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A bibliometric analysis was carried out on the production and publication of research papers related to the study of the management variable in the quality of education in Latin America. The purpose of the analysis proposed in this document is to know the main characteristics of the volume of publications registered in Scopus database during the period 2016-2021 in Latin American countries, achieving the identification of 1183 publications in total. The information provided by said platform was organized by means of tables and figures categorizing the information by year of publication, Country of Origin, Area of Knowledge and Type of Publication. Once these characteristics were described, a qualitative analysis was used to refer to the position of different authors on the proposed topic. Among the main findings of this research, it is found that Brazil, with 589 publications, is the Latin American country with the highest production. The area of knowledge that made the greatest contribution to the construction of bibliographic material referring to the study of management in the quality of education was Medicine with 538 published documents, and the type of publication that was most used during the period mentioned above was the journal article, representing 71% of the total scientific production.

Education in Spain and Latin America has been experiencing an ever-increasing use of English as a medium of instruction at all levels and across curricula. Bringing the vast research-literature into a reflective dialogue is paramount to advancing the discipline and to refining English teaching practices. As such, this literature review systematically situates English-as-a-medium-of-instruction literature related to higher education within the Iberian-American school contexts where Spanish was the students' first language. Thus, the paper asserts that while research that addresses methodological approaches, processes, procedures, and their effects in instruction is significant, there is still a pressing need for framing English-as-a-medium-of-instruction research within the reciprocal relationship existing among communication, classroom culture, social values, the classroom climate for learning, and ultimately, the students' learning.

This paper analyzes the patterns of health biotechnology publications in six Latin American countries from 2001 to 2015. The countries studied were Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba and Mexico. Before our study, there were no data available on HBT development in half of the Latin-American countries we studied, i.e., Argentina, Colombia and Chile. To include these countries in a scientometric analysis of HBT provides fuller coverage of HBT development in Latin America. The scientometric study used the Web of Science database to identify health biotechnology publications. The total amount of health biotechnology production in the world during the period studied was about 400,000 papers. A total of 1.2% of these papers, were authored by the six Latin American countries in this study. The results show a significant growth in health biotechnology publications in Latin America despite some of the countries having social and political instability, fluctuations in their gross domestic expenditure in research and development or a trade embargo that limits opportunities for scientific development. The growth in the field of some of the Latin American countries studied was larger than the growth of most industrialized nations. Still, the visibility of the Latin American research (measured in the number of citations) did not reach the world average, with the exception of Colombia. The main producers of health biotechnology papers in Latin America were universities, except in Cuba were governmental institutions were the most frequent producers. The countries studied were active in international research collaboration with Colombia being the most active (64% of papers co-authored internationally), whereas Brazil was the least active (35% of papers). Still, the domestic collaboration was even more prevalent, with Chile being the most active in such collaboration (85% of papers co-authored domestically) and Argentina the least active (49% of papers). We conclude that the Latin American countries studied are increasing their health biotechnology publishing. This strategy could contribute to the development of innovations that may solve local health problems in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between state and absent citizens is becoming more important since the globalization of the 1990s. Countries usually try to increase the number of their citizens through two methods. The first is by increasing the number of nationals living abroad using a dual-nationality system. The second is by expanding national power through dual culturalism. These methods increase the international capacity of the home state through the expansion of the de facto state territory from the perspective of network-power theory. Latin American countries have been relatively passive in this diaspora-engagement policy, but recently they have begun to show an active attitude by revising their migration policy—amendments to the Constitution and migration law, dual nationality, dual culturalism, voting rights abroad, and upgrading the status of diaspora agencies, etc. However, it is still unclear how the multinational and multi-ethnic Latin American countries conceptualize diaspora. This paper analyzes the diaspora-engagement policy of Latin American countries from the standpoint of network-power theory and tries to find out what its theoretical framework is. This paper concludes that the theorization work on diaspora should continue to track and analyze these policy changes, since it is difficult to understand what the diaspora concept is and what policy objectives the state is pursuing under the current diaspora-engagement policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labor informality and poverty are at high levels in Latin America. In developing countries, poverty and the labor market are related not through unemployment but through employment. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the link between labor informality and poverty in Colombia. To do so, earnings gaps associated with labor informality are estimated; then, the effect of formalization on poverty is calculated, as the influence of changes in labor informality on Colombia's poverty reduction from 2002 to 2013. The findings show that the earnings gap between formal and informal workers is 37–44%, and if informality were eliminated, poverty would decrease by approximately 40%. However, even though informality has great potential to reduce poverty, its actual effect on Colombia's poverty reduction in the years analyzed was low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bitacora: Revista de Arquitectura is the property of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Facultad de Arquitectura and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revue d'Économie Régionale & urbaine is the property of Librairie Armand Colin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Scholars have questioned whether experiences in indigenous university education in Latin America are institutional arrangements for emphasizing diversity within a neoliberal multiculturalist fashion or if they are innovative pathways to transform colonial relations of power and knowledge systems. One might think that as happened with primary and secondary education, the growth of institutional experiences in indigenous university education in Latin America and the Caribbean simply served the purpose of consolidating a homogenous citizenry in liberal states. This paper offers three different cases on Indigenous education in Colombia to examine this question. The outcomes are significant because regardless of the type of university, the main difference lies in whether indigenous education (universities or programs) were planned and established with and from indigenous peoples and not simply for Indigenous people. The participation of Indigenous organizations was decisive in the scope and objectives of each case analyzed. The data were collected during several periods of field work in 2014 and 2015. The research process involved an extensive literature review, conversations with Indigenous scholars and leaders of two Indigenous experiences on university education, and an analysis of the PAES initiative at the National University of Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the effect that weak enforceability of property rights has on the human resource practices of firms operating in hostile business environment. Design/methodology/approach - This paper questions the role of the state as the only provider of stability and guarantor of property rights and hypothesizes that it is not governments, which tend to be weak in weak institutional settings, but private firms that act as the main force behind the protection of entrepreneurial investments. The approach consists in developing a case study about a farm (Hacienda Gavilanes) in rural Colombia, Findings- It is found that incentives together with inclusive human resources practices and empowerment are among those strategic arrangements that contribute most to the survival and sustainability of the farm today in a setting where legal enforceability is precarious. The replication of this policy might not be easy, however, because it requires a profound shift in the way landowners perceive workers in rural Colombia and many other parts of the world, Originality/value- The case presented in this paper provides valuable lessons beyond Latin America for other developing countries with similarly fragile governments and economic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides Latin American Executive MBA students' approaches to studying, achieving profile, preferences and perceptions of instructional methods used in teaching marketing courses and educational marketing segments based on their preference ranking of instructional methods and approaches to studying. Results indicate that, in general, these students have a strong need for excellence, and for gaining status with experts. Their approach to studying is directed first at understanding what they learn, and then at doing well in their courses. Results also indicate that such students strongly prefer courses using participative instructional methods, such as case studies, to the instructor-dominated lecture method. Thus, there appears to be a gap between the types of instructional methods now being emphasized in MBA classrooms and the methods preferred by the students. These students can be placed into four distinct segments, namely Technology Sophisticated Learners, Academic Success Seekers, Degree Seekers and Instructor-Oriented Learners. Managerial implications from the results are drawn both for the administrators and for the faculty members teaching in an EMBA program. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The massive displacement of Venezuelan citizens to Colombia is the second most important episode of forced migration in the world. We study the impact of this demographic shock on the Colombian income distribution exploiting the geographical heterogeneity in the intensity of migration. We use RIF regressions in an instrumental variables approach to account for the non-random pattern of location of immigrants. We find that despite the fact that Venezuelan immigrants are relatively skilled compared to native Colombian workers, the exodus had a larger negative effect on the lower tail of the wage distribution, implying increases in income inequality and poverty. We link this result to a sizeable downgrading of (mostly unregistered) Venezuelan recent migrants who work in more routine tasks and earn lower wages than natives with similar characteristics. We also explore a large regularization program for immigrants and find that it was associated to a reduction in the extent of downgrading, and hence, to a mitigation of the unequalizing impact of the exodus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that a new agenda for the relations between the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is necessary, and that city regions can play an important role in it. Due to the shortcomings of the previous interregional strategy and the futile discussion if Latin America follows the European integration model, this new agenda should focus more on triangular and decentralized forms of cooperation aid, trade issues, and the knowledge transfer of poverty- and polarization-reduction strategies. Based on the foreign policy approaches of two Colombian case studies (the city-regions of Barranquilla and Medellin), it is shown that the international activities of Latin American city-regions can open new perspectives for EU-LAC relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1993 and 2015 the land planted to oil palm in Colombia increased fourfold, from 119,000ha to 484,000ha. This rapid growth coincided with a period of extreme armed conflict and displacement, with inequality in land distribution reaching the highest levels in Latin America (Oxfam, 2017). These occurrences spurred this inquiry into conditions on the ground in the palm growing zones and the political and economic forces promoting the crop. The theoretical underpinnings are derived from the literature on land grabbing, land control, land concentration and exclusion. Oil palm has been favoured by rural elites, conservative governments and right-wing paramilitaries in an attempted 'modernising' of the countryside through agro-industry. Neo-liberal ideas emphasising capital accumulation through the 'market' have minimised land reform efforts and impeded post-conflict land restitution. The paper is organised in three main parts. Part 1 introduces the crop and its importance, linked to oil palm's culture of continuous expansion. Relevant theoretical concepts are discussed, together with the background to land and violence in Colombia. Part 2 begins the more detailed analysis of the palm oil industry. A descriptive survey of historical beginnings, modern data availability and distribution of holdings is followed by a more nuanced analysis of industry-induced 'myths' and political 'enablers' through the Uribe years (2002–10) and the Santos era (2010–2018). In Part 3 the evidence for 'stolen land' is examined in representative oil palm locations. The findings are summarised in the conclusion. • Colombia's oil palm area quadrupled in a period of armed conflict and displacement. • The increase was officially attributed to state assistance and new lands from 'alliances'. • Peasant displacement and 'cleaning' of titles consolidated land control. • Despite patchy evidence, case studies have supported findings of 'stolen land'. • The rural lowlands are modernising but land access remains highly inequitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Inclusion of animals in emergency contingency planning is not yet common practice in many countries. The purpose of this paper is to assess the need for and viability of such inclusion in Latin America. Design/methodology/approach – The study surveyed 1,882 pet owners in urban areas in Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico to evaluate perceptions of pet owners with regard to their animals in emergencies. Findings – Overall 74.5 percent (confidence interval 72.5-76.5) said they would take their animals if evacuated. Only 16 percent (14.5-17.8) would leave their animals behind. Regular vaccination was carried out by 70.5 percent of owners (68.0-72.5): from 63.6 percent (60.8-66.2 percent) in Mexico to 87.5 percent (84.3-90.0) in Colombia. People in lower socio-economic levels were less likely to take animals to the vet, or to vaccinate or identify them, and more likely to leave their animal behind during evacuation. Practical implications – Results indicate both the need and the likely success of an animal contingency planning process in urban areas of Latin America. Originality/value – This is the first survey of its kind concerning disaster preparedness for pets in developing countries, and counters the common perception that in such countries owners are less attached to their pets and that inclusion of animals in emergency contingency planning is not important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a systemic methodology by which engineering is put to use in vulnerable communities through applied technological research and the main results of its application. The methodology presented corresponds to one implemented and designed by two groups of Engineers without Borders in Europe and Latin America, to integrate technical know-how with local context in communities with water problems in Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The main results of this methodology are related to the improvement of the living conditions of vulnerable groups thanks to the integration of the communities' knowledge with engineering