Mobile technology, gender and development in Africa, India and Bangladesh

Presenting

From women to gender: a diachronic exploration of participant representation in texts from the United Nations

De förändrade ansatserna inom feministisk utvecklingsekonomi för med sig nya sätt att tala om kvinnor, män och utveckling. Genom att analysera texter skrivna inom området feministisk ekonomi från 1960-talet fram till början av 2000-talet dokumenterar den föreliggande studien på vilket sätt språket hos textproducenter inom utvecklingsekonomi konstituerar och är beroende av dessa skribenters inställning till utvecklingsfrågor och till kvinnor och män. Analysen fokuserar på hur aktiverings- och passiveringsprocesser används i representationen av de två huvuddeltagarna, kvinnor och män, hur begreppet genus introduceras och hur utvecklingsfrågor förändras genom ansatser, över tid och mellan genrer. Den teoretiska ramen sträcker sig över olika discipliner: systemisk funktionell grammatik och kritisk diskursanalys, men även organisatorisk diskursanalys och utvecklingsstudier. Texterna som valts för analysen härstammar från tre olika källor: planer från världskvinnokonferenserna organiserade av Förenta Nationerna, resolutioner om kvinnor och utveckling antagna av Förenta Nationernas generalförsamling samt handlingsplaner för kvinnor och utveckling författade av Förenta Nationernas livsmedels- och jordbruksorganisation FAO. Den lingvistiska analysmetoden bygger på det system av roller och sätt att representera deltagare som utvecklats av Halliday och Van Leeuwen. För varje årtionde och varje genre granskar studien förändringarna i processtyper och deltagarroller, samt förändringen av fokus på kvinnorelaterade frågor och konceptualiseringen av genus. Den kvantitativa analysen kompletteras och förstärks av en detaljerad analys av textfragment från olika tidpunkter och ansatser. Studiens resultat är av grammatisk och lexikal natur och de är relaterade till genus, genre och tid. Studien visar att aktiveringsprocesserna är betydligt talrikare än passiveringsprocesserna i representationen av kvinnor. En bättre förståelse av deltagarrepresentation uppnås dock via en omgruppering av de grammatiska processerna i identifierande, aktiverande och riktade processer. Skiftet från fokus på kvinnor till fokus på genus är inte så mycket en förändring av processerna som representerar deltagarna, utan mer en förändring av retoriken i ansatserna och deras fokus: från integration av kvinnor till kvinnors empowerment, från kvinnors situation till genusrelationer, från brådskande tillägg till social konflikt och samarbete.

Gender Might Be Factor for Student Admission in Two Brazilian Medical Schools

This is a secondary data-based study conducted to investigate whether gender is related to acceptance. Two Brazilian Medical Schools, Universities A and B, were studied. Their entrance exams (EE) were analysed and the number of candidates who took the EE was compared to the number of students admitted to the MS according to gender, in the period between 1995 and 2009. The same data from MS in the United States in 2011 was also evaluated. There was an increase in the percentage of female applicants but it did not correspond to the percentage of admitted students of the same gender. There was a trend of selecting men. At A, 39.3% of the applicants and 47% of the admitted students were men (OR = 1.37; CI95% = 1.24 – 1.51). In B, men represented 39.3% of the applicants and 65.4% of the admitted students (OR = 2.93; CI 95% = 2.76 – 3.11). This was not seen in US MS. The analysis of the EE suggests that the greater selection of men could be a product of EE format.

China's 'Assertive’ South China Sea Policy And Rhetoric: Proactive, Reactive Or Myth?

