Unearthing Ethnocentrism in Music Research: Latin American Experiences with Ethnomusicology

Latin American Studie

Bambuco, Tango and Bolero: Music, Identity, and Class Struggles in Medellin, Colombia, 1930-1953

This dissertation explores the articulation of music, identity, and class struggles in the reception and consumption of three genres of popular music in a peripheral capital during a period of social and political turmoil. It explores the connections between two simultaneous historical processes in the mid-twentieth century. Colombian society experienced the rise of mass media and the society of mass consumption in Colombia and the outbreak of a social and political strife, a period usually known as La Violencia. Through the analysis of written material, especially the press, this work illustrates the use of aesthetic judgments to establish differences in ethnicity, social class, and gender. Another important aspect of the study focuses on the adoption of the genres by different groups, not only to demarcate differences at the local level, but as means to inscribe themselves within larger social imaginaries. In this way, bambuco articulates the contradictions and paradoxes brought about in the way Antioqueños (the regional community) want to belong to the nation. Tango articulates the difference between the regional whitened identity, the so-called raza antioqueña (Antioqueño race), and the mestizo (mixed ethnicity) imaginary associated to the nation's capital. Finally, the adoption of bolero embodies the aspirations of the middle classes to gain access to transnational and cosmopolitan imaginaries, generating in the process a de-politization of the space of social struggles that characterizes popular culture. Using a diachronic approach, the dissertation illustrates the variations of musical practices according to particular social and political circumstances. The discussion includes the musical and textual analysis of a few representative pieces of the repertoire

Marketing Turistico : La Calidad en el Servicio Turistico de Aventura

El presente trabajo para optar al título de licenciadas en mercadotecnia. Tiene como tema principal marketing turístico, el cual tiene como subtema la calidad en el servicio turístico de aventura. El objetivo general de este estudio es conocer los elementos que forman parte de la calidad en el servicio turístico de aventura. La base teórica que sustenta esta investigación está fundamentada a partir de las normas y políticas de calidad, INTUR rige las empresas que brindan el servicio de turismo, de igual forma autores especialista en el tema de marketing turístico entre algunos tenemos; Philip Kotler y Gary Armstrong, William stanton, Cristopher lovelock, Amparo Sancho, entre otros. Así mismo aplicamos en este documento las normas APA sexta edición. Para la elaboración de este documento se aplicó la metodología de investigación documental, y se aplicó las herramientas de observación y recolección de información propias de la metodología empleada. El instrumento usado para la recolección de información fue la elaboración de una guía documental, fichas bibliográficas y fuentes de internet, que contienen textos e investigaciones de diferentes autores que han trabajado en la materia de la Calidad en servicios turísticos de aventura. Esta investigación de seminario de graduación está compuesta por: resumen, introducción, justificación, objetivos, desarrollo de tres capítulos, conclusión y bibliografía

Navigating the sociocultural landscape in service design

This paper reports on a case study where a service design approach was implemented to develop strategies for scaling-up a social enterprise, building on design as a meaning-making and framing practice. Context deconstruction methods drawn from semiotics and cultural studies were introduced during user research. These methods facilitated exploration of global and local sociocultural trends, mapping business category themes and competing offers, and identifying potential user groups’ cultural codes – i.e. expectations, aspirations and socio-symbolic aspects of consumption that influence users’ value perception. Subsequently, insights translated into strategies and guidelines for reframing the service value proposition and touchpoints to appeal to a wider potential user range. Results indicate that widening exploration from a user- to a context-centred approach enhances designers’ strategic skills, building stronger capability to observe and interpret sociocultural needs and attitudes. In turn, this highlights the central role of the service designer in leveraging the acceptance and diffusion of innovations

Un parque temático de geomineria en el distrito minero de Vetas-California (Santander): un enfoque integrado para evaluar el geoturismo y el potencial de la geoeducación