know-how, leading to autonomous communities and engineering professors and students learning from real life problems to enrich applied sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper summarizes the findings of research in Bogotá, Colombia and Mexico City on the use of financial services by the urban population. The focus is on the majority of persons who have no relation whatever with a formal bank, cooperative or credit union. The paper identifies the characteristics of those who are "unbanked" and the range of reasons for their exclusion. It also discusses the multiple and considerable costs that this exclusion imposes on the unbanked population, as well as the loss in income that results for formal sector financial institutions. The paper concludes by describing some measures taken to extend financial services to the low-income population, and proposes the importance of linking "financial inclusion" to programmes of urban development and upgrading focused on the poor in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Salud Pública de México is the property of Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper analyzes the evolution of fear of floating (FOF) and its effect on output in Chile, Colombia and Mexico. It shows that there has been a gradual rise in exchange-rate volatility as the period of floating lengthens in each country. The paper analyzes the implications of this evolution for the behavior of output. It finds that the reduction of FOF has tended to decrease output volatility in Chile. However, the opposite phenomenon has happened in Mexico, while the results for Colombia are ambiguous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few cities in Latin America provide much evidence of good governance. However, during the last fifteen years, Bogotá has been transformed and now qualifies in certain respects as an example of ‘best practice’. The paper considers how Bogotá changed and whether it can continue its improvement, an especially interesting question insofar as a left-wing administration has been in charge since 2004. Of course, the city is by no means perfect and national issues continue to create difficulties both for the poor and for the local administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ornithological Applications is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Whilst Indigenous autonomy is generally regarded as something positive, the existence of human rights abuses inside Indigenous communities has received relatively little attention in legal scholarship. Human rights abuses include severe violations of religious freedom, particularly of converts away from the traditional religion. Based on original empirical field research conducted in the Nasa Indigenous territories in the southwestern highlands of Colombia (2010-2017), I discuss the challenge of balancing the right to self-determination of Indigenous Peoples and the individual human rights of people living in Indigenous territories, particularly religious minorities. I show this has implications for the analysis of "minority in the minority" situations beyond the context of Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latin America's land-use and communal forests needs a better understanding through a lens of women. This research article aims to examine Latin America's secured individual land tenure legal reforms and communal rights in indigenous territories. Two empirical case studies are presented to assess the current dynamics of rural women's land title rights in coffee agroforestry under Colombia's new Formalización Propiedad Rural program, and indigenous Quechua women's communal forest land rights for indigenous foods like kañawa and quinoa farming in highland Bolivia. In doing so, it also gives an introduction to the five empirical research papers that are part of this Special Section edited by the author. The specific case studies are from the Brazilian Amazon, Bolivia's Gran Chaco area, Nicaragua's indigenous territories and two studies from Mexico – one from Oaxaca's central valley and the other is based on smallholder farming in Calakmul rural area. In conclusion, the author discusses the need to prioritise women's role in individual land rights and communal forest tenure in Latin American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ensayos Sobre Política Económica is the property of Banco de la Republica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the last years, the interest in ecosystem services (ESs) as a decision-making tool for environmental policy has been growing. The ES paradigm has also impacted the judicial system and in some countries the common law tradition. Experiences and lessons learned from the ES litigation have been already documented. In the initial analysis, this article aims to identify key trends in ESs case law in Latin America—a leading region in environmental constitutionalism—by exploring the judicial decisions issued by high courts and subnational environmental courts that mention or incorporate the ES term. In the second level of analysis, we focused on the Colombian Constitutional Court landmark decision; the Arroyo Bruno judgment aimed to protect the rights to water, food security, and health of the Wayuú indigenous people. We argue this is a groundbreaking ruling in Latin America, given that for the first time, a Court uses the ES-based approach to protect the environmental rights of ethnic communities, incorporating ES concepts to the constitutional law sphere and integrating into the same conversation, interdisciplinary and intercultural knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Colombia, as in other Latin American countries, current