Rumour of angels and heavenly midwives: anthropology of transpersonal events and childbirth

Some contemporary women can experience non-ordinary states of consciousness when childbearing. The purpose of this paper is to bring a ‘transpersonal’ frame to these non-ordinary states of consciousness (hereafter: NOSC). Transpersonal psychology is an interdisciplinary movement in Western science that studies ‘religious’, ‘peak’ or ‘healing’ experiences in different cultures and social contexts. Between 2001 and 2006 in Auckland, New Zealand, while engaged in anthropological fieldwork, I collected stories from mothers, fathers, and midwives who had participated in transpersonal events during childbirth.I will compare the local women's NOSC with ethnographic accounts of spirit-possession and its relationship to indigenous midwifery then revisit and reconstruct the witch-hunts of Medieval Europe from this perspective. Midwives are encouraged to learn to identify and support women's NOSC during labour and birth as many women find strength and wisdom by passing through these states in labour. The subject is also critical to men, whether they are present with women and birth as fathers or health professionals. The hoped for result of this inquiry is to revalorise NOSC among birth-giving mothers, and to educate birth attendants in this field.     

Changes in HIV/AIDS knowledge and testing behavior in Africa: how much and for whom?

Demographic and Health Survey data from nine African countries make it clear that HIV/AIDS prevention knowledge has been increasing. Still, in many cases, fewer than half of adult respondents can identify specific prevention behaviors. Knowledge is lowest in rural areas and among women. HIV testing generally remains rare but is highly variable across countries, likely reflecting differences in the supply of testing services. In most cases, schooling and wealth impacts on prevention knowledge have either been stable or have increased; hence, in the majority of contexts, initial disparities in knowledge by education and wealth levels have persisted or widened.

Suicide and mental health problems among Swedish youth in the wake of the 1990s recession

The purpose of this explorative study is to bring together a variety of Swedish data sources with indicators of youth mental health and living conditions in order to illuminate trends during the last decades, elucidate possible determinants of mental ill health and develop hypotheses to explain the observed trend patterns. The analyses in the study reveal some surprising inconsistencies with respect to the mental health trends among young people during the 1990s. Most striking is the pattern of increasing youth unemployment coinciding with almost inverse trends in the rates of suicide. The secular trends in fatal suicides during this period do not show any increase but some actual decrease in sub‐populations despite high sustained levels of unemployment. In contrast, survey data indicate that the general mental health of youth during this period appears to have deteriorated.     

关于发展老年卫生健康服务领域的若干思考

本文在界定了老年卫生健康服务领域的基础上,详细地分析了老年人对该领域产品或服务需求的基本现状,认为在现阶段发展老年卫生健康服务领域必须考虑到老年人的购买能力以及消费特点;还要依靠产业政策的扶持带动老年消费市场的持续发展。     

医科与农科大学生SCL——90测查比较研究

用心理卫生自评量表(SCL———90)调查了内蒙古蒙医学院和哲里木畜牧学院两高校大学生的心理健康和差异,结果表明,两高校学生男女总体心理健康水平无明显差异,存在的心理问题各具特点,而医科学生心理问题较多,强度较大。     

对高校学生公共体育兴趣的心理初探

本文从心理学的角度出发,对高校学生体育兴趣的产生、特点及变化原因作了初步探究,并提出了情感教学对体育兴趣形成的重要作用。     

扬州市邗江区乡镇预防保健体制改革两种模式的比较研究

扬州市邗江区1999年对全区21所乡镇卫生院进行了产权制度改革。改制前3年,实行“医防合一”体制,从2002年起实行“医防分设”体制。文章采用定性调查和定量调查相结合的方法,比较改革前后农村卫生体系和农村预防保键资源、组织机构、服务效率、监督执法力度、农民满意度等方面的变化。研究表明,“医防分设”是必由之路,为进一步改革和完善预防保健体系提供了依据。     

设立国有医药公司降低虚高药价

公立医疗机构对医疗资源的垄断、政府对药品流通市场监管的不到位、广大消费者对相关政策法律及药品知识的无知是造成当前药价虚高的核心原因;在市场经济条件下,政府应该更多地运用经济和法律手段来解决这一问题,由地方政府设立国有医药流通公司,同时运用互联网等媒介扩大消费者对医药信息的了解,从而通过消费者对药品理性选择的市场力量和政府规范市场的法制力量来解决药价虚高这一社会问题。     

基于建构主义的管理心理学教学实践

建构主义是学习理论中行为主义到认知主义以后的进一步研究与发展,是当代西方最为流行的学习理论和和教学理论,它给教育工作者提供了一个审视教学问题的全新的教育心理学视角。建构主义强调学习过程中学习者的主动性、建构性,强调学习过程的情景性、社会性。认为“情景、协作、对话、意义建构”是学习环境中的四大要素。本文以建构主义理论为指导,对管理心理学的教学模式、教学方法、教学内容设计等方面进行了实践研究,并提出基于建构主义教学过程中应注意的问题。     

人力资本、公平感知与农村居民基本医疗保险参与——基于四川农村地区的实证分析

城乡居民基本医疗保险作为构成我国社会保障体系的核心内容,既是农村居民获得所需医疗服务、应对健康危机的兜底性保障,也是国家推进基本医疗卫生服务公平均等的基础性政策。然而,基于四川省农村地区的调研发现,仍然存在农村居民没有购买基本医疗保险的现象。深入剖析其影响因素,结果发现：(1)人力资本水平、对基本医疗保险政策的公平感知均会显著作用于农村居民基本医疗保险购买行为;(2)外出务工经历、缴费便捷程度、家庭收入水平等也对农村居民基本医疗保险购买行为有显著影响;(3)当前对基本医疗保险政策知识宣传不够,难以满足农村居民对政策知识的需求。基于以上研究结果,为进一步提高基本医疗保险参与率,提出了优化基本医疗保险政策宣传、提高基本医疗保险政策的认同感和加快医保管理服务系统信息化建设等对策建议。