[Food taboos in the northern region of Brazil].

PubMed

Trigo, M; Roncada, M J; Stewien, G T; Pereira, I M

1989-12-01

A study was carried out into alimentary taboos in two localities (São Félix and Murumuru) in the county of Marabá, State of Pará, Brazil. Ninety families were studied in São Félix and thirty-five in Murumuru. As regards the feeding taboos found, the most frequent was that prohibiting the simultaneous ingestion of milk and various types of fruit, including especially mango, orange, cashew and pineapple. The ingestion of eggs with fruit was also considered harmful as well as the eating of mammalian flesh at the same time as fish. Restrictions based on taboos were more frequent during breast feeding than during pregnancy, especially those regarding game flesh and fish that abound in the region under study. The most frequently mentioned reasons for the restrictions were: "the combination causes harm", "the combination kills", "the combination causes congestion" and "it causes vomiting".

The tuberculosis taboo.

PubMed

Reichman, L B

2017-03-01

The treatment of latent tuberculous infection (TBI) is a productive and meaningful approach to tuberculosis (TB) control, and an important component of the World Health Organization's (WHO's) new End TB Strategy, especially in high-risk contacts. Unfortunately, although recognized and recommended by the WHO, it continues to be underutilized, and has even been ignored for decades in some high-risk groups, as though it were a taboo. Historical approaches to treating TBI in contacts of drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB are presented and discussed as compelling experiences. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently shown that a directly observed or even self-administered 12-month regimen to treat TBI with once-weekly isoniazid (INH) and rifapentine is as effective as 9 months of daily INH. Treating TBI in drug-susceptible cases and their contacts should not still be considered taboo-such a short, effective regimen is more akin to the Holy Grail. While not yet confirmed in a clinical trial, treating contacts of drug-resistant TB with the same drugs that are effective in the source case would be expected intuitively and practically to prevent TB in contacts and should be introduced now instead of waiting until clinical trials are completed.

Relations between emotion, memory, and attention: evidence from taboo stroop, lexical decision, and immediate memory tasks.

PubMed

MacKay, Donald G; Shafto, Meredith; Taylor, Jennifer K; Marian, Diane E; Abrams, Lise; Dyer, Jennifer R

2004-04-01

This article reports five experiments demonstrating theoretically coherent effects of emotion on memory and attention. Experiments 1-3 demonstrated three taboo Stroop effects that occur when people name the color of taboo words. One effect is longer color-naming times for taboo than for neutral words, an effect that diminishes with word repetition. The second effect is superior recall of taboo words in surprise memory tests following color naming. The third effect is better recognition memory for colors consistently associated with taboo words rather than with neutral words. None of these effects was due to retrieval factors, attentional disengagement processes, response inhibition, or strategic attention shifts. Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrated that taboo words impair immediate recall of the preceding and succeeding words in rapidly presented lists but do not impair lexical decision times. We argue that taboo words trigger specific emotional reactions that facilitate the binding of taboo word meaning to salient contextual aspects, such as occurrence in a task and font color in taboo Stroop tasks.

Attentional capture by taboo words: A functional view of auditory distraction.

PubMed

Röer, Jan P; Körner, Ulrike; Buchner, Axel; Bell, Raoul

2017-06-01

It is well established that task-irrelevant, to-be-ignored speech adversely affects serial short-term memory (STM) for visually presented items compared with a quiet control condition. However, there is an ongoing debate about whether the semantic content of the speech has the capacity to capture attention and to disrupt memory performance. In the present article, we tested whether taboo words are more difficult to ignore than neutral words. Taboo words or neutral words were presented as (a) steady state sequences in which the same distractor word was repeated, (b) changing state sequences in which different distractor words were presented, and (c) auditory deviant sequences in which a single distractor word deviated from a sequence of repeated words. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that taboo words disrupted performance more than neutral words. This taboo effect did not habituate and it did not differ between individuals with high and low working memory capacity. In Experiments 3 and 4, in which only a single deviant taboo word was presented, no taboo effect was obtained. These results do not support the idea that the processing of the auditory distractors' semantic content is the result of occasional attention switches to the auditory modality. Instead, the overall pattern of results is more in line with a functional view of auditory distraction, according to which the to-be-ignored modality is routinely monitored for potentially important stimuli (e.g., self-relevant or threatening information), the detection of which draws processing resources away from the primary task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

When does reading dirty words impede picture processing? Taboo interference with verbal and manual responses.

PubMed

Mädebach, Andreas; Markuske, Anna-Maria; Jescheniak, Jörg D

2018-05-22

Picture naming takes longer in the presence of socially inappropriate (taboo) distractor words compared with neutral distractor words. Previous studies have attributed this taboo interference effect to increased attentional capture by taboo words or verbal self-monitoring-that is, control processes scrutinizing verbal responses before articulation. In this study, we investigated the cause and locus of the taboo interference effect by contrasting three tasks that used the same target pictures, but systematically differed with respect to the processing stages involved: picture naming (requiring conceptual processing, lexical processing, and articulation), phoneme decision (requiring conceptual and lexical processing), and natural size decision (requiring conceptual processing only). We observed taboo interference in picture naming and phoneme decision. In size decision, taboo interference was not reliably observed under the same task conditions in which the effect arose in picture naming and phoneme decision, but it emerged when the difficulty of the size decision task was increased by visually degrading the target pictures. Overall, these results suggest that taboo interference cannot be exclusively attributed to verbal self-monitoring operating over articulatory responses. Instead, taboo interference appears to arise already prior to articulatory preparation, during lexical processing and-at least with sufficiently high task difficulty-during prelexical processing stages.

Native American Death Taboo: Implications for Health Care Providers.

PubMed

Colclough, Yoshiko Yamashita

2017-07-01

This study was conducted to highlight Native American (NA) perspectives on death taboo in order to examine the cultural appropriateness of hospice services for NA patients, if any. Searching literature that addressed taboo and death from historical, psychological, sociological, and anthropological aspects, a comparison of death perspectives was made between NAs and European Americans. A culturally sensitive transition from palliative care to hospice care was suggested for NA patients and their family.

In vitro reactivity of allospecific cytotoxic T lymphocytes does not explain the taboo phenomenon.

PubMed

Stobbe, I; van der Meer-Prins, E; Smits, J M; Doxiadis, I I; Claas, F H

1999-12-01

Matching for human leucocyte antigens (HLA) is important for graft survival in kidney transplantation. Nevertheless, most patients receive a kidney graft with multiple HLA mismatches. Some of these mismatches seem to be more harmful than others. By studying the effect of single HLA mismatches in the context of the patients' own HLA, we have previously identified donor/recipient combinations with a significantly higher incidence of early graft failure, the so-called taboo combinations. In the present study we investigated whether a higher cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response towards taboo mismatches may be involved in this phenomenon. CTL reactivity was determined both in taboo and control combinations by in vitro CTL precursor assays, using peripheral blood mononuclear cells and proximal tubular epithelial cells as target cells. Inhibition studies with CD8-antibody as well as Cyclosporin A were performed to identify high avidity and primed CTLs. Furthermore, in committed CTLp assays indirect recognition of the taboo mismatch was tested using synthetic peptides. The CTL precursor frequencies in taboo combinations were always lower than the CTL precursor frequencies in control combinations. No difference in avidity and activation status of the CTLs could be detected when taboo combinations were compared with the controls. In the committed CTLp assays no reactivity towards any of the synthetic peptides was observed. The significantly poorer graft survival of taboo combinations cannot be explained by a higher number of donor-specific CTLs. Furthermore, the avidity or activation status of these CTLs does not provide a clue to the taboo phenomenon.

Lions, tigers, and bears, oh sh!t: Semantics versus tabooness in speech production.

PubMed

White, Katherine K; Abrams, Lise; Koehler, Sarah M; Collins, Richard J

2017-04-01

While both semantic and highly emotional (i.e., taboo) words can interfere with speech production, different theoretical mechanisms have been proposed to explain why interference occurs. Two experiments investigated these theoretical approaches by comparing the magnitude of these two types of interference and the stages at which they occur during picture naming. Participants named target pictures superimposed with semantic, taboo, or unrelated distractor words that were presented at three different stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOA): -150 ms, 0 ms, or +150 ms. In addition, the duration of distractor presentation was manipulated across experiments, with distractors appearing for the duration of the picture (Experiment 1) or for 350 ms (Experiment 2). Taboo distractors interfered more than semantic distractors, i.e., slowed target naming times, at all SOAs. While distractor duration had no effect on type of interference at -150 or 0 SOAs, briefly presented distractors eliminated semantic interference but not taboo interference at +150 SOA. Discussion focuses on how existing speech production theories can explain interference from emotional distractors and the unique role that attention may play in taboo interference.

Sexuality: Still a Taboo Subject?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duguay, Lucille

2011-01-01

In spite of the fact that we are all bombarded with sexual messages every day, the subject of relationship and sexuality education for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities continues to be a taboo one. Generally speaking, the author has found it is not the parents of those young people who are reluctant to have the discussion,…

Families Facing the Nuclear Taboo.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Judith Bula

1988-01-01

Discusses attitudes of 12 families participating in group which was formed to focus on issues related to the possibility of a nuclear disaster. Why and how these families are facing the nuclear taboo plus various outcomes of doing so are discussed as well as the role of the professional in encouraging such openness about these difficult issues.…

The greatest taboo: urinary incontinence as a source of shame and embarrassment.

PubMed

Elenskaia, Ksenia; Haidvogel, Karin; Heidinger, Christine; Doerfler, Daniela; Umek, Wolfgang; Hanzal, Engelbert

2011-10-01

While urinary incontinence is often labeled as a taboo in the literature, we found no scientific data addressing this issue exclusively. The aim of our study was to measure the perception of urinary incontinence as a taboo and how this compares to other medical conditions that may be embarrassing. 150 test persons completed a self-administered 13-item questionnaire about perception and knowledge of urinary incontinence. Data were analysed with the SPSS 10.0.5 software package using the U-test, Chi-square-test, Yates-correction, Fisher's exact test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Eighty-six (60.6%) of 142 respondents thought that urinary incontinence constituted a taboo in Austria. To be incontinent was considered significantly more embarrassing than depression or cancer, respectively (p = 0.001). Despite its high prevalence, urinary incontinence is still considered a taboo in up to 60% of our Austrian test persons. The level of shame and embarrassment of urinary incontinence is significantly higher than that of depression and cancer.

Accommodating Taboo Language in English Language Teaching: Issues of Appropriacy and Authenticity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liyanage, Indika; Walker, Tony; Bartlett, Brendan; Guo, Xuhong

2015-01-01

Culturally specific language practices related to vernacular uses of taboo language such as swearing represent a socially communicative minefield for learners of English. The role of classroom learning experiences to prepare learners for negotiation of taboo language use in social interactions is correspondingly complicated and ignored in much of…

The self in moral judgement: How self-affirmation affects the moral condemnation of harmless sexual taboo violations.

PubMed

Mooijman, Marlon; Van Dijk, Wilco W

2015-01-01

People frequently condemn harmless sexual taboo behaviours. Based on self-affirmation theory, we predicted that providing an opportunity to self-affirm decreases the tendency to morally condemn harmless sexual taboos. In Experiment 1, we found evidence that self-affirmation decreases the moral condemnation of harmless sexual taboos and ruled out that this was due to a decrease in how disgusting participants considered taboo acts. In Experiment 2, we replicated this effect and demonstrated the mediating role of self-directed threat emotions. These results demonstrate that the tendency to morally condemn harmless sexual taboos arises in part from the need to protect self-integrity. We discuss the implications for the role of the self and emotions in moral judgements and interventions aimed at increasing the acceptability of harmless sexual taboos.

Taboo search by successive confinement: Surveying a potential energy surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chekmarev, Sergei F.

2001-09-01

A taboo search for minima on a potential energy surface (PES) is performed by means of confinement molecular dynamics: the molecular dynamics trajectory of the system is successively confined to various basins on the PES that have not been sampled yet. The approach is illustrated for a 13-atom Lennard-Jones cluster. It is shown that the taboo search radically accelerates the process of surveying the PES, with the probability of finding a new minimum defined by a propagating Fermi-like distribution.

Anger, disgust, and presumption of harm as reactions to taboo-breaking behaviors.

PubMed

Gutierrez, Roberto; Giner-Sorolla, Roger

2007-11-01

Three experiments investigated the relationship between the presumption of harm in harmfree violations of creatural norms (taboos) and the moral emotions of anger and disgust. In Experiment 1, participants made a presumption of harm to others from taboo violations, even in conditions described as harmless and not involving other people; this presumption was predicted by anger and not disgust. Experiment 2 manipulated taboo violation and included a cognitive load task to clarify the post hoc nature of presumption of harm. Experiment 3 was similar but more accurately measured presumed harm. In Experiments 2 and 3, only without load was symbolic harm presumed, indicating its post hoc function to justify moral anger, which was not affected by load. In general, manipulations of harmfulness to others predicted moral anger better than moral disgust, whereas manipulations of taboo predicted disgust better. The presumption of harm was found on measures of symbolic rather than actual harm when a choice existed. These studies clarify understanding of the relationship between emotions and their justification when people consider victimless, offensive acts.

Reframing menstruation in India: metamorphosis of the menstrual taboo with the changing media coverage.

PubMed

Yagnik, Arpan Shailesh

2014-01-01

In this study I hypothesize metamorphosis of the menstrual taboo by examining the image and perception shifts of two social taboos-HIV/AIDS and homosexuality-from estranged taboos to embraced social issues. Trends identified in their media framing and respective image shifts were applied to menstruation in India. Based on my understanding of theory, topic, and geographical location, I construct a metamorphosis. I contribute the hypothesized final stage of metamorphosis, and explain how framing is likely instrumental in bringing about these changes.

[Sexually transmitted diseases: the impact of stigma and taboo on current medical care].

PubMed

Badura-Lotter, G

2014-04-01

Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are probably the most tabooed diseases we know. The many taboos and the related stigmata shape patients' lives and significantly influence health care policies, medical research, and current problems in medical ethics. To better understand these complex influences, the still powerful taboos and related metaphors associated with illness and disease are analyzed within their cultural and historical background and concerning the actual impact on patient care and research. It becomes obvious that research and health care policies cannot be satisfyingly successful in helping people affected by STDs as long as these "nonscientific" factors are not taken into account.

Restricted random search method based on taboo search in the multiple minima problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Seung Do; Jhon, Mu Shik

1997-03-01

The restricted random search method is proposed as a simple Monte Carlo sampling method to search minima fast in the multiple minima problem. This method is based on taboo search applied recently to continuous test functions. The concept of the taboo region instead of the taboo list is used and therefore the sampling of a region near an old configuration is restricted in this method. This method is applied to 2-dimensional test functions and the argon clusters. This method is found to be a practical and efficient method to search near-global configurations of test functions and the argon clusters.

The importance of taboos and social norms to conservation in Madagascar.

PubMed

Jones, Julia P G; Andriamarovololona, Mijasoa M; Hockley, Neal

2008-08-01

Informal institutions governing the use of wild species are present in many societies. A system of prohibitions known as fady is central to Malagasy culture. We examined whether fady that relate to the use of natural resources in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar play an important conservation role. Prohibitions ranged from strict taboos in which a species or area was forbidden by the ancestors to social norms that concerned acceptable behavior when harvesting wild species. Strict taboos offered real protection to threatened species, such as the lemur Propithecus edwardsi and the carnivore Cryptoprocta ferox. Taboos also reduced pressure on some economically important endemic species by preventing their sale or limiting the harvest season. Despite their value for conservation, the taboos did not appear to originate from attempts to sustainably manage resources. Nevertheless, social norms, in which the sanction was social disapproval rather than supernatural retribution, encouraged sustainable harvesting practices for tenrecs (Tenrec ecudatus) and pandans (Pandanus spp.). Unfortunately, the social norms concerning methods of harvesting pandans appeared to be breaking down in villages surrounding Ranomafana National Park, and we suggest that the imposition of external conservation rules is weakening traditional management. Informal institutions are important to conservation because they suggest ways of improving cultural understanding and conservation communication. Food taboos influence societal preferences, which affect the wider demand for a species. Most important, where capacity to enforce external conservation rules is limited, informal institutions may provide the only effective regulations. Informal institutions should receive greater attention from conservation biologists so that local people's conservation roles can be acknowledged fairly and so that potential synergies with conservation objectives can be realized.

Taboo thoughts and doubt/checking

PubMed Central

Pinto, Anthony; Eisen, Jane L.; Mancebo, Maria C.; Greenberg, Benjamin D.; Stout, Robert L.; Rasmussen, Steven A.

2007-01-01

The purpose of this report was to improve upon earlier factor analyses of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptom categories by minimizing the heterogeneity in the aggressive obsessions category. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on data from 293 adults with primary OCD. The resulting five factors (Symmetry/Ordering, Hoarding, Doubt/Checking, Contamination/Cleaning, and Taboo Thoughts) are phenomenologically more homogeneous than prior category-based factors and are consistent with those derived in previous item-level analyses. PMID:17368563

Theorizing a model information pathway to mitigate the menstrual taboo.

PubMed

Yagnik, Arpan

2017-12-13

The impact of menstruation on the society is directly seen in the educational opportunities, quality of life and professional endeavors of females. However, lack of menstrual hygiene management has indirect implication on the balance and development of the society and nation. This study is set in the Indian context. The researcher identifies actors with a potential of mitigating menstrual taboo and then theorizes an optimal information pathway to mitigate menstrual taboo. Diffusion of innovation, framing and agenda setting theories contribute as frameworks in the creation of an optimal pathway to dissolve the menstrual taboo. The actors identified in this model are scholars, health activists, students, NGOs, media, government, corporations and villages or communities. The determinants for the direction and the order of the pathway to diffuse knowledge and confidence among these actors are the ultimate goal and sustainability of the model, strengths and weaknesses of actors, and actors' extent of influence. Considering the absence of an existing alternate, this model pathway provides a solid framework purely from a theoretical perspective. Theoretically, this model pathway is possible, practical and optimal. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Food taboos and nutrition-related pregnancy concerns among Ethiopian women.

PubMed

Vasilevski, Vidanka; Carolan-Olah, Mary

2016-10-01

To discuss Ethiopian food taboos during pregnancy and their relation to maternal nutritional status and pregnancy outcomes. Recent waves of migration have seen large groups of Ethiopian refugees moving to countries around the globe. This is of concern as Ethiopian women are at risk of a number of medical and pregnancy complications. Health is further compromised by poor diet and adherence to cultural food beliefs and taboos. In refugee women, many of these factors correspond with significantly higher rates of pregnancy complications and poor birth outcomes. This is a discussion paper informed by a literature review. A search of the Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science and Academic Search Premier databases for the keywords Ethiopian, pregnancy, food and taboos was conducted in the research literature published from 1998-2015. This time is contingent with Ethiopian migration trends. Ethiopian migrant women are at risk of inadequate nutrition during pregnancy. Risks include cultural factors associated with food taboos as well as issues associated with low socioeconomic status. Consequently, Ethiopian women are more likely to have nutritional deficiencies such as anaemia which have been associated with a range of pregnancy complications. There are many serious consequences of poor diet during pregnancy; however, most of these can be avoided by greater awareness about the role of nutrition during pregnancy and by adopting a balanced diet. There is an urgent unmet need for nutrition education among Ethiopian women. Research indicates that Ethiopian women are receptive to nutritional advice during pregnancy and also that pregnant women are generally motivated to act in the baby's interest. These factors suggest that this high-risk group would be amenable to culturally appropriate nutrition education, which would provide much-needed meaningful support in pregnancy. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Functional mechanisms involved in the internal inhibition of taboo words.

PubMed

Severens, Els; Kühn, Simone; Hartsuiker, Robert J; Brass, Marcel

2012-04-01

The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain processes associated with the inhibition of socially undesirable speech. It is tested whether the inhibition of undesirable speech is solely related to brain areas associated with classical stop signal tasks or rather also involves brain areas involved in endogenous self-control. During the experiment, subjects had to do a SLIP task, which was designed to elicit taboo or neutral spoonerisms. Here we show that the internal inhibition of taboo words activates the right inferior frontal gyrus, an area that has previously been associated with externally triggered inhibition. This finding strongly suggests that external social rules become internalized and act as a stop-signal.

Functional mechanisms involved in the internal inhibition of taboo words

PubMed Central

Kühn, Simone; Hartsuiker, Robert J.; Brass, Marcel

2012-01-01

The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain processes associated with the inhibition of socially undesirable speech. It is tested whether the inhibition of undesirable speech is solely related to brain areas associated with classical stop signal tasks or rather also involves brain areas involved in endogenous self-control. During the experiment, subjects had to do a SLIP task, which was designed to elicit taboo or neutral spoonerisms. Here we show that the internal inhibition of taboo words activates the right inferior frontal gyrus, an area that has previously been associated with externally triggered inhibition. This finding strongly suggests that external social rules become internalized and act as a stop-signal. PMID:21609970

Who seeks treatment for alcohol problems? Demography and alcohol-use characteristics of patients in taboo and non-taboo drinking groups attending professional alcohol services in Nepal.

PubMed

Neupane, Sudan Prasad; Bramness, Jørgen G

2014-12-01

Only few individuals with alcohol problems seek help; those who do have not been described adequately. Here, we summarize the demographic and alcohol-related features of inpatients attending professional alcohol services in Nepal and examine differences between patients with and without social taboos about drinking. Fully structured interviews including the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test were administered to 177 men and 21 women consecutively admitted to eight alcohol treatment centres in Kathmandu. Altogether, 164 patients (83%) had alcohol dependence and 24 patients (12%) had alcohol abuse. The sample had a mean age of 35.3 years (SD 10.1) with a time lag of 16.8 years (SD 9.8) from start of habitual drinking to first entry into treatment. Most (62%) were married, lived in urban areas (72%), had above-average income (57%), received adequate social support (71%), and belonged to social groups in which drinking is taboo (57%). Individuals in non-taboo group more often lived in urban areas, had lower socioeconomic status, more often reported parental problem drinking and started drinking at a younger age, whereas individuals in the taboo group more often had late onset, risky drinking, and waited longer before seeking treatment (P<0.05). Traditionally alcohol non-using castes and people with higher socioeconomic status over-represent professional alcohol services in Kathmandu. This, and high levels of hazardous and harmful alcohol use, indicate changing trends concerning social tolerance towards alcohol in Nepalese society in recent times and a heavy burden associated with alcohol disorders. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Procedures for dealing with the taboo of death].

PubMed

Pereira, José Carlos

2013-09-01

The more death is studied, the more it remains a mystery. Dealing with death is no easy matter and for that reason it is so frightening. All the fears of human beings are fundamentally related to the fear of death. This is because it is a mystery about which we know little or nothing, although it is natural to die. In view of this, religions give this topic a primary focus. Therefore, in this article an attempt is made to deal with the taboo surrounding death and reflect on issues associated with it. These themes are present in people's lives, especially when they have the experience of losing someone in their family or circle of friends. Among these subjects, the aspects of the Anointing of the Sick, the Funeral Mass, the Seventh Day Mass and the tradition of praying for the dead are all touched upon. These are all themes that help to deal with the taboo of death or losing a loved one.

How to Improve Students' Comprehension Concerning the Major Terms of Functional Groups?--In the Experiment of OrCheTaboo Game

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akkuzu, Nalan; Uyulgan, Melis Arzu

2016-01-01

In this research, for an effective learning of concepts in the scope of functional groups in organic chemistry, it has been developed as "Organic Chemistry Taboo (OrCheTaboo)" which is an educational activity by the researchers. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of the game OrCheTaboo on learning of concepts related to…

[Review of theories on the foundations of the incest taboo].

PubMed

Salem, G

1980-04-01

Mainly because of its universality the incest taboo has been a field of investigation open to a number of disciplines. The author reviews the most important theories concerning the bases of this taboo, arranged according to the point of view, finalist or determinist. He then considers the anew in the light of recent acquisitions stemming from ethology and family theory. It has been demonstrated that an instinctive barrier against incest exists in the family life of wild animals, bringing into play defence mechanisms analogous to those that obtain in the human family. Developing the subject, the author shows on the one hand how this discovery calls in question certain postulates hitherto regarded as definitive, and on the other hand how it opens the way to a more synthetic view of the problem.

Tattoo and taboo: on the meaning of tattoos in the analytic process.

PubMed

Karacaoglan, Uta

2012-02-01

Tattooing projects a visual image in transference to form a backdrop for the most salient unconscious inner conflicts arising during an ongoing analytic process. Like a snapshot, the tattoo is a dialectic record of the mother-father relationship, of desires for closeness and distance, commonality and difference, identification and individuation. As Walter Benjamin famously stated about the nature of visual images in his Arcades Project, the tattoo represents "dialectics at a standstill." What seems paramount to the patient who participates in the act of tattooing is the need for stasis and immutability, as if bringing unconscious conflicts to "standstill" were to deliver a sense of stability. Unconsciously, the need is triggered by a threat to the inner stability resulting from fear of violating a taboo escalating to the point that fears of abandonment and fusion become unbearable. On the one hand, the tattoo is a visual symbolization of a taboo transgression; on the other hand, it activates the same through an act of self-injury that resembles the magical ritual acts of indigenous peoples' use of tattoos. The taboo thus serves as an ersatz for the actual violation of the taboo in real life, so that the tattoo may be ascribed a magical significance or totemic function. And yet the tattoo's success as a vehicle for constructing a transitional object is always contingent on the tangible manipulation of the skin conjoined with the creation of a symbolizing visual image. The image then acts like a "patch" to repair holes blown into Winnicott's "potential space" and to reconstruct it. Copyright © 2011 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

Taboo in the Workplace: A Qualitative Study of Taiwanese Nurses' "Not-Eating Pineapple" in Clinical Practice.

PubMed

Tsai, Shu-Ling; Tsai, Chang-Hsiung; Hsu, Yu-Chien; Hsieh, Mei-Hui; Kao, Hsia-Tzu; Hsu, Min-Tao

There has been an increased emphasis on nurses' mental health and well-being in the workplace. Psychologists have established a correlative link between individual's beliefs on luck and mental health. The pineapple taboo has been observed among Taiwanese hospital nurses as a prevalent superstitious belief for bringing luck or warding off increased clinical workloads, but how and why the ritual persists in the hospital workplace remains unknown. This article aims to explore the latent meaning of observance of the taboo and how it is related to nurses' clinical practice and possibly affects their mental health at work. A qualitative research was designed in line with the hermeneutic phenomenological method. Through purposive sampling, 18 nurse participants were recruited for in-depth semistructured interviews. Resulting from the ensuing analysis, 3 modalities were identified as constituting the spectrum of observance of the taboo: (a) "strictly not eating pineapple"; (b) "not eating pineapple at work"; and (c) "eating pineapple without admitting to doing so." Each reflects the position of nurses revealed in relation to the pineapple taboo in clinical settings. Based on the subjective narratives of nurses, it may be understood as an active moral attempt at "being right" rather than a passive avoidance of bad luck in the taboo observation. The findings facilitate an appropriate understanding of the embedded meaning of nurses' workplace-related belief and its seminal function of empowerment for nurses in holistic nursing practice.

Cultural processes in psychotherapy for perinatal loss: Breaking the cultural taboo against perinatal grief.

PubMed

Markin, Rayna D; Zilcha-Mano, Sigal

2018-03-01

This paper argues that there is a cultural taboo against the public recognition and expression of perinatal grief that hinders parents' ability to mourn and their psychological adjustment following a loss. It is proposed that this cultural taboo is recreated within the therapy relationship, as feelings of grief over a perinatal loss are minimized or avoided by the therapist and parent or patient. Importantly, it is suggested that if these cultural dynamics are recognized within the therapy relationship, then psychotherapy has the immense opportunity to break the taboo by validating the parent's loss as real and helping the parent to mourn within an empathic and affect-regulating relationship. Specifically, it is suggested that therapists break the cultural taboo against perinatal grief and help parents to mourn through: acknowledging and not pathologizing perinatal grief reactions, considering intrapsychic and cultural factors that impact a parent's response to loss, exploring cultural reenactments within the therapy relationship, empathizing with the parent's experience of loss and of having to grieve within a society that does not recognize perinatal loss, coregulating the parent's feelings of grief and loss, and helping patients to create personally meaningful mourning rituals. Lastly, the impact of within and between cultural differences and therapist attitudes on the therapy process is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

How do speakers resist distraction? Evidence from a taboo picture-word interference task.

PubMed

Dhooge, Elisah; Hartsuiker, Robert J

2011-07-01

Even in the presence of irrelevant stimuli, word production is a highly accurate and fluent process. But how do speakers prevent themselves from naming the wrong things? One possibility is that an attentional system inhibits task-irrelevant representations. Alternatively, a verbal self-monitoring system might check speech for accuracy and remove errors stemming from irrelevant information. Because self-monitoring is sensitive to social appropriateness, taboo errors should be intercepted more than neutral errors are. To prevent embarrassment, speakers might also speak more slowly when confronted with taboo distractors. Our results from two experiments are consistent with the self-monitoring account: Examining picture-naming speed (Experiment 1) and accuracy (Experiment 2), we found fewer naming errors but longer picture-naming latencies for pictures presented with taboo distractors than for pictures presented with neutral distractors. These results suggest that when intrusions of irrelevant words are highly undesirable, speakers do not simply inhibit these words: Rather, the language-production system adjusts itself to the context and filters out the undesirable words.

Hearing taboo words can result in early talker effects in word recognition for female listeners.

PubMed

Tuft, Samantha E; MᶜLennan, Conor T; Krestar, Maura L

2018-02-01

Previous spoken word recognition research using the long-term repetition-priming paradigm found performance costs for stimuli mismatching in talker identity. That is, when words were repeated across the two blocks, and the identity of the talker changed reaction times (RTs) were slower than when the repeated words were spoken by the same talker. Such performance costs, or talker effects, followed a time course, occurring only when processing was relatively slow. More recent research suggests that increased explicit and implicit attention towards the talkers can result in talker effects even during relatively fast processing. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether word meaning would influence the pattern of talker effects in an easy lexical decision task and, if so, whether results would differ depending on whether the presentation of neutral and taboo words was mixed or blocked. Regardless of presentation, participants responded to taboo words faster than neutral words. Furthermore, talker effects for the female talker emerged when participants heard both taboo and neutral words (consistent with an attention-based hypothesis), but not for participants that heard only taboo or only neutral words (consistent with the time-course hypothesis). These findings have important implications for theoretical models of spoken word recognition.

Communicating Difficult and Taboo Information: A How-To Guide for Commanders.

PubMed

Moosey, Matthew

2016-01-01

Military commanders frequently mention that communicating difficult or taboo information is especially challenging. In the context of gender-integrated ground combat service there may be additional communication challenges for military commanders who may be unaccustomed to leading both men and women. Often, military commanders must communicate and deliver difficult information, or information that causes a negative emotional response from the communicator or the intended audience. This article is intended to identify some of these challenges and present practical examples and tips for military commanders to effectively communicate difficult or taboo topics and information. In addition, this article is a call for communication experts to reach out to military leaders and offer appropriate assistance in facilitating and delivering difficult communication. Reprint & Copyright © 2016 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

Genetic evolutionary taboo search for optimal marker placement in infrared patient setup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riboldi, M.; Baroni, G.; Spadea, M. F.; Tagaste, B.; Garibaldi, C.; Cambria, R.; Orecchia, R.; Pedotti, A.

2007-09-01

In infrared patient setup adequate selection of the external fiducial configuration is required for compensating inner target displacements (target registration error, TRE). Genetic algorithms (GA) and taboo search (TS) were applied in a newly designed approach to optimal marker placement: the genetic evolutionary taboo search (GETS) algorithm. In the GETS paradigm, multiple solutions are simultaneously tested in a stochastic evolutionary scheme, where taboo-based decision making and adaptive memory guide the optimization process. The GETS algorithm was tested on a group of ten prostate patients, to be compared to standard optimization and to randomly selected configurations. The changes in the optimal marker configuration, when TRE is minimized for OARs, were specifically examined. Optimal GETS configurations ensured a 26.5% mean decrease in the TRE value, versus 19.4% for conventional quasi-Newton optimization. Common features in GETS marker configurations were highlighted in the dataset of ten patients, even when multiple runs of the stochastic algorithm were performed. Including OARs in TRE minimization did not considerably affect the spatial distribution of GETS marker configurations. In conclusion, the GETS algorithm proved to be highly effective in solving the optimal marker placement problem. Further work is needed to embed site-specific deformation models in the optimization process.

The taboo against group contact: Hypothesis of Gypsy ontologization.

PubMed

Pérez, Juan A; Moscovici, Serge; Chulvi, Berta

2007-06-01

The concept of this article is that the symbolic relationships between human beings and animals serve as a model for the relationships between the majority and the ethnic minority. We postulate that there are two representations that serve to organize these relationships between human beings and animals: a domestic and a wild one. If the domestic animal is an index of human culture, the wild animal is an index of nature which man considers himself to share with the animal. With the wild representation, contact with the animal will be taboo, as it constitutes a threat to the anthropological difference. We offer the hypothesis that ontologization of the minority, that is, the substitution of a human category with an animal category, and thus its exclusion from the human species, is a method the majority use when the taboo against contact with the wild nature is necessary. Three experiments confirm the hypothesis that the Gypsy minority (as compared with the Gadje majority) is more ontologized when the context (a monkey or a clothed dog) threatens the anthropological differentiation of the Gadje participants.

Long-lasting attentional influence of negative and taboo words in an auditory variant of the emotional Stroop task.

PubMed

Bertels, Julie; Kolinsky, Régine; Pietrons, Elise; Morais, José

2011-02-01

Using an auditory adaptation of the emotional and taboo Stroop tasks, the authors compared the effects of negative and taboo spoken words in mixed and blocked designs. Both types of words elicited carryover effects with mixed presentations and interference with blocked presentations, suggesting similar long-lasting attentional effects. Both were also relatively resilient to the long-lasting influence of the preceding emotional word. Hence, contrary to what has been assumed (Schmidt & Saari, 2007), negative and taboo words do not seem to differ in terms of the temporal dynamics of the interdimensional shifting, at least in the auditory modality. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

The evolution of cultural adaptations: Fijian food taboos protect against dangerous marine toxins

PubMed Central

Henrich, Joseph; Henrich, Natalie

2010-01-01

The application of evolutionary theory to understanding the origins of our species' capacities for social learning has generated key insights into cultural evolution. By focusing on how our psychology has evolved to adaptively extract beliefs and practices by observing others, theorists have hypothesized how social learning can, over generations, give rise to culturally evolved adaptations. While much field research documents the subtle ways in which culturally transmitted beliefs and practices adapt people to their local environments, and much experimental work reveals the predicted patterns of social learning, little research connects real-world adaptive cultural traits to the patterns of transmission predicted by these theories. Addressing this gap, we show how food taboos for pregnant and lactating women in Fiji selectively target the most toxic marine species, effectively reducing a woman's chances of fish poisoning by 30 per cent during pregnancy and 60 per cent during breastfeeding. We further analyse how these taboos are transmitted, showing support for cultural evolutionary models that combine familial transmission with selective learning from locally prestigious individuals. In addition, we explore how particular aspects of human cognitive processes increase the frequency of some non-adaptive taboos. This case demonstrates how evolutionary theory can be deployed to explain both adaptive and non-adaptive behavioural patterns. PMID:20667878

Taboo Search: An Approach to the Multiple Minima Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cvijovic, Djurdje; Klinowski, Jacek

1995-02-01

Described here is a method, based on Glover's taboo search for discrete functions, of solving the multiple minima problem for continuous functions. As demonstrated by model calculations, the algorithm avoids entrapment in local minima and continues the search to give a near-optimal final solution. Unlike other methods of global optimization, this procedure is generally applicable, easy to implement, derivative-free, and conceptually simple.

A child's garden of curses: a gender, historical, and age-related evaluation of the taboo lexicon.

PubMed

Jay, Kristin L; Jay, Timothy B

2013-01-01

Child swearing is a largely unexplored topic among language researchers, although assumptions about what children know about taboo language form the basis for language standards in many settings. The purpose of the studies presented here is to provide descriptive data about the emergence of adultlike swearing in children; specifically, we aim to document what words children of different ages know and use. Study 1 presents observational data from adults and children (ages 1-12). Study 2 compares perceptions of the inappropriateness of taboo words between adults and older (ages 9-12) and younger (ages 6-8) children. Collectively these data indicate that by the time children enter school they have the rudiments of adult swearing, although children and adults differ in their assessments of the inappropriateness of mild taboo words. Comparisons of these data with estimates obtained in the 1980s allow us to comment on whether swearing habits are changing over the years. Child swearing data can be applied to contemporary social problems and academic issues.

Totem and taboo: fluids in sepsis.

PubMed

Hilton, Andrew K; Bellomo, Rinaldo

2011-01-01

The need for early, rapid, and substantial fluid resuscitation in septic patients has long been an article of faith in the intensive care community, a tribal totem that is taboo to question. The results of a recent multicenter trial in septic children in Africa, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, powerfully challenge the fluid paradigm. The salient aspects of the trial need to be understood and reflected upon. In this commentary, we discuss the background to and findings of the trial and explain why they will likely trigger a re-evaluation of our thinking about fluids in sepsis, a re-evaluation that is already happening in the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute kidney injury and in postoperative care.

Totem and Taboo: Fluids in sepsis

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

The need for early, rapid, and substantial fluid resuscitation in septic patients has long been an article of faith in the intensive care community, a tribal totem that is taboo to question. The results of a recent multicenter trial in septic children in Africa, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, powerfully challenge the fluid paradigm. The salient aspects of the trial need to be understood and reflected upon. In this commentary, we discuss the background to and findings of the trial and explain why they will likely trigger a re-evaluation of our thinking about fluids in sepsis, a re-evaluation that is already happening in the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute kidney injury and in postoperative care. PMID:21672278

Taboo words: the effect of emotion on memory for peripheral information.

PubMed

Guillet, Rebecca; Arndt, Jason

2009-09-01

In three experiments, we examined memory for peripheral information that occurred in the same context as emotion-inducing information. In the first two experiments, participants studied either a sentence (Experiment 1) or a pair of words (Experiments 2A-2C) containing a neutral peripheral word, as well as a neutral, negative-valence, or taboo word, to induce an emotional response. At retrieval, the participants were asked to recall the neutral peripheral word from a sentence fragment or emotion-inducing word cue. In Experiment 3, we presented word pairs at encoding and tested memory with associative recognition. In all three experiments, memory for peripheral words was enhanced when it was encoded in the presence of emotionally arousing taboo words but not when it was encoded in the presence of words that were only negative in valence. These data are consistent with priority-binding theory (MacKay et al., 2004) and inconsistent with the attention-narrowing hypothesis (Easterbrook, 1959), as well as with object-based binding theory (Mather, 2007).

Identity, morals, and taboos: beliefs as assets.

PubMed

Bénabou, Roland; Tirole, Jean

2011-01-01

We develop a theory of moral behavior, individual and collective, based on a general model of identity in which people care about “who they are” and infer their own values from past choices. The model sheds light on many empirical puzzles inconsistent with earlier approaches. Identity investments respond nonmonotonically to acts or threats, and taboos on mere thoughts arise to protect beliefs about the “priceless” value of certain social assets. High endowments trigger escalating commitment and a treadmill effect, while competing identities can cause dysfunctional capital destruction. Social interactions induce both social and antisocial norms of contribution, sustained by respectively shunning free riders or do-gooders.

The Taboo and "Noa" of Teaching Science-Technology-Society (STS): A Constructivist Approach to Understanding the Rules of Conduct Teachers Live By.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGinnis, J. Randy

This study qualitatively investigates the taboo and "noa" topics of Science-Technology-Society (STS) taught in two local cultures. Taboos are beliefs that constrain behavior by making those behaviors perceived as threatening by the members of the social group forbidden and improper for discussion. "Noa" is the Polynesian word…

[Profound meaning of acupuncture taboos in Internal Classic based on the fault of reinforcing and reducing technique by mind conduction of acupuncture therapy].

PubMed

Qin, Yuge; Wang, Feng; Qin, Yuheng; Li, Li; Li, Mei

2016-05-01

By analyzing the acupuncture taboos in Neijing (Internal Classic) on clinical application of mind conduction of acupuncture therapy in going against the actual situation, astronomy and others, it is found that the relevant acupuncture taboo implies many subtle mysteries of human body, qi, mind and astronomy, which have not been discovered yet in modern science and are very significant in qi protection. In Neijing, the acupuncture physicians have been highly required in the mind treatment, in which, accurately regulating qi circulation is the target in the treatment. The mind conduction is used for qi circulation to accomplish accurately the reinforcing or reducing in the deficiency or excess condition. All of the taboos are provided to normalize the accuracy of reinforcing and reducing technique of acupuncture therapy and avoid the damage of qi in human body. Hence, those taboos must be obeyed so as to prevent from serious consequence and ensure the safety of this acupuncture therapy.

Taboo and the different death? Perceptions of those bereaved by suicide or other traumatic death.

PubMed

Chapple, Alison; Ziebland, Sue; Hawton, Keith

2015-05-01

Views differ on how far the subject of death has ever been taboo in Western Society. Walter (1991) criticised the way the 'taboo thesis' has been presented, arguing that it has often been 'grossly overdrawn and lacking in subtlety'. Research suggests that suicide and other traumatic death may be particularly difficult for people to talk about or even acknowledge. We interviewed 80 people bereaved due to suicide, or other traumatic death and used interpretative thematic analysis to consider whether the 'death taboo' is evident in these bereavement narratives. People referred to suicide as a different, even stigmatised, death but we also found that those bereaved through other traumatic death felt that their reactions had to be contained and relatively silent. The exception was those bereaved through terrorism or train crash, who were encouraged to grieve openly and angrily: reactions to deaths which are seen as 'private troubles' differ from reactions to deaths which are seen as 'public issues'. Using a symbolic interactionist approach we conclude that the shock and suddenness of the death is tied up both with the circumstances of the death (suicide, murder, accident, terrorism) and the attendant consequences for the social acceptance of public displays of mourning. © 2015 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Disentangling fast and slow attentional influences of negative and taboo spoken words in the emotional Stroop paradigm.

PubMed

Bertels, Julie; Kolinsky, Régine

2016-09-01

Although the influence of the emotional content of stimuli on attention has been considered as occurring within trial, recent studies revealed that the presentation of such stimuli would also involve a slow component. The aim of the present study was to investigate fast and slow effects of negative (Exp. 1) and taboo (Exp. 2) spoken words. For this purpose, we used an auditory variant of the emotional Stroop paradigm in which each emotional word was followed by a sequence of neutral words. Replicating results from our previous study, we observed slow but no fast effects of negative and taboo words, which we interpreted as reflecting difficulties to disengage attention from their emotional dimension. Interestingly, while the presentation of a negative word only delayed the processing of the immediately subsequent neutral word, slow effects of taboo words were long-lasting. Nevertheless, such attentional effects were only observed when the emotional words were presented in the first block of trials, suggesting that once participants develop strategies to perform the task, attention-grabbing effects of emotional words disappear. Hence, far from being automatic, the occurrence of these effects would depend on participants' attentional set.

The taboo of cancer: the experiences of cancer disclosure by Iranian patients, their family members and physicians.

PubMed

Zamanzadeh, Vahid; Rahmani, Azad; Valizadeh, Leila; Ferguson, Caleb; Hassankhani, Hadi; Nikanfar, Ali-Reza; Howard, Fuchsia

2013-02-01

The objective of this study is to describe the experiences of cancer disclosure by Iranian cancer patients, their family members and physicians. Twenty cancer patients, ten family members and eight physicians participated in this study. Data were collected via semi-structured, in-depth interviews and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Three categories were identified: cancer avoidance, a climate of non-disclosure and mutual concern. The findings demonstrated that cancer is a taboo subject and the word cancer, as well as other indicative terms, was rarely used in daily communication. A climate of non-disclosure predominated because patients were the last to know their diagnosis, they were unaware of their prognosis, and family members and physicians employed strategies to conceal this information. The mutual concern of patients, family members and physicians was the main reason that cancer was not discussed. Cancer is a taboo subject in Iran that is maintained and reinforced primarily because of the mutual concern of patients, family members and physicians. The first step to address this taboo and inform cancer patients of their diagnosis would be to understand and help mitigate the individual, family and social consequences of disclosure. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An energy-based perturbation and a taboo strategy for improving the searching ability of stochastic structural optimization methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Longjiu; Cai, Wensheng; Shao, Xueguang

2005-03-01

An energy-based perturbation and a new idea of taboo strategy are proposed for structural optimization and applied in a benchmark problem, i.e., the optimization of Lennard-Jones (LJ) clusters. It is proved that the energy-based perturbation is much better than the traditional random perturbation both in convergence speed and searching ability when it is combined with a simple greedy method. By tabooing the most wide-spread funnel instead of the visited solutions, the hit rate of other funnels can be significantly improved. Global minima of (LJ) clusters up to 200 atoms are found with high efficiency.

[Coercion in Psychiatry - a taboo?].

PubMed

Meise, Ullrich; Frajo-Apor, Beatrice; Stippler, Stippler; Wancata, Johannes

2011-01-01

History shows that the discussion concerning coercive measures against mentally ill is as old as psychiatry itself. The dilemma of psychiatry lies in its double role - having both a therapeutic and a regulatory function. Violence against sick and disabled people conflicts with the ethical principles of helping professions. This, however, is where the danger lies: that the violent parts of psychiatric work - which in the opinion of experts cannot be entirely avoided - are repressed or seen as taboo and are therefore more difficult to control. Comparisons between EU countries of the nature, frequency and duration of coercive measures are difficult because of the heterogeneity of regulation and differences in established practice. Scientific examination of this issue seems to be insufficient. There are only a few studies on important issues such as how patients rate these measures. An open and thorough debate about the meaning and meaninglessness of coercion and violence in psychiatric treatment would be necessary to prevent "routine violence" or the excessive use of force against the mentally ill.

Dietary habits, food taboos, and perceptions towards weight gain during pregnancy in Arsi, rural central Ethiopia: a qualitative cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Zerfu, Taddese Alemu; Umeta, Melaku; Baye, Kaleab

2016-07-25

The nutritional status of women before and during pregnancy can be determined by maternal knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions towards certain foods. The present study aimed to explore maternal dietary habits, food taboos, and cultural beliefs that can affect nutrition during pregnancy in rural Arsi, central Ethiopia. A qualitative, cross-sectional study, involving 38 key informant in-depth interviews and eight focus group discussions, was conducted among purposefully selected pregnant women and their husbands, elderly people, community leaders, health workers, and agriculture office experts. Participants were selected purposefully from all the major agro-ecologic areas of the study site. Data was analyzed manually using the thematic framework analyses method. The pregnant women reported that they did not change the amount and type of foods consumed to take into account their increased nutritional need during pregnancy. The consumption of meat, fish, fruits, and some vegetables during pregnancy remained as low as the pre-pregnancy state, irrespective of the women's income and educational status. Although not practiced by all, a number of taboos related to the intake of certain food items and misconceptions that can adversely affect nutritional status during pregnancy were identified. The most common taboos were related to the consumption of green leafy vegetables, yogurt, cheese, sugar cane, and green pepper. However, the frequency and extent of the practice varied by maternal age, family composition, and literacy level. Older mothers, from rural villages, and those with no formal education were more likely to practice the taboos than younger and educated ones. Almost all of the participants disfavored weight gain during pregnancy in fear of obstetric complications associated with the delivery of a bigger infant. Misconceptions about weight gain during pregnancy and food taboos were widespread, particularly among older and illiterate rural communities. Thus

The blood transfusion taboo of Jehovah's Witnesses: origin, development and function of a controversial doctrine.

PubMed

Singelenberg, R

1990-01-01

Jehovah's Witnesses are not allowed to accept a blood transfusion. According to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society this therapy is a transgression of divine precepts. Additionally, in the judgement of the believers, secular proof is abundant these days; to them AIDS is a powerful justification to abstain from blood. Founded on the work of the anthropologist Mary Douglas, it is argued that the rejection of this medical therapy is based on perceptions of pollution and purity inherent in the Watch Tower Society's ideological concept of anti-worldliness. Rooted in the movement's pre-war opposition to vaccination the implementation of the taboo was triggered by the prevailing social-political climate surrounding the Society during the Second World War, resulting in this intriguing and controversial religious proscription. For the community of Jehovah's Witnesses the blood transfusion taboo still functions as a significant mechanism of sectarian boundary maintenance.

Implications of Nutritional Beliefs and Taboos--Hausa and Yoruba Pregnant Women in Lagos, Nigeria.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abidoye, R. O.; Akinpelumi, O. B.

1997-01-01

Investigated taboos and beliefs about the nutritional value of foods among pregnant women from Nigeria's Hausa and Yoruba tribes. Found that Hausa women had greater nutritional anemia than Yoruba women; their babies had greater incidence of low birth weights and smaller chest and head measurements. Hausa women learned food-related beliefs from…

Breaking the taboo: a history of monetary financing in Canada, 1930-1975.

PubMed

Ryan-Collins, Josh

2017-12-01

Monetary financing - the funding of state expenditure via the creation of new money rather than through taxation or borrowing - has become a taboo policy instrument in advanced economies. It is generally associated with dangerously high inflation and/or war. Relatedly, a key institutional feature of modern independent central banks is that they are not obligated to support government expenditure via money creation. Since the financial crisis of 2007-2008, however, unorthodox monetary policies, in particular quantitative easing, coupled with stagnant growth and high levels of public and private debt have led to questions over the monetary financing taboo. Debates on the topic have so far been mainly theoretical with little attention to the social and political dynamics of historical instances of monetary financing. This paper analyses one of the most significant twentieth-century cases: Canada from the period after the Great Depression up until the monetarist revolution of the 1970s. The period was a successful one for the Canadian economy, with high growth and employment and manageable inflation. It offers some interesting insights into the relationship between states and central banks and present-day discussions around the governance of money creation. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

The importance of sexual health in the elderly: breaking down barriers and taboos.

PubMed

Inelmen, Emine Meral; Sergi, Giuseppe; Girardi, Agostino; Coin, Alessandra; Toffanello, Elena Debora; Cardin, Fabrizio; Manzato, Enzo

2012-06-01

Aging-related physical changes do not necessarily lead to a decline in sexual functioning: good physical and mental health, a positive attitude toward sex in later life, and access to a healthy partner are associated with continued sexual activity, and regular sexual expression is associated with good physical and mental health. However, it is usually assumed that older adults do not have sexual desires, and elderly people often find it difficult to discuss this topic with their doctor. There are many potential barriers concerning sexuality in older age: the lack of a healthy sexual partner, depression, the monotony of a repetitive sexual relationship, a spouse's physical unattractiveness, hormone variability, and illness and/or iatrogenic factors. Adaptive coping strategies can considerably mitigate the impact of such factors, however, and one way of contributing to breaking down barriers and taboos is undoubtedly to ensure that physicians are willing to discuss their patients' sexual history. The aim of this review was to explore the barriers and taboos to sexual expression in seniors, to propose strategies to foster this aspect of their lives, and to help physicians investigate the sexual history of their elderly patients.

A Researcher "Called" to "Taboo" Places?: A Burgeoning Research Method in African-Centered Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shockley, Kmt G.

2009-01-01

This article presents a self-reflexive analysis of the complexities of conducting Afrocentric education research while living with a "double consciousness." Having been "called" to places that are considered to be "taboo" the author takes readers on a journey that begins in his busy mind and ends in on the African continent in a "rabbit hole."…

Teaching More than the Facts of Menstruation: Exercises to Stimulate Dialogue about a Taboo Subject.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Christina J.

1981-01-01

Presents nine exercises designed to help students and teachers become more aware of their attitudes about menstruation and to move beyond the realms of mystery, ignorance, and taboos. Participants list and analyze expressions used to refer to menstruation, discuss pleasant and unpleasant experiences, and recall feelings on first learning of…

The taboo of politics in pastoral counseling.

