Impact of identity politics on education in Pakistan: a comparison between Balochistan and Punjab

This research paper examines the impact of ethnic identity based politics on education in Pakistan through in-depth interviews with young professionals from Balochistan and Punjab. Findings suggest that there is the Punjabi-dominated power structure results in an unequal allocation of financial resources, whereby Balochistan lacks the financial resources to invest in education development. In addition, political instability caused by unprecedented ethnic strife contributes towards poor quality education, which, as a result, adversely impacts a Balochi's future course of life. On the other hand, Punjabis are at an advantage in the public arena because of their robust educational foundation

Anxiety and depression among infertile women: a cross-sectional survey from Hungary

BACKGROUND: Infertility is often associated with a chronic state of stress which may manifest itself in anxiety-related and depressive symptoms. The aim of our study is to assess the psychological state of women with and without fertility problems, and to investigate the background factors of anxiety-related and depressive symptoms in women struggling with infertility. METHODS: Our study was conducted with the participation of 225 (134 primary infertile and 91 fertile) women, recruited in a clinical setting and online. We used the following questionnaires: Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Shortened Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI). We also interviewed our subjects on the presence of other sources of stress (the quality of the relationship with their mother, financial and illness-related stress), and we described sociodemographic and fertility-specific characteristics. We tested our hypotheses using independent-samples t-tests (M +/- SD) and multiple linear regression modelling (ss). RESULTS: Infertile women were younger (33.30 +/- 4.85 vs. 35.74 +/- 5.73, p = .001), but had significantly worse psychological well-being (BDI = 14.94 +/- 12.90 vs. 8.95 +/- 10.49, p < .0001; STAI-T = 48.76 +/- 10.96 vs. 41.18 +/- 11.26, p < .0001) than fertile subjects. Depressive symptoms and anxiety in infertile women were associated with age, social concern, sexual concern and maternal relationship stress. Trait anxiety was also associated with financial stress. Our model was able to account for 58% of the variance of depressive symptoms and 62% of the variance of trait anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive and anxiety-related symptoms of infertile women are more prominent than those of fertile females. The measurement of these indicators and the mitigation of underlying distress by adequate psychosocial interventions should be encouraged

The Human Side of Skills and Knowledge

YesThe goal of decent work is best expressed through the eyes of people. It is about your job and future prospects; about your working conditions; about balancing work and family life, putting your kids through school or getting them out of child labour. It is about gender equality, equal recognition, and enabling women to make choices and take control of their lives. It is about personal abilities to compete in the market place, keep up with new technological skills and remain healthy. It is about developing your entrepreneurial skills, about receiving a fair share of wealth that you have helped to create and not being discriminated against; it is about having a voice in your workplace and your community . . . . For everybody, decent work is about securing human dignity (ILO 2001:7 - 8 cited in Green 2006:19 - 20)

Neo-villeiny and the service sector: the case of hyper flexible and precarious work in fitness centres

This article presents data from a comprehensive study of hyper flexible and precarious work in theservice sector. A series of interviews were conducted with self-employed personal trainers alongwith more than 200 hours of participant observation within fitness centres in the UK. Analysis ofthe data reveals a new form of hyper flexible and precarious work that is labelled neo-villeiny inthis article. Neo-villeiny is characterized by four features: bondage to the organization; payment ofrent to the organization; no guarantee of any income; and extensive unpaid and speculative workthat is highly beneficial to the organization. The neo-villeiny of the self-employed personal traineroffers the fitness centre all of the benefits associated with hyper flexible work, but also mitigatesthe detrimental outcomes associated with precarious work. The article considers the potential foradoption of this new form of hyper flexible and precarious work across the broader service sector

