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This paper provides some contributions (both methodological and empirical) by the photography in a sociological study on the urban art. It deals specifically with the graffiti and the street art. The central objective is to question how pertinent it is to use a photographic record as a tool for gathering information and carrying out a documentary analysis based on a dual action basis: on one hand, to highlight the methodological process in a research where the photograph is pivotal as a visual means, discussing critically on different views of the city. On the other hand, to provide examples on how the photography is relevant in the social universe under research, i.e., among the artists doing graffiti and street art. In these two cases, taking photographs of the works in the public space provides a double game: 1) as a tangible practice of legitimization and gaining prestige within a collective; and, 2) as a material proof for the recognition and appreciation of their artistic track record. The analytical framework includes to record in situ the produced images in different Latin American (Buenos Aires, Lima, Montevideo) and European cities (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Lisbon, Paris, Porto). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sectarian readings explain the conflicts in the Middle East through religious variables. This paper criticises their reproduction in Latin American international relations, which draw on the epistemological and ontological assumptions of hegemonic/Western approaches to international relations. This is not inconsequential, as it constitutes an identity politics that simultaneously constructs Western identity and reaffirms and perpetuates prejudices that "other" the Middle East. From Latin America, such readings form part of peripheral Orientalism and produce subjectivity effects that distance the Latin American region from the Global South, as well as consolidating their marginal position in global power relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the answers of over fifty Latin American scholars to a survey as its foundation, this paper analyses the features of the global and Latin American context and presents some of the potential areas for its development over the coming decade. To do this, the number of poles in the system is considered along with the logics of cooperation and competition that predominate in the relations between countries. In addition, an analysis is made of how different countries define a 'region' in their foreign policy, and the reasons behind Brazil losing its leadership position and Mexico's potential role in the region are set out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the convergence hypothesis and the impact of social policy on the economic growth of the six largest countries in Latin America between 1980 and 2010. Results suggest that social public policies have positively influenced growth in these economies. Particularly, there are non-observed variables (fixed effects) that positively affect the economic growth in Venezuela and Chile; however, there are other non-observed variables that may be negatively affecting growth in Brazil and Mexico. Regarding the convergence hypothesis, results reveal that the speed of convergence diminishes as real income rises, implying that these countries might be converging to their stable states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the last twenty years, the formation and development of research competencies have been increasingly promoted in Latin American higher education, with professional competencies forming separately on occasion. Do both kinds of competencies take form actually separately, or are they closely related? In this paper, professional and research competencies are examined, as well as their dialectical relation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of Spanish as a foreign language in North America during the 19th century prompted the publishing house Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt to edit in 1868 an anonymous handbook of pronunciation, lexicon, phrases, verbs and dialogues to teach Spanish in a short, easy and practical way. ¿Habla Vm. español? or Do you Speak English? collects the rudiments to perform in Spanish, especially through oral language, for those who wished to make a stay in Spain or in Latin America. Although the text is unoriginal in its content and formal presentation, it is part of linguistic historiography and the corpus of Spanish as a Foreign Language materials. This paper focuses on the analysis of ¿Habla Vm. español? or Do you Speak English?, the context in which it was written and the methodology used by Holt and Leypoldt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature maintains that not all populisms are equal. Some are seen as projects of regeneration or democratisation because they would incorporate an excluded people; others are movements that would weaken democracy by promoting exclusion (xenophobia and racism). The former is "left-wing populism" while the latter is "right-wing populism". This paper shows that what is central to populism is its model of democracy, not whether it is situated on the right or the left. To do this, an evaluation is made of the democratic balance of populisms in three countries in Europe (Austria, France and Hungary) and three in Latin America (Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela). As will be shown, those of the right have no more contributed to the destruction of democracy than those on the left may be presented as democratising successes; but all represent a profound challenge to liberal democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses as main issue, core aspects of human development -social and economic fundamentals- and their links to inclusive societies. The basic objective of this study is to summarize the fundamental characteristics of the concept of human development focused on the particular matter of comprehensive social conditions within Latin American societies. One of the most relevant themes here is to distinguish the effective participation -in social, cultural, political and economic terms- as a key element of social inclusion. Effective social and economic participation is presented here as a fundamental part of dynamic factors that aim to improve human development conditions. The general contents of this study includes the perspective from ethics regarding human development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers an empirical analysis of how US unconventional monetary policy has affected Latin American countries. First, we estimate the effects of US monetary policy announcements on sovereign bond interest rates, exchange rates, and stock market indices for a set of emerging countries, including five Latin American economies. We found that QE announcements in 2008/2009 and the tapering talk in 2013 generated sizable sovereign yield and exchange rate fluctuations. We further find, just in a few cases, some excessive response of asset prices in Latin American countries. In the second part of the paper, we estimate a simple model that measures the influence of country-specific macroeconomic fundamentals on the transmission of US financial disturbances. An estimated model including the inflation rate, the CDS spread, the ratio of official reserves and market capitalization explains some of the observed cross-country heterogeneity of spillovers from US monetary policy announcements. Under this model, a greater impact from the normalization of US monetary policy can be expected in Latin America relative to other emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution in scientific production and collaboration of Venezuela is discussed, identified as a country that has been characterized by the loss of leadership in recent years. The universe of analysis is composed by 1.117 Ibero American open access journals indexed by the database redalyc.org with over 250.000 articles in a period of 10 years (2005-2014). The fall of Venezuelan science is seen from mainstream science databases (in Scopus, through SJR, it showed 1.857 papers in 2005 that represented 3,4% of the region. In 2014 it had 1.592 papers, that accounted for 1,44% of the region. That is, it had a drop of -14,27%) and from Redalyc (which it had 875 articles in 2005 that they accounted for 5,5% of the region; in 2014 had 791 articles, which represented 3.0% of the region. So, it fell -9,6%); this database allows further appreciation about a high rate of concentration in the scientific and editorial production of Venezuela, as well as an endogenous behavior in terms of production and collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific-humanistic research at university centres is an activity performed by the professors through their promotion papers. Nevertheless, this type of scientific research is unknown to scientific communities, since most of these scientific studies remain unpublished. Using semi-standardised interviews with 8 professors selected from a group of both non-researching and researching professors working at La Unidad de Estudios Básicos de la Universidad de Oriente, Núcleo Bolívar (The Basic Studies Unit at the University of the East, Bolivar Branch), a theory was formulated that explains how this problem influences the university’s institutional action. The main findings are: institutional neglect of professorial research as an activity directed toward spreading knowledge and the compromised quality of those promotion papers when they are “produced not to be diffused.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a model that assumes politicians' rationality when fixing tax rates applied on revenue and consumption of each taxpayer. The paper also suggests some factors to consider are political mobility of voters and economic expectations, which can explain regressive tax reforms adopted in Latin America since the economic crises of the 80s. Additionally, it contrasts the model with an unbalanced data panel (18 countries from 1980 to 2010). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes the main arguments regarding the use of legislative activity as a dependent variable in political studies. While comprehensive, it is not exclusive, and it shows this variables main trends. Starting from the idea that there is a division of legislative work in presidential systems, this paper attempts to show the various ways in which this division has been assessed, to contribute to a new vision which focuses on the effects this has on the dynamics of government. In addition, this article proposes establishing new research agendas on the use of legislative activity as a dependent variable. Raised here are debates which remain open, as well as those which have been forgotten; this paper proposes that the research agenda be resumed and directed at the observation and evaluation of bicameral legislature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a model for characterize-ing and analyzing workspaces in contemporary Latin American organizations that seeks to portray the heterogeneous forms in which the activity of work unfolds in a single social and productive space. This model may be relevant for different types of social studies of work insofar as it sheds light on the structural characteristics that account for different social and subjective processes. It proposes the notion of work scenarios, understood as