Suchergebnisse

The study of borders has had a great boom especially in recent years in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the case of Central America, the borders have been considered as zones of conflict between the countries that share them. Historically, these have not received attention from the State, remaining forgotten and attended only when new border or territorial conflicts appear. In other diverse fields of social and human sciences, the notion of frontier is taken into account in a broader sense and is not systematically translated into the boundaries between states. The term is used to express a separation between cultural groups (linguistic, religious border) and is associated with a confused, imprecise, mobile contact. The border has the ability to directly affect the configuration of the towns, cities and towns that develop along it. However, this capacity for influence is divergent and discontinuous due to various factors of a historical, geographical, socioeconomic and political nature. The present investigation has the purpose of producing a work that deals with the study of the locality of Cárdenas and its border regions, understanding them as those spaces of transcendence for the development of these and of Nicaragua, from an integrating and multidisciplinary perspective. ; El estudio de las fronteras ha tenido un gran auge especialmente en los últimos años a nivel de Latinoamérica y el Caribe. Para el caso de Centroamérica, las fronteras han sido consideradas como zonas de conflicto entre los países que las comparten. Históricamente éstas no han tenido atención desde el Estado, permaneciendo olvidadas y atendidas solamente cuando aparecen nuevos conflictos limítrofes o territoriales. En otros diversos campos de las ciencias sociales y humanas, la noción de frontera es tomada en cuenta en un sentido más amplio y no se traduce sistemáticamente en los límites entre Estados. El término es utilizado para expresar una separación entre grupos culturales (frontera lingüística, religiosa) y se asocia a un contacto confuso, impreciso, móvil. La frontera tiene la capacidad de incidir de manera directa en la configuración de las localidades, ciudades y pueblos que se desarrollan a lo largo de ésta. Sin embargo, esta capacidad de influencia es divergente y discontinua por diversos factores de carácter histórico, geográfico, socioeconómico y político. La actual investigación tiene el propósito de producir una obra que aborde el estudio de la localidad de Cárdenas y de sus comarcas fronterizas, entendiéndolas como aquellos espacios de trascendencia para el desarrollo de éstas y de Nicaragua, desde una perspectiva integradora y multidisciplinaria.

Australia has one of the world&rsquo ; s highest life expectancy rates, and there is a rapidly growing need for informal caregivers to support individuals who are ageing, have chronic illness or a lifelong disability. These informal carers themselves face numerous physical and psychological stressors in attempting to balance the provision of care with their personal life, their work commitments and family responsibilities. However, little is known about the specific challenges facing rural carers and the barriers that limit their capacity to provide ongoing support. A cross-sectional survey composed of open-ended responses and demographic/socioeconomic measures used routinely by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Institute of Health & ; Welfare (AIHW) was used with a cohort of 225 rurally-based carers within New South Wales, Australia. Demographic questions specified the respondents&rsquo ; age, gender, employment, caregiving status, condition of and relationship to the care recipient, postcode, residency status, and distance and frequency travelled to provide care. Open-ended comments sections were provided to allow participants to describe any issues and problems associated with caregiving including employment, travel, residency, carer support groups and any other general information. The results show that most rural carers were middle-aged women supporting a spouse or a child. Unpredictability associated with providing care exacerbated demands on carers&rsquo ; time, with many reporting significant employment consequences associated with inflexibility and limited job options in rural locations. Specific issues associated with travel requirements to assist with care were reported, as were the impacts of care provision on the respondents&rsquo ; own personal health. The majority of carers were aware of the social supports available in their local rural community, but did not access them, leaving the carers vulnerable to marginalisation. Problems associated with employment were noted as resulting in financial pressures and associated personal stress and anxiety for the caregivers. While this issue is not necessarily limited to rural areas, it would appear that the lack of opportunity and flexibility evident in rural areas would exacerbate this problem for non-metropolitan residents. The participants also identified specific barriers to the provision of care in rural areas, including the significant impact of travel. Access to support services, such as carer groups, were rarely accessed due to a mix of factors including inaccessibility, poor timing and a lack of anonymity. Financially, there was considerable evidence of hardship, and there is an urgent need for a comprehensive review of government and community-based support to better meet the needs of rural carers.

