Young Latin American Research Articles

Personality traits and health-related quality of life: the mediator role of coping strategies and psychological distress

BackgroundThe study of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important topic in mental health around the globe. However, there is the need for more evidence about the cumulative influence of psychological variables on HRQOL. The main aim of the study was to evaluate how specific personality traits might explain scores in HRQOL and to explore how this relationship might be mediated by coping styles and psychological distress.MethodsYoung Colombian subjects (N = 274) were included (mean age: 21.3; SD = 3.8). The Short-Form Health Survey was used to measure HRQOL. For assessment of psychological variables, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, The Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations and the short version of Big Five Inventory were used.ResultsThe personality trait that was the best predictor of HRQOL was openness to experience, forming an explanatory model for HRQOL, along with emotional coping style and depressive and anxious symptoms. Emotional coping style and psychological distress were significant mediators of the relationship between openness and HRQOL.ConclusionsOur findings provide additional data about the cumulative influence of specific psychological variables on HRQOL, in a mostly young female Latin American sample.

Social media use by young Latin American consumers: An exploration

This paper reports on a study that was undertaken to explore the factors that drive social media use among young consumers in Latin America, a region of the world in which such studies have been sparse. The research involves the application of an extended TAM, with the addition of three new model variables whose impact on social media use have not been explored previously: social facilitation experience, fear of missing out (FoMO), and general online social interaction propensity (GOSIP). In addition, the outcome variable relates to active social media behaviors, a novel dependent variable in this stream of research. The model is tested using SEM. The results show that social influence, social facilitation experience, perceived ease of use (PEOU), and perceived enjoyment (PE) are all significantly linked to perceived usefulness (PU) of social media; however, FoMO is not. GOSIP, PU, and PE are positively related to attitude toward social media use, which is positively related to active social media behaviors. We discuss the results and provide limitations and avenues for future research.

Metodología de trabajo colaborativo/cooperativo para la investigación, la formación y el aprendizaje en comunicación

Objective. The aim of this article is to systematize the collaborative / cooperative methodology used for research. Analysis of the impact of local socio-communicative discourses in the construction of the concept of Latin American youth identity. Colombia case. This study is based on the work done in 2015 at the Complutense University of Madrid, regarding values and valuations of young Latin American immigrants. In 2016, the methodology was implemented, with some variations, in Colombia and Argentina for the aforementioned research. This article offers a systematization of the methodology derived from the Colombian case.Methodology. This text describes the techniques used to obtain the data and indicates those used in its analysis. Thus, an applicable model is offered as a teaching-learning-research resource in the classroom, specifi­cally for communication and related areas. For the specifi­c study of Colombia, conducted with students of the School of Communication at University of Medellin, data was collected from the work within a research center and qualitative analysis tools such as the Atlas ti and exercises with semantic clouds (Tagxedo) were used for the interpretation.Findings and conclusions. The most relevant results are divided into two aspects. On the one hand, they are related to the advantages found in the application of a model for the teaching-learning-research triad from the perspective of collaborative / cooperative work. On the other hand, a guide is presented that serves as a guide for the development of activities that allow the methodology to be put into practice.

V Bienal de Arquitectura Latinoamericana. BAL2017 en Pamplona

The celebration last April of a new edition, the fifth edition of the BAL2017 Biennial of Latin American Architecture, brought together in Pamplona a selection of fifteen teams of young Latin American architects from seven countries. With the inclusion of the works sent by biennialists of previous editions, there were a total of thirty-two teams and eight countries represented, making Pamplona in a showcase of the best emerging Latin American architecture for a few days. The Biennial, which also offers its programs in Madrid and Barcelona, has two parts: one in which a guest country, Colombia in this case, stars in the conferences and debates that this time focused almost thematically on the well-known social achievements achieved in Medellín and Bogotá with the strategic use of architecture as an effective tool of social action, and a second where the selected teams presented their work. What has been seen has been a set of proposals of great interest and quality, with programs as small as single-family housing to as large as an intermodal center or a government building; with environments that range from the urban periphery, the historic center or the lush landscape. A set that conveys a feeling of optimism before an architecture with commitment, with reflection, with an ethical attitude in the proportion between the means and the ends pursued, with a constructive emphasis in the approaches. An architecture with a preferential option for the most with less that has a lot of common sense and a lot of ambition and intensity in the contents and that developed in an environment lacking the suffocating European regulations produces results that seen from this periphery are enviable.

