A Psychology of Liberation for Central America: The Unfinished Work of Ignacio Martín-Baró (1942–1989)

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
José María Gondra

AbstractOn November 16, 1989 the world was shocked by the news of the assassination of six Jesuits at the campus of the Universidad Centro Americana José Simeón Cañas (UCA) in San Salvador, El Salvador. Among those murdered by government soldiers was Ignacio Martín-Baró, a PhD in social psychology from the University of Chicago who at that time was the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Vice-President of the Interamerican Society of Psychology (SIP). Drawing on Martín-Baró’s published writings and non-published academic papers and correspondence, this article traces the evolution of the Spanish-born Jesuit who became a leading authority among Latin American social psychologists. In particular, it analyzes his project of becoming a clinical psychologist under the influence of psychoanalysis, his critical social psychology aimed to “de-ideologize” the oppressed social classes of El Salvador, and his ultimate project of a psychology of liberation for Latin America. Martín-Baró’s work came to a tragic end just when it began to bear fruit, but it stands as a testimony to a lifetime committed to the human values of democracy, social justice and service to society’s poorest and most neglected.

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 1328-1333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguela A. Caniza ◽  
Gabriela Maron ◽  
Jonathan McCullers ◽  
Wilfrido A. Clara ◽  
Rafael Cedillos ◽  
...  

Objective.The lack of well-trained, dedicated infection control personnel prevents optimal control of nosocomial infections in Latin American pediatric oncology centers. We collaboratively planned and implemented a multinational training course in San Salvador, El Salvador, to address this need.Methods.The course relied on its organizers' experience in training international healthcare providers, the availability of the International Training Center for Nurses, previous infection control collaboration with the Hospital Nacional de Niños Benjamin Bloom, and resources available at the University of El Salvador. The 4-week course consisted of lecture sessions combined with practical laboratory and hospital experience.Results.Two courses, one conducted in 2005 and one in 2006, trained 44 professionals from 15 Latin American countries. Evaluations showed that course content and teacher performance met the trainees' needs and that all trainees acquired the necessary knowledge and skills.Conclusions.The course met the need for the training of Latin American infection control practitioners. Our experience can serve as a model for other organizations interested in strengthening infection control and prevention at international sites.


1978 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-17
Author(s):  
Roque Dalton ◽  
Roberto Armijo

Ro'que Dalton (1933-75) is a well-known poet who was forced to live in exile for many years; he was murdered on his return to El Salvador in 1975. Roberto Armijo (b. 1937) has published essays, plays and poems. In 1965 he won the Republica de El Salvador Prize with his book: Francisco de Gavidia, la odisea de su genio. Since 1970 he has been living in exile in Paris. He is Associate Professor at the University of Nanterre and Professor of Latin American Literature at the Sorbonne Nouvelle.


Data ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Domingo Villavicencio-Aguilar ◽  
Edgardo René Chacón-Andrade ◽  
Maria Fernanda Durón-Ramos

Happiness-oriented people are vital in every society; this is a construct formed by three different types of happiness: pleasure, meaning, and engagement, and it is considered as an indicator of mental health. This study aims to provide data on the levels of orientation to happiness in higher-education teachers and students. The present paper contains data about the perception of this positive aspect in two Latin American countries, Mexico and El Salvador. Structure instruments to measure the orientation to happiness were administrated to 397 teachers and 260 students. This data descriptor presents descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation), internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha), and differences (Student’s t-test) presented by country, population (teacher/student), and gender of their orientation to happiness and its three dimensions: meaning, pleasure, and engagement. Stepwise-multiple-regression-analysis results are also presented. Results indicated that participants from both countries reported medium–high levels of meaning and engagement happiness; teachers reported higher levels than those of students in these two dimensions. Happiness resulting from pleasure activities was the least reported in general. Males and females presented very similar levels of orientation to happiness. Only the population (teacher/student) showed a predictive relationship with orientation to happiness; however, the model explained a small portion of variance in this variable, which indicated that other factors are more critical when promoting orientation to happiness in higher-education institutions.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e025530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annina B Schmid ◽  
Kaustubh Adhikari ◽  
Luis Miguel Ramirez-Aristeguieta ◽  
Juan-Camilo Chacón-Duque ◽  
Giovanni Poletti ◽  
...  

