1.  Peer Reviewed Title: The persistence of induced abortion in Cuba: exploring the notion of an "abortion culture". Author: Belanger D; Flynn A Source: Studies in Family Planning. 2009 Mar;40(1):13-26. Abstract: Cuba's annual induced abortion rate persistently ranks among the highest in the world, and abortion plays a prominent role in Cuban fertility regulation despite widespread contraceptive prevalence and state promotion of modern contraceptives. We explore this phenomenon using the concept of an "abortion culture," typically used in reference to Soviet and post-Soviet countries. We synthesize existing literature to provide a historical account of abortion and contraception in Cuba. We also provide a qualitative analysis of abortion and contraceptive use based on in-depth interviews conducted in 2005 in Havana with 24 women who have had an abortion and 10 men whose partners have had an abortion. Information gained from a focus-group discussion with medical professionals also informed the study. Our four principal findings are: (a) longstanding awareness of abortion, (b) the view of abortion as a personal decision, (c) the influence of economic constraints on the decision to induce an abortion, and (d) general skepticism toward contraceptives. We discuss our results on abortion in Cuba in relation to the notion of social diffusion, an approach commonly used to explain the spread of fertility control throughout a population. Language: English Keywords: CUBA | RESEARCH REPORT | KAP SURVEYS | FOCUS GROUPS | WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT | MEN | ABORTION RATE | CULTURE | COMMUNISM | PERCEPTION | ATTITUDES | KNOWLEDGE | MICROECONOMIC FACTORS | DECISION MAKING | CONTRACEPTIVE USAGE | Caribbean | Americas | Developing Countries | Surveys | Sampling Studies | Studies | Research Methodology | Data Collection | Economic Development | Economic Factors | Demographic Factors | Population | Fertility Control, Postconception | Family Planning | Sociocultural Factors | Socialism | Political Systems | Political Factors | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Contraception Document Number: 341079 |
| 2. Title: Prescribing in maternity care in Russia: the legacy of Soviet medicine. Author: Danichevski K; McKee M; Balabanova D Source: Health Policy. 2008 Feb;85(2):242-251. Abstract: Remarkably, there has been very little detailed research on clinical practice in Russia and its neighbours in what was the USSR, even though it is known that the USSR was isolated from many international developments, in particular evidence-based medicine. In this study we examine obstetric practice, an area of practice where there is an extensive body of evidence on the appropriateness of many interventions. The study is undertaken in Tula, a region 200 km south of Moscow. Building on earlier detailed analyses of data from the facilities in the region, it reports a series of structured interviews with 52 obstetricians from all 19 facilities in the region, designed to identify patterns of prescribing, supplemented by 36 more detailed re-interviews to explore reasons for the differing practices. The study demonstrates a widespread divergence from internationally accepted practice. Maternity care is extremely medicalised but many non-evidence based medicines are used. Some are heavily marketed by large pharmaceutical companies, some were widely used during the Soviet period but never evaluated, and a few are not known to be used anywhere else in the world. For several conditions, the most widely used drugs are clearly inferior to alternative products and some are used for indications quite different from those in other countries. This study contributes to the growing evidence that much of the care provided in Russian maternity units is ineffective or potentially dangerous but also begins to offer some explanations for why this is, including a lack of access to information and a lack of awareness of the concept of evidence-based practice. (author's) Language: English Keywords: RUSSIA | RESEARCH REPORT | INTERVIEWS | OBSTETRICS | HEALTH SERVICES | QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE | HEALTH SERVICES EVALUATION | PRESCRIPTIONS | EXAMINATIONS AND DIAGNOSES | COMMUNISM | SCIENCE | HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION | HEALTH POLICY | Asia, Northern | Asia | Developing Countries | Data Collection | Research Methodology | Medicine | Delivery of Health Care | Health | Program Evaluation | Programs | Organization and Administration | Distributional Activities | Program Activities | Medical Procedures | Socialism | Political Systems | Political Factors | Sociocultural Factors | Management | Policy Document Number: 314022 |
| 3. Title: Sex and security state: Gender, sexuality, and "subversion" at Brazil's Escola Superior de Guerra, 1964 -- 1985. Author: Cowan B Source: Journal of the History of Sexuality. 2007 Sep;16(3):459-481. Abstract: This essay seeks to illuminate a fragment of that larger picture, exploring the ways that ESG thinkers in the 1960s and 1970s lent conceptual shape to national security threats as sexual and gendered attacks on an ideally anticommunist Brazil. Initial (i.e., 1950s and early 1960s) ESG preoccupations revolved around international communism's capacity for inciting national disorder, a rather general concept often described in terms of territorial, political, social, and even corporeal "disintegration" (desintegracao), "disaggregation" (desagregacao), or "dissolution" (dissolucao). As the years wore on, however, fresh and more specific concerns complicated and elaborated the ordem-obsessed paranoias of the ESG's first decade. Internal enemies began to dominate ESG anxieties, and terms like "subversion" (subversao) and "revolutionary warfare" (guerra revolucionaria, an official ESG schematic for covert, communist-inspired, physical, and psychological warfare) became constants in an increasingly alarmist discourse. These ever-invoked specters gradually gained conceptual substance, and the desintegracao central to earlier discussions took on a crucial sexual - and sexually threatened - component. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: BRAZIL | HISTORICAL REVIEW | YOUTH | MILITARY PERSONNEL | NATIONAL SECURITY | GENDER ISSUES | SEXUALITY | COMMUNISM | DRUG USE AND ABUSE | POLITICAL FACTORS | SOCIAL CHANGE | South America, Eastern | South America | Latin America | Americas | Developing Countries | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Government | Sociocultural Factors | Personality | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Socialism | Political Systems Document Number: 323719 |