A Latin American Music Reader: Views from the South ed. by Javier F. León and Helena Simonett

A Latin American Music Reader: Views from the South. Edited by Javier F. Leon and Helena Simonett. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2016. [xi, 449 p. ISBN 9780252040214 (cloth), $95; ISBN 9780252081675 (paperback), $35; ISBN 9780252098437 (e-book), $30.] Biographies of contributors and translators, index.I have never been able to understand Latin American ethnomusicology as a discipline with fixed boundaries. Studying un- der the late Gerard Behague, a scholar with vast knowledge of multiple ethnomusicologies, expanded my views in ways that were both overwhelming and inspiring. In their collection A Latin American Music Reader: Views from the South, Javier Leon-a fellow student of Behague's-and co-editor Helena Simonett recognize the multiplicity of approaches, styles, and canons that make up the field, and the sheer diversity of Latin American music and the studies of and approaches to it. Rather than try to encompass everything in detail, the editors identify general themes in the development of modern nationhood in Latin America that inform the performance, collection, research, distribution, and reception of music. The essays that appear in this volume were written within the last twenty-five years and demonstrate the constant evolution of this broad and rich discipline.The book comprises an exhaustive introduction-which stands alone as a superb resource-and three parts. In the introduction, Simonett and the late Michael Marcuzzi-to whom this volume is dedicated-provide a dramatis personae of sorts, describing the central musicologists, folklorists, composers, anthropologists, and activists who shaped the study of Latin American music over the last one hundred years. They strategically chose their starting point at the turn of the century, when young Latin American nations and wouldbe nations struggled with the very concept of nationhood in the wake of and in anticipation of conflicts. The authors succinctly couch the work of these scholars in historical terms, summarizing political and cultural movements that influenced the development of ethnomusicology and related studies in Latin America. Simonett and Marcuzzi work chronologically and geographically, carefully describing scholarly trends as they emerged in distinctly different circumstances throughout the region.For each of the three major sections of the book, Javier Leon provides summaries that reveal the editors' process of curation. The essay writers come from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and areas of expertise, including historiography, organology, ethnography, and criticism, among others. The editors note that scholars of Latin American studies in Canada and Europe have also contributed to the field. The result is a volume that exposes an awareness of circulation, scholarly discourse, and important trends that thread its contents together with precision.The first section, Academic Lineages, Disciplinary Canons, and Historiographies, revolving around the canons of Latin American musicology, seamlessly transitions from Simonett and Marcuzzi's introduction. This section includes sweeping essays on research on music in South America and the challenge of studying popular (commercial) music in that region. The editors include essays that draw from diverse examples, including the studies of traditional and vernacular music, the cultural construction of history through a very precise organology, and historical perspectives on nationalism in nineteenth-century music. The editors purposefully included Carolina Santamaria-Delgado's meticulous and thoughtful analysis of coloniality in Latin American musical studies. She explores the inequities that are frequently intrinsic in ethno/musicological research, providing a critical frame to consider the production of knowledge from within and from without the region. The rhythm, as it were, of these essays moves smoothly, transitioning evenly both chronologically and thematically.The second part, Popular Music, Style, and the Social Construction of Genre, digs into popular music and the challenges of genres as they develop and morph in distinct contexts. …

