Age and the Disvalue of Death

2019 ◽  
pp. 239-262
Author(s):  
Joseph Millum ◽  
Espen Gamlund ◽  
Emery Ngamasana ◽  
Carl Tollef Solberg
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Current Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Perinatal Deaths ◽  
Neonatal Deaths ◽  
A Value ◽  
Key Questions

Summary measures of health or well-being must assign a value to averting death and relate it to the value of preventing or curing morbidity. The authors address two key questions about how to value the prevention of death: (1) how the age at which someone dies affects how bad their death is and (2) at what age death starts to be bad for the decedent. Current practice includes, by default, views about both questions that the authors think are mistaken. Regarding (1), the authors argue in favor of gradualism: the value assigned to preventing mortality should gradually increase during early cognitive development, so that the prevention of perinatal deaths is assigned a lower value than the prevention of the deaths of older children. Regarding (2), value should be assigned to preventing deaths from the point of the onset of sentience—at around 28 weeks gestational age—so that the prevention of stillbirths is also valued. The authors tentatively suggest a function for calculating the disvalue of death at different ages and apply this and alternative functions to South African data on interventions to prevent stillbirths and neonatal deaths.

scholarly journals Obstetric profile of perinatal deaths on a capital of the Northeast of Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-257
Author(s):  
Maria Alice de Moraes Machado Brito ◽  
Marina Barguil Macêdo ◽  
Janaína de Moraes Machado Brito ◽  
Luísa Helena de Oliveira Lima ◽  
Catarina Fernandes Pires ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Birth Weight ◽  
Perinatal Mortality ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Statistical Correlation ◽  
Singleton Pregnancy ◽  
Perinatal Deaths ◽  
Neonatal Deaths ◽  
Sociodemographic Profile ◽  
Type Of Delivery

Abstract Objectives: to analyze the obstetric and sociodemographic profile on perinatal deaths in Teresina the capital of Piauí, from data obtained from the Sistema de Informação de Mortalidade e Sistema de Informação de Nascidos Vivos (Brazilian Mortality Information System and Livebirth Information System). Methods: this is a retrospective cohort on perinatal deaths of mothers whose babies were born and resided in Teresina between 2010 and 2014. The analyzed variables were age and the mother´s schooling, gestational age, type of pregnancy (singleton or multiple), route of delivery (vaginal or cesarean), place of death (in and out hospital), time of death in relation to the delivery (prior, during or after), and birth weight. Results: the perinatal mortality coefficient (PMC) varied from 17.5 to 19.3 per 1,000 births. We found similarities in the sociodemographic profile and in the obstetric fetal and non-fetal deaths, both with a great incidence on 20 to 27 years-old mothers, vaginal delivery and singleton pregnancy. Low birth weight was positively related to early neonatal deaths. Conclusions: perinatal mortality presented a statistical correlation in gestational age, birth weight, and type of delivery. The PMC in our study was higher than other Brazilian capitals.

When Political Transitions Work

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanie du Toit
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Political Transitions ◽  
Political Reconciliation ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
African Experience ◽  
The One

Reconciliation emphasizes relationships as a crucial ingredient of political transition; this book argues for the importance of such a relational focus in crafting sustainable political transitions. Section I focuses on South Africa’s transition to democracy—how Mandela and De Klerk persuaded skeptical constituencies to commit to political reconciliation, how this proposal gained momentum, and how well the transition resulted in the goal of an inclusive and fair society. In developing a coherent theory of reconciliation to address questions such as these, I explain political reconciliation from three angles and thereby build a concept of reconciliation that corresponds largely with the South African experience. In Section II, these questions lead the discussion beyond South Africa into some of the prominent theoretical approaches to reconciliation in recent times. I develop typologies for three different reconciliation theories: forgiveness, agonism, and social restoration. I conclude in Section III that relationships created through political reconciliation, between leaders as well as between ordinary citizens, are illuminated when understood as an expression of a comprehensive “interdependence” that precedes any formal peace processes between enemies. I argue that linking reconciliation with the acknowledgment of interdependence emphasizes that there is no real alternative to reconciliation if the motivation is the long-term well-being of one’s own community. Without ensuring the conditions in which an enemy can flourish, one’s own community is unlikely to prosper sustainably. This theoretical approach locates the deepest motivation for reconciliation in choosing mutual well-being above the one-sided fight for exclusive survival at the other’s cost.

scholarly journals Stillbirth outcome capture and classification in population-based surveys: EN-INDEPTH study

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Blencowe ◽  
◽  
Matteo Bottecchia ◽  
Doris Kwesiga ◽  
Joseph Akuze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gestational Age ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Vital Status ◽  
Neonatal Deaths ◽  
Adverse Pregnancy

