Relations police-minorités ethniques

Dans ce texte témoignage, l'auteur présente une analyse critique des relations entre la police et les minorités noires en particulier. Il explore les mécanismes sous-jacents et l'origine de la détérioration dans ces relations et propose des mesures à mettre en place pour modifier les perceptions et les attitudes respectives et créer le climat favorable à l'instauration d'une confiance mutuelle.In this testimony, the author presents a critical analysis of relations between the police and black minorities in particular. The author explores the underlying mechanisms and the origins of the deterioration of these relations, and suggests measures to change the respective perceptions and attitudes, and to create a positive climate leading to mutual trust

La transe vaudouesque : un syndrome de déviance psycho-culturelle

SPIRIT POSSESSION:A PSYCHO-CULTURAL SYNDROME OF DEVIANT BEHAVIOURThe Voodoo trance represents the principal aspect of deviant behaviour among coloured people. This tricky phenomenon, always considered a challenge to any scientific explanation, was subjected to an experimental analysis.We wanted to find out what the trance performers have in common and to check whether a typical psychological structure could be associated with their deviant behaviour.The sample included forty-four subjects divided into three categories: a) a ritual group, b) a non-ritual group, c) a control group. No male subject was used because very few men are ever possessed by spirits. Every subject was submitted to a preliminary medical check-up (physical, neurological and laboratory tests), and to a series of psychological examinations (Raven, Goldstein-Scheerer, Sacks, Rorschach, autobiographical and personality questionnaires).The findings of the neurologist, the pathologist and the laboratory were completely negative as far as somatic predisposition to trance was concerned. But evidence of significant differences between the experimental and the control groups was demonstrated on the basis of personality tests and autobiographical questionnaires.Spirit possession, to be induced, requires not only specific conditioning experiences, but also a disturbed, anxious and depressed personality. The non-ritual form does not imply a higher degree of pathology.An intimate relationship between possession, states of depression and suicide has been indicated. The trance seems to be the only alternative for the neutralization of hostile feelings, either directed to the self or to others. The inhibitory effect of possession could finally prove to be a factor in reducing criminality in Haiti.LA POSESIÔN VODUESCA:UN SÎNDROME DE CONDUCTA PSICO-CULTURAL DESVIANTEExplicar la crisis de posesiôn en el Vodû équivale a comprender una dimension fundamental de la psico-patologia del negro. Este fenômeno, que ha constituido siempre un enigma psicolôgico, es aqui objeto por vez primera de una comprobaciôn experimental.Se trataba de saber si existe un perfil caracteristico de la personalidad de los posesos del Vodû y de estudiar la verdadera naturaleza de dicho perfil. Cuarenta y cuatro sujetos del sexo femenino repartidos en dos grupos expérimentales y uno de control fueron examinados con esta finalidad. Cada sujeto fué sometido a pruebas de control (médico, neurolôgico, laboratorio) y a exâmenes psicolôgicos (Raven, Goldstein-Scheerer, Sacks, Rorschach, autobiografia, observaciôn del comportamiento, pruebas objetivas de examen mental).Los resultados indican que los factores fisicos e intelectuales deben ser eliminados en cualquier consideraciôn etiolôgica de la posesiôn. En cambio, la persona expuesta a crisis de loâ présenta una evidencia psico-patolôgica demostrada experimentalmente. Hay que estar psicolôgicamente perturbado para ponerse en trance, el cual no se limita sin embargo a un tipo ûnico de personalidad môrbida. La posesiôn voduesca no es mâs patolôgica fuera del contexto de las ceremonias. Supone, ademâs de un nerviosismo excesivo, predisposiciones particulares y un acondicionamiento a la crisis. La posesa, neurôpata o psicôpata, solo puede ser comprendida a través de la nociôn de desesperaciôn. La crisis le es indispensable para ayudarla a mantener un equilibrio esencialmente inestable.Existe por otra parte una relaciôn intima entre la posesiôn, el suicidio y los estados depresivos. Una gran parte de la agresividad del haitiano encuentra una salida natural en el trance voduesco, que constituye un medio de neutralizaciôn de tendencias destructivas. De esta mariera el Vodû compensa eficazmente la rareza de casos de suicidio y homicidio en Haiti y ejerce indirectamente una funciôn reductora de la criminalidad en este pais.DIE « VUDU » BESESSENHEIT:SYNDROM EINER PSYCHO-KULTURELLEN DEVIANZWenn man einen « Vudu » Besessenheitsanfall zu deuten vermag, so heisst das. dass man zu einem tiefen Verstândnis einer grundliegenden Dimension der Psychopathologie des Schwarzen gelangt ist. Dieses Phànomen, das immer ein psychologisches Râtsel gewesen ist, ist hier zum ersten Mal experimentell untersucht worden.Wir wollten erforschen, ob es einen charakteristischen Persônlich-keitszug des Vudubesessenen gibt und welche seine wirkliche Natur ist. Zu diesem Zweck sind 44 weibliche Probandinnen .— unterteilt in zwei Unter-suchungsgruppen und eine Kontrollgruppe ~ untersucht worden. jedePatientin wurde einerseits Kontrolltests (medizinische und neurologische Tests und Laboruntersuchungen), andererseits psychologischen Examen unterworfen (Raven, Goldstein-Scheerer, Sacks, Rorschach) und auf Autobiographie, Verhalten und objektive geistige Aufnahmefähigkeit untersucht.Die Ergebnisse beweisen, dass physische und intellektuelle Faktoren aus jeder ätiologischen Betrachtung des Anfalls auszuscheiden sind. Auf der anderen Seite hingegen, zeigt die Person, die einen Loaanfall erlebt, eine deutliche psychopathologische Neigung, die experimentell nachgewiesen ist. Um einen Trancezustand zu erleben, muss man psychologisch gestört sein, aber die Krise ist nicht auf einen einzigen krankhaften. Persönlichkeitstypus beschränkt. Die Vudubesessenheit ist — aus dem Zusammenhang der Zeremonien gerissen ~- nicht mehr pathologisch. Sie setzt, ausser einer Hypernervosität, besondere Prädispositionen voraus und eine Angewöhnung an den Trancezustand. Man kann die echte Natur einer Besessenen, ganz gleich, ob sie neurotisch oder psychotisch ist, nur dann begreifen, wenn man als Ausgangspunkt den Begriff der Verzweiflung in Betracht zieht. Die Krise ist ihr lebensnotwendig, um ihr zu helfen, ein im Wesentlichen unstetes Gleichgewicht beizubehalten. Des weiteren besteht eine enge Beziehung zwischen der Besessenheit, dem Selbstmord und den depressiven Zuständen. Beim Bewohner von Haiti findet ein beträchtlicher Teil seiner Aggressivität im Vuduanfall ein natürliches Ventil, das wie ein Mittel zur Neutralisierung zerstörerischer Tendenzen erscheint.So kann man sagen, dass der Vuduzauber auf positive Weise Mord und Selbstmord auf Haiti ersetzt, die beide dort sehr selten vorkommen, und dass er so, auf indirekte Art, wesentlich zur Verminderung des Verbrechens in diesem Lande beiträgt

