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Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-generated environment with noteworthy didactic applications in different educational levels and areas of knowledge. The study of the perceptions of the agents involved about the use of VR in lectures is a fruitful line of research because it has implications in terms of the measures to be taken to improve the training and competence of professors in its use. In this paper, a quantitative, descriptive, and correlational research is carried out on the assessments of a sample of 1638 Latin American university professors on both (i) the didactic use of VR and (ii) the influence of the professors' area of knowledge on these assessments. For this purpose, a validated questionnaire was used, the responses to which were subjected to statistical analysis. As a result, it was found that the ratings of VR are very high, but professors believe that their digital skills for its use are insufficient. In addition, the professors' area of knowledge significantly influences their ratings, being higher in the areas of knowledge in which professors have a better self-concept of their digital skills. Furthermore, gender gaps have also been identified in the answers given, which behave differently according to the area of knowledge. Finally, some conclusions, implications, and recommendations are drawn from the results obtained.

This paper examines patterns of knowledge production in the social sciences (SS) and in the arts and humanities (A&H) in Latin America (LATAM). We report on a longitudinal analysis of 127,515 journal articles published between 2002 and 2018. The analysis reveals six major patterns: (i) a rapid growth in the production of journal articles; (ii) large differences in article production across nations; (iii) significant variations in the magnitude and the growth of articles across disciplines within the SS and the A&H; (iv) a present predominance of single-authored articles that has nevertheless been declining in favour of collaborative articles; (v) a significant variation in the magnitudes of collaborative articles with researchers outside LATAM, a collaboration that tends to be with the global North; and (vi) differences in research leadership across LATAM nations. A set of possible explanations is offered for each of these patterns, set within a dynamic global knowledge production context.

A documentary review was carried out on the production and publication of research papers on the study of the ICT variable and its use as a tool for strengthening virtual education in Latin America. The purpose of the bibliometric analysis proposed in this document was to know the main characteristics of the volume of publications registered in the Scopus database during the period 2016-2021 in Latin American countries, achieving the identification of 162 publications. The information provided by the said platform was organized through tables and figures categorizing the information by Year of Publication, Country of Origin, Area of Knowledge, and Type of Publication. Once these characteristics were described, the position of different authors regarding the proposed topic was referenced by employing a qualitative analysis. Among the main findings of this research, it is found that Colombia, with 46 publications, is the Latin American country with the highest production. The area of knowledge that made the greatest contribution to the construction of bibliographic material referring to the study of ICT and its use as a tool for strengthening virtual education was social sciences with 142 published documents, and the type of publication that was most used during the period mentioned above was the journal article, which represents 55% of the total scientific production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines patterns of knowledge production in the social sciences (SS) and in the arts and humanities (A&H) in Latin America (LATAM). We report on a longitudinal analysis of 127,515 journal articles published between 2002 and 2018. The analysis reveals six major patterns: (i) a rapid growth in the production of journal articles; (ii) large differences in article production across nations; (iii) significant variations in the magnitude and the growth of articles across disciplines within the SS and the A&H; (iv) a present predominance of single-authored articles that has nevertheless been declining in favour of collaborative articles; (v) a significant variation in the magnitudes of collaborative articles with researchers outside LATAM, a collaboration that tends to be with the global North; and (vi) differences in research leadership across LATAM nations. A set of possible explanations is offered for each of these patterns, set within a dynamic global knowledge production context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Ciencias de la Salud is the property of Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Senora del Rosario and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In honor of Ethnohistory's sixtieth anniversary, this paper compiles data on the journal and analyzes patterns and trends throughout the publication. We divided observations into four categories: (1) authorship of each article, particularly focusing on gender in authorship and coauthorship, (2) the region represented in each article, (3) the topic, and (4) data sources used by the author(s). We then analyzed each category in representative ten-year intervals from 1954 to 2013. Such data reveals trends that mirror intellectual, scholarly, and demographic changes in the social sciences overall. Female authorship, for example, steadily increases until the most recent decade, while coauthorship shows steady growth in raw numbers, but still represents a varying percentage with each decade. The North American region composes the majority of regional representation since the beginning, but Latin American regional representation as well as