Browsing by Author "Ledesma, Yolanda E."

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A tentative analysis of the causal stress factors of graduate students of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico
(Universidad de Cuenca, 2016-12) Ledesma, Yolanda E.; Cobos, Angel R.
Stress reflects the body’s response to different demands, and it is generally accepted that good and bad experiences can cause stress. There is positive (eustress) and negative stress (distress), and both affect people. The factors causing stress range from physiological (e.g., fear of danger) too emotional (e.g., worry about money or family), and vary from person to person. The research question of this study was if the causes of stress are different between Latin American and American students at the Latin American Studies Program of the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque, the United States. The article depicts how local and foreign graduate students perceive their stress. Findings revealed that the top four common stressors for college students are academic responsibility, time management, financial situation, and personal relationships. Six qualitative methods, such as observation, individual interviews, focus groups, collective analysis, social mapping, and visual analysis, were used to collect insight in the phenomenon of stress. The collected information was codified, organized, classified and consolidated using the Atlas.ti database, and analyzed using the triangulation technique. Results show that stress perception is significantly influenced by the cultural differences between the students.
The triple helix model of silicon valley and Ecuador
(Universidad de Cuenca, 2016-12) Ledesma, Yolanda E.; Cobos, Angel R.
Silicon Valley emerged as a center of research and innovative technological development. The unprecedented success of Silicon Valley is a result of the interaction between the structural transformation of technology and economic resources, and the social, cultural and institutional conditions of entrepreneurship. Ecuador created recently the City of Knowledge “Yachay”; named the “Ecuadorian Silicon Valley”. The objective of this paper is to analyze the Government-Industry, Government-University, and University-Industry interactions in Silicon Valley and Ecuador in general, as basis for the identification of achievements and gaps. First, a brief review of the historical evolution of Silicon Valley during its 70 years of existence is given, highlighting the amazing and unexpected growth and technological and economic progress. The methodology used in this article is the Triple Helix model enabling to analyze the interactions between the three sectors: Government, Industry, and University. The initial double helix Government-University and University-Industry interactions in Silicon Valley converged over time into the triple helix University-Industry-Government relations. This article identifies the limitations of the relationships and suggest the strategies that the Ecuadorian government should pursue and implement the ones that lead the Valley to success. Ecuador is now trying to develop a knowledge economy in anticipation that someday its economy based on natural resources might dry up.