A Cat's Lick: Democratisation and Minority Communities in the Post-Soviet Baltic

The research on Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania has pointed out some controversial social and political developments since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Crucially, there is a discrepancy between the governments' commitment to creating democratic political regimes, to ensuring harmonious social relations and to accommodating the ethno-cultural diversity of the resident communities. In reflecting on the legacies of the Soviet past, the book addresses the role non-titular populations have played in the process of democratisation and the relation between the states, societies and minorities in the post-Soviet Baltic states. The argument proceeds along three lines. Firstly, the book examines the institutional dimension of democratisation in the region, thereby addressing the processes of state- and nation-building as reflected in various policy-developments. Secondly, it compares the impact of ethno-cultural diversity on the development of the respective Baltic nation-states. The discussion makes clear that the framework of Baltic political communities was designed to suit the interests of the titular groups and thus resulted in the marginalisation of the minority communities. Thirdly, the book assesses the participation of minority communities in the development, criticism and improvement of state institutions and policies since independence. The analysis points out that, two decades after independence, the post-Soviet Baltic states and societies are seen by many members of the majority groups as primarily serving the interests of their ethnic community. In this situation, the members of the non-titular communities need to adapt to the majorities' perceptions in order to benefit from the achievements of democratisation.

Low Pay, In-Work Poverty and Economic Vulnerability: A Comparative Aanalysis Using EU-SILC

We explore the potential of data from EU-SILC (Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) for the enlarged European Union for the study of low pay and its relationship to household poverty and vulnerability. Limitations of the earnings data currently available mean the analysis covers only 14 of these countries. For employees who are not low paid, income poverty is seen to be rare. The low paid face a much higher risk of being in a household below relative income poverty thresholds, ranging from 7 per cent in Belgium and the Netherlands up to 1718 per cent in Austria, Estonia and Lithuania. The likelihood of their being in a poor household is clearly linked to gender, age and social class. In most of the countries only a minority of low-paid individuals are in vulnerable households.

How Video Lecture Capture affects Student Engagement in a University Computer Programming Course: Attendance, Video Viewing Behaviours and Student Attitudes

