spatially correlated with the shell. These are indicative of regions of star formation induced by the strong wind and ionization of the WR star.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y GeofísicasInstituto Argentino de Radioastronomí

Use of ICT and relationship with the Objectives of Sustainable Development in Ecuador

En 2015, en el foro de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) se aprobaron los 17 Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) para cumplirse hasta el año 2030. Conviene preguntarse si Ecuador está encauzado a lograr esos objetivos, apoyándose en el uso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC). En tal virtud, el objetivo de esta investigación es conocer el estado actual y perspectivas de la Sociedad de la Información (SI) en relación con el logro de las metas de los ODS, mediante el análisis de la información histórica y pronósticos de los indicadores SI, y actuaciones de investigación, desarrollo e innovación (I+D+i) en Ecuador. La metodología de investigación tiene un enfoque cuantitativo, no experimental y longitudinal. Se utilizaron fuentes de información secundarias como reportes nacionales y extranjeros que contienen índices estadísticos anuales, que convertidos en series de tiempo permitieron analizar pronósticos y determinar la tendencia futura de esos indicadores. Como resultados se encontró que el comportamiento de indicadores de uso de las TIC e indicadores de I+D+i están relacionados en forma directa o indirecta con el cumplimiento de las metas de los ODS cuarto, quinto, octavo y noveno. Se obtuvo como conclusión que, por un lado, la tendencia de cinco indicadores de la SI sintonizan con el logro de las metas de los ODS, mientras que otros tres indicadores requieren un fuerte impulso para cambiar la tendencia y lograr su meta asociada; y, por otro lado, la necesidad de que los diferentes actores de la sociedad ecuatoriana se comprometan a trabajar a partir de las potencialidades del uso de las TIC y actuaciones en I+D+i con el fin de lograr los ODS.In 2015, in the forum of the United Nations (UN), the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were approved to be completed until the year 2030. It is worth asking if Ecuador is committed to achieving these objectives, relying on the use of Information and communication technologies (ICT). As such, the objective of this research is to know the current status and perspectives of the Information Society (IS) in relation to the achievement of the goals of the SDGs, through the analysis of historical information and forecasts of IS indicators , and actions of research, development and innovation (R&D+i) in Ecuador. The research methodology has a quantitative, non-experimental and longitudinal approach. Secondary information sources were used as national and foreign reports that contain annual statistical indices, which converted into time series allowed to analyze forecasts and determine the future trend of those indicators. As results, it was found that the behavior of indicators of ICT use and R&D+i indicators are directly or indirectly related to the fulfillment of the goals of the fourth, fifth, eighth and ninth SDGs. It was concluded that, on the one hand, the trend of five SI indicators are in tune with the achievement of the SDG goals, while three other indicators require a strong impulse to change the trend and achieve its associated goal; and, on the other hand, the need for the different actors of Ecuadorian society to commit themselves to work based on the potential of the use of ICT and R&D+i activities in order to achieve the SDGs