Relación entre los sistemas políticos y el índice COP en 62 países durante el periodo 1970-2010 / Relationship between the political regime and the DMTF index in 62 countries in the period 1970-2010

Objetivo: determinar la relación de los sistemas políticos y sus trayectorias, según la clasificación de Navarro y Shi, con el índice COP en 62 países durante el periodo 1970-2010. Métodos: se utilizó un diseño ecológico retrospectivo. Para ello, fueron seleccionados países que cumplieran con al menos tres registros de los clasificados en el índice C.O.P a los 12 años de edad en el periodo 1970-2010. Una vez definida la muestra de países, se buscó información sobre las trayectorias políticas de cada país para caracterizar el sistema político y las condiciones de salud oral. El análisis de la información se realizó a partir de cruzar y triangular los datos de la presencia de caries en los países con cada categoría del sistema o régimen político. Resultados: los determinantes sociales y políticos macroestructurales que organizan los sistemas sanitarios influyen en el bienestar de la población de un país. De ahí que, el índice de C.O.P esté relacionado con los contextos políticos, apreciándose que, a mayor democracia, mejores resultados en salud oral. Conclusiones: la forma cómo los diferentes modelos políticos (socialdemócratas, conservadores, liberales y dictatoriales) organizan los sistemas sanitarios en cada Estado, en los 62 países analizados, ha influenciado sobre la experiencia de caries dental de la población (índice COP).

Objective: To determine the influence of political trajectories according to the classification of Navarro and Shi, with the DMTF index in 62 countries during the period 1970-2010. Methods: A retrospective ecological design was used. Countries that met at least three records of the national DMTF indices at 12 years of age in the period 1970-2010 were selected. Once the country sample was defined, information was sought on the political tradition of each country to characterize the political model and oral health conditions. The analysis of the information crossed and triangulated the caries data in the countries according to each category of political model, according to the perspective of the political parties in government. Results: The macro-structural social determinants that organize the health systems influence the well-being of the population in a country and the DMTF index is related to the political regimes, appreciating that the more democratic, the better results they present in oral health. Conclusions: There is an influence of political trajectories (Social Democrats, Conservatives, Liberals and Dictatorials) in the 62 countries analyzed on the experience of dental caries (DMTF index), which is mediated by the way in which political models organize health systems in each country.

Integrated Care in Switzerland: Strengths and Weaknesses of a Federal System.

INTRODUCTION: Switzerland's fragmented healthcare system mirrors its federal structure and mix of cultures and languages. Although the Swiss have a higher life expectancy than most of their neighbours, their healthcare system faces similar challenges that call for more integrated care (IC). AIM/METHOD: This article aims to provide insight into the specificities of and latest developments in Switzerland's healthcare system and how they may have influenced the development and implementation of IC there. DESCRIPTION/DISCUSSION: The number of local IC initiatives has been growing steadily for 20 years. With a certain lag, various policies supporting IC have been established. Among them, a recent democratic debate on the federal mandatory health insurance law could either induce a radical move towards centralised support for IC or continue to support scattered local IC initiatives. CONCLUSION: In the future, Switzerland's healthcare system will probably navigate between local IC initiatives and centralised, federal support for IC initiatives. This will be the reflection of a very Swiss way forward in a world without clear evidence on whether centralised or decentralised initiatives are more successful at developing IC.

Análisis de los sistemas de salud como sistemas políticos / Analysis of health systems as political systems

La literatura técnica suele presentar los Sistemas de Salud (SS) como conjuntos de recursos médicos destinados a atender enfermedades. Un análisis más amplio del tema permite caracterizar los SS como la expresión de sistemas políticos que surgen y cambian en contextos históricos diferentes, al impulso de las condiciones e intereses predominantes. Los sistemas políticos son los mismos sistemas sociales cuando los valoramos desde la perspectiva de las relaciones de poder que se establecen entre sus integrantes. Desde esta perspectiva los SS, sus agentes, discursos y dispositivos, se revelan como componentes de sistemas políticos que determinan, bajo las apariencias el tipo de gestión que se aplica a la comprensión y cuidado de la salud, y configuran "modelos de respuesta social". Este documento, describe los SS como sistemas políticos, con base en las características de la respuesta social preponderante. Se describen cinco tipologías que pueden coexistir tanto de forma sinérgica como contradictoria reflejando las condiciones e intereses predominantes en el grupo: sistemas populares, de beneficencia, de seguridad social, estatales, y privados. Al final se propone que el análisis de los aspectos formales y técnicos es por sí mismo insuficiente para explicar e intervenir la dinámica de los SS.

