41 research outputs found
Immortality yet? Or, the permanence of Mary Douglas
No full textThere is no absolute measure for the lasting impact of work by anthropologists. However, the scholarship of Mary Douglas has achieved wide‐ranging interdisciplinary recognition. Here the author considers ways in which her work has impacted scholarship
Mary's room: a case study on becoming a consumer in Francistown, Botswana
No full text
This chapter presents an extended case study of the personal experiences of a young Kalanga woman in Francistown, Botswana, as she moves from village girlhood to incipient urban consumerism. After describing the urban setting of Francistown and the expansion of the town's residential space under the Self-Help Housing Agency (SSHA) project in the 1980s, the author relates the story of Mary's transition from village to urban life, with its vastly increased levels of commodity consumption. He describes her initial rural-orientated identity embodying the productive and reproductive tasks defined for women in a village setting, the conflictive character of her village-oriented ties in the domain of kinship and, to a lesser extent, organized Christian religion, her tentative adoption of a new, socially negotiable identity through new aspirations based on the selection of a different reference group (urban female workmates and co-tenants), her learning of the role of "modern, urban consumer", her definition of a career goal, and her budgetary strategies (rotating credit or 'motshelo', and hire purchase). The narrative is based on participant observation and interviews over a period of five years from 1988. ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde
<it>Aggregatibacter aphrophilus </it>in a patient with recurrent empyema: a case report
No full textAbstract Introduction Aggregatibacter aphrophilus (formerly Haemophilus aphrophilus and H. paraphrophilus) is classically associated with infective endocarditis. Other infections reported in the literature include brain abscess, bone and joint infections and endophthalmitis. There are only two cases of empyema ever reported due to this organism. We report the isolation of A. aphrophilus from pleural fluid on three separate hospital admissions in a patient with recurrent empyema. Case presentation A 65-year-old female patient of Caucasian origin presented with a three-week history of fever, shortness of breath and dry cough. She was found to have a pleural empyema so a chest drain was inserted and a sample of pus was sent to the microbiology laboratory. After overnight incubation, a chocolate blood agar plate incubated in 5% carbon dioxide showed a profuse growth of small, round, glistening colonies which were identified as Gram-negative coccobacilli. They were oxidase- and catalase-negative. Biochemical testing using RapID NH confirmed the identity of the organism as A. aphrophilus. It was susceptible to amoxicillin, levofloxacin and doxycycline. Our patient was treated with intravenous amoxicillin with clavulanic acid and clarithromycin followed by oral doxycycline, but was re-admitted twice over the next three months with recurrent empyema and the same organism was isolated. Each episode was managed with chest drainage and a six-week course of antibiotic--doxycycline for the second episode and amoxicillin for the third episode, after which she has remained well. Conclusion This is the first case report of recurrent empyema due to A. aphrophilus. Our patient had no underlying condition to explain the recurrence. Although our isolate was doxycycline susceptible, our patient had recurrent infection after treatment with this antibiotic, suggesting that this antibiotic is ineffective in treatment of deep-seated A. aphrophilus infection. This organism can be difficult to identify in the laboratory because, unlike closely related Haemophilus spp., it is oxidase-negative, catalase-negative and X and V independent.</p
Students' experiences and expectations of technologies: an Australian study designed to inform planning and development decisions
No full textThe pace of technological change accompanied by an evolution in social, work-based and study behaviours and norms poses particular challenges for universities as they strive to develop high quality and sustainable technology-rich learning environments. Maintaining currency with the latest advances is resource intensive, hence the costs incurred in upgrading existing and introducing new technologies need to be carefully weighed up against the potential benefits to students. This calls for a multidimensional approach to planning, with the student voice being an important dimension. Three Australian universities have recently completed a project to gain a better understanding of students\u27 experiences and expectations of technologies in everyday life and for study purposes. The LMS and 25 other technologies ranging from established university offerings (email, learning management systems) to freely available social networking technologies (YouTube, Facebook) were surveyed. More than 10,000 students responded. This paper discusses the development of the survey and presents the broad trends that have emerged in relation to the current use of technologies and desired future use of these for learning purposes. The implications of the survey findings for developing institutional infrastructure to engage students and support their learning are highlighted
A comprehensive analysis of the impact of pseudomonas aeruginosa colonisation in adult bronchiectasis
No full textMary Douglas\u27 Purity and Danger revisited
