Communities In Chile Research Articles

Association of Tobacco Control Policies With Youth Smoking Onset in Chile

Tobacco smoking is still responsible for more than 6 million preventable deaths annually, most of which occur in low- and middle-income countries. South American countries, Chile in particular, endure some of the highest cigarette smoking prevalence rates globally. Despite the lack of any meaningful increases in cigarette taxes (the most effective tobacco control measure) between 1999 and 2014, cigarette prices in Chile increased sharply almost entirely driven by British American Tobacco (BAT). To examine the associations between cigarette prices and nonprice tobacco control policies targeted at youth introduced in 2006 (Law 20105) and smoking onset among Chilean youths. This study used data from 8 waves of a large national school survey of urban communities in Chile conducted between October and December in 2001, 2003, 2015, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015 and discrete-time hazard models. Data analysis was performed from May 2017 to January 2019. Prices, advertising, and retail restrictions. Smoking onset (the transition between never smoking and smoking) in youth. In this study of 181 624 survey respondents in 8751 Chilean secondary schools, higher prices (own-price elasticity [percentage change in quantity demanded in response to a 1% change in price], -0.40; 95% CI, -0.45 to -0.36) and the tobacco control policies enacted in 2006 (hazard ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.81-0.85) were associated with lower hazards of starting smoking. The study found that an increase in real prices of 58.6% and the introduction of Law 20105 were associated with similar lower hazards of starting smoking (hazard ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.81-0.85); in comparison, between 1999 and 2017, inflation-adjusted cigarette prices increased by 206%. The findings suggest that higher prices initiated by BAT and the tobacco control policies enacted by the Ministry of Health in 2006 were associated with lower hazards of starting smoking in Chilean youth. Large cigarette tax increases may be a strategy that can be used to help reduce smoking among youths in Chile.

Strangers in Their Own World: Exploring the Relation Between Cultural Practices and the Health of Older Adults in Native Communities in Chile

Abstract In recent years, social gerontology has emphasised the concept of cultural diversity with the purpose of understanding how there is a differentiated ageing process in the life pathways of ethnic minorities. This study analyses the implications of Indigenous cultural practices for the health of a cross-sectional sample of 569 Indigenous Chileans (Aymara = 201 and Mapuche = 368) aged sixty and over. Measures were applied for depression, health problems, consumption of medication, cultural practices and resilience. The data analysis consisted of a linear and logistic regression analysis for scores on health-related measures. The results show significant differences amongst the Indigenous groups. Mapuche participants have more depressive symptomatology, more health problems and lower consumption of medication. There are differences in the explanatory variables for mental and physical health, but the results generally confirm that maintaining Indigenous medical practices, being resilient and engaging in intergenerational transmission of Indigenous culture are related with better health. These results suggest the need to incorporate an Indigenist and/or multicultural perspective into anti-oppressive social work practice by designing interventions and policies that help to maintain and perpetuate Indigenous health practices in community spaces.

A cien años de la matanza de Forrahue: digna sepultura para los comuneros mapuches

Este artículo comenta el libro Forrahue. Matanza de 1912, cuya autoría es de la comunidad indígena de Forrahue (comunidad mapuche situada en el sur de Chile) y del escritor mapuche Bernardo Colipán. Es un texto testimonial, que se presenta como un escrito legal para restablecer la verdad en el ámbito del relato histórico y de la memoria nacional chilena. Al ser un texto que incluye diagramas, fotos y textos escritos en diversos tipos de letras, hemos incluido activamente este registro intermedial en la lectura e interpretación de este artefacto cultural. En el ámbito simbólico, el libro es el lugar donde los cuerpos sin sepultura descansan, permitiendo el luto de una comunidad.