| 4. Title: Special report on Poland: Exorcising the past, imperiling the future. Author: Crossette B Source: Conscience. 2007;27(4):[13] p. Abstract: In the Autumn of 2005, not long after one of the most conservative parties in Poland unexpectedly emerged from an election with enough legislative seats to form a right-wing coalition government, some like-minded Polish members of the European Parliament mounted an exhibition at a parliamentary building in Strasbourg. The show was called, innocently, "Life and Children in Europe," but it was shocking. Most distressing to some who saw it were photographs of children in Nazi concentration camps juxtaposed with images of fetuses and a damning quote from Mother Teresa, an implacable foe of abortion until her death. The link between abortion and the crimes of Hitler was obvious. Ana Gomes, an outspoken Portuguese Socialist member of the European Parliament (MEP), went with two Belgian colleagues to the exhibition, determined to remove several particularly offending panels. In an e-mail exchange in August 2006, Gomes said, "They tried to equate women who abort with Nazi crimes. Two colleagues and I decided to go into action." A scuffle ensued, and the relevant parliamentary committee was called in to settle it. The peacemaker, a Socialist MEP from Poland, ordered the controversial panels removed. "She was savaged in the Polish media," Gomes recalled. "We had to give interviews all over to support her." Months of campaigning followed by Poland's new government, which engaged battles that Western Europe thought had long ago been won by voices of moderation. Poles would call for, among other things, the restoration of the death penalty, an end to support for stem cell research and no movement on strengthening gay rights at a European level. To Krzysztof Bobinski, director of the Warsaw-based pro-European Union foundation Unia i Polska (the Union and Poland), it seemed the European Union's largest new member was choosing to move in an opposite direction on social issues from the "old" E.U. "I think we went into the period of freedom after 1989 with a kind of liberal consensus -- liberal in terms of free-market economics and also liberal in terms of morals and manners," Bobinski said during an interview in Warsaw during September 2006. In 1989, a relatively open election in Poland led the way to the collapse of single-party communist rule across Central and Eastern Europe. Nearly two decades later, Bobinski said, the current government and Poland's powerful Roman Catholic church may not be signaling the early death of liberal Poland, "but there hasn't been an attempt made like this since 1989." (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: POLAND | EUROPEAN UNION | CRITIQUE | PRO-CHOICE GROUPS | YOUTH | CONSERVATISM | CATHOLICISM | ABORTION LAW | COMMUNISM | HUMAN RIGHTS | CONTRACEPTION | Europe, Central | Europe | Developing Countries | Organizations | Political Factors | Sociocultural Factors | Interest Groups | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Christianity | Religion | Fertility Control, Postconception | Family Planning | Socialism | Political Systems Document Number: 310153 Notification |
| 5. Title: Cuban intervention in South African health care service provision. Author: Hammett D Source: Journal of Southern African Studies. 2007 Mar;33(1):63-81. Abstract: This article considers the reasons for, and implications of, Cuban development assistance being provided to the South African health care system. The provision of skilled Cuban doctors to South Africa has been a feature of post-apartheid health care services. Under a series of bilateral agreements, over 450 Cuban doctors have taken placements in South Africa and over 250 South African medical students have undergone training in Cuba. The economic, political and symbolic incentives for this co-operation for both parties are considered against the costs incurred. Drawing upon historical links between the ANC and the Communist government in Cuba, this agreement provides both states with much-needed resources. It is shown that whilst short- to medium-term benefits outweigh the costs to both parties, questions remain over its sustainability. South Africa is drawing upon Cuban expertise in health care services to mitigate its shortage of health care staff whilst providing financial and symbolic capital to an anti-apartheid ally. In the long term, concerns exist over the sustainability of this agreement in a post-Castro Cuba, as well as restrictions on families accompanying doctors traveling to South Africa, and recent rulings over the possibility for Cuban doctors to remain in South Africa beyond their initial contract. (author's) Language: English Keywords: SOUTH AFRICA | CUBA | SUMMARY REPORT | PHYSICIANS | BRAIN DRAIN | PRIMARY HEALTH CARE | HEALTH SERVICES | INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION | COMMUNISM | INTERVENTIONS | GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS | Africa, Southern | Africa, Sub Saharan | Africa | Developing Countries | Caribbean | Americas | Health Personnel | Delivery of Health Care | Health | Migration | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Socialism | Political Systems | Political Factors | Sociocultural Factors | Programs | Organization and Administration Document Number: 317108 |
| 6. Peer Reviewed Title: The effect of unusual social experience on the global health of North Korean asylum seekers. Author: Kim DS; Cho Y; Moon OR Source: Public Health. 2007 Apr;121(4):287-295. Abstract: Objectives: This study examined the risk factors associated with a negative self-rating of subjective health among North Korean asylum seekers, paying particular attention to the unusual social experiences of this population. Study design: This study utilized the North Korean Health Care System Data Set (NKHCS). This data set is comprised of information on 221 North Korean asylum seekers (aged 20 years and over) who were housed in Hanawon, a South Korean government facility. We specifically examined the effect of three separate risk factors (major country of residence after exiting North Korea, duration of stay in country, and whom they were accompanied by during their migration event) associated with the unusual social experiences of North Korean asylum seekers on their global health. Methods: Multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out in order to assess the consistency and validity of extant hypotheses and general expectations. Results: North Korean asylum seekers who entered South Korea within one year of their defection or were accompanied by non-family members tended to negatively self-report their health status. However, major intermediate country of residence after exiting North Korea showed no effect. Higher educational attainment and membership of the Labour Party of North Korea were negatively associated with the global health of this population, though this was not statistically significant. Conclusions: We found that the unusual social experiences of North Korean asylum seekers, particularly intermediate country duration and companionship characteristics, were significantly associated with their health. Future studies need to examine the relationship between diverse social experiences during residence in intermediate countries and the health of this population. (author's) Language: English Keywords: DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA | RESEARCH REPORT | EPIDEMIOLOGIC METHODS | MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS | REFUGEES | RISK FACTORS | SELF-PERCEPTION | DOMICILE | TIME FACTORS | EDUCATIONAL STATUS | COMMUNISM | Asia, Eastern | Asia | Developing Countries | Research Methodology | Data Analysis | Migrants | Migration | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Biology | Perception | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Residence Characteristics | Population Distribution | Geographic Factors | Socioeconomic Status | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Socialism | Political Systems | Political Factors | Sociocultural Factors Document Number: 313299 |
