Entrevista com René Ramírez Gallegos, Secretário de Educação Superior, Ciência e Tecnologia do Equador durante o período de 2011 a 2017

The following interview was conducted in 2018 with Ecuador's Secretary of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, during the period of 2011 and 2017, René Ramírez Gallegos. René Ramírez takes stock of the project that called itself “Citizen Revolution” (2007-2017), conducted by President Rafael Correa and his party until then, Alianza PAIS. During the interview, René Ramírez points out the progress of the Correa government and, above all, highlights the theses that came to light during the “correísta” era. The issue of “buen vivir”, the new Constitution, the increase in investments in the area of education and the democratization of higher education are just some aspects explained by the secretary. At the same time, René Ramírez Gallegos denounces the reactionary “descorreizacion” project underway in the country, which put an end to the achievements of the so-called “década ganada” in Ecuador.La siguiente entrevista se realizó en 2018 con el Secretario de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación de Ecuador, durante el período 2011 y 2017, René Ramírez Gallegos. René Ramírez hace balance del proyecto que se llamó "Revolución Ciudadana" (2007-2017), dirigida por el presidente Rafael Correa y su partido hasta entonces, la Alianza PAIS. Durante la entrevista, René Ramírez señala los avances del gobierno de Correa y, sobre todo, destaca las tesis que salieron a la luz durante la era correísta. La cuestión del buen vivir, la nueva Constitución, el aumento de las inversiones en el área de la educación y la democratización de la educación superior son solo algunos aspectos explicados por el secretario. Al mismo tiempo, René Ramírez Gallegos denuncia el reaccionario proyecto de "descorreización" en curso en el país, que puso fin a los logros de la llamada "década ganada" en Ecuador.A seguinte entrevista foi realizada, em 2018, com o Secretário de Educação Superior, Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação do Equador, durante o período de 2011 e 2017, René Ramírez Gallegos. Nela, René Ramírez faz um balanço do projeto que se autodenominou “Revolução Cidadã” (2007-2017), dirigido pelo presidente Rafael Correa e seu partido até então, a Alianza PAIS. Durante a entrevista, René Ramírez pontua os avanços do governo Correa e, acima de tudo, destaca as teses que vieram à tona durante a era correísta. A questão do buen vivir, a nova Constituição, o aumento dos investimentos na área da educação e a democratização do ensino superior são apenas alguns aspectos explanados pelo secretário. Ao mesmo tempo, René Ramírez Gallegos denuncia o projeto reacionário de “descorreização” em curso no país, que colocou fim às conquistas da chamada “década ganhada” no Equador

La especialización como marca diferencial

Reseña: Esteve Ramírez, Francisco y Nieto Hernández, Juan Carlos (editores) Nuevos retos del Periodismo Especializado Colección Universidad. Schedas, S. L.Review: Esteve Ramírez, Francisco y Nieto Hernández, Juan Carlos (editores) Nuevos retos del Periodismo Especializado Colección Universidad. Schedas, S.

Ejercicios de estilo: la realidad alucinante de Centroamérica en la narrativa de Sergio Ramírez

EL ARTÍCULO RECORRE LA OBRA DE Sergio Ramírez para explorar la forma en que utiliza la “realidad real” como materia prima de sus textos. Resalta la referencia permanente que hace el autor a determinados contextos y personajes históricos concretamente ubicables. El autor demuestra cómo, en la obra de Ramírez, es visible una voluntad de disolución de las fronteras entre lo real y lo fantástico, entre la Historia y la ficción

The strategy & goals of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Syrian Revolution

Issue title: Preludes to the Islamic State: contextualizing the rise of extremism in the Syrian UprisingSince the Hama events of 1982 that led to the Muslim Brotherhood’s forced exile from Syria, the group’s aim has been the return to Syria. To achieve their goals, they have made use of different negotiation channels with the Assad regime during the past three decades. However, at one point, those channels were cut, and, being ostracized not only by the Syrian authorities, but also by many in the political opposition to the regime, the Brotherhood has crossed the threshold of relative and discontinuous passivity to full-blown oppositional activity. This paper examines the different strategies they have followed, such as political activity, provision of humanitarian aid, the exertion of influence on armed groups combating the regime, and the benefitting from the ideological similarities they bear with the newly elected regimes as well as the Turkish ruling party. Building on the information we examine, it is our hypothesis that the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood seemed to be the best-organized and coherent oppositional group might not necessarily lead them to power, especially when more radical groups with a jihadist strategy have taken the lead of the Islamist field and the situation remains extremely complex.Publisher PD

Multi-Element Abundance Measurements from Medium-Resolution Spectra. I. The Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy

We present measurements of Fe, Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti abundances for 388 radial velocity member stars in the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph), a satellite of the Milky Way. This is the largest sample of individual alpha element (Mg, Si, Ca, Ti) abundance measurements in any single dSph. The measurements are made from Keck/DEIMOS medium-resolution spectra (6400-9000 A, R ~ 6500). Based on comparisons to published high-resolution (R >~ 20000) spectroscopic measurements, our measurements have uncertainties of sigma([Fe/H]) = 0.14 and sigma([alpha/Fe]) = 0.13. The Sculptor [Fe/H] distribution has a mean = -1.58 and is asymmetric with a long, metal-poor tail, indicative of a history of extended star formation. Sculptor has a larger fraction of stars with [Fe/H] < -2 than the Milky Way halo. We have discovered one star with [Fe/H] = -3.80 +/- 0.28, which is the most metal-poor star known anywhere except the Milky Way halo, but high-resolution spectroscopy is needed to measure this star's detailed abundances. As has been previously reported based on high-resolution spectroscopy, [alpha/Fe] in Sculptor falls as [Fe/H] increases. The metal-rich stars ([Fe/H] ~ -1.5) have lower [alpha/Fe] than Galactic halo field stars of comparable metallicity. This indicates that star formation proceeded more gradually in Sculptor than in the Galactic halo. We also observe radial abundance gradients of -0.030 +/- 0.003 dex per arcmin in [Fe/H] and +0.013 +/- 0.003 dex per arcmin in [alpha/Fe] out to 11 arcmin (275 pc). Together, these measurements cast Sculptor and possibly other surviving dSphs as representative of the dwarf galaxies from which the metal-poor tail of the Galactic halo formed.Comment: Accepted to ApJ on 2009 Sep 15, 22 pages, 23 figure

