35 research outputs found
Infection with Mansonella perstans Nematodes in Buruli Ulcer Patients, Ghana.
No full textDuring August 2010-December 2012, we conducted a study of patients in Ghana who had Buruli ulcer, caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, and found that 23% were co-infected with Mansonella perstans nematodes; 13% of controls also had M. perstans infection. M. perstans co-infection should be considered in the diagnosis and treatment of Buruli ulcer
La féminité, une condamnation à l’inauthenticité? Retour sur la valeur des pratiques et des qualités tributaires de l’assignation des femmes au foyer dans Le deuxième sexe
No full textS’il a souvent été reproché à l’ouvrage Le deuxième sexe de Simone de Beauvoir de promouvoir l’assimilation des femmes aux hommes et l’abandon de leur féminité comme la condition de leur émancipation, l’autrice de cet article entend montrer que la critique beauvoirienne de la féminité n’exclut pas nécessairement la valorisation des qualités et des pratiques qu’elle recouvre. Après l’examen de valorisations du travail ménager et de l’immanence, respectivement proposées par Iris Marion Young et Debrah Bergoffen, l’autrice démontre que la force de l’évaluation beauvoirienne des qualités et des dispositions morales développées depuis des situations féminines, y compris lorsqu’elles sont positivement valorisées, est de ne jamais les distinguer de leur ancrage dans ces situations d’oppression. Elle met notamment en lumière la disposition paradoxale à l’authenticité de certaines femmes au foyer décrites dans Le deuxième sexe.While the book Le deuxième sexe of Simone de Beauvoir has often been criticized for promoting the assimilation of women to men and the abandonment of their femininity as a condition for their emancipation, the author of this article wants to show that the Beauvoirian critique of femininity does not necessarily exclude the valorization of some qualities and practices it encompasses. After examining the valorizations of housework and immanence, respectively proposed by Iris Marion Young and Debrah Bergoffen, the author shows that the strength of the Beauvoirian evaluation of moral qualities and dispositions developed from feminine situations, even when they are positively viewed, is to never distinguish them from their roots in such oppressive situations. In particular, she highlights Beauvoir’s recognition to certain housewives of a paradoxical disposition to authenticity.Si la obra El segundo sexo de Simone de Beauvoir ha sido criticada a menudo por promover la asimilación de la mujer al hombre y el abandono de su feminidad como condición de su emancipación, la autora de este artículo pretende mostrar que la crítica de Beauvoir a la feminidad no excluye necesariamente la valorización de las cualidades y prácticas que abarca. Después de examinar las valoraciones del trabajo doméstico y de la inmanencia, propuestas respectivamente por Iris Marion Young y Debrah Bergoffen, la autora demuestra que la fuerza de la valoración que hace Beauvoir de las cualidades y disposiciones morales desarrolladas a partir de situaciones femeninas, incluso entendidas cuando son valoradas positivamente, es de nunca distinguirlas de su anclaje en estas situaciones de opresión. En particular, destaca la paradójica disposición hacia la autenticidad de ciertas amas de casa descritas en El segundo sexo
A pilot study to examine the feasibility of involving urban beauty salons and stylists in a social marketing campaign aimed at improving calcium consumption among low income, African-American and Hispanic children
No full textResearch has suggested that hair salons are potentially effective venues to implement health-promotion campaigns; and, salon stylists may be viable liaisons for providing the messages to the community. The focus of this thesis was to examine the involvement of the owners/managers and stylists from hair salons located in a low-income, urban community in the implementation of the Calcium: Select to Protect campaign, a campaign targeted toward African-American and/or Hispanic caregivers of young children. Further, it sought to evaluate possible explanations for the campaign's failure. Three realms of Socio-Ecological Model: the institutional/organizational realm (owners/managers), the interpersonal realm (stylists), and the individual realm (clients) were included in this investigation. Fourteen hair salons, their owners/managers (N=14), and their stylists (N=22), participated. Data pertaining to their demographics, motivating factors, community relationships and pertinent constructs of the Stage Theory of Organizational Change were evaluated. Twenty-two hair salon stylists were trained to disseminate the campaign information to their clients. The stylists' demographics, personal characteristics, interpersonal relationships with their clients, and additional information pertaining to the constructs of the Social Cognitive Theory were evaluated. Minimal information regarding the salon clients who did and did not recognize the campaign is presented. Results indicated that the owners/managers were more likely to institutionalize the campaign if they: were a child's caregiver, had perceived campaign implementation as easy, had perceived the campaign was effective, and had considered their participation to be good experience. Sponsoring a community event approached significance when correlated with their intent to institutionalize the campaign. With regard to the stylists, it was found that the campaign training increased their self efficacy and that campaign participation improved their behavioral capability. Descriptive data indicated that more of the clients who had recognized the material were males and that this group was younger than those clients who had not. In conclusion, hair salons and the stylists employed in them were not an effective means of promoting the Calcium: Select to Protect campaign in low-income, urban communities; however, additional research should be done to determine why, and to test multiple methods for improving these outcomes.M.S.Includes bibliographical references (p. 204-210)
