María Soledad Segarra Morales

Urban pedestrianization has become a widely adopted strategy to promote sustainable mobility, improve urban livability, and enhance the quality of public space. Despite its potential benefits, pedestrianization interventions often generate heterogeneous perceptions among different user groups, which may influence their long-term acceptance. This study analyzes citizen perceptions of an urban pedestrianization intervention implemented in the city of Loja, Ecuador, considering residents, business owners or employees, and pedestrians or visitors. A structured survey was conducted, and the collected data were analyzed using exploratory analytical techniques, including rescaled single-item indices, user segmentation, and Spearman correlation analysis to identify patterns and relationships among variables. The results reveal significant associations between socio-demographic characteristics, user type, and acceptance of permanent pedestrianization, as well as differentiated patterns of urban experience. These findings provide empirical evidence to support decision-making in urban mobility policies and contribute to the academic discussion on pedestrianization in intermediate Latin American cities.

Introducción: El artículo presenta la experiencia de implementar la Teoría de Roles de Belbin en la formación de equipos de trabajo y evaluar su desempeño mediante el trabajo colaborativo con estudiantes universitarios de ingeniería. Metodología: Se evalúa la percepción de los estudiantes en su experiencia en cuanto al trabajo colaborativo, mediante encuesta de percepción enfocadas a la participación, la comunicación y la distribución de tareas dentro de los equipos de trabajo. Resultados: El estudio se realizó con una muestra de 54 estudiantes de ingeniería, con edad promedio de 21 años. Se formaron 11 equipos de trabajo equilibrados en roles. Los resultados de la encuesta muestran consistencia y mejoras significativas al finalizar el curso. Discusión: El nivel de conocimiento, la preparación para trabajar en equipo y el nivel de participación en el equipo, experimentan mejoras significativas al finalizar el curso, gracias al enfoque del reto y la metodología aplicada. Conclusiones: La aplicación de la Teoría de Roles de Belbin puede contribuir al fortalecimiento del trabajo colaborativo en entornos académicos de ingeniería. No obstante, se destaca la necesidad de explorar estrategias adicionales para abordar las preferencias en la formación de equipos por parte de los estudiantes.

The development of soft skills in academic and professional environments is crucial for the success of professionals in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, known as STEM. Especially in engineering, soft skill development reflects the growth and progress of a country. Therefore, higher education institutions should focus not only on the development of soft skills but also on the acquisition of specific technical competencies in engineering. It should also be considered that the development of soft skills is self-perceived and progresses differently in men and women. A positive self-perception of leadership and communication skills significantly influences women's decision to start or continue a STEM career, which may contribute, among other factors, to reducing the gender gap in civil engineering careers-one of the main global issues. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the self-perception of leadership and communication skills among high school and university students in southern Ecuador to design attraction campaigns that encourage interest in STEM careers. The study was conducted with high school students from a public school in the Catamayo canton and civil engineering students from Loja, Ecuador. To gather information, a structured 12-question survey was applied to 68 high school and university students. The results reveal greater variability in the responses of high school students and greater stability in the responses of university students. Regarding communication skills, both high school and university students perceive themselves positively, with women showing greater consistency at the university level compared to men. In terms of leadership, women show a decrease in their selfperception of leadership from high school to university, unlike men. The project's results are limited to a specific group of students; however, they motivate further research with samples from diverse geographical locations to generalize the findings.

The gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields remains a persistent issue globally. Despite recent progress, significant disparities continue to exist. This study aims to identify and analyze the gender gap in scientific publications among researchers in a specific university located in southern Ecuador. A sample of 188 male and female faculty members indexed in the Scopus database, spanning a 10-year period, was utilized. The study focuses on a specific university located in Ecuador and analyzes the gender gap in scientific publications within STEM. Women excel in education and management, while men focus on biology and ecosystems. Men publish more in journals/books, and women in conferences. Implicit bias, lack of mentorship, and work-life balance issues contribute to the gender gap. Effective strategies must be developed to promote gender equality in STEM fields, given the underrepresentation of women at higher academic levels and the potential disadvantages they face in finding suitable research partners.

This paper shows the research conducted on the employment situation and entrepreneurship projection of students and alumni of STEM careers in a private university with two modes of study (face-to-face and distance) in Ecuador. In order to carry out the research, qualitative and quantitative exploration and approximation techniques were applied to obtain comparable and differentiable data between genders. The results show that there are some significant differences between the tendency of the group of STEM men and women and only women in the work situation in which they find themselves, evidencing a need for work that forces them to develop in areas little or not at all related to their training, data that are complemented with the motivations, limitations and willingness to undertake of students in STEM careers.

El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar la influencia de las restricciones del tránsito vehicular sobre el número de contagios y fallecimientos por el COVID-19 en una ciudad al sur del Ecuador. Se analizó el tránsito de ingreso y salida a la ciudad, las leyes gubernamentales y las tendencias del COVID-19 en la zona de estudio. Como resultado, las restricciones del tránsito vehicular influyeron sobre el número de contagios semanales, así como los fallecimientos semanales por el coronavirus. This study aims to analyze the impact of vehicular traffic restrictions on the number of infections and deaths by COVID-19 in a city in southern Ecuador. Traffic into and out of the city, government laws, and COVID-19 trends in the study area were analyzed. As a result, vehicle traffic restrictions influenced the number of weekly infections, as well as weekly deaths from the coronavirus. Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar o impacto das restrições de tráfego de veículos no número de infecções e mortes por COVID-19 em uma cidade no sul do Equador. Foram analisados ​​o tráfego de entrada e saída da cidade, as leis do governo e as tendências do COVID-19 na área de estudo. Como resultado, as restrições de tráfego de veículos influenciaram o número de infecções semanais, bem como as mortes semanais pelo coronavírus.