Missing girls in urban slums of the Global South? Exploring the intersections between puberty, poverty and gender Inequality

If analysis of the interrelations between urbanisation, gender and poverty in developing country contexts has only recently come onto the radar of scholarship and policy interventions, then it could be levelled that the situation of adolescent girls has taken even more of a backseat. Despite recent ‘Smart Economics’ discourse on the need to invest in younger generations of women to maximise the returns to development and gender equality, in actuality little importance has been accorded to dedicated research on, or policy interventions for, early adolescent females in urban slums whose prospects of exiting poverty frequently come up against massive constraints at menarche. This paper, which draws on recent work by the authors for the DfID-funded Gender and Global Evidence consortium project managed by the Overseas Development Institute, identifies the critical need for prioritising research on, and action for, this hitherto marginalised group in order to create more gender-equitable urban futures. Discussing some of the main reasons why menarche presents such a vital moment in women’s lives and the particular challenges encountered by young female residents in urban slums, we highlight the need for intersectional approaches to urban planning and development that engage adolescent girls as meaningful – rather than ‘missing’ - stakeholders

Worlding aspirations and resilient futures: framings of risk and contemporary city-making in Metro Cebu, the Philippines

In the Philippines, calls for creating ‘global’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘resilient’ cities are placing urban poor communities in increasingly precarious positions. These communities have long been the targets of urban development and ‘modernisation’ efforts; more recently the erasure of informal settlements from Philippine cities is being bolstered at the behest of climate change adaptation and disaster risk management (DRM) agendas. In Metro Cebu, flood management has been at the heart of DRM and broader urban development discussions, and is serving as justification for the demolition and displacement of informal settler communities in areas classed as ‘danger zones’. Using Kusno's (2010) interpretation of the ‘exemplary centre’ as a point of departure, this paper interrogates the relationship between DRM, worlding aspirations (Roy and Ong, 2011) and market-oriented urbanisation in Cebu, and considers the socio-spatial implications of these intersecting processes for urban poor communities. Through analysing the contradictions inherent in framings of certain bodies and spaces as being ‘of risk’ or ‘at risk’ over others, I argue that the epistemologies of modernity, disaster risk and resilience endorsed and propagated by the state are facilitating processes of displacement and dispossession that serve elite commercial interests under the auspices of disaster resilience and pro-poor development

Empowerment in the era of resilience-building: Gendered participation in community-based (disaster) risk management in the Philippines

As the economic, social and environmental impacts of climate change become increasingly apparent in the Philippines, community-based approaches to disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) have become the new orthodoxy, framed by narratives of participation, empowerment and resilience. Among the urban poor, state-endorsed risk reduction interventions are often facilitated via homeowner associations, with women serving as critical drivers of grass-roots action within these spaces. This article interrogates whether these community-based mobilisations are serving to address or exacerbate gendered inequalities that underpin vulnerabilities to risk. I argue that grass-roots 'resilience-building' and community-based DRRM are decidedly gendered in practice, and reveal complex dynamics whereby participation in these activities is reinforcing gendered inequalities and power differentials while simultaneously facilitating positive personal transformations among female members. The findings of this study reinforce the importance of understanding the socio-spatial manifestations of gender roles, power and agency to the development of inclusive DRRM and 'resilience-building' strategies

Risk, resilience and responsibilisation: gendered participation and empowerment in informal settlements of Metro Cebu, the Philippines

The Philippines is one of the most disaster-affected countries in the world and considered especially vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. As the economic, social and environmental consequences of these phenomena become more pronounced across the archipelago, disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) and climate change adaptation have unsurprisingly gained more attention in national and local policies and development agendas. Within this terrain, community-based DRRM (CBDRRM) has emerged as a core orthodoxy informing intervention, particularly in the context of low-income informal settlements which are among the most exposed and least able to protect themselves and recover from such events. In Metro Cebu, calls for creating a more ‘sustainable’ and ‘resilient’ city are also placing urban poor communities in an increasingly precarious position, with those living in areas classed as ‘danger zones’ simultaneously facing intensified pressures of displacement in the name of risk management. Amidst this context of multiple and overlapping forms of risk and insecurity, community organising among informal settlers has become a critical mechanism for building local capacities and resisting different socio-political and environmental threats. Largely mobilised and driven by women, these grassroots entities, often in the shape of homeowner associations, are fundamental to collective contestations of policies and practices that adversely or unfairly affect the urban poor of Cebu, while also serving as strategic sites for advancing claims on public resources and local risk management activities. This thesis interrogates the gendered politics of risk and community organising among informal settlers in Metro Cebu. Drawing on the perspectives and experiences of women and men living in areas classed as danger zones, I argue that encounters with risk (and disaster) constitute an ‘everyday’ rather than ‘exceptional’ reality for informal settlers, and that the siloed focus on large-scale catastrophic events obscures these gendered realities and therein limits the efficacy of CBDRRM initiatives. Relatedly, I contend that the language of ‘disasters’ and ‘climate change’ being endorsed and propagated by the Philippine state depoliticises discussions of risk by concealing the socio-political and structural drivers of vulnerability and deflecting attention away from the power configurations and actors complicit in the production of risk. In fact, my analysis of how DRRM features within broader urban development processes in the metropole showcases how ‘disaster resilience’ and ‘pro-poor development’ are being mobilised to serve elite commercial interests and legitimise the removal of slums

