POST 8

Fifa world cup is one of the most important sporting events in the world, a real party where people from all nationalities go to support their teams. The World Cup is played every four years and since 1998 Chile did not participate in it, from the remembered World Cup in France, that time many Chileans traveled, using their savings, asking for bank credits, selling cars and houses, participating in the World Cup party.

So it is very important to have classified to the World Cup, for several reasons, first soccer is the most popular sport in our country and generates many feelings in people, people identify with our team. Second, playing a World Cup means big money and a push to Chilean soccer. Third, is a showcase for the country itself, the World Cup is seen around the world and the countries that advance in the cup are reported by the international press, becoming known worldwide.

My favorite Chilean player is Alexis Sanchez, the "wonder boy", he is a young player who debuted at age of 16 in Cobreloa, then he went to Colo Colo, then to River Plate of Argentina and now plays for Udinese of Italy. The truth is that I really like his speed and dribbling skills and also his muscular legs.

For the world cup I think I will be working on my thesis, but there is always time to meet with friends and watch the matches of Chile, with a barbacue or celebrating after a win, the truth is that I am not a big football fan, but it's fun and exciting to watch the matches of the selection with more people.

I would like to go to South Africa, I've always wanted to know Africa and may be a good starting point for an interesting journey.

POST 12

This essay has the objective of approximating a revision of the technologies I’ve used in different subject over this last academic year at college. As an Anthropology student of the Social Sciences Faculty of the Universidad de Chile, I think that the use of technologies presents itself as a big advantage as a learning tool for subjects, especially those that have to do with methodologies in social investigation. That’s why I pretend to demonstrate that the different technologies learnt this year, the 2009 Anthropology student has at his/her hands a considerable advantage over students licensed years earlier because, as it will be seen, these technologies facilitate the good exercise of the profession.

Years earlier, the Social Anthropology students weren’t taught technologies in depth. However, since this year, there has been an introduction to subjects, especially those that deal with methodologies, the teaching of technologies. Let’s review two of them to demonstrate how 2009 students have an advantage towards students from years before.

1. Atlas.ti. This software was learnt Qualitative Methods and Techniques in Social Investigation. Atlas.ti is an informatics tool being its objective the facilitation of the qualitative analysis of big volumes of textual data, mainly. Being that its focus is qualitative analysis, it’s not meant to automate the process of analysis, but simply to help the human interpreter, considerably speeding up a lot of the activities implicated in the qualitative analysis and interpretation. For example, the segmentation of texts in passages or quotes, codification or the writing of comments or notes, in other words, all of those activities that, if we didn’t have the software, we would have to do manually with the aid of paper, pencils, scissors, charts and photocopies.

2. SPSS. For the Quantitative Methods in Social Investigation course, we were taught how to use the software known as Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). SPSS is an informatics statistics program very used in the Social Sciences and the marketing studies. It is very popular due to the possibility of working with huge databases. It allows the reconfiguration of variables and registers according to the needs of the user. The software consists of a base module and annexed modules that have been constantly upgraded with new statistical procedures.

From the above review of two technologies learnt throughout the year 2009 by Anthropology students, we can conclude that it is absolutely important the teaching-learning of techniques capable of data processing, be them qualitative or quantitative. This is verified if we link that learning to the professional exercise of the discipline. It can also be pointed that being that the 2009 students learnt said technologies, they present an advantage over students from years before, who didn’t get the chance to learn about them. This is why we would like to end with the following question. How is it possible that in earlier years students weren’t taught how to use the above mentioned tools? An investigation is needed to clarify that answer.

POS 11

Today I will talk about the important challenges de Social Anthropology career in three specific aspects: (1) Technology, (2) Social Matters and (3) education.

(1) Technology. First, it’s important to mention that the Social Anthropology career doesn’t use much technology in its professional exercise. Generally, video cameras, photo cameras, voices recorders, on the one hand and software related on data processing, on the other, are examples of technology utilized by anthropologists. With that being said, maybe one of the challenges associated to the career regarding technology could be the personalization of instruments such as cameras and recorders, on one hand, and the adaptation of the software for a more trans-disciplinary approach. The former alludes to the possibility of adapting the ergonometry of cameras and recorders for the particular use of this equipment in anthropologic fieldwork. The latter makes reference to the possibility that the software may be used by people of other disciplines and not just by those related to the Social Sciences. To solve these challenges I think it is necessary, in the first case, that a group of anthropologists properly register the main needs on fieldwork while holding and manipulating cameras and recorders. To solve the second case, I think that colleges where Anthropology is taught there should be a line of investigation were the interdisciplinary application of software is treated. The critical problems that this area presents related to technology, is that most of the time the innovations associated to the area don’t reach poorer countries, or in the case they do reach only those with the mean to acquire it do, that is, very few people.

(2) Social Matters. The challenges regarding this area in the Social Anthropology career are related to the problematization of the introduction of contemporaneousness to the development of theory and methodology in the discipline. Classically, Social Anthropology advocated to the study of ethnical denominated people, however, today Anthropology has all the potential to study society in general. To solve such a problem it is necessary that theoreticians problematize in a better way the introduction of modernity and modernization under the classical presuppositions of Anthropology to create theoretical models for the study of society. The critical problems regarding this, is the inertia presented by the current theoretical developments present in the discipline and that they reflect the academic body of some of the faculties where the career is taught.

(3) Education. Some of the biggest challenges for the discipline are the ones presented in this area. This relates to the capacity that Anthropology has to advance on the national educational system and also, on the ways how learning and teaching are carried out in multicultural groups. Regarding the national educational systems, Anthropology can design and implement reforms and public politics that are better suited with the national reality and its true worries. Regarding multicultural education, on the other hand, we refer to the possibility of creating new methodologies for the learning and teaching at schools were not only students, but also teachers from different cultures assist and teach, respectively. To solve this challenges its precise that the colleges were the Anthropology career is taught, lines of investigation and extension projects are created were its possible that the above difficulties above discussed are developed. These lines could even be institutionalized in an Anthropology of Education on the departments. The critical problems that this area of education presents is that there rarely are academic bodies in the career that deal with the subject specifically. This generates a lack of knowledge from the students on the subject.