IntroductionPain constitutes a major component of the global burden of diseases. Recent studies suggest a strong genetic contribution to pain susceptibility and severity. Whereas most of the available evidence relies on candidate gene association or linkage studies, research on the genetic basis of pain sensitivity using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) is still in its infancy. This protocol describes a proposed GWAS on genetic contributions to baseline pain sensitivity and nociceptive sensitisation in a sample of unrelated healthy individuals of mixed Latin American ancestry.Methods and analysisA GWAS on genetic contributions to pain sensitivity in the naïve state and following nociceptive sensitisation will be conducted in unrelated healthy individuals of mixed ancestry. Mechanical and thermal pain sensitivity will be evaluated with a battery of quantitative sensory tests evaluating pain thresholds. In addition, variation in mechanical and thermal sensitisation following topical application of mustard oil to the skin will be evaluated.Ethics and disseminationThis study received ethical approval from the University College London research ethics committee (3352/001) and from the bioethics committee of the Odontology Faculty at the University of Antioquia (CONCEPTO 01–2013). Findings will be disseminated to commissioners, clinicians and service users via papers and presentations at international conferences.


Author(s):  
Joanne Pransky

Purpose – This article is a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry engineer-turned entrepreneur regarding the evolution, commercialization and challenges of bringing a technological invention to market. Design/methodology/approach – The interviewee is Dr Yoky Matsuoka, the Vice President of Nest Labs. Matsuoka describes her career journey that led her from a semi-professional tennis player who wanted to build a robot tennis buddy, to a pioneer of neurobotics who then applied her multidisciplinary research in academia to the development of a mass-produced intelligent home automation device. Findings – Dr Matsuoka received a BS degree from the University of California, Berkeley and an MS and PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She was also a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT and in Mechanical Engineering at Harvard University. Dr Matsuoka was formerly the Torode Family Endowed Career Development Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington (UW), Director of the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering and Ana Loomis McCandless Professor of Robotics and Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2010, she joined Google X as one of its three founding members. She then joined Nest as VP of Technology. Originality/value – Dr Matsuoka built advanced robotic prosthetic devices and designed complementary rehabilitation strategies that enhanced the mobility of people with manipulation disabilities. Her novel work has made significant scientific and engineering contributions in the combined fields of mechanical engineering, neuroscience, bioengineering, robotics and computer science. Dr Matsuoka was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in which she used the Genius Award money to establish a nonprofit corporation, YokyWorks, to continue developing engineering solutions for humans with physical disabilities. Other awards include the Emerging Inventor of the Year, UW Medicine; IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Early Academic Career Award; Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers; and numerous others. She leads the development of the learning and control technology for the Nest smoke detector and Thermostat, which has saved the USA hundreds of billions of dollars in energy expenses. Nest was sold to Google in 2013 for a record $3.2 billion dollars in cash.


1995 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Quick ◽  
B. L. Thompson ◽  
A. Zuniga ◽  
G. Dominguez ◽  
E. L. De Brizuela ◽  
...  

SummaryIn response to the Latin American cholera epidemic, El Salvador began a prevention programme in April 1991. The first case was confirmed in August, and 700 cases were reported within 3 months. A matched case-control study was conducted in rural La Libertad Department in November 1991. Illness was associated with eating cold cooked or raw seafood (odds ratio [OR] = 7·0; 95% confidence limits [CL] = 1·4, 35·0) and with drinking water outside the home (OR = 8·8; 95% CL = 1·7, 44·6). Assertion of knowledge about how to prevent cholera (OR = 0·2; 95% CL = 0·1, 0·8) and eating rice (OR = 0·2; 95% CL = 0·1, 0·8) were protective. More controls than patients regularly used soap (OR = 0·3; 95% CL = 0·1, 1·0). This study demonstrated three important points for cholera prevention: (1) seafood should be eaten cooked and hot; (2) populations at risk should be taught to treat household drinking water and to avoid drinking water outside the home unless it is known to be treated; and (3) education about hygiene can be an important tool in preventing cholera.


1993 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-17
Author(s):  
Alice B. Lentz

Alice Lentz offers a brief view of the role of the Americas Fund for Independent Universities (AFIU) in relation to significant initiatives in various Latin American countries. In a region where the function and development of private higher education institutions is especially important, the focus of the AFIU's activities is on private universities' ability to provide trained business leaders with the skills necessary to meet the challenges of enterprise growth in these developing economies. She mentions in particular the strengthening of financing capabilities within the university, and the evolution of three-way partnerships among business corporations, AFIU, and universities in Latin America.


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