Feminist Foreign Policies: A Governance Regime from the Global South?

Every year, more countries commit to Feminist Foreign Policies (FFPs). Most of them come from the global North; however, the emergence of FFPs in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico suggests the shape of renewed designs of global governance regimes and new struggles in the search for international status. In seeking why these countries pursue FFPs, I link different bodies of scholarship and disciplines to better understand the transformative potential of the global South FFPs. In doing so, I challenge the historical and contemporary conventional assessments of the relative unimportance of small states, the Southern region, and feminism/gender in affecting international politics and international security. In this context, the WPS framework has been a crucial component of the design of FFPs. This Agenda has consolidated the predominance of the global north perspective to address the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. However, while for some scholars WPS represents a western global governance regime based on women\u27s economic empowerment, critical perspectives have denounced the absence of alternative and dissenting voices from the global South in producing what is considered valid knowledge. I argue this lack of diverse perspectives perpetuates the immovable categorization of women by subordinating them as subjects receiving violence and protection while limiting their transforming agency.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/wps/1004/thumbnail.jp

A computational model of the hypothalamic - pituitary - gonadal axis in female fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) exposed to 17α-ethynylestradiol and 17β-trenbolone

© 2011 Li et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background - Endocrine disrupting chemicals (e.g., estrogens, androgens and their mimics) are known to affect reproduction in fish. 17α-ethynylestradiol is a synthetic estrogen used in birth control pills. 17β-trenbolone is a relatively stable metabolite of trenbolone acetate, a synthetic androgen used as a growth promoter in livestock. Both 17α-ethynylestradiol and 17β-trenbolone have been found in the aquatic environment and affect fish reproduction. In this study, we developed a physiologically-based computational model for female fathead minnows (FHM, Pimephales promelas), a small fish species used in ecotoxicology, to simulate how estrogens (i.e., 17α-ethynylestradiol) or androgens (i.e., 17β-trenbolone) affect reproductive endpoints such as plasma concentrations of steroid hormones (e.g., 17β-estradiol and testosterone) and vitellogenin (a precursor to egg yolk proteins). Results - Using Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations, the model was calibrated with data from unexposed, 17α-ethynylestradiol-exposed, and 17β-trenbolone-exposed FHMs. Four Markov chains were simulated, and the chains for each calibrated model parameter (26 in total) converged within 20,000 iterations. With the converged parameter values, we evaluated the model's predictive ability by simulating a variety of independent experimental data. The model predictions agreed with the experimental data well. Conclusions - The physiologically-based computational model represents the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in adult female FHM robustly. The model is useful to estimate how estrogens (e.g., 17α-ethynylestradiol) or androgens (e.g., 17β-trenbolone) affect plasma concentrations of 17β-estradiol, testosterone and vitellogenin, which are important determinants of fecundity in fish.The Medical Research Foundation of Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Center for Computational Toxicology of the EPA Office of Research and Development

Results from the National Nutrition Survey

Abstract Objective. The objective of the study was to measure the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Mexican schoolage children (5-11 years) in the National Nutrition Survey 1999 (NNS-1999). Material and Methods. Overweight and obesity (defined as an excess of adipose tissue in the body) were evaluated through the Body Mass Index (BMI) in 10,901 children, using the standard proposed by the International Obesity Task Force. Sociodemographic variables were obtained using a questionnaire administered to the children's mothers. Results. The national prevalence of overweight and obesity was reported to be 19.5%. The highest prevalence figures were found in Mexico City (26.6%) and the North region (25.6%). When adjusting by region, rural or urban area, sex, maternal schooling, socioeconomic status, indigenous ethnicity and age, the highest prevalences of overweight and obesity were found among girls. The risks of overweight and obesity were positively associated with maternal schooling, children's age and socioeconomic status. Conclusions. Overweight and obesity are prevalent health problems in Mexican school-age children, particularly among girls, and positively associated with socioeconomic status, age, and maternal schooling. This is a major public health problem requiring preventive interventions to avoid Resumen Objetivo. Documentar las prevalencias de sobrepeso y obesidad en niños mexicanos en edad escolar (5 a 11 años de edad) obtenidas de la Encuesta Nacional de Nutrición en 1999 (ENN-1999). Material y métodos. El sobrepeso y la obesidad (definida como un exceso de tejido adiposo en el organismo) se evaluaron a través del Indice de Masa Corporal (IMC) en 10 901 niños, tomando como patrón de referencia el propuesto por el International Obesity Task Force. Las variables sociodemográficas se obtuvieron a partir de un cuestionario aplicado a la madre del niño. Resultados. La prevalencia nacional de sobrepeso y obesidad fue de 19.5%. Las prevalencias más altas se encontraron en la Ciudad de México (26.6%) y en la región norte (25.6%). Al ajustar por región, zona rural o urbana, sexo, escolaridad de la madre, nivel socioeconómico, edad e indigenismo, los mayores riesgos de sobrepeso y obesidad se encontraron en niñas; el riesgo de obesidad y sobrepeso se asoció positivamente con la escolaridad de la madre, con el nivel socioeconómico y con la edad de los escolares. Conclusiones. El sobrepeso y obesidad son problemas de salud de alta prevalencia en niños en edad escolar en México, especialmente en niñas, y se asocia positivamente con el nivel socioeconómico, la edad de los escolares y la escolaridad d