Reaction Is Not Enough: Decreasing Gendered Harassment in Academic Contexts in Chile, Hong Kong, and the United States

AbstractIn diverse academic spaces around the world, sexual and gendered harassment is increasingly recognized as a problem. High‐profile cases continue to emerge that underscore how gendered harassment is normalized in elite research contexts. In this article, Liz Jackson and Ana Luisa Muñoz‐García analyze three recent policy cases for decreasing sexual and gendered harassment. These cases involve three levels of analysis and three cultural contexts. The first is that of the higher education community in Chile; the second is the University of Hong Kong; and the third is the Philosophy of Education Society, an international academic society based in North America. In each case we analyze how sexual and gendered harassment has been (1) conceptualized, (2) responded to, and (3) contextualized. Through their analysis of these cases, Jackson and Muñoz‐García invite readers to reflect on practical and philosophical recommendations for moving forward antiharassment policies and programs, seen broadly.

Memorias acústicas palestino-chilenas: el caso de "Palestina por siempre"

La comunidad de inmigrantes palestinos en Chile se considera la más grande e influyente de toda la diáspora palestina fuera del Oriente Medio. A medida que se consoli- daba la integración de esa comunidad en Chile, crecía su necesidad por preservar sus ras- gos identitarios y por (re)-construir su memoria. Los medios de comunicación textuales, visuales y acústicos eran medidas ejemplares para conseguir este fin. Teniendo todo ello en cuenta, este estudio se centra en un área hasta la fecha menos estudiada, cual es los programas radiales palestino-chilenos, para examinar cómo han incidido en la (re)construcción de la memoria de los inmigrantes palestinos en Chile. A fin de estudiar esta área, este ensayo examina esos programas dentro del contexto de los medios de comunicación acústicos tanto en Palestina como en Chile. Este contexto facilita que este estudio llegue a concluir que ese cultivo del espacio acústico reflejó el compromiso de los inmi- grantes palestinos por integrarse en la sociedad de acogida tanto como por preservar su herencia cultural y devoción por la tierra de los ancestros, es decir, Palestina.

Attitudes, Perceptions, and Preferences of Individuals from Temuco (Chile) About Denture Marking.

Denture marking (DM) helps identify edentulous people with different methods. Analyzing perceptions and attitudes of denture wearers would enable understanding of the practical aspects, an analysis still absent in South America. Fifty-three individual candidates for removable dentures were instructed on disaster victim identification (DVI) and the usefulness of DM for this purpose. They were physically shown eight DM systems and a questionnaire to which they responded by highlighting preferences in those systems. Although 98.11% did not know that dentures could be marked, only 9.43% denied interest in some type of DM. The 90.57% would mark their dentures with some system, preferring the inclusion of QR codes or a micro SIM card. The proven weaknesses of DVI and propensity for disaster mean this community in Chile is an opportunity to implement DM systems. Obstacles may come not from patients but from their dentists, educational institutions, or a lack of public policies.

How Large are the Contributions of Cities to the Development of Rural Communities? A Market Access Approach for a Quarter Century of Evidence from Chile

This article estimates the impact of cities on the economic development of rural communities in Chile, following a market access approach. The effect of the proximity to cities on the development of rural communities is analyzed by estimating the impact of market access on the population, and farm and non-farm employment of rural communities. Using population censuses and remote sensing data, we find, in our preferred estimations, that a 10% higher market access induced a 10%–14% increase in the population of rural communities. Additionally, higher positive elasticities are found in the non-farm sector rather than in the agricultural one. These results widely support the hypothesis of structural change and the diversification of the rural economy for rural communities with better access to markets. Notwithstanding, the evidence also suggests that the farm sector took important advantages from market access in places with better agro-ecological conditions.