In March 2010, Chinese State Councillor, Dai Bingguo, in a private meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State, James Steinberg, allegedly referred to the South China Sea (SCS) as one of the country’s ‘core interests’, a term normally only used to refer to regions like Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang upon whose sovereignty Beijing will make no compromises. This alleged wording by Mr Dai caused a strong global reaction, with many countries around the world expressing a fear that China, on the back of its rise to the status of the world's second largest economic power, was now about to implement a more assertive foreign policy more in keeping with its new status of global superpower. As the use of the term ‘core interest’ took place in a private meeting and appears to have been subsequently leaked, it is impossible to prove what was said or meant, yet in 2011, with China and the US continuing to eye each other with suspicion, the adverse repercussions of people trying to deduce what was meant are undeniable. By analysing the views of experts and the evolution or otherwise of Chinese rhetoric and policy towards the SCS, this thesis will show how the alleged use of a term in a private meeting can have consequences that far exceed what was originally intended. It will also show that it is highly unlikely that China’s maritime policy is becoming more assertive as, at China's present stage of social and economic development, it simply cannot afford the ill will and adverse consequences that would result from an act of international aggression. It will show how easy it seems to be for a country like the US to project a misleading image of another country’s intentions, which can in turn serve partially to mask its own intentions. Finally, it will show that the China’s stance on the SCS is starting to be seen by the world as a litmus test for the assertiveness of overall Chinese foreign policy.

Shapes and sizes : body image, body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in relation to gender and gender identity

Syftet med denna avhandling var att empiriskt undersöka kroppsbild, kroppsmissnöje och ätstörningssymptom hos vuxna i relation till kön och könsidentitet. Även sexuell kroppsbild studerades. Data samlades in via en populationsbaserad frågeformulärsstudie (11,468 deltagare) samt en intervjustudie med 20 transpersoner. Kvinnor rapporterade mer kroppsmissnöje och ätstörningssymptom än män. Till exempel uppgav mer än hälften av kvinnorna och en tredjedel av männen att de uppfattade sig som mindre attraktiva än de önskade att de var. Mer än hälften av kvinnorna och en tredjedel av männen uppgav sig banta, och självframkallade kräkningar rapporterades av var tionde kvinna och var hundrade man. Könsidentitetskonflikt var associerat med högre nivåer av kroppsnöje och ätstörningssymptom. Majoriteten av de intervjuade transpersonerna rapporterade omfattande missnöje med sina kroppar, särskilt gällande sexuell kroppsbild, samt ätstörningssymptom. Könskorrigering uppgavs i huvudsak lindra kroppsmissnöje och ätstörningssymptom. Vårdpersonal bör vara medveten om att kroppsmissnöje och ätstörningssymptom berör både vuxna kvinnor och män. Missnöje med de sexuella delarna av kroppen förefaller vara relativt vanligt bland vuxna och bör inte förbises. Vårdpersonal som arbetar med transpersoner bör vara medvetna om hur djupt och omfattande dessa personers kroppsmissnöje kan vara, samt uppmärksamma en eventuellt förhöjd risk för ätstörningssymptom. Det är även värt att notera att könskorrigering kan lindra kroppsmissnöje och ätstörningssymptom hos transpersoner.

Gender-tutkimuksen uusi vuosikymmen : queer theory

Kirjallisuusarvostelu

Limits of Meritocracy. How Fields of Study and Gender Segregation Affect Social Stratification in Finland

This dissertation critically reviews the idea of meritocracy from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective. Based on a discussion of classical texts of social philosophy and sociology, it is argued that meritocracy as a concept for social stratification is best compatible with the sociological tradition of status attainment research: both frame social inequality in primarily individualistic terms, centring on the role of ascribed (e.g., gender, social background) and achieved (e.g., educational qualifications) characteristics for determining individuals’ socioeconomic rewards. This theoretical argument introduces the research problem at the core of this dissertation: to what extent can the individualistic conception of social stratification be maintained empirically? Fields of study and their interaction with educational attainment levels play a prominent role in the analysis of this question. Drawing on sociological versions of segmented labour market theory, it is assumed that fields of study may channel individuals into heterogeneous political-economic contexts on the labour market, which potentially modify the socioeconomic benefit individuals derive from their qualification levels. The focus on fields of study may also highlight economic differentials between men and women that derive from the persisting segregation of men’s and women’s occupational and educational specializations rather than direct gender discrimination on the labour market. The quantitative analyses in this dissertation consist of three research articles, which are based primarily on Finnish data, but occasionally extend the view to other European countries. The data sources include register-based macro- and microdata as well as survey data. Article I examines the extent and the patterns of gender segregation within the Finnish educational system between 1981 and 2005. The results show that differences between men’s and women’s field specializations have for the most part remained stable during this period, with particularly high levels of gender segregation observed at lower educational levels. The focus in Article II rests on the effects of gender-segregated fields of study on higher education graduates’ occupational status. It is shown that fields of study matter for accessing professional jobs and avoiding low-skilled positions in Finland: at the early career stage, particularly polytechnic graduates from female-dominated fields are less likely to work in professional positions. Finnish university graduates from male-dominated fields were more likely than their peers with different specializations to work as professionals, yet they also faced a greater risk of being sorted into lowskilled jobs if they failed to make use of this advantage. Article III proceeded to analyse the joint impact of educational qualification levels and fields of study on young adults’ median earnings in Finland between 1985 and 2005. The results show that qualification levels do not confer a consistent benefit in the process of earnings stratification. Advanced qualifications raise median earnings most clearly among individuals specializing in the same field of study. When comparing individuals with different field specializations, on the other hand, higher-level qualifications do not necessarily lead to higher median earnings. Overall, the findings of this dissertation reveal a heterogeneous effect of education for achieving social positions, which challenges individual-centred, meritocratic accounts of social stratification and underlines the problematic lack of structural and institutional dimensions in the dominant account of social status attainment.