that outside of the Americas, shows significant increases over time. Meanwhile, fluctuating topics and data sources demonstrate diversification and expanding breadth within Ethnohistory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the current state of Organization Studies in Latin America, disclosing the epistemic coloniality that prevails in the region. Adopting an approach based on the recognition of the relevance of the geopolitical space as place of enunciation, the paper sustains the relevance of the 'outside' and 'otherness' to understand organizational realities in America Latina. The argument is developed in three sections. The first section establishes the main characteristic of the development of Organization Studies in Latin America as its tendency towards falsification and imitation of the knowledge generated in the Centre. The second section recognizes the role played by the term 'organization' as an artifice that facilitates the comparison of different realities through their structural variables, but also the inability of this term to recognize any reality that escapes instrumental rationality and the logic of the market. It also articulates the increasing importance of such a concept in the context of neo-liberalism. The third section concludes by renewing the urgency of appreciating the organizational problems of Latin America from the outside by proposing a preliminary research agenda built from original approaches that recognize otherness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culture is a broad concept that crosses different social sciences, especially after the cultural turn of the mid-twentieth century, before that was mainly the subject of anthropology. This paper focuses on various current theoretical principals that deal with culture and sets special emphasis on the debate on information/communication. The idea is to escape from different binary oppositions and look for complex and dialectical concepts that help us establish truly interdisciplinary debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nomadas (01217550) is the property of Universidad Central and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents several books related to sociology. "Hacia una sociologia del surco: Resultados del Sexto Congreso Nacional de Sociologia de Morelia," by Roberto Agramonte. In this small volume the distinguished professor of sociology and director of the Department of Cultural Interchange at the University of Havana summarizes succinctly the program of Mexico's Sixth National Sociological Congress and appraises with keen insight most of the major papers presented at it. "El hombre y Ia tierra en Boyacd: Bases socio-históricas para una ref orma agraria," by Orlando Fals Borda. This volume contains an intensive study of the institutionalized relations between man and the land in the Department of Boyacá, Colombia. The study was done with the aid of a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the English version was presented as a Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Florida. "Migraciones internas en Costa Rica," by Wilburg Jimenez Castro. Based largely upon materials gathered in the 1950 census of population, this volume contains the results of one of the most thorough going studies of rural-urban and interregional migration ever done in Latin America.

This paper analyzes The Social Panorama of Latin America, an overview of the social scene in Latin America provided by Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, as a development narrative. In it, there are two interwoven and competing stories, the economic and the social. The gradual appearance and disappearance of key ideas for development, such as social exclusion/inclusion and social cohesion, in the context of concurrent trends in common social indicators, suggest the subordination of the social story to the economic one. Social dimensions of development deserve renewed attention for complete overviews of the social panorama of Latin America. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Investigaciones de la UNAD is the property of Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Enl@ce: Revista Venezolana de Información, Tecnología y Conocimiento is the property of Universidad del Zulia, Laboratorio de Investigacion y Sistemas de Informacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Katharsis is the property of Institucion Universitaria de Envigado and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Physis: Revista de Saúde Coletiva is the property of CEPESC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

"Knowledge Assessment on Sustainable Water Resources Management for Irrigation" (KASWARMI) project made evident cases of unsuccessful or non sustainable irrigation experiences that could only be explained by the underestimation of deep socioeconomic issues. This involves not only the social factors related to the implementation/ adoption of new or better technologies by a wide spectrum of users but also the way in which water use and irrigation projects are conceived, planned and implemented by scientists, politicians and practitioners. The project was interested in assessing the social science inputs irrigation specialists receive. With this objective, this paper presents a state of the art on some selected socioeconomic subjects as they appear in the irrigation literature, and analyzes the way in which they are conceived, thought and articulated with the more "technical" factors of irrigation. This should be useful to raise new avenues of research and to enhance articulation of "technical" and social science approaches in quest of a more close to sustainability irrigation practices. A first search covered eight of the most prestigious journals devoted to irrigation subjects. After this search yielded meager results in terms of the amount of papers found, a new search was conducted, without restraining to specific journals but moving freely with a deliberate thematic