69 research outputs found
Long-Term survival in HIV positive patients with up to 15 years of antiretroviral therapy
No full textBackgroundLife expectancy has increased for newly diagnosed HIV patients since the inception of combination antiretroviral treatment (cART), but there remains a need to better understand the characteristics of long-term survival in HIV-positive patients. We examined long-term survival in HIV-positive patients receiving cART in the Australian HIV Observational Database (AHOD), to describe changes in mortality compared to the general population and to develop longer-term survival models.MethodsData were examined from 2,675 HIV-positive participants in AHOD who started cART. Standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated by age, sex and calendar year across prognostic characteristics using Australian Bureau of Statistics national data as reference. SMRs were examined by years of duration of cART by CD4 and similarly by viral load. Survival was analysed using Cox-proportional hazards and parametric survival models.ResultsThe overall SMR for all-cause mortality was 3.5 (95% CI: 3.0-4.0). SMRs by CD4 count were 8.6 (95% CI: 7.2-10.2) for CD4ConclusionObserved mortality remained fairly constant by duration of cART and was modelled accurately by accepted prognostic factors. These rates did not vary much by duration of treatment. Changes in mortality with age were similar to those in the Australian general population
Filling the Knowledge Gap: Measuring HIV Prevalence and Risk Factors among Men Who Have Sex with Men and Female Sex Workers in Tripoli, Libya.
No full textBackgroundPublications on Libya's HIV epidemic mostly examined the victims of the tragic nosocomial HIV outbreak in the 1990s and the related dispute about the detention of foreign medical workers. The dispute resolution in 2003 included an agreement with the European Union on humanitarian cooperation and the development of Libya's first National HIV Strategy. As part of this we conducted Libya's first bio-behavioural survey among men having sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSW).MethodsUsing respondent-driven sampling, we conducted a cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and related risk factors among 227 MSM and 69 FSW in Tripoli (FSW recruitment ended prematurely due to the political events in 2011).ResultsFor MSM we estimated an HIV prevalence of 3.1%, HBV prevalence of 2.9%, and HCV prevalence of 7.3%, and for FSW an HIV prevalence of 15.7%, HBV prevalence of 0%, and HCV prevalence of 5.2%. We detected high levels of risk behaviours, poor HIV-related knowledge, high stigma and lack of prevention programmes. These results must be interpreted in the context of the political situation which prohibited reaching an ideal sample size for FSW.ConclusionThere is urgent need to implement an effective National HIV Strategy informed by the results of this research. The risk of transmission within different risk groups and to the general population may be high given the recent military events that led to increased violence, migration, and the disruption of essential HIV-related services
Christ and conflict : towards a theology of reconciliation with reference to Northern Ireland
No full textSocieties burdened by the deep social and political divisions created by conflict struggle to move on from patterns of division, tension and mutual suspicion. Attitudes and negative beliefs about political opponents are made permanent parts of the social landscape by violence. Political settlements address the mechanics of governance and the organization of society, however, they fail to deal with the way deeply divided societies have evolved during the period of conflict. The cessation of violence and development of political solutions leaves in its wake many questions about how to tackle the injustices of the past and the reality of a divided society. The exploration of these questions and the attempt to address the challenge of deep divisions is central to any move towards reconciliation. The aim of this thesis is to offer a theological analysis of the political implications of the Christian doctrine of reconciliation. The discussion of reconciliation takes place within the context of Northern Ireland, a society burdened by deep divisions caused by decades of violent political conflict. By exploring a variety of models of reconciliation and attending to the particularities of the theology of reconciliation the analysis will attempt to develop a distinctively Christian interpretation of reconciliation and explain its meaning in the Northern Irish context. A discussion of the questions raised by justice and forgiveness will be given significant attention since these two themes are central to any attempt to address the past and move beyond deep societal divisions to a shared future
Interferon-Based Therapy Decreases Risks of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Complications of Cirrhosis in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients
No full textBackground: Interferon-based therapy (IBT) has been the standard of care for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, conflicting results exist regarding the effects of IBT on risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cirrhosis-associated complications, and most included highly selected patients.
