Latin American Professionals Research Articles

University Students’ Rejection to Learning Statistics: Research from a Latin American Standpoint

Introduction: Negative beliefs, fear, avoidance behaviors, and superficial attitudes surrounding the learning of statistics create significant problems for university students in Latin America. Objective: To analyze the impact of fearful behavior, superficial work, and avoidance displayed by university students when it comes to statistics. Method: In this article, we give details about a quantitative research project carried out by two independent studies. The first (N = 310) focused on the development of a scale to assess negative beliefs, fears, and avoidance behaviors towards statistics, in which goodness of fit was determined in a 3-factor model. In the second study (N = 250), it was hypothesized that undergraduates perform superficially due to negative beliefs and avoidance behaviors when learning statistics. Findings: The proposed model explained 42% of the variance. In addition, in the analysis of the proposed mediation model, an adequate adjustment was found. In the discussion of this research project, the need to intervene in the negative beliefs, fears, and avoidance behaviors displayed by university students towards statistics is highlighted. Novelty:This research project explains why college students dislike or avoid learning statistics in depth. The findings will allow for a modification in the way statistics is taught so that Latin American professionals achieve better performance in this field. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-SIED2-07 Full Text: PDF

Vulnerability in the Global Tropics? An Ethnography of the Experiences of International Managers in Venezuela and Mexico

The Latin American tropics have been considered spaces where the taken-for-granted vulnerability of the international assignment experience is exacerbated because of poor working conditions. In classical approaches to international management studies, the complexity attributed to the role of global managers resides in the ‘fact’ that they live under conditions of permanent confrontation, adjustment, change and adaptation. The literature typically portrays the international manager as perpetually experiencing an ‘out-of-place’ existence, as their supposed ‘national culture’ of origin is by definition different from the ‘national culture’ of the destination country. The stereotyped exoticism of the tropics – constructed as spaces for tourism and adventure, but also characterised as precarious in terms of their health infrastructures, uncomfortable climates, and socio-economic and political instability – contributes to the framing of international management in these regions as highly challenging. In this article, these stereotypical conceptions are challenged. Evidence is provided indicating that managers’ narratives about ‘the experience of working and living in the tropics’ have more to do with their negative experiences of organisational power and the creation of a singular organisational culture of control and commitment than with the experience of the tropical context per se. The analysis is based on 6 years of intermittent longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork (2005–2009; 2020–2022) with international and nomadic Latin American professionals working in two factories located in the tropics owned by an industrial corporation.

Modern and National? The (Non-) Exceptionalism of Colombian Architectural Identity

Architecture in Latin America is cyclically underpinned by the quest to represent multiple identities: international, national, (Latin) American. During the 1930s, although modernist European architects became the reference for Latin American professionals, they were nonetheless of no help in developing national expressions of modernity. Tracing back the debate to the cultural turmoil of that decade with an eye on older topoi on environmental determinism, this article delves into various texts through which the identity of Colombian architectural modernism was constructed. Firstly, it highlights the link between territory, nation, and historical heritage that underpinned the definition of a system of values seen as typically Colombian but, in fact, comparable to that of other countries. Then, it focuses on the construction of Colombian modernism’s identity as opposed to different Latin American experiences, highlighting the role of local and international actors. The article also explains the centrality given to Bogotá and its architecture because of the climatic differences that made the country’s cool highlands similar to Europe and the USA and, therefore, the place where civilisation, development, and modern architecture were possible for the Colombian elites. Ultimately, this text documents an exemplary case, stressing the non-exceptionalism of the different representations of Latin American national modernisms.