typical labor configurations where certain ways of organizing work and employment and human management practices converge which reflect the basic contribution that is expected of workers by the organization, and the type of relation the organization offers in return. In addition to proposing analytical criteria and methodological approach strategies, the paper describes a qualitative research experience that tested the notion of work scenarios as a result of which six scenarios were identified that provided cross-section of important sectors of the Chilean economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has two objectives. Firstly, it proposes rethinking the relationship between populism and democracy, by challenging the positions which create a radical antagonism between these two political dynamics. In order to do this, the paper refers to guidelines put forward by Ernesto Laclau, relating to the rupture and reconstruction of populism understood as political logic. This idea is complemented by contributions from Jacques Ranciére, in order to explore the democratizing dimension of populist movements. Secondly, the article analyzes two examples of contemporary governments - that of Nestor Kirchner in Argentina, and of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil - to show how they invite us to re-examine the theoretical-political debate on the concept of democracy as it is currently understood. Re-establishing the debate on the tension between the formal and the substantive dimension of democracy will allow us to rethink the various ways in which a populist logic might lead to a democratizing logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past democratic presidents were removed by military coups. Since the return of democracy in Latin America there were numerous presidential interruptions, but these took place via constitutional mechanisms. Governments fell, but the democratic regime remained. Over the last three decades, the experiences of presidential dropouts have led to the development of a theory about presidential interruptions, which attempts to explain the phenomenon of new presidential instability in Latin America. This paper touches on seven distinct issues, in order to add insights to the theoretical debate on presidential interruptions. These issues are: 1) presidential interruption's connection with the theory of constitutional succession; 2) the alleged breach of the fixed term and independence of powers; 3) the reconsideration of the alleged new flexibility of the presidential system; 4) timing and rules of the presidential fall and the timing and rules of the president's replacement; 5) the situation of "ruling gaps", both in relation to the presidential interruption, and the president's replacement; 6) the so-called "thin line" between the parliamentary coup and impeachment; 7) expectations and cycles of presidential strength and weakness that show a certain structural vulnerability of the system. These issues add to the debate by introducing new approaches to studying the phenomenon of presidential interruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to produce a comparative policy analysis of nine pension systems (Chile, Peru, Colombia, Uruguay, Bolivia, Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic) by reviewing four variables of interest and by analyzing in-depth interviews of officials in charge of supervising pension systems. In this evaluation of pension education programs in Latin America, the experiences of Chile and Uruguay stand out. The study also examines social security education, which helps inform people about their rights and obligations under social security systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the researches conducted in Latin America on education for health during the last ten years, identifying the different conceptual developments proposed about this theme and the criticism made about it. Methods: This is a qualitative research describing the state of the art; forty articles from Brazil, Colombia, Cuba and Mexico, and retrieved from searches in Pubmed, Lilacs, Redalyc, Scielo, Ovid, Science Direct, Oxford Journals, and Dialnet were examined. Results: The education for health is a multifocal and polysemic field with different purposes and theoretical trends. It was found that most of the authors cared for assuming a stance regarding this field, though few of them undertake the task to conceptualize both education and health. Conclusion: Different visions about education for health were perceived; however, this work criticizes the poor articulation observed in the papers between theory and practice on this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the universe of literature on franchises, several studies have examined the impact of franchising on economic growth, tending to focus on growth rather than development, although the empirical research has already concluded that franchising does have an influence on economic growth. Likewise, some articles have underscored the importance and influence of franchising on development, but have failed to provide empirical proof of its true sway. With that in mind, this paper provides empirical evidence demonstrating the relationship between franchising and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of trade liberalization, economies in Latin America have endeavored to capitalize on their comparative advantages and join global production processes; despite the fact that industrial exports have grown, however, they have had only a modest impact in terms of boosting the product in Latin American economies. The objective of this paper is to determine the influence of industrial exports on the product in six Latin American countries, using the input-output