purpose. The results showed less socioeconomic issues than desirable in the papers within easy reach of irrigation engineers, a meager presence of Latin American cases and an approach to socioeconomic subjects that lack comprehensiveness, as they did not appear to be fully articulated with the technical subjects of irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of El Profesional de la Información is the property of EPI SCP and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Antípoda is the property of Universidad de los Andes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores how practices of sonic recontextualization enacted by both folklorists and the music industry during the first half of the twentieth century have been crucial to the constitution of an aural modernity in Latin America. This is mediated simultaneously by the contradictory practices of epistemologies of purification—which seek to provincialize sounds in order to ascribe them a place in the modern ecumene and epistemologies of transculturation—which either enact or disrupt such practices of purification. Through this I wish to argue that the aural has been a sphere of crucial constitution of Latin America's highly unequal modernity, one that is significant not only in the contemporary sonic turn but that also played a role in defining the very idea of a Latin American lettered modernity. I also explore the relation of this to the construction of epistemologies of traditional and popular musics in Latin America and their role in the constitution of musical ‘knowledges otherwise’. I particularly explore the politics of knowledge of some of the early twentieth cenutry folklorists and their implications for thinking about the structure of knowledge in musical disciplinary fields in a globalized, postcolonial context at a moment in which the sonic is mediating crucial fields of experience and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to present a few arguments about the importance of holding a second Bandung Conference, broadened to include the Tri‐Continental regions, including Latin America and the Caribbean region, in the conference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the structure of scientific collaboration within the disciplines of the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities in Latin America between 2005 and 2015. This includes the reasons that lead specialists to work collaboratively, based on the fact that these communities adhere to the global trend towards an increasingly exogenous scientific dialogue. The analysis relies on 138,865 refereed articles by Latin American authors published in 838 journals indexed by Redalyc.org, and a survey of 515 researchers in the region. It was concluded that the trends towards and reasons for co-authoring are a result of current scientific policies, which have had an impact on the purpose of research and publications, and communication between researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development theory dealing with the highly industrialized countries of East Asia and Latin America has foundered in terms of its ability to generalize. The theories and concepts often are biased because they are derived from a selective and uneven reading of evidence from the two regions. This paper outlines the perceptions and misconceptions of a variety of theoretical perspectives on development, and then presents cross-regional evidence from East Asia and Latin America that suggests the need for a reformulation and synthesis of some of these earlier approaches. This theoretical synthesis focuses on three related themes: (I) the declining significance of industrialization; (2) the position of core and peripheral capital in commodity chains and export/marketing networks, which are becoming key units of analysis in the contemporary global manufacturing system; and (3) a new framework for differentiating the roles of the newly industrializing countries in the world economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of an exploratory survey of higher agricultural education in Latin America and relates these and other findings to "development." Education in general and agricultural education in particular are placed in a cultural context, which in turn is utilized to explain the current situation with regard to education in Latin America. Attention is also given to future trends and the probable increase in social science training throughout Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers tips for students to complete a graduate degree in biological sciences in Latin America. Topics discussed include the features that underlie the performance of graduate programs around the world, the importance of investigating the graduate program and the adviser, scholarship programs for graduate students, and the need to follow administrative procedures from admission to graduation.

The article presents the report of American Economic Association (AEA) to the International Economic Association (IEA). Since the last report, made to the Executive Committee of the AEA at its spring meeting, 1957, the chief activities of IEA have been the conduct of two major round tables. The first of these was held in Rio de Janeiro from August 19 to 28, and the second in Lisbon, September 11 to 18, 1957. The second round table of the past year resulted from an impetus given to the various international social science organizations by the Social Science Council of UNESCO to study the consequences of the contrasting size of nations. Plans for future activities of the IEA include a round table on capital theory in 1958, and, in the near future, a refresher course in Pakistan arid a conference in Africa on the economic development of Africa south of the equator. Applications for membership in the IEA have been received from associations in Bolivia, Mexico, Spain, and the USSR. Exclusive of these, not yet acted upon, the membership of the IEA includes twenty-seven associations.