| 7. Peer Reviewed Title: Democracy in Eastern Europe: Women's way? Author: Lokar S Source: Development. 2007;50(1):110-116. Abstract: Sonja Lokar describes the process of women's mobilization in Central and Southern Eastern Europe after the fall of communism. She divides this process into three stages: withdrawal into private strategies of survival, NGO phase and transformative politics. Most advances were achieved through institutionalized partnership of regionally connected new nation wide women's movements within the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. (author's) Language: English Keywords: EUROPE, EASTERN | CRITIQUE | WOMEN | WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT | COMMUNISM | DEMOCRACY | GENDER ISSUES | POLITICAL FACTORS | NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS | GOVERNMENT | SOCIAL CHANGE | FEMINISM | Developing Countries | Europe | Demographic Factors | Population | Women's Status | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Socialism | Political Systems | Sociocultural Factors | Organizations Document Number: 317535 |
| 8. Title: Gender and state in post-communist societies: Introduction. Author: Mahon R; Williams F Source: Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society. 2007 Fall;14(3):281-283. Abstract: This issue focuses on gender, state, and society and the dynamics of change in the post-communist era. Like other variants of historical institutionalism, welfare regime theory has stressed the path-dependent character of change but admits the possibility that "major shocks" may open new trajectories. As Esping-Andersen himself recognized, the stresses and strains of transition have rendered post-communist societies a veritable "laboratory of experimentation." A key question is what has been the direction of change? Have these post-communist states favoured neo-liberalism, bringing in train the commodification of women similar to the pattern found in Canada and the United States, or have they been drawn to the more egalitarian gender regime emergent in the European Union? There is a third possibility - variously labeled maternalism, re-familialization, or neofamilialism - all of which entail inducement for women to embrace the role of domestic caregiver. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | CANADA | EUROPE | LITERATURE REVIEW | EVENT HISTORY ANALYSIS | COMMUNISM | GENDER ISSUES | GOVERNMENT | CHANGES | POLITICAL FACTORS | POLICY | FEMINISM | CHILD CARE | Developed Countries | North America | Americas | North America, Northern | Demographic Analysis | Research Methodology | Socialism | Political Systems | Sociocultural Factors | Social Change | Child Rearing | Behavior Document Number: 320884 |
| 9. Title: Tackling infectious disease in Cuba. Author: Sansom C Source: Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2007 Jun;7(6):376. Abstract: Cuban doctors often make bold claims about the efficacy of their country's health-care system. Gustavo Kouri, director of a Havana institute of tropical medicine, Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Pedro Kouri" (IPK), recently told TLID that "infectious diseases are no longer a public-health problem in Cuba". To some extent these claims are borne out by the statistics. The last recorded case of measles in Cuba, according to WHO, occurred in 1995, and in 2005 no cases of diphtheria, polio, tetanus, rubella, or yellow fever were recorded. HIV infections are extremely low, at less than 0.05% of the population, and all Cuban adults in need of antiretroviral treatment now receive it. All this has been achieved, however, with very limited resources. According to WHO, Cuba's miniscule yearly health expenditure of US$251 per capita is only slightly more than 10% of the UK's. It is, no doubt, easier to control infectious disease on an island, with a relatively small, isolated population. However, Cuba also benefits from an extensive vaccination programme. Pedro Lopez Saura of the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) in Havana, described Cuban children as being "among the most vaccinated in the world". He told TLID that they are offered 13 different vaccines, including a tetravalent vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and hepatitis B that was only registered in 2004; compliance is almost 100%. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: CUBA | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | CRITIQUE | POLICYMAKERS | COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL | VACCINATION | VACCINES | RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT | GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS | COMMUNISM | HEALTH POLICY | POLITICAL FACTORS | PUBLIC HEALTH | Developing Countries | Caribbean | Americas | Developed Countries | North America | Administrative Personnel | Organization and Administration | Health Services | Delivery of Health Care | Health | Immunization | Primary Health Care | Medical Procedures | Medicine | Technology | Economic Factors | Programs | Socialism | Political Systems | Sociocultural Factors | Policy Document Number: 317196 |
| 10. Title: The tsunami's windfall: Women and aid distribution. Author: Armstrong E Source: Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism. 2006;7(1):183-190. Abstract: On January 15, 2005, three weeks after the Tsunami, I visited relief camps in and around North Chennai, India, with the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), which was in the process of assessing damage and reconstruction needs. AIDWA, a national organization with 450,000 members in the state of Tamil Nadu alone, was able to provide its services in the immediate aftermath of the disaster in a highly coordinated effort across the coastal areas of the state. On the very day that the tsunami hit, December 26, AIDWA activists had already begun to visit hospitals, towns, and villages to help people. Their fundamental goal to help others simply survive was evident in the city of Nagapattinam, in the Thirukkadaiyur area, where a large group of refugees from local areas had gathered for safety from the flood waters. When local officials could not agree what to do with the sudden influx of destitute people, two AIDWA activists broke the lock of a public school and opened the door to the survivors. They then mobilized their city members to collect over 800 pounds of rice to feed the refugees. January 15 was the last day of Pongal, a harvest festival in Tamil Nadu in which rice is boiled with milk until it overflows. The ritual symbolizes community hopes for a year of plenty, but in the wake of the avalanche of aid for tsunami victims, it appeared to also represent another kind of plenty: individual greed and official corruption in the distribution of resources. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: INDIA | CRITIQUE | EVALUATION | WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT | GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS | NATURAL DISASTERS | COMMUNISM | ADVOCACY | ISLAM | HINDUISM | FOREIGN AID | SOCIAL MOBILIZATION | SEX DISCRIMINATION | WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT | POLITICAL FACTORS | Developing Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Economic Development | Economic Factors | Administrative Personnel | Organization and Administration | Environment | Socialism | Political Systems | Sociocultural Factors | Communication | Religion | Financial Activities | Social Change | Social Discrimination | Social Problems | Women's Status | Socioeconomic Factors Document Number: 312124 |
