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Introduction: The paper "Moluscos de la Isla del Coco" (Mollusks of Cocos Island) published in the Revista del Colegio Superior de Señoritas (1935) is the translation to Spanish of one of the last works of Paul Biolley Matthey (1862-1908), Swiss naturalist that lived in Costa Rica. This article was one product of a malacological research carried out during a scientific expedition organized by the 'Instituto Físico- Geográfico Nacional de Costa Rica' (IFGN) in 1902 to Cocos Island, at a time when the country claimed its sovereignty both in this territory. Objective: To analyze the contributions of the article "Moluscos de la Isla del Coco" from the Social History of Science approach. Methods: Most of the researches that have applied this approach in Costa Rica analyze processes of institutionalization of scientific disciplines. The methodology used in these works was very useful for the analysis of the Biolley article, together with the information of historical data provided by other texts about Cocos Island and the development of scientific research in Costa Rica from a temporal perspective. In addition, tables were made to synthesize the classification of the species and genera studied by Biolley in Cocos Island to identify their provenance and the habitat in which they lived. Results: This study of Biolley constitutes a text of interest from the point of view of the Social History of Science, due to the descriptions it offers of the physical conditions of the territory of Cocos Island, of the different species of mollusks located in them and to the exchange of information with national and foreign scientists that show the participation of Biolley in scientific networks. Conclusions: The analysis of the information with the Social History of Science approach, concludes that the compilation of the flora and fauna permits a greater knowledge of the natural resources of the explored territories, in order to colonize them and integrate them into the economic dynamics of the Central Valley of Costa Rica. However, attempts colonize Cocos Island failed given the distance between this and the continent, in addition to the topographic conditions that prevent the permanent establishment of human populations and their productive activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is part of a broader sociological investigation and on this research what is intended is to studies the narration of television advertising; which is produced to persuade the poor informal and impoverished working classes to consume through informal credit in Costa Rica. Particularly, this academic-scientific paper analyzes advertising, which is conceived as cultural artifacts produced by the advertising industry, then these were the object of a critical political analysis of the image. One of the most important conclusions that the study yielded was the understanding that advertising, as a powerful social fact, operates in a cultural-symbolic key and as an ideological suture in the face of a social, economic and culturally unequal daily life. In addition to advertising as an artifact, a cultural instrumentalized certain mythical elements of the Costa Rican idiosyncrasy to reproduce the capitalist cultural system and also reproduce and update certain parts of the country's nationalist myth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networks have become essential means of communication and have modified the concept of political communication. Social media have nowadays an increasingly important impact on election campaigns worldwide, and, therefore, the latest election processes within the Latin-American context are ideal environments for this analysis, due to both the volatility and the richness of the political-electoral competition, and their capacity to influence the exchange of political information through the different emotions of the audiences. This paper presents a systematized study of the communication that took place in social media during the first round of the 2022 Costa Rican electoral process (February 6th). The information has been collected from the data available at the Digital Media Communication Observatory of the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica, using the social listening tools Minerva Data, Kantar IBOPE Media's Adspend and Mention, with the objective of revealing the digital conversation trends in this campaign, an unprecedented electoral process with 25 presidential candidates. The reports from the Digital Communication Observatory show the evolution of the electorate's behavior in terms of interaction, sentiment, topics and voting intention, during the first round of the 2022 electoral process, as well as the general dynamics perceived in the social media and public web environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile technologies are part of children's everyday lives. However, little is known about their context of use in Latin America. The goal of this paper is to describe how Costa Rican caregivers and their children between the ages of 1 and 5 years old use smartphones and tablets. A mixed-methods approach was used, including two studies. Study 1 used non-participant observations to analyze family interactions related to smartphone use in food court areas in shopping malls. A total of 22 children were observed while interacting with their caregivers and their use of smartphones was registered (N = 269 events) and classified according to (a) the person who used the smartphone and (b) the actions that took place during its use. Results indicated smartphones were mostly used by caregivers (n = 226, 84.01 %), followed by a co-use to take pictures or make videos (n = 27, 10.03 %). Children's use was infrequent (n = 16, 5.94 %). During caregivers' use, children usually engaged in activities that did not involve their caretaker, such as silently eating, interacting with another adult not using a smartphone at the moment or looking around. When children attempted to interact with their