Linguistic capital: Language as a socio-economic resource among Kurdish and Arabic women in Turkey

Data from the 1998 Turkish Demographic and Health Survey are used to gain insight into the characteristics of the non-Turkish speaking individuals in Turkey and in the socio-economic consequences of not speaking Turkish for them. The very large majority of non-Turkish speaking individuals turn out to be Kurdish and Arabic women, living in East Turkey and in the countryside. The data indicate that of the married women aged 15–49 in Turkey, about 4 per cent, or one in 25, is not able to speak Turkish. More than 90 per cent of these women has not finished primary education. Regarding their social background, our results suggest that they were more under the influence of traditional cultural values, that their access to the public domain was limited, and that they were more heavily controlled by their family. Regarding the consequences of not speaking Turkish, we found the non-Turkish speaking women to be less employed in the formal economy, to have husbands with lower educational levels and occupations and to have lower family incomes. This result is in line with the predictions of linguistic capital theory.     

The ethnic question in an environment of insecurity: the Kurds in Turkey

This article examines the effect that a poor structural context, what we term an "environment of insecurity", has on the Kurdish ethnic nationalist mobilization in Turkey. The empirical evidence for this analysis is based on data from the 1993 Turkish Demographic and Health Survey [TDHS]. The data provide, to the best of our knowledge, the first reliable and representative figures on the situation of Kurds in Turkey. Our key claim is that the Kurdish population in Turkey is relatively much worse off than the Turkish population in the country. This claim is strongly supported by the data. Many other factors also account for the ethnic nationalist mobilization, but we argue that the Turkish Kurds' environment of insecurity, materially and non-materially, stands out as a key package of both causal and intermediate variables behind the ethnic revival.     

Migration,socio-economic status and age at menarche and age at menopause in the Yucatan,Mexico

The possible effects of migration and socio-economic status (SES) on age at menarche (MENA), age at menopause (MENO), potential reproductive period (PRP), and the correlation between MENA and MENO, were studied in 216 women in the Yucatan, Mexico. They were divided into three groups: migrant from the sisal-growing area on the coast, and sisal and coastal sedentary. Coastal sedentary women, living in the best socio-economic conditions, have the youngest MENA and the oldest MENO. Early migrant women have a significantly younger MENO (p.<0.05) and shorter PRP than Coastal sedentary women. There was no evidence of selective migration for MENA. When the Migrant, Sisal and Coastal sample were divided into cohorts by SES, it was impossible to obtain any clear picture. MENA increases with increased SES for the Coastal and Sisal cohorts, while the Migrant cohorts show an opposite trend. However, only the Low/Middle and High/Middle cohort differences for the Coastal sample are significant (p.<0.05, in both cases). It seems that migration has a limited affect on MENO and the PRP. Contrary to reports in the literature, the correlations between MENA and MENO and migrant status, and migrant socio-economic statuses, are negative, although these correlations were statistically significant in the Coastal sample.     

When fecundity does not equal fitness: evidence of an offspring quantity versus quality trade-off in pre-industrial humans

Maternal fitness should be maximized by the optimal division of reproductive investment between offspring number and offspring quality. While evidence for this is abundant in many taxa, there have been fewer tests in mammals, and in particular, humans. We used a dataset of humans spanning three generations from pre-industrial Finland to test how increases in maternal fecundity affect offspring quality and maternal fitness in contrasting socio-economic conditions. For 'resource-poor' landless families, but not 'resource-rich' landowning families, maternal fitness returns diminished with increased maternal fecundity. This was because the average offspring contribution to maternal fitness declined with increased maternal fecundity for landless but not landowning families. This decline was due to reduced offspring recruitment with increased maternal fecundity. However, in landowning families, recruited offspring fecundity increased with increased maternal fecundity. This suggests that despite decreased offspring recruitment, maternal fitness is not reduced in favourable socio-economic conditions due to an increase in subsequent offspring fecundity. These results provide evidence consistent with an offspring quantity-quality trade-off in the lifetime reproduction of humans from poor socio-economic conditions. The results also highlight the importance of measuring offspring quality across their whole lifespan to estimate reliably the fitness consequences of increased maternal fecundity.     

