Decoding the canada's foreing and security policy: tracking the strategic and ethicliberal approaches of a middle power's behavior

The article attempts to explain the main paradox faced by Canada at formulating its foreign policy on international security. Explained in economic and political terms, this paradox consists in the contradiction between the Canadian ability to achieve its strategic goals, serving to its own national interest and its dependence on the United States. The first section outlines three representative examples to evaluate this paradox: the Canada’s position in North American security regime, the US-Canada economic security relations, and the universe of possibilities for action of Canada as a middle power. The second section suggests that liberal agenda, especially concerning to ethical issues, has been established by this country to minimize this paradox. By pursing this agenda, Canada is able to reaffirm its national identity and therefore its independence on the United States. The third section evaluates both the explained paradox and the reaffirmation of Canadian identity during the Jean Chrétien (1993-2003), Paul Martin (2003-2006) and Stephen Harper’s (2006) governments.

Nongenetic inheritance, linguistic competence, prenatal experience and behavior manipulation: recent contributions from behavioral neurobiology and neuropsychology to the explanation of behavior

This article gives an overview of presuppositions and explanations posed by behaviorist psychology (particularly its radical branch), cognitive–nativist sciences (i.e. psycholinguistics and a branch of cognitive psychology) and other disciplines regarding important psychological events such as anxiety, stress, fear, mood states and language. In relation to the discussion of environment versus genetics, contributions from behavioral neurobiology and neuropsychology are added, showing evidence of traits that can be multigenerationally inherited in a non-genetic way, which have an impact thought the life of organisms and on their way of interacting with the environment; ways in which behavior can be altered by recently unsuspected environmental agents or events, and the overlooked role of prenatal experiences in the explanation of behavior. The evidence calls into question presuppositions made by the academic disciplines listed above, and suggests alternative behavior reinterpretations and explanations

Neurobiology of expectancy effects and omission of reinforcement on behavior

The reinforcement omission effects have been traditionally interpreted in terms of: behavioral facilitation after reinforcement omission induced by primary frustration or behavioral suppression after reinforcement delivery induced by postconsummatory states. The studies reviewed here indicate that amygdala is involved in modulation of these effects. However, the fact that amygdala lesions, extensive or selective, can eliminate, reduce and enhance the omission effects makes it difficult to understand how it is the exact nature of their involvement. The amygdala is related to several functions that depend on its connections with other brain systems. Thus, it is necessary to consider the involvement of a more complex neural network in the modulation of the reinforcement omission effects. The connection of amygdala subareas to cortical and subcortical structures may be involved in this modulation since they also are linked to processes related to reward and expectancy.

Behavior analysis in Brazil

La historia del análisis del comportamiento en Brasil comenzó con la visita de Fred S. Keller a la Universidad de São Paulo en 1961, cuando él era un académico de la Fundación Fullbright; en aquella época, Keller presentó los trabajos de Skinner a los psicólogos brasileños. Su primer asistente fue Carolina Martuscelli Bori, en aquel entonces una psicóloga social influenciada por el trabajo de Kurt Lewin. Orientada inicialmente por Keller, Carolina Bori fue la principal fuerza de difusión del análisis del comportamiento en Brasil, comenzando con el curso de psicología en la Universidad de Brasilia, en el cual, durante agosto de 1964, se dictó el primer curso de Análisis Experimental de la Conducta. La mayoría de los analistas del comportamiento de hoy en día fueron directa o indirectamente estudiantes de Carolina Bori. Actualmente varios programas de psicología en el país ofrecen cursos de análisis del comportamiento

Observatorio del acuerdo comercial alianza pacífico en Colombia: oportunidades de exportación para Colombia a Chile, México y Perú

