家庭政策的悖论

美国在制定“支持家庭”(family friendly)的社会政策方面要远远落后于欧洲发达的工业化民主国家,这是为人们所广泛公认的。即便如此,在2 0 0 0年,美国的人口出生率( 2 0 6‰)明显高于欧洲主要工业化国家的人口出生率(西班牙和意大利:1 2 2‰;英国:1 72‰;法国:1 74‰;德国:1 4 4‰;瑞典:1 5 4‰;荷兰:1 66‰)。1 996年,欧盟1 5国中平均每1 0 0 0人当中有5 1对男女结婚,明显低于美国每1 0 0 0人中8 8对的比例。就婚姻地位而言,欧洲国家有更多的人是采取自愿同居的方式生活,例如1 997年,在1 6～2 9岁的人群中,法国有48%的夫…     

种族隔离结束后的南非城市能否迈向交通便利、平等和可持续发展?

历史上城镇多建在水陆交通便利处。可惜城市普遍具有的这种宏观便利并未扩展到微观层面。本文认为 ,所谓交通可持续性 ,即可持续发展的城市向所有人提供去往不同目的地的手段 ,最好是低速移动或公共交通。私人小汽车的使用受到限制 ,没有交通堵塞 ,对噪音污染采取措施。从这个角度看 ,城市内便利通常很成问题 ,主要原因是交通规划与城市规划相分离。这一普遍模式在南非也存在 ,其原因当然是城市地区的不可持续性 ,而过去种族隔离的历史无异于雪上加霜。本文以开普敦为例 ,深入探讨这一问题。作者阐述了城市空间理论 ,例举了在一定程度上遵循这一理论的城市 ,为南非城市的建设提供参考。然而 ,欧洲的经验表明 ,仅有城市规划还不够 ,哪怕城市规划遵循的是一些成功的理论 ,如走廊型城市或整体型城市。城市规划应与交通规划相结合。南非应考虑实行整合城市与交通规划的政策 ,使城市变得更平等和可持续     

阿赀王国编年史(上)——斯坦因敦煌资料69卷84叶的年代学与体裁问题

1.斯坦因敦煌资料69卷84叶,为吐蕃与阿赀王国(吐谷浑)的研究者们所熟悉已五十年之久,但有关它固有的主题、体裁,特别是它的编年结构和记事年代,仍然众说纷纭。“资料”首先由陶玛士出版、翻译和注释。他判定是公元635—643年间阿赀宫庭生活的女性所激发而写的记述。然而人们一致认为他所提出的年代是难以令人满意的。李方桂认为“资料”中事件的断代定然被混淆了。佐滕长则怀疑“资料”的编年结构经陶玛士补订过。伯戴克对之作了新的阐明,他主张“资料”叙述的是706—716年间的事     

Aliasing Error of Sampling Theorem

Let f∈L_p~r(R),1相似文献   

迎接21世纪

１９００年,当上一个世纪更替之际,美国劳动力中仅有１３％的人有“工作”。到１９７７年,美国劳动人口的９３％有了工作。工作的最终含义是,为某个组织做事,每天在特定的时间做专门的工作,以换取薪水和健康与退休保险。所有这些使工作者有“保障”,然而世界变了。当今,社会力量、经济力量,更重要的是技术力量的合流正将一个新的工作领域带到世人面前,在这个新的领域中,一个人就是一个“个体企业”。多数人可能仍为组织工作,但是到２１世纪的第二个１０年,拥有稳定工作收入和保险的人将成为少数。其他人可能还会在组织中工作,…     

贸易壁垒与发展中国家

目前,有40多亿人口居住在发展中国家,这个数字约占世界人口总数的80%,而发展中国家的国民产值在世界国民总产值中所占的比例,则不足17%。发展中国家的经济必须与世界经济实现一体化,而在此之前,其经济发展仍然要走漫长的道路。任何国家只有通过商品附加值的贸易方式,才能与世界经济实现一体化,否则在闭关锁国的条件下,其经济不可能得到迅速的发展。这一点已被发达国家的发展历程所证实。在过去的15年间,发展中国家在国际贸易中所占的份额,仍然维持在19%上下。制造业是发展最快的部门,1980—1987年,第三世界国家工业制成品所占的出口份额,从56%上升至73%。但发展中国家工业制成品的贸易额在世界同类产品贸易额中仅占12%。     