Prácticas forenses y violencia en masa: perspectivas contemporáneas y retos investigativos

We already have forty years of experience in Latin America in the application of anthropology and forensic archaeology to the search for missing persons and investigations of gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Despite this long trajectory of very important work, the most striking protagonists of meta-analysis in the forensic work literature and its impact in recent years have not been the forensic scientists themselves, but social scientists. This article introduces the dossier “Forensic Practices and Mass Violence: Contemporary Perspectives and Research Challenges,” a work that brings together practitioners —including relatives of the missing— with academic researchers, breaking down a structural, social and artificial divide. The joining of forces between academics and practitioners better reflects the work as a whole that includes and highlights the goals concerning search, recovery, analysis, and identification, but also those concerning restitution. This introduction emphasizes debates that are absent in many forensic science journals: the impact of politics on research and the political product of research, although we still have debates about questions of objectivity, neutrality, and the value of a family-driven or family-involved approach. In this dossier, we examine the adaptation and evolution of the discipline from its particular Latin American form, both in the different expressions it has taken in the region and in the way it has been expressed in the work of Latin American professionals in foreign cases such as that of the former Yugoslavia.

Willingness to pay for high-quality remote radiation oncology training in Latin America.

Access to high-quality continuing medical education, particularly in Radiation Oncology, can be challenging in some developing countries due to economic barriers. Despite the current offer of free-access self-educational material, end user training faces a backlog still difficult to overcome. The purpose of this investigation is to report the willingness-to-pay profile of practitioners in Latin America, as a surrogate of quality perception of remote educational resources. Related factors include professional experience and baseline practice confidence levels. Most of practitioners would cover their own expenses, while an increased tendency in less-experienced professionals was observed. However, baseline knowledge confidence levels were not influential in decision making. This report contributes to better know the profile of Latin American professionals, in order to design future educational interventions in the region and bridging the current accessibility gap.

Data Journalism Beyond Technological Determinism

ABSTRACT Innovation in journalism became an important element to determine the current and future direction of the profession. Through incremental and cumulative transformations over time, because of many obstacles faced inside the newsrooms, journalism has suffered from significant and fundamental changes, including the deployment of data journalism. In Latin America, the practice has seen an increasing expansion in the last years. Nevertheless, there are important technological gaps that limit its development. The present study draws upon literature on data journalism, media management, and sociology, aiming to contribute theoretically to data journalism research. Our findings show that beyond the technological approach, practitioners are relying on data evangelists, collaboration, and audience-centered innovation to produce data storytelling in their newsrooms. On the other hand, these alliances form “homophily” and “endogamy” features that limit the dissemination of the practice, which must consider the potential implications for the social distance of the audiences. It argues that Latin American professionals are distancing themselves from technological determinism to embrace a more audience-centric innovation in newsrooms. Finally, it also states that it is important to take into account those limitations, as they pose obstacles for data journalism innovation research knowledge. The article concludes with an agenda for future research.

Understanding the Integration Process Through the Concept of Trust: a Case Study of Latin American Professionals in Québec

This paper focuses on social representations held by professional immigrants and on the notion of trust as a key factor in the integration process. Using a sample of 455 online surveys and focus groups with 29 people, this paper examines the role of trust in the socio-economic integration of Latino professionals belonging to Quebec’s Latin American Chamber of Commerce. Placed on a socio-economic integration continuum, the data demonstrate a variety of processes regarding trust in institutions and networks. Positive and negative feelings of trust have a variable impact on the integration of individuals who self-identify as members of a specific cultural group.

The challenge of new gatekeepers for public relations. A comparative analysis of the role of social media influencers for European and Latin American professionals

Social media influencers (SMIs) have become a primary stakeholder group for communication professionals. However, this phenomenon still lacks a coherent body of theory and significant gaps exist in knowledge of how organisations perceive and identify them in the context of public relations, specially through empirical and cross-cultural studies. This comparative research includes European (n = 2710) and Latin American (n = 914) professionals working on different hierarchical levels, both in communication departments and agencies. Despite the massive implementation of social media channels, only a minority of Latin American and European professionals use specific strategies to identify and engage with SMIs. Practitioners prefer traditional identification indicators: personal reputation, the relevance of topics covered, and the quality of the content shared online.