PubMed

LaMothe, Ryan

2010-01-01

The political realities of society are present in counseling in subtle and overt ways. In this article, I argue that the client's (and counselor's) political experiences, beliefs, and commitments can be and, in many cases, should be explored. The idea of the political self or subjectivity and its identifying features and sources are described. I posit that political subjectivity forms through the processes of internalization, identification, and idealization. In identifying several reasons for the taboo of political discourse in pastoral counseling, I suggest a number of ways pastoral counselors may manage the political self in the counseling relationship. The three goals for exploring a client's political subjectivity for the client are: (1) to have a deeper and broader understanding of one's political beliefs, values, and commitments; (2) develop a more empathic understanding of the beliefs and experiences of Others; and (3) be able to take responsibility for the harm that results from one's political commitments.

Individual differences in trait motivational reactivity influence children and adolescents' responses to pictures of taboo products.

PubMed

Lang, Annie; Lee, Sungkyoung

2014-09-01

This study examined how children and adolescents respond to pictures of products whose use, for them, is socially or legally restricted (e.g., beer, liquor, cigarettes). It was theorized and found that these pictures, referred to as taboo, elicit an automatic motivational activation whose direction and intensity are influenced by age and individual differences in defensive system activation. Results show that 11-12-year-old children demonstrate primarily aversive responses to taboo products, 13-15-year-old children have less aversive responses, and 16-17-year-old children have mixed appetitive and aversive motivational responses. Further, those with high defensive system activation show larger aversive and smaller appetitive responses across the age groups. These results suggest that placing pictures of these products in prevention messages may work for the prevention goal of reduced experimentation and risk in younger children but against the prevention goal for the older children who may be more likely to be exposed to opportunities for experimentation and use.

Innate food aversions and culturally transmitted food taboos in pregnant women in rural southwest India: separate systems to protect the fetus?

PubMed

Placek, Caitlyn D; Madhivanan, Purnima; Hagen, Edward H

2017-11-01

Pregnancy increases women's nutritional requirements, yet causes aversions to nutritious foods. Most societies further restrict pregnant women's diet with food taboos. Pregnancy food aversions are theorized to protect mothers and fetuses from teratogens and pathogens or increase dietary diversity in response to resource scarcity. Tests of these hypotheses have had mixed results, perhaps because many studies are in Westernized populations with reliable access to food and low exposure to pathogens. If pregnancy food aversions are adaptations, however, then they likely evolved in environments with uncertain access to food and high exposure to pathogens. Pregnancy food taboos, on the other hand, have been theorized to limit resource consumption, mark social identity, or also protect mothers and fetuses from dangerous foods. There have been few tests of evolutionary theories of culturally transmitted food taboos. We investigated these and other theories of psychophysiological food aversions and culturally transmitted food taboos among two non-Western populations of pregnant women in Mysore, India, that vary in food insecurity and exposure to infectious disease. The first was a mixed caste rural farming population ( N = 72), and the second was the Jenu Kurubas , a resettled population of former hunter-gatherers ( N = 30). Women rated their aversions to photos of 31 foods and completed structured interviews that assessed aversions and socially learned avoidances of foods, pathogen exposure, food insecurity, sources of culturally acquired dietary advice, and basic sociodemographic information. Aversions to spicy foods were associated with early trimester and nausea and vomiting, supporting a protective role against plant teratogens. Variation in exposure to pathogens did not explain variation in meat aversions or avoidances, however, raising some doubts about the importance of pathogen avoidance. Aversions to staple foods were common, but were not associated with resource

The relationship between familial resemblance and sexual attraction: an update on Westermarck, Freud, and the incest taboo.

PubMed

Lieberman, Debra; Fessler, Daniel M T; Smith, Adam

2011-09-01

Foundational principles of evolutionary theory predict that inbreeding avoidance mechanisms should exist in all species--including humans--in which close genetic relatives interact during periods of sexual maturity. Voluminous empirical evidence, derived from diverse taxa, supports this prediction. Despite such results, Fraley and Marks claim to provide evidence that humans are sexually attracted to close genetic relatives and that such attraction is held in check by cultural taboos. Here, the authors show that Fraley and Marks, in their search for an alternate explanation of inbreeding avoidance, misapply theoretical constructs from evolutionary biology and social psychology, leading to an incorrect interpretation of their results. The authors propose that Fraley and Marks's central findings can be explained in ways consistent with existing evolutionary models of inbreeding avoidance. The authors conclude that appropriate application of relevant theory and stringent experimental design can generate fruitful investigations into sexual attraction, inbreeding avoidance, and incest taboos.

Survey reveals sexual myths and taboos prevail among Sri Lankan youth.

PubMed

1989-01-01

A survey conducted by the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka in 1986-87 revealed that sexual myths and taboos--not solid information about human physiology and development--dominate young people's knowledge of reproductive health. The survey, which covered 1233 unmarried men and 1233 unmarried women 16-24 years of age, found that the majority of Sri Lankan youth had misconceptions and fears about normal processes such as menstruation, nocturnal emissions, and masturbation. Sex education is not a part of the curriculum in Sri Lankan schools, although 90% of the youth surveyed believed such courses should be offered. Over 75% of the men surveyed said it was important that their future wives be virgins, but only 17% knew that not all women bleed at 1st intercourse. Females reported that their mothers focused on the social rituals associated with menarche (isolation, a special diet, taboos against bathing) and did not explain the physiology of this event. 55% of females indicated they had been frightened by their 1st menstrual period. 69% of the males surveyed had experienced nocturnal emissions; 60% thought these emissions weakened the body and 64% thought they caused weight loss. 66% of males and 5% of females indicated they masturbated; nearly 70% of males and 85% of females thought this practice resulted in physical, mental, and sexual problems. 23% believed masturbation caused mental deterioration. Overall, the results of this survey demonstrate an urgent need for Sri Lankan youth to receive accurate information about sexuality and reproductive health, optimally through the schools.

Incestuous gene in consanguinophilia and incest: toward a consilience theory of incest taboo.

PubMed

Denic, Srdjan; Nicholls, M Gary

2006-01-01

Westermarck's theory of incest taboo states that inhibition of sexual attraction between biologically close relatives is situational and develops during co-residence in early childhood. By contrast, the biological (genetic) basis of incest taboo is presumed from its universality in all human societies and animals and teleologically, from the need to prevent the detrimental effects of inbreeding. As incest taboo violation is infrequent, the frequency of the presumed gene in the population is believed to be near 100%. We present arguments which suggest that the incestuous gene may exist in all populations and could play an important role in evolution. When malaria emerged 10,000 years ago, human adaptation proceeded by the selection of protective genotypes. Among them, homozygotes for alpha-thalassemia, hemoglobin C, and Duffy antigen negative blood group, have better survival odds in malarious regions than heterozygotes and those with normal genotypes. Since consanguinity increases homozygosity, it increases the number of persons who are resistant to malaria. To pro-create, however, biologically close individuals must not feel sexual aversion that normally develops between those who spend their early childhood together (Westermarck effect). It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that mutation of the gene that discourages inbreeding may have appeared at an early time in evolution, and produced a weak Westermarck effect. This gene (we will call it anti-w) failed to inhibit mating between kins. Inbred offspring of anti-w carriers, would statistically, more likely carry both anti-w and homozygote genotypes which increase fitness in the presence of malaria. Today, alpha-thalassemia is the single most common monogenetic disorders in man with over 500 millions carriers concentrated in malarious regions of the world. The world's consanguineous population is some 500-800 millions and is also concentrated in malarious regions. Population migration has spread the gene outside

Optimal lunar soft landing trajectories using taboo evolutionary programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mutyalarao, M.; Raj, M. Xavier James

A safe lunar landing is a key factor to undertake an effective lunar exploration. Lunar lander consists of four phases such as launch phase, the earth-moon transfer phase, circumlunar phase and landing phase. The landing phase can be either hard landing or soft landing. Hard landing means the vehicle lands under the influence of gravity without any deceleration measures. However, soft landing reduces the vertical velocity of the vehicle before landing. Therefore, for the safety of the astronauts as well as the vehicle lunar soft landing with an acceptable velocity is very much essential. So it is important to design the optimal lunar soft landing trajectory with minimum fuel consumption. Optimization of Lunar Soft landing is a complex optimal control problem. In this paper, an analysis related to lunar soft landing from a parking orbit around Moon has been carried out. A two-dimensional trajectory optimization problem is attempted. The problem is complex due to the presence of system constraints. To solve the time-history of control parameters, the problem is converted into two point boundary value problem by using the maximum principle of Pontrygen. Taboo Evolutionary Programming (TEP) technique is a stochastic method developed in recent years and successfully implemented in several fields of research. It combines the features of taboo search and single-point mutation evolutionary programming. Identifying the best unknown parameters of the problem under consideration is the central idea for many space trajectory optimization problems. The TEP technique is used in the present methodology for the best estimation of initial unknown parameters by minimizing objective function interms of fuel requirements. The optimal estimation subsequently results into an optimal trajectory design of a module for soft landing on the Moon from a lunar parking orbit. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed approach is highly efficient and it reduces the minimum fuel

Taboos Related to Dog Bite in an Urban Area of Kancheepuram District of Tamil Nadu, India

PubMed Central

Chinnaian, Sivagurunathan; Ramachandran, Umadevi; Ravi, Rama; Pandurangan, Mohan Kumar

2015-01-01

Background India is known for its diverse social and cultural backgrounds with wide range of myths and misconceptions related to diseases/illnesses. One such belief is certain food taboos and diet restrictions practiced following dog bite, which is widely prevalent. Materials and Methods This is a community based cross- sectional study conducted among adults population in Anakaputhur area of Kancheepuram district. The sample size was estimated to be 275 based on previous study data and simple random sampling method was used for data collection. Data collected was analysed using SPSS version 16 and results described using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test was used for finding statistical association. Results About 84.4% of the study participants said that some kind of restrictions should be followed in case of dog bite, among them 68.7% said non vegetarian foods should be avoided. About 81 % of those bitten by dogs followed some form of food restrictions. Nearly 93.6% of those bitten did follow certain restrictions, based on advice of family members/relatives while about 6.4% of the study group followed restrictions based on advice by ‘medical personnel’. Illiterates and those educated up to high school; participants with no history of animal bite in their family, were more at risk of having misconceptions (p<0.05). Pet owners have more misconceptions compared to non pet owners. Conclusion This study reveals the existence of certain food taboos in case of dog bite among the study population. These practices and taboos are of no use and can be harmful at times. It is important to clear these misconceptions through appropriate health education measures for better health seeking behaviour and management. PMID:26393149

Globalization, decision making and taboo in nursing.

PubMed

Keighley, T

2012-06-01

This paper is a reflection on the representation of nurses and their practice at a global level. In considering the International Council of Nurses (ICN) conference in Malta (2011), it is clear that certain assumptions have been made about nurses and their practice which assume that globalization is under way for the whole of the profession and that the assumptions can be applied equally around the world. These assumptions appear in many ways to be implicit rather than explicit. The implicitness of the assumptions is examined against the particular decision-making processes adopted by the ICN. An attempt is then made to identify another base for the ongoing global work of the ICN. This involves the exploration of taboo (that which is forbidden because it is either holy or unclean) as a way of examining why nursing is not properly valued, despite years of international representation. The paper concludes with some thoughts on how such a new approach interfaces with the possibilities held out by new information technologies. © 2011 The Author. International Nursing Review © 2011 International Council of Nurses.

Taboos and forest governance: informal protection of hot spot dry forest in southern Madagascar.

PubMed

Tengö, Maria; Johansson, Kristin; Rakotondrasoa, Fanambinantsoa; Lundberg, Jakob; Andriamaherilala, Jean-Aimé; Rakotoarisoa, Jean-Aimé; Elmqvist, Thomas

2007-12-01

In the dry forest of southern Madagascar, a region of global conservation priority, formally protected areas are nearly totally absent. We illustrate how the continued existence of unique forest habitats in the Androy region is directly dependent on informal institutions, taboos, regulating human behavior. Qualitative interviews to map and analyze the social mechanisms underlying forest protection have been combined with vegetation analyses of species diversity and composition. Of 188 forest patches, 93% were classified as protected, and in Southern Androy all remaining forest patches larger than 5 ha were protected. Eight different types of forests, with a gradient of social fencing from open access to almost complete entry prohibitions, were identified. Transgressions were well enforced with strong sanctions of significant economic as well as religious importance. Analyses of species diversity between protected and unprotected forests were complicated because of size differences and access restrictions. However, since, for example, in southern Androy >90% of the total remaining forest cover is protected through taboos, these informal institutions represent an important, and presently the only, mechanism for conservation of the highly endemic forest species. We conclude that social aspects, such as local beliefs and legitimate sanctioning systems, need to be analyzed and incorporated along with biodiversity studies for successful conservation.

Evaluating taboo trade-offs in ecosystems services and human well-being.

PubMed

Daw, Tim M; Coulthard, Sarah; Cheung, William W L; Brown, Katrina; Abunge, Caroline; Galafassi, Diego; Peterson, Garry D; McClanahan, Tim R; Omukoto, Johnstone O; Munyi, Lydiah

2015-06-02

Managing ecosystems for multiple ecosystem services and balancing the well-being of diverse stakeholders involves different kinds of trade-offs. Often trade-offs involve noneconomic and difficult-to-evaluate values, such as cultural identity, employment, the well-being of poor people, or particular species or ecosystem structures. Although trade-offs need to be considered for successful environmental management, they are often overlooked in favor of win-wins. Management and policy decisions demand approaches that can explicitly acknowledge and evaluate diverse trade-offs. We identified a diversity of apparent trade-offs in a small-scale tropical fishery when ecological simulations were integrated with participatory assessments of social-ecological system structure and stakeholders' well-being. Despite an apparent win-win between conservation and profitability at the aggregate scale, food production, employment, and well-being of marginalized stakeholders were differentially influenced by management decisions leading to trade-offs. Some of these trade-offs were suggested to be "taboo" trade-offs between morally incommensurable values, such as between profits and the well-being of marginalized women. These were not previously recognized as management issues. Stakeholders explored and deliberated over trade-offs supported by an interactive "toy model" representing key system trade-offs, alongside qualitative narrative scenarios of the future. The concept of taboo trade-offs suggests that psychological bias and social sensitivity may exclude key issues from decision making, which can result in policies that are difficult to implement. Our participatory modeling and scenarios approach has the potential to increase awareness of such trade-offs, promote discussion of what is acceptable, and potentially identify and reduce obstacles to management compliance.

Talking about Money Is Taboo: Perceptions of Financial Planning Students and Implications for the Financial Planning Industry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alsemgeest, Liezel

2016-01-01

Communication about money is a social, cultural and psychological taboo and yet it is essential in the financial planning industry, as a financial planner cannot be effective if all information is not disclosed. This article examines how financial planning students perceive communication about money, their willingness to talk about it and their…

Food taboos and myths in South Eastern Nigeria: The belief and practice of mothers in the region.

PubMed

Ekwochi, Uchenna; Osuorah, Chidiebere D I; Ndu, Ikenna K; Ifediora, Christian; Asinobi, Isaac Nwabueze; Eke, Christopher Bismark

2016-01-27

Poor nutritional practices especially in pregnancy and early childhood can result in dire consequences in the growth and development of a child. This study using purposive sampling enrolled 149 women who had carried at least one pregnancy to term in Enugu south east Nigeria. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess association between avoidance of certain food in pregnancy and selected socio-demographic factors. Approximately 37 % of respondents avoided some foods in pregnancy due to food taboos and no relationship was seen between this avoidance of food and maternal educational attainment, parity (number of obstetrics deliveries) and occupation. Snail and grass-cutter meat were the commonly avoided food in pregnancy while egg were commonly avoided in children under-two years old. Some respondent believed eating snail and grass-cutter meat makes a child sluggish and labour difficult respectively while starting egg early for a child could predispose them to stealing later in life. Discussion about food taboos during antenatal care visits and during community education can help reduce the traditional belief about certain food in pregnancy and early childhood.

"Sex Will Make Your Fingers Grow Thin and Then You Die": The Interplay of Culture, Myths, and Taboos on African Immigrant Mothers' Perceptions of Reproductive Health Education with Their Daughters Aged 10-14 Years.

PubMed

Agbemenu, Kafuli; Hannan, Margaret; Kitutu, Julius; Terry, Martha Ann; Doswell, Willa

2018-06-01

This paper examines the convergence of culture, myths, and taboos surrounding reproductive health issues African immigrant women, living in the United States, learned during childhood in their countries of origin. We also discuss how mothers' perceptions of reproductive health education (RHE) influenced the education of their own daughters aged 10-14 years. This was a qualitative descriptive study. Data were collected via interviews and demographic survey. The sample size was 20 African immigrant mothers living in a mid-sized city in the U.S. Interviews were transcribed verbatim. Qualitative data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Myths and taboos related to menstruation, sexual intercourse, pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS were reported by the women interviewed. Discussion of these issues was largely taboo, and most myths the mothers learned growing up pertained to sexual intercourse, pregnancy prevention, and pregnancy termination using non-hormonal ingested substances. Myths and taboos about sexual issues are widespread in Africa and are propagated to control sexual behavior, especially that of unmarried people, particularly women. By examining these myths and taboos, we are able to somewhat contextualize the mothers' immigrant experience regarding RHE. Although myths were reported, the majority of mothers did not appear to believe them. The most significant taboo reported was sexual intercourse. This in turn led to mothers' overemphasis on abstinence for their daughters. It is also noteworthy that this sample contained mainly African women who overall were highly educated, spoke English, and could adequately navigate life in the U.S. It is unclear what the results would be if we were to examine African immigrant women with less achievements in these areas.

Parenting beliefs and practices of opiate-addicted parents: concealment and taboo.

PubMed

Hogan, Diane M

2003-07-01

The lifestyle associated with opiate dependence, including drug taking, the buying and selling of drugs, and contact with other drug users, carries potential risks for the safety and well-being of children of drug-using parents. Based on a qualitative interview study conducted with 50 opiate-dependent parents in Dublin, Ireland, the parenting beliefs and practices in relation to children's exposure to drugs and the associated lifestyle are described. Parents saw their lifestyle as potentially risky for their children and their families. The most common strategy adopted by parents was to conceal their drug-related activities and maintain a strict family taboo about these activities. Intervention programmes should be offered to support effective family communication about parental drug dependence. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

Taboo thoughts and doubt/checking: a refinement of the factor structure for obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms.

PubMed

Pinto, Anthony; Eisen, Jane L; Mancebo, Maria C; Greenberg, Benjamin D; Stout, Robert L; Rasmussen, Steven A

2007-06-30

The purpose of this report was to improve upon earlier factor analyses of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptom categories by minimizing the heterogeneity in the aggressive obsessions category. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on data from 293 adults with primary OCD. The resulting five factors (Symmetry/Ordering, Hoarding, Doubt/Checking, Contamination/Cleaning, and Taboo Thoughts) are phenomenologically more homogeneous than prior category-based factors and are consistent with those derived in previous item-level analyses.

[Various forms of current sex taboo-ism from the gynecologist's point of view].

PubMed

Kvíz, D

1977-05-01

Antisexual primary Christian traditions, which consist of, as a rule, a mixture of suppression, silencing, intimidation, and threat, still have sufficiently extensive sociopsychological consequences to disrupt the psychosexual equilibrium of an individual. This has been seen through the great number of single women who, upon requesting artificial abortion, desire to keep their situation a secret, particularly from the parents. A similar attitude of "taboo" has been observed in regard to venereal diseases. These sociosexual attitudes, and the sense of shame involved, are linked to very old social and religious antisexual traditions. Some efforts have been made in the direction of sex education in the schools, notably with the very popular book by Pondelickova-Maslova.

A Study about the Taboo of Rotation Timing for the Flapping Wing Flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, An-Bang; Hsueh, Chia-Hsien; Chen, Shih-Shen

2004-11-01

Influence of rotation timing for flapping wing flight on the flying lift has been experimentally investigated in this study. Since the insects cannot extend and shrink their wings like birds, the rotation timing of wings becomes the major influential factor to affect the flying lift of the flapping wing flight. The results reveal that rotation timing has significant influence on the flying lift. The averaged flying lift increases for high rotation wing velocity. Based on the comparisons of flying lift, too late A-rotation (connecting from wing downward motion to upward one) is the most serious taboo for the motion design of the micro air vehicles with flapping wings. Too late B-rotation (connection from upward motion to downward one) should also be avoided.

[Demographic consequences of genetic load: a model of the origin of the incest taboo].

PubMed

Buzin, A Iu

1987-12-01

The prohibition of copulations among near relatives may raise the fitness of population. This effect being irregular and insignificant for a distinct generation, becomes apparent in evolutionary time intervals through the natural selection of populations with incest-taboo. The "characteristic selection time" theta depends on typical population size, genetic damage and the mean rate of population growth. The estimation obtained for theta permit us to assert that the model describes the phenomenon of "socio-cultural selection" in prehistory. The model shows the demographic specificity of small populations. The problem of the number of consanguineous marriages is considered in detail. New explanation for deviation of the observed frequency of consanguineous marriages from classical estimations is proposed.

Agreed but not preferred: expert views on taboo options for biodiversity conservation, given climate change.

PubMed

Hagerman, Shannon M; Satterfield, Terre

2014-04-01

Recent research indicates increasing openness among conservation experts toward a set of previously controversial proposals for biodiversity protection. These include actions such as assisted migration, and the application of climate-change-informed triage principles for decision-making (e.g., forgoing attention to target species deemed no longer viable). Little is known however, about the levels of expert agreement across different conservation adaptation actions, or the preferences that may come to shape policy recommendations. In this paper, we report findings from a web-based survey of biodiversity experts that assessed: (1) perceived risks of climate change (and other drivers) to biodiversity, (2) relative importance of different conservation goals, (3) levels of agreement/disagreement with the potential necessity of unconventional-taboo actions and approaches including affective evaluations of these, (4) preferences regarding the most important adaptation action for biodiversity, and (5) perceived barriers and strategic considerations regarding implementing adaptation initiatives. We found widespread agreement with a set of previously contentious approaches and actions, including the need for frameworks for prioritization and decision-making that take expected losses and emerging novel ecosystems into consideration. Simultaneously, this survey found enduring preferences for conventional actions (such as protected areas) as the most important policy action, and negative affective responses toward more interventionist proposals. We argue that expert views are converging on agreement across a set of taboo components in ways that differ from earlier published positions, and that these views are tempered by preferences for existing conventional actions and discomfort toward interventionist options. We discuss these findings in the context of anticipating some of the likely contours of future conservation debates. Lastly, we underscore the critical need for

Westermarck, Freud, and the incest taboo: does familial resemblance activate sexual attraction?

PubMed

Fraley, R Chris; Marks, Michael J

2010-09-01

Evolutionary psychological theories assume that sexual aversions toward kin are triggered by a nonconscious mechanism that estimates the genetic relatedness between self and other. This article presents an alternative perspective that assumes that incest avoidance arises from consciously acknowledged taboos and that when awareness of the relationship between self and other is bypassed, people find individuals who resemble their kin more sexually appealing. Three experiments demonstrate that people find others more sexually attractive if they have just been subliminally exposed to an image of their opposite-sex parent (Experiment 1) or if the face being rated is a composite image based on the self (Experiment 2). This finding is reversed when people are aware of the implied genetic relationship (Experiment 3). These findings have implications for a century-old debate between E. Westermarck and S. Freud, as well as contemporary research on evolution, mate choice, and sexual imprinting.

The gifts we keep on giving: documenting and destigmatizing the regifting taboo.

PubMed

Adams, Gabrielle S; Flynn, Francis J; Norton, Michael I

2012-10-01

Five studies examined whether the practice of regifting--a social taboo--is as offensive to the original givers as potential regifters assume. Participants who imagined regifting a gift (receivers) thought that the original giver would be more offended than participants who imagined that their gifts were regifted (givers) reported feeling. Specifically, receivers viewed regifting as similar in offensiveness to throwing gifts away, yet givers clearly preferred the former. This asymmetry in emotional reactions to regifting was driven by an asymmetry in beliefs about entitlement. Givers believed that the act of gift giving passed title to the gift on to receivers, so that receivers were free to decide what to do with the gift; in contrast, receivers believed that givers retained some say in how their gifts were used. Finally, an intervention designed to destigmatize regifting by introducing a different normative standard (i.e., National Regifting Day) corrected the asymmetry in beliefs about entitlement and increased regifting.

Incest avoidance, the incest taboo, and social cohesion: revisiting Westermarck and the case of the Israeli kibbutzim.

PubMed

Shor, Eran; Simchai, Dalit

2009-05-01

During the past 50 years, a consensus has been forming around Edward Westermarck's idea that incest avoidance results from an aversion that develops when individuals are brought up in propinquity. The argument here presented counters this emerging consensus. Reexamining the case of the Israeli kibbutzim, the authors show that individuals who grew up in the kibbutzim's communal education system were in fact often attracted to their peers, and only rarely did they develop sexual aversion toward these peers. This article offers an alternative explanation to the problem of incest avoidance and the incest taboo, one that brings sociological factors back into the picture.

The shallow boreholes at The AltotiBerina near fault Observatory (TABOO; northern Apennines of Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiaraluce, L.; Collettini, C.; Cattaneo, M.; Monachesi, G.

2014-04-01

As part of an interdisciplinary research project, funded by the European Research Council and addressing the mechanics of weak faults, we drilled three 200-250 m-deep boreholes and installed an array of seismometers. The array augments TABOO (The AltotiBerina near fault ObservatOry), a scientific infrastructure managed by the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. The observatory, which consists of a geophysical network equipped with multi-sensor stations, is located in the northern Apennines (Italy) and monitors a large and active low-angle normal fault. The drilling operations started at the end of 2011 and were completed by July 2012. We instrumented the boreholes with three-component short-period (2 Hz) passive instruments at different depths. The seismometers are now fully operational and collecting waveforms characterised by a very high signal to noise ratio that is ideal for studying microearthquakes. The resulting increase in the detection capability of the seismic network will allow for a broader range of transients to be identified.

Optimising mobile phase composition, its flow-rate and column temperature in HPLC using taboo search.

PubMed

Guillaume, Y C; Peyrin, E

2000-03-06

A chemometric methodology is proposed to study the separation of seven p-hydroxybenzoic esters in reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC). Fifteen experiments were found to be necessary to find a mathematical model which linked a novel chromatographic response function (CRF) with the column temperature, the water fraction in the mobile phase and its flow rate. The CRF optimum was determined using a new algorithm based on Glover's taboo search (TS). A flow-rate of 0.9 ml min(-1) with a water fraction of 0.64 in the ACN-water mixture and a column temperature of 10 degrees C gave the most efficient separation conditions. The usefulness of TS was compared with the pure random search (PRS) and simplex search (SS). As demonstrated by calculations, the algorithm avoids entrapment in local minima and continues the search to give a near-optimal final solution. Unlike other methods of global optimisation, this procedure is generally applicable, easy to implement, derivative free, conceptually simple and could be used in the future for much more complex optimisation problems.

[On the way to the secret of Freudian psychoanalysis. From Emmy von N. to "Totem and taboo"].

PubMed

Rand, N; Torok, M

1993-09-01

The authors approach the work of Sigmund Freud by regarding the theory and history of psychoanalysis in terms of a feature that they have in common, namely secrecy. This proclivity towards secrecy, which stands in contradiction to the psychoanalytic principle of total frankness and demystification, is illustrated by a number of examples-the suggestion made by Jones to Ferenczi and Freud in 1911 for the "formation of a secret committee to supervise the development of psychoanalysis"; the censorship practised by Jones in connection with the use of the Freud Archives; and the case history of Emmy von N., where Freud assumes the role of depositary for the memories communicated by his patient under hypnosis and observes strict secrecy about them. The authors give a particularly detailed account of the evidence of the "secret of psychoanalysis" to be traced in Totem and Taboo, which they elucidate with the aid of a reading of Shakespeare's Tempest.

An automatic modular procedure to generate high-resolution earthquake catalogues: application to the Alto Tiberina Near Fault Observatory (TABOO), Italy.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Stefano, R.; Chiaraluce, L.; Valoroso, L.; Waldhauser, F.; Latorre, D.; Piccinini, D.; Tinti, E.

2014-12-01

The Alto Tiberina Near Fault Observatory (TABOO) in the upper Tiber Valley (northern Appennines) is a INGV research infrastructure devoted to the study of preparatory processes and deformation characteristics of the Alto Tiberina Fault (ATF), a 60 km long, low-angle normal fault active since the Quaternary. The TABOO seismic network, covering an area of 120 × 120 km, consists of 60 permanent surface and 250 m deep borehole stations equipped with 3-components, 0.5s to 120s velocimeters, and strong motion sensors. Continuous seismic recordings are transmitted in real-time to the INGV, where we set up an automatic procedure that produces high-resolution earthquakes catalogues (location, magnitudes, 1st motion polarities) in near-real-time. A sensitive event detection engine running on the continuous data stream is followed by advanced phase identification, arrival-time picking, and quality assessment algorithms (MPX). Pick weights are determined from a statistical analysis of a set of predictors designed to correctly apply an a-priori chosen weighting scheme. The MPX results are used to routinely update earthquakes catalogues based on a variety of (1D and 3D) velocity models and location techniques. We are also applying the DD-RT procedure which uses cross-correlation and double-difference methods in real-time to relocate events with high precision relative to a high-resolution background catalog. P- and S-onset and location information are used to automatically compute focal mechanisms, VP/VS variations in space and time, and periodically update 3D VP and VP/VS tomographic models. We present results from four years of operation, during which this monitoring system analyzed over 1.2 million detections and recovered ~60,000 earthquakes at a detection threshold of ML 0.5. The high-resolution information is being used to study changes in seismicity patterns and fault and rock properties along the ATF in space and time, and to elaborate ground shaking scenarios adopting

Evaluating taboo trade-offs in ecosystems services and human well-being

PubMed Central

Coulthard, Sarah; Cheung, William W. L.; Brown, Katrina; Abunge, Caroline; Galafassi, Diego; Peterson, Garry D.; McClanahan, Tim R.; Omukoto, Johnstone O.; Munyi, Lydiah

2015-01-01

Managing ecosystems for multiple ecosystem services and balancing the well-being of diverse stakeholders involves different kinds of trade-offs. Often trade-offs involve noneconomic and difficult-to-evaluate values, such as cultural identity, employment, the well-being of poor people, or particular species or ecosystem structures. Although trade-offs need to be considered for successful environmental management, they are often overlooked in favor of win-wins. Management and policy decisions demand approaches that can explicitly acknowledge and evaluate diverse trade-offs. We identified a diversity of apparent trade-offs in a small-scale tropical fishery when ecological simulations were integrated with participatory assessments of social–ecological system structure and stakeholders’ well-being. Despite an apparent win-win between conservation and profitability at the aggregate scale, food production, employment, and well-being of marginalized stakeholders were differentially influenced by management decisions leading to trade-offs. Some of these trade-offs were suggested to be “taboo” trade-offs between morally incommensurable values, such as between profits and the well-being of marginalized women. These were not previously recognized as management issues. Stakeholders explored and deliberated over trade-offs supported by an interactive “toy model” representing key system trade-offs, alongside qualitative narrative scenarios of the future. The concept of taboo trade-offs suggests that psychological bias and social sensitivity may exclude key issues from decision making, which can result in policies that are difficult to implement. Our participatory modeling and scenarios approach has the potential to increase awareness of such trade-offs, promote discussion of what is acceptable, and potentially identify and reduce obstacles to management compliance. PMID:26038547

A 3-D velocity model for earthquake location from combined geological and geophysical data: a case study from the TABOO near fault observatory (Northern Apennines, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latorre, Diana; Lupattelli, Andrea; Mirabella, Francesco; Trippetta, Fabio; Valoroso, Luisa; Lomax, Anthony; Di Stefano, Raffaele; Collettini, Cristiano; Chiaraluce, Lauro

2014-05-01

Accurate hypocenter location at the crustal scale strongly depends on our knowledge of the 3D velocity structure. The integration of geological and geophysical data, when available, should contribute to a reliable seismic velocity model in order to guarantee high quality earthquake locations as well as their consistency with the geological structure. Here we present a 3D, P- and S-wave velocity model of the Upper Tiber valley region (Northern Apennines) retrieved by combining an extremely robust dataset of surface and sub-surface geological data (seismic reflection profiles and boreholes), in situ and laboratory velocity measurements, and earthquake data. The study area is a portion of the Apennine belt undergoing active extension where a set of high-angle normal faults is detached on the Altotiberina low-angle normal fault (ATF). From 2010, this area hosts a scientific infrastructure (the Alto Tiberina Near Fault Observatory, TABOO; http://taboo.rm.ingv.it/), consisting of a dense array of multi-sensor stations, devoted to studying the earthquakes preparatory phase and the deformation processes along the ATF fault system. The proposed 3D velocity model is a layered model in which irregular shaped surfaces limit the boundaries between main lithological units. The model has been constructed by interpolating depth converted seismic horizons interpreted along 40 seismic reflection profiles (down to 4s two way travel times) that have been calibrated with 6 deep boreholes (down to 5 km depth) and constrained by detailed geological maps and structural surveys data. The layers of the model are characterized by similar rock types and seismic velocity properties. The P- and S-waves velocities for each layer have been derived from velocity measurements coming from both boreholes (sonic logs) and laboratory, where measurements have been performed on analogue natural samples increasing confining pressure in order to simulate crustal conditions. In order to test the 3D velocity

Taboo search algorithm for item assignment in synchronized zone automated order picking system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yingying; Wu, Yaohua

2014-07-01

The idle time which is part of the order fulfillment time is decided by the number of items in the zone; therefore the item assignment method affects the picking efficiency. Whereas previous studies only focus on the balance of number of kinds of items between different zones but not the number of items and the idle time in each zone. In this paper, an idle factor is proposed to measure the idle time exactly. The idle factor is proven to obey the same vary trend with the idle time, so the object of this problem can be simplified from minimizing idle time to minimizing idle factor. Based on this, the model of item assignment problem in synchronized zone automated order picking system is built. The model is a form of relaxation of parallel machine scheduling problem which had been proven to be NP-complete. To solve the model, a taboo search algorithm is proposed. The main idea of the algorithm is minimizing the greatest idle factor of zones with the 2-exchange algorithm. Finally, the simulation which applies the data collected from a tobacco distribution center is conducted to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. The result verifies the model and shows the algorithm can do a steady work to reduce idle time and the idle time can be reduced by 45.63% on average. This research proposed an approach to measure the idle time in synchronized zone automated order picking system. The approach can improve the picking efficiency significantly and can be seen as theoretical basis when optimizing the synchronized automated order picking systems.

Was breaking the taboo on research on climate engineering via albedo modification a moral hazard, or a moral imperative?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, Mark G.; Crutzen, Paul J.

2017-02-01

The topic of increasing the reflectivity of the Earth as a measure to counteract global warming has been the subject of high-level discussions and preliminary research since several decades, though prior to the early 2000s there was only very limited research on the topic. This changed in the mid-2000s, particularly following the publication of a special section of Climatic Change with a lead paper by Crutzen [2006], which posited the idea of stratospheric aerosol injections as a possible solution to a policy dilemma. The discussions around the publication of Crutzen [2006] demonstrated how contentious the topic was at that time. The special section of Climatic Change contributed to breaking the "taboo" on albedo modification research that was perceived at that time, and scientific publications on the topic have since proliferated, including the development of several large national and international projects, and the publication of several assessment reports over the last decade. Here we reflect on the background and main conclusions of the publications in 2006, the developments since then, and on some of the main developments over the next decade that we anticipate for research and dialogue in support of decision-making and policy development processes.

Menstrual taboos among Havik Brahmin women: a study of ritual change.

PubMed

Ullrich, H E

1992-01-01

Field work among the Havik Brahmins in a 1 village in the Malnad area of Karnataka State, South India provides some understanding of menstrual practices in 1964, 1985, and 1987. Changes in the pollution and purity rituals which were part of their belief system lead to the replacement of religious ritual with hygiene. Women's status reflected in the change from a subordinate one with a menstrual taboos to a more urbanized one with educational opportunities and economic independence. Ethnographic background is provide on social organization, education, women's professions, ritual organization, and the reasons for change. Menstrual beliefs and practices, reproductive beliefs, menarche, and the significance of rituals are also described for 1966 and 1987. The Havik Brahmin have a patrilocal, patrilineal, and patriarchal society with joint family practices. The ideal of a nuclear family was still not predominately attained even in 1987 with 14 nuclear families out of 32 families or in 1964 with 12 out of 28. Women in 1964 supported their husbands, were not included in decision making and had little contact with the outside world. Higher education is still secondary to marriage, and frequently women spend time in college while kin seek a suitable groom. Women 40 years had primarily a 7th grade education, while only 3 40 years did not have at least a high school education. Employment now enhances a woman's marital options. Fathers still view security for their daughters in marriage. Women's religious involvement is restricted to 1 service and they are prohibited from learning sacred Vedic prayers. The village structure is based on castes, residential sites, and ritual statuses. Havik Brahmins are the highest status and their men have a ritual status of purity (maDi) or neutrality, while women during menses become polluted (muTTuceTtu). The rationale for change is the opinion that decreased ritual observance is essential to economic viability, and there are cheating rules

Fifty years on: against the stigmatising myths, taboos and traditions embedded within the Suicide Act 1961 (UK).

PubMed

Shaw, Julia J A

2011-06-01

Although assisted suicide carries a maximum of 14 years imprisonment in England, courts and juries have historically demonstrated a reluctance to convict, most specifically in relation to those travelling abroad to accompany a terminally ill person seeking assisted dying. The possibility of prosecution is still present, however, and there have recently been a number of challenges to the law on assisted dying. During the consultation period of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (UK) an amendment was proposed that would have legalised, among other things, assisting suicide overseas. However, it was voted down by peers who believed it to be dangerously radical. In 2008 a multiple sclerosis sufferer requested a clear policy statement, should her partner help her to seek assisted dying abroad in the future. After her application was initially rejected, Mrs Purdy was granted leave to appeal and following a favourable ruling by the House of Lords in 2009, the Director of Public Prosecutions clarified the law on assisted suicide, introducing a Full Code Test which includes the consideration of "public interest factors". Although the new guidelines are not a direct threat to the 50-year-old Suicide Act 1961 (UK), it is clearly an historic development: the latest in a series of high-profile cases and debates which have taken place over the last decade. It is suggested that English law on assisted dying continues to rely on a range of inappropriate concepts, taboos and superstitions, and it is from this perspective that the implications for future legislative reform are addressed.

An automatic procedure for high-resolution earthquake locations: a case study from the TABOO near fault observatory (Northern Apennines, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valoroso, Luisa; Chiaraluce, Lauro; Di Stefano, Raffaele; Latorre, Diana; Piccinini, Davide

2014-05-01

The characterization of the geometry, kinematics and rheology of fault zones by seismological data depends on our capability of accurately locate the largest number of low-magnitude seismic events. To this aim, we have been working for the past three years to develop an advanced modular earthquake location procedure able to automatically retrieve high-resolution earthquakes catalogues directly from continuous waveforms data. We use seismograms recorded at about 60 seismic stations located both at surface and at depth. The network covers an area of about 80x60 km with a mean inter-station distance of 6 km. These stations are part of a Near fault Observatory (TABOO; http://taboo.rm.ingv.it/), consisting of multi-sensor stations (seismic, geodetic, geochemical and electromagnetic). This permanent scientific infrastructure managed by the INGV is devoted to studying the earthquakes preparatory phase and the fast/slow (i.e., seismic/aseismic) deformation process active along the Alto Tiberina fault (ATF) located in the northern Apennines (Italy). The ATF is potentially one of the rare worldwide examples of active low-angle (< 15°) normal fault accommodating crustal extension and characterized by a regular occurrence of micro-earthquakes. The modular procedure combines: i) a sensitive detection algorithm optimized to declare low-magnitude events; ii) an accurate picking procedure that provides consistently weighted P- and S-wave arrival times, P-wave first motion polarities and the maximum waveform amplitude for local magnitude calculation; iii) both linearized iterative and non-linear global-search earthquake location algorithms to compute accurate absolute locations of single-events in a 3D geological model (see Latorre et al. same session); iv) cross-correlation and double-difference location methods to compute high-resolution relative event locations. This procedure is now running off-line with a delay of 1 week to the real-time. We are now implementing this

From health advice to taboo: community perspectives on the treatment of sleeping sickness in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a qualitative study.

PubMed

Mpanya, Alain; Hendrickx, David; Baloji, Sylvain; Lumbala, Crispin; da Luz, Raquel Inocêncio; Boelaert, Marleen; Lutumba, Pascal

2015-04-01

Socio-cultural and economic factors constitute real barriers for uptake of screening and treatment of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Better understanding and addressing these barriers may enhance the effectiveness of HAT control. We performed a qualitative study consisting of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions in the Bandundu and Kasaï Oriental provinces, two provinces lagging behind in the HAT elimination effort. Our study population included current and former HAT patients, as well as healthcare providers and program managers of the national HAT control program. All interviews and discussions were voice recorded on a digital device and data were analysed with the ATLAS.ti software. Health workers and community members quoted a number of prohibitions that have to be respected for six months after HAT treatment: no work, no sexual intercourse, no hot food, not walking in the sun. Violating these restrictions is believed to cause serious, and sometimes deadly, complications. These strong prohibitions are well-known by the community and lead some people to avoid HAT screening campaigns, for fear of having to observe such taboos in case of diagnosis. The restrictions originally aimed to mitigate the severe adverse effects of the melarsoprol regimen, but are not evidence-based and became obsolete with the new safer drugs. Correct health information regarding HAT treatment is essential. Health providers should address the perspective of the community in a constant dialogue to keep abreast of unintended transformations of meaning.

Does Emotion Help or Hinder Immediate Memory?: Arousal Versus Priority-Binding Mechanisms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadley, Christopher B.; MacKay, Donald G.

2006-01-01

People recall taboo words better than neutral words in many experimental contexts. The present rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) experiments demonstrated this taboo-superiority effect for immediate recall of mixed lists containing taboo and neutral words matched for familiarity, length, and category coherence. Under binding theory (MacKay et…

From Health Advice to Taboo: Community Perspectives on the Treatment of Sleeping Sickness in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Mpanya, Alain; Hendrickx, David; Baloji, Sylvain; Lumbala, Crispin; da Luz, Raquel Inocêncio; Boelaert, Marleen; Lutumba, Pascal

2015-01-01

Background Socio-cultural and economic factors constitute real barriers for uptake of screening and treatment of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Better understanding and addressing these barriers may enhance the effectiveness of HAT control. Methods We performed a qualitative study consisting of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions in the Bandundu and Kasaï Oriental provinces, two provinces lagging behind in the HAT elimination effort. Our study population included current and former HAT patients, as well as healthcare providers and program managers of the national HAT control program. All interviews and discussions were voice recorded on a digital device and data were analysed with the ATLAS.ti software. Findings Health workers and community members quoted a number of prohibitions that have to be respected for six months after HAT treatment: no work, no sexual intercourse, no hot food, not walking in the sun. Violating these restrictions is believed to cause serious, and sometimes deadly, complications. These strong prohibitions are well-known by the community and lead some people to avoid HAT screening campaigns, for fear of having to observe such taboos in case of diagnosis. Discussion The restrictions originally aimed to mitigate the severe adverse effects of the melarsoprol regimen, but are not evidence-based and became obsolete with the new safer drugs. Correct health information regarding HAT treatment is essential. Health providers should address the perspective of the community in a constant dialogue to keep abreast of unintended transformations of meaning. PMID:25856578

Evaluation of Control Inputs on the Spin Recovery of the 8KCAB Super Decathlon

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-17

limited exposure to spins and variations of spin recovery methods. Aircraft spins have become taboo and avoided by all but the most experienced...knowledge of every pilot, some areas have become taboo and avoided all but the most experienced pilots and researchers. This leads to much...recovery methods. Aircraft spins have become taboo and avoided by all but the most experienced pilots and researchers. The research here is focused

Menstruation related myths in India: strategies for combating it

PubMed Central

Garg, Suneela; Anand, Tanu

2015-01-01

Menstruation is a phenomenon unique to girls. However, it has always been surrounded by taboos and myths that exclude women from many aspects of socio-cultural life. In India, the topic has been a taboo until date. Such taboos about menstruation present in many societies impact on girls’ and women's emotional state, mentality and lifestyle and most importantly, health. The challenge, of addressing the socio-cultural taboos and beliefs in menstruation, is further compounded by the low girls’ knowledge levels and understandings of puberty, menstruation, and reproductive health. Thus, there is the need to follow a strategic approach in combating these issues. The current paper aims to discuss menstruation related myths prevalent in India, their impact on women's life, relevance of addressing these issues in primary care and a brief description about various strategies to combat them. PMID:25949964

Geodesy: Modeling Earth's Post-Glacial Rebound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spada, Giorgio; Antonioli, Andrea; Boschi, Lapo; Brandi, Valter; Cianetti, Spina; Galvani, Gabriele; Giunchi, Carlo; Perniola, Bruna; Agostinetti, Nicola Piana; Piersanti, Antonio; Stocchi, Paolo

2004-02-01

Efforts to mathematically model the Earth's post-glacial rebound, or, in general, long-term planetary-scale viscoelastic deformations, have been ongoing for several decades. Unfortunately, research in the post-glacial rebound community has not been characterized by much exchange of knowledge. Groups around the world have developed their code independently, sometimes with profoundly different approaches, occasionally leading to inconsistent results [e.g., Boschi et al., 1999]. Postglacial Rebound Calculator (TABOO) is a post-glacial rebound software that is being made freely available (through Samizdat Press at http://samizdat.mines.edu/taboo/)in the hope that it might become a common reference for all post-glacial rebound researchers. TABOO is portable and has been tested on Unix, Linux, and Windows systems; all it requires is a Fortran90 compiler supporting quadruple precision. The software is easy to use. It comes with a detailed guide that can work as a quick reference cookbook, and it is also accompanied by a textbook, The Theory Behind TABOO, collecting the most significant theoretical results from post-glacial rebound literature. TABOO is not a ``black-box,'' although it may easily be used as such. The entire source code is provided and should be easy to understand for intermediate-level Fortran programmers.

Emotional arousal enhances word repetition priming

PubMed Central

Thomas, Laura A.; LaBar, Kevin S.

2012-01-01

Three experiments were conducted to determine if emotional content increases repetition priming magnitude. In the study phase of Experiment 1, participants rated high-arousing negative (taboo) words and neutral words for concreteness. In the test phase, they made lexical decision judgements for the studied words intermixed with novel words (half taboo, half neutral) and pseudowords. In Experiment 2, low-arousing negative (LAN) words were substituted for the taboo words, and in Experiment 3 all three word types were used. Results showed significant priming in all experiments, as indicated by faster reaction times for studied words than for novel words. A priming × emotion interaction was found in Experiments 1 and 3, with greater priming for taboo relative to neutral words. The LAN words in Experiments 2 and 3 showed no difference in priming magnitude relative to the other word types. These results show selective enhancement of word repetition priming by emotional arousal. PMID:26321783

On Rejecting Emotional Lures Created by Phonological Neighborhood Activation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Starns, Jeffrey J.; Cook, Gabriel I.; Hicks, Jason L.; Marsh, Richard L.

2006-01-01

The authors conducted 2 experiments to assess how phonologically related lures are rejected in a false memory paradigm. Some phonological lures were emotional (i.e., taboo) words, and others were not. The authors manipulated the presence of taboo items on the study list and reduced the ability to use controlled rejection strategies by dividing…

Increasing Uncertainty: The Dangers of Relying on Conventional Forces for Nuclear Deterrence

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-14

designed by the United States to meet its nuclear deterrence needs are not constrained by the “nuclear taboo ” and, in fact, are more usable.38 The...Nuclear deterrence may be much more fragile than any of us realize. It is imperative that we do not take the “nuclear taboo ” for granted by assuming

Swearing: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finn, Eileen

2017-01-01

This article explores the cases for and against the inclusion of curriculum about swearing (which includes taboo words) as a part of an Adult ESL course. The function and prevalence of swearing are discussed, including the level of exposure students face. Taboo language makes up 4% to 13% of typical daily language use (Fägersten, 2012; Winters…

Self-control in Online Discussions: Disinhibited Online Behavior as a Failure to Recognize Social Cues

PubMed Central

Voggeser, Birgit J.; Singh, Ranjit K.; Göritz, Anja S.

2018-01-01

In an online experiment we examined the role of self-control in recognizing social cues in the context of disinhibited online behavior (e.g., flaming and trolling). We temporarily lowered participants' self-control capacity with an ego depletion paradigm (i.e., color Stroop task). Next, we measured participants' sensitivity to social cues with an emotional Stroop task containing neutral, negative, and taboo words. Sensitivity to social cues is represented by the increase in reaction time to negative and especially taboo words compared to neutral words. As expected, undepleted participants were slower to process the color of negative and taboo words. By contrast, depleted participants (i.e., those with lowered self-control capacity) did not react differently to taboo or negative words than they did to neutral words. The experiment illustrates that self-control failure may manifest itself in a failure to recognize social cues. The finding underlines the importance of self-control in understanding disinhibited online behavior: Many instances of disinhibited online behavior may occur not because people are unable to control themselves, but because they do not realize that a situation calls for self-control in the first place. PMID:29375457

Self-control in Online Discussions: Disinhibited Online Behavior as a Failure to Recognize Social Cues.

PubMed

Voggeser, Birgit J; Singh, Ranjit K; Göritz, Anja S

2017-01-01

In an online experiment we examined the role of self-control in recognizing social cues in the context of disinhibited online behavior (e.g., flaming and trolling). We temporarily lowered participants' self-control capacity with an ego depletion paradigm (i.e., color Stroop task). Next, we measured participants' sensitivity to social cues with an emotional Stroop task containing neutral, negative, and taboo words. Sensitivity to social cues is represented by the increase in reaction time to negative and especially taboo words compared to neutral words. As expected, undepleted participants were slower to process the color of negative and taboo words. By contrast, depleted participants (i.e., those with lowered self-control capacity) did not react differently to taboo or negative words than they did to neutral words. The experiment illustrates that self-control failure may manifest itself in a failure to recognize social cues. The finding underlines the importance of self-control in understanding disinhibited online behavior: Many instances of disinhibited online behavior may occur not because people are unable to control themselves, but because they do not realize that a situation calls for self-control in the first place.

The emotional carryover effect in memory for words.

PubMed

Schmidt, Stephen R; Schmidt, Constance R

2016-08-01

Emotional material rarely occurs in isolation; rather it is experienced in the spatial and temporal proximity of less emotional items. Some previous researchers have found that emotional stimuli impair memory for surrounding information, whereas others have reported evidence for memory facilitation. Researchers have not determined which types of emotional items or memory tests produce effects that carry over to surrounding items. Six experiments are reported that measured carryover from emotional words varying in arousal to temporally adjacent neutral words. Taboo, non-taboo emotional, and neutral words were compared using different stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs), recognition and recall tests, and intentional and incidental memory instructions. Strong emotional memory effects were obtained in all six experiments. However, emotional items influenced memory for temporally adjacent words under limited conditions. Words following taboo words were more poorly remembered than words following neutral words when relatively short SOAs were employed. Words preceding taboo words were affected only when recall tests and relatively short retention intervals were used. These results suggest that increased attention to the emotional items sometimes produces emotional carryover effects; however, retrieval processes also contribute to retrograde amnesia and may extend the conditions under which anterograde amnesia is observed.

Masturbation--beyond myth and taboo.

