De Chile Research Articles

Improving Participation for Sustainable Transport: Testing CoAXs Amidst Controversy Around a BRT Project in Santiago, Chile

We examine to what extent Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) contributes to a successful participatory process and how context affects the tool’s role in both process and results. We tested a tool to visualize accessibility effects of transport projects, using it in participatory workshops related to a major bus corridor proposal in Santiago de Chile. We innovated in the tool itself, to visualize overcrowding effects as a way to include comfort issues. We found that the GIS encouraged a sincere and realistic conversation among participants. Perceptions of the project did not necessarily improve, but the tool did reduce polarization of opinions.

Q-Weibull distribution to explain the PM2.5 air pollution concentration in Santiago de Chile

Q-Weibull distribution to explain the PM2.5 air pollution concentration in Santiago de Chile

Daily Space

Three articles in this issue of Arquitecturas del Sur are dedicated to collective housing, as the housing shortage has led to new and better forms of citizen participation in its solution. The Indigenous Temporary Accommodation in Florianopolis handles an essentially Latin American problem: access for Indigenous people to protected state housing. In this case, the presence of the city’s original inhabitants examines the possibilities of physical and symbolic spaces in the contemporary city and the professional role that looks into the responses. Next, the text on collaborative housing analyzes the case of Spain, and its relationship with public management mechanisms. The case of Gran Canaria looks at mutual aid issues, transfer of use, cooperativism, and citizen participation. In this way, the self-construction system of the Andalusian Junta, a practice that is as effective as it is controversial, and representative of a socialist cooperativism and cohabitation developed by the Barcelona City Council, converge in the debate on cooperative management. The third text looks into one of the latest events disclosed on CORVI’s actions, before its dissolution in 1976. It explores a management model that revealed the role of construction companies as a new player in the habitational process for the case of the Santiago Amengual Neighborhood. A second thematic group in this issue, materialized in its last 3 articles, returns to the structural issues of modern-day architecture, whose presence is diving deeper into the disciplinary debate. The places of memory seem to exceed the margins of an understanding based on heritage discourse. The memory and belonging of daily spaces, turn one to the nodes of memory and collective coherence. This is the case of the Community School – Center of Memory and Integrated Action to Care for the Forest of Galilea and the Territory of Colombia. Likewise, the individual, isolated, and selective expressions examine those unusual experiences where otherness exercises protagonism over experiences in the architecture and city of Santiago de Chile. Finally, revisiting the works of a master like Niemeyer opens the possibility for rereading, through actions based on the Portuguese decisions in two of his works: the urban complex of Pena Furada, in Portugal (1965), and Plaza XV, in Rio de Janeiro (1991).

INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS IN AGRICULTURE HAS BEEN A PRIORITY FOR SCIENCE

Agronomic researches are one of the main possibilities to ensure food security for this and for future generations to provide sustainable agriculture. In this context, it is with great pleasure that we present the newest special edition of the “International Journal of Environmental Resilience Research and Science”, entitled Agronomy and Sustainability. This edition is the result of both III International Symposium on Agronomy and Sustainability at UNASP-EC, and a partnership among Brazilian Universities: Adventist University Center of São Paulo Campus Engenheiro Coelho - UNASP, Western Paraná State University - UNIOESTE, Assis Gurgacz Foundation University Center– FAG, and with the Universidad Adventist de Chile - UNACH. The search for innovative and sustainable solutions in agriculture has been a priority for researchers around the world. In this context, our scientific journal presents in this issue a series of papers that address different aspects of sustainable agronomic research. They are a joint effort made by researchers and students committed to promoting sustainability in agriculture.

