Argentine Society Research Articles

Argentine Graphic Narrative

Argentine Graphic Narrative David William Foster (bio) The Eternaut Héctor Oesterheld Francisco Solano López, Illustrator Fantagraphics www.fantagraphics.com 368 Pages; Print, $49.99 Fantagraphics publication of the English translation of Héctor Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López's El Eternauta is a watershed. While it has been translated into many other languages, with Fantagraphics this is a first—and a significant retrospective gesture to recognize its significant place in Argentine graphic fiction. Indeed, El Eternauta is customarily considered the capo lavoro of Argentine graphic fiction. First published between 1957 and 1959 in the Argentine magazine Hora Cero Semanal, El Eternauta in retrospect may be seen to have been a watershed in the transition from comic book production to narratives with mature sociopolitical content not necessarily directed at puerile readers, allowing for serious contestational readings vis-à-vis the historical record being represented. Cartoon art in Argentina has a long history with enormous commercial success, and it would be inaccurate to say there were no sustained narratives prior to El Eternauta and unfair to say that they were strictly puerile in nature. Many, in fact, are read today as important windows on the complex evolution of Argentine society in the twentieth century. However, it is El Eternauta that definitively inaugurates a cultural production that vies for attention with the most valued texts of Argentine narrative. One of the most distinctive features of El Eternauta concerns the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Oesterheld during the early years of the 1976-83 neofascist military regime in Argentina. Although Oesterheld had never been involved in political activism, his four daughters were, and it is apparent that they drew their father into the orbit of their left-wing militancy. Two of his daughters disappeared in 1976 at the beginning of what the military called the Dirty War against subversion, and in 1977 Oesterheld disappeared along with his other two daughters (partners of the daughters also disappeared). Although it is unlikely that Oesterheld's disappearance had anything to do with El Eternauta, it did serve to highlight certain aspects of the narrative, and his presumed death, likely accompanied by torture, at the hands of the military made him one of the most iconic figures of the many writers, artists, and intellectuals to fall victims to the Dirty War. El Eternauta tells the story of a heroic resistance to the invasion of Buenos Aires by an alien force, whose snow-like ash descends on the city, destroying all life that comes in contact with it. The main character, Juan Salvo, who lives with his wife and young daughter in one of the many middle-class suburbs of Buenos Aires, is playing cards one night with some of his friends. Apparently, the house is well-sealed, and the fine ash finds no entrance. Juan Salvo (his name evokes an Argentine Everyman, with Salvo related to the verb salvar "to save"; the first-person singular salvo means "I save") is something of an inventor, and he soon fits his family and friends out with improvised isolation gear: His own contains a face mask that looks like scuba diving equipment, and this is the most recognized image for the strip. The men soon form a resistance band and venture forth to discover and vanquish what they discover to be an invading army; in the process, they are joined by other individuals. Some survive and some perish, but the men persevere, and the narrative texture of the strip centers on the recurring encounters with agents of the enemy until they meet their mastermind, whom they discover is, in turn, someone who has been "robotized" by a higher force. Salvo rescues him from his control by the aliens, the "Them," as they are called by their robot agent, but it is clear that the threat of alien destruction remains a distinct likelihood. The original story ends with Salvo returning to his wife and daughter, but Oesterheld undertook remakes and continuations in 1969 and 1975 (the latter in conjunction with another famed artist, Alberto Breccia, who drew a much darker version of the story), while Solano López collaborated with others in further versions. The upshot of the...

