El legado de B. F. Skinner veinte años después (1990-2010): el análisis del comportamiento en Iberoamérica

Veinte años después de su fallecimiento (18 de agosto de 1990), B. F. Skinner deja cinco grandes legados vigentes: 1) el conductismo radical; 2) el análisis experimental del comportamiento; 3) el análisis conductual aplicado; 4) la caja de Skinner; 5) la comunidad Los Horcones (México). El análisis del comportamiento, básico y aplicado, es reconocido por su activa presencia internacional. Su desarrollo proporciona un conjunto de conocimiento y transferencia de tecnología que nos recuerda la importancia de trabajar en el desarrollo de programas educativos, de investigación y de manejo de contingencias, los cuales permitan su avance. En Iberoamérica, el análisis del comportamiento, como legado skinneriano, ha sido una tradición importante dentro de la psicología. En este artículo presentaremos una síntesis actual de las principales contribuciones iberoamericanas al análisis del comportamiento. El  panorama del análisis del comportamiento en Iberoamérica será analizado de acuerdo a las siguientes dimensiones: 1) las figuras más relevantes; 2) la comunidad académica asociada a la tradición analítica conductual; y 3) las líneas de investigación más importantes. Finalmente, se presentarán algunas de las características más generales del análisis del comportamiento en Iberoamérica.

Las nuevas izquierdas Brasilera y Venezolana de cara a los procesos de integracion en America Latina : periodo de análisis 1999-2006

Diferentes fenómenos en los procesos políticos latinoamericanos han traído cambios trascendentales a los escenarios de gobierno de América latina protagonizados por fuerzas y movimientos políticos que han sido calificadas y denominadas como “nueva izquierda”. Planteando un nuevo modelo político surgen una nueva izquierda en Brasil, pragmática y cercana al centro; y una izquierda venezolana de corte radical; modelos que han trascendido sus fronteras incidiendo en los procesos políticos, sociales y económicos de la región. Analizar el creciente y particular interés que tienen estas “nuevas fuerzas de izquierda” brasileña y venezolana de ejercer un liderazgo en los procesos de integración latinoamericanos podría permitir comprender mejor las dinámicas actuales de dichos procesos de integración así como su proyección futura.

La creación de Unasur como indicio de transformación de la hegemonía Estadounidense en America del sur

En el año de 2001 ocurrió un evento que marcaría enormemente las relaciones internacionales; el 11 de septiembre ocurrió el ataque terrorista a las Torres Gemelas en la ciudad de Nueva York. Este acontecimiento determinaría el nuevo rumbo de la política exterior de los Estados Unidos, en el que se redefinieron sus prioridades e intereses. En esta nueva dirección, su poderío militar, político y económico se dispondría para “proteger y promover [sus] intereses en el mundo”4 más que en cualquier otro momento de su historia. La necesidad de crear alianzas, estrategias y asociaciones, así como fomentar la cooperación internacional, se reafirmó en una doctrina que buscó ir más allá del territorio estadounidense, y donde se configuraron unas nuevas relaciones con diversas naciones y regiones, entre ellas con países del Medio Oriente y de América Latina.

Shared HLA Class II in Six Autoimmune Diseases in Latin America: A Meta-Analysis

The prevalence and genetic susceptibility of autoimmune diseases (ADs) may vary depending on latitudinal gradient and ethnicity. The aims of this study were to identify common human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles that contribute to susceptibility to six ADs in Latin Americans through a meta-analysis and to review additional clinical, immunological, and genetic characteristics of those ADs sharing HLA alleles. DRB1∗03:01 (OR: 4.04; 95%CI: 1.41–11.53) was found to be a risk factor for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjogren’s syndrome (SS), and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). DRB1 ¨ ∗04:05 (OR: 4.64; 95%CI: 2.14–10.05) influences autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and T1D; DRB1∗04:01 (OR: 3.86; 95%CI: 2.32–6.42) is a susceptibility factor for RA and T1D. Opposite associations were found between multiple sclerosis (MS) and T1D. DQB1∗06:02 and DRB1∗15 alleles were risk factors for MS but protective factors for T1D. Likewise, DQB1∗06:03 allele was a risk factor for AIH but a protective one for T1D. Several common autoantibodies and clinical associations as well as additional shared genes have been reported in these ADs, which are reviewed herein. These results indicate that in Latin Americans ADs share major loci and immune characteristics.