Technical literature usually presents Health Systems (HS) as sets of medical resources aimed at treating diseases. A broader analysis of the subject allows us to characterize HS as the expression of political systems, which arise and change in different historical contexts, driven by prevailing conditions and interests. Political systems are the same social systems when we value them from the perspective of the power relations established among their members. From this perspective, HS, their agents, discourses, and devices, are revealed as components of political systems that determine, under appearances, the type of management that people applied to understand and care for their health, and configure "models of social response." In this document, the analysis of HS is based on the characteristics of the prevailing social response. We describe five typologies that can coexist, both synergistically and contradictory, reflecting the prevailing conditions and interests in the group: popular, charity, social security, state, and private systems. In the end, it is proposed that the analysis of the formal and technical aspects is by itself insufficient to explain HS and intervene in their dynamics

The impact of government-enterprise collusion on environmental pollution in China.

Pollution emissions in China are associated with the relationship between local governments and enterprises, especially in those cities with government-enterprise collusion (GEC). We evaluate the causal relationships between GEC and SO2 emissions at the enterprise level, by adopting the Propensity Score Matching-Difference in Difference method from a comprehensive environmental database. The empirical results show that, compared with those in the cities without collusion, SO2 emissions of enterprises in the colluded cities increase by 11.3% (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.041-0.186). These GEC effects are more substantial in the cities whose regional officials work with longer terms, in the foreign-owned or small-scale enterprises, and the labour-intensive industries. The findings suggest the existing environment and personnel management policies in China should be adjusted for more sustainable development.

A critical interpretive synthesis of the roles of midwives in health systems.

BACKGROUND: Midwives' roles in sexual and reproductive health and rights continues to evolve. Understanding the profession's role and how midwives can be integrated into health systems is essential in creating evidence-informed policies. Our objective was to develop a theoretical framework of how political system factors and health systems arrangements influence the roles of midwives within the health system. METHODS: A critical interpretive synthesis was used to develop the theoretical framework. A range of electronic bibliographic databases (CINAHL, EMBASE, Global Health database, HealthSTAR, Health Systems Evidence, MEDLINE and Web of Science) was searched through to 14 May 2020 as were policy and health systems-related and midwifery organisation websites. A coding structure was created to guide the data extraction. RESULTS: A total of 4533 unique documents were retrieved through electronic searches, of which 4132 were excluded using explicit criteria, leaving 401 potentially relevant records, in addition to the 29 records that were purposively sampled through grey literature. A total of 100 documents were included in the critical interpretive synthesis. The resulting theoretical framework identified the range of political and health system components that can work together to facilitate the integration of midwifery into health systems or act as barriers that restrict the roles of the profession. CONCLUSIONS: Any changes to the roles of midwives in health systems need to take into account the political system where decisions about their integration will be made as well as the nature of the health system in which they are being integrated. The theoretical framework, which can be thought of as a heuristic, identifies the core contextual factors that governments can use to best leverage their position when working to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Actual Threat, Perceived Threat, and Authoritarianism: An Experimental Study.

Archival, correlational, and experimental studies converge showing strong links between societal threat and authoritarianism. However, inconsistent with the social cognitive studies showing that our perception of the reality is systematically biased, the literature on the threat-authoritarianism relations has largely ignored the connection between the actual societal threat and its perception. In this study, we analyzed the relation between objective societal threat and authoritarians' perception of it, hypothesizing that authoritarians would tend to overestimate societal threat and that such overestimation would increase the endorsement of authoritarian attitudes and the preference for authoritarian political systems. Using an experimental approach, we studied the relations between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), actual societal threat (manipulated as low vs. moderate), and perceived societal threat working with an Italian community sample (N = 209, Mage = 29.70, SD = 9.53, 64.1% women). Actual threat and RWA equally predicted participants' threat perception, while their interaction did not. In turn, threat perception further increased RWA and support to authoritarian political system. We discussed the results in terms of a vicious circle whereby authoritarians overestimate societal threat and such overestimation reinforces authoritarian attitudes.