El desarrollo del presente proyecto de investigación, identifica, consolida, analiza datos económicos y el comportamiento del comercio exterior de Colombia, Chile, Perú y México dentro de la evolución del Acuerdo Alianza Pacífico durante los años 2011 - 2013. El estudio permitirá tener una visión más concreta, sobre la viabilidad que este bloque comercial representa para Colombia y mostrará cual ha sido el desempeño del país dentro del acuerdo con base a las exportaciones e importaciones efectuadas con los demás países miembros de la alianza. A lo largo del estudio, se analizará la balanza comercial de los treinta y dos (32) departamentos colombianos con los países miembros del acuerdo Alianza del Pacifico (Chile, México y Perú) entre 2011 – 2013. A partir de la obtención y análisis de resultados de tipo cuantitativo y cualitativo como el valor las exportaciones e importaciones, se hace un diagnóstico del comportamiento de la comercialización de productos por parte de los departamentos con destino y desde de Chile, México y Perú. Este análisis nos permitirá identificar cuáles son los bienes de mayor exportación y su participación dentro de las transacciones comerciales del acuerdo Alianza Pacifico. Con base a los datos que se recopilen, será posible analizar la situación y el papel que juega Colombia actualmente dentro del acuerdo y así identificar así las oportunidades, debilidades y posibles consecuencias, producto de la firma de este tratado. Finalmente, con la presente investigación se buscará iniciar el Observatorio del Acuerdo Alianza Pacifico, el cual se creará con fines investigativos, facilitando el seguimiento a la evolución de dicho acuerdo. A través del observatorio se lograra saber cuáles son los comportamientos en materia económica, tales como balanza comercial, inversión extranjera, movilidad, entre otros de este bloque de integración. Adicionalmente, será posible y analizar el comportamiento de los principales sectores económicos y los departamentos involucrados en este proceso, en términos comerciales.

Media bias and central bank response. Evidence from the nominal exchange rate behavior in Colombia

Since 1991 Colombia has had a market-determined Peso - US Dollar Nominal Exchange Rate (NER), after more than 20 years of controlled and multiple exchange rates. The behavior (revaluation / devaluation) of the NER is constantly reported in news, editorials and op-eds of major newspapers of the nation with particular attention to revaluation. The uneven reporting of revaluation episodes can be explained by the existence of an interest group particulary affected by revaluation, looking to increase awareness and sympathy for help from public institutions. Using the number of news and op-eds from a major Colombian newspaper, it is shown that there is an over-reporting of revaluation episodes in contrast to devaluation ones. Secondly, using text analysis upon the content of the news, it is also shown that the words devaluation and revaluation are far apart in the distribution of words within the news; and revaluation is highly correlated with words related to: public institutions, exporters and the need of assistance. Finally it is also shown that the probability of the central bank buying US dollars to lessen revaluation effects increases with the number of news; even though the central bank allegedly intervenes in the exchange rate market only to tame volatility or accumulate international reserves.

School management and sexual behavior of teenagers

This paper asks whether school based management may help reducing risky sexual behavior of teenagers. For this purpose we use student level data from Bogot´a to identify students from Concession School (CS), who are enrolled in public education system with a more school management autonomy at school level, and to compare them with those students at the traditional public education system. We use propensity score matching methods to have a comparable sample between pupils at CS and traditional schools. Our results show that on average the behavior of students from CS do not have a sexual behavior that differs from those in traditional public schools except for boys in CS who have a lower probability of being sexual active. However, there are important differences when heterogeneity is considered. For example we find that CS where girls per boys ratio is higher have lower teenage pregnancy rates than public schools with also high girls per boys ratios. We also find that teachers’ human capital, teacher-pupil ratio or whether school offers sexual education are also related to statistically significant differences between CS and traditional public schools.

The cyclical behavior of bank capital buffers in an emerging economy: size do matters

Using a panel of Colombian banks and quarterly data between 1996:1 and 2010:3, we study the relationship between short-run adjustemnts in bank capital buffers and the business cycle. We follow a partial adjustment framework and control for several variables that have been identified as important determinants of bank capital buffers in previous studies, and find that bank capital buffers vary over the business cycle. We are able to identify a negative co-movement of capital buffers and and the business cycle. However, we also find that capital buffers of small and large banks behave asymmetrically during the business cycle. While the former appear to be constant over time, once the appropriate set of control variables is used, the latter present a countercyclical behavior. Our results suggest the possible need of the implementation of regulatory policy measures in developing countries