Chilean System Research Articles

Why reducing socio-environmental externalities of electricity system expansions can boost the development of solar power generation: The case of Chile

In recent years, the transition towards low-carbon electricity systems has increased the development of renewable generation and, in turn, of transmission infrastructure. Importantly, developing low-carbon technologies (that are generally located far from load centers) and their associated network infrastructure, may conflict with land uses that are valuable by society (e.g. the presence of national parks, indigenous development, touristic zones, etc.). Appropriately addressing this conflict is key for policy makers and regulators to foster an effective, sustainable, and socially acceptable system expansion. In this context, this work analyzes the effects of accounting for these land-use, socio-environmental externalities on the expansion of the entire power system. For a more effective mitigation of system expansion impacts on land uses, we propose to coordinate the needed investments among the various market participants such as generation developers and network planners. To assess this proposal, we develop a two-stage stochastic program that determines the future generation and network expansions considering both (i) a balance between monetary/investment costs and their corresponding socio-environmental externality costs (derived from the land-use impacts of new electricity investments), and (ii) different levels of coordination among market participants. Hence, we can assess the benefits of various coordination strategies against the actual approach to system expansions with no coordination among developers. By running various case studies based on the Chilean electricity system by 2030, we show that recognition of socio-environmental externalities at the moment of deciding system expansions can have a significant impact on the location of future infrastructure and, remarkably, on the entire mix of new generation projects. Particularly, we found an increase in bulk, transmission-connected solar power generation capacity by circa 25% when land-use externalities are considered in the system expansion problem. This is so because bulk solar power generation projects tend to present less socio-environmental impacts (since the solar power potential is generally higher in deserts and arid regions, away from populated areas) and, up to a certain extent, have the ability to displace the need for other generation technologies, particularly hydropower, located in areas with significantly conflicting land uses. We also demonstrated the benefits of investment coordination in supporting both an increased penetration of solar power generation, and an economically effective and sustainable development of a low-carbon power system in Chile.

Evolution of seismic design codes of highway bridges in Chile

Chile, as a country with a long history of strong seismicity, has a record of both a constant upgrading of its seismic design codes and structural systems, particularly for bridges, as a result of major earthquakes. Recent earthquakes in Chile have produced extensive damage to highway bridges, such as deck collapses, large transverse residual displacements, yielding and failure of shear keys, and unseating of the main girders, demonstrating that bridges are highly vulnerable structures. Much of this damage can be attributed to construction problems and poor detailing guidelines in design codes. After the 2010 Maule earthquake, new structural design criteria were incorporated for the seismic design of bridges in Chile. The most significant change was that a site coefficient was included for the estimation of the seismic design forces in the shear keys, seismic bars, and diaphragms. This article first traces the historical development of earthquakes and construction systems in Chile to provide a context for the evolution of Chilean seismic codes. It then describes the seismic performance of highway bridges during the 2010 Maule earthquake, including the description of the main failure modes observed in bridges. Finally, this article provides a comparison of the Chilean bridge seismic code against the Japanese and United States codes, considering that these codes have a great influence on the seismic codes for Chilean bridges. The article demonstrates that bridge design and construction practices in Chile have evolved substantially in their requirements for the analysis and design of structural elements, such as in the definition of the seismic hazard to be considered, tending toward more conservative approaches in an effort to improve structural performance and reliability for Chilean bridges.

Exploring Conflict of Interest in University Accreditation in Chile.

The university accreditation system in Chile appears to be influenced by tensions between interest groups from well-established institutions and newer (private) institutions. These institutions depend to a certain extent on accreditation decisions to obtain indirect public funding. However, the system relies on faculty nominated by conglomerates formed by these same institutions to decide on accreditation. This arrangement creates a potential conflict of interest that can jeopardize the accreditation’s legitimacy. We explore this potential bias through an empirical study examining voting behaviour by commissioners of the Chilean National Commission of Accreditation from March 2013 to October 2016. We assess whether commissioners appeared as favouring institutions within their appointing conglomerates. To our knowledge, this is the first study in the region designed to examine the presence of bias in higher education accreditation. Findings indicate commissioners, on average, tended to favour institutions in their appointing conglomerates. We discuss the findings in the broader context of a forthcoming reform of the accreditation system.

