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This paper analyzes the intrahousehold allocation of housework and paid work in five Latin American countries. Prior work has consistently shown that income plays a major role in the region’s large gender gaps in the distribution of unpaid work at the aggregate level. However, the extent to which earnings shape intrahousehold decisions regarding the allocation of unpaid work remains unexplored. Using harmonized time-use surveys for Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, we analyze the relationship between earnings and housework drawing on the framework of the dependency, gender deviance neutralization, and autonomy. We find that in Latin America, increases in women’s absolute earnings are related to decreases in the hours women devote to housework. At the same time, the allocation of men’s time into housework does not seem to be related to their own or their partners’ earnings. Against our expectations, differences in contextual gender inequality across countries does not seem to be relevant. These findings help us assess how well existing theories, formulated to account for phenomena of the developed world, apply to more unequal contexts that have higher levels of gender inequality and where a high proportion of women are excluded from paid work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Latin America, approximately 70 million individuals live with a disability. Although global evidence suggests that people with disabilities are one of the poorest groups and present lower employment rates, the evidence for Latin America is still weak. This article aims to contribute to the literature by estimating and analysing the levels of employment opportunity for persons with disabilities in six countries in Latin America (Chile, Bolivia, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Costa Rica). Using household survey data, we measure inequality of opportunities using the Paes de Barros approach and compare the probability distributions of being employed for people with disabilities according to different individual characteristics. This research makes several contributions to the literature. First, it analyses and compares the characteristics of persons with disabilities in six countries of the region. Second, it is the first paper in the region that computes and compares the levels of employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, using the Human Opportunity Index. Third, it analyses which are the main aspects contributing to the levels of employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in each of the countries. The main results of the study reveal that people with disabilities face high levels of inequality of employment opportunity compared with people without disabilities in the six countries. Peru shows the lowest disadvantage, with higher coverage of opportunities for people with disabilities. Colombia and Costa Rica were the countries where this group presents the largest disadvantages to be employed. In addition, women with disabilities and people with disabilities living in rural areas have a lower probability of being employed compared with people without disabilities. These findings reveal that policies in the region aiming to include this group in the labour market have not been effective, and there is a necessity to guarantee the proper labour inclusion of this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While organisations across the world struggle to extend access to the 522 million living in rural areas without clean water, those who do have access do not necessarily use it. This paper explores why, within areas that have public taps with treated water, some individuals continue to use water from untreated sources. We focus on non-use of available rural water supply systems as well as inconsistent use, a phenomenon typically overlooked. Based on surveys in 12 rural communities with water systems in the Peruvian Amazon and qualitative interviews, this study finds community meeting attendance is important for consistent use as attendance increases social influence and reinforces information about the importance of clean water. Non-users are more likely to be those living furthest from the water source and with lower levels of education. Findings point to ways in which community approaches to heath interventions may be more likely to reach some – those with stronger ties to communities, who live closer and have higher levels of education – than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal immunization rates and vaccine uptake in Latin America vary from country to country. This variability stems from factors related to pregnant women, vaccine recommendations from healthcare providers and the health system. The aim of this paper is to describe women's knowledge and attitudes to maternal immunziation, and barriers to access and vaccination related decision-making processes in Latin American countries. We conducted focus group discussions (FGD) with pregnant women in five middle-income countries: Argentina, Brazil, Honduras, Mexico and Peru, between July 2016 and July 2018. The FGDs were conducted by trained qualitative researchers in diverse clinics located in the capital cities of these countries. A total of 162 pregnant women participated in the FGDs. In general, participants were aware of the recommendation to receive vaccines during pregnancy but lacked knowledge regarding the diseases prevented by these vaccines. Pregnant women expressed a desire for clearer and more detailed communication on maternal vaccines by their healthcare professionals instead of relying on other sources of information such as the internet. Overall, participants had positive attitudes towards maternal immunization and were