Feminist policymaking in turbulent times: critical perspectives

Feminist Policymaking in Turbulent Times offers a unique and timely reflection of the critical debates around the institutionalisation of feminist and gender-focused ideas and norms into policy. Many states and non-governmental organisations are increasingly invested in ‘feminist policymaking’ at the domestic and international levels. Yet, this liberal (feminist) agenda is also vastly disputed by critical, intersectional and decolonial voices on the one hand, and by anti-gender movements around the world on the other. Indeed, while opposition to ‘gender ideology’ is mounting from reactionary, religious and secular forces, feminist policymaking is also being challenged in important ways from within. Thus, this book situates feminist policymaking in a challenging and 'turbulent', global context. This book explores feminist policymaking in multiple areas of policy, examining various gender-focused programmes that states and international organisations have undertaken in the last decade, offering critical interventions and rethinking the relationship between feminism and policy. The book not only reflects on the advances of feminist policymaking globally, but also critically assesses the intersectional challenges embedded within it and lying ahead. It moves the field forward by creating opportunities, based on lived experiences, for re-imagining the transformative potential of the nexus between feminist and policymaking. Interdisciplinary in scope and bringing to the fore the voices of both academics and practitioners, the book is the product of an international collaboration, forging links and dialogue that are increasingly necessary to question some of the exclusionary, militaristic, and hierarchical assumptions of policymaking which is labelled as feminist. Feminist Policymaking in Turbulent Times will be of interest to all scholars, students and practitioners interested in the role of gender in policymaking and concerned with contestations around gender-focused projects

Robustness of self-compacting recycled concrete: analysis of sensitivity parameters

This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-017-1136-1Esta versión del artículo ha sido aceptada para su publicación, después de la revisión por pares (cuando proceda) y está sujeta a las condiciones de uso de AM de Springer Nature, pero no es la Versión del Registro y no refleja las mejoras posteriores a la aceptación, ni ninguna corrección. La versión oficial está disponible en línea en: https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-017-1136-1[Abstract:] This work is focused on understanding the origin of the lower robustness detected in self-compacting recycled concretes and on identifying the parameters affecting this property to a greater extent. A reference concrete (0%) and three recycled concretes were studied. The replacement percentages of natural with recycled coarse aggregate were 20, 50 and 100% (by volume). Each baseline mix was modified using two levels of water (± W: − 3, + 3%), two levels of superplasticizer (± S: − 5, + 5%) and two levels of cement (± C: − 3, + 3%). The analysis is focused on the sensitivity parameters calculated with the variations of the results of different tests obtained with the modified mixes. Four industrial tests and two rheological tests were made at a mix age of 15 and 45 min. It could be concluded that self-compacting recycled concretes present the “Rheological parameter—∅/∅max” curves with higher slope than the ones of conventional self-compacting concrete. Then, when high percentages of recycled coarse aggregate are used, and when long term self-compacting behaviour is required, there is a greater possibility to reach the high slope region of high slope curves causing high rheological changes and low robustness.The study is part of two projects entitled: (a) “Industrial Investigation about Concrete for a Sustainable Market (InHorMeS)” funded by the Innovation Galician Agency (Ref: IN852A 2013/57); (b) “Robust self-compacting recycled concretes: rheology in fresh state and mechanical properties (Ref: BIA2014-58063-R)” funded by MINECO. Moreover, this work was also possible by the financial support of a pre-doctoral grant of Xunta de Galicia (Spain), also including the INDITEX-UDC 2015 grant for international pre-doctoral stays.Xunta de Galicia; IN852A 2013/5

Immunovirological status in people with perinatal and adult-acquired HIV-1 infection: a multi-cohort analysis from FranceResearch in context

Summary: Background: No study has compared the virological and immunological status of young people with perinatally-acquired HIV infection (P-HIV) with that of people with HIV adulthood (A-HIV) having a similar duration of infection. Methods: 5 French cohorts of P-HIV and A-HIV patients with a known date of HIV-infection and receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART), were used to compare the following proportions of: virological failure (VF) defined as plasma HIV RNA ≥ 50 copies/mL, CD4 cell percentages and CD4:CD8 ratios, at the time of the most recent visit since 2012. The analysis was stratified on time since infection, and multivariate models were adjusted for demographics and treatment history. Findings: 310 P-HIV were compared to 1515 A-HIV (median current ages 20.9 [IQR:14.4–25.5] and 45.9 [IQR:37.9–53.5] respectively). VF at the time of the most recent evaluation was significantly higher among P-HIV (22.6%, 69/306) than A-HIV (3.3%, 50/1514); p ≤ 0.0001. The risk of VF was particularly high among the youngest children (2–5 years), adolescents (13–17 years) and young adults (18–24 years), compared to A-HIV with a similar duration of infection: adjusted Odds-Ratio (aOR) 7.0 [95% CI: 1.7; 30.0], 11.4 [4.2; 31.2] and 3.3 [1.0; 10.8] respectively. The level of CD4 cell percentages did not differ between P-HIV and A-HIV. P-HIV aged 6–12 and 13–17 were more likely than A-HIV to have a CD4:CD8 ratio ≥ 1: 84.1% vs. 58.8% (aOR = 3.5 [1.5; 8.3]), and 60.9% vs. 54.7% (aOR = 1.9 [0.9; 4.2]) respectively. Interpretation: P-HIV were at a higher risk of VF than A-HIV with a similar duration of infection, even after adjusting for treatment history, whereas they were not at a higher risk of immunological impairment. Exposure to viral replication among young patients living with HIV since birth or a very early age, probably because of lower adherence, could have an impact on health, raising major concerns about the selection of resistance mutations and the risk of HIV transmission. Funding: Inserm - ANRS MIE