Corrupci��n y delitos contra la administraci��n p��blica especial referencia a los delitos cometidos en la contrataci��n

La corrupci��n sigue siendo uno de los principales problemas del Estado de Derecho en el siglo XXI. Su incidencia reduce la eficacia de la inversi��n, aumenta el valor de los bienes y servicios, reduce la competitividad de las empresas, vulnera la confianza de los ciudadanos en el ordenamiento jur��dico y sobre todo condena a la miseria a quienes deben ser destinatarios de las pol��ticas p��blicas.Sin embrago, la lucha que han realizado muchos gobiernos y funcionarios judiciales contra este fen��meno ha modificado sus formas de aparici��n, pues es cada vez menos frecuente la apropiaci��n directa de los caudales p��blicos o la entrega de sobornos a los funcionarios, prefiri��ndose m��todos mucho m��s sutiles como los sobrecostos, la subcontrataci��n masiva o la constituci��n de complicadas sociedades, en las cuales tienen participaci��n los funcionarios p��blicos o sus familias.Este libro constituye un esfuerzo por el estudio jur��dico y criminol��gico de la corrupci��n y los delitos contra la administraci��n p��blica en Europa y Latinoam��rica y re��ne la selecci��n de los temas penales m��s relevantes de la tesis doctoral del profesor Carlos Guillermo Castro Cuenca, denominada Aproximaci��n a la Corrupci��n en la contrataci��n p��blica y defendida en la universidad de Salamanca en febrero de 2008, con lo cual obtuvo la calificaci��n de sobresaliente por unanimidad.

Prevalencia de s��ntomas musculo-esquel��ticos en trabajadores de una instituci��n de educaci��n superior en el departamento de Arauca, Colombia, 2015

Introducci��n Los des��rdenes musculo esquel��ticos representan uno de los problemas de salud ocupacional m��s comunes de trabajadores, lo cual genera ausentismo laboral y aumento en los costos de enfermedades laborales. Objetivo Estimar la prevalencia de s��ntomas osteomusculares y su relaci��n con factores de riesgo ocupacional, en personal docente y administrativo de una instituci��n de educaci��n superior en el Departamento de Arauca para el a��o 2015. M��todos Estudio anal��tico de corte transversal en una muestra de 116 trabajadores. Se utilizaron dos instrumentos: ���La Encuesta Nacional de Condiciones de Trabajo��� del Instituto Nacional de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo de Espa��a (INSHT) y el ���Cuestionario Ergopar���, validados al Espa��ol. Se obtuvo previa autorizaci��n del Comit�� de ��tica de la Universidad del Rosario. El an��lisis estad��stico se realiz�� con el IBM SPSS Statistics versi��n 20.0. Resultados: Los s��ntomas osteomusculares con mayor prevalencia fueron en cuello (86,2%), espalda lumbar (61,2%), manos mu��ecas (59,5%) y pies (52,6%); no se observaron diferencias estad��sticamente significantes entre administrativos e instructores. En el lugar de trabajo los factores de riesgo con mayor prevalencia fueron exposici��n a temperaturas extremas (48,3%), aberturas y huecos desprotegidos, escaleras, plataformas, desniveles (44%) significativamente mayor en instructores (52,6%) que en personal administrativo (27,5%) (p= 0,010). Conclusiones: Los s��ntomas osteomusculares m��s prevalentes fueron aquellos propios de la actividad docente: cuello, espalda lumbar, manos mu��ecas y pies. El personal de la instituci��n en especial los docentes est�� expuesto a factores de riesgo f��sico, qu��mico y ergon��mico. Las condiciones de trabajo son adecuadas. No se encontr�� asociaci��n estad��stica entre exposici��n a factores de riesgo en el puesto de trabajo y prevalencia de s��ntomas osteomusculares. Se debe establecer acciones dirigidas a evitar lesiones musculo esquel��ticas en la poblaci��n.

