RésuméAvec la pandémie de COVID‐19, la crise sanitaire et économique s'est doublée d'une crise du travail de soins. Tous les travailleurs en ont pâti, y compris dans l'économie informelle. Les auteurs exploitent les résultats d'une étude longitudinale menée par le réseau WIEGO en juin‐juillet 2020 auprès de travailleurs informels de douze villes. Ils observent que la crise a accru la charge du travail de soins, avec des conséquences sur les moyens d'existence et la sécurité alimentaire. L'analyse sexospécifique de l'activité professionnelle et du travail de soins non rémunéré permet de comprendre les répercussions particulières de la crise sur les travailleurs informels dans le monde.
ResumenCon datos de la primera ronda de un estudio longitudinal con métodos mixtos realizado en junio y julio de 2020 por la red WIEGO en colaboración con organizaciones de personas trabajadoras informales de doce ciudades, se evalúa el impacto de la actual crisis pandémica multidimensional (sanitaria, económica y de cuidados) en las responsabilidades de cuidado y el efecto resultante en los medios de vida y la seguridad alimentaria de personas trabajadoras informales de cuatro sectores. Un análisis de género del trabajo remunerado y del trabajo de cuidados no remunerado arroja luz sobre las características únicas del impacto de la actual recesión pandémica en la fuerza de trabajo informal del mundo.
AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic triggered a health, economic and care crisis affecting all workers, including those in the informal economy. This article uses data from the first round of a mixed‐methods longitudinal study conducted in June/July 2020 by Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing in partnership with informal workers' organizations in 12 cities. It assesses the impacts of the multidimensional crisis on care responsibilities and the resulting effects on livelihoods and food security. A gendered analysis of paid work and unpaid care work sheds light on the unique features of the impacts of the current "pandemic recession" on the world's informal labour force.
Purpose This paper explores the perceptions and experiences of women and men who work as informal waste collectors in four different cities. The purpose of this paper is to map out how and to what extent occupational, political-legal, economic and social dynamics are experienced differently by gender in a highly vulnerable segment of the urban informal economy, and explore gender differences in these workers' coping strategies and the levels of action they develop to protect their livelihoods.
Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on a mixed methods study which combined a quantitative survey of informal workers with a qualitative participatory methodology. Study participants were drawn from a purposive sample of informal workers who belong to, or are affiliated with, membership-based workers' organisations. The sample consists of waste pickers (n=614) from Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Bogotá, Colombia; Durban, South Africa; and Nakuru, Kenya.
Findings The data show that despite significant differences between women and men upon entry into (informal) employment, their perceptions of key drivers and impacts are largely similar, with the exception of concerns around various types of physical security among women. They also indicate that levels of action among men and women waste pickers are only moderately influenced by gender, but are strongly influenced by the degree of organisation in the sector and the symbolic assets held by workers. The findings also illustrate the way in which gendered power dynamics operate within the informal recycling sector and how different levels of sector organisation and development often contribute to opportunities for collective action and, in turn, a reduction in gendered vulnerabilities.
Originality/value The study offers a new policy angle which connects the level of sector organisation and development with the levels of action taken by informal workers in adapting to different types of shocks, as well as what this means in terms of gender empowerment.
Two main challenges influence the design of regional policies carried out by European, National and Regional policy makers. The first is the shift towards a knowledge-based economy, where enterprise competitiveness is increasingly linked to intangible assets. The second is the enlargement of the European Union that means important changes in the European Union marketplace and the possibilities of intervention in some less favoured regions. Until today, Regional Policy in many European Union countries has principally been founded on incentives for the creation of employment and investment in tangible assets. In this context, Spanish Regional Policy has been formulated, on the one hand, to achieve decentralisation of the entities responsible for its promotion and, on the other, to foster co-ordination and integration of Community, National and Autonomous Region interventions. Moreover, the design of this policy has taken into consideration the classical conflict between equity and efficiency. The objective of this paper is to assess the results and the gradual changes in regional incentive policy applied in Spain over the last 15 years and to identify the elements in which public intervention could be improved in order to adapt this policy to the demands laid out within the new environment previously defined. This assessment includes: firstly, a brief analysis of the evolution of public intervention; secondly, a study of the spatial distribution of the incentives over the period considered; and thirdly, a comparison of the economic performance of the different areas depending on the awards received. The analysis of this policy is based on a database comprising over 16 000 items referring to award decisions to applications for Regional Investment Grants (Law 50/1985 of 22 December 1985) gathered from the Official State Bulletin (Boletín Oficial del Estado, BOE) during the period 1988-2003. KEY WORDS: Spain, Regional policy, Regional incentive, Employment, Investment, Policy assessment
RESUMO A inclusão das práticas integrativas e complementares nos serviços de saúde pública tem acontecido de forma gradual e lentificada, há cerca de 10 anos. Este estudo visa a colaborar com a ampliação do conhecimento sobre as práticas integrativas, tendo como objetivo principal apresentar os impactos do reiki e da reflexologia podal na saúde de pacientes crônicos atendidos em um centro especializado em endocrinopatias, localizado em Salvador (BA). Trata-se de um estudo observacional retrospectivo, de corte transversal, que utilizou registros em prontuários médicos. Observaram-se, a partir da análise dos dados, impactos aparentes das terapias complementares no alívio de sintomas psicológicos, emocionais e físicos, tais como ansiedade, estresse e dores no corpo.