Understanding Public Acceptance of Automobile Restriction Policies: A Qualitative Study in Four Latin American Cities

In recent decades, several Latin American cities have implemented policy instruments to reduce urban air pollution and traffic congestion such as license plate–based restrictions on car use. Our research analyzes the factors influencing the public acceptance of these urban policies in four cities: Bogotá, Mexico City, Santiago de Chile, and Quito. We use semi-structured interviews and digital diaries to examine participants’ beliefs and emotions about vehicle restrictions as well as their daily mobility experiences. The study illustrates the importance of three main beliefs in shaping the public acceptance of the measures (perceived effectiveness, perceived fairness, and perceived personal impacts). The results also show a certain resignation on the part of the participants, accepting that the policies are necessary and, to some extent, effective in pacifying traffic and improving air quality in highly populated cities, even if the policies generate certain undesirable distributional and personal impacts. The study uncovers the importance of the local context in understanding why certain urban policies, successfully applied in other contexts, might have lower levels of public support in Latin American cities. A high population density, regulatory shortcomings, enforcement difficulties, and deficits in infrastructure and public transport all create a mobility context in which some policies to improve urban air quality and traffic congestion generate high levels of frustration and ambivalence among the residents.

Empowering human anatomy education through gamification and artificial intelligence: An innovative approach to knowledge appropriation.

Gamification has appeared as an alternative educational methodology to traditional tools. Specifically, in anatomy teaching, multiple technological applications have emerged in response to the difficulties of accessing cadaveric material; however, there is insufficient information about the effects of these applications on the performance achieved by students, or about to the best way to adapt learning to meet their educational needs. In this study, we investigated how teaching human anatomy through a mobile gamified technological tool containing recommendation systems can be combined with a virtual assistant to improve the learning and academic performance of medical students in the Anatomy Department at the Universidad de La Frontera in Temuco, Chile and the Anatomy Department at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. In total, 131 students participated in the experiment, which was divided into two case studies. The main findings led to the conclusion that gamified components support students in learning anatomy. In addition, the predictions and recommendations provided by the virtual assistant enabled the academic aspects that the students needed to improve to be extracted adequately. Future work is expected to support adaptive learning by incorporating new artificial intelligence in education elements that can generate personalized scenarios for studying anatomy based on the application.

Forest bathing diminishes anxiety in undergraduate students: a pilot study in the Valdivian temperate rainforest

ABSTRACT Urban life has generally resulted in lifestyles characterised by high stress and anxiety, all which has increased the pervasiveness of mental disorders. University students, a group highly vulnerable to these problems, are likely to develop mental pathologies associated with anxiety and substance abuse. Forest bathing is one nature-oriented intervention aimed at improving physical as well as psychological well-being by reducing anxious symptomatology and stress. Here we evaluated the healing impact of forest bathing on the stress and anxiety of undergraduate students at one local university. We also included others key aspects of psychological mental health that have received scarce attention in forest bathing research like mindfulness, wellbeing and self-regulated learning. Twenty-one students belonging to the Universidad Austral de Chile were randomly assigned to the city or forest groups and took part in an intervention consisting in a low-impact 30 minute walk and a 15-minute contemplation afterwards. Five instruments to evaluate overall mental health (and blood pressure) were applied before and after the intervention. Our results showed that a rather short session of forest bathing is enough to reduce anxiety in undergraduate university students. The other measures of psychological or physiological health showed no statistical differences before and after the intervention (between city and forest) or time effects (within the forest or city treatment). A potential reason for this might be related to the short duration of the intervention itself. Our results are encouraging regarding mental health therapy, as this type of intervention could easily be implemented on campus.