How Do Latin American Professionals Approach Violence Risk Assessment? A Qualitative Exploratory Study

The ability to predict the likelihood of violent behavior is an important task that is not constrained by cultures, borders, or geographic regions. This qualitative study analyzed 15 semi-structured interviews with forensic professionals to understand violence risk assessment (VRA) processes and procedures in Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico. Participants reported a range of procedures for assessing violence risk, including the use of structured VRA tools. Most evaluators considered common risk factors, but several culturally relevant risk and protective factors emerged from the interviews. Perceived strengths and limitations of VRA measures were explored. Findings may inform risk assessments with culturally diverse adults.

Génesis y realización del primer radioteatro de ‘Don Quijote’ producido por la BBC en 1947

En 1947 la BBC realiza el primer radioteatro de Don Quijote para celebrar el IV Centenario del nacimiento de Cervantes. Emitido en España y Latinoamérica en 27 capítulos, la BBC lo definió como «el proyecto más ambicioso jamás llevado a cabo». El objetivo era mejorar la reputación de la BBC en España. El radioteatro contó con la participación de actores de Radio Madrid, exiliados españoles en Londres y profesionales latinoamericanos. La BBC se rodeó de expertos para adaptar la narración cervantina al lenguaje radiofónico; tratar la diversidad de acentos del español; y realizar la música que acompañó la versión radiofónica. El Quijote de la BBC difundió la obra de Cervantes por todos los países de habla hispana e impulsó la producción de otros Quijotes radiofónicos en España.

Measuring the perception of quality physical education in Latin American professionals

An unsteady plan for curriculum development and supportive issues in physical education (PE) has created confusion among professionals. The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors perceived as important in the development of quality physical education (QPE) by professionals in Latin American (LA) countries. A questionnaire consisting of 24 items based on QPE was responded by 468 professionals collected from 6 LA cities. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the 24 items using ML extraction and direct oblimin rotation were applied, and the retained 17 items were clustered in a three factor solution referred to as, Development and Supportive Elements for QPE in School (DSFQPE) (α=.935), Core Value of QPEtabl (CVPE) (α=.890), and Curriculum Arrangement of Physical Activities (CAPA) (α=.850). The retained items indicated excellent properties and the basic framework as perceived by professionals from PE in LA countries as important in the investigation of QPE.

Mastering the dialogic tools

PurposeListening to and conversing with stakeholders has become a basic requirement for the survival of any organization in a society with insistent demands for transparency and dialogue. The purpose of this paper is to examine how Latin American practitioners are using social media for corporate and networking purposes, and their perceptions about which social media activity is more relevant for organizational stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachA population of 803 public relations professionals from 18 Latin American countries working on different hierarchical levels, both in communication departments and agencies across the region, were surveyed as part of a larger online survey. For this research, five questions about social media usage have been included in the first edition of the Latin American Communication Monitor (LCM) project.FindingsThe study shows that despite the massive incorporation of social media into communication strategies of organizations, Latin American professionals report less intensive use of these collaborative channels than do peers in the Asia-Pacific, but they are in line with colleagues from Europe. Practitioners report a cautious optimism on the success achieved in the social media arena, as well as an insignificant use of these tools for professional networking purposes.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper touches only four sections of the LCM 2014/2015. Participant fatigue may have negatively impacted the quality of the data. A large sample of professionals was approached, but a much small number initiated and completed the online survey. This resulted in the lack of representation of some countries in the subcontinent. In the future, greater participation is needed to allow for a more comprehensive comparative analysis.Practical implicationsThis research provides a more in-depth look at the current state of public relations practice in Latin America and the use of social media channels to communicate with stakeholders. Even if social media continue to create unprecedented opportunities, social media platforms have not been widely adopted by professionals in the region, probably due to the lack of appropriate structures, cultures and strategies for participative modes of social media communication.Social implicationsThis dearth of knowledge about how PR professionals use social media affects the engagement process, and as a result, the reputation, legitimization, satisfaction with and trust in organizations. Without listening carefully to stakeholder needs, satisfying these needs and establishing a real conversation, organizations will not be able to attain the sought-after engagement that leads to a stable and lasting relation with the public.Originality/valueAlthough numerous articles on the situation of public relations in different Latin American countries have been published, this research is first attempt to investigate the use of social media channels in the subcontinent through opinions of a representative sample of professionals.