Transforming Bodies, Wandering Desires. Intra-actions of Gender and Sexuality in Non-heterosexual Transgender Embodiment

Pro gradu -tutkielmani käsittelee sukupuolen ja seksuaalisuuden keskinäisiä intraaktiivisia vuorovaikutussuhteita elettyjen, ei-heteroseksuaalisten transsukupuolisten ruumiiden kokemuksissa. Tutkielmani haastaa sukupuolen ja seksuaalisuuden pysyvyyden käsityksiä sekä niihin liittyviä yhteiskunnallisia normeja kuvaten tapoja, joilla seksuaalisuuden ja sukupuolen kokeminen ja käytännöt liikkuvat, kehittyvät ja vuorovaikuttavat eletyissä transsukupuolisuuden ruumiillistumissa. Haastattelen kuutta suomalaista, syntymässä naiseksi määriteltyä transsukupuolista henkilöä liittyen heidän kokemuksiinsa sukupuolesta, seksuaalisuudesta ja näiden muutoksista heidän tähänastisen elämänsä aikana. Tarkastelen nauhoitettuja ja litteroituja haastattelutekstejä transtutkimusta, queer-teoriaa ja feminististä uusmaterialistista filosofiaa yhdistävän teoreettisen kehyksen kautta keskittyen siihen, miten sukupuoli ja seksuaalisuus vaikuttavat toistensa kehitykseen, muutokseen ja materialisoitumiseen eri elämänvaiheissa ja tilanteissa. Erityisen tärkeiksi teoreettisiksi vaikuttajiksi tutkielmassani muodostuvat Judith Butlerin Gender Trouble (2006 [1990]) -teoksessaan hahmottelema performatiivisen sukupuolen teoria, Sara Ahmedin analyysi teoksessa Queer Phenomenology. Orientations, Objects, Others (2006) ja Karen Baradin teoksessa Meeting the Universe Halfway. Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning (2007) teoretisoima toimijuudellinen realismi. Päästäkseni kiinni sukupuolen ja seksuaalisuuden yhtymäkohtiin erittelen ensin niitä ominaisuuksia ja kokemuksia, jotka näyttäytyvät haastatteluteksteissäni oleellisina seksuaalisuuden ja sukupuolen kannalta. Tarkastelen seksuaalisuutta suuntautumisen, halun ja seksuaalisten käytäntöjen näkökulmasta: vaikka nämä seksuaalisuuden aspektit ovat kiinteästi kytköksissä toisiinsa, niitä ei voi kokonaan palauttaa toisiinsa. Sukupuolta käsittelen performatiivisuuden näkökulmasta painottaen transsukupuolisiin ruumiisiin ja niiden materiaalisuuteen liittyviä erityispiirteitä. Sukupuolen ja seksuaalisuuden suhteita toisiinsa tarkastelen sekä sellaisissa tilanteissa, joissa niitä on vaikea erottaa toisistaan, että sellaisissa, joissa niiden voidaan nähdä tuottavan toinentoisiaan. Tutkielmallani on etnografisia, filosofisia ja poliittisia ulottuvuuksia. Yhtäältä tahdon kuvata ja analysoida elettyjä transsukupuolisia kokemuksia ja tuottaa tietoa vähän tutkitun ihmisryhmän todellisuudesta. Toisaalta osallistun sukupuolifilosofiseen keskusteluun ruumiillisuudesta ja sukupuolen ja seksuaalisuuden olemuksesta. Lähestyn tutkimusprosessiani niin sanotusta transgender standpoint -näkökulmasta; kirjoitan transsukupuolisena ruumiina, transsukupuolisia ruumiita koskien, pyrkimyksenäni edistää elävien transsukupuolisten ruumiiden asemaa, toimijuutta ja näkyvyyttä yhteiskunnassa.

