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Powerful Words: An Exploration of Linguistic Hierarchy in Moroccan Hospitals
Get PDFMorocco is a country of distinct diversity, which exists as a result of the settling of multiple peoples and European colonization. As a result of this diversity, many languages are employed in different settings and spaces, and of these languages, French represents remnants of colonialism and continual elitism in the country. One of the spheres that French commands in Moroccan society is medicine, which creates a dichotomy between the educated health care providers and the underprivileged patients in public hospitals. The aim of this paper is to explore the effect of French on the doctor-patient relationship in urban, public Moroccan hospitals. Through secondary research and personal interviews, it will outline the understanding of the language situation in hospitals from the point of view of both the doctors and the patients, describe the effect of French on patients’ understanding of healthcare, and explore the impact of French on patients’ agency within the medical system. Ultimately, this paper aims to shed light on the intersections of culture, history, and medicine in order to explore avenues for process
Human Rights Education: A Tool for the Cultivation of National Human Rights Culture in Morocco
Get PDFHuman rights have been taught in Morocco for twenty years. Since the process of Moroccan transitional justice, the aim of this human rights education has been to promote a national human rights culture. This research is a cross-comparison between how human rights education; for the purpose of creating a human rights aware society, is presented and enacted by the the Moroccan government and how it is presented and enacted by non-governmental bodies in a post transitional justice moment of history. The study was conducted through a qualitative data method. It includes interviews with the Inter-Ministerial Delegation of Human Rights and Amnesty International. There is also analysis of United Nations reports on the status of human rights education in Morocco. The paper evaluates the trainings, curriculums and facilitation of human rights education within the Moroccan school system. The study concludes by asserting that though the Moroccan government has taken steps to create a national human rights culture, this is an impossibility for both governmental and nongovernmental organizations until there is transparency and accountability in regard to the human rights abuses of the past
Pathways to Positive Change: A People\u27s Perspective of Healthcare in Humla
Get PDFThe villagers of Humla have suffered from unreliable health services and unjust indifference from the Nepali government for too long. Many global health initiatives and international NGOs have tried and failed to step in and make an improvement of health within these villages, because they are lacking an understanding of how these villages are run, what villagers prioritize, and how to continue providing reliable, supervised support. Because of the remoteness of the Humla area, it is difficult for allopathic medicine to be sufficiently provided here, and access to emergency medical resources are limited. Global health organizations such as WHO and UNICEF have made general plans for areas of remote villages such as this to provide allopathic healthcare resources, but many of these decisions are without considering the medical system already in place, the traditions and understanding of medicine of the villagers, and the villagers perception of what healthcare they want/need and would choose from what was provided to them. Changing healthcare in Humla will take many resources and many people, but it most importantly needs dedication and a full understanding of the villagers who are in need of help. Without understanding health as seen from the villagers perspective, it is impossible to know which initiatives will be accepted by the villagers, or how initiatives can be put in place so villagers are able to engage and interact with health services.
In this ISP, I explore health in Humla from the perspective of the villagers themselves. What health services do villagers use and value? What health services aren’t available, but are the most necessary? Who do villagers look to as a medical authority, and how can this person further provide services? I hope to share an understanding of the villagers’ perception of healing and the medical resources available to them, their needs, and modes of healthcare that could be accessible and beneficial to their specific communities