Introduction
The use of video capture of lectures in Higher Education is not a recent occurrence with web based learning technologies including digital recording of live lectures becoming increasing commonly offered by universities throughout the world (Holliman and Scanlon, 2004). However in the past decade the increase in technical infrastructural provision including the availability of high speed broadband has increased the potential and use of videoed lecture capture. This had led to a variety of lecture capture formats including pod casting, live streaming or delayed broadcasting of whole or part of lectures.
Additionally in the past five years there has been a significant increase in the popularity of online learning, specifically via Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) (Vardi, 2014). One of the key aspects of MOOCs is the simulated recording of lecture like activities. There has been and continues to be much debate on the consequences of the popularity of MOOCs, especially in relation to its potential uses within established University programmes.
There have been a number of studies dedicated to the effects of videoing lectures.
The clustered areas of research in video lecture capture have the following main themes:
• Staff perceptions including attendance, performance of students and staff workload
• Reinforcement versus replacement of lectures
• Improved flexibility of learning
• Facilitating engaging and effective learning experiences
• Student usage, perception and satisfaction
• Facilitating students learning at their own pace
Most of the body of the research has concentrated on student and faculty perceptions, including academic achievement, student attendance and engagement (Johnston et al, 2012).
Generally the research has been positive in review of the benefits of lecture capture for both students and faculty. This perception coupled with technical infrastructure improvements and student demand may well mean that the use of video lecture capture will continue to increase in frequency in the next number of years in tertiary education. However there is a relatively limited amount of research in the effects of lecture capture specifically in the area of computer programming with Watkins 2007 being one of few studies . Video delivery of programming solutions is particularly useful for enabling a lecturer to illustrate the complex decision making processes and iterative nature of the actual code development process (Watkins et al 2007). As such research in this area would appear to be particularly appropriate to help inform debate and future decisions made by policy makers.
Research questions and objectives
The purpose of the research was to investigate how a series of lecture captures (in which the audio of lectures and video of on-screen projected content were recorded) impacted on the delivery and learning of a programme of study in an MSc Software Development course in Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The MSc is conversion programme, intended to take graduates from non-computing primary degrees and upskill them in this area. The research specifically targeted the Java programming module within the course. It also analyses and reports on the empirical data from attendances and various video viewing statistics. In addition, qualitative data was collected from staff and student feedback to help contextualise the quantitative results.
Methodology, Methods and Research Instruments Used
The study was conducted with a cohort of 85 post graduate students taking a compulsory module in Java programming in the first semester of a one year MSc in Software Development. A pre-course survey of students found that 58% preferred to have available videos of “key moments” of lectures rather than whole lectures. A large scale study carried out by Guo concluded that “shorter videos are much more engaging” (Guo 2013). Of concern was the potential for low audience retention for videos of whole lectures.
The lecturers recorded snippets of the lecture directly before or after the actual physical delivery of the lecture, in a quiet environment and then upload the video directly to a closed YouTube channel. These snippets generally concentrated on significant parts of the theory followed by theory related coding demonstration activities and were faithful in replication of the face to face lecture. Generally each lecture was supported by two to three videos of durations ranging from 20 – 30 minutes.
Attendance
The MSc programme has several attendance based modules of which Java Programming was one element. In order to assess the consequence on attendance for the Programming module a control was established. The control used was a Database module which is taken by the same students and runs in the same semester.
Access engagement
The videos were hosted on a closed YouTube channel made available only to the students in the class. The channel had enabled analytics which reported on the following areas for all and for each individual video; views (hits), audience retention, viewing devices / operating systems used and minutes watched.
Student attitudes
Three surveys were taken in regard to investigating student attitudes towards the videoing of lectures. The first was before the start of the programming module, then at the mid-point and subsequently after the programme was complete.
The questions in the first survey were targeted at eliciting student attitudes towards lecture capture before they had experienced it in the programme. The midpoint survey gathered data in relation to how the students were individually using the system up to that point. This included feedback on how many videos an individual had watched, viewing duration, primary reasons for watching and the result on attendance, in addition to probing for comments or suggestions. The final survey on course completion contained questions similar to the midpoint survey but in summative view of the whole video programme.
Conclusions and Outcomes
The study confirmed findings of other such investigations illustrating that there is little or no effect on attendance at lectures. The use of the videos appears to help promote continual learning but they are particularly accessed by students at assessment periods. Students respond positively to the ability to access lectures digitally, as a means of reinforcing learning experiences rather than replacing them. Feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive indicating that the videos benefited their learning. Also there are significant benefits to part recording of lectures rather than recording whole lectures. The behaviour viewing trends analytics suggest that despite the increase in the popularity of online learning via MOOCs and the promotion of video learning on mobile devices in fact in this study the vast majority of students accessed the online videos at home on laptops or desktops However, in part, this is likely due to the nature of the taught subject, that being programming.
The research involved prerecording the lecture in smaller timed units and then uploading for distribution to counteract existing quality issues with recording entire live lectures. However the advancement and consequential improvement in quality of in situ lecture capture equipment may well help negate the need to record elsewhere. The research has also highlighted an area of potentially very significant use for performance analysis and improvement that could have major implications for the quality of teaching. A study of the analytics of the viewings of the videos could well provide a quick response formative feedback mechanism for the lecturer. If a videoed lecture either recorded live or later is a true reflection of the face to face lecture an analysis of the viewing patterns for the video may well reveal trends that correspond with the live delivery.

Review of the genus Bursaphelenchus Fuchs, 1937 (Nematoda, Aphelenchida) with some conclusions on the host-parasite and vector-parasite evolution.

INTRODUCTION AND GOALS: Genus Bursaphelenchus includes several pests of the world importance for the rural economy, the most dangerous are the Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (the pinewood nematode caused decline of the pine trees in south Asia and in one spot area in Europe, Portugal, Peninsula de Setubal) and the Bursaphelenchus cocophilus, causing the decline of coco-palm plantations in Carribean and Latin American regions. The peculiarity of the host-parasite association of the genus that the nematode life cycle includes three trophic components: plant (mostly a tree), insect vector and a fungus. Goals of the presentation is to list all species of the world fauna and all efficient diagnostic characters, then create the identification tool and analyze the similarity of species and possible ways and causes of the host-parasite evolution of the group. RESULTS: Complete list of species with synonymy and a catalogue of all efficient diagnostic characters with their states, selected from papers of the most experienced taxonomists of the genus, are given for the genus Bursaphelenchus. List of known records of Bursaphelenchus species with names of natural vectors and plants and their families is given (for world pests the most important groups of trees and insects are listed). The tabular, traditional and computer-aided keys are presented. Dendrograms of species relationships (UPGMA, standard distance: mean character difference) based on all efficient taxonomic characters and separately on the spicule characters only, are given. Discussion whether the species groups are natural or purely diagnostic ones is based on the relationships dendrograms and the vector and associated plant ranges of Bursaphelenchus species; the xylophilus species group (B. xylophilus, B. abruptus, B. baujardi, B. conicaudatus, B. eroshenkii, B. fraudulentus, B. kolymensis, B. luxuriosae; B. mucronatus), the hunti group (B. hunti, B. seani, B. kevini and B. fungivorus) are probably the natural ones. CONCLUSIONS: The parasitic nematode association includes three trophic components: plant, insect vector and fungus. The initial insect-plant complex Scolytidae-Pinaceae is changeable and only in rare occasions the change of the preferred vector to Cerambycidae (the xylophilus group), Hymenoptera (the hunti group) led to formation of the natural species-groups. From the analysis it is clear that although the vector range is changeable it is comparatively more important for the evolution of the genus Bursaphelenchus than associations with plants at the family level. Data on the fungi species (3rd component in natural Bursaphelenchus associations) are insufficient for the detailed comparative analysis.

