Ostrom's framework to analyse the sustainability of social-ecological systems has attracted great interest in the last years. It was not conceived to characterise systems, but its nature and structure make it very appealing to be used with this objective. However, its use to characterise three social-ecological systems where common-pool resource management is central created some methodological struggles and difficulties for comparing outcomes. This paper aims to present some adaptations developed for improving the framework's comprehensiveness and practical applicability at local level, such as a transdisciplinary description of the second-level variables, the definition of a set of third-level variables to facilitate and enrich the descriptions and additional guidelines for gathering the information and planning data searching processes at local level. The whole process of adapting and applying the framework was the result of collaboration among scientists, and local researchers and stakeholders. The adapted framework permitted a comprehensive and comparable characterisation of the socialecological systems analysed and facilitated its use by the local communities.

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Ostrom's design principles have been broadly used to analyse the governance of common pool resources. However, they are normally assessed as present or absent. We challenge this assumption by considering them as fuzzy sets where membership scores range from 0 to 1, because, in real situations, the design principles can be present at a certain level. We define categories to assess the level of membership and apply it to a single case study analysing how changes in water policy can affect the community-based management of the Water User Association of Mondomo (Colombia). In rural areas of Colombia, most water and sanitation services are provided by water user associations, wherein civil society has developed governance systems based on active citizen involvement and community-based management. Some of these associations have been operating for decades and are essential pillars of the local social fabric. However, recent changes in the country's policy and legal framework threaten these long-lasting governance systems. The results show that most of the design principles would suffer important changes that undermine the governance system. Essential principles for sustainable community-based governance, such as the congruence of the rules with local conditions, the local monitoring and sanctioning capacities, the internal conflict-resolution mechanisms and the recognition of the rights to organize, are dramatically reduced after the policy implementation.

Ostrom's framework to analyse the sustainability of social-ecological systems has attracted great interest in the last years. It was not conceived to characterise systems, but its nature and structure make it very appealing to be used with this objective. However, its use to characterise three social-ecological systems where common-pool resource management is central created some methodological struggles and difficulties for comparing outcomes. This paper aims to present some adaptations developed for improving the framework's comprehensiveness and practical applicability at local level, such as a transdisciplinary description of the second-level variables, the definition of a set of third-level variables to facilitate and enrich the descriptions and additional guidelines for gathering the information and planning data searching processes at local level. The whole process of adapting and applying the framework was the result of collaboration among scientists, and local researchers and stakeholders. The adapted framework permitted a comprehensive and comparable characterisation of the socialecological systems analysed and facilitated its use by the local communities.

El principal objetivo de este libro es identificar los factores que propician y facilitan el desarrollo de los programas académicos basados en competencias, así como aquellos que dificultan u obstaculizan el proceso educativo. En este sentido, las investigaciones expuestas aquí aportan información valiosa para que ayude a que las universidades puedan tomar decisiones para generar unidad en los programas académicos, de tal manera que puedan alcanzar altos estándares de calidad. De esta manera, la reflexión investigativa lleva a indagar, principalmente, los siguientes puntos: la conceptualización y apropiación del modelo educativo y su implementación en el aula; la coherencia entre pedagogía y estrategias didácticas; las estrategias desarrolladas por el profesor para la evaluación de competencias, la apreciación del estudiante sobre la implementación del modelo educativo y su apropiación en las actividades académicas; y la apreciación del profesor sobre la importancia de la adopción e implementación de las competencias en su quehacer formativo. En este primer tomo de la colección se desarrollan tres investigaciones: “Adoptar el Modelo Educativo Crítico con Enfoque de Competencias: comprensión de la transformación curricular desde la perspectiva de la didáctica genera”, “¿Cómo se construye la práctica docente en un modelo crítico de formación por competencias?” y “Educar para la vida laboral: responder a las competencias profesionales demandadas por el sector empresarial”. Estos trabajos describen los componentes que hacen parte del Modelo Educativo Crítico con Enfoque de Competencias y funcionan como un preámbulo de las investigaciones que serán desarrolladas en los tomos 2 y 3.