Dinámicas contemporáneas de las relaciones norte-sur : una aproximación crítica al acaparamiento mundial de tierras en Mozambique. Periodo 2007-2011

El objetivo de la presente monografía es analizar desde una postura crítica el fenómeno del acaparamiento de tierras en Mozambique durante el periodo 2007-2011. El resultado de la presente investigación permite afirmar que el acaparamiento de tierras por parte de países con mayor crecimiento económico en Mozambique durante dicho periodo se relaciona con las dinámicas contemporáneas de las relaciones Norte-Sur en dos sentidos. En primer lugar, es consecuencia de la posición estructural de Mozambique como Estado periférico en la economía-mundo capitalista. Y en segundo lugar, contribuye a exacerbar la polarización imperante en las relaciones actuales entre el Norte y el Sur, a la vez que complejiza las relaciones de explotación y dependencia al interior del Sur mismo.

Allocation rules on networks

When allocating a resource, geographical and infrastructural constraints have to be taken into account. We study the problem of distributing a resource through a network from sources endowed with the resource to citizens with claims. A link between a source and an agent depicts the possibility of a transfer from the source to the agent. Given the supplies at each source, the claims of citizens, and the network, the question is how to allocate the available resources among the citizens. We consider a simple allocation problem that is free of network constraints, where the total amount can be freely distributed. The simple allocation problem is a claims problem where the total amount of claims is greater than what is available. We focus on consistent and resource monotonic rules in claims problems that satisfy equal treatment of equals. We call these rules fairness principles and we extend fairness principles to allocation rules on networks. We require that for each pair of citizens in the network, the extension is robust with respect to the fairness principle. We call this condition pairwise robustness with respect to the fairness principle. We provide an algorithm and show that each fairness principle has a unique extension which is pairwise robust with respect to the fairness principle. We give applications of the algorithm for three fairness principles: egalitarianism, proportionality and equal sacrifice.

Combination of product quality management and exports: The case of Colombian fruits companies

Quality management provides to companies a framework to improve quality in overall systems, reduction of costs, reallocation of resources efficiently, correct planning of strategies, prevent or correct errors in the right time and increase the performance of companies. In this text, we discuss the different theories in this field, their obligatory or non-obligatory compliance, the importance of quality management for exporting companies and a case study of a Colombian firm that its main objective is to manage quality. In conclusion, we find out that there is different types of quality management systems such as Juran’s trilogy, Deming 14 points, Six sigma, HACCP, and so on; also that companies have to manage suppliers and that quality has a positive influence on exports volume; in the case of Colombian small and medium enterprises, it can be mentioned that the majority has implemented tools regarding quality management but is not enough.