Transactional Sex and the Pursuit of Modernity

This paper explores meanings and understandings of sexual exchange for material gain in an urban township of Durban, South Africa. The analysis argues against the tendency to assume too readily that all forms of sexual exchange are oriented towards subsistence, and not consumption. This paper also argues that sexual exchange is the means used by women in this study to pursue images and ideals largely created by the media and globalisation. It is revealed that transactional sex is perceived as ‘normal’ leading many women to accept men’s multiple partners and to put themselves as risk of contracting HIV/AIDS (despite having knowledge of the pandemic). Finally, the paper highlights women’s power and agency whereby women are asserting themselves in order to exploit sexual relationships in the interests of new ‘needs’ – the commodities of modernity

Youth, HIV/AIDS and the importance of sexual culture and context

Twenty years of the sub-Saharan HIV/AIDS epidemic has impressed upon us the extent to which this disease is far more than a public health challenge. As it ravishes fragile economics, decreases life expectancies, increases women's burdens, generates orphans and decimates the dreams and futures of millions of people, HIV/AIDS has become nothing less than the most ominous development challenge facing the African continent. Contemplation of the sheer magnitude of the social repercussions brought in the wake of HIV/AIDS incurs the risk of crippling our senses and blocking the imagination needed for addressing this crisis. Indeed, the personal impact is sharpened rather than mitigated by the realization that this disease is, after all, almost entirely preventable. The poignancy of this simple but painful truth was clearly articulated in 1991 when President Museveni of Uganda declared to his parliament: 'They are telling us that a thin piece of rubber stands between us and the future of our continent!' (Museveni 1997). Still today, more than a decade after the time of that statement, many hopes for Africa are vested in that thin piece of rubber. Primary prevention through behaviour change involving safer-sex practices is still the most viable and potentially effective option for halting the spread of HIV/AIDS in these resource poor countries where affordable treatment is lacking (Davis and Weller, 1999; Donovan and Ross, 2000; Pequegnat and Stover, 2000). This paper focuses on the socio-cultural context in which the enactment of 'highrisk' youth sexual activity takes place. It is divided into two parts: the first examines the general body of research on HIV/AIDS and youth, with particular reference to South Africa; the second discusses some recent findings from ongoing ethnographic research at St Wendolin's, a peri-urban Zulu-speaking community in Durban, on aspects of sexual culture that enhance the spread of HIV/AIDS. Currently it is estimated that between 30-40% of the adult population of KwaZulu-Natal is HIV infected (Whiteside and Sunter 2000). As a whole, African communities in the greater metropolitan Durban area, and indeed throughout KwaZulu-Natal province, represent high seroprevalence epicentres for HIV/AIDS.</p

Demonizing women in the era of AIDS: an analysis of the gendered construction of HIV/AIDS in KwaZulu-Natal.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.As the second decade of AIDS draws to a close, researchers and others involved in the AIDS effort have come to appreciate that complex interactions between social, cultural, biological and economic forces are involved in shaping the epidemiological course of the disease. Nevertheless, the process by which these variables interact and affect each other remains poorly understood, with many of the shaping forces yet to be fully explored. In South Africa, the sociocultural matrix in which the AIDS epidemic is embedded and its role in shaping the interpretation and experience of AIDS have not been fully analyzed. This thesis represents an attempt to elucidate the finer nuances of some commonly-held local beliefs, perceptions, symbolic representations, ethnomedical explanatory models and mythologies associated with AIDS. These associations are viewed as directly informing the way in which Zulu-speaking people are experiencing and responding to HIV/AIDS in KwaZulu Natal, currently home to 1/3 of the country's estimated 3 million HIV infected people. In particular, the focus is on the gender patterning of AIDS, with ethnographic data drawn from extensive field experience at St Wendolin's Mission, a peri-urban settlement in the Marianhill district of Durban. The shared perception of women as naturally 'dirty', as sexually 'out of control' and suspected of using witchcraft in new ways, are identified and discussed as key conceptual strands contributing to the sociocultural construction of HIV/AIDS in that community. It is argued that these notions are metaphorically joining and combining in ways that 'gender' the AIDS epidemic and simultaneously 'demonize' women. The central tenet of this thesis is that HIV/AIDS is fundamentally associated with women as a female caused and transmitted disease that can and does affect men. The author argues that the gendered construction of AIDS in St Wendolin's is a reflection of patriarchal resistance to women's changing roles and expectations that represent an overstepping of culturally defined moral boundaries. Deeply embedded ways of thinking associated with notions of gender are viewed as germane to the disempowerment of women that ultimately impedes the fight against HIV/AIDS. The thesis concludes with a discussion on the opportunity which the current AIDS epidemic presents for wider sociocultural transformation, and how this might be achieved through an AIDS 'education for liberation' based on the philosophies of Paulo Freire

