This thesis explores how scientists within the controversial scientific field of gene  transfer make their research doable. Based on in-depth interviews with gene transfer scientists and key individuals from different regulatory agencies and advisory boards in Sweden and the U.S.A., the study focuses on how scientists describe and reason about how they handle the various problems that confront them as they work in a technically advanced and highly controversial field of research. Drawing upon Clarke and Fujimura’s concepts of situatedness and doability, Latour’s concepts of enrollment and translation, Strauss’concepts of articulation work and alignment as well as Gieryn’s concept of boundary-work, the study analyzes how doable problems are constructed within gene transfer, from basic science to clinical application on human subjects. Doable problems were constructed by enrolling allies on different levels, translating interests and creating alignment of interests and activities of the allies enrolled. The study covers how scientists handle questions of funding, research cooperation and choice of scientific material as well as the ethical complications involved in gene transfer research and its applications. For the U.S. scientists an essential part of creating doable problems consisted of boundary-work in relation to regulatory demands and interventions, something that did not concern the Swedish scientists to the same extent. Gene transfer, due to its controversial character, has raised public fears and concerns. Using Goffman’s concept of frames, the study also analyzes how gene transfer scientists attempt to gain public acceptance by framing gene transfer as an ordinary kind of therapy, while simultaneously heralding it as a revolutionary new technology, in order to obtain the external funding necessary for an expensive and extensive research. / Avhandlingen undersöker hur forskare inom det kontroversiella forskningsfältet genterapi gör sin forskning möjlig. Utifrån djupintervjuer med genterapiforskare samt med nyckelpersoner inom  regleringsmyndigheter och rådgivande organ i Sverige och USA visas i avhandlingen hur forskare beskriver och resonerar kring hur de hanterar olika problem som uppstår i deras arbete inom ett vetenskapligt avancerat och mycket kontroversiellt forskningsfält. Med hjälp av Clarke och Fujimura’s begrepp situatedness och doability, Latour’s begrepp enrollering och översättning, Strauss’ begrepp articulation work och alignment samt Gieryn’s begrepp gränsarbete analyserar avhandlingen forskarnas arbete med att konstruera utförbara problem inom genterapiforskning, från grundforskning till klinisk tillämpning på människor. Detta sker genom enrollering av allierade på olika nivåer, genom översättning av olika aktörers intressen samt genom att dessa enrollerade allierades verksamheter och intressen läggs i linje med forskarnas egna. Avhandlingen tar upp hur forskarna hanterar olika praktiska problem, som finansiering, forskningssamarbete och val av forskningsmaterial, samt hur de bemöter de olika etiska problem som genterapiforskningen och dess tillämpning innebär. Avhandlingen visar även på en viktig skillnad mellan de intervjuade amerikanska och svenska forskarna. I USA måste forskarna hantera en stark reglering av deras arbete, något som inte berör de svenska forskarna på samma sätt; de amerikanska forskarna måste därvid använda olika former av gränsarbete i sina relationer till reglerande myndigheter. Genterapins osäkra och kontroversiella karaktär har orsakat rädsla och oro hos allmänheten. Avhandlingen analyserar genterapiforskarnas försök att skapa samhällelig acceptans för sin forskning genom att ge den en inramning som en etablerad form av medicinsk behandling. Detta sker i viss motsättning till en parallell inramning av genterapi som en ny och revolutionerande teknologi, något som sker i syfte att erhålla den nödvändiga finansieringen för en kostnadskrävande och omfattande forskning.