The potential of history textbooks and curriculum reform in Iraqi Kurdistan within a conflict transformation frame: dealing with the past from a processual and dynamic perspective

As of 2015, Kurds in Iraq remain masters of an autonomous region, considered by many as a de facto state, and important brokers within the Iraqi political arena. Prompted by these ‘gains’, many observers and researchers have been inclined to announce the imminent establishment of a Kurdish state. However, this article argues that scholars should be cautious before pronouncing a complete break between the Iraqi state and the Kurds. It shows from a processual and dynamic approach how and why scholars should go beyond the ‘assimilation versus resistance’ dichotomy in order to better grasp the relations between ‘majorities’ and ‘minorities’ in Iraq and in the Middle East, in general. Yet, acknowledging the present deadlock, it explores the conditions that may allow history textbooks to play a role in easing ethnic relations by rewriting Kurdish history. It could lead to the emergence of a new, collective, albeit multiple, Iraqi history.     

美容整形受术者心理评估与术后满意度的相关性研究

目的:探讨女性美容整形受术者的心理状态及与术后满意度的相关性,为临床工作提供科学的理论依据,以减少不必要的医疗纠纷.方法:采用临床90项症状问卷(SCL-90),艾森克人格问卷(EPQ)和美容整形术后满意度问卷(CSPPOSR)对145例受术者进行调查分析.被调查者分为满意组和不满意组,比较两组中各指标的差异性及对术后满意度的相关性.结果:满意组和不满意组在躯体化、偏执及精神质等方面存在统计学差异(p＜0.05).躯体化、偏执两因子的标准得分与满意度总分之间呈负相关(r=-0.527～-0.207).精神质因子得分与满意度总分之间呈负相关(r=-0.352).结论:不满意组具有躯体化、偏执及精神质的心理状态和人格特征.并且情绪不稳定、身体不适、有强迫思维及行为、易猜疑的受术者术后易出现不满意结果.     

Secular changes in body formation of greek students

Anthropometric dimensions of 1520 students of Biology at University of Athens in Greece were analysed to determine secular changes of height and body proportions during a 20 year period. Since, 1970, means of standing height, subischial length, and cormic index have been increased, although the rate of increase from 1986 to 1990 has been rather slow. On the contrary the mean sitting height is stable, and cormic/ subischial index have been declined during the same period. There are no data for comparing this sample with the general population, but we suppose that these changes in the body formation is common as a result of the modern way of life.     

Obesity among male adolescent migrants in Vienna, Austria

Childhood overweight and obesity--especially among migrant children--are health problems in several European countries. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among 936 migrant boys of low socio-economic status from Turkey and former Yugoslavia were compared with those of Austrian boys in Vienna. In the longitudinal study, children were measured at the ages of 6, 10 and 15 years. Weight status was estimated by means of the body mass index and percentile curves were used for weight status classification. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was high among migrant boys as well as Austrian boys at all age groups. Ten-year-old boys from Yugoslavia exhibited the highest percentage of overweight (nearly 38%). The lowest percentage of overweight was among 6-year-old Austrian boys (17.2%). Being overweight or obese at the age of 6 years increased the risk of being overweight at 10 and 15 years significantly (p<0.001). This was true of all groups independent of migrant status. The impact of migrant status on weight status at the ages of 10 and 15 was not significant. Therefore, although migrant boys from former Yugoslavia exhibited the highest rates of overweight and obesity, migrant status is not associated significantly with an increased prevalence of obesity in this sample characterized by a generally low socio-economic status. Prevention should start as early as possible for all children, since overweight tends to persist from childhood into adolescence independent of migrant status.     

