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The purpose of this article is to provide local authorities, consumers, retailers and vendors information about the consumer profile of shoppers at the organic farmers market that could be used for devising strategies for local organic market development.

The survey included information about the socio‐demographic, product characteristics and motives to purchase the product by the organic consumer. The selection of persons to be surveyed was random. The location of the survey was “La Feria del Trueque”, the largest organic farmers market in Costa Rica. During February 2004, 280 surveys were conducted and in 2005, 200 surveys. A single database was developed on the outcomes of the analysis of variance conducted. In order to detect the variables influencing the money spent monthly on organic fresh fruits and vegetables products and rank their importance, an ordinal probit model was specified using a restricted procedure.

The organic consumer in Costa Rica appears to be largely of middle age, with high monthly family incomes, female the primary buyer and highly educated. With an average family size of four members, one third of its income is spent on food and between 12 and 20 percent on organic fruits and vegetables and there seems to be a limit of around 20 percent in relation to the premium they are willing to pay for organic products. The organic consumer in Costa Rica recognizing the “obvious” differences seems to be somewhat similar to the organic consumer in the USA, Canada and Europe.

The similarities detected are significant for those looking to import and sell fresh and processed organic products in Central America, because they can apply international information to open the “local markets”, while they develop their local market research information. Buyers and sellers can use the information of this study to better negotiate local purchasing conditions. At the same time it will help local producers to improve its negotiations capabilities with the new international retailers arriving in Costa Rica.

The central objectives of this study are to identify the consumer profile of Costa Rica of those buying organic products at the organic farmers markets, and to determine the key variables influencing the consumer expenditures for organic products at the farmers organic markets.

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors associated with functionality, a clinical criterion that could predict frailty in the elderly people in a rural context.

This project is a cross-sectional descriptive analysis of 342 adults of age >60 years who are residents of Putumayo province in Colombia. Information regarding demographic characteristics, medical history, health perception and current illness was collected. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) protocol was used to perform cognitive evaluation; the Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale was used to establish depressive symptoms; and the Hamilton Rating Scale was used to assess anxiety level. Questionnaire was used to evaluate performance on instrumental activities of daily living that lead to functional independence [daily life questionnaire (DLQ)]. The medical outcomes study scale was used to assess social parameters.

A moderate and negative correlation was found between the DLQ score and age (r = −0.49; 95% CI: −0.57 to −0.47), whereas a positive correlation was found with education (r = 0.17; 95% CI: 0.07–0.27). Older adults with economic independence achieved a higher score in functional performance than those with economic dependence (standardized mean difference = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.33–0.77). This study observed a moderate correlation a moderate correlation between the MMSE cognitive performance (r = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.48−0.63) and the depressive symptomatology of Yesavage Scale (r = −0.36, 95% CI: −0.44 to −0.26). Finally, the structural model determined that age (r = −0.37), economic dependence (r = −0.383) and cognitive state (r = 0.309) determine the functional component.

This study provides empirical support about older adults living in rural contexts, around the functionality variable from a multidimensional approach, highlighting the sociodemographic and cognitive variables. Consequently, the policy of social support in older adults must be oriented toward the development of a range of divergent intervention strategies.

The study deals with the assessment of functionality in the elderly people from an interdisciplinary approach in the rural setting which presents a greater risk of physical and socioeconomic vulnerability. Therefore, the community, the health professionals and the government entities should help implement active aging programs for this population.

The purpose of this paper is to identify what type of changes, if any, have taken place, in the factors influencing coffee consumption among Costa Rican university students.

The study consisted of quantitative and qualitative phases. The quantitative data were collected through a written questionnaire distributed to a random sample of 370 students at a private university. The data were analyzed using Cronbach’s α, principal component/exploratory factor analysis and standardized ordinal logistic regression. Qualitative in-depth interviews with ten students were undertaken to verify the quantitative results.

Of the sample, 70 percent were females and 30 percent males. Of those interviewed, 70 percent drank coffee and 30 percent did not. In 64 percent of those who did not drink coffee, juice was the main substitute. The predictors of the coffee culture are: the country tradition, parents, general socialization with friends, home, workplace and restaurants. Tradition, parents and home were found to be the predictors of coffee culture for women; for men the predictors were the workplace and restaurants.

