Satisfaction and Its Relationship with Loyalty in Ecotourism: A Study in Costa Rica

Within ecotourism, the service can be improved with proper planning, achieving greater satisfaction and return of tourists, benefiting the destination and the community with higher income and employment. The objectives of this study were a) to analyze the relationships between tourists’ general satisfaction and loyalty, and b) to analyze the influence that the service aspects exert on the satisfaction and return of tourists. The study was conducted in Costa Rica, a Central American country with great ecological wealth for ecotourism. Three hundred ten questionnaires were filled out in the Arenal National Park and the Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge. Spearman's statistical method of correlation was used for data analysis. As main results, the aspects of the service had a significant and positive influence on the satisfaction and return intentions of tourists. The aspects that most influenced general satisfaction were accessibility and infrastructure, tranquility, gastronomic quality, and the human treatment received. While the aspects that most influenced the return intentions were the tourist information and signage, the gastronomic quality, the accessibility of the infrastructure, and the equipment and facilities of the restaurant. The findings will serve to develop sustainable plans in protected areas and to improve service in ecotourism.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Cancer in Latin America

COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a shift in accepted and routine handling of elective cases in hospital administration. This shift introduced a delay in the treatment of all non-COVID-19 cases, including cancer patients. Usually, non-complicated cases of cancer do not require immediate surgery, but procrastination is not an option. The pandemic is taking a longer time to be defeated as previously thought, and medical infrastructure is overwhelmed in many countries. Therefore, procrastination for non-COVID-19 cases became a reality. To this, we must add that there are specific cancer problems that require urgent resolution. The problem is having a heavy toll on almost all the involved continents. South and Central America are no exception. Unfortunately, South and Central America do not have all the resources available to the developed world, and this makes the issue of timely cancer surgery even more troublesome. A distressed hospital system needs a systematic approach to deliver cancer care in time. This paper has the intention to show how a Central American country such as Panama dealt and is dealing with cancer surgery in the middle of the severe limitations imposed by pandemics.

The communications strategy via Twitter of Nayib Bukele: the millennial president of El Salvador

On June 1, 2019, Nayib Bukele assumed the presidency of the Republic of El Salvador, becoming the youngest leader in the democratic history of this Central American country. His communications strategy on Twitter attracted the attention of the international press, because of a peculiar way of using this tool to tweet direct orders to his governmental team through Twitter, with many of his messages having a humoristic lilt. Observing this way of communicating prompted a wish to investigate the communications strategy of President Nayib Bukele on Twitter. Online tools, such as Twitonomy and Vicinitas, were used for the quantitative analysis of the account over the first two weeks of his presidency. Additionally, an in-depth interview was held with the communications secretary of the government of El Salvador, Sofía Medina. Finally, a broad description of the economic and social situation of the country helps understand the relevance of the data obtained from the analysis, emphasizing the scarce access to both information technology and social networks among the inhabitants.

Food Allergy Prevalence in Salvadoran Schoolchildren Estimated by Parent-Report

The prevalence of food allergy (FA) has not been estimated at a population level in Central American countries and, consequently, the magnitude and relevance of the problem in the Central American region remains unknown. Thus, our aim was to evaluate the parent-reported prevalence of FA in a population of schoolchildren from the Central American country El Salvador. A Spanish version of a structured questionnaire was utilized. Five hundred and eight (508) parents returned the questionnaire with valid responses (response rate, 32%). The estimated prevalence rates (95% CI) were: adverse food reactions 15.9 (13.0–19.3), “perceived FA, ever” 11.6 (9.1–14.6), “physician-diagnosed FA, ever” 5.7% (4.0–8.0), “immediate-type FA, ever” 8.8% (6.6–11.6), “immediate-type FA, current” 5.3% (3.6–7.6), and anaphylaxis 2.5% (1.5–4.3). The most common food allergens were milk (1.7%), shrimp (1.3), chili (0.7%), chocolate (0.7%), and nuts (0.3%). Most of the “food-dependent anaphylaxis” cases (60.5%) sought medical attention, but only one case reported the prescription of an epinephrine autoinjector. Mild and severe FA cases are not uncommon among Salvadoran schoolchildren and both the prescription of epinephrine autoinjectors by healthcare personnel and the use of the autoinjectors by anaphylactic individuals should be encouraged.