open to receiving vaccines in pregnancy based on general trust they have in recommendations made by their healthcare providers. The main obstacles pregnant women said they encounter were mainly centered around their clinical experience: long waiting times, vaccine shortages, and impolite behavior of healthcare providers or clinical staff. Important advances have been made in Latin America to promote maternal immunization. Results from this study show that an important aspect that remains to be addressed, and is crucial in improving vaccine uptake in pregnancy, is women's clinical experience. We recommend pregnant women to be treated as a priority population for providing immunization and related healthcare education. It is imperative to train healthcare providers in health communication so they can effectively communicate with pregnant women regarding maternal vaccines and can fill knowledge gaps that otherwise might be covered by unreliable sources dispensing inaccurate information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal immunization rates and vaccine uptake in Latin America vary from country to country. This variability stems from factors related to pregnant women, vaccine recommendations from healthcare providers and the health system. The aim of this paper is to describe women's knowledge and attitudes to maternal immunziation, and barriers to access and vaccination related decision-making processes in Latin American countries. We conducted focus group discussions (FGD) with pregnant women in five middle-income countries: Argentina, Brazil, Honduras, Mexico and Peru, between July 2016 and July 2018. The FGDs were conducted by trained qualitative researchers in diverse clinics located in the capital cities of these countries. A total of 162 pregnant women participated in the FGDs. In general, participants were aware of the recommendation to receive vaccines during pregnancy but lacked knowledge regarding the diseases prevented by these vaccines. Pregnant women expressed a desire for clearer and more detailed communication on maternal vaccines by their healthcare professionals instead of relying on other sources of information such as the internet. Overall, participants had positive attitudes towards maternal immunization and were open to receiving vaccines in pregnancy based on general trust they have in recommendations made by their healthcare providers. The main obstacles pregnant women said they encounter were mainly centered around their clinical experience: long waiting times, vaccine shortages, and impolite behavior of healthcare providers or clinical staff. Important advances have been made in Latin America to promote maternal immunization. Results from this study show that an important aspect that remains to be addressed, and is crucial in improving vaccine uptake in pregnancy, is women's clinical experience. We recommend pregnant women to be treated as a priority population for providing immunization and related healthcare education. It is imperative to train healthcare providers in health communication so they can effectively communicate with pregnant women regarding maternal vaccines and can fill knowledge gaps that otherwise might be covered by unreliable sources dispensing inaccurate information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing macro-historical scholarship tends to assert rather than demonstrate the wider impact of nationalism. Yet, state-sponsored national ideologies permeate the broader reaches of society to varying degrees. To investigate variations in the consolidation of official nationalism, this paper combines the content analysis of school textbooks as state-regulated and picture postcards as primarily market-driven sources. Building on this novel methodological approach, we find that textbooks published in mid-twentieth-century Argentina, Mexico, and Peru promoted a similar popular nationalism that portrayed the lower classes as "true" national subjects. However, picture postcards from the same period demonstrate that the consolidation of this official national ideology varied. In Mexico and Peru, the new state-sponsored conceptions of nationhood gained presence in public life, but they did not to take hold in Argentina. We conclude that studying the top-down nationalist messages promoted by states should not be equated with studying their ideological impact in public life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a key component of efforts to improve sexual and reproductive outcomes for young people. While many governments have established policies and curricula for CSE, there are no quantitative measures of the quality of their implementation in schools. We describe the construction of a school-level index to measure CSE implementation quality using data from Peru, Guatemala, Kenya and Ghana for validation. The composite index represents seven key components of a successful programme: range of topics, values imparted, teaching methods, teacher training, resources available, monitoring and evaluation, and the school environment. These components are combined into two sub-indices (curriculum content and implementation context), which together provide a summary index of implementation quality. We present scores for the seven components, the two sub-indices and the summary index for each country. Ghana scored highest on the summary index, while Guatemala scored lowest, but country rankings varied within the different components. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for improving school-based CSE in these countries. An assessment of the validity and reliability of the index indicates it can be used in other settings and could be a useful tool for educationalists, researchers and programme implementers to measure CSE implementation quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programmes in schools depends on the development and implementation of strong policy in support of CSE. This paper offers a comparative analysis of the policy environment governing school-based CSE in four low- and middle-income countries at different stages of programme implementation: Ghana, Peru, Kenya and Guatemala. Based on an analysis of current policy and legal frameworks, key informant interviews and recent regional reviews, the analysis focuses on seven policy-related levers that contribute to successful school-based sexuality education programmes. The levers cover policy development trends; current policy and legal frameworks for sexuality education; international commitments affecting CSE policies; the various actors involved in shaping CSE; and the partnerships and coalitions of actors that influence CSE policy. Our analysis shows that all four countries benefit from a policy environment that, if properly leveraged, could lead to a stronger implementation of CSE in schools. However, each faces several key challenges that must be addressed to ensure the health and wellbeing of their young people. Latin American and African countries show notable differences in the development and evolution of their CSE policy environments, providing valuable insights for programme development and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 15 years there have been dramatic shifts in the consensus over how best to cope with natural hazards in economically developing regions such as South America. One very positive outcome of the United Nations sponsored International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR 1990–2000) has been that there is now greater interchange between the work of earth scientists examining the processes and mechanics of hazard occurrence and impact, and social scientists exploring the causes of human vulnerability to hazard – and thereby disaster. This paper traces the development of this new understanding with reference to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in Peru, one of the most hazardous countries in South America. Particular focus is placed on the excellent progress currently being made by scientists in better understanding the physical dimensions of natural hazard exposure, and the ground-breaking work by social scientists in promoting new approaches to understanding and mitigating human vulnerability to disaster. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need to build on this research to produce more inclusive, incultured and unified strategies of disaster mitigation at the local, national and international levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the field of community participation in health promotion as understood from the viewpoint of social psychology. It discusses ongoing dialogues between health promotion policy discourses in relation to community involvement in development, and theoretical and practical contributions of social psychology in this respect. In particular, it introduces a social psychological framework for understanding and aiding community participation, grounded in the works of Jürgen Habermas and Paulo Freire. A community-based adolescent sexual health promotion initiative taking place in highly deprived communities in Peru serves as a case study to illustrate the approach. Findings are discussed with respect to the outcomes achieved, the light shed on the understanding of sexual health, and the impact on the adolescents partaking of the project. In the light of the results of the practical implementation of the theoretical approach outlined, the paper argues that social psychology is well positioned to contribute to community development, in particular to improving understanding and aiding of social processes of participation and change. Areas that require further research both at theoretical and at practical levels are identified and discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Free trade agreements (FTAs) can affect food environments and non-communicable disease risks through altering the availability of highly-processed foods. Few studies have quantified such effects. Using a natural experiment this paper quantifies changes in Peru's soft-drink market before/after entry into the US-Peru FTA, compared with Bolivia, a county with no such agreement.Methods: Difference-in-difference models were used to test for between country differences in the rate of per capita foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, soft-drink imports, the volumes of various soft-drinks sold, and the volumes of sugar from soft-drinks before/after FTA ratification (2006) and enforcement (2009).Results: In Peru average per capita FDI-inflows rose from US$103.11 in the pre-ratification period to US$269.79 post-ratification, with little change in Bolivia. This corresponded with a 122 % increase in Peruvian soft-drink production. There was a significant between-country difference in FDI-inflows pre-/post-ratification (DID:1.07, 95 % CI:0.19-1.96; p = 0.01). Despite little difference in total per capita soft-drink sales volumes there was a significant between-country difference in per capita sugar from soft-drinks pre-/post enforcement (DID:-0.99, 95 % CI: -1.91-0.06; p = 0.03) with stagnated growth in Peru and continued growth in Bolivia. This resulted from stagnated sugar sweetened carbonates growth and increased bottled water, juice and sports & energy drinks growth in Peru, with continued carbonates growth in Bolivia. There was a significant between-country difference in per capita carbonates (DID: -1.44, 95 % CI: -2.52-0.36, p = 0.01) and bottled water (DID:0.63; 95 % CI: -0.01-1.26; p = 0.04) sales volumes.Conclusions: The FTA may have resulted in increased FDI-inflows and