Volumen 1 No. 1 (2010)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://dspace-test.ucuenca.edu.ec/handle/123456789/5373

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La clasificación de universidades como herramienta de gestión universitaria
(Universidad de Cuenca, 2010-12) Feyen, Jan; Vázquez Zambrano, Raúl Fernando; Universidad de Cuenca; DIUC; Dirección de Investigación de la Universidad de Cuenca
The recent discussion on university ranking raised quite some commotion among the Ecuadorian academic society. Because Ecuadorian universities do not produce Nobel Prize winners, public and private investment in research are limited, academicians hardly produce articles in recognized scientific journals, among other factors, are responsible that the higher education institutions in Ecuador do not rank in the top of the world university ranking systems. The tendency exists to impeach the value of the world ranking systems by stating that the criteria used are far away from Ecuador‟s reality. True, but the moderate to low ranking might be an incentive for the universities to be more alert and look for ways to improve the institutional performance and in doing so enhancing its competitiveness at national and international level. In this respect, the paper first examines the relation between higher education and development with Ecuador as case study, as to come to an MASKANA, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2010 Revista semestral de la DIUC 4 interpretation of the ranking of Ecuador‟s higher educational institutes. In contradiction to the misinterpretation of the ranking systems by local academicians, the article explains briefly the basis of 5 world university ranking systems, illustrates that a given institution ranks different in each of the ranking systems, compares and explains the ranking of 10 Ecuadorian institutions that classify in the Ranking Iberoamericano SIR 2010 and the Ranking Web, to conclude that the Ranking Iberoamericano SIR 2010 and the ranking of the Consejo Nacional de Evaluación y Acreditación (CONEA) yield upon a few exceptions very similar results. Since international rankings put quite some emphasis on research and research output, two avenues are discussed to improve the institutional publication record, i.e. (i) attracting junior staff with doctorate, having experience writing scientific articles, including the creation of an inductive research environment, and (ii) establishing in the institution a scientific journal offering to inexperienced staff the opportunity of acquiring and/or improving writing skills.
Evaluation of a data-based hydrological model for simulating the runoff of medium sized Andean basins
(Universidad de Cuenca, 2010-12) Célleri Alvear, Rolando Enrique; Willems, Patrick; Feyen, Jan; Universidad de Cuenca; Dirección de Investigación de la Universidad de Cuenca; DIUC
Using timeseries of rainfall and streamflow of two basins in the Andean mountain range, South Ecuador, different in size (300 and 1260 Km2), a generalized lumped conceptual model (VHM), offering the possibility of using different levels of complexity with number of model parameters varying between 5 and 15, was tested. To increase the information timeseries of total streamflow were split in timeseries of quick, intermittent and baseflow, and the timeseries were discretized to select independent events of high and low flows. The paper outlines in detailed the procedure for the model structure identification, calibration and validation, as well as the multi-objective criteria approach used to evaluate the performance of the model and its components. It has been shown that the model structure, consisting of a module for soil storage and quick flow, was able to model for both basins the water balance and streamflow components with acceptable accuracy. A low value of the soil water storage facilitates the model calibration but it is not a guarantee that the model performs better. The study further reveals that the risk of over-parameterization
Incorporation of aquatic ecology to the hydrological investigation of ecosystems in the high Andes
(Universidad de Cuenca, 2010-12) Hampel, Henrietta; Cocha, Jenny; Vimos, Diego; Universidad de Cuenca; Dirección de Investigación de la Universidad de Cuenca; DIUC
Ecosystem services in high mountains support the life of millions of people dependent on the well functioning of these ecosystems. Collection and interpretation of hydrologic data in South Ecuador has a long record but almost no ecological investigation has been carried out in the various aquatic ecosystems. Combined, hydrologic and ecological research would provide an integrated picture on the functioning and importance of high mountain ecosystems which in future could be the base of new projects and policies on protection and conservation measures at local and regional scale. This article describes an ongoing research with general objective the characterization of the structure of various aquatic ecosystems based on the sampling of different trophic levels and analysis of the limnology. More specific objectives are: (1) definition of the conservation status of high mountain lagoons; (2) analyzing the effect of vegetation cover on aquatic community structure; (3) assessing the impact of hydrological connectivity on the faunal composition of different ecosystems; and (4) examining the effect of ultraviolet radiation on the status of aquatic communities. Project activities cover: detailed planning of sampling activities, implementation of sampling campaigns for the collection of needed samples and information, laboratory work, data analyses using various statistical methods and publishing results in extension and scientific manuscripts. The project will improve the knowledge of the ecosystem functioning of high mountain ecosystems in South Ecuador.
Localización de sitios en mapas raster para minimizar impactos de flujo
(Universidad de Cuenca, 2010-12) Vanegas, Pablo; Cattrysse, Dirk; Van Orshoven, Jos; Universidad de Cuenca; Dirección de Investigación de la Universidad de Cuenca; DIUC
Policy and decision makers dealing with environmental conservation and land use planning often require identifying potential sites for contributing to minimize sediment flow reaching riverbeds. This is the case of reforestation initiatives, which can have sediment flow minimization among their objectives. This paper proposes an Integer Programming (IP) formulation and a Heuristic solution method for selecting a predefined number of locations to be reforested in order to minimize sediment load at a given outlet in a watershed. Although the core structure of both methods can be applied for different sorts of flow, the formulations are targeted to minimization of sediment delivery. The proposed approaches make use of a Single Flow Direction (SFD) raster map covering the watershed in order to construct a tree structure so that the outlet cell corresponds to the root node in the tree. The results obtained with both approaches are in agreement with expert assessments of erosion levels, slopes and distances to the riverbeds, which in turn allow concluding that the studied approaches are suitable for minimizing sediment flow.
Modelación hidrológica de una microcuenca altoandina ubicada en el Austro Ecuatoriano
(Universidad de Cuenca, 2010-12) Vázquez Zambrano, Raúl Fernando; Universidad de Cuenca; Dirección de Investigación de la Universidad de Cuenca; DIUC
Despite its importance, the hydrology of the Andean catchments is at the moment not well known. Hence, facing the continuously growing concern from society for a sustainable use of water resources and the conservation of mountain catchments of the Ecuadorian Austral region, it is relevant to start with research initiatives for getting to know, among other aspects, the interrelationships between climate and hydrology of páramos and the capacity of these ecosystems to “produce” water. In this context, the current manuscript describes some of the experiences modelling the hydrology of a micro-catchment located to the south-west of Cuenca (Ecuador), presenting some details of the model construction for the study site on the basis of a lumped conceptual code (NAM), as well as, some preliminary modelling results. The modelling protocol included a deterministic/stochastic approach based on Monte Carlo simulations. The initial modelling results are acceptable, which encourages the further improvement of the current version of the model, as well as, the further use of the numerical code on additional study sites such as Andean sub-catchments and catchments of interest.

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Browsing Volumen 1 No. 1 (2010) by Author "Dirección de Investigación de la Universidad de Cuenca"