Great saphenous vein remodeling using LASER with low-energy linear endovenous energy density, no tumescence, and associated surgical techniques

The objective was reduce at the half the GSV diameter trough remodeling of the great saphenous vein by 1470 LASER LEED flexibility (setting parameters) as a method to counteract Valsalva reflux. A prospective study of 38 patients done in two centers is presented using a combined approach of sparing techniques plus LASER 1470 nm .The purpose was avoid unnecessary ablation of the great saphenous vein (GSV) at the early hemodynamic stages (diameter below 9 mm, peak reflux speed below 30 cc/s and total reflux volume (TRV) between 10 and 100 cc/s). The study was under the supervision of the Ethical Committee and Scientific Department of the Argentine Society of Phlebology and Lymphology, Chairman Dr. Daniel Garcia, June 9 2017, and approved during the plenary session. No number registration was given. Each patient gave signed informed consent. Thirty-eight middle-aged patients, 29 women and 9 men, with clinical, etiologic, anatomic, pathophysiologic (CEAP) classification C2-5 were included. This study does not record background into the world bibliography, therefore doesn’t exist comparison parameters available.

Revisiting the Appropriated Children: Subjectivity in Patricia Zangaro's A propósito de la duda

A proposito de la duda (2000) was created in homage to Las Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo in the hopes of instilling doubt regarding the issue of the appropriated children of the disappeared, those who were taken during Argentina's last military dictatorship (1976-1983) and placed illegally with other families. This article studies how a persistent dualistic cultural interpretation of the dictatorship, the Theory of the Two Evils, and a body of psychological and legal discourses building on advancements in genetic science and long-standing notions of family lineage informed the play's creation and mise-en-scene. In the play, the appropriated children are represented in terms of their true, biological identities, which must be restituted legally and legitimately for Argentine society to move forward.

Saber, práctica, sujeto: el consultorio psicoanalítico en la revista Idilio

Este artículo estudia el consultorio psicoanalítico “El psicoanálisis le ayudará”, que se incluyó en la revista Idilio entre 1948 y 1951 con el propósito de analizar las modalidades que adopta este saber en los comienzos de su instalación en la sociedad argentina. Con este objetivo, tomando en cuenta los estudios del discurso, se consideran tres aspectos: el modo en que se construye el dispositivo clínico epistolar, los sentidos que adquiere el psicoanálisis como objeto de(l) discurso y el sujeto de la enunciación que allí se construye. A partir de este análisis hemos podido determinar que, en el dispositivo clínico que se configura, el psicoanálisis se presenta como una verdad científica que apunta a la adaptación y que no interroga el orden social impuesto hacia la mujer. La voz del sujeto-psicoanalista emerge en este marco como una voz de autoridad, mediante la que se genera una posición disimétrica con las lectoras.

Defensa Nacional: consideraciones para un enfoque analítico

La política de defensa no ha sido una de las prioridades de la sociedad argentina desde el retorno de la democracia. Sin embargo, un conjunto de actores han “disputado” intensamente sobre qué hacer con las Fuerzas Armadas sin que se hayan puesto de acuerdo al respecto.El presente artículo se propone no solo indagar sobre los condicionantes que pudieran estar influenciando en el debate, sino también se plantea una hoja de ruta para sortear esas trabas que impiden definir los lineamientos para una política de defensa para el Siglo XXI.A tal efecto se entiende a la defensa como una política pública y se presenta brevemente un modelo analítico para aprehender la puja en torno a la definición de este issue.

Imaginarios de justicia social en las subjetividades argentinas contemporáneas

The imaginaries of social justice can be found in scattered fragments of historical meaning that are linked in different ways in subjectivities but do not correspond to any particular definition that can show its complete image. Our intention here is not to look for one figure of social justice, but to trace fragments of meaning that refer to that figure in a series of focus groups, in order to reconstruct the articulations in which those fragments appear, through an analysis where discourse theory and ideological critic converge. With that purpose, we offer the reconstruction of three cores that, according to our reading, can be recognized in the responses to the question about the meaning of social justice: security, equality, and freedom. The internal and relative contradictions between them reveal the tensions that characterize the imaginary order of the current Argentine society. At the same time, the careful analysis of each of these registers allows us to recognize the notorious weakening of the egalitarian content which, in Argentinean history and tradition, informed this modern principle.

