73 research outputs found
Birth Intervals and Reproductive Intentions in Eastern Africa: Insights from Urban Fertility Transitions
No full textThis thesis examines the dynamics of fertility in Eastern Africa with a particular focus on urban women. Urbanisation has long been closely associated with demographic transition and the reproductive behaviour of urban women is thought to provide insights about the future fertility transition at the national level. A mixed methods approach is used to explore birth intervals, family building strategies and women‟s fertility intentions. The quantitative analysis uses Demographic and Health Survey data from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, while the qualitative analysis uses data from focus group discussions that I conducted in two informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya.
The analysis of birth intervals uses survival analysis to calculate interval-duration-specific fertility rates, median birth intervals and parity progression ratios. These are used to make inferences about fertility decision-making at the population level. Birth intervals are long and lengthening in all four countries, particularly among women who have used contraception and women with higher levels of education. Large differences exist in birth interval lengths between rural and urban women, even when the results are disaggregated by contraceptive use and educational status. Generally, lengthening birth intervals are being driven by increasing birth postponement and birth spacing, with postponement dominating among women with very long birth intervals. In Ethiopia, there is some evidence of parity-specific family size limitation.
The focus group discussions were analysed using a thematic approach. Urban living, particularly in the informal settlements, is characterised by high levels of social uncertainty, especially among new immigrants from rural areas. This is an important influence on women‟s relationships, which are found to be highly unstable. Fertility intentions are found to be fluid and contingent upon a variety of different factors in women‟s lives. As a result, women‟s decisions about birth spacing and family size are less distinct than demographic theory often assumes.
In sum, this thesis contributes to the body of research suggesting that long birth intervals and postponement are both important features of the fertility transition in Sub-Saharan Africa. These phenomenon are related to each other: social uncertainty leads to fluid fertility intentions, which, in turn cause the widespread postponement of births and lengthening birth intervals
La parenesi bellica nella storiografia greca: prassi allocutiva e procedure compositive
No full textNell’articolo vengono analizzate le principali questioni relative alle esortazioni ai soldati, soprattutto in relazione alle modalità pratiche di comunicazione e alla prassi di rielaborazione dei testi nelle opere storiografiche antiche. Attraverso l’analisi di alcune notazioni delle fonti in merito alle indicazioni realistiche di allocuzione alle truppe, al tema del phobos diffuso negli eserciti e alle specifiche doti richieste ai comandanti di esercito, si avanzano alcune osservazioni che giungono a posizioni in parte lontane da quelle di Mogens Herman Hansen, anche se non del tutto opposte. Lo studioso danese ritiene infatti che la maggior parte dei discorsi parenetici sia da ritenersi pura costruzione, sebbene autorevole, degli antichi: per l’eccessiva lunghezza e complessità dei periodi, non potevano essere udite dall’intero esercito schierato e nella trattatistica antica non vi sarebbe alcun cenno al genere delle battle exhortation. A tale proposito, saranno esaminati un brano della Retorica in cui Aristotele sembra teorizzare proprio il modello delle parenesi belliche e un’orazione di Timoleonte risalente a Timeo il cui testo sembra molto vicino a quella che poteva essere la realtà della pratica militare.
The article analyzes the main subjects of the ancient battle exhortations, especially the ways of communication and the practice of text’s reprocessing in the Greek historiography. Throughout the analysis of some fonts about the realistic suggestions of soldier’s keynote, as well as the popular theme of phobos in the army and the specific skills required to the commanders, we get to some observations that come from different opinions, but not so far from Mogens Herman Hansen’s point of view. The Dutch scholar thinks that most of the battle exhortations are a fictitious ancient reconstruction: the complexity and length of the sentences, in fact, couldn’t be heard from soldiers in the field and furthermore in rhetorical theory there is not any sign of the battle exhortation. For this reason it will be analyzed a text of Aristotele’s Rhetorica, in which the Author seems to theorize the pattern of battle exhortation, and a speech of Timoleon, written by Timaeus and reported by Polybius, whose text seems to be very close to the real military practice.