Orchids of the Southern Cone (1830–2000) – Part III. Karl Friedrich Reiche’s Orchidaceae Chilensis and a commentary about Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Kraenzlin’s Orchidacearum Genera et Species (Vol. 2, Part I)

Karl Reiche (1860–1929), a German botanist, came to Chile in 1889 as a professor at the Lyceum in the city of Constitución. He was attracted by the country’s climate and its traditional friendliness to German immigrants. A few years later, in 1897, Federico Phillippi, Director of the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, welcomed Reiche as the new Head of the Botanical Section, a position he held until 1910. During his 21 years in Chile, Reiche worked intensively on the Chilean flora and was a prolific writer. Besides six volumes of the Estudios críticos de la Flora de Chile (1896–1911), several editions of Reiche’s Plant Geography of Chile were published (1907, 1934–1937, 2013), a magnificent essay on Chiles’ Orchidaceae, Orchidaceae Chilensis (1910, reprint 2007), and several other minor works. On Reiche’s suggestion, The Museo Nacional engaged Friedrich Kraenzlin (1847–1934) to write a treatment of the orchids of the Southern Cone that was published in 1904 as the second volume of Orchidacearum Genera et Species, a work that was widely criticized by many botanists, beginning with Reiche himself.

Vertical distribution of PM2.5 in Santiago de Chile studied with an unmanned aerial vehicle and dispersion modelling

The vertical structure of temperature in the troposphere is closely related to PM2.5 concentration in polluted regions, with temperature inversions associated to higher PM2.5 at the surface. This fact is more relevant in places surrounded by mountains, like Santiago de Chile, where high pollution events are common in winter. A characterization of the vertical profile of PM2.5 and temperature has been carried out in winter and spring with an unmanned aerial vehicle. Temperature inversions up to 400 m were found only in winter, with full inversions associated to the highest PM2.5 at the surface. Days with full inversion are also characterized by very low wind speeds. In most cases, PM2.5 decreased rapidly with altitude, even when there was mixing layer of considerable height. Consequently, PM2.5 above 300 m was always low, in contrast to other studies, indicating that there are factors that influence the vertical concentration of PM2.5 which are still not well understood. Chemistry transport model (CTM) simulated vertical profiles of PM2.5 agrees qualitatively well with observed concentration profiles in spring, but there is a negative bias in comparison to the measured data and also a stronger simulated vertical gradient than observed. In winter, average simulated PM2.5 concentrations at the surface are similar to observed, but with increasing altitude the simulated data decline faster than measured.

External and gastrointestinal parasites of the black-faced ibis Theristicus melanopis (Pelecaniformes: Threskiornithidae) in the Los Ríos region, southern Chile.

The black-faced ibis, Theristicus melanopis, is considered a useful bird species for agricultural activity because it preys upon various invertebrate and vertebrate pests. Although it is a common species in Chile, limited information is available regarding its parasites. The main objective of this study was to recover the diversity of ectoparasites and gastrointestinal helminths in black-faced ibises living in the communes of Valdivia and Panguipulli, Los Ríos region. A total of 74 specimens were received for examination from the Centro de Rehabilitación de Fauna Silvestre at the Universidad Austral de Chile (CEREFAS-UACh), Valdivia, in 2011-2015. Black-faced ibises were externally inspected for ectoparasites by direct examining of the plumage, and necropsies were performed to examine digestive and respiratory organs in search of endoparasites. For each taxon, prevalence, mean intensity, mean abundance, and range of parasites per bird were estimated. Five species of ectoparasites and six species of helminths were identified. A total of 298 lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) belonging to four species were collected: Ardeicola melanopis (13.51%), Colpocephalum trispinum (20.27%), Ibidoecus fissisignatus (4.05%), and Plegadiphilus mamillatus (9.46%). In addition, one feather mite species, Diodochaetus melanopis (Acari: Pterolichoidea) (17.56%), was isolated. In 48 black-faced ibis (64.86%), a total of 1229 gastrointestinal helminths were found: two nematodes, Porrocaecum heteropterum (55.41%) and Baruscapillaria obsignata (24.32%); one tapeworm Eugonodaeum nasuta (20.27%); two digeneans, Echinoparyphium recurvatum (1.35%) and Strigea bulbosa (6.76%); and the acanthocephalan Sphaerirostris sp. (1.35%). The findings of the following parasites present new host-parasite associations: P. mamillatus, D. melanopis, B. obsignata, E. recurvatum, S. bulbosa, and Sphaerirostris sp. Additionally, the louse P. mamillatus, feather mite D. melanopis, platyhelminths E. nasuta, E. recurvatum and S. bulbosa, and the acanthocephalan Sphaerirostris sp. are new records for the fauna of Chile.