Black in America but not Black American: A Qualitative Study of the Identity Development of Black Caribbean Immigrants

Thesis advisor: Janet E. HelmsBlack Caribbean Immigrants (BCIs) migrating to the US face the particularly difficult challenge of managing their racial and ethnic identities in relation to the subordinate African American (AA) culture and racial group as well as the dominant White American (WA) culture and racial group. Formal theories of acculturation have not focused on the adaptation of Black immigrants to both a low-status racial group (e.g., Blacks) and ethnic culture (e.g., African American) in the US. The acculturation literature usually has evaded the topic of race and the racial literature has not addressed Black immigration or ethnicity. Furthermore, when investigations of acculturation of BCIs have occurred, consumer habits, behaviors, and cultural expressions have been used as proxies for racial and ethnic identity. Moreover, virtually no research has investigated the BCI-AA acculturation experience from the perspective of BCIs. Hypotheses derived from an integration of Berry’s (1997) theory of acculturation and Ferguson et al.’s (2012) tridimensional model of minority-status ethnicity were that BCIs’ acculturation involves the intersection of two dimensions: (a) joining or not joining AA culture versus maintaining one’s own ethnic culture and (b) Black racial integration versus separation. When responses to each dimension are assessed, four possible acculturation outcomes were proposed: (a) Separation, (b) Integration, (c) Assimilation, and (d) Marginalization. The sample for the present study was Black Caribbean immigrants from the English and French speaking West Indies. I used narrative theory and analysis of participants’ interviews to assess the fit of participants’ stories about their ethnic/racial identity and acculturation process to the model. Findings indicated that maintenance of their ethnic culture rather than joining AA culture was more important for most of the interviewees than their Black racial identity (i.e., Separation).Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology

The GirlStars Program: Challenges to Recruitment and Retention in a Physical Activity and Health Education Program for Adolescent Girls Living in Public Housing

BACKGROUND. Although physical inactivity is a concern for all adolescents, physical activity levels are especially low among minority adolescents and minimal among girls from low-income families. After-school programs can reduce high-risk behaviors and strengthen schools, families, and communities. CONTEXT. We conducted an operational research project that provided free access to a program of regular, organized physical activity combined with health education sessions for adolescent girls in 2 public housing developments in Boston, Massachusetts. METHODS. From July 2002 through October 2005, at each of 2 public housing sites, the GirlStars program participants met each week for two 2-hour sessions, 1 dedicated to physical activity and 1 dedicated to health education. Sessions were led by the project coordinator and a resident assistant at each development. OUTCOME. Participants in the GirlStars program increased their health knowledge, self-confidence, and decision-making skills, but rates of participation were low. Factors that affected participation included safety concerns, lack of community support for the program, interpersonal conflicts, attrition in staff, and conflicts with other activities. INTERPRETATION. Programs in public housing developments that address these barriers to recruitment and retention may be more successful and reach more girls

