Thermoelectric films on flexible substrates are of interest for the integration of thermoelectric in wearable devices. In this work, copper selenide films are achieved by a novel low-temperature technique, namely pulsed hybrid reactive magnetron sputtering (PHRMS). A brief introduction to the basic chemistry and physics involved during growth is included to explain its fundamentals. PHRMS is a single-step, room temperature (RT), fabrication process carried out in another ways conventional vacuum sputtering system. It does not require high-temperature post-annealing to obtain films with great thermoelectric performance. It is, therefore, compatible with polymeric substrates like Kapton tape. Several sets of films covering a large exploratory compositional range (from Cu/Se = 1 to 9) are deposited and their microstructure and thermoelectric properties are analyzed at RT. Power factors as high as 1.1 mW m?1 K?2 in the in-plane direction and thermal conductivities as low as ? = 0.8 ± 0.1 W m?1 K?1 in the out-of-plane direction have been obtained for ?-Cu2Se films. Consequently, a figure of merit of 0.4 at RT can be estimated under the assumption that for this polycrystalline cubic phase no additional anisotropy in the thermoelectric properties is introduced by the planar configuration. Moreover, PHRMS is also industrially scalable and compatible with the in-line fabrication of other selenides.

Abstract: Buenaventura is a port-city located in the Colombian pacific coast: having a geostrategic position, equidistant to the main worldwide markets; moving 60% of the cargo country; it is the most important Colombian cargo port. Also considered as an eco-region with many biodiversity, it attracts many tourists; besides is one of the rainiest places of the world. Nevertheless, having all these geographical and physical advantages; Buenaventura has always been developed around the cargo terminal; leaving behind citizens’ social and spatial factors. Therefore, it is a site that has the specificity of motion but not permanence: cargo, ships-boats, money, tourists, whales, rainwater, and some others ambient factors are moving, but nothing remains for its citizens. How architecture can react in order to generate city-revival, in order to provoke “Spaces of Permanence and Stability” for Buenaventura city-port? Through exploring fluctuations, behaviors and parameters of previous exposed facts a “Maritime Terminal for Passengers” is designed, as a building that mainly implies movement, but can also denote permanence. While defining building “spatial position” through ships, boats and vessels constraints; building “spatial organization” is determined according with main citizens’ social needs: employment, public space and water service. On the other hand, Sea Water Surface and Rain Water Fall behaviors define building “spatial quality”: woven parameters that generate “interweaving the waves”. Thus, passengers, visitors and vehicles paths engender interwoven curved surfaces; that besides loading-unloading passengers, they provide public activities, public space, and a system able to collect rainwater. Therefore, new building spaces will provoke permanence and stability: offering new employment opportunities [cruise-ship terminal, sailing school, repairing boats, cinemas, restaurant and commercial areas]; rising visitors and passenger quantity [from 100.000 to 220.000 per year]; attracting investors; generating a landmark as a new city image [increasing city identity and appropriation feeling]; and providing public space as walk ways, open air theaters, paths for city aerial views [improving citizen’s spatial conditions and life quality]. Furthermore, the emerging attractive and monumental shape is not only effective according to the created new image, but also effective because of the new rainwater collection system: a high-tech element able to collect rainwater in a high efficient way [3 times more than a normal surface], solving one of the population’s main problems: the lack of water service for 10% of the inhabitants. All previous exposed facts integrated in an infrastructure project, generate Buenaventura city-port revival: a real dialogue between the city and its port; movement and permanence are constantly flowing. Resumen: Buenaventura es una ciudad-puerto localizada en la costa pacífica colombiana: teniendo una posición geoestratégica equidistante a los principales comercios del mundo, y moviendo el 60% de la carga del país; es el puerto más importante de Colombia. Adicionalmente, es considerada una eco-región con un alto grado biodiversidad, la cual atrae múltiples turistas; y por otro lado es una de las ciudades más lluviosas del mundo. Aun teniendo todas estas ventajas geográficas y físicas, Buenaventura se ha desarrollado alrededor del puerto, dejando atrás las condiciones sociales y espaciales de sus ciudadanos. Por lo tanto, es un lugar que tiene la característica de movimiento sin permanencia: carga, barcos, dinero, turistas, animales y agua se mueve, pero muy poco queda a su gente. ¿Cómo la arquitectura puede responder, para generar una renovación urbana, la cual provoque “Espacios de Permanencia y Estabilidad” para Buenaventura? A partir de explorar flujos, comportamientos y parámetros de los factores previamente expuestos se planteó el diseño de un “Terminal Marítimo de Pasajeros”, como un edificio que implica simultáneamente movimiento y permanencia. La “posición espacial” fue definida con los condicionantes de barcos, botes y lanchas; la “organización espacial” se determinó con las necesidades principales de los ciudadanos: empleo, espacio público y servicio de agua; y las “características espaciales” se definieron al estudiar el comportamiento de la superficie del mar y la precipitación fluvial. De esta manera, los recorridos de pasajeros, visitantes y vehículos, son “caminos que se entretejen en superficies curveadas”; las cuales además de cargar y descargar pasajeros, proveen actividades y espacios públicos, y un sistema de recolección de agua lluvia. Por lo tanto, el nuevo edificio provoca permanencia y estabilidad: ofreciendo nuevas oportunidades de empleo [terminal de cruceros-botes, escuela de vela, reparación de botes, cinemas, restaurantes y áreas comerciales]; aumenta el número de visitantes y pasajeros de 100 mil a 200 mil por año; atrae inversionistas; genera un hito como nueva imagen de la ciudad; y promueve espacios públicos como pasarelas, teatros al aire libre, vistas aéreas de la ciudad. Adicionalmente, la emergente atractiva y monumental forma, no es sólo efectiva al crear una nueva imagen; pero también eficiente al crear un nuevo sistema de recolección de agua que soluciona la falta de agua al 10% de sus habitantes. Todos los factores expuestos, generan la revitalización de Buenaventura: un dialogo real entre la ciudad y el puerto, movimiento y permanencia fluyen constantemente.

