In the current context, with the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence, soft skills emerge as a crucial and distinctive factor for professionals. This research focuses on assessing the relationship between soft skills and their importance in the employability of online graduate students. A mixed methodological, non-experimental and explanatory level approach was used; a sample of 192 online graduate students from a university in northern Ecuador was analyzed. Data collection was carried out through an online survey, validated with a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 93.2%. The survey addressed socioeconomic data and the evaluation of soft skills through a 30-question questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. According to the students’ perception, the soft skills most in demand for employability are leadership and teamwork. After the reduction of dimensions using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), respondents were classified into three clusters. Individuals in clusters one and three developed soft skills such as self-regulation, effective communication, leadership and innovation.

RESUMEN El objetivo de esta investigación es determinar los tipos de herramientas gerenciales, sus beneficios y dificultades de adopción en las empresas. Para ello fueron encuestadas 60 organizaciones de economía popular y solidaria de los sectores de comercio, manufactura y servicios. Los resultados muestran que el análisis financiero, la planificación estratégica, la lluvia de ideas y el FODA, son las herramientas de gestión más utilizadas por este tipo de organizaciones. A diferencia de lo encontrado en la literatura, el FODA no ocupa la primera posición de preferencia y uso. En relación a los beneficios de implementación de este tipo de instrumentos, estas organizaciones las usan para la detección de nuevas oportunidades de negocio, la solución de problemas estratégicos y el desarrollo de procesos de mejora continua. Además, las dificultades en su implementación fueron la falta de recursos financieros, falta de tiempo para capacitación y bajo nivel de conocimientos en áreas de tecnología. Palabras-clave: Herramientas gerenciales. Beneficios empresariales. Barreras de implementación. ABSTRACT The objective of this research is to determine the types of management tools, their benefits and adoption difficulties. Sixty social and solidarity-based economy organizations of commerce, manufacturing and services were surveyed. The results show that financial analysis, strategic planning, brainstorming and SWOT are the most used. Unlike what is found in the literature, the SWOT does not occupy the first position in preference and use. The benefits of its implementation were the detection of new business opportunities, the solution of strategic problems and the development of continuous improvement processes. In addition, the difficulties in its implementation were the lack of financial resources, lack of time for training and low level of knowledge in technology areas. Keywords: Management tools. Business benefits. Implementation barriers.

The activities developed in industrialization processes contribute to the deterioration of the environment. In this context, global organizations generate mitigation alternatives through sustainable strategies. Thus, the main aim is to analyze the impact of manufacturing industry production in Ecuador on the environment caused by the total emissions present in the atmosphere. This research has a quantitative approach and empirical level, and the source of information was a structural survey of companies in 2020 issued by the National Institute of Statistics and Census. The methodological process was developed through the description, correlation of variables, and a multiple regression econometric model to explain the relationship between industrial production, current expenditure, and CO2 emissions. The results show that the manufacturing industry generates two million tons of polluting gases annually because of economic activity and the use of fossil fuels. The activities in which fuels are used are first boilers, then motive power, and finally transportation. This study shows a directly proportional relationship between production, current expenditure, and CO2 emissions, where an increase in production implies a greater generation of emissions and, therefore, more current expenditure. This behavior is driven by the dependence on fossil fuels and industrial use. However, it is important to note that air pollution does not depend solely on these factors.

Shifting climatic conditions challenge simplified, yield-oriented agriculture, particularly in fragile mountain regions. In the Ecuadorian Andes, agriculture functions as a socio-ecological system shaped by biocultural relationships integrating production, agrobiodiversity, and farmer decision-making. This study examines how climate variability interacts with crop phenology and management practices within ancestral associated cropping systems (chakras). The analysis focuses on maize, common bean, faba bean, and potato during the 2024–2025 agricultural cycle in Imantag, Ecuador. A total of 30 native, introduced, and improved varieties were sown in traditional rows (wachos) and monitored within a single 420.8 m² Andean chakra. Using multiple ordinary least squares (OLS) regression (n = 30; R² = 0.440, adj. R² = 0.351, F (4,25) = 4.914, p = 0.005), results show that maize significantly outperformed the faba bean reference group (β = 20.34, p = 0.017), while common bean showed intermediate performance (β = 15.31, p = 0.048). Seed mass at planting was positively associated with relative yield (β = 6.71, p = 0.069), highlighting early-stage management decisions. Elevated maximum temperatures during maturation negatively affected yield (r = −0.42, p = 0.020), while accumulated precipitation had a positive effect (r = +0.45, p = 0.014). Model quality criteria, including VIF diagnostics (max. VIF = 3.37), Shapiro–Wilk residual normality test (W = 0.983, p = 0.896), and cross-validation using Ridge and Lasso regression, confirm the robustness of the statistical findings. These findings demonstrate that chakras function as adaptive socioecological systems that enhance productivity, agrobiodiversity conservation, and resilience under climate variability.

Environmental interpretation (EI) in protective forests remains an underexplored field, despite its demonstrated potential for fostering emotional place attachment and conservation attitudes. This study aims to design and evaluate in situ the “Magical Portal of Biodiversity and Culture” self-guided interpretive trail at the “Los Arrayanes” Protective Forest (16 ha, Montúfar Canton, Carchi Province, Ecuador), a native arrayan forest (Myrcianthes hallii) deeply rooted in the ancestral territory of the Pasto-Tuza people, and to formulate educommunicational strategies. The trail design is grounded in Tilden’s interpretive principles, Morales’s topic–theme structure, and Ham’s TORE model, and it formulates Environmental Education and Communication Strategies. A qualitative, multimethod design was employed, with in situ field observation, participatory action research (PAR) workshops with the de Monteverde community, and in-depth interviews with seven key informants (March–April 2026); data were analyzed through the hermeneutic interpretive method and validated through categories, method, and theory triangulation, member checking, and researcher reflexivity. The analysis yielded five emergent categories: (1) vital and heritage place attachment; (2) psychological restoration and sensory reconnection; (3) environmental curiosity and empathy; (4) situated conservation learning; and (5) community governance and intergenerational education. Additionally, it identified six educommunicational strategies: (1) sensory learning; (2) storytelling; (3) participatory interaction; (4) guided self-learning; (5) situated learning; and (6) the biocultural approach. These findings provide empirical evidence that biocultural interpretation promotes conservation attitudes and community participation. In practical terms, this research offers protected-area managers, community organizations, and interpretation planners a model replicable for designing self-guided interpretive trails in biodiverse territories where living biocultural heritage is at risk.