The Colombian composition, “Caimaré” (1949), by Luis Uribe Bueno (1916-2000) is a rare example of music written for saxophone and orchestra in Latin America. This piece reaches a particular importance in the repertoire for saxophone and orchestra because not only does it open a window into Colombian musical culture at the time, but it also presents a conciliation of the diverse musical elements that represented national identity of Colombia at that time. Additionally, the piece also raises some unsettling questions: Why did Luis Uribe Bueno compose music for saxophone and orchestra when the saxophone is an uncommon instrument in classical music and even more so in Andean Colombian music? Why did he write the piece? For whom? Was Caimaré just an isolated example, or were there other similar pieces? What were the music-cultural influences? In this paper, I will survey key aspects of Caimaré and its relationship to thehistory, composition, and performance of saxophone music in Colombia. I will show how the saxophone played a predominant role in the popular music of the Atlantic coastal region, as opposed to its relative rarity in the classical music tradition and in Andean folkloric contexts. My study will explore the role of the saxophone in one of the most representative tropical bands in Colombian music, Lucho Bermudez' s orchestra, and the influence that orchestra had on Uribe Bueno’s composition. Finally, this study will illustrate how Uribe Bueno combined traditional Spanish rhythms from the pasodoble and Caribbean influences from the Cuban bolero within the traditional Colombian pasillo in his representation of national music identity.

El acceso del niño al universo simbólico es un proceso difícil que pasa desapercibido en la mayoría de los casos. Sin embargo, el seguimiento y el examen de los casos donde esa dificultad se manifiesta y es superada en alguna medida es una posibilidad de acercarse con detalle a las condiciones y operaciones requeridas para ese acceso. El artículo contiene, en primer término, la traducción que la autora hace del proceso que le permitió a Elián, un niño autista, acceder a la ley simbólica y utilizarla para sus progresos en la vía del lenguaje. Y en segundo lugar, el análisis que la autora hace de ese proceso desde el punto de vista psicoanalítico; es decir, desde las dimensiones de lo real, lo simbólico y lo imaginario. El punto de partida es el encuentro del niño con un objeto. La operación simbólica llevada a cabo sobre ese objeto es la de marcar su presencia y su ausencia con las expresiones correspondientes en cada caso. A partir de allí, la ley simbólica, que obliga a marcar las oposiciones significantes, es aplicada, sea por los terapeutas o por el mismo sobre los resultados obtenidos. A esta simbolización primera y primordial se articulan procesos de imaginarización sobre lo real, como el dibujo y la identificación. Esta articulación será decisiva en lo que constituye el resultado final de esta entrada al universo simbólico, es decir, la nominación que hace Elián de sí mismo.

El presente artículo expone los resultados de un trabajo de campo que se llevó a cabo sobre los inmigrantes haitianos en Montreal (Canadá). El objetivo del estudio fue el de explicar la escasa presencia de familias inmigrantes que consultaran la clínica de gastro-enterología del hospital universitario de la Universidad de Montreal (el CHU Sainte-Justine). Nos interesamos en los inmigrantes originarios de Haití ya que éstos representan una cultura médica importante y constituyen una de las minorías étnicas más numerosas en la ciudad de Montreal. La metodología utilizada fue de tipo cualitativo, con una aproximación antropológica hermenéutica. El análisis de los datos recogidos se basó en el modelo de « signos, significados y acciones » (Corin y Bibeau, 1995). Se realizaron trece entrevistas semi-estructuradas a cinco familias haitianas, con las cuales se logró documentar el conjunto de explicaciones dadas a los dolores de estómago y los medios empleados para aliviar estas dolencias en los niños. Igualmente, se identificaron los factores que hacen que las familias busquen, o no, los servicios clínicos. Finalmente, concluímos con algunas pistas de reflexión que son de utilidad para los médicos y los trabajadores sociales que trabajan con poblaciones vulnerables, particularmente con esta población inmigrante.