caregivers while they were using their smartphones, caregivers rarely responded. No disruptive behaviors on children were observed after caregivers' lack of response. Using a survey methodology, Study 2 explored children's and caregivers' use of mobile devices at home. A total of 42.9 % of caregivers reported they sometimes facilitate a device to their children to be able to accomplish other domestic and work-related tasks, as well as to satisfy personal needs. Daily duration of caregivers' use of devices was longer on weekdays (M = 207 minutes, SD = 116.02) than weekends (M = 164.25 minutes, SD = 118.54). Caregivers' daily duration of use was related to children's daily duration of use during weekdays (r = .414) and weekends (r = .451), and during caregiving time on weekdays (r = .328) and weekends (r = .541). Using a Likert scale (1 = never, 5 = always), the children's consumed content was explored. Findings indicate that children mostly consumed content from YouTube (M = 3.60, SD = 1.14) and children's educational apps (M = 3.13, SD = 1.5). Use of educational videogames (M = 3.27, SD = 1.34), puzzle-like videogames (M = 2.36, SD = 1.26) and word games (M = 2.23, SD = 1.14) was more frequent than action (M= 1.48, SD = 1.02) and sports videogames (M= 1.55, SD = 0.93). Educational televised programs (M = 3.58, SD = 1.10) and musical cartoons (M = 3.27, SD = 1.11) were frequently consumed by children. A total of 47.2 % of caregivers also indicated that they always accompany their children while they use devices at home. Caregivers reported a higher use of technological restrictive mediation (M = 4.14, SD = 1.14) and supervision (M = 4.1, SD = 1.11), followed by instructive (M = 3.93, SD = 1.19) and co-use mediation (M= 3.62, SD = 1.14). On a scale of 1 (very negative) to 5 (very positive), caregivers indicated that physical activity (M = 1.72, SD = 1.07) and sleep (M = 2.09, SD = .96) were most negatively affected by children's device use, whereas mathematical (M = 3.36, SD = 1.04) and linguistic skills (M = 3.44, SD = 1.13) were the most positively affected. This study's results provide a preliminary understanding of the context of use of mobile technology during caregiving of young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Este trabajo persigue dos objetivos. En primer lugar, estudiar el efecto potencial de la percepción del clima escolar por parte de los profesores y de las variables motivacionales de estos relacionadas con los estudiantes en la satisfacción de los profesores con la escuela y el clima motivacional del aula (CMC). En segundo lugar, validar una batería de cuestionarios para evaluar las diferentes variables motivacionales de los docentes relacionadas con los estudiantes: conocimiento motivacional, enfoque de los docentes en las calificaciones y necesidades emocionales de los estudiantes y expectativas. En total, 441 profesores y 5,380 estudiantes de España y Costa Rica participaron en el estudio. Los análisis factoriales confirmatorios mostraron la adecuación de la estructura de cada cuestionario. Además, los resultados de los análisis de correlación y regresión mostraron, en primer lugar, que la percepción del clima escolar, junto con las expectativas de los profesores, son los principales factores que pueden influir en la satisfacción de los profesores con la escuela. En segundo lugar, que el CMC no depende de la satisfacción de los profesores, sino solo de dos componentes del clima escolar, el apoyo mutuo de los profesores y las actitudes de los estudiantes, y de las expectativas de autoeficacia. En ambos análisis de regresión, satisfacción y CMC, se encontraron diferencias transculturales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Environmental compensation is the final alternative to face the impacts of development projects that cannot be avoided, reduced, or mitigated. The offset of affected habitats or environmental elements usually substitutes ecologically equivalent resources. The Habitat-Hectare Method was initially designed to assess the ecological equivalence of native vegetation, and employs indicator scores relative to a reference habitat. The sum of these scores measures the structural condition of the environment against the reference, quantifying the number of hectares needed to compensate for the loss of similar habitat. Although it is not exempt from limitations, the values can be estimated from field data collected without ambiguity, in a reproducible way, with less bias than more qualitative methods. In this paper, we use a modification of the Habitat-Hectare Method to determine the equivalent area needed to compensate for habitat loss in a protected wilderness in Costa Rica. Methods: We worked in the Lomas de Barbudal Biological Reserve, north Pacific of Costa Rica, a protected wilderness where nearly 113 hectares will be flooded for the Río Piedras Reservoir. In a property previously identified as a potential compensation site, we assessed indicators for landscape, soil, vegetation structure, and ecosystem services; the scores were assigned in relation to the environment found at the flood site. Results: The environmental condition score at the compensation site was 44.7% (±15.9%) of the impact site. Consequently, considering the uncertainty in our measurements, compensating for the loss of each hectare would require between 2.23 and 3.49 hectares of a similar environment. Conclusion: Between 2.23 and 3.49 hectares of are needed to compensate for the loss of habitat in the Río Piedras Reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Environmental compensation is a technical-legal instrument of environmental management used to offset damage due to non-reversible and unavoidable impacts. Usually, offset regulations are included in national environmental legislations. This paper summarizes environmental compensation legislation in Costa Rica, a country with a recognized conservation tradition and environmental awareness. Our goal is to describe how compensation is formulated in that country and identify possible regulations