Common mental disorders in Peruvian immigrant in Chile: a comparison with the host population

BackgroundThe Inner Santiago Health Study (ISHS) aimed to (i) estimate the prevalence of common mental disorders (CMD; i.e. depressive and anxiety disorders) among immigrants of Peruvian origin in Chile; (ii) determine whether such immigrants are at higher risk of CMD when compared with the native-born geographically matched population (i.e. non-immigrants); and (iii) identify factors associated with higher risk of any CMD among this immigrant group. A secondary aim was to describe access to mental health services by Peruvian immigrants meeting criteria for any CMD.MethodsFindings are based on a population-based cross-sectional household mental health survey of 608 immigrant and 656 non-immigrant adults (18-64 years) residing in Santiago de Chile. Diagnoses of ICD-10 depressive and anxiety disorders and of any CMD were obtained using the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule. The relationships between demographic, economic, psychosocial, and migration-specific predictor variables, and risk of any CMD were analyzed with a series of stepwise multivariate logistic regression models.ResultsThe one-week prevalence of any CMD was 29.1% (95% CI: 25.2-33.1) among immigrants and 34.7% (95% CI: 30.7-38.7) among non-immigrants. Depending on the statistical model used in the pooled sample, we found the prevalence of any CMD among non-immigrants to be higher (OR=1.53; 95% CI: 1.05-2.25) or similar (OR=1.34; 95% CI: 0.94-19.2) when compared with immigrants. In the multivariate stepwise regression of any CMD in immigrants only, the prevalence was higher for females, those with primary compared to higher education, in debt and exposed to discrimination. Conversely, higher levels of functional social support, sense of comprehensibility, and manageability were associated with a lower risk of any CMD in immigrants. In addition, no differences were observed between immigrants and non-immigrants reporting any CMD in mental health service utilization.ConclusionOur results evidence high levels of current CMD in this immigrant group, particularly amongst women. However, lower adjusted prevalence of any CMD in immigrants compared to non-immigrants was limited to preliminary statistical models, thus failing to provide clear support for a “healthy immigrant effect”. The study sheds new light on differences in CMD prevalence by immigrant status in Latin America by examining differential exposure to risk factors in immigrant versus non-immigrant groups.

The House of Ten, history and construction system

The Casa de Los Diez, is in the heart of Santiago de Chile. This house represents an example of Chilean architectural heritage sites built in earth during the 19th Century. It stands out for its volumetric and architectural evolution, in addition to the interventions carried out by the artistic-cultural movement known as "Los Diez," who intervened it during the first half of the 20th Century, a period in which the complex achieved its maximum splendor. This article presents the research carried out on the construction system, morphology of the complex, and those interventions executed by “Los Diez” in the house. The diagnosis of the state of conservation is delivered, using methodologies based on field research and compilation of historical background. This article aims to disseminate Chilean heritage sites built on earth located in the country's central zone. And recognize the artistic-cultural contribution made by the Los Diez group, whose works in the house are still preserved.

Crime as an excuse for not providing internet in specific neighbourhoods: a quantitative approach to broadband ‘Red Zones’ in Santiago de Chile