Si hier les guérisseurs revendiquaient uniquement le besoin de reconnaissance, aujourd’hui, ils se battent plutôt pour que la reconnaissance qui leur a été accordée par l’État soit capable d’intégrer les conceptions africaines de la maladie et des thérapies ; de les protéger au même titre que les biomédecins dans l’exercice de leur profession ; de protéger les malades en cas de préjudices moral et physique. Ils craignent que la reconnaissance [accordée] ne soit pas reconnue juridiquement par une loi camerounaise qui régule leurs pratiques de soins. Dans la mesure où, sans une reconnaissance juridique et institutionnelle, il leur est impossible de se maintenir dans l’espace [public] de sociabilité thérapeutique ; de changer, à partir de la position illégitime, leurs conditions de praticiens précaires, et surtout leur relation aux usagers de soins [les mères] et aux biomédecins. Dans cette perspective, on se demande quelles sont les modalités d’intéressement ou de désintéressement mutuel qui permettent aux guérisseurs – affaiblis institutionnellement – et aux biomédecins – fortement reconnus – d’évoluer vers une réciprocité de perspectives. L’étude cherche à identifier les modes d’arrachement à l’affaiblissement institutionnel, en s’intéressant, d’un côté, aux processus de capacitation et de renforcement de la légitimité ; et de l’autre, à l’impact de ce renforcement, d’abord, sur la redéfinition des objets et figures de la rencontre et de la reconnaissance, et ensuite, sur la reconfiguration de l’espace de soins et du profil du thérapeute camerounais contemporain. Pour répondre à cet objectif, nous avons sollicité le cadre théorique de la sociologie des épreuves d’inspiration pragmatiste [Thévenot, Boltanski, Gennard et Cantelli] et de l’anthropologie capacitaire [Ricœur]. Les observations de consultations en Maisons de Soins [chez les guérisseurs] et au Centre Mère et Enfant [Hôpital pédiatrique] et les entretiens individuels effectués à Yaoundé [Cameroun] ont engendré une réflexion sur le sens que donnent les mères, guérisseurs et biomédecins au fait de rencontrer ou de refuser de rencontrer un soignant. L’analyse des données recueillies inscrit la rencontre dans l’axe de la reconnaissance capacitaire [des compétences], permettant ainsi d’envisager une pluralité de figures de la reconnaissance et de la rencontre. Elle indique aussi que si la formation à l’identité professionnelle biomédicale constitue pour les guérisseurs une tactique de renforcement de leur légitimité, l’inscription en médecines africaines de certains biomédecins [résistants ou non conformistes] les prédisposent à une résistance institutionnelle aux normes biomédicales ; ce qui permet de nuancer, au regard de la pluralisation et de la diversification des rationalités en jeu, la compréhension du caractère monolithique des institutions. Il en résulte une réflexion sur le brouillage des frontières entre les médecines africaines et la biomédecine, ce brouillage ayant alors comme conséquences, entre autres, une possible fragmentation ou morcellement de ces médecines en termes de «biomodernisation» des médecines africaines et de «traditionalisation» de la biomédecine en contexte africain. / If yesterday the need for recognition was the core claim among traditional health practitioners, today, their quest resides in the recognition not only of their practice but also of the African conceptions of diseases and therapies; in their protection as profesionnals (such as biomedical health practictioners); in the protection of patients in case of moral or physical prejudices. The traditional health practitioners fear that their recognition will not extend to or be sanctioned by Cameroonian law, which regulates their care practices. Without legal and institutional recognition, it is impossible for these practitioners to remain in the social care space; to change, from their illegitimate position, their condition of precarious practitioners, and especially their relationship to biomedical health practitioners. Thus, what are the modalities of mutual interestedness or disinterestedness that allow traditional [institutionally weakened] and biomedical practitioners [strongly recognized] to evolve towards reciprocity of perspectives? The study is seeking to identify modes of wrenching from the institutional weakening, focusing, on one hand, on empowerment and reinforcing processes of healers’ legitimacy; and on the other hand, to the impact of empowerment on the redefinition of objects and figures of encounter and of recognition, on the reconfiguration of social care space and the profile of the therapist. To achieve this objective, we have sought the reference framework of sociology of proofs and the anthropology of capacity of Ricœur. The observations of consultations in «Maisons de Soins» and to the «Centre Mère et Enfant» and interviews have led to a reflection on the interpretation associated by mothers, traditional and biomedical health practitioners to what it means to consult or refuse to consult traditional healer or biomedical practitioner. The analysis of data situates the encounter in the axis of capacity of recognition, allowing us to consider multiple figures of recognition and of encounter. It shows that if the adoption of the biomedical professional identity constitutes for traditional health practitioners a tactic of reinforcement of their legitimacy, the integration in African medicines of some biomedical health practitioners predispose them to an institutional resistance to biomedical norms; making it possible to nuance the comprehension of the monolithic character of institutions, given pluralization and diversification of rationalities at stake. This results in a reflection on blurring of frontiers of African medicines and biomedicine, thus giving place to a possible fragmentation of these medicines in terms in terms of biomodernization of African medicines and traditionalization of biomedicine.

