Review: Medicalization of female genital mutilation/cutting

No Abstract

Muslim men’s perceptions and attitudes on family planning: a qualitative study in Wajir and Lamu counties in Kenya

In patriarchal societies like Kenya, understanding men’s perceptions and attitudes on family planning is critical given their decision-making roles that affect uptake of contraception. Yet, most programmes mainly target women as primary users of contraceptive methods since they bear the burden of pregnancy. However, women-focused approaches tend to overlook gender power dynamics within relationships, with men wielding excessive power that determines contraception use or non-use. A qualitative study involving focus group discussions and in-depth interviews was conducted in the two predominantly Muslim communities of Lamu and Wajir counties, Kenya. Open-ended questions explored perspectives, attitudes and men’s understanding of contraception, family size, decision making on family planning and general views on contraceptive use. Thematic content analysis was used. Findings show that men in Wajir and Lamu held similar viewpoints of family planning as a foreign or western idea and associated family planning with ill health and promiscuity. They believed family planning is a “woman’s affair” that requires little or no input from men. Men from Wajir desired a big family size. There is a need for a shift in family planning programmes to enable men’s positive engagement. The findings from this study can be used to develop culturally appropriate approaches to engage men, challenge negative social norms and foster positive social change to improve uptake of family planning

“Children are a blessing from God” – a qualitative study exploring the socio-cultural factors influencing contraceptive use in two Muslim communities in Kenya

Background: Family planning (FP) is one of the high impact public health interventions with huge potential to enhance the health and wellbeing of women and children. Yet, despite the steady progress made towards expanding access to family planning, major disparities across different regions exist in Kenya. This study explored the socio cultural factors influencing FP use among two Muslim communities in Kenya. Methods: A qualitative study involving Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and In-depth Interviews (IDIs) was conducted (from July to October 2018) in two predominant Muslim communities of Lamu and Wajir counties. Open ended questions explore key thematic areas around knowledge, attitudes and understanding of contraception, perceived FP barriers, and decision making for contraceptives, views on Islam and contraception, and fertility preference. All interviews were conducted in the local language, recorded, transcribed verbatim and translated into English. Data was analyzed using thematic content analyses. Results: Although Islam is the predominant religion the two communities, perceptions and belief around FP use were varied. There were differing interpretations of Islamic teaching and counter arguments on whether or not Islam allows FP use. This, in addition to desire for a large family, polygamy, high child mortality and a cultural preference for boys had a negative impact on FP use. Similarly, inability of women to make decisions on their reproductive health was a factor influencing uptake of FP. Conclusion: Misinterpretation of Islamic teaching on contraception likely influences uptake of family planning. Cultural beliefs and lack of women’s decision power on fertility preferences were a key inhibitor to FP use. Countering the negative notions of FP use requires active engagement of religious leaders and Muslim scholars who are in position of power and influence at community level

Improving agile software development by the application of method engineering practices

Despite the vast attention and wide acceptance of the newly engineered agile methods for software development, those methods are seldom linked to the goals of software process improvement (SPI), an approach that aims to provide support for significant improvement of both the quality of those methods as well as the resultant software products. In this paper, we propose an extension to agile methods by adding extra characteristics in order for agile methods to better support SPI. We explain how agile methods can gain those extra attributes through the application of a method engineering approach along with our new tool (4-DAT) that assists method engineers and managers in selecting the most appropriate method fragments for their needed agile methods. Finally, we summarize a number of industrial case studies carried out over several years in order to test and improve the efficiency of our theory of adding SPI to an agile methodological approach

Making muslim babies: Ivf and gamete donation in sunni versus shi’a islam

Medical anthropological research on science, biotechnology, and religion has focused on the “local moral worlds” of men and women as they make difficult decisions regarding their health and the beginnings and endings of human life. This paper focuses on the local moral worlds of infertile Muslims as they attempt to make, in the religiously correct fashion, Muslim babies at in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics in Egypt and Lebanon. As early as 1980, authoritative fatwas issued from Egypt’s famed Al-Azhar University suggested that IVF and similar technologies are permissible as long as they do not involve any form of third-party donation (of sperm, eggs, embryos, or uteruses). Since the late 1990s, however, divergences in opinion over third-party gamete donation have occurred between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims, with Iran’s leading ayatollah permitting gamete donation under certain conditions. This Iranian fatwa has had profound implications for the country of Lebanon, where a Shi’ite majority also seeks IVF services. Based on three periods of ethnographic research in Egyptian and Lebanese IVF clinics, this paper explores official and unofficial religious discourses surrounding the practice of IVF and third-party donation in the Muslim world, as well as the gender implications of gamete donation for Muslim marriages

An Environmental Economic Assessment of the Impacts of Recreational SCUBA diving on Coral Reef Systems in Hurghada, The Red Sea, Egypt

During visits to coral reef locations, divers support the economy by spending money on goods and services provided by local businesses. However, divers also impact the reef during their visits, causing stress. This study presents estimates of rates of damage to corals and assesses patterns of dive behavior on selected sites. I also present an economic analysis of diving activities in the region and propose an estimate of diver "carrying capacity", using an emergy-based approach. While diving tourism generates revenues in the order $5-8.3 million annually, divers inflict damage to the coral reef at a rate of ~1250 potentially damaging contacts a day at the most heavily used sites. As a result, I suggest that these sites should be subject to 13,000-14,000 dives per year. This study aims to provide valuable information for the development of management plans to regulate diving operations and reduce reef degradation in the region