Can modeling of HIV treatment processes improve outcomes? Capitalizing on an operations research approach to the global pandemic

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mathematical modeling has been applied to a range of policy-level decisions on resource allocation for HIV care and treatment. We describe the application of classic operations research (OR) techniques to address logistical and resource management challenges in HIV treatment scale-up activities in resource-limited countries.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We review and categorize several of the major logistical and operational problems encountered over the last decade in the global scale-up of HIV care and antiretroviral treatment for people with AIDS. While there are unique features of HIV care and treatment that pose significant challenges to effective modeling and service improvement, we identify several analogous OR-based solutions that have been developed in the service, industrial, and health sectors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>HIV treatment scale-up includes many processes that are amenable to mathematical and simulation modeling, including forecasting future demand for services; locating and sizing facilities for maximal efficiency; and determining optimal staffing levels at clinical centers. Optimization of clinical and logistical processes through modeling may improve outcomes, but successful OR-based interventions will require contextualization of response strategies, including appreciation of both existing health care systems and limitations in local health workforces.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The modeling techniques developed in the engineering field of operations research have wide potential application to the variety of logistical problems encountered in HIV treatment scale-up in resource-limited settings. Increasing the number of cross-disciplinary collaborations between engineering and public health will help speed the appropriate development and application of these tools.</p

Fully adaptive multiresolution schemes for strongly degenerate parabolic equations with discontinuous flux

A fully adaptive finite volume multiresolution scheme for one-dimensional strongly degenerate parabolic equations with discontinuous flux is presented. The numerical scheme is based on a finite volume discretization using the Engquist--Osher approximation for the flux and explicit time--stepping. An adaptivemultiresolution scheme with cell averages is then used to speed up CPU time and meet memory requirements. A particular feature of our scheme is the storage of the multiresolution representation of the solution in a dynamic graded tree, for the sake of data compression and to facilitate navigation. Applications to traffic flow with driver reaction and a clarifier--thickener model illustrate the efficiency of this method

Population ecology of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) as an invasive species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and an imperiled species in Europe

The sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus (Linnaeus) is both an invasive non-native species in the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America and an imperiled species in much of its native range in North America and Europe. To compare and contrast how understanding of population ecology is useful for control programs in the Great Lakes and restoration programs in Europe, we review current understanding of the population ecology of the sea lamprey in its native and introduced range. Some attributes of sea lamprey population ecology are particularly useful for both control programs in the Great Lakes and restoration programs in the native range. First, traps within fish ladders are beneficial for removing sea lampreys in Great Lakes streams and passing sea lampreys in the native range. Second, attractants and repellants are suitable for luring sea lampreys into traps for control in the Great Lakes and guiding sea lamprey passage for conservation in the native range. Third, assessment methods used for targeting sea lamprey control in the Great Lakes are useful for targeting habitat protection in the native range. Last, assessment methods used to quantify numbers of all life stages of sea lampreys would be appropriate for measuring success of control in the Great Lakes and success of conservation in the native range

Curriculum Violence: Occidental knowledge hegemony in relation to indigenous knowledge

Indigenous education in Chile operates within a context of cultural diversity, underdevelopment and colonialism. This problem explains the tension found in 28 rural schools in the Araucania region of Chile between the knowledge systems of the Mapuche culture and those of Western culture. The study is qualitative-descriptive in design. Participants were teachers, parents and lonkos from Mapuche communities in which the schools are embedded. Semi-structured interviews were carried out and results show the western curricular content predominating over subordinating vernacular knowledge of Mapuche indigenous culture. It is recommended for cultural knowledge of all participants to be equally integrated and promoted. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd