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Towns
Kinds of Towns Selected AbstractsGENEALOGIES OF THE GRID: REVISITING STANISLAWSKI'S SEARCH FOR THE ORIGIN OF THE GRID,PATTERN TOWN,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2008REDWOOD, REUBEN S. ROSE ABSTRACT. As a spatial form, the grid pattern has influenced a range of human activities, from urban planning, architecture, and modern art to graphic design, archaeology, and cartography. Scholars from different disciplines have generally explored the role of the grid within their respective fields of inquiry. One of the earliest geographical attempts to systematically trace the origin and diffusion of the grid-pattern town was provided by Dan Stanislawski in the mid,twentieth century. In this article I critically examine the limitations of Stanislawski's theory of the grid's origin as a means of challenging the doctrine of diffusionism more generally. I then provide a selective overview of recent approaches to understanding the grid and call for a comparative genealogy of gridded spaces and places. [source] THE NON-PENNSYLVANIA TOWN: DIFFUSION OF URBAN PLAN FORMS IN THE AMERICAN WEST,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 2 2006MICHAEL P. CONZEN ABSTRACT. Wilbur Zelinsky's classic 1977 account of the Pennsylvania town as a cultural place type,the urban component of the nationally influential Pennsylvanian culture region,acknowledged that it was not exported intact across the successive western frontiers of the United States. But, aside from Edward Price's specialized study of courthouse squares, we know little that is systematic about how town-planning ideas diffused across the continent. This investigation offers evidence from the Willamette Valley in Oregon of the eventual variety and geographical distribution of town-platting conventions that developed in this Pacific Coast "destination' setting and the possible provenance in the Ohio Valley of certain early Oregonian town-plan features. The evidence raises questions about the resilience of town-planning conventions in light of the distance carried, cultural time lags, and changing ideas about best practice and local suitability. [source] Prediabetes and the big baby,DIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 1 2008D. R. Hadden Abstract The concept of prediabetes has come to the fore again with the worldwide epidemic of Type 2 diabetes. The careful observations of W. P. U. Jackson and his colleagues in Cape Town, South Africa 50 years ago still deserve attention. Maternal hyperglycaemia cannot be the only cause of fetal macrosomia, and the pathophysiological reason for the unexplained stillbirth in late diabetic pregnancy still eludes us. The biochemical concepts of ,facilitated anabolism' and ,accelerated starvation' were developed by Freinkel as explanations of the protective mechanisms for the baby during the stresses of pregnancy. Some of these nutritional stresses may also occur in the particular form of early childhood malnutrition known in Africa as kwashiorkor, where subcutaneous fat deposition, carbohydrate intolerance, islet hyperplasia and sudden death may follow a period of excess carbohydrate and deficient protein intake. Different feeding practices in different parts of the world make comparisons uncertain, but there is evidence for insulin resistance in both the macrosomic fetus of the hyperglycaemic mother and in the child with established kwashiorkor. These adaptive changes in early development may play both a physiological and a pathological role. Worldwide studies of hyperglycaemia in pregnancy are gradually establishing acceptable diagnostic criteria, appropriate screening procedures and an evidence base for treatment. Nevertheless the challenge of prediabetes and the big baby is still with us,in Jackson's words,,diabetes mellitus is a fascinating condition,the more we know about it the less we understand it'. [source] A Small Town in (East) Germany: The Erfurt Meeting and the Dynamics of DétenteDIPLOMATIC HISTORY, Issue 1 2001M. E. Sarotte First page of article [source] Children and fighting forces: 10 years on from Cape TownDISASTERS, Issue 4 2009Lindsay Stark It is 10 years since the adoption of the Cape Town Principles and Best Practices on the Prevention of Recruitment of Children into the Armed Forces and on Demobilization and Social Reintegration of Child Soldiers in Africa. The field of programming for the reintegration of children associated with armed forces and armed groups has made significant strides in this period. However, important gaps in the knowledge base remain. This paper examines empirical evidence that supports lessons learned from work with children formerly connected with fighting forces. It evaluates what is known, where promising practice exists, and lacunae in five programming areas: psychosocial support and care; community acceptance; education, training and livelihoods; inclusive programming for all war-affected children; and follow-up and monitoring. While the 2007 Paris Commitments to Protect Children from Unlawful Recruitment or Use by Armed Forces or Groups mark an emerging consensus on many issues, there is still a critical need for more systematic studies to develop the evidence