Independent Voices of Entrepreneurial News: Setting a New Agenda in Latin America

Entrepreneurial journalism relates broadly to digital-native news organizations that are innovating in the field. A chief innovation in Latin America is a newfound opportunity for editorial independence, according to focus groups with entrepreneurial journalists from 16 organizations across the region. Entrepreneurial journalism organizations believe their financial structure gives them editorial autonomy. This study looked at the background for and the reasons why independence is considered a necessary innovation in Latin American journalism. It found that pressures against editorial independence varied from government funding (Argentina and Brazil) to corporate impositions (Peru) and government pressures (Mexico). Our focus group participants found a need for a space to cover topics and issues that were not being addressed or were being misrepresented by mainstream media from the Amazon region of Brazil to investigative reporting in Venezuela and under-covered communities in Chile. This innovation has allowed journalists to embrace an interventionist role (Hanitzsch, Hanusch, & Lauerer, 2016), based on social engagement and the ability to set the agenda, as our expert group stated, and to be a protagonist of public discourse. While the impact of such news organizations is fairly new, some organizations have developed a sizable and strong community of users, and have influenced public opinion.

Transitional habitability: Solutions for post-catastrophe in Chile

Chile faces disasters regularly as the result of earthquakes, floods, mudslides, volcanic eruptions and fires that specially affect vulnerable communities. Despite the accumulated experience, there are still disconnections between the emergency, recovery and reconstruction processes. Consequently, there are different and uncoordinated shelter solutions for each of the stages in the process from emergency shelter to permanent housing, resulting in sub-standard delivery, negatively affecting the built environment, and duplicating costs and time. This paper is based on a collaborative initiative between public, private, academia and NGO actors, with the objective of reflecting, analysing and improving the shelter alternatives currently available for Chilean communities, based on recommendations from the Sphere Project, UNHCR and the CCCM Cluster. The article reflects on the concept of “transitional habitability”, proposes a “Matrix of Diversified Solutions for Post-Catastrophe (MDSP)” that identifies types of shelter according to different requirements, and presents two shelter alternatives: a proposal for the reconversion of sports centres into collective shelters; and the use of an improved standard for emergency houses after a hydro-meteorological event that affected the country in 2014. Finally, the paper reflects on these projects and provides some recommendations to consider for future shelter alternatives.

Engaging critical community resilience praxis: A qualitative study with Mapuche communities in Chile facing structural racism and disasters.

Mapuche are the largest indigenous group in Chile and have survived histories of colonialism, socionatural disasters, and more recently, increasing conflicts with the Chilean state. This study aimed to engage critical theories and examine resilience processes from indigenous perspectives while exploring the impact of racism, intersecting adversities, and ongoing decolonial struggles in Mapuche communities. Decolonial qualitative methods, situational analysis, and community-engaged participatory approaches were utilized in application of a critical community resilience praxis (CCRP). First, an interagency collaborative entitled Mapuche Equipo Colaborativo para la Investigación de la Resiliencia (MECIR) was established. MECIR involved partnerships between a Chilean national research center for disasters, a nongovernmental organization of indigenous advocates/researchers, and a Mapuche community health center. MECIR completed semistructured interviews with 10 participants (N=10) in addition to ethnographic observations. Four themes of resilience emerged: newen, "strength and spiritual life-nature force"; azmapu, "ancestral systems of social organization and tribal law"; nietun, "cultural revitalization"; and marichiweu, "resistance." Findings contribute to reconceptualizations of resilience from Mapuche perspectives while identifying culturally meaningful strategies for promoting racial justice and mental health equity. Results show benefits of CCRP in community psychology research in an international setting.

Null models for explaining inland water crustacean zooplankton communities in Chile

Abstract Inland water crustaceans in Chile are characterized by their low species number and marked endemism; this is due to the marked oligotrophy of water bodies and the geographical properties of Chilean territory, which consists of mountains and glaciers. The aim of the present study is to typify the inland water crustaceans in the northern Aysen region (44-46°S), which is branded by the presence of mountains, ice fields and inland seas, with different kinds of water bodies such as large lakes, permanent and ephemeral pools, rivers and streams. The results revealed low species numbers, but the species associations are random, because in many sites the same species frequently reoccur. Nevertheless, there are marked differences in species associations. The present results tend to agree with similar results for the Magallanes region in southern Patagonia and Argentinean Patagonia.