InfoTecarios

This article shares the experience of the InfoTecarios group, while commemorating its fifth anniversary. InfoTecarios is a regional initiative that publishes weekly blog posts in its website, written by Latin American professionals, and hence it conducts an important scientific dissemination activity of library and information science. It presents details about its origin, the selection and format of its publications, the technologies they use to operate and promote the group and its website, their website’s user and usage data, as well as some conclusions about its importance and its future. InfoTecarios is a useful example for other groups of the region wishing to conduct scientific dissemination through online and collaborative activities.

Lupus in Latin-American patients: lessons from the GLADEL cohort.

The need for comprehensive published epidemiologic and clinical data from Latin American systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients motivated the late Dr Alarcón-Segovia and other Latin American professionals taking care of these patients to spearhead the creation of the G: rupo L: atino A: mericano D: e E: studio del L: upus (GLADEL) cohort in 1997. This inception cohort recruited a total of 1480 multiethnic (Mestizo, African-Latin American (ALA), Caucasian and other) SLE patients diagnosed within two years from the time of enrollment from 34 Latin American centers with expertise in the diagnosis and management of this disease. In addition to the initial 2004 description of the cohort, GLADEL has contributed to improving our knowledge about the course and outcome of lupus in patients from this part of the Americas. The major findings from this cohort are highlighted in this review. They have had important clinical implications for the adequate care of SLE patients both in Latin America and worldwide where these patients may have emigrated.

La Lucha Sigue: Latina and Latino Labor in the US Media Industries

Given the present contradictions in which Latinos are both celebrated as the next top consumers and reviled as the least-wanted citizens, this article examines the state of Latina and Latino labor in the US media industry and the ways in which we continue to be an invisible and fragmented workforce. By understanding the ways in which capitalist practices divide cultural labor into disparate parts in order to benefit industries while simultaneously producing negative consequences for not only workers but also the sociocultural milieu, we are better able to recognize the role of Latina/o labor in communications. The fact that Latina/os are nearly nonexistent in the English-language media sector—and in the Spanish-language sector, executives prefer Latin American professionals with excellent Spanish literacy skills—is not inconsequential. These material conditions communicate something important about how Latino labor is valued differentially according to the needs of the media sector, the imperatives of the global economy, and the cultural politics of media in the United States. These issues must be examined closely if all Latino Americanos, from the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America, are to be full participants in the dismantling of media exploitation.

Professionals' Criteria for Detecting and Reporting Child Sexual Abuse

Professionals who are likely to come into contact with children play an essential role in the protection of children, thus we aimed to study the criteria they use to identify and report child sexual abuse cases. Based on the Factorial Survey design, we presented 974 Spanish (90%) and Latin American professionals from six fields (Psychology, Social Services, Education, Health, Law and Security) with hypothetical situations of sexual interaction with minors (systematically varying the type of sexual act, the child's and the other person's sex and age, the use of coercion and the type of strategy employed to involve the child), in order to examine their perception of abuse and willingness to report. According to results, the factors or criteria that most impact assessments are age asymmetry and use of coercion. Specifically, professionals are significantly more likely to perceive abuse and intend to report it if the other person involved in the interaction is much older than the minor and/or uses a coercive strategy, especially force, drugs or blackmail. Another relevant criterion is the type of sexual act, since acts involving intercourse, digital penetration or oral sex are significantly more likely to be deemed as abuse and reported.

Ethics in psychosocial and biomedical research: A training experience at the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics (CIEB) of the University of Chile

This paper reviews the experience in training Latin American professionals and scientists in the ethics of biomedical and psychosocial research at the Interdisciplinary Center for Studies in Bioethics (CIEB) of the University of Chile, aided by a grant from Fogarty International Center (FIC) - National Institutes of Health from 2002 to 2011. In these 10 years of experience, 50 trainees have completed a 12-month training combining on-line and in-person teaching and learning activities, with further support for maintaining contact via webmail and personal meetings. The network formed by faculty and former trainees has published extensively on issues relevant in the continent and has been instrumental in promoting new master level courses at different universities, drafting regulations and norms, and promoting the use of bioethical discourse in health care and research. Evaluation meetings have shown that while most trainees did benefit from the experience and contributed highly to developments at their home institutions and countries, some degree of structuring of demand for qualified personnel is needed in order to better utilize the human resources created by the program. Publications and other deliverables of trainees and faculty are presented.