Methods: This 8-year cohort study was based on the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 (LHID 2000) consisting of 1,000,000 beneficiaries randomly selected from all Taiwan National Health Insurance enrollees in 2000 (>23.7 million). Patients with newly detected HCV infections (n = 11,264) were classified based on treatment and clinical outcomes. IBTs were defined as regimens that included interferon- alfa, pegylated interferon- alfa -2a, or pegylated interferon-alfa -2b for at least 3 months. The Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and associated confidence interval (CI) of HCC and cirrhosis-associated complications for IBT.
Results: The 8-year incidence rate for HCC was 3.9% among patients who received IBT and 5.6% among those who did not. The HCC-free survival rate was significantly higher among patients receiving IBT during the 8-year period than their counterpart (adjusted HR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.31-0.81; P = .004). Similarly, the event-free survival rates for esophageal variceal bleeding (adjusted HR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.22-0.91; P = .026), hepatic encephalopathy (adjusted HR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.21-0.69; P = .001), ascites (adjusted HR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.14-0.57; P<.001), and cirrhosis (adjusted HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.44-0.91; P = .013) were significantly higher among patients who received IBT than those who did not, after adjustment for associated factors.
Conclusion: Treatment with interferon may reduce the 8-year risk of HCC and cirrhosis-associated complications in patients with chronic HCV infection
Power, civil society and contentious politics in post communist Europe
No full textThis dissertation examines how contentious collective action in two post communist
states, Poland and the Czech Republic, has broadened to include European and
international actors. It identifies the emergence of new opportunities for contention
brought about by recent episodes of institutional change, specifically EU accession, and
questions how they benefit materially or politically weak NGOs. With the intention of
determining how three interrelated processes, democratization, Europeanization and
internationalization, affect the nature and scope of contentious politics, this dissertation
carries out an investigation of several concrete episodes of political mobilization and
contention. As shown these 'contentious events' involved a myriad of national, European
and international actors, mobilizing to challenge national policy. Data from NGO
questionnaires, interviews and newswire/newspaper archives are used to discern the
nature and scope of contentious collective action. This dissertation assesses the extent
to which transnationalization of advocacy politics has disrupted existing power
arrangements at the national level between NGOs and government.
Hypothesizing that European Union accession in 2004 changed the nature and scope of contentious collective action in post communist Europe, this dissertation undertakes a comparative empirical examination of three sectors, environment, women and Roma, and twenty-nine representative NGOs. My research identifies three important developments in the Polish and Czech nonprofit sector: first, European advocacy networks and institutions are helping national NGOs overcome power disparities at the national level; second, issues once confined to national political space have acquired a European dimension, and; third, despite Europeanization, a few notable policy issues (i.e. reproductive rights, nuclear energy and domestic violence) remain firmly under national jurisdiction. This dissertation contributes to existing collective action/post communist scholarship in three ways. It applies established theories of contention/collective action to several recent episodes of political mobilization; it confirms that post accession institutional change does offer new political opportunity structures to national NGOs, and finally; it presents new empirical research on post communist collective action
'You who were called the uncircumcision by the circumcision’ a study of Jewish attitudes toward the gentiles and ethnic reconciliation according to eph. 2.1-22
No full textThe present work is a study of the connections between Jewish attitudes toward the Gentiles and ethnic reconciliation according to Eph. 2. It begins by assessing previous scholarly tradition whose hermeneutical 'grid' has been derived from the philosophy of dialectics or the Protestant Reformation. The 'new perspective(s) on Paul', however, shifts our perspective back to first century Judaism and enables us to penetrate fully into the historical context of first century Jews and Judaism. We have taken pains to describe some of the relevant Jewish features and demonstrated them by focusing particularly on Eph. 2 and attempting to set it as fully as possible into its historical context. The uncontroversial a priori of Jewish context conceals many explosive issues: how much was our author influenced by Jewish ideas? Does he wish to speak about his Gentile addressees from a Jewish perspective? Does his status as a Jew also create for him a