Ecological Crisis and Cultural Representation in Latin America: Ecocritical Perspectives on Art, Film and Literature ed. by Mark Anderson and Zélia M. Bora

Reviewed by: Ecological Crisis and Cultural Representation in Latin America: Ecocritical Perspectives on Art, Film and Literature ed. by Mark Anderson and Zélia M. Bora William Flores Anderson, Mark, and Zélia M. Bora, eds. Ecological Crisis and Cultural Representation in Latin America: Ecocritical Perspectives on Art, Film and Literature. Lanham: Lexington, 2016. Pp. 329. ISBN 978-1-49853-095-8. Ecological Crisis and Cultural Representation in Latin America is a scholarly collection of sixteen insightful essays that converge on the unifying themes of environmental consciousness and the use of biotechnologies. Its nineteen contributors are Mark Anderson, Juanita C. Aristizábal, Ana Avalos, Zélia M. Bora, Mirian Carballo, Ida Day, Sharae Deckard, Diana Dodson Lee, Simão Farias Almeida, Juan Carlos Galeano, Jeremy Larochelle, Diego Mejía Prado, Marcela Reales Visbal, Hermán Ruiz Abecasis, Adrian Taylor Kane, Kerstin Oloff, Abigail Pérez Aguilera, María Victoria Sánchez, and Lesley Wylie. The collection is organized effectively into four sections and is tailored for the general public with a few exceptions indicated below. Whereas the introduction provides a survey of the development and magnitude of the Latin American ecological dilemma, in the first section, those interested in recent ecocritical theory will find a useful comparison of the Capitalocene and Anthropocene concepts in order to identify the rise of Capitalism as a central cause for the current environmental crisis. Also included is a wealth of reference information for different instances of neoliberal appropriation of natural spaces. For those teaching contemporary Colombian literature and film, the first section identifies the biocentric content of Colombian narratives Andágueda (1946), La selva y la lluvia (1958), and Chocó: Magia y leyenda (1991), the journalistic volume El oro y la sangre (1994), and the film Chocó (2012). The section also examines Cuentos amazónicos (2007) and Amazonia (2012) by Juan Carlos Galeano, the poem "Silva a la agricultura de la zona tórrida" (1826) by Andrés Bello, and La vorágine (1924) by José Eustasio Rivera delving into the literary representations of deforestation in Latin America. The section culminates with a study on indigenous environmentally oriented poetry from the Peruvian Amazon presenting literary tendencies consistent with the Luddite tradition and biocentric perspectives. The second section begins with an innovative rereading of Pedro Páramo (1955) by Juan Rulfo and Aura (1962) by Carlos Fuentes that conceptualizes those works as narrative archives of the processes that characterize increased commoditization and exhaustion of lands and communities. [End Page 143] The section then follows with an examination of possibilities and limitations of ecocritical notions such as environmental apocalypse and urban ecology through analyses of artistic and filmic representations of the ecological crisis in Mexico City. The section also offers an examination of anthropocentric and ecocentric perspectives in modern Brazilian literature and film in order to explore the limits between Brazilian environmental activism and original nihilistic apocalyptic imaginations as regional responses to the environmental crisis. The second section finishes with an analysis of two distinct discursive approaches to the multiple problems of extractivism as portrayed in the play eRRor, un juego con tra(d)ición (2011) by the team BiNeural-Monokultur and the novel Freedom (2010) by Jonathan Franzen. The analysis successfully sustains that Freedom contributes a minor critique of coal mining extractivism but excuses environmental damage when it is done for the sake of improved economic gain. Conversely, eRRor exposes genetically modified soy production as a renewed attempt to colonize countries with weaker economies. A theoretical discursive analysis, the third section will prove profitable for academics interested in socioenvironmental conflicts in Latin America. The section begins by exploring diverse representational strategies used to prevent a series of mining projects from taking place on lands considered sacred by the Huichol Indians in Mexico. The section then delves into environmental rhetoric managing concepts such as pluriverses, material feminism, new materialism, and indigenous cosmopolitics when used as decolonial theoretical tools. The section also provides a decolonial ecocritical reading of Jaime Huenún's poetry Reducciones (2013), examining literary representations of the ecological consciousness evident in the Mapuche-Huilliche communities in Chile. The second part of the section is a reading of Pablo Ortega's mockumentary film Zootizens...