The study of borders has had a great boom especially in recent years in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the case of Central America, the borders have been considered as zones of conflict between the countries that share them. Historically, these have not received attention from the State, remaining forgotten and attended only when new border or territorial conflicts appear. In other diverse fields of social and human sciences, the notion of frontier is taken into account in a broader sense and is not systematically translated into the boundaries between states. The term is used to express a separation between cultural groups (linguistic, religious border) and is associated with a confused, imprecise, mobile contact. The border has the ability to directly affect the configuration of the towns, cities and towns that develop along it. However, this capacity for influence is divergent and discontinuous due to various factors of a historical, geographical, socioeconomic and political nature. The present investigation has the purpose of producing a work that deals with the study of the locality of Cárdenas and its border regions, understanding them as those spaces of transcendence for the development of these and of Nicaragua, from an integrating and multidisciplinary perspective. ; El estudio de las fronteras ha tenido un gran auge especialmente en los últimos años a nivel de Latinoamérica y el Caribe. Para el caso de Centroamérica, las fronteras han sido consideradas como zonas de conflicto entre los países que las comparten. Históricamente éstas no han tenido atención desde el Estado, permaneciendo olvidadas y atendidas solamente cuando aparecen nuevos conflictos limítrofes o territoriales. En otros diversos campos de las ciencias sociales y humanas, la noción de frontera es tomada en cuenta en un sentido más amplio y no se traduce sistemáticamente en los límites entre Estados. El término es utilizado para expresar una separación entre grupos culturales (frontera lingüística, religiosa) y se asocia a un contacto confuso, impreciso, móvil. La frontera tiene la capacidad de incidir de manera directa en la configuración de las localidades, ciudades y pueblos que se desarrollan a lo largo de ésta. Sin embargo, esta capacidad de influencia es divergente y discontinua por diversos factores de carácter histórico, geográfico, socioeconómico y político. La actual investigación tiene el propósito de producir una obra que aborde el estudio de la localidad de Cárdenas y de sus comarcas fronterizas, entendiéndolas como aquellos espacios de trascendencia para el desarrollo de éstas y de Nicaragua, desde una perspectiva integradora y multidisciplinaria.

Malaria is a significant public health problem and impediment to socioeconomic development in countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), which comprises Cambodia, China's Yunnan Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Over the past decade, intensified malaria control has greatly reduced the regional malaria burden. Driven by increasing political commitment, motivated by recent achievements in malaria control, and urged by the imminent threat of emerging artemisinin resistance, the GMS countries have endorsed a regional malaria elimination plan with a goal of eliminating malaria by 2030. However, this ambitious, but laudable, goal faces a daunting array of challenges and requires integrated strategies tailored to the region, which should be based on a mechanistic understanding of the human, parasite, and vector factors sustaining continued malaria transmission along international borders. Malaria epidemiology in the GMS is complex and rapidly evolving. Spatial heterogeneity requires targeted use of the limited resources. Border malaria accounts for continued malaria transmission and represents sources of parasite introduction through porous borders by highly mobile human populations. Asymptomatic infections constitute huge parasite reservoir requiring interventions in time and place to pave the way for malaria elimination. Of the two most predominant malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax, the prevalence of the latter is increasing in most member GMS countries. This parasite requires the use of 8-aminoquinoline drugs to prevent relapses from liver hypnozoites, but high prevalence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in the endemic human populations makes it difficult to adopt this treatment regimen. The recent emergence of resistance to artemisinins and partner drugs in P. falciparum has raised both regional and global concerns, and elimination efforts are invariably prioritized against this parasite to avert spread. Moreover, the effectiveness of the two core vector control interventions—insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying—has been declining due to insecticide resistance and increased outdoor biting activity of mosquito vectors. These technical challenges, though varying from country to country, require integrated approaches and better understanding of the malaria epidemiology enabling targeted control of the parasites and vectors. Understanding the mechanism and distribution of drug-resistant parasites will allow effective drug treatment and prevent, or slow down, the spread of drug resistance. Coordination among the GMS countries is essential to prevent parasite reintroduction across the international borders to achieve regional malaria elimination.