model and the network theory. The hypothesis sets out to prove that out of an economy's total transactions, the spillover effects from the industrial sector exports in each country are more diversified the more the country trades with the United States, even if these effects are weak, due to the low structural articulation in each of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the journal Las Naves 1, manifiestos cinematográficos contemporáneos (2013) to see the way Posmodernism, as a philosophical and aesthetic movement, affects contemporary cinema manifestos. We start from considering the manifesto as a proposal of a "big narrative", a programmatical and political statement, a statement of principle. To assert an identity involves the construction of an "enemy": this can clearly be seen in the cinema manifestos from the sixties and seventies, though it cannot be seen in its contemporary counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the explaining factors of the presence of the middle income trap (and slow economic growth trap). It also incorporates the criteria to measure whether any economy falls within those categories. Additionally, it evaluate a sample of 18 Latin American economies and the regional average between 1870 and 2014 under different methodologies for incorporated these in the tipology. It is concluded that most of the economies of the region and the whole are in the middle income trap or slow economic growth conditions and that the probability of reaching the status of high-income economy would be very reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes some aspects of Latin American social movements, especially their notion of participatory democracy. In order to explain what they are and how they solve the problem of political organization, following Zibechi, two countries are studied: Brazil and Bolivia. In the first, powerful rural social movements have emerged, but they have lost part of their political role during the years of the PT's progressive government. In the second, urban social movements have emerged that have transformed a country whose government lias decided to carry out an antiliberal political-economic reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a Third World vision, the present paper deals with some international methods to evaluate sustainability in Projects and realizations, at architectural and urban scale, in order to, valuate in a comparative way, strengths and weakness, mainly taking into account their possible application in developing countries, and particularly in Cuba. The research started by looking for a method to evaluate sustainability in the University of Informatics Sciences, and it was later on extended with the inclusion of the African experience. The evaluative categories differ from one system to the other, but all of them emphasize the environmental dimension of sustainability. Only two methods coming from developing countries include social dimension and the necessity of an endogenous approach, which is an important current challenge for Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss the management of monetary policy of the Latin American central banks that have fully established inflation targeting. An optimal monetary rule is estimated for these economies using the Generalized Method of Moments. This analysis allows us to conclude that these central banks have taken into account the economic growth, in addition to price stability. However, only Chile has taken into account the evolution of the exchange rate. Furthermore, Chile, Brazil and Peru have followed an asymmetric behavior, while Colombia and Mexico have adopted a linear monetary policy rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks for empirical evidence to show if a very interventionist government stimulates or not private investment in Latin America. Using the same model as Caballew-Urdiales y López-Gallardo (2012), we extend their analysis from five Latin-American countries to all Latin America. The results from our estimated elasticities show evidence in support of three hypothesis: (1) that tax burden (taxes on income and consumption) has significant effects on privateinvestment; (2) that public investment has a crowding out effect with private investment; (3) and that in order to stimulate private investment, the government should have very little intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revives Fernando Fajnzylber's methodology, used to characterize Latin America's development pattern from the nineteen-sixties to the nineteen-eighties, leading him to describe it as a non-equitable growth pattern, which he termed the empty box. This time around, we analyze the last thirty years, aiming to reveal how the development pattern in the region has fundamentally changed, if it has changed at all, and find evidence as to whether the empty box, pursuant to its original definition, persists or not. Implicitly, the task is to propose a critical analysis of Latin American economic development in line with a classic structuralist work, as Fajnyzylber's research is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to make a brief theoretical synthesis that allows us to understand some philosophical assumptions of modernity and postmodernity, in such a way that the critical scenarios of this cultural and historical phenomenon of rationality in its paradigmatic crisis are highlighted. The context of this analysis tends to generate a critical hermeneutics about the instituted sense that Higher Education carries out in the face of the challenges of globalization, especially as it is received in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the potential significance in contemporary times is required in the training