base supporting intervention in this area. [source] Learning from others: the scope and challenges for participatory disaster risk assessmentDISASTERS, Issue 4 2007Mark Pelling This paper develops a framework based on procedural, methodological and ideological elements of participatory vulnerability and risk assessment tools for placing individual approaches within the wide range of work that claims a participatory, local or community orientation. In so doing it draws on relevant experience from other areas of development practice from which the disasters field can learn. Participatory disaster risk assessments are examined for their potential to be empowering, to generate knowledge, to be scaled up, to be a vehicle for negotiating local change and as part of multiple-methods approaches to disaster risk identification and reduction. The paper is a response to an international workshop on Community Risk Assessment organised by ProVention Consortium and the Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme, University of Cape Town. The workshop brought together practitioners and academics to review the challenges and opportunities for participatory methodologies in the field of disaster risk reduction. In conclusion the contribution made by participatory methodologies to global disaster risk reduction assessment and policy is discussed. [source] Surge in treatment admissions related to methamphetamine use in Cape Town, South Africa: implications for public healthDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 2 2008ANDREAS PLÜDDEMANN Abstract Introduction and Aims. In the past decade, methamphetamine has become increasingly a drug of concern globally. The purpose of this study is to describe the changing trends in treatment admissions for methamphetamine abuse in Cape Town, South Africa and to highlight the implications of these changes for policy, practice and research. Design and Methods. Data were collected on admissions for drug abuse treatment through a regular monitoring system involving drug treatment centres and programmes in Cape Town every 6 months as part of the South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (SACENDU). A one-page form was completed by treatment centre personnel to obtain demographic data, the patients' primary and secondary substances of abuse, the mode, frequency and age of first use of substance and information on prior treatment. Results. The results indicate that between 2004 and 2006 a dramatic increase in treatment admissions for methamphetamine abuse occurred, a large proportion of the methamphetamine patients are adolescents and that the drug is almost exclusively smoked. Discussion and Conclusions. The rapid increase in admissions for methamphetamine abuse is of great concern, particularly as the drug has a number of serious, often chronic, side effects and that a large proportion of the patients are adolescents. The implications for public health are discussed. [source] What Happens When Wal-Mart Comes to Town: An Empirical Analysis of the Discount Retailing IndustryECONOMETRICA, Issue 6 2008Panle Jia In the past few decades multistore retailers, especially those with 100 or more stores, have experienced substantial growth. At the same time, there is widely reported public outcry over the impact of these chain stores on other retailers and local communities. This paper develops an empirical model to assess the impact of chain stores on other discount retailers and to quantify the size of the scale economies within a chain. The model has two key features. First, it allows for flexible competition patterns among all players. Second, for chains, it incorporates the scale economies that arise from operating multiple stores in nearby regions. In doing so, the model relaxes the commonly used assumption that entry in different markets is independent. The lattice theory is exploited to solve this complicated entry game among chains and other discount retailers in a large number of markets. It is found that the negative impact of Kmart's presence on Wal-Mart's profit was much stronger in 1988 than in 1997, while the opposite is true for the effect of Wal-Mart's presence on Kmart's profit. Having a chain store in a market makes roughly 50% of the discount stores unprofitable. Wal-Mart's expansion from the late 1980s to the late 1990s explains about 40,50% of the net change in the number of small discount stores and 30,40% for all other discount stores. Scale economies were important for Wal-Mart, but less so for Kmart, and the magnitude did not grow proportionately with the chains' sizes. [source] ,Are You Going to be MISS (or MR) Africa?'Contesting Masculinity in Drum Magazine 1951,1953GENDER & HISTORY, Issue 1 2001Lindsay Clowes DrumDrum magazine was first published in March 1951. Like other magazines, it both reflected and shaped the society from which its audience emerged. During 1951, its audience, mainly urban black readers, was able to push the publication away from its original rural focus towards an urban emphasis. Town living, however, meant different things to different people. Thus, while readers were successful in shifting the focus of the magazine, they were less successful in influencing the way the publication