Alcohol use in South Africa : findings from the first demographic and health survey (1998)

Objective This study formed part of the 1998 South African Demographic and Health Survey, which included questions assessing the extent of alcohol use, risky drinking and alcohol problems among South Africans to obtain up-to-date baseline estimates of consumption and risky drinking and to inform intervention efforts. Method A two-stage random sample of 13,826 persons ages 15 or older (59% women) was included in the survey. Alcohol use was assessed through eight questions, including the CAGE questionnaire. Frequency analyses for different age groups, geographic setting, education level, population group and gender were calculated, as were odds ratios for these variables in relation to symptoms of alcohol problems. Results Current alcohol consumption was reported by 45% of the men and 17% of the women. White men (71%) were most likely and Asian women (9%) least likely to be current drinkers. Urban residents were more likely than nonurban dwellers to report current drinking. One third of the current drinkers reported risky drinking over weekends, and 28% of the men and 10% of the women scored above the cutoff level on the CAGE questionnaire. Symptoms of alcohol problems were significantly associated with lower socioeconomic status, no school education in women and being older than 25 years of age. Conclusions A comprehensive strategy is required to address the high levels of risky drinking and reported symptoms of alcohol problems.

The use of prescribed drugs for common chronic conditions in South Africa in 1998

Purpose To determine the prescribed drug-utilisation pattern for six common chronic conditions in adult South Africans in a cross-sectional survey. Methods 13 826 randomly selected participants, 15 years and older, were surveyed by trained fieldworkers at their homes in 1998. Questionnaires included socio-demographic, chronic-disease and drug-use data. The prescribed drugs were recorded from participants' medication containers. The Anatomical Therapeutic Classification (ATC) code of the drugs for tuberculosis (TB), diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, other atherosclerosis-related conditions, such as heart conditions or cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), and asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was recorded. The use of logistic regression analyses identified the determinants of those patients who used prescription medication for these six conditions. Results 18.4% of the women and 12.5% of the men used drugs for the six chronic conditions. Men used drugs most frequently for hypertension (50.9%) and asthma or chronic bronchitis (24.3%), while in women it was for hypertension (59.9%) and diabetes (17.5%). The logistic regression analyses showed that women, wealthier and older people, and those with medical insurance used these chronic-disease drugs more frequently compared to men, younger or poor people, or those without medical insurance. The African population group used these drugs less frequently than any other ethnic group. The inappropriate use of methyldopa was found for 14.8% of all antihypertensive drugs, while very few people used aspirin. Conclusions The methodology of this study provides a means of ascertaining the chronic-disease drug-utilisation pattern in national health surveys. The pattern described, suggests an inequitable use of chronic-disease drugs and inadequate use of some effective drugs to control the burden of chronic diseases in South Africa. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Tobacco use in South Africans during 1998: The first demographic and health survey

Objective To determine smoking patterns in South Africa, and to identify groups requiring culturally appropriate smoking cessation programmes. Methods A random sample of 13 826 people (415 years), was interviewed to identify tobacco use patterns and respiratory symptoms. Peak expiratory flow rates were measured. Multinomial regression analyses identified sociodemographic factors related to tobacco use, and the latter’s association with respiratory conditions. Results In 1998, 24.6% adults (44.2% of males and 11.0% of females) smoked regularly. Coloured women had a higher rate (39%) than African women (5.4%). About 24% of the regular smokers had attempted to quit, with only 9.9% succeeding. African women (13.2%) used smokeless tobacco more frequently than others. Of the nonsmokers 28% and 19% were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke in their homes and workplaces, respectively. The regression analysis showed that the demographic characteristics of light smokers (1–14 tobacco equivalents per day) and heavy smokers (>=15 tobacco equivalents per day) differed. Light smoking occurred significantly more frequently in the poorest, least educated and urban people. The relative risk for light smoking was 18 in Coloured women compared with African women. Heavy smoking occurred most frequently in the highest educated group. A dose–response was observed between the amount smoked and the presence of respiratory diseases. Conclusions Smoking in South Africa is decreasing and should continue with the recently passed tobacco control legislation. Culturally appropriate tobacco cessation programmes for the identified target groups need to be developed.

Wastewater pollution abatement in China: A comparative study of fifteen industrial sectors from 1998 to 2010

This study analyzes the management of wastewater pollutants in a number of Chinese industrial sectors from 1998 to 2010. We use decomposition analysis to calculate changes in wastewater pollutant emissions that result from cleaner production processes, end-of-pipe treatment, structural changes in industry, and changes in the scale of production. We focus on one indicator of water quality and three pollutants: chemical oxygen demand (COD), petroleum, cyanide, and volatile phenols. We find that until 2002, COD emissions were mainly reduced through end-of-pipe treatments. Cleaner production processes didn’t begin contributing to COD emissions reductions until the introduction of a 2003 law that enforced their implementation. Petroleum emissions were primarily lowered through cleaner production mechanisms, which have the added benefit of reducing the input cost of intermediate petroleum. Diverse and effective pollution abatement strategies for cyanide and volatile phenols are emerging among industries in China. It will be important for the government to consider differences between industries should they choose to regulate the emissions of specific chemical substances.

