Power and Cultures of the World. Developing New Social Architectures of Influence in the UN: A Network Analysis

The most important sociologists have discussed whether it is the social structure that produces individual behaviours or the latters are only the results of individuals’ will. In the literature of international relations, as well, a similar debate about the structure-agency problem has developed: in this context, the central question is whether or not there exist external sources of influences for the decisions that states take in international politics. This article, by sharing an integrative and post-structural approach (Archer, 1995; Foucault, 1970) proposes an empirical analysis of the formation of power architectures within the UN-SC surrounding the question of Intercultural Dialogue. A Social Network Analysis checks whether the way actors exercise power is concurrently the result of individual wills whose contents follows both institutional and cultural conditioning. Findings show that there is not a fixed structure of power relations which can be given for granted but it is continuously negotiated through both practices and social interactions. However, both institutional and, above all, cultural factors shape power relations

La crisi dell’identità sociale tra pregiudizi, xenofobie e razzismi. L’inclusione dell’altro in tempo di crisi in Italia e Spagna

By focusing on the sociological literature investigating the effects of processes of identity constructions on the formation of prejudice, racism and xenophobia, this article compares attitudes towards immigrants in Spain and Italy for the years before and after the recent socio-economic crisis in Europe. It highlights how different ways of framing its own and others identity, produce for people different results in terms of attitudes towards outsiders. In particular, from the statistical analysis of European Social Survey data, it is clear that the Italian society is more prejudiced towards migrants than the Spanish one, and mainly shows a cultural or ethnic type of racism, while in Spain people have become more inclusive in a decade time. However, the findings also illustrate that, during the years of the socio-economic crisis, the figures of extremist individuals have increased in both countries. Despite this, Spain has shown an important rise of inclusive attitudes towards immigrants; while, in Italy, if renewed and more inclusive immigration policies are formulated, the situation could improve

Civil Society and International Governance

Structures and processes occurring within and between states are no longer the only – or even the most important - determinants of those political, economic and social developments and dynamics that shape the modern world. Many issues, including the environment, health, crime, drugs, migration and terrorism, can no longer be contained within national boundaries. As a result, it is not always possible to identify the loci for authority and legitimacy, and the role of governments has been called into question. Civil Society anf International Governance critically analyses the increasing impact of nongovernmental organisations and civil society on global and regional governance. Written from the standpoint of advocates of civil society and addressing the role of civil society in relation to the UN, the IMF, the G8 and the WTO, this volume assess the role of various non-state actors from three perspectives: theoretical aspects, civil society interaction with the European Union and civil society and regional governance outside Europe, specifically Africa, East Asia and the Middle East. It demonstrates that civil society’s role has been more complex than one defined in terms, essentially, of resistance and includes actual participation in governance as well as multi-facetted contributions to legitimising and democratising global and regional governance. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, international relations, civil society, sociology, European politics and global governance. 1. Introduction David Armstrong and Julie Gilson Part 1: Theory 2. Civil Society and the Democratisation of Global Public Space Debora Spini 3. Collective and Social Identity: A Theoretical Analysis of the Role of Civil Society in the Construction of Supra-National Societies Valeria Bello 4. Organized Civil Society and Political Representation in the EU Arena Carlo Ruzza Part 2: The European Union 5. Europeanization of Non-State Actors: Towards a Framework for Analysis Karolina Boro?ska-Hryniewiecka 6. Between Localisation and Europeanisation: Non-Governmental Organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina Erica Panighello 7. European Integration, Cross-Border Cooperation and Third-Sector Mobilizations in the Basque Country Xabier Itçaina Part 3: Civil Society Outside Europe 8. Governance and Non-Governmental Organisations in East Asia: Building Region-Wide Coalitions Julie Gilson 9. Civil Society and Regional Governance in Eastern and Southern Africa Andréas Godsäter and Frederik Söderbaum 10. The Role of Civil Society in Regional Governance in the Middle East Michael Shulz 11. Transnational Labour Mobilization in the Americas Marcelo Saguie

Civil society and international governance: the role of non-state actors in the EU, Africa, Asia and Middle East

Structures and processes occurring within and between states are no longer the only – or even the most important - determinants of those political, economic and social developments and dynamics that shape the modern world. Many issues, including the environment, health, crime, drugs, migration and terrorism, can no longer be contained within national boundaries. As a result, it is not always possible to identify the loci for authority and legitimacy, and the role of governments has been called into question. \ud \ud Civil Society anf International Governance critically analyses the increasing impact of nongovernmental organisations and civil society on global and regional governance. Written from the standpoint of advocates of civil society and addressing the role of civil society in relation to the UN, the IMF, the G8 and the WTO, this volume assess the role of various non-state actors from three perspectives: theoretical aspects, civil society interaction with the European Union and civil society and regional governance outside Europe, specifically Africa, East Asia and the Middle East. It demonstrates that civil society’s role has been more complex than one defined in terms, essentially, of resistance and includes actual participation in governance as well as multi-facetted contributions to legitimising and democratising global and regional governance

Physical quality of different industrial versus non-industrial eggs obtained from groceries and markets in southern Chile