presented urban life. This paper explores the struggle between readers, journalists and editors over the Miss Africa beauty contest announced at the beginning of 1952. Although the magazine reluctantly admitted men to the contest, it discriminated against male entrants in a variety of ways over the course of the year, and subsequent competitions barred male contestants entirely. Despite opposition from male readers who wished to be considered beautiful, the men of Drum were largely successful in asserting their own deeply gendered cultural vision of urban life. [source] Feeding the Town: New Evidence from the Complex of the Giza Pyramid BuildersGENERAL ANTHROPOLOGY BULLETIN OF THE GENERAL ANTHROPOLOGY DIVISION, Issue 1-2 2005Mary Anne Murray First page of article [source] Geoarchaeological and chronostratigraphical investigations of open-air sites in the Geelbek Dunes, South AfricaGEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2008M. Fuchs The Geelbek Dunes located north of Cape Town, South Africa, are an active, northward migrating dune field. Interdunal deflation hollows temporarily expose former land surfaces that are associated with archaeological sites. These open-air sites shed light on large-scale patterns of Middle and Later Stone Age settlement and augment the information gained from well-stratified, but spatially limited caves, rock shelters, and coastal shell middens. Based on paleopedological and sedimentological parameters, three former land surfaces were identified and associated with different assemblages. A chronostratigraphy of the various land surfaces was established by applying optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. The youngest former land surface is represented by a dune generation (AD2) which stabilized at a maximum of 5 ka. An older dune generation (AD1) shows a more heterogeneous age pattern where deposition started at ca. 27 ka with a maximum estimated age of stabilization at ca. 10 ka. Both of these dune generations overlie a weathered calcrete complex of Middle to Late Pleistocene age. While the third dune generation (AD0) was observed between underlying calcrete layers, samples taken from this unit could not be dated. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] BELGIAN SETTLEMENT AND SOCIETY IN THE INDIANA RUST BELT,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2003SUSAN E. HUME ABSTRACT. At first glance the industrial city of Mishawaka, near the northern border of Indiana, appears to be ethnically homogeneous. Closer examination, however, reveals the rich ethnic heritage of Mishawaka, as it does in so many other Rust Belt cities from Pittsburgh to Chicago. One of the most fascinating of these immigrant stories is the rise of Belgian Town, on Mishawaka's southwest side. This study examines residential, commercial, and social patterns of this evolving ethnic community during the first three decades of the twentieth century. Although industrial jobs attracted immigrants to the city, creation of a Flemish Catholic church provided the foundation on which to build a tightly knit Belgian community. [source] Business Improvement Districts: Policy Origins, Mobile Policies and Urban LiveabilityGEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2007Kevin Ward This article reviews the trans-nationalisation of Business Improvement Districts. It outlines the geographical and ideological origins of this much-heralded approach to downtown governance, and the means through which it has found itself in such diverse settings as Cape Town in South Africa, Kru,evac in Serbia and Liverpool in the UK. Analysing the emergence of Business Improvement Districts in terms of the external edges of the state and its internal architecture, on the one hand, and, on the other, in the context of discussions around urban liveability, this article reviews work across geography, planning, political science and sociology. It concludes by arguing that Business Improvement Districts are both interesting in their own right, for what they reveal about contemporary trans-national trends in urban governance, and for what they what they have to say about wider processes of neoliberal urbanisation. [source] Intrafamilial Transmission of Helicobacter pylori among the Population of Endemic Areas in JapanHELICOBACTER, Issue 2 2007Yayoi Fujimoto Abstract Background:,Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a worldwide phenomenon related to several gastrointestinal diseases. However, because many aspects concerning the route of transmission remain unclear, we performed this epidemiologic study to clarify the route of intrafamilial transmission of H. pylori. Materials and Methods:, A retrospective study was performed in three widely separate areas in Japan to investigate the prevalence of H. pylori infection. In 1993, 613 residents were tested as were 4136 in 2002, including 1447 family members of 625 families. Antibody to H. pylori (anti- H. pylori) was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results:, In 2002, the age-adjusted anti- H. pylori prevalence in Hoshino Village (67.5%) was significantly higher than in Kasuya Town (55.0%) and in Ishigaki City (54.7%) (p < .0001, p = .0039, respectively). The age-adjusted anti- H. pylori