Alejandro Zambra. El cultivo del relato literario

La publicación en 2006 de Bonsái, situó de inmediato al chileno Alejandro Zambra como uno de los escritores jóvenes más representativos de la literatura hispanoamericana contemporánea. En efecto, a sólo unos meses de su publicación, Bonsái recibió en el 2007 los dos premios literarios más importantes que concede la nación cordillerana; el Premio de la Crítica de Chile, y el Premio del Consejo Nacional del Libro, además de quedar como finalista del Premio Altazor el mismo año, y del Best Translated Book en el 2008. Como dato adicional, la novela fue publicada por Anagrama, lo que sin duda constituye ya un logro significativo tratándose de una primera novela escrita por un autor de treinta años. Ahora, si algo distingue a esta obra es la simplicidad absoluta en lo relativo al argumento en oposición a una enorme riqueza plástica y un nutrido diálogo con referencias intertextuales. Dicho con otras palabras, la novela renuncia de antemano a la elaboración de una trama compleja capaz de generar intriga, pero seduce al lector gracias a una sugerente simbolización que dota a la narración de una profundidad que contrasta con la simplicidad de lo narrado. En ese sentido el título adquiere especial relevancia pues sugiere un paralelismo entre la complejidad técnica del relato literario con la ancestral práctica oriental del cultivo de árboles y plantas. Este trabajo pretende entonces una lectura de la novela de Zambra a la luz del bonsái, símbolo sugestivo que dota al relato de una gran complejidad estilística que contrasta con su simplicidad argumental.

The Creation of the National Museum of Colombia (1823–1830): A History of Collections, Collectors, and Museums

The National Museum of Colombia was inaugurated on 4 July 1824. This museum was created along with a mining school in a post-revolutionary political context during the wars of independence. Museums in South America created in the early nineteenth century are seen as state formulations embedded in nationalist rhetoric conceived within the newborn states. This paper argues against such postulates through a global scientific-geopolitics perspective. It focuses on the analysis of a broad circulation of knowledge, scientific practices, and individuals between Europe and some of the young Latin American republics. Institutional material and immaterial traces that survive today, such as scientific study collections, suggest the relevance of both individual particulars and official purposes for a museum in which the private and the public spheres converge in a scientific agenda of global character.

BAL 2015. IV Bienal de Arquitectura Latinoamericana en Pamplona

Last April, while international focus on modern Latin American architecture of the past was firmly placed on the ambitious exhibition held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Fourth Latin American Architecture Biennial, BAL 2015, was held in Pamplona. In its fourth year, the Biennial has gained momentum as a meeting point for celebrating the fresh, new architecture of Latin America. Twelve teams from seven countries ( Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) were chosen to participate in this edition. Teams from two prior participating countries ( Uruguay and Paraguay) also attended. A total of 30 teams from nine countries had the opportunity to present and describe their projects. For a few days, Pamplona was a celebration of the best of today’s emerging Latin American architecture and provided a glimpse of what its immediate future might look like. The Biennial lasted three days and included lectures, roundtable discussions, exhibitions and cultural visits. For the first time, the program included additional activities in Madrid and Barcelona. In 2009, the Latin American Architecture Biennial ( BAL) was created to present, in Spain, recent, noteworthy examples of the professional output of young Latin American architects ( not yet 40). As a space in which bonds can be tightened and distances shortened, the Biennial is a strong, sound counterpoint to similar events in the English-speaking world. It is held in odd-numbered years so as not to coincide with the Spanish government’s Spanish-American Biennial Fair of Architecture and Town Planning ( BIAU). With the growing support of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the BAL is being integrated more fully into the BIAU’s formal structure so that the critical focus can be placed on each level of intervention making up the complete Spanish-American panorama at the BIAU. This makes it possible to explore the experiences of several recent teams from all over Latin America who have managed to develop their own architectural discourse and have taken on the task of turning the dream of building a continent into a reality. This global strategy of the BAL aims to build bridges between Latin America and Spain and to consolidate the event as the biennial of young Latin American architecture. This year, with Mexico as the invited guest, a traveling monographic exhibition curated by Miquel Adrià was held on Mexican architecture with the support of the Mexican Embassy and the Cultural Institute of Mexico in Spain. It will on display in Madrid in June before traveling to Latin America. Mexico was also the main topic of the lectures and roundtable discussions by Carlos Sambricio, Andrea Griborio, Alberto Campo Baeza and Miquel Adrià. The Latin American Architecture Biennial is an initiative of the AS20 research group at the University of Navarra’s School of Architecture. It is sponsored by the University of Navarra, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Pamplona City Council, the Association of Towns in Pamplona County and the Navarre branch of the Basque- Navarrese Institute of Architects Association.

