Loxodontomys pikumche (Rodentia, Cricetidae): nueva especie para Argentina

We report the first record of occurrence of Loxodontomys pikumche Spotorno et al., 1998, in the Central Andes of Argentina. We briefly describe external characters, skull, karyotype, and habitat; also, we provide general comparisons with the other known species in the genus, L. micropus.Se reporta el primer registro de ocurrencia de Loxodontomys pikumche Spotorno et al., 1998, para los Andes Centrales de Argentina. Se describen brevemente los caracteres externos, morfología craneal, cariotipo y hábitat; además, se ofrece una comparación general con la otra especie conocida en el género, L. micropus.Fil: Novillo, Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; ArgentinaFil: Ojeda, Agustina Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; ArgentinaFil: Ojeda, Ricardo Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; Argentin

Assessment of different models for bathymetry calculation using SPOT multispectral images in a high-turbidity area: the mouth of the Guadiana Estuary

Periodic calculation of coastal bathymetries can show the evolution of geomorpholo- gical features in active areas such as mesotidal estuary mouths. Bathymetries in shallow coastal areas have been addressed mainly by two technologies, lidar and optical remote sensing. Lidar provides good accuracy, but is an expensive technique, requiring planned flights for each region and dates of interest. Optical remote sensing acquires images periodically but its results are limited by water turbidity. Here we use a lidar bathymetry to compare different bathymetry computation methods using a SPOT optical image from a nearby date. Three statistical models (green-band, PCA correlations, and GLM) were applied to obtain mathematical expressions to estimate bathymetry from that image: all gave errors lower than 1 m in an area with depths ranging from 0 to 6 m. These algorithms were then applied to images from three different dates, correcting the effects caused by different tidal and atmospheric condi- tions. We show how this allows the study of morphological changes. We discuss the accuracy obtained with respect to the reference bathymetry (0.9 m on average, but less than 0.5 m in low-turbidity areas), the effects of the turbidity on our estimations, and compare both with previously published results. The results show that this approach is effective and allows identification of known features of coastal dynamics, and thus it would be an important step towards short-term bathymetry monitoring based on optical satellite remote sensing.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CSO2010-15807Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa P10-RNM-620

Uneasy social and psychological landscapes in the cinemas of Chile and New Zealand

Distinct modes of social and psychological angst are noted in a significant number of films from Chile and New Zealand, becoming most evident in the way family relations are portrayed, and in various modes through which the protagonists relate to their natural and social environment. This article focuses on the films In My Father’s Den (Brad McGann, New Zealand, 2004) and B-Happy (Gonzalo Justiniano, Chile, 2003). The narrative of both these films centres on lower-middle-class adolescent girls who reside in semi-rural areas, living in a state of unease due to the difficulties they confront in finding social and familial protection, which drives them to yearn and search for alternative geographical, cultural and affective landscapes. This comparative examination suggests that the crisis of identity displacement observed in New Zealand society engenders more tragic results than those gestated by the ‘concrete’ socio-economic exclusion found in Chile, indicating perhaps that sociopsychological anxieties require more complex and intricate strategies of recognition and eradication than those created by structural forms of social abuse

Livelihood and living for the youth in Latin America = 拉丁美洲青年人的人生與生活

I am part of the despairing middle class in Mexico, a generation of young people who went to private schools, who went to college, who speak English, live on their own and have a job. I am part of a minority, and even that seems exaggerating, only around of 17% of the total population actually gets in to a college in Mexico. And I say despairing because the crisis is fast finishing with this middle class social stratus There has been awareness about the crisis for some years now, but poverty has always been a part of Mexico’s reality. I grew up in Chiapas, the poorest state in the country. Kids without shoes, begging for money was an everyday event something that was just there, not necessarily as part of a big economical failure, but as part of the country’s reality itself

Ethnic and Language Matching: Effects on Hispanics\u27 Treatment Perceptions

Cultural adaptations to mental health treatment have been recommended to improve treatment outcomes in minorities, including Hispanics (Griner & Smith, 2006). One such adaptation includes matching the therapist to the client on culturally salient variables, such as spoken language or ethnic background. Yet, most investigations about the efficacy of matching have been correlational or have not examined language and ethnic match together (Cabassa, 2007). I investigated the effects of both ethnic and language matching on Hispanics\u27 perceptions of psychological treatment. Participants were 100 Hispanic adults (36 men) randomly assigned to one of four conditions. In each condition, participants read a vignette describing a Hispanic man with depression symptoms who received services from a mental health clinician. Vignettes varied the clinician\u27s language (Spanish or English) and ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic). Questions following the vignette asked participants to indicate the extent to which they felt the clinician was qualified, would be helpful, the treatment was appropriate, and treatment would consider important cultural factors. An exploratory factor analysis revealed these questions represented two factors: clinician professional qualifications and clinician consideration of culture into treatment. These factors represented dependent variables in subsequent analyses. Analyses of variance revealed a significant main effect of ethnic match on both dependent variables, with ethnic match leading to enhanced perceptions of the qualifications and cultural sensitivity of the clinician. A significant main effect of language match was found only for perceptions of the clinician\u27s professional qualifications. Contrary to hypotheses, no significant interaction between matched ethnicity and language emerged. Results demonstrate language matched clinicians, regardless of ethnicity, were seen as more qualified than unmatched clinicians, but only clinician ethnicity was related to a sense that cultural factors would play a role in treatment decisions