Ressources psychosociales, événements transitoires et qualité de vie des personnes vieillissantes

S'appuyant sur les données de la première vague de l'Étude longitudinale québécoise sur le vieillissement, cet article examine transversalement la relation entre les ressources psychosociales des personnes âgées et leur qualité de vie. L'échantillon de 781 sujets comporte trois groupes de personnes âgées sélectionnées d'après les critères d'âge et d'exposition ou non à un événement transitoire majeur : la retraite (60-65 ans), le veuvage (70-75 ans) et les incapacités fonctionnelles (80-85 ans). Les résultats confirment que les répondants ayant des ressources psychosociales élevées obtiennent les meilleures performances aux différents indices de qualité de vie. Cependant, en ce qui regarde la survenue d'événements, l'effet protecteur des ressources psychosociales sur la qualité de vie est démontré uniquement chez les retraités. On remarque que chez les personnes en incapacité, le soutien social semble contribuer faiblement au maintien de la qualité de vie. Des tentatives d'explication sont proposées.Psychosocial resources, transitory events and quality of life of aging people Based on data of the Québec longitudinal study on aging, this article examines crosswise the relation between psychosocial resources of elderly people and their quality of life. The sample of 781 subjects includes three groups of elderly people selected according to their age and their experience or not of a major transitory event: retirement (60-65), widowed (70-75) and functional incapacity (80-85). The results confirm that respondents with a high level of psychosocial resources obtain better performances in the various indexes of quality of life. However, in regards to events, the protective effect of psychosocial resources on quality of life is only shown with those people in retirement. We notice that with people with functional incapacity, social support seem to slightly contribute in maintaining quality of life. Finally, the authors propose certain explanations.Recursos sicosociales, eventos transitorios y calidad de vida de personas envejesando Apoyandose sobre los datos de la primera hola del Estudio longitudinal quebequense sobre el envejecimiento este artículo examina transversalmente la relación entre los recursos siquosociales de las personas ancianas y su calidad de vida. Una escala de 781 sujetos comporta tres grupos de personas ancianas selecionadas según los criterios de edad y de confrontación o no a un evento transitorio mayor: la jubilación (60-65 años), el viudez (70-75años) y las incapacidades funcionales (80-85 años). Los resultados confirman que los respondientes teniendo los recursos sicosiales elevados obtienen los mejores resultados a los varios indicios de calidad de vida. Sin embargo, con respeto a la sobrevenida de eventos, el efecto protector de los recursos sicosociales sobre la calidad de vida se demuestra unicamente con los jubilados. Se nota que en el caso de las personas incapacidadas el sostén social parace contribuir flacamente al mantenimiento de la calidad de vida. Tentativas de explicación estan proposadas

State of knowledge and current practices regarding concussion prevention and management: a survey among >2000 Frenchspeaking stakeholders

peer reviewe

Document, create and translate knowledge: the mission of ReFORM, the Francophone IOC Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has supported athletes’ health protection by funding Research Centres dedicated to prevention and treatment of sports-related injuries and illnesses. After establishing four centres in 2009, the IOC Research Centres network expanded to 9 Institutions in 2014 and the 2019 round recognised 11 centres. Here we introduce ReFORM — an international French-speaking network of five institutions.Peer reviewe

Metabolic changes in concussed American football players during the acute and chronic post-injury phases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite negative neuroimaging findings many athletes display neurophysiological alterations and post-concussion symptoms that may be attributable to neurometabolic alterations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The present study investigated the effects of sports concussion on brain metabolism using ¹H-MR Spectroscopy by comparing a group of 10 non-concussed athletes with a group of 10 concussed athletes of the same age (mean: 22.5 years) and education (mean: 16 years) within both the acute and chronic post-injury phases. All athletes were scanned 1-6 days post-concussion and again 6-months later in a 3T Siemens MRI.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Concussed athletes demonstrated neurometabolic impairment in prefrontal and motor (M1) cortices in the acute phase where NAA:Cr levels remained depressed relative to controls. There was some recovery observed in the chronic phase where Glu:Cr levels returned to those of control athletes; however, there was a pathological increase of m-I:Cr levels in M1 that was only present in the chronic phase.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results confirm cortical neurometabolic changes in the acute post-concussion phase as well as recovery and continued metabolic abnormalities in the chronic phase. The results indicate that complex pathophysiological processes differ depending on the post-injury phase and the neurometabolite in question.</p