gaps. Methods: We carried out a systematic review of environmental legislation through the Costa Rican Legal Information System (http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/avanzada_pgr.aspx), considering both regulations and pronouncements on compensation measures and mitigation. Results: The Political Constitution of Costa Rica recognizes a healthy environment as a fundamental right for all citizens. At least seven laws dealing with environmental issues and their respective regulations are currently enforced. This bulky legislation aims to protect natural resources by regulating their use and creating an assemblage of protected wild areas. However, the legislation is somewhat repetitive and open to interpretation, facilitating confusion. Actions requiring compensation are regulated in a general way, making it difficult to establish when and how to apply them. In addition, compensation is considered based on when the damage is identified and not on its level of environmental impact. Furthermore, the regulations do not make explicit the principles and goals that support the compensatory measures or how they should be carried out, briefly mentioning some actions that do not ensure that the net environmental loss is zero. Conclusions: This review reveals the need to standardize the mechanisms to determine compensatory measures at the regulatory level, also analyzing the strategies that will be followed to ensure proportionality and ecological equivalence. The legislation must emphasize the importance of compensation as a positive practice, which must be incorporated within the guidelines of the Environmental Impact Study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an analysis of political communication in the relations between candidates, citizens, and the Public Administration, to determine the factors that foresee management changes and to establish a frame of reference in the examination of public communications through three dimensions: depth, incidence, and limits, which are studied in a given time and their interaction is called the Alpízar-Mora Effect. This effect arises from the analysis of the technical gaps in the political discourse --identified during the electoral process in Costa Rica for the presidential period 2018-2022 through qualitative research-- and it contributes to the discussion and evaluation of political communication. As a result, the authors propose factors, variables, and questions to analyze in three dimensions the coherence between the political discourse and the strategic planning of the Government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music scenes were the most influential expressions in Costa Rican popular culture at the end of the twentieth century. These cultural formations were facilitated by the public relevance of the youths, and the growth of cultural consumption and urban areas. Also, they were leaded by the rock and metal music; therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the articulation and evolution of the metal urban scene of Costa Rica between the years 1980-1992. For that, this investigation will provide evidence of how the metal music separate himself from the rock music and set his own musical dynamic, although that generated public awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a contextualization of the history of ska music in Costa Rica, which has a narrow link with the "third wave of ska" at a worldwide level and the development of other music genres in the decade of the 90's in the country. During this period the participation of groups with young people from the neighborhoods from the south of San José Downtown and other parts from the Great Metropolitan Area it's a big highlight. In a sense of discussion, the researchers show a series of annotations that try to find guidance to study of ska music in the country, from its historical context to its importance at a social level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will present the methodological experience developed at the National University of Costa Rica, with the purpose of contributing to the recovery of part of the historical memory of western Panama, specifically about the guaymi indigenous population in the period from 1880 to 1925. As it will be presented throughout these pages, the reconstruction of facts, subjects, ideas and processes has been conducted through a polyphony of voices, visions and sources that allowed us to approach this forgotten and blurred sector in the national history of Panama, but also of Costa Rica. This period of research is of great importance, as it proposed the foundations for the relationship that these sectors of the population will have with the Panamanian State and, later, with the Costa Rican State throughout the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper exposes part of the data developed in the chapter related to sociodemographic context, in the doctoral "The coloniality of being in the performative practices of migrant women, workers, and heads of household for the support of the lives of their own families. A research in San Jose, Costa Rica. This article shows data from the sociodemographic context chapter of the doctoral thesis entitled,". The analysis focuses on the conditions of the social organization of care in Costa Rica, and explains the crisis generated by the lack of social co-responsibility on carework in the country. Situation that generates tensions within households, and has a direct effect mainly in women, and particular in migrant Nicaraguan female heads of household. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a review of the last two National Development Plans, implemented by the Central Government of Costa Rica. We study the political and institutional evolution of Solís Rivera's (2014-2018) and Alvarado Quesada's (2018-2022) administrations. The objective of the research is to analyze the territorial perspective into public policies for rural development design, and their evolution as part of the instruments aimed at promoting the sustainable development of rural territories. Some specific questions are: how these policies gave rise to specific instruments to address the complexity and intersectoriality of rural problems? What are the effects of these policies and instruments on the sustainable development of rural territories in Costa Rica? What are the challenges of a complementary rural development agenda with a territorial approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, the Constitutional Court issued two sentences that, in a nutshell, legally make equal marriage in Ecuador or of same-sex persons legally viable. These sentences were sent to the Court through the procedure of consultation of norm, in accordance with article 428 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador in order that the maximum constitutional justice court of the country exercise the concrete control of constitutionality, with regarding legal provisions that concern civil marriage and Advisory Opinion 24 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of November 24, 2017, requested by the Republic of Costa Rica regarding gender identity, and equality and non-discrimination Same-sex couples. The objective of this paper is to criticize the argumentative construction of the Court in these opinions, by demonstrating that said body arrived at inconsistent conclusions based on incorrect premises. For this purpose, the methodology used is hypothetical-deductive, in the light of the argumentative criticism that has been mentioned. The work is composed of the following lines of analysis: First, the denaturation of the concrete control of constitutionality. Second, the interpretation made to the applicable normative statements. Third, about the legal value of the advisory opinions of the Inter-American Court. Finally, some conclusions that will pay for the academic debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper systematizes and provides an analysis of the political discourses regarding the topics of immigration and immigrants, presented in the government proposals of the national political parties participating during the presidential and legislative elections, in Costa Rica, for the period 2017-2018.The proposal focuses in the discourses, considering them as a continuum between re-active and pro-active discourses facing the immigration phenomenon, situation which evidences the conception of the political parties as fundamental actors in the formulation of public policies that will affect the immigrant population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines two recent decisions of International Courts that have to do with the protection of the environment, on the one hand, the judgment of the International Court of Justice in the Case relating to the compensation for certain activities carried out by Nicaragua in the border area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) and, on the other hand, the Advisory Opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the environment and human rights. In both cases, we see how the Latin American States are giving impetus to crucial decisions that have to do with the protection of the environment through International Law, giving rise to the first judgment of the International Court of Justice where an economic compensation for damages to the environment is fixed and, in the second case, because a qualitative leap is taken in the interpretation of the inter-American human rights system and the obligations that derive from it regarding the protection of the environment and its new concept of jurisdiction. However, beyond its historical relevance, some of its problems and criticisms received by them will also be analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews historical and epidemiological aspects of cutaneous leishmaniasis located in Costa Rica, as the clinical variants that have prevailed over time in the country. Declared as a mandatory reportable disease to the Ministry of Health since 1983, leishmaniasis is currently collectively notified and reporting it in recent years has remained among the top ten diseases of mandatory reporting in the country. This anthropozoonosis has held through the years an important role within the public health problems in the continent. The cutaneous form has prevailed over other forms in the territory of the Americas. In Costa Rica not all known clinical forms have been described, dating back from 1999 when the only case of visceral leishmaniasis in this country was published. Today it remains endemic in the country (except Guanacaste). The province of Limon is the one with the highest number of cases being the most affected counties Talamanca, Matina, Guácimo, Limón Centro, followed by Siquirres and Pococí. This paper makes a description of statistical data based on the last outbreak occurred in the Area of Health Guácimo in the province of Limón in the first quarter of 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights contributions from Forensic Psychology, and the important role played by forensic psychologists in the preparation of expert reports, whose conclusions -through retrospective analysis- inform regarding the mental capacity of the person evaluated, at the time the crime was committed. The paper points out the importance that the reports are developed within the parameters of validity and reliability, following international evaluation standards, but at the same time, are adapted to the reality of the country where they are applied, a challenge that Costa Rica must assume. Legal concepts such as criminal liability, non-imputability, and diminished criminal liability are defined, providing as well as a brief description of the main grounds for exclusion of criminal responsibility for a person due to psychological disorders, which affect intellectual or emotional aspects, insufficient mental development, severe disturbances of consciousness or other mental disorders and their direct impact on the scope of personal freedom; thus making it possible to impose