“The search for clumsy solutions”

This article, written by Matthew Taylor, talks about the use (in recent years) of cultural theory and Social Sciences in the political decisions of the UK government.

Actually government leaders include increasingly insights from fields such as social psychology, social marketing, neuroscience and of social/cultural anthropology, because those areas give knowledge about of what drive human behaviour.

The article says that leaders need to identify which are the most useful knowledge contributed by this findings and perspectives of the cultural theory. Matthew Taylor says that this approach doesn’t offer simple answers but it can be useful to give clues about why some government strategies fail and why there are others that are so successful. In general, this idea of behaviour change focuses on strategies of communication and incentive rather than compulsion.

Taylor explain that since 2004, after a report on changing behaviour from the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, the idea of behaviour changes become a very important part of social and public policy debate.

Behaviour change has become a “key objective” of public health and environmental policy. In addition, this perspective affects in very different areas as obesity, recycling, sexual health, energy use and many others.

Behaviour change considers humans actions in three levels of mental process:
-“the automatic and hard-wired”: the things we do because we are human beings
-“the tacit and culturally conditioned”: the things we do because of cultural and social structures
- “the consciously arrive at”: the things we decide to do in our social actions

http://www.guardianpublic.co.uk/solace-taylor-october

Good Food

One of my favorite food is the Dolma (also known as dolmade), that is a recipe of stuffed vegetable dishes that were originated in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and its surrounding regions. The best-known dolma variety is the “grape-leaf dolma”, which is often called as “sarma”. Its recipe includes frequently vegetables as zucchini, lettuce, eggplant, tomato and pepper, and it may or may not include meat (I like both styles, but I love much the vegetarian sarma). When dolma included meat it is generally served hot, often with spicy sauce; but when dolma hasn’t meat, it is generally served cold. Both are often eaten with yoghurt, but with a yogurt without sugar and flavor (that are the yogurt that we usually use). I enjoy eating it when I go to the Restaurant Arabe Guarak in Viña del Mar.

Another of my favorite foods is the crunchy cheese flavored peanut that I buy in Jumbo’s supermarkets. I usually get it after the different classes when I’m going to my house, and I enjoy eating it everywhere.

I’m just learning to cook basic stuff as rice. The best food that I have ever prepared is a food of cooked vegetables that once I improvised.

I think that popcorns remember me to the cinemas (for obvious reasons xD). I think that sometimes pineapples remember me to Rapa Nui, because in this island there are the best pineapples of the world.

My perfect 3 course meal would be: shrimps to the “pilpil” as the appetizer, pizza with anchovies to the “chorrilana” as main course, and guavas as desert.

Santiago

The first place that foreigners must visit in Santiago de Chile is the campus of the Universidad de Chile named Juan Gomez Millas (often nicknamed as Juan Gomez Mitjans). There we can to organize many funny, exciting and pleasant activities. First, we can play soccer in the excellent soccer fields (that have 40 % of grass and 60 % of other stuffs). After that we can go to the “Cenicero”, a special construction without ceiling in the style of a Roman forum, when we can drink the national alcoholic drinks ( wine, chicha, cola de mono , pisco) and to enjoy the beautiful natural landscape and its herbs.

Then foreigners must visit the skyscraper Titanium La Portada. This skyscraper will be completed soon, and It will become the tallest skyscraper in Chile. It’s really big and it will have a height of 190 m at the roof. If foreigners are of an uncivilized and uncultured country (as Peru, Bolivia, Malawi, Benin), they will be very surprised and excited.

After that, foreigners must visit the Metro de Santiago. First it’s a very useful place to know because it’s a very good and safe transport. Also it’s a good place to visit because it’s South America's most extensive and modern metro system (the system carries around 2,500,000 passengers per day). However, it is necessary to have well-taken care of personal objects.

Subsequently foreigners must visit Estadio Bicentenario Municipal de La Florida, because it was rebuilt in 2008, so it’s a new and very beautiful stadium that complies with FIFA standards.

