Influencia de la satisfacción laboral en el desempeño del personal de los laboratorios Ecua - American

El presente trabajo en su contexto general, detalla un análisis de todos los aspectos relacionados al clima organizacional y al desempeño laboral de los trabajadores, de Ecua – American S.A., con la finalidad de proponer alternativas de mejora, que sirvan de guía a los directivos de la empresa, para fomentar un ambiente laboral agradable y motivador para sus empleados, y de esta manera incrementar su desempeño laboral. La investigación efectuada es de carácter descriptica, la población en estudio estuvo conformada en sus totalidad por noventa y seis (96) empleados, a los que se les administró una encuesta de escala valorativa tipo Likert de cuarenta y un (41) ítems, ésta permitió tener una visión clara y precisa de las percepciones y sentimientos asociados a las diferentes condiciones que determinar el ambiente laboral de la empresa y que inciden en el desempeño de los empleados. La interpretación de los resultados se basó en el estudio de nueve (9) dimensiones las cuales se enfocaron a la naturaleza del trabajo, respeto y consideración hacia los empleados, la comunicación y relación entre los compañeros de trabajo, supervisión, desarrollo y entrenamiento al personal, la satisfacción general de los empleados, los beneficios sociales, y la evaluación de las condiciones para el desempeño de los empleados; darán a conocer la situación actual en la que se ha de fortalecer aquellos factores que presenten deficiencias y reforzar los que han contribuido al buen desenvolvimiento de la empresa para ejercer un cambio proyectado que maximice la eficiencia y eficacia del personal de la empresa. El primer capítulo contiene el marco teórico en cual reúne varias conceptualizaciones que enmarcan a la satisfacción y al desempeño laboral y que sirven de sustento, para la aplicación de la propuesta a partir del planteamiento de hipótesis. En el segundo capítulo se plasman los antecedentes y estructura de la empresa Ecua- American S.A., y descripciones de las actividades que desarrolla en la empresa. Además se plantea la modalidad de la investigación, así como la metodología de recolección de la información, para a través de ella evidenciar tentativas de solución, mismas que permitan conseguir resultados favorables en beneficio de la empresa. En cuanto al tercer capítulo se detalla la propuesta, con su respectivo proceso de implementación del mismo como herramienta de gestión empresarial.

El recargo tributario: ¿Naturaleza recaudatoria o sancionatoria?

El tema central de esta investigación es la naturaleza jurídica del recargo tributario. La ley que lo impone está vigente en Ecuador desde el año 2007. El recargo, por sí solo, es polémico; por ello, en estas páginas se intenta desentrañar su naturaleza jurídica, exponiendo y contrastando puntos de vista favorables y contrarios al mismo. Como principal preocupación está el im pacto del recargo en la economía de los con tri buyentes, especialmente, de aquellos que pre sentan declaraciones inexactas de sus ingresos –lo que se puede atribuir a descuido o error, antes que a la intención de defraudar al fisco–. A partir de es ta premisa, el autor realiza el análisis de las resoluciones emitidas por el SRI frente a reclamos que presentaron aquellos con tribuyentes que vieron afectados sus derechos. Se analiza como tema prioritario cómo actúa la administración tributaria, y se presenta como tema ilustrativo el análisis comparativo con las legislaciones de los demás países de la Comunidad Andina, lo más cercano culturalmente al Ecuador. El estudio repara en la inexistencia en la legislación ecuatoriana de la definición de recargo tributario, lo cual critica. Y expone, finalmente, el debate entre autores que consideran al recargo tributario una sanción, y lo que lo definen como un instituto financiero.

Facebook & Blackboard: comparison of learner perspectives

Different systems, different purposes – but how do they compare as learning environments? We undertook a survey of students at the University, asking whether they learned from their use of the systems, whether they made contact with other students through them, and how often they used them. Although it was a small scale survey, the results are quite enlightening and quite surprising. Blackboard is populated with learning material, has all the students on a module signed up to it, a safe environment (in terms of Acceptable Use and some degree of staff monitoring) and provides privacy within the learning group (plus lecturer and relevant support staff). Facebook, on the other hand, has no learning material, only some of the students using the system, and on the face of it, it has the opportunity for slips in privacy and potential bullying because the Acceptable Use policy is more lax than an institutional one, and breaches must be dealt with on an exception basis, when reported. So why do more students find people on their courses through Facebook than Blackboard? And why are up to 50% of students reporting that they have learned from using Facebook? Interviews indicate that students in subjects which use seminars are using Facebook to facilitate working groups – they can set up private groups which give them privacy to discuss ideas in an environment which perceived as safer than Blackboard can provide. No staff interference, unless they choose to invite them in, and the opportunity to select who in the class can engage. The other striking finding is the difference in use between the genders. Males are using blackboard more frequently than females, whilst the reverse is true for Facebook. Interviews suggest that this may have something to do with needing to access lecture notes… Overall, though, it appears that there is little relationship between the time spent engaging with Blackboard and reports that students have learned from it. Because Blackboard is our central repository for notes, any contact is likely to result in some learning. Facebook, however, shows a clear relationship between frequency of use and perception of learning – and our students post frequently to Facebook. Whilst much of this is probably trivia and social chit chat, the educational elements of it are, de facto, contructivist in nature. Further questions need to be answered - Is the reason the students learn from Facebook because they are creating content which others will see and comment on? Is it because they can engage in a dialogue, without the risk of interruption by others?