a security measure, such as internment into a psychiatric hospital instead of a prison sentence. The paper emphasizes that it is the judge - and not the (psychological-forensic) expert- who makes the final decision on the criminal responsibility of the accused person. And finally, signals the importance that the person sitting on the bench, not only requires sufficient knowledge in Forensic Psychology, but also (and this is an urgent task) is receiving permanent training in this discipline, in order to interpret correctly the findings of the expert reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments shape social problems, discourses and the solutions to solve them. In this context, the main goal of this paper is the comparative analysis of childcare policies in the following countries: Chile, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Mexico. In order to contribute to the debate about childcare in Latin America, in the light of the frame critical analysis, the problem that each policy solves is analyzed and compared, as well as its aims and solutions. The study is based on governmental documents such as plans and programs, as well as on academic and social organizations discourses, and the literature about the topic in the Latin American region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objetive of this paper is to identify how the Ashkenazi Jewish community is built in Costa Rica with the intention of creating a chronology of Ashkenazi settlement, social interaction and communal integration, and the relationship between them and Costa Rican society during the Second World War until the creation of the State of Israel (1939-1948). With the purpose of obtaining a thorough kwoledge about the particular circunstanc-es of the Askenazi community and its social environment from: a de-moghaphic and occupational profile, the institutionalization of Judaism and Jewish sociocultural life. Especially to deepen into the social interaction of the Ashkenazi group, with the aim of establishing the links and bonds that are forged by sociability within the Jewish community, and the Costa Rican society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers the results of an analysis of the level of mathematical anxiety, understood to mean a feeling of discomfort experienced when someone is required to take mathematics classes, as displayed in students of secondary education in Costa Rica. The study was performed with a sample of 3,725 students in public secondary education in Costa Rica in 2013. The results show statistically significant differences between the sexes in the level of mathematical anxiety, with female students experiencing moderately higher anxiety levels. Differences in anxiety levels are also determined by the student's educational level, with significant differences found between third-cycle students (7th, 8th and 9th grades) and diversified education students (10th and 11th grades); the latter displayed moderately higher anxiety levels. Nonetheless, the study concludes that despite the differences observed, only 22.4% of students show high or very high levels of mathematical anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to develop a model to explain the behavior of the high courts judges when they take decisions that affect the access to the executive. For this pur-pose, this paper analyzes the cases in which the Supreme Courts in Central America have intervened to decide who can have access to presidential power and under which conditions that can happen. Through the analysis of constitutional interpretations of laws that control presidential re-election or who is the incumbent to the presidency of a country, this paper examines the explanatory factors that have led to the Supreme Courts to decide who is the holder of executive power. In this regard, the article considers the cases of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the subjective well-being approach to value the personal cost of illnesses. The approach becomes an alternative to traditional valuation methodologies based on revealed and stated preferences. The paper shows that illnesses reduce health satisfaction, while income is positively related to it. Hence, it is possible to calculate the compensatory income which is required in the presence of an illness so as to keep health satisfaction constant. This computation is an estimate of the monetary valuation of the illness, and it can be interpreted as the monetary value of the benefits from programs which aim to correct or avoid health problems. The empirical illustration is based on data from representative surveys run in Costa Rica. The illustration values four diagnosed illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to identify a putative guava microorganisms observed on bagged fruits in a commercial plantation established in Carrillo de Poás, Alajuela, Costa Rica, during the dry and rainy seasons of year 2007. Laboratory isolations were conducted to determine the presence and nature of the microorganisms associated with the symptoms. Four different materials were used to bag the fruits: wax paper, tergal (nylon bag), telephone directory paper and Taiwanese bag. Damaged tissues were placed in PDA and PDA + lactic acid as culture media, and the isolates were transferred to YDC, King agar and potato fleshy tissue to identify possible bacteria. Microorganisms identified in both seasons were: Colletotrichum sp., Pseudomonas, Pestalotia and two unidentified microorganisms. Highly significant differences were found (X2= 7,52 × 10 -4) in the incidence of the diseases in the following ranking: control > telephone directory paper bags > tergal bags> Taiwanese bag > wax paper bags, during the dry season. Highly significant differences were also found (X2= 0,04773) for microorganisms incidence during the rainy season, when control > tergal bag > Taiwanese bag. The results suggest that the microorganism isolated from diseased fruits could be responsible for losses of commercial fruits in tropical guava field