convenient 'pre-text' so that he could reiterate the perspective of other Jews about the Gentiles in his representation of it? These questions are addressed in this study. We have paid attention to the question of 'representation' or characterization and suggested that ethnography provides a way into the author's statements about the Gentiles: it aids die author to heighten the boundary between Jews and Gentiles and to underscore the negative valence which is attached to the Gentiles. The author's ethnographic statements enable us to show the way in which the language of 'powers' had become for our author a means of dividing human groups, establishing the differences between them and suggesting wherein their 'otherness' lies (Eph. 2.2). These statements and the negative verdict which the author passes on the Gentiles represent but a preamble to the author’s arduous effort to surmount the social distance between Jews and Gentiles. This is made most evident in his rhetoric of admission and conciliation in which he lays bare the fact that the Jews (himself included) were in no better position than the Gentiles who are 'sub-let' to the 'powers', although the idea of Israel’s status was never put in question (2.3). His aim is to evoke the need for the promptings of divine grace and love toward humankind (2.4-10). We also seek to show that Ephesians does not consist of a polemic against meritorious works. We have taken pains to demonstrate that the author of Ephesians has adopted a subtle approach in unraveling the exclusivistic Jewish attitudes toward the Gentiles. His characterization of the Gentiles reveals a distinctively Jewish perspective, and, more importantly, tells us much about the Jews (2.1 l-13a). We also show that the Gentiles were estranged by the Jews and that the estrangement can be best explained by die hypothesis that the Gentiles were perceived by die Jews through the 'grid' of covenantal ethnocentrism. The task of the author at this point is to exhibit his de-constructive strategy which provides a resolution to one of the thorniest issues regarding two ethnic groups: can Jew and Gentile, the two estranged human groups, be one {people of God)l And if so, howl We then go on to consider the way in which an exclusive, ethnic-oriented 'body politic of Israel' is transposed into an inclusive community-body. We pointed out that a major weakness with previous treatments of Ephesians has been a lack of appreciation for the close connections between die exclusive Jewish attitudes toward die Gentiles and the author's encomiastic statements about Christ (2.14-18). Previous scholarship has also been substantially hampered by its attempt to 'discover' a preformed material in Eph. 2.14-18, failing to recognise the discussion in Eph. 2.11-13 which sets the parameters for understanding Eph. 2.14-22. Rather than a 'parenthesis' or 'digression', which is tangential to the primary design of die author's argument, we suggested that Eph. 2.14-18 can be best read as an amplificatio through which the author has set in comparison with the magnanimity of Christ the Jewish attitudes toward the Gentiles (w. llb-12). What becomes immediately clear in his attempt to accentuate Christ's magnanimity toward humankind is that this attempt was prompted by the Jewish tendency to exclude. The author maximises the expedient, noble act of Christ who brings peace to an estranged humanity and surmounts the social distance between Jews and Gentiles, and whose death has in his perception provided a new framework, i.e. pax Christi within which mutual acceptance or 'the oneness of spirit' between Jews and Gentiles may then be filled out (v. 18; cf. 4.1-6). Such community- enhancing metaphors as 'one new man', 'one body' and 'one spirit' signalled the importance of and were introduced to put the exclusive Jewish 'body politic' and Jewish conception about humankind in question, but they never question the legitimacy of Israel as God's choice or replace Israel. Some vital implications of Christ's reconciling work for the Christian Gentiles and, not least, for their relation to Israel are considered in the penultimate chapter of this study. Two major topoi from ancient political theorists and from the Jewish Temple are introduced by the author to surmount the 'us- them' divisions, to forge the idea of sameness and to consolidate a close relationship of Gentiles with other members of an inclusivistic community. Although die author could readily suggest that Gentiles have become fellow-citizens with 'Israel' (2.19; cf. 2.12), he nevertheless refrained from making this suggestion. The fact is that the meaning of Israel had been hijacked, transcoded and turned into an etimically-based 'body politic' (). But with 'die holy ones' (2.19), the author can redefine the relationship of die Gentiles to die Israel of God afresh. We round off our present study by considering the implications which our present study may have for future research on Ephesians
Global ‘sweet enemies’ : the EU-Russia security dilemma
No full textThis dissertation tells the story of conflict in the EU-Russia relationship. What makes this conflict definitive of a ‘security dilemma’, it is argued, is the unintended event of political violence in-between these neighbouring global powers.