"Padre, perd��nalos porque no saben lo que hacen": una perspectiva semi-compatibilista

Si se interpreta la primera palabra de Cristo en la cruz, con referencia a los verdugos que causaron su crucifixi��n, en clave de omnisciencia divina luterana y ausencia de posibilidades alternativas, surgir��a una aparente contradicci��n en cuanto a la responsabilidad moral y el deber de aquellos: ��C��mo sostener su responsabilidad moral si no contaban con posibilidades alternativas, y si al parecer no sab��an lo que hac��an, y c��mo atribuirles deberes que no pod��an cumplir? Esto se puede resolver desde de una perspectiva semi-compatibilista, y responder, as��, que: 1) la ausencia de posibilidades alternativas y la ignorancia no excluyen el que los verdugos puedan ser considerados moralmente responsables por la crucifixi��n de Cristo, y 2) la imposibilidad de cumplir con ciertos deberes no excluye el que los verdugos tuviesen dichos deberes y pudieran ser considerados moralmente responsables por su incumplimiento.

Developing a system for assessing the costs associated with different procurement routes in the construction industry

In developing techniques for monitoring the costs associated with different procurement routes, the central task is disentangling the various project costs incurred by organizations taking part in construction projects. While all firms are familiar with the need to analyse their own costs, it is unusual to apply the same kind of analysis to projects. The purpose of this research is to examine the claims that new ways of working such as strategic alliancing and partnering bring positive business benefits. This requires that costs associated with marketing, estimating, pricing, negotiation of terms, monitoring of performance and enforcement of contract are collected for a cross-section of projects under differing arrangements, and from those in the supply chain from clients to consultants, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers. Collaboration with industrial partners forms the basis for developing a research instrument, based on time sheets, which will be relevant for all those taking part in the work. The signs are that costs associated with tendering are highly variable, 1-15%, depending upon what precisely is taken into account. The research to date reveals that there are mechanisms for measuring the costs of transactions and these will generate useful data for subsequent analysis.

The influence of serifs on 'h' and 'i': useful knowledge from design-led scientific research

The typographical naivety of much scientific legibility research has caused designers to question the value of the research and the results. Examining the reasons underlying this questioning, the paper discusses the importance of designers being more accepting of scientific findings, and why legibility investigations have value. To demonstrate how typographic knowledge can be incorporated into the design of studies to increase their validity, the paper reports on a new investigation into the role of serifs when viewed at a distance. The experiment looks into the identification of the lowercase letters ���j���, ���i���, ���l���, ���b���, ���h���, ���n���, ���u���, and ���a��� in isolation. All of the letters originate in the same typeface and are presented in one version with serifs and one version without serifs. Although the experiment found no overall legibility difference between the sans serif and the serif versions, the study showed that letters with serifs placed on the vertical extremes were more legible at a distance than the same letters in a sans serif. These findings can therefore provide specific guidance on the design of individual letters and demonstrate the product of collaboration between designer and scientist on the planning, implementation, and analysis of the study.

Typographic layout and first impressions: testing how changes in text layout influence reader's judgments of documents

This study explores how the typographic layout of information influences readers' impressions of magazine contents pages. Thirteen descriptors were used in a paired comparison procedure that assessed whether participants' rhetorical impressions of a set of six controlled documents change in relation to variations in layout. The combinations of layout attributes tested were derived from the structural attributes associated with three patterns of typographic differentiation (high, moderate, and low) described in a previous study (see Moys, 2014). The content and the range of stylistic attributes applied to the test material were controlled in order to focus on layout attributes. Triangulation of the quantitative and qualitative data indicates that, even within the experimental confines of limited stylistic differentiation, the layout attributes associated with patterns of high, moderate, and low typographic differentiation do influence readers' rhetorical judgments. In addition, the findings emphasize the importance of considering inter-relationships between clusters of typographic attributes rather than testing isolated variables.

Investigating readers��� impressions of typographic differentiation using repertory grids

Document designers combine a range of stylistic and structural typographic attributes to articulate and differentiate information for readers. This paper explores how the kind of typographic differentiation used in a document influences readers��� impressions of documents. A preliminary study indicated that three patterns of typographic differentiation (high, moderate and low) might underlie participants��� impressions of magazine design. Subsequently, a set of nine magazine layouts with controlled content was purposefully developed to systematically examine the impact of high, moderate and low patterns of typographic differentiation on participants��� impressions of documents. These documents were used in a repertory grid procedure to investigate the kind of impressions readers articulate in relation to typographic presentation and whether readers are likely to formulate similar or differing impressions from high, moderate, and low patterns of typographic differentiation. The results suggest that typographic differentiation influences a range of rhetorical and experiential judgments. For example, participants described high differentiation documents as the most attention-grabbing and easy to skim-read, while they considered moderate and low differentiation documents to require deeper reading strategies. In addition, participants assumed high differentiation documents to be much more sensationalist than moderate or low differentiation documents, which they generally perceived as authoritative and credible.

Emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from gasohol and ethanol vehicles

The exhaust emission of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) considered toxic to human health were investigated on two spark ignition light duty vehicles, one being gasohol (Gasohol, in Brazil, is the generic denomination for mixtures of pure gasoline plus 20-25% of anhydrous ethyl alcohol fuel (AEAF).)-fuelled and the other a flexible-fuel vehicle fuelled with hydrated ethanol. The influence of fuel type and quality, aged lubricant oil type and use of fuel additives on the formation of these compounds was tested using standardized tests identical to US FTP-75 cycle. PAH sampling and chemical analysis followed the basic recommendations of method TO-13 (United States. Environmental Protection Agency, 1999. Compendium Method TO-13A - Determination of polycyclic Aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in Ambient Air Using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (CG/MS). Center for environmental research information, Cincinnati, p. 78), with the necessary modification for this particular application. Results showed that the total PAH emission factor varied from 41.9 mu g km(-1) to 612 mu g km(-1) in the gasohol vehicle, and from 11.7 mu g km(-1) to 27.4 mu g km(-1) in the ethanol-fuelled vehicle, a significant difference in favor of the ethanol vehicle. Generally, emission of light molecular weight PAHs was predominant, while high molecular weights PAHs were not detected. In terms of benzo(a)pyrene toxicity equivalence, emission factors varied from 0.00984 mu g TEQ km(-1) to 4.61 mu g TEQ km(-1) for the gasohol vehicle and from 0.0117 mu g TEQ km(-1) to 0.0218 mu g TEQ km(-1) in the ethanol vehicle. For the gasohol vehicle, results showed that the use of fuel additive causes a significant increase in the emission of naphthalene and phenanthrene at a confidence level of 90% or higher; the use of rubber solvent on gasohol showed a reduction in the emission of naphthalene and phenanthrene at the same confidence level; the use of synthetic oil instead of mineral oil also contributed significantly to a decrease in the emission of naphthalene and fluorene. In relation to the ethanol vehicle, the same factors were tested and showed no statistically significant influence on PAH emission. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early Changes in Gene Expression Induced by Tobacco Smoke: Evidence for the Importance of Estrogen within Lung Tissue

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, surpassing breast cancer as the primary cause of cancer-related mortality in women. The goal of the present study was to identify early molecular changes in the lung induced by exposure to tobacco smoke and thus identify potential targets for chemoprevention. Female A/J mice were exposed to either tobacco smoke or HEPA-filtered air via a whole-body exposure chamber (6 h/d, 5 d/wk for 3, 8, and 20 weeks). Gene expression profiles of lung tissue from control and smoke-exposed animals were established using a 15K cDNA microarray. Cytochrome P450 1b1, a phase I enzyme involved in both the metabolism of xenobiotics and the 4-hydroxylation of 17 beta-estradiol (E(2)), was modulated to the greatest extent following smoke exposure. A panel of 10 genes were found to be differentially expressed in control and smoke-exposed lung tissues at 3, 8, and 20 weeks (P < 0.001). The interaction network of these differentially expressed genes revealed new pathways modulated by short-term smoke exposure, including estrogen metabolism. In addition, E(2) was detected within murine lung tissue by gas chromatography-coupled mass spectrometry and immunohistochemistry. Identification of the early molecular events that contribute to lung tumor formation is anticipated to lead to the development of promising targeted chemopreventive therapies. In conclusion, the presence of E2 within lung tissue when combined with the modulation of cytochrome P450 1b1 and other estrogen metabolism genes by tobacco smoke provides novel insight into a possible role for estrogens in lung cancer. Cancer Prev Res; 3(6); 707-17. (C) 2010 AACR.