plantations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development and innovation in the curriculum design of the Agricultural Engineering undergraduate program of the Technological Institute of Costa Rica. After its 30 years of existence, this program has reached its maturity. However, due to the changes in the development of agriculture, national and international tendencies, as well as the productive surroundings of the area and the social and academic context of the university, it faces the necessity to modify and innovate its curriculum. The main objective of the process consists of improving the quality in this area, proposing an integral redesign of the program. The antecedents, the methodology, and the most outstanding achievements of the process are described in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to describe the importance and the main challenges for the use, management and conservation of the Vanilla genus in Costa Rica. Topics covered in this study were: taxonomy in the country and worldwide, data collection and new estimates of wild relatives, the economic, ecological and social importance, the gene pool of the Costa Rican species, the crop situation worldwide (harvested area, production, yield, major producers), causes that reduce the productive potential of the species, culture methods, the vulnerability of Vanilla planifolia to extinction, and the genetic potential in the country with respect to the concentration of vanillin. The comprehensive conservation strategy proposed in this paper aims to perpetuate vanilla plant genetic resources in gene banks through a formal system of seed production, for further use for breeding, research and commercial production. Through sustainable use, those species will be protected in Costa Rica. The natural or legal persons who use such materials must generate monetary or non-monetary benefits from the use of resources through a fair and equitable system to the suppliers. Agro-ecological conditions of Costa Rica as well as the genetic material of both wild and cultivated vanilla opens the possibility of developing production models based on organic agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the representations and narratives about young people in the press of Costa Rica as part of the student protests that occurred between 2010 and 2011. To this end, the text problematizes the media coverage made by major newspapers about youth practices and as this evidence the complex crisis of the institutionality anchored in values that are constructed and enacted from a logic of "exclusion power" adult-centered. The analysis of this situation allows us to understand how they are constructed media events that are part of political agendas based on the feeling of insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we report the experiencies and learnings achieved during the enforcement of a social investigation at national level. It is emphasised the importance of planning phase for the later stages, which consist in the gathering of information and data processing. Also, we highlight the relevance of interdisciplinarity and some reflexions about the costarrican educational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation is a hidden problem in Costa Rica. It becomes necessary to understand this phenomenon as more and more citizens are snared and subjected to a form of slavery, which denigrates their physical, psychological, social and spiritual integrity. From a professional experience in a non-profit organization (NGO) with a program for this population, the author experienced society's excessive ignorance and prejudice towards the victims. This article explores the fact that there is meager information on this phenomenon in Costa Rica and this is even more the case regarding a psychological approach to it. This research has its basis in descriptive qualitative methodology, with a phenomenological design based on Berne's humanistic theory of Transactional Analysis, to conduct a multiple case study. The sample consisted of a group of five women who were in the process of recuperation in the NGO, under the analytical categories of "Human Trafficking for national commercial sexual exploitation" (inside Costa Rica), "Subjugation", and "Personal Development". The results identified the subjugations that these women underwent before, during and after being snared by trafficking. The paper analyzes how the personal development of trafficked women in this study is hampered by these subjugations and how some manage to achieve personal growth despite what happened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to address the issue of credit cards and the deficiencies of public policy related to that subject in Costa Rica. For that purpose, we taking into consideration the perspective of Regulations of Credit and Debit Cards, that protect rights such as confidentiality, discretion in handling data and the information right; however, it is limited in terms of regulating and promoting the financial system balance which allows cardholders protection from excessive interest rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The records and the knowledge of Lepidoptera larvae associated with weedy plants generate valuable and new information for this group within agroecosystems towards an integrated weed management program and a better understanding of arthropod fauna associated to these plants. Throughout 2008-2009, several Lepidoptera larvae were found in weed samples collected in the Caribbean of Costa Rica within banana farms and neighboring areas. These samples were identified with avalaible literature and a larvae collection of one of the authors. The records of 25 specimens from six Lepidopteran families on 13 weed families are presented in this paper, some of them are interesting in terms of biological control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article summarizes the contemporary advances of Costa Rican psychologists' political influence based on papers and actions that produced an impact