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The development of humanity went from the perfected ancient instruments and the surplus that changed the reality of many centuries, passing through the artistic expression that integrated scientific knowledge with culture, to its incidence in innovation, sentencing to death the status quo, brake of progress. Thus, history engendered great inventions that evolved from the Neolithic Revolution to the Industrial Revolution, which in its various stages reached our days, accelerating the creative process in industry, agriculture, scientific thought and society in general. In this context, the issue of quality has been inserted, with a historiography that recognizes an overflow of redundant definitions and the lack of consensus on a universally accepted definition of the term quality in a sea of conceptual axioms and practices associated mainly with the business phenomenon and the production. Given this reality, the present work does not propose to make up for the shortcomings of the historical-literary production that has approached the subject in its socio-economic and political context; but to provide an assessment about the circumstances of human creation emphasizing elements that are historically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the objective of increasing the yields of the sugar cane, the efficiency of water use for irrigation, and the protection of the environment, during 14 months (March 2009/April 2010) in the sugar mill the Ofelina, province Coclé, Panama, was carried out an integral study on the operation of the irrigation systems in 7 800 ha of this company. In the first evaluation was carried out an edaphoclimatic characterization of the fields, and then were determined the water requirements for different stumps, planting periods and crop cycles of the sugar cane. According to each condition were determined the modifications to the irrigation and drainage systems. The obtained results indicated a water demand between 600 and 800 mm like annual average, with an interval among irrigations between 7 and 9 days, depending on the stage of development of the crop and the soil type. However, the existent machines and irrigation systems only can guarantee an interval between 15 and 18 days what causes a decrease in the yield of 3,5 %. Other factors like the uncertainty in the work force, lack of availability of water and the damages of the pumping machines also influence in the bad quality of the irrigation. As a result was proposed a change in the irrigation patterns and the improvement of the infrastructure and the irrigation technology used in the company through practical solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]