Nest morphology can affect the breeding success of birds. Thus, birds inhabiting different environments may experience divergent selection for nest structure and composition that results in intraspecific geographic variation in nest architecture. We describe interpopulation differences in nest architecture among Thorn-tailed Rayaditos (Aphrastura spinicauda) in 2 contrasting environments near the species’ distribution limits: a temperate and very humid environment in north-central Chile (the forest relicts of Fray Jorge National Park; 308380S, 718400W) and a cold and windy sub-Antarctic environment in the south of Chile (Isla Navarino; 55840S, 678400W). We collected a total of 62 nests from Fray Jorge and 61 nests from Navarino in 2013 and 2014, measured their dimensions, and quantified their constitutive materials. We tested the nests’ thermal properties (simulating heat loss by convection and conduction) and hygroscopic features (water absorption and water loss capacity) and used general linear models to (1) compare these properties between populations and (2) test for a relationship between nest morphology and function. Nests from the northern population exhibited lower rates of heat loss by convection because they were larger and had a lower ratio of surface area to volume; these nests also absorbed less water, probably because of their greater content of plant-derived materials. In the southern population, nests were more compact and better insulated with feathers and hairs, with lower rates of heat loss by conduction. By separately analyzing the roles of convection, conduction, and humidity, our results suggest that potential trade-offs (insulation–humidity) could be differently affecting the nest building behavior of these populations. Therefore, Thorn-tailed Rayaditos may be using site-specific strategies to cope with the local climate in contrasting environments.

The distribution of suitable habitat influences natal and breeding dispersal at small spatial scales, resulting in strong microgeographic genetic structure. Although environmental variation can promote interpopulation differences in dispersal behavior and local spatial patterns, the effects of distinct ecological conditions on within-species variation in dispersal strategies and in fine-scale genetic structure remain poorly understood. We studied local dispersal and fine-scale genetic structure in the thorn-tailed rayadito (Aphrastura spinicauda), a South American bird that breeds along a wide latitudinal gradient. We combine capture-mark-recapture data from eight breeding seasons and molecular genetics to compare two peripheral populations with contrasting environments in Chile: Navarino Island, a continuous and low density habitat, and Fray Jorge National Park, a fragmented, densely populated and more stressful environment. Natal dispersal showed no sex bias in Navarino but was female-biased in the more dense population in Fray Jorge. In the latter, male movements were restricted, and some birds seemed to skip breeding in their first year, suggesting habitat saturation. Breeding dispersal was limited in both populations, with males being more philopatric than females. Spatial genetic autocorrelation analyzes using 13 polymorphic microsatellite loci confirmed the observed dispersal patterns: a fine-scale genetic structure was only detectable for males in Fray Jorge for distances up to 450 m. Furthermore, two-dimensional autocorrelation analyzes and estimates of genetic relatedness indicated that related males tended to be spatially clustered in this population. Our study shows evidence for context-dependent variation in natal dispersal and corresponding local genetic structure in peripheral populations of this bird. It seems likely that the costs of dispersal are higher in the fragmented and higher density environment in Fray Jorge, particularly for males. The observed differences in microgeographic genetic structure for rayaditos might reflect the genetic consequences of population-specific responses to contrasting environmental pressures near the range limits of its distribution.