| 11. Title: An economic examination of the post-transition fertility decline in Russia. Author: Grogan L Source: Post-Communist Economies. 2006 Dec;18(4):363-397. Abstract: This article uses longitudinal household data to examine the decline in the Total Fertility Rate in Russia from 2.0 in 1989 to 1.3 in 2001. Using individual and community-level panel data spanning the 1994-2001 era, the decline in household income can account for about a 28% decline in yearly birth propensities amongst married couples. The relationship between educational attainment and fertility appears to have changed markedly in the post-Soviet era. More educated individuals now have greater propensities to bear children than their vocationally educated counterparts within marriage. Female labour force participation is not strongly associated with fertility decisions of married women in the post-Soviet era, and local provisions for children also do not have important effects. These results suggest that improving real family incomes will be more important in raising fertility rates than improving child benefits levels or increasing community childcare provisions. (author's) Language: English Keywords: RUSSIA | RESEARCH REPORT | DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEYS | POPULATION | FERTILITY DECLINE | COMMUNISM | ECONOMIC FACTORS | INCOME | EDUCATIONAL STATUS | FERTILITY DETERMINANTS | CHILD CARE | DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION | Developing Countries | Asia, Northern | Asia | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Fertility Changes | Fertility | Socialism | Political Systems | Political Factors | Sociocultural Factors | Socioeconomic Factors | Socioeconomic Status | Child Rearing | Behavior Document Number: 314743 |
| 12. Title: Child care in Poland before, during, and after the transition: Still a women's business. Author: Heinen J; Wator M Source: Social Politics. 2006 Summer;13(2):189-216. Abstract: This article gives a historical overview of changes in child care policies in Poland and analyzes their influence on gender equality/ inequality over the last period. Under the Communist regime, these policies were subordinated to economic interests and characterized by contradictory trends. The measures enforced during this period in the field of public child care facilities and of child care leave reveal that, despite a progressive constitution, Polish women were treated as second-class citizens. However, even a market economy and massive privatizations have reinforced this trend. Women are still seen primarily as mothers and suffer discrimination in the labor market. In order to meet the conditions of integration into the European Union, a more egalitarian framework was adopted, but at the same time, the Polish state made drastic cuts in welfare expenditures. Thus, the family allowances look more like a "safety net" for the poorest than a real family-policy system. Collective care institutions progressively disappear: today, they cover only 2 percent of children under the age of three. This affects women first of all, as they are held responsible for taking care of children. The weight of the Church and the traditional point of view concerning women's place in society brake any movement of emancipation, and most women still consider that their main duty lies in their role as mothers. (author's) Language: English Keywords: POLAND | HISTORICAL REVIEW | CHILDREN | WOMEN | CHILD CARE | GENDER ISSUES | INEQUALITIES | COMMUNISM | SOCIAL CHANGE | CAPITALISM | SOCIAL PROTECTION | SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS | Developing Countries | Europe, Central | Europe | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Child Rearing | Behavior | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Socialism | Political Systems | Political Factors Document Number: 315992 |
13.  Title: AIDS and social policy in China. Author: Kaufman J; Kleinman A; Saich T Source: Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Asia Center, 2006. [290] p. (Asia Public Policy Series) Abstract: The chapters in this volume contain important recommendations for improving China's AIDS response. A key theme of many chapters is the crucial need to collect and incorporate more social science data into modeling the trajectory of China's epidemic and planning the response. Better surveillance and monitoring of epidemic trends-both in the general population and among vulnerable groups like youth, migrants, businessmen, and their spouses-is also needed to improve risk reduction efforts. A "policy research" group should be established to pull together studies and data from multiple sources to provide improved analysis and recommendations to policy makers. Because so few HIV-infected persons in China are aware of their infections, new approaches to population-based testing, beyond traditional VCT programs, are needed to identify more HIV-infected persons and thus make a dent in disease transmission. Stigma and fear of discrimination continue to impede uptake of testing, counseling, and treatment, and despite national-level antidiscrimination legislation, local implementation is weak. These policies must be enforced and the public educated to encourage more persons to come forward for testing. And China's AIDS treatment program, laudable for its rapid rollout and for the number of patients now on ART, requires significant and urgent changes if global drug resistance is to be averted. Concern about patent protection and affordability of drug regimens has resulted in substandard drug regimens, insufficient compliance, and the probability that multi-drug-resistant HIV will emerge. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: CHINA | CRITIQUE | EVALUATION | POLICYMAKERS | IV DRUG USERS | SOCIAL POLICY | HEALTH POLICY | POLICY DEVELOPMENT | HIV PREVENTION | NEEDLE SHARING | SEX BEHAVIOR | TREATMENT | AIDS PREVENTION | INTEGRATED PROGRAMS | COMMUNISM | Asia, Eastern | Asia | Developing Countries | Administrative Personnel | Organization and Administration | Drug Use and Abuse | Behavior | Policy | Political Factors | Sociocultural Factors | Planning | HIV Infections | Viral Diseases | Diseases | Risk Behavior | Medical Procedures | Medicine | Health Services | Delivery of Health Care | Health | AIDS | Programs | Socialism | Political Systems Document Number: 325127 |
