Trust, membership in groups, and household welfare

This paper explores the relationship between group membership and trust. Specifically, the authors examine (1) the importance of trust in the decision to join groups, (2) the subsequent ability of groups to generate trust, and (3) the influence of group membership and trust on a measure of well-being, per capita household income. They use longitudinal data from KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, allowing them to control for potential simultaneity and measurement-error problems in the estimation. They disaggregate groups into financial and nonfinancial and “trust in people” by type of agent or actor. They can thus examine whether different types of trust are important for participating in different types of groups and whether different types of group participation are important for generating different types of trust. The research finds that (1) trust in local agents is an important determinant of membership in financial groups but not for membership in nonfinancial groups, (2) membership in both types of groups generates trust in nonlocal agents but not local agents, and (3) membership in financial and nonfinancial groups leads to higher well-being. The first two results suggest that financial groups serve a role in expanding the radius of trust, while the first and third results suggest a role for trust in improving well-being.Community participation South Africa. ,Financial institutions South Africa. ,Trust. ,Group membership. ,

Trust, membership in groups, and household welfare

This paper explores the relationship between group membership and trust. Specifically, the authors examine (1) the importance of trust in the decision to join groups, (2) the subsequent ability of groups to generate trust, and (3) the influence of group membership and trust on a measure of well-being, per capita household income. They use longitudinal data from KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, allowing them to control for potential simultaneity and measurement-error problems in the estimation. They disaggregate groups into financial and nonfinancial and “trust in people” by type of agent or actor. They can thus examine whether different types of trust are important for participating in different types of groups and whether different types of group participation are important for generating different types of trust. The research finds that (1) trust in local agents is an important determinant of membership in financial groups but not for membership in nonfinancial groups, (2) membership in both types of groups generates trust in nonlocal agents but not local agents, and (3) membership in financial and nonfinancial groups leads to higher well-being. The first two results suggest that financial groups serve a role in expanding the radius of trust, while the first and third results suggest a role for trust in improving well-being.Community participation South Africa. ,Financial institutions South Africa. ,Trust. ,Group membership. ,

Power, politics, and performance: community participation in South African public works programs

"...Through a study of seven public works programs implemented in Western Cape province, this report examines the benefits and challenges of pursuing community participation, together with the effects of participation on meeting the other objectives of the programs. Although aspects of South Africa's experience are unique to its political economy, the study's findings reveal insights, dilemmas, and possibilities of considerable relevance in the wider context of participatory or “community-driven” development programs, which have increasingly become integral to the development agenda throughout the world.and were not trained...Politics, conflicts of interest, struggles over resources, and processes of consultation and consensus-building are part of the landscape of community-driven development. If participatory development is to remain on South Africa's development agenda, all actors must commit to realizing this objective, including generating sufficient resources, creativity, and patience to see the process through." from Authors' SummaryPublic works South Africa, Community development South Africa, Community participation South Africa, Development programs Evaluation, Civil society, Government policy,

The Role of Anti- and Pro-apoptotic Cofactors in Hypoxia/Reoxygenation-Dependent Regulation of MAPKs in the Brain of an Anoxia-Tolerant Model