soft-drink production and also contributed to the diversification of soft drinks produced and sold in Peru with some positive (stagnated carbonates and increased bottled water) and some negative (increased juice and sports & energy drinks) implications for nutrition. These changes were not evident in Bolivia. These results should be interpreted cautiously given the study design limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary What is the relationship between formal participatory structures and the onset and evolution of popular mobilization? Under what conditions does mobilization bring about policy and even institutional change? This article examines mining conflict—and in particular the project approval stage, when mobilization is most likely to interrupt extraction—in Peru. Utilizing a path-dependent framework, the paper finds that very limited spaces for community participation in the environmental impact assessment process in fact have prompted and transformed popular mobilization in extractive zones, leading to outside scrutiny and the stalling of major projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neoliberalisation of water constitutes an emblematic illustration of the enduring encroachment of neoliberalism upon nature. Previous studies in Latin America have examined the transition from Keynesian water utilities to the neoliberal provisions of water services, but paid less attention to the adaptability of the state apparatus and the systematic adjustments required to sustain neoliberalising strategies. Addressing this gap in the literature, this paper examines two decades of change in the public water services of Lima, Peru, as one of the Latin American countries where neoliberal reforms have been more comprehensive and resilient. The analysis focuses on the water policies advanced by the national state and with the reconfiguration of the state apparatus as a result of extra-economic factors. The neoliberalisation of water may have improved the situation at the aggregate level, but inequalities, scarcities and vulnerabilities have been maintained and even reinforced. The achievements and failures of the neoliberalisation of water have ultimately depended on a range of politico-economic and socioecological interactions creatively mediated by the state apparatus. In the end, however, the neoliberal adjustments in the structure and operation of the state have replicated the double exploitation of nature and society that has long shaped Peruvian economic history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a critical analysis of the transnational interplay of cultural, educational and economic forces that culminated with the establishment of a Chinese language and cultural centre in Peru, the Confucius Institute. Confucius Institutes are government-sponsored cultural centres devoted mainly to Chinese language education around the world. They have been referred to as examples of China’s soft power and subjected to criticisms. With a substantive theory of power as the departure point, this article analyses the power relations surrounding the case of Confucius Institutes in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a new framework for measuring civilian control of the armed forces in post-transition Latin America. Specifically, it builds on approaches that focus on military privileges and military protest, particularly in the face of government challenges to those privileges. Adding mission performance as a third dimension both helps us measure civilian control more accurately and provides causal leverage, as the three dimensions can interact. The paper demonstrates the utility of the framework through a close-up analysis of a critical case: civil–military relations in Peru since the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyzes the evolution and main features of the railway system of Peru in the 19th and early 20th centuries. From mid-19lh century railroads were considered a promise for achieving progress. Several railroads were then built in Peru, especially in 1850-75 and in 1910-30. With the construction of railroads, Peruvians saved time in travelling and carrying freight. The faster service of railroads did not necessarily come at the cost of higher passenger fares and freight rates. Fares and rates were lower for railroads than for mules, especially for long distances. However, for some routes (especially for short distances with many curves), the traditional system of llamas remained as the lowest pecuniary cost (but also slowest) mode of transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although power differentials which enable the components of stigma to unfold have been identified, literature that demonstrates the gendered disparities in stigmatization is scarce. Using a gender-based framework, this paper aims first at understanding the gendered social cues which produce the stigma in mental illness enacted by the general population. Second, it highlights the influence of gender on the everyday experiences of a severe and persistent mental illness and the related stigmatization. Results are drawn from a combination of ethnographic and qualitative methods including a field ethnography of two health centres, one psychiatric hospital, and participants’ households and neighbourhoods, two group discussions with members of the general population participating in gender-specific social support groups (N = 12 women/5 men), and illness narratives of men and women with a severe and persistent mental illness (N = 22), which was conducted from May to August 2006 in a poor, urban district of Peru. It is argued that in a society like that of Peru where gender roles are segregated into specific social and economic fields, gendered expectations shape both the experience of a severe and persistent mental illness and the stigmatization of people with such a mental illness in a gender-specific way. Not only do gender inequalities create the conditions leading to a power differential which enables stigmatization to unfold, but stigma is constructed as much around gendered-defined social roles as it is enacted in distinct social spheres for men and women with a severe and persistent mental illness. The gendered experience of stigmatization must, therefore, be fully understood in order to design more effective interventions that would challenge stereotypical perceptions and discriminatory practices, and reduce their effect on the everyday life of the mentally ill in Peru. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper illustrates the process of program evaluation for ProJoven, the Peruvian youth labor training program. The program provides beneficiaries with basic three-month training in low-skill occupations and with internship opportunities. ProJoven's design promotes gender equality by encouraging female participation in training for traditionally male-dominated occupations and by providing subsidies so mothers with children can participate. Complementing detailed fieldwork in search of the appropriate control group, the econometric work implements a two-stage matching procedure that includes propensity scores (on the first stage), and gender and labor income (on the second one). The matching on gender allows identification of differentiated program impacts on men and women. The matching on income attacks the problem of Ashenfelter's Dips. The evaluation shows substantial differences in ProJoven's impact for men and women. Eighteen months after participation in the program, employment rates for women improved by about 15% (while employment for men reduced by 11%), gender occupational segregation reduced by 30% and women's labor income improved by 93% (while men's earnings increased by 11%). On the other hand, the cost of the promotion of gender equality represented only 1.5% of ProJoven's total budget. These results suggest that labor training programs that promote equal gender participation have disproportionately positive effects on outcomes for women trainees in a labor market with substantial gender differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National legislation to mandate the use or consideration of Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) in government institutions is increasingly emerging as a strategy for FLOSS advocates in Latin America and the broader developing world. Such movements for the political use and regulation of FLOSS mark a distinct turn in the objectives and work of FLOSS advocates, whose activities largely focused on the dissemination of FLOSS as a technological artifact. This paper investigates the network of diverse actors involved in promoting FLOSS legislation in Peru, one of the first nations where a movement for FLOSS legislation emerged. It emphasizes that crucial to the work of FLOSS' network actors is not their merely technological productivity, but their cultural and political productivity -- that is, their ability to produce diverse body of meaning made both evident and mobile in narratives of FLOSS use and adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Latin America is undergoing the epidemiologic transition that occurred earlier in developed countries, and is likely to face a gigantic epidemic of heart disease in the next few years unless urgent action is taken. The first essential component of any effective cardiovascular disease (CVD) control program is to establish reliable estimates of cardiovascular disease-related morbidity and mortality. However, such data from population-based studies in Latin America are still lacking. In this paper, we present the design and operation of PREVENCION (Estudio Peruano de Prevalencia de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, for Peruvian Study of the Prevalence of Cardiovascular diseases). PREVENCION is an ongoing population-based study on a representative sample of the civilian non-institutionalized population of the second largest city in Peru. Its population is comparable to the rest of the Peruvian urban population and closely resembles other Latin American populations in countries such as Bolivia and Ecuador. Our study will contribute to the enormous task of understanding and preventing CVD in Latin America. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Three Latin American affiliates of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere Region, Inc. (IPPF/WHR) have begun to integrate gender-based violence screening and services into sexual and reproductive health programs. This paper presents results of a baseline study conducted in the affiliates. Although most staff support integration and many had already begun to address violence in their work, additional sensitization and training, as well as institution-wide changes are needed to provide services effectively and to address needs of women experiencing violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the integration of Latin American marine fisheries into the global production system in the post-1945 period and the role of foreign and domestic fleets in this process. Through reference to the state-denial theories found in the globalisation literature, it charts the impact that the globalisation process has had upon the exploitation and sustainability of fish stocks in Latin American waters. It argues that while globalisation may indeed boost environmental awareness and lead to a more sustainable level of production through the decreased influence of local political interests, this has yet to happen in the principal Latin American fishing nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]