PubMed

Lidster, C A; Horsburgh, M E

1994-01-01

Masturbation is a common human behavior that impacts nursing in a variety of ways. All too often, nurses find themselves seeking out masturbatory literature after an uncomfortable client encounter for which they were not prepared. The authors examine helpful information about masturbation that nurses may use to care for individuals, families, groups, and communities. The historical context of the values and beliefs associated with masturbation is explores. the notions of "functional" and "dysfunctional" masturbation are proposed and examined. Recommendations for nursing practice, education, theory and research are proposed.

Symptom Dimensions, Smoking and Impulsiveness in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

PubMed

Tan, Oguz; Taş, Cumhur

2015-12-01

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has distinct symptom dimensions with possibly subtle differences in the underlying neurobiology. One behavioral habit, smoking, has been widely investigated in psychiatric disorders, though received less attention in OCD. Here, we aimed to investigate the relationship between symptom dimensions and smoking behavior in OCD. OCD patients (n=167) with the symptom dimensions of washing, taboo thoughts and symmetry-counting-repeating-ordering (S+C+R+O) were questioned in terms of smoking status and assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 Items (HDRS-17), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS 11). Smoking status differed significantly among patients with distinct symptom dimensions (p=0.009).The ratio of smokers was the lowest in those with the washing (30%, N=12) and the highest in the S+C+R+O (68.2%, N=15) group. Those with taboo thoughts had a smoking ratio of 37.14% (N=39). In post hoc analysis, smoking ratio was significantly higher in the S+C+R+O group than in those with washing symptoms (p=0.004) and taboo thoughts (p=0.007) though it did not differ significantly between washers and taboo thought groups. The BIS-11 did not differ across symptom dimensions. OCD is a heterogeneous disorder in terms of smoking. Impulsiveness, which does not significantly vary across distinct symptom dimensions, cannot explain this heterogeneity. The severity of addiction does not differ in smokers with OCD across symptom dimensions.

[Male Urinary Incontinence--a Taboo Issue].

PubMed

Kozomara-Hocke, Marko; Hermanns, Thomas; Poyet, Cédric

2016-03-02

Male urinary incontinence is an underestimated and frequently not broached issue. The urinary incontinence is divided into stress-, urge incontinence and hybrid forms as well as overflow incontinence. The fact that there are increasingly more men over 60 means that the prevalence of the urinary incontinence is up to 40%, and urinary incontinence will increasingly gain importance in daily routine practice. Many investigations and therapies can be realized by the general practitioner. Already simple therapy approaches can lead to a considerable clinical improvement of male urinary incontinence. If the initial therapy fails or pathological results (i. e. microhaematuria, recurrent urinary tract infections, raised residual urine and so on) are found, the patient should be referred to a urologist.

Exploring a Taboo of Cultural Reproduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holligan, Chris

2018-01-01

Cultural reproduction is rarely, if ever, theorised through clandestine practices of sexual offending by teachers in the gendered hierarchies of state schools. Drawing upon Freedom of Information requests and other official qualitative data provided by a U.K. teaching council, this article endeavours to explain the form of a gendered cultural…

Productive Taboos: Cultivating Spatialized Literacy Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vander Zanden, Sarah

2015-01-01

The fifth grade students in this project were part of a yearlong ethnographic study in an urban elementary school. They engaged in a student initiated inquiry project combining bakeries and mysteries, which culminated in the production of an original film. Situated in a socio-spatialized stance on literacy involving networks of participation and…

Christian Privilege: Breaking a Sacred Taboo.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schlosser, Lewis Z.

2003-01-01

The author discusses the concept of privilege in terms of the benefits enjoyed by Whites and men. This article presents a new theoretical perspective focusing on religious privilege and includes a list of privileges that are enjoyed by members of the dominant religious group (i.e., Christians) in the United States. (Contains 17 references.)…

PA6 Death chat: engaging with dying and death.

PubMed

Goodhead, Andrew; Hartley, Nigel

2015-04-01

Talking about death continues to be a social taboo. St Christopher's has a large, welcoming social space, (The Anniversary Centre) and is committed to opening up its buildings in a number of ways. The St Christopher's social programme, of which Death Chat is part, aims to break down social taboos. Hospices have a responsibility to engage creatively with patients, family members, carers and the wider community. Death Chat, held in the hospice buildings, enables honest discussion about dying and death and topics surrounding these themes. Death Chat meets weekly and is an open meeting that takes a different subject each week as the starting point for conversation. Cheese and wine are shared and participants quickly find a place in the group. Death Chat has attracted patients, family members, bereaved relatives and the community since September 2013. Attendees have reflected that coming has broken taboos. Peter said, 'it's nowhere near as depressing as it sounds; it's a nice, friendly atmosphere - a convivial place.' Molly found Death Chat to be a welcoming, open and challenging space, 'I have learnt that death is more about my attitude to life than anything else. It has been by far the most important lesson I have learnt since dealing with bereavement.' Death Chat provides a forum in which discussion of dying and death for recognises that these are social events and reclaims them from being taboo, to being a normal part of life's experience. © 2015, Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Multimodal Optimization by Covariance Matrix Self-Adaptation Evolution Strategy with Repelling Subpopulations.

PubMed

Ahrari, Ali; Deb, Kalyanmoy; Preuss, Mike

2017-01-01

During the recent decades, many niching methods have been proposed and empirically verified on some available test problems. They often rely on some particular assumptions associated with the distribution, shape, and size of the basins, which can seldom be made in practical optimization problems. This study utilizes several existing concepts and techniques, such as taboo points, normalized Mahalanobis distance, and the Ursem's hill-valley function in order to develop a new tool for multimodal optimization, which does not make any of these assumptions. In the proposed method, several subpopulations explore the search space in parallel. Offspring of a subpopulation are forced to maintain a sufficient distance to the center of fitter subpopulations and the previously identified basins, which are marked as taboo points. The taboo points repel the subpopulation to prevent convergence to the same basin. A strategy to update the repelling power of the taboo points is proposed to address the challenge of basins of dissimilar size. The local shape of a basin is also approximated by the distribution of the subpopulation members converging to that basin. The proposed niching strategy is incorporated into the covariance matrix self-adaptation evolution strategy (CMSA-ES), a potent global optimization method. The resultant method, called the covariance matrix self-adaptation with repelling subpopulations (RS-CMSA), is assessed and compared to several state-of-the-art niching methods on a standard test suite for multimodal optimization. An organized procedure for parameter setting is followed which assumes a rough estimation of the desired/expected number of minima available. Performance sensitivity to the accuracy of this estimation is also studied by introducing the concept of robust mean peak ratio. Based on the numerical results using the available and the introduced performance measures, RS-CMSA emerges as the most successful method when robustness and efficiency are

Three hybridization models based on local search scheme for job shop scheduling problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balbi Fraga, Tatiana

2015-05-01

This work presents three different hybridization models based on the general schema of Local Search Heuristics, named Hybrid Successive Application, Hybrid Neighborhood, and Hybrid Improved Neighborhood. Despite similar approaches might have already been presented in the literature in other contexts, in this work these models are applied to analyzes the solution of the job shop scheduling problem, with the heuristics Taboo Search and Particle Swarm Optimization. Besides, we investigate some aspects that must be considered in order to achieve better solutions than those obtained by the original heuristics. The results demonstrate that the algorithms derived from these three hybrid models are more robust than the original algorithms and able to get better results than those found by the single Taboo Search.

Dismantling the Taboo against Vaccines in Pregnancy

PubMed Central

de Martino, Maurizio

2016-01-01

Vaccinating pregnant women in order to protect them, the fetus, and the child has become universal in no way at all. Prejudice in health professionals add to fears of women and their families. Both these feelings are not supported by even the smallest scientific data. Harmlessness for the mother and the child has been observed for seasonal, pandemic, or quadrivalent influenza, mono, combined polysaccharide or conjugated meningococcal or pneumococcal, tetanus toxoid, acellular pertussis, human papillomavirus, cholera, hepatitis A, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, anthrax, smallpox, yellow fever, mumps, measles and rubella combined, typhoid fever, inactivated or attenuated polio vaccines, and Bacillus Calmétte Guerin vaccines. Instead, the beneficial effects of influenza vaccine for the mother and the child as well as of pertussis vaccine for the child have been demonstrated. Obstetrician-gynecologists, general practitioners, and midwives must incorporate vaccination into their standard clinical care. Strong communication strategies effective at reducing parental vaccine hesitancy and approval of regulatory agencies for use of vaccines during pregnancy are needed. It must be clear that the lack of pre-licensure studies in pregnant women and, consequently, the lack of a statement about the use of the vaccine in pregnant women does not preclude its use in pregnancy. PMID:27338346

Dismantling the Taboo against Vaccines in Pregnancy.

PubMed

de Martino, Maurizio

2016-06-07

Vaccinating pregnant women in order to protect them, the fetus, and the child has become universal in no way at all. Prejudice in health professionals add to fears of women and their families. Both these feelings are not supported by even the smallest scientific data. Harmlessness for the mother and the child has been observed for seasonal, pandemic, or quadrivalent influenza, mono, combined polysaccharide or conjugated meningococcal or pneumococcal, tetanus toxoid, acellular pertussis, human papillomavirus, cholera, hepatitis A, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, anthrax, smallpox, yellow fever, mumps, measles and rubella combined, typhoid fever, inactivated or attenuated polio vaccines, and Bacillus Calmétte Guerin vaccines. Instead, the beneficial effects of influenza vaccine for the mother and the child as well as of pertussis vaccine for the child have been demonstrated. Obstetrician-gynecologists, general practitioners, and midwives must incorporate vaccination into their standard clinical care. Strong communication strategies effective at reducing parental vaccine hesitancy and approval of regulatory agencies for use of vaccines during pregnancy are needed. It must be clear that the lack of pre-licensure studies in pregnant women and, consequently, the lack of a statement about the use of the vaccine in pregnant women does not preclude its use in pregnancy.

Ignoring taboos: Maria Lenk, Latin American inspirationalist.

PubMed

Votre, S; Mourão, L

2001-01-01

Maria Lenk is widely recognized as an exceptional athlete who participated in women's sport from around 1930 until 1950. In 1932, at the age of seventeen, she was the first woman to be included in a Latin American delegation to the Olympic Games. As a swimmer, she still sets world records at the age of eighty-six. This super-champion's sporting achievements and her persistent dedication to the advancement of sport still impress and surprise todays professional swimmers and researchers. Contextualised in the male-dominated society of Brazil during the first half of the twentieth century, this chapter traces the achievement, and rise to international fame, of Maria Lenk. It examines the factors that enabled her to emerge not only as an important figure in sport but also as an icon of female emancipation in Brazilian and Latin American society. The focus is on Lenk's influence on the issues which affected the development of women's sport in Latin America. It also highlights the significance of Lenk's contribution to the changing place of women in Brazilian and South American society.

The Illogic of the Biological Weapons Taboo

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

strategic approach to arms control is consistent with well- known theo­ ries of international relations (IR). Most prominently, many realists have long ...strike retaliatory systems, such as long -range bomber forces or nuclear-armed submarines. Schelling and Halperin also argued that arms control can...of biological pathogens—bacteria, viruses, fungi and toxins—to kill or incapacitate one’s enemies has a long pedigree that includes not only Scythian

Taboo, Constraint, and Responsibility in Educational Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jensen, Arthur R.

A controversial educational researcher lists personal experiences which seem to have ethical implications for his profession. His list includes: (1) a claim that one of his articles contained 53 errors, but after two years, the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Ethical Standards had only received a list of 53 non-errors; (2) a…

The Impact of Symptom Dimensions on Outcome for Exposure and Ritual Prevention Therapy in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

PubMed Central

Williams, Monnica T.; Farris, Samantha G.; Turkheimer, Eric N.; Franklin, Martin E.; Simpson, H. Blair; Liebowitz, Michael; Foa, Edna B.

2014-01-01

Objective Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe condition with varied symptom presentations. The behavioral treatment with the most empirical support is exposure and ritual prevention (EX/RP). This study examined the impact of symptom dimensions on EX/RP outcomes in OCD patients. Method The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was used to determine primary symptoms for each participant. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of 238 patients identified five dimensions: contamination/cleaning, doubts about harm/checking, hoarding, symmetry/ordering, and unacceptable/taboo thoughts (including religious/moral and somatic obsessions among others). A linear regression was conducted on those who had received EX/RP (n = 87) to examine whether scores on the five symptom dimensions predicted post-treatment Y-BOCS scores, accounting for pre-treatment Y-BOCS scores. Results The average reduction in Y-BOCS score was 43.0%, however the regression indicated that unacceptable/taboo thoughts (β = .27, p = .02) and hoarding dimensions (β = .23, p = .04) were associated with significantly poorer EX/RP treatment outcomes. Specifically, patients endorsing religious/moral obsessions, somatic concerns, and hoarding obsessions showed significantly smaller reductions in Y-BOCS severity scores. Conclusions EX/RP was effective for all symptom dimensions, however it was less effective for unacceptable/taboo thoughts and hoarding than for other dimensions. Clinical implications and directions for research are discussed. PMID:24983796

The impact of symptom dimensions on outcome for exposure and ritual prevention therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Williams, Monnica T; Farris, Samantha G; Turkheimer, Eric N; Franklin, Martin E; Simpson, H Blair; Liebowitz, Michael; Foa, Edna B

2014-08-01

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe condition with varied symptom presentations. The behavioral treatment with the most empirical support is exposure and ritual prevention (EX/RP). This study examined the impact of symptom dimensions on EX/RP outcomes in OCD patients. The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was used to determine primary symptoms for each participant. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of 238 patients identified five dimensions: contamination/cleaning, doubts about harm/checking, hoarding, symmetry/ordering, and unacceptable/taboo thoughts (including religious/moral and somatic obsessions among others). A linear regression was conducted on those who had received EX/RP (n=87) to examine whether scores on the five symptom dimensions predicted post-treatment Y-BOCS scores, accounting for pre-treatment Y-BOCS scores. The average reduction in Y-BOCS score was 43.0%, however the regression indicated that unacceptable/taboo thoughts (β=.27, p=.02) and hoarding dimensions (β=.23, p=.04) were associated with significantly poorer EX/RP treatment outcomes. Specifically, patients endorsing religious/moral obsessions, somatic concerns, and hoarding obsessions showed significantly smaller reductions in Y-BOCS severity scores. EX/RP was effective for all symptom dimensions, however it was less effective for unacceptable/taboo thoughts and hoarding than for other dimensions. Clinical implications and directions for research are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of autonomic arousal and semantic relatedness on memory for emotional words.

PubMed

Buchanan, Tony W; Etzel, Joset A; Adolphs, Ralph; Tranel, Daniel

2006-07-01

Increased memory for emotional stimuli is a well-documented phenomenon. Emotional arousal during the encoding of a stimulus is one mediator of this memory enhancement. Other variables such as semantic relatedness also play a role in the enhanced memory for emotional stimuli, especially for verbal stimuli. Research has not addressed the contributions of emotional arousal, indexed by self-report and autonomic measures, and semantic relatedness on memory performance. Twenty young adults (10 women) were presented neutral-unrelated words, school-related words, moderately arousing emotional words, and highly arousing taboo words while heart rate and skin conductance were measured. Memory was tested with free recall and recognition tests. Results showed that taboo words, which were both semantically related and high arousal were remembered best. School-related words, which were high on semantic relatedness but low on arousal, were remembered better than the moderately arousing emotional words and semantically unrelated neutral words. Psychophysiological responses showed that within the moderately arousing emotional and neutral word groups, those words eliciting greater autonomic activity were better remembered than words that did not elicit such activity. These results demonstrate additive effects of semantic relatedness and emotional arousal on memory. Relatedness confers an advantage to memory (as in the school-words), but the combination of relatedness and arousal (as in the taboo words) results in the best memory performance.

Translating Music into Hope | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

MedlinePlus

... contents Translating Music into Hope Follow us Translating Music into Hope Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo talks about ... for years as a member of the hit music group Black Eyed Peas. He shares his recent ...

[The professionalized transformation of medical witchcraft in the Qin-Han Dynasties].

PubMed

Liu, Yang; Liu, Changhua

2014-03-01

By witchcraft, it refers to the activities of imagining and intending to affect or control the object through"supernatural power". Ancient witchcraft was applied extensively in which those applied for medical purpose included sorcery, praying, superstitious art of anti-disaster, and tabooing, were collectively called"medical witchcraft". During the Qin-Han periods, witchcraft was transformed by the theory of Yin-Yang and Five-Phases as a part of technical profession. Among them, the system of demon-ghost witchcraft was replaced by the necromantic ghost system; exorcism and taboo system were infiltrated with the conception of the art of mathematics and technical system; whereas the superstitious art of anti-disaster was replaced by incantation. The remnants of medical witchcraft not yet totally transformed were also applied by the technical professionals of the Qin-Han Dynasties.

A fully resolved consensus between fully resolved phylogenetic trees.

PubMed

Quitzau, José Augusto Amgarten; Meidanis, João

2006-03-31

Nowadays, there are many phylogeny reconstruction methods, each with advantages and disadvantages. We explored the advantages of each method, putting together the common parts of trees constructed by several methods, by means of a consensus computation. A number of phylogenetic consensus methods are already known. Unfortunately, there is also a taboo concerning consensus methods, because most biologists see them mainly as comparators and not as phylogenetic tree constructors. We challenged this taboo by defining a consensus method that builds a fully resolved phylogenetic tree based on the most common parts of fully resolved trees in a given collection. We also generated results showing that this consensus is in a way a kind of "median" of the input trees; as such it can be closer to the correct tree in many situations.

A White President of a Predominantly Black College Speaks Out About Race.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tschechtelin, James D.

1999-01-01

Asserts that racism and white supremacy are threatening America's social, economic, and political stability. Suggests that inviting community dialog on these taboo topics may lead to solutions, and recounts such steps taken at Baltimore City Community College. (VWC)

Women's Education in India: Problems and Prospects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reddy, M. C. Reddeppa

1991-01-01

Problems in educating women in India include social taboos, dependency, parents' discriminatory attitudes, low social status, early marriage, heavy work load, lack of motivation, and family poverty. Changes in attitudes, laws, and funding are needed to expand opportunities. (SK)

Dramaturgie et interculturel (Dramatics and the Intercultural).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feldhendler, Daniel

1990-01-01

The use of techniques from drama and psychodrama to explore intercultural differences and relations is described. The process used incorporates eight stages of discovery of perceptions, stereotypes, cultural identity, communication taboos, and bringing together individuals from different cultures. (MSE)

[Phaedra's disease].

PubMed

Bonuzzi, Luciano

2012-01-01

The author hints at Phaedra's passion, described by Euripides, highlighting in particular the incest taboo. As well known, Phaedra in fact is love-sick for her own step-son Hippolytus, a human figure with a not well defined sexual identity.

Gay theatre, AIDS, and taboo: reconsidering Robert Chesley.

PubMed

Gavrila, Rebecca

2013-01-01

Theatre was among the first popular culture forms to address HIV/AIDS and did so memorably in such works as The Normal Heart, As Is, Love! Valor! Compassion!, and March of the Falsettos. As a response to criticisms of stage dramas focusing on HIV/AIDS in the main as undifferentiated and melodramatic, the author suggests critical consideration of two works by playwright Robert Chesley. In her analysis of Night Sweats and Jerker, the author argues Chesley offers an alternative perspective that is both liberatory and sex-positive.

[Assess spirituality with adolescent outpatients: taboo or necessity?].

PubMed

De Germond-Burquier, Véronique; Narring, Françoise; Entremont, Cécile; Basset, Lytta

2016-06-08

Spirituality affects adolescents' as well as adults' daily life. It is usually considered to be a protective factor in physical and psychological health outcomes, but might also be a cause of suffering. In the perspective of an holistic approach, health professional should assess this subject with tact and sensitivity. Until there is a suitable instrument adapted to this age group and European culture, the exploration of spirituality and religious practices can be evaluated while taking the clinical history. Nevertheless, resistance which is common in health professionals, could be overcome by appropriate training.

The Taboo of Retirement for Diocesan Catholic Priests.

PubMed

Kane, Michael N

2016-06-01

This paper considers Catholic priests in the USA and their freedom to retire, the constraints that may restrain them from retirement, and the financial and psychological variables that impact them in ministry and in future retirement. Implications for pastoral care and counseling are considered. © The Author(s) 2016.

OCD Taboo Thoughts and Stigmatizing Attitudes in Clinicians.

PubMed

Steinberg, Daniel S; Wetterneck, Chad T

2017-04-01

Individuals who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder have persistent intrusive thoughts that cause severe distress that impairs daily functioning. These individuals often conceal their intrusive thoughts and delay help-seeking for fear of being stigmatized. Stigma can be problematic when it is present among mental health professionals because they may distance themselves from their clients and have a negative outlook on treatment outcome. To date there has not been any research that focuses on stigma that clinician's may hold towards obsessive-compulsive disorder or specific obsessions; however, there is evidence that mental health professionals may have prejudices towards individuals who suffer from other mental illnesses. The current study aimed to explore clinician and student clinician attitudes about obsessional content from varying symptom dimensions. Results indicated participants were more likely to socially reject or be concerned by individuals with obsessions related to contamination, harming, and sexual obsessions than those with scrupulous obsessions, and that they would be less likely to reveal sexual obsessions to others if they were experiencing them than the other three types of obsessions.

Intentionality, Morality, and the Incest Taboo in Madagascar.

PubMed

Sousa, Paulo; Swiney, Lauren

2016-01-01

In a recent article (Astuti and Bloch, 2015), cognitive anthropologists Astuti and Bloch claim that the Malagasy are ambivalent as to whether considerations of intentionality are relevant to moral judgments concerning incest and its presumed catastrophic consequences: when making moral judgments about those who commit incest, the Malagasy take into account whether the incest is intentional or not, but, when making moral judgments relating to incest's catastrophic consequences, they do not take intentionality into account. Astuti and Bloch explain the irrelevance of intentionality in terms of incest entailing such a fundamental attack on the transcendental social order that the Malagasy become dumbfounded and leave aside considerations of intentionality. Finally, they claim that a similar dumbfound reaction is what is involved in the moral dumbfounding concerning incest that social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has found in the US. In this article, we argue that (i) Astuti and Bloch are unclear about many aspects of their claims (in particular, about the moral judgments at stake), (ii) they do not provide sufficient evidence that considerations of intentionality are deemed irrelevant to moral judgments relating to incest's presumed catastrophic consequences (and hence for the claim that the Malagasy are ambivalent), (iii) their hypothesis that conceiving of incest as an attack on the transcendental social renders considerations of intentionality irrelevant lacks coherence, and (iv) the extension of their explanatory account to the moral dumfounding of American students in Haidt's well-known scenario of intentional incest is unwarranted.

Intentionality, Morality, and the Incest Taboo in Madagascar

PubMed Central

Sousa, Paulo; Swiney, Lauren

2016-01-01

In a recent article (Astuti and Bloch, 2015), cognitive anthropologists Astuti and Bloch claim that the Malagasy are ambivalent as to whether considerations of intentionality are relevant to moral judgments concerning incest and its presumed catastrophic consequences: when making moral judgments about those who commit incest, the Malagasy take into account whether the incest is intentional or not, but, when making moral judgments relating to incest’s catastrophic consequences, they do not take intentionality into account. Astuti and Bloch explain the irrelevance of intentionality in terms of incest entailing such a fundamental attack on the transcendental social order that the Malagasy become dumbfounded and leave aside considerations of intentionality. Finally, they claim that a similar dumbfound reaction is what is involved in the moral dumbfounding concerning incest that social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has found in the US. In this article, we argue that (i) Astuti and Bloch are unclear about many aspects of their claims (in particular, about the moral judgments at stake), (ii) they do not provide sufficient evidence that considerations of intentionality are deemed irrelevant to moral judgments relating to incest’s presumed catastrophic consequences (and hence for the claim that the Malagasy are ambivalent), (iii) their hypothesis that conceiving of incest as an attack on the transcendental social renders considerations of intentionality irrelevant lacks coherence, and (iv) the extension of their explanatory account to the moral dumfounding of American students in Haidt’s well-known scenario of intentional incest is unwarranted. PMID:27092099

Pacific volcanoes, mercury contaminated fish, and polynesian taboos

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dellinger, John; Hudson , Jean; Krabbenhoft, David; Hinano Murphy, M.E.

2005-01-01

Fish provide an affordable and sustainable source of lean protein and healthy omega-3 fatty acids 1Egeland G M, Middaugh J P. Balancing fish consumption benefits with mercury exposure. Yet fish can also accumulate dangerous levels of mercury, which can in turn do serious and permanent harm to developing children, both during the mother's pregnancy and after birth 2Clarkson T W. The three modern faces of mercury. In North America today these risks drive governmental policies limiting fish consumption through formal advisories, which can have strong impacts on modern dietary choices

ELIMINATE TABOOS, OUTFIT YOUR LIBRARY IN SIX MONTHS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

NEWMAN, MAYRELEE

DURING A 6-MONTH PERIOD, EL CENTRO JUNIOR COLLEGE, DALLAS, TEXAS, ESTABLISHED A LEARNING RESOURCES LIBRARY FOR A 2,000-STUDENT POPULATION IN A FORMER DEPARTMENT STORE. THE TASK INCLUDED THREE GROUPS OF ACTIVITIES--(1) FACILITY PLANNING AND OBTAINING FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT, (2) ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING OF A BASIC COLLECTION, INCLUDING PRINTED…

The logic of fossil fuel bans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Fergus

2018-06-01

Until recently, national bans on fossil fuel-related activities were a taboo subject, but they are now becoming increasingly common. The logic of appropriateness that underpins such bans is key to understanding their normative appeal, and to explaining and predicting their proliferation.

Information Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-02-13

restricted frequency list (JRFL). This list specifies protected, guarded, and taboo frequencies that should not normally be disrupted without prior... frequency list JROC Joint Requirement Oversight Council JSC Joint Spectrum Center JTCB joint targeting coordination board JTF joint task force JWAC joint

Religion, Repulsion, and Reaction Formation: Transforming Repellent Attractions and Repulsions.

PubMed

Cohen, Dov; Kim, Emily; Hudson, Nathan W

2017-06-12

Protestants were more likely than non-Protestants to demonstrate phenomena consistent with the use of reaction formation. Lab experiments showed that when manipulations were designed to produce taboo attractions (to unconventional sexual practices), Protestants instead showed greater repulsion. When implicitly conditioned to produce taboo repulsions (to African Americans), Protestants instead showed greater attraction. Supportive evidence from other studies came from clinicians' judgments, defense mechanism inventories, and a survey of respondent attitudes. Other work showed that Protestants who diminished and displaced threatening affect were more likely to sublimate this affect into creative activities; the present work showed that Protestants who do not or cannot diminish or displace such threatening affect instead reverse it. Traditional individual difference variables showed little ability to predict reaction formation, suggesting that the observed processes go beyond what we normally study when we talk about self-control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Negotiating Collective and Individual Agency: A Qualitative Study of Young Women's Reproductive Health in Rural India.

PubMed

Paul, Mandira; Essén, Birgitta; Sariola, Salla; Iyengar, Sharad; Soni, Sunita; Klingberg Allvin, Marie

2017-02-01

The societal changes in India and the available variety of reproductive health services call for evidence to inform health systems how to satisfy young women's reproductive health needs. Inspired by Foucault's power idiom and Bandura's agency framework, we explore young women's opportunities to practice reproductive agency in the context of collective social expectations. We carried out in-depth interviews with 19 young women in rural Rajasthan. Our findings highlight how changes in notions of agency across generations enable young women's reproductive intentions and desires, and call for effective means of reproductive control. However, the taboo around sex without the intention to reproduce made contraceptive use unfeasible. Instead, abortions were the preferred method for reproductive control. In conclusion, safe abortion is key, along with the need to address the taboo around sex to enable use of "modern" contraception. This approach could prevent unintended pregnancies and expand young women's agency.

The emotional memory effect: differential processing or item distinctiveness?

PubMed

Schmidt, Stephen R; Saari, Bonnie

2007-12-01

A color-naming task was followed by incidental free recall to investigate how emotional words affect attention and memory. We compared taboo, nonthreatening negative-affect, and neutral words across three experiments. As compared with neutral words, taboo words led to longer color-naming times and better memory in both within- and between-subjects designs. Color naming of negative-emotion nontaboo words was slower than color naming of neutral words only during block presentation and at relatively short interstimulus intervals (ISIs). The nontaboo emotion words were remembered better than neutral words following blocked and random presentation and at both long and short ISIs, but only in mixed-list designs. Our results support multifactor theories of the effects of emotion on attention and memory. As compared with neutral words, threatening stimuli received increased attention, poststimulus elaboration, and benefit from item distinctiveness, whereas nonthreatening emotional stimuli benefited only from increased item distinctiveness.

"The way to break the taboo is to do the taboo thing" breastfeeding in public and citizen-activism in the UK.

PubMed

Boyer, Kate

2011-03-01

Like other forms of infant feeding, breastfeeding is a fundamental act of care. Yet despite being the recommended way of feeding babies, breastfeeding is not always easy to do. In addition to lack of support, bio-physical problems and the need to return to work; discomfort with breastfeeding in public is a factor shaping infant feeding choice (and the decision to stop breastfeeding specifically). With increased awareness of breast milk's health benefits in recent years, there has been a rise in efforts to make breastfeeding in public more commonplace and socially acceptable (including through lactation advocacy or "lactivism"). This paper considers breastfeeding in public and lactation advocacy in the UK through interviews with lactation activists, non-activist breastfeeding mothers, and participant-observation at two breastfeeding picnics held in 2009. Building on existing scholarship in Geography, I suggest that lactivism can be understood as an effort to expand the boundaries of where care-work is allowed to take place: thus constituting a form of "care-work activism". Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Black Jack Pershing: Partnerships in Warfare

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

polygamy . Finally, he moved about unescorted to show his trust in tribal leaders and their ability to provide for local security. Perhaps the key...understanding to influence behavior and build trust. He avoided taboo issues like slavery and polygamy , and constantly reassured his partners that

Plagiarism: More than Meets the Eye

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hussin, Habsah; Ismail, Maimunah

2013-01-01

Plagiarism is the euphemism for "academic theft", "academic dishonesty" and "academic misconduct in academia"; and is the taboo word among academics in academia. This paper discusses the issue of plagiarism in terms of what constitutes plagiarism, who are normally "the practitioners" of plagiarism, be it…

Cultural Conflict: School-Community-Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Central Consolidated School District No. 22, Shiprock, NM.

This teacher training guide provides information about Navajo cultural beliefs that conflict with learning in the dominant society's educational system. The guide offers rationales for the taboos and recommendations for providing appropriate learning situations, materials, and multicultural learning styles. Section 1 contains information on Navajo…

An Investigation on 3-6-Year-Old Chinese Children's Perception of "Death"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ji, Yan; Cao, Yanhua; Han, Min

2017-01-01

Because of the taboo in Chinese culture, there is little research on Chinese children's perception of "death". The research on preschoolers' cognition of "death" could deepen our research on children's cognition process, guide children's life education, and improve the psychologic intervention on the children who experience…

Adult Daughters and Their Mothers: Harmony or Hostility? Working Paper No. 209.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnett, Rosalind C.

This paper addresses the mother-daughter relationship from the perspective of adult daughters. The first section focuses on information and myths about adult daughter-older mother relationships, including popular images and assumptions, misunderstandings, taboos, and mother-bashing. The second section describes initial research into the nature of…

Culturally-Based Adaptive Learning and Concept Analytics to Guide Educational Website Content Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reiners, Torsten; Dreher, Heinz

2009-01-01

In modern learning environments, the lecturer or educational designer is often confronted with multi-national student cohorts, requiring special consideration regarding language, cultural norms and taboos, religion, and ethics. Through a somewhat provocative example we demonstrate that taking such factors into account can be essential to avoid…

Negotiating Collective and Individual Agency

PubMed Central

Paul, Mandira; Essén, Birgitta; Sariola, Salla; Iyengar, Sharad; Soni, Sunita; Klingberg Allvin, Marie

2016-01-01

The societal changes in India and the available variety of reproductive health services call for evidence to inform health systems how to satisfy young women’s reproductive health needs. Inspired by Foucault’s power idiom and Bandura’s agency framework, we explore young women’s opportunities to practice reproductive agency in the context of collective social expectations. We carried out in-depth interviews with 19 young women in rural Rajasthan. Our findings highlight how changes in notions of agency across generations enable young women’s reproductive intentions and desires, and call for effective means of reproductive control. However, the taboo around sex without the intention to reproduce made contraceptive use unfeasible. Instead, abortions were the preferred method for reproductive control. In conclusion, safe abortion is key, along with the need to address the taboo around sex to enable use of “modern” contraception. This approach could prevent unintended pregnancies and expand young women’s agency. PMID:26531879

Sociocultural contexts and communication about sex in China: informing HIV/STD prevention programs.

PubMed

Lieber, Eli; Chin, Dorothy; Li, Li; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane; Detels, Roger; Wu, Zunyou; Guan, Jihui

2009-10-01

HIV may be particularly stigmatizing in Asia because of its association with "taboo" topics, including sex, drugs, homosexuality, and death (Aoki, Ngin, Mo, & Ja, 1989). These cultural schemata expose salient boundaries and moral implications for sexual communication (Chin, 1999, Social Science and Medicine, 49, 241-251). Yet HIV/STD prevention efforts are frequently conducted in the public realm. Education strategies often involve conversations with health "experts" about condom use, safe sex, and partner communication. The gap between the public context of intervention efforts and the private and norm-bound nature of sex conversation is particularly challenging. Interviews with 32 market workers in eastern China focused on knowledge, beliefs, and values surrounding sexual practices, meanings, and communication. Sex-talk taboos, information seeking, vulnerability, partner communication, and cultural change emerged as central to understanding intervention information flow and each theme's relative influence is described. Findings illustrate the nature of how sexual communication schemata in Chinese contexts impact the effectiveness of sexual health message communication.

Sublimation, culture, and creativity.

PubMed

Kim, Emily; Zeppenfeld, Veronika; Cohen, Dov

2013-10-01

Combining insights from Freud and Weber, this article explores whether Protestants (vs. Catholics and Jews) are more likely to sublimate their taboo feelings and desires toward productive ends. In the Terman sample (Study 1), Protestant men and women who had sexual problems related to anxieties about taboos and depravity had greater creative accomplishments, as compared to those with sexual problems unrelated to such concerns and to those reporting no sexual problems. Two laboratory experiments (Studies 2 and 3) found that Protestants produced more creative artwork (sculptures, poems, collages, cartoon captions) when they were (a) primed with damnation-related words, (b) induced to feel unacceptable sexual desires, or (c) forced to suppress their anger. Activating anger or sexual attraction was not enough; it was the forbidden or suppressed nature of the emotion that gave the emotion its creative power. The studies provide possibly the first experimental evidence for sublimation and suggest a cultural psychological approach to defense mechanisms.

Taiwanese adolescents' gender differences in knowledge and attitudes towards menstruation.

PubMed

Cheng, Ching-Yu; Yang, Kyeongra; Liou, Shwu-Ru

2007-06-01

The purpose of the study was to explore gender differences in knowledge and attitudes towards menstruation among Taiwanese adolescents. This study was a secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional comparison study conducted in Taiwan. A total of 287 female and 269 male students at a junior high school participated in the study. The results showed that almost all the students had heard about menstruation and most of them had received menstrual information at school. However, their knowledge about menstruation was not accurate. Moreover, the male students expressed more negative attitudes towards menstruation than the female students. Taboos were heard by most students and, although many female students doubted the reality of the taboos they had heard, they observed them anyway. The study calls for an evaluation of sex education and suggests more open discussions about menstruation among young people in those education sessions. In addition, school nurses and obstetrical/gynecological nurses should be involved more in adolescents' sexual education.

Teacher Exchange as a Means of Social Studies Curriculum Internationalization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rapoport, Anatoli

2013-01-01

Lack or complete neglect of international experiences among social studies teachers leads to superficial understanding of the importance of the development of global competences among students, neglect to very important themes in citizenship education, or even informal taboo on some critical controversial topics that address sensitive questions of…

Sin Verguenza: Addressing Shame with Latino Victims of Child Sexual Abuse and Their Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fontes, Lisa Aronson

2007-01-01

This article explores shame issues for Latino children who have been sexually abused and their families. Latino cultural concerns around shame that are associated with sexual abuse include: attributions for the abuse, fatalism, virginity, sexual taboos, predictions of a shameful future, revictimization, machismo, and fears of homosexuality for boy…

The Circulation and Silence of Weaving Knowledge in Contemporary Navajo Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yohe, Jill Ahlberg

2012-01-01

This article draws upon ethnographic fieldwork within a Navajo community to illustrate how weaving knowledge and practices shape contemporary notions of community identity and belonging. The ongoing exchange of Navajo weaving taboos and the careful management of weaving teachings offers community members various opportunities to share and keep…

Australian Aboriginal Deaf People and Aboriginal Sign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Power, Des

2013-01-01

Many Australian Aboriginal people use a sign language ("hand talk") that mirrors their local spoken language and is used both in culturally appropriate settings when speech is taboo or counterindicated and for community communication. The characteristics of these languages are described, and early European settlers' reports of deaf…

Relationship between Rate of Eating and Degree of Satiation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Azrin, Nathan H.; Kellen, Michael J.; Brooks, Jeannie; Ehle, Chris; Vinas, Veronica

2008-01-01

Behavioral psychologists have developed effective methods of treatment for overeating and weight control, including mealtime regulation, avoidance of taboo foods, and removal of identified precursors to the bingeing behavior. The current study sought to examine the relationship between speed of eating and levels of satiation in weight conscious…

Teaching Men's Anal Pleasure: Challenging Gender Norms with "Prostage" Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Branfman, Jonathan; Ekberg Stiritz, Susan

2012-01-01

To help students critique sex/gender norms, sexuality educators should address men's anal pleasure. Men's anal receptivity blurs accepted binaries like male/female, masculine/feminine, and straight/queer. By suppressing men's receptivity, the taboo against men's anal pleasure helps legitimize hegemonic sex/gender beliefs--and the sexism,…

Wild Justice: Honor and Fairness among Beasts at Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bekoff, Marc; Pierce, Jessica

2009-01-01

This essay challenges science's traditional taboo against anthropomorphizing animals or considering their behavior as indicative of feelings similar to human emotions. In their new book "Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals," the authors argue that anthropomorphism is alive and well, as it should be. Here they describe some…

Extending the Progressive Tradition to Poor Countries: The Role of Universities and Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gathuo, Shiko

2016-01-01

American universities and colleges have always been a bastion of liberalism and progressive thought. Historically, the academic community has supported social justice issues, given a voice to the poor, minorities and the disadvantaged, and brought to light subjects that are considered taboo elsewhere. Indeed, many social movements have either…

Teaching about Homosexualities to Nigerian University Students: A Report from the Field

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epprecht, Marc; Egya, Sule E.

2011-01-01

Nigeria's diverse cultures, religions and political parties appear to be unified by a strong taboo against homosexuality and gay rights. This has affected academic research, HIV/AIDS programmes, and sexuality education, all which commonly show evidence of heterosexism, self-censorship and even explicit condemnations of homosexuality. Yet a…

Inklings: Collected Columns on Leadership and Creativity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, David P.

This book brings together 35 of David P. Campbell's essays originally published as a regular column in a quarterly publication called "Issues and Observations." The articles deal with topics ranging from leadership issues such as risk-taking, executive motivation, decision making, and corporate taboos, to more general concerns such as…

Language Deficit in English and Lack of Creative Education as Impediments to Nigeria's Breakthrough into the Knowledge Era

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mowarin, Macaulay; Tonukari, Emmanuel Ufuoma

2010-01-01

This essay discusses the linguistic and cultural factors that have acted as impediments to Nigeria's breakthrough into the knowledge era. It identifies language deficit in English by most Nigerians, under-developed state of most Nigerian languages, absence of creative education and the presence of certain cultural taboos which stifles the…

Getting Teachers Excited about Student Feedback: It's All in the Ask

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Carly; Finefter-Rosenblum, Ilana; Benshoof, Christopher; Gehlbach, Hunter

2016-01-01

Until recently, asking K-12 students--who spend hundreds of hours with their teachers annually--to weigh in on their teachers' performance was considered taboo. Many have questioned students' capacities to provide reliable, fair feedback on teaching quality. Media outlets report that teacher unions staunchly oppose integrating student feedback in…

The future of the NPT and measures to reduce nuclear dangers in the age of Trump

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kimball, Daryl G.

2017-11-01

Through the decades, the international nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation enterprise, though imperfect, has curbed nuclear proliferation and limited the number of nuclear-armed states to nine, forced reductions in major-power nuclear arsenals, ended nuclear testing by all but one state, and created an informal taboo against nuclear weapons use.

Embodied Learning: Teaching Sexuality and Religion to a Changing Student Body

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ott, Kate; Stephens, Darryl W.

2017-01-01

Sexuality, more so than other subject areas, magnifies the embodied nature of teaching and learning as well as conspicuously silences open dialogue given its taboo status in many religious and theological contexts. Yet, student learning about sexuality that incorporates knowledge of and about religion, in particular, may greatly improve the public…

Impact of Sexual Harassment on Women Undergraduates' Educational Experience in Anambra State of Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okeke, Carina Maris Amaka

2010-01-01

Sexual harassment in educational settings is a common problem globally. While it is well addressed in college and university campuses in most developed countries of the world through specific policies and mechanisms of enforcement, it remains a taboo topic in African colleges and universities particularly in Nigeria. This study investigated the…

The Use of Touch in Therapy: Can We Talk?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Melanie A.

The empirical literature regarding the use of nonerotic touch in psychotherapy is reviewed. Theoretical and ethical concerns are discussed, including the taboo against touching clients, situations in which touch may be appropriate, and whether or not nonerotic touch leads to erotic touch. It is difficult to design controlled studies for ongoing…

Pushing Boundaries: Reflections on Teaching and Learning Contemporary Dance in Amman

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Rosemary

2013-01-01

This study reflects on teaching and learning contemporary dance in Amman, Jordan, focusing on the experiences of three contemporary dance students. Through the three case studies, various issues regarding teaching and learning contemporary dance in a Jordanian context are raised, revealing that contemporary dance can be perceived as a taboo and…

Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Adolescent Schoolgirls in South India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leach, Fiona; Sitaram, Shashikala

2007-01-01

This article reports on a small exploratory study of adolescent girls' experiences of sexual harassment and abuse while attending secondary school in Karnataka State, South India. In South Asia, public discussion of sexual matters, especially relating to children, is largely taboo, and the study uncovers a hidden aspect of schooling, which…

Justifying surgery's last taboo: the ethics of face transplants

PubMed Central

Freeman, Michael; Jaoudé, Pauline Abou

2007-01-01

Should face transplants be undertaken? This article examines the ethical problems involved from the perspective of the recipient, looking particularly at the question of identity, the donor and the donor's family, and the disfigured community and society more generally. Concern is expressed that full face transplants are going ahead. PMID:17264192

Teaching the Taboo: Courage and Imagination in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayers, Rick; Ayers, William

2011-01-01

Education at its best is about opening doors, opening minds, and inviting students to become powerful choice-makers as they forge their own pathways into a wider world. While many teachers long for teaching to be something transcendent and powerful, they all too often find themselves teaching obedience and conformity. This dynamic book--by two…

Canine Gouging: A Taboo Resurfacing in Migrant Urban Population.

PubMed

Noman, Anila Virani; Wong, Ferranti; Pawar, Ravikiran Ramakrishna

2015-01-01

Cosmopolitan cities have become a pool of migrants from different parts of the world, who carry their cultural beliefs and superstitions with them around the globe. Canine gouging is a kind of infant oral mutilation (IOM) which is widely practiced among rural population of Africa where the primary tooth bud of the deciduous canine is enucleated. The belief is that the life threatening illnesses in children like vomiting, diarrhoea, and fevers are caused by worms which infest on tooth buds. This case report is of a 15-year-old Somalian born boy, who presented at the dental institute with intermittent pain in his lower right permanent canine which was associated with a discharging intra oral buccal sinus. The tooth was endodontically treated and then restored with composite. General dental practitioners need to be vigilant when encountered with tooth presenting unusual morphology, unilateral missing tooth, and shift in the midline due to early loss of deciduous/permanent canines. Identification of any such dental mutilation practice will need further counselling of the individual and family members. It is the duty of every dental professional to educate and safeguard the oral and dental health of general public.

Critical Exchange: Avoiding Schooling Taboos--A Reply to Rasmussen

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stern, Julian

2017-01-01

This paper is a reply to Mary L. Rasumussen's paper, "Critical Exchange: Religion and Schooling: What Should Their Relationship Be?" In this paper, Julian Stern makes three claims: (1) the need for a messy conversation; (2) the need to include "whole" people in schools; and (3) the need to consider existentially significant…

Is Having More Than 2 Children an Unspoken Taboo?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Robin

2009-01-01

By academic standards, Rebecca R. Richards-Kortum has it made. She is a full professor of bioengineering at Rice University, runs a thriving cancer-research laboratory, and is a member of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering. But with four children at home, she sometimes feels like an academic outcast. In fact, Ms. Richards-Kortum says…

Researching and Theorizing the "Age Taboo" on Intergenerational Sexualities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuill, Richard; Elliot, David

2012-01-01

By means of an ethnographic project, Sarah Goode's Understanding and Addressing Adult Sexual Attraction to Children aspires to better understand the self-conception and self-identification of pedophiles, with the ultimate aim of deconstructing the phenomenon by which culture demonizes pedophiles in order to better protect children. However, the…

[Pre-randomisation in study designs: getting past the taboo].

PubMed

Schellings, R; Kessels, A G; Sturmans, F

2008-09-20

In October 2006 the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport announced that the use of pre-randomisation in study designs is admissible and not in conflict with the Dutch Medical Research in Human Subjects Act. With pre-randomisation, the conventional sequence of obtaining informed consent followed by randomisation is reversed. According to the original pre-randomisation design (Zelen design), participants are randomised before they are asked to consent; after randomisation, only participants in the experimental group are asked to consent to treatment and effect measurement. In the past, pre-randomisation has seldom been used, and when it was, it was often under the wrong circumstances. Awareness regarding the ethical, legal and methodological objections to pre-randomisation is increasing. About a decade ago, we illustrated the applicability and acceptability of pre-randomisation by means of a fictitious heroin provision trial. In general, pre-randomisation is justified if valid evaluation of the effects of an intervention is impossible using a conventional randomised design, e.g., if knowledge of the intervention may lead to non-compliance or drop-out in the control group, or when the intervention is an educational programme. Other requirements for pre-randomisation include the following: the study has a clinically relevant objective, it is likely that the study will lead to important new insights, the informed consent procedure bears no potential harm to participants, at least standard care is offered to participants in the control group, and the approval of an independent research ethics committee is obtained.

Making Smart Choices: A Serious Game for Sex Education for Young Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwan, Alvin C. M.; Chu, Samuel K. W.; Hong, Athena W. L.; Tam, Frankie; Lee, Grace M. Y.; Mellecker, Robin

2015-01-01

Current educational resources for sex education in Hong Kong are mainly designed to be used in classroom. They are mostly text-based and are unattractive to the most vulnerable adolescent group. As discussion on sex is still taboo in Chinese society, self-learning resources can supplement classroom teaching. This paper describes an interactive…

"Sad, Just Sad": A Woman with a Learning Disability Experiencing Bereavement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Alison; Bell, Dorothy

2011-01-01

This case study considers the psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of Hannah, a woman with a learning disability who recently experienced the death of her mother. Death still remains a challenging and often taboo subject. Moreover, when the grief is of a person with a learning disability, this combines with underlying difficulties…

Teaching Spirituality as Ontology in Public Schools. A Response to "Democratic Foundations of Spiritual Responsive Pedagogy"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thayer-Bacon, Barbara J.

2017-01-01

In "Democratic Foundations of Spiritually Responsive Pedagogy," Lingley worried that talk of spirituality is taboo in U.S. public school classrooms. Lingley pointed out that the dominant narrative demands silence on the topic. She wanted to make the case for spiritually responsive pedagogy as vital to an inclusive democracy. I begin this…

Seeing All Beings as Oneself: Internationalizing Higher Education for Universal Harmony

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Unkule, Kalyani

2018-01-01

The tenets of Hinduism share a complicated relationship with international higher education for an important reason: the purported taboo over crossing oceans. The ethos of Hinduism, however, is deeply embedded in a posited harmony of individuals and cultures. This makes it a faith that at once embraces the value of intercultural exchange while…

Exploration of Intimacy in Intercultural and Intracultural Romantic Relationships in College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reiter, Michael D.; Richmond, Katherine; Stirlen, Amber; Kompel, Natalia

2009-01-01

This study explores the area of intercultural dating relationships. An intercultural relationship is characterized by two individuals that come from different religions, cultures, and/or races and label their relationship as romantic. Such couples have been taboo for much of history, but have rapidly increased within the past thirty years (Crohn,…

Teacher-Student Sexual Relations: Key Risks and Ethical Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sikes, Pat

2010-01-01

Researching actual or purported sexual contact between teachers and students raises many difficult ethical issues, questions and dilemmas, which may help to explain why few have ventured into the field. This experientially based paper addresses key problem areas under the headings of: the ethics of researching a sensitive taboo topic; the ethics…

Psychology: Student Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stark, Rebecca

This book published in 1986 introduces students to psychology and its related subject areas. Students learn that psychology has matured through the centuries from its taboo beginnings in supernatural beliefs and magic to its current status as a scientific discipline. Sections of the book include: (1) "What is Psychology?"; (2) "Human Development";…

Death in Current Children's Fiction: Sociology or Literature.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Apseloff, Marilyn

The mass production of books dealing with hitherto taboo subjects for children, such as drug use, divorce, illegitimacy, and death, is a growing trend in children's literature. This paper attempts to demonstrate the inherent difficulties in judging such books critically through a discussion of the handling of death in current children's fiction.…

True Love or Just Friends? Flemish Picture Books in English Translation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joosen, Vanessa

2010-01-01

Most scholars who discuss norm conflicts in translated children's books focus on the deletion of taboos. Drawing on two English translations of Flemish picture books, this article shows how norm conflicts can also lead to translation strategies other than deletion. Whereas the adaptation of Carll Cneut's "The Amazing Love Story of Mr…

Parents with Intellectual Disability and Their Children: Advances in Policy and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Llewellyn, Gwynnyth

2013-01-01

In many countries, women and men with intellectual disability (ID) marry and have children of their own; however, in some countries, this is still taboo. Reproduction and parenting by people with ID is often a "hot" topic. Important questions related to this phenomenon include: Can people with ID provide "good enough"…

Analysis of Patterns of Bushmeat Consumption Reveals Extensive Exploitation of Protected Species in Eastern Madagascar

PubMed Central

Jenkins, Richard K. B.; Keane, Aidan; Rakotoarivelo, Andrinajoro R.; Rakotomboavonjy, Victor; Randrianandrianina, Felicien H.; Razafimanahaka, H. Julie; Ralaiarimalala, Sylvain R.; Jones, Julia P. G.