on public policy. Political stands, such as right-wing, center- and left-wing, are defined, since they must be taken into consideration to understand the relationship between psychologists and social issues. Some examples of social movements related to Psychology are as follows: Women's rights, Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Children and Teenagers' Rights, Men's rights, Labor rights, rights of the indigenous population, rights of those diagnosed as "mentally ill", rights of sexually diversity groups, rights of migrants, and the right to psychological support during and after natural catastrophes. Professional associations have a duty to use their knowledge to express their opinions on national problems, such as the Costa Rican Psychology of Liberation Group does, in providing a good example of political ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the Tuning - Latin America Project, a total of 11 scholars from 10 countries in the region produced a proposal for 24 specific competences for the psychology training. In accordance with these competences, research was conducted by the School of Psychology of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) to estimate their levels of "importance" and "fulfillment". This was done through electronic questionnaires answered by 56 teachers, 34 employers, 73 students, and 62 graduates in Psychology from the UCR. High levels of "importance" were obtained in all competences; especially those related to professional ethics and the ability to realize a comprehensive and contextualized practice. Interdisciplinary work obtained high levels of "importance" but low levels of "fulfillment". Comparisons done after grouping competences by exploratory factor analysis confirmed these results. The paper concludes that there is real and contextual relevance of these competences in the professional performance of Psychology in the Costa Rican context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the Costa Rican health system which provides health, water and sanitation services. The health component of the system includes a public and a private sector . The public sector is dominated by the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), an autonomous institution in charge of financing, purchasing and delivering most of the personal health services in Costa Rica. CCSS is financed with contributions of the affiliates, employers and the state, and manages three regimes: maternity and illness insurance, disability, old age and death insurance, and a non-contributive regime. CCSS provides services in its own facilities but also contracts with private providers. The private sector includes a broad set of services offering ambulatory and hospital care. These services are financed mostly out-of-pocket, but also with private insurance premiums. The Ministry of Health is the steward of the system, in charge of strategic planning, sanitary regulation, and research and technology development. Among the recent policy innovations we can mention the establishment of the basic teams for comprehensive health care (EBAIS), the de-concentration of hospitals and public clinics, the introduction of management agreements and the creation of the Health Boards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a brief systematization of the experiences of the Centro de Capacitación en Educación a Distancia (CECED) from the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) of Costa Rica with the goal to understand the evolution of the "traditional" training concept, to a professional development concept. This proposal is directed toward students and educators who want to improve their capabilities through the application of our mission and vision and the Pedagogical Model. CECED has been looking for excellence in academic areas by using tutorial practices where the student is the most important part of the equation. Students can benefit from the experience of learning furthermore from our society and acquire better educational standards, therefore providing more opportunities for everyone. Thus, CECED provides both self-confidence and personal development. The program's goal can be increased by using elements such as equality, pertinence and equity to make the teaching learning process more effective. It will improve motivation to develop competition in the general curriculum and simultaneously result in greater proficiency in the target group. We have analyzed this through situations and comments from our students to develop the strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper highlights the importance of electoral observation as a new way to involve citizens in political processes. It outlines the scope of this practice in democratic contexts, taking observation as a tool for recording data on the administration and organization of the elections, and also the possibility of guaranteeing the transparency of the process and the behavior of political actors. It also shows the experience of Alajuelita with an analysis in the last two elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses key aspects of the debate on political parties and power networks, focusing empirically analyze the presence of such actors within political parties Liberación Nacional y Partido Unidad Social Cristiana and their presence on the formation of cabinets in the Costa Rican government. Highlights CINDE alliance partners, CEFSA and the Central American Academy, who control the state institutions linked to the export sector from 1986 to 2010. It discusses the limits of procedural democracy to allow such corporate trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I analyze the connections that occurred between the electoral offer of candidate Laura Chinchilla and the new demographic, social and sexual realities of Costa Rica, which help to understand why mainly women and older people voted for her. In addition, I explain the new challenges the Costa Rican society faces in terms of a necessary new social and sexual contract, and the prospect of its approach, or not, by the Government of the first woman President. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes a discussion about the configuration, action, and actual relevance of alternative transportation organizations in Costa Rica. These organizations claim to fight for an improvement in the exercise of mobility rights for everyone. At the same time, they put pressure for the implementation of safety measures in the political, legal, social, and infrastructural spheres that comprise sustainable transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a model of periodization and developmental analysis of trade unions in Costa Rica during 20th century. This seeks to identify as the political and economical changes influencing unionist organizations and how these have led to fragment, and loss of significance, as well as a constant unionization rate decrease, even though by the end of last century, a stable union base was still observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper gives the results of a study that was based on exploration in self-esteem in two ethnic groups (Térrabas and Borucas). In this, 170 young people participated: 72 Térrabas and 98 Borucas. Both cases show good results with respect to the personal identity of young participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Costa Rica has mangrove forests on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. The Pacific side has 99% of the mangrove area of the country. In this review we compile available information on the mangroves of the north Pacific coast of Costa Rica, from Bahía Salinas, on the border with Nicaragua, to the tip of the Peninsula de Nicoya at Cabo Blanco. We provide information on the location of the mangroves and all available information for each mangrove forest. These mangrove communities are smaller in extension and tree sizes, and have lower diversity compared to the mangroves on the southern section of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The dominant species are Rhizophora mangle and Rhizophora racemosa along the canal edges, backed by Avicennia germinans, and farther inland Avicennia bicolor, Laguncularia racemosa and Conocarpus erectus. At Potrero Grande a healthy population of Pelliciera rhizophorae, a rare species, has been reported. We recognized 38 mangrove communities in this part of the country, based on the National Wetland Inventory, published papers, field observations, theses, technical reports, and the national topographic maps (1:50 000, Instituto Geográfico Nacional). Relatively detailed information could be found for only five mangrove forests, for 14 more only prelimary and incomplete lists of plants and in some cases of animal species are available, for nine there is even less information, and for nine more only their location is known, which in some cases was not correct. Detail mapping, characterization of the vegetation and fauna, physiological studies, analyses of biogeochemical and physical processes, economic valuations, and determination of the health status of the mangrove of the northern Pacific coast, as well as for the rest of Costa Rica, are neccesary and urgent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I explore the democratic potential of direct democracy, on the basis of a case study of the referendum on CAFTA that took place in Costa Rica on October 7, 2007. Theoretically, I aspire to show how developments in the field of participatory democracy can enrich the analysis of democratic regimes. Empirically, I describe the institutional design and political practices in this first experience. I conclude that the referendum entailed reversals in terms of electoral fairness and legitimacy, as well as progress in the construction of citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the evolution of public opinion, during the Referendum campaign over CAFTA. The data is based on telephone national surveys and includes the level of information, possible effects on the person interviewed, on the country, on its welfare State and on poor and vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Comités Patrióticos emerged in the context of the historic referendum on the Free Trade agreement with the United States. This paper offers an analysis of this movement based on a year of ethnographic research. I focus on questions of spatiotemporality and political scale, in order to illuminate how this movement has attempted, during and after the referendum, to articulate a new political structure capable of acting at once on local and national scales in order to challenge the neoliberal project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemoglobinopathies are hereditary autosomic recessive diseases. A total of 70 943 samples of whole blood collected by heel prick in filter paper (S&S 903) from throughout Costa Rica (October 2005-October 2006) were analyzed to detect variants of hemoglobin by the iso-electric focusing technique. Eight hundred ninety one cases presented some variant, for a frecuency of 1/79. Five cases are homozygous for hemoglobin S (sickle cell disease) and one shows the double heterozygous genotype SC. In this study the S and C variants of hemoglobin, although with some local differences, are widespread all over the country. Thus, the prevention of new cases is important through the testing of hemoglobin in the Costa Rican National Newborn Screening Program, together with a Interdisciplinary National Program of Education for the disease and carrier status (AS/AC) for patients, families and medicar personnel. This is the basis for proper genetic counseling, to improve treatment and to reduce morbi-mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describe the world flandrian sea transgression during the Holocene as a consequence of the post wurmian ice melting. The flandrian level never reached more than 3 meters high, but in Costa Rica this level is found at 10 meters under a positive neo tectonic influence, [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]