Spirituality and Basketball Fanship: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Synthesis

The world of competitive sport affords an individual the opportunity to enter a spiritual community adding meaning that transcends one’s current understanding of life (Parry et al. 2007). Previously established dimensions of sports fanship (group affiliation, psychological commitment and team identification) share characteristics commonly associated with religious or spiritual affiliation indicating that fans may generate substantial life meaning from observing sporting encounters. In the present study, 12 male basketball fans (M=32.42; SD=7.97) completed semi-structured interviews immediately prior to viewing a competitive match at the 2011 European Basketball Championships (Vilnius, Lithuania). Interviews were structured under four headings; 1) the most memorable moment as a basketball fan, 2) thoughts, feelings and emotions attached to their team, 3) affiliation to the team in the context of the fan’s meaning of life, 4) connection with members of the fan’s sporting community. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was employed to analyse interview transcripts. Raw data clustered into four dimensions; 1) devotion, 2) obscure emotions, 3) connectedness, and 4) universal values. The results indicate that sports fanship is characterised by, and synonymous with, an established understanding of spirituality derived from membership of wider spiritual and/or religious communities. The findings hold implications for the marketing and membership of local, amateur and professional sports clubs and brands, as well as community development, health and welfare.

Recueil de lettres et de pièces originales, et de copies de pièces indiquées comme telles dans le dépouillement qui suit.