ABSTRACT While internet connectivity is a key promise of progress and the rule of law, criminal contestation of state control over territory is considered one of the main obstacles for development. This article provides the first known quantitative approach to the link between urban lawlessness and internet provision. Taking the Santiago Metropolitan Region (SMR) – the capital of Chile – as a case study, the authors discuss the origins of Red Zones (areas where telecommunication companies do not provide fixed broadband). A first hypothesis is based on the corporate excuse given by telcos for Red Zones: criminal activities – and not just socioeconomic discrimination – are a force majeure that impede internet connectivity in specific neighbourhoods. An alternative hypothesis acknowledges criminal governance in Latin American cities, admitting the possibility of criminal redistribution being favourable to internet connectivity where state control is contested. Employing a random effects regression model with panel data from 52 boroughs during the 2012–2020 period, the two hypotheses are tested. Contestation of the territorial control by the state is significantly and positively correlated to fixed broadband connectivity in the SMA. In contrast, lower connectivity is linked to higher presence of poor households, favouring a profit-based explanation for the Red Zones. The results hold when replacing the percentage of contested territory per borough with the murder rates. This research contributes to heterodox views within institutional economics and highlights the need of state-led redistribution in order to retake control of contested territories.

Il paradosso del Cile: alla destra il compito di riscrivere la Costituzione che non aveva intenzione di cambiare

In Chile, the beginning of the work of the Consejo Constitucional – the conservative-majority body that will draft within four months a new constitution that should replace the existing 1980 Constitution – serves to outline the ongoing constitution-making process. This can be done considering the first year of the presidency of progressive Gabriel Boric, who was its promoter but will not be able to lead it. Instead, it will be led by the ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast, leader of the Partido Republicano de Chile, which has always declared itself opposed to a reform of the Fundamental Charter and which holds precisely the majority in the Consejo Constitucional.

Characteristics of food establishments registered with a meal delivery app in Latin America.

Numerous studies have characterised the establishments registered with meal delivery apps (MDA) in several countries. However, little evidence is available regarding these platforms in Latin America (LA). The purpose of this study is to characterise food establishments registered with an MDA in nine LA cities. The establishments (n 3339) were characterised by the following keyword groups: 'Typical cuisine', 'Meat and fish', 'Snacks', 'Breakfast', 'Desserts' and 'Healthy'. In addition, we identified the marketing strategies present in the establishments' advertisements: photos, discounts and free delivery. Mexico City had the highest number of establishments registered with MDA (773), followed by Bogotá (655), Buenos Aires (567) and São Paulo (454). There is a direct relationship between the number of inhabitants of the cities and the number of the registered establishments. 'Snacks' was the keyword group most used by establishments in five of the nine cities. Establishments in two cities were most often characterised by the terms 'Typical cuisine' (Mexico City and Santiago de Chile) and 'Meats and fish' (Quito and San Jose). Photos were present in the advertisements of at least 84·0 % of the establishments. In addition, at least 40 % of establishments in Montevideo, Bogotá, São Paulo, Lima and Santiago de Chile offered discounts. Free delivery was present in at least 50 % of establishments in Quito, San Jose, Mexico City, Santiago de Chile and Lima. Photos were also the most common marketing strategy used by the establishments classified in all groups of keywords, while free delivery and discounts differed among them.

Workplace violence and its effect on nursing professionals at the in-hospital level: a national and international systematic review

Psychological harassment in the workplace, or mobbing, is a practice that has become today a health problem that affects not only the victim but also society as a whole; however, nursing professionals, who are both victims and perpetrators, are no exception. The present study allows, within the framework of the research, to gather more sources of information in order to provide the basis for the creation of protocols, public policies and measures to protect and promote a healthy work environment, free of violent practices and based on the ultimate goal of the profession: to take care of oneself in order to take care of others. Objective: To identify the effects of workplace violence on the mental health of nursing professionals within the in-hospital setting at the national and international level. Method: An exhaustive analysis of the world literature on workplace mobbing among nursing professionals from different countries was carried out. For this purpose, databases such as Web of Science, Scielo, ResearchGate, PubMed, Science Direct, Redalyc, Google Scholar and the Repositorio Académico de la Universidad de Chile were used, where a series of key words corresponding to the research topic were used. Results: There are effects on health, interpersonal relationships and job performance in nurses when exposed to workplace bullying. Coping and prevention strategies used by nurses from various countries against mobbing were identified. Conclusions: It was possible to identify the negative effects of workplace mobbing among nursing professionals, as well as their respective coping and prevention strategies. It is recommended to increase research on the subject and implement urgent regulations at the national level.

