Using ethnographic methods to explore masculinities at school: reflections on participant observation with young men in New Delhi, India

This paper outlines findings on masculinities and violence from my multi-method PhD study, which explored young people's experiences of learning about gender and sexuality in three co-educational, English-medium secondary schools in New Delhi, India. In particular, the paper discusses the value of including an ethnographic approach when exploring masculinities in the study. This includes reflections on my embodied experiences of doing research with 15-17 year old boys. In particular, I reflect on how these boys reacted to me as a woman who looked Indian but was not-quite Indian, and who seemed like an authority figure but did not act like one. In turn, I consider how my personal responses to their behaviour affected my participation, observation and interpretations within the schools. These reflections are part of the process described by Cornwall & Lindisfarne (1994), which involves linking my position as a gendered political agent, my gendered socialisation in the field, and the ways I reposition myself within an academic context

‘Virginity is a virtue: prevent early sex’: teacher perceptions of sex education in a Ugandan secondary school

Sex education is a politically contentious issue in many countries, and there are numerous, competing ideologies relating to the most appropriate methods to teach young people about sexual and reproductive health. This paper examines policy and practice in Uganda in light of two contrasting ideologies, namely morally conservative and comprehensive rights-based approaches to sex education. After a brief description of these approaches, findings from a preliminary qualitative study among teachers working in a non-governmental organisation-run secondary school in Uganda are discussed. Teachers’ responses are analysed against the background of current Ugandan sex education policies. The paper considers the implications of the conservative morality informing both Ugandan government policy and teachers’ implementation of sex education at the focus school. It is argued that, in the light of young Ugandans’ attitudes towards and often varied experiences of sexuality, a comprehensive rights-based approach to sex education may be more appropriate in the described setting

Risk, rakhi and romance: learning about gender and sexuality in Delhi schools. Young people’s experiences in three co-­educational, English-­medium secondary schools in New Delhi, India

Based on multi­‐method research with Class 11 students (aged 15-17) and their teachers at three English­‐medium, co-educational secondary schools in Delhi over nine months in 2013­‐14, this thesis explores how young people’s understandings and experiences relate to national and international understandings of gender, sexuality and education. The thesis examines the interplay between institutional practices and students’ agency within schools (drawing on Connell’s 2000 framework), while I use the concept of ‘sexual learning’ in order to consider young people’s experiences both within and beyond the classroom (Thomson & Scott 1991). Study findings indicate the influence of concerns about adolescent sexuality on school curricula and on disciplinary practices, which sought to maintain gender segregation in co­-educational spaces. The thesis also reveals the ways in which narratives of girlhood and masculinities shaped young people’s lives; particularly in the wake of the December 2012 gang rape case in Delhi, these gender narratives were both contradicted and reinforced by seemingly ubiquitous stories of sexual violence. Stories of sexual violence also formed a source of gendered, risk­‐based sexual learning, which reinforced risk­‐based narratives of sexuality within formal and informal sources of sexual learning accessed by young people. The thesis also reveals heterosocial dynamics within school peer cultures as an important source of sexual learning. Students proved adept at negotiating assumptions about ‘appropriate’ interactions such as idealized rakhi (brother-sister) relationships, and formed less restrictive heterosocial friendships and romantic relationships. In particular, stories about peer romances emerged as an alternative source of sexual learning, which undermined dominant risk­‐based narratives of young people’s sexuality and offered more positive understandings of pleasure and intimacy. A key methodological contribution is the use of a narrative analytical framework in which Plummer’s (1995) sexual stories are considered in terms of Andrews’ (2014) political narratives. Using this framework, the thesis examines the text and context of ‘small stories’ told within research encounters, and the interrelations between these micro­‐narratives and macro-narratives of gender, sexuality and education in post­‐liberalization India. This framework facilitates the examination of interrelations between local experiences and national and international understandings in the thesis. A key substantive contribution of the study is to address a lack of research on how young people learn about gender and sexuality in Indian schools. As the study largely captures the experiences of urban, middle­‐class young people, the thesis also contributes to the existing body of literature on middle­‐class experiences in post­‐liberalization India (e.g. Gilbertson 2014; Sancho 2012; Donner & De Neve 2011; Lukose 2009), and specifically underlines the importance of education as a site for middle­‐class young people’s negotiation of gendered and sexual politics

A feminist political economy analysis of public policies related to care: a thematic review

Unpaid care work is directly linked to the economic empowerment of women and girls. There is a large and robust body of evidence about the extent of unpaid care work that women and girls do, and its contributions to both the economy and human development outcomes. But is this evidence being used to inform public policy? Doing so would include recognising the role of women and girls in the provision of unpaid care; the need to reduce the drudgery of unpaid care; and the need to redistribute unpaid care work (from women to men, and from the family to communities and the state), thus laying the basis for true gender equality. This review of secondary material aims to identify the political economy conditions of where, why, when and how unpaid care concerns become more visible on domestic policy agendas

Teaching about HIV in schools: the missing link?

HIV continues to affect millions of people worldwide. While significant progress has been made in a number of countries, advances have not been uniform, and the 2.3 million new infections in 2012, point to the need to redouble our efforts. From the beginning, the education sector played a central role in responding to the epidemic, notably by providing school-based HIV education, which has been the subject of much debate. UNESCO new publication, Charting the Course of Education and HIV, builds on the experience of UNESCO staff and contributions from key thinkers and practitioners to examine emerging challenges and opportunities that need to be harnessed to reach the internationally agreed targets related to HIV. . It proposes a way forward for the education sector to contribute to the prevention of new infections, treatment and care, and the reduction of stigma and discrimination. The publication points out how education and health, two basic human rights, are intrinsically linked, as healthy learners learn better, and better educated learners have the skills to be healthy. Education develops the knowledge, values, attitudes and skills required to make informed choices and adopt healthier behaviours. While knowledge is usually insufficient on its own for behavioural change, it is a prerequisite for the adoption of safer sexual behaviours and thus the foundation for an effective HIV response. Education can address harmful gender norms and help to reduce gender-based discrimination and violence which are important both in their own right for equal, fair and prosperous societies and as critical enablers for an effective HIV response. Early on in the epidemic, the rapid spread of the virus and lack of treatment options required urgent action to prevent new infections. Most education approaches were characterized by teaching about HIV as a science topic or as a moral issue. In many contexts, formal education used scare tactics in an attempt to prevent young people from engaging in sexual activity, or promoted ‘abstinence-only’ messages. These methods did not have the intended effect, and infection rates continued to rise. As a result, skills-based approaches such as life skills education, which emphasize cognitive, communication and coping skills, were adopted and the importance of structural and environmental factors such as poverty, gender, culture, values, beliefs, power and policy were recognised and started to be integrated into the HIV response. Evidence laid-out in the book shows that good quality comprehensive sexuality education, including HIV, does not lead to early sexual initiation; instead, it helps delay sexual debut, increase safer sexual behaviour, and improve HIV knowledge. We know what needs to be included in the curriculum and how HIV and sexuality should be covered. However, many existing curricula have weaknesses, including inadequate reference to key aspects of sex and sexuality, lack of information about where to access services, and limited attention to social and cultural factors, sexual rights and sexual diversity. In addition selective teaching is a challenge, particularly in situations where teachers do not feel mandated or supported by the school or community to teach about sexuality and relationships or are unprepared to address them. As such, many adolescents and young people do not receive even the most basic sexuality education and leave school without adequate knowledge. The authors put forward a new approach for HIV education which requires, inter alia, the reframing of HIV education; rethinking teacher training and support; improving implementation; strengthening the links with school health programmes; adaptation to an evolving epidemic; and meeting the increasing demand by young people and their parents for comprehensive sexuality education