Diagnosing Gender: Transitivity Analysis on the Diagnostic Category of Gender Dysphoria in DSM-5

Tässä tutkielmassa analysoidaan teoksessa ’Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Men-tal Disorders, Fifth Edition’ (DSM-5) ja tarkemmin sen kappaleessa ’Gender Dysphoria’ käytettyä kieltä. DSM-5 on mielenterveydenalan ammattilaisille suunnattu luokittelu virallisesti tunnustetuista mielenterveyden häiriöistä ja se sisältää myös oireiden kuvai-luun perustuvat ohjeet näiden mielenterveyshäiriöiden diagnosoimiseksi. ’Gender dys-phoria’ (vapaasti suomennettuna sukupuolidysforia) on lääketieteellinen termi, joka viittaa biologisesta sukupuolesta eriävän sukupuoli-identiteetin aiheuttamaan henki-seen pahoinvointiin. Sukupuoli-identiteetin ja mielenterveysongelman yhdistäminen sisältää ideologisiin arvoihin pohjautuvia perusteluja ja tässä tutkielmassa analysoi-daan ’Gender Dysphoria’ – kappaleen ideologista sisältöä kriittisestä näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen tarkastellaan ’Gender Dysphoria’ – kappaleessa käytetyn kielen ideologi-sia heijastumia ja niiden sosiaalisia vaikutuksia kolmen tutkimuskysymyksen avulla: 1) Kuinka diagnosoitu henkilö esitetään tekstissä? 2) Kuinka tekstissä rakennetaan kuvaa sukupuolidysforiasta mielenterveyshäiriönä? 3) Miten analyysin tulokset saattavat vai-kuttaa käsitykseen sukupuolen yhteydestä mielenterveyteen ja sukupuolidysforian diagnosoimiseen. Analyysissä käytetään metodina M. A. K. Hallidayn transitiivisuusteo-riaa ja tulosten sosiaalisia vaikutuksia analysoidaan Norman Faircloughn diskurssiana-lyysimallin avulla. Transitiivisuusanalyysin avulla tarkastellaan kirjoittajien tekemiä va-lintoja kielenkäytön suhteen, jotka Hallidayn teorian mukaan heijastavat kirjoittajien henkilökohtaisia kokemuksia ympäröivästä maailmasta. Tutkimus paljasti, että sukupuolidysforia esitetään mielenterveysongelmana erotta-malla se yksilöstä erilliseksi toimijaksi, joka suorittaa erilaisia prosesseja yksilön sisällä. Yksilöistä erityisesti lapset esitetään tekstissä voimakkaasti perinteisiin sukupuoliroo-leihin pohjautuvan ideologian valossa, joka heijastuu oireiden kuvailuun. Analyysi osoittaa myös logiikkaongelmia lasten oireiden kuvailussa, jotka johtavat ristiriitoihin oireiden ja mielenterveysongelman yhteydessä ja kumoavat perusteet, joiden pohjalta lapset diagnosoidaan. Tutkimuksen lopussa ehdotetaan, että sukupuolidysforiaan liit-tyvien diagnoosiohjeiden ja – kriteerien perusteita muokataan yleisesti sukupuoli-identiteetin itsemääräämisoikeuteen pohjautuvaksi ja lasten osalta tekstiin sisällytet-täisiin mahdollisia tieteellisiä perusteluja, jotka kumoaisivat diagnoosiohjeiden nyky-muodossaan sisältämät ristiriidat ja perustelisivat lasten diagnosoinnin oikeellisuuden