Bogotá is facing the problem of a large and rapidly growth to its periphery, reducing green areas, affecting the environment and stressing the city’s infrastructure just to name some negative effects. This scenario is even worse when looking to the city centre in which many buildings are abandoned or not used to their full potential. Other buildings need an intervention in order to meet current legislation and activities requirements. Environmental architecture seems not to be part of the agenda. In the other hand, many of the new buildings are not aware of how the design can affect the quality of the space and the environmental performance of the building. Glazed facades facing all orientations, equal treatment to all facades, lack of solar control elements, heating and cooling in a climate where sometimes coupling with the outside is desirable are just some of the things that suggest a review of what is being done.

Propuesta de una metodología para determinar si la jurisprudencia constitucional colombiana (particularmente la de la Corte Constitucional en casos de inexequibilidad) es eficiente y/o equitativa, con base en un análisis de costo-beneficio en su modalidad de ponderación de derechos, consistente en identificar los derechos en contienda, establecer sus “pesos” respectivos y compararlos. La metodología se ilustra con la revisión de dos sentencias de la Corte Constitucional, correspondientes al período de la crisis financiera de 1998-2000 (las sentencias C-700 y C-747 de 1999). En estos dos casos la conclusion de la aplicación de la metodología propuesta fue que se trata de sentencias que no fueron ni equitativas ni eficientes.

The importance of child’s health relies on its economic significance, given that is a key indicator of the quality of life in developing countries and a measure of their economic development. Its main role is to help policy makers take into account the importance of education as a relevant factor of productivity and intergenerational mobility. Child health is not only related with adult health, educational attainment, productivity, and income, but is also a development indicator all by itself. Among the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) established in 2000 by the United Nations (UN) and adopted by the 193 members and 23 international organizations, at least four are directly related to child health or nutritional status. Many papers have been written about the relationship between child’s health and mother’s education; however, so far only one study has aimed to evaluate the importance of such factor in Colombia3. By using different estimation methods, this investigation will attempt to establish the importance of mother’s education on child’s health by analyzing a sample of 15,038 women with children between 0 and 35/59 months in Colombia. A positive association has important policy implications. For instance, if more educated mothers do in fact tend to have healthier boys/girls, then policy makers should focus on better education policies (such as school and class size, school selection, privatizing education, advanced teacher training and teaching methods, graduation requirements, and investing in infrastructure development, amongst others) to improve the health level of the next generation.

Abstract: Institutionalization of bullerengue, which is a traditional Afro-Colombian music and dance practice, is a process that emerged in the Colombian Urabá region over the past three decades, and that has radically transformed the ways in which this musical expression was traditionally performed. In the past, communities administered bullerengue as part of their public celebrations or private festivities. However, since the 1980s, due to a decline in its practice caused by the arrival of new musics to the region hand in hand with a late modernization process, a group of institutions got involved in an institutional cultural revival project that, adhering to recent national policies of decentralization, took care of its management. The most visible expressions of this institutional framework are the bullerengue festivals, managed by local NGOs, and the local bullerengue schools, which are funded by local governments through casas de la cultura. I argue that, even though institutionalization of bullerengue in the region prevented this musical tradition from disappearing, a group of local cultural workers, regional private investors, and local politicians contextualized this musical practice within a framework of social, political, and economic relations, which many times neglect the needs of bullerengue practitioners in order to serve private interests. Bullerengue practitioners, nonetheless, contest this institutional framework through performance strategies, like street bullerengue practices, which empower them as social group and strengthen solidarity and agency within a regional community of performers. Generally speaking, though, even though practices have revitalized, the support provided by the bullerengue institutions has not empowered this community in the self-management of their cultural traditions. Therefore, its members have constructed a set of proposals and ideas to make the framework match better their felt needs. This thesis is an analysis and a critique of such power relationships in the frame of a contemporary Latin American democracy. Resumen: La institucionalización del bullerengue, el cual es una práctica musical y danzaria tradicional del Caribe afrocolombiano, se ha desarrollado en la zona de Urabá desde las últimas tres décadas y ha transformado radicalmente esta expresión artística. En el pasado, las propias comunidades administraban la práctica bullerenguera y la apropiaban como parte de sus celebraciones públicas o privadas. Sin embargo, desde la década de 1980, un marcado declive en su práctica causado por la llegada de nuevas músicas y procesos de modernización tardía, llevó a un grupo de instituciones locales iniciar un proceso de revivalismo cultural institucional. Este proyecto, manejado por entidades del estado y la sociedad civil, se adhirió a las más recientes políticas públicas sobre descentralización de la cultura y se hizo cargo de la administración regional del bullerengue. Las instancias más visibles de este marco institucional son: los festivales de bullerengue, gestionados por ONGs locales, y las escuelas de bullerengue, que por lo general tienen apoyo de los gobiernos locales a través de las casas de la cultura. Mi argumento es que, a pesar de que la institucionalización en la región impidió la desaparición de esta tradición musical, un grupo de gestores culturales, inversionistas privados y políticos locales, contextualizaron al bullerengue dentro de un marco de relaciones socioculturales, políticas y económicas que muchas veces marginaliza las necesidades de los sabedores tradicionales y beneficia sobre todo intereses privados. Sin embargo, los bullerengueros disputan y contienden este marco institucional a través de estrategias de performance, como por ejemplo prácticas de bullerengue callejero, las cuales empoderan a estos sabedores y fortalecen su solidaridad y agencia. En general, aunque el bullerengue se ha revitalizado, el apoyo proporcionado por las instituciones del bullerengue no ha empoderado a esta comunidad de músicos y bailarines en la administración de sus propias tradiciones populares. Empero, los bullerengueros han desarrollado una serie de ideas y propuestas para mejorar este marco institucional y hacerlo más a tono con su propias necesidades. Esta tesis es un análisis y una crítica de estas relaciones de poder en el contexto de una democracia latinoamericana contemporánea.