Clinical validation of an artificial intelligence-based diabetic retinopathy screening tool for a national health system

ObjectiveTo evaluate the accuracy and validity of an automated diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening tool (DART, TeleDx, Santiago, Chile) that uses artificial intelligence to analyze ocular fundus photographs for potential implementation in the national Chilean DR screening programme.MethodThis was an observational study of 1123 diabetic eye exams using a validation protocol designed by the commission of the Chilean Ministry of Health personnel and retina specialists.ResultsReceiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated a sensitivity of 94.6% (95% CI: 90.9–96.9%), specificity of 74.3% (95% CI: 73.3–75%), and negative predictive value of 98.1% (95% CI: 96.8–98.9%) for the automated tool at the optimal operating point for DR screening. The area under the ROC curve was 0.915.ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest that DART is a valid tool that could be implemented in a heterogeneous health network such as the Chilean system.

Foliar Indicators and Sweet Cherry Production Efficiency in Central Leader and Kym Green Bush Training Systems in Chile

ABSTRACT Canopy development and production efficiency variations were evaluated in four sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars: ‘Bing’, ‘Lapins’, ‘Sweetheart’ and ‘Regina’, grafted on different vigor rootstocks: ‘Colt’, ‘Cab-6P, ‘Maxma-14’ and ‘Gisela-12’, and conducted in two training systems: Central Leader (CL) and Kym Green Bush (KGB), growing in Chile. Leaf indicators were calculated after tree defoliation. A principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted to select indicators that explain the variation among the combinations. Results showed that leaf size and number varied between different cultivar/rootstock combinations and training systems. By means of two principal components, the model employed could explain 72% of the data variability. The most relevant indicators for the PC1 were: leaf weight per hectare (0.98) and leaf area index (0.97), with a significant training system effect, whereas for the PC2 they were: leaf weight per leaf area (0.85) and production per leaf area (0.72), mainly for productive efficiency. In ‘Lapins’/‘Colt’, the KGB system presented a higher weight and leaf area than CL, with almost double the leaf weight per hectare and leaf area index, due mainly to a 37% leaf area per tree and 20% higher tree number/ha in KGB. However, average production per leaf area reached 0.49 kg m−2, without distinction between training systems.

Racism, Interculturality, and Public Policies: An Analysis of the Literature on Migration and the School System in Chile, Argentina, and Spain

In the last decades, Chile has become a receiving society of migrants, and this has overtaxed the social services in this country, among them the school system. According to the literature, the issue is that migration has not been addressed with a proper response from public policies. This article aims to examine recommendations for the development of these policies. To undertake this task, we have conducted a systematic review of the literature on this issue in Chile, Argentina, and Spain (1990–2018). The three cases show the presence of discrimination and racism, with a common response taking the form of intercultural education. In terms of differences, only in Spain there is a consolidated body of research and public policies that focus on migration. That said, although the policies are more robust in Spain, several studies critically assess them. Hence, this country is a good example to know what to do and what to avoid. That information is exactly what is needed in countries like Chile where migration has become pressing issue that demands a proper response.

Mortality from AIDS and tuberculosis-HIV coinfection in the Chilean AIDS Cohort of 2000-2017.

This article aims to assess the sociodemographic and epidemiological factors associated with AIDS and tuberculosis-HIV coinfection mortality in the Chilean adult population between 2000 and 2017. This is a retrospective observational study, evaluating the incidence density of TB-HIV coinfection mortality in the population over 14 years of age. We used data from the Chilean AIDS Cohort database, 17,512 people enrolled in highly active antiretroviral therapy in the public health system in Chile. The Kaplan-Meier survival function and Cox regression were applied. Incidence density of 0.05 for 39,283 person-years for mortality with TB-HIV coinfection was recorded, with an increase in new cases in people living with AIDS among Aymara and Mapuche indigenous populations. Risk factors included CD4 < 500 cells/mm3 (HR = 3.2; 95%CI: 2.2-4.9), viral load at the start of treatment > 10,000 copies/uL (HR = 1.3; 95%CI: 1.2-1.6). Having high school or higher education (HR = 0.76; 95%CI: 0.6-0.9) is a protective factor for mortality for coinfection. Mortality was concentrated in TB-HIV coinfected people with increasing mortality among women and indigenous populations. The paper contributes to the growing recognition of the role of social determinants in disease outcomes, and the requirement to improve community-focused and community-based testing, sex education in schools, and structural interventions to reduce the adult mortality in Chilean population.

