‘Because it’s our culture!’ (Re)negotiating the meaning of lobola in Southern African secondary schools

Payment of bridewealth or lobola is a significant element of marriage among the Basotho of Lesotho and the Shona of Zimbabwe. However, the functions and meanings attached to the practice are constantly changing. In order to gauge the interpretations attached to lobola by young people today, this paper analyses a series of focus group discussions conducted among senior students at two rural secondary schools. It compares the interpretations attached by the students to the practice of lobola with academic interpretations (both historical and contemporary). Among young people the meanings and functions of lobola are hotly contested, but differ markedly from those set out in the academic literature. While many students see lobola as a valued part of ‘African culture’, most also view it as a financial transaction which necessarily disadvantages women. The paper then seeks to explain the young people’s interpretations by reference to discourses of ‘equal rights’ and ‘culture’ prevalent in secondary schools. Young people make use of these discourses in (re)negotiating the meaning of lobola, but the limitations of the discourses restrict the interpretations of lobola available to them

Propionibacterium acnes bacteriophages display limited genetic diversity and broad killing activity against bacterial skin isolates.

UnlabelledInvestigation of the human microbiome has revealed diverse and complex microbial communities at distinct anatomic sites. The microbiome of the human sebaceous follicle provides a tractable model in which to study its dominant bacterial inhabitant, Propionibacterium acnes, which is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of the human disease acne. To explore the diversity of the bacteriophages that infect P. acnes, 11 P. acnes phages were isolated from the sebaceous follicles of donors with healthy skin or acne and their genomes were sequenced. Comparative genomic analysis of the P. acnes phage population, which spans a 30-year temporal period and a broad geographic range, reveals striking similarity in terms of genome length, percent GC content, nucleotide identity (>85%), and gene content. This was unexpected, given the far-ranging diversity observed in virtually all other phage populations. Although the P. acnes phages display a broad host range against clinical isolates of P. acnes, two bacterial isolates were resistant to many of these phages. Moreover, the patterns of phage resistance correlate closely with the presence of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat elements in the bacteria that target a specific subset of phages, conferring a system of prokaryotic innate immunity. The limited diversity of the P. acnes bacteriophages, which may relate to the unique evolutionary constraints imposed by the lipid-rich anaerobic environment in which their bacterial hosts reside, points to the potential utility of phage-based antimicrobial therapy for acne.ImportancePropionibacterium acnes is a dominant member of the skin microflora and has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of acne; however, little is known about the bacteriophages that coexist with and infect this bacterium. Here we present the novel genome sequences of 11 P. acnes phages, thereby substantially increasing the amount of available genomic information about this phage population. Surprisingly, we find that, unlike other well-studied bacteriophages, P. acnes phages are highly homogeneous and show a striking lack of genetic diversity, which is perhaps related to their unique and restricted habitat. They also share a broad ability to kill clinical isolates of P. acnes; phage resistance is not prevalent, but when detected, it appears to be conferred by chromosomally encoded immunity elements within the host genome. We believe that these phages display numerous features that would make them ideal candidates for the development of a phage-based therapy for acne

Cultural Orientations of sport managers

Various interpretations of sport management are cultural constructs underpinned by core assumptions and values held by members of professional communities. Sport managers world wide share common problems, but differ in how they resolve them. These universal differences emerge from the relationships they form with other people, and their attitude to time, activities and the natural environment. This paper examines the role of sport managers’ cultural orientations in the interpretation and practice of sport management. Using a multiple dimension model (Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars, 2000) it sketches the cultural profiles of fifteen sport managers from seven countries. A combination of methods was employed including questionnaires, interviews and participant observation. It is contended that the culture of sport management concerns a social process by which managers get involved in reconciling seven fundamental cultural dilemmas in order to perform tasks and achieve certain ends. Thus, a knowledge of the cultural meaning of sport management in a particular country would equip sport managers with a valuable tool in managing both the cultural diversity of their own work forces and in developing appropriate cross-cultural skills needed for running international events, marketing campaigns, sponsorship deals and joint ventures

Cultural differences affecting decision-making style: a comparative study between four countries

The aim of this paper was to identify the impact of national culture on decision-making styles in selected countries: Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary. The estimation of Hofstede’s dimensions of national cultures and comparative analyses was carried out by using a narrow-sample strategy. The estimated positions on each dimension confirmed the Hofstede’s original research ranking. The result with significant value was the confirmation of the global trend of decreasing power distance and significant movement towards the individualism. Besides the standardization procedure of comparative cross-cultural analyses, variance analyses were used to identify cultural differences in decision-making styles related to complex decisions (Janis and Mann’s typology). The proposition is that complex decisions are, above and beyond all others, the consequence of social and cultural values installed in every individual. Statistically significant dependency was identified for hyper-vigilant and vigilant decision-making style and national culture’s dimensions. A beneficial goal was to identify the differences and the similarities in value orientation and those in the decision-making style which should not be mistreated as they may influence future business cooperation and political and economic integrations within the CEE context

Parental Expectations and Prosocial Behavior of Adolescents From Low-Income Backgrounds: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between Three Countries¿Argentina, Colombia, and Spain

Parental expectations are influenced by cultural models, which in turn are subject to a great influence from historically fluctuating features of the socioeconomic background. Parental expectations seem to be linked to children¿s social and emotional development in terms of empathy and prosocial behavior. The current study aims to (a) compare low-income adolescents¿ perceptions of parental expectations of prosocial and antisocial behavior across three Latin countries (Argentina, Colombia, and Spain), (b) compare the empathy and prosocial behavior between the three countries, (c) compare the prosocial behavior between the three countries, and (d) study the effect of perceived parental expectations and empathy on the prosocial behavior of adolescents in all three of the countries studied in this research. The sample was made up of 446 Argentinean adolescents, 474 Colombian adolescents, and 632 Spanish adolescents. The Expected Parental Reactions Scale, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire were used to measure the variables included in this study. Results reveal considerable differences between children¿s perceptions of parental expectations in different countries. Results also show the existence of significant differences between male and female adolescents. In all three countries, girls score more highly than boys in prosocial behavior and empathy. Furthermore, we find that low-income Argentinean adolescents score more highly than Spanish and Colombian adolescents in prosocial behavior measures. Finally, expected parental reactions toward prosocial behavior and empathy seem to have an influence on the adolescents¿ development of prosocial behavior in all three countries

The measurement of social stratification : comparative perspectives between Europe and Latin America

Production of INCASI Project H2020-MSCA-RISE-2015 GA 691004This chapter analyses compared social stratification in three Latin American countries (Argentina, Chile and Uruguay) and four European countries (Finland, France, Spain, Great Britain). We focus on both external and internal borders of social classes, as well as on the challenges posed by their analysis for sociology. We compare social classes using EGP6 in relation to a variety of social indicators, to examine how social classes vary among countries. We include debates on production models and welfare state policies to understand the specific configurations and compare the conditions of some of the INCASI countries regarding social stratification. Lastly, we apply a latent class analysis to validate the number of social classes and to recognise class boundaries

Identification of GPI anchor attachment signals by a Kohonen self-organizing map

Immunogenetics and cellular immunology of bacterial infectious disease

The “over-educated” Kibbutz: Shifting relations between social reproduction and individual development on the Kibbutz

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42935/1/10780_2005_Article_BF01201513.pd