of professionals in higher education, since from the acknowledgment of problems peremptory ATANES humanity and especially Latin America demand for new conceptions and assessments that promote new perspectives in the order epistemic and practical in achieving the goals set by the universities. It problematizes around curriculum on college campuses and is not yet solved the problems of socio-cultural context which develops human life. This paper recognizes a management curriculum design from socio-cultural professional and educational support of the process, so here are set ideas, synthetic argue the possibility and reality of a construction which we believe epistemic demands attention in the Latin American reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of learning and teaching styles matching at university over the last ten years is presented. For this purpose, a review was carried out of the Dialnet, Redalyc, Scielo and Doaj data bases due to their scope and importance in the Hispanic context. The descriptors used in the search for information were the key words: learning styles, teaching styles and higher education. The data bases consulted produced a total of 53 papers, with only 17 of these complying with all the criteria for inclusion (paper: empirical research; sample: university; object: correspondence learning and teaching styles; time period 2002-2012; Spanish language). The literature review showed that the matching is researched and understanding from two approaches: (1) adaptive instruction or (2) stylistics. Results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the liberalizing global project of Enrique Dussel, whereby, leave aside the Habermasian project realization and should proceed towards transmodernity, this paper is to find out by the concept of modernity in order to assert a view from Latin America on the political thought. For this reason we start from the premise that the founding myth of modernity is no illustration, is the discovery of America, because there appears the colonial matrix in which Europe becomes the center of the world. Under this assumption the paper ends with a preparatory analysis of the journalistic thought of Antonio Nariño from the perspective of modernity-otherness in which is defended a reading not illustrated. Methodologically the text takes the main works of Enrique Dussel about the two concepts of modernity, and then analyze the thought of Antonio Nariño through its main newspaper articles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses and analyses the critical and intellectual nature of the work of Rafael Gutiérrez Girardot. It reproduces the process of construction and exercise of his critical activity (1950-1965), based on different sources some of them not yet very studied. The paper takes into account his relationships with other intellectuals and the influence of its different contexts. Thus, in order to get a comprehensive framework, it studies his participation in Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos, his correspondence with Alfonso Reyes and Nils Hedberg, his diplomatic activity, his work as editor and translator and finally his teaching experience. The critical work of Gutiérrez Girardot is far from being completely interpreted and this makes necessary an exhaustive work of reconstruction and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper studies narratives strategies used by a fair part of Latin-American intellectuals in order to defy the rapid changes taking place in urban society in the late nineteenth century. Furthermore, the paper explores the rhetoric models men of letters used to qualify the limits of the notion of democracy, with the hope that these discursive interventions would limit the access to places of influence where new social actors struggled to enter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Just as China is a new and unfamiliar player in Latin America, China's policymakers seem to have little differentiated knowledge of the region. Studies and documents from China typically include the Caribbean in their "broad brush approach" and diplomatic representatives are rotated through the region at a swift rate. The fact that only three of the 42 countries in the region published an official reply to China's 2008 Policy Paper suggests that there is a long way to go towards integration and adequate response, either side of the Pacific. The purpose of this paper is to explore just how differentiated the understanding and strategic vision for Latin America is among China's policy makers and representatives [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we review the relation between politics, language planning and metalinguistic reflections about the Mapudungun language in the first half of the 17th century in Chile. This was a decisive time as the strategies and planning of the spiritual conquest of the indigenous people were being discussed and planned out. Luis de Valdivia, a Jesuit from Granada, was the main proponent in explaining the defensive war. Valdivia's work can be considered missionary linguistics, and within it one can differentiate between metalinguistics and religious instruction. In this paper we focus on his metalinguistic writings and we describe his Arte y gramática (1606), a piece which we understand as a methodological, systematic way of implementing the defensive war, and as a result of the institutionalization of the predominating discourse of the Catholic Church and the Spanish throne in order to conquer Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes central banks' role in banking crises in Latin America. It finds that, except in a handful of cases, where bank resolution was timely executed, central bank money was used in large scale to