Impact of Crop Diversification on Household Food and Nutrition Security in Southern and Central Mali

Many African countries, including Mali, depend on the production of a single or a limited range of crops for national food security. In Mali, this heavy reliance on a range of basic commodities or staple crops, or even just one, exacerbates multiple risks to agricultural production, rural livelihoods, and nutrition. With this in mind, the smart food campaign was initiated to strengthen the resilience and nutritional situation of households and peasant communities where the diet is mainly cereal-based and remains very undiversified and poor in essential micronutrients. As part of the campaign, our study aims to analyze the impact of agricultural diversification on food consumption and household nutritional security. The analysis uses survey data from 332 individuals randomly selected. Multinomial logistic regression and the Simpson diversity index were used to determine the index and estimate the determinants of crop diversification. The consumption score index weighted by consumption frequency and anthropometric indices (for children) were used to assess the nutritional status of households. The results show four types of strategies of diversification: 7.55% are cereals only, 5.66% combine millet–sorghum–groundnut, 41.51% combine millet–sorghum–groundnut–cowpea, and 45.28% combine millet–sorghum–groundnut–cowpea–maize. The estimation of the regression model shows that socioeconomic factors have a positive influence. With a consumption score index of 34 in the villages and 40.5 in Bamako, based on eight food groups, we find that the quality of food is insufficient in rural areas, but it is acceptable in the urban center of Bamako. Analysis of the nutritional status of children aged 6–48 months reveals that 30% of the surveyed population is in a situation of nutritional insecurity (all forms combined). To help improve crop diversification and the nutritional quality of foods, we suggest, among other things, subsidies and public spending tofacilitate access to inputs that allow the acquisition of a wider range of inputs and services, intensification of nutrition awareness, and education programs to maximize the incentive to consume nutritious foods from self-production and market purchases. Finally, we propose to facilitate access to technologies promoting food diversification and improving food and nutritional security, particularly in rural areas

Rice bran supplementation modulates growth, microbiota and metabolome in weaning infants: a clinical trial in Nicaragua and Mali

Rice bran supplementation provides nutrients, prebiotics and phytochemicals that enhance gut immunity, reduce enteric pathogens and diarrhea, and warrants attention for improvement of environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) in children. EED is a subclinical condition associated with stunting due to impaired nutrient absorption. This study investigated the effects of rice bran supplementation on weight for age and length for age z-scores (WAZ, LAZ), EED stool biomarkers, as well as microbiota and metabolome signatures in weaning infants from 6 to 12 months old that reside in Nicaragua and Mali. Healthy infants were randomized to a control (no intervention) or a rice bran group that received daily supplementation with increasing doses at each month (1–5 g/day). Stool microbiota were characterized using 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. Stool metabolomes were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid-chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry. Statistical comparisons were completed at 6, 8, and 12 months of age. Daily consumption of rice bran was safe and feasible to support changes in LAZ from 6–8 and 8–12 months of age in Nicaragua and Mali infants when compared to control. WAZ was significantly improved only for Mali infants at 8 and 12 months. Mali and Nicaraguan infants showed major differences in the overall gut microbiota and metabolome composition and structure at baseline, and thus each country cohort demonstrated distinct microbial and metabolite profile responses to rice bran supplementation when compared to control. Rice bran is a practical dietary intervention strategy that merits development in rice-growing regions that have a high prevalence of growth stunting due to malnutrition and diarrheal diseases. Rice is grown as a staple food, and the bran is used as animal feed or wasted in many low- and middle-income countries where EED and stunting is prevalent

Distinguishing the Impacts of Inadequate Prey and Vessel Traffic on an Endangered Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Population

Managing endangered species often involves evaluating the relative impacts of multiple anthropogenic and ecological pressures. This challenge is particularly formidable for cetaceans, which spend the majority of their time underwater. Noninvasive physiological approaches can be especially informative in this regard. We used a combination of fecal thyroid (T3) and glucocorticoid (GC) hormone measures to assess two threats influencing the endangered southern resident killer whales (SRKW; Orcinus orca) that frequent the inland waters of British Columbia, Canada and Washington, U.S.A. Glucocorticoids increase in response to nutritional and psychological stress, whereas thyroid hormone declines in response to nutritional stress but is unaffected by psychological stress. The inadequate prey hypothesis argues that the killer whales have become prey limited due to reductions of their dominant prey, Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). The vessel impact hypothesis argues that high numbers of vessels in close proximity to the whales cause disturbance via psychological stress and/or impaired foraging ability. The GC and T3 measures supported the inadequate prey hypothesis. In particular, GC concentrations were negatively correlated with short-term changes in prey availability. Whereas, T3 concentrations varied by date and year in a manner that corresponded with more long-term prey availability. Physiological correlations with prey overshadowed any impacts of vessels since GCs were lowest during the peak in vessel abundance, which also coincided with the peak in salmon availability. Our results suggest that identification and recovery of strategic salmon populations in the SRKW diet are important to effectively promote SRKW recovery