2011-01-01

Understanding the patterns of wild meat consumption from tropical forests is important for designing approaches to address this major threat to biodiversity and mitigate potential pathways for transmission of emerging diseases. Bushmeat consumption has been particularly poorly studied in Madagascar, one of the world's hottest biodiversity hotspots. Studying bushmeat consumption is challenging as many species are protected and researchers must consider the incentives faced by informants. Using interviews with 1154 households in 12 communes in eastern Madagascar, as well as local monitoring data, we investigated the importance of socio-economic variables, taste preference and traditional taboos on consumption of 50 wild and domestic species. The majority of meals contain no animal protein. However, respondents consume a wide range of wild species and 95% of respondents have eaten at least one protected species (and nearly 45% have eaten more than 10). The rural/urban divide and wealth are important predictors of bushmeat consumption, but the magnitude and direction of the effect varies between species. Bushmeat species are not preferred and are considered inferior to fish and domestic animals. Taboos have provided protection to some species, particularly the Endangered Indri, but we present evidence that this taboo is rapidly eroding. By considering a variety of potential influences on consumption in a single study we have improved understanding of who is eating bushmeat and why. Evidence that bushmeat species are not generally preferred meats suggest that projects which increase the availability of domestic meat and fish may have success at reducing demand. We also suggest that enforcement of existing wildlife and firearm laws should be a priority, particularly in areas undergoing rapid social change. The issue of hunting as an important threat to biodiversity in Madagascar is only now being fully recognised. Urgent action is required to ensure that heavily hunted

Why Latrines Are Not Used: Communities’ Perceptions and Practices Regarding Latrines in a Taenia solium Endemic Rural Area in Eastern Zambia

PubMed Central

Thys, Séverine; Mwape, Kabemba E.; Lefèvre, Pierre; Dorny, Pierre; Marcotty, Tanguy; Phiri, Andrew M.; Phiri, Isaak K.; Gabriël, Sarah

2015-01-01

Taenia solium cysticercosis is a neglected parasitic zoonosis occurring in many developing countries. Socio-cultural determinants related to its control remain unclear. Studies in Africa have shown that the underuse of sanitary facilities and the widespread occurrence of free-roaming pigs are the major risk factors for porcine cysticercosis. The study objective was to assess the communities’ perceptions, practices and knowledge regarding latrines in a T. solium endemic rural area in Eastern Zambia inhabited by the Nsenga ethno-linguistic group, and to identify possible barriers to their construction and use. A total of 21 focus group discussions on latrine use were organized separately with men, women and children, in seven villages of the Petauke district. The themes covered were related to perceived latrine availability (absence-presence, building obstacles) and perceived latrine use (defecation practices, latrine management, socio-cultural constraints).The findings reveal that latrines were not constructed in every household because of the convenient use of existing latrines in the neighborhood. Latrines were perceived to contribute to good hygiene mainly because they prevent pigs from eating human feces. Men expressed reluctance to abandon the open-air defecation practice mainly because of toilet-associated taboos with in-laws and grown-up children of the opposite gender. When reviewing conceptual frameworks of people’s approach to sanitation, we found that seeking privacy and taboos hindering latrine use and construction were mainly explained in our study area by the fact that the Nsenga observe a traditionally matrilineal descent. These findings indicate that in this local context latrine promotion messages should not only focus on health benefits in general. Since only men were responsible for building latrines and mostly men preferred open defecation, sanitation programs should also be directed to men and address related sanitary taboos in order to be

Emotion-Memory Effects in Bilingual Speakers: A Levels-of-Close Processing Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aycicegi-Dinn, Ayse; Caldwell-Harris, Catherine L.

2009-01-01

Emotion-memory effects occur when emotion words are more frequently recalled than neutral words. Bilingual speakers report that taboo terms and emotional phrases generate a stronger emotional response when heard or spoken in their first language. This suggests that the basic emotion-memory will be stronger for words presented in a first language.…

The Life of a Gay Student in a University Physical Education and Sports Department: A Case Study in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saraç, Leyla; McCullick, Bryan

2017-01-01

While Turkey is mostly a Muslim country, officially it is a secular country; traditional gender roles are still maintained, and homosexuality is a taboo subject. The Turkish sporting world is no exception; it also excludes and ignores the existence of homosexuals and homosexuality. Using a single case study, this study aimed to contribute to fill…

How Much Do You Pay for College?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kahlenberg, Richard D.

2013-01-01

At Middlebury College--and on campuses throughout the country--class is coming out of the closet. Long hidden from view, economic status is emerging from the shadows, as once-taboo discussions are taking shape. The growing economic divide in America, and on American campuses, has given rise to new student organizations, and new dialogues, focused…

When Ignorance Is No Excuse: Different Roles for Intent across Moral Domains

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Liane; Saxe, Rebecca

2011-01-01

A key factor in legal and moral judgments is intent. Intent differentiates, for instance, murder from manslaughter. Is this true for all moral judgments? People deliver moral judgments of many kinds of actions, including harmful actions (e.g., assault) and purity violations (e.g., incest, consuming taboo substances). We show that intent is a key…

The Time Is Ripe (Again)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barth, Roland S.

2013-01-01

"It's always been a promising time for teacher leadership. It's just never been a successful time," writes noted educator Roland Barth. Why? Barth points to five obstacles: administrator resistance, the taboo in teaching against elevating oneself higher than one's peers, the fact that teachers' plates are full, the…

How Schools Can Support Children Who Experience Loss and Death

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holland, John

2008-01-01

Scenes of public grieving such as followed the death of Princess Diana bear little resemblance to the "taboo" status of death and bereavement at an individual level. For schools and the support services with whom they work, responding to pupils' experiences of loss and death, especially of parents, is challenging. This paper draws on…

Bodily Moral Disgust: What It Is, How It Is Different from Anger, and Why It Is an Unreasoned Emotion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Pascale Sophie; Giner-Sorolla, Roger

2013-01-01

With the recent upswing in research interest on the moral implications of disgust, there has been uncertainty about what kind of situations elicit moral disgust and whether disgust is a rational or irrational player in moral decision making. We first outline the benefits of distinguishing between bodily violations (e.g., sexual taboos, such as…

The Boy Who Was Drawing Princesses: Primary Teachers' Accounts of Children's Non-Conforming Behaviours

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerouki, Margarita

2010-01-01

The aim of this work is to raise awareness of sexual minority issues with a special focus on the primary school domain in Greece. Greece is considered a conservative country where most people regard homosexuality as taboo and non-heterosexual people as an invisible group. Research data from interviewing primary Greek teachers showed that…

"Krokodil" Magazine: Laughter in the Soviet Union.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pehowski, Marian

A 16-page, four-color-on-newsprint magazine, "Krokodil" is among the world's most popular magazines of humor and satire. As a product of the Pravda Publishing House, it is produced by a branch of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, yet there are no official taboos or guidelines. Connections, popularity, and profits give…

Counselor Meaning-Making: Working with Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Viviani, Anna Michele

2011-01-01

Childhood sexual abuse is a prevalent but taboo topic in society. Conservatively 80,000 new cases are reported each year with many more either unreported or unsubstantiated within the legal system. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse often times seek counseling assistance to manage the variety of short-and long-term emotional issues that may arise…

Gay Teens at Risk. Fastback 357.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walling, Donovan R.

Fear of controversy, cultural taboos, and fear of homosexuality have prevented many educators from dealing effectively with gay and lesbian young people. The climate in most schools is such that gay teens rarely are willing to expose themselves to the ridicule, harassment, and abuse that comes when they openly acknowledge their sexual orientation.…

The Integration of Religious Traditions in Japanese Children's View of Death and Afterlife

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sagara-Rosemeyer, Miharu; Davies, Betty

2007-01-01

Open and public discussion of death, particularly among children, remains one of the greatest Japanese societal taboos; therefore, little is known about Japanese children's perceptions of death. To explore Japanese children's notions of life and death, 16 healthy children (7 girls and 9 boys, mean age 8.9) were each interviewed 3 times and asked…

Introducing Sexual Education to Russian Schools: Effects of Dance4life Program on Perceptions and Behavior of Adolescents and Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alekseeva, Evgeniya Georgievna; Krasnopolskaya, Irina; Skokova, Yulia

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the effectiveness of the international volunteer programme's dance4life (D4L) in Russia. The programme aims to address taboos, stigma, discrimination, HIV/AIDS prevention and the promotion of sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and a healthy lifestyle among adolescents. The programme uses an…

The Relevance of Cultural Factors in Predicting Condom-Use Intentions among Immigrants from the Netherlands Antilles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kocken, P. L.; van Dorst, A. G.; Schaalma, H.

2006-01-01

A study into the relevance of cultural factors in predicting condom-use intentions among Antillean migrants in the Netherlands is described in this article. The association between the intention to use condoms with a new sexual partner and a perceived taboo on discussing sex, beliefs about sex education and machismo beliefs on gender and power…

[Sexuality in the elderly: The role of the physicians in maintaining sexual health of older men].

PubMed

Chakkalakal, D; Weißbach, L

2015-12-01

Sexuality in the elderly is still a social taboo. A commitment by medical practices to address the topic of sexuality in later life is essential, given that the sexual health is part of the quality of life. Identification of barriers and discourse of effects in the physician's behavior when dealing with the sexuality of older people. Review and discussion of interdisciplinary literature and social discourse. Compilation of expert opinions. Although the introduction of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors led to a removal of taboos concerning erectile dysfunction, the sexuality of older men became narrowed to physiological aspects. The elderly still complain that consultations concerning their sexuality receives too little attention in medical practice. Problems are boundaries of shame and disregard of the sexuality of elderly. Sexuality in old age will have to become more prominent in medical practices, due to demographic changes and changing self-images of the elderly. The social role of physicians enables straightforward discussions about sexuality. Taking a sexual history and choosing an active approach proved to be practicable to discuss sexual problems with older people.

"You Want Me to Talk to Children about What?" Responding to the Subject of Sexuality Development in Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sciaraffa, Mary; Randolph, Theresa

2011-01-01

Many people think it is taboo to talk about sex with children. Adults reinforce this belief when, for example, they use substitute words rather than "vagina" or "penis". They may be embarrassed to learn about children's sexual development or ask others for assistance. Although most people in US society are open about sexuality now, the topic of…

Unpacking the "Colorblind Approach": Accusations of Racism at a Friendly, Mixed-Race School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Modica, Marianne

2015-01-01

The desire to ignore race in favor of a "colorblind" approach has so permeated the cultural ethos of the US, that many whites, teachers included, fear that talking about race in any capacity leaves them open to accusations of racism. As a result, race has become a taboo subject in many US classrooms. This article explores the…

Is Beauty an Archaic Spirit in Education?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cannatella, Howard

2006-01-01

This article discusses the unfashionable and taboo idea that beauty matters. The author's supposition is that beauty as a poetic force should be regarded as one of the defining characteristics central to pedagogic practice. In making this claim he draws upon a few of Charles Dickens' and William Wordsworth's ideas in support of the importance of…

Sex Education and Student Rights: Including the Missing Actor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Paul T.

2011-01-01

In the West, sex education has always been a taboo subject that continues to challenge the public schools. Drawing on recent developments in some Canadian provinces, I argue that we cannot begin to address the issue of responsible sex education until we first acknowledge that students themselves have a moral and constitutional right to this kind…

Your Art Is Gay and Retarded: Eliminating Discriminating Speech against Homosexual and Intellectually Disabled Students in the Secondary Arts Education Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Payne, Brian M.

2010-01-01

Issues of gender, race, sexual orientation, and intellectual disability are taboo among teens, as they are consumed with their own struggle for identity and often unable to view the struggles of those around them who may not fit into the social majority in the overwhelming ecosystem of high school peer groups. Some may argue that "gay" and…

Reproductive Health Education Model in Early Childhood through Education Film "Damar Wulan"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zahrulianingdyah, Atiek

2015-01-01

Reproductive health education for early childhood it has been the time to teach, because the demand of the changing times and will affect the child's life when he/she is a teenager. During this time, the reproductive health education, which is in it there is sex education, considered taboo among some communities. They argue that the reproductive…

The Fear of the Word: Censorship and Sex.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oboler, Eli M.

This book discusses censorship and sex through the ages. The 15 chapters focus on the following topics: (1) the bases of censorship; (2) the concept of taboo; (3) the role of words in the control of people's thought; (4) Hellenism, stoicism, and censorship; (5) the Judeo-Christian influence; (6) the puritan and the censor; (7) religion and…

Radical Voices; A Film Course Study Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kernan, Margot

The leftist radical ideas current in the 1960s and 1970s are expressed in the films discussed in this cinema study guide. The radical film takes extreme and avant-garde approaches to the somewhat publicly taboo topics of sex, social issues, and religion. Among the films discussed, I AM CURIOUS (YELLOW) and SOMETHING DIFFERENT show women in their…

Identifying the Core Content and Structure of a Schema for Cultural Understanding

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

Beliefs/Ethics/Morality Customs/Traditions/Courtesies/Daily life Education External influences Dress Food Gender Government History Hobbies /Games...Leisure Orientation toward U.S. Military/Civilian Religion Technology Time Work Taboos Social structure Similarities and differences Key...Academics and Soldiers have a very different purpose for understanding culture. Although, the academic work is highly informative and useful to

A Comparative Analysis of the Availability of Information Resources on Ibibio Culture in the University of Uyo and Akwa Ibom State Public Library

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okon, Henry Itohowo; Simon, Jehu S.; Akai, Iniobong

2015-01-01

This study reports the results of a survey of the available holdings of information resources on Ibibio culture in the University of Uyo Library and Akwa Ibom State Library. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the different size of information resources on funeral, fattening (Mbobo), taboos, myths as well as dissemination in the…

Making Death, Compassion and Partnership "Part of Life" in School Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Carla Jane; Keeffe, Mary; Gardner, Fiona; Farrelly, Cathleen

2017-01-01

Death can be considered a social taboo, a common source of fear and public avoidance. School communities are not immune to this, as the topic of death is constantly avoided. It is vital to understand how we can socially and culturally cultivate a positive regard for death, dying and bereavement in our school communities. Community members need to…

Dollars and Sense

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teacher Magazine, 2005

2005-01-01

For the first time, the push to quantify achievement is starting to cross over to financial matters. Support for teachers themselves, is taking on new meaning in an era of accountability as a handful of states are breaking the longstanding merit-pay taboo by linking raises with student performance. And as standards have made individual teachers…

HIV/AIDS Disclosure and Unprotected Sex: A Critical Issue for Counselors and Other Mental Health Practitioners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Eddie, Jr.

2006-01-01

This study found that African American males living with HIV/AIDS in rural southwest Alabama who did not disclose their HIV/AIDS seropositive status were more likely to engage in unprotected sex. Because much of the recent research is slanted to address homosexual behavior, which is still a taboo within the African American community, efforts to…

Do Human Rights Exist for Korean Gay Men and Lesbians?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Youn, Gahyun

All talk of sex was taboo in Korean society until the middle of this century. Only during the last decade has sexuality been a topic of discussion, but still the discourse was dominated by traditional male views regarding sex. Today, the number of homosexuals living openly is growing, and active debate about homosexuality in Korea is now emerging.…

Methods for studying sensitive family topics.

PubMed

Gelles, Richard J

1978-07-01

Researchers on sensitive topics in family relations face a number of obstacles, due to the private nature of the family and to ethical constraints on the study of humans. Difficulties in locating subjects, engaging their cooperation, and obtaining valid and reliable data are discussed, and methods are proposed for pursuing research on these important but frequently taboo topics.

Women on the Frontlines of Peace and Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

of those profits, thus wielding undue influence and undermining those who wish to enforce legislation . illicit funds—from both narcotics and...environments where these relationships occur. The greater our environmental knowledge and extent of our relationships, the more likely we are to be...taboo. Depending on location, forced engagement between sexes can instantly destroy months of gained and invaluable trust. Through environmental

Living with the Sins of Their Fathers: An Analysis of Self-Representation of Adolescents Born of War Rape

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erjavec, Karmen; Volcic; Zala

2010-01-01

Children born of war rape continue to be a taboo theme in many post-war societies, also in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH). This study is based on in-depth interviews with eleven adolescents born of war rape in BH. The main goal is to present how these adolescents represent themselves and their life-situations. On the basis of the research we identify…

Teaching Taboo Topics: Menstruation, Menopause, and the Psychology of Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chrisler, Joan C.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this article is (a) to consider reasons why women's reproductive processes receive so little attention in psychology courses and (b) to make an argument for why more attention is needed. Menstruation, menopause, and other reproductive events are important to the psychology of women. Reproductive processes make possible a social role…

Students Try to Break Taboo around Social Class on Campus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sander, Libby

2013-01-01

When Heather Berg arrived at the University of Virginia in the fall of 2011, she was struck by the seemingly posh lifestyle many of her fellow students enjoyed. Now finishing her second year, she has friends who also felt that culture shock at first. But it's been hard to find them, and to speak candidly with anyone about the impact of money--or…

Exploring Taboos: Comparing Male- and Female-Perpetrated Child Sexual Abuse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peter, Tracey

2009-01-01

The objective of this article is to compare male- and female-perpetrated sexual abuse in terms of victim and abuser characteristics, type of abuse, family structure, and worker information. Bivariate tests of significance were performed on the 1998 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, which included 308 male and 37 female…

Exploring taboos: comparing male- and female-perpetrated child sexual abuse.

PubMed

Peter, Tracey

2009-07-01

The objective of this article is to compare male- and female-perpetrated sexual abuse in terms of victim and abuser characteristics, type of abuse, family structure, and worker information. Bivariate tests of significance were performed on the 1998 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, which included 308 male and 37 female abusers. Results show a prevalence rate of 10.7% for female-perpetrated sexual abuse. Girls were more likely to be victimized for both male- and female-perpetrated sexual violence and females tended to abuse younger children. The majority of children came from families with lower socioeconomic status although one in five victims of female-perpetrated sexual abuse came from middle-class homes. Referrals to child welfare agencies were more likely to be made by nonprofessionals when females abused.

Number needed to sacrifice: statistical taboo or decision-making tool?

PubMed

Trewby, Peter

2013-03-01

The percentage that benefit from medical preventive measures is small but all are exposed to the risk of side effects so most of those harmed would never benefit from their use. There is no expression or acronym to describe the ratio of harm to benefit nor discussion of what level of harm is acceptable for what benefit. Here we describe the harm to benefit ratio (HBR) expressed as number harmed (H) for 100 to benefit (B) and calculated for commonly used medical interventions. For post TIA carotid endarterectomy the HBR is 25 (25 postoperative strokes or deaths are caused for 100 to be stroke free at 5 years); warfarin in atrial fibrillation in patients aged under 65 results in 400 intracerebral haemorrhages for every 100 saved from a thromboembolic event; fibrinolytic treatment for stroke causes 44 symptomatic intracranial haemorrhages for every 100 that have minimal disability at 3 months; aspirin in high risk patients causes 33 major bleeds for every 100 occlusive vascular events prevented; routine inpatient thromboprophylaxis causes 133 additional bleeds for every 100 pulmonary emboli prevented; breast cancer screening causes 1000 unnecessary cancer treatments for 100 cancer deaths to be prevented. The HBR or number needed to sacrifice is larger than most imagine. Its wider use would allow us better to recognise the number harmed, allow better informed consent, compare different preventive strategies and understand the risks as well as benefits of preventive treatments.

Chemical and biological weapons in the 'new wars'.

PubMed

Ilchmann, Kai; Revill, James

2014-09-01

The strategic use of disease and poison in warfare has been subject to a longstanding and cross-cultural taboo that condemns the hostile exploitation of poisons and disease as the act of a pariah. In short, biological and chemical weapons are simply not fair game. The normative opprobrium is, however, not fixed, but context dependent and, as a social phenomenon, remains subject to erosion by social (or more specifically, antisocial) actors. The cross cultural understanding that fighting with poisons and disease is reprehensible, that they are taboo, is codified through a web of interconnected measures, principal amongst these are the 1925 Geneva Protocol; the Biological Weapons Convention; and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Whilst these treaties have weathered the storm of international events reasonably well, their continued health is premised on their being 'tended to' in the face of contextual changes, particularly facing changes in science and technology, as well as the changed nature and character of conflict. This article looks at the potential for normative erosion of the norm against chemical and biological weapons in the face of these contextual changes and the creeping legitimization of chemical and biological weapons.

Why resort to illegal abortion in Zambia? Findings of a community-based study in Western Province.

PubMed

Koster-Oyekan, W

1998-05-01

This article presents part of the findings of a community-based study on the causes and effects of unplanned pregnancies in four districts of Western Province, Zambia. The study broke the silence around abortion in Western Province and revealed that induced abortion poses a public health problem. Using innovative methodology of recording and analyzing histories of deaths from induced abortion, the abortion mortality ratio was calculated for the study districts. Findings reveal all extremely high induced abortion mortality ratio of 120 induced abortion-related deaths per 100,000 live births. More than half the deaths were of schoolgirls. Although abortion in Zambia is legal on medical and social grounds, most women in Western Province resort to illegal abortions because legal abortion services are inaccessible and unacceptable. The main reasons women resort to abortion is for fear of being expelled from school, their unwillingness to reveal a secret relationship, to protect the health of their previous baby and common knowledge that postpartum sexual taboos have been transgressed. An inventory was made of abortion methods, taboos and abortion-providers. The article describes how health staff were involved throughout the study, and shows how recommendations were made by involving all parties concerned.

[Planned children--supporting and inhibiting influences on the development of personality and relationships after technology-assisted reproduction].

PubMed

Lebersorger, Karin J

2016-03-01

In the western industrial countries more and more couples with an unfulfilled desire for a child use assisted reproductive technology (ART). This focusses on physical processes and doesn't sufficiently provide necessary supportive psychological/psychotherapeutic guidance.Neglecting the psychological dimension causes ART to enhance the risk for negative processes of emotional development of a child.After a brief overview of prevalence and summarizing the legal situation three areas will be discussed which involve a high risk potential and their influences on relationship- and personality development will be described: • The psychological burden for potential parents during the treatment. • Wishes of perfection and high expectations concerning the child which can turn normative crises into severe problems. • The frequent handling of the treatment as a taboo which can become a destructive family secret between parents and child.The paper will conclude with thoughts concerning prevention and treatment.Every person working in the field of childhood and adolescence can contribute to a healthy psychological development of these children. This means acknowledging and working through the emotional burden and the wishes and explaining about the dangers of taboos like in foster care and adoption.

Understanding Islam

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-03

the Atlantic to India. They waged a violent battle against all non-Ismailis. The Ismailis are most remembered for the violence of the offshoot groups... Women .............46 iii Page Dietary Laws................47 Taboos....................48 Religious Expressions and Greeting . . . . 48 Polygamy...centers of the world, Mecca was rich with a variety of religious, ethnic and cultural traditions. The religious pilgrimage shrine in Mecca, the Kaaba

Handling Decision Problems: a Structuring Language and Interactive Modules

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-28

the context of psychodrama (exploring scenarios from the starting point of other problem owners’ roles) to reveal things to problem owners that would...dam: North Holland. Moreno, J. L., 1946. Psychodrama . New York: Beacon House. Oldfield, A. and Humphreys, P.C., 1988. Differences between judgements...bereavement, sacrifice and taboo. More recently these ideas have been adopted by social scientists to form the basis of techniques such as psychodrama which

The Role of the Social Network in Access to Psychosocial Services for Migrant Elderly—A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Schoenmakers, Daphne; Lamkaddem, Majda; Suurmond, Jeanine

2017-01-01

Background: Despite high prevalence of mental problems among elderly migrants in The Netherlands, the use of psychosocial care services by this group is low. Scientific evidence points at the crucial role of social support for mental health and the use of psychosocial services. We therefore explored the role of social networks in the access to psychosocial care among elderly migrants in The Netherlands. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured group interviews and individual interviews. The eight group and eleven individual interviews (respectively n = 58 and n = 11) were conducted in The Netherlands with Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese, and Dutch elderly. The data were analysed through coding and comparing fragments and recognizing patterns. Results: Support of the social network is important to navigate to psychosocial care and is most frequently provided by children. However, the social network of elderly migrants is generally not able to meet the needs of the elderly. This is mostly due to poor mental health literacy of the social network, taboo, and stigma around mental illness and the busy lives of the social network members. Conclusions: Strategies to address help-seeking barriers should consider mental health literacy in elderly migrants as well as their social networks, and counteract taboos and stigma of mental health problems. PMID:29019961

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Menstrual Hygiene Management among School Adolescents.

PubMed

Yadav, Ram Naresh; Joshi, Shrijana; Poudel, Rajesh; Pandeya, Pawan

2018-01-01

Menstrual hygiene management remains a taboo in many communities in Nepal. Cultural beliefs about menstruation such as food taboos and untouchability have negative impact on dignity, health and education of adolescent girls. The objective of the study was to assess the current knowledge, attitude and practice of school adolescents on menstrual hygiene management in Doti District in Far-Western Nepal. This cross-sectional study was carried out from October to December 2016 at seven village development committees in Doti district, Nepal. This study was done among 276 students from grade seven and eight of 11 schools. Self-administered structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from school students. Descriptive analysis was done to analyse the knowledge, attitude and practice of school adolescents on menstrual hygiene management. 67.4% respondents had fair knowledge and 26.4% respondents had good knowledge on menstrual hygiene management. However, out of 141 female adolescent respondents, only 56 (40%) were engaged in good menstrual hygiene practices. Around half of the respondents had positive attitude towards menstrual hygiene management related issues. Although knowledge on menstrual hygiene management among school adolescents is fair, still attitude and practice need to improve. Findings indicate the need of behavior change communication campaigns along with frequent reinforcement of school health education programs.

The Role of the Social Network in Access to Psychosocial Services for Migrant Elderly-A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Schoenmakers, Daphne; Lamkaddem, Majda; Suurmond, Jeanine

2017-10-11

Abstract : Background: Despite high prevalence of mental problems among elderly migrants in The Netherlands, the use of psychosocial care services by this group is low. Scientific evidence points at the crucial role of social support for mental health and the use of psychosocial services. We therefore explored the role of social networks in the access to psychosocial care among elderly migrants in The Netherlands. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured group interviews and individual interviews. The eight group and eleven individual interviews (respectively n = 58 and n = 11) were conducted in The Netherlands with Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese, and Dutch elderly. The data were analysed through coding and comparing fragments and recognizing patterns. Results: Support of the social network is important to navigate to psychosocial care and is most frequently provided by children. However, the social network of elderly migrants is generally not able to meet the needs of the elderly. This is mostly due to poor mental health literacy of the social network, taboo, and stigma around mental illness and the busy lives of the social network members. Conclusion s : Strategies to address help-seeking barriers should consider mental health literacy in elderly migrants as well as their social networks, and counteract taboos and stigma of mental health problems.

Playing doctor, seriously: graduation follies at an American medical school.

PubMed

Segal, D

1984-01-01

In American medical schools, the period of time between the announcement of internships and graduation is known as FYBIGMI, for "Fuck You Brother I Got My Internship." At University Medical School (pseudonym), as at most American medical schools, this period culminates in an elaborate musical comedy (attended by faculty and relatives) in which faculty are abused, patients are represented in terms of stigmatized stereotypes, and the students demonstrate a profane familiarity with cultural taboos. Using the analytic methods of cultural anthropology, this examination of the FYBIGMI performance at U.M.S. focuses primarily on the seniors' presentation of their newly acquired professional identity, which is constituted in the skits by recurring oppositions to socially stigmatized, medically self-destructive patients. In this oppositional logic, racial stereotypes play a particularly large role. In addition, the seniors establish their new social status by inverting their relationship to their (former) supervisors on a personal basis, and by confronting the audience with their professional ability to treat cultural taboos with profane familiarity. The FYBIGMI theatrical, and its representation of professional identity, is analyzed in relation to a proposed model of the underlying structure of the process of medical education, that is, an escalating dialectic of intimidation and self-congratulation.

Prescribing pork in Israel.

PubMed

Vered, Ronit

2010-01-01

Both Judaism and Islam have prohibited eating pork and its products for thousands of years. Scholars have proposed several reasons for the ban to which both religions almost totally adhere. Pork, and the refusal to eat it, possesses powerful cultural baggage for Jews. Israel has legislated two related laws: the Pork Law in 1962, that bans the rearing and slaughter of pigs across the country, and the Meat Law of 1994, prohibiting all imports of nonkosher meats into Israel. While not abounding, Israeli pork-eaters certainly exist, and a small number of pig-breeding farms operate in the country, mostly in Christian villages. The influx of Russian immigrants in the 1990s helped boost sales of pork, but the force of the taboo remains so powerful that many secular Israelis still eschew pork dishes, while willing to eat less charged nonkosher items such as shellfish. A porchetta feast recently held in the Muslim-Jewish town of Jaffa, defied the religious and cultural taboo. It was a celebration of a book by Dr. Eli Landau, The White Book, which is the first Hebrew-language collection of pork recipes. Fearing repercussions, Israeli publishers unanimously refused to publish it and the book chain stores declined to display it. As a result, Landau published it himself.

Culture, state and varieties of capitalism: a comparative study of life insurance markets in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

PubMed

Chan, Cheris Shun-Ching

2012-03-01

This article examines the interplay between local culture, the state, and economic actors' agency in producing variation across markets. I adopt a political-cultural approach to examining why life insurance has been far more popular in Taiwan than Hong Kong, despite the presence of a cultural taboo on the topic of premature death in both societies. Based on interview data and documentary references, the findings reveal that as an independent state, the Taiwanese government heavily protected domestic insurance firms during their emergence. These domestic firms adopted a market-share approach by re-defining the concept of life insurance to accommodate the local cultural taboo. The colonial Hong Kong government, on the other hand, adopted laissez-faire policies that essentially favoured foreign insurance firms. When faced with the tension between local adaptation and the profitability of the business, these foreign firms chose the latter. Their reluctance to accommodate local cultures, however, resulted in a smaller market. I argue that state actions mediate who the dominant economic players are and that the nature of the dominant players affects the extent of localization. Specifically, the presence of competitive domestic players alongside transnational corporations is more likely to produce varieties of capitalism. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2012.

The relevance of cultural factors in predicting condom-use intentions among immigrants from the Netherlands Antilles.

PubMed

Kocken, Pl; van Dorst, Ag; Schaalma, H

2006-04-01

A study into the relevance of cultural factors in predicting condom-use intentions among Antillean migrants in the Netherlands is described in this article. The association between the intention to use condoms with a new sexual partner and a perceived taboo on discussing sex, beliefs about sex education and machismo beliefs on gender and power relationships is addressed. The study was conducted among 346 Dutch Antilleans from a random sample of an Antillean population aged 15-50 years. The response rate was 37.8%. The results showed that condom-use intentions were primarily determined by perceived subjective norms, the perceived taboo on discussing sex, machismo attitudes, gender, age and educational background. Moreover, the respondent's opinion regarding machismo was an effect modificator for the association between condom-use intentions and subjective social norm. It is concluded that, in predicting condom-use intentions, factors specific to the culture of a population contribute significantly to the determinants drawn from the general social-cognition models. It is recommended that future research should use measurement instruments that are adapted to culture-specific beliefs, and should explore the influence of cultural factors on actual condom use. Moreover, interventions promoting condom use among migrant populations should target the cultural correlates of condom use.

Incest in Jung's work: the origins of the epistomophilic instinct.

PubMed

Covington, Coline

2003-04-01

In this paper the differences between Jung's and Freud's writings on incest are explored. Jung's view is that the purpose of the child's sexual interest, as expressed also in his incestuous longings, is not purely the satisfaction of the biological instinct but is more importantly seen to be the development of thinking. The importance of the incest taboo for analytic work and the dangers of enactment of the erotic transference-countertransference dynamics are highlighted.

[Tainted femininity--traces of traditional menstruation myths in product advertising of feminine hygiene products].

PubMed

Backe, J

1997-01-01

Does the portrayal of menstruation in menstrual product advertisements reflect cultural myths about menstruation? We analyse the reception of menstruation in contemporary and historical menstruation product advertisements. In menstrual product advertisements, menstruation is depicted as an unclean attribute, discrediting an ideal femininity and creating the need to conceal it. This tendency to taboo menstruation in menstrual product advertising contributes--by conveying a negative definition of femaleness--to a negative self-perception, particularly in young women.

A salute to the nation's first hospice.

PubMed

Halamandaris, Val J

2011-09-01

There is great honor in being the first hospice in America. This distinction belongs to The Connecticut Hospice (TCH) of Branford, Connecticut. This commendable organization was born in 1974, only two years after Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D. testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging at the first Congressional hearings on the previously taboo subject of death and dying in America. I had the honor of helping to produce those hearings.

Removing the Taboo on the Surgical Violation (Cut-Through) of Cancer.

PubMed

Robbins, K Thomas; Bradford, Carol R; Rodrigo, Juan P; Suárez, Carlos; de Bree, Remco; Kowalski, Luiz P; Rinaldo, Alessandra; Silver, Carl E; Lund, Valerie J; Nibu, Ken-Ichi; Ferlito, Alfio

2016-10-01

The surgical dictum of en bloc resection without violating cancer tissue has been challenged by novel treatments in head and neck cancer. An analysis of treatment outcomes involving piecemeal removal of sinonasal, laryngeal, oropharyngeal, and hypopharyngeal cancer shows that it did not compromise tumor control. The rationale for the evolution toward use of this technique is outlined. While complete resection with clear margins remains a key end point in surgical oncology, we believe it is time to acknowledge that this time-honored dictum of avoiding tumor violation is no longer valid in selected situations.

The expression of sexuality in people with psychosis: breaking the taboos.

PubMed

McCann, E

2000-07-01

While mental health professionals should recognize that people suffering from schizophrenia have sexual and relationship requirements, there appears to be a failure to address adequately the subject of human sexuality, particularly in the area of psychosocial rehabilitation. The broad aim of this small study was to identify the sexual and relationship needs of people being cared for in hospital and preparing for a return to community living. The objectives of the study were to discover the clients' sexual expressions in the past and present, and to try to elicit hopes and aspirations for the future. An attempt was made to uncover some of the obstacles to the expression of sexuality and explore some of the clients' subjective experiences of the issues. The number of respondents was 11 from a possible 15. Data were collected through: a questionnaire on demographic characteristics; an adapted version of a questionnaire investigating the determinant factors of sexual behaviour through life; and a semi-structured interview devised to elicit subjective experiences regarding sexual expression. The findings show that people with psychotic illness are prepared to discuss issues relating to sex and relationship matters. No interviews had to be prematurely terminated. No exacerbations of symptoms were noted. All of the respondents showed an openness to discuss a range of intimate feelings. Most respondents seemed hopeful about the opportunity to form intimate and fulfilling relationships in the future. A drive towards more rigorous holistic nursing assessments and appropriate psychosocial responses is proposed.

Cultural beliefs and values in cancer patients.

PubMed

Daher, M

2012-04-01

In 2008, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released its World Cancer Report, which indicated that cancer accounts for approximately 12% of all-cause mortality worldwide. IARC estimated that globally 7.6 million people died from cancer and that 12.4 million new cases were diagnosed in 2008. The report went on to project that, due to increases in life expectancy, improvements in clinical diagnostics, and shifting trends in health behaviors (e.g. increases in smoking and sedentary lifestyles), in the absence of significant efforts to improve global cancer control, cancer mortality could increase to 12.9 million and cancer incidence to 20 million by the year 2030. Looking deeper into the data, it becomes clear that cancer-related stigma and myths about cancer are important problems that must be addressed, although different from a country to another. Stigmas about cancer present significant challenges to cancer control: stigma can have a silencing effect, whereby efforts to increase cancer awareness are negatively affected. The social, emotional, and financial devastation that all too often accompanies a diagnosis of cancer is, in large part, due to the cultural myths and taboos surrounding the disease. Combating stigma, myths, taboos, and overcoming silence will play important roles in changing this provisional trajectory. There are several reasons that cancer is stigmatized. Many people in our area perceived cancer to be a fatal disease. Cancer symptoms or body parts affected by the disease can cultivate stigma. Fears about treatment can also fuel stigma. There was evidence of myths associated with cancer, such as the belief that cancer is contagious, or cancer may be seen as a punishment. After reviewing these different examples of cultural myths and taboos met in cancer care, we can report these lessons learned: 1. Around the world, cancer continues to carry a significant amount of stigma, myths, and taboos; however, there are opportunities to

Disent to Pairing Mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Kaijia; Cheng, Shuyu

Up to now, the pairing mechanism is regarded as the rule of thumb criterion of an acceptable theory of superconductivity. It is generally held as a taboo for any theory which is not founded on this basis. However this is not true and it misleads the direction for the theoretical research for both the high and low temperature regions and eventually delays the progress in practice. It is now the time to clear up the situation.

Favourite words.

PubMed Central

McDonald, P; Thomas, D; Burge, D

1985-01-01

A prospective survey of language used by children aged between 2 and 16 years for 'taboo subjects' was carried out on a paediatric surgical ward and in the outpatients clinic. The children were interviewed in the presence of their parent(s). A remarkable diversity of words and phrases was noted. Language was affected by the age and sex of the patient. This survey is of interest to all clinicians who need to communicate with children. PMID:4051546

Clusters of Galaxies at High Redshift

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fort, Bernard

For a long time, the small number of clusters at z > 0.3 in the Abell survey catalogue and simulations of the standard CDM formation of large scale structures provided a paradigm where clusters were considered as young merging structures. At earlier times, loose concentrations of galaxy clumps were mostly anticipated. Recent observations broke the taboo. Progressively we became convinced that compact and massive clusters at z = 1 or possibly beyond exist and should be searched for.

Rural culture and the conservation of Mackinders eagle owls (Bubo capensis mackinderi) in Kenya.

PubMed

Ogada, Darcy L

2008-06-01

The author describes her fieldwork studying a population of Mackinders eagle owls that live adjacent to small-scale farms in rural Kenya. Her study investigated the effects of farming practices on the diet and breeding ecology of the owls. She documented local people's attitudes toward owls since owls are taboo throughout Africa. She describes a typical day in the field, the community aspect of her project, her unique experiences studying owls in Kenya, and promotion of owl tourism.

Childrens mental health and civil society in the Gaza strip.

PubMed

Thirkell, Lucy

2012-09-01

The Gaza Strip, with a population of 1.7 million, over half of whom are under 18 years old, has existed in a state of ongoing conflict and containment for years, most notably since its closure in 2007. There is much concern for the mental health of the vast young generation who have little memory of other circumstances of existence, and even less exposure to the outside world. Their society forms the site of direct conflict and social destruction pertaining to untreated stress among the adults. However, leaving the social realm for the institutional for mental health treatment carries strong taboo, especially for adults. Civil society expert organisations offering a range of mental health work primarily pertaining to childrens social development can bypass some of this taboo and can also intervene at their schools and in their families, and may be most strategically located as social rather than institutional actors. Empowering the youth and seeking to strengthen Gazan society through them and for them causes some friction with the local government. However, despite the cultural and political challenges of mental health treatment for children within the Gaza Strip, the wider fact remains that however treated and psychosocially rehabilitated, society is predictably the site of renewed trauma in the short term and foreseeable future, enmeshing the mental health of its future generation inseparably with the international politics it inhabits.

Barriers beyond words: cancer, culture, and translation in a community of Russian speakers.

PubMed

Dohan, Daniel; Levintova, Marya

2007-11-01

Language and culture relate in complex ways. Addressing this complexity in the context of language translation is a challenge when caring for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). To examine processes of care related to language, culture and translation in an LEP population is the objective of this study. We used community based participatory research to examine the experiences of Russian-speaking cancer patients in San Francisco, California. A Russian Cancer Information Taskforce (RCIT), including community-based organizations, local government, and clinics, participated in all phases of the study. A purposeful sample of 74 individuals were the participants of the study. The RCIT shaped research themes and facilitated access to participants. Methods were focus groups, individual interviews, and participant observation. RCIT reviewed data and provided guidance in interpreting results. Four themes emerged. (1) Local Russian-language resources were seen as inadequate and relatively unavailable compared to other non-English languages; (2) a taboo about the word "cancer" led to language "games" surrounding disclosure; (3) this taboo, and other dynamics of care, reflected expectations that Russian speakers derived from experiences in their countries of origin; (4) using interpreters as cultural brokers or establishing support groups for Russian speakers could help address barriers. The language barriers experienced by this LEP population reflect cultural and linguistic issues. Providers should consider partnering with trained interpreters to address the intertwining of language and culture.

Seeking Global Minima

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajuddin, Wan Ahmad

1994-02-01

Ease in finding the configuration at the global energy minimum in a symmetric neural network is important for combinatorial optimization problems. We carry out a comprehensive survey of available strategies for seeking global minima by comparing their performances in the binary representation problem. We recall our previous comparison of steepest descent with analog dynamics, genetic hill-climbing, simulated diffusion, simulated annealing, threshold accepting and simulated tunneling. To this, we add comparisons to other strategies including taboo search and one with field-ordered updating.

Individual differences in motivational activation influence responses to pictures of taboo products.

PubMed

Lang, Annie; Yegiyan, Narine

2011-11-01

In this article, the authors investigated responses to pictures of products whose use is socially or legally restricted for teens and young adults (e.g., beer, liquor, cigarettes). The authors theorized and found that these pictures are motivationally relevant and therefore elicit automatic activation in the appetitive/approach or aversive/defensive motivational systems, which leads to increased attention, arousal, emotional response, and memory for the risky products. The authors also found that these responses are mediated by individual differences in motivational reactivity. The authors suggest that placing images of these products in prevention messages may work against the prevention goal by increasing appetitive activation and positive emotion in populations more inclined to take risks.

Addressing the taboo of medical error through IGBOs: I got burnt once!

PubMed

Dumitrescu, Anda; Ryan, C Anthony

2014-04-01

An I Got Burnt Once (IGBO) is a near-miss or actual clinical event, related to patient safety, that leaves a lasting impact on the health professional (HP) involved. The purpose of this study was to collect and categorize IGBOs from a variety of pediatric HPs and to determine whether the individual's clinical practice was altered as a result. Semistructured interviews involved recollection of an IGBO and subsequent changes in clinical practice. The IGBOs were classified into one of the seven Canadian Medical Education Directives for Specialists (CanMEDS) roles and outcome of the event. Of the 38 pediatric HPs approached (25 doctors and 13 female nurses), 35 recalled an IGBO. Most (74 %) were classified to the CanMEDS Medical Expert role (with subcategorization into diagnostics (37 %), treatment (34 %), and clinical management (31 %) followed by communicator (14 %) and collaborator (12 %) roles). Half (55 %) of the respondents considered the IGBO event to be potentially life threatening event to the patient, resulting in no harm (63 %), disability (14 %), and fatality in 17 % of the cases. Most respondents (92 %) stated that IGBOs affected their medical practice for months and sometimes years after the event. Most practitioners can recall an IGBO in their clinical practice. IGBOs may be a potential source of medical risk avoidance and reduction strategies, and worthy of further investigation by "deep dives" or root cause analysis.

Testing Bilingual Educational Methods: A Plea to End the Language-Mixing Taboo

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antón, Eneko; Thierry, Guillaume; Goborov, Alexander; Anasagasti, Jon; Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni

2016-01-01

Language mixing in a given class is often avoided in bilingual education because of the generally held belief that "one subject" should be taught in only "one language" and "one person" should stick to "one language" in order to minimize confusion. Here, we compared the effects of mixing two languages and…

Breaking the Mirror Taboo in Nigeria in Aid of Early Self-Awareness.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olowu, Akinsola Akin

1984-01-01

Argues that Nigerian tribal myths and beliefs keeping infants and young children from looking into mirrors interfere with the early development of self-concept. The self-concept of infants is viewed as contributing importantly to the way they perceive other aspects of their environment. (RH)

Extraction and Classification of Emotions for Business Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, Rajib

The commercial study of emotions has not embraced Internet / social mining yet, even though it has important applications in management. This is surprising since the emotional content is freeform, wide spread, can give a better indication of feelings (for instance with taboo subjects), and is inexpensive compared to other business research methods. A brief framework for applying text mining to this new research domain is shown and classification issues are discussed in an effort to quickly get businessman and researchers to adopt the mining methodology.

Space Weaponization and US-China Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

and his JD degree from the New York University School of Law. Mr. Blazejewski would like to thank Frank von Hippel and R. Scott Kemp for their comments...Totem and Taboo,” 18. 69. Krepon, “Lost in Space,” 7. 70. One suggestion by Frank von Hippel would be to try to detect the laser beam by its scattering...more.” Pillsbury Report, 9. 15. Statement by Eric D. Hagt in “Chinese Military Modernization and Its Impact on the United States and the Asia

Do emotion-induced blindness and the attentional blink share underlying mechanisms? An event-related potential study of emotionally-arousing words.

PubMed

MacLeod, Jeffrey; Stewart, Brandie M; Newman, Aaron J; Arnell, Karen M

2017-06-01

When two targets are presented within approximately 500 ms of each other in the context of rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), participants' ability to report the second target is reduced compared to when the targets are presented further apart in time. This phenomenon is known as the attentional blink (AB). The AB is increased in magnitude when the first target is emotionally arousing. Emotionally arousing stimuli can also capture attention and create an AB-like effect even when these stimuli are presented as to-be-ignored distractor items in a single-target RSVP task. This phenomenon is known as emotion-induced blindness (EIB). The phenomenological similarity in the behavioral results associated with the AB with an emotional T1 and EIB suggest that these effects may result from similar underlying mechanisms - a hypothesis that we tested using event-related electrical brain potentials (ERPs). Behavioral results replicated those reported previously, demonstrating an enhanced AB following an emotionally arousing target and a clear EIB effect. In both paradigms highly arousing taboo/sexual words resulted in an increased early posterior negativity (EPN) component that has been suggested to represent early semantic activation and selection for further processing in working memory. In both paradigms taboo/sexual words also produced an increased late positive potential (LPP) component that has been suggested to represent consolidation of a stimulus in working memory. Therefore, ERP results provide evidence that the EIB and emotion-enhanced AB effects share a common underlying mechanism.

CrowdOutAIDS: crowdsourcing youth perspectives for action.

PubMed

Hildebrand, Mikaela; Ahumada, Claudia; Watson, Sharon

2013-05-01

To develop a strategy for how to better engage young people in decision-making processes on AIDS, UNAIDS launched the participatory online policy project CrowdOutAIDS in 2011. A total of 3,497 young people aged 15-29 from 79 countries signed up to nine online forums, and volunteers recruited through the online platform hosted 39 community-based offline forums with an additional 1,605 participants. This article describes the participatory approach of using social media and crowdsourcing solutions to integrate youth perspectives into strategy and policy processes. In these forums, youth consistently identified the need to change the way sex and relationships are dealt with through changing how sex is talked about, putting comprehensive sexuality education in place, and overcoming social and cultural taboos. The outcome document recommended three major priorities: dispel taboos surrounding sex and sexuality, eliminate stigma and discrimination against young people living with HIV, and remove social and legal barriers. Six strategic actions were also recommended: strengthen young people's skills for effective leadership, ensure full youth participation in the AIDS response, increase access to HIV-related information, strengthen strategic networks, increase UNAIDS's outreach to young people, and increase young people's access to financial support. Through leveraging social media and crowdsourcing, it is possible to integrate grassroots perspectives from across the globe into a new model of engagement and participation, which should be further explored for community empowerment and mobilization. Copyright © 2013 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A visit to the village of Saye.

PubMed

1992-01-01

This brief article describes the changes in the village of Saye, Burkina Faso which were recognizable after 20 years absence. Rainfall was plentiful and it was the best season for agriculture in 20 years; the sorghum swayed in the breezes ready for harvest. There are 28 women and village elders who still recognized their visitor, Ramata. The changes in family planning attitudes and sexuality were evident in the way men and women freely joke and laugh about sexual issues in a good humored but not superficial way. The respected El Hadj (meaning that he had visited Mecca) Sawadogo, president of the local Naam group, was the one who cracked jokes which brought laughter to the audience. The taboos are still there, but everyone agrees that family planning is a good idea because it reduces suffering and the people do not still have enough food to eat. Birth spacing is generally accepted, but there is resistance to stopping births. There is growing tolerance toward premarital pregnancies, and polygamy among younger women, which leads to fractious polygamous wives. 20 years ago it was a radical act to show a film on sex education, where pen and ink outlines gave shape to a naked teenaged boy and girl next to each other on the screen. The audience response was a roar of disbelief and the author feared that the local prefet would put him in jail for disturbing public order and violating a taboo.

Barriers Beyond Words: Cancer, Culture, and Translation in a Community of Russian Speakers

PubMed Central

Levintova, Marya

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND Language and culture relate in complex ways. Addressing this complexity in the context of language translation is a challenge when caring for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). OBJECTIVE To examine processes of care related to language, culture and translation in an LEP population is the objective of this study. DESIGN We used community based participatory research to examine the experiences of Russian-speaking cancer patients in San Francisco, California. A Russian Cancer Information Taskforce (RCIT), including community-based organizations, local government, and clinics, participated in all phases of the study. PARTICIPANTS A purposeful sample of 74 individuals were the participants of the study. APPROACH The RCIT shaped research themes and facilitated access to participants. Methods were focus groups, individual interviews, and participant observation. RCIT reviewed data and provided guidance in interpreting results. RESULTS Four themes emerged. (1) Local Russian-language resources were seen as inadequate and relatively unavailable compared to other non-English languages; (2) a taboo about the word “cancer” led to language “games” surrounding disclosure; (3) this taboo, and other dynamics of care, reflected expectations that Russian speakers derived from experiences in their countries of origin; (4) using interpreters as cultural brokers or establishing support groups for Russian speakers could help address barriers. CONCLUSIONS The language barriers experienced by this LEP population reflect cultural and linguistic issues. Providers should consider partnering with trained interpreters to address the intertwining of language and culture. PMID:17957415

Future HLA matching strategies in clinical transplantation.

PubMed

Claas, Frans H J; Roelen, Dave L; Oudshoorn, Machteld; Doxiadis, Ilias I N

2003-01-01

HLA matching has shown to be beneficial in clinical transplantation. Due to the enormous polymorphism of the HLA system, however, it is not feasible to select a completely HLA-matched donor for every potential recipient. Only for patients with frequently occurring HLA phenotypes is it realistic to expect a well-matched donor within a reasonable waiting time. The majority of patients will be transplanted with a partially mismatched donor. In order to select the optimal donor for this category of patients, it is important to take advantage of the differential immunogenicity and thus differential importance of mismatched HLA antigens. Based on retrospective analyses of graft survival data and in vitro tests measuring T-cell alloreactivity, the relative importance of different mismatches was evaluated. It has been possible to define acceptable or permissible mismatches with a low immunogenicity, which are associated with a good graft survival, versus taboo mismatches with a high immunogenicity and a poor graft survival. Further developing this new line of permissible versus taboo mismatches, a new strategy will emerge for future HLA matching, which will not only suit a rare number of patients with frequent haplotypes but a great percentage of all patients. This principle of different immunogenicity of different mismatches can not only be applied to T-cell alloreactivity as shown here, but also to B-cell alloreactivity, where a recently developed computer algorithm (HLA matchmaker) can be instrumental in selecting donors with HLA mismatches, which do not lead to alloantibody formation.

Construction of negative images of menstruation in Indian TV commercials.

PubMed

Yagnik, Arpan Shailesh

2012-01-01

Menstruation is a perfectly normal physiological process; however, it is problematized in TV commercials. In the current study, a thematic analysis of 50 Indian TV commercials was conducted to identify the latent themes. Social captivity, restrictions, professional inefficiency, and physical and mental discomfort emerged as major themes after the analysis. The knowledge that manufacturers use such themes for image building and creating a conducive buying environment may prevent the reinforcement of menstrual taboos in Indian society. It can also guide the manufacturers in ideating and creating positive and healthier ways of advertising female hygiene products.

The importance of physiotherapy in the sexuality of patients with rheumatic diseases

PubMed Central

Maślińska, Maria

2017-01-01

The sexuality of patients with rheumatic diseases is a significant interdisciplinary problem, requiring intensified action not only of rheumatologists, sexologists, and psychologists but also physiotherapists. The sexuality problems and motor disability in chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis, as well as other rheumatic diseases, are generally still taboo subjects, rarely discussed by physicians and physiotherapists. Lack of mobility, hormonal imbalance, fatigue, and accompanying decreased quality of life have an impact on sexual dysfunction. Meanwhile sex, as an integral part of human personality, is an essential element of human life. PMID:29332962

Jehovah's Witness parents' refusal of blood transfusions: Ethical considerations for psychologists.