Abstract: This paper provides evidence about the diffusion of diaspora engagement practices and institutions as a result of formal and informal collaboration between Latin American governments. In particular, it examines how Latin American governments have developed similar practices and institutions regarding consular protection and service provision for their populations in the United States and the models they have followed. Notwithstanding the differences in capacities and motivations, the results of this research indicate that there is a convergence of practices and policies of diaspora engagement among Latin American countries driven by ideas of regional solidarity and unity and a clear reference to the Mexican model in the development of budding initiatives and partnerships in this area. The diffusion of policies in this regard has implications in terms of providing a more comprehensive understanding of the motivations behind diaspora engagement programs and the ways in which existing practices are adapted and transformed in response to the practices of other countries in a similar host country context. So far, most of this regional collaboration is based on information-sharing and participation in joint initiatives oriented towards service provision and protection of migrants' rights, with economic development back home as a relevant but secondary objective. One of the implications of this diffusion of policies with a regional focus is its effect in the socioeconomic mobility, in the group identity and in the political participation of Latinos, the largest minority group in the United States. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents the current conditions of production in social sciences in Latin America, and the expectations regarding this branch of knowledge. It examines some of the barriers that hinder its regional development, and it discusses the arguments that call into question the global nature of social sciences, introducing some examples of local development with global impact. At last, it suggests some strategies that might help our production in social sciences reach a global scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Redes is the property of Redes-Revista Hispana para el Analisis de Redes Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Polis (07176554) is the property of Polis - Revista Academica Universidad Bolivariana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Inside the complex theoretical universe formed by the heterogeneous ones Intellectual emergent traditions in Latin-American history, and as part of the multiple schools of thought centred on Latin America as an object that admits a plurality of diciplinary boardings, the works of Sergio Bagú (1911-2002) constitutes a significant contribution. This paper proposes to recover that contribution, centring on two moments of Bagú's thought that we consider to be important to re-compose and discuss: his interdisciplinary perspective - fundamentally anchored in sociological and historiographic approaches - and his investigations and reflections on the specific modality that assumes Latin-American capitalism - while so much system of economic relations from which they derive social singular structures - from the stage of the Hispanic - luso colonialism. This exercise of theoretical revaluation, and his foundations in an intellectual history not devoid of investigations it brings over of the social and political way in which the ideas are in preparation, does not derive from a mere interest for erudite speculation, but from an interest to re-compose and re-update conceptual tools and structures of thought that are in conditions to enrich and promote the contemporary situation of social sciences in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociedade e Estado is the property of Sociedade e Estado and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Educacao & Sociedade is the property of Centro de Estudos de Educacao e Sociedade and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Polis (07176554) is the property of Polis - Revista Academica Universidad Bolivariana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper alludes to the role played by Raúl Prebisch and the CEPAL in the process of production and institutionalization of a certain social and critical knowledge in the 50's in Latin America. From a bourdian perspective our aim is to go beyond biographical constructions that have been written about Prebisch's work and settle them down to the ideas developed by CEPAL. Because of that, we will try to analyze, on one hand, Prebisch's theoretical and strategic position in the field of social sciences at that time and to explain, on the other hand, CEPAL's blurred image due to the crisis of the substitute industrialization model, Prebisch's movement to the UNCTAD and the Dependent Economy