Of slurs and soccer

Abstract Since the late twentieth century, Buenos Aires has been widely publicized outside Argentina as a “gay-friendly” destination. This period has also seen increasing immigration to the city from other parts of South America, especially neighboring countries and others with sizeable indigenous populations. An ongoing popular national narrative highlights hyper-masculinity as a preeminently Argentine characteristic. Distinct discourses characterizing Argentina as racially white-majority and anti-foreign and anti-indigenous, overinvested in machismo, and at the same time welcoming to nonheterosexual foreigners seem, on the surface, to be at odds. In this essay I explore intersections among race, gender, sexuality, and foreign origin as cross-cutting planes of discourse, which are all subsumed within and constitutive of the Argentine national imaginary. While these distinct domains of reference can isolate and contain different sectors of Argentine society, I argue that it is the overlapping, simultaneous application of raced-sex terms that necessarily denies masculine superiority to others and promotes it among Argentine men. Ultimately, therefore, a “permissive” atmosphere cannot challenge heteronormativity. I consider the ways that racial and sexual epithets (including maricón and puto “fag,” boliguayo “Bolivian + Paraguayan alien” or “Indian,” and brasileño, literally “Brazilian” but code for “Afro-heritage/black”) are differently used in conversational settings and media reports about sports teams and sporting events, especially soccer, as well as during those events.

National Survey of ST-Segment Elevation Acute Myocardial Infarction in Argentina (ARGEN-IAM-ST)

Background: ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) is one of the most challenging pathologies for the health system; therefore, it is necessary to have a registry with suitably accurate information to adopt public policies and guidelines adjusted to national needs. The Argentine Society of Cardiology (SAC) and the Argentine Federation of Cardiology (FAC) are carrying out a national registry (ARGEN-IAM-ST) that aims to comprise the “universe” of STEMI treatment. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate, as broadly as possible, clinical aspects, delays, treatment strategies and outcomes, as well as eventual barriers that need improvement in STEMI care. Methods: The study included 1,759 patients in 247 centers throughout the country between March and December 2015. Results: Among all patients, 83.5% received reperfusion treatment, and in 78.3% of cases, this was performed by primary angioplasty. Thirty-seven per cent of patients were admitted from another institution, but only 16% of them received fibrinolytic therapy prior to referral. Door-to-needle time was ≤30 minutes in only 25% of patients receiving fibrinolytic agents and door-to-balloon time was ≤90 minutes in 47.7% of patients treated with angioplasty. In-hospital mortality was 8.8%. Conclusions: These data allow delineating a map of acute myocardial infarction in Argentina. Delays in treatment are important and there are aspects to correct. These data suggest the need to implement corrective strategies, such as the application of medical education programs, supportive health policies, considering regional characteristics and on-site cost/benefit of reperfusion strategies, which might help to shorten time to reperfusion, both for thrombolytic therapy as for primary angioplasty.

Fútbol para Todos (Soccer for All): Democratization, Populist Legitimization or Quasi-Authoritarianism?

In 2009 the Argentine government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner created Fútbol para Todos (Soccer for All), a programme that led to a policy of direct state intervention in the acquisition of government television rights for the transmission of soccer matches throughout Argentina. Does Fútbol para Todos serve as a tool for the democratization of Argentinean society, a strategy for populist legitimization, or as an embodiment of quasi-authoritarianism? Successive Argentine governments have politicized soccer. Fútbol para Todos has served as a tool for populist legitimization, but also as a strategy designed to legitimize state interference in a historically private domain, promote government propaganda through a new state monopoly, and strengthen governance processes through popular approval under the ambit of the ‘democratization’ slogan. Fútbol para Todos thus aims to use the state as an agent in the construction of better governance processes for all, but it also reinforces the historical union between soccer and establishment political power in Argentina. Fútbol para Todos is populist in tone and appears democratic, but also masks a darker undercurrent of quasi-authoritarian tendencies in Argentina.

