BMC Geriatr

BACKGROUND: With the global population aging and life expectancy increasing, dementia has turned a priority in the health care system. In Chile, dementia is one of the most important causes of disability in the elderly and the most rapidly growing cause of death in the last 20 years. Cognitive complaint is considered a predictor for cognitive and functional decline, incident mild cognitive impairment, and incident dementia. The GERO cohort is the Chilean core clinical project of the Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism (GERO). The objective of the GERO cohort is to analyze the rate of functional decline and progression to clinical dementia and their associated risk factors in a community-dwelling elderly with subjective cognitive complaint, through a population-based study. We also aim to undertake clinical research on brain ageing and dementia disorders, to create data and biobanks with the appropriate infrastructure to conduct other studies and facilitate to the national and international scientific community access to the data and samples for research. METHODS: The GERO cohort aims the recruitment of 300 elderly subjects (> 70 years) from Santiago (Chile), following them up for at least 3 years. Eligible people are adults not diagnosed with dementia with subjective cognitive complaint, which are reported either by the participant, a proxy or both. Participants are identified through a household census. The protocol for evaluation is based on a multidimensional approach including socio-demographic, biomedical, psychosocial, neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric and motor assessments. Neuroimaging, blood and stool samples are also obtained. This multidimensional evaluation is carried out in a baseline and 2 follow-ups assessments, at 18 and 36 months. In addition, in months 6, 12, 24, and 30, a telephone interview is performed in order to keep contact with the participants and to assess general well-being. DISCUSSION: Our work will allow us to determine multidimensional risks factors associated with functional decline and conversion to dementia in elderly with subjective cognitive complain. The aim of our GERO group is to establish the capacity to foster cutting edge and multidisciplinary research on aging in Chile including basic and clinical research. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04265482 in ClinicalTrials.gov. Registration Date: February 11, 2020. Retrospectively Registered

Grudge spending:The interplay between markets and culture in the purchase of security

In the paper, we use data from an English study of security consumption, and recent work in the cultural sociology of markets, to illustrate the way in which moral and social commitments shape and often constrain decisions about how, or indeed whether, individuals and organizations enter markets for protection. Three main claims are proffered. We suggest, firstly, that the purchase of security commodities is a mundane, non-conspicuous mode of consumption that typically exists outside of the paraphernalia of consumer culture - a form of grudge spending. Secondly, we demonstrate that security consumption is weighed against other commitments that individuals and organizations have and is often kept in check by these competing considerations. We find, thirdly, that the prospect of consuming security prompts people to consider the relations that obtain between security objects and other things that they morally or aesthetically value, and to reflect on what the buying and selling of security signals about the condition and likely futures of their society. These points are illustrated using the examples of organizational consumption and gated communities. In respect of each case, we tease out the evaluative judgements that condition and constrain the purchase of security among organizations and individuals and argue that they open up some important but neglected questions to do with the moral economy of security

The moral economy of security

In this article we draw upon our recent research into security consumption to answer two questions: first, under what conditions do people experience the buying and selling of security goods and services as morally troubling? Second, what are the theoretical implications of understanding private security as, in certain respects, tainted trade? We begin by drawing on two bodies of work on morality and markets (one found in political theory, the other in cultural sociology) in order to develop what we call a moral economy of security. We then use this theoretical resource to conduct an anatomy of the modes of ambivalence and unease that the trade in security generates. Three categories organize the analysis: blocked exchange; corrosive exchange; and intangible exchange. In conclusion, we briefly spell out the wider significance of our claim that the buying and selling of security is a morally charged and contested practice of governance

El sufrimiento de la esposa en la convivencia con el consumidor de bebidas alcohólicas O sofrimento da esposa que convive com o marido alcoólatra The meaning of suffering by women who live with an alcoholic husband

El presente estudio tuvo el objetivo de conocer y analizar la percepción de la vida de las mujeres quienes conviven con esposos que consumen bebidas alcohólicas. El enfoque metodológico es cualitativo, de tipo descriptivo y exploratorio. La colecta de los dados fue realizada a seis mujeres de Colombia mediante entrevista semi-estructurada y observación. Para el análisis de los dados se utilizó el análisis de contenido. El material obtenido fue clasificado en categorías; por estas se puede establecer que el significado dominante de "sufrimiento", atribuido por las mujeres, está determinado por el contexto sociocultural, en el que se reflejan aquellos valores y comportamientos culturales.<br>Este estudo teve o objetivo de conhecer e analisar a percepção da vida das esposas que convivem com maridos alcoólatras. O enfoque metodológico foi qualitativo, do tipo descritivo e exploratório. A coleta de dados foi realizada com seis mulheres colombianas, por meio da entrevista semi-estruturada e da observação. Para a análise dos dados utilizou-se a análise de conteúdo qualitativo. O material obtido foi classificado em categorias e por elas pode-se estabelecer que o significado dominante de "sofrimento", atribuído pelas mulheres, está determinado pelo contexto sócio-cultural, refletindo seus valores e comportamentos culturais.<br>The objective of the present study is to ascertain and analyze the understanding that the wives of alcoholic husbands have about life. A descriptive and exploratory qualitative methodological approach was employed. Data were collected from six Colombian women on the basis of semi-structured interviews and observation. Qualitative contents analysis was applied to the data. The material obtained thereby was classified into categories that indicate that the dominant meaning of "suffering", attributed by the women, is determined by the social and cultural environment, reflecting their cultural values and behaviors

Privatization and coercion: The question of legitimacy

This article explores issues surrounding the legitimacy of private sector provision in criminal justice. It examines changes in ideas about legitimate coercion which have made private sector involvement possible. It then elaborates two models of the processes whereby private sector entities attempt to obtain and maintain the legitimacy of their activities in the eyes of the public