Double disadvantage : the influence of ethnicity over socioeconomic position on childhood overweight and obesity: findings from an inner urban population of primary school children

Objective: To examine the relationship between overweight/obesity in children, socioeconomic status and ethnicity/cultural background.

Design: Cross-sectional survey of children aged 4–13 years.

Setting: A total of 23 primary (elementary) schools in an inner urban municipality of Melbourne, Australia.

Participants: A total of 2685 children aged 4–13 years and their parents.

Main exposure measures: Ethnicity/cultural background – maternal region of birth; socioeconomic position (SEP) indicators – maternal and paternal educational attainment, family employment status, possession of a healthcare card, ability to buy food, indicator of disadvantage (Socioeconomic Index for Areas, SEIFA) score for school; parental weight status.

Main outcome measure: Prevalence of overweight/obesity.

Results: Prevalence of overweight/obesity approached 1 in 3 (31%) in this sample. Prevalence of overweight/obesity was greater for children of both North Africa and Middle Eastern background and children of Southern, South Eastern and Eastern European background compared with children of Australian background. This difference remained after adjusting for age, sex, height, clustering by school, SEP indicators and parental weight status; odds ratio, OR=1.57 (95% confidence interval, CI 1.12–2.19) and 1.88 (95%CI 1.24–2.85), respectively.

Conclusions: There is a clear independent effect of ethnicity above and beyond the effect of socioeconomic status on overweight and obesity in children. Further research is required to explore the mediators of this gradient.

'I am, by God, fit for high positions' : on the political role of women in al-Andalus

Narrating and explaining the fairly emancipated women in al-Andalus has been fraught with ambiguity for the approximately one century of scholarship on the subject. There has been much stereotyping depending upon the investigator's particular perspective. This paper clarifies the roles of Andalusian women in political relations from the Muslim Conquest in 711 through the fall of Granada in 1492. The interpretations used in historiography pit a traditionalist trend, in which continuity from the pre 1slamic past is stressed, against the anti-continuist trend, in which an Oriental culture of the Muslims added the distinctive features of Iberian character today. In order to evaluate the two historiographic approaches, the contributions of seven prominent women are presented and evaluated for their social contexts during the eight centuries of al-Andalus. Comparisons are then made to prominent women in other political contexts within the Arab world in order to evaluate the strength of the two competing historiographic perspectives.

Culture and trade

This investigation emphasises the significant role socio-cultural considerations play in Australia's education sector initiatives in the Middle East, and the direct impact this has on wider Australian-Middle Eastern trade and strategic relations. In order to enhance these relations, there is an urgent need for Australia to develop a more sophisticated policy of engagement that moves away from historical and contemporary misconceptions.

Carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth : panel data evidence from developing countries

In this paper we test the Environment Kuznet's Curve (EKC) hypothesis for 43 developing countries. We suggest examining the EKC hypothesis based on the short- and long-run income elasticities; that is, if the long-run income elasticity is smaller than the short-run income elasticity then it is evident that a country has reduced carbon dioxide emissions as its income has increased. Our empirical analysis based on individual countries suggests that Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, Qatar, the UAE, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Algeria, Kenya, Nigeria, Congo, Ghana, and South Africa—approximately 35 per cent of the sample—carbon dioxide emissions have fallen over the long run; that is, as these economies have grown emissions have fallen since the long-run income elasticity is smaller than the short-run elasticity. We also examine the EKC hypothesis for panels of countries constructed on the basis of regional location using the panel cointegration and the panel long-run estimation techniques. We find that only for the Middle Eastern and South Asian panels, the income elasticity in the long run is smaller than the short run, implying that carbon dioxide emission has fallen with a rise in income.

Orientalism and the Australian news media : origins and questions

The author draws on his expertise in Middle Eastern history and Western philosophical thought, presenting an ambitious chapter that traces the origins of orientalist discourse from the 18th and 19th century Europe to the beginnings of the Australian press. The chapter identifies the parallels between this discourse and the most contemporary representations of Islam and Muslims in the Australian news media. It documents that a key challenge for those working for the Australian news media is firstly to recognise the extent to which orientalist thought influences the reporting of Islam and Muslims and then to transcend the centuries-old view of this faith and its adherents as a threatening other.