Imazhinist Mariengof : Dendi. Montazh. Ciniki.

The study is dedicated to the Russian poet and prose writer Anatolii Borisovich Mariengof (1897–1962). Mariengof – “the last dandy of the Republic” – was one of the leaders and main theoreticians in the poetic group of the Russian Imaginists. For his contemporaries, he was an Imaginist par excellence. His Imaginist principles – in theory and practice – are applied to the study of his first fictional novel, Cynics (1928), which served as an epilogue for his Imaginist period (1918–1928). The novel was not published in the Soviet Union until 1988. The method used in the study is a conceptual and literary historical reading, making use of the contemporary semiotic understanding of cultural mechanisms and of intertextual analysis. There are three main concepts used throughout the study: dandy, montage and catachresis. In the first chapter, the history, practice and theory of the Russian Imaginism are analyzed from the point of view of dandyism. The Imaginist theatricalisation of life is juxtaposed with the thematic analysis of their poetry, and Imaginist dandyism appears as a catachrestic category in culture. The second chapter examines the Imaginist poetic theory. It is discussed in the context of the montage principle, defining the post-revolutionary culture in Soviet Russia. The Imaginist montage can be divided into three main theoretical paradigms: S. Yesenin’s “technical montage” (reminiscent of Dadaist collage), V. Shershenevich’s “nominative montage” (catalogues of images) and Anatolii Mariengof’s “catachrestic montage”. The final chapter deals with Mariengof’s first fictional novel, Cynics. The study begins with the complex history of publication of the novel, as well as its relation to the Imaginist poetic principles and to the history of the poetic movement. Cynics is, essentially, an Imaginist montage novel. The fragmentary play of the fictional and the documentary material follows the Imaginist montage principle. The chapter concludes in a thematic analysis of the novel, concentrating on the description of the October Revolution in Cynics.

"You must trust somebody" : Valtio, liberalismi ja sotatarviketeollisuus Britanniassa 1884-1905

Tutkielmassa on tarkasteltu Britannian sotilasviranomaisten ja maan sotatarviketeollisuuden välisiä suhteita vuosina 1884-1905. Kiihtyvän kilpavarustelun myötä Britannian sotilasbudjetit kasvoivat nopeasti, mikä johti maan sotatarviketeollisuuden saamien tilausten määrän nopeaan kasvuun samalla kun tuotteiden teknologinen kehitys oli nopeaa. Sotilasmenojen nopea kasvu antoi sotamateriaalihankinnoista vastaaville viranomaisille mahdollisuuden vaikuttaa yksityisen teollisuuden kehitykseen. Keskittämällä tilaukset vain luotettavina pitämilleen yrityksille viranomaiset loivat näiden kanssa puolivirallisia yhteistyösuhteita ja edistivät samalla voimakkaasti alan keskittymistä. Toisaalta muutamien suuryritysten hallitsemasta sotatarviketuotannosta muodostui yksi niistä harvoista teollisuuden aloista, joilla Britannian nopeasti kasvavat kilpailijat eivät pystyneet ohittamaan sitä enempää tuotteiden teknologisessa tasossa kuin markkinaosuuksien suuruudessakaan. Tiettyjen yritysten suosimisen taustalla ei ollut vain maanpuolustuksen kannalta rationaalinen pyrkimys hankkia riittävän laadukasta ja kehittynyttä sotamateriaalia, vaan asiaan vaikutti myös upseerien ja sotilasministeriöiden siviilivirkamiesten perinteiset aristokraattiset ajattelu- ja toimintamallit. Taloudellisen liberalismin hengessä tapahtuneet pyrkimykset uudistaa hankintamenettelyä vastaamaan enemmän vapaan kilpailun ja taloudellisuuden ihanteita jäivät yleensä tuloksettomiksi. Sotamateriaalihankintoihin liittyvä päätöksenteko vaati suurta asiantuntemusta, mikä johti sotaministeriön ja amiraliteetin virkamiesten vaikutusvallan kasvamiseen. Sotateollisuuden laajeneminen kytkeytyy läheisesti 1900-luvun alussa Britannian yhteiskunnallisessa elämässä tapahtuneeseen muutokseen, jota yleensä on luonnehdittu laissez fairen lopuksi. Jo 1880-luvulla alkaneella puuttumisellaan yksityisten sotateollisuusyritysten kehitykseen viranomaiset olivat alkaneet harjoittaa suunniteltua teollisuuspolitiikkaa, jonka tuloksena syntynyt puolivirallinen sotilasteollinen sektori oli aatteellisesti liberaaliin yhteiskuntaan soveltumaton ilmiö. Aseteollisuudessa Britannian valtio oli siten joutunut ensimmäisen kerran läheiseen vuorovaikutussuhteeseen modernien suuryritysten kanssa. Kytkentä, joka 1900-luvun kuluessa levisi yhä uusille aloille samalla kun valtion roolia talouselämässä alettiin vahvistaa. Tutkimuksen varsinaisen lähdemateriaalin muodostavat Britannian parlamentin pöytäkirjat ja sen komiteoiden raportit Niiden ohella on käytetty päätöksien tekemiseen osallistuneiden tai niihin vaikuttamiseen pyrkineiden poliitikkojen ja sotilaiden painettuja puheita, kirjekokoelmia, päiväkirjoja ja muistelmia sekä eräitä aikakauden historiaa koskevia dokumenttikokoelmia ja tilastojulkaisuja. Oleellista valaistusta asiaan tuovat osaltaan aikalaisten kirjoittamat teokset sekä lehdistö, joista kuvastuu ajalle ominainen ajattelutapa. Aihetta suoranaisesti koskevaa, tieteellisen tutkimusten kriteerit täyttävää aikaisempaa tutkimusta on vähän, mutta aihetta sivuavien tutkimusten määrä on erittäin suuri. Sotamateriaalihankintoja ja niiden taustalla olevia syitä voidaan tarkastella niin talous-, sota- aate-, kuin poliittisen historiankin näkökulmista, mutta yksinään mikään niistä ei ole riittävä tämän tutkimuksen kysymyksenasettelun kannalta. Siten tutkielmaa varten on perehdytty laajasti aikakautta koskevaan tutkimuskirjallisuuteen.