Jacek PolaÅ"ski,1 Mariusz Chabowski,2,3 Beata Jankowska-PolaÅ"ska,4 Dariusz Janczak,2,3 Joanna RosiÅ"czuk5,6 1Lower Silesian Oncology Center, Home Hospice, Wroclaw, Poland; 2Division of Surgical Procedures, Department of Clinical Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland; 3Department of Surgery, 4th Military Teaching Hospital, Wroclaw, Poland; 4Department of Clinical Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland; 5Department of Nervous System Diseases, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland; 6Department of Clinical Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland Introduction: Histologic classification of lung cancer plays an important role in clinical practice. Two main histological subtype of lung cancer: small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) differ in terms of invasiveness, response to treatment, and risk factors, among others.Aims: To evaluate differences in acceptance of illness, level of perceived pain, and quality of life (QoL) between patients with SCLC and NSCLC.Materials and methods: Two hundred and fifty-seven lung cancer patients, who were treated in 2015, completed Acceptance of Illness Scale, Visual Analog Scale for pain, and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer 30-item Core Quality of Life Questionnaire and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer 13-item Lung Cancer specific Quality of Life Questionnaire. Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected. For statistical analysis, the Student t-test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used. For comparisons among three or more groups, analysis of variance was employed.Results: Patients with SCLC had significantly worse health as measured with the presence of metastases, parameters of lung function, comorbidities, and number of previous hospitalizations. The Acceptance of Illness Scale score and Visual Analog Scale score were significantly worse in patients with SCLC than in those with NSCLC (24.58±8.73 vs 27.05±9.06; p=0.046 and 4.81±2.01 vs 4.17±1.97; p=0.003). Patients with SCLC achieved worse scores of all aspects of QoL than patients with NSCLC. Comparison with the reference values showed that all dimensions of functioning are impaired in patients with lung cancer regardless of its type; only the role functioning in patients with NSCLC remains unaffected.Conclusion: Monitoring of QoL, personalized approach to treatment, and interventions for symptom management should be conducted in a tailored manner. Socioeconomic status in lung cancer patients, especially those suffering from SCLC, needs to be addressed. Keywords: Acceptance of Illness Scale, Visual Analog Scale for pain, lung cancer, quality of life, QLQ-C30 and QLQ-LC13

Das Ziel der vorliegenden Diplomarbeit ist es herauszufinden, ob und wie die bestehenden Gemeinschaftsgärten in Graz und Linz in Governance-Prozesse eingebunden sind. Gemeinschaftsgärten werden angesichts voranschreitender Verstädterung und damit einhergehender ökonomischer, gesellschaftlicher sowie ökologischer Herausforderungen als zivilgesellschaftliche Lösungsansätze diskutiert. Deren Forderung nach mehr Mitspracherecht im Kontext der Stadtentwicklung knüpft an das Konzept partizipativer Urban Governance an, wodurch sich dieses anbietet, um Prozesse rund um Gemeinschaftsgärten zu untersuchen. Naturräumliche, sozioökonomische, politische und grünflächenbezogene Rahmenbedingungen sowie die punktuelle Analyse der Stadtentwicklungskonzepte zeigen die Ausgangssituation beider Städte. Die jeweilige Urban Gardening-Situation wird in thematischen Karten dargestellt und anhand bestimmter Kriterien erläutert. Darauf aufbauend ermöglicht die Analyse von jeweils drei Gemeinschaftsgärten tiefergehende Einblicke. Die Basis der Analysen bilden mit den entsprechenden AkteurInnen geführte Interviews. Derzeitige Stadtentwicklungsprozesse, die, vor allem in Linz, erschwerte Flächennutzung sowie die geringe Wertschätzung der politischen EntscheidungsträgerInnen, erschweren in beiden Städten die Entstehung, Existenz und Weiterentwicklung der untersuchten Gemeinschaftsgärten. In Linz ist angesichts dessen keine, der partizipativen Urban Governance gerecht werdenden, Zusammenarbeit zwischen GemeinschaftsgärtnerInnen und stadtpolitischen AkteurInnen zu erkennen. In Graz werden die GemeinschaftsgärtnerInnen hingegen in gewisse Verhandlungs- und Entscheidungsprozesse einbezogen. Die Ergebnisse werden den Erwartungen partizipativer Urban Governance, welche unter anderem einen gelungenen Interessensabgleich zwischen den Beteiligten vorsehen, in beiden Städten nicht gerecht. ; Community gardens are often discussed as solutions for the economic, social, and ecological challenges created by ongoing urbanisation. Therefore, the aim of this diploma thesis is to present community gardening projects in the cities of Graz and Linz, examine whether they are integrated into governance processes and if so, how this becomes apparent in practice. Since community garden projects constitute a call for enhanced participation in urban development, this directly links to the concept of urban governance; hence this concept provides a proper framework for examining community gardeners integration in governance processes. Environmental, socioeconomic, and political factors as well as green space related tasks of each citys development plan are presented. A thematic map visualizes the urban gardening landscape in both cities. The spatial distribution of the community gardens reveal that they mainly exist in both cities dense areas. Furthermore, interviews with relevant stakeholders provide insights into how community gardens in Graz and Linz are integrated into governance processes. For this purpose, three community garden projects of both cities are explicitly discussed. The current course of both cities development, the lack of policy makers support, and seldomly granted land usages, especially in Linz, hampers the creation, maintenance as well as further development of community gardens. The results show there is hardly any cooperation between decision makers and community gardeners in Linz; which is far from meeting the prospects of participatory urban governance. In Graz, on the contrary, community gardeners are integrated to a greater extent. Nevertheless, the expectations of participatory urban governance processes are far from being met. ; vorgelegt von Liesa Madeleine Flaser ; Zusammenfassungen in Deutsch und Englisch ; Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung des Verfassers/der Verfasserin ; Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Diplomarbeit, 2018 ; (VLID)2581511