Understanding the conditions that influence the roles of midwives in Ontario, Canada's health system: an embedded single-case study.

BACKGROUND: Despite the significant variability in the role and integration of midwifery across provincial and territorial health systems, there has been limited scholarly inquiry into whether, how and under what conditions midwifery has been assigned roles and integrated into Canada's health systems. METHODS: We use Yin's (2014) embedded single-case study design, which allows for an in-depth exploration to qualitatively assess how, since the regulation of midwives in 1994, the Ontario health system has assigned roles to and integrated midwives as a service delivery option. Kingdon's agenda setting and 3i + E theoretical frameworks are used to analyze two recent key policy directions (decision to fund freestanding midwifery-led birth centres and the Patients First primary care reform) that presented opportunities for the integration of midwives into the health system. Data were collected from key informant interviews and documents. RESULTS: Nineteen key informant interviews were conducted, and 50 documents were reviewed in addition to field notes taken during the interviews. Our findings suggest that while midwifery was created as a self-regulated profession in 1994, health-system transformation initiatives have restricted the profession's integration into Ontario's health system. The policy legacies of how past decisions influence the decisions possible today have the most explanatory power to understand why midwives have had limited integration into interprofessional maternity care. The most important policy legacies to emerge from the analyses were related to payment mechanisms. In the medical model, payment mechanisms privilege physician-provided and hospital-based services, while payment mechanisms in the midwifery model have imposed unintended restrictions on the profession's ability to practice in interprofessional environments. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to explain why midwives have not been fully integrated into the Ontario health system, as well as the limitations placed on their roles and scope of practice. The study also builds a theoretical understanding of the integration process of healthcare professions within health systems and how policy legacies shape service delivery options.

Innovation Strategies and Health System Guiding Principles to Address Equity and Sustainability in Responsible Innovation in Health Comment on "What Health System Challenges Should Responsible Innovation in Health Address? Insights From an International Scoping Review".

The insights from an international scoping review provided by Lehoux et al challenge health policy-makers, entrepreneurs/innovators and users of healthcare, worldwide, to be aware of equity and sustainability challenges at system-level when appraising responsible innovation in health (RIH) - purposefully designed to better support health systems.The authors manage to extract no less than 1391 health system challenges with those mostly cited pertaining to service delivery, human resources, leadership and governance. Countries were classified according to the Human Development Index (HDI), while the authors decided not to classify according to the types of health systems justifying this on the basis that the articles reviewed studied a specific setting within a broader national or regional health system. The article presents highly powerful and discerning viewpoints, indeed providing numerous standpoints, yet in a comprehensive manner, thereby putting structure to a somewhat highly complex and multidimensional subject. This commentary brings forth several considerations that are perceived on reading this article. First, although innovation strategies are important for the dynamicity of health systems, one should discuss whether or not RIH can adequately address equity and sustainability on a global scale. Secondly, RIH across countries should also be debated in the context of the principles garnered by the type of health system, thereby identifying whether or not the prevailing political goals support equity and sustainability, and whether or not policy-makers are adequately supported to translate system-level demand signals into innovation development opportunities. As key messages, the commentary reiterates the emphasis made by the authors of the need for international policy-oriented fora as learning vehicles on RIH that also address system-level challenges, albeit the need to acknowledge cultural differences. In addition, the public has not only the right for transparency on how equity and sustainability challenges are addressed in innovation decisions, but also the responsibilities to contribute to overcome these challenges.

The Danish health care system and epidemiological research: from health care contacts to database records.