The myth of nitric oxide in central cardiovascular control by the nucleus tractus solitarii

Considerable evidence suggests that nitroxidergic mechanisms in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) participate in cardiovascular reflex control. Much of that evidence, being based on responses to nitric oxide precursors or inhibitors of nitric oxide synthesis, has been indirect and circumstantial. We sought to directly determine cardiovascular responses to nitric oxide donors microinjected into the NTS and to determine if traditional receptor mechanisms might account for responses to certain of these donors in the central nervous system. Anesthetized adult Sprague Dawley rats that were instrumented for recording arterial pressure and heart rate were used in the physiological studies. Microinjection of nitric oxide itself into the NTS did not produce any cardiovascular responses and injection of sodium nitroprusside elicited minimal depressor responses. The S-nitrosothiols, S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), S-nitrosoacetylpenicillamine (SNAP), and S-nitroso-D-cysteine (D-SNC) produced no significant cardiovascular responses while injection of S-nitroso-L-cysteine (L-SNC) elicited brisk, dose-dependent depressor and bradycardic responses. In contrast, injection of glyceryl trinitrate elicited minimal pressor responses without associated changes in heart rate. It is unlikely that the responses to L-SNC were dependent on release of nitric oxide in that 1) the responses were not affected by injection of oxyhemoglobin or an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis prior to injection of L-SNC and 2) L- and D-SNC released identical amounts of nitric oxide when exposed to brain tissue homogenates. Although GSNO did not independently affect blood pressure, its injection attenuated responses to subsequent injection of L-SNC. Furthermore, radioligand binding studies suggested that in rat brain synaptosomes there is a saturable binding site for GSNO that is displaced from that site by L-SNC. The studies suggest that S-nitrosocysteine, not nitric oxide, may be an interneuronal messenger for cardiovascular neurons in the NTS

Gender effects on esophageal motility

It has been suggested that there are no gender effects on esophageal motility. However, in previous studies the subjects did not perform multiple swallows and the quantitative features of esophageal contractions were not evaluated. In order to investigate the gender effects on esophageal motility we studied 40 healthy normal volunteers, 20 men aged 37 ± 15 years (mean ± SD), and 20 women aged 38 ± 14 years. We used the manometric method with an eight-lumen polyvinyl catheter and continuous perfusion. The upper and lower esophageal sphincter pressures were measured by the rapid pull-through method. With the catheter positioned with one lumen opening in the lower esophageal sphincter, and the others at 5, 10 and 15 cm above the sphincter, ten swallows of a 5-ml water bolus alternated with ten dry swallows were performed. Statistical analysis was done by the Student t-test and Mann-Whitney test. Gender differences (P<0.05) were observed for wet swallows in the duration of contractions 5 cm above the lower esophageal sphincter (men: 3.7 ± 0.2 s, women: 4.5 ± 0.3 s, mean ± SEM), and in the velocity of contractions from 15 to 10 cm above the lower esophageal sphincter (men: 4.7 ± 0.3 cm/s, women: 3.5 ± 0.2 cm/s). There was no difference (P>0.05) in sphincter pressure, duration and percentage of complete lower esophageal sphincter relaxation, amplitude of contractions, or in the number of failed, multipeaked and synchronous contractions. We conclude that gender may cause some differences in esophageal motility which, though of no clinical significance, should be taken into consideration when interpreting esophageal motility tests.