Towards the building of the Ibero-American Museums Observatory [Observatorio Iberoamericano de Museos]: results and reflections on a professional internship in Spain

This paper sums up the results of research carried out under a grant awarded to the author by the Spanish Ministry of Culture to participate in a training internship for Latin-American professionals in the field of culture for the implementation the Observatorio Iberoamericano de Museos (Ibero-American Museums Observatory, OIM). A brief description of the OIM as part of the Ibermuseos program is provided. The paper also examines issues associated with public institutions in charge of museums and definitions of museums; while offering an overview of the Latin-American field under tutelage schemes and through the lens of museological management indicators. Lastly, the information analyzed is compared to the situation in Mexico, in particular at the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH) which conclude that there are similarities between the Mexican and Spanish museological field.

Estrategias innovadoras para el cuidado y el autocuidado de personas con enfermedades crónicas en América Latina

To identify innovative strategies for improved care and self-care of patients with chronic diseases (CD) in Latin America and to explore interest in creating a Latin American network of professionals in this field. A descriptive study based on a survey of key experts with recognized national or regional leadership in CD patient care. The 25-question questionnaire sought information on their experiences with care and self-care initiatives for CD patients, descriptions of successful initiatives, the perceived ability of countries to innovate in this area, their interest in participating in a network of Latin American professionals in this field, and more. Content analysis was performed to develop recommendations for the Region. Responses were obtained from 17 (37.8%) of the 45 experts approached; 82.4% confirmed their knowledge of of involvement with an innovative initiative related to the subject. Initial development does exist in each of the three innovative strategy types: peer care, informal caregivers, and telenursing, the latter being the least explored. There is real interest in forming a Latin American network that focuses on development of innovative self-care strategies for CD patients. Support for a joint network is promising. Priorities are building skills in this area and developing innovative proposals for improved CD patient care in the Region. Innovative measures should be complementary and adapted to the specific context of each scenario.

Going Primitive to the Movements and Sounds of Mambo

Around 1950 a new music and dance craze called caught attention of musicians, dancers, journalists, filmmakers, intellectuals, and others throughout Americas. Writing about dance in a 1951 issue of Dance Magazine, American dance critics and teachers Don Byrnes and Alice Swanson stated, It is now responsibility of teacher to standardize, discipline and properly present this thrilling dance to make it acceptable. That same year New York Daily News journalist Jess Stearn published an article on dancing as he had observed it being performed at popular Palladium dance hall in midtown Manhattan; his article was titled Touch of Jungle Madness: Denizens of Broadway Go Slightly Primitive under Spell of Wild Sweaty Mambo. A year earlier, in 1950, Mexican film Al son del [To Sound of Mambo] premiered. Directed by Chano Urueta, this musical comedy featured a group of Mexican sojourners, including a composer, who travel to primitive or rural Cuba to escape their disillusionment with modern urban life. The composer aspires to harness primal sounds of nature into a new kind of music, which he eventually creates in collaboration with the king of himself, Damaso Perez Prado. Finally, in contrast to Urueta's portrayal of mambo, eminent Venezuelan psychiatrist Raul Ramos Calles railed that mambo is no more or less a product of Yankee tourism that invades Cuba... . The has no musical value. Ramos Calles was one of many Latin American professionals, academics, and writers who rejected mambo, considering it an insidious form of both black American vulgarity as well as North American cultural imperialism and, as such, a threat to racial and cultural integrity of their nations. In these various representations of mambo, we can read three rhetorical devices that are commonly encountered in interrelated discourses of evolutionism and primitivism of mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first device, characteristic of social and cultural evolutionary thought of nineteenth century, is positing