| 14. Title: Introduction: Perspectives on child care, east and west. Author: Michel S Source: Social Politics. 2006 Summer;13(2):145-150. Abstract: Child care is perhaps the most protean of social policies, taking a variety of forms and being amenable to numerous rationales. Provisions can be justified in the name of gender equality, child development, welfare reform, labor market needs, or demographic crisis, and can take the form of anything from universal, state-subsidized child care centers to day-care mothers to privately employed nannies. These wide variations present a challenge to scholars, making it difficult to track and especially to compare child care policies over time and across cases. Scholars have tried (and often found wanting) several different typologies, ranging from Gřsta Esping-Andersen's welfare state regimes (1990) to Rianne Mahon's (2002) models for current welfare state redesign in Europe. Feminists have, of course, criticized Esping-Andersen for ignoring gender, but they have also discovered that, even when gender is built in, his three types cannot account for variations in policies toward women among cases within specific regimes. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: EUROPE | CRITIQUE | CHILDREN | CHILD CARE | SOCIAL POLICY | SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS | POLITICAL FACTORS | COMMUNISM | DEMOCRACY | RELIGIOUS ASPECTS | Developed Countries | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Child Rearing | Behavior | Policy | Socialism | Political Systems | Religion Document Number: 315990 |
| 15. Peer Reviewed Title: Cambodia's fight against malaria. Author: Chatterjee P Source: Lancet. 2005 Jul 16;366(9481):191-192. Abstract: Those unfamiliar with Cambodia’s health-care system may wonder why U K Phirum chose to set up a pharmacy- cum-clinic opposite the government health centre in Trapeaugreang village, Kampot province, southern Cambodia. But patients come knocking at his door at all hours, says Phirum, precisely because he is right across the road from the health centre. Kampot boasts the best pepper, salt, seafood, and fish sauce in Cambodia. But there is a less savoury side to this province bordering Vietnam: it is one of several areas in the country with high local transmission of malaria. Many of those who knock on Phirum’s door need early diagnosis and appropriate treatment for this parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Phirum, once an assistant to a medical practitioner, charges 50 cents for Malacheck—a rapid diagnostic test that detects Plasmodium falciparum malaria—and US$2 for Malarine, a 3- day prepackaged malaria treatment combining artesunate and mefloquine, the current regimen recommended by WHO and Cambodia’s National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology, and Malaria Control (CNM). Population Services International (Cambodia) sells both at subsidised rates. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: CAMBODIA | CRITIQUE | EVALUATION | TARGET POPULATION | MALARIA PREVENTION | FORESTS | COMMUNISM | PARASITE CONTROL | PROGRAM ACCESSIBILITY | UTILIZATION OF HEALTH CARE | NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES | PRIVATE SECTOR | COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES | Asia, Southeastern | Asia | Developing Countries | Program Design | Programs | Organization and Administration | Malaria | Parasitic Diseases | Diseases | Natural Resources | Environment | Socialism | Political Systems | Public Health | Health | Program Evaluation | Health Services | Delivery of Health Care | Macroeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Primary Health Care Document Number: 291378 |
| 16. Title: Welfare capitalism after communism: labor weakness and post-communist social policies. Author: Crowley S Source: In: Becoming global and the new poverty of cities, edited by Lisa M. Hanley, Blair A. Ruble and Joseph S. Tulchin. Washington, D.C., Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Comparative Urban Studies Project, 2005. :139-164. (USAID Cooperative Agreement No. GEW-A-00-02-00023-00) Abstract: This chapter will proceed as follows. The first section will examine the impact of labor on the development of the welfare state, particularly in Europe. It will argue that the power of labor was central to the rise of the welfare state. While during the current era of retrenchment labor has been somewhat eclipsed by other actors, labor remains central to the determination of whether welfare states evolve in the direction of continental Europe or towards more liberal regimes. The second section will examine the relative strength or weakness of labor in Eastern Europe, concluding that labor is indeed a significantly weak social and political actor. The third and final section will explore the implications of this weakness on the shape and trajectory of the post-communist welfare state. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: EUROPE, WESTERN | EUROPE, CENTRAL | EUROPE, EASTERN | ASIA, CENTRAL | CRITIQUE | LABOR FORCE | POVERTY | SOCIAL POLICY | SOCIAL SECURITY | CAPITALISM | COMMUNISM | ECONOMIC FACTORS | Europe | Developed Countries | Developing Countries | Asia | Human Resources | Socioeconomic Factors | Policy | Political Factors | Sociocultural Factors | Government Financing | Financial Activities | Political Systems | Socialism Document Number: 305446 |
| 17. Peer Reviewed Title: The Maltho-Marxian hypothesis 'economics controls population': a test and a projection. Author: MacIntyre F Source: Population Review. 2005;44(2):[24] p.. Abstract: Malthus and Marx held that population was controlled by economics. Malthus believed there were environmental constraints on the supportable population; Marx felt that human ingenuity would overcome all limits to growth. Neither had supporting data. The US Census reveals an intermediate position in which the supportable limit increases exponentially (faster than Malthus expected) but at 1/4 the rate of unfettered human reproduction (slower than Marx expected). Its rate offers an independent estimate of effective economic growth. A brief and sharp-cornered excursion from the resulting theoretical line forms a nearly perfect Gaussian dip, with the Depression on the down side and the Baby Boom on the other. A related analysis shows that the world population is well fitted by a 'Pimentel logistic' stabilizing at 2-3 billion after an 'oil-supported' Gaussian bulge. This approach explains the Doomsday hyperbola, and also what allows us to avoid its singularity. (author's) Language: English Keywords: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | LITERATURE REVIEW | RESEARCH REPORT | LOGISTIC MODEL | THEORETICAL MODELS | CENSUS | ECONOMIC FACTORS | POPULATION DYNAMICS | POPULATION PROJECTION | MALTHUSIANISM | MARXISM | Developed Countries | North America | Americas | Mathematical Model | Research Methodology | Population Statistics | Demographic Factors | Population | Estimation Techniques | Population Theory | Demography | Social Sciences | Science | Sociocultural Factors | Socialism | Political Systems | Political Factors Document Number: 297135 |