Teachers' Strikes in 2015 and 2019 and the Debate Surrounding the Education System in Chile

Teachers' Strikes in 2015 and 2019 and the Debate Surrounding the Education System in Chile

Tensiones y debates para desmercantilizar la educación en Chile

The United States, England and Chile are considered the first countries to apply neoliberal policies during the 1970s. Education, in the case of Chile, is currently considered a paradigm of commodification and privatization. In this context, as a result of the pressure of social movements led by students since 2009, reforms for its decommodification have begun to be developed. This article addresses in analysis the legal bodies that have been incorporated as a way to regulate the processes of neoliberalization of the education system in Chile: General Education Law (2009), Quality Assurance Law (2011), Inclusion Law (2015) and Public Education Law (2017). From the analysis of documentary primary sources, laws, decrees and others, tensions and resistances are analyzed. It is evidenced that, along with the measures taken to give a new orientation to the educational system, market regulation has been incorporated and maintained. This situation demonstrates the current tensions in the legislation, in spite of proposing reforms to decommodify education, the educational market is persistent in the Chilean case.

Spending on primary healthcare in two government administrations in Chile since the dictatorship

Since the Declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978, primary healthcare (PHC) is considered an essential component of health systems. In the Chilean case, management of primary care was municipalized during the dictatorship and maintained by the subsequent governments, with some reforms. The aim of this article was to estimate and analyze spending in PHC in Chile, during the governments of Sebastián Piñera and Michelle Bachelet. Collection of financial data was oriented by the model of National Health Accounts (CNS), and later the amounts were deflated according to the Consumer Price Index. The principal source of information was the National System of Municipal Information (SINIM). The results show that during the period there was a permanent increase in spending in PHC; however, the average percent change was slightly higher in the first government compared to the second. The percentage of spending in PHC in relation to public spending in health was 21.4% for the eight years, with few variations. Indicators show that inequalities between administrative and health regions are increasing steadily. Therefore, although transfers to fund primary care services are increasing, they may be poorly distributed. This and other problems like the commodification of services and dismantlement of the network compromise the consolidation of PHC, especially in a health system based on contributive insurance like the Chilean system.

Management Challenges in the Implementation of Child Protection System of Chile

Management Challenges in the Implementation of Child Protection System of Chile

First natural spawning of wild-caught premature south pacific bonito (Sarda chiliensis chiliensis, Cuvier 1832) conditioned in recirculating aquaculture system and a descriptive characterization of their eggs embryonic development

This investigation revealed the first biological bases of embryonic development until the hatching of South Pacific bonito Sarda chiliensis chiliensis eggs. The characteristics and stages of embryonic development were described until the hatching stage. The eggs were obtained by natural spawning from wild-caught broodstocks that were conditioned to captivity for more than 1 year in a 75 m3 marine land-based aquaculture recirculating system in Chile. The water temperature range in the broodstock RAS, during the natural spawns events, was between 18.6 °C and 19.8 °C in December 2012, between 20.4 °C and 21.2 °C in January 2013, between 21.5 °C and 22.4 °C in February 2013, and between 21.90 °C and 22.87 °C in march. Incubators’ water temperature was kept similar, through daily water exchanges, to the temperature recorded at the broodstock tank to lessen thermal stress which could affect the embryonic development. Thirty-one embryonic stages were characterized in 71.83 h until eggs hatching. Five periods of embryonic were distinguished: morula, blastula, gastrula, neurula, and metamery. Translucent telolecitic eggs hatched on the third day of incubation, and which was comparatively longer than reported for Atlantic bonito Sarda sarda and the eastern Pacific bonito Sarda chiliensis lineolata. The morphometric data with the most significant variability between the stages of embryonic development were: the length and height of the head, and the length and height of the eye. These are the first embryonic development studies conducted with eggs naturally spawned from wild-caught Sarda chiliensis chiliensis.