An Analysis of Opposing Feminist Views of Sex Work: Is it the woman’s choice? In Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Get PDFSex work is an ancient profession that throughout history has been both socially stigmatized and socially sanctioned. Presently, there is conflicting discourse within the feminist movement about whether to support or combat the sex work industry. This study analyzes the current perceptions of sex work in Kolkata, India which is home to South Asia’s largest red-light district Sonagachi. It aims to answer the questions: Is sex work a respectable profession or forced labor? Are women sex workers as a result of choice or force? And are the answers to these questions determined by the sex workers themselves or by NGO ideology? The opposing feminist view points on this topic are called into question. The two main contrasting views are lived out through those working to rescue women from prostitution verses those working for the rights of sex workers. Through a critical analysis derived from the perspectives of NGO representatives and sex workers, this study explores the duality of these approaches. A series of interviews and a focus group has been conducted with the sex workers and feminist experts on the subject through the facilitation of the Kolkata based NGO Durbar that partners with sex workers. This study works to present a thoughtful examination of the effects feminist views of empowerment and agency have on women in the sex work industry and the NGOs working with them. By listening to the experiences and opinions of sex workers with a focus on answering the above questions, this study affirms the need for dialogue and informed advocacy for the true needs of sex workers in India
Teaching Adults: Hidden but Somewhat Obvious Elements to Consider
No full textThis workshop will include a look at ways teachers can help draw forth the experiences and capacities adults students possess. A look at social learning in the context of developmental stages of adult learners will yield a rich and inter- active dialog
Guess Who\u27s Coming to Dinner?: Food Inequlaity and Black Americans
Get PDFFood insecurity is an issue that plagues many people throughout the world. It only requires a brief search on the United Nation’s (U.N.) World Hunger Map to determine that this is indeed a worldwide crisis. Conversely, within the United States, the issue of hunger is often treated as “minimal” in comparison to other countries. A deeper inquiry into hunger within the U.S. reveals an even more disturbing connection: the role of white supremacy and systemic racism in regard to hunger. Academic research pertaining to food access is quite recent. Be that as it may, it is of no surprise that issues specific to certain communities remain unnoticed. Additionally, most surprising is the glaring and evident gap in research oriented toward food inequality and, specifically, Black Americans.
This research will illustrate how systemic racism has restructured itself in the form of food-related issues within Black neighborhoods. Along with this awareness, the voices of these communities, which are completely missing from this narrative, will be shared. By utilizing the conceptual framework of systemic racism, data collection, in-depth interviews, and observations took place. From this sample of people and locations, within the city of Atlanta, Georgia, it contributed to answer the question: How do marginalized Black people in America live with and through food inequality on a daily basis? This research will answer such a question and more by examining a local organization, HABESHA, Inc., as a solution for the problem confronting specific segments of Black America
Cultural Communities among African Students at Yale College
Get PDFInspired by the prevalent negative perceptions of cultural communities, this study seeks to better understand the phenomenon of informal cultural communities formed by international students at institutions of higher education. Specifically, this study looks at how cultural communities shape the experiences of undergraduate African students at Yale College. Using a phenomenological approach, 11 undergraduate African students were interviewed about their experiences in various cultural communities, and two focus groups were conducted: one prior to the interviews in order to decrease interviewer bias and shape the interview questions, and one subsequent to the interviews in order to decrease bias in data analysis. The research finds that African student cultural communities form based both on internal factors such as cultural similarities and external factors such as ignorance and discrimination from the host community. Cultural communities help to bridge the gap between home and host culture throughout the adjustment process, help students to maintain their cultural identity away from home, and provide a haven for individuals to connect and comfort each other over similar experiences of prejudice and stereotyping from classmates, faculty, and administrators. They provide a crucial role as support networks, filling the gaps where institutional support services do not go far enough. While they can make it easier for their members to avoid meaningful interaction with the broader campus community, this isolation is in major part a symptom of a larger problem rooted in ignorance and ethnocentrism by the dominant culture in the US, not a problem created by cultural communities. Furthermore, cultural communities can be beneficial in promoting cross cultural interaction on university campuses by providing the support students need to persist to graduation and providing students with a social safety net which gives them the confidence and support to branch out socially. As students, educators, members of the dominant culture, we must all recognize our role in creating the existing campus climate. Only after acknowledging our individual roles can we seek to create a more inclusive campus environment for all students and eliminate the external factors that push African students into cultural communities
Cameroon’s Political Opposition: Efforts and Obstacles Towards Political Change in Contemporary Cameroon