contain and manage systemic and small crises alike. However, pouring money into the financial system tended to fuel macroeconomic unrest and increased the chances of currency crises, in particular in emerging market countries. While subject to some caveats, the conclusions of this paper are relevant and should be taken by developing countries as a warning against excessively expanding central banks' balance sheets to cope with financial crises, as several industrial countries have done it recently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international financial crisis of 2008-09 exposed the strengths and weaknesses of the current paradigm of development in Latina America, a paradigm based on liberalized capital accounts and significantly improved macroeconomic conditions. This paper presents lessons derived from the crisis, not only for the region it self, but also for other developing countries that might seek economic growth in the context of greater integration to the international capital markets. Some of the lessons are not new but have been reinforced by the crisis, such as Latin America's imperative need for export diversification (not only in products but in partners). Other lessons break with longstanding myths about the region, such as its inability to undertake counter-cyclical policies -at least on the monetary side. Yet other lessons reflect new developments in the current growth paradigm, such as a renewed assessment of (1) the relative roles of foreign and domestic banks in shielding the financial system against external shocks and (2) the potential costs of adopting blanket international financial regulations that do not account for a country's degree of development. Taken together, the lessons in this paper bring a new sense of optimism for growth in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the development of an idea: American continental unity as an object of study in Latin American intellectual history of the twentieth century. To achieve this, the article is organized in three stages: the idealist, which starts with José Enrique Rodó; the confrontation between Pan-Americanism and Americanism, which rises from the opposition against imperialism and the revindication of mixed heritages (mestizaje); and the confrontation between policies to implement development and revindicate continental unity driven by the Cuban Revolution. The paper emphasizes that gray area that emerges today, marked by an open questioning of national unity as a paradigm; in other words, the paper sets forth a question regarding the political and intellectual relevance of a topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is the impact assessment analysis of the pilot project Rede@prender carried out in Colombia under the Programme EUROsociAL within the overall context of the Euro-Latin American cooperation. The first part of the paper introduces to, on the one hand, the Euro-Latin American cooperation model and the Programme's overall philosophy, while on the other hand presents the contents of the Colombian policy on education in citizenship competencies within which context the project was carried out. The second part elaborates an in-depth analysis of the main characteristics of the pilot project and tries to give account of its impact and achieved results. Finally, the third and inal part of the text contains some considerations on the application of the evaluation criteria, best practices and lessons learned from the project Rede@prender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current global financial and economic crisis, which has a specially affect in Europe, needs a creative overview in order to address the new architecture of development cooperation and the relationships between Europe and Latin America. This paper analyses the Official Development Aid (ODA) between the European Union and Latin America. Specifically, this paper studies the dynamics that have been developed with the Andean Community, exploring the inclusion and exclusion of civil society organizations that work within pivotal issues for the sub-region. Through this framework, this paper develops in-depth the promotion of good governance, human rights and democracy, that are common goals for States and civil societies in both sides of the Atlantic. Finally, this paper highlights the challenges that must be considered in the new Regional Strategy, where it is already evident that Latin America is a new protagonist, and the civil society organizations are empowered as development actor's beyond as only a denunciators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper offers an approach to the different ways in which the figure of writer and politician Rómulo Gallegos has been used in Venezuela. It looks at political rivalries regarding national legacies within the context of the Bolivarian Revolution, and the positions taken by the political and academic fields. The purpose of which, as the paper will show, is the appropriation of some of his legacies, especially in relation to nationalistic and identity-related narratives in the beginning of the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments shape social problems, discourses and the solutions to solve them. In this context, the main goal of this paper is the comparative analysis of childcare policies in the following countries: Chile, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Mexico. In order to contribute to the debate about childcare in Latin America, in the light of the frame critical analysis, the problem that each policy solves is analyzed and compared, as well as its aims and solutions. The study is based on governmental documents such as plans and programs, as well as on academic and social organizations discourses, and