Battle exhortatio
Organocatalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of SynVesT-1, a PET Imaging Agent of the SV2A Receptor
No full text[18F]SynVesT-1 is a potent and selective positron emission tomography imaging agent for synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2 (SV2A).1 SV2A is an integral transmembrane glycoprotein widely expressed in the brain. Although the exact role of SV2A has not been confirmed, it is known that SV2A participates in key vesicular processes. Furthermore, SV2A is a validated target for epilepsy and a biomarker of synaptic density.2 The established synthetic strategy to obtain [18F]SynVesT-1 involves the multistep synthesis of a racemic intermediate, requiring late-stage separation of the two enantiomers via chiral HPLC.3 Our aim was to develop an asymmetric synthetic route to access [18F]SynVesT-1.
In this work, we optimised a seven-step route to an organotin precursor of [18F]SynVesT-1 starting with a Wittig reaction of 3-bromo-5-fluorobenzaldehyde.4 This was followed by the asymmetric conjugate addition of nitromethane to the resulting cinnamaldehyde utilising the Hayashi-Jørgensen organocatalyst (Scheme 1). Subsequently, a number of standard transformations facilitated the synthesis of the organotin precursor which was then subjected to automated copper(II)-mediated fluoro-destannylation for the preparation of [18F]SynVesT-1. This work will be discussed, along with a second-generation route detailing the synthesis of a boronic ester-derived precursor to [18F]SynVesT-1.
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Music and power at the English court, 1575-1624
No full textThis thesis examines the functions of music and dance in English occasional entertainments between 1575 and 1624 by considering masques, country house entertainments, royal entries and civic pageantry. It explores the changing discourse of music's place within court entertainments, and the ways that different types of entertainment present music. Music's associations with court power are tested through an examination of the ways in which it is adopted and adapted on non-courtly public occasions.
This thesis contends that musical provision and musicality were crucial to the prestige of a particular event, and are therefore crucial to a contextualised interpretation of the textual traces the events have left behind. It seeks to understand the role of music in these events, both in terms of the way its particular qualities are deployed, and also
the way those qualities are presented and exploited within the allegorical schemes of the entertainments themselves.
This study interrogates the circumstances of particular occasions, including aspects such as the place and time of an event, the political standing of the people who attended
and commissioned it, and the resources and personnel available to provide the music and dance for such events. Rather than seeking to separate out these elements, this
thesis examines the way they interact, showing both how music can bring connotative meaning to the events it is part of, and also how the events themselves shape musical
meaning in particular ways. This thesis demonstrates that music's meanings are shaped by the extra-musical factors that surround it, and that music is able both to absorb and
bestow meaning across the boundaries of social differentiation that it is enlisted to reinforce
Synthesis and Photophysical Properties of Benzotriazole-Derived Unnatural α‑Amino Acids
No full textThe
synthesis of a new class of benzotriazole-derived α-amino
acid is described using a highly efficient nucleophilic aromatic substitution
of ortho-fluoronitrobenzenes with l-3-aminoalanine
and a polymer-supported nitrite reagent-mediated diazotization and
cyclization of the subsequent 1,2-aryldiamines as the key steps. Further
functionalization of the benzotriazole unit by preparation of halogenated
analogues and Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling with aryl boronic
acids allowed the synthesis of α-amino acids with conjugated
side chains. Analysis of the photophysical properties of these α-amino
acids revealed that incorporation of electron-rich substituents results
in charge-transfer-based, fluorescent compounds with MegaStokes shifts
Organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of SynVesT-1, A synaptic density positron emission tomography imaging agent
