Gender, family and employment in comparative perspective: the realities and representations of rqual rpportunities in Britain and France

In this paper, we will explore how contrasting national discourses relating to women, and gender equality have been incorporated into and reflected in national policies. In the first section, we will outline the recent history of EU equal opportunities policy, in which positive action has been replaced by a policy of 'mainstreaming'. Second, we will describe the evolution of policies towards women and equal opportunities in Britain and France. It will be argued that whereas some degree of positive action for women has been accepted in Britain, this policy is somewhat alien to French thinking about equality - although pro-natalist French policies have resulted in favourable conditions for employed mothers in France. In the third section, we will present some attitudinal evidence, drawn from national surveys, which would appear to reflect the national policy differences we have identified in respect of the 'equality agenda'. In the fourth section, we will draw upon biographical interviews carried out with men and women in British and French banks in order to illustrate the impact of these cross-national differences within organizations and on individual lives. We demonstrate that positive action gender equality policies have made an important impact in British banks, while overt gender exclusionary practices still persist in the French banks studied. In the conclusion, we reflect on the European policy implications of our findings.

Gender differences in HIV progression to AIDS and death in industrialized countries: slower disease progression following HIV seroconversion in women.

To evaluate sex differences in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression before (pre-1997) and after (1997-2006) introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy, the authors used data from a collaboration of 23 HIV seroconverter cohort studies from Europe, Australia, and Canada restricted to the 6,923 seroconverters infected through injecting drug use and sex between men and women. Within a competing risk framework, they used Cox proportional hazards models allowing for late entry to evaluate sex differences in time from HIV seroconversion to death, to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and to each first AIDS-defining disease and death without AIDS. While no significant sex differences were found before 1997, from 1997 onward, women had a lower risk of AIDS (adjusted cumulative relative risk (aCRR) = 0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.63, 0.90) and death (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.82) than men did. Compared with men, women also had lower risks of AIDS dementia complex (aCRR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.74), tuberculosis (aCRR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.39, 0.92), Kaposi's sarcoma (aCRR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.99), lymphomas (aCRR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.96), and death without AIDS (aCRR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.98). Sex differences in HIV disease progression have become larger and statistically significant in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy, supporting a stronger impact of health interventions among women.

Gender difference in the response to an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and a diurectic in hypertensive patients of African descent

Résumé de la thèse en français Titre : Différence entre hommes et femmes dans la réponse à un inhibiteur de l'enzyme de conversion de l'angiotensine et un diurétique chez des patients hypertendus d'origine Africaine. Introduction: L'efficacité des inhibiteurs de l'enzyme de conversion de l'angiotensine (ACEI) dans le traitement de l'hypertension artérielle chez les patients africains est controversée. Objectif: Nous avons examiné la baisse de la tension artérielle ambulatoire (ABP) en réponse à un diurétique et un ACEI chez des patients hypertendus d'origine africaine et nous avons évalué les différentes caractéristiques déterminant l'efficacité du traitement. Méthodes: Etude en simple-aveugle randomisée, en crossover AB/BA. Arrangement Familles hypertendues d'origine africaine de la population générale des Seychelles. Participants : 52 patients (29 hommes et 23 femmes) sur 62 patients hypertendus éligibles ont été inclus. Le principal résultat était la mesure de la réponse de l'ABP à 20 mg de lisinopril (LIS) ou 25 mg d'hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) quotidiennement pendant quatre semaines. Résultats: Le jour, la réponse systolique/diastolique de l'ABP sous HCT était de 4.9 (95% intervalle de confiance (IC) 1.2-8.6)/3.6 (1.0-6.2) mm Hg pour les hommes et 12.9 (9.216.6)/6.3 (3.7-8.8) mm Hg pour les femmes. Sous LIS, la réponse était de 18.8 (15.022.5)/14.6 (12.0-17.1) mm Hg pour les hommes et de 12.4 (8.7-16.2)/7.7 (5.1-10.2) mm Hg pour les femmes. La nuit, la réponse systolique/diastolique sous HCT était de 5.0 (0.6-9.4)/2.7 ((-0.4)-5.7) mm Hg pour les hommes et de 11.5 (7.1-16.0)/5.7 (2.6-8.8) mm Hg pour les femmes, et sous LIS était de 18.7 (14.2-22.1)/15.4 (12.4-18.5) mm Hg pour les hommes et de 3.5 ((-1.0)-7.9)/2.3 ((-0.8)-5.4) mm Hg pour les femmes. L'analyse de régression linéaire multiple a montré que le sexe est un prédicteur indépendant de la réponse tensionnelle à l'HCT et au LIS. Conclusions : Les patients hypertendus d'origine africaine ont présenté une baisse tensionnelle plus grande en réponse au LIS qu'à l'HCT. Les hommes ont mieux répondu au LIS qu'à l'HCT alors que les femmes ont répondu de manière similaire aux deux traitements.