Entrevista con prof. Noberto Fernández Lamarra: La universidad en Brasil y Argentina en perspectiva comparada: hacia un espacio común Latinoamericano de educación superior en el marco de la internacionalización de la educación

Professor Norberto Fernandez Lamarra is a postgraduate professor, researcher and national and international consultant in the area of education policy, planning, management and evaluation - particularly with a comparative perspective -, with emphasis in recent years on education higher. He is currently Director of Postgraduate Studies at the National University of Tres de Febrero, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he also directs the Interdisciplinary Nucleus of Training and Studies for the Development of Education (NIFEDE), Ph.D. Higher Education and the Postgraduate Program in Education Policies and Administration (Masters and Specializations). He is President of the Argentine Society of Comparative Education and has been Vice President of the World Council of Societies of Comparative Education between 2010 and 2016 (UCCES) and founding President of the Iberoamerican Society of Comparative Education (SIBEC). He directs the academic journals Argentine Journal of Higher Education (RAES), Latin American Journal of Comparative Education (RELEC) and Latin American Journal of Politics and Administration of Education (RELAPAE).

Gender violence: the media, civil society, and the struggle for human rights in Argentina

Research on civil society, social movements, and civil rights protests through the media in Latin America – and, in general, in new democracies beyond the West – has shown the way in which populism deepens polarization, making civil society and its media outlets an arena of ideological divides and opposing interests. By bringing Jeffrey Alexander’s civil sphere theory to the analysis of #NotOneLess movement in Argentina, this study examines the performative power of the media in creating and spreading a unified civil discourse even in the context of a highly polarized society. The article explores the media discourse on the femicide crisis in Argentina in June 2015 constructed in international and national news outlets and analyses interviews with journalists and activists. In the years prior to the emergence of the #NotOneLess movement, discourse on human rights in Argentina had become polarized owing to Kirchnerism’s monopolization and instrumentalization of it, which caused it to disappear from many sectors of Argentine society. The article aims to demonstrate how the media discourse crystallized in the general context of the massive demonstration of 3 June 2015 and did so in a way that set aside particular ideological agendas in the middle of the election period.

Consensus Statement of Pericardial Diseases / Abridged Version Argentine Society of Cardiology

Although pericardial disease is very frequent found in daily clinical practice, there are no reliable data of its epidemiology in our country or published in the international literature. The Argentine Society of Cardiology entrusted a group of experts to write the first Argentine Consensus of Pericardial Diseases. In order to complete this task, we consulted the local and international literature and created four committees, each with a pericardial syndrome: 1) Acute Pericarditis, 2) Cardiac tamponade, 3) Pericardial effusions and 4) Constrictive Pericarditis. Each committee worked independently analyzing the literature, which in its great majority is level of evidence B and C. They are mainly observational descriptive studies of a not very large number of patients and expert opinions. Recently, however, well-designed therapeutic works have begun to appear, mainly for the treatment of acute and recurrent pericarditis. The three consensuses published so far were also taken into account. The present Consensus has mainly a clinical approach. To do this, we divided the disease into pericardial syndromes. Each of the syndromes is approached from an etiological, physiopathogical, clinical and therapeutic point of view, placing special emphasis on imaging diagnosis (echocardiography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging) which due to their recent high development (“Multimodality images”) can often provide an etiological diagnosis.