No full textHeterocyclic nonacetamide ligands are used as positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents of the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A), with potential applications in the diagnosis of various neuropsychiatric diseases. To date, the main synthetic strategy to access these optically active compounds has involved the racemic synthesis of a late-stage intermediate followed by the separation of the enantiomers. Here, we describe the use of iminium organocatalysis for the asymmetric synthesis of SynVesT-1, an important PET imaging agent of SV2A. The key step involved the conjugate addition of nitromethane with a cinnamaldehyde in the presence of the Jørgensen–Hayashi catalyst using the Merck dual acid cocatalyst system. Pinnick-type oxidation and esterification of the adduct was then followed by chemoselective nitro group reduction and cyclization using nickel borate. N-Alkylation of the resulting lactam then completed the seven-step synthesis of SynVesT-1. This approach was amenable for the synthesis of an organotin analogue, which following copper(II)-mediated fluoro-destannylation allowed rapid access to [18F]SynVesT-1
Orphans of the HIV/Aids epidemic: An impending crisis for South African development
No full textDespite the fact that there are currently millions of HIV-infected people living in South Africa, the worst effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic have yet to be felt. The most long lasting of these is the anticipated dramatic increase in orphanhood. This paper examines the extent of the impending orphan crisis in South Africa (predominantly using the ASSA2000 model), the impacts of orphanhood on children in HIV/AIDS affected communities, and the role of the Department of Social Development in addressing the issue. National government has committed itself to addressing the impacts of HIV/AIDS on orphanhood, and evidence of this commitment is sought in provincial welfare budgeting flows. Feasibility analysis is conducted to determine the extent of possible effective responses from the Department. Finally, the effects of intervention in the spread of the epidemic on the costs of providing AIDS orphans with a social safety net are considered.HIV/Aids, South Africa, orphans
Using deconstruction to advance traditional compositional and pictorial spaces in contemporary Iranian art
No full textThis thesis considers the possible association of Deconstructive thinking with the pictorial practices of traditional Iranian painting. The author‘s intention has been to improve the understanding of the type of compositional device here termed 'broken space‘ for artists who are interested in the traditional Iranian concept of space, by using deconstruction philosophy and its application in architecture. This research compares and contrasts the ideas that inspired Iranian painters and deconstructionist architects in order to explore ways in which they can be integrated. The author realized that the Iranian-Sufi view of the 'world of the imagination‘ and the deconstructive architect‘s concept of 'chora‘ would be the key ideas for producing the 'broken spaces‘ that are so characteristic of both art forms. Interestingly, these two ideas have comparable features that seem to have generated spaces with similar attributes. Nevertheless, the two forms are derived from completely different ambitions: the Iranian concept is metaphysical and the deconstructive chora is post-metaphysical. The practical part of the research established methods for employing deconstructive thinking whilst advancing the Iranian tradition of representing space. The author‘s practices, which were embedded in the techniques of printmaking, reflected the theoretical and philosophical ambition of building links between medieval thinking and a contemporary movement which is still felt to be radically positioned. Finally the thesis compares the author‘s pictorial approach to 'broken forms‘ of architectural spaces developed in this research with those of other contemporary Iranian artists. The advantages of the deconstructive method are outlined and theoretical and practical similarities such as the desire to create dreamlike spaces are evaluated. All things considered, the two forms can be integrated with greater ease than the alternative interactions with Western ideas currently used by the contemporary artists included in this study. The thesis concludes with some suggestions for further research that could help realize this goal
Reliability and validity of two widely-used worry questionnaires: self-report and self-peer convergence
No full textThe reliability and validity of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and the Worry Domains Questionnaire (WDQ) were examined with self-ratings from a non-clinical sample of 148 students in a test-retest design across four weeks. Ratings from three well-acquainted peers were also obtained. With internal consistencies and test-retest correlations of at least 0.85, the present study confirmed the high reliability of the questionnaires. Moreover, both measures demonstrated substantial convergent validity: Average agreement among peers was 0.42 (PSWQ) and 0.47 (WDQ) and aggregated self-peer agreement was 0.55 (PSWQ) and 0.49 (WDQ). Self-peer agreement was not biased by social desirability. These findings challenge views that worry is an unreliable and unobservable phenomenon
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