Generations of women’s health workers, writers, activists, and academics have tended to present midwifery as the opposite of obstetrics; to summon the appealing association of midwifery by advocating ‘tradition and nature’ over ‘modernity and medicalization;’ and to invoke the melodrama of the subordination of female patients by and to male doctors. This thesis suggests that it is much more productive (and historically accurate) to think of the shifting roles and identities of childbirth practitioners and their clients in terms of “boundary work” rather than the oft-touted dichotomy of domination/resistance. The thesis navigates Enlightenment theories of body and nature and moves to explore the example of the Foucaultian “clinic” to illustrate a relatively unstable foundation on which the biomedical clinic appears not as an entity trapped in time and space, but always already subject to change and negotiation. A discussion of maternal health policy and the roles of birthing women in actively shaping the care they receive brings home the central argument that what is crucial to the ever-developing birthing models is not resisting that which appears to dominate, but affirming a practice that more adequately meets the needs of birthing women in BC today.

Generations of women’s health workers, writers, activists, and academics have tended to present midwifery as the opposite of obstetrics; to summon the appealing association of midwifery by advocating ‘tradition and nature’ over ‘modernity and medicalization;’ and to invoke the melodrama of the subordination of female patients by and to male doctors. This thesis suggests that it is much more productive (and historically accurate) to think of the shifting roles and identities of childbirth practitioners and their clients in terms of “boundary work” rather than the oft-touted dichotomy of domination/resistance. The thesis navigates Enlightenment theories of body and nature and moves to explore the example of the Foucaultian “clinic” to illustrate a relatively unstable foundation on which the biomedical clinic appears not as an entity trapped in time and space, but always already subject to change and negotiation. A discussion of maternal health policy and the roles of birthing women in actively shaping the care they receive brings home the central argument that what is crucial to the ever-developing birthing models is not resisting that which appears to dominate, but affirming a practice that more adequately meets the needs of birthing women in BC today.

Abstract This thesis reports on studies of plasmonic nanoparticles and particularly gold nanostars as signal enhancers and contrast agents for biophotonic applications including visualisation, treatment of living cells and chemical sensing. In this thesis, the optical properties of nanoparticles of different size and morphology and their silica composites were compared. Because they are the most suitable plasmonic nanostructures, gold nanostars were utilised for optical imaging modalities such as confocal microscopy and Doppler optical coherence tomography. The ability of gold nanoparticles to enhance the signal in surface-enhanced vibrational spectroscopy, including Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was additionally studied. Finally, various gold nanoparticles were applied for cell optoporation to increase the penetration ability of exogeneous substances. In summary, significant advantages of nanostars such as their low-toxicity, high scattering and contrast abilities, in addition to a broad, tunable, plasmon resonance wavelength range, as well as the capability to enhance the signal of analyte molecules in vibrational spectroscopy were demonstrated in this thesis. The results of this study on the effectiveness of nanostars have a broad scope of utility and open a wide perspective for their utilisation in nanobiophotonics and biomedicine. / Tiivistelmä Tämä opinnäytetyö kertoo tutkimuksista, joissa plasmoninanopartikkeleita ja erityisesti kultananotähtiä on käytetty signaalinvahvistimina biofotoniikan sovelluksissa, kuten visualisointi, elävien solujen käsittely ja kemiallinen tunnistus. Tässä työssä verrattiin eri kokoisten ja muotoisten nanopartikkeleiden ja niiden piioksidikomposiittien optisia ominaisuuksia. Sopivimpina plasmoninanorakenteina kultananotähtiä käytettiin optisiin kuvantamismenetelmiin, kuten konfokaalimikroskopiaan ja Doppler-optiseen koherenssitomografiaan. Lisäksi kuvattiin myös kultananopartikkelien kykyä parantaa pinta-aktivoidun värähtelevän spektroskopian signaalia, mukaan lukien Raman- ja Fourier-muunnos-infrapuna-spektroskopia. Lopuksi, eri kultananopartikkeleita käytettiin soluoptoporaatioon eksogeenisten aineiden läpäisevyyden lisäämiseksi. Yhteenvetona, työssä osoitettiin nanotähtien merkittävät edut, kuten matala-myrkyllisyys, suuret sironta- ja kontrastiominaisuudet, laaja plasmoniresonanssin aallonpituusalue ja sen viritettävyys, sekä kyky parantaa analyyttimolekyylien signaalia värähtelyspektroskopiassa. Niinpä tutkimustulokset nanotähtien tehokkuudesta ovat laajasti käyttökelpoisia ja ne avaavat laajan näkökulman niiden hyödyntämiseen nanobiofotoniikassa ja biolääketieteessä.