Small Molecule Control of Virulence Gene Expression in Francisella tularensis

In Francisella tularensis, the SspA protein family members MglA and SspA form a complex that associates with RNA polymerase (RNAP) to positively control the expression of virulence genes critical for the intramacrophage growth and survival of the organism. Although the association of the MglA-SspA complex with RNAP is evidently central to its role in controlling gene expression, the molecular details of how MglA and SspA exert their effects are not known. Here we show that in the live vaccine strain of F. tularensis (LVS), the MglA-SspA complex works in concert with a putative DNA-binding protein we have called PigR, together with the alarmone guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp), to regulate the expression of target genes. In particular, we present evidence that MglA, SspA, PigR and ppGpp regulate expression of the same set of genes, and show that mglA, sspA, pigR and ppGpp null mutants exhibit similar intramacrophage growth defects and are strongly attenuated for virulence in mice. We show further that PigR interacts directly with the MglA-SspA complex, suggesting that the central role of the MglA and SspA proteins in the control of virulence gene expression is to serve as a target for a transcription activator. Finally, we present evidence that ppGpp exerts its effects by promoting the interaction between PigR and the RNAP-associated MglA-SspA complex. Through its responsiveness to ppGpp, the contact between PigR and the MglA-SspA complex allows the integration of nutritional cues into the regulatory network governing virulence gene expression

Is the left-right scale a valid measure of ideology? Individual-level variation in associations with "left" and "right" and left-right self-placement

In order to measure ideology, political scientists heavily rely on the so-called left-right scale. Left and right are, however, abstract political concepts and may trigger different associations among respondents. If these associations vary systematically with other variables this may induce bias in the empirical study of ideology. We illustrate this problem using a unique survey that asked respondents open-ended questions regarding the meanings they attribute to the concepts "left" and "right". We assess and categorize this textual data using topic modeling techniques. Our analysis shows that variation in respondents’ associations is systematically related to their self-placement on the left-right scale and also to variables such as education and respondents’ cultural background (East vs. West Germany). Our findings indicate that the interpersonal comparability of the left-right scale across individuals is impaired. More generally, our study suggests that we need more research on how respondents interpret various abstract concepts that we regularly use in survey questions

Assisted Reproductive Technologies in Europe. Usage and Regulation in the Context of Cross-Boarder Reproductive Care

This chapter reviews assisted reproductive technologies (ART) usage and policies across European countries, and scrutinizes emerging issues related to cross-border reproductive care (or “reproductive tourism”). Although Europe is currently the largest market for ART, the extent of usage varies widely across countries, largely because of differences in the laws, the affordability, the types of reimbursement, and the norms surrounding childbearing and conception. Since 2009, the regulation of ART has been expanding in Europe, and all countries now have some form of ART legislation. Countries where the treatments are completely covered by national health plans have the highest level of ART utilization. Being in a legal marriage or a stable union is often a prerequisite for access to ART. Currently, only half of European countries allow single women to use ART, and even fewer grant access to lesbian women. Surrogate motherhood is strictly prohibited in many countries in Europe, and where it is allowed, strong restrictions against commercial surrogacy are in place. While restrictive national legislation can be easily circumvented by crossing national boundaries for ART treatments, questions of equity of access have been raised, as not all prospective parents can afford to travel for treatment

Recent developments in genetics and medically assisted reproduction : from research to clinical applications

Two leading European professional societies, the European Society of Human Genetics and the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, have worked together since 2004 to evaluate the impact of fast research advances at the interface of assisted reproduction and genetics, including their application into clinical practice. In September 2016, the expert panel met for the third time. The topics discussed highlighted important issues covering the impacts of expanded carrier screening, direct-to-consumer genetic testing, voiding of the presumed anonymity of gamete donors by advanced genetic testing, advances in the research of genetic causes underlying male and female infertility, utilisation of massively parallel sequencing in preimplantation genetic testing and non-invasive prenatal screening, mitochondrial replacement in human oocytes, and additionally, issues related to cross-generational epigenetic inheritance following IVF and germline genome editing. The resulting paper represents a consensus of both professional societies involved.Peer reviewe

Company-level family policies: Who has access to it and what are some of its outcomes

Despite the increase in number of studies that examine the cross-national variation in the policy configuration that allow a better work-family integration, very few look beyond the national levels. It is also crucial to examine occupational level welfare since companies may restrict or expand the existing national level regulations, defining the “final availability” workers actual have towards various arrangements. In addition, companies may provide various additional arrangements through occupational policies which are not set out in the national level agreements that are crucial in addressing reconciliation needs of workers. This chapter examines what types of arrangements are provided at the company level to address work-family demands of workers. It further provides a synthesis of studies that examine both national level contexts and individual level characteristics that explain who gets access to company level family-friendly policies, which is linked to the possible outcomes of these policies