Finally, foreigners must take a bus in Pajarito’s metro station and to visit Valparaíso, one of the most beautiful cities of the world.

Adicctions

I'm addict to soccer and to Coca Cola

Soccer affects me considerably, because I arrive late to my English class and my dear, charming, beautiful and lovely teacher get angry. =(
Soccer is a life philosophy, like the Buddhism or the Taoism. Sometimes I win, sometimes I don't, but in the end I realize that I’m only trying to live in accord with the promptings which came from my true self. To play and to watch soccer, it is an expression of my unconscious that wants to destroy the world and to kick it, as if my universe was a ball.
In summary, to play soccer and to be a supporter of Everton de Viña of del Mar is a good addiction, so I don’t want to beat it. I invite you to participate in the world of soccer and to improve your health and spirit.

In the other hand, Coca Cola is a very bad addiction. It’s very expensive and it only has an immediate pleasure that I forget quickly, so I must consume it constantly. Coca Cola causes bad consequences to health: the consumption of high fructose corn syrup because of possible links to obesity and diabetes. I advice you that you don’t consume it.

Santiagocentrism

I do not know much of Transantiago, because I am of Concón. I have been living in Santiago since 2008, so I did not know about the pre-Transantiago system. In addition I was not here at its first days of function.

What problems have I had in Transantiago? Really, no one. I live in close proximity to the university, so I do not use it much. But when I have done it, I have not perceived disadvantages.

I suppose that Transantiago is helpful because it standardized bus routes and eliminated redundancy of same. I like more Transantiago than Transvalparaíso because in my opinion buses arrive sooner. In addition the system of the Bip card pleases to me because the tariff is standardized and you do not have to pay 600 pesos when you travel in schedules nocturnes (I must pay that quantity in Valparaiso when I come back home at 3-4-5 am).

On the other hand, I think - according to I listened in the unfailing news- that the problem of Transantiago is that it isolates the most peripheral populations of Santiago.

Nevertheless I would not change anything of the Transantiago because I am egoistic.

Peace! (I am not hippie but I needed these words to complete the amount of words)

Burkina Faso

I would like to go to Burkina Faso, because I would love to visit an exotic African country. As an anthropologist, it excites to me to visit countries where possibly we will see natives and unknown, mysterious and amazing behaviors, mentalities, sports and cuisine. In addition, I would like to go on a trip to Burkina Faso because French is spoken there (it’s the official language, but also there are other native ones) and I am a French-speaker.

I do not know much about this country, because I have known about it since the last 30 minutes, investigating in Wikipedia. I would like to visit the traditional homes in south-east Burkina Faso, which seem very pretty in the photography of wikipedia. I would also like to visit a Burkina Faso's savannah and to run happily like a leopard running through rain. In addition, I would like to visit the Cinema Sanyon in Bobo-Dioulasso and the The Grand Mosque of Bobo-Dioulasso.

I would like to work in Burkina Faso, because I would like to do my first field work of Anthropology with the Burkina Faso’s natives. It would also be nice to open a restaurant of completes and empanadas there, and to live calmly in a rural community of the country.

1.0

Hi!

The most important thing that I learned during the preceding term was that our degree tends to depress and to disorient students, but that one can to solve these problems with a bit of faith (I am not a religious person, it is another kind of faith), in the company of friendly affection and with the utilization of alcoholic drinks as red wine or beer (I am not an alcoholic person either).

One of the most relevant things that I studied the first term was the subject of Latin American history. I liked it very much because this subject considered the vision of the natives, which is very important to me. It seems very positive to me that we had to read the analyses of the chronicles of the sixteen and seventeen centuries, and to see as the vision of the natives varied through the interaction with the huge western civilization and its noble army of cures.

In the first semester I played soccer: the most beautiful and exciting sport of the world (this is only my ethnocentric personal opinion). As member of the selection of Social Sciences, I exposed myself continuously to all kind of physical training to improve my capacities, in order to represent with pride our dear institution.

The main challenge that I had to face during the first term was the weather. I solve this problem by buying an electrical stove.

Regards,
(K) :) :D