Books, book reviews, anoles, and do we really know what we believe we know?

McCranie & Köhler (2015, hereafter M&K) recently published a book on the systematics, distribution, and conservation of the anoles (Squamata: Dactyloidae) of the Central American country of Honduras. Those authors included 39 species placed in two genera. Gray (2015; hereafter G) published a largely well-done review of that book. However, G made a few incorrect statements, some of which I feel need to be addressed. In addition, the anole systematics at the species, and especially at the generic level, are extremely contentious issues that affect anyone trying to publish any manuscript regarding anole systematics.

Annotated list of the scale insects of Guatemala

An annotated checklist of the soft scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccidae) is given for the Central American country of Guatemala. Host and locality data is presented for each species, along with notes on its taxonomic status. The list was developed from study of materials collected in Guatemala by the author and others during the years 1990-2007, and from a review of the literature and records and slide material in the United States National Museum Coccoidea Collection. A study of these materials has increased the number of soft scale insects currently known from Guatemala to 29 species belonging to 23 genera. Guatemala currently ranks second in the number of soft scale insects known from Central American countries below Panama, which has 36 recorded species belonging to 18 genera.

The EMDR Integrative Group Treatment Protocol: Application With Adults During Ongoing Geopolitical Crisis

The eye movement desensitization and reprocessing Integrative Group Treatment Protocol (EMDR-IGTP) has been used in its original format or with adaptations to meet the circumstances in numerous settings around the world for thousands of disaster survivors after natural or man-made incidents. In this study, the EMDR-IGTP was applied during three consecutive days to a group of 20 adults during ongoing geopolitical crisis in a Central American country in 2009. Results in this uncontrolled study showed significant decreases in scores on the Subjective Unit of Disturbance Scale and the Impact of Event Scale (IES). Changes on the IES were maintained at 14 weeks follow-up even though participants were still exposed to ongoing crisis. Controlled research is recommended to further evaluate the efficacy of this intervention.

Building Relationships in an International Blended Learning Program

Several challenges that were encountered in establishing a joint international Masters program in Instructional Technology in a Central American country were explored. These challenges involved aspects of program development, delivering effective course content, using appropriate learning strategies, operating in a cross-cultural context, and working in an organization that had limited technological capacities. The foundation for working with these challenges involved establishing strong, mutually beneficial relationships with the Central American country, the Central American University (CAU), and the students. In addition, the overriding theme in developing this blended learning program was to allow for capacity-building since one goal for creating this program was so that the North American University (NAU) would build the program and relationships to the point that the CAU would be able to take over and manage the Instructional Technology program on its own.

The Illegal Alien Who Needs Surgery

A 24-year-old Hispanic male came into the emergency room of a large public teaching hospital with acute cardiac failure and chest pain. He was admitted and diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease and regurgitation and stenosis of both mitral and aortic valves. Medical judgment concluded that the patient needed to be medically stabilized and then undergo cardiac surgery to repair heart valves. The patient spoke only Spanish. Investigation through an interpreter revealed that he was an illegal alien from a Central American country who has lived in this country for five to seven years. He came to the United States so that he could receive treatment for his heart condition, evidently fearing that he would not receive treatment in his home country. The patient entered this country through the assistance of some distant relatives. He did not have a strong support system.

Living Between the Lines: Reading Amos 9:11-15 in Post-War Guatemala1

This article attempts to relate a literary reading from the book of Amos to the post-war situation of Guatemala. It begins by describing the precarious context of that Central American country and then presents the theoretical contributions of Nussbaum and Brueggemann to a relevant literary reading of the prophetic text. This article suggests that situating a reading in the seam between 9:10 and 9:11 can offer an opportunity to look back at the past violence as well as forward to the hope of a different tomorrow.