Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Environmental and social sustainability of commuting to work is an increasingly relevant line of research. The starting point of this paper is that a significant internal territorial heterogeneity persists on aggregate indexes of car use and that it is important to measure and understand this process correctly. This contribution propose the method of decomposition of aggregate rates (Das Gupta) as a valid methodology to understand correctly regional heterogeneity. Part of these geographical differences (between regions, degree of urbanization) is explained by a real behaviour gap. However, the sociodemographic and territorial compositions of the working populations are important as well. That is because the propensity to use the private vehicle varies along certain characteristics of the workers, and regional population structures linked to those characteristics are heterogeneous. From a policy point of view, to control (and eventually reduce) the use of cars in labour daily mobility must take into account both behaviour and composition factors. Corrective measures that only point to the behaviour of people might fail if they do not take into account the momentum of sociodemographic structures.

This study focuses on examining the innovation practices of small and medium enterprises in restaurant industry and their involvement in the quality of service. In this sense, the data of this research was obtained through the application of a structured questionnaire and an observation guide in 158 SMEs restaurants in the Mexico City's Historical Center. The results identify and classify the types of innovation -marketing, organizational, product and process- implemented by the SMEs under study. Together, this research provides useful information about the impacts generated by innovation, such as improvement of service quality, creation of collaborative networks and cost reduction, among others. 

The logistic activity has been analysed by different approaches, but with a lack of attention to its impacts in the urban and spatial configuration. This work studies the logistic expansion in the Urban Region of Madrid, considering the geographical polarization and its preferential location in suburban and rural zones in the metropolitan area. The methodology considers three variables enlightening the spatial and temporal diffusion: workers and companies by municipality, logistic land use by province and different types of logistic land use. The results confirm the dissemination of logistics in metropolitan areas according to suburbanization and spread processes, at the same time appears new urban centralities as a consequence of the capitalist integration of the economy at different scales.

The objective of this study is to determine the percentage of the population living under general and extreme poverty and to estimate the levels of food and nutritional security of families living in vulnerable areas, particularly, the municipalities of: Masatepe, Nandasmo, Niquinohomo, Catarina and San Juan de Oriente in Masaya during the year 2016. According to the indicator of unsatisfied basic needs (UBN) measured by the CENSO of the year 2005. The method was descriptive, correlational and analytical. The survey technique and the form "Latin American and Caribbean Scale of Food Security" (LACSFS) was applied to a sample of n=175 of a population of N=1,245 heads of households. The sample was taken with a 95% confidence level and a maximum permissible error of B=0.3223. Results, the LACSFS showed a high internal consistency (Cronbach 99.3 %). In the studied households, 62% of the heads of households were female; the remaining 38 % were male. Regarding the level of schooling, 33.7 % had a secondary schooling and 35.4 % had an academic level of primary schooling. Regarding the incidence of poverty, 90.3% of the families are extreme poor, and 9.7% of them were in general poverty. Women are more likely (57.7 %) to be in more extreme poverty compared to men (57 %). In conclusion, the families surveyed were found in severe poverty to which is added the high percentages of prevalence in food insecurity. In this population, women are more likely to be poor and they are more likely to be food-insecure.

This article is the result of a documentary research. Thus, source documents of different nature, about female political equality in Nicaragua, specifically in its character of public national strategy, were analyzed from a qualitative point of view. The historical and cultural context in which Nicaraguan society interacts in the current political system is taken into account. Gender relations were a key factor in the study of political equality and thus, are an integral aspect of the analysis. The gender perspective became a fundamental analysis tool to facilitate a critical and cross-cutting view of gender and power relations. The main findings reflect that the structure of the national gender strategist during the period 2007-2016 is expressed in three central aspects: equality before the law through the approval and reforms of a set of laws in favor of women; affirmative actions expressed in the implementation of social programs and a gender cross-cutting national policy and part of the national human development plans, as well as, a wide presence and inclusion of women in different instances of the State.

This essay analyzes the way in which Domingo Faustino Sarmiento perceives the “civilization and barbarism” dichotomy. In this sense, the Argentinian statesman enters into a geographical, cultural and political study of the figure of Facundo Quiroga, which reflects his fascination not only with the character, but with what he represents. Thus, the culture and nature of that representation appear to Sarmiento as an obstacle that, if it is necessary, must be overcome to establish the Nation State.

This work is a contribution that as academics we are making from the University on the theme of promoting a culture of peace and coexistence, since 2018 on the agenda as a result of the political crisis that was immersed in Nicaraguan society. This proposal problematizes the place and role of university professors in the search for discursive practices that channel differences and/or contradictions through civic channels, knowing that society in general wants peace in order to continue improving their material and spiritual living conditions. The purpose of this research is to answer questions such as, are we really working on an individual and/or collective agenda in terms of strengthening teacher leadership and contributing in a concrete manner to the solution of the problems facing Nicaraguan society as a result of the political crisis that began on April 18? Do we believe in the values of a culture of peace (already institutionalized through Decree-Law 985) as a convergence for the strengthening of the common good? Finally, are we developing pedagogical strategies in the classrooms for the promotion of values that contribute to a positive, constructive-positive and tolerant vision in the students, seeking to counteract the destructive discourses that the media bubbles inoculate in the minds of young people on a daily basis?

In The Lost Battles, Guatemalan author Marco Antonio Flores (1937-2013) continues his peculiar novelistic mark regarding the use of irreverent language, and the topics of disappointment and failure. Exile and failure, in this novel, are portrayed from the psychological intimacy of the characters and their lives marked by obstacles to an attain success, or to realize their utopian dreams. Thus, the purpose of this paper is the exploration of exile and the failure endured and experienced by the three main characters. The analysis focuses on the setbacks predicted, or unconsciously carried out by the characters through various facets of their lives. This analysis covers a time span that ranges from their abandoned childhood through their adulthood. It is based on the issues of melancholy theorized by Sigmund Freud, and Edward Said’s theoretical framework of the exile.

 The object of study is to understand the elements of the Indigenous Community, a social group that self-identifies as heirs of the Chorotega indigenous culture and who are currently settled in the department of Jinotega. The study of ethnic groups represents a valuable accumulation of knowledge and traditional knowledge that have been preserved in the memory of the population through oral transmission, that is, from the myth it has been possible to keep the history of their ancestors alive. In this sense, this article is aimed at exposing the results that have been generated from that direct contact with the population, where Oral History as a method, technique and source represents the most important tool to rescue that past that remains active among the inhabitants.