A narrative method is used to disclose the character of this ‘security dilemma’. The story it presents of ‘sweet enemies’ has twin historical and theoretical aims. The historical aim is to explain the violent instability in the making of a regional security order in-between 2003 and 2009, and in-between the borders of the EU and Russia. The theoretical aim is to frame a narrative understanding about this global relationship that describes and explains the politics of collective security in the 21st Century.
The political philosopher Michael Oakeshott is the main influence on this thesis. He coined the metaphor ‘sweet enemies’ to reveal a new way of seeing the political relationships on the wing of modern Europe. He organises his study around diametrically opposing modes of political association that are, on one hand, civil and respectful of individual difference, and on the other, teleocratic and always looking to master a collective future. This dissertation presents a reframing of Oakeshott’s metaphor for the 21st Century. In this version of the story, the relationship of Sweet Enemies is completely uncivil. The associates are global others that move in-between radically polarised modes of political association that are of the same teleocratic kind.
This teleocratic politics explains the conflict in the EU-Russia relationship. But it also explains why this conflict did not have to happen, and does not have to be repeated. The existence of this ‘security dilemma’ is contingent on the global choice(s) the EU and Russia make at the beginning of their relationship. Having lived through an uncomfortably close and violently unstable experience in the making and breaking of a regional security order, it is possible these global ‘sweet enemies’ will come out the other side having learnt something from this experience.
This narrative retelling of Oakeshott’s metaphor is intended as an aid to learning about the condition of an uneasy global relationship in the first decade of the 21st Century. This is a time defined by permanent war. But it remains the only time there is. The conclusion is the EU-Russia ‘security dilemma’ is an ongoing issue. Indeed, the strains of discord that characterise this condition of global ‘sweet enemies’ have, if anything, become more intractable and uncivil
O gênero na Biblioteconomia : percepção de bibliotecárias/os
No full textTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Programa de Pós-Graduação Interdisciplinar em Ciências Humanas, Florianópolis, 2014Esta tese teve como objetivo investigar o gênero na Biblioteconomia sob a percepção das/os bibliotecárias/os, que atuam na Biblioteca Central da Universidade Federal da Paraíba (BCUFPB), campus João Pessoa, e na Biblioteca Central da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (BCUFSC), campus Florianópolis. Utilizamos o método da história oral com abordagem de caráter qualitativa. Na construção desta tese, as questões de gênero foram abordadas com enfoque para algumas categorias de análise, tais como: trabalho, profissão e mercado de trabalho das/os bibliotecárias/os no contexto atual. Dentro dessa linha, várias teóricas se destacam entre as quais, podemos citar: Bruschini, Ferreira, Louro, Pedro, Saffioti, Scott, dentre outras. Vale ressaltar que, como se trata de um estudo interdisciplinar, além das autoras citadas, buscamos aportes teóricos na Biblioteconomia com Cunha, Castro, Souto, Souza; na Metodologia: Alberti, Pollak e Portelli, entre outras/os autoras/es que se incorporaram no decorrer da pesquisa. Através deste exercício, podemos verificar as transformações do mercado de trabalho e as mudanças na atuação das mulheres nesse mercado, conquistando, assim, novos espaços. Por outro lado, apesar dos significativos avanços, constatamos que ainda existem profissões "apropriadas" para homens e outras para mulheres e que existem preconceitos e discriminações relacionados às profissões ditas femininas e, consequentemente, pouca valorização das mesmas no mercado de trabalho. Identificamos ainda, a repetição de determinados regimes de gênero que podem ser considerados como uma reiteração das hierarquias deste, as quais bloqueiam o próprio ideal de igualdade de gênero percebido entre os sexos. No caso da Biblioteconomia, além das questões de gênero como marcadores sociais que contribuem para a desvalorização da profissão, constatamos, também, a hierarquia de gênero na divisão sexual do trabalho onde as bibliotecárias estão direcionadas a setores tradicionais menos valorizados como a biblioteca escolar e a infantil e a desenvolverem atividades de menor prestígio como organização do ambiente, recreação, práticas culturais, entre outras que supostamente requerem uma menor qualificação. Os resultados apontaram ainda