Developing Strategic International Human Resource Capabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full text© 2015, Springer. This is an author produced version of a chapter published in INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: CHALLENGES AND CHANGES uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self- archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the publisher's website. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it
Doing Business in Africa - Some Challenges
No full text© 2014, Taylor & Francis Group. This is an author produced version of a chapter published in THE ROUTLEDGE COMPANION TO BUSINESS IN AFRICA uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self- archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the publisher's website. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it
Evaluation of aerobic exercise digital video discs (DVDs) for use by nutrition educators:
No full textObesity is disproportionately prevalent among limited-resource audiences, like participants of the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed). Physical activity is an integral component for weight management, but barriers like time constraints and a lack of space and expensive equipment often prevent this target audience from meeting national physical activity recommendations. Aerobic exercise DVDs may help ameliorate these barriers; thus, this investigation's purpose was to assess their viability for use with SNAP-Ed participants both in the classroom and at home. Five nutrition educators evaluated 124 DVDs to assess their: cast members' demographics; levels of intensity and complexity; adherence to safety guidelines and exercise recommendations; and space and equipment needs. The results of this study supported the notion that exercise DVDs may help the target audience overcome physical activity barriers in that 70 (56%) of the DVDs required no equipment, and the space requirements of all of the videos were modest. Existing DVDs may, however, be of questionable appeal for use with SNAP-Ed participants due to a lack of racial diversity, i.e., the majority of the cast members were White, thin, adult women. Several types of DVDs, particularly "Tae Bo" and kickboxing, would likely have limited appeal for this population due to their high levels of intensity. Similarly, several types of DVDs would likely be unsuitable with regard to complexity, with belly dancing and dance aerobics workouts being rated as the most complex. Walking DVDs may be the best option for nutrition educators to recommend. They were characterized by both low intensity and complexity, yet elicited an average percent maximum heart rate for the research team of 69.88+7.37, which was consistent with national guidelines for moderate to vigorous activity. However, future research endeavors are needed to assess their feasibility with this audience.M.S.Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-107)by Kelly M. Rya
Low-income African-American and Hispanic caregivers' knowledge, behaviors, and perceptions relating to children's calcium intakes: survey results from clients of urban, neighborhood laundromats
No full textLimited-resource African-American and Hispanic children were found to have inadequate intakes of calcium. Since increasing their calcium intakes would decrease their risk for health conditions prevalent in these populations, i.e., lead poisoning, dental caries, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis, this study was performed. More specifically, this work sought to determine if urban, New Jersey laundromats were useful venues in which to educate caregivers about calcium and its importance for their children via the display of "Calcium: Select to Protect" social marketing campaign materials. Also examined were caregivers' perceptions of factors related to children's inadequate calcium intakes. This research sought to accomplish these goals via evaluation tools developed using constructs from the Social-Ecological Model, the Stage Theory of Organizational Change, and the Health Belief Model. Limited-resource African-American (n=134) and Hispanic (n=143) caregivers from ten laundromats were surveyed. Newark, NJ laundromats (n=6) served as intervention sites, and Jersey City, NJ laundromats (n=4) served as control locations. Post-intervention, only two of the 72 Newark laundromat clients surveyed reported exposure to the intervention materials, indicating the campaign's lack of success in this venue. This work's aims were revised, and the data collected, minus the two participants that reported exposure to the intervention, were used to examine caregivers' baseline characteristics that may influence their children's calcium intakes. Few caregivers reported previous exposure to calcium-related materials; however, those receiving WIC reported having had greater exposure to calcium-related materials compared to non-participants t(271) = 2.80, p [less than] .01. Caregivers exhibited limited knowledge of their children's calcium requirements, calcium sources, and calcium-related health conditions. Findings from variables drawn from the Health Belief Model showed that caregivers did not perceive their children to be susceptible to inadequate calcium intakes, had insufficient understanding of the benefits of adequate calcium intakes during childhood, and experienced multiple barriers to ensuring their children's adequate calcium consumption. These factors may have negatively affected children's calcium consumption, and could be addressed via the effective dissemination of "Calcium: Select to Protect" campaign messages. Further research is needed to improve calcium intakes among low-income African-American and Hispanic children who live in urban environments.M.S.Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-199)
Associations of food insecurity, socioeconomic status, and type 2 diabetes among Mexican Americans and non-hispanic whites in the United States:
