Influence of grandmothers on breastfeeding practices in a rural community in Papua New Guinea: A critical discourse analysis of first-time mothers’ perspectives

BackgroundAlmost all babies are breastfed in Papua New Guinea (PNG); yet appropriate breastfeeding practices are not always followed.AimTo explore the perspectives of first-time mothers in rural PNG on how the language and discourse of grandmothers about infant feeding influence their breastfeeding practices.MethodsA critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach was used to theoretically frame the analysis of twenty first-time mothers’ narratives.FindingsAnalysis revealed three themes: (i) prescribed knowledge repository, (ii) social control and dominance, and (iii) disapproval and role conflict, which provides an understanding of grandmothers’ differing views and positions on infant feeding practices and their influence on breastfeeding.ConclusionThis study shows that grandmothers remain influential in infant feeding practices in rural PNG. There appears to be a societal expectation that empowers grandmothers in the maternal decision-making processes regarding breastfeeding practice. Grandmothers’ influence includes the early introduction of complementary foods to infants less than six months old. Interventions aimed at promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding need to include grandmothers.     

破解资源节约与扩大内需的矛盾

在粗放的增长模式下,资源节约与扩大内需构成了一对现实的矛盾,同时实现这两个目标的关键是如何看待内需。作为增长动力的需求是具有层次的,并不是任何消费需求都是合理的,因此,需求结构的优化应当成为扩大内需的基本思路。本文从发展模式角度破解我国资源节约与扩大内需的现实矛盾,并主张从健康的城市化、大幅提高人力资本积累与反哺自然三个方面来实现资源节约与内需扩大的融合。     

论近代以来国家与农民关系的演变

1840年以来,随着中国国家性质的剧烈变化,国家与农民的关系以及中间环节(乡村基层组织)也发生了根本性变化,乡村出现了衰败动荡的局面.后北洋政府、国民党政府,都没有解决乡村治理和经济衰败问题,这为中国共产党发动农民革命提供了成功的条件.1949年中华人民共和国成立以后,中国共产党通过彻底的土地改革,实现了将现代政府权力下延到乡村、直接面对农民的乡村治理结构."人民公社"虽能有效控制农民,但不能激励农民的生产积极性,导致了在后来的改革中放弃"政社合一"的人民公社制度.2004年以来,中国进入了工业"反哺"农业、城市支持乡村的新的历史时期,国家与农民关系由以"取"为主向以"予"为主转变,中国农村的基层治理目标和职能也发生了根本性变化.这种历史性的变化,要求我们在农村基层治理结构和政策方面做出相应调整,以保证国家"反哺"资金发挥出应有的效益,这也是今天建设社会主义新农村面临的最重要的问题之一.     

变速箱多向挤压铸造补缩位置和补缩力的研究

针对目前复杂铸件成形存在的缩松缩孔问题,以某铝合金摩托车变速箱为研究对象,利用专业铸造软件Procast 进行数值模拟。研究了铸件充型和凝固过程的温度场,预测了缩松缩孔的位置。模拟结果表明,缩松缩孔位置出现在气 缸孔处,因此将挤压头设置在该处进行锻压补缩。根据经验公式初步确定补缩力大小,然后对变速箱进行多向挤压铸造 模拟,最终确定补缩力大小。最后,根据优化的工艺参数开展试验研究,获得高品质铸件。     

中国农业政策研究:一个财政视角

讨论经济发展中的三种农业问题及针对这些问题采取的不同的农业政策。通过对我国指标的考察,我国农业中存在的是相对贫困问题,应该采取从剥夺农业向反哺农业过渡的政策。我国财政视角下的农业政策与实证分析的结论不相一致,如何改变这种现状成为今后我国农业政策调整的方向。     

The Other Side of Employed Parents' Life in Slovenia

In this article are described some basic patterns of employed parents' life and the social and psychological factors which prevent changing their prevailing ways of life. Most parents with children up to the age of 15 (more than ninety percent) are regularly employed. In terms of formal financial resources not all dual-earner families are above the social security level. Parents try to improve their living conditions in the following ways: all household work is done by family members (mainly mothers), they do different kinds of paid informal work and resolve their housing problems by building on their own with the help of relatives and bank credits. During all stages of life women are more burdened with informal work than men. Activities connected with the mass media and/or activities which have utilitarian value are the main preoccupations of parents in their free time. Most parents have no choice concerning their employment status and even the possibilities of choosing among various free time activities are quite limited.     