康德和法西斯主义的起源

有一种意见认为,虽然康德痛恨奴性,颂扬自主,但是他的学说却非常不幸地有导致极权主义的危险。希特勒使康德的理性和义务论名誉扫地:一方面,纳粹德国可以说是理性梦的结果;另一方面,自从奥兹威辛之后,义务一词就获得了可以认可不管是多么可怕的任何事情的坏名声。康德认为,不管有什么后果,我们都必须无条件地服从理性的绝对命令,这是我们无可逃避的道德义务;他甚至说,由于说真话是一种理性命令,因而即使是     

Home birth and the National Australian Maternity Services Review: too hot to handle?

Background

In February 2009 the Improving Maternity Services in Australia – The Report of the Maternity Services Review (MSR) was released, with the personal stories of women making up 407 of the more than 900 submissions received. A significant proportion (53%) of the women were said to have had personal experience with homebirth. Little information is provided on what was said about homebirth in these submissions and the decision by the MSR not to include homebirth in the funding and insurance reforms being proposed is at odds with the apparent demand for this option of care.

Method

Data for this study comprised 832 submissions to the MSR that are publicly available on the Commonwealth of Australia Department of Health and Aging website. All 832 submissions were downloaded, coded and then entered into NVivo. Content analysis was used to analyse the data that related to homebirth.

Findings

450 of the submissions were from consumers of maternity services (54%). Four hundred and seventy (60%) of the submissions mentioned homebirth. Overall there were 715 references to home birth in the submissions. The submissions mentioning homebirth most commonly discussed the ‘Benefits’ and ‘Barriers’ in accessing this option of care. Benefits to the baby, mother and family were described, along with the benefits obtained from having a midwife at the birth, receiving continuity of care and having a good birth experience. Barriers were described as not having access to a midwife, no funding, no insurance and lack of clinical privileging for midwives.

Conclusion

Many positive recommendations have come from the MSR, however the decision to exclude homebirth from these reforms is perplexing considering the large number of submissions describing the benefits of and barriers to homebirth in Australia. A concerning number of submissions discuss having had or having considered an unattended birth at home due to these barriers. Overall there is the belief that not enabling access to funded, insured homebirth in Australia is a violation of human rights. It appears that homebirth was considered by the MSR as ‘too hot to handle’ and by dismissing it as a minority issue the government sought to avoided dealing with homebirth as a ‘sensitive and controversial issue.’     

Multiparous women's confidence to have a publicly-funded homebirth: a qualitative study

Background

Hospital birth is commonly thought to be a safer option than homebirth, despite many studies showing similar rates of safety for low risk mothers and babies when cared for by qualified midwives with systems of back-up in place. Recently in Australia, demand has led to the introduction of a small number of publicly-funded homebirth programs. Women's confidence in having a homebirth through a publicly-funded homebirth program in Australia has not yet been explored.

Aim

The aim of the study was to explore the reasons why multiparous women feel confident to have a homebirth within a publicly-funded model of care in Australia.

Methods

Ten multiparous English-speaking women who chose to have a homebirth with the St George Hospital Homebirth Program were interviewed in the postnatal period using semi-structured, open-ended questions. Interviews were transcribed, then a thematic analysis was undertaken.

Results

Women, having already experienced a normal birth, demonstrated a strong confidence in their ability to give birth at home and described a confidence in their bodies, their midwives, and the health system. Women weighed up the risks of homebirth through information they gathered and integration with their previous experience of birth, their family support and self-confidence.

Discussion

Women choosing publicly-funded homebirth display strong confidence in both themselves to give birth at home, and their belief in the health system's ability to cope with any complications that may arise.

Implications for practice

Many women may benefit from access to publicly-funded homebirth models of care. This should be further investigated.