Prevalence of nasal colonization by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in medical students in Chile: comparison between pre-clinical and clinical environment

The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of nasal colonization of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in medical students in pre-clinical versus clinical courses at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and to describe the epidemiological, clinical and molecular pattern of the MRSA strains obtained. A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on 299 undergraduate and graduate medical students from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 44 first-year students and 29 second-year students, corresponding to students of courses without regular clinical exposure and 26 sixth-year students, 58 seventh-year and 142 residents, who are daily exposed to hospital environments. A carriage of 0% (0/73) was found in students not exposed to the clinic (pre-clinical courses) and 0.9% (2/226) in students of clinical courses, a difference that was not statistically significant (p-value 0.42). The MRSA nasal carriage found in our medical students was low, finding positive samples only in students with clinical exposure. This prevalence is similar to the one reported in other studies in Chile with similar characteristics.

“Proyecto “Arte en riesgo” una experiencia interdisciplinar”

This essay describes the interdisciplinary exploration process that the Reasearch Network on Environmental Humanities at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (RIHA for its acronym in Spanish) took on in the year 2021 in order to explore the risks related to garbage. This essay reflects on interdisciplinary explorations making an analogy between the chaos on entangled and infinite knowledge which needs to be categorized into disciplines to make it comprehensible, and the chaos of tangible yet amorphous garbage found in a junkyard, which also needs to be categorized and sorted to be recycled in order to at least reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up dumped in the junkyard.  The essay also questions the notions of art and what may or may not be valued as an object that may be exhibited in cultural spaces called museums.

Planning for fear of crime reduction: Assessing the impact of public space regeneration on safety perceptions in deprived neighborhoods

Fear of crime significantly reduces people’s time–space access to and use of public space, notably in high-crime neighborhoods where concerns around personal safety are more acute. One widely used strategy to reduce fear of crime is the regeneration of the built environment. However, tension remains on whether this strategy is effective, and if it is, then where, which and for whom public space interventions work. This research, incorporating a gender perspective, assesses whether neighborhood-level regeneration of public space significantly enhances or reduces residents’ perceptions of safety in deprived urban areas with a gender perspective. To test these impacts, we run a randomized control trial with 100 residents in a high-crime neighborhood in Santiago de Chile. A series of geotagged photographs of the area and ten treatment photo simulations of proposed interventions were rated by residents according to their perceived safety related to crime. The results suggest that: highly unsafe perceptions cluster in specific neighborhood locations and are particularly acute for women; the regeneration of public spaces significantly increases perceived safety for both men and women; and the effectiveness of different interventions is gender-specific. The results suggest, while an effective technique, public space regeneration in deprived neighborhoods can be further optimized through urban design and planning policy that are space- and gender-specific. The technique presented could support researchers and practitioners to understand the spatial distribution of perceptions of safety, to select effective interventions to make deprived neighborhoods feel safer, and to assess the impact of regeneration strategies.

The Potential of Battery Electric Taxis in Santiago de Chile

Given the semi-private nature of the mode, the conversion of taxi vehicles to electric requires a feasibility analysis, as it can impact their operations and revenues. In this research, we assess the feasibility of taxi companies in Santiago de Chile operating with battery electric vehicles (BEVs), considering the current electric mobility infrastructure of the city. We used a large database of GPS pulses provided by a taxi app to obtain a complete picture of typical taxi trips and operations in the city. Then, we performed an assessment of the feasibility of the fleet conversion by considering battery capacity, driving range, proximity to recharging stations, and charging power. The results are promising, as the number of completed trips ranges from 87.35% to 94.34%, depending on the BEV driving range. The analysis shows the importance of installing fast charging points in the locations or BEV driving ranges.