Análisis de la relación lineal y no lineal del S&P 500 y los precios de commodities

Treballs Finals del Màster de Ciències Actuarials i Financeres, Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2020-2021, Tutor: Helena ChuliáEl trabajo final de master se centra en el análisis de la relación lineal y no lineal entre los precios de commodities, los cuales han ido ganando fuerza e importancia en el mercado financiero internacional en las últimas décadas, y el índice bursátil S&P 500 de los Estados Unidos, siendo los commodities estratégicos escogidos en el análisis, el oro, el cobre, el petróleo crudo, el trigo y el algodón. Para ello, recurriremos desde un enfoque lineal al modelo DCC-GARCH. Mediante este modelo obtendremos las correlaciones condicionales y realizaremos un análisis comparativo de las mismas centrándonos especialmente en la crisis financiera del 2008 y la crisis del COVID-19. Por otro lado, utilizaremos el modelo de regresión cuantílica para medir la relación no lineal entre el S&P 500 y los precios de los commodities. Abstract The final master thesis focuses on the analysis of the linear and non-linear relationship between commodities prices, which have attracted considerable interest in the international financial market in recent decades and the S&P 500 stock index of the United States, being the strategic commodities chosen in the analysis, gold, copper, crude oil, wheat and cotton. For that purpose, we will use the DCC-GARCH model as a linear approach. By using this model, we will obtain the conditional correlations and we will carry out a comparison of them, focusing on the financial crisis of 2008 and the crisis of the COVID-19. On the other hand, we will use the quantile regression to measure the non-linear relationship between the S&P 500 the commodity prices

Pattern and determinants of contraceptive use among the muslim women in Wajir and Lamu counties in Kenya: a cross-sectional study.

Background; Improving access to family planning (FP) is associated with positive health benefits that includes averting nearly a third of all maternal deaths and 10% of childhood deaths. Kenya has made great strides in improving access to family planning services. However, amid this considerable progress, regional variation has been noted which begs the need for a clearer understanding of the the patterns and determinants that drive these inconsistencies. Methods; We conducted a cross-sectional study that involved 663 Muslim women of reproductive age (15–49 years) from Wajir and Lamu counties in Kenya between March and October 2018.The objective of this study was to understand patterns and determinants of contraceptive use in two predominantly Muslim settings of Lamu and Wajir counties that have varying contraceptive uptake. Eligible women were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire containing socio-demographic information and history of family planning use. Simple and multiple logistic regression were used to identify determinants of family planning use. The results were presented as Crude Odds Ratio (COR) and Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) ratios at 95% confidence interval. A p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results; Of the 663 Muslim women of reproductive age consenting to participate in the study, 51.5%, n = 342 and 48.5%, n = 321 were from Lamu and Wajir County, respectively. The prevalence of women currently using contraceptive was 18.6% (n = 123). In Lamu, the prevalence was 32.8%, while in Wajir, it was 3.4%. The determinants of current contraceptive use in Lamu include; marital status, age at marriage, employment status, discussion with a partner on FP, acceptability of FP in culture, and willingness to obtain information on FP. While in Wajir, determinants of current contraceptive use were education, and the belief that family planning is allowed in Islam. Coclusions; Our study found moderately high use of contraceptives among Muslim women of reproductive age in Lamu county and very low contraceptive use among women in Wajir. Given the role of men in decision making, it is critical to design male involvement strategy particularly in Wajir where the male influence is very prominent. It is critical for the government to invest in women and girls’ education to enhance their ability to make informed decisions; particularly in Wajir where FP uptake is low with low education attainment. Further, our findings highlight the need for culturally appropriate messages and involvement of religious leaders to demystify the myths and misconception around family planning and Islam particularly in Wajir

Novel Green Micro-Synthesis of Graphene-Titanium Dioxide Nano- Composites with Photo-Electrochemical Properties

Background: Graphene-Titanium dioxide nano-composite forms a very promising material in the field of photo-electrochemical research. Methods: In this study, a novel environment-friendly synthesis method was developed to produce well-distributed anatase nano-titanium dioxide spherical particles on the surface of graphene sheets. This novel method has great advantages over previously developed methods of producing graphenetitanium dioxide nanocomposites (GTNCs). High calcination temperature 650°C was used in the preparation of nano titanium dioxide, and chemical exfoliation for graphene synthesis and GTNC was performed by our novel method of depositing titanium dioxide nanoparticles on graphene sheets using a Y-shaped micro-reactor under a controlled pumping rate with minimal use of chemicals. Results: The physiochemical and crystallographic properties of the GTNC were confirmed by TEM, XRD, FTIR and EDX measurements, confirming process repeatability. Spherical nano-titanium dioxide was produced in the anatase phase with very high crystallinity and small particle diameters ranging from 9 nm to 25 nm, also the as prepared graphene (RGO) exhibited minimal flake folding and a high carbon content of 81.28% with a low oxygen-to-carbon atomic ratio of 0.172 and GTNCs produced by our novel method had a superior loading content, a homogeneous distribution and a 96.6% higher content of titanium dioxide particles on the graphene sheets compared with GTNCs prepared with the one-pot method. Conclusion: For its photoelectrochemical properties, chronoamperometry showed that GTNC sample (2) had a higher peak current of 60 μA compared with that of GTNC sample (1), which indicates that the separation and transfer of electron-hole pairs are better in the case of GTNC sample (2) and according to the LSV results, the generation of photocurrent in the samples can be observed through multiple on-off cycles, which indicates that the electrodes are stable and that the photocurrent is quite reversible