ABSTRACT
ObjectivesEmergency admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) are thought to be preventable through preventive or early treatment interventions in primary care. However, evidence shows up to 70% of children with ACSCs admissions have underlying chronic conditions, suggesting that these admissions could be less amenable to primary care prevention than previously thought. We determined the extent to which primary care is involved in care by assessing primary care consultations before and after an emergency admission to hospital for an ACSC.
ApproachWe used a national general practice database (Clinical Practice Research Datalink) linked to hospital admissions data (Hospital Episode Statistics) and included children aged 0-19 years with emergency admissions for ACSCs or injury between 2000-2009. ACSCs were defined as acute infections (pneumonia and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), dehydration and gastroenteritis (DGE), urinary tract infections (UTIs)), and asthma. We included injuries as a control group as we did not expect to see an increase in GP consultations for this group before emergency admission.
We calculated hospital admission rates by age, gender and area-level deprivation per 1,000 child-years and determined the proportion of children consulting their GP in the week before and week after emergency admission. We examined independent risk factors using zero-inflated negative binomial regression models.
ResultsWe extracted data for 1,664,555 children with 32,442 emergency admissions for ACSCs and 39,305 for injuries. There were clear socioeconomic gradients: LRTIs, UTIs and asthma were more prevalent in more deprived children, while rates for DGE and injuries were similar between deprivation quintiles. The majority of children with emergency admissions for ACSCs consulted their GP in the week before admission (range 58.3% (asthma) - 69.5% (LRTIs)), while 24.2% of children with injuries had a GP consultation. Children with ACSCs were more likely to consult their GP after discharge, with 37% (LRTIs) - 46% (UTI) of children consulting in the week after discharge, compared to 22% after injury admission. The proportion of children consulting their GP in the week before an emergency admission decreased. For LRTIs, this decreased from 71.7% in 2000 to 55.2% in 2009.
ConclusionThe majority of children consulted a GP both before and after an ACSC emergency admission. This suggest that the degree to which primary care can prevent ACSCs conditions in children might be less than previously thought. Further research is needed to determine which community or hospital based interventions, if any, can reduce ACSC emergency admissions.