Abstract: In this article, we consider the representations of poverty within consumer culture. We focus on four main themes – social exclusion, vulnerability, pleasure and contentment – that capture some of the associations that contemporary understandings have made with poverty. For each theme, we consider the portrayals of poverty from the perspective of key agents (such as marketers, media, politicians) and then relate this to more emic representations of poverty by drawing on a range of contemporary poverty alleviating projects from around the world. We conclude with a set of guidelines for relevant stakeholders to bear in mind when elaborating their representations of poverty. These guidelines may act as a platform to transform marginalizing representations of poverty into more empowering representations. Resumen: Este artículo analiza la representación de la pobreza en la cultural del consumo. Cuatro temas que capturan el entendimiento contemporáneo sobre la pobreza son abordados: Exclusión social, vulnerabilidad, placer, y aceptación. Para cada tema consideramos como diferentes agentes: Mercadeo, medios, y políticos, muestran la pobreza, y se relaciona estos a diferentes proyectos para aliviar esta situación alrededor del mundo. Las conclusiones se enfocan en brindar una serie de prácticas a tener en cuenta para transformar la representación social de la pobreza.

Los gobiernos son unos de los mayores usuarios de software y el presupuesto público gastado en licencias de software suele ser bastante significativo. A pesar de ser tradicionalmente el software privativo el predominante en el sector público, desde la década pasada el uso de las alternativas libres ha venido creciendo. En ese sentido, Sudamérica es una de las regiones más avanzadas. Gobiernos de la mayoría de países de la región han impulsado a través de diferentes medidas la adopción de software libre en el sector público. Esto ha generado una gran debate sobre las ventajas y desventajas de avanzar hacia el software libre. A su vez, los diferentes grados de éxito de las medidas adoptadas indica que se puede y debe estudiar mejorar lo que se ha realizado hasta el momento, no solo para mejorar las implementaciones en Sudamérica sino en otras regiones del mundo. Partiendo de lo anterior, esta tesis explora en primer lugar las ventajas y posibles objeciones a la adopción del software libre en el Estado. Sobre las ventajas se consideran: reducción de costos, desarrollo de la industria y empleo local, independencia de proveedores, adaptación local del software y uso del hardware antiguo. Posteriormente, en el capítulo tres se analizan algunas medidas comunes que se han tomado en los países de la región: medidas legales, requerimiento de estándares abiertos, modelo de software público, políticas de investigación y desarrollo en cuanto a software libre, y finalmente, cooperación internacional. En el capítulo cuarto se plantean recomendaciones para una mejor adopción del software libre en el sector público. Estas recomendaciones se refieren a los siguientes aspectos: la adopción de estándares abiertos, medidas legales, institución especializada en la materia, tratados y obligaciones internacionales, cooperación internacional, oposición al software libre, y la comunidad de software libre. Finalmente, en el capítulo quinto se concluye sosteniendo que la adopción de software libre en el sector público es un paso positivo. No obstante, dadas las dificultades técnicas y de otro tipo, más los intereses que hay en juego, esta decisión es compleja y requiere de una cuidadosa planificación e implementación.

A review of the main issues that affect the livelihoods of non timber forest products (NTFP) focusing on the commercialisation issues of gatherers/producers and traders, was made for Colombia. It aimed to investigate broadly which are some of the cultural, economic, social, environmental, marketing and legislative issues that affect the outcomes for NTFP livelihoods. The sustainable rural livelihood framework was used to understand the main issues affecting NTFP livelihoods and to propose alternatives to improve the constraints found in NTFP development and commercialisation. The study identify the great importance of NTFP local and regional markets for rural development, and some data was given for international markets in order to understand the magnitude of the commerce and the possibilities that might arise for some promissory products. The review of some institutional and organisation incentives influencing NTFP production and commercialisation was undertaken by reviewing the forestry policies and some of its instruments. The study used secondary data of reports made mainly in Latin-America. The report concludes that the policies and norms that influence NTFP, such as the forestry policy and plans do not consider the importance of NTFP for social and environmental objectives. For NTFP research, the analysis of the commercialisation process is strongly co-related to social networks, ecology, cultural taboos, norms for management of NTFP and effectiveness of support organisations. NTFP livelihoods can be seriously affected by government organisations and NGO’s if they are treated as traditional commodities because of the fragility and uniqueness of their ecology, economy and social structures. The report gives some recommendations to government agencies and researchers that wish to mend the constraints found for NTFP successful development.