Coffee culture amongst university students is experiencing a transition, and the changes identified seem to be affected by the gender of the student and the change in the economic base of the country. The information will be valuable in marketing coffee to young people.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the imaginaries of Generation Z inhabitants of heritage cities in the Mexican Bajio regarding their city of residence and the institutional imaginary of urban tourism.

A total of 186 students from five Mexican heritage cities completed an online questionnaire and participated in focus groups. The authors used a mixed approach with qualitative analysis for open-ended responses and a Kruskal Wallis test to measure attitudes towards tourism and its relationship to place attachment and intangible cultural heritage identification.

The results showed a strong relationship between place attachment and perception of tourism, but attitudes towards tourism varied among the cities, and San Juan del Río was an outlier. Among the categories of intangible cultural heritage, oral traditions showed the least agreement between youth and institutional imaginaries.

Few studies have considered Mexican youth and their imagery of the small/medium-sized city in which they live when it is promoted as an urban tourist destination.

Comparar los imaginarios de los habitantes de la Generación Z de las Ciudades Patrimonio del Bajío mexicano respecto a su ciudad de residencia y el imaginario institucional del turismo urbano.

Aplicamos un cuestionario a 186 estudiantes de cinco ciudades patrimonio mexicanas quienes además, participaron en grupos focales. Se utilizó un enfoque mixto con análisis cualitativo para las respuestas abiertas y una prueba de Kruskal Wallis para medir las actitudes hacia el turismo y su relación con el apego al lugar y la identificación del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial.

Los resultados mostraron una fuerte relación entre el apego al lugar y la percepción del turismo, pero las actitudes hacia el turismo variaron entre las ciudades siendo San Juan del Río un caso atípico. Entre las categorías del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial, las tradiciones orales mostraron la menor concordancia entre los jóvenes y los imaginarios turísticos institucionales.

Pocos estudios han considerado el imaginario de jóvenes mexicanos con respecto a ciudades pequeñas-medianas en las que viven, cuando éstas se promueven como destinos turísticos urbanos

This article is based on the assumption that entrepreneurship improves quality of life (HDI). Its main objective is to establish causal relationships between entrepreneurship variables such as credits, innovation (R&D), business growth, foreign direct investment and the Global Competitiveness Index and how these have influenced a country's development.

To analyse and validate this assumption, relevant information has been extracted about Ecuador (the subject of the study) for the 1998–2017 period. The information has received the respective econometric treatment, through a multivariate estimation by the autoregressive vector (ARV) method that made it possible to establish impulse-response functions.

The results indicate that there is a significant and positive statistical impact between the variables related to entrepreneurship and quality of life (HDI), with the exception of “Innovation”, which is not representative in the model, demonstrating that the investment made at country level in R&D is not sufficient to have an impact on the HDI. It was also determined that promoting entrepreneurship would be useful as this would alter the trend of the variables, making them conducive to increasing the HDI.

This article is one of the few to address this issue. It includes the self-regressive vector model as a key methodology used to evaluate and establish public policies. RVM has provided positive results in the field of economics and can be adopted in the area of entrepreneurship.

El presente artículo se basa en el supuesto de que el emprendimiento mejora la calidad de vida de los individuos (IDH), siendo el objetivo principal establecer relaciones causales entre variables de emprendimiento como: Créditos, Innovación (I + D), Crecimiento Empresarial, Inversión Extranjera Directa e Índice de Competitividad Global; y, como estas han influido en el desarrollo de un país.

Para el análisis y validación del supuesto mencionado anteriormente, se ha extraído información relevante sobre el Ecuador (sujeto de estudio) para el período comprendido entre 1998 y 2017, a los cuales se les ha dado el respectivo tratamiento econométrico, a través de una estimación multivariante por el método de Vectores Autorregresivos (VAR) que permitió establecer funciones de impulso – respuesta.

