FROM PETISTA WAY TO BRAZILIAN WAY: HOW THE PT CHANGES IN THE ROAD

When Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva won Brazil’s presidency in 2002, he and his Workers’ Party (PT) had most observers convinced that this was a watershed moment for the country’s democracy. After all, the PT had built a reputation for over twenty years for good government and ethics in politics. Yet Lula’s government has been severely undermined by corruption scandals, which surprised the most cynical PT-watchers and fostered broad disillusionment among many long-time PT supporters. This article lays out four interweaving strands of explanation for the PT’s fall from grace, involving: the high cost ofBrazilian elections, the strategic decisions of the party’s dominant faction, economic constraints on an eventual Lula administration, and the difficulties of multi-party presidential systems

Acute post-disaster medical needs of patients with diabetes: emergency department use in New York City by diabetic adults after Hurricane Sandy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the acute impact of disasters on diabetic patients, we performed a geospatial analysis of emergency department (ED) use by New York City diabetic adults in the week after Hurricane Sandy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using an all-payer claims database, we retrospectively analyzed the demographics, insurance status, and medical comorbidities of post-disaster ED patients with diabetes who lived in the most geographically vulnerable areas. We compared the patterns of ED use among diabetic adults in the first week after Hurricane Sandy\u27s landfall to utilization before the disaster in 2012. RESULTS: In the highest level evacuation zone in New York City, postdisaster increases in ED visits for a primary or secondary diagnosis of diabetes were attributable to a significantly higher proportion of Medicare patients. Emergency visits for a primary diagnosis of diabetes had an increased frequency of certain comorbidities, including hypertension, recent procedure, and chronic skin ulcers. Patients with a history of diabetes visited EDs in increased numbers after Hurricane Sandy for a primary diagnosis of myocardial infarction, prescription refills, drug dependence, dialysis, among other conditions. CONCLUSIONS: We found that diabetic adults aged 65 years and older are especially at risk for requiring postdisaster emergency care compared to other vulnerable populations. Our findings also suggest that there is a need to support diabetic adults particularly in the week after a disaster by ensuring access to medications, aftercare for patients who had a recent procedure, and optimize their cardiovascular health to reduce the risk of heart attacks

Preparing for Ebola Virus Disease in West African countries not yet affected: perspectives from Ghanaian health professionals

Background The current Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) epidemic has ravaged the social fabric of three West African countries and affected people worldwide. We report key themes from an agenda-setting, multi-disciplinary roundtable convened to examine experiences and implications for health systems in Ghana, a nation without cases but where risk for spread is high and the economic, social and political impact of the impending threat is already felt. Discussion Participants’ personal stories and the broader debates to define fundamental issues and opportunities for preparedness focused on three inter-related themes. First, the dangers of the fear response itself were highlighted as a threat to the integrity and continuity of quality care. Second, healthcare workers’ fears were compounded by a demonstrable lack of societal and personal protections for infection prevention and control in communities and healthcare facilities, as evidenced by an ongoing cholera epidemic affecting over 20,000 patients in the capital Accra alone since June 2014. Third, a lack of coherent messaging and direction from leadership seems to have limited coordination and reinforced a level of mistrust in the government’s ability and commitment to mobilize an adequate response. Initial recommendations include urgent investment in the needed supplies and infrastructure for basic, routine infection control in communities and healthcare facilities, provision of assurances with securities for frontline healthcare workers, establishment of a multi-sector, “all-hazards” outbreak surveillance system, and engaging directly with key community groups to co-produce contextually relevant educational messages that will help decrease stigma, fear, and the demoralizing perception that the disease defies remedy or control. Summary The EVD epidemic provides an unprecedented opportunity for West African countries not yet affected by EVD cases to make progress on tackling long-standing health systems weaknesses. This roundtable discussion emphasized the urgent need to strengthen capacity for infection control, occupational health and safety, and leadership coordination. Significant commitment is needed to raise standards of hygiene in communities and health facilities, build mechanisms for collaboration across sectors, and engage community stakeholders in creating the needed solutions. It would be both devastating and irresponsible to waste the opportunity

Attack Rates Assessment of the 2009 Pandemic H1N1 Influenza A in Children and Their Contacts: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: The recent H1N1 influenza A pandemic was marked by multiple reports of illness and hospitalization in children, suggesting that children may have played a major role in the propagation of the virus. A comprehensive detailed analysis of the attack rates among children as compared with their contacts in various settings is of great importance for understanding their unique role in influenza pandemics. Methodology/Principal Findings: We searched MEDLINE (PubMed) and Embase for published studies reporting outbreak investigations with direct measurements of attack rates of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A among children, and quantified how these compare with those of their contacts. We identified 50 articles suitable for review, which reported school, household, travel and social events. The selected reports and our meta-analysis indicated that children had significantly higher attack rates as compared to adults, and that this phenomenon was observed for both virologically confirmed and clinical cases, in various settings and locations around the world. The review also provided insight into some characteristics of transmission between children and their contacts in the various settings. Conclusion/Significance: The consistently higher attack rates of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A among children, as compared to adults, as well as the magnitude of the difference is important for understanding the contribution of children to disease burden, for implementation of mitigation strategies directed towards children, as well as more precise mathematical modeling and simulation of future influenza pandemics

DIPL 6806 Political Economy of Latin America and the Caribbean

This seminar provides an overview of major approaches to the study of political economy in Latin America, past and present development trends, and recent debates over economic policy. The course begins with classic questions of the mutual reciprocal relations between politics and economics before covering the major debates between structural and institutional approaches. It proceeds by examining the switch from import-substituting industrialization to export-led growth models in the 1980s and 1990s as well as the effects of and reactions to the rise of neoliberal economic policies. The last several weeks examine new reform efforts in industry, agriculture, finance, and administration as well as the current economic crisis. Course readings balance theory and empirics, range across methodologies and academic disciplines, and provide contrasting normative perspectives

DIPL 4101 AB 5101 AB Senior Research Project/Diplomacy Honors Thesis Project

This course is designed to help students learn research, writing, and oral communications skills that they can apply to all academic and professional pursuits. The ultimate goal is to complete a well-written, strongly argued, and thoroughly documented Senior Research / Honors Thesis Project. The course structure includes both class and individual meetings. The first several weeks mix class and individual meetings with the professor to focus on helping students turn their research interests into a research puzzle, find and use sources, develop hypotheses, conceptualize variables, identify an effective research design, and present their ideas professionally in public settings. The next several weeks help students shape their particular projects, with a focus on writing, revising, and providing effective feedback to fellow students. During the last weeks, the students formally present their research and constructively critique one another’s presentations

DIPL 6806 Political Economy of Latin America and the Caribbean

This seminar provides an overview of major approaches to the study of political economy in Latin America, past and present development trends, and recent debates over economic policy. The course begins with classic questions of the mutual reciprocal relations between politics and economics before covering the major debates between structural and institutional approaches. It proceeds by examining the switch from import-substituting industrialization to export-led growth models in the 1980s and 1990s as well as the effects of and reactions to the rise of neoliberal economic policies. The last several weeks examine new reform efforts in industry, agriculture, finance, and administration as well as the recent economic crisis. Course readings balance theory and empirics, range across methodologies and academic disciplines, and provide contrasting normative perspectives