Notas para um estudo sobre a Unión de Cinematecas de América Latina

<p>O presente artigo visa lançar as bases para uma análise da formação da <em>Unión de Cinematecas de América Latina</em> (UCAL). Criada em 1965, a UCAL visa dar visibilidade e articulação às jovens cinematecas latino-americanas. Por sua vez, a segunda metade dos anos 1960 pode ser interpretada como a consolidação ideológica do <em>Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano</em> (<em>NCL</em>), o que também põe em questão o papel de uma cinemateca em nosso subcontinente.</p>

Periodontal disease in children and adolescents of Latin America.

Periodontal diseases are a group of infectious diseases that mainly include gingivitis and periodontitis. Gingivitis is the most prevalent form of periodontal disease in subjects of all ages, including children and adolescents. Less frequent types of periodontal disease include aggressive periodontitis, acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis and various diseases of herpesviral and fungal origin. This review aimed to retrieve relevant information from Latin America on the prevalence of periodontal diseases among children and adolescents of the region. Gingivitis was detected in 35% of young Latin American subjects and showed the highest frequencies in Colombia (77%) and Bolivia (73%) and the lowest frequency in Mexico (23%). The frequency of gingivitis in subjects from other Latin American countries was between 31% and 56%. Periodontitis may affect <10% of the young population in Latin America, but the data are based on only a few studies. A more precise assessment of the distribution and severity of periodontal disease in children and adolescents of Latin America may help policy makers and dentists to institute more effective public health measures to prevent and treat the disease at an early age to avoid major damage to the permanent dentition.

Is Gastric Cancer Underdiagnosed in Young Latin American Immigrants?

Is Gastric Cancer Underdiagnosed in Young Latin American Immigrants?

Breast Cancer in Young Women in Latin America: An Unmet, Growing Burden

Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of malignancy-related deaths among women aged ≤ 45 years. There are unexplored and uncertain issues for BC in this particular group in Latin America. The aim of this study is to evaluate BC incidence and mortality among young women and related clinicopathological and survivorship aspects in this region. Data were obtained from Globocan 2008 and the International Agency for Research on Cancer's Cancer Incidence in Five Continents series plus databases. We requested collaboration from the 12 different national cancer institutes in Latin America through SLACOM, the Latin American and Caribbean Society of Medical Oncology, and conducted a systematic literature review to obtain local data regarding the prevalence of BC among young women and their characteristics, outcomes, and survivorship-related issues. BC incidence and mortality proportions for Latin American women aged <44 years were higher when compared with those of developed countries (20% vs. 12% and 14% vs. 7%, respectively). We found only a few Latin American series addressing this topic, and prevalence varied between 8% and 14%. Stage II and III disease, high histological grade, and triple-negative and HER2 BC were features frequently observed among young Latin American BC patients. The rising incidence and mortality of BC in young Latin American women is a call to action in the region. It is necessary to monitor the epidemiological and clinical data through reliable cancer registries and to consider the implementation of protocols for education of patients and health professionals. This unmet, growing burden must be considered as a top priority of the national programs in the fight against BC, and models of specialized units should be implemented for this particular group of patients to provide better care for this emergent challenge.