No full textThe author’s starting point is that Mary Douglas’ Purity and Danger is still an excellent stopping place for all those who, as theologian or religious scholar, wish to become acquainted with the most significant anthropological theories concerning religious (purity) rites and rituality (cultural revolutionism, functionalism, symbolism, cognitive anthropology and structuralism). Nevertheless, the author does not yet wholly agree with Richard Fardon when he claims that in Purity and Danger Douglas, in addition to an elaboration of a structuralist and functionalist approach to impure behaviour and rituals, has also developed a broad evolutionary theory of religion and culture and that much of the complexity of the book is a result of the attempt to reconcile these two arguments, which are based on different starting points. The author holds a more subtle opinion and suggests that more justice is done to the intrinsic value of Purity and Danger by stating that Douglas formulates a clear thesis and that she attempts to elaborate this thesis in a kind of Hegelian model of thesis-antithesis-synthesis throughout the various chapters. In doing so, when possible she unites the differences she comes across during the development of her ideas on a higher level and retains an openness for the introduction of new ideas that, on the basis of new empirical research or new interpretations of existing studies, could more or less nuance or adjust her own theories, thus without necessarily having had the intention of constructing an alternative form of cultural evolutionism.The author’s starting point is that Mary Douglas’ Purity and Danger is still an excellent stopping place for all those who, as theologian or religious scholar, wish to become acquainted with the most significant anthropological theories concerning religious (purity) rites and rituality (cultural revolutionism, functionalism, symbolism, cognitive anthropology and structuralism). Nevertheless, the author does not yet wholly agree with Richard Fardon when he claims that in Purity and Danger Douglas, in addition to an elaboration of a structuralist and functionalist approach to impure behaviour and rituals, has also developed a broad evolutionary theory of religion and culture and that much of the complexity of the book is a result of the attempt to reconcile these two arguments, which are based on different starting points. The author holds a more subtle opinion and suggests that more justice is done to the intrinsic value of Purity and Danger by stating that Douglas formulates a clear thesis and that she attempts to elaborate this thesis in a kind of Hegelian model of thesis-antithesis-synthesis throughout the various chapters. In doing so, when possible she unites the differences she comes across during the development of her ideas on a higher level and retains an openness for the introduction of new ideas that, on the basis of new empirical research or new interpretations of existing studies, could more or less nuance or adjust her own theories, thus without necessarily having had the intention of constructing an alternative form of cultural evolutionism
A proof of concept study to evaluate stepping down the dose of fluticasone in combination with salmeterol and tiotropium in severe persistent asthma
No full textWe conducted a double blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, crossover study evaluating the effects of halving inhaled steroid dosage plus salmeterol, or salmeterol and tiotropium. Eighteen life-long non-smoking severe asthmatics [mean FEV1 1.49 l (51%)] were run-in for 4 weeks on HFA-fluticasone propionate 1000 µg daily, and were subsequently randomised to 4 weeks of either (a) HFA-fluticasone propionate 500 µg BD/salmeterol 100 µg BD/HFA-tiotropium bromide18 µg od; or (b) fluticasone propionate 500 µg BD/salmeterol 100 µg BD matched placebo. Measurements of spirometry and body plethysmography were made. Adding salmeterol to half the dose of fluticasone led to a mean improvement (95% CI) vs. baseline in morning PEF of 41.5 (14.0–69.0) l/min [p<0.05]; and RAW of 0.98 (0.14–1.8) cm H2O/l/s [p<0.05]. Adding salmeterol/tiotropium produced similar improvements in PEF and RAW, but also improved FEV1 by 0.17 (0.01–0.32) l [p<0.05]; FVC 0.24 (0.05–0.43) l [p<0.05] and reduced exhaled NO by 2.86 (0.12–5.6) ppb [p<0.05]. RV and TLC were not altered by either treatment; there were no significant changes in symptoms or quality of life compared with baseline. Addition of salmeterol/tiotropium to half the dose of fluticasone afforded small, but significant improvements in pulmonary function. These effects were not associated with commensurate changes in subjective symptoms or quality of life
Proposed changes to management of lower respiratory tract infections in response to the Clostridium difficile epidemic
No full textClostridium difficile infection (CDI) remains a major healthcare problem associated with antibiotic use in hospitals. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the incidence of CDI in the UK and internationally. Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are the leading indication for antibiotic prescription in hospitals and are therefore a critical battleground in the fight against inappropriate antibiotic use and healthcare-associated infections. This article reviews the evidence for interventions to reduce CDI in hospitalized patients with LRTIs. Reducing prescriptions of cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones in favour of penicillin-based regimens and increased use of tetracyclines have been proposed. Expanding outpatient management of LRTIs and reducing length of hospital stay will limit patient exposure to the healthcare environment in which C. difficile is most easily acquired. Intravenous (iv) broad-spectrum antibiotics are often prescribed when narrower spectrum, oral antimicrobials would be equally effective and, in a proportion of patients, antibiotic therapy is used unnecessarily. Shorter antibiotic regimes may be as effective as prolonged therapy and reduce antibiotic-related complications. Early switch from iv to oral therapy allows simpler antibiotic regimens and facilitates early discharge from hospital. Simple improvements in the management of LRTIs have the potential to reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infections
