Business University of Costa Rica

Welcome to the Global Bioethics Bulletin, a recurring series of concise, region-led dispatches on themes of global ethical importance.

Under the theme “Let the Church Declare and Display Christ Together,” Lausanne 4 in Incheon, South Korea, gathered over 5,000 evangelical Christians from around the world. Regrettably, in spite of the ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity present, the concentration on “managerial missiology” to the detriment of other missiological strands meant that opportunities were lost for the polyphonic potential to be realized in nourishing integral Gospel witness.

La investigación analizó el uso de herramientas tecnológicas en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes de Cuarto Año de Educación Básica de la Unidad Educativa Nuevo Amanecer. Se aplicaron estrategias metodológicas de enfoque descriptivo y observación directa en el aula, complementadas con encuestas a docentes y estudiantes, con el fin de identificar la relación entre la integración de recursos digitales y el aprendizaje. Los resultados mostraron que el empleo de plataformas educativas, pizarras digitales, aplicaciones móviles y materiales multimedia favoreció la participación activa de los estudiantes y contribuyó al desarrollo de competencias cognitivas. Se evidenció que el rendimiento académico mejoró cuando los docentes integran las tecnologías dentro de un diseño pedagógico planificado y cuando existió acceso equitativo a la infraestructura tecnológica. Asimismo, se observó que la capacitación docente y la supervisión del uso de los recursos digitales fueron factores determinantes para garantizar aprendizajes significativos. Las conclusiones señalan que las herramientas tecnológicas constituyen un apoyo relevante en el proceso educativo, siempre que se utilicen de manera intencional y acompañadas de estrategias pedagógicas adecuadas. La investigación implica que la formación continua de los docentes y la regulación del acceso a la tecnología son condiciones necesarias para potenciar el rendimiento académico y asegurar una educación inclusiva y de calidad.

The unique mutualism between male euglossine bees and the perfume flowers they pollinate in tropical America is one of the most iconic plant–pollinator associations, with a rich body of research incorporating chemical ecology, speciation, and natural history. Male bees collect species-specific blends of compounds from the environment to subsequently use during courtship display. As bees exhibit rapidly evolving olfactory preferences, divergence in floral scent causing visitation by different sets of bee species is thought to drive speciation of the plants via pollinator isolation. Here, we synthesize our current understanding of this specialized system, reviewing the extensive literature on chemical production and diversity in these plants with implications for speciation, and discuss broader patterns from biogeographic and macroevolutionary studies in the group. We highlight gaps in knowledge and propose promising future avenues of research.

ABSTRACTThe temporal distribution of rainfall is a key driver of flood response. Yet, flood estimation methods are frequently based on symmetrical design profiles. Recent research using sub‐hourly rainfall data from Great Britain indicates that a significant proportion of observed rainfall events are non‐symmetrical. This paper investigates how different rainfall profiles affect river flow hydrographs for a set of small, flash‐flooding catchments. Results show that rainfall profiles affect observed hydrograph peak flow and timing. Most importantly, back‐loaded rainfall profiles lead to higher peak flows than symmetrical or front‐loaded profiles. These observations are compared to current design practice, using the Revitalised Flood Hydrograph (ReFH2.3) model to simulate flows from different rainfall profiles. Simulated events reproduce the observed response of peak magnitude but differ for peak time. A comparison of modelled flows with catchment descriptors indicates that steep, low permeability, wet catchments are most sensitive to rainfall profile shape. These are also the most vulnerable catchments to flash flooding. We recommend that different rainfall profile shapes should be considered for flood risk assessments in rapid response catchments, particularly since global warming is increasing the number of intense, short‐duration downpours.