| 18. Title: Environmental stress and demographic change in Nepal; Underlying conditions contributing to a decade of insurgency. Author: Matthew R; Upreti BR Source: In: Environmental Change and Security Program Report. Issue 11, [compiled by] Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Environmental Change and Security Program. Washington, D.C., Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Environmental Change and Security Program, 2005. :29-39. Abstract: In this article, we review the broad dynamics of Nepal's current civil conflict. We argue that environmental stress and population factors have played significant roles in creating the underlying conditions for acute insecurity and instability. Through a brief case study of the Koshi Tappu Wetland area, we show that this situation is evident not just in the Maoist strongholds of western Nepal, but even in remote areas of the east, thus encircling the capital region. We conclude that it will be difficult to resolve the conflict unless the underlying demographic and environmental conditions receive more attention than they have to date. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: NEPAL | CRITIQUE | HISTORICAL REVIEW | DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS | POPULATION | DEMOGRAPHIC IMPACT | WAR | DEMOCRACY | COMMUNISM | STRESS | ENVIRONMENT | DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS | POLITICAL FACTORS | SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS | Developing Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Research Methodology | Population Dynamics | Sociocultural Factors | Political Systems | Socialism | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Economic Factors Document Number: 325129 |
| 19. Title: Generations and motivations: Russian and other former Soviet immigrants in Costa Rica. Author: Rodriguez L; Cohen JH Source: International Migration. 2005;43(4):147-165. Abstract: In this paper, we examine the role that social networks have played in the migration and settlement of Russian and other former Soviet immigrants to Costa Rica. This group of immigrants is of particular interest in that it is an example of migration from a former communist nation to a Third World country, not to the first world (Europe or the United States). Furthermore, a group of Soviet women who married Costa Rican men beginning in the late 1970s set this migration in motion. The objective of our research was to examine the structure and meaning of these immigrants' social networks, and the role that they play in the migration process and during settlement. The findings suggest there is a significant difference in the form and function of the social networks of those immigrants who arrived prior to 1991 (during the Soviet era), and those who came post-1991 and following the collapse of the Soviet Union. (author's) Language: English Keywords: COSTA RICA | RUSSIA | RESEARCH REPORT | SURVEYS | IMMIGRANTS | SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT | SOCIAL NETWORKS | INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION | SETTLEMENT AND RESETTLEMENT | COMMUNISM | ETHNIC GROUPS | Developing Countries | Central America | Latin America | Americas | Asia, Northern | Asia | Sampling Studies | Studies | Research Methodology | Migrants | Migration | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Social Behavior | Behavior | Friends and Relatives | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Socialism | Political Systems | Political Factors | Cultural Background | Population Characteristics Document Number: 302420 |
| 20. Title: Migration and ethnicity in Albania: synergies and interdependencies. Author: Barjarba K Source: Brown Journal of World Affairs. 2004 Summer-Fall;11(1):231-239. Abstract: The emphasis on ethnicity in the Balkans has proven to be a politically divisive force. Identifies fueled by labels of ethnic, ethno-cultural, and ethno-linguistic have historically been associated with periods of conflict and war in the region, and a strong sense of ethnocentrism, isolation, and xenophobia emerges amongst the peninsula's inhabitants. These various divisions derive from the ethnic compositions of the populations and the nature of states in the region, as well as from the peninsula's historical role and Byzantine heritage. The politics of ethnic identity is one of the most important factors in determining the future developments in the Balkans, a region which consists of a mixture of populations, ethnic groups, and state territories. In the case Albania, however, the ethnic divisions, despite their historical significance, are in fact more virtual than real. Among the general populace, ethnicity plays a minor role; however, in recent years politicos and religious leaders have made ethnicity a political issue to leverage their own political power. While the term "ethnicity" carries for the West a cultural-political connotation, in the Balkans and Albania, where governments have failed to adjust to "the rising tide of cultural pluralism," ethnicity has a taken on a singularly political tone. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: ALBANIA | GREECE | CRITIQUE | EVALUATION | MIGRANTS | ETHNIC GROUPS | LABOR MIGRATION | MINORITY GROUPS | INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION | RELIGIOUS ASPECTS | COMMUNISM | INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION | POLITICAL FACTORS | VOTING | Europe, Southeastern | Europe | Developing Countries | Developed Countries | Europe, Southern | Migration | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Cultural Background | Population Characteristics | Religion | Socialism | Political Systems Document Number: 289259 |
| 21. Title: Promising and contested fields: Women's studies and sociology of women / gender in contemporary China. Author: Chow EN; Zhang N; Wang J Source: Gender and Society. 2004 Apr;18(2):161-188. Abstract: This article is a review of the rise and development of women's studies and the sociology of women/gender, two interrelated academic fields in China. Informed by the sociology of knowledge, the authors analyze how historical and sociopolitical factors such as the legacy of Marxism, state/party control, economic reform, political upheavals, local conditions, and global influences have greatly shaped what and how women's and gender issues are studied and the resultant characteristics and knowledge production of the two fields in China. Specifically, the authors examine the dynamic process of knowledge development in sociology of women/gender in terms of its academic positioning, standpoint, content, research methodology, curriculum transformation, and teaching in China. Finally, the authors demonstrate how the characteristics and issues shared by the two fields have evolved in a dynamic interplay between Chinese Marxism and feminism. (author's) Language: English Keywords: CHINA | LITERATURE REVIEW | EVALUATION | WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT | SOCIOLOGY | GENDER ISSUES | KNOWLEDGE | WOMEN'S STATUS | MARXISM | POLITICAL FACTORS | Asia, Eastern | Asia | Developing Countries | Economic Development | Economic Factors | Social Sciences | Socioeconomic Factors | Socialism | Political Systems Document Number: 284129 |