Temporal Variation of Smoking in Argentine Physicians. Comparison between the TAMARA I (2004) and II (2013) Studies

Background: For more than a decade, the Research Area of the Argentine Society of Cardiology has carried out surveys to observe the behavior of the medical population in relation to tobacco smoking. Objective: The aim of this work was to compare the smoking status, training and patient counseling among physicians of the TAMARA I (2004) and TAMARA II (2013) studies. Methods: The smoking status, patient counseling and medical training in anti-smoking techniques was compared between two observational cross-sectional studies performed in Argentine physicians in 2004 and 2013. The same structured survey was used. Smoker was defined as someone who regularly consumed one or more cigarettes/day for at least one year and who had smoked in the last twelve months. Two adjustment techniques were used: logistic regression analysis and propensity score. Results: We analyzed the surveys of 9,530 physicians (TAMARA I, n=6,497 and TAMARA II, n=3,033). Overall, mean age was 41.5±11 years, 18.6% were cardiologists and 61% were male. Using the two adjustment methods, physicians surveyed in the TAMARA II study showed a lower chance of being active smokers, an increased probability of giving medical advice at all times, and a greater probability of having training in tobacco consumption compared with subjects assessed in the TAMARA I study. Between the two studies, a significant reduction in active smoking was observed in 39% of surveyed physicians (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.54-0.69, p=0.001). Conclusion: After approximately one decade, this comparative analysis showed a decrease in the prevalence of active smoking in the medical population, in addition to a change in training and behavior towards patients with smoking habits.

“Noble and Delicate Sentiments”

This article explores the emotional community of museum natural scientists in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Argentina, a context in which the growth of museum natural sciences and nation-state formation became closely intertwined. Influenced by powerful nineteenth-century notions of civilization and modernity, Argentine scientists and statemakers sought to create a distinctively Argentine science, which would emulate European science in form but also retain a uniquely national character. A small group of influential museum administrators and scientists consciously strove to strengthen science’s influence in Argentine national society by creating communal norms among scientists that resonated with narratives about civilization and modernity, and that guided proper behavior and emotional expression. Scientists also challenged the expectations of their community, testing the strength of central emotional tenets such as patriotism and objectivity. This article uses emotional communities as a framework for exploring the push and pull between social patterns and individual choices in this critical moment in Argentina’s history, when new and powerful ideas about science—as a modern, objective, and national practice—emerged in tandem with nation-state formation. In particular, this article explores museum natural scientists’ emotional concerns with objectivity and patriotism through a small group of Argentine museum natural scientists: Francisco P. Moreno, Juan B. Ambrosetti, Hermann Burmeister, and Florentino Ameghino.

Wyzwania okresu transformacji ustrojowej w Argentynie – niedokończony proces rozliczania się z tzw. brudną wojną

A political transformation that has started in Argentina in 1983 put an end on the reign of military junta, but at the same time it was related with a number of challenges for both first democratic governments and the argentine society as a whole. One of the most problematic issues resulting from the confrontation with the crimes from 1976 – 1983 was so called transitional justice and the problem of identity and collective memory of societies coming out of the period of trauma, which are characterized by a high polarization due to different, even contradictory at times interpretations and ideas about the past. The article attempts to analyze the difficult process of settlement of the dirty war period, including the characteristics of the preceding events, the policy of the first democratic governments and the original strategies developed by the argentine movement for human rights, which on the one hand aimed to combat with the impunity of the perpetrators, and on the other hand to counteract the social amnesia and to keep the memory about the tragic past events alive.

Guías para el tratamiento de la diabetes mellitus tipo 2. Sociedad Argentina de Diabetes

Objetivos: 1) actualizar la Guía de Tratamiento de la Diabetes Mellitus tipo 2 de la Sociedad Argentina de Diabetes publicada en el año 2010; 2) proveer al equipo de salud una herramienta actualizada para el manejo terapéutico de las personas con esta patología.Materiales y métodos: se convocó a un grupo de expertos, miembros titulares de la Sociedad Argentina de Diabetes, para analizar los trabajos disponibles en distintas fuentes, clasificándolos de acuerdo a su nivel de evidencia (Tabla 2), éste podrá observarse en negrita al final del párrafo correspondiente; sobre esta base se modificó la guía 2010 actualizando sus contenidos.Se designó un comité de redacción responsable de la compaginación final del documento.Conclusiones: los cambios en el estilo de vida continúan siendo la primera opción terapéutica, la metformina es la droga de primera línea, si no existen contraindicaciones para su uso o intolerancia, cualquiera de las otras familias de fármacos antidiabéticos, la insulina y sus análogos pueden usarse como monoterapia o asociadas entre sí teniendo en cuenta sus contraindicaciones, siempre y cuando no se utilicen juntas aquellas con mecanismos de acción similar. Los algoritmos 1 y 2 pueden considerarse la síntesis de la propuesta actual, elaborada para orientar la toma de decisiones respecto del tratamiento de la DMT2.