Miel I, a Roller Compact Concrete (RCC) dam located in Colombia, has operated for almost ten years and operational/commercial practices and hydrological behavior has been stable. However, during the last two years, Miel I has confront changes in these two aspects. Before these changes, Miel I spillway was used just in two occasions and during a short period of time. However, because these changes, the spillway was used during 30 days in 2010 and 47 days in 2011. Additionally, since August 2010, the reservoir has increased its tributaries due to the Guarino tunnel diverse project. All these aspects have changed the reservoir levels during all the year and especially during raining season and affected directly the dam behavior. Miel I has confront forces and solicitudes which was never exposed. As a product of this, small fissures and changes in some instrumentation levels were observed during this time. It is clear that these changes have not compromised the dam safety although, it is also true that the Miel I dam for first time in ten years has been request to work against reservoir highest levels. The information, analysis and conclusions collected during these periods of time will allow the maintenance group to define, in advance, practices for this new condition and more important, will close the gap between the operational practices and the dam safety standards.

Tracer experiments are of concern to wastewater treatment engineers and researchers because of the importance of determining hydraulic regimes and retention times in wastewater treatment units. In this work, a pilot-scale maturation waste stabilisation pond (WSP) was spiked with Rhodamine WT, in order to determine how suspended organic matter would interfere with its performance as a tracer in a domestic wastewater treatment unit which had a high content of suspended algal biomass. A primary maturation pond was spiked in three separate runs with different levels of algae (high, medium and low), with a known amount of Rhodamine WT (20% w/v); the tracer was measured in the pond effluent in real time every 20 min for 3? (the theoretical retention time, ? = 17 days). Algal biomass was monitored weekly from influent, column and effluent water samples by chlorophyll-a determination. The results show that algal biomass has a strong influence on the behaviour of Rhodamine WT as a tracer and therefore the hydraulic characteristics calculated from tracer curves may be affected by tracer adsorption on suspended organic matter.

En la resolución de conflictos existen diferentes marcos teóricos para entender sus fuentes, aplicaciones, teorías, métodos, etc. La resolución de conflictos podría ser pensada con la integración de tres componentes: teoría, práctica e investigación. Muchos profesionales y académicos en esta disciplina reconocen la importancia de la integración de la teoría y la práctica; sin embargo, la brecha entre ellas es ampliamente aceptada como una de las debilidades de la misma. El presente trabajo busca ilustrar cómo la resolución de conflictos entendida como una caja de herramientas ayuda a cerrar la brecha entre la teoría y la práctica a través de la práctica reflexiva en un caso de facilitación en una organización internacional.