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The recent electoral successes of right-wing and far-right actors in different parts of the world have prompted discussion on various topics: the causes of their rise, their characteristics and strategies, the motivations of electorates and the depth of the right-wing shifts in a range of societies. This paper proposes key themes for systematising this debate and some clues to understanding the rise of the right in such diverse and heterogeneous national realities. It also suggests recovering a constructivist conceptualisation of "authoritarian traditions" in order to analyse the mobilisation strategies, behaviour and coordination of right-wing groups from a perspective that highlights their dynamic and innovative nature. This approach allows us to (re)think authoritarianism as the result of symbolic practices and discourses that are assembled, (re)invented and updated to serve various purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of who owns large companies and how they are organised is overdue in the study of Latin American elites, especially at transnational level. It is a limitation that has hampered debates on the emergence of transnational business elites in the region. This paper identifies the owners of the largest companies in Latin America and analyses the networks they form. The results reveal the formation of an interlocking ownership network between a small number of transnational owners, most of whom are financial corporations in the United States and Europe. These findings allow us to discuss regional integration and the dominance of economic models imported from those territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the principal concepts of social class, occupation, and social stratification, and their contribution to the analysis of the social determinants of health (SDH), and reviews empirical studies conducted in Latin America that use employment relations as an SDH. The review focuses on studies of the relationship between health and social class based on neo-Weberian or neo-Marxist perspectives. A search of the BIREME Virtual Health Library and the SciELO database found 28 articles meeting these characteristics. This relative dearth contrasts with the profusion of papers that use these approaches written in Europe and in the United States, with a long tradition in the analysis of SDH. In this regard, the political and programmatic implications of research on social class and employment relations are different from and complementary to studies of health gradients associated with income and education. Globalization of employment relations requires the development of new concepts to explain and measure the mechanisms of action of the SDH going beyond what is strictly labor related; in particular, the importance in the current Latin American reality of the impact of informal work on health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A videogame is a cultural device with its own socializing functions, as stated by most of the media. The high levels of pleasure and enjoyment it gives players make it essential to analyse its potential as an educational tool, more so if there is an awareness of its value as a vehicle for personality development among young people. This paper tries to provide current examples of the wide range of videogames and their ability to develop certain skills related to the dynamic representation of space, within Jerome Bruner's learning model. There is analysis of how adventure, strategy, simulation and role-playing games improve the development of skills such as reflection, strategic and tactical reasoning, or mental agility and economic challenges. Furthermore, data is provided on the present rating systems for game choice e.g.: ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) valid in the U.S.A, and PEGI, from the European Federation for Interactive Software. Both are accepted by aDeSe (Asociation for Distributors and Editors of Entertainment Software) and both try to help parents and teachers recognise its content and suitability for the different range of ages and profiles. To sum up, the essay attempts to show the importance of videogames in the teaching-learning process by providing up-to-date examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the First World countries, the industrial evolution of the developing countries is observed with concern. The are considered a strong competence in the international marked and the are held responsible for the decreasing life standard in the United States and in Europe. This is the reason to consider restrictions of the commercial relations which could limit also the Third World productivity. Paul Krugman, a professor of economics at Stanford University en Palo Alto, California, is convinced that this fear doesn't have any real base. He argues, supported by a sequence of models, which present the economic relations between the First and the Third World, that the developing countries really don't influence on the life standard or the developed countries. It shouldn't be necessary to impose import retrictions which only would hinder the economic growth of the Third World nations, and therefore the hope for a decent life standard of millions of human beings who live today in conditions of absolute poverty. Agreeing completely with the author's goals, I present here a critical discussion of the respective paper. My critics are mainly directed to the model's structure. I believe that one can use more realistic structures without modifying Krugman's final final conclusions. Some suggestions are made in this sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]