Contient : 1 Lettre de « HENRY [duc D'ANJOU]... à mon cousin monseigneur le duc de Nemoux,... Escript au camp à St Mesmyn, ce VIIe jour de fevrier » ; 2 Lettre de « HENRY [duc D'ANJOU]... à mon cousin monseigneur de Nemoux,... Escript au camp à Pons sur Senne, ce VIIe jour de fevrier » ; 3 Lettre de « HENRY [duc D'ANJOU]... à mon cousin monseigneur le duc de Nemoux,... Escript au camp à Nogen sur Senne, ce Xme jour de fevrier » ; 4 Lettre de « HENRY [duc D'ANJOU]... à mon cousin monseigneur le duc de Nemoux,... Escript au camp à Nogen sur Senne, ce VIIIme jour de fevrier » ; 5 Lettre de « JEHANNE » D'ALBRET, reine de Navarre ; 6 Lettre de « MARGUERITE [reine de Navarre]... à mon cousin monsieur le duc de Nevers,... Du 16 may 1573 » ; 7 Lettre d'ARMAND DE GONTAUT, baron DE « BIRON,... à monsieur... de Cossé, conte de Segondiny et mareschal de France... De La Rochelle, se dimanche matin » ; 8 Lettre du roi « CHARLES [IX]... à mon cousin le duc de Montpansier, gouverneur... en Bretaigne... Escript à St Leger, le IIIIe jour de mars 1573 » ; 9 Lettre de « CATERINE [DE MEDICIS]... à mon cousin monseigneur le duc de Montpensier,... gouverneur et lieutenant general du roy... en son pays et duché de Bretaigne... Escript à Paris, le XIIe jour de fevrier 1573 » ; 10 Lettre de « HENRY [duc D'ANJOU]... à mon cousin monseigneur le duc de Montpensier,... gouverneur... en Bretaigne... Escrit au camp de Nyeul, ce VIIIe may 1573 » ; 11 Lettre du roi « CHARLES [IX]... à mon cousin le duc de Montpensier,... gouverneur... en Bretaigne... Escript à St Liger, le IIe jour de mars 1573 » ; 12 Lettre du roi « CHARLES [IX]... à mon cousin le duc de Montpensier,... gouverneur... en mon pays et duché de Bretaigne... Escript à Fontainebleau, ce XXVe jour d'avril 1573 » ; 13 Lettre de « CATERINE [DE MEDICIS]... à mon cousin monseigneur le duc de Montpensier,... gouverneur... en Bretaigne... Escript à Fontainebleau, le dernier jour de may 1573 » ; 14 Lettre du roi « CHARLES [IX]... à mon cousin le duc de Montpensier,... gouverneur... en Bretaigne... Escrit à Fontainebleau,... le IIe jour de may 1573 » ; 15 Lettre de « CATERINE [DE MEDICIS]... à mon cousin le duc de Montpensier,... gouverneur... en Bretaigne... Escrit à Paris, le XVIe jour de fevrier 1573 » ; 16 Lettre de « CATERINE [DE MEDICIS]... à mon cousin monseigneur le duc de Montpensier,... gouverneur... en Bretaigne... Escript à St Liger, le IIe jour de mars 1573 » ; 17 Lettre du roi « CHARLES [IX]... à mon cousin le duc de Montpensier,... gouverneur... en mon pays et duché de Bretaigne... Escript à Paris, ce XVIIe jour de janvier 1573 » ; 18 Lettre de « HENRY [duc D'ANJOU]... à mon cousin le duc de Montpensier,... gouverneur et lieutenant general du roy monseigneur et frere en son pays et duché de Bretaigne... Escript au camp devant La Rochelle, le VIIe jour de juing 1573 » ; 19 Lettre de « HENRY [duc D'ANJOU]... à mon cousin monseigneur le duc de Montpensier,... gouverneur... en Bretaigne... Escript au camp devant La Rochelle, le XXIXme jour de may 1573 » ; 20 Lettre de GASPARD DE COLIGNY, Sr DE « CHASTILLON,... à madame... la duchesse de Ferrare,... De Chastillon, ce XIIIme de septembre 1566 » ; 21 Lettre de GASPARD DE COLIGNY, Sr DE « CHASTILLON », et de FRANÇOIS DE COLIGNY, Sr D'« ANDELOT,... à madame... la duchesse de Ferrare,... De Chastillon sur Loing, ce XXVIIIe de may 1563 » ; 22 Lettre d'ODET DE COLIGNY, « cardinal DE CHASTILLON,... à madame... la duchesse de Ferrare,... De Moulins, ce XXIIIIe jour de janvier 1566 » ; 23 « Memoriale ad S. R. Majestatem per dominum episcopum Valentinum ». En latin. Copie ; 24 « Comitive millitum in terris Podoliae equestres et pedestres quibus ex senatusconsulto Varschoviae in ellectione habito conscriptio designata erat per magnificum Do. Georgium Iazlowieczky de Buczacz, pallatinum Russiaeet exercituum regni capitaneum, a die 4 septembris 1573... ad diem 19 february 1574 », etc. En latin ; 25 Promesse du roi de Pologne de ne pas établir de nouvelles constitutions sans l'assentiment du pays. En latin. Copie ; 26 Mémoire en latin sur le couronnement du roi de Pologne et sur l'assemblée générale tenue à cette occasion. Copie ; 27 « Roole des soldats à cheval entretenus en la Podolie vers les Tartares ; aussy somaire d'aulcuns soldats tant à cheval que à pied entretenus aux frontieres de Silesie, Ongarie et duché de Cracovie et Lictuanye ». En latin ; 28 Discours de JACQUES LASKOWSKI sur les différentes parties de l'administration du royaume de Pologne. En latin ; 29 Copie d'un decret des ordres du royaume de Pologne en faveur de Jean Saborowski. « Datum in comitiis generalibus electionis novi regis sub Warschovia, ad villam Kamieci, die 14 maii, anno 1573 ». En latin ; 30 « Coppie de l'acte delivré de la protestation faicte par l'evesque de Posnanie » contre la formule du serment prêté à Paris par Henri, élu roi de Pologne. « Actum et datum Parisiis, die Jovis decima mensis septembris, anno... millesimo quingentesimo septuagesimo tertio ». En latin ; 31 Ordonnance faicte par le duc DE NEVERS pour la discipline des gens de guerre ; 32 Copie du serment d'obéissance prêté par les soldats suisses au roi Henri II et à son capitaine général ; 33 Requête adressée au roi par GILBERT DE LEVIS, duc DE « VANTADOUR » ; 34 « Estimation des chesnes faictes par Jacques Fournier, Me orphevre, à Paris », données par le roy Charles IX au « roy de Pologne », son frère; suivie d'une décharge donnée par « René de Villequier,... grant chambellan... du roy de Poloigne... à Evry, le VIIIme jour de novembre M.V.C. soixante treize » ; 35 « Registro di tutti li castelli delli confini di quanti soldati li sono hora et quanti li era inanti la tregua fatta... 