Denmark has a large network of population-based medical databases, which routinely collect high-quality data as a by-product of health care provision. The Danish medical databases include administrative, health, and clinical quality databases. Understanding the full research potential of these data sources requires insight into the underlying health care system. This review describes key elements of the Danish health care system from planning and delivery to record generation. First, it presents the history of the health care system, its overall organization and financing. Second, it details delivery of primary, hospital, psychiatric, and elderly care. Third, the path from a health care contact to a database record is followed. Finally, an overview of the available data sources is presented. This review discusses the data quality of each type of medical database and describes the relative technical ease and cost-effectiveness of exact individual-level linkage among them. It is shown, from an epidemiological point of view, how Denmark's population represents an open dynamic cohort with complete long-term follow-up, censored only at emigration or death. It is concluded that Denmark's constellation of universal health care, long-standing routine registration of most health and life events, and the possibility of exact individual-level data linkage provides unlimited possibilities for epidemiological research.

Em busca do tempo perdido: anotações sobre os determinantes políticos da crise do SUS / In search of lost time: notes on the political determinants of the SUS crisis

RESUMO Este artigo demonstra que há uma crise histórica dos sujeitos políticos que organizaram a dinâmica de fundação e construção dos Estados do Bem-Estar Social no pós-guerra, e que esta se manifesta na temporalidade própria e tardia da construção do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). O centro dessa crise estaria no processo de mudança epocal da tradição liberal, que passou a ter o paradigma neoliberal como dominante. A primeira parte do artigo apresenta os fundamentos políticos, a gênese e o desenvolvimento do pensamento neoliberal, localizando o seu ataque frontal às culturas da solidariedade, da fraternidade, do universalismo. O segundo momento do artigo demonstra como essa crise internacional afetou os sujeitos políticos fundadores do SUS, formando um contexto que, se não foi capaz de desconstitucionalizá-lo, minava suas bases financeiras e de legitimação pública. A terceira parte aponta que a repactuação histórica em torno do SUS passaria por uma (re)construção de seus sujeitos políticos em uma nova coalizão por meio do reencontro das culturas do republicanismo e do socialismo democráticos. Repondo a consciência sanitária neste novo horizonte civilizatório, renovando sua linguagem pública e sua capacidade de fazer convergir os novos movimentos sociais, o projeto SUS reataria o seu destino ao processo de refundação da democracia brasileira em crise.

ABSTRACT This paper shows that there is a historical crisis of the political subjects that organized the foundation and construction dynamics of the Welfare States in the postwar period and that manifests itself in the late temporality of the construction of the SUS (Unified Health System). The crisis can be located in the change process of the liberal tradition, which came to have the neoliberal paradigm as dominant. The first part of the paper presents the political foundations, genesis, and development of the neoliberal thought, locating its frontal attack on the cultures of solidarity, fraternity, of universalism. Then, it shows how this international crisis affected the political subjects of the SUS, forming a context that, if not able to deconstitutionalize it, undermined its financial bases and its public legitimization. The third part points out that the historical renegotiation around the SUS would go through a (re)construction of its political subjects in a new coalition, through the reencounter of the cultures of democratic republicanism and socialism. Restoring sanitary awareness in this new civilizing horizon, renewing its public language and its ability to bring the new social movements together, the SUS project would reunite its destiny to the process of refounding the Brazilian democracy which is now in crisis.

A relação do Cebes com o PCB na emergência do movimento sanitário / The Cebes relationship with the PCB in the emergency of the sanitary movement

RESUMO Este artigo é o desdobramento de uma pesquisa cujo objetivo foi analisar a relação entre o movimento sanitário e os partidos políticos de matriz marxista no período correspondente à emergência do espaço social da Reforma Sanitária Brasileira (RSB) (1974-85). Este artigo se apoia nessa pesquisa e analisa a relação entre o Centro Brasileiro de Estudos de Saúde (Cebes) e o Partido Comunista Brasileiro (PCB). Recorre a artigos, documentos e entrevistas com lideranças da RSB, utilizando o referencial da sociologia reflexiva. Os resultados apontam a relação entre o Cebes e o PCB na formação de lideranças do movimento, entretanto, essa influência não significou a perda da autonomia da entidade no processo de luta pela RSB.