The assurance of sustainability reports faces significant challenges that arise from the characteristics of sustainability information and the regulatory context in which it is developed. This recently growing service has favoured the creation of a rapidly evolving market, a complex professional field in its early stages of development and study. The aim of this paper is to analyse whether the use of international standards or the profile of the provider performing the service affects assurance process and quality. To this end, we applied a novel methodology for this field: a survey through written questionnaires. The use of a primary information source allows us to gain insight into the topic, beyond other visible aspects often used in previous literature (e.g., assurance statement contents). We tested our hypotheses on a sample of Spanish accounting and consulting firms. Our results show that neither the use of international standards nor the provider's professional background has any effect on assurance process and assurance quality. However, the way the professional perceives the developed service does have an impact on quality.
El abandono temprano de la educación y la formación es un indicador clave del sistema educativo que condiciona la estructura económica y social, por lo que su reducción es una prioridad dentro de la Estrategia Europa 2020. España presenta la tasa de abandono más alta de la Unión Europea, registrando amplias diferencias interregionales. El artículo estudia la incidencia de los factores educativos, económicos y socioculturales en el nivel de abandono de las comunidades autónomas, utilizando como metodología datos de panel para el periodo 2001-2011. Entre otros resultados, se verifica la importancia del gasto educativo como medida para reducir este problema. ; The early leaving from education and training rate is a basic indicator in the education system that has influence on economic and social structure. Thus, its reduction is a priority for the Europe 2020 Strategy. Spain has the highest early school leaving rate among the European Union, showing strong interregional differences. This article studies the impact of educational, economic and sociocultural factors on the early school leaving rate at the NUTS2 regions. We have applied a panel data methodology for the period 2001 to 2011. Among other results, expenditure on education appears as a relevant measure for tackling this problem.
Partindo dos debates oriundos do campo da teoria crítica do reconhecimento e do multiculturalismo, procuramos identificar,inicialmente, a relevância do reconhecimento para a formação de identidades integrais e não distorcidas e as motivações, de ordem subjetiva, que conduzem às lutas por reconhecimento. Partindo desse substrato, discutimos os instrumentos capazes de vincular, explicitamente, reconhecimento e política e apontamos a noção de paridade participativa como um importante elemento desse debate. Em que pese essa explícita vinculação, a teoria de Nancy Fraser não fornece aparatos capazes de contemplar, institudonalmente, as demandas pelo reconhecimento público da diferença. Por isso, buscamos na teoria de Ayelet Shachar a noção de "acomodação transformativa", que pode funcionar como um efetivo instrumento de ampliação das relações de reconhecimento do ponto de vista institucional.