population genetics research is based on the understanding that Colombians constitute amestizonation, given theadmixtureprocess that took place between Africans, Amerindians, and Europeans during colonial times. Themestizois a pervasive category used by geneticists to conduct, organise, and publish research studies that deal with the continent's peopling process and the genetic makeup of its contemporary population(s). It is also the dominant imaginary for the Colombian population and a key nation-building ideology. By tracing how this category moves and is used across four Colombian genetics laboratories, it is possible to discern that despite its apparently clear-cut boundaries, themestizois contingent, contested, and flexible, allowing for multiple understandings and usages. This flexibility and multiplicity are visible in the quantification of genetic ancestry, the divisions of geographical location, and the understanding of gender. Such understandings allow one to think about a homogeneous nation (inclusive) that is simultaneously heterogeneous (exclusive); they provide multiple but not necessarily contradictory possibilities of beingmestizo, allowing the coexistence of images of the nation that could otherwise seem contradictory; and they permit navigation around contested terms such as race, while simultaneously thinking of mixed races or racialised individuals. Finally, these flexible and multiple constructions of themestizo(re)produce various subjects as ‘other’, whether they are women, the Indigenous, the black/dark, or the poor. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Every government in Latin America, and many beyond, is convinced that the only house worth having is a home of one's own. Most have improved housing credit facilities and introduced subsidy policies to help the poor obtain their dream. Unfortunately, few subsidy programmes have been effective and the housing shortage has almost always risen. In 2012, the Colombian government responded to this problem by introducing a radical housing policy. It announced that it will provide free homes for 100,000 families every year. Such an approach appears to be unprecedented across the world. This paper examines why the Colombian government adopted this policy and evaluates its chances of success. The article is concerned particularly with the question of whether providing free housing is the most effective way of helping the desperately poor. It is concerned with evidence that previous programmes to subsidise the cost of formal housing have not helped the poor. In particular, they have provided poor quality accommodation, failed to provide adequate services or a decent living environment, and have sometimes contrived to create the problem neighbourhoods of the future. Offering families a home for nothing does not solve the fundamental problem facing the poor – their very low incomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the Neotropical Region, the mosquitoes, grouped in the tribe Sabethini (Arthropoda, Insecta, Diptera: Culicidae) are considered of medical importance by the role that some species may have in arbovirus transmission; also, because they are good bioindicators. More than 400 species are currently recognised and are mainly associated with forest areas. The tribe Sabethini is poorly studied and the information about diversity and distribution for species relating to it is scarce. In Colombia, 54 species of the tribe are known; however, several geographical areas have not been included in the studies for this group and data for recent field collections are not available; therefore, the records are outdated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economía del Caribe is the property of Fundacion Universidad del Norte and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aims: Fracture liaison services (FLS) use a multidisciplinary approach to treat patients who have experienced an osteoporotic fracture to reduce the risk of subsequent fractures. To date, there has been minimal FLS implementation in Latin America where fractures continue to be undertreated. This study aims to estimate the number of fractures averted, bed days avoided, and costs saved resulting from universal FLS implementation in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. Materials and methods: A calculator was developed to estimate the annual benefits of FLS programs in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina from a public hospital perspective. It was assumed all patients with a hip, vertebral, or wrist fracture were referred to an FLS program. Country-specific data were obtained from a previous systematic review and interviews with osteoporosis experts. Hospitalization and post-hospitalization costs were expressed in 2019 USD without discounting. Costs of FLS implementation were not considered. Results: In 2019, the number of FLS patients prevented from having a subsequent hip, vertebral, or wrist fracture was estimated as 15,607 in Brazil, 8,168 in Mexico, 5,190 in Argentina, and 2,435 in Colombia with total bed days saved of 142,378 in Brazil, 75,877 in Mexico, 52,301 in Argentina, and 21,725 in Colombia. The annual cost savings in 2019 were highest in Argentina (28.1 million USD), followed by Mexico (19.6 million USD), Brazil (7.64 million USD) and Colombia (3.04 million USD). Over five years (2019-2023) the cumulative cost savings were 145 million USD in Argentina, 106 million USD in Mexico, 40.5 million USD in Brazil, and 16.1 million USD in Colombia. Conclusion: Universal FLS implementation in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina was predicted to prevent 31,400 fractures, avoid 292,281 bed days, and save 58.4 million USD in 2019, though caution is warranted in the interpretation of these results due to high uncertainty. Increased implementation of FLS programs in Latin American countries may help to realize these benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many effective community health service delivery systems implemented in the USA assess risk and protective factors (RPFs) for youth problem behaviors in a community, and report these data back to local coalitions for prevention planning. This study examined whether community prevention coalitions in Chile and Colombia perceived these reports of RPFs—based on the results of the Communities That Care Youth Survey—to be understandable, valid, useful, and worth disseminating. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data collected from 7 focus groups with 75 coalition members. Results indicated heterogeneity between and within coalitions in terms of participants' understanding of RPFs. However, most participants found reports of RPFs to be easy to understand, thorough, 'true' to their communities, and useful for diagnosing and prioritizing needs, action planning, and mobilizing others in their communities. Findings suggest the viability of preventive systems that rely on community-level RPF data, for use in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The livelihoods of rural populations on the outskirts of the city of Bogotá are increasingly affected by urban expansion. • Southern Bogotá's peasant communities employ different territorial strategies to deal with the pressures of urbanization. • These practices and strategies make use of situated knowledge and draw on environmental imperatives for political action. • Practices and strategies include political mobilization toward improvements of the physical landscape and its biodiversity. • Planning and land-use in Bogotá (and elsewhere) urgently need to acknowledge that rural is an integral part of urbanization. Much of the research on urbanization has focused on how rural populations move to cities for work opportunities. This paper takes a different perspective on the relations between rural populations and urbanization. The livelihoods of rural dwellers on the outskirts of the city of Bogotá in Colombia are increasingly affected by the expansion of urban activities and infrastructure. Therefore, urbanization takes place in the areas of residence of the rural populations; these people do not migrate to the city but, rather, the city migrates to them. Consequently, rural ways of life face growing competition from the production of commodities and services on the urban-rural fringe, including quarrying and landfills serving the needs of industries and urban populations. We explore how rural populations and their livelihoods have transformed as a response to these urban dynamics and the expansion of the city. We focus on the strategies that the rural populations employ to deal with the physical and socio-ecological impacts of this change. The defense of peri-urban livelihoods through these strategies is simultaneously social and spatial and has been partially successful. However, increasing social and environmental inequality, including worsening access to land, water and vital ecological functions, tends to lead to a general reduction in the quality of life in the urban frontier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skeletal-related events (SREs) are major bone complications that frequently occur in patients with solid tumors (ST) and bone metastases, and in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). SREs include pathological fracture, spinal cord compression, radiation to bone, and surgery to bone. Limited data are available regarding the burden of SREs in Latin America. We built an economic model to quantify the current and future economic burden of SREs among adults in four Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. A comprehensive literature review with a systematic search strategy was conducted to parameterize the economic burden of illness (BOI) model. Economic analyses were conducted using a prevalence-based model. Aggregate SRE costs obtained from country-specific sources were used. We also included patient productivity losses. Costs were expressed in 2020 USD for the total annual burden, annual burden per 1,000 at risk, and projected five-year burden. The estimated total number of SREs was 251,503 in 2020, amounting to a total annual cost of USD 1.4 billion. The total projected five-year cost was USD 6.9 billion. Annual costs were highest in Brazil (USD 779.1 million), followed by Mexico (USD 281.8 million), Argentina (USD 174.6 million), and Colombia (USD 120.1 million). The average financial burden per 1,000 at risk was greatest in Brazil (USD 3.6 million), followed by Mexico (USD 3.4 million), Colombia (USD 2.9 million), and Argentina (USD 2.7 million). Despite recommendations by medical societies for the use of bone-targeted agents in patients with solid tumors and bone metastasis or with multiple myeloma and bone lesions, a large proportion of patients at risk of experiencing SREs are not treated. Early detection of bone metastases and SREs and the use of the most effective preventative treatments are needed to decrease the clinical and economic burden of SREs in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High levels of violence and conflict in Latin America have attracted the interests of local and international researchers to further understand how to reduce this violence and prevent current and future outbreaks. Conducting research in any environment is challenging. However, the obstacles facing not only researcher safety but also data collection methods are