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Community participation as a strategy in health aims to increase the role of citizens in health decision-making which are contextualised within the institutions of democracy. Electoral representation as the dominant model of democracy globally is based on the elite theory of democracy that sees political decision-making a prerogative of political elites. Such political elitism is counter to the idea of democratic participation. Neoliberalism together with elitism in political sphere have worsened social inequities by undermining working class interests. Latin America has seen adverse consequences of these social inequities. In response, social movements representing collective struggles of organised citizens arose in the region. This paper explores the theoretical underpinnings of democratic participation in contemporary Latin American context at the nexus of emerging social movement activism and policy responses. The paper will use empirical examples to highlight how such democratic practices at the societal level evolved while demanding political inclusion. These societal democratic practices in Latin America are redefining democracy, which continues to be seen in the political sphere only. Health reforms promoting participatory democracy in several Latin American countries have demonstrated that establishing institutions and mechanisms of democratic participation facilitate collective participation by the organised citizenry in state affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a knowledge exchange project, funded by the Scottish Funding Council and undertaken by a group of researchers from three higher education institutions in Scotland and the project partner, Sistema Scotland. This newly established charity is attempting to implement a major programme of social change, developed in Venezuela, within the Raploch, a disadvantaged area of Scotland. The researchers' combined knowledge of education, music and psychology has guided their knowledge exchange activities with the project partner and among themselves. The paper outlines the development of Sistema Scotland and the programme, El Sistema, on which it is based. It details the knowledge exchange activities undertaken, which used Derrida's notion of aporia to try to engage Sistema Scotland with different perspectives and understandings, and a practical method for conducting meetings based on Open Space Technology. The various 'encounters' with children, service providers and stakeholders are reported and this is followed by a critique of the processes of knowledge exchange. The paper ends with a discussion of the prospects for successful knowledge exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People, as bio-psychological systems, are just as dynamic and complex as the social systems that they create. Social work intervenes in the interplay of these two complex, dynamic systems. How can we capture these complexities and dynamics in social work research and practice? The paper introduces the theoretical grounds on which a mixed-methods design has been developed combining a longitudinal quantitative method called Real Time Monitoring that produces dense time series data with qualitative methods (biographical and reflecting interviews) within the framework of grounded theory. After some short notes on the methodology, its application is demonstrated alongside a case example. Because complexity and dynamics challenge not only research, but also the practice of social work, the approach is finally discussed in view of the ‘realistic evaluation’ paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The following paper explores three Venezuelan contemporary poets who wrote about their psychiatric experiences. Through their poems they "talk back" to a psychiatric language that medicalized their suffering and stripped their experiences of meaning. The parallels between their writings and psychiatric survivor literature are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the application of an analytical model categorized as "missionary," this article examines the cultural and political-religious frames that sustain the leadership of Hugo Chávez. It demonstrates that missionary politics is a forceful presence in today's Venezuela, and should be understood as a form of political religion characterized by a dynamic relationship between a charismatic leader and a moral community that is invested with a mission of salvation against conspiratorial enemies. The leader's verbal and nonverbal discourses play an essential role in the development of such a missionary mode of politics, which seeks to provide the alienated mass of underprivileged citizens with an identity and a sense of active participation in national affairs. This study argues that purely utilitarian and materialistic explanations of Chávez's leadership fail to capture these soteriological dynamics in his movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this article the development of psychology as an academic discipline in Venezuela is reviewed. The results of an empirical study in 1978 are described to set the basis for comparison with more recent data. The results of a survey completed in 1995 are reported and discussed. This survey was aimed at obtaining the opinions of academic psychologists about psychological research in Venezuela. The quantitative and qualitative results of this study were assessed and compared to other research in this area. Consideration of these data are followed by discussion to clarify the present status and future prospects for psychological research in Venezuela. On decrit dans cet article le developpement de la psychologie en tant que discipline universitaire au Venezuela. Les resultats d'une etude empirique de 1978 servent de base de comparaison avec des donnees plus recentes recueillies lors d'une enquete realisee en 1995. Cette investigation portait sur les opinions de psychologues universitaires a propos de la recherche en psychologie au Venezuela. Les resultats quantitatifs et qualitatifs de cette etude furent analyses et compares a ceux d'autres recherches dans ce domaine. L'examen de ces donnees est suivi d'une discussion ou l'on essaie de preciser la situation actuelle et a venir de la recherche en psychologie au Venezuela. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]