The excitations produced by fast electrons impinging perpendicularly on both metallic and semiconductor cylindrical nanowires are investigated within the framework of dielectric theory. The dependence of the electron energy-loss spectra (EELS) on the nanowire radius is studied in detail, and so is the spatial extension of the induced-charge fluctuations associated to the modes that are excited during the loss process. The limits of applicability of dielectric theory to nanowires are discussed. In particular, comparison between the present theory and EELS measurements performed with silicon nanofibers support the use of dielectric theory at the scale of a few nanometers in diameter, and it is shown that this positive result is justified in terms of the longitudinal pattern of the induced surface plasmons. Finally, the effect of nanowire termination on the electron energy-loss probability for electrons passing near the edge is calculated using the boundary charge method, showing that the range of this effect can extend up to tens of nanometers for low-energy m=0 modes. ; Support from the Basque government and Basque Country University is acknowledged. One of the authors E.O. also acknowledges the Spanish Ministerio de Educacion y Cultura for financial support under Contract No. PB98-0780-C02. ; Peer reviewed
[Abstract] The monitoring of power generation installations is key for modelling and predicting their future behaviour. Many renewable energy generation systems, such as photovoltaic panels and wind turbines, strongly depend on weather conditions. However, in situ measurements of relevant weather variables are not always taken into account when designing monitoring systems, and only power output is available. This paper aims to combine data from a Numerical Weather Prediction model with machine learning tools in order to accurately predict the power generation from a photovoltaic system. An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model is used to predict power outputs from a real installation located in Puglia (southern Italy) using temperature and solar irradiation data taken from the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) sflux model outputs. Power outputs and weather monitoring data from the PV installation are used as a reference dataset. Three training and testing scenarios are designed. In the first one, weather data monitoring is used to both train the ANN model and predict power outputs. In the second one, training is done with monitoring data, but GDAS data is used to predict the results. In the last set, both training and result prediction are done by feeding GDAS weather data into the ANN model. The results show that the tested numerical weather model can be combined with machine learning tools to model the output of PV systems with less than 10% error, even when in situ weather measurements are not available. ; Universidade de Vigo; 00VI 131H 641.02 ; This investigation article was partially supported by the University of Vigo through the grant Convocatoria de Axudas á Investigación 2018: Axudas Predoutorais UVigo 2018 (grant number 00VI 131H 641.02). This investigation article was also partially supported by the Ministry of Universities of the Spanish Government through the grant Ayudas para la Formación de Profesorado Universitario: Convocatoria 2017 (grant number FPU17/01834). This investigation article was also partially supported by the Ministry of Universities of the Spanish Government by means of the SMARTHERM (Project: RTI2018-096296-B-C2)
8 páginas, 4 figuras, 4 tablas. ; [Background]: Breast cancer is the most common neoplasia in women. Even though advances in its treatment have improved disease outcome, some patients relapse. Therefore, attempts to better define the molecular determinants that drive breast cancer cell proliferation may help in defining potential therapeutic targets. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) play important roles in tumorigenesis. One of them, Erk5, has been linked to the proliferation of breast cancer cells in vitro. Here we have investigated the expression and prognostic value of Erk5 in human breast cancer. ; [Methodology/Principal Findings]: Animal and cellular models were used to study Erk5 expression and function in breast cancer. In 84 human breast tumours the expression of Erk5 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Active Erk5 (pErk5) was studied by Western blotting. Correlation of Erk5 with clinicopathological parameters and with disease-free survival in early stage breast cancer patients was analyzed. Expression of Erk5 was detected in most patients, and overexpression was found in 20%. Active Erk5 was present in a substantial number of samples, as well as in tumours from an animal breast cancer model. Overexpression of Erk5 was associated with a decrease in disease-free survival time, which was independent of other clinicopathological parameters of prognosis. Transient transfection of a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting Erk5, and a stable cell line expressing a dominant negative form of Erk5 (Erk5AEF), were used to investigate the influence of Erk5 on drugs used in the clinic to treat breast tumours. We found that inhibition of Erk5 decreased cancer cell proliferation and also sensitized these cells to the action of anti-HER2 therapies. ; [Conclusions/Significance]: Overexpression of Erk5 is an independent predictor of disease-free survival in breast cancer, and may represent a future therapeutic target. ; This work was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Science and Education of Spain (BFU2006-01813/BMC to AP), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI061552), and by the Castilla y Leon Autonomous Government (to AEO). ; Peer reviewed
ResumenSe presentan las conclusiones de un estudio dirigido por la red Mujeres en Empleo Informal: Globalizando y Organizando (WIEGO), en el que se investigan las repercusiones de la crisis de la COVID‐19 en diferentes grupos de personas trabajadoras informales y en sus hogares en términos de empleo, ingresos, alimentación y hambre, cuidado y otras responsabilidades domésticas, así como las estrategias de afrontamiento de estas personas. Se comparan los roles de los gobiernos y de las organizaciones de personas trabajadoras informales en la prestación de diversas ayudas. Basándose en las reivindicaciones de estas personas, se plantean principios rectores para mejorar su situación en el futuro.