Breast cancer in young women in Latin America: an unmet, growing burden.

Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of malignancy-related deaths among women aged ≤45 years. There are unexplored and uncertain issues for BC in this particular group in Latin America. The aim of this study is to evaluate BC incidence and mortality among young women and related clinicopathological and survivorship aspects in this region. Data were obtained from Globocan 2008 and the International Agency for Research on Cancer's Cancer Incidence in Five Continents series plus databases. We requested collaboration from the 12 different national cancer institutes in Latin America through SLACOM, the Latin American and Caribbean Society of Medical Oncology, and conducted a systematic literature review to obtain local data regarding the prevalence of BC among young women and their characteristics, outcomes, and survivorship-related issues. BC incidence and mortality proportions for Latin American women aged <44 years were higher when compared with those of developed countries (20% vs. 12% and 14% vs. 7%, respectively). We found only a few Latin American series addressing this topic, and prevalence varied between 8% and 14%. Stage II and III disease, high histological grade, and triple-negative and HER2 BC were features frequently observed among young Latin American BC patients. The rising incidence and mortality of BC in young Latin American women is a call to action in the region. It is necessary to monitor the epidemiological and clinical data through reliable cancer registries and to consider the implementation of protocols for education of patients and health professionals. This unmet, growing burden must be considered as a top priority of the national programs in the fight against BC, and models of specialized units should be implemented for this particular group of patients to provide better care for this emergent challenge.

EMBnet at ISCB - South America

The second Latin American regional meeting of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB-Latin America) took place 17-21 March 2012, in Santiago, Chile. More than 250 people attended, primarily from countries in Latin America. The major aim of ISCB-Latin America 2012 was to motivate and inspire young Latin American students and post-docs to conduct the best possible research in the areas of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. The first two days of the meeting (17-18 March) were dedicated to hands-on practical tutorials and workshops covering different topics of interest. EMBnet sponsored two tutorial sessions by financing travel and accommodation for two teachers.

Jóvenes inmigrantes latinoamericanos en la prensa española. Narrativas mediáticas de la alteridad: el caso de las violencias urbanas

En este trabajo, se analizan tanto las representaciones mediáticas de los jóvenes inmigrantes latinoamericanos en la prensa española, como el papel de los medios de comunicación en el contexto de las migraciones contemporáneas y, desde la economía política de la comunicación y el análisis crítico del discurso, las formas mediáticas de las narrativas de exclusión, no solamente en su forma retórica, sino en el acceso al debate social. Para tal efecto, el artículo se centra en cuatro interrogantes: ¿cómo se ha venido configurando el panorama demográfico de las migraciones de jóvenes latinoamericanos en España? ¿Quiénes son los actores recurrentes en las informaciones sobre inmigración en el discurso mediático? ¿Qué mecanismos de representación discursiva generan las noticias sobre violencias urbanas relacionadas con jóvenes de minorías étnicas? ¿En qué medida se inserta la figura de los jóvenes latinos en el discurso europeo de la exclusión?

Sexual Dysfunction Risk and Associated Factors in Young Peruvian University Women

Information regarding sexual dysfunction risk among young Latin American women is limited. Assess female sexual dysfunction (FSD) risk and associated factors in young Peruvian university women. This was a nested case-control study, using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Cases were defined as women with total FSFI scores at or below 26.55 (increased FSD risk). Demographic characteristics, gynecologic aspects, body mass index, mood disorders, substance abuse, and issues related to the couple, were also evaluated. Primary end point was assessment of FSD risk and associated factors. A total of 625 women were surveyed of which 409 (65.4%) were sexually active. The average total FSFI score was 27.2 ± 4.3. Overall, 39.9% were at higher risk for FSD. Multivariate analysis using a binary logistic regression model found that male premature ejaculation (odds ratios [OR]=2.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27-4.77), oral emergency contraception use (OR=1.87, 95% CI: 1.04-3.38), good partner relationship (OR=0.24, 95% CI: 0.12-0.49), and length of relationship (≥3 years; OR=0.025, 95% CI: 0.013-0.05) were factors independently associated to a higher FSD risk (goodness of fit P=0.39). In this young university female population, FSD risk was high and associated to male and female factors.