Inbreeding effects on progeny sex ratio and gender variation in the gynodioecious Silene vulgaris (Caryophyllaceae).

In gynodioecious species, sex expression is generally determined through cytoplasmic male sterility genes interacting with nuclear restorers of the male function. With dominant restorers, there may be an excess of females in the progeny of self-fertilized compared with cross-fertilized hermaphrodites. Moreover, the effect of inbreeding on late stages of the life cycle remains poorly explored. Here, we used hermaphrodites of the gynodioecious Silene vulgaris originating from three populations located in different valleys in the Alps to investigate the effects of two generations of self- and cross-fertilization on sex ratio and gender variation. We detected an increase in females in the progeny of selfed compared with outcrossed hermaphrodites and inbreeding depression for female and male fertility. Male fertility correlated positively with sex ratio differences between outbred and inbred progeny, suggesting that dominant restorers are likely to influence male fertility qualitatively and quantitatively in S. vulgaris. We argue that the excess of females in the progeny of selfed compared with outcrossed hermaphrodites and inbreeding depression for gamete production may contribute to the maintenance of females in gynodioecious populations of S. vulgaris because purging of the genetic load is less likely to occur.

Gender differences in whole-body fat oxidation kinetics during exercise.

Discrepancies appear in studies comparing fat oxidation between men and women. Therefore, this study aimed to quantitatively describe and compare whole-body fat oxidation kinetics between genders during exercise, using a sinusoidal (SIN) model. Twelve men and 11 women matched for age, body mass index, and aerobic fitness (maximal oxygen uptake and maximal power output per kilogram of fat-free mass (FFM)) performed submaximal incremental tests (Incr) with 5-min stages and a 7.5% maximal power output increment on a cycle ergometer. Fat oxidation rates were determined using indirect calorimetry, and plotted as a function of exercise intensity. The SIN model, which includes 3 independent variables (dilatation, symmetry, translation) that account for the main quantitative characteristics of kinetics, was used to mathematically describe fat oxidation kinetics and to determine the intensity (Fatmax) eliciting the maximal fat oxidation (MFO). During Incr, women exhibited greater fat oxidation rates from 35% to 85% maximal oxygen uptake, MFO (6.6 ± 0.9 vs. 4.5 ± 0.3 mg·kg FFM-1·min-1), and Fatmax (58.1% ± 1.9% vs. 50.0% ± 2.7% maximal oxygen uptake) than men (p < 0.05). While men and women showed similar global shapes of fat oxidation kinetics in terms of dilatation and symmetry (p > 0.05), the fat oxidation curve tended to be shifted toward higher exercise intensities in women (rightward translation, p = 0.08). These results support the idea that women have a greater reliance on fat oxidation than men during submaximal exercise, but also indicate that this greater fat oxidation is shifted toward higher exercise intensities in women than in men.

Global regulation of the knowledge-based economy: The rise of standards in educational services

This article examines the extent and limits of non-state forms of authority in international relations. It analyses how the information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure for the tradability of services in a global knowledge-based economy relies on informal regulatory practices for adjustment of ICT-related skills. Companies and associations provide training and certification programmes as part of a growing market for educational services setting their own standards. The existing literature on non-conventional forms of authority in the global political economy has emphasised that the consent of actors subject to informal rules and explicit or implicit state recognition remains crucial for the effectiveness of those new forms of power. However, analyses based on a limited sample of actors tend toward a narrow understanding of the issues and fail to fully explore the differentiated space in which non-state authority is emerging. This paper examines the form of authority underpinning the global knowledge-based economy within the broader perspective of the issues likely to be standardised by technical ICT specification, the wide range of actors involved, and the highly differentiated space where standards become authoritative. The empirical findings highlight the role of different private actors in establishing international educational norms in this field. They also pinpoint the limits of profit-oriented standard-settings, notably with regard to generic norms.