particularly complex in settings with high levels of violence and conflict. This article contributes to the methodological literature, as it provides reflections from two researchers, an insider from the Global South and an outsider from the Global North, each collecting data in Medellín, Colombia. It also argues the importance of collaboration between Global North and Global South researchers investigating violence and insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crime victimization is one of the most pressing public health concerns in Latin America. Young people in the region are at particularly high risk of victimization. The present study examined exposure to crime victimization as a risk factor for depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, and the protective effects of familism and social support in a community sample of Colombian college students. Data (N = 424) came from the Juventud Project (The Emergent Adults Project), a cross-sectional study of college students, 18 to 29 years old (M = 20.8, SD = 2.5; 63% female; 75.5% lived with their families), attending an urban public university in Southern Colombia. Data were collected between March and June of 2014 through anonymous, self-administered surveys. Conditional process analysis was used to test a model in which crime victimization was directly and indirectly associated with suicidal ideation via depressive symptoms, with familism and social support as moderators of this association while controlling for gender, age, and socioeconomic status. Overall, 58.9% of participants reported at least one crime victimization event in the past year. The most common types of victimization were being robbed without the threat of harm (29.8%) and being robbed with a weapon (24.8%). Male participants reported more instances of crime victimization than female participants. Levels of depressive symptoms that could be clinically significant were reported by 30.2% of participants, and suicidal ideation was reported by 31% of participants. The association between crime victimization and suicidal ideation was fully mediated by depressive symptoms. Social support, but not familism, moderated this association; social support weakened the link between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Findings suggest that crime victimization may be a significant risk for depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among college students in Colombia, and that social support may protect from the harmful mental health effects of crime victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Advancing universal health coverage (UHC) in Latin America (LA) requires that governments address the inclusion of informal workers, who represent a significant proportion of the working population. Based on case studies and a literature review, this article analyzes health policy reforms of three LA countries and examines their ability to promote the inclusion of informal workers. The analysis focuses on three dimensions: eligibility criteria, benefit packages, and financial protection. The countries analyzed are Chile, Uruguay, and Colombia, each having a different type of welfare regime. These three countries have applied relevant reforms for UHC. Chile has made strenuous efforts to provide a comprehensive benefit package for all, while Uruguay has promoted the extension of health coverage based on principles of citizen rights. Colombia, meanwhile, has significantly expanded the coverage of informal workers, although it still faces challenges in terms of providing them with a comprehensive benefit package. The analysis shows the linkages between eligibility criteria, benefit packages, and financial protection, in such a way that strategies to extend the coverage of informal workers need to be coupled with the harmonization of benefit packages, financial protection, and equal opportunity of access to providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding to decades of conflict in Colombia, a social initiative known as the Legión del Afecto began in Medellín as a peacebuilding effort among academics, community leaders, and young activists. Attention to the body, particularly bodily feelings, sensations, and emotions, has been central to the peacebuilding methodology of the Legión. The initiative has used a focus on the body not only to produce alternative practices of territory that help keep people alive but also (and therein) to materialize the possibility of feeling differently within targeted spaces. What ultimately drives collective action in the Legión is the possibility for increased autonomy over spatial structures of feeling. The ways in which body and territory have been merged in the initiative echo wider trends regarding territory as a theme in Latin American social movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates whether the overlapping of intergovernmental regional organizations in Latin America with regard to membership and mandate is harmful or beneficial to regional cooperation (with a special focus on mediation in domestic and international conflicts). The article begins by systematizing the discussion about the possible risks and potential benefits of overlapping regional organizations, and then outlines hypotheses that can be tested in concrete episodes of overlap of action. The article then analyzes nine episodes in which an overlap of action has occurred between two Latin American organizations, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). The results of the study are mixed. However, the effects of overlapping seem to be much less problematic than a large body of literature generally assumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Community