Background and Purpose: Chronic diseases and associated co-morbidities are highly prevalent among elderly and are associated with an increase in health services utilization which in turn raises health care expenditures throughout industrialized societies. However, health care utilization in elderly is still inadequately understood, particularly regarding the differences among European jurisdictions. In our article, we use dataset of Wave 5 of SHARE survey to study the utilization of health care in older Europeans in 15 European countries. Design/Methodology/Approach: We investigate relationships between factors such as age, gender, income, education and health variables and the utilization of various types of health services. We apply regression modeling to study the determinants of health utilization (different socioeconomic and health variables) of older people. Results: We show some significant differences between determinants of health utilization in terms of probability and frequency of usage. We also explore patterns between welfare regimes, taking Eastern European jurisdictions as a reference category. Finally, we show that in a simple causal model the provision of formal and/or informal homecare serves as a complement to utilization of health care services. Conclusion: Results of our article are important for the management of health care facilities in terms of health care usage by older people, and can be of value to health care providers and policy makers in the field. ; Ozadje in namen: Kronične bolezni in s tem povezana obolenja so zelo razširjena med starejšimi, povezana pa so tudi z večjo uporabo zdravstvenih storitev, kar povečuje izdatke za zdravstveno varstvo v vseh sodobnih razvitih družbah. Vendar pa še vedno preslabo razumemo in poznamo dejavnike uporabe zdravstvenih storitev s strani starejših, še posebej glede razlik med evropskimi državami. V prispevku uporabimo nabor podatkov petega vala raziskave SHARE za raziskavo uporabe zdravstvenih storitev starejših v 15 evropskih državah. Metodologija: V prispevku raziskujemo razmerja med dejavniki, kot so starost, spol, dohodek, izobrazba in zdrav­stvene spremenljivke ter uporabo različnih vrst zdravstvenih storitev. Pri preučevanju determinant uporabe zdrav­stvenih storitev starejših (različnih socioekonomskih in zdravstvenih spremenljivk) uporabimo regresijsko mode­liranje. Rezultati: Pokažemo na nekaj pomembnih razlik med dejavniki uporabe zdravstvenih storitev tako glede verjet­nosti kot pogostosti uporabe. Prav tako pokažemo na razmerja med blaginjskimi sistemi, pri čemer so vzhodnoe­vropske države referenčna kategorija, s katero primerjamo vse druge. Ob koncu z uporabo preprostega vzročnega regresijskega modela pokažemo tudi, da zagotavljanje formalne in/ali neformalne dolgotrajne oskrbe starejših služi kot dopolnilo (komplement) k uporabi zdravstvenih storitev. Zaključek: Rezultati našega izdelka so pomembni za upravljanje v zdravstvenih ustanovah, posebej glede upo­rabe zdravstvenih storitev s strani starejših in so lahko velike vrednosti za izvajalce zdravstvenih storitev in obliko­valce politik na tem področju.

At the end of the nineteenth century, the seeming unavailability of "free" land elicited declarations of the closure of the frontier. But in the twenty-first century, it seems like more frontiers are opening than ever before. The Arctic is a prime example of this trend. With climate change melting away the Arctic ice cap, multinational corporations, national governments, and indigenous corporations all see opportunities for development. Even as the polar seas and the lands around them are rapidly and unpredictably changing, plans are underway to build new infrastructure like ports along Russia's northern coast and a highway to the Arctic Ocean in Canada. More than geophysical factors, however, are motivating this infrastructure push. Political, economic, and technological drivers are leading developmental interests to seek to shorten the distance between global markets by bridging the supposed "infrastructure gaps" that exist in not only the Arctic, but also places like Central Asia, Siberia, and beyond. Using a mix of qualitative methods and remote sensing, this dissertation analyzes the scalar politics of infrastructure development in two contemporary frontiers: the Arctic and Russian Far East. This research first aims to explain how contemporary frontiers are conjured as spaces in need of development and globally articulated infrastructure by focusing on the Arctic as a regional example (Ch. 1) and the Canadian Arctic as a national example (Ch. 2). I then use two case studies to illustrate how transportation infrastructure projects are spearheaded both from within and outside frontier spaces, drawing on the cases of the indigenous Inuvialuit people and their role in lobbying for and building Canada's first highway to the Arctic Ocean (Ch. 3) and the Singaporean government's foray into Arctic development initiatives (Ch. 4). Expanding beyond traditional methods in political geography, I review advances made in using multitemporal night light imagery to study socioeconomic dynamics (Ch. 5) and apply techniques from this field to study regional development in Russia and China (Ch. 6), two countries that experienced vastly different development trajectories following the collapse of communism. Coming full circle, I consider how post-Soviet Russia, suffering from a major infrastructural deficit that is illustrated both by fieldwork and remote sensing, may be a lucrative yet precarious investment site for China's Belt and Road Initiative (Ch. 7). A central conclusion of this research is that the development of frontiers is politically and economically conditioned, locally negotiated, and cyclical rather than linear.