Barriers to HIV and sexuality education in Asia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the key barriers to the delivery of school-based HIV and sexuality education in selected countries in Asia. Design/methodology/approach – A review of published literature on barriers to school-based HIV and sexuality in countries in Asia was conducted, with a focus on research carried out after 1990. The paper also draws on recently undertaken national situation analyses of HIV and sexuality education conducted by the second author with support from UNESCO, as well as more general Asia-Pacific regional assessments undertaken by others. Findings – Four key barriers to the delivery of good quality, school-based HIV and sexuality education are identified: cultural and contextual factors, policy factors, resource constraints and school-level factors. Originality/value – The paper maps these four barriers as key areas in which action needs to occur in order to improve the delivery of school-based HIV and sexuality education. Potential levers for success are highlighted

Depressive Symptoms and All-Cause Mortality in Unstable Angina Pectoris (from the Coronary Psychosocial Evaluation Studies [COPES])

Although depression is clearly associated with increased mortality after acute myocardial infarction, there is a paucity of data examining the impact of depression on patients with unstable angina (UA). We analyzed the relation between depressive symptoms and all-cause mortality in patients with UA who were enrolled in a prospective multicenter study of depression and acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Depressive symptoms were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) within 1 week of the ACS event, and patients were selected for a BDI score 0 to 4 or ≥10. Our sample included 209 patients with UA, with 104 (50%) having a BDI score ≥10. Proportional hazards analyses adjusted for variables including left ventricular ejection fraction, Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events risk score, and Charlson co-morbidity index. In multivariable analyses, a BDI score ≥10 was associated with increased risk of 42-month all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 2.04, 95% confidence interval 1.20 to 3.46, p = 0.008) compared to a BDI score 0 to 4. In conclusion, our results confirm and extend previous evidence linking depression to worse outcomes in UA and suggest that interventions that address depression may be worth examining across the spectrum of risk in ACS

Seventy years of sex education in Health Education Journal: a critical review

This paper examines key debates and perspectives on sex education in Health Education Journal (HEJ), from the date of the journal’s first publication in March 1943 to the present day. Matters relating to sexuality and sexual health are revealed to be integral to HEJ’s history. First published as Health and Empire (1921 – 1942), a key purpose of the journal since its inception has been to share information on venereal disease and its prevention within the UK and across the former British Empire. From 1943 to the present day, discussions on sex education in the newly-christened HEJ both reflect and respond to evolving socio-cultural attitudes towards sexuality in the UK. Changing definitions of sex education across the decades are examined, from the prevention of venereal disease and moral decline in war-time Britain in the 1940s, to a range of responses to sexual liberation in the 1960s and 1970s; from a focus on preventing sexually-transmitted infections, teenage pregnancy and HIV in the 1980s, to the provision of sexual health services alongside sex education in the 2000s. Over the past 70 years, a shift from prevention of pre-marital sexual activity to the management of its outcomes is apparent; however, while these changes over time are notable, perhaps the most striking findings of this review are the continuities in arguments for and against the discussion of sexual issues. After more than 70 years of debate, it would seem that there is little consensus concerning motivations for and the content of sex education

Electric field distribution in porous piezoelectric materials during polarization

High piezoelectric coupling coefficients enable the harvesting of more energy or increase the sensitivity of sensors which work using the principle of piezoelectricity. These coefficients depend on the material properties, but the manufacturing process can have a significant impact on the resulting overall coefficients. During the manufacturing process, one of the main steps is the process of polarization where a poling electric field aligns the ferroelectric domains in a similar direction in order to create a transversely isotropic material able to generate electric fields or deformations. The degree of polarization depends on multiple factors and it can strongly influence the final piezoelectric coefficients. In this paper, a study on the electric field distribution on the sensitivity of the main piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients to the polarization process is performed, focusing on porous piezoelectric materials. Different inclusion geometries are considered, namely spherical, ellipsoidal and spheres with cracks. The electric field distribution at the micro scale within a representative volume element is modelled to determine the material polarization level using the finite element method. The results show that the electric field distribution is highly dependent on the inclusion geometries and cracks and it has a noticeable impact on the equivalent piezoelectric coefficients. These results are compared with experimental measurements from published literature. Good agreement is found between the ellipsoidal model and the experimental data