integration in dengue control requires assessments of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs), which can vary widely according to demographic and educational factors. We aimed to describe and compare the KAPs according to level of education in municipalities in the Caribbean region of Colombia.Methods: A survey was administered from October to December 2015, including families selected through probabilistic sampling in eleven municipalities. The analysis focused on the comparative description of the responses according to level of education. The KAP prevalence ratios (PR) according to education were estimated using Poisson regression (robust), including age and sex as adjustment variables.Results: Out of 1057 participants, 1054 (99.7%) surveys were available for analysis, including 614 (58.3%) who had a high school level of education or higher and 440 (41.7%) who had a lower level of education (not high school graduates). The high school graduates showed a higher frequency of correct answers in relation to knowledge about dengue symptoms and transmission. On the other hand, graduates showed a higher probability of practices and attitudes that favor dengue control, including not storing water in containers (PR: 2.2; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.42-3.43), attend community meetings (PR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.07-1.65), educate family members and neighbors in prevention measures (PR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.15-1.59).Conclusions: Level of education could be a key determinant of knowledge of the disease and its transmission, as well as attitudes and practices, especially those that involve the integration of community efforts for dengue control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The opinions and experiences of the public regarding health services are valuable insights into identifying opportunities to improve healthcare systems. We analyzed the 2012-2013 Public Opinion Health Policy Survey carried out in Brazil (n = 1486), Colombia (n = 1485), El Salvador (n = 1460), Jamaica (n = 1480), México (n = 1492) and Panama (n = 1475). In these countries between 82 and 96% of participants perceived that their health systems needed fundamental changes. The most frequent barrier to access to healthcare was lack of the primary medical home, difficulties in obtaining medical care during the weekends and financial barriers. Type of health insurance and challenges in obtaining medical care during the weekends were associated with an increased opinion for the need for fundamental changes in healthcare systems, whereas having a primary medical home showed a protective effect. Focusing on tackling organizational and financial barriers and ensuring access to a primary medical home should be placed on the agenda of Latin American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2013, a consulta popular (referendum) was organised by municipal authorities in Tolima, Colombia, to judge public opinion on the establishment of activities by an international mining conglomerate ie the Colosa (the Giant) gold mine. In this article study is made of the referendum, and emphasis given to its linkages with wider regional, national and Latin American efforts to anticipate damage and derail projects for resource extraction. Recognising the techniques and networks, and similar expressions of identity and territoriality, expressed in other campaigns against extraction, resource sovereignty is suggested as an approach to interpret the motivations for and dynamics of recent popular consultations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on ethnographies from two case studies – one describing Afro-Descendant efforts at ensuring the enforcement of a constitutional court judgement in order to stave off incursions from multinationals and outlaw, armed actors, and another describing the efforts of Embera Chamí Indigenous people in regulating their own ancestral mining and fending off state criminalisation – I unpack the spectrum of legal pluralities around extractives in Colombia, and the tools that Black and Indigenous peoples are using to assert their self-determination and sovereignty. I explore the various logics, discourses and uses of the ‘law’ in its broadest sense; how these collide, clash or interact; and the effects of these encounters. I focus particularly on rights to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), analysing how these rights are conceived, invoked, appropriated, and played out in practice. Theoretically, I identify what I call ‘raw law’, the rules and regulations used by armed actors, a concept inspired by, and inextricably related to, the ‘raw economy’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Free, prior, and informed consultation and consent has become an important interface in encounters between governments, corporations, grassroots organisations, and other actors, particularly in cases involving extractive activities. Based on over two years of collaborative research, this article examines the consultation and consent processes for the Environmental Management Plan for a large hydroelectric dam in Afrodescendant and Indigenous ancestral territories in Western Colombia. We identified several problems lessening the effectiveness of the consultation processes, particularly the seeming impossibility of crafting conditions for genuine interculturality, and the state’s lack of political will to uphold consent. We conclude that the most significant variable in achieving concrete benefits for the communities is the strength of their political organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]