Improved Socio-Economic Status of a Community Population Following Schistosomiasis and Intestinal Worm Control Interventions on Kome Island,North-Western Tanzania

Research on micro-level assessment of the changes of socio-economic status following health interventions is very scarce. The use of household asset data to determine wealth indices is a common procedure for estimating socio-economic position in resource poor settings. In such settings information about income is usually lacking, and the collection of individual consumption or expenditure data would require in-depth interviews, posing a considerable risk of bias. In this study, we determined the socio-economic status of 213 households in a community population in an island in the north-western Tanzania before and 3 year after implementation of a participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation (PHAST) intervention to control schistosomiasis and intestinal worm infections. We constructed a household ''wealth index'' based housing construction features (e.g., type of roof, walls, and floor) and durable assets ownership (e.g., bicycle, radio, etc.). We employed principal components analysis and classified households into wealth quintiles. The study revealed that asset variables with positive factor scores were associated with higher socio-economic status, whereas asset variables with negative factor scores were associated with lower socio-economic status. Overall, households which were rated as the poorest and very poor were on the decrease, whereas those rated as poor, less poor, and the least poor were on the increase after PHAST intervention. This decrease/increase was significant. The median shifted from -0.4376677 to 0.5001073, and the mean from -0.2605787 (SD; 2.005688) to 0.2605787 (SD; 1.831199). The difference in socio-economic status of the people between the 2 phases was highly statistically significant (P<0.001). We argue that finding of this study should be treated with caution as there were other interventions to control schistosomiasis and intestinal worm infections which were running concurrently on Kome Island apart from PHAST intervention.     

Seasonal and long term changes of the phytoplankton in the lake Tortum in relation to environmental factors, Erzurum, Turkey

Seasonal changes in phytoplankton community structure of the lake Tortum were studied over one year period, from March 2002 to February 2003. The collected data were compared with the data collected 21 years ago. Chlamydomonas microsphaerella, Cyclotella krammeri, C. glomerata, and Ceratium hirundinella were identified to be dominant several times during the study period. Species diversity and biomass of the phytoplankton were very low in spite of sufficient and high levels of nutrient concentrations. Maximum phytoplankton density levels were observed during summer and late autumn. Phytoplankton density was positively correlated with nutrients, temperature and pH, and it was negatively correlated with Secchi depth and dissolved oxygen. Phytoplankton growths were negatively affected from water transparency and high levels of water mass transport (circulation) and velocity in the lake.     

The C3 component of complement; gene frequency variation in Iraq.

Heterogeneity of gene frequencies in the polymorphism of the third component of complement among local samples in Iraq is analysed. It appears to derive essentially from population and not from regional differences.     

Does religious affiliation influence glycaemic control in primary care patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus?

Background To determine the relationships between religiosity, religions and glycaemic control of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D).Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted at an urban, university-based, teaching outpatient clinic. Religiosity was assessed with the Beliefs and Values Scale (BV), which contains 20 items each with a Likert scale of five possible responses. The range of scores is 0 to 80, with a higher score indicating stronger religious belief. Glycaemic control was taken as the mean value of the latest three fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels and HbA1c readings documented in each patient's case records.Results A total of 212 patients participated (a response rate of 79%). Two-thirds were female, mean age was 62.7 (SD 10.8) years and mean duration of T2D was 11.7 (SD 6.7) years. The mean BV score was 57.4 (SD 10.97, CI 55.9, 59.0). Religiosity had a negative correlation with lower FPG (r = -0.15, p = 0.041) but no such correlation was found with HbA1c. Moslem religiosity had a significant negative correlation with HbA1c (r = -0.34, p = 0.007, n = 61) even after controlling for covariates. Christians and non-religious group had significantly lower mean rank HbA1c than other religions (p = 0.042).Conclusions Those with higher religiosity amongst the Moslem population had significantly better glycaemic control. Patients who had church-going religions had better glycaemic control compared with those of other religions.