No full textThis dual-faceted social analysis seeks to examine Cameroon’s political opposition and its efforts and obstacles to inciting political change in contemporary Cameroon. This investigation is conducted through a dual focus on both inter-political opposition party cooperation and electorate engagement. The researcher gathered both quantitative and qualitative data over a four-week period in the city of Yaoundé, Cameroon’s political capitol. Data was gathered using both in-person interviews with political opposition leaders and independent political experts and through population surveys, which were distributed to 120 Cameroonian citizens in four distinct neighborhoods in Yaoundé. The study concludes that Cameroon’s political opposition parties are seeking to foster both limited inter-party cooperation and higher levels of electorate engagement; however, the study additionally concludes that there remain numerous significant obstacles to both inter-party cooperation and electorate engagement, which further inhibit the ability of Cameroon’s political opposition to impact significant political change over the short term. Thus, the political opposition must focus sustained, collective efforts on enacting constitutional reform, preparing for a power transition, and reshaping the mentality of the Cameroonian electorate in order to achieve lasting change within Cameroon’s complex sociopolitical system
Suzhi at the Margins: Minority Politics and Identity Among the Mosuo
Get PDFThis anthropological study explores the socio-political discourse of suzhi among the Mosuo minority, occupying the Yongning Basin region between Yunnan and Sichuan. The concept of suzhi, translating roughly as ‘quality’, first appeared during the 1980s in the context of ‘population quality’ (renkou suzhi), which refers variously to the educational attainment, material development, or more abstract moral quality of a people (see Jacka, 2009). In terms of ethnicity in China, numerous other studies have already shown how discourses like suzhi have been deployed to construct ‘Han modernity’ vis-a-vis its ‘Other’, the ‘primitive’ minority (see Zukosky, 2011, also Jacka, 2009; Gladney, 1994). Comparatively little inquiry has been directed toward how suzhi is negotiated within ethnic minority communities themselves. In response, this paper works to present an ethnographic lens onto the lived experience of suzhi discourse on the ground within the Mosuo minority. The study is based on fieldwork conducted over the course of 17 days in a variety of locations in the Lugu Lake area and Yongning Basin. Findings are derived from approximately 15 casual interviews with informants in both traditional and ‘tourist village’ settings, representing the Mosuo, the Han, as well as other minorities such as the Pumi. The study concludes that suzhi discourse is not only present as a static government trope, but alive and actively adapting in the local context of the Mosuo. In almost every case, my Mosuo informants regarded their own suzhi as exceptionally high. The majority of these informants cited the Mosuo ‘big family’ (da jiating) as the basis for such high suzhi - as the ‘big family’ required harmony, good manners, and an overriding care for all children as their own. Mosuo notions of suzhi also engage local folklore and the prevalent religious tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. In both cases, however, suzhi is clearly disassociated from educational attainment, material development, or any other markers of successful participation in the Chinese state and market economy - as many have argued is the contemporary function of official suzhi discourse (see Zukosky, 2011, 234). The G. Link I
La accesibilidad al Test de VPH y al Papanicolaou para la prevención del cáncer cervicouterino en servicios públicos de salud en San Miguel de Tucumán según la perspectiva de los profesionales de salud
Get PDFInformación contextual: El cáncer cervicouterino es causado por el Virus del Papiloma Humano (VPH) y todavía es un problema actual en Argentina, con alrededor de 5.000 casos nuevos y 1.800 muertes cada año. Sin embargo, es muy prevenible debido a que es una enfermedad de crecimiento lento, y con herramientas correctas de tamizaje y diagnóstico. Estas incluyen la vacuna contra diferente tipos de VPH de alto riesgo y el Papanicolaou, un procedimiento en el cual se examinan las células del cuello de útero que podrían ser indicios de lesiones pre-cancerosas o cancerosas, las cuales pueden ser tratadas. Además, en unas provincias en Argentina, el Test de VPH se está introduciendo (en una forma de auto-toma y también en consultas ginecológicas por el médico), para poder detectar el virus en mujeres en edad de riesgo de contraer cáncer cervicouterino (30-64) . Este estudio pretende examinar la implementación del Programa Nacional de Prevención de Cáncer Cervicouterino a través del análisis de la accesibilidad del PAP y Test de VPH en dos centros de atención primaria de salud en San Miguel de Tucumán, desde la perspectiva de trabajadores de salud, cuyo trabajo involucra la prevención de cáncer cervicouterino. Específicamente, el estudio plantea preguntas en respecto a las acciones que los profesionales realizan en relación con estos servicios, y también sus opiniones generales sobre la situación actual de accesibilidad de estos