No full textMexican Americans are the largest segment of Hispanics in the United States of America (U.S.). Hispanics and Mexican Americans are more likely to have higher rates of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and its risk factors such as obesity, physical inactivity, low socioeconomic status (SES), and food insecurity compared to non-Hispanic Whites (NHW). However, the research looking into the associations between these risk factors and T2D, and the potential racial/ethnic differences is limited. This study examined whether food insecurity was related to T2D independently of low SES and a wide range of T2D risk factors among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) in a nationally representative sample in the U.S. About 12,944 adults, including 2,955 Mexican Americans and 6,363 non-Hispanic Whites, 20-84yr, from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2004 were included in the analyses. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that participants with marginal or very low food security (vs. high food security) at the household level were more likely to have T2D after adjusting for education, employment, poverty, race/ethnicity, age, gender, and country of birth (p<0.05). Following further adjustment for obesity, lifestyle factors (physical activity, cigarette smoking, alcohol and dietary intakes), family history of diabetes, and comorbidities, participants with very low (household) food security remained more likely to have T2D (OR 1.84, CI 1.02-3.31). When the two racial/ethnic groups were examined separately, very low food security became a stronger determinant of T2D among NHWs (OR 3.53, CI 1.58-7.87), but this association was attenuated among Mexican Americans. Low SES, as determined by education and employment levels, were marginally related to higher likelihood of having T2D among Mexican Americans (p=0.050) but not among NHWs. These results suggest that associations of food insecurity and SES with T2D vary between Mexican American and NHW adults. This may require different approaches for prevention efforts tailored to the needs of each racial/ethnic group.M.S.Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-105)by Seo Yeon Jan
Maternal feeding styles of overweight and normal weight mothers as predictors of child weight status and energy intake
No full textChildhood obesity has become increasingly prevalent in today's society. Children are more likely to participate in sedentary activities than they are to engage in active behaviors. Children are also eating processed or fast foods at younger ages, due to convenience over health considerations. Parents are purchasing less nutrient-dense foods and teaching their children poorer eating habits early in life when their eating behaviors are just developing. Today, 17% of children aged 2-19 years are overweight and almost another 17% are at risk for becoming overweight, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The objective of this study was to investigate twenty mother-child pairs to examine if self-reported, as well as observed, maternal feeding styles had any predictive results for the childrens energy intake and Body Mass Index (BMI), depending upon the mothers' weight status. Results showed that mothers, regardless of their normal or overweight status, were more like each other than different. On the whole, however, mothers differed significantly in feeding styles and level of weight concern. Overweight mothers were found to have a higher concern for their own weight status than normal weight mothers. Maternal weight did not play a significant role in child BMI, yet how the mothers fed was more significant relative to a child's weight status. It was also found that observed restriction scores, how much a mother was observed to restrict during feeding, were predictive of the child's energy intake before the laboratory lunch. Overall, a larger sample size may provide different results. Future studies may find it advantageous to look deeper into maternal feeding styles, reported and observed, to better understand the importance of how a mother feeds her child and how his or her eating behavior develops.M.S.Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-51)by Natalie R. Vetrin
Survey Data Collection Network (SDC-Net): The impact of Covid-19 on survey data collection methods in the social sciences
No full textThis is the final report of the Survey Data Collection Network (SDC-Net).
SDC-Net was a network of UK-based academic and non-academic partners including government departments, third sector and commercial research organisations, academics and major ESRC investments to share knowledge and collaborate in the area of survey data collection in social surveys as well as in setting the research agenda in the field. The network operated between December 2021 and April 2023.
The Principal Investigator was Olga Maslovskaya (University of Southampton) and the Co-Investigators are Gabriele Durrant (University of Southampton and NCRM), Lisa Calderwood (UCL), Gerry Nicolaas (NatCen) and Laura Wilson (ONS). The network activities were funded by the ESRC via the project “The impact of Covid-19 on survey data collection methods in the Social Sciences” as an additional funding stream of the ESRC-funded UK National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM).
The network included 107 members. The list of the organisations of the network members can be found in Appendix 1. Tim Hanson, who is the Head of ESS Questionnaire Design and Fieldwork in the European Social Survey (ESS), Ben Humberstone, who is the Head of Population Studies in Kantar Public, Sam Clemens, who is the Head of Probability Survey in Ipsos-Mori as well as Debrah Harding, who is the Managing Director of the Market Research Society (MRS), were project partners.
The ESRC recognised the importance of the activities of the previous network GenPopWeb2 which was also funded by the ESRC and the activities of SDC-Net were the continuation of the GenPopWeb2 with the wider scope addressing not only issues associated with online data collection in social surveys but the wider area of survey data collection in the UK