Aboriginal women in rural Australia; a small study of infant feeding behaviour

BackgroundAboriginal women in rural areas have lower rates of breastfeeding than Australian averages. The reasons for this are poorly understood. Aboriginal people experience higher morbidity and increased rates of chronic disease throughout the life cycle. The protective effects of sustained breastfeeding could benefit rural Aboriginal communities.ObjectiveTo explore the factors impacting upon infant feeding choices in a rural Aboriginal Community.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with eight Aboriginal rural dwelling first time mothers. These women received a continuity of midwife and Aboriginal Health Worker model of care. Interviews were also undertaken with five Aboriginal Health Workers and two Aboriginal community breastfeeding champions. The analysis was integrated with a conventional literature review and was further developed and illustrated with historical literature. Indigenist methodology guided the study design, analysis and the dissemination of results.ResultsThree key themes were identified. These were “I’m doing the best thing for…” which encompasses the motivations underpinning infant feeding decisions; “this is what I know…” which explores individual and community knowledge regarding infant feeding; and “a safe place to feed” identifying the barriers that negative societal messages pose for women as they make infant feeding decisions. It appears loss of family and community breastfeeding knowledge resulting from colonisation still influences the Aboriginal women of today.DiscussionAboriginal women value and trust knowledge which is passed to them from extended family members and women within their Community. Cultural, historical and socioeconomic factors all strongly influence the infant feeding decisions of individuals in this study.ConclusionsEfforts to normalise breastfeeding in the culture of rural dwelling Aboriginal women and their supporting community appear to be necessary and may promote breastfeeding more effectively than optimal professional care of individuals can do.     

Obesity and breastfeeding: The strength of association

Obesity and attendant co-morbidities are an emergent problem in public health. Much attention has focused on prevention, especially during the perinatal period. Breastfeeding is considered a possible protective factor for obesity in childhood, influencing gene–neuroendocrine–environment–lifestyle interaction. Therefore, breastfeeding and its longer duration are probably associated with lower development of childhood obesity. Through human milk, but not formula, the child assumes greater bioactive factors contributing to immunological, endocrine, development, neural and psychological benefits. Contrarily, other studies did not confirm a critical role of breast milk. Confounding factors, especially maternal pre-pregnancy overweight, may influence breastfeeding effects. This review summarises what is known about the possible relationship between breastfeeding and prevention of obesity development.ConclusionBreastfeeding appears to represent a protective factor for obesity in childhood, although evidence is still controversial and underlying mechanisms unclear. Further research is needed to improve knowledge on overweight/obesity and breastfeeding.     

Medicalized mothering: experiences with breastfeeding in Canada and Norway

This paper explores infant feeding practices and experiences of mothers in Canada and Norway, two countries where breastfeeding rates are relatively high. Based on interviews with 33 Canadian mothers and 27 Norwegian mothers, we also examine how mothers feel, think and talk about their infant feeding decisions and experiences, and examine similarities and divergences across their stories. Our findings reveal that infant feeding is very much organized according to the logic of the broader medical discourse, a finding which lends support to arguments that contemporary parenthood is characterized by a process of increasing medicalization. Our findings also reveal the existence of a broader culture of pressure, competition, judgement and surveillance regarding breastfeeding, suggesting that the high breastfeeding rates in these two countries are not merely a result of favourable structural conditions, but also of strong cultural expectations towards breastfeeding. We discuss our findings in connection with the broader argument that medical discourses and health professionals are becoming the primary authorities and moral gatekeepers of contemporary parenthood.     

A Spectral Estimator of Arma Parameters from Thresholded Data

We consider computationally-fast methods for estimating parameters in ARMA processes from binary time series data, obtained by thresholding the latent ARMA process. All methods involve matching estimated and expected autocorrelations of the binary series. In particular, we focus on the spectral representation of the likelihood of an ARMA process and derive a restricted form of this likelihood, which uses correlations at only the first few lags. We contrast these methods with an efficient but computationally-intensive Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. In a simulation study we show that, for a range of ARMA processes, the spectral method is more efficient than variants of least squares and much faster than MCMC. We illustrate by fitting an ARMA(2,1) model to a binary time series of cow feeding data.