Model debate in Latin America academy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to trace, reconstruct and analyze the files of the Intelligence Services regarding the production of Latin-American social sciences in the period 1976-1983. The object "Latin America" is to the services of intelligence a priori associated with and connoting "communist", "revolutionary" or "subversive". All the above led to an exhaustive work of exegesis and research on the production of Latin-American Social Sciences describing a double process: introducing professionalism in politics and political radicalization. The documents found in the Archive of the former Direction of Intelligence of the Police of the Province of Buenos Aires [DIPBA] - (containing reports of other services of intelligence) allow to infer the importance and the degree of "danger" that the dictatorships attributed to this production. This research will analyze reports issued by Intelligence Offices on popular music, essays and, particularly, classic works produced by Latin American Social Sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The republican political project has been the occasion of a renewed interest in contemporary political theory as a preferred alternative to the undesired consequences of some applications of liberalism. In this paper I explore the contrasts between the two traditions as a jumping-off point to analyze Charles Taylor's and Quentin Skinner's understanding of republicanism. Moving beyond their differences, I show that both thinkers share the idea that republican citizenship does not conflict with those liberal values that are still worthy of being defended. Finally, I provide some thoughts on the desirability of rehabilitating the republican narrative in the Latin American context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologias is the property of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The related Latin American doctrines of structuralism and dependency had important repercussions in Spain and Portugal, two nations of the European "periphery" in the postwar era. This paper establishes the influence of the two Latin American ideas in those countries, focusing on the moments of their greatest impact—the 1950s and the 1970s. It explains such influence as a result of three factors—the previous existence of local traditions of structuralist thought, to which the Latin American doctrines could be assimilated; the relevance of Latin American ideas and techniques to pressing economic issues; and the utility of such ideas for foreign policy. It also illustrates that structuralism and dependency were perceived as closely related, and mentions the impact of the two doctrines in another country on the European Periphery, Romania, in the same two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a framework for the analysis of social classes in Latin America and presents evidence on the composition of the class structure in the region and its evolution during the last two decades, corresponding to the years of implementation of a new economic model in most countries. The paper is an update of an earlier article on the same topic published in this journal at the end of the period of import substitution industrialization. Relative to that earlier period, the present era registers a visible increase in income inequality, a persistent concentration of wealth in the top decile of the population, a rapid expansion of the class of micro-entrepreneurs, and a stagnation or increase of the informal proletariat. The contraction of public sector employment and the stagnation of formal sector labor demand in most countries have led to a series of adaptive solutions by the middle and lower classes. The rise of informal self-employment and micro-entrepreneurialism throughout the region can be interpreted as a direct result of the new adjustment policies. We explore other, less orthodox adaptive strategies, including the rise of violent crime in the cities and migration abroad by an increasingly diversified cross-section of the population. The impact that changes in the class structure have had on party politics and other forms of popular political mobilization in Latin American countries is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Sociology is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper has attempted to outline the present situation and trends in scholarly cooperation between Latin American and U.S. social science, tracing significant changes in recent years, and identifying policy-shifts in foundations and other granting agencies as a primary cause of such changes. It has briefly analyzed the current structure of international cooperation. Finally, it has presented the most coherent position running contrary to growing optimism, which would predict a mutually advantageous cooperative framework.