| 22. Title: The women's movement in Bulgaria in a life story. Author: Daskalova K Source: Women's History Review. 2004;13(1):91-103. Abstract: This article is a first attempt to research the activity of Dimitrana Ivanova, one of the most prominent Bulgarian feminists and, for almost two decades, chairwoman of the major feminist organisation in the country, the Bulgarian Women's Union (founded in 1901). It explores the social conditions of her life and provides a perspective for the understanding of gender relations in modern Bulgarian history. The article highlights the key issues that were addressed by the women's movement in Bulgaria as well as the international context in which Bulgarian feminism was situated. (author's) Language: English Keywords: BULGARIA | HISTORICAL REVIEW | CASE STUDIES | WOMEN'S GROUPS | FEMINISM | LEADERSHIP | INEQUALITIES | POLITICAL FACTORS | EDUCATION | PATRIARCHY | LEGISLATION | COMMUNISM | Europe, Southeastern | Europe | Developing Countries | Studies | Research Methodology | Interest Groups | Organization and Administration | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Socialism | Political Systems Document Number: 287222 |
| 23. Title: The intimacy of terror: gender and the violence of 1965-66 in Bali. Author: Dwyer L Source: Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context. 2004 Aug;(10):[18] p.. Abstract: Studies of violence and its aftermath have repeatedly shown that traumatic experiences may lead to radical shifts in processes of speaking, meaning-making, remembering and living with memory. The psychic imprints of terror, its destabilisation of social and cultural forms, and the shadows of fear it casts over political landscapes render the languages used to articulate violence ambivalent, shifting and even treacherous. Such insights sit poorly, however, with the frameworks through which traumatic memory is often expected to be expressed in post-conflict public domains. Truth commissions and tribunals, witness and testimony, journalism, fact-finding, history, activism and anthropology all depend--albeit in different ways and to varying extents--on the presumption that straightforward narratives of 'what really happened' are available for communication. The social effects of violence and the realist discourses deployed to address them are thus often discontinuous, with programs of reconciliation or recovery or social repair faced with more complex cultural forms than may be recognised. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: INDONESIA | CRITIQUE | MILITARY PERSONNEL | VIOLENCE | VIOLENT DEATHS | GENDER ISSUES | PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS | COMMUNISM | FEAR | POLITICAL FACTORS | CULTURE | Asia, Southeastern | Asia | Developing Countries | Government | Sociocultural Factors | Behavior | Mortality | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Socialism | Political Systems | Emotions | Psychological Factors Document Number: 299230 |
| 24. Title: Stalinist identity from the viewpoint of gender: rearing a generation of professionally violent women-fighters in 1930s stalinist Russia. Author: Krylova A Source: Gender and History. 2004 Nov;16(3):626-653. Abstract: I will start my investigation with an analysis of the work of gender in Stalinist representations of war and in mass mobilisation campaigns of the 1930s. From the space of Soviet press and literature, I will derive an image of a militarised young woman presented by journalists and writers as capable of using rifles and flying planes as well as her male contemporaries. I will discuss the psychological difficulties of directly articulating in the Soviet press the woman's right to war and violence. The journalistic suggestion of male and female equal military excellence did not automatically translate into the next logical step - granting young women the right to fight. I trace the transition from a public discourse that implied women's compatibility with military action to a discourse that directly stated women's option to fight through Soviet press, literature, young women's letters to the Soviet press and their autobiographical sketches and novels. The lives of women military pilots will constitute the last site of my analysis of the rise of Soviet militarized and professionally violent women. A note on sources is due here. A significant portion of articles, novels and autobiographical sketches used in the article were published in the 1930s. Their very presence in the official public realm of the 1930s and implicit official approval are of crucial importance for the agenda pursued in the article. I treat my sources as different aspects of Stalinist official culture, and it is through them that I trace the gradual articulation and recognition of the radical vision of Soviet femininity in Stalinist culture. Thus, I am more concerned here with the unprecedented radicalism of the gender-bending statement and individual women's lives that were given space in the Stalinist print medium than with the views and facts that were silenced or censored. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: USSR | HISTORICAL REVIEW | MILITARY PERSONNEL | WOMEN | WAR | VIOLENCE | GENDER ISSUES | FEMALE ROLE | COMMUNISM | SOCIAL MOBILIZATION | CAMPAIGNS | Developing Countries | Government | Political Factors | Sociocultural Factors | Demographic Factors | Population | Behavior | Social Behavior | Socialism | Political Systems | Social Change | Communication Programs | Communication Document Number: 299058 |
| 25. Title: Liberal despotism: population planning, subjectivity, and government in contemporary China. Author: Sigley G Source: Aternatives. 2004;29:557-575. Abstract: This article examines how governmentality studies and recent analyses of authoritarian modes of government both within liberal and nonliberal societies might relate to the study of the arts of government in contemporary China. The article takes as its primary focus of analysis recent developments in China's population-planning program. This program is an exemplary instance of the complexities of government and subjectively in China insofar as it highlights how important aspects of the relationship between the state and the population have been conceived within Chinese governmental reasoning during the Maoist and Dengist eras and how, in the new circumstances of the market economy, that relationship is undergoing a process of conceptual and institutional reconfiguration. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: CHINA | CRITIQUE | GOVERNMENT | POPULATION PROGRAMS | POPULATION POLICY | COMMUNISM | LIBERALISM | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT | Asia, Eastern | Asia | Developing Countries | Political Factors | Sociocultural Factors | Population Control | Social Policy | Policy | Socialism | Political Systems | Economic Factors Document Number: 298511 |