REABILITAÇÕES IMPLANTOSSUPORTADAS EM PACIENTES SOB TRATAMENTO COM BIFOSFONATOS: COMPLICAÇÕES E CONDUTAS

A perda precoce de elementos dentários ainda se mostra prevalente e os implantes dentários têm se mostrado efetivos para reabilitação de áreas edêntulas. A maioria dos pacientes que necessitam de reabilitações dentárias tem mais que 60 anos, faixa etária mais susceptível a alterações sistêmicas e ósseas. Quanto às condições ósseas, para o controle da osteoporose é comum o uso de antirreabsortivos, a exemplo os Bifosfonatos (BFs). Entretanto, intervenções cirúrgicas, como a instalação de implantes, em pacientes sob terapia com este fármaco, podem levar à osteonecrose induzida por bifosfonatos (ONB). O objetivo é esclarecer a relação entre os BFs e potenciais complicações na instalação de implantes em pacientes que fazem seu uso. As informações foram coletadas em artigos científicos em inglês e português extraídos das bases de dados Scielo, Google Acadêmico e PubMed, publicados nos últimos cinco anos, a partir das palavras-chave “Bifosfonatos”, “Implantes dentários” e “Osteonecrose”. Apesar da alta taxa de sobrevida dos implantes dentários em pacientes sob uso de BFs, ainda são descritos na literatura diversos casos de ONB, devendo a terapia com o fármaco ser investigada e considerada previamente à execução cirúrgica, sob o risco de necrose óssea e perda precoce de implantes. Toda adequação do meio bucal deve ser realizada previamente ao inicio da terapia com BFs, contudo alguns pacientes já fazem seu uso quando procuram reabilitação sendo papel fundamental do Cirurgião-Dentista alertá-los sobre o risco potencial de desenvolvimento da osteonecrose

Light, camera, tuberculosis: professional actors, supporting weaknesses or vice versa?

Objective: To analyze the strengths and weaknesses of practicing managers who develop actions related to the control of tuberculosis in the metropolitan region of João Pessoa-PB. Method: We performed a descriptive, exploratory qualitative study between May and July 2009, with a sample consisting of eight professionals. Results: showed that the scenario of action for those who play the actions of tuberculosis control is fraught with controversies and difficulties that leverage the existing weaknesses. Conclusion: to observe the performance of the actors / managers visualizes disarticulation of service, often lack of knowledge of the true script of action, lack of profile to step in and, above all, health teams extras, ie, uncommitted and disqualified to live the starring role in combating this condition

Escolha dos métodos de multicritério a tomada de decisão com o auxílio de um sistema especialista formulado a partir de um fluxograma / Choice of multicriteria methods to decision making with the aid of a specialist system formulated from a flowchart

A tomada de decisão nas organizações vem sendo uma tarefa cada vez mais complexa para o gestor, no qual pode ser chamado de decisor, sela dificuldade de assimilar o método, ou por simplesmente não saber a existência e ferramentas usuais para auxiliar a tomada de decisão, tornando-se extremamente estratégico e eficaz em qualquer organização. A partir disso, o AMD (Apoio Multicritério a Decisão) possui diversos métodos de tomada de decisão, e possui uma subdivisão caracterizada como escolas americanas e francesa, entretanto atualmente ressalta-se a aplicação de métodos compensatórios e não-compensatórios com problemáticas distintas. Desta forma, o tomador de decisão precisa se familiarizar com todos os métodos para que seu resultado seja otimizado, e consequentemente seu problema solucionado de modo eficiente. O presente artigo trará como proposta a elaboração de um fluxograma, com base em três métodos de AMD que são os métodos AHP (Análise Hierárquica de Processos), Electre (Elimination et choix Traduisant la Reálité) e o Prometheé (Preference Ranking Organization Method of Enrichment Evalutions), após isto, o sistema especialista será desenvolvido, no qual será obtido a partir do fluxograma com as características e peculiaridades dos métodos de tomada de decisão. Ou seja, o sistema especialista responderá de acordo com as circunstâncias do usuário a melhor alternativa ou método a ser utilizado naquela circunstância em que o tomador de decisão se encontra. Cumpri salientar que o sistema especialista será elaborado pelo Software Expert Sinta tornando- se o passo a passo de suporte ao decisor e assimilar o raciocínio que consiga enquadrar os três tipos de métodos abordados, para que as peculiaridades do decisor sejam supridas. E assim aplica-lo na problemática obtendo seu melhor resultado