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This study describes the concepts, historical precedents, language and fundamental experiences of artivism. It shows the research activities from two main universities (Complutense de Madrid in Spain and Nottingham Trent in UK) as well as other cultural institutions (Élan Interculturel from France and Artemiszio from Hungary), which have explored the educational potential of artivism as a new way of achieving social engagement using innovation and artistic creation. The paper defines precisely artivism as a new language which appears outside the museums and art academies, moving towards urban and social spaces. Artivism is a hybrid form of art and activism which has a semantic mechanism to use art as a means towards change and social transformation. The analysis collects some central experiences of the artivist phenomenon and applies semantic analysis, archiving artivist experiences, and using urban walks and situational research, analyses the educational and formative potential of artivists and their ability to break the classroom walls, and to remove the traditional roles of creator and receptor, student and professor, through workshop experiences. Finally, it reflects upon the usefulness of artivism as a new social language and an educational tool that breaks the traditional roles of social communication.

The Young British Artists (YBAs) was a generation that incorporated elements from media, advertising and cultural industry into the art world in the late 20th century. Based on a case study of the group and the distinctive phases of its meteoric trajectory, we analyse the circumstances and agents involved in the processes of legitimisation in contemporary art. As an instrumental tool, we use the model presented by Alan Bowness in his publication, which outlines the process that allows artists to access certain social recognition. This outline provides us with a model of reference upon which to reconstruct the pattern of the YBAs trajectory to determine the sociocultural circumstances surrounding the media phenomenon. These results also correct and modify certain aspects of Bowness' model to adapt it to the current socioeconomic context that sustains the processes of legitimisation of art today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents original user-based research concerning a Mexican European Diaspora's use of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) for making racial and classed distinctions through the course of sharing and viewing content on their networked profiles. Bourdieu's theoretical framework is used to address the ways in which SNSs usage fosters social capital, exclusion and displays of prejudice and discrimination. We also found useful the analysis of racial distinctions based on participants' references to physical attributes. To illustrate the use of racial and classed distinctions, we specifically consider the use of Facebook and also of A Small World (ASW), an exclusive SNS, regarded as one of few designed for use by 'the wealthy' [Ruiz, 2008. "Five Social Networking Sites for the Wealthy." Forbes. Accessed June 11, 2010. ]. We analyse the term 'naco', a pejorative Mexican term commonly used to refer to vulgarity or inferiority amongst Mexican European and privileged diaspora with strong racial, classed and gendered connotations. The empirical material for this study is based on ethnographic research. Through the analysis of displayed images and text as well as well questionnaires and interviews we found tacit or explicit exclusion, discrimination and segregation through close-knit SNS networks engaged in by our participants, a Mexican privileged European diaspora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women are disproportionately affected by HIV in Guatemala, yet little is known about their experiences with diagnosis, linkage to care, and retention. We conducted qualitative in- depth interviews with 26 MSM and transgender women living with HIV in Guatemala City. HIV diagnosis experiences changed over time with increasing asymptomatic testing at non- governmental organizations. Fear of the physical and social impacts of HIV delayed testing, acceptance of diagnosis, and linkage to HIV care. These fears were driven by layered stigma and discrimination due to non- normative gender expressions and/or sexual orientation. Retention- specific determinants included HIV clinic dynamics and limited employment opportunities. There is an urgent need to improve support systems for early testing and linkage to care and to expand employment opportunities. Stigma and discrimination must be addressed at the family, clinic and contextual levels to reduce fear of diagnosis and improve access to care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the ways in which classed distinctions are related to the construction of increasingly cosmopolitan identities on Social Networking Sites (SNSs) amongst Mexican migrants from relatively privileged backgrounds living in Europe. It centres on how user demographics shape many of the concerns and outcomes pertaining to the use of SNSs. It considers the implications of the fact that SNSs are predominantly used by a demographic considered as non-marginalized, mobile and as possessing relatively privileged economic, cultural and social backgrounds. It analyses the ways in which online identities are constructed on SNS profiles using multimedia content to represent specific lifestyles and cultural practices that are used to make distinctions amongst participants, and are related to social, cultural and economic capital. A critical analysis is presented as to how users represent cosmopolitan identities online through the display of tastes and lifestyles in SNS content and into how these representations relate to users' privileged positions in Mexican society. Bourdieu's concept of distinction is used to emphasize the utility of considering different forms of capital in analysing the use of SNSs and profile content generated by a specific demographic. This article demonstrates how the analysis of SNS use may contribute towards an understanding of how classed distinctions are made based on this use and of how users negotiate the posting of profile content according to these distinctions and manage (select, edit and share) their representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of emerging digital culture in Brazil demands an understanding of certain aspects of Brazilian life. This article examines the relationship between Brazilian socio-economic and cultural factors, and digital development. Having initially outlined inequalities in media and digital provision, the article proceeds to examine Brazilian policy on the creation of an information society through digital inclusion programs and the provision of free and open source software (FOSS). The analysis considers policies of the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, and considers the concept of 'peeracy', a hybrid term coined by former Culture Minister Gilberto Gil suggesting equality and rights of access and sharing. The article examines digital take-up besides other media consumption patterns in Brazil, analyses the impact of telecentros and 'lan houses' (both being public access spaces for digital participation) and concludes with an evaluation of the link between participation in digital culture and the empowerment of citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]