PubMed

Hoffman, Anna

2016-08-01

Psychologists in medical settings may be confronted with Jehovah's Witness parents refusing blood transfusions for their children as an ethical dilemma. The purpose of this discussion is to help psychologists provide informed, ethical consultations and support by investigating the values of the Jehovah's Witness community and the origin of the blood transfusion taboo, how medical and legal professionals have approached this dilemma, exploring relevant ethical principles and standards for psychologists, and suggestions for how to move toward a better understanding of harm with Jehovah's Witness families. © The Author(s) 2014.

'I am reading the history of religion': a contribution to the knowledge of Freud's building of a theory.

PubMed

Cotti, Patricia

2014-06-01

Could Reinach's Cultes, mythes et religions (1908) have served as a model for the theory of religion that Freud was later to put forward in Totem and Taboo (1913)? This hypothesis has been tested by examining Freud's marginalia in his personal copy of Cultes, mythes et religions. In this way it is possible to reconstitute the line of thinking that led Freud to declare, in late summer 1911, that he had found an answer to the question of the origins of tragic guilt and religious sentiment. © The Author(s) 2014.

Culture and the environment in Ghana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dyasi, Hubert M.

1985-03-01

The traditional culture of Ghana stressed a strong relationship with the environment, and a culturally acceptable environmental management resulted from strictures and taboos related to the land. Following its independence in 1957, Ghana has enacted laws that reflect an enlightened environmental policy. These are especially important because of the difficulties Ghana has had in its economic development using Western technology that has damaged the fragile tropical ecosystem. A key aspect of Ghana's policy is the attempt to marry scientific knowledge and traditional beliefs for environmentally sound management of Ghana's resources.

Breaking the Taboo: Illicit Drug Use among Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

PubMed Central

Hogendorf, Anna M.; Fendler, Wojciech; Sieroslawski, Janusz; Bobeff, Katarzyna; Wegrewicz, Krzysztof; Malewska, Kamila I.; Przudzik, Maciej W.; Szmigiero-Kawko, Malgorzata; Sztangierska, Beata; Mysliwiec, Malgorzata; Szadkowska, Agnieszka; Mlynarski, Wojciech

2016-01-01

Background. The aim of the study was to explore the prevalence of illicit drug use in a group of Polish adolescents with type 1 diabetes (DM1) in comparison with a national cohort of their healthy peers. Methods. Two hundred and nine adolescents with DM1, aged 15–18 years, were studied in 2013 with an anonymous questionnaire prepared for the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). The control group was a representative sample of 12114 students at the same age who took part in ESPAD in 2011. Metabolic control was regarded as good if self-reported HbA1c was <8% or poor if HbA1c was ≥8%. Results. Lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use was lower among adolescents with DM1 than in the control group [58 (28%) versus 5524 (46%), p = 10−5]. Cannabis preparations were the most frequently used substances [38 (18.3%) versus 3976 (33.1%), p = 10−5], followed by tranquilizers, sedatives, and amphetamine. Lifetime and last 12-month use of cannabis were associated with poorer glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 8%), p < 0.01 and 0.02, respectively. Conclusions. Adolescents with DM1 report using illicit drugs to a lesser extent than their healthy peers. The use of cannabis is associated with a poorer metabolic control in teens with DM1. PMID:26858959

Breaking the Taboo: Illicit Drug Use among Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.

PubMed

Hogendorf, Anna M; Fendler, Wojciech; Sieroslawski, Janusz; Bobeff, Katarzyna; Wegrewicz, Krzysztof; Malewska, Kamila I; Przudzik, Maciej W; Szmigiero-Kawko, Malgorzata; Sztangierska, Beata; Mysliwiec, Malgorzata; Szadkowska, Agnieszka; Mlynarski, Wojciech

2016-01-01

The aim of the study was to explore the prevalence of illicit drug use in a group of Polish adolescents with type 1 diabetes (DM1) in comparison with a national cohort of their healthy peers. Two hundred and nine adolescents with DM1, aged 15-18 years, were studied in 2013 with an anonymous questionnaire prepared for the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). The control group was a representative sample of 12114 students at the same age who took part in ESPAD in 2011. Metabolic control was regarded as good if self-reported HbA1c was <8% or poor if HbA1c was ≥8%. Lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use was lower among adolescents with DM1 than in the control group [58 (28%) versus 5524 (46%), p = 10(-5)]. Cannabis preparations were the most frequently used substances [38 (18.3%) versus 3976 (33.1%), p = 10(-5)], followed by tranquilizers, sedatives, and amphetamine. Lifetime and last 12-month use of cannabis were associated with poorer glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 8%), p < 0.01 and 0.02, respectively. Adolescents with DM1 report using illicit drugs to a lesser extent than their healthy peers. The use of cannabis is associated with a poorer metabolic control in teens with DM1.

Diversity Taboos: Religion and Sexual Orientation in the Social Studies Classroom. Curriculum Concerns.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wade, Rahima, Ed.

1995-01-01

Asserts that, in many schools, educators have made great strides in responding to ethnic diversity and gender issues. Argues that two other aspects of diversity--sexual orientation and religious differences--are often ignored. Discusses curriculum design, school policy development, and teaching methods related to these topics. (CFR)

[A novel protocol for hyperdivergent Class II surgery: innovation or breaking a taboo?].

PubMed

Garcia, Claude; Brunel, Jean-Michel

2009-06-01

The widespread distribution via Internet of images and even videos showing facial surgery has considerably contributed to our knowledge of orthodontic-surgical treatment. The never-ending increase in the number of patients receiving surgery has given us food for thought and statistics. If we are to progress further, we need to innovative in the area of surgical technique as well as in our clinical and psychological approach to patients. We have endeavoured to move forward from the idea of "straightforward" malocclusion repair to that of "morphofunctional surgery of the face" by emphasizing the esthetic and occlusal outcome.

Theory of mind and Darwin's legacy.

PubMed

Searle, John

2013-06-18

We do not have an adequate theory of consciousness. Both dualism and materialism are mistaken because they deny consciousness is part of the physical world. False claims include (i) behaviorism, (ii) computationalism, (iii) epiphenomenalism, (iv) the readiness potential, (v) subjectivity, and (vi) materialism. Ontological subjectivity does not preclude epistemic objectivity. Observer relative phenomena are created by consciousness, but consciousness is not itself observer relative. Consciousness consists of feeling, sentience, or awareness with (i) qualitativeness, (ii) ontological subjectivity, (iii) unified conscious field, (iv) intentionality, and (v) intentional causation. All conscious states are caused by lower level neurobiological processes in the brain, and they are realized in the brain as higher level features. Efforts to get a detailed scientific account of how brain processes cause consciousness are disappointing. The Darwinian revolution gave us a new form of explanation; two levels were substituted: a causal level, where we specify the mechanism by which the phenotype functions, and a functional level, where we specify the selectional advantage that the phenotype provides. Sociobiology attempted to explain general features of human society, ethics, etc. It failed. For the incest taboo, it confuses inhibition with prohibition. It did not explain the moral force of the taboo. To explain the function of consciousness we cannot ask, "What would be subtracted if we subtracted consciousness but left everything else the same?" We cannot leave everything else the same because consciousness is necessary for higher functions of human and animal life. The unified conscious field gives the organism vastly increased power.

Theory of mind and Darwin’s legacy

PubMed Central

Searle, John

2013-01-01

We do not have an adequate theory of consciousness. Both dualism and materialism are mistaken because they deny consciousness is part of the physical world. False claims include (i) behaviorism, (ii) computationalism, (iii) epiphenomenalism, (iv) the readiness potential, (v) subjectivity, and (vi) materialism. Ontological subjectivity does not preclude epistemic objectivity. Observer relative phenomena are created by consciousness, but consciousness is not itself observer relative. Consciousness consists of feeling, sentience, or awareness with (i) qualitativeness, (ii) ontological subjectivity, (iii) unified conscious field, (iv) intentionality, and (v) intentional causation. All conscious states are caused by lower level neurobiological processes in the brain, and they are realized in the brain as higher level features. Efforts to get a detailed scientific account of how brain processes cause consciousness are disappointing. The Darwinian revolution gave us a new form of explanation; two levels were substituted: a causal level, where we specify the mechanism by which the phenotype functions, and a functional level, where we specify the selectional advantage that the phenotype provides. Sociobiology attempted to explain general features of human society, ethics, etc. It failed. For the incest taboo, it confuses inhibition with prohibition. It did not explain the moral force of the taboo. To explain the function of consciousness we cannot ask, “What would be subtracted if we subtracted consciousness but left everything else the same?” We cannot leave everything else the same because consciousness is necessary for higher functions of human and animal life. The unified conscious field gives the organism vastly increased power. PMID:23754416

A glimpse into the process of gaining permission for the educational dissection of human cadavers in the Ottoman Empire.

PubMed

Akkin, Salih Murat; Dinc, Gulten

2014-10-01

Dissection of the human body for educational purposes became officially permitted in the Ottoman Empire only after a long, difficult process. In the West, studies based on the findings of Galen had been taboo during a long period in which dissection of human bodies had been prohibited. Although the first dissection studies since ancient times began to appear in the Western literature in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, the post-Galen taboo against dissection was broken only in the 16th century by the studies of Vesalius. However, in the Eastern World, it was only fairly recently that the idea of the "sanctity of the human body" could be challenged. In the medieval Islamic world, as during the Middle Ages in the West, prohibitions against the dissection of human cadavers continued for social and religious reasons, although the Koran does not specifically ban such dissection. This prohibition also continued through the Ottoman era, which began in the 14th century. The first efforts to end the prohibition on dissection in the Ottoman Empire were made at the beginning of the 19th century during the reign of Sultan Selim III but official permission for dissection was given only in 1841 during the reign of Sultan Abdulmecid. Educational dissections in the Ottoman Empire officially began at the Istanbul Medical School following the granting of this permission. This article will discuss the attempts to end the prohibition of dissection in Ottomans within the scope of the history of anatomical study in Turkey. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[What do we know about perinatal sexuality? A scoping review on sexoperinatality - Part 2].

PubMed

de Pierrepont, C; Polomeno, V; Bouchard, L; Reissing, E

2016-10-01

The intimate and sexual dimension of future and new parenting couples' relationship is the most affected and the most vulnerable during the transition to parenthood. The purpose of this scoping review is to present the portrait of perinatal sexuality through 123 empirical articles published in the last 15 years. This second article in a series of two is about sexuality during labor and birth, during the postpartum, and in relation to breastfeeding. A total of 29 sexual variables were analyzed. Sexuality during the intrapartal and postnatal periods is very diversified. Some recurring items, however, can be identified: a period of non-sexuality in the first postnatal months, followed by a gradual return of sexuality from 3 to 6 months postpartum and continuing until 12 months or more. Sexuality during the intrapartum is considered taboo and couples' experiences can be at opposite ends: some couples' experiences are sensual and erotic during childbirth, while others experience birth trauma with a negative sexual impact postnatally. Sexuality during breastfeeding is also taboo with a negative impact on women's sexuality. In all of these circumstances, women's and men's sexuality are affected and a multitude of simultaneous physiological and psychological factors affect their experiences. Fluctuations in the intimate and sexual dimensions of the conjugal relationship are considered as a natural phenomenon but temporary. Sexoperinatal interventions should be part of holistic perinatal health care in order to help couples maintain a positive intimate and sexual relationship. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Mechanisms of social avoidance learning can explain the emergence of adaptive and arbitrary behavioral traditions in humans.

PubMed

Lindström, Björn; Olsson, Andreas

2015-06-01

Many nonhuman animals preferentially copy the actions of others when the environment contains predation risk or other types of danger. In humans, the role of social learning in avoidance of danger is still unknown, despite the fundamental importance of social learning for complex social behaviors. Critically, many social behaviors, such as cooperation and adherence to religious taboos, are maintained by threat of punishment. However, the psychological mechanisms allowing threat of punishment to generate such behaviors, even when actual punishment is rare or absent, are largely unknown. To address this, we used both computer simulations and behavioral experiments. First, we constructed a model where simulated agents interacted under threat of punishment and showed that mechanisms' (a) tendency to copy the actions of others through social learning, together with (b) the rewarding properties of avoiding a threatening punishment, could explain the emergence, maintenance, and transmission of large-scale behavioral traditions, both when punishment is common and when it is rare or nonexistent. To provide empirical support for our model, including the 2 mechanisms, we conducted 4 experiments, showing that humans, if threatened with punishment, are exceptionally prone to copy and transmit the behavior observed in others. Our results show that humans, similar to many nonhuman animals, use social learning if the environment is perceived as dangerous. We provide a novel psychological and computational basis for a range of human behaviors characterized by the threat of punishment, such as the adherence to cultural norms and religious taboos. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Students' perceptions and doubts about menstruation in developing countries: a case study from India.

PubMed

Chothe, Vikas; Khubchandani, Jagdish; Seabert, Denise; Asalkar, Mahesh; Rakshe, Sarika; Firke, Arti; Midha, Inuka; Simmons, Robert

2014-05-01

Menstrual education is a vital aspect of adolescent health education. Culture, awareness, and socioeconomic status often exert profound influence on menstrual practices. However, health education programs for young women in developing countries do not often address menstrual hygiene, practices, and disorders. Developing culturally sensitive menstrual health education and hygiene programs for adolescent females has been recommended by professional health organizations like the World Health Organization and UNICEF. These programs cannot be developed without understanding existing myths and perceptions about menstruation in adolescent females of developing countries. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study from India was to document existing misconceptions regarding menstruation and perceptions about menarche and various menstrual restrictions that have been understudied. Out of the 612 students invited to participate by asking questions, 381 girls participated by asking specific questions about menstruation (response rate = 62%). The respondents consisted of 84 girls from sixth grade, 117 from seventh grade, and 180 from eighth grade. The questions asked were arranged into the following subthemes: anatomy and physiology, menstrual symptoms, menstrual myths and taboos, health and beauty, menstrual abnormalities, seeking medical advice and home remedies; sanitary pads usage and disposal; diet and lifestyle; and sex education. Results of our study indicate that students had substantial doubts about menstruation and were influenced by societal myths and taboos in relation to menstrual practices. Parents, adolescent care providers, and policy makers in developing countries should advocate for comprehensive sexuality education and resources (e.g., low-cost sanitary pads and school facilities) to promote menstrual health and hygiene promotion.

Self-calibration of a noisy multiple-sensor system with genetic algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brooks, Richard R.; Iyengar, S. Sitharama; Chen, Jianhua

1996-01-01

This paper explores an image processing application of optimization techniques which entails interpreting noisy sensor data. The application is a generalization of image correlation; we attempt to find the optimal gruence which matches two overlapping gray-scale images corrupted with noise. Both taboo search and genetic algorithms are used to find the parameters which match the two images. A genetic algorithm approach using an elitist reproduction scheme is found to provide significantly superior results. The presentation includes a graphic presentation of the paths taken by tabu search and genetic algorithms when trying to find the best possible match between two corrupted images.

An Optimization System with Parallel Processing for Reducing Common-Mode Current on Electronic Control Unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okazaki, Yuji; Uno, Takanori; Asai, Hideki

In this paper, we propose an optimization system with parallel processing for reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI) on electronic control unit (ECU). We adopt simulated annealing (SA), genetic algorithm (GA) and taboo search (TS) to seek optimal solutions, and a Spice-like circuit simulator to analyze common-mode current. Therefore, the proposed system can determine the adequate combinations of the parasitic inductance and capacitance values on printed circuit board (PCB) efficiently and practically, to reduce EMI caused by the common-mode current. Finally, we apply the proposed system to an example circuit to verify the validity and efficiency of the system.

Incest.

PubMed Central

Nobel, M

1978-01-01

This paper is based on two presentations under the auspices of thf Edinburgh Medical Group in 1976. Dr Noble and Professor Mason, explore the incidence of incest and society's attitudes to it from legal, anthropological, medical and social viewpoints. They place this in a world context by looking at the universal prohibition of incest and the theories related to that taboo. In conclusion, they suggest that there seem to be sufficient sensible grounds on which to base a reappraisal of attitudes to incest. Their conclusions are in turn appraised by brief commentaries from a moral philospher and a psychiatrist. PMID:671473

Korean women's attitudes toward pregnancy and prenatal care.

PubMed

Pritham, U A; Sammons, L N

1993-01-01

A convenience sample of 40 native-born pregnant Korean women receiving prenatal care at a U.S. military facility in a major metropolitan area in Korea completed a questionnaire about attitudes toward pregnancy and prenatal care. Responses revealed a family life characterized by positive maternal and paternal perceptions of the pregnancy and less preference for a male child than we had anticipated. Traditional beliefs in Tae Mong, a conception dream, and Tae Kyo, rituals for safe childbirth, were followed. Food taboos, including protein sources, were reported. Attitudes toward prenatal care services, care providers, and maternal health habits are described.

Teenage Cancer Trust education & advocacy program: 'lets talk about it' a United Kingdom approach.

PubMed

Harding, Amy

2012-01-01

Cancer in the United Kingdom is viewed as a taboo subject, particularly with young people, who can enter adulthood with little knowledge about cancer and are often misinformed about the facts. Evidence suggests this lack of information can lead to significant delays in cancer diagnosis. Within the education system in the United Kingdom, there is no provision for cancer education, but as cancer is likely to affect more people each year, the Teenage Cancer Trust education program 'Let's talk about it' aims to improve knowledge and awareness of cancer in secondary schools and offers advice on healthy living to all young people.

Sexual function in elderly women: a review of current literature.

PubMed

Ambler, Dana R; Bieber, Eric J; Diamond, Michael P

2012-01-01

Although sexuality remains an important component of emotional and physical intimacy that most men and women desire to experience throughout their lives, sexual dysfunction in women is a problem that is not well studied. The prevalence of sexual dysfunction among all women is estimated to be between 25% and 63%; the prevalence in postmenopausal women is even higher, with rates between 68% and 86.5%. Increasing recognition of this common problem and future research in this field may alter perceptions about sexuality, dismiss taboo and incorrect thoughts on sexual dysfunction, and spark better management for patients, allowing them to live more enjoyable lives.

Using peer education to increase sexual health knowledge among West African refugees in Western Australia.

PubMed

Drummond, Peter D; Mizan, Ayse; Brocx, Katie; Wright, Bernadette

2011-03-01

Ten bilingual West African peer educators conducted a 3-hour workshop on sexual health for small groups of West African refugees (N = 58) who recently had settled in Perth, Western Australia. There were significant increases in the participants' knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and HIV, how these infections are spread, and how to protect against infection. In addition, attitudes toward condom use became more positive. We conclude that the peer-education approach was successful in assisting a new and emerging community to work effectively on sexual health topics generally considered "taboo" or too sensitive to discuss.

Democratization as a United States Strategy for Middle East Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-18

the Middle East presents a wide variety of governments across the region. Republics exists in Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon , Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen...PF 4 5 PF 4 5 PF 4 5 PF 4 5 PF Lebanon 6 5 NF 6 5 NF 6 5 NF 6 5 NF 6 5 NF Libya 7 7 NF 7 7 NF 7 7 NF 7 7 NF 7 7 NF Morocco 5 4 PF 5 5 PF 5 5 PF 5 5...more open discussion of previously taboo topics.17 Syria’s firm control continues to be the greatest impediment to freedom in Lebanon . The Lebanese

Dualistic hearts: social class, education, different cultures, and lesbian love in desert hearts.

PubMed

Sterling, Eric

2012-01-01

Donna Deitch's Desert Hearts, one of the highest-grossing lesbian films ever made, is a groundbreaking and poignant movie about self-discovery and self-acceptance. This article focuses on the societal obstacles-such as vastly different social classes, cultures, and educational backgrounds-that Vivian and Cay must overcome in order to begin their relationship. The article also shows the taboos faced by gays in the 1950s, such as the firing of college professors in that era. The latent lesbian desire of the homophobic Frances, which is rarely addressed in criticism of the film, is discussed in detail.

[Impacts of numerology on acupuncture].

PubMed

Chen, Min; Wu, Changqiu; Wu, Xueyi

2016-04-01

Numerology has a long history in China and has the profound impacts on every academic field in TCM, with acupuncture involved. In this paper, the impacts on acupuncture were discussed in different aspects such as the numbers of meridians, the length of meridian, the time taboo of acupuncture, acupuncture manipulation and time acupuncture. It was found that numerology had laid the critical impact on acupuncture and had the profound imprint nowadays. It is of great significance to study the numerology theory in its impacts on acupuncture, in the exploration on the theories behind acupuncture as well as the comprehensive understanding of acupuncture.

The Arab Bed Spring? Sexual rights in troubled times across the Middle East and North Africa.

PubMed

El Feki, Shereen

2015-11-01

In recent decades, attitudes in many parts of the Arab region have hardened towards non-conforming sexualities and gender roles, a shift fuelled in part by a rise in Islamic conservatism and exploited by authoritarian regimes. While political cultures have proved slow to change in the wake of the 'Arab Spring', a growing freedom of expression, and increasing activity by civil society, is opening space for discreet challenges to sexual taboos in a number of countries, part of wider debates over human rights and personal liberties in the emerging political and social order. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sexual behaviors in male sex workers in Spain: modulating factors.

PubMed

Ballester, Rafael; Salmerón, Pedro; Gil, María D; Giménez, Cristina

2014-02-01

This study analyzed how the culture of origin, educational level, sexual orientation, and experience of male sex workers may mediate their commercial sexual behaviors. A total of 100 Spanish agency male sex workers were interviewed. Most of them were young men, Latin American, homosexual, and had middle-level education. Our results showed that cultural differences and sexual orientation could influence male sex workers when engaging in sexual behaviors with their clients. Social and health projects with male sex workers may have to take into account sexual myths and taboos related to sexual orientation and cultural differences.

Knowledge of adolescent girls regarding reproductive health care.

PubMed

Dash, Bijayalakshmi

2012-01-01

The period of adolescence (usually 15-19 years) is marked by physiological changes in the body, more so with females. Unfortunately sex and sex education continue to be taboo. A study was therefore conducted among adolescent girls of urban slum area of Niladribihar, Khurda district of Odisha. The sample consisted of 84 adolescent girls. The analysis showed that adolescent girls had average reproductive health care that can lead to numerous health problems and there is dire need of evolving measures to improve their knowledge on reproductive health care. Nursing professionals in hospital setting can significantly contribute in this area.

The Myth of the Pure Obsessional Type in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

PubMed Central

Williams, Monnica T.; Farris, Samantha G.; Turkheimer, Eric; Pinto, Anthony; Ozanick, Krystal; Franklin, Martin E.; Liebowitz, Michael; Simpson, H. Blair; Foa, Edna B.

2011-01-01

Background Several studies have identified discrete symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), derived from factor analyses of the individual items or symptom categories of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Symptom Checklist (YBOCS-SC). The current study aims to extend previous work on the relationship between obsessions and compulsions by specifically including mental compulsions and reassurance-seeking. Since these compulsions have traditionally been omitted from prior factor analytic studies, their association to what have been called “pure obsessions” may have been overlooked. Method Participants (N=201) were recruited from two multi-site randomized clinical treatment trials for OCD. The YBOCS-SC was used to assess OCD symptoms as it includes a comprehensive list of obsessions and compulsions, arranged by content category. Each category was given a score based on whether symptoms were present and if the symptom was a primary target of clinical concern, and a factor analysis was conducted. Mental compulsions and reassurance-seeking were considered separate categories for the analysis. Results Using an orthogonal geomin rotation of 16 YBOCS-SC categories/items, we found a five-factor solution that explained 67% of the total variance. Inspection of items that composed each factor suggests five familiar constructs, with mental compulsions and reassurance-seeking included with sexual, aggressive, and religious obsessions (unacceptable/taboo thoughts). Conclusions This study suggests that the concept of the “pure obsessional” (e.g., patients with unacceptable/taboo thoughts yet no compulsions) may be a misnomer, as these obsessions were factorially associated with mental compulsions and reassurance-seeking in these samples. These findings may have implications for DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. PMID:21509914

Latino Men and Familial Risk Communication about Prostate Cancer

PubMed Central

Hicks, Elisabeth M.; Litwin, Mark S.; Maliski, Sally L.

2014-01-01

Purpose This study investigated how familial communication about prostate cancer risk and screening affects sons of men with prostate cancer. It is important to engage Latino families shared decision making toward early detection because first degree relatives of men with PCa are at heightened risk and Latino men are diagnosed at more advanced stages of disease than Non-Hispanic White men. Methods The team conducted semi-structured interviews with seventeen sons of PCa survivors. Eight participants completed a follow up interview an average of seven months later. Therefore, our sample includes twenty-five transcripts. The sons are Latinos living in Southern California. Data were analyzed with a mix of a priori topical codes and grounded theory techniques. Results Sons were under informed about both familial risk and screening options. They became sensitized to PCa, desired information, and held protective intentions. Hopeful intentions came up against cultural taboos around sex, reproductive health, and intimacy that limited discussions between fathers and sons. Fathers were a valued source of information, but play various roles, which affect sons’ screening intentions. Open communication between father and son promoted awareness of screening and familial risk. Discussion Uncertainty about familial risk and screening options, especially early detection strategies, was exacerbated by cultural taboos around PCa. Fathers could have been primary and credible advocates for shared decision making, but sons found it difficult to learn from their fathers’ experience. Nursing Implications Findings from our study can inform community based interventions with Latino families, help to culturally tailor health messaging, and sensitize clinicians to a group which needs concerted counseling about PCa risk and screening. PMID:25158656

Risk factors for child under-nutrition with a human rights edge in rural villages of North Wollo, Ethiopia.

PubMed

Haidar, J; Abate, G; Kogi-Makau, W; Sorensen, P

2005-12-01

To identify the factors associated with childhood under-nutrition in North Wollo, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study. Four purposefully selected rural villages (kebeles) in North Wollo zone of the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. One hundred-forty four sampled households with under five year old children (n=200) comprising of 96 male-headed, 24 female-headed and 24 landless with children aged between six and 59 months. Determinations of anthropometric measurements and various socio-economic factors. The overall prevalence rate of under nutrition as determined by stunting, underweight and wasting was 44.5%, 25.0% and 9.0% respectively with more preponderance among the toddlers. The proportion of under nutrition was higher in female-headed households. Shortage of farmland, lack of irrigation, dispossession of livestock, shortage of non-farm employment options, parental illiteracy, high number of children, water inadequacy, food taboos and wrong eating habits of families, poor child feeding practices, deprivation of health nutrition education as well as maternal attributes such as young motherhood, low body mass index and short stature of mothers influenced the nutritional status of the children. The prominent risk factors for undernutrition among children were dispossession of livestock, child food taboos and wrong eating habits of families, deprivation of health/nutrition education, short stature and early marriage of mothers. This study led to the conclusion that improvement of household resources through promotion of irrigation and initiation of income generating livelihood options can reverse the nutrition situation for better. Health and nutrition education focusing on appropriate child feeding, eradication of harmful traditional practices such as early marriage and inequitable intra-household food distribution, encouragement of family planning and nutrition interventions including food diversification is recommended.

Challenging tradition in Nigeria.

PubMed

Supriya, K E

1991-01-01

In Nigeria since 1987, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NSNNM) has used traditional medial and traditional health care workers to curtail the practice of female circumcision. Other harmful traditions are being changed also, such as early marriage, taboos of pregnancy and childbirth, and scarification. 30,000 member of NANNM are involved in this effort to halt the harmful practices themselves and to change community opinion. The program involved national and state level workshops on harmful health consequences of traditional practices and instruction on how to conduct focus group discussions to assess women's beliefs and practices. The focus groups were found to be a particularly successful method of opening up discussion of taboo topics and expressing deep emotions. The response to the knowledge that circumcision was not necessary was rage and anger, which was channeled into advocacy roles or change in the practice. The result was the channeled into advocacy roles for change in the practice. The result was the development of books, leaflets and videos. One community group designed a dress with a decorative motif of tatoos and bodily cuts to symbolize circumcision and scarring. Plays and songs were written and performed. Artists provided models of female genitalia both before and after circumcision. The campaign has been successful in bringing this issue to the public attention in prominent ways, such a national television, health talk shows, and women;s magazines. One of the most important results of the effort has been the demonstration that culture and tradition can be changed from within, rather than from outside imposition of values and beliefs.

The menopause 'It's somewhere between a taboo and a joke'. A focus group study.

PubMed

Duffy, O; Iversen, L; Hannaford, P C

2011-08-01

To explore the menopause from the perspective of women in the community, with specific emphasis on their experience of menopausal symptoms, management strategies and support post the Women's Health Initiative trial. Four focus groups were conducted with 14 middle-aged women living in the Grampian region of Scotland. The groups lasted up to 2 hours and were analyzed using the framework approach. Symptom experience was multifaceted and varied, depending on factors such as embarrassment from symptoms, loss of identity, expectations, social support and effectiveness of management strategies. Lack of support was highlighted as a reason why some participants felt confused about the symptoms that they could attribute to the menopause and the management strategies available to them. A variety of management strategies had been used including hormone replacement therapy, herbal remedies and lifestyle changes, with varying levels of success. Some women who chose not to use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) preferred to use lifestyle changes or felt that their symptoms did not warrant hormonal therapy. Some women felt that they had to persuade their family doctor to prescribe HRT and felt that their doctors were too restrictive in prescribing this treatment. Although having good social support in general, some respondents felt less supported about the menopause and felt that improved support networks would diminish some of the confusion about symptoms experienced and management strategies available. In spite of the negative publicity surrounding HRT in recent years, a number of women perceived their family doctor as too restrictive when prescribing HRT.

[Induced abortion in The Netherlands in the twentieth century; from taboo to revolutionary change].

PubMed

Treffers, P E

2006-03-11

Between 1890 and 1945 the number of induced (criminal) abortions increased in Amsterdam; from 1945 up until the 1960s the number decreased slightly. In 1965 the number of induced abortions that took place in Amsterdam was estimated at more than 2000. Complications were frequent and included infections, septicaemia, damage caused by injected soap and sometimes air embolism. Women in Amsterdam often used primitive methods of contraception, but effective methods, such as condoms and diaphragms, were also used to some degree. Oral contraception was introduced in The Netherlands in 1962. Its use increased rapidly and consequently many doctors were confronted with problems surrounding contraception, including failures and abortion requests. After a television programme on abortion in 1967, requests for abortion surged. Hospitals set up multidisciplinary abortion committees to assess the requests, but soon it became evident that the women themselves were better able to judge whether they should undergo the procedure. Abortion clinics were established outside hospitals. Support from the feminist movement played a role after changes were already underway. The nationwide number of abortions increased to 21,000 in 1972 and to about 25,000 in the 1990s. The number remained stable, even among teenagers, because caregivers placed a great deal of emphasis on adequate contraception.

Saying the Unsaid: Probing Homosexuality in The Hairdresser of Harare.

PubMed

Chitando, Anna; Manyonganise, Molly

2016-01-01

Homosexuality in Zimbabwe often evokes strong reactions. Due to a tradition of silence, the topic largely continues to be taboo. However, it has been used by some politicians and church leaders to strengthen arguments and to denounce opponents. It is against this background that The Hairdresser of Harare (Huchu, 2010) ought to be understood. The novel gives helpful clues into discourses on homosexuality in contemporary Zimbabwe. This article analyzes the author's approach to the subject and critiques it. It maintains that the author's view on homosexuality has been limited by attaching the theme to postcolonial politics and violence. However, the article appreciates his courage in exploring the theme.

Challenges Encountered by Vietnamese Nurses When Caring for Patients With Cancer.

PubMed

Thuy Nguyen, Ly; Clemenceau Annoussamy, Lourdes; LeBaron, Virginia T

2017-03-01

Providing holistic care is acknowledged as central to providing quality care for patients with cancer, but providing competent nursing care consistent with these approaches remains a challenge for nurses in Vietnam. Obstacles for Vietnamese oncology nurses include their low status, the limited scope of nursing practice, work overload in a hierarchical system, and cultural beliefs that view death and dying as taboo. Additional research to support oncology nurses in Vietnam must acknowledge the merits of improving nursing education as an important strategy for enhancing nursing autonomy, quality of care, and outcomes for the increasing number of patients with cancer in low- and middle-income countries.

Male sexual dysfunction in Asia

PubMed Central

Ho, Christopher CK; Singam, Praveen; Hong, Goh Eng; Zainuddin, Zulkifli Md

2011-01-01

Sex has always been a taboo subject in Asian society. However, over the past few years, awareness in the field of men's sexual health has improved, and interest in sexual health research has recently increased. The epidemiology and prevalence of erectile dysfunction, hypogonadism and premature ejaculation in Asia are similar in the West. However, several issues are specific to Asian males, including culture and beliefs, awareness, compliance and the availability of traditional/complementary medicine. In Asia, sexual medicine is still in its infancy, and a concerted effort from the government, relevant societies, physicians and the media is required to propel sexual medicine to the forefront of health care. PMID:21643001

On building a science of common factors in trauma therapy.

PubMed

Dalenberg, Constance J

2014-01-01

Research on therapy outcome routinely finds that common factors (e.g., warmth, genuineness, trustworthiness) account for more variance than does therapy technique. This article makes the case for more attention to training in positive common factor variables within graduate schools and internships and for research on the effectiveness of such training. Recommendations are given for a change in focus in research and training, including more discussion of taboo topics in trauma therapy; attention to therapist behaviors that enhance the experience of warmth or trustworthiness; and research on client characteristics that impede the experience of being in the presence of a warm, genuine, and trustworthy other.

The personal experience of dysmenorrhoea: an interpretative phenomenological analysis.

PubMed

Burbeck, Rachel; Willig, Carla

2014-10-01

This study explored six women's experiences of primary dysmenorrhoea using semi-structured interviews analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Rather than focusing on pain, participants broadened the study focus to coping with the menstrual process as a whole. This was seen to be mediated by menstrual taboos and by the theme of 'order', arising from a strong feeling of a menstrual timetable and the need for rational explanation. Another theme was pain as a separate entity, which was connected to the theme of order. Placing dysmenorrhoea in its context may be useful for health-care professionals treating women with the condition. © The Author(s) 2013.

[The press and family planning].

PubMed

Abraham De D'ornellas, R

1987-01-01

The treatment in the press of family planning hinges on two fundamental factors: the taboo of the leftist groups and the taboo of the Catholic Church, whose head is against abortion under any circumstances. Leftist views insinuate that family planning is the genocidal plan of North American imperialists against the Third World and, in particular, against Latin America. This genocidal plan is supposed to subject poor populations to international schemes. In the press family planning is often treated in a sanctimonious fashion, lumping it together with topics like pornography, sex, and violence. In 1983 the daily newspaper Expreso published a supplement running every week for almost three months about the issue of population, which dealt fairly extensively with such topics as population and housing, education, employment, and urban proliferation, as well as responsible parenthood and child survival. In addition, there was a detailed description of contraceptive methods. In October 1986 another surprising thing happened: the President of Peru talked about the topic of family planning, which at the time was an act of courage. Since then much has changed; the whole world is interested in family planning and certain aspects of population. Since October 1986 more has been published in this domain than during the preceding 20 years. In contrast, the Church reacted differently to this issue: after some initial caution, the conference of Peruvian bishops attacked all methods of modern contraceptives and private institutions of family planning. The information boom in family planning will certainly continue. At the moment this flood of articles and editorials about the issue is an expression of the anxiety of families related to uncontrolled reproduction and the fear of overpopulation in large cities devoid of minimal services.

Historical notes on botulism, Clostridium botulinum, botulinum toxin, and the idea of the therapeutic use of the toxin.

PubMed

Erbguth, Frank J

2004-03-01

Food-borne botulism probably has accompanied mankind since its beginning. However, we have only few historical sources and documents on food poisoning before the 19th century. Some ancient dietary laws and taboos may reflect some knowledge about the life-threatening consumption of poisoned food. One example of such a dietary taboo is the 10th century edict of Emperor Leo VI of Byzantium in which manufacturing of blood sausages was forbidden. Some ancient case reports on intoxications with Atropa belladonna probably described patients with food-borne botulism, because the combination of dilated pupils and fatal muscle paralysis cannot be attributed to an atropine intoxication. At the end of the 18th century, some well-documented outbreaks of "sausage poisoning" in Southern Germany, especially in Württemberg, prompted early systematic botulinum toxin research. The German poet and district medical officer Justinus Kerner (1786-1862) published the first accurate and complete descriptions of the symptoms of food-borne botulism between 1817 and 1822. Kerner did not succeed in defining the suspected "biological poison" which he called "sausage poison" or "fatty poison." However, he developed the idea of a possible therapeutic use of the toxin. Eighty years after Kerner's work, in 1895, a botulism outbreak after a funeral dinner with smoked ham in the small Belgian village of Ellezelles led to the discovery of the pathogen Clostridium botulinum by Emile Pierre van Ermengem, Professor of bacteriology at the University of Ghent. The bacterium was so called because of its pathological association with the sausages (Latin word for sausage = "botulus") and not-as it was suggested-because of its shape. Modern botulinum toxin treatment was pioneered by Alan B. Scott and Edward J. Schantz. Copyright 2004 Movement Disorder Society

Egypt's fundamentalists say condoms immoral.

PubMed

Soliman, S

1995-06-01

The first AIDS case in Egypt was reported almost 10 years ago, yet Egypt still does not have reliable statistics on the HIV/AIDS epidemic (officially, 513 HIV infections and 88 AIDS cases; more likely, 3000 and 10,000, respectively). HIV/AIDS bears a stigma. The government claims that every HIV-infected Egyptian acquired the infection through a blood transfusion while in the Gulf or through sexual intercourse in Europe. Cultural, social, and religious norms that discourage promiscuity may explain the low HIV/AIDS rate but these same taboos put women at risk by making it difficult for them to protect themselves. Islamic fundamentalist women reinforce the Islamic principle of forbidding sex education. They consider AIDS a plague of immoral Western society. They refuse to accept the fact that many men do not practice safer sex. These women consider condoms immoral. They think God will curse women who refuse to have sexual intercourse at their husbands' bidding. Many nongovernmental organizations consider an intensive education program as the only means to avert disaster. Egypt has yet to implement its model AIDS program. All hospitals in Cairo and some hospitals in rural areas have equipment to test for HIV. Surveillance systems have been limited to high risk groups. In Egypt, it is mandatory to test foreigners for HIV. Prisoners, prostitutes, homosexuals, and blood donors are tested randomly without their consent. Positive results are often reported to authorities before the persons learn their HIV status. A campaign for widespread sex education is the only action recommended so far. It includes a mass media component and community meetings and conferences. An Egyptian physician has found an anti-viral drug that stimulates the immune system, but his work does not receive much coverage outside Egypt. Egyptians need to tackle their cultural taboos about discussion of sex to curb the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The Effects of Trivialization of Workplace Violence on Its Victims: Profession and Sex Differences in a Cross-Sectional Study among Healthcare and Law Enforcement Workers.

PubMed

Geoffrion, Steve; Goncalves, Jane; Boyer, Richard; Marchand, André; Guay, Stéphane

2017-04-01

Workers from the law enforcement and healthcare sectors tend to normalize or mute their victimization from workplace violence (WPV). This study aims to assess the impact of the trivialization of WPV on psychological consequences for workers who have been affected by a WPV incident. The second aim is to assess the moderating effect of sex on the trivialization of WPV. The third and overarching aim is to assess the moderating effect of professional identity on the relations between individual and organizational factors and psychological consequences following a WPV incident. The findings are based on a convenience sample of 377 (204 female and 173 male) workers from the law enforcement and healthcare sectors. Individual factors (sex, age, professional identity, prior victimization, witnessing WPV, injuries, and trivialization of violence) and perceived support factors (colleagues' support and employer's support) were used as predictor variables of psychological consequences in hierarchical linear regression models. Sex was used as a moderator of trivialization while professional identity was used as a moderator of all predictors. When individual and social support factors were controlled for, normalizing violence was negatively associated with psychological consequences while perceiving a taboo associated with complaining about WPV was positively associated for all participants. When these relations were moderated by the sex of the participants and then by their professional identity, normalization was found to decrease psychological consequences only for male healthcare workers. To help employees cope with WPV, organizations should promote strategies adapted to profession and sex differences. For male healthcare workers, normalization as a cognitive coping strategy should be formally recognized. For both professions and sexes, organizational strategies that counter the perceived taboo of complaining about violence should be reinforced. © The Author 2017. Published

Use of generalized population ratios to obtain Fe XV line intensities and linewidths at high electron densities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kastner, S. O.; Bhatia, A. K.

1980-01-01

A generalized method for obtaining individual level population ratios is used to obtain relative intensities of extreme ultraviolet Fe XV emission lines in the range 284-500 A, which are density dependent for electron densities in the tokamak regime or higher. Four lines in particular are found to attain quite high intensities in the high-density limit. The same calculation provides inelastic contributions to linewidths. The method connects level populations and level widths through total probabilities t(ij), related to 'taboo' probabilities of Markov chain theory. The t(ij) are here evaluated for a real atomic system, being therefore of potential interest to random-walk theorists who have been limited to idealized systems characterized by simplified transition schemes.

Use of generalized population ratios to obtain Fe XV line intensities and linewidths at high electron densities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kastner, S. O.; Bhatia, A. K.

1980-08-01

A generalized method for obtaining individual level population ratios is used to obtain relative intensities of extreme ultraviolet Fe XV emission lines in the range 284-500 A, which are density dependent for electron densities in the tokamak regime or higher. Four lines in particular are found to attain quite high intensities in the high-density limit. The same calculation provides inelastic contributions to linewidths. The method connects level populations and level widths through total probabilities t(ij), related to 'taboo' probabilities of Markov chain theory. The t(ij) are here evaluated for a real atomic system, being therefore of potential interest to random-walk theorists who have been limited to idealized systems characterized by simplified transition schemes.

[A cooperative project in the district of Mettmann: preventive assistance for mentally ill parents and their children].

PubMed

Hipp, Michael; Schatte, Dirk; Altrogge, Birgit

2010-01-01

Mentally ill parents are impaired in their ability to care for their children. To support the affected families from the perspective of the parents and the children alike a close cooperation between the institutions of psychiatry and child-welfare is of utmost importance. In the district of Mettmann a cooperation agreement was concluded to realize a cross-system concept to care for the families with mentally ill parents. To prevent children from developing psychiatric disorders the taboo of the psychiatric diseases has to be overcome, an early diagnostic clarification to be reached, and multiinstitutional help to be implemented. In the article the experience in dealing with the affected families in a multidisciplinary context is described.

Shangaan patients and traditional healers management strategies of hypertension in Limpopo Province.

PubMed

Risenga, P R; Botha, A; Tjallinks, J E

2007-03-01

The study explored the cultural care beliefs, values and attitudes of Shangaans patients' and traditional healers' management strategies of hypertension in the Limpopo Province. The study aimed to describe the cultural values, beliefs and practices including taboos, rituals and religion within the world-view of the Shangaans. The study was undertaken in the Mopani region of the Greater Giyani area, with the purpose of recommending improvements to patient care in this area. Data collection was done by conducting focus groups and individual interviews. The following themes emerged. Hypertension. The traditional healer: the instrumental role. Traditional medicine versus Western medicine. Magico-religious healings. Cultural beliefs of Shangaans and hypertension. Experiences of hypertensive patients with regard to traditional healers and hypertension.

[Which truth for patients and their family].

PubMed

Bréchot, J-M

2007-10-01

Must the truth always be told to a cancer patient and/or his relatives? Taking a personal experience as the basis for discussion, the author examines this question in the context of Western cultural norms where death is taboo. The legal obligations to inform patients and the representation of cancer are discussed. Two key situations are considered: the delivery of a diagnosis of cancer and the announcement of a bad prognosis. What does it really mean "to tell the truth"? A best strategy for giving information to relatives is developed. The author's conclusion is that it seems more important to establish a "true" relationship with the cancer patient and his relatives than telling or not telling the whole truth.

A community-based participatory research study of HIV and HPV vulnerabilities and prevention in two Pacific Islander communities: ethical challenges and solutions.

PubMed

DiStefano, Anthony; Peters, Ruth; Tanjasiri, Sora Park; Quitugua, Lourdes; Dimaculangan, Jeany; Hui, Brian; Barrera-Ng, Angelica; Vunileva, 'Isileli; Tui'one, Vanessa; Takahashi, Lois

2013-02-01

We describe ethical issues that emerged during a one-year CBPR study of HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV) vulnerabilities and prevention in two Pacific Islander (PI) communities, and the collaborative solutions to these challenges reached by academic and community partners. In our project case study analysis, we found that ethical tensions were linked mainly to issues of mutual trust and credibility in PI communities; cultural taboos associated with the nexus of religiosity and traditional PI culture; fears of privacy breaches in small, interconnected PI communities; and competing priorities of scientific rigor versus direct community services. Mutual capacity building and linking CBPR practice to PI social protocols are required for effective solutions and progress toward social justice outcomes.

[Conversations on the "good death": the bioethical debate on euthanasia].

PubMed

Siqueira-Batista, Rodrigo; Schramm, Fermin Roland

2005-01-01

Despite extensive current debate on euthanasia, many open and apparently unsolvable issues persist, awaiting a better conceptual treatment. The area includes "prejudices and fundamentalisms" in relation to the theme, still viewed as taboo by a major share of society, specifically in the case of Brazil, while semantic imprecision in the term and argumentative tensions surround the issue, focusing on the principles of sacredness of life, quality of life, and autonomy and the so-called "slippery slope" argument. The purpose of the current essay is thus to serve as a sphere of inquiry concerning euthanasia, moving from historical antecedents towards a better solution to the problem and the demarcation of necessary future perspectives for enhanced understanding of the issue.

The Touch "Taboo" and the Art of Contact: An Exploration of Contact Improvisation for Prisoners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houston, Sara

2009-01-01

The article examines the experience of participating in Contact Improvisation by male prisoners. It specifically focuses on issues of touch for this participant group and how inmates can learn different ways of acting from acquiring Contact skills, contributing to their rehabilitation. The paper looks at the culture in prisons that propagates a…

Taboo: A Novel Paradigm to Elicit Aphasia-Like Trouble-Indicating Behaviour in Normally Speaking Individuals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meffert, Elisabeth; Tillmanns, Eva; Heim, Stefan; Jung, Stefanie; Huber, Walter; Grande, Marion

2011-01-01

Two important research lines in neuro- and psycholinguistics are studying natural or experimentally induced slips of the tongue and investigating the symptom patterns of aphasic individuals. Only few studies have focused on explaining aphasic symptoms by provoking aphasic symptoms in healthy speakers. While all experimental techniques have so far…

"It's a Bit Taboo": A Qualitative Study of Norwegian Adolescents' Perceptions of Mental Healthcare Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tharaldsen, Kjersti Balle; Stallard, Paul; Cuijpers, Pim; Bru, Edvin; Bjaastad, Jon Fauskanger

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate adolescents' perspectives on mental healthcare services. Based on theoretical perspectives concerning barriers for help-seeking, individual interviews were carried out in order to obtain the adolescents' perspectives on knowledge of services for mental health problems, potential barriers for help-seeking,…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kastner, S.O.; Bhatia, A.K.

A generalized method for obtaining individual level population ratios is used to obtain relative intensities of extreme ultraviolet Fe XV emission lines in the range 284 --500 A, which are density dependent for electron densities in the tokamak regime or higher. Four lines in particular are found to attain quite high intensities in the high-density limit. The same calculation provides inelastic contributions to linewidths. The method connects level populations and level widths through total probabilities t/sub i/j, related to ''taboo'' probabilities of Markov chain theory. The t/sub i/j are here evaluated for a real atomic system, being therefore of potentialmore » interest to random-walk theorists who have been limited to idealized systems characterized by simplified transition schemes.« less

Galactic extraterrestrial intelligence. I - The constraint on search strategies imposed by the possibility of interstellar travel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singer, C. E.

1982-03-01

The possibility that extraterrestrial intelligence might settle the Galaxy by interstellar travel is investigated. The existence of this possibility is shown to be incompatible with the existence of a large number of potential sources of communication from extraterrestrial intelligences in the Galaxy. A detailed examination of suggested resolutions of this contradiction is presented. These include physical, temporal and sociological explanations. The sociological explanations include the so-called disinterest, self-destruction, fizzle, ZPG, taboo, and private zoo hypotheses. Each of these is carefully shown to require incredible universal ad hoc assumptions about the nature of extraterrestrial intelligence. It is concluded that proposed serial search modes for communication from extraterrestrial intelligence have negligible chance of success. A mathematical formalism for evaluating other search modes is also developed.

Invasive procedures on newly deceased examined with an ethical eye.

PubMed

1995-01-01

Death is a hot topic. Books on death are making the best-seller lists and their authors are on speaker circuits, TV talk shows, and at book-signing parties. No longer a taboo topic in polite conversation, our society has become voyeuristic and hell-bent on unmasking death. At the Brooklyn Academy, for example, a dance/theater troupe is performing choreographer Bill T. Jones's "Still/Here," which incorporates videotaped segments of real people who are terminally ill and talk about it. Given the nation's preoccupation with death and dying, it should come as no surprise that the issue of how the newly deceased are treated within health care institutions has become a current topic in the literature, as the following articles show.

Taking up the cudgels against gay rights? Trends and trajectories in African Christian theologies on homosexuality.

PubMed

van Klinken, Adriaan S; Gunda, Masiiwa Ragies

2012-01-01

Against the background of the HIV epidemic and the intense public controversy on homosexuality in African societies, this article investigates the discourses of academic African Christian theologians on homosexuality. Distinguishing some major strands in African theology, that is, inculturation, liberation, women's and reconstruction theology, the article examines how the central concepts of culture, liberation, justice, and human rights function in these discourses. On the basis of a qualitative analysis of a large number of publications, the article shows that stances of African theologians are varying from silence and rejection to acceptance. Although many African theologians have taken up the cudgels against gay rights, some "dissident voices" break the taboo and develop more inclusive concepts of African identity and African Christianity.

Emotion-induced impairments in speeded word recognition tasks.

PubMed

Zeelenberg, René; Bocanegra, Bruno R; Pecher, Diane

2011-01-01

Recent studies show that emotional stimuli impair the identification of subsequently presented, briefly flashed stimuli. In the present study, we investigated whether emotional distractors (primes) impaired target processing when presentation of the target stimulus was not impoverished. In lexical decision, animacy decision, rhyme decision, and nonword naming, targets were presented in such a manner that they were clearly visible (i.e., targets were not masked and presented until participants responded). In all tasks taboo-sexual distractors caused a slowdown in responding to the subsequent neutral target. Our results indicate that the detrimental effects of emotional distractors are not confined to paradigms in which visibility of the target is limited. Moreover, impairments were obtained even when semantic processing of stimuli was not required.

Mothers' attitudes towards donated breastmilk in Jos, Nigeria.

PubMed

Ighogboja, I S; Olarewaju, R S; Odumodu, C U; Okuonghae, H O

1995-06-01

In many developing countries, the use of pooled human milk is not widely accepted. Six hundred eighty breastfeeding mothers were interviewed to ascertain their acceptance of donated breastmilk. Their attitudes toward stored breastmilk, human milk banking, and breastfeeding in the event of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positivity were solicited. About 71 percent would not accept donated breastmilk for their baby while the rest would consent only if the donor were a close family relative, owing to fear of transfer of diseases (28 percent), fear of transfer of genetic traits (22 percent), and religious and cultural taboos (14 percent). However, 60 percent were willing to donate breastmilk. Only 38 percent would accept milk from a breastmilk bank. None would breastfeed if she were HIV positive.

Traditional practices and other socio-cultural factors affecting the health of children in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Abdullah, M A

1993-01-01

The medical services in Saudi Arabia have improved tremendously over the last two decades, and health centres are easily accessible to more than 93% of the population. Nevertheless, folk medicine, including cautery, bone setting, manual tonsillectomy, uvulectomy, use of herbal medicines and use of harmful teething powders, in addition to religious healing, is widely practised. Reasons include influence of grandparents, religious beliefs and failure of modern medicine to find an answer to some chronic disorders. These problems, and measures to counteract them, are discussed. Attention is also drawn to some of the harmful 'imported' practices that are affecting the health of children, including smoking, children driving cars and problems resulting from dependence on housemaids to bring up children. Some nutritional beliefs and taboos are also mentioned.