Democracy in Iraq : history, politics, discourse

This book proposes a significant reassessment of the history of Iraq, documenting democratic experiences from ancient Mesopotamia through to the US occupation. Such an analysis takes to task claims that the ‘West’ has a uniquely democratic history and a responsibility to spread democracy across the world. It also reveals that Iraq has a democratic history all of its own, from ancient Middle Eastern assemblies and classical Islamic theology and philosophy, through to the myriad political parties, newspapers and protest movements of more recent times. This book argues that the democratic history of Iraq could serve as a powerful political and discursive tool where the Iraqi people may come to feel a sense of ownership over democracy and take pride in endorsing it. This could go a long way towards mitigating the current conflicts across the nation and in stabilizing and legitimating its troubled democracy.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach and referring to some of the most influential critical theorists to question ideological assumptions about democracy and its history, this book will be useful to those interested in political and legal history, human rights and democracy.

Measuring the destruction of heritage and spikes of violence in Iraq

Since the invasion of 2003, Iraq has suffered an extraordinary era of both heritage destruction and devastating spikes in violence. While cases such as the 2003 attacks on the Iraq National Museum and the Iraq National Library and Archive, as well as the systematic looting of Iraq’s sensitive archaeological sites, understandably caused outrage among scholars of heritage studies across the world, little attention has been paid to the destruction of Iraq’s many significant Islamic sites – particularly during the ethno-religious sectarian violence that raged across the nation in 2006-7. This paper presents the first results of a three year project funded by the Australian Research Council which aims to empirically test the assumption that a significant relationship exists between this spike in violence and the targeting of sites of Islamic heritage (mosques, shrines, etc.). To do this, the paper will compare and contrast the information in the world’s first database of heritage destruction (created by the author) and existing measures of violence in Iraq (such as the Iraq Body Count database). This will set the precedent for studies of both heritage and violence and enable policy formation towards the minimization of heritage destruction and spikes in violence during times of conflict.

Knowledge and perceptions of newly graduated medical practitioners in Malaysia of their role in medical care of people with developmental disabilities

Improving content and consistency on developmental disabilities in undergraduate medical curricula has been recommended as a means of improving health outcomes for people with developmental disabilities. Although often the subject of studies in Western countries, little is known about content on developmental disabilities in undergraduate curricula in developing countries. A study was undertaken to: (1) explore content and experience with developmental disabilities received in undergraduate training by medical practitioners in Malaysia; and (2) explore perceptions of their role in the identification and management of developmental disabilities in practice. Comparisons were made according to location of training. Data were collected using a 107-item questionnaire that was administered to 230 newly graduated house officers on their first rotations in seven public hospitals in Peninsula Malaysia. Deficits and inconsistencies were indicated in both content and experience of developmental disabilities during training. Uncertainty about their role in the identification and management of developmental disabilities was evident. Greater inconsistencies and deficits were evident for respondents trained in Eastern and Middle Eastern countries compared with those trained in Malaysia and Western countries. Results suggest a need for increased content, consistency, and intentional exposure in relation to developmental disabilities during undergraduate training across all training settings.

Transitional experiences of international postgraduate students utilising a peer mentor programme

Background: Mentoring provides a range of benefits and one of them is social support. The number of students in transnational education has been increasing, and their transition into university is often fraught with difficulties. Universities can support transition through the use of a peer mentor programme (PMP).

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate the transitional issues that international postgraduate students (IPSs) face in their transition to an Australian University. The study also investigated the role played by a mentoring programme, and how this assists students with their transition.

Sample: The sample included 31 IPSs, who had come from Asian European, Middle Eastern, African and South American countries, 15 being male, and 16 being female, with an average age of 24; most had been studying at the Australian University for more than 12 months.

Design and methods: The study utilised a qualitative research method to examine the experiences of IPSs undergoing transition from their home universities to an Australian university. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students, who were asked about their transition experiences and the assistance of the mentor programme. Thematic analysis was then conducted to determine themes from the research.

Results: IPSs reported mixed experiences with their transition. Those with difficulties referred to loneliness, different studying practices, finding accommodation and making friends. IPSs reported that the PMP helped, as mentors provided the necessary social support, friendship, information and confidence to overcome those difficulties. Those students who did not have problems with their transition had reported that they had friends or family that assisted them with their transition. As a result, these students did not need the support of mentors to the same degree as those students having problems.

Conclusions: It is concluded that mentor programmes were important for transitioning IPSs who had difficulties. Therefore, this study identified a role for a PMP in universities where there are a high proportion of IPSs who are going through transitional problems.

Molecular characterization of two Brazilian isolates of Lettuce mosaic virus with distinct biological properties

Efetuou-se a clonagem e seqüenciamento do gene que codifica a proteína capsidial de dois isolados do vírus do mosaico da alface (Lettuce mosaic virus, LMV) provenientes do estado de São Paulo, previamente caracterizados como pertencentes aos patótipos II (AF198, incapaz de infetar cultivares com os genes de resistência mo1¹ ou mo1²) e IV (AF199, capaz de quebrar a resistência propiciada pelos genes mo1¹ e mo1²), com base na virulência em cultivares diferenciadoras. Análise comparativa das seqüências de nucleotídeos de isolados provenientes da Europa, América do Norte, Oriente Médio e os dois isolados brasileiros não permitiu sua separação em estirpes, pois as porcentagens de homologia foram sempre superiores a 95%. Entretanto, análise filogenética dos isolados sugere uma origem comum entre o isolado AF-198 e os isolados LMV-R e LMV-0 (patótipo II, provenientes dos Estados Unidos e da França, respectivamente). O isolado AF199 apresentou uma alta homologia de seqüência com os isolados LMV-Aud e LMV-13, ambos provenientes da França. Esses isolados também são relacionados a isolados provenientes do Chile, embora uma origem comum não seja proposta. Eventos independentes de mutação podem estar ocorrendo em diferentes partes do mundo, propiciando o surgimento de novas estirpes de LMV capazes de quebrar a resistência conferida pelos genes mo1¹ e mo1².

Ninth inter-American port conference

The ninth Inter-American Port and Harbour Conference of the Organization of American States (OAS) was held in Asuncion, Paraguay, from 23 to 27 September 1996, and was declared open by His Excellency Mr. Juan Carlos Wasmosy Monti, President of the Republic of Paraguay. Representatives from 24 countries of the Americas, four European countries and one Middle Eastern country participated. The Conference was also attended by observers from six regional or international organizations and by special guests from business and academic circles.

The genetic signature of Neolithic in Greece

The Neolithic is characterized by the transition from a subsistence economy, based on hunting and gathering, to one based on food producing. This important change was paralleled by one of the most significant demographic increase in the recent history of European populations. The earliest Neolithic sites in Europe are located in Greece. However, the debate regarding the colonization route followed by the Middle-eastern farmers is still open. Based on archaeological, archaeobotanical, craniometric and genetic data, two main hypotheses have been proposed. The first implies the maritime colonization of North-eastern Peloponnesus from Crete, whereas the second points to an island hopping route that finally brought migrants to Central Greece. To test these hypotheses using a genetic approach, 206 samples were collected from the two Greek regions proposed as the arrival point of the two routes (Korinthian district and Euboea). Expectations for each hypothesis were compared with empirical observations based on the analysis of 60 SNPs and 26 microsatellite loci of Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA hypervariable region I. The analysis of Y-chromosome haplogroups revealed a strong genetic affinity of Euboea with Anatolian and Middle-eastern populations. The inferences of the time since population expansion suggests an earlier usage of agriculture in Euboea. Moreover, the haplogroup J2a-M410, supposed to be associated with the Neolithic transition, was observed at higher frequency and variance in Euboea showing, for both these parameters, a decreasing gradient moving from this area. The time since expansion estimates for J2a-M410 was found to be compatible with the Neolithic and slightly older in Euboea. The analysis of mtDNA resulted less informative. However, a higher genetic affinity of Euboea with Anatolian and Middle-eastern populations was confirmed. These results taken as a whole suggests that the most probable route followed by Neolithic farmers during the colonization of Greece was the island hopping route.