Dr John Snow and an early investigation of groundwater contamination

John Snow was a physician but his studies of the way in which cholera is spread have long attracted the interest of hydrogeologists. From his investigation into the epidemiology of the cholera outbreak around the well in Broad Street, London, in 1854, Snow gained valuable evidence that cholera is spread by contamination of drinking water. Subsequent research by others showed that the well was contaminated by sewage. The study therefore represents one of the first, if not the first, study of an incident of groundwater contamination in Britain. Although he had no formal geological training, it is clear that Snow had a much better understanding of groundwater than many modern medical practitioners. At the time of the outbreak Snow was continuing his practice as a physician and anaesthetist. His casebooks for 1854 do not even mention cholera. Yet, nearly 150 years later, he is as well known for his work on cholera as for his pioneering work on anaesthesia, and his discoveries are still the subject of controversy.

Electrification of volcanic plumes

Volcanic lightning, perhaps the most spectacular consequence of the electrification of volcanic plumes, has been implicated in the origin of life on Earth, and may also exist in other planetary atmospheres. Recent years have seen volcanic lightning detection used as part of a portfolio of developing techniques to monitor volcanic eruptions. Remote sensing measurement techniques have been used to monitor volcanic lightning, but surface observations of the atmospheric electric Potential Gradient (PG) and the charge carried on volcanic ash also show that many volcanic plumes, whilst not sufficiently electrified to produce lightning, have detectable electrification exceeding that of their surrounding environment. Electrification has only been observed associated with ash-rich explosive plumes, but there is little evidence that the composition of the ash is critical to its occurrence. Different conceptual theories for charge generation and separation in volcanic plumes have been developed to explain the disparate observations obtained, but the ash fragmentation mechanism appears to be a key parameter. It is unclear which mechanisms or combinations of electrification mechanisms dominate in different circumstances. Electrostatic forces play an important role in modulating the dry fallout of ash from a volcanic plume. Beyond the local electrification of plumes, the higher stratospheric particle concentrations following a large explosive eruption may affect the global atmospheric electrical circuit. It is possible that this might present another, if minor, way by which large volcanic eruptions affect global climate. The direct hazard of volcanic lightning to communities is generally low compared to other aspects of volcanic activity.

Self-charging of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic ash plume

Abstract Volcanic plumes generate lightning from the electrification of plume particles. Volcanic plume charging at over 1200 km from its source was observed from in situ balloon sampling of the April 2010 Eyjafjallajökull plume over Scotland. Whilst upper and lower edge charging of a horizontal plume is expected from fair weather atmospheric electricity, the plume over Scotland showed sustained positive charge well beneath the upper plume edge. At these distances from the source, the charging cannot be a remnant of the eruption itself because of charge relaxation in the finite conductivity of atmospheric air.

Redefinition of the kilogram, ampere, kelvin and mole: a proposed approach to implementing CIPM recommendation 1 (CI-2005)

The International System of Units (SI) is founded on seven base units, the metre, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole and candela corresponding to the seven base quantities of length, mass, time, electric current, thermodynamic temperature, amount of substance and luminous intensity. At its 94th meeting in October 2005, the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) adopted a recommendation on preparative steps towards redefining the kilogram, ampere, kelvin and mole so that these units are linked to exactly known values of fundamental constants. We propose here that these four base units should be given new definitions linking them to exactly defined values of the Planck constant h, elementary charge e, Boltzmann constant k and Avogadro constant NA, respectively. This would mean that six of the seven base units of the SI would be defined in terms of true invariants of nature. In addition, not only would these four fundamental constants have exactly defined values but also the uncertainties of many of the other fundamental constants of physics would be either eliminated or appreciably reduced. In this paper we present the background and discuss the merits of these proposed changes, and we also present possible wordings for the four new definitions. We also suggest a novel way to define the entire SI explicitly using such definitions without making any distinction between base units and derived units. We list a number of key points that should be addressed when the new definitions are adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM), possibly by the 24th CGPM in 2011, and we discuss the implications of these changes for other aspects of metrology.