Addressing Sexuality and Pregnancy in Childbirth Education Classes

PubMed Central

Allen, Laura; Fountain, Lily

2007-01-01

A positive, nonjudgmental, and informed approach to sexual health during pregnancy promotes acceptance of the normal functioning of women's bodies. It also encourages the development of close and supportive relationships that are so essential during pregnancy and birth. Common concerns do not need to become problems. Concerns include issues of libido, positioning, and preterm labor or fetal health, as well as myths and cultural attitudes. Childbirth educators can use tools such as the PLISSIT model to approach the topic of sexuality during pregnancy. In addition, opportunities are available in every childbirth class to acknowledge or ignore sexual issues. Perinatal educators who take responsibility for addressing this often-taboo topic can enhance women's feelings of safety and their confidence in normal birth. PMID:18408809

India's homosexual discrimination and health consequences.

PubMed

Agoramoorthy, Govindasamy; Minna, J Hsu

2007-08-01

A large number of countries worldwide have legalized homosexual rights. But for 147 years, since when India was a British colony, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code defines homosexuality as a crime, punishable by imprisonment. This outdated law violates the fundamental rights of homosexuals in India. Despite the fact that literature drawn from Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and modern fiction testify to the presence of same-sex love in various forms, homosexuality is still considered a taboo subject in India, by both the society and the government. In the present article, the continuation of the outdated colonial-era homosexuality law and its impact on the underprivileged homosexual society in India is discussed, as well as consequences to this group's health in relation to HIV infection.

Lights, camera and action: learning necrophilia in a psychiatry movie club.

PubMed

Kalra, Gurvinder S

2013-04-01

Kissed (1996) is a serious film that portrays the disturbing and taboo issue of necrophilia in a delicate and viewer friendly way. Being a rare paraphilia, it may sometimes be difficult to get necrophilia related literature or even understand this complex behavior. An interested person may have to rely on the few case reports from forensic journals or law books in order to understand what and how necrophiles do what they do! A movie club can be an interesting and novel way to learn various issues in medicine and psychiatry, including necrophilia. This paper discusses the use of this film in academic sessions in order to learn necrophilia. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer: a qualitative study of Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women living in the UK.

PubMed

Jones, Claire E L; Maben, Jill; Lucas, Grace; Davies, Elizabeth A; Jack, Ruth H; Ream, Emma

2015-03-13

Understanding barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer among Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. In-depth qualitative interviews using grounded theory methods to identify themes. Findings validated through focus groups. 94 women aged 33-91 years; 20 Black African, 20 Black Caribbean and 20 White British women diagnosed with symptomatic breast cancer were interviewed. Fourteen Black African and 20 Black Caribbean women with (n=19) and without (n=15) breast cancer participated in six focus groups. Eight cancer centres/hospital trusts in London (n=5), Somerset (n=1), West Midlands (n=1) and Greater Manchester (n=1) during 2012-2013. There are important differences and similarities in barriers to early diagnosis of breast cancer between Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. Differences were influenced by country of birth, time spent in UK and age. First generation Black African women experienced most barriers and longest delays. Second generation Black Caribbean and White British women were similar and experienced fewest barriers. Absence of pain was a barrier for Black African and Black Caribbean women. Older White British women (≥70 years) and first generation Black African and Black Caribbean women shared conservative attitudes and taboos about breast awareness. All women viewed themselves at low risk of the disease, and voiced uncertainty over breast awareness and appraising non-lump symptoms. Focus group findings validated and expanded themes identified in interviews. Findings challenged reporting of Black women homogenously in breast cancer research. This can mask distinctions within and between ethnic groups. Current media and health promotion messages need reframing to promote early presentation with breast symptoms. Working with communities and developing culturally appropriate materials may lessen taboos and stigma, raise awareness, increase discussion of breast cancer and promote

Barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer: a qualitative study of Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women living in the UK

PubMed Central

Jones, Claire E L; Maben, Jill; Lucas, Grace; Davies, Elizabeth A; Jack, Ruth H; Ream, Emma

2015-01-01

Objectives Understanding barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer among Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. Design In-depth qualitative interviews using grounded theory methods to identify themes. Findings validated through focus groups. Participants 94 women aged 33–91 years; 20 Black African, 20 Black Caribbean and 20 White British women diagnosed with symptomatic breast cancer were interviewed. Fourteen Black African and 20 Black Caribbean women with (n=19) and without (n=15) breast cancer participated in six focus groups. Setting Eight cancer centres/hospital trusts in London (n=5), Somerset (n=1), West Midlands (n=1) and Greater Manchester (n=1) during 2012–2013. Results There are important differences and similarities in barriers to early diagnosis of breast cancer between Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. Differences were influenced by country of birth, time spent in UK and age. First generation Black African women experienced most barriers and longest delays. Second generation Black Caribbean and White British women were similar and experienced fewest barriers. Absence of pain was a barrier for Black African and Black Caribbean women. Older White British women (≥70 years) and first generation Black African and Black Caribbean women shared conservative attitudes and taboos about breast awareness. All women viewed themselves at low risk of the disease, and voiced uncertainty over breast awareness and appraising non-lump symptoms. Focus group findings validated and expanded themes identified in interviews. Conclusions Findings challenged reporting of Black women homogenously in breast cancer research. This can mask distinctions within and between ethnic groups. Current media and health promotion messages need reframing to promote early presentation with breast symptoms. Working with communities and developing culturally appropriate materials may lessen taboos and stigma

'Feeling someone is there for you' - experiences of women with vulvar neoplasia with care delivered by an Advanced Practice Nurse.

PubMed

Kobleder, Andrea; Mayer, Hanna; Senn, Beate

2017-02-01

To explore the experiences of women with vulvar neoplasia with care delivered by an Advanced Practice Nurse. Women with vulvar neoplasia suffer from a high number of symptoms and report a lack of information and support by health care professionals. Further, talking about their disease, which is still a social taboo, is difficult for them. From approaches for other patients, it can be suggested that support from an Advanced Practice Nurse can be helpful. For Advanced Practice Nurse development, implementation and evaluation, it is important to assess patients' perceptions. But so far, little is known about how patients with vulvar neoplasia experience support of an Advanced Practice Nurse. A qualitative interview study was chosen to gain understanding of the experience of women with vulvar neoplasia who received care delivered by an Advanced Practice Nurse. Narrative interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 13 women with vulvar neoplasia after they received care from an Advanced Practice Nurse for six months. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data from the interviews. Four main themes could be identified: a trusting relationship; accessibility; feeling safe and secure; and feeling someone is there for you. Women felt more secure and less alone in the experience of their illness through having the possibility of contacting an Advanced Practice Nurse and getting sufficient information and psychosocial support. Women with vulvar neoplasia experienced care delivered by an Advanced Practice Nurse as 'feeling someone is there for you'. Due to the localisation of the disease and the associated social taboo, psychosocial support from the Advanced Practice Nurse beyond months after surgery was very important for them. Addressing psychosocial needs in caring for women with vulvar neoplasia must be given greater attention in clinical practice. Further, continuous nursing support delivered by an Advanced Practice Nurse beyond the acute treatment phase can

Balancing the use of language to enable care: a qualitative study of oral and written language used in assessments and allocations of community healthcare services for persons with dementia.

PubMed

Hansen, Anette; Hauge, Solveig; Bergland, Ådel

2016-08-16

Although a large number of people are diagnosed with dementia each year, the syndrome is still perceived as a sensitive and tabooed topic. Communication about dementia to those living with the syndrome and their relatives is often experienced as challenging by health professionals. Failure to communicate clearly may threaten assessment and allocation of appropriate, effective healthcare services. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to explore how purchasers, assessing and allocating healthcare services to home-dwelling older people with dementia, described challenges in communicating about dementia with those with the syndrome and their relatives. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the purchasers' justifications for their choice of words. A qualitative study was conducted to investigate two data sources: focus group interviews with purchasers assessing need for healthcare services, and a review of administrative decisions written by those allocating services. Focus group data were explored using an interpretive approach and qualitative content analysis was carried out with the administrative decisions. The purchasers found it challenging to talk and write about dementia to those with the syndrome and their relatives when assessing and allocating services. The purchasers were flexible in their communication and aimed to be open when talking and writing about dementia. However, euphemisms and omission were used extensively. Four justifications for the chosen verbal and written language were identified: avoiding disclosure; protecting the person with dementia; protecting the relatives/avoiding conflict; and last, taboo and stigma. Despite purchasers experiencing difficulties in communicating about dementia to those with the syndrome and their relatives, they did manage to communicate in a conscious and flexible way. The purchasers had several justifications for their language choice. However, extensive use of euphemisms and omission might threaten appropriate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cai, H.

In this dissertation we study a procedure which restarts a Markov process when the process is killed by some arbitrary multiplicative functional. The regenerative nature of this revival procedure is characterized through a Markov renewal equation. An interesting duality between the revival procedure and the classical killing operation is found. Under the condition that the multiplicative functional possesses an intensity, the generators of the revival process can be written down explicitly. An intimate connection is also found between the perturbation of the sample path of a Markov process and the perturbation of a generator (in Kato's sense). The applications ofmore » the theory include the study of the processes like piecewise-deterministic Markov process, virtual waiting time process and the first entrance decomposition (taboo probability).« less

Muddling through the Health System: Experiences of Three Groups of Black Women in Three Regions

PubMed Central

Gary, F; Still, C; Mickels, P; Hassan, M; Evans, E

2018-01-01

Health care disparities are a well-documented concern among patients and providers who care for minority groups in the United States. In this study, focus groups were created from an original sample of 606 Black women representing three regions in the United States: the South, the Midwest, and the Virgin Islands. Composed of 10 randomly selected members each (n = 30), the focus groups provided insights into the nature of these disparities, with some suggestions for viable solutions. Participants voiced concerns about cultural taboos about discussing menopause, financial concerns, and negative experiences with health care leading to distrust in medical systems. The primary solution proposed was an increase in Black health care professionals who would have increased rapport with, empathy for, and understanding of the concerns of Black women. PMID:26371357

Optimization of joint energy micro-grid with cold storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Bin; Luo, Simin; Tian, Yan; Chen, Xianda; Xiong, Botao; Zhou, Bowen

2018-02-01

To accommodate distributed photovoltaic (PV) curtailment, to make full use of the joint energy micro-grid with cold storage, and to reduce the high operating costs, the economic dispatch of joint energy micro-grid load is particularly important. Considering the different prices during the peak and valley durations, an optimization model is established, which takes the minimum production costs and PV curtailment fluctuations as the objectives. Linear weighted sum method and genetic-taboo Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm are used to solve the optimization model, to obtain optimal power supply output. Taking the garlic market in Henan as an example, the simulation results show that considering distributed PV and different prices in different time durations, the optimization strategies are able to reduce the operating costs and accommodate PV power efficiently.

[Contraindications of spirit (shen) in acupuncture and moxibustion].

PubMed

Ji, Zheng-Han; Yan, Ji-Lan; Wang, Shu-Bin; Zu, Na

2014-07-01

ABSTRACT The taboos of man-spirit (RenShen) and bottom-spirit (KaoShen) are two kinds of time-related contraindications that are more commonly seen in the literature of acupuncture and moxibustion. The meaning of man-spirit is often extended to qi-blood or mind, or else directly equals to heaven-spirit (TianShen). It is highly possible that the bottom-spirit is subordinate to man-spirit, and both Taoist philosophy and the SanCai theory declare the importance of bottom in human body. The violation of contraindications could lead to diseases in the neighborhood where man-spirit travels. However, the results are generally recorded as ulcer, lingering disease and death in most medical texts. From Ming dynasty, more and more doctors have expressed disapproval of man-spirit and bottom-spirit.

Ethical Expert Systems

PubMed Central

Victoroff, Michael S.

1985-01-01

The title is a double entendre. The discussion approaches expert systems from two directions: “What ethical hazards are created by expert systems in medicine?” and “Would it be ethical to design an expert system for solving problems in bioethics?” Computers present new ethical problems to society, some of which are unprecedented. These can be categorized under several rubrics. The paper describes a rudimentary scheme for understanding ethical issues raised by computers, in general, and medical expert systems, in particular. It focuses on bioethical implications of AI in medicine; explores norms, assumptions and taboos; and highlights certain ethical pitfalls. Principles are elucidated, for building ethically sound systems. Finally, a proposal is discussed, for the design of an expert system for moral problem solving, and the ethical implications of this notion are analyzed.

Culture- and Immigration-Related Stress Faced by Chinese American Families with a Patient Having Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Kung, Winnie W

2016-07-01

The impact of culture and immigration on the experience of Chinese American families with a member having schizophrenia is explored within the frameworks of family systems and stress and coping. This qualitative study was conducted within an intervention study of family psychoeducation using therapists' session notes from 103 family sessions and 13 relatives' group sessions from nine patients and 19 relatives. The high stigma attached to mental illness leading to social isolation, and families' devotion to caregiving exacerbated caregiver burden. Taboo against discussing dating and sexuality and the consideration of arranged marriages caused unique stress. The insecurity as immigrants and shortage of bilingual services were related to greater enmeshment within these families. Implications on research methodology and practice are discussed. © 2015 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

"Stuck in the muck": an eco-idiom of distress from childhood respiratory diseases in an urban mangrove in Northeast Brazil.

PubMed

Nations, Marilyn; Gondim, Ana Paula Soares

2013-02-01

Situated in neo-democratic globalizing Northeast Brazil, this anthropological study probes the role of ecological context in framing, experiencing, and expressing human distress. Ethnographic interviews, narratives, and "contextualized semantic analysis" reveal the lived experience of childhood respiratory diseases among 22 urban mangrove dwellers. Informants speak an "eco-idiom of respiratory distress" based on a popular "eco-logic", reflecting the harsh reality of "living in dampness". "Higher-up" residents legitimize their feelings of superiority by stigmatizing "lowlanders" as taboo, diseased (with porcine cysticercosis, swine flu) "filthy pigs, stuck in the muck" (atolados na lama). Animalizing inhabitants' identities demotes them to nonpersons. Besides infections, children suffer social stigma, ostracism, and barriers for accessing care. Promoting a "favorable environment" requires reducing ecological risk, challenging class-based prejudice, and restoring human dignity.

Children's Rights-Based Approaches: The Challenges of Listening to Taboo/Discriminatory Issues and Moving beyond Children's Participation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Konstantoni, Kristina

2013-01-01

Young children's active participation is high on the UK's political, research and policy agendas; at least in rhetoric. However, critiques have emerged regarding the extent to which this rhetoric has been translated into practice and whether participatory rights are linked to the implementation of other human rights. Drawing on an ethnographic…

Gendered Perceptions of Sexual Behaviour in Rural South Africa

PubMed Central

Ndinda, C.; Uzodike, U. O.; Chimbwete, C.; Mgeyane, M. T. M.

2011-01-01

This paper discusses sexual behaviour findings collected through eleven homogenous focus group discussions conducted among women and men in a predominantly Zulu population in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The objective of this paper is to shed light on sexual behaviour in a rural community. The findings suggest that sex is a taboo subject and the discussion around it is concealed in the use of polite language, euphemisms, and gestures. There are gender and generational dimensions to the discussion of sex. The contribution of this paper lies in the identification of what rural people discuss about sex and the influence of cultural practices and urban or global forces on sexual behaviour in rural areas. The paper adds to the growing body of literature on the use of focus groups in understanding sexual behaviour in rural contexts. PMID:22295199

Bimetallic cages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fournier, René; Afzal-Hussain, Sabeen

2013-02-01

We report the results of density functional theory for 39 clusters AxBy (x + y = 10 or 12) where A and B are metals from group 1, 2, 11, 12, 13, or 14 of the periodic table. The chemical compositions were chosen to satisfy an electronic shell closing criterion. We performed an unbiased search for the global minimum (GM) by taboo search in descriptor space in each case. Eight of the 39 putative GM are cages even though none of the clusters contains gold, a metal with a well known propensity to form cages. These cages are large enough to accommodate a dopant atom with an atomic radius varying between 0.7 Å and 1.2 Å. The chemical compositions most likely to produce cages have an element of group 11 alloyed with an element of group 2, 12, or 13.

Radon Laboratory: A Proposal for Scientific Culture Dissemination Among Young Students in Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groppi, Flavia; Bazzocchi, Anna; Manenti, Simone; Gini, Luigi; Bonardi, Mauro L.

2009-08-01

In Italy the "nuclear issue" was for a long time a taboo. A way to approach this theme to make the public more trusting of nuclear issues is to discuss radioactivity and ionizing radiation starting from young students. An experimental activity that involves secondary school students has been developed. The approach is to have students engaged in activities that will allow them to understand how natural radioactivity is a part of our everyday environment. This would include how radiation enters our lives in different ways, to demonstrate that natural radioactive sources found in soil, water, and air contribute to our exposure to natural ionizing radiation and how this exposure effects human health. Another objective is to develop a new technique for teaching physics which will enhance scientific interest of students in applications of nuclear physics in both environmental and physical sciences.

What should the management of incest pregnancies be? An ethical view presented via three cases.

PubMed

Yuksel, B; Kilic, S; Akin Su, F; Tasdemir, N; Uzunlar, O; Mollamahmutoglu, L

2008-01-01

Incest is a taboo and a neglected social problem. Especially in the adolescent population, which is a very sensitive period of development, it becomes harder for the patients to share their secret with either legal or health authorities. Sometimes pregnancy becomes the only vehicle to uncover this secret. There is a contradiction whether their pregnancies should continue or not. Some authors believe abortion is the best choice for the victim to pull herself together, whereas others advocate that it is just another trauma that will not solve the problem but merely hide it. In this report, three paternal incest cases and their pregnancies will be presented. The aim is not only to discuss the different points of view regarding the management of these pregnancies but also to make the clinicians think about the different choices before making a decision.

Fewer and better children: race, class, religion, and birth control reform in America.

PubMed

Wilde, Melissa J; Danielsen, Sabrina

2014-05-01

In the early 20th century, contraceptives were illegal and, for many, especially religious groups, taboo. But, in the span of just two years, between 1929 and 1931, many of the United States' most prominent religious groups pronounced contraceptives to be moral and began advocating for the laws restricting them to be repealed. Met with everything from support, to silence, to outright condemnation by other religious groups, these pronouncements and the debates they caused divided the American religious field by an issue of sex and gender for the first time. This article explains why America's religious groups took the positions they did at this crucial moment in history. In doing so, it demonstrates that the politics of sex and gender that divide American religion today is deeply rooted in century-old inequalities of race and class.

Cultural perspectives in cancer care: impact of Islamic traditions and practices in Middle Eastern countries.

PubMed

Silbermann, Michael; Hassan, Esmat A

2011-10-01

People's attitudes to cancer and its treatment are influenced by the patient's and his family's faith, beliefs, societal traditions, and cultural taboos and stigmatism. In most Middle Eastern countries Islam is the dominant religion, yet there are differences as to people's acceptance of cancer, starting with the realization of the diagnosis and the subsequent treatment planning. In many societies in the Middle East, patients prefer that their families will be the first to know about the disease and to agree to the planned treatment protocols. Whereas in Western societies the patient is usually the first to know, understand, and agree to the proposed therapeutic procedures; this is not the case in various Muslim societies. Health care professionals have to accept these kinds of practices and find ways to cope with their patients' sensitivities, thereby preserving their dignity and faith.

Networking to improve end of life care.

PubMed

McGivern, Gerry

2009-01-01

Network organisations are increasingly common in healthcare. This paper describes an example of clinically led networking, which improved end of life care (EOLC) in care homes, differentiating between a 'network' as a formal entity and the more informal process of 'networking'. The paper begins with a brief discussion of networks and their development in healthcare, then an overview of EOLC policy, the case setting and methods. The paper describes four key features of this networking; (1) how it enabled discussions and implemented processes to help people address difficult taboos about dying; (2) how personal communication and 'distributed leadership' facilitated learning; (3) how EOLC occasionally lapsed during the handover of patient care, where personal relationship and communication were weaker; and (4) how successful learning and sharing of best practice was fragile and could be potentially undermined by wider financial pressures in the NHS.

Puppetry and AIDS education.

PubMed

Friedman, G

1992-01-01

The effectiveness of puppet theater in communicating information about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has been demonstrated in a project launched in 1988 by the African Research and Education Puppetry Program (AREPP). Puppetry is a vital part of the Bambara, Bozo, and Yoruba cultures. "Puppets Against AIDS" tells the story of a condom refuser who transmits the AIDS virus to his wife and their infant. An evaluation conducted by social epidemiologists in 1989 found the production to be comprehensive in its educational messages and effective in contributing to the audiences' knowledge and intended behavioral changes. A discussion period follows the production. The show was subsequently incorporated into an existing community-based AIDS education program. Because AIDS touches upon sensitive and often taboo areas of social life, the dissemination of information through puppets is not perceived as threatening as interpersonal interaction.

Does culture affect divorce? evidence from European immigrants in the United States.

PubMed

Furtado, Delia; Marcén, Miriam; Sevilla, Almudena

2013-06-01

This article explores the role of culture in determining divorce by examining country-of-origin differences in divorce rates of immigrants in the United States. Because childhood-arriving immigrants are all exposed to a common set of U.S. laws and institutions, we interpret relationships between their divorce tendencies and home-country divorce rates as evidence of the effect of culture. Our results are robust to controlling for several home-country variables, including average church attendance and gross domestic product (GDP). Moreover, specifications with country-of-origin fixed effects suggest that immigrants from countries with low divorce rates are especially less likely to be divorced if they reside among a large number of coethnics. Supplemental analyses indicate that divorce culture has a stronger impact on the divorce decisions of females than of males, pointing to a potentially gendered nature of divorce taboos.

Health-related quality of life in older age and a risk of being a victim of domestic violence.

PubMed

Tobiasz-Adamczyk, Beata; Brzyski, Piotr; Brzyska, Monika

2014-01-01

Violence against older people remains a taboo topic in Poland, and is still an under-recognized phenomenon. The aim of this study was to examine the risk of different types of domestic violence in older people in relation to their health-related quality of life as measured by chronic conditions, functional limitations, psychological well-being, depressive symptoms and feelings of social isolation. A cross-sectional study using a standardized questionnaire in a simple random sample of 518 older citizens of Krakow was carried out. A multidimensional logistic regression of data showed that such factors as poor assessment of psychological health, number of chronic conditions, suffering from emotional and social loneliness and lack of social support in everyday life significantly increased the risk of being a victim of domestic violence in older citizens of Krakow. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of sex education on knowledge and attitude of adolescent school children of Loni village.

PubMed

Avachat, Shubhada Sunil; Phalke, Deepak Baburao; Phalke, Vaishali Deepak

2011-11-01

Reproductive capability is now established at earlier age. But the subject of adolescent sexuality is taboo in most societies. There is widespread ignorance about risks of unprotected sex, problems among adolescents. Unfortunately need of sex education is not perceived and fulfilled in India especially in rural areas. The present study was conducted to assess the need and demonstrate the impact of sex education among adolescent school children. The impact of sex education workshop was tested by analysing pre- and postintervention questionnaire. The felt need of sex education increased considerably and the knowledge regarding contraceptives increased from manifolds after the intervention. There was significant increase in knowledge about menstrual hygiene, sexually transmitted diseases, etc, after sex education workshop. This study concludes that there is intense need of sex education and it has significant impact on knowledge of adolescent school children.

Attitudes and local ecological knowledge of experts fishermen in relation to conservation and bycatch of sea turtles (reptilia: testudines), Southern Bahia, Brazil

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The use of ethnoecological tools to evaluate possible damage and loss of biodiversity related to the populations of species under some degree of threat may represent a first step towards integrating the political management of natural resources and conservation strategies. From this perspective, this study investigates fishermen’s ecological knowledge about sea turtles and attitudes towards the conservation and bycatch in Ilhéus, Southern Bahia, Brazil. Methods Fishermen experts semi-structured interviews were performed using snowball sampling method. The interviews consisted of a series of questions relating to the fishermen’s profile, structure and work equipment, the local ecological knowledge of fishermen about sea turtles and bycatch, a projective test, attitudes towards turtle conservation and beliefs and taboos regarding turtles. Indicators for quantitative comparisons of respondents in terms of their broad knowledge and attitudes towards turtle conservation were created. Correlation analyses were made between indicators of knowledge and attitude as well as the relationship between education level and knowledge and attitudes. Results Thirty experts were interviewed for the study. The local ecological knowledge and attitudes of fishermen towards the conservation of sea turtles were respectively medium (0.43) and moderate (0.69) according to experts (based on Likert scale and Cronbach’s Alpha). Potential areas of spawning were reported from Barra Grande to Una covering the entire coast of Ilhéus. Methods for identifying the animal, behavior, and popular names were described by fishermen. The most recent captures of turtles were attributed to fishing line, but according to the respondents, lobster nets and shrimp traps are more likely to capture turtles. Knowledge and attitudes were weakly inversely correlated (r = −0.38, p = 0.04), and the education level of the respondent showed a positive correlation with positive attitudes

Attitudes and local ecological knowledge of experts fishermen in relation to conservation and bycatch of sea turtles (reptilia: testudines), Southern Bahia, Brazil.

PubMed

Braga, Heitor de Oliveira; Schiavetti, Alexandre

2013-03-01

The use of ethnoecological tools to evaluate possible damage and loss of biodiversity related to the populations of species under some degree of threat may represent a first step towards integrating the political management of natural resources and conservation strategies. From this perspective, this study investigates fishermen's ecological knowledge about sea turtles and attitudes towards the conservation and bycatch in Ilhéus, Southern Bahia, Brazil. Fishermen experts semi-structured interviews were performed using snowball sampling method. The interviews consisted of a series of questions relating to the fishermen's profile, structure and work equipment, the local ecological knowledge of fishermen about sea turtles and bycatch, a projective test, attitudes towards turtle conservation and beliefs and taboos regarding turtles. Indicators for quantitative comparisons of respondents in terms of their broad knowledge and attitudes towards turtle conservation were created. Correlation analyses were made between indicators of knowledge and attitude as well as the relationship between education level and knowledge and attitudes. Thirty experts were interviewed for the study. The local ecological knowledge and attitudes of fishermen towards the conservation of sea turtles were respectively medium (0.43) and moderate (0.69) according to experts (based on Likert scale and Cronbach's Alpha). Potential areas of spawning were reported from Barra Grande to Una covering the entire coast of Ilhéus. Methods for identifying the animal, behavior, and popular names were described by fishermen. The most recent captures of turtles were attributed to fishing line, but according to the respondents, lobster nets and shrimp traps are more likely to capture turtles. Knowledge and attitudes were weakly inversely correlated (r = -0.38, p = 0.04), and the education level of the respondent showed a positive correlation with positive attitudes towards turtle conservation (H = 8.33; p = 0

Student journals: a means of assessing transformative learning in aging related courses.

PubMed

Cohen, Adrienne L; Pitman Brown, Pamela; Morales, Justin P

2015-01-01

In courses where topics are sensitive or even considered taboo for discussion, it can be difficult to assess students' deeper learning. In addition, incorporating a wide variety of students' values and beliefs, designing instructional strategies and including varied assessments adds to the difficulty. Journal entries or response notebooks can highlight reflection upon others' viewpoints, class readings, and additional materials. These are useful across all educational levels in deep learning and comprehension strategies assessments. Journaling meshes with transformative learning constructs, allowing for critical self-reflection essential to transformation. Qualitative analysis of journals in a death and dying class reveals three transformative themes: awareness of others, questioning, and comfort. Students' journal entries demonstrate transformative learning via communication with others through increased knowledge/exposure to others' experiences and comparing/contrasting others' personal beliefs with their own. Using transformative learning within gerontology and geriatrics education, as well as other disciplined aging-related courses is discussed.

The Great Society: An Introduction to Stereotype Threat and Social Perceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shackelford, R.; Ali, N. A.; Mendez, B.; Meinke, B. K.

2015-11-01

This workshop introduced the concept of stereotype threat, in which an individual's academic performance is affected by awareness of stereotypes. We explored how stereotype threat builds into perceptions and creates contradictions in our society that can impact work with particular groups, with an emphasis on working with Afro-American and urban audiences. Through the “The Great Society” activity, participants worked in groups to develop aesthetics and taboos for fictional societies. We discussed the ways in which each group's values are compatible and conflicting, how they influence our perceptions of self and others, and how similar interactions may be experienced while working with diverse audiences in earth and space science education and outreach efforts. This workshop sought to give participants a conceptual framework for cultivating awareness of their own and their audience's perceptions, which can then be used to work with cultural sensitivity with diverse audiences.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Groppi, Flavia; Manenti, Simone; Gini, Luigi

In Italy the 'nuclear issue' was for a long time a taboo. A way to approach this theme to make the public more trusting of nuclear issues is to discuss radioactivity and ionizing radiation starting from young students. An experimental activity that involves secondary school students has been developed. The approach is to have students engaged in activities that will allow them to understand how natural radioactivity is a part of our everyday environment. This would include how radiation enters our lives in different ways, to demonstrate that natural radioactive sources found in soil, water, and air contribute to ourmore » exposure to natural ionizing radiation and how this exposure effects human health. Another objective is to develop a new technique for teaching physics which will enhance scientific interest of students in applications of nuclear physics in both environmental and physical sciences.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

O`Driscoll, M.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission`s transmission pricing policy signals acceptance of what previously had been taboo: any departure from the embedded cost, postage-stamp rates that have characterized transmission pricing for decades but are becoming increasingly difficult to deal with as the power industry develops a more competitive profile. The transmission pricing policy gives the electric utility industry the flexibility it wants but, the utilities must provide comparability of pricing - an extension of the golden rule of transmission access to transmission pricing. Comparability of service applies to price as well as to terms and conditions. But, the commission said, pricingmore » comparability does not mean all customers should pay the same price. FERC said it supports proposals that disaggregate costs in order to give better price signals to all users of the system, third parties and the transmission owner itself.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morgan, W.C.; Schermerhorn, J.G.

Recently passed federal strip mining legislation in the USA officially emphasizes that the increased coal production required by the United States through surface mining is going to be obtained only with stricter environmental standards. Dozing overburden down the hillside in Appalachian contour mining or leaving dragline spoils in area mining is now taboo and it is now, or will soon be, necessary to return the disturbed land to as good or better condition than before mining. These new restrictions will create a need for new and better ways to do the job. This article describes one approach for utilizing scrapersmore » and dozers to strip all of the overburden and to replace it in an environmentally satisfactory fashion. The objective was to do this at a lower cost than that possible with the traditional dragline system by using dozers and scrapers for reclamation and topsoil handling.« less

Ordinary tales from endoscopic odysseys: fiction, ethics, and the gastroenterological journey.

PubMed

Meulenberg, Frans; de Beaufort, Inez D

2014-04-01

Fiction (i.e. novels, short stories, and movies) provides an opportunity for imaginative moral reflection and can serve as a basis for moral argument. Narratives play a role in moral reasoning because they are exemplars as well as tests. Those who care for sick people, should be interested in patient's and literary stories. Exploring the representation of gastroenterological ailments in fiction gives insight in the experience of undergoing colonoscopy, farting, pain, the borders of intimacy, hygiene and the lack of it, taboos and the doctor-patient-relationship. Included authors are, among others: Michel Faber, Alan Bennett, Charles Bukowski, Charlotte Roche and James Joyce. Several movies are discussed as well. Though in general gastroenterological problems don't seem often at foreground in fiction, in some cases they are represented in a more symbolic way, and touch upon some fundamental aspects of the human condition. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Networking to improve end of life care

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Network organisations are increasingly common in healthcare. This paper describes an example of clinically led networking, which improved end of life care (EOLC) in care homes, differentiating between a ‘network’ as a formal entity and the more informal process of ‘networking’. The paper begins with a brief discussion of networks and their development in healthcare, then an overview of EOLC policy, the case setting and methods. The paper describes four key features of this networking; (1) how it enabled discussions and implemented processes to help people address difficult taboos about dying; (2) how personal communication and ‘distributed leadership’ facilitated learning; (3) how EOLC occasionally lapsed during the handover of patient care, where personal relationship and communication were weaker; and (4) how successful learning and sharing of best practice was fragile and could be potentially undermined by wider financial pressures in the NHS. PMID:25949588

Psychoanalysis and the Challenges of Disciplinary Exportation: Notes from the African "Periphery" on the Method/Theory Distinction.

PubMed

Barratt, Barnaby B

2018-02-01

This paper briefly reports on the current expansion of opportunities for clinical education in psychoanalysis in southern Africa, various regions of Asia, and Iran. It is a preliminary reconsideration of whether the disciplinary export of psychoanalysis is another egregious exercise in neo-colonialism, as contrasted with its possibly liberatory significance. The author argues that much of the discussion around the universality of many theoretical propositions needs to be reformulated. For example, the controversies over the Oedipus complex have typically been articulated in terms of the effects of specific social arrangements, familial structures, and styles of maternal and paternal functioning, rather than in terms of the universal-but with much cultural variation in its implementation-incest taboo. It is argued that dissemination of the psychoanalytic method (and the four coordinates that follow from it) may be desirable, but in ways the export of the hermeneutic assumptions of certain theoretical models is not.

PA11 The dreamers - life, death and dreams.

PubMed

Wischer, Pippa

2015-04-01

Palliative Care Victoria is building community capacity to have end of life conversations. To create a conversation resource. In partnership with Pippa Wischer, we published The Dreamers, an exploration of life, death and dreams through interviews and photographs of forty palliative care patients. The Dreamers was an effective advocacy tool during the 2014 Victorian State Election. Palliative care services are using it with patients and families. The photographs are being exhibited at a rural regional gallery with several other galleries expressing interest. Other applications are being explored (e.g. conversation cards). The Dreamers highlights the importance of personal stories in overcoming the taboos around death and the value of the arts to foster community engagement and social change. © 2015, Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

The Elephants in the Room: Sex, HIV, and LGBT Populations in MENA. Intersectionality in Lebanon

PubMed Central

Kaplan, Rachel L.; El Khoury, Cynthia

2017-01-01

In response to this insightful editorial, we wish to provide commentary that seeks to highlight recent successes and illuminate the often unspoken hurdles at the intersections of culture, politics, and taboo. We focus on sexual transmission and draw examples from Lebanon, where the pursuit of data in quality and quantity is teaching us lessons about the way forward and where we are experiencing many of the challenges referenced in the editorial such as discrepancies between national statistics and rates derived via research as well as the impact of protracted political conflict and displacement. Two important points were raised in the editorial about HIV in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that we would like to expand further: (1) The epidemic is largely driven by drug-related and sexual behavior among key populations; and (2) Several key populations continue to be criminalized and excluded from surveillance programs. PMID:28812848

Women's role in reproductive health decision making and vulnerability to STD and HIV/AIDS in Ekiti, Nigeria.

PubMed

Orubuloye, I O; Oguntimehin, F; Sadiq, T

1997-01-01

An exploratory study of women's role in reproductive decision making in Ekiti shows that women in the state are increasingly taking active decisions on matters affecting their daily lives. More women than ever before believed that they could take decisions on family size, when to have a baby and choice of spacing period. The cultural barrier against short postpartum abstinence appeared to have diminished and sex during lactation was not considered a major cultural and religious taboo. Knowledge of contraception has become universal in recent years, and the majority of women take decisions on the method and timing of family planning. All women who used family planning considered their decision in this regard very important. The ability of women to take decisions on these issues may not only enhance their bargaining power but also reduce their vulnerability to STDs including AIDS from diseased or high-risk partners.

All Eyes on Egypt: Islam and the Medical Use of Dead Bodies Amidst Cairo's Political Unrest.

PubMed

Hamdy, Sherine

2016-01-01

Using dead bodies for medical purposes has long been considered taboo in Egypt. Public health campaigns, physicians' pleas, and the urgings of religious scholars all failed to alter public opinion regarding the donation of dead bodies either for instructional material or for therapeutic treatments. Yet in 2011, amid revolutionary turmoil in Egypt, a campaign was launched for people to donate their eyes upon death; this time, people readily signed up to be donors. Focusing on mass eye trauma that occurred in Egypt amid the political uprisings of 2011, I raise questions about when and why Islam can explain people's attitudes and behaviors, particularly toward death and medicine. The case of mass eye trauma in Egypt and citizens' reformulations of questions once jealously controlled by state-aligned doctors, politicians, and religious scholars unsettles the boundaries between 'religion' and 'secularism' in medical practice. [Formula: see text].

Focus Groups Investigating Mental Health Attitudes and Beliefs of Parents and Teachers in South Lebanon: Are They Culturally Determined?

PubMed

Doumit, Myrna A A; Farhood, Laila F; Hamady, Carmen

2018-05-01

The wars that Lebanon had endured led to a devastating number of deaths, injuries, and displacements. Such tragedies have detrimentally affected its civilians psychologically. To identify knowledge, attitudes, and practices of teachers and parents concerning child/adolescent mental health. Using purposeful sampling, five focus groups were conducted with teachers and parents of students from elementary, middle, and secondary levels in two private hub schools in South Lebanon. A total of 27 teachers and 18 parents participated separately in focus groups. Three themes emerged: (a) Mental health care is a priority for overall health, (b) Mental illness is a cultural taboo, and (c) There is a need for better education and cultural understanding about mental health. This is the first study in Lebanon directly targeted at parents' and teachers' mental health concerns. Such findings will add to transcultural nursing knowledge about the importance of mental health care.

Traditional Postpartum Practices Among Malaysian Mothers: A Review.

PubMed

Fadzil, Fariza; Shamsuddin, Khadijah; Wan Puteh, Sharifa Ezat

2016-07-01

To briefly describe the postpartum practices among the three major ethnic groups in Malaysia and to identify commonalities in their traditional postpartum beliefs and practices. This narrative review collated information on traditional postpartum practices among Malaysian mothers through a literature search for published research papers on traditional postpartum practices in Malaysia. This review shows that Malaysian mothers have certain postpartum practices that they considered to be important for preventing future ill health. Despite the perceived differences in intra-ethnic postpartum practices, most Malaysian mothers, although from different ethnicities, share similarities in their postpartum regimens and practices in terms of beliefs and adherence to food taboos, use of traditional postpartum massage and traditional herbs, and acknowledgment of the role of older female family members in postpartum care. Health care providers should be aware of multiethnic traditional postpartum practices and use the commonalities in these practices as part of their postpartum care regimen.

Gesturing more diminishes recall of abstract words when gesture is allowed and concrete words when it is taboo.

PubMed

Matthews-Saugstad, Krista M; Raymakers, Erik P; Kelty-Stephen, Damian G

2017-07-01

Gesture during speech can promote or diminish recall for conversation content. We explored effects of cognitive load on this relationship, manipulating it at two scales: individual-word abstractness and social constraints to prohibit gestures. Prohibited gestures can diminish recall but more so for abstract-word recall. Insofar as movement planning adds to cognitive load, movement amplitude may moderate gesture effects on memory, with greater permitted- and prohibited-gesture movements reducing abstract-word recall and concrete-word recall, respectively. We tested these effects in a dyadic game in which 39 adult participants described words to confederates without naming the word or five related words. Results supported our expectations and indicated that memory effects of gesturing depend on social, cognitive, and motoric aspects of discourse.

A taboo within a stigma? a qualitative study of managing incontinence with people with dementia living at home

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Incontinence in people with dementia is one of the factors associated with the decision to move to a care home. Managing incontinence adds to carer burden and has been reported by family carers as more difficult to manage than behavioural symptoms. Active management strategies have been reported to be associated with less carer depression. The purpose of this study was to investigate carers' perceptions of the range of incontinence problems they helped their relative with and the strategies they employed to manage these. Methods Family carers of people with dementia living in their own homes were recruited through primary care, specialist community mental health services and voluntary organisations. Qualitative semi structured interviews were conducted either face to face or by telephone and thematically analysed. Results Thirty two carers were interviewed. They described a range of problems from supporting the person to remain independent in toileting, through to dealing with inappropriate behaviours, to containing and managing incontinence. All carers actively used problem solving strategies but sometimes these were not acceptable or understood by the person with dementia, particularly as the dementia progressed. Most carers reported protecting the person's dignity by not seeking health professionals help often until the point of a crisis. Once the carer has decided to seek help the responses from health professionals can be less than helpful, and carers report local health service policies on access to continence products to be inconsistent and often inappropriate to their circumstances. A few carers reported strategies for managing toileting and incontinence that have the potential for distress and harm to the person with dementia. Conclusions Primary care professionals could be more proactive in enquiry, repeated over time, about toileting and incontinence problems and in giving advice and information to reduce crisis and problems. PMID:22081876

A taboo within a stigma? a qualitative study of managing incontinence with people with dementia living at home.

PubMed

Drennan, Vari M; Cole, Laura; Iliffe, Steve

2011-11-14

Incontinence in people with dementia is one of the factors associated with the decision to move to a care home. Managing incontinence adds to carer burden and has been reported by family carers as more difficult to manage than behavioural symptoms. Active management strategies have been reported to be associated with less carer depression. The purpose of this study was to investigate carers' perceptions of the range of incontinence problems they helped their relative with and the strategies they employed to manage these. Family carers of people with dementia living in their own homes were recruited through primary care, specialist community mental health services and voluntary organisations. Qualitative semi structured interviews were conducted either face to face or by telephone and thematically analysed. Thirty two carers were interviewed. They described a range of problems from supporting the person to remain independent in toileting, through to dealing with inappropriate behaviours, to containing and managing incontinence. All carers actively used problem solving strategies but sometimes these were not acceptable or understood by the person with dementia, particularly as the dementia progressed. Most carers reported protecting the person's dignity by not seeking health professionals help often until the point of a crisis. Once the carer has decided to seek help the responses from health professionals can be less than helpful, and carers report local health service policies on access to continence products to be inconsistent and often inappropriate to their circumstances. A few carers reported strategies for managing toileting and incontinence that have the potential for distress and harm to the person with dementia. Primary care professionals could be more proactive in enquiry, repeated over time, about toileting and incontinence problems and in giving advice and information to reduce crisis and problems.

Breaking the Taboo: An Exploration of Female University Students' Experiences of Attending a Feminist-Informed Sex Education Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Askew, Julie

2007-01-01

This article presents the results of a qualitative interview study of nine young women who attended a feminist-informed human sexuality course as undergraduate students at a US university located in the "Bible belt". The course focused on messages of desire and empowerment, rather than romance or fear, and was designed to encourage students to…

Norms of valence, arousal, and dominance for 13,915 English lemmas.

PubMed

Warriner, Amy Beth; Kuperman, Victor; Brysbaert, Marc

2013-12-01

Information about the affective meanings of words is used by researchers working on emotions and moods, word recognition and memory, and text-based sentiment analysis. Three components of emotions are traditionally distinguished: valence (the pleasantness of a stimulus), arousal (the intensity of emotion provoked by a stimulus), and dominance (the degree of control exerted by a stimulus). Thus far, nearly all research has been based on the ANEW norms collected by Bradley and Lang (1999) for 1,034 words. We extended that database to nearly 14,000 English lemmas, providing researchers with a much richer source of information, including gender, age, and educational differences in emotion norms. As an example of the new possibilities, we included stimuli from nearly all of the category norms (e.g., types of diseases, occupations, and taboo words) collected by Van Overschelde, Rawson, and Dunlosky (Journal of Memory and Language 50:289-335, 2004), making it possible to include affect in studies of semantic memory.

The Changing Face of Human-Computer Interaction in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, Yvonne

HCI is reinventing itself. No longer only about being user-centered, it has set its sights on pastures new, embracing a much broader and far-reaching set of interests. From emotional, eco-friendly, embodied experiences to context, constructivism and culture, HCI research is changing apace: from what it looks at, the lenses it uses and what it has to offer. Part of this is as a reaction to what is happening in the world; ubiquitous technologies are proliferating and transforming how we live our lives. We are becoming more connected and more dependent on technology. The home, the crèche, outdoors, public places and even the human body are now being experimented with as potential places to embed computational devices, even to the extent of invading previously private and taboo aspects of our lives. In this paper, I examine the diversity of lifestyle and technological transformations in our midst and outline some 'difficult' questions these raise together with alternative directions for HCI research and practice.

Automated parameterization of intermolecular pair potentials using global optimization techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krämer, Andreas; Hülsmann, Marco; Köddermann, Thorsten; Reith, Dirk

2014-12-01

In this work, different global optimization techniques are assessed for the automated development of molecular force fields, as used in molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations. The quest of finding suitable force field parameters is treated as a mathematical minimization problem. Intricate problem characteristics such as extremely costly and even abortive simulations, noisy simulation results, and especially multiple local minima naturally lead to the use of sophisticated global optimization algorithms. Five diverse algorithms (pure random search, recursive random search, CMA-ES, differential evolution, and taboo search) are compared to our own tailor-made solution named CoSMoS. CoSMoS is an automated workflow. It models the parameters' influence on the simulation observables to detect a globally optimal set of parameters. It is shown how and why this approach is superior to other algorithms. Applied to suitable test functions and simulations for phosgene, CoSMoS effectively reduces the number of required simulations and real time for the optimization task.

Secondary HIV prevention among kothi-identified MSM in Chennai, India.

PubMed

Chakrapani, Venkatesan; Newman, Peter A; Shunmugam, Murali

2008-05-01

This study explored experiences and contexts of HIV risk and prevention among HIV-positive kothi-identified men in Chennai, India. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 HIV-positive men and three service providers, recruited using purposive sampling. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed in Tamil and translated into English. Data were analysed using a narrative thematic approach and constant comparative method. Misconceptions about HIV transmission; cultural taboos around discussing sexual behaviour and HIV; stigma related to same-sex behaviour; harassment; and the criminalization of consensual sex between men present formidable challenges to HIV prevention. Frank and open discussion about male-to-male sexual behaviour and living with HIV, which may support health and HIV prevention, may be dangerous in the context of pervasive risks due to stigmatization, violence and criminalization. Instead, culturally appropriate, multi-level interventions developed in collaboration with community stakeholders are needed to support HIV prevention among kothi-identified men in South India.

Sociocultural Contexts and Communication About Sex in China: Informing HIV/STD Prevention Programs

PubMed Central

Leiber, Eli; Chin, Dorothy; Li, Li; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane; Detels, Roger; Wu, Zunyou; Guan, Jihui

2010-01-01

HIV may be particularly stigmatizing in Asia because of its association with “taboo” topics, including sex, drugs, homosexuality, and death (Aoki, Ngin, Mo, & Ja, 1989). These cultural schemata expose salient boundaries and moral implications for sexual communication (Chin, 1999, Social Science and Medicine, 49, 241-251). Yet HIV/STD prevention efforts are frequently conducted in the public realm. Education strategies often involve conversations with health “experts” about condom use, safe sex, and partner communication. The gap between the public context of intervention efforts and the private and norm-bound nature of sex conversation is particularly challenging. Interviews with 32 market workers in eastern China focused on knowledge, beliefs, and values surrounding sexual practices, meanings, and communication. Sex-talk taboos, information seeking, vulnerability, partner communication, and cultural change emerged as central to understanding intervention information flow and each theme's relative influence is described. Findings illustrate the nature of how sexual communication schemata in Chinese contexts impact the effectiveness of sexual health message communication. PMID:19842826

Some Epidemiological Characteristics of Perpetrators and Victims of Incest in Contemporary Ghana: Analysis of Media Reports.

PubMed

Quarshie, Emmanuel N-B; Osafo, Joseph; Akotia, Charity S; Peprah, Jennifer; Andoh-Arthur, Johnny

2017-01-01

In Ghana, incest is considered sinful, taboo, and illegal. However, recent media reports show that incest has become a daily reality in Ghana. This study is a situational analysis of the pattern of incest in Ghana as reported in the media from January 2008 through July 2015. Qualitative content analysis was conducted on 48 incest news reports in Ghana. The findings showed that father-daughter incest was most frequent across the study period. Forty-seven females aged 3 to 25 years and a male aged 3 years were identified as victims. Generally, the incest lasted between 1 day and 13 years before disclosure. Perpetrators employed psychological and/or physical methods to coerce their victims. Marital difficulties, diabolical control, and seduction by victim featured prominently as alleged motives behind the abuse. The study observes that the recent increase in father-daughter incest warrants an immediate shift of research attention onto men's mental health in Ghana.

[Halitosis: a multidisciplinary problem].

PubMed

Bollen, C M; Rompen, E H; Demanez, J P

1999-01-01

Bad breath, or halitosis, affects between 50 and 65% of the population. Despite its frequency, this problem is often unaccepted and declared taboo. In about 8% of the cases, bad breath is related to an ENT pathology (sinusitis, tonsillitis, ...). More rarely it is caused by a metabolic (diabetes, trimethylaminuremia, ...) or gastric dysfunction. Ninety percent of the cases however, are associated to an oral disease: either gingivitis due to an inadequate removal of dental plaque, especially from interdental spaces, or periodontitis (alveolar bone destruction), or bacterial accumulation on the dorsum of the tongue. In most cases, an intensive disinfection of the mouth by scaling and root planing and/or instruction of a perfect oral hygiene will be sufficient to solve the problem. Perfumed mouthwashes or toothpastes will only give a short-term masking effect. An effective collaboration between a dentist or a periodontist and an ENT specialist is of great importance to dealt with bad breath.

Women's somatic styles: rethinking breast self-examination education.

PubMed

Ellingson, Lyndall

2003-11-01

In this ethnographic study I explored women's somatic and sexual experiences, reception of breast self-examination (BSE) messages, and reactions to the practice of BSE. Mainstream BSE education uses messages that deemphasize the woman, her breasts, and her relationship to them as sexual. The turbid confluence of societally eroticized breasts and self-touch taboos makes it unlikely that women filter these messages in an asexual way. Using grounded theory, I examined women's expression of the self-body relationship and the sociocultural milieu within which women consider BSE education materials. Seven subjects varying in age, sexual orientation, parenting, and relationship status were interviewed about their physical experiences, self-touch, and body image. Subjects also participated in a BSE class and focus group, and composed a journal entry describing their reactions to practicing BSE. Discernible patterns in somatic memories, somatic styles, and reactions to BSE educational messages were found. This study suggests a need for a more consciously feminist approach to BSE education.

Singapore Takes Six Steps Forward in 'The Quality of Death Index' Rankings.

PubMed

Lin Goh, Stella Seow

2018-01-01

In the latest 2015 Quality of Death Index, Singapore managed to move SIX steps forward from 18 th to the 12 th position. This advancement has been hard-won, with victories to improve the level of palliative care such as creating awareness of palliative service, improving coordinated care and growing an adequate capacity to meet the demand of care in our fast -growing ageing population. But it hasn't always been easy. Despite being a first world country, Asian societies like Singapore have inherited taboos regarding public dialogue about death and dying. Such dialogue is traditionally avoided. However, through years of continual effort in improving the standard of palliative care delivery, redesigning education module, creating public awareness and improving funding system, Singapore's palliative care providers have improved the lives of those with life-limiting illnesses. Nevertheless, the government will continue to improve and work toward achieving single digits in the next ranking of the Quality of Death Index.

The experiences of staff who support people with intellectual disability on issues about death, dying and bereavement: A metasynthesis.

PubMed

Lord, Ailsa J; Field, Stephen; Smith, Ian C

2017-11-01

Historically, people with intellectual disabilities have tended to be excluded from knowing about death, dying and bereavement. Staff in intellectual disability services can play a valuable role in improving understanding of these issues in those they support. This qualitative metasynthesis aimed to understand the experiences of staff supporting adults with intellectual disabilities with issues of death, dying and bereavement. Thirteen papers were identified following a systematic review of six databases. Three themes were developed following a lines-of-argument synthesis: (i) talking about death is hard: negotiating the uncertainty in death, dying and bereavement; (ii) the commitment to promoting a "good death"; and (iii) the grief behind the professional mask. "A cautious silence: The taboo of death" was an overarching theme. A more open culture around issues of death, dying and bereavement in intellectual disability settings is essential and could be promoted through staff training and support. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Postpartum sexual abstinence, breastfeeding, and childspacing, among Yoruba women in urban Nigeria.