Gender differences in the activities of aspirin-esterases in rat tissues

The activities of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid)-esterases were measured in several tissues (liver, kidney, adrenal glands, brain and serum) from adult male and female Wistar rats. In males, both aspirin-esterase I (assayed at pH 5.5) and II (assayed at pH 7.4) activities were higher in liver homogenates when compared to females (aspirin-esterase I: males 48.9 ± 4.8 (N = 8) and females 29.3 ± 4.2 (N = 8) nmol of salicylic acid formed min-1 mg protein-1; aspirin-esterase II: males 41.4 ± 4.1 (N = 8) and females 26.1 ± 4.5 (N = 8) nmol of salicylic acid formed min-1 mg protein-1, P<0.001). In serum, enzyme activity was higher in females than in males (aspirin-esterase I: males 0.85 ± 0.06 (N = 6) and females 1.18 ± 0.11 (N = 6) nmol of salicylic acid formed min-1 mg protein-1; aspirin-esterase II: males 1.03 ± 0.13 (N = 6) and females 1.34 ± 0.11 (N = 6) nmol of salicylic acid formed min-1 mg protein-1, P<0.001). In the other tissues assayed, no statistically significant difference between males and females was found. There were no statistically significant differences when the enzymes were assayed in different phases of the estrous cycle in liver and serum. These results show that the differences in aspirin-esterase activity observed between males and females are not due to the estrous cycle. The gender difference obtained in our study may indicate an involvement of gonadal hormones in the control of the hydrolysis of aspirin. This possibility is currently under investigation.

Gender differences in vascular expression of endothelin and ET A/ET B receptors, but not in calcium handling mechanisms, in deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension

We determined if the increased vascular responsiveness to endothelin-1 (ET-1) observed in male, but not in female, DOCA-salt rats is associated with differential vascular mRNA expression of ET-1 and/or ET A/ET B receptors or with functional differences in Ca2+ handling mechanisms by vascular myocytes. Uninephrectomized male and female Wistar rats received DOCA and drinking water containing NaCl/KCl. Control rats received vehicle and tap water. Blood pressure and contractile responses of endothelium-denuded aortic rings to agents which induce Ca2+ influx and/or its release from internal stores were measured using standard procedures. Expression of mRNA for ET-1 and ET A/ET B receptors was evaluated by RT-PCR after isolation of total cell RNA from both aorta and mesenteric arteries. Systolic blood pressure was higher in male than in female DOCA rats. Contractions induced by Bay K8644 (which activates Ca2+ influx through voltage-operated L-type channels), and by caffeine, serotonin or ET-1 in Ca2+-free buffer (which reflect Ca2+ release from internal stores) were significantly increased in aortas from male and female DOCA-salt compared to control aortas. DOCA-salt treatment of male, but not female, rats statistically increased vascular mRNA expression of ET-1 and ET B receptors, but decreased the expression of ET A receptors. Molecular up-regulation of vascular ET B receptors, rather than differential changes in smooth muscle Ca2+ handling mechanisms, seems to account for the increased vascular reactivity to ET-1/ET B receptor agonists and higher blood pressure levels observed in male DOCA-salt rats.

Gender-related differences in the effects of nitric oxide donors on neuroleptic-induced catalepsy in mice

It has been suggested that nigrostriatal dopaminergic transmission is modulated by nitric oxide (NO). Since there is evidence that gonadal hormones can affect extrapyramidal motor behavior in mammals, we investigated the effects of isosorbide dinitrate (ISD), linsidomine (SIN-1) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), three pharmacologically different NO donors, on neuroleptic-induced catalepsy in 60- to 80-day-old male and female albino mice. Catalepsy was induced with haloperidol (1 mg/kg, ip) and measured at 30-min intervals by means of a bar test. Drugs (or appropriate vehicle) were injected ip 30 min before haloperidol, with each animal being used only once. ISD (5, 20 and 50 mg/kg) caused a dose-dependent inhibition of catalepsy in male mice (maximal effect 120 min after haloperidol: 64% inhibition). In the females only at the highest dose of ISD was an attenuation of catalepsy observed, which was mild and short lasting. SIN-1 (10 and 50 mg/kg) did not significantly affect catalepsy in female mice, while a significant attenuation was observed in males at the dose of 50 mg/kg (maximal inhibition: 60%). SNAP (20 mg/kg) significantly attenuated catalepsy in males 120 min after haloperidol (44% inhibition), but had no significant effect on females. These results basically agree with literature data showing that NO facilitates central dopaminergic transmission, although the mechanisms are not fully understood. They also reveal the existence of gender-related differences in this nitrergic modulation in mice, with females being less affected than males.