A tese discute como sujeitos de diferentes inserções socioeconômicas têm vivenciado o projeto de "ter um filho". Partindo da compreensão de que o "desejo" de ser mãe ou pai não é algo dado, mas construído socialmente, a pesquisa buscou mapear como esse desejo tem sido expresso e quais têm sido as alternativas criadas para sua consecução quando do enfrentamento da "dificuldade para ter filho". Considerando que o sofrimento gerado pela "ausência de filhos" só surge na medida da estimulação desse desejo, investigaram-se os processos pelos quais a noção de infertilidade enquanto categoria médica se consolida e o caminho pelo qual se dissemina no processo de medicalização da vida. A partir de investigação etnográfica em um hospital público que oferece serviços de reprodução assistida e em comunidades na periferia de Porto Alegre, pôde-se identificar como não é automática a transformação da "ausência de filhos" em um "problema de saúde". A percepção de formas diferenciadas de encarar a adoção, bem como o tipo de relação estabelecido com os serviços de saúde permite considerar que o acesso a saúde, de uma forma geral, não está desvinculado do acesso às tecnologias reprodutivas, de forma particular. Considerando a desigualdade econômica da sociedade brasileira e a estrutura desigual de acesso a serviços públicos de saúde, a tese problematiza o discurso de garantia de acesso a essas tecnologias por todos e mapeia as diferentes vozes que articulam esse discurso. Nesse processo a vontade das pessoas de terem filhos se mescla com os demais atores envolvidos como médicos, a indústria farmacêutica e o Estado a partir da definição das políticas de assistência à saúde. / This dissertation discusses how persons of different socioeconomic insertions have experienced the project of "having a child". Starting from the comprehension that the "wish" to be a mother or a father is not a given, but a social construct, the research sought to map out how this wish has been expressed and which have been the alternatives created to achieve this wish when one copes with the "difficulty to have a child". Considering that the suffering generated by the "absence of children" only arises when this wish is stimulated, this dissertation investigated the process by which the notion of infertility is consolidated as a medical category and the route through which it is disseminated in the process of medicalization of life. From an ethnographic research in a public hospital that offers assisted reproduction services and in suburban communities in the city of Porto Alegre, in the southern part of Brazil, this dissertation was able to identify how the transformation of the "absence of children" into a "health problem" is not automatic. The different ways to face adoption and also the kind of relationship established with the health services allows one to consider that the access to health, in general, is not unbounded to the access to reproduction technologies, in particular. Considering the economic inequality of the Brazilian society and the unequal structure of access to public health services, this dissertation problematizes the discourse that guarantees access to these technologies by all parts and maps the different voices that articulate this discourse. In this process, people's will to have children blends in with the other actors involved, as doctors, the pharmaceutical industry and the State defining the health assistance policies.

A tese discute como sujeitos de diferentes inserções socioeconômicas têm vivenciado o projeto de "ter um filho". Partindo da compreensão de que o "desejo" de ser mãe ou pai não é algo dado, mas construído socialmente, a pesquisa buscou mapear como esse desejo tem sido expresso e quais têm sido as alternativas criadas para sua consecução quando do enfrentamento da "dificuldade para ter filho". Considerando que o sofrimento gerado pela "ausência de filhos" só surge na medida da estimulação desse desejo, investigaram-se os processos pelos quais a noção de infertilidade enquanto categoria médica se consolida e o caminho pelo qual se dissemina no processo de medicalização da vida. A partir de investigação etnográfica em um hospital público que oferece serviços de reprodução assistida e em comunidades na periferia de Porto Alegre, pôde-se identificar como não é automática a transformação da "ausência de filhos" em um "problema de saúde". A percepção de formas diferenciadas de encarar a adoção, bem como o tipo de relação estabelecido com os serviços de saúde permite considerar que o acesso a saúde, de uma forma geral, não está desvinculado do acesso às tecnologias reprodutivas, de forma particular. Considerando a desigualdade econômica da sociedade brasileira e a estrutura desigual de acesso a serviços públicos de saúde, a tese problematiza o discurso de garantia de acesso a essas tecnologias por todos e mapeia as diferentes vozes que articulam esse discurso. Nesse processo a vontade das pessoas de terem filhos se mescla com os demais atores envolvidos como médicos, a indústria farmacêutica e o Estado a partir da definição das políticas de assistência à saúde. / This dissertation discusses how persons of different socioeconomic insertions have experienced the project of "having a child". Starting from the comprehension that the "wish" to be a mother or a father is not a given, but a social construct, the research sought to map out how this wish has been expressed and which have been the alternatives created to achieve this wish when one copes with the "difficulty to have a child". Considering that the suffering generated by the "absence of children" only arises when this wish is stimulated, this dissertation investigated the process by which the notion of infertility is consolidated as a medical category and the route through which it is disseminated in the process of medicalization of life. From an ethnographic research in a public hospital that offers assisted reproduction services and in suburban communities in the city of Porto Alegre, in the southern part of Brazil, this dissertation was able to identify how the transformation of the "absence of children" into a "health problem" is not automatic. The different ways to face adoption and also the kind of relationship established with the health services allows one to consider that the access to health, in general, is not unbounded to the access to reproduction technologies, in particular. Considering the economic inequality of the Brazilian society and the unequal structure of access to public health services, this dissertation problematizes the discourse that guarantees access to these technologies by all parts and maps the different voices that articulate this discourse. In this process, people's will to have children blends in with the other actors involved, as doctors, the pharmaceutical industry and the State defining the health assistance policies.