1573 ». En italien ; 36 « Registro di tutti li castelli di Russia et quanti soldati gli e per ogni castello et quanti fiorini li va ogni doi quartalli ». En italien ; 37 « Registro di vile che tengono molti de le quale S. M. non ne a utile alcuno, e pol contentar tutti li capitani di Lithuania ». En italien ; 38 Mémoire, en italien, relatif à une entreprise contre les Turcs ; suivi d'une énumération des forces militaires de l'expédition ; 39 Lettre d'« ADAMO CONARSKI, vescovo di Posnania... a l'excellentissimo signor duca di Nivers,... Di Pszczcw, a li 25 di gennaro 1574 ». En italien ; 40 Lettre d' « il vescovo di Ploscha... all... signor duca di Nevers,... Da Pultovia, alli 29 di settembre 1574 ». En italien ; 41 Noms des palatinats de Pologne et de Lithuanie. En latin ; 42 « Certificat de mons. de Valance [JEAN DE MONTLUC, envoyé des rois de France et de Pologne], pour Jo. Zaborouski [prévôt de Sandomir]... Datum Warssoviae, 26 mensis maii, anno Domini M.D.LXXIII ». En latin ; 43 Mémoire sur le sel de Pologne. En latin ; 44 Observations sur un mémoire relatif à la conduite du roi de Pologne dans son gouvernement. En latin ; 45 Mémoire adressé au roi de Pologne sur la conduite à tenir dans son gouvernement. En latin ; 46 Formulaire pour les lettres à envoyer à l'archevêque de Gnesne et autres personnages de Pologne. En latin ; 47 Lettre du duc DE NEVERS au comte Tenchini. « Datum Lutetiae, 27a die martii 1575 ». En latin ; 48 Lettre de « HIERAUSME, conte DE ROSDRAZOW, prowost de Wratislawie... à monsieur... le duc de Nevers,... Donné le 17 de febvrier 1574 » ; 49 « Brevis descriptio status et dispositionis... Nyvernensium ducis ab anno 1573 ad 87 ». En latin ; 50 Copie inachevée d'un mémoire justificatif de la conduite de monsieur DE NEVERS au retour de Henri, roi de Pologne ; 51 « Machines, ustilz et choses necessaires pour les entreprises » de guerre ; 52 « Memoire pour les oultilz qu'il faut pour les mines et sappes » ; 53 Mémoire sur les « estoffes pour fondre le canon » ; 54 « Avis du duc DE ZEBARAZ » sur l'« adsistance des Polonoys et des Kosaques » dans la guerre contre les Turcs ; 55 Lettre d'ADAMO CONARSKI, « vescovo di Posnania... al... signor Ludovico Gonzaga, principe di Mantoa e ducca di Nivers,... Di Isbiza, XVIII settembre 1574 ». En italien ; 56 Lettre d'ADAMO CONARSKI, « vescovo di Posnania... al... signor Ludovico Gonzaga, principe di Mantoa, duca di Nivers,... Di Isbiza, XXIIII settembre 1574 ». En italien ; 57 Mémoire sur les comices de Varsovie. En latin ; 58 Lettre de « JOANNES BORNKOWSKI » et « JOANNES DEMETRIUS SOLIKOWSKI,... domino Ludovico Gonzaga, Nivernensium duci, Manthuae et Registensi principi... Cracovie, 21 aprilis 1574 ». En latin ; 59 Lettre de « JOANNES BORNKOWSKI » et « JOANNES DEMETRIUS SOLIKOWSKI,... domino Martino Masparaultio,... Cracovie, ex arce, 17 maii 1574 ». En latin ; 60 Lettre de « JOANNES ZABOROWSKI,... domino Ludowico, duci Nivernensium... Datum Cracoviae, octava maii, anno 1574 ». En latin ; 61 Lettre d'« OSVALDUS REDLING, rector... Datum Fuldae, quinto calendas januarii anno 1573 ». En latin ; 62 Lettre d'« HIERONIMUS ROZORAZOROSKII,... praepositus Plocensis... duci Nivernensi... Divioni, 8 februarii 1575 ». En latin ; 63 Lettre de « STANISLAUS CARXCOVIUS, episcopus Cujavie et Pomeranie... domino duci Ninvernensi,... Datum Volborio, VI die mensis decembris anno 1574 ». En latin ; 64 Lettre de « JOANNES BORNKOWSKI » et « JOANNES DEMETRIUS SOLIKOWSKI,... domino Ludovico Gonzaga, Nivernensium duci, Mantuae et Registensi principi... Datum Cracoviae, 18a maii 1574 ». En latin ; 65 Lettre d'ADAMO CONARSKI, « vescovo di Posnania ». En italien ; 66 Extrait des constitutions du palatinat de Lublin, de l'an 1569, sur la tenue des comices généraux du royaume de Pologne. En latin ; 67 « Copie de la negotiation faitte par LE BOURG en Constantinople pres le Grand Seigneur, l'an passé 1569 » ; 68 Capitulation proposée par le « sultam SELIN, filz de sultam SOLIMAN, roy », au roi Charles IX. « Escript en la ville et cité de Constantinople... l'an neuf cens soixante dix sept et de Christ mil V.C. soixante neuf au mois d'octobre. Traduction faicte à l'original... en langue arabique... par DOMINICO OLIVIERI,... truchement et interprette du roy en ladicte langue ». Copie ; 69 Lettre de « CARLO SODERINI,... al... signor duca di Nevers,... Di Lione, l'ultimo del anno [15]74 ». En italien