PubMed

Feyisetan, B J

1990-01-01

This paper examines the extent to which the traditional practice of sexual abstinence during lactation has broken down among Yoruba women residents in urban areas. The first major finding is that there is a gradual erosion of the tradition, and the dominant factors of modernization are education of the woman and the use of contraception. The second major finding is that the breakdown of postpartum sexual taboos has statistically significant negative consequences on duration of lactation, although the negative impact of woman's education is greater. The third major finding is that duration of breastfeeding reduces birth interval significantly only when it is less than 15 months, and that both durations of breastfeeding and birth intervals have declined over time. The first two findings suggest further reductions in the proportion of women who abstain from sexual relations during lactation and in durations of breastfeeding as more women become more educated. Significant declines in birth intervals may follow soon after.

Ethnic spirituality, gender and health care in the Peruvian Amazon.

PubMed

Espinosa, M Cristina

2009-10-01

By addressing ethnic identities of riparian people in Loreto, this article shows the relevance of spirituality, ethnic difference, and gender subordination affecting health interventions. Ethnic spirituality defines daily life behavior and attitudes revealing different meanings associated with medicine, illness, and healing. Gender segregates natural spaces and portrays women and children as more vulnerable to illness caused by spiritual powers, imposing taboos, and regulations. Due to lesser exposure to the modern outside world, adult women remain less familiar with it, even though modernity is also present in the village and reinterpreted by local ethnic views. Women seem closer to ethnic beliefs that 'color' their views and attitudes toward modern medicine and for that reason experience higher levels of discrimination and subordination. Being the principal care takers, their views and attitudes on medicine, illness, and healing are extremely important to consider. In practice, women and their ethnic views on medicine and illness usually remain invisible.

When Societal Norms and Social Identity Collide: the Race Talk Dilemma for Racial Minority Children.

PubMed

Pauker, Kristin; Apfelbaum, Evan P; Spitzer, Brian

2015-11-01

Racial minorities face a unique "race talk" dilemma in contemporary American society: their racial background is often integral to their identity and how others perceive them, yet talk of race is taboo. This dilemma highlights the conflict between two fundamental social processes: social identity development and social norm adherence. To examine how, and with what costs, this dilemma is resolved, 9-12-year-old Latino, Asian, Black, and White children ( n =108) completed a photo identification task in which acknowledging racial difference is beneficial to performance. Results indicate minority children are just as likely to avoid race as White children, and such avoidance exacted a cost to performance and nonverbal comfort. Results suggest that teachers are particularly important social referents for instilling norms regarding race. Norms that equate colorblindness with socially appropriate behavior appear more broadly influential than previously thought, stifling talk of race even among those for whom it may be most meaningful.

Investigating the "self" in deliberate self-harm.

PubMed

Adams, Joanna; Rodham, Karen; Gavin, Jeff

2005-12-01

In this study, the authors explored how a group of young people aged 16 to 26 years (who identified themselves as having engaged in deliberate self-harm) made sense of the self by conducting two online focus groups and four e-mail interviews. They analyzed data using interpretive phenomenological analysis. The concept of validation was the primary means of making sense of the self and concerned the desire to be considered legitimate and of worth. This desire was clearly evident across three realms of conflict: (a) the intrinsic or extrinsic self, which marked the distinction between objective fact and subjective opinion; (b) the accepted or denied self; and (c) the notion of normality. It is possible that having one's denied self validated online might lead to an exacerbation of an individual's self-harming behavior. Further work is needed to explore the effects of online discussion forums on such taboo forms of behavior.

The cultural and ecological impacts of aboriginal tourism: a case study on Taiwan's Tao tribe.

PubMed

Liu, Tzu-Ming; Lu, Dau-Jye

2014-01-01

We show that tourism activities severely impact the ecology of Orchid Island, its natural resources, and the culture of the Tao tribe. For example, highway widening, in response to the increased traffic volumes caused by tourism, required many Pandanus trees to be cut and removed, which has placed the coconut crabs in danger of extinction. To promote eco-tourism, observation trips to observe Elegant Scops owls and Birdwing butterflies have taken place, which has affected the breeding of these two protected species. The Elegant Scops owls- and Birdwing butterflies-related tourism activities also break the "evil spirits" taboo of the Tao people and have caused the disappearance of the specifications for using traditional natural resources, causing natural ecosystems to face the threat of excessive use. In addition to promoting and advocating aboriginal tourism of the Tao people on Orchid Island, the Taiwanese government should help the Tao people to develop a management model that combines traditional regulations and tourism activities.

Use of artemether-lumefantrine to treat malaria during pregnancy: what do we know and need to know?

PubMed

Mutabingwa, Theonest K; Adam, Ishag

2013-02-01

Artemether-lumefantrine is a fixed-dose combination containing 20 mg artemether/120 mg lumefantrine per tablet, used for treating uncomplicated malaria in patients weighing ≥5 kg. It is the first artemisinin-based combination registered in some European countries and in the USA. It is marketed in Europe as Riamet(®) (Novartis, Basel, Switzerland) and in malaria-endemic countries as Coartem(®) (Novartis). Safety concerns prevent early pregnancy usage, while limited postmarketing surveillance has delayed safety assessment and policy development. Large clinical studies, postmarketing surveillance and pharmacovigillance ongoing in some countries may soon bridge safety issues. Fatty diet requirements for optimal absorption, pregnancy-induced changes in pharmacokinetics, pregnancy-related anorexia and food taboos, and emerging reduced parasite sensitivity to artemisinin, challenges optimal artemether-lumefantrine dosing and efficacy during pregnancy. This evaluation addresses drug usage, safety concerns following early exposure, implications for changed pharmacokinetics and reduced parasite susceptibility. Clinical-use updates and strategies to address some knowledge gaps including key operational research are discussed.

Children and Wild Foods in the Context of Deforestation in Rural Malawi.

PubMed

Maseko, H; Shackleton, Charlie M; Nagoli, J; Pullanikkatil, D

2017-01-01

There is growing recognition of the contribution of wild foods to local diets, nutrition, and culture. Yet disaggregation of understanding of wild food use by gender and age is limited. We used a mixed methods approach to determine the types, frequencies, and perceptions of wild foods used and sold by children in four villages in southern Malawi that have different levels of deforestation. Household and individual dietary diversity scores are low at all sites. All households consume one or more wild foods. Across the four sites, children listed 119 wild foods, with a wider variety at the least deforested sites than the most deforested ones. Older children can name more wild foods than younger ones. More children from poor households sell wild foods than from well-off households. Several reasons were provided for the consumption or avoidance of wild foods (most commonly taste, contribution to health, limited alternatives, hunger, availability, local taboos).

The importance of social context in understanding and promoting low-income immigrant women's health.

PubMed

De Jesus, Maria

2009-02-01

Understanding the social context and realities of Cape Verdean women in the U.S. as well as other immigrant and ethnic/racial groups is important to promote their overall health and well-being more effectively. The aim of this study was to gain a contextual understanding from the perspectives of health promoters who work with marginalized women. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine Cape Verdean women health promoters about their perspectives and experiences of health promotion practice with immigrant women in their community. Using a Glaserian grounded theory approach to analysis, six salient themes describing women's social context emerged: community and domestic violence, loss and isolation, economic injustice, immigration-related issues and abuse, unequal gender-based power relations, and cultural taboos. These findings challenge health researchers and practitioners to understand health problems and health promotion not only at an individual level, but at multiple levels of influence including interpersonal, family, neighborhood, and structural levels.

"I kiss them because I love them": the emergence of heterosexual men kissing in British institutes of education.

PubMed

Anderson, Eric; Adams, Adi; Rivers, Ian

2012-04-01

In this article, we combined data from 145 interviews and three ethnographic investigations of heterosexual male students in the U.K. from multiple educational settings. Our results indicate that 89% have, at some point, kissed another male on the lips which they reported as being non-sexual: a means of expressing platonic affection among heterosexual friends. Moreover, 37% also reported engaging in sustained same-sex kissing, something they construed as non-sexual and non-homosexual. Although the students in our study understood that this type of kissing remains somewhat culturally symbolized as a taboo sexual behavior, they nonetheless reconstructed it, making it compatible with heteromasculinity by recoding it as homosocial. We hypothesize that both these types of kissing behaviors are increasingly permissible due to rapidly decreasing levels of cultural homophobia. Furthermore, we argue that there has been a loosening of the restricted physical and emotional boundaries of traditional heteromasculinity in these educational settings, something which may also gradually assist in the erosion of prevailing heterosexual hegemony.

When ignorance is no excuse: Different roles for intent across moral domains.

PubMed

Young, Liane; Saxe, Rebecca

2011-08-01

A key factor in legal and moral judgments is intent. Intent differentiates, for instance, murder from manslaughter. Is this true for all moral judgments? People deliver moral judgments of many kinds of actions, including harmful actions (e.g., assault) and purity violations (e.g., incest, consuming taboo substances). We show that intent is a key factor for moral judgments of harm, but less of a factor for purity violations. Based on the agent's innocent intent, participants judged accidental harms less morally wrong than accidental incest; based on the agent's guilty intent, participants judged failed attempts to harm more morally wrong than failed attempts to commit incest. These patterns were specific to moral judgments versus judgments of the agent's control, knowledge, or intent, the action's overall emotional salience, or participants' ratings of disgust. The current results therefore reveal distinct cognitive signatures of distinct moral domains, and may inform the distinct functional roles of moral norms. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Desire and the female analyst.

PubMed

Schaverien, J

1996-04-01

The literature on erotic transference and countertransference between female analyst and male patient is reviewed and discussed. It is known that female analysts are less likely than their male colleagues to act out sexually with their patients. It has been claimed that a) male patients do not experience sustained erotic transferences, and b) female analysts do not experience erotic countertransferences with female or male patients. These views are challenged and it is argued that, if there is less sexual acting out by female analysts, it is not because of an absence of eros in the therapeutic relationship. The literature review covers material drawn from psychoanalysis, feminist psychotherapy, Jungian analysis, as well as some sociological and cultural sources. It is organized under the following headings: the gender of the analyst, sexual acting out, erotic transference, maternal and paternal transference, gender and power, countertransference, incest taboo--mothers and sons and sexual themes in the transference.

Imagine no religion: Heretical disgust, anger and the symbolic purity of mind.

PubMed

Ritter, Ryan S; Preston, Jesse L; Salomon, Erika; Relihan-Johnson, Daniel

2016-01-01

Immoral actions, including physical/sexual (e.g., incest) and social (e.g., unfairness) taboos, are often described as disgusting. But what about immoral thoughts, more specifically, thoughts that violate religious beliefs? Do heretical thoughts taint the purity of mind? The present research examined heretical disgust using self-report measures and facial electromyography. Religious thought violations consistently elicited both self-reported disgust and anger. Feelings of disgust also predicted harsh moral judgement, independent of anger, and were mediated by feelings of "contamination". However, religious thought violations were not associated with a disgust facial expression (i.e., levator labii muscle activity) that was elicited by physically disgusting stimuli. We conclude that people (especially more religious people) do feel disgust in response to heretical thoughts that is meaningfully distinct from anger as a moral emotion. However, heretical disgust is not embodied in a physical disgust response. Rather, disgust has a symbolic moral value that marks heretical thoughts as harmful and aversive.

Oxytocin conditions trait-based rule adherence

PubMed Central

De Dreu, Carsten K.W.

2017-01-01

Abstract Rules, whether in the form of norms, taboos or laws, regulate and coordinate human life. Some rules, however, are arbitrary and adhering to them can be personally costly. Rigidly sticking to such rules can be considered maladaptive. Here, we test whether, at the neurobiological level, (mal)adaptive rule adherence is reduced by oxytocin—a hypothalamic neuropeptide that biases the biobehavioural approach-avoidance system. Participants (N = 139) self-administered oxytocin or placebo intranasally, and reported their need for structure and approach-avoidance sensitivity. Next, participants made binary decisions and were given an arbitrary rule that demanded to forgo financial benefits. Under oxytocin, participants violated the rule more often, especially when they had high need for structure and high approach sensitivity. Possibly, oxytocin dampens the need for a highly structured environment and enables individuals to flexibly trade-off internal desires against external restrictions. Implications for the treatment of clinical disorders marked by maladaptive rule adherence are discussed. PMID:27664999

Co-constructing engagement in stroke rehabilitation: a qualitative study exploring how practitioner engagement can influence patient engagement.

PubMed

Bright, Felicity As; Kayes, Nicola M; Cummins, Christine; Worrall, Linda M; McPherson, Kathryn M

2017-10-01

To explore how practitioner engagement and disengagement occurred, and how these may influence patient care and engagement. A qualitative study using the Voice Centred Relational Methodology. Data included interviews, focus groups and observations. Inpatient and community stroke rehabilitation services. Eleven people experiencing communication disability after stroke and 42 rehabilitation practitioners. Not applicable. The practitioner's engagement was important in patient engagement and service delivery. When patients considered practitioners were engaged, this helped engagement. When they considered practitioners were not engaged, their engagement was negatively affected. Practitioners considered their engagement was important but complex. It influenced how they worked and how they perceived the patient. Disengagement was taboo. It arose when not feeling confident, when not positively impacting outcomes, or when having an emotional response to a patient or interaction. Each party's engagement influenced the other, suggesting it was co-constructed. Practitioner engagement influenced patient engagement in stroke rehabilitation. Practitioner disengagement was reported by most practitioners but was often a source of shame.

All Things Death and Dying: Health Professional Students Participating in the Death Café Model.

PubMed

Nelson, Katie E; Wright, Rebecca; Abshire, Martha; Davidson, Patricia M

2018-06-01

Death and dying remains a taboo topic in many social settings, and is underrepresented in health profession training. This report describes the use of the Death Café model as a forum for engaging students in discussion of death and dying with their peers and other health professionals. A Death Café is an opportunity for individuals to gather in an informal environment to exchange thoughts about issues associated with death, dying, loss, and illness. This report outlines the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of a Death Café event hosted at a nursing school as part of an academic health center. Twenty-four participants from five disciplines participated in discussions, reported positive experiences, and desired to learn more about issues surrounding death and dying. Findings from this event suggest that this approach may be useful for institutions seeking to provide additional learning opportunities for students and/or healthcare professionals on palliative and end-of-life care in a supportive and enabling context.

Cultural and social practices regarding menstruation among adolescent girls.

PubMed

Kumar, Anant; Srivastava, Kamiya

2011-01-01

The study attempts to find out the existing social and cultural practices regarding menstruation, awareness levels, and the behavioral changes that come about in adolescent girls during menstruation, their perception about menarche, how do they treat it, and the various taboos, norms, and cultural practices associated with menarche. The study was conducted on 117 adolescent girls (age 11-20 years) and 41 mothers from various communities and classes in Ranchi comprising residential colonies and urban slums. The findings unfolds many practices: cultural and social restrictions associated with menstruation, myth, and misconception; the adaptability of the adolescent girls toward it; their reaction, reaction of the family; realization of the importance of menstruation; and the changes that have come in their life after menarche and their resistance to such changes. The article also suggests the strategies to improve menstrual health and hygiene among adolescent girls. The study concludes that cultural and social practices regarding menstruation depend on girls' education, attitude, family environment, culture, and belief.

Inattentional blindness and the von Restorff effect.

PubMed

Schmidt, Stephen R; Schmidt, Constance R

2015-02-01

Sometimes we fail to notice distinctive or unusual items (inattentional blindness), while other times we remember distinctive items more than expected items (the von Restorff effect). A three-factor framework is presented and tested in two experiments in an attempt to reconcile these seemingly contradictory phenomena. Memory for different types of unexpected stimuli was tested after an easy or difficult Stroop color-naming task. Highly arousing taboo words were well remembered even when the difficult Stroop task limited attentional resources. However, a conceptual isolation effect was only observed when the nature of the category change was highlighted by the Stroop task, the Stroop task was easy, and/or the isolated targets enjoyed a retrieval advantage relative to comparison targets. As proposed in the three-factor framework, the arousing qualities of the stimuli, the attentional demands of the primary task, and the relevance of isolated features at encoding and retrieval combine to produce inattentional blindness and the von Restorff effect.

Sex education among Asian American college females: who is teaching them and what is being taught.

PubMed

Lee, Christine; Tran, Denise Yen; Thoi, Deanna; Chang, Melissa; Wu, Lisa; Trieu, Sang Leng

2013-04-01

Many parents are reluctant to educate their Asian American adolescents on sexual health topics because sexuality is taboo in most Asian cultures. A survey was conducted with Chinese, Filipina, Korean, and Vietnamese college females ages 18-25 to assess sources of abstinence and birth control education and age of sexual debut. Parents were the least reported source of sex education for all four ethnic groups, with the majority of respondents reporting school as their source of sex education. Respondents who reported family as their source of abstinence education had a sexual debut of 6 months later than those who did not. Females who reported family as their source of birth control education began having sex more than 7 months later than those who reported other sources. Disaggregation of data by Asian ethnic groups and examining differences in delivery of sex education among ethnic groups may improve school curricula and sexual health.

Integration of religious traditions in Japanese children's view of death and afterlife.

PubMed

Sagara-Rosemeyer, Miharu; Davies, Betty

2007-03-01

Open and public discussion of death, particularly among children, remains one of the greatest Japanese societal taboos; therefore, little is known about Japanese children's perceptions of death. To explore Japanese children's notions of life and death, 16 healthy children (7 girls and 9 boys, mean age 8.9) were each interviewed 3 times and asked to draw and describe pictures of what "to live" and "to die" meant to them. Transcribed interviews were interpreted based on thematic analysis, incorporating paradigm cases and exemplars within the hermeneutical tradition. The children perceived life as an evolving process that leads to death, and regarded death as a transitional point to an afterlife. Some children perceived this process, or flow, as linear; others as circular. Their notions of death and the afterlife incorporated three main religious traditions in Japan (Shintoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism) as well as Christianity, as illustrated by 3 case examples and children's drawings.

Revealing and concealing Ill identity: a performance narrative of IBD disclosure.

PubMed

Defenbaugh, Nicole L

2013-01-01

Revealing a hidden, chronic illness is a risky and vulnerable act. Ill individuals often remain socially stigmatized, and those who live with invisible illness must legitimize their ill identity since they infrequently look sick. For individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), disclosing one's illness carries unique challenges because of the grotesque and taboo nature of the disease. To this end, the bathroom or "water closet" is more than a functional place-it is a space to hide one's ill identity. For many, the point of departure from safety to vulnerability occurs when there is a desire to disclose. In this descriptive essay, revelation of an invisible illness, IBD, and disclosure to others are explored as embodied and situated communication. Through performance narrative, the author shares stories of her disclosive moments to inform others about IBD, explores how the water closet can be a metaphoric boundary, examines various strategies used in revealing hidden illness, and offers possible implications for IBD disclosure to the self and relationships with others.

Medical Eschatologies: The Christian Spirit of Hospital Protocol.

PubMed

Langford, Jean M

2016-01-01

If much has been written of the forms of bodiliness reinforced by hospitals, less attention has been paid to the medicalization of the soul. The medical management of death institutionalizes divisions between body and soul, and matter and spirit, infusing end-of-life care with latent Christian theological presumptions. The invisibility of these presumptions is partly sustained by projecting religiosity on those who endorse other cosmologies, while retaining for medicine a mask of secular science. Stories of conflict with non-Christian patients force these presumptions into visibility, suggesting alternative ethics of care and mourning rooted in other understandings. In this article, I explore one such story. Considering the story as an allegory for how matter and spirit figure in contemporary postmortem disciplines, I suggest that it exposes both the operation of a taboo against mixing material and spiritual agendas, and an assumption that appropriate mourning is oriented toward symbolic homage, rather than concern for the material welfare of the dead.

Cooperate without looking: why we care what people think and not just what they do.

PubMed

Hoffman, Moshe; Yoeli, Erez; Nowak, Martin A

2015-02-10

Evolutionary game theory typically focuses on actions but ignores motives. Here, we introduce a model that takes into account the motive behind the action. A crucial question is why do we trust people more who cooperate without calculating the costs? We propose a game theory model to explain this phenomenon. One player has the option to "look" at the costs of cooperation, and the other player chooses whether to continue the interaction. If it is occasionally very costly for player 1 to cooperate, but defection is harmful for player 2, then cooperation without looking is a subgame perfect equilibrium. This behavior also emerges in population-based processes of learning or evolution. Our theory illuminates a number of key phenomena of human interactions: authentic altruism, why people cooperate intuitively, one-shot cooperation, why friends do not keep track of favors, why we admire principled people, Kant's second formulation of the Categorical Imperative, taboos, and love.

“It’s My Secret”: Fear of Disclosure among Sub-Saharan African Migrant Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Belgium

PubMed Central

Arrey, Agnes Ebotabe; Bilsen, Johan; Lacor, Patrick; Deschepper, Reginald

2015-01-01

Patients with HIV not only have to deal with the challenges of living with an incurable disease but also with the dilemma of whether or not to disclose their status to their partners, families and friends. This study explores the extent to which sub-Saharan African (SSA) migrant women in Belgium disclose their HIV positive status, reasons for disclosure/non-disclosure and how they deal with HIV disclosure. A qualitative study consisting of interviews with twenty-eight SSA women with HIV/AIDS was conducted. Thematic content analysis was employed to identify themes as they emerged. Our study reveals that these women usually only disclose their status to healthcare professionals because of the treatment and care they need. This selective disclosure is mainly due to the taboo of HIV disease in SSA culture. Stigma, notably self-stigma, greatly impedes HIV disclosure. Techniques to systematically incorporate HIV disclosure into post-test counseling and primary care services are highly recommended. PMID:25781906

Barriers and facilitators of HIV prevention with heterosexual Latino couples: beliefs of four stakeholder groups.

PubMed

Pérez-Jiménez, David; Seal, David W; Serrano-García, Irma

2009-01-01

Although HIV prevention interventions for women are efficacious, long-term behavior change maintenance within power-imbalanced heterosexual relationships has been difficult. To explore the feasibility, content, and format of an HIV intervention for Latino couples, the authors conducted 13 focus groups with HIV/AIDS researchers, service providers, and heterosexual men and women in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Reasons that participants thought that men should be involved in prevention efforts included promotion of shared responsibility, creation of a safe environment for open conversation about sex, and increased sexual negotiation skills. Perceived barriers to men's involvement included cultural taboos, sexual conservatism associated with Catholicism and machismo, and power-imbalanced relationships. Participants stressed the need for recruitment of men within naturally occurring settings or by influential community leaders. Participants indicated that couples-level interventions would be successful if they used strong coed facilitators, included both unigender and mixed-gender discussion opportunities, and addressed personally meaningful topics. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Barriers and Facilitators of HIV Prevention With Heterosexual Latino Couples: Beliefs of Four Stakeholder Groups

PubMed Central

Pérez-Jiménez, David; Seal, David W.; Serrano-García, Irma

2012-01-01

Although HIV prevention interventions for women are efficacious, long-term behavior change maintenance within power-imbalanced heterosexual relationships has been difficult. To explore the feasibility, content, and format of an HIV intervention for Latino couples, the authors conducted 13 focus groups with HIV/AIDS researchers, service providers, and heterosexual men and women in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Reasons that participants thought that men should be involved in prevention efforts included promotion of shared responsibility, creation of a safe environment for open conversation about sex, and increased sexual negotiation skills. Perceived barriers to men’s involvement included cultural taboos, sexual conservatism associated with Catholicism and machismo, and power-imbalanced relationships. Participants stressed the need for recruitment of men within naturally occurring settings or by influential community leaders. Participants indicated that couples-level interventions would be successful if they used strong coed facilitators, included both unigender and mixed-gender discussion opportunities, and addressed personally meaningful topics. Implications of these findings are discussed. PMID:19209976

Cooperate without looking: Why we care what people think and not just what they do

PubMed Central

Hoffman, Moshe; Yoeli, Erez; Nowak, Martin A.

2015-01-01

Evolutionary game theory typically focuses on actions but ignores motives. Here, we introduce a model that takes into account the motive behind the action. A crucial question is why do we trust people more who cooperate without calculating the costs? We propose a game theory model to explain this phenomenon. One player has the option to “look” at the costs of cooperation, and the other player chooses whether to continue the interaction. If it is occasionally very costly for player 1 to cooperate, but defection is harmful for player 2, then cooperation without looking is a subgame perfect equilibrium. This behavior also emerges in population-based processes of learning or evolution. Our theory illuminates a number of key phenomena of human interactions: authentic altruism, why people cooperate intuitively, one-shot cooperation, why friends do not keep track of favors, why we admire principled people, Kant’s second formulation of the Categorical Imperative, taboos, and love. PMID:25624473

Breaking the taboo: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of healthcare professionals' experience of caring for palliative patients with disgusting symptoms.

PubMed

Muggleton, Joshua; Guy, Helen; Howard, Ruth

2015-06-01

Disgusting symptoms are common in healthcare settings. Previous research has identified that healthcare professionals systematically avoid contact with patients with disgusting symptoms, potentially compromising patient care. Furthermore, research has highlighted disgust in healthcare professionals as a possible contributory factor to dehumanisation and abuse of patients. Given that healthcare professionals often feel that disgust is unprofessional, they may also feel unable to express or process disgust in their work, potentially impacting their emotional health, and contributing to burning out. Given the ubiquity of disgust in palliative care, we investigated how palliative healthcare professionals' experience and cope with disgust in their work, and how they are supported in doing so. We interviewed six palliative healthcare professionals and analysed their transcripts using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, from which four themes are discussed. Three key findings emerged. Firstly, participants were uncomfortable talking about disgust at work, reducing their access to support for disgust. Secondly, participants often neglected their own emotional needs, and as a result, sometimes become emotionally entangled with patients. Finally, participants were at risk of reducing vital socio-emotional support for patients with disgusting symptoms. Based on our analysis, we suggest interventions to counteract these effects. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

'Your experiences were your tools'. How personal experience of mental health problems informs mental health nursing practice.

PubMed

Oates, J; Drey, N; Jones, J

2017-09-01

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: 'Expertise by experience' has become an increasingly valued element of service design and delivery by mental health service providers. The extent and influence of mental health professionals' personal experience of mental ill health on clinical practice has seldom been interrogated in depth. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: We investigate how mental health nurses' own personal experience of mental ill health informs their mental health nursing practice with particular reference to direct work with service users. Participants said that personal experience could impact on work in three positive ways: to develop their relationship with service users, to enhance their understanding of service users and as a motivation for potential mental health nurses to join the profession. This study moves the discussion of the state of mental health nurses' mental health further towards the recovery and well-being focus of contemporary mental health care, where 'expertise by experience' is highly valued. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: We must address the taboo of disclosure within clinical nursing practice and debate the extent to which personal and professional boundaries are negotiated during clinical encounters. Introduction 'Expertise by experience' is a highly valued element of service delivery in recovery-oriented mental health care, but is unacknowledged within the mental health nursing literature. Aim To explore the extent and influence of mental health professionals' personal experience of mental ill health on clinical practice. Method Twenty-seven mental health nurses with their own personal experience of mental ill health were interviewed about how their personal experience informed their mental health nursing practice, as part of a sequential mixed methods study. Results The influence of personal experience in nursing work was threefold: first, through overt disclosure; second, through the 'use of the self as a tool

Taboo or Tabula Rasa: Cross-Racial/Cultural Dating Preferences Amongst Chinese, Japanese, and Korean International Students in an American University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritter, Zachary S.

2015-01-01

International students bring racial attitudes and group preferences that affect campus climates. Forty-seven Chinese, Japanese, and Korean college international students were interviewed, regarding their perceptions of race/ethnicity and nationality, when it comes to dating and romantic relationships on college campuses. Thirty-five out of…

An issue of blood: the healing of the woman with the haemorrhage (Mark 5.24B-34; Luke 8.42B-48; Matthew 9.19-22) in early medieval visual culture.

PubMed

Baert, Barbara; Kusters, Liesbet; Sidgwick, Emma

2012-09-01

The textual and visual tradition of the story of the woman with the haemorrhage (Mark 5.24b-34parr), the so-called Haemorrhoissa, is related in a specific way to Christ's healing miracles but also to conceptions of female menstrual blood. We notice that with regard to the specific 'issue of blood' of the Haemorrhoissa, there is a visual lacuna in the specific iconography that developed around the story from early Christian times: in the transposition from text to image, there is no immediate depiction of her bleeding. However, the early medieval reception of the story also became an important catalyst for uterine taboos, menstruation and tits relation to magical healing, understood as a system of health practices. In this context, the dissemination of the motif in everyday material culture clearly points to a deep-rooted connection to uterine and menstrual issues. The paper considers both expressions and their-anthropologically framed-relation to this female 'issue of blood', which the Haemorrhoissa came to embody and epitomise literally, as well as figuratively.

An Algorithm for Automatically Modifying Train Crew Schedule

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Satoru; Kataoka, Kenji; Kojima, Teruhito; Asami, Masayuki

Once the break-down of the train schedule occurs, the crew schedule as well as the train schedule has to be modified as quickly as possible to restore them. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for automatically modifying a crew schedule that takes all constraints into consideration, presenting a model of the combined problem of crews and trains. The proposed algorithm builds an initial solution by relaxing some of the constraint conditions, and then uses a Taboo-search method to revise this solution in order to minimize the degree of constraint violation resulting from these relaxed conditions. Then we show not only that the algorithm can generate a constraint satisfaction solution, but also that the solution will satisfy the experts. That is, we show the proposed algorithm is capable of producing a usable solution in a short time by applying to actual cases of train-schedule break-down, and that the solution is at least as good as those produced manually, by comparing the both solutions with several point of view.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lakamp, M.A.

The United States has adopted a policy of calculated ambiguity regarding the role of nuclear weapons in response to a potential chemical or biological weapons (CBW) attack. Many factors affect decisions about the role nuclear weapons play in US counterproliferation strategy. This thesis describes the policy of calculated ambiguity and offers some observations about its prospects and pitfalls. The thesis presents evidence that suggests nuclear weapons could play a positive role in the US counterproliferation strategy, at least in some circumstances. It also explains how such a role could conflict with the US nonproliferation strategy. Such a role would alsomore » violate the nuclear taboo and be seen by a majority of countries as illegal and immoral. The United States has chosen a policy of calculated ambiguity in an attempt to retain the deterrent value of nuclear weapons without paying the political, legal, and moral costs of explicit reliance on nuclear weapons to deter the use of CBW. This may have short-term benefits, but ultimately may damage the national interest.« less

An exploration of jealousy in nursing: a Kleinian analysis.

PubMed

Evans, Alicia M; Traynor, Michael; Glass, Nel

2014-06-01

It is well established that nursing practice produces considerable anxiety, and it can also give rise to envy and jealousy. While envy in nursing was identified in the literature more than 50 years ago, there remains a paucity of articles addressing either envy or jealousy for nurses. In a recent research study on current experiences of clinical practice, we analysed a fragment of nurses' speech via Klein's theory of jealousy. The results revealed that the nurses expressed jealousy at the privilege afforded to doctors. We argue that it is important to acknowledge jealousy in nursing practice because it has the potential for 'spoiling' effective care delivery and as such, can have detrimental ramifications in the health system. Also, jealousy may keep the nurse from fully focusing on their nursing practice in that it divides the nurse's attention and so limits the nurse's treatment of the patient. Nurses' jealousy of doctors is a taboo topic in nursing, and yet it warrants serious consideration due to the potential deleterious consequences that can arise when this dynamic is present. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Working-Class Ideas and Experiences of Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Britain: Regionalism as a Category of Analysis.

PubMed

Smith, Helen

2018-03-01

This article will explore region as a category of analysis for understanding gender, sexual cultures, and the expression of same-sex desire. In unpicking the notion of regional difference in both its tangible and intangible forms, it outlines the corresponding impact on how sexual cultures developed and were experienced in twentieth-century Britain. By recognizing that the area in which an individual lived could have as much impact on their sense of self and their sexual experiences as issues of race, gender, and class, a new and fruitful avenue of interpretation is opened up for the history of sexuality and twentieth-century British history more broadly. Such a methodology has the potential to add a new dimension to all histories of non-state-sanctioned sexual experience such as illegitimacy, premarital sex, extramarital affairs, and prostitution. In using regional case studies and interrogating ideas of sexual taboo, this article offers a unique interpretation of sexual experience that destabilizes current London-centric narratives and offers a more democratic and nuanced history of sex.

Mother-daughter communication about sexual maturation, abstinence and unintended pregnancy: experiences from an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya.

PubMed

Crichton, Joanna; Ibisomi, Latifat; Gyimah, Stephen Obeng

2012-02-01

Parental communication and support is associated with improved developmental, health and behavioral outcomes in adolescence. This study explores the quality of mother-daughter communication about sexual maturation, abstinence and unintended pregnancy in Korogocho, an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. We use data from 14 focus group discussions (n = 124) and 25 interviews with girls aged 12-17, mothers of teenage girls, and key informant teachers. Many girls and women believed that mothers are the best source of information and support during puberty but only a minority described good experiences with communication in practice. Girls preferred communication to begin early and be repeated regularly. Mothers often combined themes of sexual maturation, abstinence and avoiding pregnancy in their messages. Communication was facilitated by mothers' availability, warmth and close parent-child relationships. Challenges included communication taboos, embarrassment, ambiguous message content, and parental lack of knowledge and uncertainty. Neighborhood poverty undermined some mothers' time and motivation for communicating. Copyright © 2011 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fatalism and HIV/AIDS beliefs in rural Mali, West Africa.

PubMed

Hess, Rosanna F; McKinney, Dawn

2007-01-01

To examine beliefs about HIV/AIDS of rural Malians and to measure their level of fatalism in context of HIV/AIDS and prevention behaviors. Descriptive, correlational. An AIDS Knowledge and Beliefs survey and the Powe Fatalism Inventory (PFI)-HIV/AIDS version were administered to a convenience sample of 84 people at three health center maternity clinics in southeastern Mali, West Africa. The sample's HIV/AIDS fatalism mean was 9.2 on a 15-point scale, with an internal consistency of .89. Health workers and more educated participants had significantly lower fatalism scores. Fatalism also varied by the combination of gender and ethnicity. People who believed that AIDS was not real, was a punishment from God, was fabricated by the West, was a curse, and that it was taboo to talk about AIDS had higher fatalism means. None of the prevention indicators were significantly related to fatalism scores. These rural Malians had a high overall fatalism mean and their beliefs about AIDS based on traditional culture may affect prevention behaviors. More research is needed to understand the influence of fatalism on prevention behaviors.

Gender and health analysis of sexual behaviour in south-western Nigeria.

PubMed

Jegede, A S; Odumosu, O

2003-04-01

This paper reports the main results of a series of interviews conducted among the Yoruba of south-western Nigeria. Fifty men and fifty women differing in socio-demographic backgrounds were studied. The study revealed that during their first sexual experience, Yoruba girls are at risk of contacting sexually transmitted diseases and of having unplanned pregnancies because of the traditional control measures and lack of adequate sex education even among those from non-traditional backgrounds. Choice of marriage partner is influenced by the kin, which encourages early marriage and multiple sexual relationships through polygyny. Yoruba men do not like contraceptives and the women suffer more of the consequences of sexual relationships than men. Sexual decision-making in Yoruba culture is characterised by certain specific problems of structural and cultural origins such as separate lifestyle of men and women, seeing the discussion of sexuality as a taboo, male dominance, and the perceived side effects of contraceptives. There is need for expanded sexual and reproductive health education strategies targeted at both males and females in this community especially among the adolescent group.

Air pollution: a smoking gun for cancer.

PubMed

Zhang, Wei; Qian, Chao-Nan; Zeng, Yi-Xin

2014-04-01

Once considered a taboo topic or stigma, cancer is the number one public health enemy in the world. Once a product of an almost untouchable industry, tobacco is indisputably recognized as a major cause of cancer and a target for anticancer efforts. With the emergence of new economic powers in the world, especially in highly populated countries such as China, air pollution has rapidly emerged as a smoking gun for cancer and has become a hot topic for public health debate because of the complex political, economic, scientific, and technologic issues surrounding the air pollution problem. This editorial and the referred articles published in this special issue of the Chinese Journal of Cancer discuss these fundamental questions. Does air pollution cause a wide spectrum of cancers? Should air pollution be considered a necessary evil accompanying economic transformation in developing countries? Is an explosion of cancer incidence coming to China and how soon will it arrive? What must be done to prevent this possible human catastrophe? Finally, the approaches for air pollution control are also discussed.

From Folklore to Scientific Evidence: Breast-Feeding and Wet-Nursing in Islam and the Case of Non-Puerperal Lactation

PubMed Central

Moran, Lia; Gilad, Jacob

2007-01-01

Breast-feeding practice has an important medical and socio-cultural role. It has many anthropological aspects concerning the “power structures” that find their expression in breast-feeding and the practices that formed around it, both socially, scientifically, and legally-speaking. Breast-feeding has been given much attention by religions and taboos, folklore, and misconception abound around it making it a topic of genuine curiosity. This paper aims at expanding the spectrum of folklore associated with breast-feeding. The paper deals with historical, religious, and folkloristic aspects of breast-feeding, especially wet-nursing, in Islam and focuses on an intriguing Islamic tale on breast-feeding - lactation by non-pregnant women (or non-puerperal lactation). Apparently, accounts of non-puerperal lactation are not restricted to Islam but have been documented in various societies and religions throughout centuries. Two medical situations - hyperprolactinemia and induced lactation, appear as possible explanations for this phenomenon. This serves as an excellent example for the value of utilizing contemporary scientific knowledge in order to elucidate the origin, anthropology and evolvement of ancient myth and superstition. PMID:23675050

Ethnomedical Knowledge of Plants Used for the Treatment of Tuberculosis in Johor, Malaysia

PubMed Central

Sabran, Siti Fatimah; Mohamed, Maryati; Abu Bakar, Mohd Fadzelly

2016-01-01

This study documented ethnomedical knowledge of plants used for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and its related symptoms as practiced by the Jakun community of Kampung Peta, situated in Endau Rompin Johor National Park, Johor, Malaysia. Eight key informants were selected by snowball sampling technique and data about medicinal plants were collected by semistructured interviews, participatory observations, and focus group. Qualitative analysis was undertaken using thematic analysis. There were 23 species of plants (22 genera, 20 families) documented and herbarium specimens were deposited at the UTHM Herbarium. Dipterocarpus sublamellatus was recorded for the first time with ethnomedical uses while other species were previously reported. The qualitative approach employed in this study demonstrates the emic perspective in terms of perceptions on traditional herbal medicine, transfer of knowledge, significant taboos related with medicinal plants, and their conservation efforts. Local and biomedical terminology in treatment of TB showed substantial correspondence. The outcomes obtained in the study are worth being further investigated for conservation strategies and are worthy of verifying their ethnomedical claims scientifically. PMID:26881002

Co-constructing engagement in stroke rehabilitation: a qualitative study exploring how practitioner engagement can influence patient engagement

PubMed Central

Bright, Felicity AS; Kayes, Nicola M; Cummins, Christine; Worrall, Linda M; McPherson, Kathryn M

2017-01-01

Objective: To explore how practitioner engagement and disengagement occurred, and how these may influence patient care and engagement. Design: A qualitative study using the Voice Centred Relational Methodology. Data included interviews, focus groups and observations. Setting: Inpatient and community stroke rehabilitation services. Subjects: Eleven people experiencing communication disability after stroke and 42 rehabilitation practitioners. Interventions: Not applicable. Results: The practitioner’s engagement was important in patient engagement and service delivery. When patients considered practitioners were engaged, this helped engagement. When they considered practitioners were not engaged, their engagement was negatively affected. Practitioners considered their engagement was important but complex. It influenced how they worked and how they perceived the patient. Disengagement was taboo. It arose when not feeling confident, when not positively impacting outcomes, or when having an emotional response to a patient or interaction. Each party’s engagement influenced the other, suggesting it was co-constructed. Conclusions: Practitioner engagement influenced patient engagement in stroke rehabilitation. Practitioner disengagement was reported by most practitioners but was often a source of shame. PMID:28653548

Heart Transplantation in Asia.

PubMed

Lee, Hae-Young; Oh, Byung-Hee

2017-04-25

Heart transplantation (HTx) is the effective way to improve quality of life as well as survival in terminal heart failure (HF) patients. Since the first heart transplant in 1968 in Japan and in earnest in 1987 at Taiwan, HTx has been continuously increasing in Asia. Although the current percentage of heart transplants from Asia comprises only 5.7% of cases in the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) registry, the values were under-reported and soon will be greatly increased. HTx in Asia shows comparable with or even better results compared with ISHLT registry data. Several endemic infections, including type B hepatitis, tuberculosis, and cytomegalovirus, are unique aspects of HTx in Asia, and need special attention in transplant care. Although cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is considered as a leading cause of death after HTx globally, multiple observations suggest less prevalence and benign nature of CAV among Asian populations. Although there are many obstacles such as religion, social taboo or legal process, Asian countries will keep overcoming obstacles and broaden the field of HTx.

Contraceptive social marketing in Albania - the NESMARK story.

PubMed

Paravani, Ardian; Orgocka, Aida

2013-06-01

To present the history of social marketing of modern contraceptives in Albania. We review documentation and activity of NESMARK, an Albanian non-governmental social marketing organisation, and national data on adoption of modern contraception. During 15 years of awareness raising, sales of affordable products, and provider training, NESMARK has impacted the introduction and adoption of modern contraception in Albania. NESMARK is the country's main distributor of emergency contraception (EC) and complements the public sector in the distribution of condoms and oral contraceptives. NESMARK has made major efforts to overcome prevalent taboos and misinformation held by medical and nursing personnel, pharmacists and the general public, regarding the effectiveness and safety of condoms, oral contraceptives, and EC. NESMARK has contributed to increasing the choices for modern contraception methods in Albania by providing affordable contraceptives, training providers, and educating the general population. However, widespread use of withdrawal coupled with the belief that it is as or more effective than modern contraception, continues to limit uptake of new methods and is a significant challenge to comprehensive and sustained social marketing programmes.

Oxytocin conditions trait-based rule adherence.

PubMed

Gross, Jörg; De Dreu, Carsten K W

2017-03-01

Rules, whether in the form of norms, taboos or laws, regulate and coordinate human life. Some rules, however, are arbitrary and adhering to them can be personally costly. Rigidly sticking to such rules can be considered maladaptive. Here, we test whether, at the neurobiological level, (mal)adaptive rule adherence is reduced by oxytocin-a hypothalamic neuropeptide that biases the biobehavioural approach-avoidance system. Participants (N = 139) self-administered oxytocin or placebo intranasally, and reported their need for structure and approach-avoidance sensitivity. Next, participants made binary decisions and were given an arbitrary rule that demanded to forgo financial benefits. Under oxytocin, participants violated the rule more often, especially when they had high need for structure and high approach sensitivity. Possibly, oxytocin dampens the need for a highly structured environment and enables individuals to flexibly trade-off internal desires against external restrictions. Implications for the treatment of clinical disorders marked by maladaptive rule adherence are discussed. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

'Caravan wives' and 'decent girls': Gypsy-Traveller women's perceptions of gender, culture and morality in the North of England.

PubMed

Casey, Rionach

2014-01-01

This paper examines the beliefs and practices that constitute gender among Gypsy-Traveller women and then attempts to discern the consequences that flow from these. It analyses gender ideology and expectations among women and the shared investment in the moral identity attached to being a good Gypsy-Traveller wife. The paper argues that 'Gypsy-Traveller woman' cannot be understood as an identity that stands apart from gender and racial oppression. It is within this context that the tension between change and permanence in gender relations is played out. It argues that the maintenance of cultural taboos embodied and symbolised in the surveillance of womens' bodies is an important issue that problematises the construction of Gypsy-Traveller women. It posits that the appeal to morality may represent as much an avoidance of anxiety as a defence of marked gendered divisions within Gypsy-Traveller society. The paper suggests that the demands of cultural survival play a significant role in framing the degree to which women are willing or able to challenge the status quo.

Air pollution: a smoking gun for cancer

PubMed Central

Zhang, Wei; Qian, Chao-Nan; Zeng, Yi-Xin

2014-01-01

Once considered a taboo topic or stigma, cancer is the number one public health enemy in the world. Once a product of an almost untouchable industry, tobacco is indisputably recognized as a major cause of cancer and a target for anticancer efforts. With the emergence of new economic powers in the world, especially in highly populated countries such as China, air pollution has rapidly emerged as a smoking gun for cancer and has become a hot topic for public health debate because of the complex political, economic, scientific, and technologic issues surrounding the air pollution problem. This editorial and the referred articles published in this special issue of the Chinese Journal of Cancer discuss these fundamental questions. Does air pollution cause a wide spectrum of cancers? Should air pollution be considered a necessary evil accompanying economic transformation in developing countries? Is an explosion of cancer incidence coming to China and how soon will it arrive? What must be done to prevent this possible human catastrophe? Finally, the approaches for air pollution control are also discussed. PMID:24636233

Bodily moral disgust: what it is, how it is different from anger, and why it is an unreasoned emotion.

PubMed

Russell, Pascale Sophie; Giner-Sorolla, Roger

2013-03-01

With the recent upswing in research interest on the moral implications of disgust, there has been uncertainty about what kind of situations elicit moral disgust and whether disgust is a rational or irrational player in moral decision making. We first outline the benefits of distinguishing between bodily violations (e.g., sexual taboos, such as pedophilia and incest) and nonbodily violations (e.g., deception or betrayal) when examining moral disgust. We review findings from our lab and others' showing that, although many existing studies do not control for anger when studying disgust, disgust at nonbodily violations is often associated with anger and hard to separate from it, while bodily violations more consistently predict disgust independently of anger. Building on this distinction, we present further empirical evidence that moral disgust, in the context of bodily violations, is a relatively primitively appraised moral emotion compared to others such as anger, and also that it is less flexible and less prone to external justifications. Our review and results underscore the need to distinguish between the different consequences of moral emotions. © 2013 American Psychological Association

Participatory research with indigenous communities in the Philippines.

PubMed

Mahinay, A

1995-06-01

Oxfam encourages its partners to integrate gender issues into their work. Accordingly, the organization drew a team of six researchers from local partners to conduct a gender-needs assessment in Arakan Valley, North Cotabo, on the island of Mindanao, Philippines. There are five million indigenous people in the Philippines belonging to more than forty different tribal groups. They are oppressed and exploited by foreign and local elites, with many having lost their ancestral lands to agribusiness plantations, ranches, mining and logging concessions of multinational corporations, and government projects. Focus group discussions, participant observation, key informant feedback, and case studies conducted over a twelve-month period found the existence of physical violence between husbands and wives; men typically having two-three wives, with women pressuring men to take more wives so that there will be more labor for farming and housework; incest is taboo, but it is not unusual for sisters to be married to one man; and women's labor responsibilities relative to men's have increased. Study results are being shared with participants in the local language.

Explaining the emergence of euthanasia law in the Netherlands: how the sociology of law can help the sociology of bioethics.

PubMed

Weyers, Heleen

2006-09-01

The debate over the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia is most often seen to be the result of three changes in society: individualisation, diminished taboos concerning death and changes in the balance of power in medicine. The fact that these changes occurred in many western countries but led to legalisation in only a few makes this claim problematic. I examine whether socio-legal propositions, with respect to the emergence of laws which focus on social control, offer a better approach to understanding the development of rules allowing and governing euthanasia. After a short sketch of the history of the Dutch law regulating euthanasia, I discuss these three societal changes in the light of shifts in the social control of medical behaviour that shortens life. I show that the Dutch relaxation of the prohibition of euthanasia goes together with new forms of social control: doctors' self control is complemented with second-party control (by patients), professional third-party control and governmental control. My work calls attention to the fact that bioethics is part of larger systems of social control.

Lack of habituation to shocking words: the attentional bias to their spatial origin is context free.

PubMed

Bertels, Julie; Kolinsky, Régine; Morais, José

2012-01-01

Following a suggestion made by Aquino and Arnell (2007), we assumed that the processing of emotional words is influenced by their context of presentation. Supporting this idea, previous studies using the emotional Stroop task in its visual or auditory variant revealed different results depending on the mixed versus blocked presentation of the stimuli (Bertels, Kolinsky, Pietrons, & Morais, 2011; Richards, French, Johnson, Naparstek, & Williams, 1992). In the present study, we investigated the impact of these presentation designs on the occurrence of spatial attentional biases in a modified version of the beep-probe task (Bertels, Kolinsky, & Morais, 2010). Attentional vigilance to taboo words as well as non-spatial slowing effects of these words were observed whatever the mixed or blocked design, whereas attentional vigilance to positive words was only observed in the mixed design. Together with the results from our previous study (Bertels et al., 2010), the present data support the reliability of the effects of shocking stimuli, while vigilance to positive words would only be observed in a threatening context.

Virginity dilemma: Re-creating virginity through hymenoplasty in Iran.

PubMed

Kaivanara, Marzieh

2016-01-01

Bridal virginity retains undeniable value in Iran's contemporary cultural landscape. Widely regarded as a sign of chastity and purity for unmarried girls, failure to prove virginity on the wedding night may have serious consequences for a girl. In this context, there has been a recent growth in the rate of hymen restoration surgery (hymenoplasty) due to an increase in the number of girls who engage in premarital sexual relationships. The present study attempts to elucidate the processes through which particular physical features come to be considered culturally meaningful, and explores the phenomenon of hymen-reconstructing surgery from the perspective of young Tehrani girls and boys. Applying anthropological insights into gender roles, I explore how so-called 'rebellious' Iranian girls find - through the surgical reconstruction of their hymen - a means to negotiate between dominant models of gender and their own subjective experiences. While their actions challenge the premarital sex taboo, Iranian girls who participate in hymen restoration surgery also conform to the values that require them to be a virgin at the time of marriage, thus reinforcing existing power relations.

[Erectile dysfunction drugs and women].

PubMed

Elia, D; Grivel, T; Lachowsky, M; Costa, P; Amar, E

2005-09-01

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is no more a taboo and the number of patients who are consulting a physician and asking for some help in this domain is growing every day. The quality of life of men presenting an ED and having access to treatments is continually improving. But what can be said concerning the partners' quality of life? Patients as much their partners clearly prefer lesser invasive therapeutics and the new oral drugs available present some advantages for the couples, and surely for a majority of female partners, willing to improve the spontaneity and the frequency of intercourse. It seems now obvious that the partner's help is one of the key points for a successful treatment. How will women facing this recovered virility react? What will they say in the secret of the consulting room? What could be exactly the role of the gynaecologist in assuming the female partner of a man treated for an ED? That is the object of the present article, dealing with quite an important matter.

Breaking the Silence and Other Prevention Lessons From the Opioid Epidemic.

PubMed

Terry, Paul E

2018-05-01

The goal of this editorial is to equip readers with opioid education resources that enable you to role model what it looks like to speak out about addiction. How are we doing as a profession speaking up about addiction? Stigma is commanded by a deep irony: where peer pressure is what likely keeps us quiet, peer support is what enables us to speak up. The "#MeToo" movement is an extraordinary example of the inertia needed to break open a taboo topic. From Hollywood celebrities to US women's gymnastics stars, it was clear that as more women spoke up about sexual harassment, well, the more women spoke out. As unnatural as it felt to talk about being harassed or abused, many simply acknowledged that it was the courage of their peers that helped them find their courage. Workplace supervisors have a front row seat for watching the epidemic and our role relates to what I consider the most straightforward definition of addiction: It is when "it" (i.e., alcohol, opioids, gambling) begins to cause problems.

