Consultocracy and its discontents : A critical typology and a call for a research agenda

Peer reviewe

Gender, risk and the Wall Street alpha male

From the outset, analyses of the 2008 financial crisis, in mainstream as well as feminist discussions, have been gendered. In particular, rampant risk taking in an unregulated environment, widely deemed to be a principle cause of the crash, has been associated with masculine characteristics. In this article I explore how the concepts of gender and risk entwine in two films on the financial crisis – The Other Guys and Margin Call. By looking at how gender is used to dramatise financial risk, I explore how understandings of high risk behaviour are gendered, and the implications this has in the context of finance. Fictional representations mediate public understanding of this notoriously complex field, as the number of films and documentaries on the crisis demonstrates. Exploring how gender is used to communicate risk reminds us that risk taking is part of a performance of masculinity that needs to be established by constructing a feminine, risk-averse other. The contention of this paper is that to address gender bias in finance and the economy, gendered meanings of risk need to be openly challenged, and cultural and material analyses of gendered inequality brought into dialogue

Gender and ethnic disparities contributing to overweight in California adolescents

To explore differences in health behaviors and factors contributing to overweight among 12 to 17 year olds in California. Data from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey for 3,315 adolescents self-identified as Latino, Asian, or white were reviewed. Adolescents reported their weight, height, gender, ethnicity, parents’ educational level, household income, physical activity, sedentary activity, breakfast consumption, and family meals. Overall 34% of boys and 22% of girls in this study were overweight (>85th percentile for age and gender). Approximately 38% of Latinos, 25% of whites, and 16% of Asians were overweight. Latinos were more than twice as likely to be overweight as whites (2.07) and Asians (2.53). Younger adolescents (12–13 years old) and adolescents whose family income is less than 200% of the federal poverty level were more likely to be overweight. Low level of parental education is a risk factor for Latino and Asian girls and white and Latino boys. White girls with a lower socioeconomic status and white boys with more than 2 h daily of television, video, and computer time were more likely to be overweight. Results suggest gender and ethnic variations in factors that contribute to overweight in California adolescents. To influence the current overweight epidemic, clinicians must develop culturally sensitive and gender-specific interventions that address the unique needs of an ethnically diverse adolescent population

Differences in reproductive risk factors for breast cancer in middle-aged women in Marin County, California and a sociodemographically similar area of Northern California

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Northern California county of Marin (MC) has historically had high breast cancer incidence rates. Because of MC's high socioeconomic status (SES) and racial homogeneity (non-Hispanic White), it has been difficult to assess whether these elevated rates result from a combination of established risk factors or other behavioral or environmental factors. This survey was designed to compare potential breast cancer risks and incidence rates for a sample of middle-aged MC women with those of a demographically similar population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A random sample of 1500 middle-aged female members of a large Northern California health plan, half from Marin County (MC) and half from a comparison area in East/Central Contra Costa County (ECCC), were mailed a survey covering family history, reproductive history, use of oral contraceptives (OC) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), behavioral health risks, recency of breast screening, and demographic characteristics. Weighted data were used to compare prevalence of individual breast cancer risk factors and Gail scores. Age-adjusted cumulative breast cancer incidence rates (2000–2004) were also calculated for female health plan members aged 40–64 residing in the two geographic areas.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Survey response was 57.1% (n = 427) and 47.9% (n = 359) for MC and ECCC samples, respectively. Women in the two areas were similar in SES, race, obesity, exercise frequency, current smoking, ever use of OCs and HRT, age at onset of menarche, high mammography rates, family history of breast cancer, and Gail scores. However, MC women were significantly more likely than ECCC women to be former smokers (43.6% vs. 31.2%), have Ashkenazi Jewish heritage (12.8% vs. 7.1%), have no live births before age 30 (52.7% vs. 40.8%), and be nulliparous (29.2% vs. 15.4%), and less likely to never or rarely consume alcohol (34.4% vs. 41.9%). MC and ECCC women had comparable 2000–2004 invasive breast cancer incidence rates.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The effects of reproductive risks factors, Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, smoking history, and alcohol consumption with regard to breast cancer risk in Marin County should be further evaluated. When possible, future comparisons of breast cancer incidence rates between regions should adjust for differences in income and education in addition to age and race/ethnicity, preferably by using a sociodemographically similar comparison group.</p

Epidemiology of physical activity in adult Polish population in the second decade of the 21st century. Results of the NATPOL 2011 study

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess physical activity (PA) level in a representative sample of Polish adults.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed among 2413 randomly selected individuals (51.5% women) aged 18-79 years, who participated in the Nationwide Study of Occurrence of Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases NATPOL 2011 (March-July 2011). The study procedures consisted of a questionnaire as well as of anthropometric, blood pressure and biochemical measurements. Leisure-time, occupational and commuting PA were assessed by the use of a questionnaire interview. Results: About 48.2% of adults do exercise for at least 30 minutes on most days of a week. About 11% of the respondents declare a sedentary lifestyle. About 26.5% of working population report hard physical work, while sedentary work is reported by 47.6% of the employed participants. Active commuting is declared by 27.3% of working/studying population. About 47.2%, 36.6%, and 15.3% spend 30 min per day, respectively, on this kind of PA. Conclusions: PA level of more than half of Polish adults is still not satisfactory. Promotion of an active lifestyle should concern mainly leisure-time and commuting PA with paying special attention to substantial differences in various socio-demographic groups

Civil society leadership in the struggle for AIDS treatment in South Africa and Uganda

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.This thesis is an attempt to theorise and operationalise empirically the notion of ‘civil society leadership’ in Sub-Saharan Africa. ‘AIDS leadership,’ which is associated with the intergovernmental institutions charged with coordinating the global response to HIV/AIDS, is both under-theorised and highly context-specific. In this study I therefore opt for an inclusive framework that draws on a range of approaches, including the literature on ‘leadership’, institutions, social movements and the ‘network’ perspective on civil society mobilisation. This framework is employed in rich and detailed empirical descriptions (‘thick description’) of civil society mobilisation around AIDS, including contentious AIDS activism, in the key case studies of South Africa and Uganda. South Africa and Uganda are widely considered key examples of poor and good leadership (from national political leaders) respectively, while the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) are both seen as highly effective civil society movements. These descriptions emphasise ‘transnational networks of influence’ in which civil society leaders participated (and at times actively constructed) in order to mobilise both symbolic and material resources aimed at exerting influence at the transnational, national and local levels

Combating Acid Violence in Bangladesh, India and Cambodia

This Report is the first comprehensive, comparative study of acid violence that examines the underlying causes, its consequences, and the multiple barriers to justice for its victims. Acid attacks, like other forms of violence against women, are not random or natural phenomena. Rather, they are social phenomena deeply embedded in a gender order that has historically privileged patriarchal control over women and justified the use of violence to “keep women in their places.” Through an in-depth study of three countries, the authors of the Report argue that the due diligence standard can be a powerful tool for state and non-state actors to prevent and adequately respond to acid violence with the aim of combating it. In this respect, they identify key ways in which acid violence can be addressed by governments and corporations