A tese discute como sujeitos de diferentes inserções socioeconômicas têm vivenciado o projeto de "ter um filho". Partindo da compreensão de que o "desejo" de ser mãe ou pai não é algo dado, mas construído socialmente, a pesquisa buscou mapear como esse desejo tem sido expresso e quais têm sido as alternativas criadas para sua consecução quando do enfrentamento da "dificuldade para ter filho". Considerando que o sofrimento gerado pela "ausência de filhos" só surge na medida da estimulação desse desejo, investigaram-se os processos pelos quais a noção de infertilidade enquanto categoria médica se consolida e o caminho pelo qual se dissemina no processo de medicalização da vida. A partir de investigação etnográfica em um hospital público que oferece serviços de reprodução assistida e em comunidades na periferia de Porto Alegre, pôde-se identificar como não é automática a transformação da "ausência de filhos" em um "problema de saúde". A percepção de formas diferenciadas de encarar a adoção, bem como o tipo de relação estabelecido com os serviços de saúde permite considerar que o acesso a saúde, de uma forma geral, não está desvinculado do acesso às tecnologias reprodutivas, de forma particular. Considerando a desigualdade econômica da sociedade brasileira e a estrutura desigual de acesso a serviços públicos de saúde, a tese problematiza o discurso de garantia de acesso a essas tecnologias por todos e mapeia as diferentes vozes que articulam esse discurso. Nesse processo a vontade das pessoas de terem filhos se mescla com os demais atores envolvidos como médicos, a indústria farmacêutica e o Estado a partir da definição das políticas de assistência à saúde. / This dissertation discusses how persons of different socioeconomic insertions have experienced the project of "having a child". Starting from the comprehension that the "wish" to be a mother or a father is not a given, but a social construct, the research sought to map out how this wish has been expressed and which have been the alternatives created to achieve this wish when one copes with the "difficulty to have a child". Considering that the suffering generated by the "absence of children" only arises when this wish is stimulated, this dissertation investigated the process by which the notion of infertility is consolidated as a medical category and the route through which it is disseminated in the process of medicalization of life. From an ethnographic research in a public hospital that offers assisted reproduction services and in suburban communities in the city of Porto Alegre, in the southern part of Brazil, this dissertation was able to identify how the transformation of the "absence of children" into a "health problem" is not automatic. The different ways to face adoption and also the kind of relationship established with the health services allows one to consider that the access to health, in general, is not unbounded to the access to reproduction technologies, in particular. Considering the economic inequality of the Brazilian society and the unequal structure of access to public health services, this dissertation problematizes the discourse that guarantees access to these technologies by all parts and maps the different voices that articulate this discourse. In this process, people's will to have children blends in with the other actors involved, as doctors, the pharmaceutical industry and the State defining the health assistance policies.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-23T14:36:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao marlon bertolani.pdf: 1217798 bytes, checksum: 8ad34118a49d79e31016c94a1d50fa35 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-09-25 / O movimento indígena, a partir da década de 80 do século passado, inscreveu definitivamente na agenda nacional o direito a um atendimento específico, capaz de concatenar a melhoria na saúde com o respeito à diversidade cultural. Alicerçado na Teoria das Representações Sociais, este estudo tem por objetivo principal identificar e analisar as relações entre dois diferentes sistemas de saúde a biomedicina e o sistema de saúde indígena , no contexto das ações direcionadas aos Guarani aldeados no município de Aracruz (ES). Busca compreender como as representações sociais que os indígenas e profissionais de saúde constroem acerca de diversos aspectos dessa questão, relativos a si mesmos e aos outros , num cenário marcado por relações interétnicas, impactam ações desenvolvidas em tal área. A complexidade de implementação da referida proposição, aliada à intenção de compreender as representações dos atores em suas conexões com a vida cotidiana, demandou uma abordagem envolvendo diferentes métodos de coleta e análise de dados, quais sejam: pesquisa documental, observação participante, entrevistas