Beyond the mincer equation: the internal rate of return to higher education in Colombia

In order to present an estimation of the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) to higher education in Colombia we take advantage of the methodological approach provided by Heckman, Lochner and Todd (2005). Trying to overcome the criticism that surrounds interpretations of the education coefficient of Mincer equations as being the rate of return to investments in education we develop a more structured approach of estimation, which controls for selection bias, includes more accurate measures of labor income and the role of education costs and income taxes. Our results implied a lower rate of return than the ones found in the Colombian literature and show that the Internal Rate of Return for higher education in Colombia lies somewhere between 0.074 and 0.128. The results vary according to the year analyzed and individual’s gender. This last result reinforces considerations regarding gender discrimination in the Colombian labor market.

Melancholy and power, knowledge and propaganda : discussing the contribution of the bologna process to higher education research in Europe. 'Melancolía y poder, conocimiento y propaganda : discutiendo la contribución del proceso de Bolonia sobre la investigación en enseñanza superior en Europa'.

Resumen tomado de la publicación. Monográfico con el título: El proceso de Bolonia : dinámicas y desafíos de la enseñanza superior en Europa a comienzos de una nueva época

The Continuum guide to geography education.

Esta guía, ordenada de forma alfabética, comprende los conceptos clave, los recursos, resultados de investigaciones, movimientos, cuestiones, debates, educadores y organizaciones que caracterizan la enseñanza de la geografía. Por lo cual, constituye un recurso tanto para los profesores de geografía como para los alumnos.

The Routledge international companion to gifted education.

Aunque no existe aún una definición internacionalmente admitida de la superdotación, y de hecho, no hay dos expertos en la materia que estén totalmente de acuerdo en lo que significa talento o lo que debería hacerse al respecto, es casi seguro que hay muchos estudiantes con necesidades de aprendizaje de superdotados en cualquier escuela o país, así como muchos otros que podrían ser ayudados a desarrollar habilidades de este nivel con apoyos y oportunidades adecuados. Este recurso ofrece estrategias para favorecer el aprendizaje de los niños superdotados; incluye controversias y preocupaciones actuales sobre el tema, desde los problemas de identificación a los cambios sobre los conceptos de superdotado y creatividad, así como la discusión y formulación de políticas de aprendizaje en todo el mundo.

The Routledge international companion to multicultural education.

El libro nos ofrece una descripción y análisis internacional de la educación multicultural en el mundo. Está organizado en torno a conceptos clave y utiliza casos de estudio de diferentes países de todo el mundo (Estados Unidos, Reino Unido, Canadá, Australia, Francia, Alemania, España, Noruega, Bulgaria, Rusia, Sudáfrica, Japón, China, India, Nueva Zelanda, Malasia, Singapur, Indonesia, Brasil y México) para ilustrar y ejemplificar esos conceptos. Incluye dos capítulos dedicados a las regiones de América Latina y a los países francófonos de África. Está dividido en diez secciones que cubren la teoría y la investigación sobre la reforma curricular, la inmigración y la ciudadanía, idioma, religión, y la educación de grupos étnicos o culturales minoritarios.

From elite to mass to universal higher education : from distance to open education

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

An analysis of the move to Inclusive Education in Canada : what works

Incluye anexo

Establishing field margins to promote beetle conservation in arable farms

This study investigates the function of non-cropped field margins in arable farming systems for enhancing the biodiversity value of beetle communities. Three different sown seed mixtures were used to establish field margins, a Countryside Stewardship mix, a fine grass and forbs mix and a tussock grass and forbs mix. The structure of beetle communities in the first full year of establishment was found to show no difference between the tussock grass and Countryside Stewardship margins. However, both differed from the fine grass margins, which supported lower overall abundance and species richness of beetles. This was attributed to small-scale architectural differences between species of fine and tussock grasses, rather than differences in plant composition. Body size distributions of beetles showed distinct similarities between the Countryside Stewardship and tussock margins. A greater abundance of large beetles was found in fine grass margins, although in all cases these body size distributions were attributed to a small number of species or a taxonomically distinct group. All three margin types included beetle species of conservation value. The importance of these results was discussed in the context of the value of these seed mixtures for invertebrate conversation. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interventions to promote healthy eating habits: evaluation and recommendations

Although in several EU Member States many public interventions have been running for the prevention and/or management of obesity and other nutrition-related health conditions, few have yet been formally evaluated. The multidisciplinary team of the EATWELL project will gather benchmark data on healthy eating interventions in EU Member States and review existing information on the effectiveness of interventions using a three-stage procedure (i) Assessment of the intervention's impact on consumer attitudes, consumer behaviour and diets; (ii) The impact of the change in diets on obesity and health and (iii) The value attached by society to these changes, measured in life years gained, cost savings and quality-adjusted life years. Where evaluations have been inadequate, EATWELL will gather secondary data and analyse them with a multidisciplinary approach incorporating models from the psychology and economics disciplines. Particular attention will be paid to lessons that can be learned from private sector that are transferable to the healthy eating campaigns in the public sector. Through consumer surveys and workshops with other stakeholders, EATWELL will assess the acceptability of the range of potential interventions. Armed with scientific quantitative evaluations of policy interventions and their acceptability to stakeholders, EATWELL expects to recommend more appropriate interventions for Member States and the EU, providing a one-stop guide to methods and measures in interventions evaluation, and outline data collection priorities for the future.

Identifying and investigating pesticide application types to promote a more sustainable pesticide use: the case of smallholders in Boyacá, Colombia

The present paper investigates pesticide application types adopted by smallholder potato producers in the Department of Boyacá , Colombia. In this region, environmental, health and adverse economic effects due to pesticide mis- or over-use respectively have been observed. Firstly, pesticide application types were identified based on input-effectiveness. Secondly, their determinants of adoption were investigated. Finally suggestions were given to develop intervention options for transition towards a more sustainable pesticide use. Three application types were identified for fungicide and insecticide. The types differed in terms of input (intensity of pesticide application), effect (damage control), frequency of application, average quantity applied per application, chemical class, and productivity. Then, the determinants of different pesticide application types were investigated with a multinomial logistic regression approach and applying the integrative agent centred (IAC) framework. The area of the plot, attendance at training sessions and educational and income levels were among the most relevant determinants. The analysis suggested that better pesticide use could be fostered to reduce pesticide-related risks in the region. Intervention options were outlined, which may help in targeting this issue. They aim not only at educating farmers, but to change their social and institutional context, by involving other agents of the agricultural system (i.e. pesticide producers), facilitating new institutional settings (i.e. cooperatives) and targeting social dynamics (i.e. conformity to social norms).