ABSTRACT This article is the unfoldment of a research whose objective was to analyze the relation between the sanitary movement and the political parties of Marxist matrix in the period corresponding to the emergence of the social space of the Brazilian Sanitary Reform (RSB) (1974-85). This article is based on this research and analyzes the relationship between the Brazilian Center for Health Studies (Cebes) and the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB). It uses articles, documents and interviews with leaders of the RSB, using the referential of reflexive sociology. The results point to the relationship between the Cebes and the PCB in the formation of leaders of the movement, however, this influence did not mean the loss of autonomy of the entity in the process of fight for the RSB.

Political Systems and the Perspective on Nursing Education during the Spanish Transition (from the Franco Regime to Democracy). A Contribution Based on Nursing History / Sistemas políticos y perspectiva de la educación de enfermería en la transición española (del franquismo a la democracia). Una contribución desde la historia de la enfermería / Sistemas políticos e perspectiva de ensino da enfermagem na transição espanhola (do regime de Franco à democracia). Uma contribuição da história da enfermagem

The aim of this study is to describe the changes in nursing education during the process prior to and after the establishment of democracy in Spain. It begins with the hypothesis that differences in social and political organization influenced the way the system of nursing education evolved, keeping it in line with neopositivistic schemes and exclusively technical approaches up until the advent of democracy. The evolution of a specific profile for nursing within the educational system has been shaped by the relationship between the systems of social and political organization in Spain. To examine the insertion of subjects such as the anthropology of healthcare into education programs for Spanish nursing, one must consider the cultural, intercultural and transcultural factors that are key to understanding the changes in nursing education that allowed for the adoption of a holistic approach in the curricula.Until the arrival of democracy in 1977, Spanish nursing education was solely technical in nature and the role of nurses was limited to the tasks and procedures defined by the bureaucratic thinking characteristic of the rational-technological paradigm. Consequently, during the long period prior to democracy, nursing in Spain was under the influence of neopositivistic and technical thinking, which had its effect on educational curricula. The addition of humanities and anthropology to the curricula, which facilitated a holistic approach, occurred once nursing became a field of study at the university level in 1977, a period that coincided with the beginnings of democracy in Spain.

El objetivo del estudio consiste en describir los cambios que afectan a enfermería dentro del sistema educativo durante el proceso previo y posterior al establecimiento de la democracia en España. Se parte de la siguiente hipótesis: las diferencias en la organización social y política influenciaron la evolución de la enfermería española manteniéndola dentro de los esquemas del neopositivismo y los enfoques exclusivamente técnicos hasta la llegada de la democracia. La relación entre los sistemas de organización social y política en España ha determinado la evolución de un perfil específico de enfermería en el sistema educativo. Para comprender la integración de asignaturas como la antropología del los cuidados en los programas educativos de la enfermería española hay que se considerar los factores culturales, interculturales y transculturales que constituyen las claves para el entendimiento de los cambios en la educación enfermera haciendo posible la adopción de una perspectiva holística en los currículos. Hasta la llegada del sistema democrático en 1977, la educación en la Enfermería española fue solamente de naturaleza técnica y los roles de las enfermeras se limitaban al cumplimiento de tareas y procedimientos definidos por el pensamiento burocrático característico del paradigma racional tecnológico. Conclusiones: Durante el largo período predemocrático la enfermería española estuvo bajo la influencia del pensamiento neopositivista y técnico, lo cual se plasmaba en los currículos educativos. La integración en los currículos de materias humanísticas y antropológicas que facilitaban el enfoque holístico se produjo tras la integración de la enfermería en la Universidad en 1977 coincidiendo con los inicios de la democracia en España.

Objetivo: descrever as mudanças que afetam a enfermagem no sistema de ensino durante o período pré e pós-estabelecimento da democracia na Espanha. A hipótese de partida é: as diferenças na organização social e política influenciaram a evolução da enfermagem espanhola mantendo-a dentro do positivismo e das abordagens puramente técnicas até a chegada da democracia. A relação entre os sistemas de organização social e política em Espanha determinou o desenvolvimento de um perfil específico da enfermagem no sistema de ensino. Para compreender a integração de disciplinas como a antropologia do cuidado nos programas de educação da enfermagem espanhola é necessário considerar factores culturais, interculturaisl e transculturais fundamentais para a compreensão das mudanças no ensino de enfermagem. Isso permites a adoção de uma perspectiva holística nos currículos. Até o advento da democracia em 1977, o ensino da enfermagem na Espanha era apenas de natureza técnica e os papéis dos enfermeiros eram limitados ao cumprimento de tarefas e procedimentos definidos pelo pensamento burocrático característico do paradigma racional da tecnologia. Conclusões: durante o longo período pré-democrático, a enfermagem espanhola esteve sob a influência do pensamento técnico neo-positivista, que foi incorporado nos currículos educacionais. A integração de matérias humanísticas e antropológicas no currículo, que facilitou a abordagem holística, chegou depois a integração da enfermagem na universidade em 1977, o qual coincide com o início da democracia em Espanha.