Travels and exchanges between the Argentine and Chilean communities in the puna atacameña (second half of the twentieth century)

Travels and exchanges between the Argentine and Chilean communities in the puna atacameña (second half of the twentieth century)

Phytochemistry and biological properties of Aristotelia chilensis a Chilean blackberry: a review

Aristotelia chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz, commonly called Maqui, is known for its pharmacological uses in traditional medicine of native Mapuche communities in Chile. It is reported to have excellent medicinal properties that help to cure chronic diarrhea, dysentery, throat diseases, intestinal tumors, fever, wounds healing, and scars. Pharmacologically, fruits and leaves of Maqui have been investigated for antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antiviral activities. The current high demand of natural antioxidants has placed Maqui as one of the most over-exploited species in Chile. This review analyzes the information collected from the published research articles, and highlights the phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of A. chilensis. The information will be useful to develop new strategies of sustainable use of the species to generate new formulations with therapeutic and economical value in the future.

The Revitalization of the Mapuche Language as a Space of Ideological Struggle: The Case of Pehuenche Communities in Chile

The Revitalization of the Mapuche Language as a Space of Ideological Struggle: The Case of Pehuenche Communities in Chile

Meanings of (dis)connection: Exploring non-users in isolated rural communities with internet access infrastructure

While public policy worldwide has focused on providing digital connectivity infrastructure in remote areas, there remain people who are digitally excluded. Hence, it is important to explore why people, despite having access to a digital connection, do not go online. As the third part of a three-year project on digital inclusion in isolated communities in Chile, this study draws on findings from focus groups conducted with non-Internet users who live in three remotes but digitally connected villages, to unravel the elements associated with their decision to remain digitally excluded. The main findings indicate that strong ties within the community shelter their sense of isolation providing a feeling of closeness, whereas the internet is perceived as disruptive. In addition, negative attitudes about the Internet emerge from the discussions: the internet is associated with addiction and isolation. Finally, the absence of digital skills makes smartphones and computers unknown entities, a black box people feel unable to or overwhelmed at the thought of learning how to use. However, many are facing a hard choice due to their need to remain in contact with those outside the community as well as promote and develop their small business ventures. Therefore, there is a cultural construction of the internet as a required form of progress that nonetheless does more harm than good to a tight-knit community.

Preocupación a caer: validación de un instrumento de medición en personas mayores chilenas que viven en la comunidad

IntroducciónFear of falling, with or without previous falls history, is a risk factor for decreased mobility, disability, as well as a decreased quality of life, and can trigger the self-restriction of activities with loss of independence and functionality. Validated tools for measuring the fear of falling in the Chilean population is a needed to detect those at risk. There are currently no validated instruments to measure this phenomenon in Chile. The aim of this study is to validate the Spanish version of the short «Falls Efficacy Scale-International» (FES-I) in an elderly population living in the community in Chile. Material and methodA cross-sectional study was performed using applications at baseline and 4 weeks. The short FES-I was translated using the back-translation method, evaluated by a panel of experts, and piloted in 10 older adults. After the pilot study, the final version was applied to a sample of 113 elderly persons. Data analysis used measures of central tendency, and reliability and confirmatory factor analysis was used. ResultsThe Spanish version of the short FES-I showed good reliability and validity in an elderly Chilean population. ConclusionsThis falls risks measurement tool can be used by clinicians and researchers in order to determine the magnitude of the problem and the impact of fear of falling on falls, functionality, and quality of life of the elderly who live in the community.