Additional records of the rock shrimp, Sicyonia australiensis Hanamura & Wadley, 1998 (Decapoda, Sicyoniidae) from eastern Australia, western central Pacific

This paper reports on the collection of S. australiensis from the continental shelf off southern Queensland, easter Australia, in the western Central Pacific, documenting for the first time the occurrence of the species outside of eastern Bass Strait.

Satellite evidence of harmful algal blooms and related oceanographic features in the Bohai Sea during autumn 1998

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are truly global marine phenomena of increasing significance. Some HAB occurrences are different to observe because of their high spatial and temporal variability and their advection, once formed, by surface currents. A serious HAB occurred in the Bohai Sea during autumn 1998, causing the largest fisheries economic loss. The present study analyzes the formation, distribution, and advection of HAB using satellite SeaWiFS ocean color data and other oceanographic data. The results show that the bloom originated in the western coastal waters of the Bohai Sea in early September, and developed southeastward when sea surface temperature (SST) increased to 25-26 °C. The bloom with a high Chl-a concentration (6.5 mg m-3) in center portion covered an area of 60 × 65 km2. At the end of September, the bloom decayed when SST decreased to 22-23 °C. The HAB may have been initiated by a combination of the river discharge nutrients in the west coastal waters and the increase of SST; afterwards it may have been transported eastward by the local circulation that was enhanced by northwesterly winds in late September and early October.

Who Participated in School-to-Work Programs in 1998? Technical Report

[Excerpt] This report is based on a survey of 7425 students attending high school during the 1998/99 academic year that asked about recent participation in school-to-work (STW) activities. The survey is the first wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth begun in early 1997 (NLSY97). Ninety-three percent of the youth surveyed in the initial wave were interviewed in the second follow up that we are analyzing here. The statistics reported below are based on weighted data and so represent the population of 15 to 19 year olds attending school during the 1998/99 academic year. Youth who graduated from or dropped out of high school before fall 1998 were not asked questions about participation in school-to-work programs and so are not included in our analysis.

Commonwealth Disability Services Census: 1998

[Excerpt] The Commonwealth Minister for Family and Community Services, through the Department of Family and Community Services, funds disability services in each State and Territory. This funding provides access for people with a disability to vocational programs and employment opportunities, promotes economic and social participation and choice in work and community life. Information is collected each year from services in receipt of funding. This report, the fourth in the series, contains the findings from the 1998 Commonwealth Disability Services Census and covers all Commonwealth funded employment, print disability, advocacy, and information services. The collection provides information to assist in the planning, development and management of Commonwealth disability programs and enables the Commonwealth to fulfil its reporting obligations under the Commonwealth/State Disability Agreement.