Trade Liberalization, Corn Prices and a Rural Community in Guatemala

Trade liberalization policies in Guatemala have impacted agricultural production. This thesis focuses on how trade liberalization has happened, what have been the impacts at a national level and describes how a community has adapted to the implementation of these policies. The implementation of trade was influenced by several, international and national institutions. Among the international institutions are the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the United States Agency for International Development. At the national level the institutions that have partaken in shaping the trade policies are the military and the owners of capital and labor. The implementation of trade policies at a national level has affected national corn prices, population level diets and to some extent reduced poverty levels. At a local level trade liberalization policies have impacted land holdings, increased intensification of agriculture, including agrochemical, machinery and crop plantations per year, and consumption rates of corn have been affected. Maximization of the benefits and minimization of the detrimental effects can happen with the implementation of policies that promote food security, improve access to health and education, and prevent environmental and human health consequences from the intensification of agriculture and at the same time continue with the production of non-traditional agricultural products.

¿Jornadas de acogida en la alfabetización informacional?

La alfabetización informacional debería ser un elemento estratégico de las universidades en el proceso de adaptación de los estudios universitarios al EEES. Esto obliga a las bibliotecas a diseñar planes de formación que abarquen todos los niveles educativos. La adaptación de las jornadas de acogida al EEES pasa por la adaptación de su contenido al sistema de crédito europeo (ECTS) en aquellas universidades que hasta ahora han dado créditos por las mismas y, por supuesto, por la utilización del entorno virtual. En nuestra propuesta intentamos conjugar las enseñanzas presenciales con las virtuales diseñando para el campus virtual herramientas como archivos pdf multimedia, flash, vídeo.