para uma priorização de poder no qual os bibliotecários do sexo masculino detêm a maioria das coordenações internas das bibliotecas estudadas. Por fim, concluímos que há a interferência de gênero na profissão, observada em todas as questões estudadas sob o prisma de todas as variáveis da pesquisa (sexo, formação acadêmica, faixa etária, tempo de profissão, Instituição), embora, nem sempre foi percebida pelas/pelos informantes da pesquisa.Abstract: This thesis aimed to investigate the gender perspective in Librarianship in the perception of the librarians who act in the Central Library of the Federal University of Paraiba (BCUFPB), João Pessoa campus and in the Central Library of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (BCUFSC), Florianópolis campus. We use the method of oral history with qualitative nature approach consisting of semi-structured interviews. While making up this thesis, the gender issues were treated with focus on some categories of analysis, such as: work, profession and job market of both female and male librarians in the current context. According to this, several female authors are highlighted, such as: Bruschini, Ferreira, Louro, Pedro, Saffioti, Scott, among others. It is worth pointing out that, as it is an interdisciplinary study, in addition to the mentioned authors, we also searched the theoretical principles in Librarianship through authors such as: Cunha, Castro, Souto, Souza; and in the Methodology, Alberti, Pollak and Portelli, among other authors who were added during the research. By means of this exercise, we could verify there are doubts regarding the changes in the job market as well as the changes of the women´s performance in this market, conquering thus new spaces. On the other hand, despite the meaningful advancements, we understood that there are still professions "suitable" for men and others which are "suitable" for women; and that there are prejudice and discrimination related to the so-called female professions and, consequently, their little value in the job market. Yet identified the repetition, of specific gender procedures that can be considered as reiteration of gender hierarchy which hinders the ideal of gender equality perceived between the sexes. In the librarianship case, in addition to the issues of gender as social markers which contribute to the devaluation of the profession, we also perceived gender hierarchy in the sexual division of labor where the female librarians are directed to less valued traditional sectors as the school library and the child library and to develop less prestigious activities such as organization of the environment, recreation, cultural practices, among others that presumably require less qualification. The results also pointed to a prioritization of power in which the male librarians hold the majority of internal coordination positions of the studied libraries. Finally, we concluded that there is gender interference in the profession which isobserved in all the studied questions under the perspective of all research variables (sex, academic formation, age group, profession time, Institution), although it was not always perceived by the research informants
Platonic education : teaching virtue in a constantly changing moral culture
No full textIn this thesis I shall argue (1) that for Plato ‘moral’ education, rightly
understood (or ‘Platonic education’ as I shall call it), can be an
effective method for cultivating virtue in non-ideal societies; (2) that
Platonic education is a process that occurs (or Plato hopes might
occur) through an engagement with some of the dialogues; (3) that
Platonic education strongly mirrors Sokratic discourse in its aims; (4)
that Plato’s whole approach to education should be understood
mainly from the context of the problem of teaching virtue in imperfect
societies; (5) that Plato intends some of the dialogues to serve as a
propaedeutic for a possible education in virtue and not as a method for
creating fully virtuous people. Lastly, (6) Platonic education is
primarily concerned with human virtue, and insofar as it can support
a notion or notions of civic virtue, it cannot do so unequivocally. The
evidence for these claims is found not chiefly in the educational
programmes and theories of the Republic and the Laws but in a
number of techniques, such as protreptic rhetoric, life-models,
argumentation, and myth, which Plato employs in some of the
dialogues. Platonic education is specifically designed to function in
imperfect societies. With this in mind therefore, an additional concern
of this thesis is with whether we could imagine any of Plato’s
educational principles or techniques being used to improve moral
education today
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