the literature about the topic in the Latin American region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper overviews patterns in bond issuance in local and external markets by firms in six large Latin American countries. Also, using an unbalanced panel of firm and market-level indicators for years 1995-2015, we control for variables representing several theories of capital structure to gauge the firm's decision on the choice of issuance jurisdiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on American Spanish pays little attention to word formation and less still to compounding. To bridge this gap, using as corpus the Diccionario de americanismos published in 2010 by Real Academia Española, this paper analyses the formation of nominal compounds in American Spanish from formal, semantic, diatopic, diastratic and diaphasic point of view. In short, this study not only shows the difference between American dialect areas and its comparison with European Spanish but also the richness of compounding from a language variation perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the result of a documentary and bibliographic research carried out in the general archive of the Latin American Episcopal Council, Celam. It focuses on its contribution to ecumenical dialogue during its sixty years of history. It presents the people involved in the process, the contributions of the General Assemblies of the Episcopate and their main theological and ecumenical emphasis. It also highlights the evolution of the concepts, the influence of the Ecclesiology of Communion and of the missionary discipleship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the strategic role of equipment in the physical construction of the Latin American city, based on its capacity to transform unconsolidated urban environments, as a component for a future intervention in the southeastern edge of the city of Bogota. The text consists of two parts. First, it builds a framework that originates in the relationship of equipment with three subjects: city, citizen participation and public space. Second, it analyzes a repertoire of equipment of different scales from the last 60 years in the Latin American city, to identify constants associated with implantation and relationship with the environment. As a conclusion, this article affirms that it is necessary to rethink the relationship between equipment and public space in light of existing land problems, as well as the role of projects in the modeling of objects that transcend normative fact and suggest a path that leaves behind city planning practices anchored in functional conventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of the following paper is to compare the impacts of the financial and economic crisis of 2008 and the following years to the European Union and Latin America. Afiera brief description of the origins and characteristics of the 2008 crisis, the article analyse its effects on the two regions, the implemented politics on both sides and its results. Based on the comparative evaluation of these answers, we deduce some lessons and formulate some recommendations which could contribute to reduce the probability that such crisis repeat in the future or make it at least easier to manage. From a theoretical point of view, we refer o the concepts of neo-realism, new-institutionalism, social-constructivism (norms, values, self-perception, discourse) and, taking on consideration the strong relationship between internal and external factors, "two level game". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes Latin American neoextractivism, or the advance of raw materials exports in Latin America, from the perspective of classical and contemporary theory, and explains that before a break, it's the deepening of the model of liberal economy instrumented in different periods in the whole region, so changes are not expected in the dynamics or structure of the economy. The economic and social effects are analyzed from the theories of Dutch Disease and Curse of Natural Resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unemployment in Latin America fell substantially in 2000-2013, which, from the standpoint of conventional theory, would be the outcome of reforms designed to make the labor market more flexible. On the other hand, a post-keynesian perspective would maintain that a dropping unemployment rate is due to rising capital accumulation. This paper aims to determine which of these theoretical visions is supported by the empirical evidence. The panel data results suggest that capital accumulation is the variable that explains the majority of the behavior of unemployment. The policy recommendation based on this evidence is to keep investment growing via instruments that stimulate effective demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the review of publications on urban communication and communication and city in Latin America and Spain. The aim was to identify the theoretical approaches and potential research guidelines for study this field. The results include the relationship between communication-city-urban from transversal categories of study such as language, discourse, social interactions and media, through processes of representation, spatial mediation, symbolic appropriation, marketing, urban transformation, citizen participation, and expression of senses. In conclusion, from perspectives as the sociological, political, cultural, economic, human and technological, since the 90's have been able to consolidate a large variety of research that ratify urban communication as an field of multidisciplinary study which contributes widely in discussions on the problems brought about by the growth of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]