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Publications

EMERGING COLORS IN SCIENCE: Transdisciplinary essays

Transdisciplinary Essays is a collection that provides foundations for the fundamental critique of Stephen Hawking's theory. Contrary to what he proposes, that science is coming to an end, this book maintains that we are just at its dawn.
Some sections of the collection are easy to read and understand; others are difficult; all are essencial, interesting and important to appreciate the “emerging colors of science”: Turquoise. Roger Penrose, refuses to accept that the human mind is not susceptible to scientific analysis. And, among other things, he shows that mathematics, important as it is for science, does not contain all that is necessary for that purpose; so he proposes a search for additional concepts and methods. Golden. Roger Jones explains that matter is not all there is in the universe or the world. In addition, he recognizes that science can know and control –or has been able to know and control– only a minuscular component of reality. And physicists must recognize that they are human beings, working for other human beings. Humanity is the source and end of all knowlegde in general and science in particular. Emerald. Peter Gärdenfors and Frank Zenker hold that dimensions are the axes of scientific theory. Scientists explain phenomena by describing the relations between them, adding, changing and substracting them, according to their needs. Relucent. Róger Churnside suggests how the social organization of particle experiments can affect their processes and outcomes, influencing the substance and form of quantum theory. Purple. Stephen Barr, examines relations between science (particularly physics ) and religion (mainly of the Jewish and Christian traditions), based on which he presents a brief forceful rebuttal of Hawking’s and Mlodinow’s ideas in THE GRAND DESIGN. None of those writers try to give readers a final word on science, much less on philosophy. As Ilya Prigogine told us, the first is merely at the dawn of its development; and the second is “alive and kicking”, as much or more than at its birth over two thousand five hundred years ago.

Author: Roger Churnside Harrison

Publisher: Universidad de Costa Rica

Social Science

A century of palestinian immigration into Central America. A study of their economic and cultural contributions

Este ensayo constituye una primera aproximación al estudio de los inmigrantes palestinos en Centroamérica desde finales del siglo XIX hasta el presente. También analiza sus contribuciones económicas y culturales en los distintos Estados centroamericanos y Belice, así como los procesos de asimilación y preservación de sus tradiciones culturales.

Author: Roberto Marín Guzmán

Publisher: Editorial Universidad de Costa Rica

Medicine

The children of Santa María Cauqué: A prospective field study of health and growth

This book is an extraordinary account of nine years of intimate association with a group of 45 Mayan children in a small Guatemalan highland village,” writes Nevin S. Scrimshaw, Institute Professor at MIT and one of the world’s authorities on the effects of nutrition on the development of children. “It is unlike any other published study in its almost daily observations of microbiological and general health status in the direct response to the cultural and environmental events to which each child develops under conditions of under-privilege.”

Author: Leonardo Mata Jiménez

Publisher: Universidad de Costa Rica

Communication

Living with Algorithms: Agency and User Culture in Costa Rica

We live in a media-saturated society that increasingly transforms our experiences, relations, and identities into data others can analyze and monetize. Algorithms are key to this process, surveilling our most mundane practices, and to many, their control over our lives seems absolute. In Living with Algorithms, Ignacio Siles critically challenges this view by surveying user dynamics in the global south across three algorithmic platforms—Netflix, Spotify, and TikTok—and finds, surprisingly, a more balanced relationship. 

Drawing on a wealth of empirical evidence that privileges the user over the corporate, Siles examines the personal relationships that have formed between users and algorithms as Latin Americans have integrated these systems into the structures of everyday life, enacted them ritually, participated in public with and through them, and thwarted them. Sometimes users follow algorithms, Siles finds, and sometimes users resist them. At times, users do both. Agency lies in the navigation of the spaces in-between.

Author: Ignacio Siles González

Publisher: MIT Press

History

The history of Costa Rica: brief, up-to-date and illustrated

This brief history, the first of its kind in the English language, offers readers from all parts of the world a condensed and illustrated account of Costa Rica´s past. The story begins in ancient times when the tropical forests hid the elusive footsteps of primitive hunters, and brings us to the ever more urban and complex present.
Wondering why Costa Rica is so different from the other vacation sun spots you’ve visited over the years? Trying to figure out how a tiny tropical country relying on coffee and banana exports became Latin America’s most stable democracy? Interested in knowing where Costa Rica’s big middle class came from, and why every village has a tidy schoolhouse? Or are you just curious about the background of the people you’ve met or the places you’ve visited? The History of Costa Rica, written by two leading historians of this country, will answer your questions. The only book of its kind in English, each page is illustrated with delightful photos, paintings, portraits, maps and quotes from Costa Rica’s extraordinary past. A complete index allows you to use the book as a handy reference work before, during and after you read the compelling story of “the Switzerland of Central America”.

Author: Iván Molina y Steven Palmer

Publisher: Universidad de Costa Rica

Linguistics

Lingva latina facilis

This is a trilingual conversational method to learn the basic level of modern Latin. The book is written in Latin, but all lessons are translated into Spanish and English (except the exercise section). Each lesson has an illustrated vocabulary too, a lot of dialogues and exercises. It is a fun way to learn Latin and it will be useful for its oral proficiency.

Author: Henry Campos Vargas

Publisher: Universidad de Costa Rica

Social Science

The Political Economy of Segmented Expansion

Latin American politics and society are at a crossroads, simultaneously confronting serious challenges and remarkable opportunities that are likely to be shaped by formal institutions and informal practices alike. The new Politics and Society in Latin America Cambridge Elements series will offer multidisciplinary and methodologically pluralist contributions on the most important topics and problems confronted by the region.

The series seeks two types of contributions (averaging 25,000 words in length): 1) state of the art and agenda-setting pieces, primarily by established scholars in the field; and 2) empirically rich contributions on cutting-edge and emerging topics in Latin American politics and society. The series’ intended audiences are faculty, students, and practitioners.  Free download

Author: Camila Arza, Rossana Castiglioni, Juliana Martínez Franzoniy and others

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Arts

The Stories of Tata Mundo

The Stories of Tata Mundo effectively portray the idiosyncrasy, customs, mentality and language of the men and women of the character's homeland. His humor and irony make us smile and reflect on what we read. It is surprising to see how some of the idiomatic expressions used reveal an exceptional insight into the mood of the characters.

 

Author: Fabián Dobles Rodríguez

Publisher: Universidad de Costa Rica

Arts

Basic English Syntax. 2A. ED.

It is a textbook for students and teachers of English as a second language. The first part contains different forms of nominal structures and their functions. The second part shows coordination, subordination, and two different sentence patterns. Although it emphasizes the structures of English, it also considers the relationship between semantics and syntax.

Author: Berta Flores Mora, Vilma Alfaro Murillo, Marco A. Flores Mora

Publisher: Editorial:Universidad de Costa Rica

Poeltry

Contemporary Costa Rican Poetry

This anthology of contemporary Costa Rican poetry offers the reader a gratifying overview of an important part of this Central American Country’s literature.

Starting with a careful selection of poems by the editor, who is an expert in Spanish American literature, the translator gives an extraordinarily accurate rendition of the poetry in English.

 

 

Author: Carlos Francisco Monge

Publisher: Editorial:Universidad Nacional