Los resultados señalan que existe una significativa incidencia estadística entre las variables relacionadas con el emprendimiento y la calidad de vida (IDH) de manera positiva, a excepción de la “Innovación” que no tiene representatividad en el modelo, demostrando que la inversión realizada a nivel país en I + D es insuficiente para impactar el IDH. También se determinó la conveniencia de impulsar el emprendimiento, pues esto cambia la tendencia de las variables haciéndolas favorables para el crecimiento del IDH.

Este artículo es uno de los pocos en abordar esta problemática, además incluye el Modelo de Vectores Autorregresivos como una metodología clave para evaluar y establecer políticas públicas, que ha brindado resultados positivos en el campo de la Economía y que puede adoptarse en la rama del Emprendimiento.

The purpose of this study is to identify the key factors that drive social entrepreneurship (SE) among Ecuadorian social entrepreneurs.

The study was developed following a qualitative and exploratory research design based on the identification of social entrepreneurs through the nonprobabilistic sequential sampling technique, giving a total of fifteen social entrepreneurs who were given a structured interview that was later analyzed in the ATLAS.TI software for the identification, analysis and categorization of drivers.

The results will identify eight drivers for SE, including social exclusion, public support, sources of employment, economic income, family support, environmental awareness and fair trade, as standards and values. Overall, the findings help to improve the understanding of the factors that determine the creation and development of social enterprises in the country.

Deepen and increase the literature on SE in Latin America. Contribute to reducing the knowledge gap on the topic.

Taken together, the results provide empirical evidence and help to better understand the factors that determine the creation and development of social enterprises in the country.

Identificar los factores clave que impulsan el emprendimiento social en emprendedores sociales ecuatorianos.

El estudio se desarrolló siguiendo un diseño de investigación cualitativo y exploratorio basado en la identificación de emprendedores sociales a través de la técnica de muestreo secuencial no probabilístico, obteniendo un total de quince emprendedores sociales a quienes se les realizó una entrevista estructurada que posteriormente fue analizada en el software ATLAS.TI para la identificación, análisis y categorización de impulsores.

Los resultados identificarán ocho impulsores del empresariado social, entre los que se encuentran la exclusión social, el apoyo público, las fuentes de empleo, los ingresos económicos, el apoyo familiar, la conciencia medioambiental y el comercio justo, como normas y valores. En general, los resultados ayudan a mejorar la comprensión de los factores que determinan la creación y el desarrollo de empresas sociales en el país.

En conjunto, los resultados aportan evidencia empírica y ayudan a comprender mejor los factores que determinan la creación y desarrollo de empresas sociales en el país.

Profundizar e incrementar la literatura sobre Emprendimiento Social en América Latina. Contribuir a reducir la brecha de conocimiento sobre el tema.

Identificar os principais fatores que impulsionam o empreendedorismo social nos empreendedores sociais equatorianos.

O estudo foi desenvolvido de acordo com um projeto de pesquisa qualitativo e exploratório baseado na identificação de empreendedores sociais por meio da técnica de amostragem sequencial não probabilística, totalizando quinze empreendedores sociais que foram submetidos a uma entrevista estruturada, posteriormente analisada no software ATLAS.TI para identificação, análise e categorização dos fatores determinantes.

Os resultados identificarão oito motivadores do empreendedorismo social, incluindo exclusão social, apoio público, fontes de emprego, renda econômica, apoio familiar, consciência ambiental e comércio justo, como padrões e valores. Em geral, os resultados ajudam a melhorar a compreensão dos fatores que determinam a criação e o desenvolvimento de empresas sociais no país.

Em conjunto, os resultados fornecem evidências empíricas e ajudam a entender melhor os fatores que determinam a criação e o desenvolvimento de empresas sociais no país.

Aprofundar e aumentar a literatura sobre empreendedorismo social na América Latina. Contribuir para reduzir a lacuna de conhecimento sobre o tema.

This paper aims to analyze how psychosocial support influences caring activities toward indigenous older adults.