| 26. Peer Reviewed Title: Impact of long-term political conflict on population health in Nepal. Author: Singh S Source: CMAJ. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2004 Dec 7;171(2):1499-1501. Abstract: Nepal is a small Himalayan kingdom sandwiched between India and China. With a population of 25 million, of whom 90% live in rural areas, it ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world. In 2001 Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP) was US$236 per capita, and nearly two-fifths of the population lived on less than a dollar a day. The socioeconomic situation has been worsening since 1996 under the stress of frequent natural disasters and political conflict. In 1990 Nepal switched from monarchic rule to multi-party democracy, raising hopes for an economic revival. But this did not happen. Six years later the Communist Party of Nepal (CNP) launched the Maoist movement, mostly in response to the failure of the government to improve living conditions in the rural parts of the country. That conflict has now spread to most of the 75 provinces — including the capital, Katmandu — and has so far claimed almost 20 000 lives. It has disrupted all aspects of Nepalese life, including its fragile health care system. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: NEPAL | RURAL POPULATION | POPULATION PRESSURE | POVERTY | OBSTACLES | POLITICAL FACTORS | HEALTH SERVICES | DEATH RATE | COMMUNISM | Developing Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Carrying Capacity | Natural Resources | Environment | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Organization and Administration | Delivery of Health Care | Health | Mortality | Population Dynamics | Socialism | Political Systems Document Number: 279400 |
| 27. Peer Reviewed Title: Resources, fertility, and parental investment in Mao's China. Author: Ting TF Source: Population and Environment. 2004 Mar;25(4):281-297. Abstract: During the first three decades of the People’s Republic of China, income differences across social classes were compressed. Formal education was not an important determinant of personal income. In this study, there was no difference in income between white-collar and blue-collar families, although white-collar parents had more education than blue-collar parents. In urban China, where population density was high, couples of different occupational status appeared to make different trade-offs between quantity and quality of children. Urban white-collar couples had fewer, but better-educated, children than their blue-collar counterparts. In rural areas, white-collar couples still had better educated children than blue-collar couples, but no difference was found in lifetime reproductive success. High population density and an occupational structure that incidentally helped reinforce unequal distribution of cultural capital in the population encouraged urban couples with different levels of resources (i.e., cultural capital rather than income in this case) to adopt different reproductive strategies. (author's) Language: English Keywords: CHINA | HISTORICAL REVIEW | PERIOD ANALYSIS | PARENTS | URBAN POPULATION | COMMUNISM | INCOME DISTRIBUTION | CHILD WORTH | INVESTMENTS | FAMILY SIZE, IDEAL | EDUCATIONAL STATUS | INEQUALITIES | CULTURE | REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR | Developing Countries | Asia, Eastern | Asia | Research Methodology | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Socialism | Political Systems | Income | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Microeconomic Factors | Financial Activities | Family Size | Socioeconomic Status | Fertility | Population Dynamics Document Number: 278684 |
| 28. Peer Reviewed Title: Sexual politics and reproductive rights in Indonesia. Author: Katjasungkana N; Wieringa SE Source: Development. 2003 Jun;46(2):63-67. Abstract: The birth of President Suharto's authoritarian "New Order" regime, between 1965and 1967, was steeped in blood. Sexual politics played a major role in this process. Nursyahbani Katjasungkana and Saskia E. Wieringa analyse the consequences of this transition for the struggle for women's reproductive rights. They also discuss the ramifications of the fall of the regime in 1998. (author's) Language: English Keywords: INDONESIA | FEMINISM | REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS | REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH | WOMEN | WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT | POLITICAL FACTORS | VIOLENCE | COMMUNISM | WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT | WOMEN'S GROUPS | Asia, Southeastern | Asia | Developing Countries | Human Rights | Health | Demographic Factors | Population | Women's Status | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Behavior | Socialism | Political Systems | Economic Development | Interest Groups Document Number: 181058 |
| 29. Title: Keys to women's liberation in communist China: an historial overview. Author: Zhou J Source: Journal of International Women's Studies. 2003 Nov;5(1):67-77. Abstract: Has the Communist Party of China (CPC) fully liberated Chinese women? Is the leadership of the CPC the key to Chinese women's liberation in the twenty-first century? The CPC has tried to convince the Chinese people and international society to believe that the answer is positive. Having examined the status of Chinese women from an historical perspective, the author has reached the conclusion that women's problems in present-day China are not only serious but also structural. It is impossible for Chinese women to fully enjoy women's rights within the current communist system. The future of women's liberation largely depends on women's own efforts combined with the process of China's modernization and the urgent need for democratization. (author's) Language: English Keywords: CHINA | HISTORICAL REVIEW | WOMEN | GOVERNMENT | WOMEN'S GROUPS | WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT | COMMUNISM | INEQUALITIES | FEMINISM | EDUCATION | POLITICAL FACTORS | Asia, Eastern | Asia | Developing Countries | Demographic Factors | Population | Interest Groups | Women's Status | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Socialism | Political Systems Document Number: 287453 |
| 30. Title: Syphilis patients on the rise in east. Source: Slovak Spectator. 2002 Oct 28;:[2] p.. Abstract: This news article reports the increase in the number of patients infected with syphilis in Trebisov, Slovakia. According to Ondrej Bobik, head of the hospital's venereal diseases department, there were two particular groups at risk--a specific group of Roma minority people living in the area and promiscuous people, mainly prostitutes. Language: English Keywords: SLOVAKIA | CLIENTS | SEX WORKERS | WOMEN | SYPHILIS | COMMUNISM | Developing Countries | Europe, Central | Europe | Program Activities | Programs | Organization and Administration | Sex Behavior | Behavior | Demographic Factors | Population | Sexually Transmitted Diseases | Reproductive Tract Infections | Infections | Diseases | Socialism | Political Systems Document Number: 172918 |
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