This work is a small contribution to the study and analysis of the dilemmas that for more than thirty years have framed the Official External Cooperation in Nicaragua. Socioeconomic status – mainly poverty and related factors – has allowed locating Nicaragua within the guidelines of Official Development Assistance (ODA), designed by engaging members of the Development Co-operation Directorate.(DCD-DAC)) Since 80´s, Nicaraguan state has been receiving cooperation funds directed to poverty reduction and promotion of economic growth and social development. Nevertheless, to date, many traditional donors with extensive experience within the national territory, have taken the decision to leave the country, others have done cuts to Aids budgets. On the other hand objectives of improving living conditions and reducing poverty still in debate. This research intended to provide answers to questions: What has been the role of international cooperation in the fight against poverty in Nicaragua? Have policies of the Nicaraguan state along with donor´s mechanisms disbursements been effective in promoting social development of Nicaragua? ; Este trabajo constituye un pequeño aporte al estudio y análisis de los dilemas que por más de treinta años han enmarcado a la Cooperación Oficial Externa en Nicaragua. Su condición socioeconómica —principalmente la pobreza y demás factores asociados a ésta- ha permitido ubicar a Nicaragua dentro de los lineamientos de la Ayuda Oficial (AOD) diseñados por los cooperantes miembros del Comité de Asistencia al Desarrollo (CAD-OCDE). Desde los años 80's el Estado nicaragüense ha sido receptor de fondos de cooperación siendo sus principales objetivos el combate a la pobreza y la promoción del crecimiento económico y el desarrollo social. No obstante, a la fecha, mucho de los cooperantes tradicionales, con amplia trayectoria en el territorio nacional han tomado la decisión de retirarse del país y otros han efectuado recortes en sus presupuestos de ayuda, pero se observa que los objetivos de mejoramiento de las condiciones de vida y reducción de la pobreza aún siguen en la palestra del debate. Se pretende dar respuestas a preguntas que contienen la esencia de esta investigación: ¿Cuál ha sido el papel de la cooperación internacional en el combate a la pobreza en Nicaragua? ¿Las políticas del Estado nicaragüense junto con los mecanismos de desembolsos del donante han sido eficaces en la promoción del desarrollo social de Nicaragua?

Generalmente, los plebiscitos sucesorios que definen la continuidad de un dictador en el poder son analizados desde el punto de vista de la competencia entre las elites autoritarias y democráticas. Menos espacio se da al estudio de la opinión pública, lo que responde a la ausencia de encuestas que, muchas veces, los mismos regímenes autoritarios prohíben. Visto así, el caso de Chile es excepcional. El Centro de Estudios de la Realidad Contemporánea (CERC) realizó encuestas previas al plebiscito sucesorio de 1988, donde se decidía la continuidad del general Pinochet en el poder por otros ocho años. Con base en esta información, identificamos los determinantes políticos y sociales que explicaron el triunfo de la oposición. Mediante una serie de modelos binomiales y multinomiales, constatamos que la opción «no» tuvo mayor apoyo en los hombres, los jóvenes y las personas de nivel socioeconómico bajo, marcando una clara continuidad con los patrones de voto a los partidos de centro-izquierda previos al golpe de estado de 1973. Además, sostenemos que la opción «no» era la favorita incluso antes de la emisión de la propaganda televisiva. De esta forma, el caso de Chile es útil para evaluar los modelos de conducta electoral en escenarios no democráticos, identificando los factores a largo y corto plazo que explican los resultados políticos. ; Generally, successor plebiscites to define the continuity of a dictator in power are analyzed from the point of view of the competition between authoritarian and democratic elites. Less space is given to the study of public opinion, due to the absence of surveys that the very authoritarian regimes very often prohibit. Thus, the case of Chile is exceptional. The Center for Studies of Contemporary Reality (CERC) conducted surveys prior to the successor plebiscite held in 1988 to decide the continuity of General Pinochet in power for eight more years. Based on this information, we identified the political and social determinants that explained the triumph of the opposition. Through a series of binomial and multinomial models, we verified that the "No" option had greater support among men, young people and people of low socioeconomic status, clearly marking a continuity with the voting patterns for the center-left parties before the 1973 coup d'état. Moreover, we maintain that the "No" option was the preferred one even before the broadcast of television propaganda. Thus, the case of Chile is useful to evaluate electoral behavior models in undemocratic scenarios, identifying the long and short-term factors that explain political outcomes.