The province of Soto Norte (Santander), Colombia, is known for its mining tradition in the municipalities of Vetas and California. Four centuries ago, mining exploitation was developed and environmental liabilities were generated, which put at risk in activity. Many defend the topographic and vegetal restoration of exhausted mining operations, burying them or sealing them. However, when these works have brought out mineral outcrops of worldwide interest or have allowed access to galleries excavated many centuries ago that have provided valuable archaeological remains that have served to learn a little more about our history. Therefore, in the face of the generally accepted idea that the restoration of a mining waste inevitably passes through its burial or sealing. Geotourism around the mining industry is an emerging sector that contributes not only to the diffusion of the interesting geological and mining heritage of the Vetas-California mining district (Santander), Colombia, but also to the development of local communities. Therefore, this mining district can be transformed in a geomining thematic park to protect the natural resources and to promote the growth of the local, regional and national economy.La provincia de Soto Norte (Santander), Colombia, es conocida por su tradición minera en los municipios de Vetas y California. Hace cuatro siglos se desarrollaron explotaciones mineras y se generaron pasivos ambientales que pusieron en riesgo la actividad. Muchos defienden la restauración topográfica y vegetal de las explotaciones mineras agotadas, enterrándolas o sellándolas. Sin embargo, cuando estos trabajos han sacado a la luz afloramientos minerales de interés mundial o han permitido el acceso a galerías excavadas hace muchos siglos, han proporcionado valiosos restos arqueológicos que han servido para conocer un poco más nuestra historia. Por ello, frente a la idea generalmente aceptada de que la restauración de un residuo minero pasa inevitablemente por su enterramiento o sellado, el geoturismo en torno a la minería es un sector emergente que contribuye no sólo a la difusión del interesante patrimonio geológico y minero del distrito minero de Vetas-California (Santander), Colombia, sino también al desarrollo de las comunidades locales, razón por la cual este distrito minero puede transformarse en un parque temático geominero para proteger los recursos naturales y promover el crecimiento de la economía local, regional y nacional

Switch the channel: using cultural codes for designing and positioning sustainable products and services for mainstream audiences

An important step towards achieving sustainability is to encourage a wide uptake of more resource-efficient consumption patterns by the mainstream of society. In this paper, it is argued that by paying more attention to the elaboration of meaning – or symbolic value – designers can develop innovations that are more appealing and relevant to a wider range of potential users, especially by positioning sustainable products, services, and systems as aspirational choices that lead the user to improved well-being and happiness. The theoretical proposition is explored in the context of sustainable Product Service Systems (sustainable PSS), analysing the opportunities they pose for systemic disruption as radical innovations, and proposing a design framework for tackling the cultural barriers for their mainstream adoption. Based on the theoretical propositions, an initial methodological framework for the integration of semiotic and cultural analysis methods to the design process is discussed, in order to better support designers in identify the cultural codes that can make sustainable PSS innovations more relevant and desirable in their socio-cultural context. In exploring the potential of semiotics and cultural analysis methods as a strategy to improve the value proposition of sustainable innovations, we offer a new perspective for understanding the symbolic aspects of consumption as social signifier, and highlight the opportunities this opens for sustainable design to influence societal transformation

El «Nou Diccionari Normatiu de la Llengua Catalana»

This article describes the process by which the Nou Diccionari Normatiu de la Llengua Catalana (NDNLC) has been made; this dictionary brings up to date and regularizes Pompeu Fabra’s Diccionari General de la Llengua Catalana (DGLC), which implies, on the one hand, adding to the dictionary new words brought about by different social habits and by the progress of Science and technology, and, on the other hand, bringing the contents of the dictionary up to date. This project has been carried out in three different phases. The first consisted in creating a general Computer data base (BDOL) which contains, besides the DGLC, words belonging both to the common language and to specific fields; in this first phase a study of the DGLC was also carried out, with two aims: a) to analyse the text itself and in doing so select whatever Information might be considered obsolete today, and b) to find out the criteria which Fabra used to make the dictionary, which are implicit in the text. In the second phase the lexicographic criteria by which the dictionary was to be made were established, its entries (both words and phrases) were selected, the old articles were revised and new ones were created. Finally, in the third phase the data base specifically for the NDNLC was created; this contains all the Information of the Nou Diccionari Normatiu de la Llengua Catalana, organised into articles