Abstract Background Household surveys remain important sources of stillbirth data, but omission and misclassification are common. Classifying adverse pregnancy outcomes as stillbirths requires accurate reporting of vital status at birth and gestational age or birthweight for every pregnancy. Further categorisation, e.g. by sex, or timing (intrapartum/antepartum) improves data to understand and prevent stillbirth. Methods We undertook a cross-sectional population-based survey of women of reproductive age in five health and demographic surveillance system sites in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau and Uganda (2017–2018). All women answered a full birth history with pregnancy loss questions (FBH+) or a full pregnancy history (FPH). A sub-sample across both groups were asked additional stillbirth questions. Questions were evaluated using descriptive measures. Using an interpretative paradigm and phenomenology methodology, focus group discussions with women exploring barriers to reporting birthweight for stillbirths were conducted. Thematic analysis was guided by an a priori codebook. Results Overall 69,176 women reported 98,483 livebirths (FBH+) and 102,873 pregnancies (FPH). Additional questions were asked for 1453 stillbirths, 1528 neonatal deaths and 12,620 surviving children born in the 5 years prior to the survey. Completeness was high (> 99%) for existing FBH+/FPH questions on signs of life at birth and gestational age (months). Discordant responses in signs of life at birth between different questions were common; nearly one-quarter classified as stillbirths on FBH+/FPH were reported born alive on additional questions. Availability of information on gestational age (weeks) (58.1%) and birthweight (13.2%) was low amongst stillbirths, and heaping was common. Most women (93.9%) were able to report the sex of their stillborn baby. Response completeness for stillbirth timing (18.3–95.1%) and estimated proportion intrapartum (15.6–90.0%) varied by question and site. Congenital malformations were reported in 3.1% stillbirths. Perceived value in weighing a stillborn baby varied and barriers to weighing at birth a nd knowing birthweight were common. Conclusions Improving stillbirth data in surveys will require investment in improving the measurement of vital status, gestational age and birthweight by healthcare providers, communication of these with women, and overcoming reporting barriers. Given the large burden and effect on families, improved data must be made available to end preventable stillbirths.

scholarly journals Multilab Direct Replication of Flavell, Beach, and Chinsky (1966): Spontaneous Verbal Rehearsal in a Memory Task as a Function of Age

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 251524592110181
Author(s):  
Emily M. Elliott ◽  
Candice C. Morey ◽  
Angela M. AuBuchon ◽  
Nelson Cowan ◽  
Chris Jarrold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Verbal Rehearsal ◽  
Picture Memory ◽  
Spontaneous Production

Work by Flavell, Beach, and Chinsky indicated a change in the spontaneous production of overt verbalization behaviors when comparing young children (age 5) with older children (age 10). Despite the critical role that this evidence of a change in verbalization behaviors plays in modern theories of cognitive development and working memory, there has been only one other published near replication of this work. In this Registered Replication Report, we relied on researchers from 17 labs who contributed their results to a larger and more comprehensive sample of children. We assessed memory performance and the presence or absence of verbalization behaviors of young children at different ages and determined that the original pattern of findings was largely upheld: Older children were more likely to verbalize, and their memory spans improved. We confirmed that 5- and 6-year-old children who verbalized recalled more than children who did not verbalize. However, unlike Flavell et al., substantial proportions of our 5- and 6-year-old samples overtly verbalized at least sometimes during the picture memory task. In addition, continuous increase in overt verbalization from 7 to 10 years old was not consistently evident in our samples. These robust findings should be weighed when considering theories of cognitive development, particularly theories concerning when verbal rehearsal emerges and relations between speech and memory.

scholarly journals Congenital Malformations and Perinatal Deaths among the Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors: A Reappraisal

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiko Yamada ◽  
Kyoji Furukawa ◽  
Yoshimi Tatsukawa ◽  
Keiko Marumo ◽  
Sachiyo Funamoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnancy Outcomes ◽  
Congenital Malformations ◽  
Radiation Effects ◽  
Atomic Bomb ◽  
Perinatal Deaths ◽  
Neonatal Deaths ◽  
Atomic Bomb Survivors ◽  
Parental Exposure ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Major Congenital Malformations

Abstract From 1948 to 1954, the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission conducted a study of pregnancy outcomes of children of atomic bomb survivors who had received radiation doses from zero to near-lethal levels. Past reports (1956, 1981, and 1990) on the cohort did not identify significant associations of radiation exposure with untoward pregnancy outcomes such as major congenital malformations, stillbirths, or neonatal deaths, individually or in aggregate. We have re-examined the risk of major congenital malformations and perinatal deaths in the children of the atomic bomb survivors (N=71,603) using fully reconstructed data to minimize the potential for bias, with refined estimates of the gonadal dose from the Dosimetry System 2002 and refined analytical methods for characterizing dose-response relationships. The analyses show that parental exposure is associated with increased risk for major congenital malformations and perinatal deaths, but the estimates are imprecise for direct radiation effects and most are not statistically significant. Nonetheless, the uniformly positive estimates for untoward pregnancy outcomes among children of both maternal and paternal survivors are useful for risk assessment purposes, although extending them to circumstances other than atomic bomb survivors comes with uncertainty as to the generalizability of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki populations.

scholarly journals Paternal sperm concentration and growth and cognitive development in children born with a gestational age more than 32 weeks after assisted reproductive therapy

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1514-1520 ◽  
Author(s):  
U.-B. Wennerholm ◽  
M. Bonduelle ◽  
A. Sutcliffe ◽  
C. Bergh ◽  
A. Niklasson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Sperm Concentration

The Relevance of Personal Domain Satisfaction for the Quality of Life in South Africa

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 69-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Møller
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
South African ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Personal Domain ◽  
The Impact

South African psychologists have identified the improvement of quality of life as a major goal of the 1980s. This paper reviews the impact of satisfaction with personal aspects of life on perceived well-being. The results of an exploratory study of South African quality of life conducted among 5 587 individuals of all population groups are discussed. Findings confirm the salience of the personal domain and the positive influence of personal satisfactions on subjective well-being. However, results of regression analyses suggest that the relative contribution of satisfactions in the personal domain is too low to play a major role in improving the quality of life of all South Africans in the longer term.

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