A descriptive study with the participation of 229 informal indigenous caregivers. The study considered both sociodemographic and medical variables. It used the mini-mental test to determine the cognitive level in the elderly. It applied the Yesavage and Zarit scales to establish depressive symptomatology and caregiver burden. Finally, the study used the MOS psychosocial support and Apgar screening questionnaires to assess the psychosocial dimension and the patient’s family functional state, respectively.

The study observed a low caregiver burden effect using the MOS questionnaire. This may be explained due to variability in the Zarit Scale Score product of other variables like years of care (−0.17 and −0.28), depressive symptoms (0.16 and 0.18), cognitive level (mini-mental) (−0.13 and −0.14) and comorbidity (0.26 and −0.27). The study obtained an incidence between (−0.02 and −0.12) when including all assessed dimensions into the model. The instrumental dimension in the social support questionnaire obtained the highest score.

Protective factors prevail in the group of indigenous caregivers allowing this activity to not trigger overload. Yet, variables such as the female gender, some comorbidities and the presence of depressive symptoms could be potential variables for dysfunction in this occupational role.

In order to understand interactions a_w vs equilibrium moisture content (EMC) in fortified coconut powder, moisture sorption isotherms were constructed under different storage conditions in order to predict the changes in their physical, chemical and microbiological properties that occur during storage and processing, which are unique to each food.

For which the moisture sorption isotherms were determined at three different temperatures (15, 25 and 35 °C), in a range of water activity from 0.1 to 0.90. Nine models, namely, the GAB, BET, Oswin, Smith, Halsey, Henderson, Chung and Pfost, Peleg and Caurie equations, were fitted to the sorption data. Various statistical tests were adopted as criteria to evaluate the fit performance of the models.

Of the models tested, the Peleg model gave the best fit to experimental data (R² = 0.997; R_MSE = 0.276), across the full range of water activities and at different temperatures. Humidity of the monolayer (m_o) was found between 2.54 and 2.34%, a fundamental parameter to define the storage and control conditions, given that it is considered the value at which the product is more stable. The net sorption isosteric heat (Q_st) increased to maximum and then diminished with increased moisture content (X_w); maximum values were obtained in the X_w interval between 0.48 and 2.87% (db), being between 35.72 and 99.26 kJ/mol, where the maximum value indicates coverage of the strongest bond sites and higher adsorbate-adsorbent interaction.

These results provide reliable experimental data on water absorption isotherms of the CP + FAC important to determine optimal processing, storing and packaging conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the actual uses of smartphones for university students while they are in the university, whether in the classroom or outside, to facilitate the use of mobile technologies in the university and in classroom activities.

The site was the main campus of a university with a population of 10,000 undergraduate students; a convenience sample of 370 students was estimated for 246 usable surveys, with 95% confidence interval and 6.12 percent error. The proposed conceptual framework is based on the unified theory of technology acceptance. The instrument was developed on the basis of the literature and it was validated through a qualitative–quantitative process. The data were collected fact-to-face and the analysis consisted of the estimation of a general profile, mean and standard deviation and the development of the ordinal logistic regression model to test the hypothesis. Minitab 16 was the program used for the calculations.

The instrument was found to be acceptable with a 0.90 α. The uses associated with the academic activities are: p8_1 search what I do not understand in the class, p5_1 read digital books, pdf and other documents, p9_1 study, p11_1 share course information and p2_1 take photos of class blackboard and another type of materials. For non-academic uses, the uses were: p14 calendar, p4 listening to music, p9 telephone calls and p7 interacting with new students. The adaptation of mobiles to university education has to harmonize students’ use, professors’ objections and institutional concerns; therefore, four elements are needed before a decision is made: professors’ training, teaching material development, infrastructure adaptation and a sound plan.

The selection of students was a convenience sample; therefore, the results cannot be extrapolated beyond the sample.

The study clarifies the traditional idea popular in the area, that is, students use the mobile only for entertainment, and suggests ways to managerially deal with the issue in an orderly fashion, by investing in human capital, infrastructure and electronic teaching tools.

The value is that the findings provide some ideas regarding the uses of smartphones for university students while they are in the university; such information can be used to orient strategies to develop educational uses of the smartphone.