The cellular and molecular regulation of MAPKs and apoptosis was investigated in a model of hypoxiatolerance. Survival of neurons in Chrysemys picta bellii, an anoxia-tolerant turtle, involves a reduction in energy metabolism. The biochemical/physiological mechanisms of anoxia tolerance have been examined at the level of ion transport and ATP turnover. However, changes in the phosphorylation state of key enzymes and kinases, mainly, MAPKs, may occur during anoxia, thereby reversible protein phosphorylation could be a critical factor and major mechanism of metabolic reorganization for enduring anaerobiosis. If a turtle were to undergo hypoxia akin to that experienced in its native habitat, it was placed in a glass aquarium filled with water to within a half inch of the top. After the turtle was anesthetized, through extended hypoxia or anesthesia, the animal was sacrificed by decapitation. The brain was then excised and placed in anoxic artificial cerebrospinal fluid. Total protein extraction was performed by homogenizing brain in a buffer, followed by threonine and tyrosine phosphorylation determination of MAPKs, and caspase activity. MAPKp38 was decreased after reoxygenation following 1 day and 1 week hypoxia. The effect of hypoxia on the phosphorylation of MAPKERK was biphasic: Enhancement at 5h and inhibition at 6 weeks. Pro-caspases 8/9 were unchanged by hypoxia until increasing at 6 weeks. Both pro-caspases were upregulated by reoxygenation at 1 day or 6 weeks hypoxia. Neither hypoxia nor reoxygenation induced the cleavage of pro-caspases 8/9 into p20 and p10, respectively. Furthermore, hypoxia induced Bax at 3 days and 1 week, and reoxygenation increased Bax - 4-fold at 1 day. Although the expression of Bcl-2 was slightly increased by hypoxia, [Bcl-2] was 3-4-fold smaller in comparison with Bax. These results indicate that hypoxia up-regulates MAPKERK but not MAPKp38; hypoxia/reperfusion increases the expression of caspases and pro-apoptotic cofactors. The patterns of MAPK regulation suggest the significance of these kinases in cellular adaptation to oxygen deprivation with biomedical correlations, and thereby identify novel natural responsive signaling cofactors in Chrysemys picta bellii with potential pharmacologic and clinical applications

Molecular Regulation of Inflammatory Pain and Hyperalgesia - Is NF-?B the Lynchpin?

Inflammatory cells and inflammatory mediators are crucially involved in the genesis, persistence and severity of pain following trauma, infection or nerve injury. The mechanisms and pathways mediating pain and nociception are transcriptionally regulated. The transcriptional mediator nuclear factor (NF)-kB plays a major role in regulating the inflammatory milieu, ostensibly via the control of gene expression/suppression. An association has recently emerged to establish a possible link between NF-kB and pain/nociception, purportedly through the regulation of the inflammatory loop and the secretion (biosynthesis) of pro-inflammatory mediators. Current concepts conspicuously indicate that the effective inhibition of this transcription factor and associated upstream kinase(s) and the pathways that regulate its nuclear translocation could be major targets in a new strategy for the alleviation of inflammation and inflammatory-related pain. To better understand this relationship between NF-kB and the evolution of pain and hyperalgesia/nociception, it is imperative to unravel the molecular basis of this process. This survey definitively integrates current themes pertaining to the pivotal role that NF-kB shares in regulating pain through the decoding of implicated molecular pathways and signaling mechanisms

The Emphatic Role of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) in the Cellular Mechanisms Mediating Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurogenetic condition that affects the processes via which the brain functions. Major observable hallmarks of AD are accumulated clusters of proteins in the brain. These clusters, termed neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), resemble pairs of threads wound around each other in a helix fashion accumulating within neurons. These tangles consist of a protein called Tau, which binds to tubulin, thus forming microtubules. Unlike NFTs, deposits of amyloid precursor protein (ß-APP) gather in the spaces between nerve cells. The nearby neurons often look swollen and deformed, and the clusters of protein are usually accompanied by reactive inflammatory cells, microglia, which are part of the brain's immune system responsible for degrading and removing damaged neurons or plaques. Since phosphorylation/dephosphorylation mechanisms are crucial in the regulation of Tau and ß-APP, a superfamily of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) has recently emerged as key regulators of the formation of plagues, eventually leading to dementia and AD. The complex molecular interactions between MAPKs and proteins (plagues) associated with the evolution of AD form a cornerstone in the knowledge of a still burgeoning field of neurodegenerative diseases and ageing. This review overviews current understanding of the molecular pathways related to MAPKs and their role in the development of AD and, possibly, dementia. MAPKs, therefore, may constitute a neurogenetic, therapeutic target for the diagnosis and evolution of a preventative medical strategy for early detection, and likely treatment, of Alzheimer's

Social capital and income generation in South Africa, 1993-98

The goal of this paper is to determine the nature of the causal relationship between "social capital," as measured by household membership in formal and informal groups and household welfare in South Africa. Using a recently collected panel data set in South Africa's largest province, we estimate per capita expenditure functions and find a positive and significant impact of household-level social capital. For example, after controlling for fixed effects, social capital has no impact on per capita expenditure in 1993 but positive and significant effects in 1998. We interpret this as reflecting structural changes in the South African economy as it removes the many restrictions that underlay apartheid.Gender ,Women ,Social networks ,Income South Africa ,