Women's groups for whom? The colonisation of women's groups in Papua New Guinea.

PIP: This paper explores the issues concerning women's groups in the context of women's network in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and from an association with such a network in West New Britain province. The women's groups in PNG often came into existence under the influence of colonial rule and as an adjunct to the Church. Some 20 years later, their vulnerability to colonization by other development factors--whether the state, the donor agency, or the beneficiaries--remains an issue for these groups because of their ambiguity of function and purpose. Despite this ambiguity, and in spite of the women subsuming a passive role in the face of the state and the donor, the women themselves have their own individual strategies for accumulating symbolic as well as real resources. However, the strategy is only open to a handful of women, whose position in society depends on the fact that prevailing patriarchal gender relations are continued. In addition, it is suggested that by simply existing, women's groups in PNG have continued to aid and abet the masculine tradition within the provincial and district governments.^ieng

Sexual trafficking in women: international political economy and the politics of sex.

A recent manifestation of the North/South, East/West political-economic divide is the international sex trade in women, of which trafficking in women for purposes of sexual employment is a large subset. Trafficking in humans in general, and women in particular, has taken center stage in many nation-states as an issue of a threat to national security and societal cohesion. This article explores some of the basic facts about trafficking and spotlights it as a truly global phenomenon, with its contemporary origins in the international capitalist market system. Furthermore, it argues that the international political economy of sex not only includes the supply side--the women of the third world, the poor states, or exotic Asian women--but it cannot maintain itself without the demand from the organizers of the trade--the men from industrialized and developing countries. The patriarchal world system hungers for and sustains the international subculture of docile women from underdeveloped nations.

Democratisation and its impact on international relations.

PIP: Democracy has spread globally, with 65 countries having undergone the democratization process at the end of 1990. This global trend toward democracy is gratifying to peoples everywhere who value freedom; however, it is also shadowed, fragile, and in need of support. A scholarly debate on the future of democratization process contains widely diverging views. One school of thought expects profoundly positive consequences from the spread of democracy; another completely rejects the importance of democracy for international relations. In terms of the advantages of democracy, it is noted that such a regime can modernize economies, improve social conditions, and integrate into the international community. In addition, it does not sponsor terrorism and war, and could be reliable and good partners in international trade and business. Several studies have rejected the idea that democracies are more peaceful than other regimes. Authoritarian regimes and their apologists claim that democracy is economically inefficient, and that in impoverished nations enlightened authoritarianism is a more effective means of generating economic growth. Overall, it could be said that democracy is a vague notion and is subject to wide interpretation. Making a distinction between the two arguments would require a more detailed analysis of regions of the world and some countries with specific peculiarities.^ieng

Gender, globalisation, and democracy.

PIP: This article discusses the link between gender, globalization and democracy in relation to women¿s empowerment. Analyzing gender relations within the processes of development planning involves five approaches: 1) welfare, 2) equity, 3) anti-poverty, 4) efficiency, and 5) empowerment. In addition, a new approach, which combines efficiency and empowerment, must be added to highlight the problematic nature of the direction of causality assumed by traditional theory of development. The rise on women's representation in national parliament can be attributed to the increase of women's economic power and women's political struggles. However, promotion of globalization produces new opportunities for feminist politics, as well as difficulties, which include: the emergent position of productive engagement in which an efficient economy and democratic society are seen as interdependent; and increase in parliamentary representation correlates with increased paid employment for women. In conclusion, the author underscores that globalization is a gendered process which is restructuring social relations on a large scale and the challenges it bring provide opportunities for women in development.^ieng

Will HIV / AIDS undermine democracy in South Africa?