Celti e Reti tra V e I sec. a.C. Oggetti tipo LaTène all'interno della cerchia culturale Fritzens-Sanzeno (arco alpino centro-orientale)

The study of the objects LaTène type found in middle-eastern alpine region (Trentino Alto Adige-Südtirol, Engadina, North Tirol, Voralberg and Villach basin) is aimed to a better comprehension of the complex net of relationships established among the Celts, settled both in the central Europe territories and, since the IV century b.C., in the Po Plain, and the local populations. The ancient authors, who called the inhabitants of this area Raeti, propose for this territory the usual pattern according to which, the population of a region was formed consequently to a migration or was caused by the hunting of pre-existing peoples. The archaeologists, in the last thirty years, recognized a cultural facies typical of the middle-eastern alpine territory during the second Iron Age, and defined that as Fritzens-Sanzeno culture (from the sites of Fritzens, Inn valley, and Sanzeno, Non Valley). The so-called Fritzens-Sanzeno culture spread out without breaks from the material culture of the final Bronze Age and the first Iron Age. This local substratum, characterized by a ceramic repertoire strongly standardized, by peculiar architectural solutions and by a particular typology of rural sacred places (Brandopferplätze), accepted, above all during the second Iron Age, the strong influences coming from the Etruscan world and from the Celtic one (evident in the presence of objects of ornament, of glass artefacts, of elements of the weaponry and of coins). The objects LaTène type become, with different degrees of reliability, important markers of the relationships existing between the Celts and the Raeti, although the ways of interaction (cultural influence, people's movements, commercial exchanges, gifts among élites etc.) is not still clear. The revision of published data and the study of unpublished materials allows to define a rich and articulated picture both to chronological level and to territorial one.

Raccontare gli Antichi: le "Imagini" di Vincenzo Cartari

Con le "Imagini degli dei degli antichi", pubblicate a Venezia nel 1556 e poi in più edizioni arricchite e illustrate, l’impegnato gentiluomo estense Vincenzo Cartari realizza il primo, fortunatissimo manuale mitografico italiano in lingua volgare, diffuso e tradotto in tutta l’Europa moderna. Cartari rimodula, secondo accenti divulgativi ma fedeli, fonti latine tradizionali: come le ricche "Genealogie deorum gentilium" di Giovanni Boccaccio, l’appena precedente "De deis gentium varia et multiplex historia" di Lilio Gregorio Giraldi, i curiosi "Fasti" ovidiani, da lui stesso commentati e tradotti. Soprattutto, però, introduce il patrimonio millenario di favole ed esegesi classiche, di aperture egiziane, mediorientali, sassoni, a una chiave di lettura inedita, agile e vitalissima: l’ecfrasi. Le divinità e i loro cortei di creature minori, aneddoti leggendari e attributi identificativi si susseguono secondo un taglio iconico e selettivo. Sfilano, in trionfi intrisi di raffinato petrarchismo neoplatonico e di emblematica picta poesis rinascimentale, soltanto gli aspetti figurabili e distintivi dei personaggi mitici: perché siano «raccontate interamente» tutte le cose attinenti alle figure antiche, «con le imagini quasi di tutti i dei, e le ragioni perché fossero così dipinti». Così, le "Imagini" incontrano il favore di lettori colti e cortigiani eleganti, di pittori e ceramisti, di poeti e artigiani. Allestiscono una sorta di «manuale d’uso» pronto all’inchiostro del poeta o al pennello dell’artista, una suggestiva raccolta di «libretti figurativi» ripresi tanto dalla maniera di Paolo Veronese o di Giorgio Vasari, quanto dal classicismo dei Carracci e di Nicolas Poussin. Si rivelano, infine, summa erudita capace di attirare appunti e revisioni: l’antiquario padovano Lorenzo Pignoria, nel 1615 e di nuovo nel 1626, vi aggiunge appendici archeologiche e comparatistiche, interessate al remoto regno dei faraoni quanto agli esotici idoli orientali e dei Nuovi Mondi.