Les effets de la dissolution de l'URSS sur les sciences soviétiques périphériques Lituanie, Biélorussie et Ukraine entre 1980 et 2000

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Resultados del tratamiento de nevos melanocíticos con láser

Introducción A pesar de que los nevos melanocíticos son un motivo de consulta frecuente en nuestra población no existen estudios a nivel de Colombia acerca de su tratamiento, a nivel mundial existe muy poca literatura al respecto por lo que hay un vacío conceptual en este campo. Objetivos Evaluar los cambios en cuanto a la presencia de pigmento y cicatrización, en los nevos melanocíticos adquiridos tratados con láser, basados en la experiencia de un solo centro en Bogotá. Materiales y métodos Es un estudio observacional de antes y después, en una cohorte histórica, de 90 casos de nevos melanocíticos adquiridos, tratados con láser en Uniláser Medica, en los que se evaluó la presencia de pigmento, cicatrización, y otras variables, con un control realizado a no menos de 3 meses de la intervención. Resultados Se encontró un rango de edad entre los 18 -51 años, promedio 27,59 años; fototipo de III-V; en el 32% de los casos, solo fue requerida una sesión de láser de Co2 y Erbio, para el aclaramiento completo de la misma. La duración del eritema en el 54,4% los casos fue de 1 a 3 meses. En un 64,4% quedó pigmento residual al control, pero de éstos casos el 48,2% fue entre un 5 a un 10% del inicial. El 58,9% hizo cicatriz, de éstos el 63% fue estética. La satisfacción por parte de los pacientes es alta a pesar de la persistencia pigmentaria y/o la presencia de cicatriz. Discusión El tratamiento de nevos melanocíticos adquiridos con láser es una opción terapéutica que genera cambios estadísticamente significativos en cuanto a pigmento, cicatriz estética y alta satisfacción por parte de los pacientes. Se requieren estudios, analíticos, para determinar eficacia del tratamiento.

Las TIC en la administración de la cadena de suministro y su incidencia en el desempeño operacional

Las tecnologías de la información han empezado a ser un factor importante a tener en cuenta en cada uno de los procesos que se llevan a cabo en la cadena de suministro. Su implementación y correcto uso otorgan a las empresas ventajas que favorecen el desempeño operacional a lo largo de la cadena. El desarrollo y aplicación de software han contribuido a la integración de los diferentes miembros de la cadena, de tal forma que desde los proveedores hasta el cliente final, perciben beneficios en las variables de desempeño operacional y nivel de satisfacción respectivamente. Por otra parte es importante considerar que su implementación no siempre presenta resultados positivos, por el contrario dicho proceso de implementación puede verse afectado seriamente por barreras que impiden maximizar los beneficios que otorgan las TIC.