The Argentine Society of Cardiology.

The Argentine Society of Cardiology.

Rheumatology Resources in a Region of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

Accurate knowledge of the available rheumatology workforce and their working conditions results in better care for patients with rheumatic diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the rheumatology resources and their distribution within district V of the College of Physicians (COLMED5) of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. All the registered rheumatologists and all the registered public and private institutions within COLMED5 were identified. Aside from these data, phone calls, letters, Internet-derived information, and databases from public and private health insurance providers and the Argentine Society of Rheumatology were included as well. Rheumatologists' per-capita rates were built for both the whole district and every town. A rate of at least 1 rheumatologist per 50,000 people was deemed an optimal resource. Thirty-six rheumatologists were identified; the calculated rate was 1 rheumatologist per 68,403 people; 44% of the health care institutions had a rheumatologist; 33% of them were public institutions. Only 25.5% of COLMED5 total population had optimal rheumatology resources in their town, 70.3% did not reach the optimal resource level but at least had a rheumatologist in their town, and 4.2% had no resources whatsoever; 49% of the total population lacked public health care facilities with inpatient settings and rheumatologists in their town. Although COLMED5 has 72% of the optimal number of rheumatologists, because of their uneven distribution, only 25.5% of the district's total population has the optimal rheumatology resources in their town. Nearly half COLMED5 total population lacks public health care facilities with inpatient settings and rheumatologists in their town, and 4.2% has no available rheumatology resource at all.

Publication of abstracts presented at the National Pediatric Research Meetings of the Argentine Society of Pediatrics: Related factors

To estimate the proportion of abstracts presented at National Pediatric Research Meetings that are fully-published and describe their design and factors that influence nonpublication. Descriptive and analytical study including all abstracts presented at National Pediatric Research Meetings (1998-2011). One author per study was identified and asked to complete a survey on its design, publication and factors associated with non-publication. Out of 746 abstracts that were submitted, the authors of 522 (70%) completed the survey. Among these, 84.3% were observational studies and 15.7%, experimental; 34% had received funding. Two hundred and seventeen abstracts were published subsequently (41.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 37.3-45.9). Funded studies had better chances of being published (odds ratio [OR]: 2, 95% CI: 1.4-2.9, p 〈 0.001). Lack of time, insufficient sample size, and problems with funding were referred as the most common reasons for failure to publish. Among allabstracts presented at National Pediatric Research Meetings, 41.5% were fully published. Lack of time was the most common reason for unpublished studies.

Kawasaki disease: interdisciplinary and intersocieties consensus (clinical guidelines). Brief version

Kawasaki disease is an acute self-limiting systemic vasculitis. It is the most common cause of acquired heart disease, with the risk of developing coronary artery aneurysms, myocardial infarction and sudden death. Diagnosis is based on the presence of fever in addition to other clinical criteria. The quarter of the Kawasaki disease patients have "incomplete" presentation. Treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin within ten days of fever onset improves clinical outcomes and reduces the incidence of coronary artery dilation to less than 5%. Non-responders to standard therapy have shown a successful response with the use of corticosteroids and/or biological agents. The long-term management must be delineated according to the degree of coronary involvement in a multidisciplinary manner. To facilitate the pediatrician's diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of Kawasaki disease, a group of experts from the Argentine Society of Pediatrics and the Argentine Society of Cardiology carried out a consensus to develop practical clinical guidelines.