prevalence of Ishigaki City significantly decreased from 1993 (68.4%) to 2002 (52.5%), showing an age cohort effect. However, the prevalence did not significantly differ in children aged 0,6 years of Ishigaki City between 1993 (9.6%) and 2002 (10.3%). A familial analysis in 2002 demonstrated that the prevalence of anti- H. pylori was significantly higher in children with anti- H. pylori -positive (21.6%, 22 of 102) than with -negative mothers (3.2%, 3 of 95) (p < .0001, by Mantel,Haenszel test), whereas there was no significant difference between children with anti- H. pylori -positive and -negative fathers. Moreover, the prevalence was significantly higher in wives with anti- H. pylori -positive (64.0%, 208 of 325) than with -negative husbands (46.5%, 80 of 172) (p = .0071, by Mantel,Haenszel test) and in husbands with anti- H. pylori -positive (72.2%, 208 of 288) than with -negative wives (56.0%, 117 of 209) (p = .0106, by Mantel,Haenszel test). Conclusions:, In the last decade, H. pylori infection decreased in the general population of Japan by improvement of general hygiene conditions, but did not differ in young children, most likely because of mother-to-child transmission. [source] Is food availability limiting African Penguins Spheniscus demersus at Boulders?IBIS, Issue 1 2006A comparison of foraging effort at mainland, island colonies The African Penguin Spheniscus demersus (Vulnerable) formed three new colonies during the 1980s, two on the South African mainland (Stony Point and Boulders) and one on Robben Island. One of the mainland colonies, at Boulders, Simon's Town, is in a suburban area, resulting in conflict with humans. Growth of the Boulders colony was initially rapid, largely through immigration, but has since slowed, possibly as a result of density-dependent effects either on land (where there has been active management to limit the spread of the colony) or at sea. We test the latter hypothesis by comparing the foraging effort of Penguins feeding small chicks at island and mainland sites, and relate this to the foraging area available to birds. Three-dimensional foraging paths of African Penguins were reconstructed using GPS and time,depth loggers. There were no intercolony differences in the rate at which birds dived during the day (33 dives/h), in diving depths (mean 17 m, max. 69 m) or in travelling speeds. The maximum speed recorded was 2.85 m/s, with birds travelling faster when commuting (average 1.18 m/s) than when foraging (0.93 m/s) or resting at sea (0.66 m/s during the day, 0.41 m/s at night). There were strong correlations between foraging trip duration, foraging range and total distance travelled. Foraging effort was correlated with chick age at Robben Island, but not at Boulders. Contrary to Ashmole's hypothesis, birds from Boulders (c. 1000 pairs) travelled further (46,53 km) and foraged for longer (13.2 h) than did birds from Robben Island (c. 7000 pairs) and Dassen Island (c. 21 000 pairs) (33 km, 10.3 h). The mean foraging range also differed significantly between mainland (18,20 km) and island colonies (9 km). The area available to central-place-foraging seabirds breeding on the mainland is typically less than that for seabirds breeding on islands, but the greater foraging range of Boulders birds results in an absolute foraging area roughly twice that of island colonies, and the area per pair is an order of magnitude greater for the relatively small Boulders colony. Ashmole's hypothesis assumes relatively uniform prey availability among colonies, but our results suggest this does not apply in this case. The greater foraging effort of Boulders birds probably reflects reduced prey availability in False Bay, and thus the recent slowing in growth at the colony may be the result of differential immigration rather than management actions to limit the spatial growth of the colony. [source] Solar radiation climate change over southern Africa and an assessment of the radiative impact of volcanic eruptionsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2005H. C. Power Abstract Spatial and temporal variability in global, diffuse, and horizontal direct irradiance and sunshine duration has been evaluated at eight stations in South Africa and two stations in Namibia where the time series range between 21 and 41 years. Global and direct irradiance and sunshine duration decrease from northwest to southeast; diffuse irradiance increases toward the east. Annually averaged global irradiance Ga decreased between 1.3% (2.8 W m,2) and 1.7% (4.4 W m,2) per decade at Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, and Upington. Annually averaged diffuse irradiance Da decreased 5.2% (3.0 W m,2) per decade at Grootfontein and 4.2% (3.1 W m,2) per decade at Port Elizabeth. Annual direct irradiance Ba decreased 2.1% (3.5 W m,2) per decade at Cape Town and 2.8% (5.7 W m,2) per decade at Alexander Bay. A simultaneous decrease in annually averaged daily sunshine duration Sa may have contributed to the decrease in Ba at Alexander Bay and the decrease in Ga at Pretoria. Increases in aerosols may have contributed to the observed decrease in Ga at Cape Town and Durban, and the decrease in Da at Grootfontein may be due to a decrease in aerosols. On average, variability