The effect of native forest replacement by Pinus radiata plantations on riparian plant communities in Chile

Background: As riparian habitats are legally protected, they have been maintained even in areas where extensive reforestation by exotic species occurred in areas surrounding riparian environments. However, the extent to which the riparian plant communities have been affected by the replacement of native forest on slopes has rarely been investigated.Aims: In this study, we evaluated the effects of replacement of native forest by Pinus radiata plantations, on the diversity and structure of plant communities of remnant forests preserved in riparian habitats.Methods: We selected five watersheds with native forest and five watersheds where the native forest had been replaced by pine plantations preserving riparian forests and compared composition, diversity and structure of riparian vegetation.Results: In watersheds with pine plantation, riparian forests had lower adult tree density, tree cover, diversity and regeneration and higher shrub cover, diversity of herb species and diversity and richness of exotic species than riparian forests with abutting native forest.Conclusions: The results suggest that the replacement of native forest by pine plantations negatively affects the diversity and structure of riparian forest. However, in other respects (e.g. shrub and climber richness), these habitats are not affected and they contribute significantly to the biodiversity conservation.

Non-random co-occurrence of native and exotic plant species in Mediterranean grasslands

Invasion by exotic species in Mediterranean grasslands has determined assembly patterns of native and introduced species, knowledge of which provides information on the ecological processes underlying these novel communities. We considered grasslands from Spain and Chile. For each country we considered the whole grassland community and we split species into two subsets: in Chile, species were classified as natives or colonizers (i.e. exotics); in Spain, species were classified as exclusives (present in Spain but not in Chile) or colonizers (Spanish natives and exotics into Chile). We used null models and co-occurrence indices calculated in each country for each one of 15 sites distributed along a precipitation gradient and subjected to similar silvopastoral exploitation. We compared values of species co-occurrence between countries and between species subsets (natives/colonizers in Chile; exclusives/colonizers in Spain) within each country and we characterised them according to climatic variables. We hypothesized that: a) the different coexistence time of the species in both regions should give rise to communities presenting a spatial pattern further from random in Spain than in Chile, b) the co-occurrence patterns in the grasslands are affected by mesoclimatic factors in both regions. The patterns of co-occurrence are similar in Spain and Chile, mostly showing a spatial pattern more segregated than expected by random. The colonizer species are more segregated in Spain than in Chile, possibly determined by the longer residence time of the species in the source area than in the invaded one. The segregation of species in Chile is related to water availability, being species less segregated in habitat with greater water deficit; in Spain no relationship with climatic variables was found. After an invasion process, our results suggest that the possible process of alteration of the original Chilean communities has not prevented the assembly between the native and colonizer species together.

Potential population relocation and respiratory diseases in children, is there any gaining? Results from a mining community in Chile

Background: In northern Chile, the gold and copper open-pit mining industry involves explosive processes resulting in high concentrations of ambient dust. Children living close to these mines were shown to have higher prevalence of respiratory diseases. Population relocation is being considered as a potential policy measure to reduce the adverse health outcomes. We examined the impact of a relocation measure on respiratory health of children in an affected community. Methods: Data on the prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (rhinoc.) and potential confounders were available from a cross-sectional survey among 288 children (age 6-15 yrs.) living in the community. Proximity of children’s home address to the local gold and copper mine, respectively, was estimated using geographical positioning systems. We used Population Intervention Models to estimate the impact of a hypothetical relocation of 25% of children living closest to the mine (i.e. the first quartile of distance to the mines), those with highest level of estimated exposure. Parameters were estimated using targeted minimum loss-based estimation. Results: The prevalence of asthma and rhinoc. was 24% and 34%, respectively; 44% reported at least one respiratory diseases during last 12 months before the survey. The first quartile of distribution of distance between place of residence and the gold mine was 1.9 km, and 1.6 km for the copper mine. Based on the Population Intervention Models, relocating the population living within the first quartile to either mine resulted in a reduction in the prevalence of rhinoc. of 4.7% (95% confidence interval 1.1;8.8%), and of 3.5% (95% confidence interval −0.1;7.1%) for asthma. Considering either of the outcomes, the resulting reduction was overall 4.2% (0.5;7.9%). Conclusion: Our findings suggest a relocation of the population with highest exposure would result in reduction of prevalence of respiratory disease in children in the affected communities.