na modalidade semi-estruturada e análise de conteúdo. Os resultados apontaram para a existência de relações de poder e disputas pela hegemonia entre os sujeitos ligados aos sistemas de saúde ora analisados. As representações da saúde e da biomedicina expressas pelos Guarani encontram-se em sintonia com as demandas do grupo no campo da saúde e orientam suas reivindicações, dentre as quais assume destaque aquela pelo direito à diferença. Destarte, os especialistas e as lideranças indígenas mobilizam o capital simbólico de que dispõem em estratégias para preservar a hegemonia do sistema de saúde Guarani no interior do próprio grupo, galgando maior controle da agência ocidental, bem como mais espaço na relação com a biomedicina. Por sua vez, nas representações expressas pelos profissionais de saúde, o sistema indígena de saúde aparece como subalterno e portador de eficácia mais simbólica do que propriamente empírica. Essa postura é corroborada pelas ações da Fundação Nacional de Saúde, que ignoram as demandas do grupo. Ademais, as representações existentes entre os profissionais de saúde acerca da cultura do grupo e do comportamento dos indígenas em assuntos relacionados à saúde e/ou aos serviços a eles prestados revelaram a perpetuação de uma postura quinhentista, manifesta na sociedade envolvente e calcada na compreensão do indígena pelo paradigma da falta. Perde-se, assim, a possibilidade de compreendê-lo em sua positividade concreta, ou como o outro é, realmente. Constata-se, portanto, no tocante aos Guarani enfocados neste estudo, que o reconhecimento da eficácia da medicina indígena e do direito desses povos à sua cultura, embora ratificado de um ponto de vista formal pelo Estado brasileiro, mantém-se, na prática, como parte de um enorme alfabeto de letras mortas . / The Brazilian indigenous movement, from the 1980s on, has definitively set in the national agenda the indigenous right to specific service, which should be able to join health improvement and the respect to cultural diversity. Based on the Theory of Social Representations, the main objective of this research is to identify and to analyze the relationships between two different healthcare systems biomedicne and the Indigenous healthcare system , in the context of actions towards the Guarani indians living in settlements in the outskirts of Aracruz (Espírito Santo, Brazil). It tries to understand how much impact on the actions developed in this área was caused by the social representations that indigenous and health professionals have created regarding the various aspects of this issue, concerning themselves and others , in a scenary marked by inter-ethnical relationships. Because of the complexity of implementing this proposition, which intends to understand actors representations in connection with daily life, an approach envolving a pool of different methodologies for collecting and analysing data has been required: document research, participant observation, semi-structured interview and content analysis. The results have shown the existence of power relationship and fight for hegemony between the subjects linked to the two healthcare systems hereby been analysed. The Guarani representations of health and biomedicine are in accordance with the group s health demands and lead their claims, among which the right to difference is of great importance. Thus, the indigenous experts and leaders have mobilized their available symbolical capital in strategies that aim at preserving the Guarani healthcare system within their own group, gaining this way more control over Occidental agency, as well as more space regarding biomedicine. On the other hand, in the representations expressed by health professionals, the indigenous healthcare system is shown as subordinated and as having a more symbolical than really empirical effectiveness. This attitude is reinforced by the actions put into effect by the Fundação Nacional de Saúde (Health National Foundation), which has ignored the indigenous demands. Besides that, the manner in which health professionals represent the indigenous culture and behavior regarding health and/or the provided services has revealed the perpetuation of an ancient position which is expressed by the envolving society and based on the undestanding of the indigenous by the lack paradigm. This way, the possibilty of understanding them in their concrete positiveness or of perceiving how the other really is get lost. So, what can be said about the Guarani focused in this research is that the recognition of the indian medicine and of theese people s right to their culture, although ratified by the Brazilian State under a formal point of view, has in fact been kept as part of an enormous alphabet of dead letters

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