in Sa explains 89.0%, 50.4%, and 89.5% of the variance in Ga, Da, and Ba respectively. The radiative response to changes in sunshine duration is greater for direct irradiance than for global and diffuse. In the 2 years following the 1963 Mount Agung eruption in Indonesia, changes in global irradiance over southern Africa were small and inconsistent. At eight stations, diffuse irradiance increased 21.9% (13.3 W m,2) on average and direct irradiance decreased 8.7% (15.5 W m,2). After the 1982 El Chichón eruption in Mexico, global irradiance increased at two stations and decreased at seven stations. Eight stations witnessed an increase in diffuse irradiance averaging 7.2% (4.0 W m,2) and a decrease in direct irradiance of 5.0% (9.0 W m,2). The contribution of changes in cloud cover to the observed changes in irradiances appears to be small. Following the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines, diffuse irradiance increased an average of 18.8% (10.0 W m,2) at three stations and direct irradiance decreased by 7.2% (13.0 W m,2). Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society [source] MINING: 16th Indaba (Cape Town)AFRICA RESEARCH BULLETIN: ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL SERIES, Issue 1 2010Article first published online: 8 MAR 2010 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Little Women and Vital Champions: Gendered Language Shift in a Northern Italian TownJOURNAL OF LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2006Jillian R. Cavanaugh The connection of language to class is clearly implicated in the language shift in progress in the northern Italian town of Bergamo. Gender also plays an active part in this shift in terms of linguistic practice and language ideology, as a gendering of languages is occurring such that the local vernacular, Bergamasco, is linked to men, and the national standard, Italian, to women. This article demonstrates that this gendering is one mechanism of language shift, as it impacts the linguistic division of labor across genders in Bergamo. With men in charge of revitalization and women responsible for language socialization, fewer children are growing up speaking Bergamasco. [source] Serotyping and genotyping of HIV-1 infection in residents of Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South AfricaJOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 12 2006G.B. Jacobs Abstract It is estimated that between 5.5 and 6.1 million people are infected with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in South Africa, with subtype C responsible for the majority of these infections. The Khayelitsha suburb of Cape Town has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in South Africa. Overcrowding combined with unemployment and crime in parts of the area perpetuates high-risk sexual behavior, which increases exposure to infection by HIV. Against this background, the objective of this study was to characterize HIV-1 in residents confirmed to be seropositive. Serotyping was performed through a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cPEIA). Genotyping methods included RNA isolation followed by RT-PCR and sequencing of the gag p24, env gp41 immunodominant region (IDR), and env gp120 V3 genome regions of HIV-1. With the exception of a possible C/D recombinant strain, all HIV-1 strains were characterized as HIV-1 group M subtype C. One individual was shown to harbor multiple strains of HIV-1 subtype C. In Southern Africa, the focus has been to develop a subtype C candidate vaccine, as this is the major subtype found in this geographical area. Therefore, the spread of HIV-1 and its recombinant strains needs to be monitored closely. J. Med. Virol. 78:1529,1536, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] An fMRI Study of Number Processing in Children With Fetal Alcohol SyndromeALCOHOLISM, Issue 8 2010Ernesta M. Meintjes Background:, Number processing deficits are frequently seen in children exposed to alcohol in utero. Methods:, Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine the neural correlates of number processing in 15 right-handed, 8- to 12-year-old children diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or partial FAS (PFAS) and 18 right-handed, age- and gender-matched controls from the Cape Coloured (mixed ancestry) community in Cape Town, South Africa, using Proximity Judgment and Exact Addition tasks. Results:, Control children activated the expected fronto-parietal network during both tasks, including the anterior horizontal intraparietal sulcus (HIPS), left posterior HIPS, left precentral sulcus, and posterior medial frontal cortex. By contrast, on the Proximity Judgment task, the exposed children recruited additional parietal pathways involving the right and left angular gyrus and posterior cingulate/precuneus, which may entail verbally mediated recitation of numbers and/or subtraction to assess relative numerical distances. During Exact Addition, the exposed children exhibited more diffuse and widespread activations, including the cerebellar vermis and cortex, which have been found to be activated in adults engaged in particularly challenging number processing problems. Conclusions:, The data suggest that, whereas control children