PIP: This paper argues the potential of HIV/AIDS to undermine the democratic governance of South Africa and other developing countries. It begins by assessing the extent of the impact of HIV/AIDS on society, and from these facts it would indicate whether democracy can be undermined. As observed in sub-Saharan Africa, the extent of the epidemic has the potential to cripple the country's attempt to establish and maintain democracy and equity. Therefore, in order to sustain democratic governance, the following is required: strong citizen support; powerful, committed, democratic leadership; a strong and active civil society. Moreover, governments need to address the spread of HIV/AIDS, not only because people are sick and dying, but also because democracy itself is threatened.^ieng

Women's education in colonial Tamil Nadu, 1900-1930: the coalescence of patriarchy and colonialism.

PIP: This paper presents a theoretical framework for approaches to women's education and employs this framework in a discussion of the effects of patriarchy and colonialism on the educational process in Western Europe and North America as adapted in India. According to Sylvia Walby, patriarchy is the system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress, and exploit women, while colonialism depends on a relationship in which the colonized group is assumed to be intellectually, morally, and physically inferior to the colonizer. It is on the perspectives of these two systems that educational policy in Britain was based then imported to India, subsequently finding expression in various official and unofficial pronouncements. Most important, over the course of time educated Indian men in their official capacity endorsed and adapted these same pronouncements while concretizing policies relating to women's education. After the framework, an overview of schooling in Madras Presidency in the 1920s is presented. The impetus for the development of formal education for women had more to do with the notion of imparting a far greater impulse to the educational and moral tone of the people in general, and to men in particular, than with the espousal of equality of educational opportunities for women. Many issues, each of which needs to be explored further to get a picture of the complexity of the subject, compounded the problem of the expansion of women's education.^ieng

Resuscitating voter interest in Zambia: the Adult Education Association of Zambia's role in national elections.

PIP: This paper examines the role of the Adult Education Association of Zambia (AEAZ) in the Zambian national elections. Outlined in this paper are workshop topics, challenges encountered, and outcomes of the education campaign by the AEAZ in its crusade to inform voters of their rights and obligations. The six interrelated topics presented at various civic awareness campaigns were leadership qualities; community participation in national development; responsible citizenship; electoral process and the management of elections; the role of a member parliament; and human rights. The primary problem of the AEAZ campaign was language. Although English is preferred in urban areas, most of the residents in the rural areas are illiterate, and the campaign had to be conducted in several local languages, where most of the people were unfamiliar to campaigners. Other challenges affecting the AEAZ outreach efforts were lack of reliable transportation and lack of funds. Despite these challenges, the campaign was successful in encouraging citizens to vote, lobbying, advocacy, and holding political representatives accountable for their actions. This was evident in the 1996 presidential and general elections, in which there was a significant increase in the number of voters who took part in the electoral process. This paper concludes that nongovernmental organizations involved in the sensitization campaigns should coordinate and collaborate in order to enhance their capacity.^ieng

Saving the environment: women at the wheel.

PIP: The article discusses the role of women in environmental conservation and in the promotion of the "green revolution" movement. Environmental degradation and pollution arises with the occurrence of industrial revolution and modernization. Women's vulnerability to these environmental problems results in a greater awareness of the links between the environment and human health. Women are in a strong position to develop integrated responses to the problems surrounding them. With the many barriers women faced, more and more women are educators, scientist, doctors, politicians, and business leaders. These women have a special responsibility to ensure that agricultural chemical and genetic engineering do not endanger the health of the food supply or the environment as a whole; that high quality reproductive health services are made available to those in need; that girls receive decent education; that business decisions are made with a firm eye on their environmental and social consequences; and that this planet fits for human habitation. By virtue of women's powerful position as consumers and educators, and their rising strength as business and political leaders, they have the opportunity to implement holistic solutions to environmental problems. Since the well being of the environment is a prerequisite to human well being, a true "green revolution" is called for. It necessitates the drafting and implementation of holistic legislation, the creation of accounting systems that account for the environment, and the inclusion of people across the social spectrum.^ieng