The Transit Light Curve Project. XII. Six Transits of the Exoplanet XO-2b

We present photometry of six transits of the exoplanet XO-2b. By combining the light-curve analysis with theoretical isochrones to determine the stellar properties, we find the planetary radius to be 0.996 +0.031/-0.018 rjup and the planetary mass to be 0.565 +/- 0.054 mjup. These results are consistent with those reported previously, and are also consistent with theoretical models for gas giant planets. The mid-transit times are accurate to within 1 min and are consistent with a constant period. However, the period we derive differs by 2.5 sigma from the previously published period. More data are needed to tell whether the period is actually variable (as it would be in the presence of an additional body) or if the timing errors have been underestimated.Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ. 20 pages, 3 tables, 4 figure

Metallicity measurements using atomic lines in M and K dwarf stars

We report the first survey of chemical abundances in M and K dwarf stars using atomic absorption lines in high resolution spectra. We have measured Fe and Ti abundances in 35 M and K dwarf stars using equivalent widths measured from (lambda / Delta lambda) = 33,000 spectra. Our analysis takes advantage of recent improvements in model atmospheres of low-temperature dwarf stars. The stars have temperatures between 3300 and 4700 K, with most cooler than 4100 K. They cover an iron abundance range of -2.44 < [Fe/H] < +0.16. Our measurements show [Ti/Fe] decreasing with increasing [Fe/H], a trend similar to that measured for warmer stars where abundance analysis techniques have been tested more thoroughly. This study is a step toward the observational calibration of procedures to estimate the metallicity of low-mass dwarf stars using photometric and low-resolution spectral indices.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX. To appear in MNRAS. Full version of Table 2 available at http://www.astro.washington.edu/vmw/mnras/table2.pd

An absolutely calibrated effective temperature scale from the InfraRed Flux Method

Various effective temperature scales have been proposed over the years. Despite much work and the high internal precision usually achieved, systematic differences of order 100 K (or more) among various scales are still present. We present an investigation based on the Infrared Flux Method aimed at assessing the source of such discrepancies and pin down their origin. We break the impasse among different scales by using a large set of solar twins, stars which are spectroscopically and photometrically identical to the Sun, to set the absolute zero point of the effective temperature scale to within few degrees. Our newly calibrated, accurate and precise temperature scale applies to dwarfs and subgiants, from super-solar metallicities to the most metal-poor stars currently known. At solar metallicities our results validate spectroscopic effective temperature scales, whereas for [Fe/H]<-2.5 our temperatures are roughly 100 K hotter than those determined from model fits to the Balmer lines and 200 K hotter than those obtained from the excitation equilibrium of Fe lines. Empirical bolometric corrections and useful relations linking photometric indices to effective temperatures and angular diameters have been derived. Our results take full advantage of the high accuracy reached in absolute calibration in recent years and are further validated by interferometric angular diameters and space based spectrophotometry over a wide range of effective temperatures and metallicities.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Landscape table available online at http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/~luca/IRFM

The Solar Twin Planet Search. V. Close-in, low-mass planet candidates and evidence of planet accretion in the solar twin HIP 68468

[Methods]. We obtained high-precision radial velocities with HARPS on the ESO 3.6 m telescope and determined precise stellar elemental abundances (~0.01 dex) using MIKE spectra on the Magellan 6.5m telescope. [Results]. Our data indicate the presence of a planet with a minimum mass of 26 Earth masses around the solar twin HIP 68468. The planet is a super-Neptune, but unlike the distant Neptune in our solar system (30 AU), HIP 68468c is close-in, with a semi-major axis of 0.66 AU, similar to that of Venus. The data also suggest the presence of a super-Earth with a minimum mass of 2.9 Earth masses at 0.03 AU; if the planet is confirmed, it will be the fifth least massive radial velocity planet discovery to date and the first super-Earth around a solar twin. Both isochrones (5.9 Gyr) and the abundance ratio [Y/Mg] (6.4 Gyr) indicate an age of about 6 billion years. The star is enhanced in refractory elements when compared to the Sun, and the refractory enrichment is even stronger after corrections for Galactic chemical evolution. We determined a NLTE Li abundance of 1.52 dex, which is four times higher than what would be expected for the age of HIP 68468. The older age is also supported by the low log(R'HK) (-5.05) and low jitter. Engulfment of a rocky planet of 6 Earth masses can explain the enhancement in both lithium and the refractory elements. [Conclusions]. The super-Neptune planet candidate is too massive for in situ formation, and therefore its current location is most likely the result of planet migration that could also have driven other planets towards its host star, enhancing thus the abundance of lithium and refractory elements in HIP 68468. The intriguing evidence of planet accretion warrants further observations to verify the existence of the planets that are indicated by our data and to better constrain the nature of the planetary system around this unique star.Comment: A&A, in pres