servicios. Metodología: Los objetivos de la investigación fueron realizados a través de 6 entrevistas semi-estructuradas con 6 trabajadores de salud en un CAPS y una Policlínica. En cada lugar, se entrevistó al director de servicios (quienes también son un psicólogo y una odontóloga, respectivamente), a un ginecólogo y a un agente socio sanitario fueron entrevistados. Los resultados fueron codificados en 3 categorías de análisis. Resultados: En los dos centros de salud, el PAP se realiza en conjunto con el Test de VPH, el cual se permite para mujeres de 30 a 64 años. El Test de VPH, lanzado hace alrededor 2 años, puede ser procesado primero y puede determinar si es necesario procesar el PAP también o si la mujer puede esperar 5 años para repetir el proceso. Debido a que hay solo un ginecólogo en cada centro de salud, están a máxima capacidad y necesitan priorizar la atención de embarazadas o mujeres nuevas. La auto-toma de VPH, la cual solamente se realizó el año pasado, fue distribuida con la ayuda de los agentes sanitarios a las casas de las mujeres que fueran idóneas. Este Test permitió una cobertura más alta que el Test de VPH y atrajo pacientes a consultas ginecológicas por primera vez. Por otro existió el riesgo de negativos falsos y de que algunas mujeres no regresaron después de la llegada de sus resultados, a pesar de los esfuerzos del equipo de salud. La demora del procesamiento y devolución de los resultados de Test de VPH y PAP en el hospital y entre los niveles de atención en el sistema de salud son factores limitativos muy grave de la implementación del Programa Nacional de Prevención del Cáncer Cervicouterino. Finalmente, el equipo de salud, especialmente los agentes sanitarios, tienen un rol muy importante en la educación e involucramiento de la población en relación con estos servicios e enfermedades, a través de talleres, charlas, el radio, folletería y oportunidades aprovechadas en otras consultas en los centros de salud.
Contextual Information: Cervical cancer, caused by the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV), is still a problem today in Argentina, with around 5,000 new cases and 1,800 deaths each year. It is, however, highly preventable, as it is a slow-growing disease, and when the tools of screening and detection are used. These include the HPV vaccine (which protects against the most common high-risk strains) and the Papanicolaou, a procedure in which the cells of the cervix are examined for any abnormalities that could signify precancerous or cancerous lesions, which can then be treated. Additionally in several provinces in Argentina, the HPV test is being introduced (in both a self-administered form as well as in gyncological consults by the doctor), to be able to detect the virus in women in a higher-risk age group (30-64) of developing cervical cancer. This study aimed to examine the implementation of the National Program of Cervical Cancer Prevention by analyzing the accessibility of the Pap Smear and HPV Test in two primary health centers in San Miguel de Tucumán, from the perspective of health professionals whose work involves the prevention of cervical cancer. Specifically, the study asked questions regarding the actions that the professionals carry out in relation to the these services, as well as their broader opinions about the current status of accesibility to these services. Methodology: The research objectives were met through 6 semi-structured interviews with 6 health professionals in a public health center and a public polyclinic. In each place, the director of the health centers (who are also a psychologist and odontologist, respectively), a gynecologist and a community health worker were interviewed. The results were coded into 3 categories for analysis. Results: In both health centers, Pap Smears are done in conjunction with the HPV test, which is permitted for women aged 30 to 64. The HPV test, which was launched around 2 years ago, can now be processed first and determines whether the Pap Smear must also be processed or if the patient can wait 5 years to repeat the process. Because there is only one gynecologist in each health center, they are at capacity and must almost exclusively prioritize their patients to pregnant women or women who just gave birth. The self-administered test, which lasted only last year, was distributed with the help of community health workers in the homes of women who were eligble for the test. This test allowed the coverage HPV testing to increase drastically and brought in women to guynecological consults that had never ha done before. One the other hand, it is not certain if it resulted in a higher rate of prevented cases of cervical cancer, and there was there was the risk of false negatives and that other women never returned after their results arrived, despite the efforts of the health team. The delayed processing and devolution of the results of the HPV Test and Pap smear in the hospital and between the levels of attention in the health system are severe limiting factors in the implementation of the program for the prevention of cervical cancer. Lastly, the health team, especially the community health workers, play a key role in educating and engaging with the population in relation to these services and illnesses, through chats, workshops, the radio, pamphlets and opportunities taken advantage of in other consults in the health centers