The Colombian Constitution of 1991 as the Starting Point of a new Constitutionalism in Latin America

The objective of this article is to show that the Colombian Constitution of 1991 has certain traits that clearly differentiate it from Western constitutional tradition. Some of these traits would later be included in constitutional processes and constitutions in Venezuela (1999), Ecuador (1998 and 2008) and Bolivia (2009), in a process collectively known as Latin American Neo-Constitutionalism. This paper intends to demonstrate how the text of the Colombian Constitution represents a turning point that marks the beginning and establishes the foundations for the development of a home-grown constitutional form in Latin America over the last two decades.

The Millennium Development Goals: the Hunger, the Children and Women Health in Latin America

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Migraciones e integracion en America Latina

Los esfuerzos por incorporar el tema migratorio dentro de los intentos integradores de la región tienden a materializarse de manera más concreta dentro de los acuerdos de integración que se presenta entre los países miembros es de tipo sur – sur

Inequality of opportunity in educational achievement in Latin America: evidence from PISA 2006-2009

We assess inequality of opportunity in educational achievement in six Latin American countries, employing two waves of PISA data (2006 and 2009). By means of a non-parametric approach using a decomposable inequality index, GE(0), we rank countries according to their degree of inequality of opportunity. We work with alternative characterizations of types: school type (public or private), gender, parental education, and combinations of those variables. We calculate incremental contributions of each set of circumstances to inequality. We provide rankings of countries based on unconditional inequalities (using conventional indices) and on conditional inequalities (EOp indices), and the two sets of rankings do not always coincide. Inequality of opportunities range from less than 1% to up to 27%, with substantial heterogeneity according to the year, the country, the subject and the specificication of circumstances. Robustness checks based on bootstrap and the use of an alternative index confirm most of the initial results.

The impact of a minimum pension on old age poverty and its budgetary cost. Evidence from Latin America

This paper examines the impact on old age poverty and the fiscal cost of universal minimum oldage pensions in Latin America using recent household survey data for 18 countries. Alleviatingold age poverty requires different approach from other age groups and a minimum pension islikely to be the only alternative available. First we measure old age poverty rates for all countries.Second we discuss the design of minimum pensions schemes, means-tested or not, as wellas the disincentive effects that they are expected to have on the economic and social behavior ofhouseholds including labor supply, saving and family solidarity. Third we use the household surveysto simulate the fiscal cost and the impact on poverty rates of alternative minimum pensionschemes in the 18 countries. We show that a universal minimum pension would substantiallyreduce poverty among the elderly except in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay where minimumpension systems already exist and poverty rates are low. Such schemes have much tobe commended in terms of incentives, spillover effects and administrative simplicity but have ahigh fiscal cost. The latter is a function of the age at which benefits are awarded, the prevailinglongevity, the generosity of benefits, the efficacy of means testing, and naturally the fiscal capacityof the country.

How do inequality affect tax morale in Latin America and Caribbean?

Latin America is well known as an inequitable region. As it is recognized, inequality and corruption perception weaken the way that political institutions works and the democratic system. Focusing on Latin American and Caribbean countries, this paper analyzes what are the elements shaping tax morale. In particular, how the context influences ethical grounds decisions such as the predisposition to pay taxes is analyzed, using the survey carried out in 2005 by Latinobarometro. The objective is to analyze how country performance determines tax morale. To do so, four probitmodels are estimated using Gini index, Transparency International Corruption Perception Index and Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDPpc) as explanatory variables. As expected we found that some socio-demographic variables play a relevant role. Interestingly, we also found that, in this attitude, LAC countries do not register a gender bias. However, those are not our main contributions to the literature on the field. The most important results are linked to: 1) the levelmatters, GDPpc increases the probability of people having tax morale, 2) moreover, income distributionalso influence on tax morale but in opposite direction and 3) corruption perception also reduces tax morale. Those results show that the quality of institutions matters and therefore, the way that democracy works play a relevant role.