The aim of this study was to determine external and internal quality parameters of industrial (cages and cage-free) and family farms eggs that are normally available at groceries in developing countries such as Chile. Two experiments were performed to evaluate 1) quality differences between family farms and industrial eggs and 2) to determine quality differences between brown shell eggs from different industrial cage and cage-free systems. Experiment 1 consisted of five groups where three of them were industrial eggs: i) cage white shell eggs, ii) cage brown shell eggs, iii) brown shell cage-free eggs; and two of them were non-industrial: iv) family farm brown shell eggs and v) family farm blue shell eggs. Experiment 2 had four groups, all brown-shell types of eggs were used: i) cage brown eggs, ii) cage-free from aviary eggs, iii) southern free-range eggs and iv) central free-range eggs. In both Experiments, egg weight, egg length, egg width, egg shape index, Haugh units, albumen ratio, egg yolk, yolk weight and albumen weight, blood and meat spots were determined. In Experiment 1, brown and blue-shelled family farm eggs were equal in terms of external and internal quality, except for blood spots, with brown eggs having more incidence. In Experiment 2, free-range eggs presented more intense yolk colors compared to those from battery and cages. In both experiments, free-range eggs presented the darker yolk color. It can be concluded that brown and blue-shelled family farm eggs are equal in terms of external and internal quality, except for blood spots, with brown eggs having more incidence. In addition, free-range eggs from the southern part of the country presented better shell quality, whereas free-range eggs presented more intense yolk colors, while those of battery

Alpha- and beta-band oscillations subserve different processes in reactive control of limb movements

The capacity to rapidly suppress a behavioral act in response to sudden instruction to stop is a key cognitive function. This function, called reactive control, is tested in experimental settings using the stop signal task, which requires subjects to generate a movement in response to a go signal or suppress it when a stop signal appears. The ability to inhibit this movement fluctuates over time: sometimes, subjects can stop their response, and at other times, they can not. To determine the neural basis of this fluctuation, we recorded local field potentials (LFPs) in the alpha (6-12 Hz) and beta (13-35 Hz) bands from the dorsal premotor cortex of 2 nonhuman primates that were performing the task. The ability to countermand a movement after a stop signal was predicted by the activity of both bands, each purportedly representing a distinct neural process. The beta band represents the level of movement preparation; higher beta power corresponds to a lower level of movement preparation, whereas the alpha band supports a proper phasic, reactive inhibitory response: movements are inhibited when alpha band power increases immediately after a stop signal. Our findings support the function of LFP bands in generating the signatures of various neural computations that are multiplexed in the brain

Caracterización biosociodemográfica de escolares usuarios de prótesis auditivas adscritos al programa de salud del estudiante de JUNAEB entre el año 2017 y 2019 en las provincias de Concepción y Arauco

Tesis (Licenciado en Fonoaudiología)La pérdida auditiva es una discapacidad que genera diversas dificultades en el desarrollo biopsicosocial de las personas que la padecen, pudiendo afectar a su calidad de vida. Dentro de las diversas implicaciones que causa al no ser detectado a temprana edad se encuentra el retraso en la adquisición lenguaje o el correcto desarrollo de éste. El lenguaje es una herramienta tan importante que su mal funcionamiento afectará negativamente a todas las habilidades cognitivas. El objetivo de esta investigación con enfoque cuantitativo de diseño descriptivo y temporalidad transversal fue conocer las características biosociodemográficas de escolares usuarios de prótesis auditivas adscritos al programa de salud del estudiante de Junaeb entre el año 2017 y 2019 en las provincias de Concepción y Arauco. A través de las clínicas de AUDIREVOX se logró tener acceso a todas las variables de estudio que se necesitaron para caracterizar biosociodemográficamente a la población. Estas variables fueron analizadas a través de una planilla anonimizada con los datos de los participantes en el software Microsoft Excel, versión 2015. Los escolares seleccionados para esta investigación fueron usuarios de prótesis auditivas adscritos al programa de salud del estudiante de JUNAEB entre el año 2017 y 2019, entre 4 años a 23 años 11 meses, de ambos sexos de las provincias de Concepción y Arauco. Se excluyeron de este estudio a todos los sujetos que cuya información estaba incompleta. La muestra del estudio fue compuesta por 86 escolares usuario de prótesis auditivas, de los cuales la mayoría se encontraba entre los 11 y 14 años, siendo 12 años el promedio. Del total de escolares, el 52% correspondió al sexo femenino y el 48% al sexo masculino. La mayor parte de los escolares (83%) asiste a un establecimiento educacional en la provincia de Concepción y tan solo el 17% escolares en la provincia de Arauco

<em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> in the Meat Supply Chain: Detection Methods, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Virulence Factors

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) can cause a wide variety of infections in humans, such as skin and soft tissue infections, bacteremia, pneumonia, and food poisoning. This pathogen could be carried on the nares, skin, and hair of animals and humans, representing a serious problem at the hospital and the community level as well as in the food industry. The pathogenicity of S. aureus is given by bacterial structures and extracellular products, among which are toxins, which could cause staphylococcal diseases transmitted by food (SFD). S. aureus has the ability to develop resistance to antimicrobials (AMR), highlighting methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA), which have resistance to all beta-lactam antibiotics, except to the fifth-generation cephalosporins. Methicillin resistance is primarily mediated by three mechanisms: production of an altered penicillin-binding protein PBP2’ (or PBP2a), encoded by the mecA gene; high production of β-lactamase in borderline oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (BORSA); and mutations in the native PBPs, called modified S. aureus (MODSA). Emerging strains have been isolated from meat-producing animals and retail meat, such as MRSA, MRSA ST398 (associated with livestock), multidrug-resistant (MDR) S. aureus, and enterotoxin-producing S. aureus. Therefore, there is a risk of contamination of meat and meat products during the different processing stages of the meat supply chain