Gender mainstreaming in European policy: innovation or deception? Innovation or deception?

"Mainstreaming, an approach aimed at making policy more gender sensitive, has been taken globally on board by countries with widely varying policy machineries. This social innovation was launched in the context of Bejing 1995 by a network of women's movement activists, academics and politicians sometimes referred to as State Feminists. As a policy strategy for change, it utilizes the language of efficiency current in circles hoping to rationalize public bureaucracy. Yet, because it deals with gender, mainstreaming also illustrates, in a particularly provocative way, some more general problems in political innovation. Mainstreaming provides a good illustration of the paradoxes and ambiguities of gender as a motor for change in political organization. Mainstreaming seems to offer the potential to recoup the power of definition by making the image of the citizen behind the policy more 'evident' and erasing the premise of gender neutrality. The trick is carried out through the insertion of 'tools' like Trojan horses inside the policy process, using 'formal rationality' to reveal gender related negotiations. This paper provides an initial discussion of the ways in which the mainstreaming approach aims at changing the definitions of the situation in government and secondly suggests factors that may affect whether the approach will actually succeed in various settings. It offers a framework for a consideration of the conditions necessary to ensure that mainstreaming becomes an institutional innovation and leads to gender being included in policy making as a given. It tests this using observations from the European Commission, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and regional and federal government in Belgium. The role of women's organizations, state feminist machinery, academics and policy frameworks are crucial variables to help predict whether mainstreaming remains rhetoric or becomes a useful approach to changing policy." (author's abstract)"Mainstreaming, ein Ansatz zur Erhöhung der Geschlechtssensibilität von Politik, ist inzwischen weltweit von Ländern mit sehr unterschiedlichen politischen Strukturen übernommen worden. Diese soziale Innovation wurde im Kontext der Weltfrauenkonferenz in Peking 1995 von einem Netzwerk ins Leben gerufen, das sich aus Mitgliedern der Frauenbewegung, Wissenschaftlerinnen und Politikerinnen (manchmal 'Staatsfeministinnen' genannt) zusammensetzte. Als politische Strategie, die auf Veränderungen abzielt, benutzt sie die Rhetorik von Effizienz, die in Diskursen zur Rationalisierung öffentlicher Verwaltung geläufig ist. Aber weil ihr Gegenstand das Geschlechterverhältnis ist, beleuchtet Mainstreaming in besonders herausfordernder Weise allgemeinere Probleme politischer Innovation. Mainstreaming illustriert nachdrücklich die Paradoxien und Zwiespältigkeiten, die der Einsatz von 'gender' als Motor für Veränderungen politischer Organisationen impliziert. Der Ansatz des Mainstreaming birgt möglicherweise das Potential, die Definitionsmacht zu verändern, indem er die Person des Bürgers/ der Bürgerin verdeutlicht, auf den/die sich Politiken beziehen und indem er die Annahme von Geschlechtsneutralität in Frage stellt. Dies gelingt durch die Einführung von Instrumenten in den politischen Prozeß - vergleichbar einem Trojanischen Pferd -, wobei 'formale Rationalität' genutzt wird, um die Geschlechtsspezifik von Aushandlungsprozessen aufzudecken." (Autorenreferat

Harbor Light: Organization on Skid Row Today

The homeless man has always been a visible portion of America\u27s urban life, and a most intriguing portion. My own interest in the homeless began through historical research done on the rise of the American city and the place of the hobo in American life. Through urban sociology I developed additional concerns about the place of the skid row community in the life of the central business districts of cities. The place of the homeless man raises questions of both deviancy and social control. The attempts of society to rehabilitate the homeless and the special interaction of society at large with tho more limited community of the skid row man through the rehabilitation agency serve as the focus of this paper. This thesis attempts to describe the interaction between the men of Harbor Light and the management of that organization, both in terms of the ecological setting of the city and the internal situation of the particular agency

Harbor Light: Organization on Skid Row Today

The homeless man has always been a visible portion of America\u27s urban life, and a most intriguing portion. My own interest in the homeless began through historical research done on the rise of the American city and the place of the hobo in American life. Through urban sociology I developed additional concerns about the place of the skid row community in the life of the central business districts of cities. The place of the homeless man raises questions of both deviancy and social control. The attempts of society to rehabilitate the homeless and the special interaction of society at large with tho more limited community of the skid row man through the rehabilitation agency serve as the focus of this paper. This thesis attempts to describe the interaction between the men of Harbor Light and the management of that organization, both in terms of the ecological setting of the city and the internal situation of the particular agency

Laccase-catalysed depolymerisation of lignin model oligomers

Laccase-catalysed depolymerisation of lignin offers substantial opportunities to form bio-derived aromatic chemicals. Laccase works with exquisite selectivity to oxidise the 5-5’ and β-5’ linkages in lignin and to cleave the β-O-4’ linkages in the presence of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (1-HBT). However, the laccase/1-HBT system is inefficient when applied to industrial lignin, and the complexity of the product mixtures hinders rapid optimisation. Therefore, I studied laccase-catalysed oxidation of three synthetic lignin model oligomers, which had well-defined structures, yielded analytically tractable product mixtures, and, thus, permitted faster optimisation. Solvent systems were developed to dissolve the lignin model oligomers and retain laccase activity, which aided mass transfer. Models of “hardwood” (S:G 1:1) and “softwood” (G only) lignin containing nonphenolic β-O-4’ linkages (Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 54, 258) were oxidised quickly by benzylic carbonyl formation (>60% in 24 h), or β-O-4’ bond cleavage. Approximately 25% of the linkages in the “hardwood” (S:G 1:1) oligomer were cleaved in 24 h. A more complex model of “softwood” lignin, containing β-5’, β-O-4’ and 5-5’ phenolic linkages (Green Chemistry, 15, 3031), was oxidised just as rapidly, but reaction products in this case were phenolic dimers that repolymerised. Therefore, I conclude that future bio-production of aromatic chemicals from lignin will depend on the development of improved lignin extraction procedures to allow retention of the β-O-4’ linkages, which will produce more efficient enzymatic depolymerisation

What is the impact of reflexology on palliative and cancer patients with constipation? A rapid review.