Prefabricated buildings in Chile: energy diagnosis, 40 years after their construction. Case study: KPD buildings, Santiago de Chile

KPD residential buildings, although simple and discrete, are emblematic of Chile. Their story in this country starts with an earthquake and is intertwined with the antagonistic governments of Salvador Allende and Augusto Pinochet. These buildings have remained outside current thermal regulations, and have become part of an extensive built housing stock that need to be diagnosed in terms of energy, to align them with domestic thermal requirements and, in this way, improve the quality of life of their inhabitants and contribute to what Chile has already committed to in terms of carbon neutrality. This article presents a thermal comfort evaluation case study of a KPD residential building complex in the Metropolitan Region. Concretely, four buildings are analyzed, each with the same materials and distribution, but with different orientations. The evaluation methodology considered a three-fold approach: regulatory, labeling and subjective and involved their inhabitants in the diagnosis, who had constantly and inexplicably been marginalized in previous analyses of their own homes. The results show discrepancies between the residents’ perception and the comfort range used by the current energy rating system in Chile.

Demonyms in the Pacific Alliance countries: morphological and semantic variation

The existing research on onomastics does not sufficiently reflect upon the relation between cultural codes and demonyms, having in mind that demonyms universally represent linguistic devices for expressing territorial and regional identity. The article focuses on the complex polyparadigmal analysis of the system of demonyms related to the macrotoponymy of the four founding countries of the Pacific Alliance: Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Each of the four founding countries of the Pacific Alliance is characterised by the uniqueness of its culture, historical development, the specifics of the national variant of Spanish that reflects the indigenous influence of substrates and the collective values of the society. The research tasks of the article consist in systemising the morphological devices and the cultural layers of demonyms connected with the administrative division of given countries, detecting the variation parameters, comparing them from the linguacultural point of view. The main material of the research have been 100 official demonyms of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and 31 variative denominations. The materials for the research are based on the official websites of the administrative units of the four countries, dictionaries data, diverse types of texts and discourse, as well as the notes of the informants speech. The research uses such methods as the continuous sampling method based on Internet sources, the analysis of dictionary definitions, the method of semantic interpretation, the morphological analysis, combined with interviews with informants whose interaction is made possible by the complex polyparadigmal analysis of the material. The authors have determined a series of lexemes that function as demonyms, analysed their form and content from the linguistic point of view. It has been revealed that the main tendency in the formation of suppletive demonyms for macrotoponyms are the terrain features and the assessment of ethnic background or mentality. The analysed demonyms manifest the relations of intralingual, intervariant homonymy, as well as hypo-hyperonymic relations. The complex analysis of the material has provided an opportunity to represent the demonym systems of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru as multidimensional and at the same time inherent to the unified functional continuum of entity in Spanish-speaking countries. The research results have led to the conclusion that demonyms act as independent notions and generators of new meanings and allusions. It is recommended to use transliteration when translating suppletive demonyms, while their decoding amplifies the linguacultural competence of Spanish-language students and harmonises the intercultural dialogue with the native speakers of Chilean, Colombian, Mexican and Peruvian national variants of Spanish in the areas of education and business.

The transition from a deregulated market to a centralised school admission system in Chile: mapping middle-class responses to new school choice rules

ABSTRACT Despite increasing consensus around strengthening school choice regulations to reduce its segregating effects, policy changes and research in this direction are scarce. In that context, this article tackles the recent equity-oriented reform introduced in the highly marketised Chilean school system. Based on in-depth interviews, we explore the responses of middle-class parents to the implementation of a new centralised admission system that modified the school choice rules. Our findings differentiate five types of responses. Alongside uncovering a significant opposition from parents for whom the reform is experienced as a threat to their middle-classness, we found a variety of stances consistent with heterogeneity within the broader middle class, and we reveal a high ambivalence in their policy interpretations. From these findings, we discuss the sociocultural complexities of reforms aimed at balancing choice and equity, and we contribute to prior literature by unravelling the nuances in the middle-class attitudes towards desegregation policies.

Transitioning to the safe and just space inside ‘the doughnut’ by means of agroecological niche food systems: insights from Chile and Uruguay

To operate within the safe and just operating space captured by the doughnut metaphor, sustainability transitions are needed in the food system. Niche food systems with highly distinct practices and organization constitute a treasure chest of alternatives from which society can build new futures. Policy has little awareness of niche food systems and their potential contributions to sustainability transitions. Importantly, this limits society’s ability to adapt. Here, we review findings from an ongoing scientific project into different components of the vegetable food systems in Chile and Uruguay. The aim of the project is to investigate options for transitioning to low- or no-pesticide vegetable food systems. The results show: 1. the presence of promising alternative vegetable food systems in Chile, which are, however, highly marginalized and disempowered; 2. a diversity of vertical and horizontal producer arrangements in Uruguay and the need for value-driven as well as market-driven engagement; and 3. major possibilities for improving production systems to arrive within the doughnut by taking a systems perspective at the farm scale that includes the farm families and their networks. Consequences of these findings for alternative vegetable food systems are discussed.

Breaking the breach in Latin America. A pilot study of mechanical thrombectomy in the public healthcare system in Chile.

Brief commentary about implications of the Pilot Study of Mechanical Thrombectomy in the Public Healthcare System of Chile.

Public perception and adoption of Solar Water Heating systems in Chile: The role of supply side income tax credits

During the last decade, the Chilean government introduced a corporate income tax credit for construction companies installing Solar Water Heating (SWH) systems in new housing developments. The credit aims to provide hot-water solutions to the residential sector with a cheaper and more environmentally-friendly than fossil fuels. The tax benefits were initially granted from 2010 to 2013, during which time a total of 40,705 SWHs were installed. The credits were renewed for the 2016–2020 period, and SWH installations surpassed 100,000. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the public perception regarding the use of SWH systems and the specific role of the tax credit program in the diffusion of SWHs during the initial period. Moreover, the analysis discusses the incentive mechanism applied in Chile and highlights several of the challenges regarding its implementation. Data was gathered using a face-to-face survey of households in three regions of Chile: Metropolitan Santiago, Valparaíso and Coquimbo, where most of the SWH were installed. The results showed that an average of 76% of the beneficiaries were highly satisfied with the SWH installations and operation, nearly 99% of respondents believed that this type of energy should be expanded to more households in Chile, and most agreed that the Government should play a significant role in such expansion.

Breaking the breach in Latin America: A pilot study of mechanical thrombectomy in the public healthcare system in Chile.

Mechanical Thrombectomy (MT) is the standard of care for treatment of large vessel occlusion stroke. Until the beginning of 2020 MT was not funded nor widely implemented at the public healthcare level in Chile. To describe the results of a pilot program created to provide access to public MT in Santiago - Chile. Analysis from a prospectively collected database of MT cases performed between September 2017 and September 2019 in one center. A stroke network was developed with a single MT capable stroke center and five primary stroke centers. The primary efficacy endpoint was the rate of functional independence (mRS 0-2) at 90 days. Successful reperfusion was defined as 2 b-3 according to the thrombolysis in cerebral infarction scale. Safety outcomes include the rates of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and 90-day mortality. A total of 100 patients were treated over the study period. Their mean age was 62.8 ± 11.8 years and median baseline National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) measurement was 17. Seventy-seven percent of the patients received intra venous thrombolysis. Successful reperfusion was achieved in 95% of the cases. NIHSS at 24 hours showed a median drop of 7 points from baseline (p < 0.00001) and 50% of the follow-up patients were functionally independent at 90 days. Symptomatic Intracerebral hemorrhage occurred in 5% of the patients and 90-day all case mortality was 11%. We demonstrated the feasibility of a publicly funded MT program in Chile, with similar results as other international randomized control trials.

Em direção a uma construção participativa da política educacional: a proposta alternativa do projeto de êxito escolar em Valparaíso

The article adresses currently predominant means of construction of education policy from a critical perspective, drawing on the results of a study that analyses the case of the national curriculum assessment system in Chile (SIMCE). In particular, we focus on those findings that reveal the predominance of a top-down approach to the understanding of education policy. We argue that this approach raises issues related to social justice, especifically in the dimension of parity of participation. As an alternative approach, a case related to a second project is presented, which consists of the participatory construction of the bases for a large-scale assessment system with a formative purpose, developed in the Municipality of Valparaiso, Chile. On the basis of this experience, the need for more democratic and, therefore, more socially just processes of policy construction is highlighted.