Beyond the Negro Problem: The Engagement between Literature and Sociology in the Age of the New Negro

In Beyond the Negro Problem, I explore the engagement between black literature, black expressive culture, and sociology from the 1890s to the 1930s in order to consider the possibilities for imagining black social life that emerge through discoursive innovation during a time period of violent constraint. During this period, which followed Emancipation and the failure of Reconstruction, the struggle for black life or assimilation into American society was consolidated, examined, and contemplated as the so-called Negro problem. The Negro problem was a pervasive reality and metaphor that both black authors and social scientists grappled with. I argue that black leaders and intellectuals use different forms of sociology in their writing to respond directly to narratives of black social pathology and to imagine black life beyond the status of being a problem. In each chapter I explore a different engagement of sociology and literary production and each time find that the formations of black possibility that emerge are predicated on issues of gender and sexuality because the predominating foreclosing narratives about black social life tend to gravitate toward these same issues. Moreover, the racial knowledge about African American culture produced by sociology at the onset of modernity is acutely gendered. As my project details, a major consequence of these authors dismantling that racial knowledge is that they envision gendered possibilities that exceed the Negro problem itself

Prevalence and factors associated with the use of alternative (folk) medicine practitioners in 8 countries of the former Soviet Union.

BACKGROUND: Research suggests that since the collapse of the Soviet Union there has been a sharp growth in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in some former Soviet countries. However, as yet, comparatively little is known about the use of CAM in the countries throughout this region. Against this background, the aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence of using alternative (folk) medicine practitioners in eight countries of the former Soviet Union (fSU) and to examine factors associated with their use. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Living Conditions, Lifestyles and Health (LLH) survey undertaken in eight former Soviet countries (Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine) in 2001. In this nationally representative cross-sectional survey, 18428 respondents were asked about how they treated 10 symptoms, with options including the use of alternative (folk) medicine practitioners. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with the treatment of differing symptoms by such practitioners in these countries. RESULTS: The prevalence of using an alternative (folk) medicine practitioner for symptom treatment varied widely between countries, ranging from 3.5% in Armenia to 25.0% in Kyrgyzstan. For nearly every symptom, respondents living in rural locations were more likely to use an alternative (folk) medicine practitioner than urban residents. Greater wealth was also associated with using these practitioners, while distrust of doctors played a role in the treatment of some symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The widespread use of alternative (folk) medicine practitioners in some fSU countries and the growth of this form of health care provision in the post-Soviet period in conditions of variable licensing and regulation, highlights the urgent need for more research on this phenomenon and its potential effects on population health in the countries in this region

SB 909/HB 1408 Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful discriminatory housing practices

This report provides a legislative racial impact analysis of Senate Bill (SB) 909, a proposed bill in the Virginia General Assembly, to expand the Virginia Fair Housing Law to include lawful sources of income. Specifically, this report examines state and county source of income laws and their variances by race and ethnicity

Data for development in health: a case study and monitoring framework from Kazakhstan.

Healthcare reforms are often not coupled with a relevant and appropriate monitoring framework, leaving policymakers and the public without evidence about the implications of such reforms. Kazakhstan has embarked on a large-scale reform of its healthcare system in order to achieve Universal Health Coverage. The health-related 2020 Strategic Development Goals reflect this political ambition. In a case-study approach and on the basis of published and unpublished evidence as well as personal involvement and experience (A) the indicators in the 2020 Strategic Development Goals were assessed and (B) a 'data-mapping' exercise was conducted, where the WHO health system framework was used to describe the data available at present in Kazakhstan and comment on the different indicators regarding their usefulness for monitoring the current health-related 2020 Strategic Development Goals in Kazakhstan. It was concluded that the country's current monitoring framework needs further development to track the progress and outcomes of policy implementation. The application of a modified WHO/World Bank/Global Fund health system monitoring framework was suggested to examine the implications of recent health sector reforms. Lessons drawn from the Kazakhstan experience on tailoring the suggested framework, collecting the data, and using the generated intelligence in policy development and decision-making can serve as a useful example for other middle-income countries, potentially enabling them to fast-track developments in the health sector

The mystery of missing female children in the Caucasus: an analysis of sex ratios by birth order.

CONTEXT: Official data on sex ratios at birth suggest a rise in sex-selective abortions in some post-Soviet states following the introduction of ultrasonography. However, questions remain about the validity of official data in these nations as well as whether the high sex ratios at birth are a statistical artifact. METHODS: Trends in sex ratios at birth from 1985 to 2009 for 12 post-Soviet states were examined using vital registration data. For the three countries that had had a Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in 2005-2010 (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moldova), survey data were used to calculate sex ratios at birth according to birth order, and vital registration data for 2010 were used to estimate the number of "missing" female births (if any). RESULTS: Official data revealed elevated sex ratios at birth in Armenia (117), Azerbaijan (116) and Georgia (121), but not in other post-Soviet states. According to DHS data, sex ratios were high in Armenia and Azerbaijan for first births (138 and 113, respectively); if the first child was a girl, the sex ratio in Armenia was even higher for the second birth (154). Overall, the number of girls born in these countries in 2010 was 10% lower than expected, consistent with 1,972 sex-selective abortions in Armenia and 8,381 in Azerbaijan. Sex ratios did not vary by birth order in Moldova. CONCLUSION: Sex-selective abortion appears to be common in Azerbaijan and Armenia. Family planning and legal interventions are needed to address this issue

Организация и предоставление услуг вакцинации в Европейском союзе: Подготовлено для Европейской комиссии

В последние годы в Европейском союзе неоднократно отмечались серьезные вспышки болезней, предупреждаемых с помощью вакцин, с увеличением числа заболевших и умерших. В рамках настоящего исследования, проведенного по заказу Европейской комиссии, была собрана информация об организации и предоставлении услуг вакцинации в ЕС, с особым вниманием к вакцинации детей против кори и к вакцинации взрослых против гриппа. В отчете приводятся систематический обзор факторов, имеющих отношение к системе здравоохранения, сравнительный анализ примеров из опыта стран и серия схем с описанием организации и осуществления программ вакцинации в странах ЕС.Авторы отчета отмечают существенные различия между странами ЕС в том, что касается стратегического руководства, предоставления и финансирования услуг вакцинации. В частности, эти различия касаются типов поставщиков услуг вакцинации: например, все большую роль в проведении вакцинации против гриппа для взрослых играют аптеки. Также отмечается, что вакцинация против кори в детском возрасте является обязательной в 9 странах ЕС и при этом осуществляется бесплатно (в месте получения услуги) во всех странах ЕС, в то время как вакцинация против гриппа почти во всех странах ЕС является добровольной, и при этом в 7 странах взрослые, получающие вакцину, должны по крайней мере частично оплачивать эту услугу. Авторы утверждают, что главные препятствия на пути к улучшению охвата вакцинацией связаны с факторами, имеющими отношение к предоставлению и финансированию услуг, а также с недоверием к вакцинам и недостаточной осведомленностью о них. Помимо этого, некоторые сложности отмечаются и в контексте стратегического руководства