rely primarily on the fronto-parietal network identified in previous studies to mediate number processing, children with FAS/PFAS recruit a broader range of brain regions to perform these relatively simple number processing tasks. Our results are consistent with structural neuroimaging findings indicating that the parietal lobe is relatively more affected by prenatal alcohol exposure and provide the first evidence for brain activation abnormalities during number processing in children with FAS/PFAS, effects that persist even after controlling statistically for group differences in total intracranial volume and IQ. [source] Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Alters Biobehavioral Reactivity to Pain in NewbornsALCOHOLISM, Issue 4 2010Tim F. Oberlander Objectives:, To examine biobehavioral responses to an acute pain event in a Cape Town, South Africa, cohort consisting of 28 Cape Colored (mixed ancestry) newborns (n = 14) heavily exposed to alcohol during pregnancy (exposed), and born to abstainers (n = 14) or light (,0.5 oz absolute alcohol/d) drinkers (controls). Methods:, Mothers were recruited during the third trimester of pregnancy. Newborn data were collected on postpartum day 3 in the maternity obstetrical unit where the infant had been delivered. Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure was defined as maternal consumption of at least 14 drinks/wk or at least 1 incident of binge drinking/mo. Acute stress-related biobehavioral markers [salivary cortisol, heart rate (HR), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), spectral measures of heart rate variability (HRV), and videotaped facial actions] were collected thrice during a heel lance blood collection (baseline, lance, and recovery). After a feeding and nap, newborns were administered an abbreviated Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale. Results:, There were no between-group differences in maternal age, marital status, parity, gravidity, depression, anxiety, pregnancy smoking, maternal education, or infant gestational age at birth (all ps > 0.15). In both groups, HR increased with the heel lance and decreased during the postlance period. The alcohol-exposed group had lower mean HR than controls throughout, and showed no change in RSA over time. Cortisol levels showed no change over time in controls but decreased over time in exposed infants. Although facial action analyses revealed no group differences in response to the heel lance, behavioral responses assessed on the Brazelton Neonatal Scale showed less arousal in the exposed group. Conclusions:, Both cardiac autonomic and hypothalamic,pituitary,adrenal stress reactivity measures suggest a blunted response to an acute noxious event in alcohol-exposed newborns. This is supported by results on the Brazelton Neonatal Scale indicating reduced behavioral arousal in the exposed group. To our knowledge, these data provide the first biobehavioral examination of early pain reactivity in alcohol-exposed newborns and have important implications for understanding neuro-/biobehavioral effects of prenatal alcohol exposure in the newborn period. [source] The Effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome on Response Execution and Inhibition: An Event-Related Potential StudyALCOHOLISM, Issue 11 2009Matthew J. Burden Background:, Both executive function deficits and slower processing speed are characteristic of children with fetal alcohol exposure, but the temporal dynamics of neural activity underlying cognitive processing deficits in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder have rarely been studied. To this end, event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to examine the nature of alcohol-related effects on response inhibition by identifying differences in neural activation during task performance. Methods:, We recorded ERPs during a Go/No-go response inhibition task in 2 groups of children in Cape Town, South Africa (M age = 11.7 years; range = 10 to 13),one diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or partial FAS (FAS/PFAS; n = 7); the other, a control group whose mothers abstained or drank only minimally during pregnancy (n = 6). Children were instructed to press a "Go" response button to all letter stimuli presented except for the letter "X," the "No-go" stimulus, which occurred relatively infrequently. Results:, Task performance accuracy and reaction time did not differ between groups, but differences emerged for 3 ERP components,P2, N2, and P3. The FAS/PFAS group showed a slower latency to peak P2, suggesting less efficient processing of visual information at a relatively early stage (,200 ms after stimulus onset). Moreover, controls showed a larger P2 amplitude to Go versus No-go, indicating an early discrimination between conditions that was not seen in the FAS/PFAS group. Consistent with previous literature on tasks related to cognitive control, the control group showed a well-defined, larger N2 to No-go versus Go, which was not evident in the FAS/PFAS group. Both groups showed the expected larger P3 amplitude to No-go versus Go, but this condition difference persisted in a late slow wave for the FAS/PFAS group, suggesting increased cognitive effort. Conclusions:, The