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We focus on the notion of borders to explore how mobility and immobility in the city affect the relationship between human development and urban culture. We define borders as a relational space made of territoriality, representations and different possibilities of mobility and immobility. Drawing on research in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, we suggest a systematic approach to the analysis of borders and identify the socio-institutional, spatial and symbolic elements that make them more or less porous and thus more or less amenable to human mobility. We highlight the association between porosity in city borders and human development and illustrate the model contrasting two favela communities in Rio de Janeiro. We show that participation in the socio-cultural environment by favela grassroots organisations increases the porosity of internal city borders and contributes to the development of self, communities and the city. To focus on borders, their different elements and levels of porosity means to address simultaneously the psychosocial and cultural layers of urban spaces and the novel ways through which grassroots social actors develop themselves through participation and semiotic reconstruction of the socio-cultural environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a social representational approach to understanding expert knowledge and its relation to health. Research with homelessness professionals (HPs) working in the UK voluntary sector shows that expert definitions of homelessness can either undermine or enhance the health of the homeless. Guided by the concepts of social representations and cognitive polyphasia, the analysis reveals a contradictory field of knowledge, which reflects the struggle of professionals to sustain a humanizing approach and resist the pressures of statutory agendas. We conclude pointing to the need of recognizing the impact of professional's knowledge on the health and care policies for the homeless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports results from a qualitative study on social representations of health and illness among the Chinese community in England. It is assumed that representations of health and illness are grounded in cultural frameworks and are constructed through communication, social interaction and the practices of daily life. Our findings show that in spite of differences related to age and degrees of acculturation, Chinese people in England share a common representational system with respect to health and illness. This system is based on the traditional notions of “balance” and “harmony” between the interdependent forces of Yin and Yang. Health results from balance, whereas illness is brought about by disequilibrium. It is through these traditional Chinese concepts that Western biomedical knowledge is incorporated, producing a mixed representational field where Chinese and Western knowledge co-exist. This representational field is transmitted through the most fundamental dimensions of culture: food, language and kinship relations. We conclude by showing that social representations of health and illness are inseparable from the struggles over identity experienced by the Chinese people in England. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social representations of health and illness are deeply intertwined with issues of cultural identity. People think of health and illness in relation to their social environment and cultural background. In this paper, we report findings of a study on representations of health among the Chinese community in England. Using focus groups and in-depth interviews with experts and lay members of the Chinese community, we found a hybrid representation which combines Chinese traditions and western biomedical knowledge. This mixed social representation is paradoxical: it both integrates and draws upon the differences inherent in the two knowledge systems. The contradictory nature of the representation is functional: it enables the community both to sustain/defend its cultural identity and to cope with the challenges posed by the host environment. The findings are discussed in relation to the hybridization of identities in the context of globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]