Determinants of health and nutritional status of rural Nigerian women.

PubMed

Ene-Obong, H N; Enugu, G I; Uwaegbute, A C

2001-12-01

on the availability of food in the household. Food taboos had no effect on their nutrient intake, since only 5-11% of women adhered to taboos. Although most women gave their children and husbands preference in food distribution, not much difference was found in the amount of food consumed by these women. The ratio of wife's portion to husband's was 1:1.4 for the farmers, 1:1.3 for the traders, and 1:1.2 for the teachers. FGDs revealed that sex discrimination in education prevailed where resources were limited. The results of the study suggest that the basic determinants of health and nutritional status of women are socioeconomic and cultural, education having a mediating or modifying influence on cultural practices.

Risk Management for Opioid Prescribing in the Treatment of Patients With Pain From Cancer or Terminal Illness: Inadvertent Oversight or Taboo?

PubMed

Copenhaver, David J; Karvelas, Nicolas B; Fishman, Scott M

2017-11-01

As the United States experiences an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, and guidelines on safe practices in prescribing opioids in chronic pain have subsequently emerged from professional organizations and governmental agencies, limited guidance exists for prescribers of opioids to treat pain in patients with cancer or terminal illness. Patients with active cancer or terminal illness often have pain and are frequently prescribed opioids and other controlled substances. Current studies suggest that patients with cancer have similar rates of risk for misuse, abuse, and addiction as the general public. Moreover, palliative care and hospice programs appear poorly prepared for assessing or managing patients with aberrant behaviors or evidence of drug abuse. Further research and professional consensus are needed to help address the challenges associated with misuse, abuse, and addiction in patients with cancer and terminal illness.

[In search of a cultural-technological history of genital prosthetics].

PubMed

Raboldt, Myriam

2018-06-11

Within the field of the history of technology, much has been written about the so-called "prosthesis boom" of the First World War. Most of these studies claim that the main motive of the mass supply of artificial limbs to amputee soldiers was primarily aimed at restoring the work force. However, because these studies often lack a gender perspective, it stays unmentioned to what extent this also served to reconstruct a hegemonic masculinity that had become fragile, if not destroyed by the consequences of the war. Especially genital injuries-prevalent during World War I and II as well as today-and their treatment and rehabilitation were (and still are) often largely taboo. Because of this silence, there have been no comprehensive studies or artifact collections on the cultural and technical history of male genital prosthetics. By presenting different examples of potential artifacts for such a history, the article suggests an object-based approach to fill this academic void. These thoughts are based on the assumption of a "doing gender through technology", hence that gender and sex are constantly constructed and modeled through (medical) technological practices.

A longitudinal study of conversations with parents about sex and dating during college.

PubMed

Morgan, Elizabeth M; Thorne, Avril; Zurbriggen, Eileen L

2010-01-01

Emerging adulthood is a time of sexual and romantic relationship development as well as change in the parent-child relationship. This study provides a longitudinal analysis of 30 young adults' (17 women, 13 men) sexual experiences, attitudes about sexuality and dating, and reported conversations with parents about sexuality and dating from the 1st and 4th years of college. Self-report questionnaires revealed increases in general closeness with parents, increases in sexual and dating experiences, and more sexually permissive as well as more gender stereotyped attitudes. Qualitative analyses of individual interviews indicated a movement from unilateral and restrictive sex-based topics to more reciprocal and relationship-focused conversations over time. Gender analyses revealed that young women reported more restrictive sex messages and young men more positive sex messages. Participants also described increased openness and comfort in talking about sexual topics with both mothers and fathers from the 1st to 4th year of college. Overall, the results suggest that prior findings of increased mutuality with parents during the college years extend to the traditionally taboo topic of sexuality. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

A discrete scattering series representation for lattice embedded models of chain cyclization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraser, Simon J.; Winnik, Mitchell A.

1980-01-01

In this paper we develop a lattice based model of chain cyclization in the presence of a set of occupied sites V in the lattice. We show that within the approximation of a Markovian chain propagator the effect of V on the partition function for the system can be written as a time-ordered exponential series in which V behaves like a scattering potential and chainlength is the timelike parameter. The discrete and finite nature of this model allows us to obtain rigorous upper and lower bounds to the series limit. We adapt these formulas to calculation of the partition functions and cyclization probabilities of terminally and globally cyclizing chains. Two classes of cyclization are considered: in the first model the target set H may be visited repeatedly (the Markovian model); in the second case vertices in H may be visited at most once(the non-Markovian or taboo model). This formulation depends on two fundamental combinatorial structures, namely the inclusion-exclusion principle and the set of subsets of a set. We have tried to interpret these abstract structures with physical analogies throughout the paper.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Confer, L.; Kramer, K.L.

A condensing type heat exchanger operating at Henkel Corporation's plant in Kankakee, IL, has enabled the plant to save $400,000 in energy costs within the first 22 months of operation, recouping the initial capital investment for the unit within that time frame. The heat exchanger enables the plant to accomplish what historically was considered taboo - to cool boiler stack gas down to 130/sup 0/F, below the dew point, and thus recover both sensible and latent heat from the gas. Traditionally, moisture could not be squeezed out of stack gas below the recommended temperature of 250/sup 0/F because the stackmore » gas close to the heat exchanger tubes would approach the dew point, condense and attack metal surfaces. The condensing type heat exchanger can withstand corrosive conditions, however, because all wetted surfaces on the flue side of the shell and copper-nickel tube design are protected with an extruded Teflon fluorocarbon resin covering (not coating). The waste heat recovery system was installed over a two-month period in 1985. Performance has been above expectations with greater energy savings than originally projected. The amount of operator attention required is minimal.« less

Review of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) as Animal Feed and Human Food.

PubMed

Wang, Yu-Shiang; Shelomi, Matan

2017-10-18

Food futurists accept that sustainability-minded humanity will increasingly incorporate insects as alternative protein. The most studied and easily reared species are not necessarily the most sustainable, acceptable, or delicious. Here, we review the literature on the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, which is capable of efficiently converting a wide variety of organic materials, from food waste to manure, into insect biomass. They can be grown and harvested without dedicated facilities and are not pestiferous. Their larvae are 42% crude protein and 29% fat, although they are higher in saturated fats than most insects. They do not concentrate pesticides or mycotoxins. They are already grown and recommended for use as animal feed, but with regional legal restrictions on how this is done. For commercial use in human foods, larvae could potentially be milled and converted into a textured protein with a strong flavor. Their biggest advantage over other insects is their ability to convert waste into food, generating value and closing nutrient loops as they reduce pollution and costs. This general advantage is also their greatest disadvantage, for the social stigmas and legal prohibitions against eating organisms that eat waste are added to extant taboos facing insect consumption.

The Westermarck Hypothesis and the Israeli Kibbutzim: Reconciling Contrasting Evidence.

PubMed

Shor, Eran

2015-11-01

The case of the communal education system in the Israeli kibbutzim is often considered to provide conclusive support for Westermarck's (1891) assertion regarding the existence of evolutionary inbreeding avoidance mechanisms in humans. However, recent studies that have gone back to the kibbutzim seem to provide contrasting evidence and reopen the discussion regarding the case of the kibbutzim and inbreeding avoidance more generally (Lieberman & Lobel, 2012; Shor & Simchai, 2009). In this article, I reassess the case of the kibbutzim, reevaluating the findings and conclusions of these recent research endeavors. I argue that the differences between recent research reports largely result from conceptual and methodological differences and that, in fact, these studies provide insights that are more similar than first meets the eye. I also suggest that we must reexamine the common assumption that the kibbutzim serve as an ideal natural experiment for examining the sources of incest avoidance and the incest taboo. Finally, I discuss the implications of these studies to the longstanding debate over the Westermarck hypothesis and call for a synthetic theoretical framework that produces more precise predictions and more rigorous empirical research designs.

The Impact of Alcohol Use on the Sexual Scripts of HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex With Men

PubMed Central

Parsons, Jeffrey T.; Vicioso, Kalil J.; Punzalan, Joseph C.; Halkitis, Perry N.; Kutnick, Alexandra; Velasquez, Mary M.

2007-01-01

The literature has failed to form a consensus on the association between alcohol use and unsafe sex among samples of men who have sex with men (MSM). Although drinking behavior may not be causally related to unsafe sex, it is possible that alcohol use plays a role in sexual scripts. In this paper, we assessed the role that alcohol use plays in the sexual experiences of HIV-seropositive MSM in terms of sexual script theory. An ethnically diverse sample (81% men of color) of HIV-positive MSM with alcohol use disorders from the New York City metropolitan area was recruited from a variety of settings frequented by such men. A critical incident measure was used to qualitatively assess contextual issues regarding participants’ most recent incident of unsafe sex while under the influence of alcohol. Qualitative analysis revealed three basic sexual scripts involving alcohol: routine, spontaneous, and taboo. Each script had its own sources of risk for unsafe sex. Interventions targeting alcohol use and unsafe sex should be sensitive to the role that alcohol plays in the sexual scripts of HIV-positive MSM. PMID:15326541

The role of gender and sexual relations for young people in identity construction and youth suicide.

PubMed

Gilchrist, Heidi; Sullivan, Gerard

2006-01-01

The suicide rate among young people in Australia has caused considerable concern and been the focus of research and intervention. Issues related to sexuality and gender can be the source of conflict for young people within their communities, and have been implicated in suicide attempts. This paper examines the cultural context of youth suicide, and asks how youth suicide may be related to emerging sexual identity, which all young people must negotiate through the customs, discourse and taboos of their society. In particular, it focuses on the situation of young heterosexual women. The findings are based on interviews with 41 young people, parents and youth service providers regarding youth suicide. Interviews were semi-structured and open-ended, and conducted in a suburban community. They included the use of scenarios or vignettes. Finding, suggest that traditional constructions of gender remain widespread, and that these are often disadvantageous to both young women and young men. Parents may be unaware that they have little control over, or even knowledge about, their teenagers' behaviour. Young people are more inclined to confide in their friends, who may not be equipped to deal with crises.

Attitude and beliefs of traditional birth attendants to prematurely erupted teeth of infants in urban local government areas in Ibadan, Nigeria.

PubMed

Bankole, Olubunmi; Taiwo, Juliana; Nasiru, Olukemi

Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) can be invaluable in assisting to dispel myths commonly associated with natal/neonatal teeth. To ensure correct delivery of the message, baseline data of their beliefs is important. To assess the attitude and beliefs of some Nigerian TBAs to prematurely erupted teeth in infants, a total enumeration of the TBAs in the five urban Local Government Areas in Ibadan was conducted and 163 consenting TBAs were recruited using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The attitude of the TBAs was that of fear and shock (35.6%) while 30 (18.4%) will consider the child weird. Perceived causes of the variation include evil spirits (31.9%), contravening cultural taboos (9.2%), and prolonged gestation (4.9%). Beliefs on the effect of natal/neonatal teeth on the child include strange behavior (31.3%), child developing evil spiritual powers (41.1%), and mental retardation (3.1%). Practices included advising parents to get rid of/or hide the child (4.9%) and immediate extraction of the teeth with/without sacrifices (35.6%). There is an urgent need to address knowledge gaps by giving health education to TBAs.

[Who should decide at the end of life? International practice of advance care planning and possibilities for adaptation in Hungary].

PubMed

Busa, Csilla; Zeller, Judit; Csikós, Ágnes

2018-01-01

At the advanced stage of serious illness, end-of-life decisions need to be made. Advance care planning offers patients the right to decide on their own future care when independent decision-making is no longer possible. The most complex and effective advance care plans include patients' preferred or refused medical treatments, care-related wishes, and individual values as well. Advance care planning can improve end-of-life care and contribute to higher satisfaction. It can also reduce distress in relatives and the costs of care. Patients' preferences provide a guidance for professional care. A number of studies have identified the benefits of advance care planning, and it has been included in guidelines. Potential barriers to advance care planning could be as follows: taboo of talking about dying, negative attitudes of patients and relatives, poor knowledge of professional caregivers, lack of necessary circumstances to have the conversation. Advance care planning is almost unknown in Hungary, although it is possible to refuse certain types of treatments. Cooperation of professionals, development of gradual and postgraduate trainings, and improvement of social awareness are also needed so that advance care planning can be adapted in Hungary. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(4): 131-140.

Attitudes and beliefs about deceased organ donation in the Arabic-speaking community in Australia: a focus group study

PubMed Central

Ralph, Angelique F; Alyami, Ali; Allen, Richard D M; Howard, Kirsten; Craig, Jonathan C; Chadban, Steve J; Irving, Michelle; Tong, Allison

2016-01-01

Objectives To describe the beliefs and attitudes to organ donation in the Arabic-speaking community. Design Arabic-speaking participants were purposively recruited to participate in 6 focus groups. Transcripts were analysed thematically. Participants 53 participants, aged 19–77 years, and originating from 8 countries, participated in 1 of 6 focus groups. Participants identified as Christian (73%), Islam (26%), Buddhist (2%) or did not identify with any religion (2%). Results 6 themes (with subthemes) were identified; religious conviction; invisibility of organ donation; medical suspicion; owning the decision; and reciprocal benefit. Conclusions Although organ donation is considered a generous life-saving ‘gift’, representative members of the Arabic-speaking community in Australia were unfamiliar with, unnerved by and sceptical about the donation process. Making positive decisions about organ donation would likely require resolving tensions between respecting family, community and religious values versus their individual autonomy. Providing targeted education about the process and benefits of organ donation within the Arabic community may clarify ambiguities surrounding cultural and religious-based views on organ donation, reduce taboos and suspicion towards donation, and in turn, lead to increased organ donation rates. PMID:26787253

Delicious ice cream, why does salt thaw ice?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagnoli, Franco

2016-03-01

Plain Awful is an imaginary valley on the Andes populated by a highly-imitative, cubical people for which the most criminal offence is to exhibit round objects. The duck family (Scrooge, Donald and nephews) are teaming against Scrooge's worst enemy, Flintheart Glomgold, trying to buy the famous Plain Awful square eggs. Inadvertently, Scrooge violates the taboo, showing his Number One Dime, and is imprisoned in the stone quarries. He can be released only after the presentation of an ice cream soda to the President of Plain Awful. Donald and his nephews fly with Flintheart to deliver it, but Scrooge's enemy, of course, betrays the previous agreement after getting the ice cream, forcing the ducks into making an emergence replacement on the spot. Using dried milk, sugar and chocolate from their ration packs, plus some snow and salt for cooling they are able make the ice cream, and after dressing it with the carbonated water from a fire extinguisher they finally manage to produce the desired dessert. This comic may serve as an introduction to the "mysterious" phenomenon that added salt melts the ice and, even more surprising, does it by lowering the temperature of the mixture.

[Family therapy of encopresis].

PubMed

Spitczok von Brisinski, Ingo; Lüttger, Fred

2007-01-01

Encopresis is a taboo symptom, which is connected with great suffering from mental pressure not only for the children concerned, but also their relatives. Family related approaches are indispensable to understand encopresis, because as a result of high symptom persistence and psychological comorbidity in many cases a purely behavior-therapeutic, symptom focused approach is not sufficient, and further psychotherapeutic interventions are necessary. There is a strong temporal correlation between family interaction and frequency of soiling and changes of interaction influence changes in soiling more than the other way round. In a literature review different family relationship patterns and approaches of family therapy are represented regarding encopresis. Meaningful differences for family therapy are represented regarding primary/secondary encopresis, encopresis with/without comorbid psychiatric disorder as well as encopresis with/without dysfunctional family interaction. Distinctions are made between symptom focused, not-symptom focused and combined family therapeutic approaches, which are illustrated with case examples of outpatient and inpatient treatment. Symptom focused family therapy like e.g. externalizing of the soiling is helpful also if no dysfunctional family interaction patterns are present, because all family members can contribute to treatment success according to their own resources.

Sociocultural dimensions of tuberculosis: an overview of key concepts.

PubMed

Mason, P H; Degeling, C; Denholm, J

2015-10-01

Biomedical innovations are unlikely to provide effective and ethical tuberculosis (TB) control measures without complementary social science research. However, a strong interest in interdisciplinary work is often undermined by differences in language and concepts specific to each disciplinary approach. Accordingly, biological and social scientists need to learn how to communicate with each other. This article will outline key concepts relating to TB from medical anthropology and health sociology. Distilling these concepts in an introductory framework is intended to make this material accessible to researchers in laboratory, clinical and fieldwork settings, as well as to encourage more social scientists to engage with TB research among target groups critical for successful programmatic interventions. For pedagogical purposes, the relevant concepts are grouped into three categories: 1) structures and settings, which includes overarching themes such as syndemics, local biologies, medicalisation, structural violence and surveillance; 2) practices and processes, encompassing gender, stigma, taboo, and victim blaming; and 3) experience and enculturation, which includes illness narratives, biographical disruption and dynamic nominalism. By helping to navigate this literature, we hope to foster more cross-disciplinary conversations between qualitative and quantitative researchers. TB, a quintessential social disease, will be controlled more effectively using a multistranded research approach.

[The image of smoking women in France].

PubMed

Sledziewski, E G

2005-04-01

The purpose of this work was to try to understand why the social image of the smoking woman remains positive and cannot be assimilated to that of the smoking man. We wanted to describe the typical status and function of smoking women in today's social imaginary in France. We identified and interpreted selected images in which female smoking is presented as an ideological corpus. The cultural meaning of female and male smoking, as well as their pathological effects, are different and should not be apprehended symmetrically. The leading feministic culture deeply resists alarming discourses about the dangers of tobacco, considering them to have little importance. Female smoking is still encouraged and exalted for its emancipating power: tobacco liberates woman from an impracticable womanhood. There is a need for a political approach to female smoking, viewing it as a modern form of mutilation meant to compensate for the extension of women's rights. In order to fight against this imagery efficiently, it must be put into a critical perspective, eliminating taboos about certain feministic misunderstandings and dead-ends. A woman must be offered something more than smoking cessation: an improvement in her own being, a way to reappropriate her gendered identity.

Sexuality and mental health nursing in Ireland: weaving the veil of socialised inhibition.

PubMed

Higgins, Agnes; Barker, Philip; Begley, Cecily M

2009-04-01

The World Health Organisation first identified, in 1975, the need for health professionals to be educated in the area of sexuality. Since then, studies exploring aspects of educational preparation of general nurses in relation to sexuality, found that there was an 'absence' of education in this area of practice. This paper reports findings on the educational discourses that shape mental health nurses' understandings of sexuality. Unstructured interviews were conducted with 27 consenting mental health nurses working in the Republic of Ireland. Data were analysed using the principles of Grounded Theory. Findings suggest that participants were exposed to a subtle network of legitimised sexual discourses during primary, secondary, and professional socialisation. These discourses provided participants with a view of sexuality that emphasised taboo, privatisation, pathology, and control. Social, political, or rights-based discourses that could have provided participants with the knowledge and clinical competence necessary to include sexuality in an open and confident manner within the horizons of nursing practice were absent. These findings challenge educators involved in curriculum development to rethink the fundamental philosophy that is shaping mental health nursing curricula. They also challenge educators to rethink their ideas around the meaning of 'absence' in relation to education.

Perceptions of amputation before and after gunpowder.

PubMed

Kirkup, J

1995-12-01

Woodall's remark on limb amputation, in 1617, that "it is no small presumption to Dismember the Image of God", reflected lingering doubts attributable to widespread ancient beliefs or taboos which, at least during the early historic period, shunned elective amputations completely. Death was preferred to operative destruction of the body's integrity, even when societies were aware of traumatic, disease-induced and legal amputations, eventually to be accepted and managed rationally. Deep-rooted resistance to planned dismemberment became unbalanced by the malevolent wounds of gunshot missiles which contrasted vividly with cold steel and blunt injuries of earlier warfare. Massive soft tissue destruction, bone comminution and, above all, embedded missiles and clothing posed perplexing complications for both patients and surgeons, often causing gangrene and death. Finally despite resultant deformity, amputation was recognised as a means of preserving life. It is maintained the philosophical perception, believing it is better to live with three limbs than to die with four, gained acceptance due to the persuasive influence of gunpowder on battlefields and in battle-ships. Notwithstanding, until carbolised catgut ligatures were employed amputation remained a hazardous procedurep it persists as a repugnant operation of last resort.

Tattoos as a window to the psyche: How talking about skin art can inform psychiatric practice.

PubMed

Roggenkamp, Hannah; Nicholls, Andrew; Pierre, Joseph M

2017-09-22

Tattooing the skin as a means of personal expression is a ritualized practice that has been around for centuries across many different cultures. Accordingly, the symbolic meaning of tattoos has evolved over time and is highly individualized, from both the internal perspective of the wearer and the external perspective of an observer. Within modern Western societies through the 1970s, tattoos represented a cultural taboo, typically associated with those outside of the mainstream such as soldiers, incarcerated criminals, gang members, and others belonging to marginalized and counter-cultural groups. This paper aims to review the more recent epidemiology of tattoos in Western culture in order to establish that tattooing has become a mainstream phenomenon. We then review psychological and psychiatric aspects of tattoos, with a goal of revising outmoded stigmas about tattooing and helping clinicians working with tattooed patients to facilitate an exploration of the personal meaning of skin art and self-identity. We suggest that as a kind of augmentation of the physical exam, looking at and talking to patients about their tattoos can provide a valuable window into the psyche, informing clinical practice.

Tattoos as a window to the psyche: How talking about skin art can inform psychiatric practice

PubMed Central

Roggenkamp, Hannah; Nicholls, Andrew; Pierre, Joseph M

2017-01-01

Tattooing the skin as a means of personal expression is a ritualized practice that has been around for centuries across many different cultures. Accordingly, the symbolic meaning of tattoos has evolved over time and is highly individualized, from both the internal perspective of the wearer and the external perspective of an observer. Within modern Western societies through the 1970s, tattoos represented a cultural taboo, typically associated with those outside of the mainstream such as soldiers, incarcerated criminals, gang members, and others belonging to marginalized and counter-cultural groups. This paper aims to review the more recent epidemiology of tattoos in Western culture in order to establish that tattooing has become a mainstream phenomenon. We then review psychological and psychiatric aspects of tattoos, with a goal of revising outmoded stigmas about tattooing and helping clinicians working with tattooed patients to facilitate an exploration of the personal meaning of skin art and self-identity. We suggest that as a kind of augmentation of the physical exam, looking at and talking to patients about their tattoos can provide a valuable window into the psyche, informing clinical practice. PMID:29043152

Traditional fertility regulation among the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria. I. A study of prevalence, attitudes, practice and methods.

PubMed

Jinadu, M K; Olusi, S O; Ajuwon, B

1997-03-01

This study was conducted among Yoruba women and traditional healers with the aim of identifying and describing the practice, preparation, and administration of traditional contraceptives. The data were obtained in 1990 from a random sample of 1,400 women of childbearing age and 42 traditional healers in Nigeria's Oranmiyan area, using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Findings revealed that knowledge of the traditional contraceptives is nearly universal among the Yoruba population, and the traditional contraceptive prevalence rate is 7.1 percent. The use of traditional contraceptives was significantly more common among uneducated women and among women aged 20 to 29 years old. Findings also revealed the existence of four main varieties of traditional contraceptive devices, the methods of preparation of the traditional contraceptives, varieties of herbal and animal products used, methods of administration, and taboos against usage. The easy accessibility of traditional medical practitioners and the belief that traditional contraceptive devices are devoid of complications, especially among those experienced with modern contraceptive devices, were the main reasons women cited for patronizing the traditional practitioners. The paper concludes with policy implications for family planning programmers in Nigeria.

Contradictory sexual norms and expectations for young people in rural Northern Tanzania.

PubMed

Wight, Daniel; Plummer, Mary L; Mshana, Gerry; Wamoyi, Joyce; Shigongo, Zachayo S; Ross, David A

2006-02-01

There has been a long-running debate as to whether sexual cultures in sub-Saharan Africa are permissive or characterised by restrictive rules, rituals and self-restraint. This paper, based on participant observation data, outlines the main features of sexual culture in rural northern Tanzania and highlights both permissive and restrictive norms and expectations for young people. It also illustrates how sexual beliefs are socially constructed and subject to social change. Sexual activity is constrained by clear norms of school pupil abstinence, female sexual respectability and taboos around the discussion of sex. However, these norms are incompatible with several widely held expectations: that sexual activity is inevitable unless prevented, sex is a female resource to be exploited, restrictions on sexual activity are relaxed at festivals, and masculine esteem is boosted through sexual experience. Differential commitment to these norms and expectations reflects conflicts between generations and genders. Young people appear to manage the contradictions in these norms by concealing their sexual relationships. This almost certainly contributes to their short duration and the high levels of partner change, since relationships are not reinforced through social recognition and there is little scope to develop intimacy through non-sexual contacts.

Cultural and Economic Motivation of Pig Raising Practices in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Nahar, Nazmun; Uddin, Main; Gurley, Emily S; Jahangir Hossain, M; Sultana, Rebeca; Luby, Stephen P

2015-12-01

The interactions that pig raisers in Bangladesh have with their pigs could increase the risk of zoonotic disease transmission. Since raising pigs is a cultural taboo to Muslims, we aimed at understanding the motivation for raising pigs and resulting practices that could pose the risk of transmitting disease from pigs to humans in Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country. These understandings could help identify acceptable strategies to reduce the risk of disease transmission from pigs to people. To achieve this objective, we conducted 34 in-depth interviews among pig herders and backyard pig raisers in eight districts of Bangladesh. Informants explained that pig raising is an old tradition, embedded in cultural and religious beliefs and practices, the primary livelihood of pig herders, and a supplemental income of backyard pig raisers. To secure additional income, pig raisers sell feces, liver, bile, and other pig parts often used as traditional medicine. Pig raisers have limited economic ability to change the current practices that may put them at risk of exposure to diseases from their pigs. An intervention that improves their financial situation and reduces the risk of zoonotic disease may be of interest to pig raisers.

A qualitative analysis of multi-level barriers to HIV testing among women in Lebanon.

PubMed

Clark, Kirsty A; Keene, Danya E; Pachankis, John E; Fattal, Omar; Rizk, Nesrine; Khoshnood, Kaveh

2017-09-01

While the number of HIV cases in the Middle East and North Africa region is low compared to other regions, recent studies show that incidence is increasing especially among high-risk populations; in particular, little is known about women and HIV in the region. Through semi-structured interviews with sexual healthcare providers and staff at non-governmental organisations, we sought to understand barriers to HIV testing among women in Lebanon. Using snowball sampling, key informants were recruited from greater Beirut (12 physicians, 9 non-governmental organisation staff). Data were analysed using a grounded theory framework. Findings identified barriers to HIV testing among women at each level of an adapted social-ecological model (i.e. social-cultural barriers, policy barriers, interpersonal healthcare provider barriers and intrapersonal barriers). Primary findings include the culture of sex as taboo; lack of sexual health education among women; fear of disclosing HIV testing and diagnosis; financial barriers linked to stigmatising insurance policies; and provider attitudes towards women. Findings can be used to inform HIV-related sexual health interventions at multiple levels for women in Lebanon and the greater region.

The art of midwifery: can creative images of birth enhance holistic care?

PubMed

Uppal, Elaine; Davies, Sarah; Knowles, Helen; Kandell, Stevie

2014-05-01

Art related to birth stimulates debate, particularly if it is perceived to be taboo and challenging popular images of mother and child. Birth traditionally has been in a woman's sphere of experience, thus it has been left unexplored on a wider level. The Birth Rites Collection was originally developed to enable partnerships with artists and childbirth professionals. The other important reason for the Birth Rites project was to begin to make contemporary cutting edge art around childbirth because there has been a real lack of work which explores this subject. Student midwives have been able to engage with these and other artworks related to childbirth and now produce their own original art which is attracting acclaim. The Art of Midwifery student midwife project aims to promote more aesthetic and creative ways of learning to enhance midwifery students' self-awareness and thus promote holistic, woman-centred and sensitive care. Students have visited art exhibitions to interact with artworks related to curriculum themes and explore models and philosophies of birth. This paper reports some of their activities, summarises their responses and evaluates the collaboration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automatic imitation of pro- and antisocial gestures: Is implicit social behavior censored?

PubMed

Cracco, Emiel; Genschow, Oliver; Radkova, Ina; Brass, Marcel

2018-01-01

According to social reward theories, automatic imitation can be understood as a means to obtain positive social consequences. In line with this view, it has been shown that automatic imitation is modulated by contextual variables that constrain the positive outcomes of imitation. However, this work has largely neglected that many gestures have an inherent pro- or antisocial meaning. As a result of their meaning, antisocial gestures are considered taboo and should not be used in public. In three experiments, we show that automatic imitation of symbolic gestures is modulated by the social intent of these gestures. Experiment 1 (N=37) revealed reduced automatic imitation of antisocial compared with prosocial gestures. Experiment 2 (N=118) and Experiment 3 (N=118) used a social priming procedure to show that this effect was stronger in a prosocial context than in an antisocial context. These findings were supported in a within-study meta-analysis using both frequentist and Bayesian statistics. Together, our results indicate that automatic imitation is regulated by internalized social norms that act as a stop signal when inappropriate actions are triggered. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cultural and Economic Motivation of Pig Raising Practices in Bangladesh

PubMed Central

Nahar, Nazmun; Uddin, Main; Gurley, Emily S.; Hossain, M. Jahangir; Sultana, Rebeca; Luby, Stephen P.

2015-01-01

The interactions that pig raisers in Bangladesh have with their pigs could increase the risk of zoonotic disease transmission. Since raising pigs is a cultural taboo to Muslims, we aimed at understanding the motivation for raising pigs and resulting practices that could pose the risk of transmitting disease from pigs to humans in Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country. These understandings could help identify acceptable strategies to reduce the risk of disease transmission from pigs to people. To achieve this objective, we conducted 34 in-depth interviews among pig herders and backyard pig raisers in eight districts of Bangladesh. Informants explained that pig raising is an old tradition, embedded in cultural and religious beliefs and practices, the primary livelihood of pig herders, and a supplemental income of backyard pig raisers. To secure additional income, pig raisers sell feces, liver, bile, and other pig parts often used as traditional medicine. Pig raisers have limited economic ability to change the current practices that may put them at risk of exposure to diseases from their pigs. An intervention that improves their financial situation and reduces the risk of zoonotic disease may be of interest to pig raisers. PMID:26122206

The Elephants in the Room: Sex, HIV, and LGBT Populations in MENA. Intersectionality in Lebanon Comment on "Improving the Quality and Quantity of HIV Data in the Middle East and North Africa: Key Challenges and Ways Forward".

PubMed

Kaplan, Rachel L; El Khoury, Cynthia

2016-12-04

In response to this insightful editorial, we wish to provide commentary that seeks to highlight recent successes and illuminate the often unspoken hurdles at the intersections of culture, politics, and taboo. We focus on sexual transmission and draw examples from Lebanon, where the pursuit of data in quality and quantity is teaching us lessons about the way forward and where we are experiencing many of the challenges referenced in the editorial such as discrepancies between national statistics and rates derived via research as well as the impact of protracted political conflict and displacement. Two important points were raised in the editorial about HIV in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that we would like to expand further: (1) The epidemic is largely driven by drug-related and sexual behavior among key populations; and (2) Several key populations continue to be criminalized and excluded from surveillance programs. © 2017 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Adolescent homosexuality.

PubMed

Stronski Huwiler, S M; Remafedi, G

1998-01-01

Homosexuality has existed in all civilizations, but societal disapproval and cultural taboos have negatively influenced its recognition. A significant percentage of youths identify themselves as homosexual, and even more experience sex with the same sex or are confused about sexual feelings. A unifying etiological theory attributes the expression of sexual orientation to genes that shape the central nervous system's development, organization, and structure via prenatal sex steroids. Environmental factors may influence the expression of genetic potential. Several models of psychosocial development describe initial stages of awareness and confusion about same-sex attractions, followed by acknowledgement of homosexuality, disclosure to others, and eventual integration of sexual identity into a comprehensive sense of self. Stressors related to isolation, stigma, and violence may predispose homosexual adolescents to impaired social, emotional, and physical health, resulting in depression and suicide, school problems, substance abuse, running away eating disorders, risky sexual behavior, and illegal conduct. As with all adolescents, the overall goals in the care of homosexual youth are to promote normal adolescent development, social and emotional well-being, and physical health. A comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach is required to address medical, mental health, and psychosocial issues within the context of the adolescents' community and culture.

Bangladesh women report postpartum health problems.

PubMed

Goodburn, L

1994-02-01

The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee conducted operational research in Bangladesh to examine postpartum health problems. Researchers conducted focus groups, indepth interviews, and observation. More than 40% of the postpartum women had a delivery-related health problem by 2 weeks after delivery. 52% had signs or symptoms of anemia. Body needs after pregnancy, lactation, and blood loss during delivery exacerbate the nutritional anemia common to Bangladeshi women. 17% of the postpartum women had signs of infections. More than 50% had severe malnutrition, worsened by food taboos during the postpartum period. 60% of infant deaths occur in the neonatal period. The mortality risk is elevated in low birth weight (LBW) infants. In this study, more than 50% of the newborns were LBW infants. Many Bangladeshi mothers discard the colostrum and begin breast feeding several days after delivery. 11% of the postpartum women had breast problem (e.g., cracked nipples). Women believed that susceptibility to evil spirits accounted for their being more vulnerable to health problems during the postpartum. They feared leaving the household. These findings show a need for home visits to provide valuable postpartum care.

Unconsummated marriage: can it still be considered a consequence of vaginismus?

PubMed

Michetti, P M; Silvaggi, M; Fabrizi, A; Tartaglia, N; Rossi, R; Simonelli, C

2014-01-01

Unconsummated marriage (UM) is the failure to perform successful sexual intercourse at the beginning of the marriage. Vaginismus has been traditionally reported as the leading cause. ED is also a leading cause for UM. This appears to be a significant problem in the conservative middle-Eastern societies and in the developing countries, where couples are strongly prevented by religious rules and cultural taboos from sexual experiences before wedding. One could think that according to major sexual freedom and information, in Western countries UM is now disappearing, but the number of observed cases by the authors in 2008-2012 was relevant. The aim of this study is to compare the literature data from non-Western countries with the features of UM in Western ones, focusing on cases observed by the authors, and to verify whether the etiology of UM proposed in the '70s is still relevant, outlining any changes that occur in current reality. In our series, traditional appearance of UM is no more effective, while the role of man is undervalued, because of his frailty, lack of self-confidence and ignorance, expressing a social and cultural change of man's role in the couple.

The role of an early-life variant of the oedipus complex in motivating religious endeavors.

PubMed

Osman, Marvin P

2004-01-01

A close reading of sources Freud used in writing Totem and Taboo supports the thesis that a predecessor archaic oedipus complex is instrumental in motivating religious worship. This early-life complex manifests a psychodynamic in which birth, growth, and self-realization, to varying degree in each individual, tend to be psychically correlated with diminution and harm vis-à-vis one's procreators. As a result, the psychodynamic is likely to induce unease over youth exercising its powers. The story of Adam and Eve, which depicts a growing self-determination being stymied and coming to grief, is a mythic epitome of this psychodynamic. Religious practices serve to expiate the sense of unease, partly by replenishing and even recasting seemingly diminished procreators, through myth and ritual, into omnipotent, immortal entities, and partly by reversing individuation's challenge to authority by exhorting submission to, and even union, with the divine parent. The sources used in demonstrating the various means whereby religious practices serve to ameliorate the burden of "original sin" include W. R. Smith (1894), the Old Testament, and studies of archaic religious rites, including those of the Aztecs.

Key barriers to the use of modern contraceptives among women in Albania: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Kragelund Nielsen, Karoline; Nielsen, Siff Malue; Butler, Robb; Lazarus, Jeffrey V

2012-12-01

In spite of a number of communication campaigns since 1999 promoting modern contraceptives in Albania, their use remains low. In this paper we identify and analyse key barriers to the use of modern contraception among women in Albania. Semi-structured interviews with 11 stakeholders from organisations involved in promoting modern contraception, and four focus group discussions with 40 women from Tirana and a rural village in the periphery of Tirana, divided according to age and residence, were also conducted. Content analysis was used to analyse both the interviews and focus group discussions. Barriers identified included socio-cultural issues such as status of the relationship with partners and the importance of virginity, problems talking about sexual issues and contraception being taboo, health care issues--especially cost and availability--and individual issues such as unfavourable social attitudes towards contraceptives and a lack of knowledge about the use and benefits of modern contraception. To promote contraceptive use in the future, campaigns should address these barriers and expand from a focus on women of reproductive age only to target youth, men, health care providers, parents and schoolteachers as well. Copyright © 2012 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The altruistic act of asking.

PubMed

Kirklin, D

2003-06-01

There are a number of obstacles to increasing the supply of cadaveric organs for transplantation. These include reluctance on the part of relatives to agree to the so called harvesting of organs from their deceased relative, and the unwillingness of some doctors to approach grieving families and ask consent for this harvesting to take place. In this paper I will focus on the altruistic act of asking that the latter entails, and will argue that failure to acknowledge the personal cost of this act to physicians is having an adverse impact on the supply of organs. I will draw analogies with the almost equally neglected altruistic act of undertaking anatomy dissection and all of the related breaking of societal taboos. I will examine the language used in discussions about increasing organ supply and conclude that the terms cadaveric and harvest are unhelpful in gaining public confidence. A process and vocabulary that openly acknowledges and validates the altruistic acts demanded of all the human beings involved--donors, recipients, their respective relatives, and the health professionals who mediate between them--is needed if the supply of organs is to be increased.

Menstruation experiences of South African women belonging to the ama-Xhosa ethnic group.

PubMed

Padmanabhanunni, Anita; Jaffer, Labeeqah; Steenkamp, Jeanette

2017-09-15

A growing body of research has emphasised the salience of cultural beliefs and traditional practices to women's experiences of menstruation. Relatively less research has, however, been undertaken in South Africa. This study explored the experience of menstruation among women from the ama-Xhosa ethnic group, one of the largest ethnic groups in the country. Among the ama-Xhosa, there are distinct cultural practices associated with menstruation, including the female rite of passage (intonjane) and virginity testing (inkciyo). However, few studies have explored the experience of menstruation for women from this cultural group. This study involved the synthesis of data from individual interviews and focus group discussions conducted among a sample of ama-Xhosa women. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Distinctive findings included women's participation in traditional cultural practices of intonjane and inkciyo and the presence of cultural taboos associated with menstruation. Women's narratives revealed strong ambivalence regarding these practices. On the one hand, they wanted to adhere to traditional practices but experienced these customs as evoking discomfort and shame. The study confirmed the prevalence of negative constructions of menstruation. Positive appraisals of menstruation as evoking joy and happiness were also encountered.

Nuclear education campaign: on how to eliminate the threat of nuclear war

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Markusen, E.; Dunham, J.; Bee, R.

1981-05-01

The threat of a nuclear war creates a chronic erosion of moral and intellectual integrity and places the future of humanity in the hands of a few hundred people. The nuclear elite probably requires a degree of psychological numbing and desensitization in order to separate themselves emotionally from decisions that might require exercise of their power. They may also lose the ability to question basic assumptions and may identify themselves with the rightness of their policies and the need to use nuclear technology to preserve those policies. To reform the nuclear-industrial complex, the American public must become educated to givemore » the prevention of nuclear war a higher priority than the economy. Fears and anxieties may underlie apparent apathy, taking the form of denial and a focus on immediate problems. A campaign by knowledgeable people to educate the public should stress the empirical data necessary for objectivity and should use a multidisciplinary approach in the same way that recent death education programs have broken the taboos about discussing the Nazi holocaust. An outline of a nuclear-education program suggests a number of social and economic benefits. 13 references. (DCK)« less

Can culture influence body-specific associations between space and valence?

PubMed

de la Fuente, Juanma; Casasanto, Daniel; Román, Antonio; Santiago, Julio

2015-05-01

People implicitly associate positive ideas with their dominant side of space and negative ideas with their non-dominant side. Right-handers tend to associate "good" with "right" and "bad" with "left," but left-handers associate "bad" with "right" and "good" with "left." Whereas right-handers' implicit associations align with idioms in language and culture that link "good" with "right," left-handers' implicit associations go against them. Can cultural conventions modulate the body-specific association between valence and left-right space? Here, we compared people from Spanish and Moroccan cultures, which differ in the strength of taboos against the use of the left hand, and therefore in their preference for the right. Results showed stronger explicit associations between space and valence in Moroccan participants than in Spaniards, but they did not show any increased tendency for right-handed Moroccans to associate "good" with "right" implicitly. Despite differences in cultural conventions between Spaniards and Moroccans, we find no evidence for a cross-cultural difference in the implicit association between space and valence, which appears to depend on patterns of bodily experience. © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Tradition in treating taboo: Folkloric medicinal wisdom of the aboriginals of Purulia district, West Bengal, India against sexual, gynaecological and related disorders.

PubMed

Modak, Biplob Kumar; Gorai, Partha; Dhan, Raghunath; Mukherjee, Anuradha; Dey, Abhijit

2015-07-01

In order to explore the traditional medicine practised by the ethnic communities residing in the topographically and climatically challenged Purulia, an underprivileged district of West Bengal, India, a quantitative ethnobiological approach was adopted to document the folkloric use of ethnomedicinals against different sexual, gynaecological and related ailments. Ethnobiological surveys were conducted during 2012-2015 by interviewing 82 informants or traditional healers with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire. The survey included questions on botanical and non-botanical ingredients and additives mixed with monoherbal and polyherbal formulations, vernacular names of the plants and animals, methods of preparation and administration and restrictions during medications. Additional quantitative indices such as use value, informant׳s consensus factor and fidelity level were used for data analysis. Twenty eight sexual and gynaecological disorders were found to be treated with 18 monoherbal and 31 polyherbal formulations consisting of a total number of 96 plant species from 86 genera and 47 families and four animal species. A variety of additives, either botanicals or non-botanicals were used with the formulations for higher efficacy and taste enhancement. Fabaceae (16 species) was found to be the most common family of medicinal plants whereas herbs (42.7%) and roots (32%) were the most common habit type and plant part used respectively. Use value, informant׳s consensus factor and fidelity level indicate frequency and coherence of citations. Age old belief on traditional medicine prevails in the studied area due to its efficacy, inexpensive price and the remoteness of tribal villages from conventional medical centres. Traditional healers had detailed knowledge of preparations, doses, methods of administration, restrictions during medications, safety and efficacy of using folkloric therapeutics against sexual and gynaecological disorders. Possible synergistic interactions among phytochemicals and additives were indicated to explain enhanced therapeutic efficacy of mixed herbal formulations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Science Teachers' Decision-Making in Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage (AOUM) Classrooms: Taboo Subjects and Discourses of Sex and Sexuality in Classroom Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gill, Puneet Singh

2015-01-01

Sex education, especially in the southeastern USA, remains steeped in an Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage (AOUM) approach, which sets up barriers to the education of sexually active students. Research confirms that science education has the potential to facilitate discussion of controversial topics, including sex education. Science teachers in the…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cosgrove, F.R.

The once taboo subject of blasting near buried Natural Gas Pipelines has taken a different turn at one New England Gas Utility Company. Blasting to remove trench rock in close proximity to their facilities is rapidly becoming their most recommended method of choice as far as they are concerned. This method has become their method of choice because many projects were successfully completed due in part to a revised policy regarding blasting near their facilities that was implemented last year. The objective of this policy is to work cooperatively with the Blaster. By doing this, two very important and easilymore » obtainable goals were established of which the first goal is to crete A Very Satisfied Customer -- The Blaster. By accomplishing this goal, a natural transition was made into their second goal which is to achieve a successful completion to the project at hand while maintaining a high level of safety. Both of these goals are met through a combined effort to treat each project as a separate project which has unique characteristics that are site specific and which require the three most important elements in all projects. These three elements are: Close Coordination, Cooperation and Communication by both the Blaster and The Gas Company.« less

Contribution of Sediment Compaction/Loading to the Ganges-Bangladesh Delta Subsidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karpytchev, Mikhail; Krien, Yann; Ballu, Valerie; Becker, Melanie; Calmant, Stephane; Spada, Giorgio; Guo, Junyi; Khan, Zahirul; Shum, Ck

2016-04-01

A pronounced spatial variability characterizes the subsidence/uplift rates in the Ganges-Bangladesh delta estimated from both sediment cores and modern geodetic techniques. The large variability of the subsidence rates suggests an interplay of different natural and anthropogenic processes including tectonics, sediment loading and sediment compaction, groundwater extaction among many others drivers of the delta vertical land movements.In this study, we focus on estimating the subsidence rates due to the sediments transported by the Ganges-Brahmaputra since the last 18 000 years. The delta subsidence induced by the sediment loading and the resulting sea level changes are modelled by the TABOO and SELEN software (Spada, 2003; Stocchi and Spada, 2007) in the framework of a gravitationally self-consistent Earth model. The loading history was obtained from available sediment cores and from the isopach map of Goodbread and Kuehl (2000). The results demonstrate that the delta loading enhanced by the Holocene sedimention can be responsable for a regular subsidence across the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta with an amplitude of 1-5 mm/yr along the Bengal coast. These estimates demonstrate that the contribution of the Holocene as well as modern sediment loading should be taken into account in climate change mitigation politicy for Bangladesh.

Model and algorithm for container ship stowage planning based on bin-packing problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wei-Ying; Lin, Yan; Ji, Zhuo-Shang

2005-09-01

In a general case, container ship serves many different ports on each voyage. A stowage planning for container ship made at one port must take account of the influence on subsequent ports. So the complexity of stowage planning problem increases due to its multi-ports nature. This problem is NP-hard problem. In order to reduce the computational complexity, the problem is decomposed into two sub-problems in this paper. First, container ship stowage problem (CSSP) is regarded as “packing problem”, ship-bays on the board of vessel are regarded as bins, the number of slots at each bay are taken as capacities of bins, and containers with different characteristics (homogeneous containers group) are treated as items packed. At this stage, there are two objective functions, one is to minimize the number of bays packed by containers and the other is to minimize the number of overstows. Secondly, containers assigned to each bays at first stage are allocate to special slot, the objective functions are to minimize the metacentric height, heel and overstows. The taboo search heuristics algorithm are used to solve the subproblem. The main focus of this paper is on the first subproblem. A case certifies the feasibility of the model and algorithm.

Heuristic approach to image registration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gertner, Izidor; Maslov, Igor V.

2000-08-01

Image registration, i.e. correct mapping of images obtained from different sensor readings onto common reference frame, is a critical part of multi-sensor ATR/AOR systems based on readings from different types of sensors. In order to fuse two different sensor readings of the same object, the readings have to be put into a common coordinate system. This task can be formulated as optimization problem in a space of all possible affine transformations of an image. In this paper, a combination of heuristic methods is explored to register gray- scale images. The modification of Genetic Algorithm is used as the first step in global search for optimal transformation. It covers the entire search space with (randomly or heuristically) scattered probe points and helps significantly reduce the search space to a subspace of potentially most successful transformations. Due to its discrete character, however, Genetic Algorithm in general can not converge while coming close to the optimum. Its termination point can be specified either as some predefined number of generations or as achievement of a certain acceptable convergence level. To refine the search, potential optimal subspaces are searched using more delicate and efficient for local search Taboo and Simulated Annealing methods.

The utilization and management of plant resources in rural areas of the Limpopo Province, South Africa

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Most rural people in the Limpopo Province depend on plant resources to meet their livelihood needs. However, there is insufficient recorded information regarding their use and management. The current study therefore was carried out in selected villages of the Limpopo Province, to close this knowledge gap. Methods Information was collected from 60 people residing in two villages, using a semi-structured questionnaire, supplemented with field observations. Results A total of 47 wild plant species (95% indigenous and 5% exotics) from 27 families, mostly from the Fabaceae (17%), Anacardiaceae (9%), and Combretaceae (9%) were documented. These species were used primarily for firewood (40%), food (36%) and medicine (29%). Significantly used species included Sclerocarya birrea (85%), Combretum kraussii (35%) and Harpephyllum caffrum (35%). Local traditional rules and regulations including taboos, social beliefs and fines are in place to aid in the management of communal resources. However, a significant number (67%) of participants mentioned that they were not pleased with these rules and regulations. Conclusion The current study concluded that plant resources still play an important role in the surveyed rural areas of the Limpopo Province. Furthermore, for sustainable utilization and long-term conservation of plants in these areas the government should assist communities in the management of their plant resources. PMID:23590903

Breast-cancer-isation explored: Social experiences of gynaecological cancer in a Norwegian context.

PubMed

Solbraekke, Kari Nyheim; Lorem, Geir

2016-11-01

This article's point of departure is recent claims that breast cancer survivorship displaying positivity and self-growth represents the gold standard for all forms of cancer survivorship in English-speaking Western cultures. An interview study of Norwegian women regarding gynaecological cancer followed by hysterectomy is used to explore whether this process is taking place beyond this setting. Results show that the women's experiences of having to display survivorship in this manner are not as notable as found in English-speaking Western countries, neither is their experience of social othering. Reasons for this may be strong norms of social egalitarianism marking Norwegian culture and breast cancer informational campaigns that have not yet totally defined Norwegian norms for how to survive cancer. At the clinic and in the public sphere, however, the women experience gynaecological cancer as clearly having lower status than breast cancer, leading to a strong sense that the bodily site of their disease is taboo. Hence, as found in English-speaking cultures, the complex embodied nature of having gynaecological cancer and life beyond treatment seems to be silenced by the media and medical institutions. Finally, implications for future research and health care related to cancer survivorship are also discussed. © 2016 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

Negotiating Emotional Support: Sober Gay Latinos and their Families

PubMed Central

Moore, Mignon R.; McCuller, William J.; Zaldívar, Richard; Moore, Alison A.

2014-01-01

This study explores how sober gay Latino men obtain support from their families. Familial ties can be a protective health factor, yet many gay Latinos experience rejection from family members because of their sexuality. There are very few studies that examine the extent and quality of emotional support from kin for this population. Understanding family dynamics within the context of recovery and sexuality can increase our understanding of how to leverage family ties to develop alcohol abuse interventions. The study was conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 sober gay Latinos using a grounded theory approach. Analyses of the qualitative data identified the following themes: Family values shaped the participants’ perception of their range of choices and emotional responses; participants reported feeling loved and supported even when sexuality was not discussed with parents; and family support for sobriety is essential. Findings suggest that familial ties shape perceptions of support and importance of disclosing sexual identity. Family support often results from agreements about sexual identity disclosure, and some families can overcome cultural and religious taboos on sexuality. Future studies should investigate families that negotiate acceptance with their gay members, and whether they exhibit heterosexual biases that may influence the psychological stress of gay Latino men who wish to be sober. PMID:25057235

[Sex education and prevention of sexual violence : Contributions to a differential-sensitive prevention of sexualised violence].

PubMed

Wazlawik, Martin; Christmann, Bernd; Dekker, Arne

2017-09-01

Prevention of sexual violence against children and adolescents obtains high priority in educational contexts. This is due to the massive (possible) psychosocial impacts of sexual victimization as well as to the considerable prevalence rates that are reported in current studies. Preventive approaches are predominantly native to violence prevention and sex education where they are characterized by independent lines of tradition and positions. This contribution outlines their empirically largely unexplained relation with a focus on the history and development of the discourses of sex education. Diverging disciplinary attempts of positioning towards the prevention of sexual violence reveal an area of conflict between sex-positive and preventive educational objectives. A primacy of preventive contents is seen to be threatening a comprehensive sex education that emphasizes the positive aspects of sexuality. On the other hand, its standards are opposed to excluding and to tabooing sexual violence as a topic. Yet unfinished is therefore the search for a "third way" that might transfer the opposites of both approaches into integrative educational concepts. Unsettled questions about possible contributions of sex education to the prevention of sexual violence, and especially to which extent they are sensitive to difference are discussed based on international research and the theory of sex education.