timing and amplitude differences in the ERP measures suggest that slower, less efficient processing characterizes the FAS/PFAS group during initial stimulus identification. Moreover, the exposed children showed less sharply defined components throughout the stimulus and response evaluation processes involved in successful response inhibition. Although both groups were able to inhibit their responses equally well, the level of neural activation in the children with FAS/PFAS was greater, suggesting more cognitive effort. The specific deficits in response inhibition processing at discrete stages of neural activation may have implications for understanding the nature of alcohol-related deficits in other cognitive domains as well. [source] Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Interhemispheric Transfer of Tactile Information: Detroit and Cape Town FindingsALCOHOLISM, Issue 9 2009Neil C. Dodge Background:, Previous research has demonstrated that heavy prenatal alcohol exposure affects the size and shape of the corpus callosum (CC) and compromises interhemispheric transfer of information. The aim of this study was to confirm the previous reports of poorer performance on a finger localization test (FLT) of interhemispheric transfer in a cohort of heavily exposed children and to extend these findings to a cohort of moderately exposed young adults. Methods:, In Study 1, the FLT was administered to 40 heavily exposed and 23 nonexposed children from the Cape Coloured community of Cape Town, South Africa, who were evaluated for fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) dysmorphology and growth. Anatomical images of the CC were obtained using structural MRI on a subset of these children. In Study 2, the FLT was administered to a cohort of 85 moderate-to-heavily exposed young adults participating in a 19-year follow-up assessment of the Detroit Prenatal Alcohol Exposure cohort, whose alcohol exposure had been ascertained prospectively during gestation. Results:, In Study 1, children with FAS showed more transfer-related errors than controls after adjustment for confounding, and increased transfer-related errors were associated with volume reductions in the isthmus and splenium of the CC. In Study 2, transfer-related errors were associated with quantity of alcohol consumed per occasion during pregnancy. More errors were made if the mother reported binge drinking (,5 standard drinks) during pregnancy than if she drank regularly (M , 1 drink/day) without binge drinking. Conclusions:, These findings confirm a previous report of impaired interhemispheric transfer of tactile information in children heavily exposed to alcohol in utero and extend these findings to show that these deficits are also seen in more moderately exposed individuals, particularly those exposed to binge-like pregnancy drinking. [source] Substance Use and Psychosocial Predictors of High School Dropout in Cape Town, South AfricaJOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 1 2010Alan J. Flisher The aims of this study were to examine whether use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs predicts dropout among secondary school students in Cape Town, South Africa. A self-report instrument was administered to 1,470 Grade 8 students. The proportion of students that dropped out of school between the onset of the study and 4 years later was 54.9%. After adjusting for a range of confounders, dropout was significantly predicted by absenteeism, poverty (as assessed by a possession index), and past month cigarette use, but not by past month alcohol use and lifetime illicit drug use. Contrary to findings from developed countries, alcohol and illicit drug use did not predict dropout. It is possible that predictors of dropout documented elsewhere may not be pertinent in developing countries. [source] Double-mouthed discourse: Interpreting, framing, and participant roles1JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 3 2010Cécile B. Vigouroux In this article I examine multilingual displays in a Congolese Pentecostal church in Cape Town, South Africa. I focus on the simultaneous interpreting of the pastor's French sermon into English. I argue that the interpreting activity performed at church is used as a powerful interactional device to dramatize and shape the pastor's sermon. A close examination of participant roles shows that although these may appear to be predetermined by the interpretee-interpreter format of the sermon, speaking roles are actually fluid and negotiated. I submit that an important role of the church interpreter is to convey the pastor's inspiration from the Holy Spirit and reach out to the potential audience absent from the here and now of the service. His high emotional engagement helps convey this inspiration prospectively to the audience and retroactively to the pastor himself. [source] Curing and Healing: Medical Anthropology in Global Perspective; Everyday Spirits and Medical Interventions: Ethnographic and Historical Notes on Therapeutic Conventions in Zanzibar Town; Some Spirits Heal, Others Only Dance: A Journey into Human Selfhood in an African Village; The Straight Path of the Spirit: Ancestral Wisdom and Healing Traditions in Fiji; Healing Makes Our Hearts Happy: Spirituality and Cultural Transformations among the Ju!'hoansiMEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2001Helle Samuelsen Curing and Healing: Medical Anthropology in Global Perspective. Andrew Strathern and Pamela J. Stewart. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 1999. vii+224 pp. Everyday Spirits and Medical Interventions: Ethnographic and Historical Notes on Therapeutic Conventions in Zanzibar Town. Tapio Nisula. Saarijanjarvi: Transactions of the Finnish Anthropological Society 43,1999. 321 pp. Some Spirits Heal, Others Only Dance:. Journey into Human Selfhood in an African Village. Roy Willis with K. B. S. Chisanga. H. M. K. Sikazwe. Kapembwa B. Sikazwe. and Sylvia Nanyangwe .Oxford: Berg, 1999. xii. 220pp. The Straight Path of the Spirit: Ancestral Wisdom and Healing Traditions in Fiji. Richard Katz. Rochester, VT. Park Street Press, 1999.413 pp. Healing Makes Our Hearts Happy: Spirituality and Cultural Transformations among the Ju!'hoansi. Richard Katz. Megan Biesele. and Verna St. Denis. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1997. xxv. 213 pp. [source] The root rot fungus Armillaria mellea introduced into South Africa by early Dutch settlersMOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2001Martin P. A. Coetzee Abstract Dead and dying oak (Quercus) and numerous other woody ornamental trees and shrubs showing signs and symptoms of Armillaria root rot were identified in the Company Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa, which were established in the mid-1600s by the Dutch East Indies Trading Company. Nineteen isolates from dying trees or from mushrooms were collected and analysed to identify and characterize the Armillaria sp. responsible for the disease. The AluI digestion of the amplified product of the first intergenic spacer region (IGS-1) of the rRNA operon of 19 isolates from the Company Gardens was identical to that of some of the European isolates of A. mellea s. s. The IGS-1 region and the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) were sequenced for some of the Cape Town isolates. Phylogenetic analyses placed the Cape Town isolates in the European clade of A. mellea, which is distinct from the Asian and North American clades of this species. Identification based on sexual compatibility was conducted using A. mellea tester strains in diploid,haploid pairings, which showed some compatibility between the Cape Town isolates and testers from Europe. Somatic compatibility tests (diploid,diploid pairings) and DNA fingerprinting with multilocus, microsatellite probes indicated that the Cape Town isolates were genetically identical and may have resulted from vegetative (clonal) spread from a single focus in the centre of the original Company Gardens (c. 1652). The colonized area is at least 345 m in diameter. Assuming a linear spread rate underground of 0.3 m/year to 1.6 m/year, the genet (clone) was estimated to be between 108 and 575 years old. These data suggest that A. mellea was introduced into Cape Town from Europe, perhaps on potted plants, such as grapes or citrus, planted in the Company Gardens more than 300 years ago. [source] For the Love of Women: Gender, Identity, and Same-Sex Relations in a Greek Provincial TownAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2006DEBORAH R. ALTAMIRANO For the Love of Women: Gender, Identity, and Same-Sex Relations in. Greek Provincial Town. Elisabeth Kirtsoglu. New York: Routledge, 2004. 192 pp. [source] Southern Trauma: Revisiting Caste and Class in the Mississippi DeltaAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2004JANE ADAMS ABSTRACT Two classic ethnographies, Hortense Powdermaker's After Freedom: A Cultural Study in the Deep South and John Dollard's Caste and Class in a Southern Town, contributed to a "master narrative" of the Mississippi Delta and the South that viewed class largely through the lens of race. Their work contributed to the community studies and culture and personality traditions and became part of the public discourse of race in the United States. This article examines the institutional and theoretical frameworks within which they worked. We focus on three aspects of their work: (1) their definition of class that left race as the only salient social divide; (2) their portrayal of middle- and upper-class statements as normative; and (3) their uncritical use of data from elsewhere in the South to interpret their Indianola data. We report the events at the Yale Institute of Human Relations that led Dollard to publish before Powdermaker. [source] Some Spirits Heal, Others Only Dance: A Journey into Human Selfhood in an African Village; Everyday Spirits and Medical Interventions: Ethnographic and Historical Notes on Therapeutic Conventions in Zanzibar TownAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2001Judy Rosenthal Some Spirits Heal, Others Only Dance:. Journey into Human Selfhood in an African Village. Roy Willis. New York: Berg, 1999. 220 pp. Everyday Spirits and Medical Interventions: Ethnographic and Historical Notes on Therapeutic Conventions in Zanzibar Town. Tapio Nisula. Helsinki, Finland: The Finnish Anthropological Society, 1999. 321 pp. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||