Gail D Hughes,1 Oluwaseyi M Aboyade,1 John D Hill,2 Rafia S Rasu3 1South African Herbal Science and Medicine Institute, University of the Western Cape, Western Cape, South Africa; 2Department of Pharmacy, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, 3School of Pharmacy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCD) constitute major public health problems globally, with an impact on morbidity and mortality ranking high and second to HIV/AIDS. Existing studies conducted in South Africa have demonstrated that people living with NCD rely on traditional herbal medicine (THM) primarily or in combination with conventional drugs. The primary research focus has been on the clinical and experimental aspects of THM use for NCD, with limited data on the economic impact of health care delivery. Therefore, the purpose of this study will be to determine the cost and utilization of resources on THM in South Africa for NCD. Materials and methods: Study describes the methods toward incorporating cost estimations and economic evaluation illustrated with the Prospective Urban and rural Epidemiological (PURE) study in South Africa. The South African PURE cohort is investigating the geographic and socioeconomic influence of THM spending and utilization, variations in spending based on perceived health status, marital status, and whether spending patterns have any impact on hospitalizations and disability. Data collection and evaluation plan: Since the individual costs of THM are not regulated nor do they have a standardized price value, information obtained through this study can be utilized to assess differences and determine underlying factors contributing to spending. This insight into THM spending patterns can aid in the development and implementation of guidelines or standardized legislation governing THM use and distribution. An economic evaluation and cost estimation model has been proposed, while the data collection is still ongoing. Particularly, willingness to pay method measures how much participants are willing to pay for THM for perceived improvements in health. Resource-use and expenditures along with annual direct costs for households will be determined. Conclusion: Economic evaluations can provide insight for health care policy decision makers on the appropriate inclusion of THM to reduce the overall burden of health care costs in South Africa. Because of the increased prevalence of integrative medicine, it is crucial to consider potential implications and their use of comparative effectiveness research to incorporate complementary and alternative medicine in future. Keywords: complementary medicine, alternative medicine, economics, comparative effectiveness research, CAM

This thesis contains three econometric essays on child human capital and well-being. Each essay has a distinct methodology to meet the purpose. In the first chapter, we evaluate the long-term effects of a reform of universal child care in Canada on children's health, motor and social development, and behaviour. We show that the policy had negative effects on preschool children's well-being, but these effects tend to disappear as the child gets older. We find that this pattern persist even ten years after the implementation of the reform. The second chapter focuses on the effect of the intensity of child care on preschool children's cognitive development using propensity score matching with multivalued treatments. We show that the effects of child care are significantly heterogeneous and vary by family socioeconomic status, schooling or not of the child, the intensity of child care and the type of child care arrangement. The third chapter models mathematics trajectories of Canadian children aged 7 to 15 years and identifies risk factors during early childhood on the membership of these trajectories using Group-Based Trajectory Modeling (Nagin, 2005). ; Cette thèse propose trois essais économétriques ayant trait au capital humain et au bien-être de l'enfant. Chacun des essais présente une méthodologie distincte afin de répondre à l'objectif concerné. Dans le premier chapitre, nous évaluons les effets à long terme d'une politique de services de garde universels au Canada sur le bien-être de l'enfant (santé, comportement, développement moteur et social). Nous montrons que la réforme a un effet négatif sur le bien-être des enfants d'âge préscolaire, mais ces effets tendent à disparaître lorsque l'enfant devient plus âgé. Nous trouvons que cette tendance persiste même dix ans après la mise en place de la réforme. Le second chapitre s'intéresse à l'effet de l'intensité des services de garde sur le développement cognitif des enfants d'âge préscolaire. Nous utilisons la méthode d'appariement à traitements multiples pour répondre à cet objectif. Nous montrons que les effets des services de garde sont grandement hétérogènes. Leurs effets varient selon le statut socioéconomique des familles, la scolarité ou non de l'enfant, le niveau d'intensité des services de garde ainsi que le mode de garde utilisé. Le troisième chapitre porte sur la modélisation des trajectoires des performances mathématiques des enfants canadiens de 7 à 15 ans ainsi que sur l'identification des facteurs de risque durant la petite enfance susceptibles d'influencer l'appartenance à ces trajectoires. La méthode utilisée est celle du Group-Based Trajectory Modeling de Nagin (2005).