Birth weight, current body mass index, and insulin sensitivity and secretion in young adults in two Latin American populations

Background and aimsAlthough studies have shown association of birth weight (BW) and adult body mass index (BMI) with insulin sensitivity in adults, there is limited evidence that BW is associated with insulin secretion. We assessed the associations between BW and current BMI with insulin sensitivity and secretion in young Latin American adults. Methods and resultsTwo birth cohorts, one from Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, based on 1984 participants aged 23–25 years, and another from Limache, Chile, based on 965 participants aged 22–28 years were studied. Weight and height at birth, and current fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels were measured. Insulin sensitivity (HOMA%S) and secretion (HOMA%β) were estimated using the Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA2). Multiple linear regression analyses were carried out to test the associations between BW and adult BMI z-scores on log HOMA%S and log HOMA%β. BW z-score was associated with HOMA%S in the two populations and HOMA%β in Ribeirao Preto when adult BMI z-score was included in the model. BW z-score was associated with decreasing insulin secretion even without adjusting for adult BMI, but only in Ribeirao Preto. BMI z-score was associated with low HOMA%S and high HOMA%β. No interactions between BW and BMI z-scores on insulin sensitivity were shown. ConclusionsThis study supports the finding that BW may affect insulin sensitivity and secretion in young adults. The effect size of BW on insulin status is small in comparison to current BMI.

High prevalence of dementia in relatively young Latin American populations: diagnostic challenges, possible solutions and opportunities

High prevalence of dementia in relatively young Latin American populations: diagnostic challenges, possible solutions and opportunities

Primera Bienal de Arquitectura Latinoamericana en Pamplona

The first Bienal de Arquitectura Latinoamericana (BAL) took place in Pamplona in May 2009. It is a new young event promoted by the AS20 research team that aims to show in Spain the most recent and outstanding work of young latin american architects. For the first edition, the selected teams were: Tristan Dieguez and Axel Fridman; Sebastian Adamo and Marcelo Faiden; Nicolas Campodonico; FGMF Fernando Forte, Lourenco Gimenes and Rodrigo Marcondes Ferraz; Carla Juacaba; Mauricio Pezo and Sofia von Ellrichshausen; Grupo Talca –Macarena Avila, Cecilia Cullen, Martin del Solar, Alejandra Liebana and Rodrigo Sheward; El Cielo –Armando Hashimoto and Surella Segu; Pablo Perez Palacios and Alfonso de la Concha; Juan Manuel Pelaez Freidel; Camilo Restrepo; Felipe Mesa; Marcelo and Martin Gualano; Gonzalo Diez Ponce and Felipe Muller.

Anthropometric features and cardiovascular risk in young Latin Americans with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective The purpose of this study is to compare score systems used to estimate the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in young patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. Methods Fifty-seven Latin American patients with type 2 diabetes, between the ages 18 and 45 years, were screened to participate in a clinical research study evaluating the effects of intensive insulin therapy on both traditional and nontraditional CVD risk factors. All women were premenopausal and had regular menstrual periods. Baseline reviews of cardiovascular (CV) risk scores, personal history, physical examination, and laboratory screening were performed. The Framingham Study Score system and the presence of features of the metabolic syndrome (MSyn) were recorded and compared. Results Both genders had a comparable number of features of the MSyn, whereas according to the Framingham Score System, men had a slightly higher risk of CVD. Conclusions The Framingham Score system is not an accurate device to estimate risk of CVD in premenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus, who otherwise have a multiple features of the MSyn. If used to estimate risk of CVD, the Framingham score system could underestimate the risk of CVD in both young men and women with type 2 diabetes mellitus.