Influence of bisphosphonates on alveolar bone density: a histomorphometric analysis

This study is a histomorphometrical analysis of the influence of the bisphosphonate alendronate on alveolar bone density. Eighteen male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to a control group (n = 9) that received no medication and an experimental group (n = 9) that received oral alendronate (1 mg/kg) from birth until euthanization at 3 months of age. Semi-serial 4-µm-thick transverse sections were obtained from the region between the roots of the left maxillary first molar, stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and examined with a Zeiss Axioskop II optical microscope for histomorphometric analysis. The images were captured with a digital camera coupled with the microscope and connected to a computer, and were analyzed using Image J 1.34s image-analysis software. A 1,200-point grid was positioned onto each digitized image. The number of intersection points of grid lines in the bone tissue was counted. The ratio between the number of points in the bone tissue and the total number of points of the grid (1,200) was used to determine the bone density of the analyzed tissue. Data from the control and experimental groups were compared and analyzed statistically by the Student's t-test (p = 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.3754) in the alveolar bone density between the control and alendronate-treated animals. It may be concluded that the bisphosphonate alendronate did not alter the morphology of the alveolar bone, maintaining its structural tissue characteristics in healthy animals.São Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP) and a research postgraduate scholarship granted by the Brazilian Government Research Funding Agency CAPES. The authors are indebted to the Department of Physiology of Ribeirão Preto Dental School, University of São Paulo, Brazil, and to the histotechnician MS. Fátima Aparecida Silveira from the Service Pathology of Bauru Dental School, University of São Paulo (USP), Brazi

Pending issues in protection, productivity growth, and poverty reduction

This paper selectively synthesizes much of the research on Latin American and Caribbean labor markets in recent years. Several themes emerge that are particularly relevant to ongoing policy dialogues. First, labor legislation matters, but markets may be less segmented than previously thought. The impetus to voluntary informality, which appears to be a substantial fraction of the sector, implies that the design of social safety nets and labor legislation needs to take a more integrated view of the labor market, taking into account the cost-benefit analysis workers and firms make about whether to interact with formal institutions. Second, the impact of labor market institutions on productivity growth has probably been underemphasized. Draconian firing restrictions increase litigation and uncertainty surrounding worker separations, reduce turnover and job creation, and poorly protect workers. But theory and anecdotal evidence also suggest that they, and other related state or union induced rigidities, may have an even greater disincentive effect on technological adoption, which accounts for half of economic growth. Finally, institutions can affect poverty and equity, although the effects seem generally small and channels are not always clear. Overall, the present constellation of labor regulations serves workers and firms poorly and both could benefit from substantial reform.Labor Markets,Labor Standards,Economic Theory&Research,Work&Working Conditions,Labor Management and Relations

Cultural context and service design: developing critical and meaning-making capacity

This paper reports on the experimental introduction of a socio-cultural lens to the design process, to aid in mapping symbolic aspects of consumption: i.e. users’ expectations, aspirations and identification needs and the sociocultural rules at play in the context of the innovation. An action research intervention was implemented with design students to investigate how applied semiotics and cultural analysis methods support user research and meaning-making during the design process. Students were provided with theories, activities and templates to facilitate the exploration of global and local socio-cultural trends, positioning of innovation in the cultural category and mapping codes and other contextual socio-symbolic signifiers that influence users’ preferences and choices. Results indicate that cultural context analysis contributes to build critical thinking skills and capacity in designers, and enables a wider awareness of the mediating role of design in the acceptance and diffusion of innovations