Changes implemented by foundations and granting agencies have carried cross-national cooperation to a level beyond which U.S. scientific establishments cannot or are not likely to go. In other words, the alternative to the new forms of cooperative research is probably no cooperation at all. Tins is, in essence, what the radical critique argues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latin America's rich intellectual production on questions of media and identity has been largely overlooked outside the region. The aim of this paper is to air the views on the interrelated themes of identity, culture, and communication of some of Latin America's most prominent cultural theorists, and to offer a commentary on these writings from the perspectives of scholars working in Europe and North America. Of particular interest is the extent to which the state is seen as able to or needing to regulate culture and communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is divided into three sections, the first sketches a panorama of the conditions of construction of knowledge, not "about" but from the perspective of culture. The second is a self-critical presentation of the author's work on what he terms '"Cultural Fronts. " Lastly, some of the characteristics and effects of the cultural fronts project are presented, which is currently being developed in Mexico and, through recently initiated collaborations, in other parts of Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since World War II, scientific activity has grown significantly in Latin America, and with it there has been a modest development of the social study of science (SSS). This paper investigates the changing significance of the work of science planners and social thinkers with respect to the understanding of the social role of science in Latin America. On the basis of this study it is argued that, despite promising signs, institutional developments in SSS in Latin America are very fragile, and that the chances for their survival and success lie in their capacity to demonstrate their ability to bridge the 'research gap' between academia, public decision-making and industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Latin American (LA) countries have begun to adopt a variety of regulations targeting sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) for public health reasons. Our objective was to characterize the regulatory strategies designed to reduce SSB consumption over the last decade, and assess the available evidence on their enforcement and impact. Methods: We searched legal and public health databases for public and private SSBs regulations in 14 LA countries and then conducted a systematic review of the available literature. We tracked comparative variations in the type of body issuing the regulations, their scope, and binding status. We present data following a 5-category framework we named NUTRE that classifies SSBs regulations as: (1) restrictions to SSB availability in schools (N), (2) taxes and other economic incentives to discourage consumption (U), (3) restrictions on advertising and marketing (T), (4) regulations on government procurement and subsidies (R), and (5) product labeling rules (E). Results: Since 2006, 14 LA countries have adopted at least 39 public and private SSB regulatory initiatives across the NUTRE framework. Comprehensive efforts have only been approved by Chile, México and Ecuador, while the rest have comparatively few initiatives. 28 out of the 39 regulatory initiatives were passed by legislative and executive bodies; 11 initiatives represent self-regulatory undertakings by the beverage industries. An 86% (24/28) of public sector regulations are binding; 56% (22/39) contain explicit monitoring or evaluation methods; and 62% (24/39) provide for sanctions. Moreover, 23 regulations specify the body in charge of monitoring the new rules and standards. Conclusions: LA countries are targeting SSB consumption through a variety of mechanisms, particularly via restrictions to availability in schools and through taxes. Interdisciplinary evidence comparing alternative regulatory strategies is scarce, and few studies offer data on impact and implementation challenges. More evidence and further comparative assessments are needed to support future decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an approach to understanding health that acquires an original and autonomous development across different Latin American countries, despite being the result of reading and analysing national and international theoretical contributions from social sciences. The proposal seeks to integrate the epidemiologic perspective with those from the social sciences, sociology, and medical anthropology in particular, raising the need to place health problems in their socio-historic, cultural, political and economic context. From this framework, such aspects must be treated not only as epidemiological variables but, above all, as sociocultural and bio-ecological processes. It suggests to conceptually work from a perspective that investigates health-disease as a social process, an area of life in which most of the meanings, representations and practices that allow the reproduction of daily life are articulated. For that, we place the contributions in the field of Collective Health, present the main criticisms and limitations that have been raised to modern epidemiology and, from there, we develop theoretic-methodological proposals of ethno-epidemiology and sociocultural epidemiology directing the analysis towards the development of a superseding episteme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Opinião Pública is the property of Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Portal de Periodicos Eletronicos Cientificos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

While considerable progress has been made in understanding the way particular aspects of internal migration, such as its intensity, age profile and spatial impact, vary between countries around the world, little attention to date has been given to establishing how these dimensions of migration interact in different national settings. We use recently developed measures of internal migration that are scale-independent to compare the overall intensity, age composition, spatial impact, and distance profile of internal migration in 19 Latin American countries. Comparisons reveal substantial cross-national variation but cluster analysis suggests the different dimensions of migration evolve systematically to form a broad sequence characterised by low intensities, young ages at migration, unbalanced flows and high friction of distance at lower levels of development, trending to high intensities, an older age profile of migration, more closely balanced flows and lower friction of distance at later stages of development. However, the transition is not linear and local contingencies, such as international migration and political control, often distort the migration-development nexus, leading to unique migration patterns in individual national contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an increasingly interdependent world, not only politics but also societies become ever more intertwined. Therefore, foreign policy-making is progressively influenced by domestic factors, not only in the country in question but also in others. This special issue seeks to shed light on the degree to which Latin American civil societies and social movements are shaping foreign policy. The provisional, though contested, answer is ‘not much.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]