In the last twenty years, there has been an increase in interest and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). In 2000, the House of Lords Select Committee identified research priorities for CAM, including research into the effectiveness of these therapies and their specific effects and safety.1 Reflexology is one of the most popular complementary therapies.2 It has been defined as a “Chinese and Indian system of diagnosis and treatment dating from 3000 BC …” based on the belief that the whole body is represented on the foot (mostly on the soles of the feet), and that the internal organs can be stimulated by pressing particular areas of the foot (less commonly the hands).3 The role of reflexology in hospice care is common but the evidence for use is frequently anecdotal. Constipation is a common symptom in palliative care patients and and can have significant impact on symptoms and quality of life. It has been suggested that reflexology can be beneficial in the treatment of constipation. Therefore, the rationale for this review is to explore existing evidence on the impact of reflexology on symptoms of constipation on patients quality of life and wellbeing

Menstrual hygiene management and waste disposal in low and middle income countries — a review of the literature

Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) has gained some attention and several literature reviews have been published. However, both original papers and reviews tend to focus on absorbent access and use and not on the disposal of menstrual waste. This review aims to fill a gap in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector by bringing a focus specifically on menstrual hygiene safe disposal in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). We reviewed published literature since 2002 on menstrual hygiene with a focus on menstrual waste management and menstrual absorbent disposal in LMIC. Database searches were conducted of both peer reviewed literature and grey literature, in addition to hand searching of references of relevant earlier literature reviews. In total 152 articles and reports were identified and 75 met the inclusion criteria and was included in the final review. Existing polices on MHM was also reviewed with a focus on India and South Africa. The review showed that disposal of menstrual waste is often neglected MHM and sanitation value chains, leading to improper disposal and negative impacts on users, the sanitation systems and the environment. Findings call for further research to gain better understandings of MHM waste streams, disposal behaviors, absorbent materials and waste management technologies to deliver health, safety, mobility and dignity for women and girls

CCR7 Immune Cell Receptor Expression in Inflammatory Breast Cancer

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp22/1011/thumbnail.jp

Elevated osteoprotegerin is associated with abnormal ankle brachial indices in patients infected with HIV: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients infected with HIV have an increased risk for accelerated atherosclerosis. Elevated levels of osteoprotegerin, an inflammatory cytokine receptor, have been associated with a high incidence of cardiovascular disease (including peripheral arterial disease, or PAD), acute coronary syndrome, and cardiovascular mortality. The objective of this study was to determine whether PAD is prevalent in an HIV-infected population, and to identify an association with HIV-specific and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, as well as levels of osteoprotegerin.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One hundred and two patients infected with HIV were recruited in a cross-sectional study. To identify the prevalence of PAD, ankle-brachial indices (ABIs) were measured. Four standard ABI categories were utilized: ≤ 0.90 (definite PAD); 0.91-0.99 (borderline); 1.00-1.30 (normal); and >1.30 (high). Medical history and laboratory measurements were obtained to determine possible risk factors associated with PAD in HIV-infected patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of PAD (ABI ≤ 0.90) in a young HIV-infected population (mean age: 48 years) was 11%. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including advanced age and previous cardiovascular history, as well as elevated C-reactive protein levels, were associated with PAD. Compared with patients with normal ABIs, patients with high ABIs had significantly elevated levels of osteoprotegerin [1428.9 (713.1) pg/ml vs. 3088.6 (3565.9) pg/ml, respectively, p = 0.03].</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There is a high prevalence of PAD in young HIV-infected patients. A number of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and increased osteoprotegerin concentrations are associated with abnormal ABIs. Thus, early screening and aggressive medical management for PAD may be warranted in HIV-infected patients.</p

EPEN-21. Developing a sensitive method for detection of minimal residual disease in ependymoma using metabolomic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid

Ependymoma (EPN) is the second most common malignant paediatric brain tumour with poor survival and significant neuro-cognitive impairment from current treatments (surgery and radiotherapy). Relapse occurs in 50% of patients within 2 years, despite no evidence of tumour on MRI. This suggests that they have minimal residual disease (MRD) at the end of treatment. Developing an accurate MRD detection method could help select patients who would benefit from further continuation chemotherapy, thereby improving survival. There is also an unmet need for an accurate test to diagnose relapse early when the disease could be more treatable. METHODS: Pilot untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis was carried out in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with ependymoma. CSF from patients in remission from leukemia were used as controls. RESULTS: Pilot data from analysis of CSF using LC-MS demonstrates that this is a feasible approach to characterise CSF metabolomic profile. Also, EPN CSF profile is significantly different from control CSF, with significant elevation of few key metabolites (Vitamin D derivatives and betaine) in EPN CSF compared to control CSF. Immunohistochemical analysis of EPN tumour tissue microarrays confirms the expression of betaine / one-carbon pathway enzymes such as methionine synthase and betaine—homocysteine S-methyltransferase. Further validation of CSF profile with tumour metabolomic profile and serial CSF sample profiling is currently underway. Subgroup-specific differences and targeted analysis to develop a panel of biomarkers is also being explored. CONCLUSION: Early results suggest that CSF-based metabolite profiling using LC-MS is feasible and could help detect minimal residual disease in ependymoma. Further validation is required to analyse subgroup-specific differences and correlate quantitative changes in metabolites with changing disease burden