El ensayo tiene como objetivo analizar el rol del sujeto globalizado y globalizante del siglo XXI en su relación con la actividad turística, su responsabilidad en la construcción de mediaciones con la alteridad, el reconocimiento de la diferencia y la importancia del diálogo intercultural, con el fin de valorar el papel que está llamado a desempeñar el turismo en el marco político de la reestructuración del ordenamiento mundial. En ese contexto, se busca llevar a cabo una reflexión en torno a las relaciones entre las dinámicas territoriales, socioculturales e individuales gestadas en los escenarios locales desde la perspectiva holística, pluritópica y transaccional inherente a la ética del desarrollo humano, y orientada hacia la formulación de estrategias de planeación, gestión y coexistencia consideradas en la escala amplia y compleja del ecosistema-mundo y las movilidades intensas y variables propias de los procesos de la globalización. A partir de esta disertación se espera ilustrar la contribución del turismo a: 1) la creación de una “sociedad mundial” gracias a su protagonismo en la formación de una mirada cosmopolita, consciente de la diferencia y la desigualdad, sensible a las transformaciones de su entorno y comprometido con su sostenibilidad; 2) la adquisición de buenas prácticas y normas técnicas que reduzcan los impactos de las actividades económicas sobre los ecosistemas y proporcionen beneficios para las comunidades y territorios de destino; y 3) la formación de un conocimiento nuevo, fundado en una aproximación directa a la experiencia del mundo.

The classical job-shop problem is among the most studied scheduling models because it can model a variety of real-life applications. This problem can be reinforced by integrating the operation flexibility to obtain a more realistic model, called Flexible-Job shop Scheduling Problem (FJSP), that capture the salient features of modern systems. To consider both productivity and customer service in the FJSP, objective function such as regular criteria that consider an increasing function of the completion times of the jobs are needed. Makespan consists of minimizing the maximal completion time of all jobs, and it is the most studied criterion in the FJSP. However, minimizing other regular criteria are better suited to capture critical factors that affect the profit of manufacturing and service systems and thus their competitiveness; in particular the importance of jobs(customers) with weighted criteria. This thesis presents innovative general local search approaches to minimize regular criteria in the FJSP in two ways: Single criterion and multi-criteria called Multi-Objective Flexible Job-shop Scheduling Problem (MOFJSP). The local search approaches make use of a generalization of the disjunctive graph model, iteratively progress from one solution to another using two neighborhood structures (N1 and N2). N1 consists of moving all critical operations that belong to critical paths of jobs which affect the criterion being optimized and N2 is a subset of N1 where only operations which belong to blocks. New, efficient and fast sufficient feasibility conditions to obtain moves of the neighborhoods and evaluation functions that assess the quality of the feasible moves are proposed.

Abstract: The existence of an undeniable nexus between the mining industry and development of the countries is fundamental to comprehend the balance required to offset environmental concerns while developing. To mitigate the environmental impact of development, instruments such as carbon bonds and cap-and-trade system are in place. Their performance and outcome may be debatable on a country-specific basis, but some benefits must be acknowledged. To do so, a historical approach is conducted to analyse their effectiveness in a global context and their basics are explained, preceded by stating that mining is regarded an act of development and that concerns on development-environmental trade-offs are governmental responsibilities. In light of previous considerations some conclusions are made, anticipating that the examined mechanisms have proven success but should have broader scopes and more effective implementation, if global achievements are expected. Resumen: La existencia de un nexo innegable entre la industria minera y el desarrollo de los países es fundamental para comprender el balance que se requiere para compensar las preocupaciones ambientales mientras se desarrollan. Para mitigar el impacto ambiental del desarrollo, instrumentos como los bonos de carbón y el sistema cap-and-trade tienen lugar. Su desempeño y resultado puede ser debatible según el país en particular, pero se deben reconocer algunos beneficios. Para ello, se realiza un enfoque histórico para analizar su efectividad en un contexto global y se explican sus conceptos básicos, precedidos por la afirmación de que la minería se considera un acto de desarrollo y que las preocupaciones sobre el desarrollo y las compensaciones ambientales son responsabilidades gubernamentales. A la luz de consideraciones previas, se hacen algunas conclusiones, anticipando que los mecanismos examinados han tenido éxito, pero deberían tener alcances más amplios y una implementación más efectiva, si se esperan logros globales.