The environmental education is an educational permanent process and systematic aimed at the integrated formation of the personality by taking into consideration the natural, socioeconomic, political and cultural factors, the education in its formative and instructive function takes an irreplaceable and necessary value in the school. The teaching of the English language offers possibilities of communication, interaction and culture for the attainment of this formation. In this work the author demonstrates how the environmental education encourages the process of teaching-learning of the English language for the advantages that it provides to the student by grouping the communicative forms per contexts and in a bilateral way this teaching contributes to the environmental education of the students of physical culture in the possibilities to research on the environmental topics of more concern so as to express ideas of the more competent possible form from the English language as a form of communication. This work takes part of a system of activities of learning to contribute to the environmental education from the English language that is found at present in the period of generalization in the faculties of physical culture of the country according the national meeting aggreement of the discipline Language in February of this year 2014. ; La educación ambiental es un proceso educativo permanente y sistemático dirigido a la formación integral de la personalidad teniendo en cuenta su relación con los factores naturales, socioeconómicos, políticos y culturales, la educación en su función formativa e instructiva cobra un valor insustituible y necesario en la escuela. La enseñanza del inglés brinda posibilidades de comunicación, interacción y cultura para el logro de esta formación. En este trabajo se demuestra cómo la educación ambiental perfecciona el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje del Inglés por las ventajas que brinda al aprendizaje del estudiante agrupando las formas comunicativas por contextos o ambientes y de forma bilateral esta enseñanza contribuye a la educación ambiental de los estudiantes de Cultura Física en las posibilidades de investigar sobre los temas ambientales que más los afecta y expresar ideas de la forma más competente posible desde el idioma Inglés como una forma de comunicación. Este trabajo forma parte de un sistema de actividades de aprendizaje para contribuir a la educación ambiental desde el Inglés que se encuentra actualmente en el período de generalización en la Facultades de Cultura Física del país como acuerdo de la Reunión Nacional del colectivo de Disciplina celebrado en febrero de este año 2014.

Abstract Background Much of the unskilled and semi-skilled workforce in Thailand comprises migrant workers from neighbouring countries. While, in principle, healthcare facilities in the host country are open to those migrants registered with the Ministry of Labour, their actual healthcare-seeking preferences and practices, as well as those of unregistered migrants, are not well documented. This study aimed to describe the patterns of healthcare-seeking behaviours of immigrant workers in Thailand, emphasizing healthcare practices for TB-suspicious symptoms, and to identify the role of occupation and other factors influencing these behaviours. Methods A survey was conducted among 614 immigrant factory workers (FW), rubber tappers (RT) and construction workers (CW), in which information was sought on socio-demography, history of illness and related healthcare-seeking behaviour. Mixed effects logistic regression modeling was employed in data analysis. Results Among all three occupations, self-medication was the most common way of dealing with illnesses, including the development of TB-suspicious symptoms, for which inappropriate drugs were used. Only for GI symptoms and obstetric problems did migrant workers commonly seek healthcare at modern healthcare facilities. For GI illness, FW preferred to attend the in-factory clinic and RT a private facility over government facilities owing to the quicker service and greater convenience. For RT, who were generally wealthier, the higher cost of private treatment was not a deterrent. CW preferentially chose a government healthcare facility for their GI problems. For obstetric problems, including delivery, government facilities were utilized by RT and CW, but most FW returned to their home country. After adjusting for confounding, having legal status in the country was associated with overall greater use of government facilities and being female and being married with use of both types of modern healthcare facility. One-year estimated period prevalence of TB-suspicious symptoms was around 6% among FW but around 27% and 30% in RT and CW respectively. However, CW were the least likely to visit a modern healthcare facility for these symptoms. Conclusions Self medication is the predominant mode of healthcare seeking among these migrant workers. When accessing a modern healthcare facility the choice is influenced by occupation and its attendant lifestyle and socioeconomic conditions. Utilization of modern facilities could be improved by reducing the current barriers by more complete registration coverage and better provision of healthcare information, in which local vendors of the same ethnicity could play a useful role. Active surveillance for TB among migrant workers, especially CW, may lead to better TB control.